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raised. But this was not easy work, for some of the most powerful men in the country had entered upon the enterprise in good faith, not so much to favor Santa Anna's ambition as to destroy the federal sys- tem and erect upon its ruins a government better suited, as they, (but not we) believed to the character and habits of the people, and he could not betray them in that critical moment without incurring their resentment and provoking their vengeance-consequences which he had reason to fear and avoid above all else. In tn:is dilemma he decided to sacrifice those of his principal companions who would have been able to discover his infamy, and avenge themselves for his dis- loyalty to and betrayal of them. Dominated by this idea he assembled all of the Senators and Deputies in his home and informed them that if Congress did not energetically aid him in that crisis he would resign his office for the purpose of pre- venting his enemies from sacrificing him. After having spoken in an endless number of dramatic expressions-which is his manner of dis- cussing a;ny subject-he said that it was necessary to fight great ill- nesses with strong remedies and he presented a list of seventy men who should be expelled from the country as a general safety measure. In this list he included many respectable persons, among them General Bravo, the Bishop of Puebla, and Bustamante, whom he had appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Colombia the same day. The members of Congress reduced the list to 52 individuals and erased the names of General Bravo, Bishop Vasquez, Don Jose Maria Fagoaga and some others, though they could not except Don Francisco Fagoaga, whom Santa Anna would not pardon and who should have been Secretary of State during Bustamante's administration. Santa Anna said that that decree was the stone on which the Republic was to save itself. On the night of the 24th of June, 1833, Congress met in extraordinary session at the request of Santa Anna and passed the decree ordering the arrest of those whom it had outlawed, but before publishing it Santa Anna sent for Bustamante, conversed with him in regard to his trip to Co- lombia, and at the same time ordered him to be arrested as he left the palace. This was done and he was conducted to the Inquisition. These exiles did not satisfy the public. The suspicion that Santa Anna had connived with the rebels an_<} that he was the real instigator of the revolution still hung over them. For the purpose of removing this imputation and regaining the confidence of the Federal party he resolved to throw down the gauntlet once more to the rebels and con- vince the world of his innocence and patriotism. Accordingly he did so. In a short time he placed himself at the head of a division com- posed of civil militia of the district and entered the field. Prior to Santa Anna's departure, Arista and Duran had met and defeated the gallant General Lemus at Tepeaca in the State of Puebla. In the heat of the battle the veteran soldiers, who are always on the side of despotism, abandoned Lemus and the militia, who fell victims to treason. It was supposed that the conquerors would immediately start for Mexico, but instead of this they marched against Puebla, where the ancient and renowned hero of the independence and the first Presi- dent of the Republic, Victoria, still faithful to the cause of liberty,
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