No. 209.
Mr. Foster
to Mr. Fish.
Mexico, November 28, 1876. (Received December 14.)
Sir: The news of. the defeat of the federal forces under General Alatorre on the 16th, by General Diaz, the revolutionary leader, as communicated in my dispatch No. 460, was fully confirmed in this city on the 18th instant. In the secret session of Congress held in the afternoon of that day, the secretary of war acknowledged the reverse, but at the same time stated that the government had sufficient resources at its command to resist and still defeat the revolutionary movement; that only a portion of the “army of the East” (General Alatorre’s command) had been engaged in the late battle; that five thousand troops were being concentrated in Puebla, and an equal number in this city; that considerable forces were in the State of Vera Cruz at Orizaba, the city of Vera Cruz, and elsewhere; that a formidable army was being concentrated in the interior to frustrate the Iglesias movement in Guanajuato; and that there was no cause to despair of the final triumph of the constitutional government.
No official or reliable reports have as yet been published of the battle on the 16th, at Tecoac, between Generals Alatorre and Diaz. The federal forces numbered less than three thousand, and those of the revolutionists are said to have exceeded double that number. The killed have been variously reported at from two hundred and fifty to more than two thousand; but the former number is probably not far from the facts. General Diaz reports the capture of over fifteen hundred prisoners; and it is evident that Alatorre’s army was pretty nearly destroyed, except a detachment of cavalry with which the commander escaped to Puebla.
On the 18th instant, as one of the effects of the battle of Tecoac, the garrison of Puebla “pronounced” in favor of the revolution, and the governor of the State and a number of federal officers took refuge in the city of Mexico/ Preparations had been commenced on the 19th instant for a defense of this city by fortifying the gates and the adoption of other measures; but upon the receipt of the news, at a late hour of the day, of the defection and loss of Puebla, all these preparations were abandoned, and on the morning of the 20th it became evident that no defense would be made. Early in the day it was reported that at a council of the President and his friends, held the preceding night in the national palace, it had been determined that further resistance in this city to the approaching victorious army would be useless. The rumor was generally circulated that Mr. Lerdo intended to send in to Congress his resignation of the office of President, and that that body would then in accordance with the constitutional provision in case of a vacancy, recognize Mr. Iglesias, the president of the supreme court, as provisional president of the republic. But on the assembling of the Chamber of Deputies at four o’clock, on the 20th instant, General Escobedo, the minister of war, presented himself in the name and on behalf of the President, and stated that the council of ministers had decided that it was the duty of the President to maintain to the utmost the standard of legitimate and constitutional government, and that following the example of Juarez, if forced to leave the capital, he would, if necessary, sustain it in the remotest corner of the republic.
During the day great excitement and wild rumors prevailed throughout the city, and it became apparent that the President and his friends were making preparations to abandon the capital. The day and night [Page 382] passed without any disturbance of the peace, and on the morning of the 21st instant it was announced that Mr. Lerdo, accompanied by the ministers of foreign affairs, of war, of government, and finance, bad left the city about two o’clock in the morning. He was also accompanied by several senators and deputies of Congress, the governor of the federal district, and a number of personal and political friends, and was escorted by a force of about one thousand cavalry, taking the road leading to Toluca, the capital of the State of Mexico, sixteen leagues to the west of this city. The garrison of the capital, numbering probably over one thousand men, remained in the city under the commander. Immediately upon the departure of Mr. Lerdo, the government of the city was assumed by a person named in advance as provisional governor by General Diaz. The municipal police, and guards, and the federal garrison at once acknowledged his authority, and civil affairs went on as usual, without any apparent break or disturbance in government.
A commission was sent early on the morning of the 21st to notify General Diaz of the abandonment of the city by Mr. Lerdo and his government, and ask him to come at once and occupy the capital. But the general had not anticipated so sudden an abandonment by Mr. Lerdo’s government, and had gone to Puebla to reorganize his army, preparatory to marching in force upon the city. As soon, however, as he received intelligence of events, he left his command and came to this city with an escort only, but did not make his entry till late in the afternoon of the 23d, when he was received by an immense concourse of people with apparently hearty demonstrations of enthusiasm.
During the two days and a half in which the city was without any responsible government, a general feeling of insecurity and apprehension of disorder pervaded commercial and social circles, but, greatly to the credit of the inhabitants, peace and order remained undisturbed, and the various police duties and municipal administration of affairs were implicitly respected and enforced as thoroughly as under the most rigid and responsible government.
Since the occupation of the capital by General Diaz, the adjoining States of Mexico, Morelos, Hidalgo, Vera Cruz, and Puebla (before noticed), have submitted to him. He thus has possession of all the States surrounding this capital, the entire line of railroad, and the important port of Vera Cruz.
Meanwhile the forces of the Iglesias Government have been quite active, having reoccupied Querétaro, and are in uninterrupted possession of the State of Guanajuato, and also (as reported) of Aguas Calientes. News has been received that a considerable portion of the Lerdo forces which marched from Guadalajara to attack Iglesias have pronounced in his favor, and have been incorporated into his army, which now numbers about eight thousand men. It is also very probable that when the news of the abandonment of the capital by Mr. Lerdo’s government shall be known, that the States of San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, Durango, and others of the north, will acknowledge Iglesias as provisional president.
In previous dispatches I have referred to a reported agreement having been made between Mr. Iglesias and General Diaz; but it has transpired that no agreement has been effected. Commissioners had passed between the two leaders some time before Diaz’s victory over Alatorre, to discuss the terms of adjustment; and just before that event, General Diaz had sent to Mr. Iglesias a proposition constituting the basis of an agreement. This proposition has been made public since the abandonment of the city by Mr. Lerdo, and I transmit herewith [Page 383] a copy and translation thereof. Among other things, it proposes the repudiation of all the federal powers, and the formation of a cabinet of ministers equally representing Mr. Iglesias and General Diaz, the former to be recognized as provisional president and the latter to act as minister of war and general of the army, and in that capacity to appoint military governors of a number of designated states.
This proposition, it is reported, has been rejected by Mr. Iglesias, who, it is understood, bases his objection, not upon personal grounds, or those relating to a division of the offices, but upon broader principles of government. And this arises out of the difference in the programmes of the two leaders. In Mr. Iglesias’s manifesto and programme, both of which were transmitted with my No. 457, he proposes to follow as closely as possible the constitutional precepts, departing from them only in the appeal which he makes from Congress to the people on the question of the validity of the re-election of Mr. Lerdo as President. On the other hand, General Diaz’s programme is that of revolution pure and simple, claiming that it is the only method by which the government of Mr. Lerdo can be destroyed. In the plan of Tuxtepec, issued in January last, without his signature, and amended at Palo Blanco in March under his own name, General Diaz proposes to repudiate the federal powers, which would embrace not only the President, but also Congress and the supreme court, and it even provides for abolishing the Senate. As these plans have not as yet been transmitted by me, I now iuclose them with translations. It will be seen that the original plan of Tuxtepec proposes, in article 8, that President Lerdo and his officials shall personally and pecuniarily be made responsible for the expenses and injuries of the war. The amended plan of Palo Blanco omits this eighth article) and it provides that the president of the supreme court, if he accepts the plan, shall be provisional president. Immediately after the publication of this plan, in April last, Mr. Iglesias rejected this proposition and all revolutionary projects so far as related to him, declaring that he would strictly observe the constitution. (See my dispatch No. 403.) Mr. Iglesias claims that Mr. Lerdo himself violated the constitution in procuring his own re-election in the manner charged, and forfeited his title to legitimacy, and by that forfeiture he (Mr. Iglesias) became provisional president under the constitution. He therefore dissents from General Diaz’s plan of Tuxtepec, in that he insists that constitutionally there can be elections only for the vacant presidency. He proposes to constitute the Congress by supplying the places of the deputies, who have supported the validity of Mr. Lerdo’s re-election, with the substitutes or suplentes, who by the Mexican constitution are elected at the same time with the principals, to fill any vacancies which may occur.
This difference between the two independent leaders of the movements against the Lerdo Government was made known immediately after the latter had left the city, and it has been the chief topic of discussion and interest since that event. Commissioners and communications have passed between General Diaz and Mr. Iglesias, but no agreement has been arrived at. Meanwhile, the friends of General Diaz, who have been the most active supporters of his cause in the field, have been very persistent in urging his adhesion to and enforcement of the plan of Tuxtepec. As indicating the popular sentiment of his followers, I inclose extracts from an editorial in El Combate, a revolutionary organ of this city. This reeling has been so strong that it has prevailed over the opinion of the more moderate wing of General Diaz’s adherents, who have labored very earnestly for the past few days to induce him to come [Page 384] to an agreement with Mr. Iglesias, and thereby unite the nation and give peace to the country.
The controversy was finally settled yesterday by the public proclamation of the plan of Tuxtepec, and the amended plan of Palo Blanco, which took place in the grand plaza in front of the governor’s palace, accompanied by a military parade, salvos of artillery, ringing of church-bells, and the rejoicing of the partisans of the new government. Under his own signature, General Diaz orders the publication “as the law of the republic for the reconstruction of constitutional order.” A copy of the proclamation of the governor is inclosed. I also transmit editorials-from the Monitor Republicano and the Federalista of this morning, as indicating the manner in which the important act of yesterday has been received.
It is general regarded as in effect a declaration of war against the Iglesias movement; and, as confirmatory of this view, by order of General Diaz, all communication by telegraph, mail, and by public and private travel was suspended yesterday with Quertaro, where Mr. Iglesias and the advance of his army are reported to be. The forces now in this city are said to number between twelve and fifteen thousand men.
This result of the abandonment of the capital by the Lerdo government has been contrary to the general expectation, as it was supposed that upon the fall of Mr. Lerdo the two independent movements would unite by the recognition of Mr. Iglesias as provisional president and General Diaz as minister of war and commander of the army. Such was manifestly the desire of the commercial and property interests of the country, and of the more moderate adherents of General Diaz, who embraced his most prudent advisers and those most experienced in the administration of government; but his companions in arms, his revolutionary friends, many of whom followed him through his unsuccessful insurrection of 1871–’72, and who have fought his battles in the present revolution, demanded that he should not vary from the plan of Tuxtepec, and he has yielded to them. While this course has created wild enthusiasm and great satisfaction among his partisans, it has not been favorably received by the more substantial interests of the country, as it indicates a continuance of the civil war, a prostration of all commercial and industrial enterprises, and a reign of anarchy and lawlessness.
It is not, however, to be denied that General Diaz combines in his person many qualities of the successful general, and possesses a reputation for honesty and sincerity of purpose which inspires a certain degree of confidence. The attachment of his soldiers to him is illustrated in what I have stated above as to their course in insisting that he should adhere to his own plan, which makes him practically the dictator of the nation, and their objection to yielding the provisional presidency to Mr. Iglesias. The confidence which his honesty and sincerity inspire, coupled with a belief in his ability to maintain his present position, was illustrated in a conference which he held yesterday with a number of capitalists of the city, who responded forthwith to his application for a temporary loan of $500,000. It is furnished at the rate of 1 per cent, interest per month, and to be repaid in installments, commencing on the 15th of March next.
Mr. Lerdo, his ministers, and official and personal friends, after leaving this city, passed through Toluca, and at last advices were marching in the direction of Moralia, the capital of Michoacan, from which city his friends anticipate that he will issue some kind of a manifesto to the nation, indicating the course which he will pursue.
[Page 385]In view of the uncertainty of communication with Vera Cruz during the past ten days, I forward the duplicates of Nos. 459 and 460 by this mail.
I am, &c.,