, THE AUSTIN PAPERS. 587 city on the 24 Feby. 1822. . They proceeded in their deliberations, .and collissions soon arose between· them and the Generalissimo, who finally wrenched from them by .the .imposing force of· his troops whose bayonets even threatened the lives of those who dared to speak like men, and like freemen, his elleccion as Emperor. Up to, this period [February 24, 18:22)' Iturbide acted as the liberator of a Nation, as the Heroc of Igunla ought to have acted,- let us now follow: him still further, Scarcely had Congress com- menced in the discharge of their Sacred duties entrusted to their charge when collissions urose between them and the Generalissimo, who finally wrenched .from them by -the force of the Bayonet his eleccion as Emperor on the 19 May lasli-not content with this viola- tion of the sucred Sanctuary of the Peoples rights, he endeavored to make Congress mere tools and engines of his will, by.emprissoning the most liberal [and] independent amongst them, thereby reducing the force of the true patriots and hoping by this step to intimidate the balance.. -In this hope he was deceived, notwithsta.nding the tenifie example of seeing their companions dragged from their beds at midnight by armed soldiers and cast into Prison., Notwithstand- ing the abuse which was poured upon them by the base hirelings of the Govt through the medium of printed papers, and the hypocrital allurements of Emperial bribes and patronage added to the opinion o:f the Sycophants who composed the never to be forgotten ,Junta of the 16 October on whfoh a few men dared to usurp the rights of the So,·ercign people by .dccluring that Nacional representation should be reduced to. GO. members N otwithstancling•all this, it was found that the illumination of the age,•the firmness of freedom' had pene- trated even into -the Hall of,n Jesuits ·Chapel. in the City of :Mexico and that the Deputies uninfluenced by the recollection that they we1·e sitting in a room where national freedom:and justice had on[c]e bcl\ll bound by priest cmft and Fanaticism, or by the threats or .allure- ments of Imperial power, only remembered that they were the rl\1)- resentatives of [the] injured and.insulted sovereignty of the i\foxicun nation ,and [as] such rejected .the proposition to distroy .them- selves, or to.give to the emperor a veto on the constitution as he de- manded~the conseque11ce of this.was that in less than 6 hours after . this magnanimous vote, wus -p~·onounced an Imperial decree wus communicated to them through the medium of a military force dis- solvino- them from the .moment the decree was presented. This act ,.., [of] despotism was viewed by. all liberal and enlightened men with the horror and exeGrution it ·merited, but unfortunately th~ ~ame force which reared H. .M. to the Imperial-throne still sustained him in consumuting hi_s usw·pution. with out arms without military force
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