GARCILASSO
381
GARCILASSO
ista party at home with the provisions of that instru-
ment gave Mosqiiera an excellent pretext for encroach-
ing upon his neighbour's rights. The Regalistas were,
without knowing it, a kind of Erastians, who claimed
the appointment to ecclesiastical benefices as an in-
alienable right of the civil power. The President of
Ecuador was charged with "casting Colombia, mana-
cled, at the feet of Rome"; Urbina issued "mani-
festos" from Peru in the sense of "South America for
the South Americans"; while the proclamation of
President Jlosquera recited, with others which seem
to have been introduced merely for the sake of appear-
ances, his three really significant grounds of complaint
against Garcia Moreno: that the latter had ratified the
concordat; that he maintained a representative of the
Holy See at Quito; that he had brought Jesuits into
Ecuador. It may be remarked here, in passing, that
if Mosquera had added to this catalogue of offences
those of insisting upon free primarv education for the
ma.s,ses, upon strict auditing of the public accounts,
and a consideratile bona fide outlay upon roads and
other public utilities, his proclamation might have
served adequately as the indictment upon which Gar-
cia Moreno was condemned and eventually put to
death by those whom Pius IX ironically called "the
valiant sectaries".
Mosquera was determined to have war, and all the efforts of the Ecuadorean government were of no avail to prevent it. .\t the battle of t'uaspud all but two battalions of the forces of Ecuador fled ignominioush". It is a mat ter for wonder, considering the groimds upon which he had declared war, that Mosquera, in the Peace of Pinsaqm', which followed this victory, should have left the Concordat of 1862, the delegate Apos- tolic, and the Jesuits just as they were. In March, 1863, Garcia Moreno tendered his resignation to the National Assembly, who insisted upon his remaining in office until the expiration of his term. Nevertheless he had to face, during the next two years, repeated seditions and filibustering raids. After sparing the lives of the leatlers in one of these movements, though they had by all law and custom incurred the penalty of death, he was severely criticized for ordering the execution of another such when it had become evident that an example was necessary for the peace of the republic. In a naval battle at Jambeli (27 June, 1865) at which Garcia Moreno was personally present, the defeat of the Urbina forces was complete, and tranquillity reigned imtil the presidential term expired on the 27th of the following August.
In the following year began what may be considered as a connected series of attempts which terminated, nine years later, in the assassination of Garcia Moreno. The dispute between Spain and Peru over the Chin- chas Islands had led to a war in which, following Gar- cia Moreno's advice, his successor Jeronimo Carrion had cast in the lot of Ecuador with that of the sister republic and its then ally, Chile. The ex-presi- dent was sent as minister plenipotentiary to Chile, with a commission to transact business with Presi- dent Prado of Peru on his waj'. On his arrival at Lima aji attempt was made to assassinate him, but it ended in the death of his assailant. His diplo- matic mission resulted excellenth' for the friendly relations Ijetween Ecuador and its neighbours; the so- journ at Santiago also inspired Garcia Moreno with a high admiration for Chile, and he even made up his mind to attempt a change of the Ecuadorean constitu- tion so as to make it more like that of Chile, a project which he carried into effect in the National Convention of 1869. On his return to Ecuador he found himself a second time in the uncongenial position of leader of a revolution. To anticipate a plot which the Liberals, led by one of Urbina's relations, were known to be forming, the conservatives of Ecuador had risen, de- clared Carrion deposed, and made Garcia Moreno head of the provisional government. The justice of the
grounds on which this extreme action was taken was
established by the attempt of Veintemilla, at Guaya-
quil, only two months later, in March, 1869.
Having been duly confirmed as president ad interim by the National Convention of May, 1869, Garcia Mo- reno resumed his work for the enlightenment, as well as the religious well-being, of his people. It was in these last years of his life that he did so much for the teach- ing of physical sciences in the universitj- by introduc- ing there the German Fathers of the Society of Jesus. The medical schools and hospitals of the capital bene- fited vastly by his intelligent and zealous efforts. In September, 1870, the troops of Victor Emmanuel occupied Rome; and on 18 January, 1871, Garcia Moreno, alone of all the rulers of the world, addressed a protest to the King of Italy on the spoliation of the Holy See. The pope marked his appreciation of this outburst of loyalty by conferring on the President of Ecuador the decoration of the First Cla.ss of the Order of Pius IX, with a Brief of commendation dated 27 March, 1871. It was, on the other hand, notoriotts that certain lodges had formally decreed the death of Garcia Moreno, who, in a letter to the pope, used about this time the following almost prophetic words: " What riches for me, Most Holy Father, to be hated and ca- lumniated for my love for our Divine Redeemer! What happiness if your benediction should obtain for me from Heaven the grace of shedding my blood for Him, who being God, was willing to shed His blood for us upon the Cross!" The object of numberless plots against his fife. Garcia Moreno pursued his way with unruffled confidence in the future — his own and his country's. "The enemies of God and the Church can kill me", he once said, "but God does not die" (Dios no muere).
He had been re-elected president, and would soon have entered upon another term of office, when, to- wards the end of July, 1S75, the police of Quito were apprised that a party of assassins had begun to dog Garcia Moreno's footsteps. When, however, the chief of police warned the intended victim, the latter so discouraged all attempts to hedge him about with precautions, as to almost excuse the carelessness of his official guardians. It came out in evidence that within the fortnight [ircci'ding the finally successful attempt, the same ;is-;i~isins had at least twice been foiled by the president's failing to appear on occasions when he had been expected. Finally, on the evening of 6 August, the assassins found their prey unprotected, leaving the house of some very dear friends; they followed him until he had reached the Treasury, and there Faustino Rayo, the leader of the band, suddenly attacked him with a machete, inflicting six or seven wounds, while the other three assisted in the work with their revolvers.
On hearing of the death of Garcia Moreno, Pope Pius IX ordered a solenm Mass of Requiem to be cele- brated in the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere. The same sovereign pontiff erected to his memorj', in the Collegio Pio-Latino, at Rome, a monument on which Garcia Moreno is designated: —
Religionis integerrimus custos Auctor studiorum optimorum Obsequentissimus in Petri sedem Justitia; cultor; scelerum vindex. The materials for this article have been derived from a biog- raphy, now extremely rare, written by a personal friend and political associate of Garcia Moreno, Herrera, Apuntes sobre la Vida de Garcia Moreno. See also: Berthes, Garcia Moreno (Paris); Le-i Canlemporains (PaTis, s. d.), I; M.axweli^Scott, Gabriel Garcia Moreno, Refjenrrator of Ee,uador in St. Nicholas Series (London and New York, 1908).
E. M.^CPHERiSON.
Garcilasso de la Vega, Spanish lyric poet ; b. at Toledo, (i Feb., IM-i; d. at Nice, 14" Oct., 1.5:56. A noble and a soldier, he .spent much time in Italy during the campaigns of Charles V, whose entire con-
