Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/142

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
122
CONSERVATIVE RULE.

The government also met with reverses in other parts of the country; and indeed, it may be said that its control of affairs was now at an end. I give briefly in a note the occurrences in the several states.[1] General Muzquiz' government now was obeyed only by Oajaca and Chihuahua. Under the circumstances, Bustamante saw the uselessness of further attempts to capture Puebla, and opened negotiations with his opponents. General Cortazar accordingly sought an interview with Gomez Pedraza and Santa Anna in the morning of December 8th, at which it was agreed to enter first into an armistice,[2] till both houses of congress should take action on the plan for peace proposed to Bustamante by Gomez Pedraza and Santa Anna. It was also stipulated that in the event of the congress rejecting the plan, Bustamante's army should take it into consideration. Meantime Bustamante's forces were to be quartered in Huejocingo and Santa Anna's in Puebla. I epitomize in a note the said plan of pacification.[3]

  1. Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas, Colima, Toluca, the whole south, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Durango, Sonora and Sinaloa, followed one another in acknowledging willingly or under coercion that Gomez Pedraza was the rightful president. Suarez, y Navarro, Hist. Méx., 332, 349-54; Zamacois, Hist. Méj., xi. 923-5; Pinart, Col. Doc., no. 255. In Campeche, Yucatan, on the 16th of Sept. the people shook off the yoke under which for the last three years they had been held by Carbajal. Tabasco and Chiapas also pronounced against their authorities and concluded to disregard Bustamante's administration. Bustamante, Voz de la Patria, MS., vii. 191-3, 243-50. In the south generals Bravo and Álvarez had made an arrangement to hold their respective comandancias, discontinuing hostilities and acting in concert for the general welfare. Id., 267-9.
  2. It was signed Dec. 11th, the commissioners being Gen. Gaona and Gen. Arista, for Bustamante, and Gen. Anaya and Col. Jarero for the other parties. Arrillaja, Recop., 1832-3, 258-61; Suarez y Navarro, Hist. Méx., 358-9; Bustamante, Voz de la Patria, MS., vii. 273-8; Zamacois, Hist. Méj., xi. 927-8.
  3. The preamble expressly says the object of the plan is to reëstablish a truly national and federal government. 1st. Absolute cessation of hostilities. 2d. All elections of members to general congress, state legislatures, and territorial diputaciones from Sept. 1, 1828, to date, to hold good. No more to be said about legitimacy or the reverse. 3d. New elections to be held at once for members of congress, legislatures, etc., to bring about an entire renovation so that the republic may return to the federal régime. 4th. New legislatures to be installed on or before Feb. 15, 1833; for this time, each shall, on the 1st of March, 1833, choose two senators, and vote for the president and vice-president of the republic. The actas, senators, and deputies of congress must be at the national capital on the 20th of March. 5th. Congress shall be installed March 23th, and the next day declare who have been duly