of 1824. The Revolution had destroyed all discipline, and all respect for the Civil Authorities; and the soldier, accustomed to the license of a camp, was ready to follow any leader that could promise him plunder, in lieu of his arrears of pay. This dangerous state of things ended with the establishment of the Constitution, and the command of money, which the Government obtained by means of the Foreign loans. The troops, well clothed, well fed, and punctually paid, were soon brought into subjection. A number of the most turbulent officers were dismissed on half-pay, and the greatest attention was paid to the gradual improvement of the remainder.
Arms were distributed in equal proportions to the Militia and the Troops of the line, so as to make them serve, in some measure, as a check upon each other; and as the new system has been, at the same time, gradually taking root, and acquiring stability, there has been little difficulty in preserving tranquillity, and repressing partial disorders wherever they appeared. Since the insurrection of Lŏbātŏ, in 1824, there has been but one instance of gross insubordination on the part of any corps, or regiment, and that was repressed without the intervention of an armed force. It occurred at Durango, where one of the lieutenants of a regiment of cavalry quartered in the town, found means to persuade his men, that he had orders from the President to carry into execution, there, a project for central-
