Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Second Session of the Thirty-ninth Congress, Part III
Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward
Mr. Secretary: Continuing my communications to the government of the United States of the chief occurrences in the Mexican republic at this critical period of its political existence, I send you to-day the enclosed indexed documents relating to Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s offer of his services to the Mexican government, and the determination of my government not to accept them, as of no interest to the cause, and for other reasons, given at large in Mr. Lerdo de Tejada’s note, of which I enclose a copy, (No. 8,) and to which I alluded in my interview with you at the Department of State on Thursday last, the 9th instant.
I embrace the occasion to renew to you, Mr. Secretary, the assurances of my most distinguished consideration.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c., &c., &c.
Index of documents sent by the Mexican legation in Washington to the Department of State of the United States, with the note of this date, in relation to Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s offer of services to the Mexican government.
| No. | Date. | Contents. |
| 1866. | ||
| 1 | May 15 | Protest of the New York Mexican Club against Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. |
| 2 | June 5 | Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s manifest to the Mexican people, dated at Elizabethport, New Jersey. |
| 3 | June 20 | Reply of the New York Mexican Club to the manifest. |
| 4 | May 24 | Mr. Romero sends a copy of Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s offer of services to Mr. Lerdo de Tejada. |
| 5 | May 21 | Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna makes a formal offer of his services for the Mexican government to Mr. Romero. |
| 6 | May 25 | Mr. Romero sends Mr. Lerdo de Tejada a copy of his reply to Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. |
| 7 | May 25 | Mr. Romero informs Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna that his offer will be sent to the government of the republic, as he is not authorized to decide upon it. |
| 8 | July 6 | Mr. Lerdo de Tejada informs Mr. Romero that the government of Mexico cannot accept the services of Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. |
| 9 | Aug. 6 | Mr. Romero informs Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna of that determination. |
| 10 | July 12 | Decree of the usurper Maximilian ordering the sequestration of Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s property in Mexico. |
No. 1.
Protest of the Mexican Club of New York against D. Antonio L. de Santa Anna.
Whereas, on account of the arrival of Don Antonio Lopes de Santa Anna in the United States, rumors have prevailed that he will attempt to interfere again in the affairs of the Mexican republic, which he has oppressed, impoverished, and betrayed, the Mexican Club of New York, whose members are republicans, attached to the independence of their country, considering that the aforesaid Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna has been the most obnoxious man to Mexico, the source of her evils and calamities, the promoter of disorder and anarchy, the violator of every law, the destroyer of freedom the oppressor of the people, the [Page 223] corrupter of society; considering that to all these titles, which render him odious and which created against his tyranny the most popular revolution recorded in the annals of Mexico, he adds that of traitor to his country—for, in 1854, while holding the dictatorship he usurped, he committed his greatest offence, in the betrayal of his country by empowering Don José Gutierrez Estrada to ask in his behalf from the European nations the establishment of a monarchy in Mexico; considering that as soon as this crime was accomplished by the aid of French intervention, Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, rejoicing over the foul deed he had originated, made haste to tender his fealty to the Archduke Maximilian of Austria, recognizing him as the emperor of Mexico; and, finally, considering that if he afterward issued manifestoes against the empire, they do not obliterate the crime which he perpetrated, and are but an evidence of his being consistent only in his inconsistency, and of his having not received from the invaders the reward he expected from his treason:
They do hereby declare and protest—
1st. That they see in Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna the most odious tyrant, who betrayed the cause of native independence, and abused the public power.
2d. That they believe that his name alone would be sufficient to stain the noble cause which the Mexican people are struggling to maintain, and to endanger the consolidation of liberal institutions, and make certain the impunity of every traitor; that the Mexican people cannot trust the word of the man who has ever abused them, and that were they to see him in the national territory they would claim that, in satisfaction to law and justice, be should be submitted to trial, and receive exemplary punishment, as guilty of high treason.
The Mexican Club resolves that the foregoing declarations be published, to prevent public opinion from being misguided, and the candor of the men who sympathize with the cause of Mexico from being abused; and they entertain the warmest conviction that the republicans of Mexico shall never concur in the irreparable error of dishonoring their ranks by admitting among them the man who was always the foe of freedom, and who, abusing all honor, begged for Mexico the shameful foreign yoke she now wears.
FRANCISCO ZARCO, President.
Juan J. Baz.
Francisco Ibarra.
Pantaleon Tovar.
Jesus Fuentes Muniz.
Francisco Elorriaga.
José Rivera y Rio.
Pedro de Baranda.
Juan A. Zambrano.
Juan M. Zambrano.
Rafael de Zayas.
And thirty-four other names.
No. 2.
[Untitled]
General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna to the Mexican people
From time to time nations are tried by Heaven in order to teach them that they should walk in the paths of reason, and to awaken in them noble sentiments of justice and of duty. The city of Numa reached the highest point in the scale of human greatness while right remained her guiding star, virtue her counsel, and union the shield and strength of her sons; but later, when those saving principles had become forgotten, the mistress of the universe became a slave, and was forced to learn the language of Attila and Alaric, in order to execute the orders of her masters. Such is the destiny of those nations that abuse the gifts and advantages with which Providence favors them. History is full of great but sorrowful examples of this fact. A sad fate has fallen upon our beloved country. The silence inspired by tyranny and the despondency of our fellow-citizens have succeeded the joyous festivals of liberty. The most energetic and expressive words lack strength and meaning to depict the desolation of our fields and the mourning that fills our cities. Yet we will not despair. Mexico has within herself powerful elements to enable her to triumph over the evil, and to even blot out her past record of misfortune. The heroic resistance of our compatriots confirms this hope; and we should not forget that “a people fighting for liberty and independence is invincible.”
On casting a glance over the blood-stained plains of Mexico, it is a consoling thought that all our misfortunes have been useful for the present and fruitful in lessons for the future. Those misfortunes have developed and strengthened the national sentiment; and from the midst of the nation’s ruin we have begun to build up a new and a moral country, under the impulse of our common participation in misfortune. There were Mexicans, it is true, but no nation. Now all our domestic hatreds have been concentrated into one common cry of vengeance on the invaders of the sacred soil left to us by our fathers. Yes, the nation does exist in the hearts of Mexicans, and great are the lessons which we have gathered from the field of error and experience to guide us in forming the rule of our future conduct. Though having followed different routes, we meet to day at the same point—tired, it is true, but not overcome by our constant fighting. Let us embrace one another at this critical moment of our existence; let us work in concert for our common cause, as we did in those glorious days [Page 224] when we broke to pieces the chains of the conquest; let the nation rise as one man, and the sceptre as well as the crown of Maximilian will fall and be buried in the depths of the seas. Our riches and prosperity in days gone by were the cause why our civic virtues, undermined by luxury and indolence, were disappearing from day to day; but adversity and poverty commenced to develop again in the nation those same virtues which are the strength and the glory of every people. Let us learn in the great school of misfortune to give their full value to those precious gifts of liberty and peace. Let every Mexican become a soldier of the republic, and after the victory has been won and the clash of arms has ceased, he will be a good citizen, skilled in defending the conquests made by his patriotism, and having an interest in their preservation.
Although it is contrary to my character, and notwithstanding my natural repugnance to speak of myself, it is incumbent upon me to do so on this occasion. Never, not even for a moment, have I ceased to be a Mexican, whatever may have been, at different times, my opinions regarding the system of government suitable to my country. Nor can I with justice be accused of self-will or egotism, for the motive of my action has always been the happiness and prosperity of my native country. Providence has chosen that my history should be that of Mexico since 1821, when I figured as one of the leaders in the struggle for independence, and that heroic country should inscribe her name, with my aid, on the map of nations. I first proclaimed there the republic, on the 2d of December, 1822, announcing a hitherto unknown divinity, as the Apostle did on the Areopagus; and so little prepared were the people for understanding and worshipping it worthily, that at various times the doubt assailed me whether I had accomplished my work. In the plan according to which a Mexican nationality was first organized our independence had been brought about in connection with the idea of constitutional monarchy. This was, at that time, the faithful expression of a very general desire in Mexico—of an aspiration that was not foreign to honorable motives. Besides, in the other sections of Spanish-America the cry for independence has arisen, protesting against the intruding government of Napoleon I, and swearing fealty to Ferdinand VII, son of the dethroned monarch. It is well known that the bad policy of the sovereign turned that sentiment into one in favor of complete emancipation, and that the genius of leaders like Bolivar and San Martin did the rest. Many distinguished and patriotic Americans had their thoughts bent upon monarchy at the time of organizing the new governments; and some of the ministers sent to Europe carried with them instructions to negotiate on that basis. The idea of a republic, however, prevailed, and Spanish-America was divided and organized under that form, and the flag which covered her indomitable legions in a hundred battles was tri-colored.
This is not the proper place to speak of the armed European intervention, nor does it belong to me to speak now of that diplomatic combination, much less to write its history. Withal, it is necessary to state that the tripartite intervention, as it was presented to us, differed totally from the manner in which it has been understood and carried out by a single one of the conflicting parties. The intervention of three nations, each one powerful enough of itself to carry out any definite resolution regarding Mexico, could not be considered as a combination to usurp our rights, since its co-operation was generally regarded as a neutral element, and as a means afforded to the Mexicans for putting aside partisan excesses so that they might be able to discuss, to reason, and come to an understanding as to the most adequate and convenient manner of constituting their form of government for the maintenance of their nationality, independence, and autonomy. But the original plan of the intervention having been broken up by France, in taking upon herself alone the initiative in the matter, there camea total change over what had appeared to be the means of arriving at a settlement; and, from appearing as a mediator, the foreigner changed himself into the arbiter of our destinies. It was necessary at all hazards to visit the theatre of events in order to investigate the proceedings and attempts being made by the new interventionists. With this conviction, and following the suggestions of old friends, I resolved to go to Vera Cruz. What took place on my arrival is known to all. General Bazaine rudely drove me from the Mexican territory, and I was obliged to re-embark shortly after my arrival. I bear no resentment on this account. I am rather glad that the outrage was committed, because it may have saved me from making certain compromises which circumstances might have imposed upon me, and because it opened my eyes regarding the intentions of the interventionists. Having been absent from Mexico since 1855, other agents took upon themselves to represent and direct public opinion, entirely free from my influence. It was others who were the guides of the allied invasion, who negotiated with the archduke, and who finally escorted him to the capital. My antagonists say that I went in search of an elevated position near the archduke. The truth is I went thither to look after the interests and liberties of my compatriots, and not to separate myself from the real interests of the people.
To what greater glory could I aspire? What more could he have given me who was styled emperor? Open the history of Mexico, and it will be seen that all my ambition has been satisfied. Nothing could be of greater value in my eyes than the sash of general of division and the title of “well deserving of his country,” with which, in 1829, on the banks of the Panuco, the people’s gratitude rewarded my patriotic efforts in achieving the national independence. For no other honor have I more regard than for the wounds with which I am covered—memorials of our glorious struggles against powerful nations.
[Page 225]I have thus in no manner compromised myself with the empire. I belong entirely to the republic, and, in presence of the danger that menaces our country, the names of all parties disappear from my sight. I am not a conservative, nor am I a liberal. I am a Mexican.
It becomes me now to set forth the conduct which I have followed in my last administration, and that which has governed me since. In February, 1853, while I was living in a city of New Granada, I was called by my compatriots to exercise discretionary powers—a measure believed to be salutary in the midst of the nation’s conflicts, divided as she was by hatreds and under the rule of anarchy. I was obliged not to hesitate. Duty, patriotism, dictated my resolution. I flew at the call of my fellow-citizens, and in April of that year I assumed charge of the supreme direction of affairs. The power of dictator is a tremendous one, but I accepted it with the consciousness of doing good, and with the determination to use prudently so formidable a trust. I felt in my heart enough patriotism not to go beyond the wishes of my fellow-citizens, sufficient love of glory not to render myself unworthy of its favors, and a profound respect for posterity not to render myself unworthy of its applause, Fortified with these convictions, I undertook the struggle against the obstacles which the genious of discord was heaping up on the road to peace, to order, and to the progress of the nation. Two years and four months did I bestow upon that task, with a vigorous energy and an unshakable resolution. Confidence on all sides was awakened, trade flourished, the arts sprung up, and the domestic as well as the foreign credit of the republic was re-established, as it were, by magic. I have the approval of my conscience; it tells me that I have done my duty. Supported by the whole nation, the acts of my administration were received with respect; sustained by a splendid army, full of courage, disciplined, and addicted to my person, and having in my hands the destinies of the people and army, which they placed there themselves, what better chance could there be to revive in my favor the plan of Iguala? But, say what my adversaries will, I am a stranger to the ambition of vulgar souls; sentiments more elevated find a home in my soul, as well as higher aspirations. In order to have worn the imperial diadem, it would have sufficed for me to have stretched forth my hand; but never has the royal purple dazzled my eyes; and if at any time I could have dreamed of it, the bloody picture of Iturbide, would have aroused me in time to fly from the seductive and treacherous delusion. Generals and even governors of departments awaited only my acquiescence in order to proclaim me emperor on my birthday; but faithful to my principles, I was obliged to use even threats in order to silence the proposals of those who thought it a personal honor to me and an advantage to the nation that I should wear the crown. In the midst of intestine convulsions minds were blinded by the extreme exaggerations of party, and despairing of being able to constitute ourselves in any stable manner under a republican system, persons were not wanting to blame me publicly as the prompter or the originator of the interpretation that was given to the plan of Iguala, after Iturbide’s failure. A few years afterwards, in Mexico, as well as in other sections of Spanish America, a feeling of disappointment sprang up on witnessing the sad results produced by the trial given to our new institutions; and many men of well-disposed and of strict principles became disabused to such an extent that Generals Bustamente, Bravo, and Parades, among us, and the illustrious San Martin, in South America, believed it to be their patriotic duty to advocate the establishment of a monarchy. There had been, on other occasions, attempts made to call a constituent assembly, in order to submit this retrograde step to its decision. Many worthy persons, during my last administration, wished to revive the same idea, and for this reason Señor Gutierrez de Estrada was authorized to have an understanding with the different courts of Europe, and to inquire what were the ideas of foreign sovereigns on the subject before such a project should be undertaken. But the war, which at that time absorbed the attention of Europe, prevented said mission from having any result; hence the project was for the time abandoned.
From this exposition it follows that the document which has been presented as overwhelming and conclusive against me is, on the contrary, a source of satisfaction to me, as it shows forth an act of disinterestedness and self-denial on my part. As if to give greater force in my detriment to the publication alluded to, there have been likewise printed, with some alterations, certain letters which have been confided to the discretion of friends for circulation, I will not undertake to call such conduct by its proper name, but I may be allowed to ask whether, by any chance, the ideas contained in said letters brought the intervention to Mexico and seated Maximilian upon his throne? How can my supposed complicity in such acts be explained when contrasted with the action of the French authorities in driving me from Vera Cruz, after having forcibly made me sign a paper recognizing events that had already taken place? In what document of that time, public or private, did my name appear as an accomplice of the intervention? What favors have I received from the archduke? His silence gave full sanction to the violence used against my person. My adversaries admit that they have failed to bring the matter home to me, and that their deductions, with regard to the letters in question, are not as tenable as has been maintained.
On the other hand, is it just to make me alone responsible for an idea which, in addition to the examples already cited, has occupied the attention of other thinking and patriotic men, who, while they erred in judgment, did not do so knowingly, but in perfect good faith? Bolivar, who indignantly spurned San Martin’s views, became subsequently the advocate of the form of a republic called Bolivian, which has been denominated monarchical by a number [Page 226] of liberals; and yet three or four years later many eminent Colombians favored the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in South America, and made certain diplomatic moves in the premises for the purpose of causing the new states to be ruled by European princes, Iturbide, the liberator, was less disinterested, as he derived personal advantages by his own interpretation of the sentiments upon which the Iguala plan was based. That error cost him his life; but his countrymen speedily discovered, after his death, the great services rendered by him to the nation, and how patriotic and generous were his imperial projects.
I refer to these facts as the most convincing record in the annals of Spanish America, and I ask, may I not also have erred in good faith, as well as so many other men of sound principles and recognized ability? Wherein is it criminal or unpardonable that I should have despaired, as many others have done, of our republic, and allowed a trial of a constitutional monarchy, established without my co-operation, and when the sceptre was not to be held by me?
A bandage covered the eyes of our people and my own. We have jointly erred and suffered, and we have now warning and experience. I am not egotistic, and I desire to take part in repairing our error.
Where is the Mexican who can refuse my services without incurring the opprobrium of history, or deny me the right to fight, and die if necessary, in the defence of our desolate hearths? If it is desired to achieve a solid and enduring peace, is it just or right to turn the back upon an old soldier of the nation, who only asks his countrymen for a spot of ground where he can stand and fight against the usurpers of our rights? Who is there that has sufficient authority to say to me, “Stand back! you are a Mexican, but you cannot be allowed to draw your sword, as of yore, in defence of the, country which gave you birth, and of the republic which you yourself founded?” Upon what principle, whether liberal or conservative, could such injustice be upheld? In the great struggle of our country no element, however insignificant it may appear, that can be used to the advantage of a nation, can be considered useless. Further, I perceive, in view of the facts already stated, and of the events that have taken place in our country during the last five years, that the general tendency of the people is in favor of a republic, and that monarchy is an impossibility in Mexico. In Spanish America the throne is the forerunner of the scaffold. Party sentiment must not be made the criterion of the course of contemporary actors. It rests with history to give an impartial version, and I am certain that history will do me justice.
Stand together, my countrymen! Let us consign all such recriminations to oblivion, for they are detrimental to our country. I have given an explanation of my public acts, and in like manner I am ready to give any guarantees for my sincerity that may be required. Do not forget that domestic dissension, when the soil of our country is being profaned by foreign invaders, is equivalent to desertion in the face of the enemy; and that, although there is no military law whereby it can be punished, yet we must pass through the ordeal of an inflexible and avenging posterity, which will reward only self-denial, patriotism, and true magnanimity.
Juarez is a good patriot, and Ortega is a worthy son of Mexico. Why are they not united? Why augment, through their disunion, the afflictions of our fellow-citizens? I hope yet to see them friends. It is not for me to say who has a right to the presidency, nor on whose side is the law; my object is to avenge the affront offered to our country by driving far from her midst the implacable tyrants that oppress her. Let all dissensions among our compatriots cease, and let all hatred be reserved for the foreign domination that covers us now with ignominy and shame. Juarez and Ortega should put an, end to their resentments by a cordial embrace. Long and strenuously have the defenders of the republic struggled in Mexico; and, notwithstanding such great heroism, so firm a constancy, and so much sacrifice, the work is to-day no further advanced than it was in the beginning.
By reason of my antecedents, of my position in the conservative party, and even of my long absence from the country, I believe myself to be the one called upon to reconcile all . minds, setting the example of submission to the constitutional government, as I now sincerely do. Thus I perform a patriotic duty, I obey the impulses of my own heart, and I satisfy the desires of hundreds of Mexicans who have called me to action. It will not surprise me to find my conduct misconstrued and base intentions attributed to me, inspired by egotism. I expect that already; I am prepared for all. But I shall nevertheless feel for my country at the sight presented by some of my fellow-citizens rejecting all association with me in these solemn moments of our country’s life. I shall have fears lest our past experience and the warnings which we have received prove of no avail in producing union. Those who so oppose me will have given an eloquent explanation of our past misfortunes; but let them take note that I will never cowardly abandon the cause of the republic. Should my hopes be frustrated by unexpected events, or through the influence of bad passions, I shall have fulfilled my duty at all events, and the world can judge whether others have done theirs more faithfully than I have. My heart is young enough, and my arm is strong enough to take part in the glorious struggle which is destined to achieve the second independence of Mexico. I feel that this is in accordance with my antecedents, my position, my years, and the glory which I desire for my name. I do not wish to give up the sole ambition that impels and rules me, namely, to drive our oppressors beyond the ocean, to re-establish the republic, and then withdraw to private life once more. No throne on earth could tempt me [Page 227] from that retirement, and I solemnly declare that on the day of victory I will demand no other reward.
Let us advance and unite the standards of our country which have been torn by the hands of the usurpers. Let us set again on its sacred pedestal the statue of liberty, thrown down by the invaders. Let us give no rest to the tyrant who oppresses us. He has changed our vast plains into frightful deserts, where the bones of our brethren, immolated on the altar of duty, or victims to the hired assassins of an empire, lie bleaching. He ruins the nation’s exchequer, and makes monetary, contracts abroad that are unwarrantable, believing that it will be easy for him to throw their weight upon the shoulders of our martyred people. The Austrian prince has spread a veil of mourning over the glory of our annals, and in place of the prosperity which he promised, he has loaded us with misfortunes, and has covered us with contempt and ignominy. Thousands of widows and orphans cry out for vengeance. Let us avenge them, compatriots! Union and fraternity be among us until we accomplish this!
It is now time, Mexicans, to forget forever our past contentions, and to make a strenuous effort, at once terrible and simultaneous, against our enemy. The tremendous onslaughts of our indomitable soldiers will bring the reveille of liberty, joy to the hearts of mothers, and rejoicing to our country. Heaven grant that the contentment which I foreshadow be not disturbed by new fratricidal dissensions! Union shall be my watchword before the fight! Union, again, after our victory.
God alone is infallible, and it would be monstrous presumption on my part were I to set myself up as free from error during my long public career; but, with my hand on my heart, I can say that never has my will been an accomplice in my faults, but rather in impotence of human nature to accomplish good in the absolute.
Trust to the sincerity of my words and intentions. I cannot, I should not, nor will I, close the book of my life with a falsehood. I only seek for my tomb a new laurel tree, whose shadow shall cover it in the midst of peace.
Let us hasten the hour of our national triumph. Confide in my words, and be ready.
Down with the empire! Long live the republic!
No. 3.
[Untitled]
The manifesto issued by Señor Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at Elizabethport, on the 5th instant, suggests many and various reflections to any one acquainted with the history of Mexico. As soon as we knew that Señor Santa Anna was desirous to intrude himself again into our political affairs, we published a protest against his pretensions. It will, then, astonish no one if we present now some of the main reflections occurring to us on reading this last address.
Señor Santa Anna begins by laying down certain general maxims of historic morals, which, if they can be applied in any manner to our country, involve ideas absolutely erroneous. He speaks of the punishments that Heaven sends upon people who abuse the gifts and advantages that Providence bestows upon them, and then applies them to our country in these words:
“Our riches and prosperity in days gone by were the cause why our civic virtues, undermined by luxury and indolence, were disappearing from day to day.” (See Manifest, p. 4.)
We regret that Santa Anna, who has played such a prominent part in the history of Mexico for so many years, should make an assertion so ridiculous to men of sense, though it has been very often repeated. “We have never been rich, happy, and lazy. Though our country has many elements of wealth, chiefly mineral, they have not been developed, nor can they be, from natural causes and for social reasons entirely foreign to the will of the Mexican people.
The natural features of our country, its numerous and immense mountains, its want of navigable rivers, and even of spring water in many parts, are natural disadvantages that have retarded the progress of civilization, impeding moral and material progress, and easy modes of communication.
The lamentable condition in which we were left by the ignorance of our conquerors, the ideas of intolerance and fanaticism we inherited from them, have been some of the obstacles to the prosperity of Mexico, and, in general, of ail the Spanish American countries.
For these causes, entirely independent of our will, we have been poor and miserable, and hence the revolutions that have troubled us; it was not the supposed abuse of gifts and advantages, so lightly spoken of by some. Mexico can be, and will be, rich and happy; but it has not yet become so, because, in the order of nature, it is impossible for a new-born infant to have the strength of a giant.
Is not the four years’ brave resistance of the people against their invaders a proof to Santa Anna that the civic virtues of the people have increased, and not diminished?
[Page 228]But you should not be surprised, continues Santa Anna, that the great men of Mexico and South America should have similar ideas; mine was a project never realized.
If crimes are to be excused because notable men have committed them, courts of justice had as well be shut, and the word moral blotted from the dictionary.
Traitors have lived in every nation, and, without going back to remote times, Santa Anna may look at the late President of Santo Domingo as a notorious example.
In regard to the failure of his project, Santa Anna takes care to tell us that it was not through him it failed, “but on account of the war that then absorbed the attention of Europe.” (See page 10 of the Manifest.)
We will here mention his reason for recognizing the Maximilian intervention at Vera Cruz, in another manifest published at St. Thomas, the 8th of July, 1865, after General Bazaine’s rude treatment made him suddenly change from monarchist to republican.
“I must explain,” said Santa Anna to the Mexicans. “The newspapers of the capital published my recognition of French intervention. That act was not of my free will; it was forced upon me by circumstances.”
“The steamer in which I came had hardly cast anchor in the port, when the French commander of Vera Cruz came on board and informed me that I could not land till I signed a conditional paper. If I did not sign I was to go back on the same steamer. The conditions were that I recognized the intervention and the monarch elect, and I should address no manifest to the Mexican people. This insolence excited my indignation; but a long voyage made my wife very sick, and the advice of friends who came on board to see me persuaded me to sign the condition.”
In Santa Anna’s reply to General Bazaine, at Vera Cruz, on the 12th of May, 1864, he says, as he did not understand French, when he signed the paper, he thought he was only required to recognize intervention and Maximilian, but not to remain mute. Both these documents say that Santa Anna recognized the emperor Maximilian and French intervention; but the explanation is not very satisfactory.
In 1864 he told General Bazaine he did not know what he was signing, because the writing was in French; and in 1865 he said the proposals of the commander at Vera Cruz had caused him great indignation; and this is a certain proof he knew what he was signing.
When General Santa Anna speaks of himself, he does not wish to be accused of inconsistency. Perhaps not; but whoever looks at any of the periods of his life cannot but confess that he changes his opinions with considerable facility. He was a warm republican in 1822— lukewarm and discouraged after a little while; he was a monarchist from 1853 to 1864, at least; and again he is a decided republican and a partisan of constitutional liberty in 1866. If we add to this the time in which he was partisan and defender, as a military man, of the Spanish domination, we shall see that the charge of inconsistency, which he thinks very hard, is justly deserved, and he cannot deny that we have a reason to call him changeable.
One of the proofs of levity given by General Santa Anna is to have believed and said that one of the objects of the tripartite intervention was to secure the happiness of Mexico. Any one having the slightest acquaintance with history and with the human heart would have known that natives are not in the habit of shedding their blood and expending their treasures disinterestedly, and for the simple pleasure of doing good. Still further, all sensible men, all independent newspapers of every country, pointed out with the greatest clearness the true object of the three powers in interfering in the business of Mexico—the destruction of republican institutions during the civil war which reddened the territory of the United States. Every one said—and among them General Prim, whose official opinion cannot be doubted— that the Mexican republic was to be destroyed and a monarchy substituted in its place, and that the Archduke Maximilian of Austria was to be at the head of that monarchy. On the 30th of November, 1864, the same Señor Santa Anna wrote from San Thomas to his old friend and agent Don José Maria Gutierrez Estrada—and this before the allied forces had reached Vera Cruz—the following:
“The candidate of whom you speak to me (his Highness Archduke Fernando Maximiliano) is the best you could find; therefore I hasten to give him my approbation.”
It seems that Señor Santa Anna knew as well or better than any other that the true object of the intervention was to destroy the republic and substitute for it a foreign prince supported by foreign bayonets. Nevertheless, he asserts that he was ignorant of what was going on, and on that account he thought it was necessary for him to go over to the intervention in order to investigate its proceedings and its attempts, and to watch over the guarantees and freedom of his countrymen. This is the natural explanation of his visit to his country in 1864.
Here he will allow us to remind him of the following facts:
On the 28th of February, 1864, the day following his arrival at Vera Cruz, he addressed to Don Juan de Dioz Peza, who styled himself under-secretary of war and navy of the regency, a communication, in which, after acquainting him with his presence in that city, he uses the following words:
“In coming back to my native country, my intention is to co-operate, as much as I can, in the consolidation of the form of government that the nation has thought proper to adopt under the beneficent protection of the illustrious Prince designated in the high counsels of [Page 229] Divine Providence to raise the nation from the abyss of misfortune into which she was plunged by anarchy.
“I bring to the knowledge of the regency that it can have my humble services, and dictate the orders it wishes to the oldest veteran of the Mexican army.”
This very clear expression of sentiment, signed by Señor Santa Anna, perfectly agrees with a humble letter which he previously addressed to Archduke Maximilian on the 22d of December, 1863, and with the manifesto to the nation published in Orizaba. This manifesto was the cause of the order of General Bazaine compelling him to re-embark. Amid his thousand praises of the archduke, and a thousand protestations of obedience, Señor Santa Anna says:
“If it had been possible for me to follow the Mexican commission, your highness would have heard through the lips of one of the pioneers of independence, who occupied for so many years the first place among his countrymen, the ratification of what the worthy president of that commission has expressed with so much eloquence and sincerity.”
In the same letter he says that the empire with Maximilian at its head was the only remedy capable of curing the disease of Mexico, and the last dawn of its hope, and he concludes it with these expressive words:
“I hope your imperial highness will condescend to acknowledge in the oldest veteran of the Mexican army a devoted and disinterested friend and your most obedient servant, who wishes you the greatest happiness, and humbly kisses the imperial hands of your imperial highness.”
At that date, not very remote, Señor Santa Anna showed an enthusiasm and a devotion to the empire which strongly contrasts with his present declarations in favor of the republic.
The former manifesto resembles the latter only in this, that it describes with glowing colors the good and prosperous state of Mexico during the last dictatorship of Señor Santa Anna— an opinion which the Mexican people undoubtedly does not share, for they rose in mass against his Highness (a title which he took and compelled other people to acknowledge) and forced him to leave suddenly the territory of the republic. The rest of that document strongly censures all the republican governments of Mexico, and all those of the Hispano-American countries, and especially that presided over by Señor Juarez, that good patriot, as he calls himself so deservingly in his present manifesto; and at the same time shows his complete attachment to monarchy and to Maximilian:
“At solemn moments the good man sought to speak the truth with frankness and sincerity. The illusions of youth are gone; in presence of so many disasters produced by that system (the republican) I will not deceive anybody; the last word of my conscience and my conviction is, the constitutional monarchy.”
Señor Antonio Santa Anna does not confine himself to praise of the monarchy and the archduke, but entreats the Mexicans in the most pressing manner to preserve the memory of the magnanimous monarch who has extended to them, so opportunely and generously, his powerful hand.
Are we not justified, with such facts before us, in doubting the assertions of his last manifesto, “that he went to investigate the proceedings of the interventionists and look after the interests and liberties of his countrymen, and that he never aspired for a high position in the gift of the archduke?”
In his present manifesto Señor Santa Anna says:
“I have in no manner compromised myself with the empire; I belong entirely to the republic, and in presence of the danger by which our country is menaced, the name of all parties disappears from my sight. I am not a conservative, nor am I a liberal; I am a Mexican.”
The contrast between Santa Anna’s manifesto of 1864 and his manifesto of 1866 is so strong that everybody will naturally feel inclined to inquire after the cause of this marvellous conversion. Mr. Santa Anna having prepared the question, we proceed to give the answer:
“General Bazaine,” says he, “rudely drove me from the Mexican territory, and I was obliged to re-embark shortly after my arrival. I bear no resentment on that account. I am rather glad the outrage was committed, because it may have saved me from making certain compromises which circumstances might have imposed upon me, and because it opened my eyes regarding the intentions of the interventionists.”
In one word, the rude treatment of General Bazaine is the reason why Señor Santa Anna extricates himself from his precedents, and forgets his warm advocacy of the intervention. We do not think we do him an injury in believing that he would now be one of its strongest supporters if, instead of having received the order to re-embark, he had received with the imperial decoration his appointment as commander in some of the corps of the imperial army.
It is impossible to deny, however, that he proceeds systematically. Opposed to the intervention because ill-treated by General Bazaine, who represented it, he addressed, or at least said he was going to address, his complaints to the French Emperor, in order to obtain the [Page 230] justice to which he was entitled. This monarch undoubtedly approved the act of the commander of his armies, and Señor Santa Anna did not receive (at least nothing is known on that subject) the apology which he expected.
What was the reason of his anger against Maximilian? Mr. Santa Anna tells it:
“What favor did I receive from the archduke? Does he not by his silence fully approve the violence which was committed against my person?”
Few explanations can be as conclusive as this. Señor Santa Anna knew that the intervention was in opposition to the wishes of his countrymen, because General Bazaine bids him to re-embark; he lost all faith in monarchy and all his enthusiasm for Maximilian, because the latter approved by his silence the conduct of the French general. We appeal to all sensible men to say if it is a temerity on the part of the antagonists of Senor Santa Anna to doubt of his conversion, and to suppose that in 1864 he went to Mexico to look for a high position from the archduke, and not to look for the security and the liberties of his countrymen.
In following the examination of the present manifesto, we find that Señor Santa Anna attempted to get rid of the accusation of having once aspired to the imperial crown, yet appearances condemn him.
During the dictature which he exercised in Mexico from the month of February, 1853, down to the month of August, 1855, his policy assumed such a course that everybody, the ignorant and the wise, foreigners and Mexicans, supposed that he was ready to proclaim himself emperor of Mexico. He suppressed all shadow of national representation, all vestige of popular election. All public officers, beginning with the governors of departments, and ending with the most insignificant of them all, the sub-prefect, were directly or indirectly appointed by him. He also ordered every one of his officers to be called by his respective title, while, according to the laws of the republic, these titles were to be given in writing only. He revived the order of the Knights of Guadalupe, which was established by Emperor Iturbide, and appointed himself, of course, master of the order, changing the title of excellency, which had hitherto been given to the President of the republic, into that of serenissima highness. He created an army, which he dressed richly, and which he called his highness’s guard; in short, he behaved in such a way that he cannot accuse the people of levity in attributing to him the intention of wearing the crown. This happened in 1853 and 1854, at a time when the memory of the prince president of the French republic, and that of the coup d’etat of the 2d of December, was still fresh in all minds.
There is a circumstance which we ignored, and that Señor Santa Anna has just revealed to us:
“Generals, and even governors of departments,” says he, “awaited only my acquiescence in order to proclaim me emperor on my birthday. * * * It was enough for me, in order to wear the imperial crown, to stretch out my hand.”
Señor Santa Anna will allow us a slight observation. We do not doubt for a single moment that the generals and governors appointed by his serenissima highness would have been disposed to proclaim him emperor, because worse things were seen in the Roman senate in the time of Tiberius; but we doubt very much that the Mexican people, who could not suffer him as dictator, and compelled him to fly in August, 1855, would have tolerated him as a king. Perhaps we are mistaken; but Señor Santa Anna will agree that our doubts are not without foundation.
If this is not sufficient, there is another conclusive proof: the full power which he gave to Señor Gutierrez Estrado on the 1st of July, 1865, “to enter into arrangements and make the proper offers to the courts of London, Paris, Madrid, and Vienna, to obtain from those governments, or from any of them, the establishment of a monarchy derived from any of the royal races of those powers.”
Here we cannot but confess that the arguments of Señor Santa Anna are extremely happy. This document proves conclusively that on the 1st of July, 1854, he did not think to make himself an emperor, but to sell his country, preparing to transfer it, with its hands and feet tied up, to the power of its conquerors, or to some other foreign princes. This, which in accordance with the most obvious principles of universal morals we call treason, Señor Santa Anna calls a master-stroke of disinterestedness. Of such a disinterestedness Señores Almonte, Marquez, and other traitors, supporters of Maximilian, could boast with as much reason. * * * He thought himself bound only to recognize the French intervention and Maximilian.
“But why insist in charging me?” says Señor Santa Anna in his last manifesto. “I sinned, and I repent; and to cause all my wrongs to be forgotten I am here now ready to fight, and die, if it is necessary, in defence of the independence of the republic—of the constitutional government to which I submit.
“Where is the Mexican who can refuse my services without deserving the opprobrium of history, or deny me the right to fight, and die, if necessary, in defence of our desolated hearths? * * * Do not forget that domestic disunion, when the soil of our country is being profaned by foreign invaders, is equivalent to desertion in the face of the enemy. * * * Let ail dissensions among our countrymen cease, and let all hatred be reserved for the foreign domination that covers us now with ignominy and shame. [Page 231] * * * By reason of my antecedents, of my position in the conservative party, and even of my long absence from the country, I believe myself to be the one called upon to reunite all minds. * * * Confide in my words and be ready.”
However inclined we are to believing what Señor Santa Anna tells us, we cannot erase from our memory that the same arguments he presents now in favor of the republic, he presented a few months ago in behalf of the intervention and of Maximilian. Then, upon his heart he swears that his last words were in favor of monarchy; now, he assures us that they were in favor of the republic. What reasons can we find to believe the last better than the first?
As he wishes, however, to fight now for the republic, and to contribute to its triumph. we concede that Señor Santa Anna is right in the desire. Nobody can prevent him from doing it. Let him disburse a portion of his immense wealth in the purchase of arms to increase the number and the power of the independent soldiers. Let him go to Mexico, unfurl the tri-color banner, and precipitate himself against the invaders who are profaning the soil of our country. It may be so, but let us understand each other.
If we are to believe the city newspaper which has taken charge of assisting Señor Santa Anna, the latter wishes that the constitutional government should appoint him general-in-chief of the republican armies. Can Señor Santa Anna imagine that any one of these deserving, hungry, naked, disarmed citizens, who have been constantly struggling against the power of France for the last four years for independence and the republic, would consent to obey him? Does he believe it possible that the constitutional government which represents that people, who keeps still fresh in its memory the defection of Urugua and others, could forget the protest Señor Santa Anna made yesterday in opposition to that of to-day, and give him command of that army which is the pillar of Mexican nationality? We are ready to concede that Señor Santa Anna’s conversion is genuine. But who can tell us that if Señor Santa Anna was sick again, or if the French were to lay a snare for him like that of making him sign a document in the French language he does not understand, he would not transfer the army given him by the government for the defence of the republic to its enemies?
We beg Señor Santa Anna to dismiss his fervor, and he will be convinced that these mistrusts and doubts are all natural; that every person, however indifferent to our party divisions, is led to entertain them.
There is yet another reason which we beg Señor Santa Anna to weigh with impartiality. This very party, which has not bargained nor ever will bargain with the invader—those armed citizens whom he justly called heroes—they are the same who have been fighting till they have achieved the conquest of great principles, upon which rests now the Mexican constitution as well as its civil and religious liberty. That conservative party to which Señor Santa Anna formerly belonged, over which he has now, according to his own confession, a great influence, has been the constant adversary of that principle. Supposing Señor Santa Anna to act in good faith in defence of independence; will any one be accused of levity who fears that he would destroy, after his triumph, the work that Maximilian and the French did not dare to touch—a work that they wished to consider as a title of glory and popularity? Does Señor Santa Anna believe that these doubts and fears, so well founded, would give him such a fame as to enable him to conciliate opinions?
We could add more, but enough has been said to prove that we bear no personal hate to Señor Santa Anna, nor are we moved by a spirit of partisanship. None of these motives inspired the protest we signed on the 15th of last May. Simply citizens for the most part, and far remote from the influence of office, no one can say that we see in Señor Santa Anna a terrible rival and obstacle to our aspirations. All of us are moved solely by the love of our country, and by the wish to see it independent, for which we have fought and are ready to fight again.
No. 4.
[Untitled]
Messrs. Louis G. de Vidal y Rivas, Dario Mazuera, Rafael Pombo, and A. Baiz called on me this morning.
The first mentioned delivered me a letter from Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, dated in Elizabethport, the 21st instant, of which I enclose a copy.
* * * * * *
After seeing the commissioners I will reply to Mr. Santa Anna’s communication, and will send a copy of my answer to your department.
I repeat the assurances of my distinguished consideration.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paso del Norte.
No. 5.
[Untitled]
My Distinguished Compatriot: I have arrived in the United States on my way to our country, so worthily represented by you here, and I would have been pleased to visit you in Washington to inform you of the object of my journey; but as this is impossible at present, I have commissioned my friends Don Louis Vidal y Rivas, Colonel Dario Mazuera, and Don Abraham Baiz, with Don Rafael Pombo, who volunteers to accompany them, to represent me. They will present to you this letter, and I beg of you to receive what they may say as coming from myself.
I cannot remain an indifferent spectator of the misfortunes of our country, and I comprehend that my apparent indifference would be a crime. Under the present circumstances it is of the most urgent necessity for the triumph of the national cause that all factions should be reconciled; and that confidence should be restored both in the country and abroad, there must be a vigorous organization and unity of action.
My antecedents, and numerous manifestations that have been addressed to me from all parts of Mexico by former friends and even political opponents, by disappointed imperialists and by indifferent republicans, persuade me that I am the one who is called upon to set the necessary example as a loyal soldier and disinterested citizen, and to reconcile the national elements in order that the entire nation, as a single man, may work under the direction of its chief magistrate, and that the triumph may be, as we cannot but desire, truly national, satisfactory to all, and giving sufficient assurance of a final, powerful, and respectable organization.
It is not strange that I am not yet judged with the impartial judgment of history; that day has not yet come. When it does, then can be applied to me the words of Montesquieu: “The errors of statesmen are not always voluntary; they are often the necessary consequences of the situations in which they are placed, where difficulties reproduce difficulties.”
My enemies have seen in me only a Sylla; but now my greatest desire is to prove to them that I should not be compared to that ferocious Roman, except in entirely separating myself from public affairs when I still had power to control them. I have already once voluntarily given up public position when I still had powerful means for sustaining myself. Now it is my intention to co-operate towards the restoration of the constitutional republican government in the capital of Mexico; to see the people in the way of freely reorganizing themselves by means of their representatives, and then immediately to withdraw to private life, in order to die respected and tranquil in the bosom of my country. My ardent dream, my ambition, is to struggle once more for the independence of my country, and to re-establish the republic I was the first to proclaim in 1822, to pass the remainder of my years in the enjoyment of the love of my fellow-countrymen, and to merit that there shall be inscribed over my tomb the glorious title of a good citizen.
Of the firmness and sincerity of my intentions, if it is possible there can be any doubt, I am disposed to give whatever proofs may be exacted; and very far from wishing to act on my own account and thus promote still another conflict and a new dissension in the constitutional camp, I commence by addressing myself to you in order that we may come to an understanding with regard to the manner of my co-operation; and I beg to request that you will transmit this communication to Señor Juarez, as if addressed directly to him in asking his commands.
I do not doubt that the people of our country will in the end profit by the experience we have had. I am now neither conservative nor liberal; I am only a Mexican, and I open my arms to all my countrymen.
In a few days I will publish a manifesto, which I hope will satisfy all who desire to know my sentiments and the object of my journey. The gentlemen in charge of this letter will give to you all necessary explanations, and you can speak to them as you would to me
I hope, however, to have an opportunity to see you and to renew to you personally the assurances of my high appreciation and esteem.
Your obedient servant and countryman,
His Excellency Don Matias Romero, &c., &c., &c.
No. 6.
[Untitled]
The commissioners of Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna called upon me again to-day.
* * * * * * * * * * *
I answered Mr. Santa Anna’s letter, of which I sent you a copy yesterday, in the terms which you will see in the enclosed copy of my answer.
I repeat the assurances of my most distinguished consideration.
The Minister of Foreign Relations, Paso del Norte.
No. 7.
[Untitled]
Dear Sir: Your commissioners, Don Louis Vidal y Rivas, Colonel Dario Mazuera, Don Abraham Baiz, and Don Rafael Pombo, placed in my hands yesterday the letter which you have been pleased to address to me under date of the 21st instant, from Elizabethport, advising me of your arrival in this country, on your way to Mexico, where, as you inform me, you desire to go to fight for the independence of the country, under the direction of its chief magistrate.
In compliance with your request in the said communication that I would transmit the same to the President of the republic, I forwarded yesterday a copy to the minister of foreign relations and of government.
I have listened with interest to what your commissioners have stated to me, in your name, with regard to your intentions and the motives that have guided your conduct. To avoid any misunderstanding, I think it proper to put my reply to them in writing, to be delivered to you as the result of their mission.
If you had not been the first to propose the establishment of a European monarchy in Mexico, when you were at the head of the nation, and had not recognized and sustained the intervention which the Emperor of the French is inflicting upon our country, as is proved by the documents recently published, I do not think there would be any difficulty in the government of the republic accepting and making use of your services, for, in a foreign war so holy as the present, all party differences should disappear; and, in my opinion, not even the President would have the right to prevent any Mexican, desirous of defending his country, from complying with his duty in this regard.
But, unfortunately, in your case, there are peculiar circumstances that change the aspect of the question. Besides resting now under the stain of having recognized and given all the weight of your influence to the treasonable project of overturning the national government of our country and establishing another that would make it a mere dependency of France, there is the circumstance that during the later years of your life you have been intimately associated with the reactionary party of Mexico, which is the party, as is well known, that has been the promoter and supporter of the unpatriotic designs that I have mentioned.
This is calculated to give rise to apprehensions that in the participation you are seeking to secure in the affairs of the republic you might undertake either to promote another revolution, as you have often done before, in favor of that party, or for the purpose of protecting the guilty members of it, which would be a new cause of disagreement and a great evil to our country, as thus the just expectations of our people would be frustrated; or, at least, that you might try to create a new party, and thus give rise to other dissensions which could only result in the benefit of our invaders. All these circumstances render it a difficult question, in my judgment, to decide whether it would be for the interest of our country that your services should be accepted or not. This question, as well from its grave importance as from the knowledge it requires of the circumstances of the nation, can only be decided by the chief magistrate of the republic to whom the Mexican people have confided its destinies:
I do not doubt that you are disposed to make the proper explanations and to give the necessary securities; nor do I doubt that, in view of all this and of the circumstances of the republic, the President will decide as may be best for the interests of the country.
Without awaiting his decision, I can say that I believe it to be your duty not to undertake any proceedings that may create difficulties or complications for the government or the nation if your services are not accepted.
I am, very attentively, your obedient servant,
Señor Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Elizabethport.
No. 8.
[Untitled]
With your note (No. 389) of the 24th of May last you enclosed to me copy of the communication addressed to you, under date of the 21st, by Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and with your note (No. 391) of the 25th of the same month you enclosed to me copy of your reply.
In this communication Señor Santa Anna manifested to you his desire to now lend his services to the cause of the republic against the foreign intervention, and he asked you to transmit his communication to the government. You replied that you had so transmitted it, and explained to him the reasons why you judged it proper that you should leave it to the government to determine whether his services should be accepted or not.
Your two notes have been laid before the President of the republic, and he has approved your conduct in the affair.
[Page 234]Since the commencement of the existing war, in which Mexico defends her independence and her republican institutions against the pretensions of a foreign intervention, it has been the constant rule of the government of the republic never in any manner to refuse to accept, on account of past differences of a purely political character, the services of all Mexicans who in good faith desire to volunteer and loyally to defend the cause of their country. Far from opposing difficulties to those who have so proceeded, impelled by a noble patriotism, the government has justly esteemed and has accepted with satisfaction the services of those whom it might before have considered as political adversaries. Many of these are now combatling under the flag of the government, and others have already consummated their consecration to the country by a glorious death.
If the government could consider Señor Santa Anna in this condition, it would not hesitate for a single moment in thankfully accepting the offer of his services; but the grave charges which appear in all his previous conduct do not permit it to have any security in the loyalty of his intentions, nor even is there any doubt which might incline it in his favor.
This is not the occasion to enumerate the numerous charges that have been made and are now being made against him by honorable men of all parties and of all opinions, who consider him as the first and most constant promoter of anarchy, of immorality, and of corruption. It is sufficient now to notice particularly the principal part which he has had in placing in peril the independence of the country, and in bringing upon it all the evils of a foreign intervention.
In the documents which have been published by his own accomplices, it is seen that when at the head of the government of the republic he solicited in 1854 European intervention, that he continued laboring for the same object thereafter, and that when Maximilian was proposed as its instrument he humbly offered to him his person, his influence, and his services. Scarcely two years have passed since Señor Santa Anna came to the national territory with the hope of obtaining the reward of his treason, and solemnly protesting that the last conviction of his life was the monarchy, and his last desire to submit himself to a foreign power.
Defrauded in his hopes, rejected and banished by his own accomplices, who feared they might afterwards be betrayed by him, he did not even then resolve to serve his country, even although impelled by resentment at the insults he had received. The intervention then appeared powerful, and he did not wish to participate in the perils of the defenders of his country. Not until two years afterwards has he come to offer his services, when he has seen that the last hour of the intervention is about to strike.
If those who, led by him, have called in the foreigner, have believed that they had well-founded motives to distrust and fear that he would afterwards prove a traitor to them, how much greater would be the distrust and apprehension, upon seeing him at their side, of the defenders of the republic. Remembering that he had affiliated with all parties, that he had proclaimed every cause, and that he had recently protested his final adhesion to the foreign monarchy, they would not wish to combat in the same camp, fearing that he would deliver them up, and they would not wish to unite with him, much less place themselves under his orders, fearing that he would contrive their destruction.
They would even fear, as already some have said, that he came sent by the foreign intervention in order to introduce an element of discord among the defenders of the republic, and in order that, on the termination of the intervention, those who have favored and sustained it might have in him a friend and supporter.
Even supposing that the intentions of Señor Santa Anna should now be loyal, the constant suspicion which would be awakened by his past acts would render not only useless under the present circumstances, but even prejudicial, the admission of his services.
Although the government might wish to place in him some confidence, it does not believe it possible that it would also be felt by the defenders of the national cause.
In order not to believe in his new protests of patriotism, they would repeat that he has violated before all his oaths, and that he has broken before his most solemn engagements.
In order not to believe his new protests of loyalty to the republic, they would repeat the charges that have been made, that as an officer he has been disloyal to all the governments that have employed him; that as the head of the government he has been disloyal to all the parties who have aided him to power; and that as a Mexican he has been lately disloyal to the cause of his country.
For these considerations the President of the republic does not believe it in any manner compatible with his duty to admit the offer which Señor Santa Anna has now sought to make of his services. Nor does he believe that his manifestations or protests of patriotism can be in any manner considered as sufficient to relieve him from the very grave charges which exist against him.
Señor Santa Anna having asked you to transmit to the government his communication, you will be pleased to transmit to him this reply. I renew to you my most distinguished consideration.
The Citizen Matias Romero, Minister of the Mexican Republic in the United States of America, Washington, D. C.
No. 9.
[Untitled]
In my letter to you on the 25th of May last, in reply to yours of the 21st of the same month, I informed you I had sent your note of that date to the government of the republic, in accordance with your wishes. This day I received a note from Mr. Lerdo de Tejada, minister of foreign relations and government of the republic, dated in Chihuahua, the 6th of July last, and numbered 289, containing the answer of our government to your offer of services.
In accordance with instructions to me in that note, I send you a copy of it.
I embrace the occasion to renew the assurances of my most attentive consideration.
Señor Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, New York.
No. 10.
[Untitled]
We, Maximilian, emperor of Mexico, decree:
Article 1. There shall be appointed a receiver to take an inventory of the property which Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna possesses within the limits of the empire.
Art. 2. Said receiver shall keep an exact account of the revenues yielded by such property, and shall make deposit of said revenues for safe-keeping, without deducting any sums except such as, with the approbation of this government, shall be allotted to the members of Santa Anna’s family actually residing within the territory of the empire.
Art. 3. No contract having relation to the said property shall have the force of law without the written approbation of the said receiver.
Our minister of the interior is charged with the execution of the present decree.
Given at the palace, in Mexico, the 12th day of July, 1866.
By order of the emperor:
José Salazar Ilarregui, Minister of the Interior.