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sums had been spent in maintaining his troops and in the cost of the campaign. San~a Anna continued his nocturnal excursions, and succeeded in capturmg the mail courier from l\Iexico City 1 with dispatches for Rincon. Through the letters lie was informed that the country was about to be invaded by an expedition from Havana which was causing some excitement among the people and demanding the attention of the Government. This gave Farfulla a plausible pretext to attempt to make peace with the Government once more; and, availing himself of the. occasion, he and his officers signed a document dated the 20th of November, 1828, requesting that they be granted an amnesty or general pardon on the condition that they place themselves at the Gov- ernment's orders and cooperate against the common enemy who were expected to land on the coast. 'l'his message was sent direct to Presi- dent Victoria and not to the :;\[inister of War, as was customary, be- cause it was thought that the latter was accustomed to hide public affairs from him and to work without his knowledge. This proposal did nothing for them, it experienced the same fate as the other-it was scorned, and Farfulla's condition became more hopeless than ever. The situation became strained. Rincon doubled his vigilance, sever- ing Santa Anna's communication with the city, so that provisions be- came very scarce, and in a short time, so thought Farfulla, there would be no alternative but to lose his head or flee. He chose the latter, and was busy making preparations to escape to Guatemala when his plans were frustrated by Arista, who demanded that his commander should run the same risk as the rest of them. In this miserable condition and frightened almost to death, ·he asked for an interview with Rincon and made known his decision to surremler to the Government, but see- ing that this officer would not guarantee his life, he called the enemy generals, Anaya and Valdivieso, in the night to beg them on bended knees and weeping like a child to protect him from the vengeance of Victoria and Pedraza. There was no alternative but to surrender at discretion, and he promised that he would do so the following day, but happily for him, before he took this step, the balance of fortune in- clined in his favor and he was saved by a terrible outbreak which took place in the Capital, called in history "the Revolution of the Acordada." 28 'l'his revolution was principally the work of Ilfr. Lorenzo de Zavala who, by force of circumstance became involved in it against his con- victions. At that time he was Governor of the State of l\Iexico, and finding himself persecuted by Pedraza who suspected him of having some connection with Santa Anna's uprising, he was reduced to the necessity of leaving the country or of joining the rebellion. He de- cided on the latter plan and brought about the revolution which we have just mentioned and· which had for its object, according to its author, the rescue of. Santa Anna and his troops from the terrible predicament in which they found themselves at Oajaca, and the ele- vation of Guerrero to the Presidency in the place of Pedraza who had been legally elected. The outcome was successful, for as soon as the news of the reYolution and of J>edraza's flight reached Oajaca it pro- duced a new state of affairs there. The Secretary of War ordered the "The Acordada, a large edifice at the entrance of the City of :Mexico, used as artillery barracks. De Bow's Review, II, 37.
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