at heart. New levies of troops were made in consequence of these determinations on the part of the royalists; and the whole country was gradually and almost insensibly roused into military action. The chief obstacle, as it was thought by these leaders, to the success of their plan, was the presence of Don N. Armigo, whose attachment to the cause of the Constitution was too well known to admit a doubt of his supporting it. He was therefore dismissed from the command of the military division stationed between Mexico and Acapulco ; and in his place was appointed Don Augustin Iturbidé, an officer who, on the occasion of an insurrection some years ago, had shown himself a steady adherent to the interests of the King, although a native of the country. There is also reason to suspect that he was a party to the secret projects alluded to above; and that, when he left Mexico in February 1821, he was implicitly confided in by the Viceroy and his associates. It is difficult otherwise to conceive, how he should have been intrusted at that time with the escort of more than half a million of dollars, destined for embarkation at Acapulco. And it is not improbable, that, even after he had seized this money, the Viceroy and the Generals were under a belief that he had taken this step in furtherance of their views, since he was allowed to enter the town of Leon with his prize, where it is notorious he might have been taken, had not the commander of another division of troops, who was called upon to assist in the recapture, declared that he had orders from General Cruz not to act hostilely against Iturbidé. Be these surmises true, or otherwise, it is certain that Iturbide, on seizing the money at a place called Iguala, about 120 miles from Mexico, commenced the revolution by publishing a paper, wherein he proposed to the Viceroy that a new form of government should be established, independent of the mother country. As this document, which bears the title of the "Plan of Iguala," has been made the foundation of all the subsequent proceedings of the revolutionists, and is still the text, the spirit and principles of which direct, or are said to direct, the councils of the government, it may perhaps prove not uninteresting to give a sketch of its leading features. [July, 1821, the day after Iturbidé had pos- the Roman Catholic religion, to the 2d, Declares New Spain independent of Old Spain, or any other country. 3d, Defines the government to be a limited monarchy, "regulated according to the spirit of the peculiar coustitution adapted to the country." 4th, Proposes that the Imperial Crown of Mexico be offered first to Ferdinand VII.; and, in the event of his declining ly, but specifying that the representait, to several of the princes of that famitive government of New Spain shall have the power eventually to name the Emperor, if these Princes shall also reexplicitly. fuse. Article 8th points this out more 5th, 6th, and 7th Articles relate to the details of duties belonging to the Provisional Government, which is to the Cortes or Congress be assembled consist of a Junto and a Regency, till at Mexico. ported by an army which shall bear 9th, The government is to be supthe name of "The Army of the Three pears by the 16th article, are, 1st, The Guarantees."-These guarantees, itapReligion in its present pure state. 2dly, intimate Union of Americans and The Independence; and, 3dly, The Spaniards in the country. 10th and 11th, Relate to the duties 12th, Declares every inhabitant of 13th, Secures persons and property. 14th, Strong assurances of maintaining, untouched, the privileges and immunities of the church. 15th, Promises not to remove individuals from their present offices. 16th, (See 9th.) 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th, About those of the present Spanish constitu- 22d, Declares treason against the independence, to be second only to sa crilege. 23d, To the same effect. 24th, Points out that the Cortes, or Sovereign Congress, is to be a constituent assembly; to hold its sessions in Mexico, and not in Madrid. It may be remarked, by the way, that this plan dexterously weaves into its essence the direct and obvious interests of all classes in the community, especially of those who have most to lose the clergy and the old Spaniards, and who, besides, have by far the most extensive moral influence over society; the one by being in possession of nearly all the capital in the country, and the other by having gained, in times past, an influence over men's minds, to which, perhaps, there does not now exist a parallel in the Christian world. But, although this be unquestionably the case, yet both these parties, especially of late, have been made to feel, that their influence, and even existence, turn upon opinion alone, and they are sufficiently aware that they may lose both in a moment. To them, therefore, the countenance of power was of great consequence, and their most immediate interest became that of supporting the views of a party, which, instead of oppressing them, as had been the case elsewhere, condescended to borrow their support. Again, by not holding out a vague prospect of a representative government, but beginning at once by calling the deputies together, and meanwhile naming a junto and a regency, -doubts and jealousies were dissipated, or put to sleep. And yet, if examined closely, there is, with a show of much disinterestedness, a cautious looseness of expression in all parts of this " Plan," which may, and probably will, be taken abundant advantage of by and by. This remark applies more particularly to article 3d. In the interim, this "Plan" answered Iturbide's purposes fully, as the flame which it had kindled soon spread over the whole country. He was also soon joined by several of the most distinguished of the King's officers; amongst others, by Don Pedro Celestino Negreti, (a Spaniard, but married in the country,) and by Colonel Bustamante, who brought with him 1000 cavalry. On every side the great cities yielded at once to his forces, or to his persua sions. Such also was Iturbide's address, that, in every case of conquest, he converted into active friends all those who had been indifferent before; and he seldom failed to gain over to his cause the most powerful of his enemies, and at the same time he won the confidence and esteem of every one, by his invariable moderation. While the independent cause was thus rapidly advancing, that of the Spanish Government was falling fast to pieces. The Viceroy, who found it impossible to stem the torrent, was glad to abdicate his authority at the suggestion of the officers, who appear to have adopted a similar course to that of their countrymen in Peru in the case of Pezuela. But his successor, Field-Marshal Novella, could do nothing to restore the cause of the King, and Iturbidé drew his armies closer and closer round the capital, with a steady progress, and subduing everything before him. At this critical moment Gen. O'Donaju arrived from Spain, vested with powers to supersede the Viceroy Apódacca. To his astonishment he found the country he came to govern no longer under the orders of his master, but raised into an independent state. He had come alone, without troops, and, seeing at a glance that the country was irrecoverably lost, on the terms at least on which it had been held heretofore, he endeavoured to make the best conditions he could for the mother country; and, in order to pave the way, issued a proclamation to the inhabitants, which breathed nothing but liberality and hearty congratulations upon their prospect of happiness-a singular document to come from such a quarter! Iturbidé, seeing this disposition on the part of O'Donaju to take all that had passed in good part, invited him to a conference. They accordingly met at Cordova, where a treaty, which bears the name of that city, was signed on the 24th of August, 1821. By this treaty, O'Donaju recognized the "Plan of Iguala;" and not only engaged to use his influence in conformity therewith, but, in order to manifest his sincerity still further, he actually agreed to become a member of the Provisional Government: to dispatch commissioners to Spain to offer the crown to Ferdinand; and, in short, in the name of Spain, to make common cause with Iturbidé. The accession of such a man to his party, circumstanced too as O'Donaju was, became of incalculable importance to Iturbidé. It broke down the hopes of those, who, up to this moment, had looked for the re-establishment of the ancient order of things ;it justified completely the conduct of the Spanish residents who had in a similar manner yielded to the popular tide; and it was very naturally hailed, from the one end of the country to the other, as a confirmation of the justness and solidity of the independent cause. The capital was soon persuaded to yield, in consequence of O'Donaju's representations, and Iturbide entered it on the 27th of September. At this important moment O'Donaju died, to the great sorrow of the Spaniards in the country, who had calculated much upon his countenance. But it is difficult to say, whether or "not his death was detrimental to Iturbide's views. O'Donaju had already done all that was possible to establish Iturbide's immediate objects, particularly in preventing disunion; and it may be questioned, whether he would have co-operated so heartily when these objects came to take a more personal and ambitious direction, and when the interests of the Spanish crown were less and less considered. From that period, up to the end of March, 1822, Iturbide's plans were steadily carried forward; the deputies to Congress were gradually drawing together from the different provinces, and he had time to collect in his favour the suffrages of the remotest towns. The" trigaranti" colours were worn by all classes; and by a thousand other ingenious manoeuvres the people were gradually taught to associate their present freedom with Iturbide's celebrated "Plan of Iguala," and, thence, by an easy transition, to look to him, individually, for their future prosperity. The Cortes finally met on the 24th February, and one of their first, if not their very first act, was, an edict, permitting all who chose it, to leave the country, and allowing the export of specie at a duty of only three and a half per cent. This good faith, (for it had been long before promised by Iturbidé,) gave great confidence to the mercantile capitalists, and probably decided many of them to remain in the country, who, had they been less at liberty to go, would have felt less desirous of remaining. A rumour, too, was put about at this time, that the Inquisition might probably be re-established-a prospect which was no less grateful to the hopes of the clergy, than a free export of specie was to the merchants; and, as Iturbide himself, at this juncture, condescended to advocate the cause of the army, by writing appeals, with his name at full length, in the public prints, in favour of the merits and claims of his fellow-soldiers, he dexterously contrived to bring all parties into the best possible humour with him individually. On the 18th of May, 1822, he presented to the Congress two Madrid gazettes of the 13th and 14th of February, by which it appeared that the Cortes of Spain had declared the treaty of Cordova entered into by O'Donaju to be null and void, totally disavowing all his acts. This was, undoubtedly, what Iturbidé had expected; and the "Sovereign Constituent Congress" immediately decided, "that, by the foregoing declaration of Spain, the Mexican nation were freed from the obligations of that treaty, as far as Spain was concerned; and that, as, by the third article of the treaty, the Constituent Congress were left at liberty, in such event, to name an Emperor, they thought fit, in consequence not only of their own opinion, but in concordance with the voice of the people, to elect Don Augustin de Iturbide the First Constitutional Emperor of the Empire of Mexico, on the basis proclaimed in the Plan of Iguala,' which had already been received throughout the Empire." ་ What has since been the fate of Iturbidé, I have not had any good means of knowing. The public prints say that he has been deposed and illtreated. This is very likely. He undertook too much for the force he had under his command-and, even if he had had one a hundred times greater, he was not of a temper to have wielded it in the despotic manner indispensable to the maintenance of quiet in so vast a country. Recent accounts, which have arrived since the above went to press, state, that Iturbidé and his family have been banished to Italy, and that his property has been confiscated. AN IDYL ON THE BATTLE.* FISTS AND THE MAN I sing, who, in the valleys of Hampshire, Beat, in a handful of rounds, Bill Neat, the butcher of Bristol. Neat and the Gasman put up, and the light of Gas was extinguished. I acknowledge my obligations to the learned and elegant reporter of this battle for the Fancy Gazette. (See No. XVIII. p. 406-411.) He has been to me what Miss Lee's Kruitzner was to Lord Byron's Werner; and the careful and judicious critic will find, that I have, like his lordship, a man for whom I have a particular esteem, copied the very words of my original. I give free leave to any critic to contrast the Gazette with this Idyllium of mine, printing them, if they choose, in parallel columns, and cutting me up as a plagiary. If North will give me the room and pay me for it, I shall do it myself most unmercifully. It is a long time since I have been sufficiently hacked to pieces.-M. OD. [Send your Balaam to Sir Richard, if you please.-C. N.] "My troth, gin yon chield had shaved twa inches nearer you, your head, my man, would have lookit very like a bluidy pancake.”—Reginald Dalton. You see I agree with Southey, a man for whom I have a particular esteem, that people ought to indicate the most minute sources of information. Yet the Doctor is not always so fair-the most splendid passage in his Roderick is merely a transcript of a conversation I had with him on the top of one of the Bristol coaches in the year 1814; and yet I do not recollect that he anywhere alludes to the circumstance. In. deed, he seldom mentions my name in any of his writings. Yet I respect him highly, and frequently mention him in my works. M. OD. London replied to the call-the land of the Cockneys, indignant Looked with its great big eyes at Spring, and Spring understood it. Curricles, shandry-dans, gigs, tall phaetons, jaunting cars, waggons, Four-wheeled, or two-wheeled, drawn by one, two, three, or four horses ; Bit of blood, skin-and-boner, pad, hack, mule, jackass, or donkey; t We were not idle, be sure, although we waited in patience; Yokel.]-Provincial, I opine; but am not sure. If wrong, shall correct in second edition; or, at all events, in time for the third.-M. OD. + Jackass, or donkey.]—I mean the fourfooted animals. No allusion whatever to any he or she Whig-they being biped. M. OD. 15 Fisher of fogles] i. e. pickpocket. A fogle is a handkerchief.-M. OD. § Their ra-di-ance inter-mingling.]— There is a fine spondaic fall. What do you think of that, Doctor Carey? Read the line over three times before you answer. It must put you in mind of -“ Ag-mi-na circum-spexit."-Virg. M. OD. |