Costa Ricans, and remained in concealment.
[XVII-2] Goicouría was sent to put down a rebellion in
Chontales, and had a number of men executed. _Perez_, _Mem.
Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 55.
[XVII-3] 1st. To recognize no other govt than Estrada's,
declaring the convention of Oct. 23, 1855, void, and Rivas'
govt null; 2d. To support that govt; 3d. Vest the executive
office in Fernando Guzman till Estrada's return to Nic.; 4th.
Fernando Chamorro recognized as provisional commander of the
forces.
[XVII-4] Walker discovered in Rivas a letter from the
president to Mora treating of peace negotiations, of which
nothing had been hinted to him.
[XVII-5] He issued June 4th a proclamation full of affected
love for the Nicaraguans, and especially for the Leonese,
whom he called illustrious sons of liberty and lovers
of progress. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, June 5, 1856; _El
Nicaragüense_, June 14, 1856.
[XVII-6] It was followed by a change of public opinion in the
U. S. favorable to him, and stopped the official opposition
to the rush of emigrants to Nic. The benefit was, however,
retarded by the combined efforts of the old Transit company's
agents in San Juan del Norte, and of the opposition from
various sources to Walker's plans.
[XVII-7] During Walker's stay in the city he made several
demands, to which the president refused his assent, which
greatly angered him. It was soon discovered that he had
it planned to dispossess Rivas of the executive office.
Naztmer's act was in obedience to his orders. The native
soldiers were sent away, and the capital was left with a
garrison of 200 foreigners. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Aug. 8,
Oct. 24, 1856.
[XVII-8] Had it not been for an American resident, Dawson,
they would have been brought back by Dolan, commandant
at Chinandega, who had been ordered with his men to Leon.
_Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 71. Gen. Mariano Salazar
and others spread the report that the filibusters intended
to murder the authorities. Salazar fell into Walker's hands
later, taken by De Brissot in the gulf of Fonseca July 28th,
and was shot at Granada Aug. 3d. _El Nicaragüense_, Aug. 9,
1856; _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Aug. 27, 1856; _Sac. Union_,
Sept. 6, 1856.
[XVII-9] Decree of June 25th. Officers and men of the
foreign phalanx were required to forsake Walker and submit
to the government, when their rank would be recognized,
their arrears of pay made good, and Nicaraguan citizenship
conferred on them. Such as should disobey, whether native
or foreign, were to be dealt with as traitors. Members of
the foreign phalanx wishing to leave the country were to
be, under another decree of the 28th, permitted to do so.
Those who presented themselves with arms and ammunition,
and prevailed on others to do the same, would be rewarded.
Previously, on the 20th, the colonization decree of Nov. 23,
1855, was suspended. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Aug. 8, 16,
1856.
[XVII-10] Walker assumed to act under the clauses of the
convention of Oct. 23, 1855. His decree bears date of June
20th, and further declares Rivas' acts from the 12th null.
_El Nicaragüense_, June 21, 1856; _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._,
Aug. 8, 1856.
[XVII-11] The official organ published the returns showing
this result. _El Nicaragüense_, July 12, 1856. Rivas'
minister in a circular exposed the whole as a 'tejido de
imposturas y supercherías.' _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Aug. 27,
1856.
[XVII-12] _S. F. Herald_, Aug. 15, 1856; _S. F. Alta_, Aug.
15, 1856.
[XVII-13] Minister Salinas' note of Aug. 12th to the
secretary of state at Washington. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._,
Sept. 4, 1856.
[XVII-14] The other ministers were generals Mateo Pineda and
Manuel Carrascosa. _El Nicaragüense_, July 19, 1856.
[XVII-15] This action was said to have been suggested to win
the sympathies of the slave-owners in the southern states of
the U. S. _Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 79.
[XVII-16] The convention was signed at Guat. July 18,
1856. The following is a synopsis of the chief clauses:
1st. Previous treaties of alliance for defence of their
independence and sovereignty were confirmed; 2d. Stipulated
the union of their forces to expel the adventurers; 3d.
Recognized P. Rivas as the head of a de facto govt in Nic.,
promising aid and coöperation; 7th. Invited Costa R. to join
the others in the enterprise. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Aug.
21, Sept. 10, 1856; _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, i. 436-9.
[XVII-17] Shortly afterward they were joined by Gen. Fernando
Chamorro, some barefooted officers and soldiers, and 12 or
14 Frenchmen. A little later came the Hungarian, Gros, with
300 Indians. The only arms on hand were 300 muskets with 10
mule-loads of ammunition.
[XVII-18] Such was the end of this honorable, enlightened,
and patriotic citizen, who had risen by his virtues, talents,
and learning, from a lowly position to the chief magistracy
of his country. _Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt., 98-100.
[XVII-19] The convention was signed Sept. 12, 1856. It
contained among its clauses that the first legislature
installed should convoke the constituent assembly of 1854, or
issue the bases for the election of another; a gen. amnesty
for past political offences; debts contracted or damages
caused by both parties to be held as indebtedness of the
republic. _Id._, 114-17; _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Sept. 20,
1856.
[XVII-20] Pedro Cardenal, Sebastian Salinas, Nicasio del
Castillo, and Francisco Baca were made ministers of foreign
relations, government, war, and treasury respectively. Jerez
left the cabinet, preferring to serve in the field.
[XVII-21] His troops retreated after setting fire to the
casa de alto, former residence of the chief magistrates
of Nic. The allied army celebrated in Managua the victory
of San Jacinto, a hacienda, north of the plain of Oscotal,
distant one day's march from Granada. It was only a small
affair in reality—120 riflemen under Byron Cole on one side,
and 160 natives under Col D. Estrada on the other—but it
was important in its effects. Cole was captured and killed,
this being the end of the founder of filibusterism in Nic.
Twenty-seven riflemen were slaughtered; and the Nicaraguans
had 55 killed and wounded. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Sept. 26,
1856.
[XVII-22] Troubles between Salvadorans and Nicaraguans were
common. The former fraternized with the democratic Leonese.
The legitimists did the same with the Guatemalans, whose
2d chief, Zavala, by his language and actions, kept up a
bad feeling, not only with the Salvadorans, but with the
Nicaraguans. _Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, pref. ii. and
108.
[XVII-23] Meantime several fights had taken place between the
allied forces and Walker's.
[XVII-24] He had also a small and inefficient Cuban company,
and very few, if any, Cent. Americans, aside from his
ministers Pineda and Carrascosa.
[XVII-25] It has been calculated that from first to last he
lost from 5,000 to 6,000 men by sickness. Several of his
chief officers having died at about the same time, it was
imputed to the natives selling poisoned edibles. A letter
of Feb. 16, 1857, has it that Walker received 4,600 recruits
since June 1855. The author sets down his deserters at 500,
and his dead at no less than 3,600, there being from 1,500
to 2,000 buried in Granada. _Pan. Star and Herald_, Feb.
17, 1857; _Hayes' Scraps_, _Angeles_, ii. 255. However, an
official report of P. R. Thompson, Walker's adj.-gen., dated
Feb. 24, 1857, has the following figures, which do not seem
to express the whole truth, as it might have been injudicious
to have the real facts made known. Original number of men
enlisted 2,288, of whom 61 were officers. Totals of death,
685, of whom 109 were officers; 37 resigned; 206 discharged;
9 dropped; 293 deserted, including 9 officers; leaving a
total of 733 officers and men, with 141 unaccounted for.
_Stout's Nic._, 209.
[XVII-26] Four young Nicaraguans, accused in Masaya of
enticing men to desert, were arrested July 30th, and shot in
a few hours as traitors to the republic! _El Nicaragüense_,
Aug. 3, 1856. Turley and 25 others escaped from Granada, and
attempted to reach Blewfields by way of Chontales, where the
natives, not believing them deserters from Walker, killed all
but one or two who escaped. _Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d
pt, 129; _S. F. Alta_, Oct. 20, 1856.
[XVII-27] Jerez distinguished himself in the defence, and the
gen.-in-chief of the allies, Ramon Belloso, claimed a victory
in his official report of Oct. 13th, adding that Walker 'huyó
despavoridamente á la oscuridad de la noche,' leaving about
50 killed, and carrying off 200 wounded. _Nic._, _Boletin
Ofic._, Oct. 17, Nov. 7, 1856. On the other side, the victory
was claimed for Walker. _S. F. Alta_, Oct. 31, 1856; _S. F.
Herald_, Oct. 31. 1856.
[XVII-28] To look after the arms which had become wet. So
says Perez, adding that Zavala, 'á mas de carecer de juicio,
no conocia el terreno,' and Estrada went entirely by his
directions. _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 131.
[XVII-29] They became intoxicated, and scattered in the
streets after plunder. They discovered an American merchant,
friendly to the filibusters, and killed him forthwith.
[XVII-30] On Zavala and Estrada arriving at Diriomo, a young
Cuban named F. A. Lainé, who had been sent by Goicouría to
complete with Walker an arrangement to liberate Cuba, was
brought to them as a prisoner. He was ordered shot.
[XVII-31] _S. F. Alta_, Nov. 21, 1856; _Hayes' Scraps_,
_Angeles_, ii. 206-7, 222, 232.
[XVII-32] Salvadorans, 1,300; Guatemalans, 1,500 or more;
Nicaraguans under Martinez, no less than 800. _Perez_, _Mem.
Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 134.
[XVII-33] The allies discovered his flight early on the
19th. Several of his men were found asleep, and butchered.
The allied commanders showed lack of generalship. _Perez_,
_Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 135-9. About this time the Cent.
Americans experienced a serious blow in the loss of the Costa
Rican schooner _Once de Abril_., which had on board 110 men,
money, and a large supply of arms, ammunition, etc. After a
heavy gale, she encountered the _San José_, alias _Granada_,
and after two hours' fighting, caught fire and was destroyed.
Most of the wrecked men were picked up by the _San José_. _S.
F. Alta_, Dec. 20, 1856; _S. F. Herald_, Dec. 20, 1856; _Sac.
Union_, Dec. 23, 1856.
[XVII-34] Henningsen had been, it was said, an officer of
the Brit. army, an aide of the Carlist chief Zumalacarregui,
in Spain, and a good democratic writer. His report was as
follows: He had assumed command in the afternoon of Nov. 22,
1856, and had carried out Walker's orders to destroy Granada,
and leave the place, taking away the stores, artillery, sick,
and the American and native families. Some of the church
jewelry was saved by a priest. Gen. D. Sousa saw a filibuster
urinate into a chalice, and then throw the contents at some
women who were also witnesses of the act. _Perez_, _Mem.
Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, p. ii. 150-1, 161-3; _Nic._, _Gaceta_,
May 2, 1868; _Id._, _Telég. Seten._, March 7, 28, 1857;
_Id._, _Boletin Ofic._, Apr. 15, 22, 1857; _S. F. Alta_, Dec.
20, 1856; _Belly_, _Le Nic._, i. 285-6; _Squier's Cent. Am._,
372.
[XVII-35] At 6:30 they had upwards of 40 wounded, and no
surgeons to attend to them. During the night it rained
heavily.
[XVII-36] During the operations, the Guatemalan generals
Paredes, ex-president, and Joaquin Solares died, the latter
of fever on the 28th of November, and the former of cholera
on the 2d of December.
[XVII-37] Several deserters from his camp in the plantain
grove of Doña Sabina had made their appearance among the
allies, so completely famished that they could hardly speak.
[XVII-38] In the southern part of Lake Nicaragua, eight or
nine miles from the coast of Rivas. A large and productive
island having two towns distant 12 miles from one another.
[XVII-39] Oct. 13, 1855, Walker arrived on the coast of
Granada. Dec. 13, 1856, he left these shores never to see
them again. In the small fort, known as El Fuertecito, his
men left a pole with an inscription as a record that Granada
had existed there.
[XVII-40] Xatruch was not credited with much ability; but he
was patriotic and brave, and to his exertions was measurably
due the coöperation of Hond. for the campaign.
[XVII-41] This expedition was promoted by Cornelius
Vanderbilt, president of the Accessory Transit Co., through
his agent Webster, as appeared in a letter from the commander
of the Brit. naval force to the American consul. It was
carried out, with the assistance of Spencer, an Am. engineer,
who had been in the service of the company and was a pilot
on the San Juan. The steamers thus taken were the _Wheeler_,
_Morgan_, _Machuca_, and _Bulwer_. _Perez_, _Mem. Camp.
Nac._, 2d pt, 176-9; _Nic._, _Telég. Seten._, Feb. 28, 1857;
_Astaburuaga_, _Cent. Am._, 100-1; _S. F. Herald_, Jan.
31, 1857; _S. F. Alta_, Jan. 31, 1857. Official reports and
Mora's proclamation in _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Jan. 9, 13,
1857.
[XVII-42] This is recognized with shame in the _Telég.
Seten._, June 6, 1857. Meantime Mora had, on the 10th of
Dec., tendered Walker's officers and soldiers a free passage
to San Juan del Norte and New York; and the govt at Leon had,
on the 22d, annulled the acts of the administration from Nov.
4, 1855, to June 12, 1856, with a few exceptions. A decree
to close the transit between the two oceans was also issued.
_Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Dec. 29, 1856; Jan. 9, 23, 1857.
[XVII-43] Two assaults in force, one by Henningsen with 600
men, and another by Walker himself with 450, failed. Another
was made on the Castillo Viejo, defended by Cauty, met with
the same result, though the assailants took the steamboat
_Scott_, and Cauty had to destroy the _Machuca_. Mora's rept,
Feb. 24, 1857, in _Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 184-94.
[XVII-44] This selection was unfavorably received by the
government, and was accorded but a temporary recognition
till the allied governments should press their wishes. _Id._,
182-4; _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Feb. 18, 1857.
[XVII-45] The following appointments were also made: Cañas,
2d in command; Zavala, adj.-gen.; Xatruch, inspector-gen.;
Chamorro, quartermaster-gen.
[XVII-46] The casualties were 60 killed and 100 wounded.
The survivors returned to Punta de Castilla, refusing to go
on. Lockridge accused them of cowardice, and took away their
arms. But the men claimed the protection of the British naval
commander. Cauty went down in a steamer to the bay April
12th, and after conferring with the Brit. officer, occupied
Punta de Castilla, securing the war material. He then
tendered the men a passage to the U. S. at the expense of
Costa R. This was the end of the famous Lockridge expedition.
_Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt; _Nic._, _Telég. Seten._,
April 11, 1857; _S. F. Herald_, April 21, May 16, 1857; _S.
F. Bulletin_, April 21, 1857; _S. F. Alta_, May 16, 1857;
_Pan. El Centinela_, April 22, 1857; _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._,
April 29, 1857.
[XVII-47] Upwards of 300 killed, wounded, and missing.
[XVII-48] He did so, even though he agreed with Xatruch,
Martinez, and Chamorro that the capitulation should not
be accepted unless Walker pledged himself not to commit
hostilities in future against any of the allied states. He
also wished to be away before the arrival, then expected, of
Gen. Barrios with large reënforcements of Guatemalans and
Salvadorans, who would doubtless claim the glory of ending
the war. _Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 209.
[XVII-49] The terms agreed upon between Walker and Davis
were: 1st. Walker and the 16 officers of his staff were
to leave Rivas with side-arms, pistols, horses, and other
personal effects, under Davis' guaranty that they should not
be molested by the enemy, but allowed to embark on the _Saint
Mary's_ at San Juan del Sur, whence she should convey them to
Panamá; 2d. The other officers of Walker's army would leave
Rivas, with their arms, under the same guaranty, and be sent
by Davis to Panamá in charge of an officer of the U. S.; 3d.
The rank and file, citizens and officials, both the wounded
and well, were to surrender their arms to Davis on a vessel
apart from the deserters, so that there should be no contact
between the former and the latter; 4th. Davis pledged himself
to obtain for Central Americans then in Rivas permission to
remain in their country with protection of life, liberty, and
property; 5th. The officers should be allowed to remain at
San Juan del Sur, under the protection of the U. S. consul,
until an opportunity offered to leave for Panamá or San
Francisco. The instrument bears also the signatures of C.
F. Henningsen, P. Waters, J. W. Taylor, and P. R. Thompson.
_Id._, 210-12; _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, May 6, 17, 28, 1857;
_Id._, _Telég. Seten._, May 9, 16, 23, 1857; _Sac. Union_,
June 16-18, 1857; _S. F. Alta_, June 17, 18, July 1, 2, 1857;
_S. F. Herald_, June 16, 1857; _Belly_, _Le Nic._, i. 287;
_Pineda de Mont_, _Notas_, in _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, ii.
350, 745-6; _Democ. Rev._, July 1857, 117-23; _Astaburuaga_,
_Cent. Am._, 102-3. _Francisco S. Astaburuaga_, _Repúblicas
de Centro-América, ó Idea de su Historia y de su Estado
actual._ Santiago (Chile), 1857, 8vo, map, dedic., and 116
pp. The author of this work held a diplomatic mission from
Chile to Costa Rica, and being desirous of furnishing his
countrymen some information on Central America, prepared his
material, originally for the _Revista de Ciencias y Letras_
of Santiago; succinctly giving the physical peculiarities,
agriculture, commerce, and other resources of the country,
together with a sufficiently instructive sketch of the
history of Central America in general, as well as of each
state comprised in that term, in readable form. At the
end is added his official correspondence with the several
governments of Central America on the projected union of the
Spanish American republics.
[XVII-50] The official correspondence between Mora and the
govt of Nic. shows the high appreciation given by the latter
to the service rendered by Davis. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._,
May 6, 1857.
[XVII-51] A full account of the affair was published in the
government's organ. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, May 28, 1857.
[XVII-52] He had furnished war material to both parties,
and tendered Costa Rica's aid to Martinez. His own words at
embarking expressed the Machiavellian plot: 'Esta república
estará pronto en guerra; dejo las navajas amarradas á los
gallos.' Cañas disapproved in toto of those plans. _Perez_,
_Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 212-13.
[XVII-53] Pres. Martinez of Nic. pronounced it a 'guerra
injusta y traidora.' _Nic._, _Discurso ... Inaug._, 1.
[XVII-54] Full particulars on this war and the terms of
peace, in _Costa R._, _Informe Rel._, 1858, 2-3; _Id._,
_Expos. Mot. del Cambio_, 36-7; _Nic._, _Dec. y Acuerdos_,
1857-8, 10-12, 30-1, 135-6; _Nic._, _Manif. Disc. Inaug._,
no. 5, 3; _Rocha_, _Cód. Nic._, i. 92; _Ayon_, _Consid.
Límites_, 30-2. Perez, while reverting to Costa Rica's
plan to rob Nic. of the River San Juan, and a portion of
the lake, mentions what Nic. had to suffer from the allied
forces during the war. 'Cuantas exigencias, cuantos insultos,
cuantas cosas teniamos que sufrir.' The allies appropriated
as booty Nicaraguan movable property that was taken from the
filibusters. _Mem. Camp. Nac._, _2d pt Carta_ (Pref.), p. ii.
[XVII-55] The official documents connected with the affair
clearly prove that the U. S. govt was desirous of maintaining
an honorable position before the world. _U. S. Govt Doc._,
Cong. 35, Sess. 1, vol. vii., H. Ex. Doc., no. 24, 1-82,
no. 26, 1; _Id._, Id., H. Jour., 165-73, 1302, 1368; _Id._,
Cong. 35, Sess. 1, vol. i., Sen. Ex. Doc., no. 13; _Id._,
Id., vol. xiii., Sen. Doc., no. 63; _Id._, Cong. 35, Sess.
2, vol. vii., no. 10; _Cong. Globe_, 1857-8, 1858-9, Index
'Cent. Am.,' 'Paulding,' 'Walker,' 'Neutrality Laws,'
'Clayton-Bulwer Treaty,' etc.; _Stout's Nic._, 211-21;
_Belly_, _Le Nic._, i. 294-7; _S. F. Bulletin_, Dec. 29,
1857; _S. F. Alta_, Jan. 14, 1858; _Sac. Union_, Feb. 3,
1858.
[XVII-56] To Paulding were voted thanks, a sword of honor,
and 20 caballerías of land. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Aug. 2,
1862; _Id._, _Leyes Emit._, 1830, 3-5; _Rocha_, _Cód. Nic._,
i. 217-20; _Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, xv. 3; _Id._, _Informe
Rel._, 1858, 1-2.
[XVII-57] His ultimate destination was Nicaragua, whose
government hastened preparations for the defence of her
territory, as well as to aid Hond. in the event of her
needing assistance. _Nic._, _Mem. Gobern._, 1861, 9; _Id._,
_Mensaje del Presid._, Jan. 16, 1861.
[XVII-58] He received the consolation of religion from a
catholic priest, having joined that faith to become president
of Nic. His remains were buried in Trujillo. Among his
effects was found the seal of Nicaragua, which with his sword
the government of Hond. transmitted to that of the former.
_La Union de Nic._, Jan. 12, Sept. 28, 1861; _Nic._, _Informe
Gobern._, no. ii. 7-9; _El Nacional_, Sept. 8-0ct. 27, 1860;
_Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 215-16; _Belly_, _Le
Nic._, i. 382; _Eco_, _Hisp.-Am._, Sept. 15-Nov. 15, 1860;
_Diario de Avisos_, Oct. 4, 1860; _Pim's Gate of the Pac._,
49-50; _Harper's Mag._, xxi. 693, 836; _S. F. Bulletin_,
Sept. 3, 8, 17, 19, Oct. 3, 29, Nov. 12, 1860.
[XVII-59] The members were: Vicario capitular, J. H.
Herdocia, J. de la Rocha, H. Zepeda, Gregorio Juarez, and
G. Lacayo; substitutes, J. Baca, F. Diaz Zapata, and Joaquin
Perez. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Jan. 23, 1857.
[XVII-60] The legitimists claimed it to be for the public
weal, whereas the democrats thought it would damage them.
_Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 170-6.
[XVII-61] But for arbitrary measures, on the 12th of June,
the state would have divided into two parts, each following
its own bent, even to incorporation with other states, which
would have been the death of the republic. _Nic._, _Mensaje
del Poder Ejec._, 1857, 2-3.
[XVII-62] _Nic._, _Dec. y Acuerdos_, 1857, 135-8.
[XVII-63] In the decree of convocation the members of the
executive and the ministers were made ineligible for seats in
that body.
[XVII-64] Only two electoral votes were not cast for him.
The constituent assembly, which had been installed Nov.
8th, declared him to have been the people's choice. _Nic._,
_Gaceta_, Apr. 18, 1863.
[XVII-65] _Discurso Inaug._, 3. Tomás Martinez was a native
of Leon, and had been engaged in trade and mining without
taking part in the political agitations of his native
place until the revolution of 1854, which did not meet his
approval. It is believed that his reserve had made him an
object of suspicion on the part of the democrats, which
circumstance forced him to seek a refuge in the ranks of the
conservatives, and to embrace, much against his liking, the
military profession. Martinez was a lineal descendant of an
heroic woman, Rafael Mora, who in 1780 distinguished herself
in the defence of San Juan del Norte against Nelson's attack.
He was in 1857 about 45 years old, tall of stature, and of
reserved deportment. Self-instructed, plain, and unambitious
of popularity, he cared not for honors or display, and
abhorred sycophancy. He never used more words than were
necessary to express his thoughts, and his whole aim, after
he entered public life, was to serve his country. Moreover,
he possessed a kindly disposition, and in his family
relations was affectionate.
[XVII-66] During the war with Costa Rica he commanded the
forces in the field; meantime the executive office was
in charge of Deputy Agustin Avilés. He resumed the latter
Jan. 25, 1858. In the course of his term he several times
provisionally surrendered the office into the charge of
others, on account of illness. _Nic._, _Dec. y Acuerdos_,
1858, 3-7, 32; 1859, ii. 136, 137; 1860, iii. 71, 83-4, 177.
[XVII-67] The several portfolios were also for more or less
time in charge of Pedro Zeledon, J. de la Rocha, Eduardo
Castillo, Gerónimo Perez, Miguel Cárdenas, Nicasio del
Castillo, and H. Zepeda.
[XVII-68] A number of decrees acknowledging the indebtedness
appear in _Nic._, _Dec. y Acuerdos_, 1859, ii. 132-54.
[XVII-69] The catholic religion was placed under state
protection. The government was constituted in three branches;
namely, executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive
authority was vested in a president for four years, without
reëlection for the next term. In his absence or inability,
the office was to go into the hands of the senator called by
congress to fill it. The president was to be a native and
resident of Nic., 30 years of age or upwards, not having
lost the rights of citizenship within five years of the
election, and possessing real estate valued at no less than
$4,000. The legislative power was to consist of a senate
and house of deputies. The senators' term was to be of six
years; they were to be at least 30 years old, and to possess
no less than $2,000 in real estate, one third of their
number to be renewed every two years. The deputies were to
be upwards of 25 years old, and hold for four years, one
half their number being renewed every two years. The natives
of the other Central American states were eligible to the
senate or house, after a residence in Nic. of ten or five
years respectively. No churchman could be chosen president,
senator, or deputy. The justices of the supreme court had to
be lawyers of recognized ability and integrity. They were
to hold office four years, the members being renewed every
two years. The court was divided into two sections with
at least four justices each. The constitution recognized
liberty of thought, speech, writing, and the press; also the
rights of property and emigration. Torture in any form, cruel
punishments, confiscation of property, invasion of private
domicile, and establishment of special courts were strictly
forbidden. It was promulgated Sept. 15, 1858. _Rocha_, _Cód.
Legis. Nic._, i. 25-42; _Lévy_, _Nic._, 309-27; _El Porvenir
de Nic._, Feb. 11, 1872; _Nic._, _Mem. Gobern. y Guerra_,
1859, 3. The bishop and his chapter took the oath to obey it
on the 15th of Apr., 1861. _La Union de Nic._, May 11, 1861.
[XVII-70] Because its acts tended to the organization of
the country. But on the 25th of June, 1858, the government
of José M. Estrada was also exempted from that annulment.
_Rocha_, _Cód. Legis. Nic._, i. 82, 89-90.
[XVII-71] He was appointed minister plenipotentiary, first
in Costa Rica, next in Washington, and was empowered to
negotiate a treaty with the Spanish minister at the latter
place. _Nic._, _Dec. y Acuerdos_, 1857-8, 117, 243, ii. 21.
[XVII-72] Presid. Barrios of Salv. complained of the plots
carried on against him in Nic. by refugees, and made demands,
such as their being denied the use of the press, to which
the Nic. govt could not accede. _Nic._, _Mens. del Presid._,
in _La Union de Nic._, Jan. 19, 1861; _Id._, _Mem. Rel._, in
_Id._, March 2, 1861.
[XVII-73] 'Ningun Nicaragüense preso, ni confinado,
ni expulso por causas políticas; todos son libres, sin
restriccion alguna.' _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Jan. 24, 1863.
[XVII-74] Official corresp. in _Id._, Feb. 7, 1863.
[XVII-75] Treaty of amity, defensive alliance, commerce,
etc., duly ratified. _Id._, April 18, 1863.
[XVII-76] Jerez, Fernando Chamorro, and J. D. Estrada, for
taking part against their government, were degraded to the
ranks. _Id._, May 23, 30, 1863.
[XVII-77] Congress, Feb. 14, 1863, approved all his
administrative acts to date. It had been represented to the
people that Martinez, notwithstanding the clause in the
constitution forbidding reëlection, could be reëlected,
because the powers he had exercised in the past years
had come to him, not under the constitution which was of
subsequent date, but from the convocation decree of Aug.
26, 1857, and his choice was approved by the constituent
assembly.
[XVII-78] _Nic._, _Decretos_, 1867-8, pt ii. 10-11; _Rocha_,
_Cód. Leg. Nic._, i. 220. The cong. of Salv. voted him
a sword of honor for aiding to defeat Barrios and the
federalists. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, June 17, 24, 1865.
[XVII-79] During his second term the following persons
acted as his ministers: E. Castillo, B. Selva, B. Salinas,
B. Portocarrero, R. Alegría, R. Cortés, P. Zeledon, J. F.
Aguilar, J. J. Lescano, and Antonio Silva. _Nic._, _Semanal
Nic._, April 24, 1873.
[XVII-80] 'Quedan fuera de la amnistía todos aquellos que
como autores principales.' _Nic._, _Gaceta_, April 29, May
28, 1864.
[XVII-81] Congress had not only approved his acts, but gave
him two votes of thanks, March 11, 1865, and Jan. 19, 1867.
_Nic._, _Gaceta_, March 18, 1865; _Id._, _Dec. Legisl._,
1865-6, 21-2; 1867-8, 5.
[XVII-82] By 433 electoral votes against 139 cast for Juan
B. Sacasa; necessary for a choice, 285. _Id._, Oct. 27,
1866; _Id._, _Decretos_, 1867-8, pt ii. 4-5; _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Feb. 19, 1867.
[XVII-83] Decrees of Jan. 22 and Feb. 28, 1867. _Nic._, _Dec.
Legisl._, 1867, 10-11, 25-6.
[XVII-84] 'Por estar en oposicion con las atribuciones del
Poder Ejecutivo.' Decree of Jan. 20, 1868. _Id._, 1868, 3.
[XVII-85] _Nic._, _Gaceta_, March 15, 1873; _Id._, _Semanal
Nic._, March 27, 1873.
[XVIII-1] Oct. 22d. _Album Semanal_, Sept. 26, 1856; _Costa
R._, _Col. Ley._, xiv. 41-2, 51-2.
[XVIII-2] The other ministers were Joaquin B. Calvo, of
government and eccles. affairs; and Rafael G. Escalante, of
treasury and war.
[XVIII-3] Dec. 11, 1856. _Costa R._, _Mem. Gobern._, 1857,
2-3.
[XVIII-4] In 1854 the pope bestowed on him the honor of
Knight grand cross of the order of Gregory the Great, and the
Costa Rican congress authorized him to accept it. _Costa R._,
_Col. Ley._, xiii. 28; xiv. 147-9.
[XVIII-5] Dec. 29, 1857, a medal was voted. Again, Feb.
26, 1858, a cross of honor was decreed to the generals and
field-officers. _Id._, 207; xv. 3.
[XVIII-6] Escalante had been vice-president since Oct. 1857,
and at the present time was temporarily in charge of the
executive office. _Id._, xvi. 30-1.
[XVIII-7] Political grievances and private animosities were
brought into action for his overthrow. He was accused of
intending to keep himself in power for life, like Carrera
in Guatemala, as was evidenced by his second reëlection,
which violated both the spirit and letter of the national
institutions; of his having imposed the weight of his own
will on the financial department, the judiciary, and even
the legislature, with the view of setting up the rule of one
family over the ruins of republican liberty; of his having
usurped the property and labor of others for his own benefit.
Even the organization of an army, and his campaign against
Walker, were made to appear as intended to improve his own
pecuniary interests, which were said to be in a very bad
state. The charge of assumption of dictatorial powers does
not seem to be sustained by facts. The opposition journal,
the _Album Semanal_, freely published strong articles against
his administration. Pamphlets filled with vituperation,
and traducing his character, circulated without hindrance;
one of the publications called him the tzar of Costa Rica.
This opposition was fanned by the hatred of persons who had
private grudges against Mora. Among them Vicente Aguilar,
his former partner, who had been made to disgorge $100,000 or
more, of which he had wrongfully deprived Mora. Capitalists
were hostile because the president had chartered a bank. The
sale of a tract of public land near San José, upon which many
persons had settled, was made the subject for much trouble.
The exile of the bishop did not fail to have a powerful
influence. Bishop Llorente had refused to pay, or to allow
his clergy to pay, an equitable tax decreed by congress Sept.
29, 1858, for the support of hospitals. He not only refused
compliance, but incited the populace to revolt. For this
he was expelled. He was, however, after Mora's overthrow,
recalled by the provisional government, and ruled the diocese
till his death, which took place Sept. 23, 1871. _Costa
R._, _Mem. Interior_, 1859, 9; 1860, 4; _Id._, _Col. Ley._,
xvi. 87-8; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Oct. 7, 1871; _El National_,
Jan. 15, 1859; _Belly_, _Le Nicaragua_, i. 379-81. One of
the publications which came out after Mora's downfall, not
only charged him with abuse of power, peculation, and almost
every conceivable offence, but of his having brought himself
into political prominence by intrigue, and by treachery
to Morazan, and to his relations and friends, who, it was
asserted, had been ruined by him. This publication is dated
San José, April 2, 1860, but is anonymous. _Costa R._,
_Expos. ... Motivos ... Cambio Polít._, 37 pp. and 1 I.
[XVIII-8] The provisional administration claimed that the
revolution had not merely changed the personnel, but also
the principles on which the government was based, the people
demanding greater freedom with clearly defined rights and
duties, and a more extended suffrage. _Costa R._, _Mem.
Interior_, 1860, 4; 1863, 2.
[XVIII-9] The govt was divided into three
branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—each
independent of the others. The legislative was vested
in a congress of two chambers, the senate and house of
representatives, and was to meet once a year in ordinary
session, and also to hold extraordinary sessions when
called for specified purposes. The senate was composed of
two senators for each province; the house was composed of
deputies chosen by the provinces in the ratio of population.
The term of the members of both houses was fixed at four
years. The executive authority was vested in a president for
three years, without reëlection for the immediate following
term. He had a council of state to deliberate upon such
affairs as the executive referred to it for advice. The
judiciary consisted of a supreme court, and such other lower
courts as might be established by law. None but a native
citizen, in full possession of his civil and political
rights, could be president, or member of the supreme court.
Churchmen were ineligible. _Costa R._, _Constituc. Polít._,
1-35; _Id._, _Col. Ley._, xvi. 110-45.
[XVIII-10] First designado, Francisco Montealegre; second,
Vicente Aguilar. _Id._, xvi. 169-71.
[XVIII-11] In January, Prudencio Blanco and others attempted
a revolution in Guanacaste, now called Moracia, and failed.
A decree of outlawry was issued against them Jan. 20, 1860,
and their property was made amenable for the government's
expenses. Another insurrection took place in Esparza with
the same result, the govt issuing a decree of similar
nature Sept. 16th, and on the 18th another, suspending the
constitution. This last decree was revoked March 18, 1861.
_Id._, xvi. 153-4, 188, 218-21; xvii. 9.
[XVIII-12] This place had been heavily intrenched, and a
battery mounted in it, which was protected on both flanks by
armed boats in the estuary, etc.
[XVIII-13] _Belly_, _Le Nic._, i. 382; _El Nacional_, Oct.
13, 27, Nov. 10, 1860; _Eco Hisp.-Am._, Oct. 31, 1860; _S.
F. Bulletin_, Oct. 24, 25, 29, Nov. 14, 27, 1860; _S. F.
Herald_, Oct. 29, 1860; _Harper's Monthly Mag._, xxii. 113;
_Laferrière_, _De Paris à Guatémala_, 59-60.
[XVIII-14] The _Gaceta Oficial_, evidently inspired
by President Martinez, forgot past grievances, only to
bear in mind affectionately the promoter of the holy war
for independence. In fact, Mora was in the eyes of both
foreigners and natives the personification of Central
American patriotism.
[XVIII-15] It will be remembered that Cañas served with
distinction in the war against Walker.
[XVIII-16] Apr. 29, 1860. _Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, xvi.
172-3; xvii. 87. A more gen. one was decreed May 1, 1862.
[XVIII-17] During this administration national industries
were developed, and the country became more prosperous than
ever. _Belly_, _Le Nic._, i. 383-6.
[XVIII-18] May 1, 1863. Men of all parties voted for him.
_Costa R._, _Mem. Min. Interior_, 1863, 1; _Id._, _Col.
Ley._, xviii. 15-16.
[XVIII-19] Congress afterward decreed that Montealegre's
portrait should be placed in the office of the president.
_Belly_, _Le Nic._, i. 386-7; _Costa R._, _Informe Min.
Interior_, 1864, 4; _Id._, _Discurso, Dr J. M. Montealegre_,
1863, 1.
[XVIII-20] _Costa R._, _Programa Admin._, 1863, 1. Jimenez
adopted the high-handed measure of dissolving congress. In
a proclamation to the people he stated that a majority of
the members had established a systematic opposition to his
government, and usurped all power in direct violation of the
constitution. _Id._, _Prod. del Presid._, Aug. 1, 1863.
[XVIII-21] Ending May 8, 1869. _Id._, _Col. Ley._, 1876,
111-12; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Feb. 17, Apr. 21, May 26, 1866.
Castro in his inaugural address used these words: 'Quiero
que mi patria, ya que no pueda ser temida por su fuerza, sea
considerada por su justificacion y cordura.... No tenemos
escuadras; tengamos la simpatía de las naciones.' _Costa R._,
_Discurso Inaug., Presid. J. M. Castro_, 1-3.
[XVIII-22] May 15, 1866. They were 2 for each department,
making together 16, besides the ministers. _Costa R._, _Col.
Rey._, 1866, 114-16.
[XVIII-23] _Nic._, _Gaceta_, May 25, 1867.
[XVIII-24] Castro's enemies averred that his course was
very mysterious, and some even suspected an intention on
his part to retain power in his hands, though he supported
the candidacy of his minister, Julian Volio. They said that
the barracks assumed a menacing attitude, and Castro was
on the point of decreeing several military promotions of
members of his own family, and concentrating all the forces
of the republic in and about his own residence. It came to
be believed that he intended to nullify Salazar first, and
Blanco next. But the former had in his favor most of the
wealthy families, as well as a large support in Alajuela,
Heredia, and Cartago. To make the story short, Salazar and
Blanco concluded to act together. _El Quincenal Josefino_,
no. 32, in _Star and Herald_, Dec. 24, 26, 1868. The editor
of this publication was Lorenzo Montúfar. Whatever may be
asserted against Castro, he had proved himself a liberal,
enlightened, and upright ruler. His administration had
given conclusive proof that the president valued liberty
of the press and speech as necessary to the existence of a
republican government. The country had been enjoying those
privileges, and prospering as it had never done before. _U.
S. Minister J. B. Blair, to Sec. Fish_, June 23, 1873.
[XVIII-25] The troops and people seemed to acquiesce in
the new order of things. There was no bloodshed. Castro was
left perfectly free in his own house. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Nov.
28, Dec. 5, 1868; Jan. 23, March 20, 1869; _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Nov. 17, 1868; _Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, xvii. 202-9;
_U. S. Mess. and Doc._ (Dept of State, pt ii.), p. xii.;
_Laferrière_, _De Paris à Guatém._, 60-2.
[XVIII-26] Art. 5th, after declaring the Roman catholic
religion to be that of the state, recognizes toleration of
other forms of worship; 6th, makes primary education of both
sexes obligatory, free, and to be provided by the nation,
placing it under the direction of the municipal authorities;
17th, declares the military subordinate to the civil
authority, strictly passive, and forbidden to deliberate on
political affairs; 72d, grants eligibility for the position
of deputy to naturalized citizens after four years' residence
from the date of the certificate of naturalization. _Costa
R._, _Col. Ley._, 1869, 24-59. Art 31st recognized freedom
of the press, and yet it was considerably modified by a press
law issued by the provisional govt. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, May 8,
1839.
[XVIII-27] _Costa R._, _Informe Gobern._, etc., 1869, 12-15,
26-7; _Id._, _Informe Hac., Rel._ etc., 1869, 1-2. J. M.
Montealegre had been the other candidate. _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Dec. 19, 1868.
[XVIII-28] May 29, 1869. The action of the courts was
restored May 31st. But the president had now unrestricted
powers. _Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, 1869, 94-5, 100-1, 103.
_Nic._, _Gaceta_, June 19, 1869.
[XVIII-29] Those men drove to the barracks in an ox cart,
covered by grass, and dashed in. It looks as if there must
have been connivance on the part of the guard. Biscoubi had
been, it is understood, invited to join the movement, but
refused to lend himself.
[XVIII-30] Among the charges contemplated were that they
had appropriated large sums out of the public treasury for
personal purposes, and that upwards of $20,000 had been given
Eusebio Figueroa to go on a trip of pleasure to Europe.
[XVIII-31] The ministers were then placed under bonds. _Id._,
June 18, July 9, 1870.
[XVIII-32] April 29, 1870, Tomás Guardia was promoted to gen.
of division, and Victor Guardia to gen. of brigade. The two
Quirozes and Próspero Fernandez were made colonels. Other
officers also rose in rank. _Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, xix.
41-4, 50-1.
[XVIII-33] This person was a captain early in 1856, and went
as Gen. Cañas' aide-de-camp to the Nic. campaign against
Walker. On his return he was made a maj. As comandante of
Alajuela he revolted against Presid. Castro Nov. 1, 1868. We
have seen how he came to be made a general of division.
[XVIII-34] Guat. had several times attempted interference in
Costa Rican affairs, insisting on the suppression of liberty
of the press, and on other violations of law, all of which
had been refused. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Aug. 27, 1870.
[XVIII-35] Report, Aug. 22, 1870, by Minister Lorenzo
Montúfar to the national constituent assembly. _Costa R._,
_Mem. Rel._, 1870, 1.
[XVIII-36] His ministers who countersigned that decree were
B. Carazo, Pedro García, Lorenzo Montúfar, and in the absence
of J. Lizano, sec. of the treasury, Salvador Gonzalez as
under-secretary. García and Carazo were made brigadiers.
García resigned Oct. 28th, and was succeeded by José Antonio
Pinto. _Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, xix. 124-6, 150.
[XVIII-37] Vicente Herrera, Aniceto Esquivel, Jesus Salazar,
Cárlos Sancho, and Rafael Barroeta. _Id._, 127-31.
[XVIII-38] For supposed revolutionary schemes. It was even
alleged that there was a plot to murder Guardia. _Costa R._,
_Gac. Ofic._, May 12, 1871; _Nic._, _Gac._, May 27, June 3,
1871.
[XVIII-39] Excluding the president, his ministers, and the
bishop from being electors. _Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, xx.
118-22.
[XVIII-40] The legislative consisted of a chamber of
deputies chosen for four years. During recess it was to
be represented near the executive by a comision permanente
of five deputies. All citizens able to read and write, and
possessing property to the value of $500, or an occupation
yielding $200 a year, could be chosen deputies, excepting
the president, his ministers, members of the supreme court,
and governors. Deputies could accept no offices except
ministerial or diplomatic, and then they must resign the
elections. The executive was vested in a president for four
years, who must be a native, thirty years and upwards, and
could not be reëlected for the next immediate term. He was
allowed a council of state, composed of his ministers, the
members of the comision permanente, and others that he might
invite to join the deliberations. The judicial authority was
vested in a supreme court, whose members must be natives of
the country, and such other courts as might be established
by law. _Id._, xx. 171-206; _El Porvenir de Nic._, Jan. 14,
1872; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Jan. 13, 1872.
[XVIII-41] Guardia went to Europe, where he was treated with
marked consideration. _Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, xxi. 48-51;
xxii. 6. During his absence there was no harmony between the
acting president and the chief of the forces, Victor Guardia,
nor between the latter and the commandant of artillery.
_Nic._, _Semanal Nic._, Oct. 17, 1872.
[XVIII-42] Guardia was accused of affording aid to the
supporters of retrogression against the liberal governments
existing in those states; and of openly permitting an
expedition to sail on the _Sherman_ to commit hostilities
against the other Cent. Am. states. _El Porvenir de Nic._,
Aug. 10, 1873; _Aguirre_, _Recortes de un Periód._, 5-6.
Circular of Nic. Foreign Min., Sept. 5, 1876, in _Salv._,
_Gaceta Ofic._, Oct. 26, 1876.
[XVIII-43] As an open infringement of previous conventions,
international law, and Costa Rica's rights. _U. S. Gov.
Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., Cong. 43, Sess. 2, i. 113, 116.
[XVIII-44] A. H. Rivas, foreign minister of Nic., Nov. 11th,
in doing so, added that they were guarding their interests
against Costa Rica's insidious projects, in gathering large
quantities of war material to favor disgruntled Nicaraguans,
which his govt well knew, though not officially. _Nic._,
_Gaceta_, Nov. 15, 1873; _Id._, _Informe Min. Delgadillo_,
1-14; _Nic._, _Mem. Gobern._, 1875, 6-7.
[XVIII-45] _Nic._, _Gaceta_, App., Dec. 3, 1873; _Nic._,
_Semanal Nic._, Nov. 29, 1873.
[XVIII-46] It passed a decree on the 29th of November to
check all violations of neutrality, and in a note to the
other governments expressed itself in terms of conciliation,
tantamount to a withdrawal of the circular of Oct. 24th.
_Id._, suppl., Dec. 2, 13, 1873; _El Porvenir de Nic._, Dec.
11 1873; _Nic._, _Semanal Nic._, Dec. 11, 1873.
[XVIII-47] As stated in his organ, _El Costaricense_, no. 17,
suppl.
[XVIII-48] A number of persons who had promoted the new
policy, particularly some members of the cabinet, for their
credulity and good intentions became the victims of Guardia's
wrath, and were banished from their homes. Gonzalez had been
let down easy, as having declined to continue in charge of
the executive. _Costa R._, _Pap. Sueltos_, nos. 11, 12;
_Id._, _Col. Ley._, xxii. 194, 197, 200; 1874, 34-5, 53;
_Nic._, _Gaceta_, Dec. 20, 1873; _Nic._, _Semanal Nic._, Dec.
11, 20, 1873.
[XVIII-49] He resumed control of the govt Nov. 4-5, 1875.
_Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, xxiii. 75-6, 275.
[XVIII-50] _Costa R._, _Pap. Sueltos_, nos. 13, 14; _Id._,
_Informe Gobern._, 1875, app. 16-21; _Nic._, _Correspond.
sobre Recl._, 3-17; _Nic._, _Mens. Presid._, 1875, 5-6.
[XVIII-51] _El Costaricense_, March 24th, said that the
mission of Jerez was from Barrios, president of Guat., to
Guardia. The _Quincenal Josefino_, March 26th, gave it as
a certainty that Nic. would propose the withdrawal of both
forces from the frontier as a conciliatory measure. The
whole trouble arose from the boundary dispute. _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Apr. 4, 1876.
[XVIII-52] _Costa R._, _Mensaje_, 1876, 2; _Id._, _Col.
Ley._, xxiv. 24-5.
[XVIII-53] He assumed the office on the 8th, and formed his
cabinet with Juan R. Mata, S. Lizano, M. Carazo Peralta, and
B. Morales. _Id._, 36-8; _Id._, _Discurso ... Presid._, 1876,
1-4; _Salv._, _Gaceta Ofic._, May 22, 1876.
[XVIII-54] He had been declared a benemérito, and given
a vote of thanks. _Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, xxiv. 62.
Guardia's administration during the past six years was
highly extolled in the _Gaceta Oficial_ of San José. It
said that his surrender of power proved the falsity of the
charge that he had intended holding it for life. We shall
see how much this statement was worth. It claimed for him
that he had at all times blended leniency with firmness,
which facts fail to establish. He was equally credited with
increasing the revenues by his successful measures to repress
smuggling; with protecting industry and labor; endeavoring
to provide the country with a railroad between the two
oceans; improving the morale of the country; spreading public
education; promoting political and commercial relations
with other countries; forwarding public works; and lastly,
vigorously defending Costa Rica's rights against Nicaragua's
pretensions. _Salv._, _Gaceta Ofic._, May 22, 1876. On the
other hand, we are told that Costa Rica's revenues were
squandered in keeping 2,000 men on the frontier as a menace
to Nicaragua. _Pan. Star and Herald_, June 1, 1876. Guardia
has been justly called a tyrant, because of his arbitrary
acts and violations of the constitution. Electoral and
parliamentary freedom, under his rule, was a farce; results
at elections being what his will dictated, and congress
being mostly made up of his immediate friends and a number of
puppets. There were some honorable exceptions, like that of
Zacarías García, who, for acting as a real representative of
the people, was imprisoned without protest on the part of his
colleagues. The independence of the three powers, personal
rights, freedom of the press, and other constitutional
guaranties, were repeatedly trampled upon by Guardia, by his
favorite, Pedro Quiroz, and by other satellites. Justices
of the supreme court and numerous other prominent citizens
were either imprisoned, banished, or mulcted in heavy sums
of money, without any form of trial having preceded. José
M. Castro, chief justice, and Salvador Jimenez, justice of
the supreme court, were by Guardia's autocratic command
made to live for a time on the Pacific coast. Even his
brother, Victor Guardia, was harshly treated for showing an
independent spirit; and his brother-in-law, Leon Fernandez,
was several months kept in irons for some mysterious offence
that was never brought to trial, and afterward transferred
to a horrible dungeon in Limon, where he was cruelly
treated until he succeeded in effecting his escape. Other
infringements of the laws are also mentioned, and not a few
cases of brutality, even the use of the lash on respectable
citizens, which Guardia and his myrmidons were challenged
to contradict to the face of Costa Ricans. _Aguirre, J. M._,
_Recortes ... Corresp. Hist. Polít._, 1-21. This is a letter
dated and published at Panamá May 1, 1876, and addressed to
Francisco Chavez C., editor of _El Costaricense_, Guardia's
press organ, whom he handles without gloves for his defence
of Guardia's acts and abuse of Guardia's opponents. The
writer had been one of the victims of both, and was evidently
well posted on the history of Guardia's rule. Making
allowance for exaggeration in some instances, the conclusion
to be arrived at is that Guardia acted like an autocrat who
would brook no opposition. It does not appear, however, that
he was sanguinary.
[XVIII-55] The people took no part. It was a result of
the abuse by the salaried press of the government, of the
violation of pledges, and the tacit authorization of crimes
against good and loyal servants of the country. _Salv._,
_Gac. Ofic._, Aug. 20, 1876. Nepotism was also probably a
cause. Esquivel's min. of pub. works, and the superintendent
of the railroad were brothers-in-law of his. Incompetency,
mismanagement, and waste were said to prevail. _Pan. Star
and Herald_, June 1, Aug. 18, 1876. The government of Nic.
attributed Esquivel's downfall mainly to his friendly policy
toward her, which did not suit Guardia. Circular of Nic.
Foreign Min., Sept. 5, 1875, in _Salv._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Oct
26, 1876.
[XVIII-56] He represented himself as free from political
animosities, and promised to maintain order, and to push the
work of the railroad. He created a council of state of five
members, one of whom was Víctor Guardia. _El Costaricense_,
Aug. 4, 10, 1876; _Costa R._, _Col. Ley._, xxiv. 145.
[XVIII-57] Because her govt had refused him recognition.
_Costa R._, _Informe Rel._, 1877, 1-3. Guardia had been
appointed plenipotentiary to Guat. and Salv. He visited Guat.
first, and arrived at San Salvador Aug. 3d. In presenting
his credentials he said that he had been instructed to pave
the way for the fusion of the positive interests of Cent. Am.
The real object of his mission seems, however, to have been
to enlist the two governments in his projects of war against
Nic. Both failed him. _Salv._, _Gac. Ofic._, Aug. 5, 15,
Dec. 7, 1876; Feb. 25, 1877; _Pan. Star and Herald_, Jan. 17,
1877; _Nic._, _Mem. Rel._, 1879, p. iii.-iv. 23-5. Relations
with Nic. were not restored till June 30, 1878. _Costa R._,
_Col. Ley._, xxiv. 168-9; xxv. 97-8.
[XVIII-58] Almost his first act was to dismiss from the
educational establishments the able teachers who had been
brought out at great expense, replacing them with jesuits.
For this act he was rewarded with an autograph letter from
the pope. He removed the competent foreigners from the
management of the railroad on the plea of economy, employing
in their places inefficient, because inexperienced, natives;
the result being deterioration of rolling stock, and general
mismanagement. He forbade cutting rubber on the waste lands,
and imposed a duty of 3 cents per ℔. He tried to force Great
Britain to recall one of her consular agents. _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Jan. 20, 1877.
[XVIII-59] He pretended to temporarily do so on the plea of
ill health.
[XVIII-60] He chose Pedro Quiróz and Rafael Barroeta his
substitutes. _Costa R._, _Informe Gobern._, 1878, 2.
[XVIII-61] Appointing members of the supreme court, enacting
laws, and discharging the functions of a consultive council.
_Id._, 1878, 1-2; _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Sept. 25, Oct. 11,
1878.
[XVIII-62] Promulgated the 18th by Guardia. _Costa R._, _Col.
Ley._, xxv. 186-7, 210-11, 217-19, 228-30; _Id._, _Col. Disp.
Legis._, 1878, 16-17.
[XVIII-63] Decree of Dec. 19, 1877. _U. S. Gov. Doc._, H. Ex.
Doc., 45th Cong., 3d Sess., i. 76-9. Relations with Hond.
were also interrupted in 1878. _Costa R._, _Informe Min.
Rel._, 1879, 2; _Id._, _Col. Ley._, xxv. 237.
[XVIII-64] _Costa R._, _Col. Disp. Legis._, 1878, 19-20,
25-6; _Id._, _Procl._, Jan. 24, 1878; _Id._, _Informe
Gobern._, 1878, 2-3; _Id._, _Inf. Guerra y Marina_, 1878, 2.
[XVIII-65] Finally Mora was forbidden by the Nicaraguan
government to reside within the eastern and southern
departments. _Nic._, _Mem. Rel._, 1879, p. iv.
[XVIII-66] Sept. 12, 1878. _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Oct. 11,
1878.
[XVIII-67] _Costa R._, _Instal. Asamblea Legis._, 1880, 7 f.
[XVIII-68] Abolition of capital punishment adopted; also
the following clauses: laws to have no retroactive effect;
all persons, not convicted of crime, were free, and to have
the privilege of entering and leaving the republic; right
of congregating unarmed to discuss public affairs, and
the conduct of officials, of petitioning individually or
collectively, and of expressing political opinions, together
with freedom of the press fully recognized. _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Oct. 16, 1880.
[XVIII-69] Free expressions of opinion were an open road to
persecution. _Id._, Nov. 6, 1880.
[XVIII-70] _Costa R._, _Honores Fún._, 1882, 1-59; _Pan. Star
and Herald_, July 20, 1882.
[XVIII-71] Fernandez was born in San José July 18, 1834.
He received a portion of his education in Guat., and at 18
years of age entered the Costa Rican army. In 1854 he was a
sub-lieutenant, and in 1856 served in Nic. against Walker. In
1860 he fought against the invaders under Ex-presid. Mora at
Angostura. In 1870 he was one of the few men that captured
the artillery barracks, thereby causing the overthrow of
Presid. Jimenez. During Guardia's rule he held several
positions of trust and rose to gen. of division. His wife was
named Cristina Guardia. _Costa R._, _Boletin Ofic._, March
14, 1885; _Id._, _Gaceta_, April 30, 1885.
[XVIII-72] Aug. 11, 1882, a gen. amnesty for political
offences to date was decreed.
[XVIII-73] A sort of compromise was agreed to; a few
officials were removed, and the _Quincenal Josefino_,
Montúfar's journal, ceased publication. _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Feb. 24, 1883.
[XVIII-74] They were embarked the 19th at Limon; and the
fact was telegraphed the same day to the other Cent. Am.
governments by Sec. of State Castro. _El Guatemalteco_, July
30, 1884; _Costa R._, _Informe Rel._, 1885, 17, 89-91; _Pan.
Star and Herald_, Sept. 18, 1885.
[XVIII-75] July 19th, cemeteries were secularized. July 22d,
religious orders were suppressed. All these executive decrees
were countersigned by Minister Bernardo Soto, who later
became president. _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, June 9, 1885.
[XVIII-76] The federation plan had been opposed in 1883
by Costa Rica refusing to accredit delegates. _Costa R._,
_Gaceta_, Feb. 3, 1885; _U. S. Gov. Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., Cong.
48, Sess. 1, pt 1, 54.
[XVIII-77] _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, March 9-12, 1885.
[XVIII-78] Further honors to his memory at a later date. Aug.
3, 1885, it was ordered that his bust should be placed in the
public square of San José. _Id._, March 13, 14, Aug. 5, 1885;
_La Estrella de Pan._, March 28, 1885; _El Universal_ (Pan.),
March 17, 1885; _Pan. Star and Herald_, March 23, Sept. 9,
1885.
[XVIII-79] Soto is a native of Alajuela, Feb. 12, 1854; his
parents being Gen. Apolinar de J. Soto, and Joaquin Alfaro.
He was educated in Costa Rica, and in 1877 was admitted
to the bar, and practised the legal profession till 1880,
when he travelled in the U. S. On his return he was made
governor of the province of Alajuela, in which position he
exerted himself for the advancement of the province. He did
not complete his term, having to make a visit to Europe. On
his return in April 1882, he was again appointed governor
of Alajuela, and in August of the same year the executive
called him to fill a position in his cabinet as minister
of government, police, and public works. Apr. 19, 1885, he
married Pacífica, a daughter of Ex-president Fernandez; and
May 15th, congress declared him a benemérito, and gen. of
division. _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, May 16, June 9, 1885.
[XVIII-80] The first named was given the portfolio of foreign
affairs. _Id._, March 13, 14, 1885.
[XVIII-81] Circular of March 17, 1885. It also explained
the motives prompting Costa R., Salv., and Nic. to resist
Barrios' projects. _Id._, _Manif. del Gob._, 1885-6. Costa
R. sent a contingent of troops to Nic., Hond., and Salv. Her
troops, however, had no opportunity to fight. Presid. Soto
tendered his resignation on the 5th of June, but it was not
accepted, and extraordinary powers were conferred on him for
sixty days. _Id._, _Gaceta_, May 22, 23, June 6, 1885.
[XVIII-82] He was also deprived of his political rights, 'por
el delito de conspiracion para rebelion, cometido en servicio
activo de las armas.' _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, Nov. 27, 1885.
[XIX-1] In 1829, when convents were closed in Guat., he
had to leave the cloister, and afterward obtained a papal
dispensation from his vows. He then studied law, and received
the degree of licentiate in 1836.
[XIX-2] Slowness and procrastination ruled supreme. A citizen
of Salvador said of Dueñas to describe his policy: 'El mejor
caballo para Dueñas es el que no anda.'
[XIX-3] In Jan. 1866 he married a wealthy widow, who had been
educated in the U. S. That same year the university conferred
on him the degree of doctor of laws. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Feb.
3, March 3, 1866.
[XIX-4] The Hondurans claimed on the strength of art. 8th
of the treaty concluded at Santa Rosa on the 25th of March,
1862, the concentration in the interior of Salvador of Gen.
Florencio Xatruch, the priest Miguel Bustillo, and José
Manuel Selva, Hondurans; and also of certain Nicaraguans,
who after their rebellion against the government of Fernando
Guzman in their own country, had found a refuge in Salvador,
and made common cause with the enemies of President Medina,
because he had supported Guzman with the moral and diplomatic
influence of his government. The Salvadoran negotiator denied
that Xatruch was a political refugee. He was sent by Nic.
in 1863 to Salv. at the head of an auxiliary force. Later
with Nicaragua's permission he was employed by Salv., he
being since 1858 a general of division of her army, a rank
conferred on him for his services against Walker and his
filibusters; and was therefore entitled to all the rights of
a Salvadoran citizen. Salv. pledged, however, that he would
do no hostile act against Hond. As to adopting any action
against the Nicaraguans, the demand could not be acceded
to, because they did not come under the provisions of the
treaty with Honduras, nor were they political refugees at
all. The commissioner of Salv. made counter-charges: 1st.
Hond. had violated art. 9 of the treaty of Santa Rosa, in
that her legislature had empowered the executive to declare
war against Salv. without first complying with the terms
of that clause. 2d. She had allowed asylum to Salvadoran
refugees, giving them employment on the frontier of Salv.,
where they had been constantly plotting and uttering menaces
against their govt, using arms obtained from Honduran govt
warehouses. All remonstrances against such proceedings
had been disregarded. 3d. Hond., heeding false reports,
had raised 1,500 men, keeping a portion on the Salv.
frontier, and maintaining a warlike attitude. The Honduran
commissioners denied the correctness of the charges, and
quoted instances in which their government had given proofs
of deference and friendship toward its neighbor. _Salv._,
_Protocolo de las Conf._, 1-16.
[XIX-5] Nic. had mediated on behalf of peace, accrediting H.
Zepeda and M. Montealegre as commissioners at Amapala. But
an affair of arms at Pasaquina frustrated the efforts of the
legation. Circular of Nic. Foreign Min., Sept. 5, 1876, in
_Salv._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Oct. 26, 1876.
[XIX-6] The oligarchs pretended contempt for Medina's action;
some said, 'Medina es un loco, y Honduras un esqueleto;'
others, 'La quijotesca actitud de Honduras afianzará mas
nuestro poder.' _Uriarte_, _Observ. ... Union Rep. Cent.
Am._, 3.
[XIX-7] It was said that Medina was enticed into assisting
the liberals, under the delusion that they would call him to
rule over the united states of Guat., Salv. and Hond.
[XIX-8] San Salvador, the capital, had been several days
fortified awaiting an assault, but the invaders, not knowing
how much force there might be at hand for its defence,
preferred to march on to Santa Ana.
[XIX-9] _Hond._, _Boletin Ofic._, no. 2, contains the
official report of the action, copied in _Nic._, _Gaceta_,
March 13, 1871.
[XIX-10] A guard was kept around the minister's house as long
as Dueñas was his guest.
[XIX-11] He was kept there, treated with respect and
consideration till after his trial. The particulars of his
surrender appear in the official correspondence of Min.
Torbert with both his own and the Salvadoran governments. _U.
S. Gov. Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., Cong. 42, Sess. 2, i. 693-5.
[XIX-12] There was no reason to keep him a prisoner. He could
no longer injure Medina, and moreover, the government took
into account his valuable services to Cent. Am. in 1856-7
against Walker. _Laferrière_, _De Paris à Guatémala_, 197-8.
[XIX-13] The process was accordingly passed to the cámara de
2d instancia. _El Porvenir de Nic._, June 2, 1872.
[XIX-14] The revolution was declared one for the restoration
of the people's rights, Gonzalez being recognized as
provisional president. His recall of the supreme court was
approved of.
[XIX-15] Freedom to meet peaceably for the discussion of
public affairs and the conduct of the rulers; freedom
of speech and of the press were fully recognized and
established, as also the inviolability of life, personal
liberty, property, and honor, which no man could be
deprived of except for cause after undergoing a fair
trial. A citizen's domicile and private papers were also
declared inviolable. Primary instruction was to be uniform,
gratuitous, and obligatory. Secondary and superior education
were to be free, though subject to the supervision of the
civil authorities. Passports were abolished. The Roman
catholic was declared to be the state religion, but other
christian sects not repugnant to morality and good order
were tolerated. Foreigners could become naturalized after
two years' residence, and Spanish Americans after one year.
All Salvadorans of 21 years or upwards, and of good moral
character, were citizens, provided they had either one of the
following qualifications: being father of a family, or head
of a household; knowing how to read and write; possessing an
independent livelihood. Those of only 18 years of age having
a literary degree were also voters. The military in active
service could neither vote nor be voted for. The government
was vested in three distinct powers: legislative, composed
of a senate, renewable yearly by thirds, each senator owning
at least $2,000 in real estate, and a house of deputies, the
whole renewed yearly; the executive, vested in a president
owning at least $10,000 in real estate, his term being
for only two years; and the judiciary, consisting of the
supreme and lower courts. No ecclesiastic was eligible.
The president, vice-president, and members of both houses
of congress were to be chosen by electoral colleges.
_Laferrière_, _De Paris á Guatémala_, 199-202; _El Porvenir
de Nic._, Nov. 26, 1871; Jan. 7, 1872; _Ruiz_, _Calend.
Salv._, 70.
[XIX-16] Full Sp. text in _Laferrière_, _De Paris á
Guatémala_, 343-82; _U. S. Govt Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., Cong.
43, Sess. 1, For. Rel., ii. 788-94, 811-20; _Nic._, _Gaceta_,
Nov. 30, 1872; _Nic._, _Semanal Nic._, Nov. 28, 1872.
[XIX-17] Salvador's acceptance of the war declared by
Hond. March 25th was signed by President Gonzalez, and
countersigned by his cabinet; namely, Gregorio Arbizú, min.
of foreign rel.; Manuel Mendez, min. of pub. instruction;
Borja Bustamante, min. of the treasury and war; and Antonio
G. Valdés, acting min. of govt. _El Porvenir de Nic._, May
12, 1872.
[XIX-18] A plot was to break out simultaneously in San
Salvador, San Vicente, Sensuntepeque and Cojutepeque, with
ramifications in Guatemala. The Indians of Cojutepeque rose
against the garrison and were beaten off.
[XIX-19] The report was dated Oct. 4th, and signed by the
ministers, G. Arbizú, J. J. Samayoa, and Fabio Castillo. The
legislative sanction was given Oct. 14th. Report of Thomas
Biddle, Am. minister, in _U. S. Govt Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., For.
Rel., Cong. 43, Sess. 1, ii. 784-7.
[XIX-20] Mendez held also the position of minister of public
instruction, justice, and ecclesiastical affairs. He was
an honorable, energetic, and talented man, and his loss
was much deplored by the country, and particularly by Pres.
Gonzalez. _U. S. Govt Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., Cong. 42, Sess. 3,
i. 547-8. The republic also lost this year, Dec. 10th, one
of her most gifted and valuable sons, Gregorio Arbizú, who
had likewise been vice-president, and for many years minister
of foreign relations. His funeral was conducted and the
expenses defrayed by the government, as a mark of respect and
appreciation of his services. _Nic._, _Semanal Nic._, Dec.
26, 1872.
[XIX-21] He was captured in Jan. 1875, and shot on the 29th
of Apr. _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Jan. 20, May 1, 1875.
[XIX-22] Such was the flattering account given by the
government to the national congress, on the opening of its
labors Jan. 18th. _Salv._, _Mensaje del Presid._, Jan. 20.
1875; _Id._, _Mem. Sec. Rel. Exter._, 1875, 1-12; _Id._,
_Diario Ofic._, Jan. 20, 1875.
[XIX-23] Under a decree of amnesty of Nov. 2, 1875. _Salv._,
_Diario Ofic._, Nov. 4, 1875.
[XIX-24] The governments of Guat., Nic., and Hond. tendered
aid. The rebels were eventually pardoned after some months'
imprisonment. _Pan. Star and Herald_, July 6, 28, 1875;
_Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, June 23 to July 21, 1875.
[XIX-25] This intervention was apparently on the ground
of humanity, to stop the civil war raging there. But the
main reason recognized was that the situation in Hond. was
a menace to Salv., and might lead to an interruption of
friendly relations between the latter and Guat. Salv., on
being accused of violating the compact, alleged that by
strict rights it had become obsolete after the action of
Naranjo, when Leiva's administration demolished its foes and
recovered its full authority. However, Salv. was disposed
to fulfil her agreement. _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, March 23,
1876.
[XIX-26] These decrees were countersigned by the other
ministers, J. Barberena, F. Lainfiesta, and Joaquin Macal.
_Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._, 202-6; _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Apr. 17, 1876.
[XIX-27] It denies all the charges of Barrios and his govt as
unfounded in fact and slanderous, and imputes to Barrios the
intent to conquer Cent. Am., beginning with Salv. and Hond.
This decree is countersigned by the ministers Manuel Cáceres,
Dositeo Fiallos, Julian Escoto, and Cárlos Bonilla. _Salv._,
_Diario Ofic._, March 29, 1876; _Pan. Star and Herald_, Apr.
8, 1876.
[XIX-28] Uraga acted under orders, and wonders why the
Salvadorans did not fall upon Chingo and capture all the
supplies there. _Réplica_, 12-16.
[XIX-29] The victors did not occupy Apaneca because the
enemy, though defeated, was still much superior in numbers.
The Salvadoran general-in-chief claimed a victory over 2,500
well-disciplined Guatemalans. The _Diario Ofic._ of San
Salv., Apr. 18, 1876, had it that 4,000 Guatemalans were
put hors de combat in the two fights of Apaneca—evidently an
exaggeration.
[XIX-30] The Salvadoran army of the east was annihilated.
Gen. Delgado, and colonels Henriquez and Jerez were killed,
Gen. Figueroa and Col Benj. Molina wounded. A large number
of prisoners, about 1,500 Remington rifles, and much other
war material fell into the victors' hands. _El Guatemalteco_,
Apr. 25, 1876; _Pan. Star and Herald_, May 1, 2, 1876.
According to a Salvadoran account, the eastern expeditionary
force consisted of 1,500, while that of Solares was of
2,500. The former claimed a victory on the 17th, confessing,
however, that they had finally to retreat. _Salv._, _Diario
Ofic._, Apr. 19, 23, 25, 1876.
[XIX-31] He had thrown into it 900 bombs without other result
than destroying a few buildings. _Un Guatemalteco_, _Cartas_,
26; _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Apr. 21, 1876. Gen. Gonzalez
told a different story.
[XIX-32] Gonzalez said that during the negotiations there
were 2,300 men in Ahuachapan and 2,000 in Santa Ana; of
the latter only one half were well armed. The Guatemalans
had every advantage—numbers, arms, discipline, and abundant
resources of every kind. They had but few desertions, whereas
from the Salv. ranks there had been many. Barrios' army on
entering Santa Ana exceeded 9,000 men. Salv. still had a
chance of obtaining honorable terms. If these were refused,
she could, after providing for the defense of the capital,
concentrate the remainder of her forces in Santa Ana, and
trust to the chances of a battle. _Gonzalez_, _Rel. de los
Hechos Ocurr._, 1-18, in _Pap. Var._, ccxxvii. no. 14.
[XIX-33] The commissioners were José Valle, Jacinto
Castellanos, and E. Mejía for Salv., and Gen. Lopez Uraga for
Guat. The terms are here epitomized: 1st. Presid. Valle was
to resign the executive office to the person hereafter named.
2d. Gen. Gonzalez to give up the command of the forces to
Valle. Both were to have full guaranties for their persons
and property. 3d. The Salv. forces now at Santa Ana were
to retire to San Salv.; Santa Ana to be evacuated by 12 M.
of the 27th inst. War material that could not be removed in
time was to be delivered to Uraga under inventory. 4th. Santa
Ana, and territory within two leagues of the town, were to
be occupied by the Guatemalans, the civil authorities being
allowed to exercise their functions therein, but expected to
furnish supplies; Barrios guaranteeing security of persons
and property to the inhabitants. The Guat. forces in the east
were to occupy San Miguel, and territory within one league,
under the same guaranties allowed the civil authorities and
people of Santa Ana. 5th. Presid. Valle was to convoke a
junta of notables, within four days from the ratification of
this convention, to meet at Santa Ana, and choose in accord
with Barrios the person in whose hands Valle must resign his
offices. 6th. The acting executive must, within ten days,
convoke the people of Salv. to freely choose, a month later,
the president of the republic. 7th. The person designated by
the notables shall have organized his government and issued
the convocation, the forces of Guat. will leave the Salv.
territory. 8th. Barrios and the provisional executive of
Salv. will make a treaty of peace between the two republics.
9th. This convention must be ratified by Barrios at once,
and by telegram within twenty-four hours by Valle, the
ratifications to be exchanged within six hours after. An
additional article made free the transit between the two
countries. The convention was duly ratified. Upwards of 200
persons at Santa Ana sent Barrios, after the occupation of
the town by his troops, April 30th, an address of thanks for
his magnanimity and generosity, adding that no Salvadoran
could justly complain of the behavior of the Guat. army.
_Guat._, _Boletin de Noticias_, no. 8; _Barrios_, _Mensaje_,
Sept. 11, 1876, 7-11; _Salv._, _Diario, Ofic._, May 4, 7,
1876; _Id._, _Gaceta Ofic._, May 26, 30, 1876; _Costa R._,
_Informe Sec. Rel._, 1876, 11-12; _Pan. Star and Herald_, May
16, 1876.
[XIX-34] Cruz Ulloa, min. of foreign relations, justice,
eccles. affairs, and pub. instruction; José Lopez, of
govern.; Estanislao Perez, of war; and Fabio Moran, of
treasury. _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, May 6, 1876.
[XIX-35] By Cruz Ulloa and Marco Aurelio Soto. The treaty
provided also for the surrender of common criminals, the
concentration away from the frontier of political refugees;
fostering legitimate and checking illicit trade; excluding
Jesuits. In the event of misunderstandings, the parties must
resort to arbitration. The treaty of Jan. 24, 1872, and the
Rivas-Carazo with Nic., were repealed. Honduras and Costa
Rica were to be invited to join it. _Salv._, _Gaceta Ofic._,
May 11, 1876; _La Regeneracion_, May 16, 1876; _Salv._,
_Diario Ofic._, April 1, 1879; _Pan. Star and Herald_, June
1, 1876.
[XIX-36] _Costa R._, _Pap. Sueltos_, no. 17. Gen. Indalecio
Miranda, who had been proclaimed president in some parts,
recognized Zaldívar.
[XIX-37] A native of Salv., he studied medicine in Cent.
Am. and completed his professional studies in Paris. On his
return home he soon had a remunerative practice, and came
to be considered one of the best physicians in Cent. Am.
His professional duties did not, however, keep him out of
politics.
[XIX-38] He effected his escape from the capital disguised as
an Indian with a load of grass on his head.
[XIX-39] In Feb. 1879 congress thanked the emperor of Germany
for the honor of knighthood conferred on Zaldívar. In France
he was given the title of officer of pub. instruction. The
same month and year congress gave him a vote of thanks for
his services. _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, March 6, 8, 1879.
[XIX-40] He therefore saw good reason to tender
congratulations to the representatives of the people on
the promising condition of Salvador and the other Cent. Am.
republics. _Zaldívar_, _Mensaje_, Jan. 5, 1883; _Pan. Star
and Herald_, Jan. 17, 1883; _Pan. El Cronista_, Jan. 20,
1883.
[XIX-41] Among the persons taken as leaders of the movement
were Gen. Francisco Menendez, Dr Manuel Gallardo, Marcial
Estevez, and Manuel A. Loucel. _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Apr.
16, 17, 1883; _Pan. Star and Herald_, May 5, 7, 1883.
[XIX-42] June 1st. This decree caused much satisfaction among
all classes.
[XIX-43] The grounds for the convocation as stated were
that the people had almost unanimously declared that some of
the clauses of the constitution of 1880 were not suited to
the national requirements. The _Diario Oficial_ expressed
the hope that the revision would give a more judicious
application of the principles of a republican government,
thus strengthening the public liberties without weakening the
principle of authority.
[XIX-44] The govt was vested in three distinct powers:
legislative in two chambers; executive in a president for
four years; and judicial in a supreme court.
[XIX-45] He constituted his cabinet with the following
ministers: Salvador Gallegos, of foreign affairs; Domingo
Lopez, interior; Pedro Melendez, treasury and navy; Asun.
Mora, war and public works; Luciano Hernandez, education; and
Antonio J. Castro, justice. _Guat._, _Mem. Sec. Rel. Exter._,
1884, p. 6; _Costa R._, _Mem. Sec. Rel. Exter._, 1884, 5-6;
_Pan. Star and Herald_, Jan. 16, Feb. 23, 26, 1884.
[XIX-46] He visited the U. S. and France, being received with
the honors due his rank as chief magistrate of a friendly
nation. _La Estrella de Pan._, Aug. 14, Sept. 11, 1884; _El
Guatemalteco_, Apr. 29, 1884.
[XIX-47] Proclamations and manifestoes of Pres. Zaldívar and
the assembly of Salv., March 14, 15, 17, 1885. _Costa R._,
_Boletin Ofic._, March 21, April 1, 1885; _La Estrella de
Pan._, March 28, 1885.
[XIX-48] The Salv. official reports claimed victories at Coco
and San Lorenzo. The attack against the latter was made at 10
P. M. of the 31st, and repulsed. Repeated the next day from
5 A. M. to 3 P. M.; the assailants were driven back by Gen.
Monterosa. _Costa R._, _Boletin Ofic._, April 2, 1885.
[XIX-49] According to a Guat. account, an error was committed
in not bombarding the Salv. stronghold, Casa Blanca. Barrios
at 8 A. M. of the 2d led the assault on the N. E. side of
the fortification with the Jiron brigade of Jalapas, which
on that day behaved cowardly. Shortly after the assault, a
little past 9, Barrios was mortally wounded, and forthwith
removed. The Jalapas gave way, divulging to other troops
the death of the president. Thus it came to pass that the
first who saw Barrios fall were the first to take to flight,
followed by men of several other brigades. To avert a
disaster, the troops operating on the N. side were recalled.
The firing ceased on both sides at 4:30, and the retreat to
the Magdalena began at 6:30, the Salvadorans not pursuing.
The same authority claimed that if the firing had been kept
up an hour longer, the Guatemalans would have won the day,
several bodies of troops having abandoned the town, and the
supply of ammunition in the place being already scanty. He
asserts that the Guat. loss in all the fights was in killed,
besides the president, and his son Gen. Venancio Barrios,
colonels A. Jiron, V. Bonilla Cruz, Urbano Sanchez, Major
Gonzalez, a few other officers, and 200 rank and file.
_Campaña de la Union Cent. Am._, in _La Estrella de Pan._,
May 30, 1885.
[XIX-50] Further details may be seen in _Zaldívar_,
_Mensaje_, May 4, 1885; _Costa R._, _Informe Sec. Rel.
Exter._, 1885, 1-4; _Id._, _Boletin Ofic._, Apr. 5, 1885;
_La Estrella de Pan._, Apr. 4, May 2, 9, 1885; _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Apr. 10, 24, 27, 1885; _S. F. Cronista_, Apr. 4, 11,
15, 25, May 2, 1885; _Mex._, _Diario Ofic._, Apr. 4, 1885;
_Id._, _Monitor Rel._, June 20, 1885; _Id._, _La Prensa_,
supl. no. 162.
[XIX-51] The gov. of Salv. proclaimed peace on the 15th of
April, and granted a full amnesty to all who took part in
the war against Salv., and generally to all in exile for
political offences.
[XIX-52] Though the gov. had made common cause with Barrios,
it manifested a disposition to cut loose from the alliance
after the late events.
[XIX-53] _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, May 19, June 24, 1885.
Zaldívar well knew that there was a powerful opposition to
him.
[XIX-54] Menendez was a man of energy and courage. He
possessed good common sense and natural shrewdness. His
habits were simple. Polite and unassuming, he always made a
favorable impression.
[XIX-55] _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, July 1, 1885; _Pan. Star and
Herald_, July 18, 1885; _La Estrella de Pan._, July 25, 1885.
[XIX-56] Nov. 26 and 27, 1885. _Pan. Star and Herald_, Sept.
9, Dec. 7, 1885. This state of things still existed in March
1886. Correspondence of March 1st, to _S. F. Post_, April 2,
1886.
[XIX-57] The supreme court would not recognize the right of
the Salv. courts to demand it. _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, Nov. 1,
1885; _Pan. Star and Herald_, Sept. 18, 1885.
[XX-1] A general officer then filling the position of civil
and military chief of the department of Chiquimula. It has
been said that Carrera, shortly before his death, suggested
him for the succession. The conservative element claimed
that for his abilities and meritorious services Cerna had
won himself popular regard. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, May 20, 1865.
Events will show that his mental calibre was very ordinary,
being a religious fanatic, and retrogressionist of the old
oligarchic school of the Aycinenas, Pavons, and Batres. He
was a warm friend and constant associate of the jesuits, to
whom he went to confession, if reports did not belie him,
about once a week; so he must have had a tender conscience,
or else was a confirmed sinner.
[XX-2] 'Su probidad, rectas intenciones, inteligencia,
y larga práctica de los negocios merecen la estimacion
y confianza de todos los buenos guatemaltecos.' _Guat._,
_Boletin de Noticias_, no. 3.
[XX-3] It is understood that his father, a peaceable citizen
of Los Altos, for some unguarded words against the govt, was
taken as a prisoner to the capital, and cruelly treated.
The son then had gone off to Chiapas, whence he had made
occasional raids.
[XX-4] The govt deprived Cruz of his rank as a mariscal de
campo, suspended constitutional guaranties, such as they
were, and declared traitors all persons implicated in the
rebellion, or holding relations with the insurgents. On
the 5th of Feb. troops were despatched to the disturbed
districts. _Pan. Mercantile Chronicle_, March 3, 1867.
[XX-5] One of his plans was to destroy the rum-stills
belonging to a monopoly, from which the treasury derived a
large revenue. The cry of Down with the aguardiente company!
raised by any popular man would bring him stanch followers.
Carrera himself had used it in his early days.
[XX-6] He had signed a pledge not to return to Guat. without
leave of the govt, and neither directly nor indirectly to
disturb the public peace. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Apr. 27, May 25,
1867; _Pan. Star and Herald_, Apr. 20, 1867; _Pan. Mercantile
Chronicle_, May 22, 1867.
[XX-7] Cruz and some of his officers were executed; others
were sentenced to ten years' confinement in San Felipe
castle. J. Rufino Barrios escaped, and his hacienda, El
Malacate, being partly in Guat. and partly in Soconusco,
an active pursuit of him was not easy. _Guat._, _Boletin de
Noticias_, Aug. 16, 1867; _Pan. Merc. Chronicle_, Sept. 4,
18, Oct. 4, 1867. Barrios made another raid from his hacienda
in Apr. 1838, which also failed in effecting his purpose.
_Guat._, _Gaceta_, Apr. 29, 1868; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, May 23,
1868.
[XX-8] May 8th, suspended certain clauses of the
constitution. The decree alleged that Cruz had been
inveigling the Indians of Los Altos 'con promesas peligrosas
de distribucion de tierras.' Cruz was declared amenable
to the laws for his seditious acts of 1867 as well as for
the present ones. All others concerned with him were made
indictable for treason, if after the public. of the decree
they did not surrender. Passports had to be obtained to
travel. _Guat._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Apr. 9, 1869; _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Apr. 17, 1869; _Salv._, _Constitutional_, May 20,
1869.
[XX-9] The distillery was destroyed as a matter of course.
[XX-10] The official report added that the insurgents left 24
dead and 16 prisoners; and that it was rumored Cruz had been
shot in the heart.
[XX-11] _Nic._, _Gaceta_, June 12, 19, Aug. 7, Sept. 18, Dec.
18, 1869; _Pan. Star and Herald_, June 17, Sept. 17, 1869;
_Guat._, _Boletin de Noticias_, Nov. 24, 1869.
[XX-12] Zavala was accused by the conservatives of political
inconsistency, in that he had all along claimed to be a
supporter of Cerna. _Pan. Star and Herald_, Feb. 2, 1869.
[XX-13] The vote stood 31 for Cerna, 21 for Zavala, 5
scattered. Not a bad showing for the liberals, if we consider
that the electors had been chosen under the influence of the
oligarchic government. _Id._, Feb. 23, June 17, 1869.
[XX-14] In his message to congress Nov. 25th, Cerna
acknowledged that the country was in a sad plight. He called
his account 'un cuadro desconsolador,' and requested a
postponement of the session.
[XX-15] The govt had raised a loan in London, and for a
few months was able to tide over many of its difficulties,
internal debts, and arrears due the army and officials being
settled, and the treasury still having a surplus.
[XX-16] The government had supposed him in a distant
department fleeing from its troops, when he quietly slipped
into Palencia, a town distant 8 or 9 miles from Guatemala,
in the night of Saturday. Feeling certain that the govt
was ignorant of his whereabouts, and confident that the
people of Palencia were friendly, he failed to adopt proper
precautions, and even had high mass chanted for his troops
in the small hours of the morning. But it so happened that
the authorities of Guatemala received late in the night
information of his arrival, and of the number of his men.
An overwhelming force of Santa Rosa Indians, devoted to
Cerna and hostile to Cruz' Indians, was despatched under
command of Brig. Solares, who surrounded Cruz and attacked
him before he had begun to prepare for his own attack of the
capital. He made a desperate fight of two hours, however,
behind the adobe walls of a corral, but it availed naught.
His only chance of escape was in flight. A rush carried
him and his remaining men to the edge of a ravine, and he
had gone down half of the steep descent when a ball struck
him in the thigh and broke it. No quarter was asked or
given. He was slain while fiercely fighting to the last.
His fleeing men were relentlessly pursued for several days,
and such as were not killed in the ravines were captured
and executed. _Peatfield's Glimpse at a Cent. Am. Rep._, in
_Overland Monthly_, xiv. 163-5; see also _Guat._, _Boletin
de Noticias_, Jan. 15, 1870; _Id._, _Gaceta_, Jan. 28, 1870;
_Nic._, _Gaceta_, Feb. 5, 19, 1870; _Nueva Era_, Paso del
Norte, Apr. 3, 1885. The victorious Solares was promoted
to mariscal de campo; his officers also received promotion,
and the rank and file one month's extra pay; but he lived to
enjoy his new honors less than a year, his death occurring in
Nov. 1870. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Dec. 3, 1870.
[XX-17] It was exposed to the public gaze at the door of the
hospital, where a photograph of it was taken, copies of which
were sold at half a dollar each.
[XX-18] On parole not to return without permission of the
govt. He and some members of his family had to sign a $10,000
bond.
[XX-19] Silas A. Hudson, the Am. minister, claimed that much
had been due to his advice, and the favorable opinion had
of his friendly course. _U. S. Govt Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., For.
Rel., Cong. 41, Sess. 3, 444.
[XX-20] Cerna was blind himself, or tried to throw dust into
the eyes of the representatives of the people when in his
message of Nov. 25, 1870, he assured them that peace had been
fully restored. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Dec. 17, 1870.
[XX-21] The particulars of this revolution appear in another
chapter.
[XX-22] The _Boletin de Noticias_ said, respecting his
movement, 'cometió el acto de demencia.'
[XX-23] So said the _Boletin de Noticias_ of Guat., copied by
_Nic._, _Gaceta_, June 3, 1871.
[XX-24] The preamble said that Cerna's govt had become
intolerable by its arbitrary and cruel acts in violation of
the constitution and other laws; that it had usurped powers,
and had assailed the representatives of the people; it had
ruined the public treasury, and compromised the independence
of the country by contracting without authority of law
a ruinous loan in Europe. Consequently, the people would
no longer forbear with its tyrannical domination, and had
resolved to set it aside. The following are the resolutions
epitomized: 1st. To depose the tyrant and usurper Cerna;
2d. To appoint Miguel García Granados provisional president
with full authority to reorganize a government on the bases
proclaimed by him May 8, 1871; 3d. He was also instructed
when expedient to convoke a constituent assembly for framing
a new fundamental law; 4th. The officers solemnly bound
themselves not to lay down their arms until these purposes
were effected. Signed by Gen. of Brigade J. Rufino Barrios,
Colonel Francisco del Riego, lieut-colonels Juan Viteri,
Julio García Granados, etc. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley., Gob.
Democ._, i. 1-3 et seq.
[XX-25] He had been, he said, for 20 years energetically
opposing the government's illegal proceedings in the chamber
of deputies; and it had never dared to touch him until
after its triumph over Cruz in Jan. 1870. _García Granados_,
_Procl._, June 2, 1871.
[XX-26] A contemporary gives the following lists of bequests
left by the conservative rule of thirty years. A large number
of jesuits, well fed on the sweat of the people, and their
acolytes and choristers; another large quantity of Capuchin
friars who preyed on the inhabitants of Antigua, Guat.; about
200 friars and lay brothers in the capital, most of them
lazy and stupid; nearly 200 useless nuns, of whom some 40
were in a state of insanity or idiocy, and in condition to
be canonized; one archbishop, 2 bishops, 12 or 15 vicars and
canons, and a high steward of church property, etc; a foreign
debt of five million dollars; a nearly complete absence
of public education, necessitating the establishment of at
least 500 schools and colleges adequately supplied; few, if
any, roads or bridges; no steam vessels; no adequate postal
service; no telegraphs; no public lands, for immense tracts
of unproductive lands were held by the church and by a few
aristocrats. _Juan Álvarez_, _Dos Palabras_, 12-13. Prior to
the revolution of 1871, which regenerated the country, the
capital wore a monkish and funereal look. After the triumph
of this movement, abuses were eradicated, anachronisms
disappeared, and modern ideas began to prevail. _Batres_, _A
Sketch of Guat._, 16-17.
[XX-27] The men had been pressed into the service, and
moreover, dreading the superior arms of their opponents,
in several instances fled at the first onset, throwing down
their arms.
[XX-28] It has been averred that he partook of some coffee
which had been drugged.
[XX-29] Cerna must either pursue, giving him a
vantage-ground, or rush to the defence of the capital, making
the success of the revolution equally certain, for the whole
country would then rise against his detested rule.
[XX-30] An unfortunate circumstance occurred. A portion
of the troops with which Julio G. Granados had forced the
passage of the ravine, going toward the farm of Dieguez,
encountered two companies of Solares' men, and the two forces
mistaking one another for the enemy, fought some minutes;
some men were wounded, and a field-officer named Juan
Solórzano was slain. _Guat._, _Boletin de Noticias_, Aug. 4,
1871; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Sept. 16, 1871.
[XX-31] They all behaved well; but special credit must be
given, not only to the chief and Barrios, but to Solares and
Viteri, who struck decisive blows.
[XX-32] Cerna fled to Chiquimula with a few followers. The
Indians were still faithful to him, and begged he should
lead them to the field in defence of his cause; but he knew
any such effort must end in disaster, and refused. He then
continued his flight to Honduras. Most of his ministers also
escaped. Indeed, no effort was made to detain them, or other
men of the fallen administration, it being considered a
better policy not to be hampered with the responsibility of
disposing of them. The old minister of war remained behind
and was not molested. Full particulars on the campaign are
given in _Salv._, _El Republicano_, July 3, 1871; _Id._,
_Diario Ofic._, July 11, 12, 1879; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, July
21, 1871; _Costa R._, _Informe Min. Rel._, 1872, 14; _Id._,
_Boletin Ofic._, March 22, 1885; _J. J. Peatfield's Glimpse
at a Cent. Am. Rep._, in _Overland Monthly_, xiv. 166-7; _Un
Guatemalteco_, _Cartas_, 6-9; _Uriarte_, _Observ._, 4-6.
[XX-33] There were not wanting men who reproached García
Granados for his generosity to the vanquished.
[XX-34] Congress had ceased to exist; the heads of important
offices had fled; the treasury was empty. There was danger to
be apprehended from the radical element among the liberals,
composed of a large portion of the mechanics and artisans,
who claimed that the change had mainly resulted from their
influence, and they now wished to dictate measures which the
new government could not decree. Their violent feeling was
manifested specially toward the jesuits and other religious
orders. Their discussions in the club de los artesanos, and
elsewhere, often disclosed a marked suspicion of and conveyed
warnings to the authorities. There were also misgivings about
Barrios' intentions. Indeed, many believed that though not
actually at the head of affairs, he had the control; even
after leaving the city, he was supposed to aspire to the
presidency, to which he would have himself elected as soon as
the constituent assembly should meet. Meantime, it was said,
he would allow García Granados to put the disrupted state in
order, and enact the needed measures.
[XX-35] _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._, i. 3-4.
It recognized freedom of speech and of the press, though
requiring publications to bear the signatures of their
authors. Champerico was made a port of entry for both
export and import, which the people of Los Altos had
loudly demanded. The cultivation and sale of tobacco were
declared free to all; and the importation of Chiapas rum was
permitted. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Aug. 5, 1871.
[XX-36] He denied that his government had ever contemplated
wounding the religious feelings of the nation.
[XX-37] The power of the church had been almost as great as
that of the government. Under the constitution the church
nominated a number of deputies to the assembly, and was
the only one recognized or tolerated. Its influence in
the assembly had been large, and its interests were well
represented. _Crosby's Statement_, MS., 91, 110-11. This
influence had always been exercised to uphold the despotic
sway of the oligarchs.
[XX-38] The rebels were routed Sept. 24th at Santa Rosa
by the forces under Barrios, and again the 28th at Jalapa.
They lost their artillery, other arms, and much ammunition.
_Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._, i. 13-15; _Nic._,
_Gaceta_, Nov. 4, 1871; _El Porvenir de Nic._, Oct. 1, 1871.
[XX-39] _Id._, Nov. 26, 1871; _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob.
Democ._, i. 24-5.
[XX-40] Decree no. 59, in _Boletin Ofic._, no. 52. The
order had been removed from Guat. by command of King Cárlos
III., in 1767, its members leaving the capital on the 1st
of July for the coast, and being embarked for Spain. _Hist.
of Mex._, iii. 432-3, this series. But a law of June 7,
1851, sanctioned by the assembly Nov. 5th, authorized their
permanent reëstablishment, revoking all other laws or decrees
to the contrary, notably one of 1845, notwithstanding the
many protests made against the measure. The most plausible
pretext for the restoration of the jesuits had been the
alleged scarcity of competent priests for the work of
spreading the gospel; which was equivalent to saying that the
300 priests living in the republic were both insufficient and
incapable. The real object of the hasty reintroduction of the
order was said to be the aggrandizement of the house of Canon
Juan José Aycinena, closely connected by family ties with
Manuel F. Pavon and Luis Batres. Aycinena had pledged himself
to bring the order in, and in exchange for this service it
was to influence his appointment as archbishop of Guatemala.
It was a well-understood bargain. _Guat._, _Carta al Ilmo.
Sr. Arzob. por un Catól. Apostól. romano_, Guat., Aug. 20,
1851, in _Cent. Am. Pamph._, v. no. 12.
[XX-41] Report of the comandante of San José, in _Boletin
Ofic._, Sept. 25, 1871; _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, iii. 290;
_Id._, _Gob. Democ._, i. 89-90; _El Porvenir de Nic._, Oct.
22, 1871; _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, June 9, 1885; _Mex._, _Diario
Ofic._, Oct. 15, 1871.
[XX-42] The jesuits fared no better in Salvador, where the
constituent assembly, being consulted as to whether they
should be allowed to enter, resolved that their presence in
the country would not be beneficial. Only four votes were
cast in their favor. _El Porvenir de Nic._, Oct. 1, 1871.
A few who lived in Salv. were made to depart in 1872, and
forbidden to reënter. A treaty was made with Guat., under
which neither government was ever after to allow jesuits to
reside within their respective territories. _Id._, March 24,
1872; _Ore. Uana_, _Refutacion_, 1-11.
[XX-43] The decree was issued with the clause that any
deficit experienced by the archdiocese in consequence should
be covered out of the pub. treasury. Decree of Dec. 22, 1871,
in _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, iii. 290; _Id._, _Gob. Democ._, i.
23-6, 70-1.
[XX-44] The decree contained nine articles, and regulated
the manner of disposing of the property which had belonged
to these associations. The religious orders thus suppressed
were those of the Franciscans, and recollects, dominicans,
mercedari, clergymen of the oratory of Saint Philip de
Neri, jesuits, paulists, and lastly the capuchins, otherwise
called bethlehemites. These capuchins were natives of Spain,
most of whom had been partisans of the pretender called
Cárlos V. They occupied a convent which had belonged to the
bethlehemites, when they were taken by a military guard to
the coast and shipped away, with orders never to return.
They had made themselves particularly obnoxious, and not
being citizens of the country, the gov. was free to make them
leave. Friars who were natives of Cent. Am. were permitted
to remain, and given a monthly allowance for their support;
but forbidden to show themselves in public with their habits
on. _Nic._, _Semanal Nic._, July 4, 1872; _Id._, _Gaceta_,
Aug. 3, 1872; _El Porvenir de Nic._, July 14, 1872; _Guat._,
_Recop. Ley._, iii. 290-1; _Id._, _Gob. Democ._, i. 91,
101-2; _Peatfield's Glimpse_, in _S. F. Overland Monthly_,
xiv. 159; _S. F. Post_, July 2, 1872.
[XX-45] With toleration of all religious sects throughout the
republic. This subject was being discussed in the constituent
assembly, with much opposition to the clause being inserted
in the fundamental law. The govt then cut the gordian knot.
Later other decrees were passed, further curtailing eccles.
jurisdiction, including the secularization of cemeteries.
_Guat._, _Mem. Sec. Gob._, _Justicia, etc._, 1880, 2-5;
_Id._, 1882, 11-12; _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._, i.
159-61; _El Porvenir de Nic._, Apr. 27, 1873.
[XX-46] Placing a notice on the convent door that any one
entering it without permission of the ecclesiastic authority
would be excommunicated. The nuns had been kept away from
intercourse with their relatives, and the civil authorities
had been debarred access to them. The official journal said,
March 6th, that history and indisputable facts proved they
had not always been the abode either of justice, morality,
or true religion. The removal of the teresas, capuchinas,
and claras to the Santa Catarina was made under the personal
inspection of the jefe político of the department. Their
number was about 126, and most of them were natives of the
other Cent. Am. republics. _Pan. Star and Herald_, March 24,
1873.
[XX-47] The property of all religious houses having been
confiscated, each one of these ex-nuns was allowed a life
pension of $12 per month. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob.
Democ._, ii. 13-14, 58, 64-5, 205.
[XX-48] The work was against Guat. and Salv. Costa R. was
expected to side with the latter. Nicaragua's administration
was not well disposed toward them. _Guat._, _El Centro
Americano_, Feb. 19, 1872; _El Porvenir de Nic._, May 5,
1872.
[XX-49] Martial law was established, together with stringent
rules for dealing with rebels. Freedom of the press was
temporarily suspended. This last measure was repealed in May.
_Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._, i. 73-5, 80-1, 95-100;
_Nic._, _Gaceta_, Feb. 24, 1872.
[XX-50] García Granados' decree of May 8, 1872. _Guat._,
_Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._, i. 87-8; _U. S. Govt Doc._, H.
Ex. Doc., Cong. 42, Sess. 3, i. 518; _Nic._, _Semanal Nic._,
May 30, 1872.
[XX-51] _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, March 19, 1876; _Nic._,
_Semanal Nic._, May 30, June 6, July 4, 1872; _Guat._,
_Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._, i. 88, 102.
[XX-52] F. Alburez, in treasury; José M. Samayoa, in fomento;
Víctor Zavala, in war; Ramirez ad int., in foreign relations;
M. A. Soto ad int., in government, justice, and eccles.
affairs.
[XX-53] Notwithstanding that his conduct had been seditious
in 1871, he had been given the rank of col, and the offices
of jefe político and comandante de armas of Amatitlan.
_Barrios_, _Procl._, at Quezaltenango, Jan. 23, 1873.
[XX-54] Cerna had declined to take any part in the movement.
The defeat of the rebels by Solares at Las Arrayanas and
Cumbres de los Ajos on March 10th, with the loss of several
prominent men, reduced them to straits. _Id._, i. 155-6,
177-80; _Nic._, _Semanal Nic._, Feb. 20, March 6, May 8, July
24, Aug. 21, 1873; _El Porvenir de Nic._, Feb. 23, March 28,
Apr. 6, 27, 1873; _Pan. Star and Herald_, March 11, 22, May
13, June 12, 1873; _El Monitor Repub._, Apr. 18, 1873.
[XX-55] The office had been in charge of Barrios since Feb.
11th. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._, i. 155. During
this tenure Barrios called for a forced loan. On the 15th
he summoned to his presence at the comandancia general a
number of citizens, one of whom imprudently said that he
would go armed to punish any insult. Barrios accused them
of hostility to the government, and of rendering pecuniary
assistance to the insurgents. He warned them of their danger,
and suggested the expediency of their aiding the govt to
bring the insurrection to an end. It is said that the armed
one, Rafael Batres, a son of the late minister of state, two
or three times laughed in a contemptuous manner, enraging
Barrios, who walked up to him, tore open his coat, and pulled
out of it a revolver, upbraiding him as a coward and would-be
murderer; then ordered that 100 blows should be inflicted
on his back with a supple stick or rod, such as was used to
punish private soldiers. Batres received his punishment, and
was afterward sent to jail. The other men were also confined
in the common jail, and the next morning were brought with
shackles on through the streets to the comandancia, and told
that they would not be released till they signed bonds to pay
their respective shares of the forced loan; after doing which
they were set at liberty. Julian Volio, ex-minister of Costa
R. and Guat., did not receive any ill treatment, but was made
to leave the country. Batres was also banished. Referring
to this incident in a message to congress, he said that the
rebellion had been instigated with the pretext that religion
was menaced. His measures he confessed had been severe, but
necessary. The result realized his expectations, for as soon
as these men ceased furnishing resources to the rebellion it
collapsed. _Barrios_, _Mensaje_, Sept. 11, 1876, 5-6.
[XX-56] It was called Dec. 11, 1871. _Id._, i. 53-69,
83-4; _El Porvenir de Nic._, Feb. 11, May 5, 1872; _Salv._,
_Gaceta_, Sept. 9, 1876.
[XX-57] All proposed amendments to the old constitution had
been rejected as not adequate to the present requirements of
the country. _Nic._, _Semanal Nic._, Oct. 10, 1872.
[XX-58] García Granados, who on the 2d of June had been
declared a benemérito de la patria, after surrendering the
presidency, made a visit to Europe, returning in March 1874,
when he was cordially welcomed by all classes. His death
occurred Sept. 8, 1878, and was much deplored. _Guat._,
_Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._, i. 182-3; _Salv._, _Diario
Ofic._, Sept. 12, 1878; _Pan. Star and Herald_, Oct. 6, 1880.
[XXI-1] _Costa R._, _Boletin Ofic._, March 22, 1885.
[XXI-2] He rose to prominence by military prowess, and yet
knew but little of the military art. His enemies would not
even concede him courage, or that he had risen by any effort
of his own, but merely by circumstances. _Un Guatemalteco_,
_Cartas_, 6-8.
[XXI-3] I will quote in corroboration what foreign
correspondents said. Barrios' administration in 1875 was
enjoying the confidence of the people, and had the support of
public opinion. He had in his favor not only the testimony
of the liberal portion of the Cent. Am. press, but of
intelligent travellers just from the theatre of his so-called
atrocities against the liberty of his people. He had more:
the direct as well as tacit testimony of the property
holders, both native and foreign. The guiding principle of
Barrios' govt was to check evil practices, and to encourage
good deeds. Again in 1880 Barrios continued as indefatigable
as ever, travelling over the country, devising measures
for the benefit of his fellow-citizens. The country was at
peace. Foreigners, in comparing Dec. 1870 with Dec. 1880, can
scarcely realize that they are living in the same country,
and that only one decade has elapsed since the terrors of
1870. Since then Guat. has seen progress in every respect,
and all due to the energy of this man, who has not wavered
in his efforts to educate his fellow-citizens to the standard
of the times. _Pan. Star and Herald_, Jan. 12, 14, 1875; Jan.
12, 1881.
[XXI-4] In 1876 there were primary schools in all the towns
for the compulsory and gratuitous education of children of
the poor. _Boddam Whetham's Across Cent. Am._, 39. Later
there were established three high schools: the Politécnica,
for the education of officers at the expense of the state;
alumni were also admitted at their own charge, who were not
bound to accept commissions in the army; the Normal, for the
training of teachers; and the Belen, for the instruction of
females. All those schools were in charge of teachers from
the U. S. and Europe; the Belen being conducted on the plan
pursued in the U. S.
[XXI-5] He was a man of the people, flattered the lower
classes and the soldiers, especially those of Los Altos, and
won their good-will.
[XXI-6] Espionage existed. Domestic servants even were
used as spies. The postal service was like an office of the
old inquisition. These charges are probably true, and the
system, one of long standing, may have been demanded by the
political situation. It has been said that he had a young
Spanish priest named Félix Pagés murdered in cold blood. The
other side of the story is that Pagés shot at him Sept. 14,
1877, in San Pedro Jocopilas, missed him, a scuffle ensued
for the possession of the weapon, when other persons entered
the room, one of whom was Barrios' body-servant, Inés Cruz,
who seeing Pagés again trying to discharge the revolver at
his master, drew out his own weapon, and shot the priest
dead. This version is the official one, and was communicated
by U. S. Minister Williamson to his government. _U. S. Gov.
Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., 45th Cong., 3d Sess., i. pt 1, 73-4;
_Star and Herald_, Oct. 20, 1877. It is that some women were
gagged, confined in the common jail, and afterward banished
to distant towns. _Un Guatemalteco_, _Cartas_, 24. I have
no space for the innumerable accusations of anonymous and
irresponsible persons. The following are given because made
by a prominent Mexican general who served some time under
Barrios: Innocent men of respectable position were whipped by
his order, and women confined in the common jail. A judge was
set to sowing grass. A distinguished lawyer was made to march
in a religious procession through the streets dressed as a
private soldier. An ecclesiastic, for failing to salute him,
was kept for hours opposite his balcony with head uncovered
and erect, and treated with contumely. He had the head of
a city councilman shaved like a priest's, and then shut
him up in a convent. It was Barrios' practice to have men
beaten till they told what he wanted of them, and he invented
a cruel torture called el apreton, which was compressing
the person's temples. His assassinations were wanton and
cold-blooded. This general, however, was a considerable
time in Barrios' service, and had a falling out with him.
His statements may be the result of spite. As a ruler who
had in his hands during nearly 12 years the destinies of
his country, he undoubtedly committed many errors, and as a
man he had defects; but how deny, speaking with truth, the
benefits his abilities, patriotism, constancy, and energy
bestowed? _Uraga, J. L._, _Réplica á J. R. Barrios_, 6-7,
33-4. Another Mexican who says horrible things of Barrios,
whom he called La Pantera de Guat., signed himself I.
Martinez, in _S. F. El Cornista_, March 4, 1885; _La Estrella
de Pan._, May 2, 1885.
[XXI-7] Decree of Nov. 4, 1873, requiring them to surrender
with their arms. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._,
i. 203; _Pan. Star and Herald_, Oct. 23, Nov. 22, 1873;
_Barrios_, _Mensaje_, Sept. 11, 1876, 5. For his complicity
in the insurrection, the guardian of the archdiocese had to
leave the country, and remained absent till he was permitted
to return. _El Porvenir de Nic._, Aug. 17, 1873.
[XXI-8] Gonzalez was expelled in disgrace from the army, and
sentenced, moreover, to confinement for ten years in the
fortress of San Felipe. He was also deprived of all right
to hold office. Bulnes was also deprived of this right,
and condemned to three years imprisonment. And yet he had
instigated Gonzalez to commit the outrage, and was morally
the guiltier of the two. _U. S. Govt Docs._, H. Ex. Doc.,
For. Rel., Cong. 43, Sess. 2, Doc. 1, pt 1, 177-83.
[XXI-9] There were present on shore, upon that occasion,
the commanding gen. of the Guat. forces, the British
rear-admiral, Cochrane, and officers of four of his ships
lying at San José, the British chargé, the Am. minister,
and others, besides 200 Guat. troops, and a like number
of marines and sailors from the British ships. _U. S. Govt
Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., Cong. 44, Sess. 1, Doc. 1, pt 1, 128-9.
[XXI-10] The victim of Gonzalez' brutality declined to
receive any portion of the money. Scolfield, the British
representative at Guatemala, for the manner in which he
conducted the affair, was knighted.
[XXI-11] Butler had several conferences with the min. of
foreign affairs, insisting on the revocation of that decree,
which the min. invariably refused. El Progreso, Aug. 29,
1875. However, it seems that Guat. gave way, and declared
her recognition of Cuban independ. to be null. _The Mexican
Financier_, Apr. 18, 1885.
[XXI-12] In 1876 the Sp. gov. recognized that the
captain-gen. had exceeded his powers, and must be censured.
But in March 1880 it asked Guat. as a favor to forego that
clause, which the latter acceded to on being reassured
that in future the usages of international etiquette should
be observed in the relations between the two governments.
_Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._, ii. 129; _Id._, _Mem.
Min. Rel. Est._, 1881, 13-14.
[XXI-13] Circular of Nic. foreign min., Sept. 5, 1876, in
_Salv._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Oct. 26, 1876.
[XXI-14] Both places within Guat. territory, but near the
boundaries of the other two states.
[XXI-15] Barrios reviewed in Guat. 11,000 men, and ostensibly
disbanded them. He really had about 18,000 under arms, and
it would have been easy for him to make the number 20,000 in
eight or ten days. Salv. went slow in the work of disarming.
She had 2,300 men in Santa Ana, 3,000 in San Salvador, and
2,000 in other places; and the government had decreed a
forced loan of half a million dollars, of which one half
had been collected. Having taken the laboring men from
their peaceful vocations, the govt feared a revolution if it
desisted from war with Guat. _Pan. Star and Herald_, Feb. 14,
16, 1876.
[XXI-16] Neither cajolery, argument, nor movement of troops
produced the desired effect, for the delegates could only
see in his propositions the destruction of their several
nationalities.
[XXI-17] The war cost Guat. about 2,000 lives, and one and
a half million dollars, however. The events connected with
Salvador and Honduras appear in the history of those states
for this period.
[XXI-18] Nicaragua in 1877 joined the three in treaties to
act in concert, and harmonize 'las tendencias de la familia
Centro-Americana.' _Salv._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Oct. 3, 1877.
[XXI-19] Gregorio Solares, to whom the successes were chiefly
due, entered the city quietly, receiving no share of the
popular plaudits, which were all bestowed on Barrios as the
victor.
[XXI-20] Sept. 9, 1876. It was revoked March 22, 1885, when
Barrios undertook to establish the Cent. Am. republic by
force. _Costa R._, _Boletin Ofic._, March 23, 1885.
[XXI-21] The sword was delivered him Sept. 15, 1877. _Salv._,
_Gaceta Ofic._, Sept. 26, 1876; Feb. 25, March 21, Sept. 28,
1877; _Pan. Star and Herald_, Nov. 1, 1877.
[XXI-22] He would not go to the palace, but made the
ministers come to his residence, and adopted measures without
consultation with them. He was in fear of being poisoned.
_Uraga, J. L._, _Réplica_, 18-20.
[XXI-23] It had been originally convoked Oct. 21, 1875, the
date of meeting being left for future consideration. Its
first meeting was Aug. 31st, when its officers were chosen.
This was the seventh constituent assembly in 55 years of
national existence. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, _Gob. Democ._,
ii. 159-68; _Salv._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Sept. 9, 24, 1876.
[XXI-24] In the temporary absence of the president, the
council of ministers was to take charge of the executive
office. In case of his death or other inability, the council
of state was to convoke an assembly. The president was called
upon to appoint a council of state composed of competent and
upright men, which he did. _Id._, Nov. 3, 9, Dec. 8, 1876.
[XXI-25] Samayoa gave way to J. M. Barrundia, and went to
Europe; Alburez, min. of the treasury, was succeeded by J. A.
Salazar; Lainfiesta in fomento by M. M. Herrera; Barberena
was min. of the interior, and Macal of foreign affairs, who
later was replaced by Lorenzo Montúfar.
[XXI-26] With the evidence obtained during the day and
night of the 1st, several persons said to be implicated were
arrested, and the judicial investigation was initiated. The
plan of the sedition was ascertained from the acknowledgments
and confessions of its promoters and others. The priest,
Gabriel Aguilar, José Lara Pavon, Enrique Guzman, and others,
as appeared in the testimony, had organized themselves as
a society, recognizing one another by means of signs, to
promote a revolt. The execution of their plan was left to
A. Kopeski, commander of the artillery, and his second,
Capt. Leon de Rodas, at whose quarters assembled in the
night of the 1st a number of men who were then armed,
to be ready for relieving the guards at the palace and
comandancia general, after they had been narcotized with
wine and morphine furnished by Aguilar. This part of the
plot once accomplished, the commanders of other bodies of
troops were to receive forged orders to bring their men,
without arms, into the city, when others in the conspiracy
stationed outside would seize the arms. One of these orders,
ostensibly signed by Barrios, was sent Oct. 31st to the
comandante at Palencia, who, not doubting its genuineness,
was on the point of obeying it; but despatched an officer
to inquire where he was to station his men, and the object
of the call. The president at once telegraphed to other
commanders, and was advised that they had similar orders.
One man was arrested, and then another, until the plot was
unravelled. A large portion of the criminal element, as well
as of the lower classes, were mixed up in the affair. The
president, his family, ministers, and friends were to be
assassinated. Rich men would have to ransom their lives with
sums ranging from $50,000 down to $10,000. Daggers, gags, and
morphine were discovered. Barrios decreed, Nov. 5th, that the
parties should be tried by court-martial. This decree was
countersigned by all his ministers; namely, J. Barberena,
José Ant. Salazar, Lorenzo Montúfar, and under sec. of
war A. Ubico, then in charge of the portfolio. Foreigners
as well as natives realized their narrow escape from a
fearful catastrophe, and commended Barrios and his ministers
for their action. The justice of the sentences was fully
acknowledged. Barrios, in his message to the constituent
assembly, in March 1879, alluding to the affair, said: 'La
sociedad guatemalteca se vió por un momento al borde de un
abismo de sangre y devastacion.' The reactionists, he added,
unable to demand the abolition of the reforms which had so
greatly improved the condition of the people, 'pedian al
puñal y al veneno, á ese recurso traidor y alevoso, una
hecatombe suprema, una montaña de cadáveres.' _Barrios_,
_Mensaje_, March 15, 1879; _Salv._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Nov. 13,
18, 1877; _Pan. Star and Herald_, Dec. 1, 1877; _La Voz de
Méx._, S. F., Feb. 23, 1878.
[XXI-27] In the preamble he alludes to the declaration of
the last assembly on Oct. 23, 1876, adding that he accepted
the dictatorship as a necessity, because of the unsettled
condition of the country, though well aware that unrestricted
powers are incompatible with republican principles. The
election of deputies was to begin Jan. 10th, and all citizens
were made eligible, excepting only such as held certain
offices, as jefes políticos, revenue officials, judges, and
military commandants, who could not be candidates in their
official departments or districts. _U. S. Gov. Doc._, Cong.
46, Sess. 2, i. pt 1, 140; _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Nov. 22,
1878; Jan. 22, 1879; _La Voz de Méx._, May 6, 1879.
[XXI-28] He had endeavored, he said, to maintain friendly
relations with the other Cent. Am. governments, and as for
those with Salv., Hond., and Nic., 'jamás se han cultivado
con el verdadero espíritu de fraternidad con que hoy se
mantienen y fomentan.'
[XXI-29] The same course was pursued by Guat. toward Mexican
citizens residing in her territory, who were causing in
1879 and 1880 disturbances in Soconusco and Chiapas. The
correspondence and proceedings of the governments in both
affairs appear in _Mex._, _Correspond. Dipl._, ii. 221-91;
_El Guatemalteco_, Sept. 7, 1879; _Mex._, _Diario Ofic._,
Nov. 8, Dec. 2, 1879.
[XXI-30] Every principle won with the loss of so much blood
was secured. The legislative authority was vested in a
chamber of representatives, and the executive in a president,
whose term of office was six years. _Guat._, _Mem.,
Sec. Gobern._, 1880, 7. Objections were made by foreign
representatives, including the minister of Mexico, to art.
5th of the constitution respecting Guatemalan nationality.
On this point a constituent assembly in 1885 authorized the
government to settle it by treaties, which was equivalent
to nullifying the clause. There were exceptions also to
the 14th, intended to set down as a principle that neither
citizens nor foreigners were entitled to indemnity for
damages accruing to them during civil wars from the acts of
revolutionary factions. The right of Guat. to insert in her
fundamental law every principle or rule she might deem proper
for her internal administration was fully recognized; but as
regarded those dependent for their sanction on the consent
of nations, in their intercourse with one another, the
representatives reserved their respective country's rights.
_Mex._, _Correspond. Dipl._, ii. 293-8; _Guat._, _Mem. Sec.
Rel. Est._, 1880, 6.
[XXI-31] The new constitution was to have effect from
March 1, 1880. Thus Barrios had the glory of endowing his
country with a political constitution of its own, and with
a republican and democratic form of government. It will
be borne in mind that after the disruption of the Cent.
Am. confederation, since 1840, Guat. had been under a
dictatorship, or under institutions which greatly curtailed
the political rights of the ruled.
[XXI-32] A treaty of peace, amity, commerce, and extradition
was concluded July 17, 1880, between Guat. and Hond., giving
to Guatemalans in Hond., and Hondurans in Guat., the same
civil and political rights enjoyed by the natives of the
respective country, though exempting them from military
service and forced loans. Refugees could be allowed asylum,
but were not to use the privilege to promote hostile acts
against their own or other governments. Merchandise,
excepting such articles as were subject to estanco, or
monopoly, were to be allowed free entry. _Guat._, _Mem. Min.
Rel. Exter._, 1881, 28-34.
[XXI-33] _Star and Herald_, Jan. 23, 1883; _Guat._, _Mem.
Min. Rel. Exter._, 1881-5; _Id._, _Gobern. y Just._, 1881-5;
_Id._, _Hac. y Créd. Púb._, 1881-5; _Id._, _Guerra_, 1881-5;
_Id._, _Formento_, 1881-5; _Id._, _Instruc. Púb._, 1881-5.
The following persons acted as ministers of state during
some portion of Barrios' present term: Lorenzo Montúfar,
Fernando Cruz, Cayetano Diaz Mérida, Delfino Sanchez, J. M.
Orantes, J. Martin Barrundia, M. M. Herrera, Ángel Peña, R.
A. Salazar, Ramon Murga, and F. Lainfiesta.
[XXI-34] The Guat. govt manifested its high appreciation of
those courtesies on the part of the authorities and people of
the U. S., in a note to the Am. minister, H. C. Hall. _U. S.
Govt Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., Cong. 47, Sess. 2, i. no. 1, pt 1,
46-7.
[XXI-35] This question is fully treated of in _Hist. Mex._,
vi. chap. xix., this series; _U. S. Govt Doc._, H. Ex. Doc.,
Cong. 47, Sess. 2, i., For Rel. no. 1, pt 1, 326-33.
[XXI-36] He did not resume his office till the 6th of
January, Gen. Orantes continuing at the head of the
government.
[XXI-37] He added that he wished to stand aloof, and observe
the working of the free institutions he had contributed to
establish on a firm basis as he hoped; without neglecting,
however, the duty he owed at all times to his country, and
to those who, like himself, shed their blood in their efforts
to the same end. He would be ever found ready to support the
liberal government, and hoped that no credence would be given
to the slander that he desired to leave the country, and
thus shirk responsibility. This charge was made when he left
for the U. S. to settle the boundary question with Mexico.
_Barrios_, _Mensaje_, Dec. 29, 1882. Even more had been said,
to wit, that he had the plan of annexing Guat. to the U. S.,
which was an absurd charge.
[XXI-38] It was beyond question that he had a strong hold on
the affections of those who did not belong to the reactionary
party, and 'even among the latter he would be preferred
to any one who would be likely to succeed him.' U. S. Min.
Hall's desp. to sec. of state, Jan. 8, 1883, in _U. S. Gov.
Doc._, H. Ex. Doc., Cong. 48, Sess. 1, no. 1, pt 1, 32-3.
[XXI-39] A measure might be adopted in the next ordinary
session, when, perhaps, 'events may have occurred in regard
to the Cent. Am. union.'
[XXI-40] He urged them to labor for the development of the
country, whose progress and prosperity were certain, if all
would coöperate to that end.
[XXI-41] Barrios addressed, Feb. 24, 1883, an extensive
circular to the liberal party of Cent. Am., to assure
them that his motives in working for the consolidation
had been to promote the general weal, and not his personal
aggrandizement. He repeated that he did not wish, nor would
he accept, the presidency of Cent. Am., disclaiming that he
had ever tried to impose his will on the other states, and
pledging his word never to attempt it in the future. _Pan._,
_El Cronista_, March 10, et seq., 1884; _U. S. Gov. Doc._,
Cong. 48, Sess. 1, no. 1, pt 1, 49-53.
[XXI-42] As appears in a telegram of March 28th from Nic.
govt to Guat. foreign min., who replied next day, that if
Costa R. refused to join the diet, the meeting of delegates
from only four states could have no practical effect.
_Guat._, _Mem. Sec. Rel. Exter._, 1844, 3-5, annexes A to D;
_Costa R._, _Mem. Min. Rel._, 1883, 3, ann. 1 and 13; _Id._,
_Gaceta_, Feb. 3, 1885; _Pan. Star and Herald_, March 5, 20,
23, 1883; _Pan. Canal_, Feb. 16, March 21, 22, 1883.
[XXI-43] 'Tantas ambiciones pequeñas, tantos menguados
intereses de localidad, y tantas miras estrechas.' _Barrios_,
_Mensaje_, March 1, 1884; _El Guatemalteco_, March 4, 1884.
[XXI-44] It was to be perpetual as to peace and friendship;
and as regarded the other clauses, its duration was to be of
ten years. _Guat._, _Mem. Sec. Rel. Exter._, 1884, annex 3.
[XXI-45] Barrios published an address to the inhabitants
expressing gratitude for their sympathy. He made special
mention of the cordial manifestation of the diplomatic
corps, and the foreign residents. _El Guatemalteco_, Apr. 18,
22, 1884; _Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Apr. 17, 1884; _Hond._,
_Gaceta_, Apr. 21, 1884; _Méx._, _Clamor Púb._, June 2, 1884.
[XXI-46] Four to death, two to the chain-gang with hard labor
for life, one to simple imprisonment for 10 years, and two
others were acquitted. One of the chief implicated made a
full confession, the plot being to cause a change in the
govt by killing Barrios. _El Guatemalteco_, May 16, July 5,
12, 1884. The chief person implicated has, since the death
of Barrios, made a representation to the assembly declaring
the accusation false, and that the real authors of the bomb
plot were in the process made to appear as the victims.
_Rodriguez, G._, _Expos. y Docs._, pp. i.-iii., 1-120, 3-17.
[XXI-47] The president of Costa R. also received an
invitation, but being unable to leave the state, expressed
through his min. of foreign affairs warm congratulations.
_Costa R._, _Informe Sec. Rel. Exter._, 1885, 19-20.
[XXI-48] It was countersigned by all his ministers, to
wit: J. Martin Barrundia, of war; Fernando Cruz, of foreign
affairs; Francisco Lainfiesta, of fomento; Delfino Sanchez,
of treasury and pub. credit; Cayetano Diaz Mérida, of govt
and justice; and Ramon Murga, of pub. instruction. The
following is a synopsis of the decree. Art. 1. The ruler
of the rep. of Guat. proclaims the union of Cent. Am.; to
which end he assumes the rôle of supreme military chief with
absolute control. Art. 2. He will accept the coöperation of
such govts, communities, and rulers, as, within the terms
laid down, should acquiesce and make common cause with
them. Art. 3. A gen. assembly of 15 members from each state,
freely chosen by popular suffrage, should meet at Guatemala
May 1st to enact the political constitution of Cent. Am.,
and establish the manner, time, and form of choosing the
president, his official term, date upon which he was to
receive the executive authority from the assembly, and the
place where the supreme federal authorities were to reside.
Art. 4. Any person attempting by word or deed to oppose
this decree would be dealt with as a traitor to the cause
of Cent. Am. Art. 5. The people of Cent. Am. are urged to
aid the accomplishment of this project. Art. 6. Suitable
rewards offered to officers of army and militia efficaciously
aiding. Art. 7. Rewards also offered to the rank and file.
Art. 8. Establishes the flag of the rep.: three vertical
stripes, the middle one white, the other two blue; the white
stripe exhibiting the coat of arms, a quetzal perched upon a
column, with the following inscription: 'Libertad y Union—15
de Setiembre de 1821-28 de Febrero de 1885.' Art. 9. No
negotiations relating to territory, international treaties,
foreign or national loans, or other stipulations of analogous
nature or importance, entered into by the other states of
Cent. Am. after the date of this decree, would be recognized.
Art. 10. The minister of foreign affairs was directed to lay
this decree before the assembly of Guat., the other govern.
of Cent. Am., and all powers of Am. and Europe with which
Guat. had relations of friendship and trade. _La Estrella
de Pan._, March 28, 1885; _El Cronista_ (S. F.), March 14,
21, 1885; _S. F. Chronicle_, March 10, 13, 1885; _S. F.
Call_, March 13, 1885. It will be well to mention here the
reasons which prompted the legislative assembly to proclaim
the unity of Cent. Am. in the manner adopted by Barrios:
'El inmenso prestigio de que gozaba aquel memorable jefe, el
civismo de que siempre habia dado inequívocas muestras, y los
muchos elementos de que disponia para hacer práctico aquel
pensamiento, acariciado por todos los buenos hijos de la
América Central. This was said after Barrios was dead. _Costa
R._, _Informe Sec. Rel. Exter._, 1885, 21-5, 35.
[XXI-49] 'Bastante he saboreado, por triste experiencia,
todas las amarguras del poder.'
[XXI-50] Art. 1. The people of Hond. proclaim the union
of Cent. Am. Art. 2. Gives the executive full power to
render Barrios every possible aid. Art. 3. Congress and the
executive were to frankly explain the true motives of the
revolution.
[XXI-51] Zaldívar then, as well as afterward, denied having
betrayed Barrios. The circular of Feb. 24, 1883, to the
liberal party, was issued by the latter after a conference
with the former at Asuncion Mita. In that famous manifesto,
Barrios pledged his honor not to attempt effecting the
unification, except by peaceful means, and with the
concurrence of the five republics. His message to the Guat.
assembly in 1884 indicated that violent means were out of
the question. A correspondent of a Panamá paper, who seemed
to have personal knowledge of the negotiations, both public
and confidential, assures us that at every interview between
the two rulers the Salvadoran had opposed without ambiguity
all propositions, open or implied, to employ force; and that
Barrios had every time admitted the weight of the reasons
adduced by him. Indeed, only 20 days before his attempted
assumption of supreme command over Cent. Am. Barrios assured
of Salvadoran minister of foreign affairs, Gallegos, who
had gone to Guat. upon a confidential mission from Zaldívar,
of his conviction that never had the plan of reconstructing
Cent. Am. by compulsion been so unpropitious and dangerous
as at the present time; adding these words: 'Poner hoy la
mano en este asunto equivaldría á meterla en un avispero.'
_La Estella de Pan._, May 9, 1885; _S. F. Chronicle_, June 5,
1885.