198 MEXICO. stages of the Revolution. The only difficulty was to bring the two parties to act in concert ; and this Iturbide endeavoured to efFect by the famous plan of igiiala, of which I believe him to have been the sole author, although it has been attributed, by his enemies, to the Spanish party in the capital. But the desire shown throughout it to conciliate the Euro- pean Spaniards, by guaranteeing to such as chose to remain in the country a full participation in the rights and privi- leges of native Mexicans, and even allowing them to retain possession of such public employments as they might hold at the time of joining his (Iturbide's) party, was a feeling not unnatural in a man, who had passed his life in the service of Spain, and who regarded as friends, and comrades, those from whom his countrymen had suffered most. Nor was it impo- litic, in another sense, as it weakened the motives which the Spaniards would otherwise have had for resistance, and thus smoothed the way for the adoption of those great political changes, which it was destined to introduce. Where life and property are at stake, a man must needs risk every thing in their defence ; but the case is different where the question at issue is reduced to a question of right between two Govern- ments ; and there can be no doubt, that every European, who was induced by the mild spirit of the plan of Igiiala, to regard Itiirbide's insurrection in this light, diminished the list of opponents, whom he would otherwise have had to en- counter. I have given the whole of this plan, which consists of twenty-four Articles, in the Appendix, (I^etter E.) Many of its provisions are excellent, particularly those by which all distinctions of Caste were abolished (Article 11), and an end put to the despotism of Military Commandants (Article 23), who were deprived of the power of inflicting capital punish- ments, which they had so long, and so shamefully, abused.*
- This power was latterly used almost entirely as a means of extorting
money, to which every petty Commandant had recourse, by occasionally threatening with martial law the richest persons in his district.
