would have authorized me to secure the persons of these men, and to proceed afterwards to adduce the proofs of their guilt: but as this was a necessary preliminary under the new system, I have been compelled to allow of the departure of criminals, who, under our old and more judicious order of things, would, certainly, not thus have triumphed over justice and the law.
Every measure which the Cortes have taken with regard to these countries, seems to have had no other object than to precipitate their ruin; and as the Insurgents here are in continual and close communication with their Deputies in the Peninsula, they receive information of every decree relative to America, and claim its immediate observance, in terms which have not even left me the option of suspending the execution of those which I regarded as most prejudicial.
In this singular, and most embarrassing situation, I had no means of saving my honour but by giving in my resignation, which I have frequently tendered: nor can I account for its not having been accepted, since I was not only known to be disaffected to the principles of the Constitution, but, in spite of express and repeated orders actually suspended, and refused to execute some of its provisions, which I saw must produce a positive dissolution of all government in this country.
Such was my conduct with regard to the liberty of the press, the appointment of the Jueces de Letras, the maintenance of a body destined to watch over the public security in the interior of the capital; and the declaration, that the authority of the Viceroy was superior to that of the Political Chiefs, and the Deputations of the several Provinces.
In the course of the two months, during which the liberty of the press was established under my immediate predecessor, it caused so general an irritation in the public mind, and produced such an extraordinary number of seditious, incendiary, and insulting papers, that an insurrection was on the point of breaking out in this Capital; the violence of the mob being first displayed on the celebration of the election of the new Municipality, which was, in fact, the first triumph of the rebels. On this occasion, the populace was infuriated by treasonable addresses, and led on by the example of a number of disaffected who mingled with the crowd. The streets were filled with bands
