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Show > ae ¥¢ . Pr Me et er pe me Sh. d-ob nh ee ee ae ele = Oa eat & Fe onde pet ee oe hon cd ree er erenf AY7 bee - Ee Spe ~— TT LEADING Te 6 MEXICAN OF NEW FACTS ae a a [rao oe be Ge kh eee = aw em an ew e Lorene - os "pl ele pun al — & ae ee, tol >eat ee ee ee oe ek el So) YTee dnd wed a sa eee errs4 bea pee Pe tions as were at the time being exercised by them. When the treaty of Cordoba was made the plan of Iguala was specifically adopted, and it will thus be seen that so far as Mexico and her provinces were concerned, all the then existing laws of the mother country were continued in force and all officials who had held under Spanish authority were continued in office with the same power and exercising the same duties and functions as had been previously exercised by them when subjects of the crown of Spain. Two years prior to the act suspending the colonization law a decree of the government under Iturbide, passed before ar e ea oes Pee ee oe ee Rete et ee ee Pe . eer ee Pe oe Pe ee) ee sat el a al this respect these laws, the plan of Iguala, and the treaty of Cordoba have had some bearing upon the official acts of the executive and legislative authorities of New Mexico. 4 rs Py ek In ee ¥— eo The empire had followed the revolution, and by revolution the fell. Iturbide, the soldier, thought to govern ruled his regiments. CR belt FALL OF EMPEROR ITURBIDE expected freedom; pendence; Iturbide was banished, and as he had The people had they despot; they demanded for violating had gained 4 political indethe act of pro- St * — Le tack ~~ al hea ey a te * scription by secretly returning to Mexico, was executed by order of Aare + ee auren he was elected emperor, was promulgated, by the terms of which all officials were habilitated and confirmed in their offices and their official acts recognized, authorized, and confirmed. After the fall of Iturbide the constituent congress never saw fit to modify this act, and it thus appears that all the laws of Spain relative to the granting, disposltion, or sale of the lands of the country were continued in force. empire Te TERRITORY HISTORY the existing government.? The fires of revolution, however, had not burned in New Mexico, 8 Notwithstanding the act of proscription against him, Iturbide, after bi banishment, decided to return to Mexico. He landed at a place near Soto la Marina. He was Subsequently arrested by General Garza, the commander of the government forces at Soto la Marina, who informed the congress of Tamat« lipas of the fact. The congress assembled in extraordinary session, and not: withstanding Garza’s appeals for Iturbide, his efforts were in vain. The com gress confirmed| its previous sentence and Garza gre was ordered forthwith to carly it into execution. Iturbide was informed that his hour had come and at six 0 clock in Nb apt the evening he was led forth to execution. A soldier to the last, he the troops assembled, saying, ‘“Mexicans, in this last moment of mY : . I recommend to you the love of your country, and the observance of 0U! 0Ps religion. I die for having come to aid you; and depart happy becaus oe 7s you. I die with : honor, not as a traitor. That stain will not © my children and their descenda nts. Preserve order and be obedient © your commanders. From the bottom of my heart, I forgive all my enemies. OF THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO 7 even though a major portion of the Spanish inhabitants was disloyal to the crown. The representative men of the province were undoubtedly favorably impressed with the form of government which was proving so advantageous and successful in the American republic. Hidalgo had appealed for independence but the ery of Dolores was only an echo in New Mexico. In the constitution of 1814 Morelos had declared for a republic of the extreme type. But liberty and equality were not the only elements necessary for convincing appeal to the Mexican in the south. The passions of the natives were aroused. Their hearts were filled with a desire for vengeance for years of Spanish cruelty and oppression. No such sentiment obtained among the people of New Mexico. The patriotism of Hidalgo and Morelos found no counterpart among their brethren in the priesthood north of the Rio Grande. The revolution, the empire, Iturbide, his fall, the republic, all these events happened and the people of New Mexico pursued the same paths that had been followed for two centuries before, with scarce a ripple of excitement — nothing but a celebration at Santa Fé, with addresses from prominent men, every one of whom had been an official under Spanish authority, the most prominent being Facundo Melgares, the last Spanish governor, an officer whom Pike had declared was one of the very few who was loyal to his king. New Mexico was a province until the year 1824, being one of the Provinecias Internas.t On January 31st of that year, by an act of the constituent congress, it was joined to NEW MEXICO A TERRITORY the provinces of Chihuahua and Durango, forming the Estado Interno del Norte. The people of Durango were not satisfied with this, however, and, *The name was used in official documents as early as 1712.— N. Mezico, Cédulas, Ms., 322-4. As a recognized division of Spanish territory, under this name, it became such by a royal order of August 22, 1776, by which the northern provinces of Nueva Viscaya, Coahuila, Texas, New Mexico, Sinaloa, and Sonora, and the Californias were formed into a new government . This govern- ment was under a governor and comandante-general, who was entirely independent of the viceroy of New Spain, responsible directly to the king, the audiencia of Guadalajara retaining its judicial authority. For all practical purposes, this governor was a viceroy. The first incumbent of this position was General Teodoro de Croix, who came from Spain in 1776. He oceupied the position until 1782 when he was succeeded by Don Felipe de Neve, governor of the Californias. In 1783 he was made viceroy of Peru. He was a native of. Flanders, a nephew of the viceroy, Marqués de Croix, and a senior lieutenant of the Flemish company of Royal Guards. |
