Lampoons and scurrilous pasquinades were posted on the walls; insulting caricatures of the leading members of the government and loyalist party disfigured the public buildings; and seditious sheets in print were scattered on the floors of the cathedral and churches.[1] The image of his majesty, moreover, was grossly disfigured on the coinage,[2] and the supreme junta of Spain ridiculed. And all these seeds of insurrection were so secretly and warily sown that no efforts of the government were effective in sup-
- ↑ On the 6th of October, 1808, Garibay published a decree with the object of suppressing these papers. Hernandez y Dávalos, Col. Doc., i. 608-9.
- ↑ Garibay on the 19th of May, 1809, issued a proclamation offering 2,000 pesos for the discovery of the mutilators of the coins. He says: 'Pretenden vengar el mal éxîto de sus maquinaciones en el real busto de las monedas, de las que han llegado á mis manos varias piezas señaladas de modos diferentes, todos enormemente ofensivos á la magestad, y en odio de la dinastía reynante.' Gaz. de Mex., xvi. 423.
D'Alvimar had no political significance. Alaman, Hist. Mej., i. 359-60. Monsieur Desmolard was Joseph Bonaparte's agent at Baltimore, and the French usurper issued instructions to him which disclosed the plan to excite revolt in Spanish America. The main points were to declare to the Creoles that his imperial majesty had solely in view to give liberty to Spanish America, the only return expected being the friendship of the people and commerce with the country. To effect their independence, his majesty offered all necessary troops and stores. The emissaries were further instructed to point out the advantages which would accrue by suspending the heavy remittances to Spain, and by the acquirement of freedom from commercial and agricultural restrictions. The good-will of the ecclesiastics especially was to be gained, with the object that at the confessional they should urge the necessity of independence. The injustice to which the Creoles were subject in the disposal of public appointments was to be dwelt upon. At the same time the agents were to be careful not to declaim against the inquisition or the church, and on the insurrectional standards the motto 'Viva la Religion católica, apostólica y romana! Perezca el mal gobierno!' was to be inscribed. The servants of governors and high officials were to be won over, and subagents were to keep the principal agents duly informed of the progress made, and these in turn were to communicate with Joseph Bonaparte's envoy in the U. S. A copy of these instructions was found in Caracas, in the office of the secretary to the suprema junta, and forwarded by the junta to the English admiral at the Barbadoes station. Rev. in Span. Amer., 80-7; Walton's Esposé, app. 2-7; Calvo, Annales Hist., i. 43-5. The Spanish government warned the colonial authorities of Bonaparte's machinations. A royal address, dated May 10, 1809, exhorting the inhabitants of New Spain to maintain their loyalty, and be on guard against French intrigues, says 'para que haciendolo público,' that is, the address, 'en esos Dominios se precavan sus naturales de las impresiones siniestras que podrian causarles las maquinaciones é intriguas que nuestros feroces enemigos emplean ahora con mas arte que nunca.' Disposic. Varias, i. f. 141. Garibay on April 18, 1809, published a proclamation forbidding the landing of Frenchmen at the ports, whether they had passports or not. All French settlers also were ordered to appear within eight days before the alcaldes, by whom they were examined. If suspicion attached to any of them, such were to be imprisoned. Gaz. de Mex., xvi. 337-40.
