without resistance through our territory; and at length, most tardily, he sent to Matamoras a small body of troops, needy and unprovided with anything necessary for conducting the campaign with success.

Who can fail to see in these perfidious manoeuvres the bastard design of attracting the forces of the enemy to our central territories, in order there to propose to us, in the midst of the conflicts of war, as the only means of safety, the subjection of the republic' to servitude, the ignominy of the country-the revival of the plan of Iguala-in fine, the return to the government of the viceroys. With this object, and for this fatal moment, which every means was employed to hasten, was a Congress assembled, chosen for the purpose, composed only of representatives of certain determined classes, not forming even a sixth of our population, and elected in a manner, perfidiously arranged, to secure a number of voices sufficient to place the seal of opprobrium on the nation, leaving, with scarcely a single representative, the great majority of the nation. The eleven bishops of our diocesses were declared deputies, and our ecclesiastical cabildos were authorized to elect nine others on their parts, giving to the bishops the faculty of appointing such proxies as they might choose, to take their places in case they should not find it convenient to attend in person. Does not this prove abundantly that a decided endeavor was made to supplant the will of the nation, in order to give some species of authority. to this scheme for European intervention in the settlement of our internal affairs? The protestations of republican sentiments made by General Paredes, after these irrefragable proofs so fully condemning him, were only new acts of perfidy, intended to tranquillize the republic, to set its suspicions at rest, and to arrange the occasion for carrying into effect his base designs. He uttered these protestations in the middle of March last, when he saw the public discontent manifest itself against his power and his plans. But what followed? Did he not continue to protect the Tiempo, a newspaper established in the capital itself, for the sole object of rendering republican forms odious, and recommending the necessity of a monarchy; advancing every argument which could be supposed calculated to lead astray the good sense of the nation? Did he convene another popular Congress? Did he retract the summons which he had issued in January, placing the fate of the nation at the mercy of the few men who remain among us of the old colonial regime? Every thing continued in the same way, and when the press was prohibited from discussing forms of government, it was in order to give an amnesty to the writers in favor of monarchy, who were then prosecuted by the judicial power, and to encourage them to continue their criminal publications, while silence was imposed on the defenders of the republican system. Meanwhile, he hastened by every means in his power the assemblage of the congress destined to carry into effect his monarchical plan; he concentrated his forces in order to suppress all movements on the part of the people, alarmed by the near approach of such an unpropitious event; abandoning our frontier to the invaders, or

rather surrendering them to the foreign enemy, by the reverses which he had prepared and arranged at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. No, Mexicans! let there be no compromise with a party whose conduct has been a tissue of cruel treachery towards our country; have nothing to do with it, however flattering be its promises, and whatsoever the forms with which it may in future invest itself. In the last convulsions of its agony, it sought to assure its safety by its accustomed manœuvres. It proclaimed principles which it detested. It allied itself with bastard republicans, and exhibited itself as the friend of liberty, in order, by that means, to avoid its just punishment, to maintain itself in power, and to continue to undermine the edifice cemented by the illustrious blood of the Hidalgos and Morelas. The fraudulent scheme of the enemies of our country being thus unfolded, and the true source of its misfortunes being laid open to all, the radical remedy of the whole evil consists in putting an end forever to the ruinous control of minorities, by calling on the nation honestly to fix its own destiny, and to secure its territory, its honor, and its welfare. Thus placed in entire liberty to act, as it should be, in the midst of the discussions carried on by the press, in the tribune, and even in the streets and squares, it will take in consideration the evils which surround it, and seek the means of resisting them; and, satisfied in its desires, mistress of its own fate, it will display the energy peculiar to a free people; will prove equal to the conflicts in which it is to be engaged, and will come out of them, not only honorably, but, moreover, entirely regenerated. In this way, the administration established, resting on, and springing from, public opinion, may display all its organized forces to maintain our territory, instead of quartering them in the central towns as hitherto, under a government created by seditious movements, constantly at war with the nation, and occupied solely in endeavoring to save itself without regard for our external dangers.

Fellow countrymen! Never has the situation of the republic been so difficult as at present. Its national existence threatened on one side; on the other an attempt has been made to subject it to the hardest of all lots, to European dominion. Such is the abyss to which we have been brought by the endeavor to govern our young society according to the system adopted in the old. This is the true cause of the long struggle in which we have been engaged, which has weakened our forces, and by which the interests of the majority have been sacrificed to the extravagant pretensions of a small minority. This state of things must be ended in compliance with the wishes of the nation; and by opposing to the former the union of republicans of true faith, the concert of the army and the people. By this union we shall conquer the independence of our country; thus united, we shall confirm it by establishing peace on the solid basis of public liberty; thus united, we shall preserve the integrity of our immense territory.

But now, with regard to the plan proposed for the revolution, it is my honor and duty to observe, that by limiting the Congress therein proclaimed, to the organization of the system of govern

ment, and the determination of what relates to the serious question of our northern frontiers, the provisional government of the nation would find itself required, until the system has been thus organized, to use its own discretion on all other points.

This would be investing the provisional government with a dictatorship, always odious, however imperious might be the circumstances rendering it necessary.

I, therefore, propose that the said assembly should come fully authorized to determine with regard to all branches of the public administration, which may be of general interest, and within the attributes of the legislative power; the provisional executive of the nation acting with entire submission to its determinations.

I consider it, moreover, indispensable that a uniform rule be established for the regulation of the interior affairs of the departments, and that, for this purpose, the constitution of the year 1824 be adopted until the new constitutional code be completed. By this means, we shall avoid that divergency of opinions, at this critical moment, when uniformity is so much needed; the national will, which sanctioned that code, will have been consulted, and the executive of the nation will have a guide to follow, so far as the present eccentric position of the republic will allow. I submit both measures to the will of the departments, expressed by the authorities, who may be established in consequence of the revolution; proposing, moreover, that the provisional government of the nation should adopt forthwith the second, as the rule of its conduct, until it be determined otherwise by the majority of the departments, in the form already indicated. The slave of public opinion myself, I shall act in accordance with it; seeking for it henceforth in the manner in which it may be known and expressed, and subjecting myself, afterwards, entirely to the decisions of the constituent assembly, the organ of the sovereign will of the nation..

Mexicans! There was once a day, and my heart dilates with the remembrance, when leading on the popular masses and the army, to demand the rights of the nation, you saluted me with the enviable title of soldier of the people. Allow me again to take it, never more to be given up, and to devote myself, until death, to the defence of the liberty and independence of the republic.

ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA. HEROIC VERA CRUZ, August 16, 1846.

No. 6.

C. STREET, April 5, 1847.

SIR: Colonel Frémont received a Mexican boy, by name Pablo Hernandes, from savages in the deserts of California, on the trail from Pueblo de los Angelos to Santa Fé, of New Mexico, in the year 1844, who had killed his father and carried off his mother.

The boy was brought to the United States, and has since been taken care of by my family. General Almonte offered to take him

to Mexico, but he then preferred to remain, and the general gave him a certificate of his national character, to entitle him to protection as a Mexican. He now wishes to return to his own country. Can you send him in one of the national ships? It would be an act of courtesy towards the enemy's nation with whom we are at Very respectfully,

war.

Hon. Mr. MASON.

THOMAS H. BENTON.

No. 7.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, May 3, 1847.

SIR: I have received a communication from the Hon. Mr. Benton, dated April 5th, in regard to a passage, in a national vessel, to his native country, for Pablo Hernandes, a Mexican citizen, who was brought to the United States by Colonel Frémont.

The schooner Flirt will sail from Norfolk in the course of two or three days, and will call at Vera Cruz. If his friends desire it, the department will. afford Hernandes a passage in her to that port.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

CARY JONES, Esq., Washington, D. C.

J. Y. MASON.

No. 8:

WASHINGTON, May 4, 1847.

SIR: On behalf of Mr. Benton, I thank you for your attention to his note in regard to the Mexican youth, Pablo Hernandes. Those who have had the young man in care will avail themselves of the opportunity you have been good enough to offer, and he will go immediately to Norfolk to embark.

Very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,

Hon. JOHN Y. MASON,

Secretary of the Navy."

WM. CARY JONES.

No. 9.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, May 4, 1847.

SIR: Permission has been given to William H. Tracey, esq., to take passage in the United States schooner "Flirt" to Vera Cruz. Enclosed is a copy of a letter from the Hon. Mr. Benton, respect

ing Pablo Hernandes, a Mexican citizen, who was brought to the United States by Colonel Frémont. The department has given the permission desired, and you will be pleased to furnish a passage to Hernandes in the Flirt" to Vera Cruz, if he appears.

I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,

Commodore C. W. SKINNER,

JOHN Y. MASON.

Commandant U. S. Navy Yard, Norfolk.

No. 10.

U. S. FLAG SHIP GERMANTOWN, Anton Lizardo, August 18, 1847. SIR: On visiting Vera Cruz yesterday, I was informed by Governor Wilson of the landing of General Paredes from the British mail steamer Teviot.

Commander Farragut, of the Saratoga, was at Vera Cruz at the time of the arrival of the steamer, and is now there; but he did not cause her to be boarded, for reason, as he informs me, that he thought it might be interfering with the authority of the captain of the port.

I have this day issued a general order, (of which the enclosed paper, marked B, is a copy.) It is not always, however, that I can spare a vessel to remain long at Vera Cruz.

Enclosed is a copy also of a letter addressed to the senior officer of her Britannic Majesty's naval forces stationed off Vera Cruz. A copy of his reply will be forwarded when received.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

M. C. PERRY, Commanding Home Squadron.

Hon. J. Y. MASON,"

Secretary of the Navy.

U. S. SHIP GERMANTOWN, Anton Lizardo, August 18, 1847.

SIR: I regret that I should be obliged to call your attention to the fact, that the British government mail steamer Teviot, in her Jast passage from Havana to Vera Cruz, brought as passenger a distingushed Mexican officer, General Paredes, who was secretly landed in the city, with the knowledge and connivance, as it is presumed, of the officers of the steamer.

Refraining at present from commenting upon this extraordinary transaction, may I request, of you such information as will enable me to communicate all the circumstances to my government. With great respect, I am, sir, your most obedient servant, M. C. PERRY, Commanding Home Squadron.

To the SENIOR OFFICER,

Of her Britannic Majesty's naval forces, Vera Cruz,