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ure for variou rea on . They ]1ac1 already won over the Go\'erning Co1mcil and many of the reole officers, who like the Council. were incautiou and allowed them elves to be deceived by those refined rascal whose crooked methods and innumerable intrigues I well knew. Finally the opposition became almost general, for which I wa obliged to giYe counter-orders, but nt the ame tim<' I explained to the Council and officers that we honld look upon the march of that division to the other provinces as the point [guarantee?] of life and security of the peoples. I informed them of the plan which I had made con- cerning the order with "·hich we should conduct ourselves in order to a sure the liberty of the fonr provinces; of the manner in which we hould take posses ion of the re ourcC' there for thC"ir perpetual ecurity; and also of the possibility of communicating with the in- terior of the kingdom to find out if any government had been formed whose orders we hould obey. I told them this and a great deal more, but I was unfortunate in that the Creole did not understand it, due to their lack of experience in matters of such quality and delicacy. The Americans had understood this for a long time and for that reason opp9 ed it. :Most of these ra cal "·ere doctor and lawyers gifted in all matters, especially in the matter of rascality. 'l'hese ambitious fellows well lmew that if I should succeed in putting my plans into effect, it would be impo& iblc for them to do the wicked deeds which they were certain cif being able to do if·they "'ere the only force until the day upon which we could depend. ·when I saw it was impossible to take so important a step, I again called the Council and officers and made them see that our ruin was approaching if "·e did not march to pl'event the enemy from arming themselves with the Yery troops which were for us; and that if we did not prevent this, they would come upon us with such powerful forces that it would be impossible to re ist them; but not even this brought them to reason. I then decided to resign the office which the general Yote of the provinces had conferred upon me. I in tantly answered them effectually, stating that from the moment they were unwilling to obey my orders I was unable to an wer for the ecurity of the people, and for this rea on I was charged with not being able to give or take security. The same intriguers then induced all the American troop to oppo,c my rcsionntion (because it did not suit them either for me to fortify myself with the forces of the four provinces, or to retire before they hnd made thC'm, cl\'es ecnre, 11 they thought). For this reason I thought it best to remain, but with the t!ri \'OUS feeling that all \'mnl<l be lost because of thC'se wicked men. Within a few days the accursed intriguers agreed npon the plan of arousing di~satisfaction nmong the inh11bitants of Vexar and the troop who had been surrendered at discretion, whereupon Rome of them be[!a:u to clescrt. 'J'he enemy, wbo had not yet dared to rue in the other provinces, plucked up coumge with the continuon: de l'rtion of nearly two thousand men. The traitor, Elisondo, wns the fir t who began to reassemble nll tb foreC's or the Peovincc of '.\lon<'lova and accordingly, he with the Bishop or :\lonterrey and other of like calihr sent communications to the sau~uinnry .1\ rrc<londo, who was outside the provinces. This factiou leader, suppnrtNl hy the promises of
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