Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1823-02-13

endeayored 10 miimidate the Congress in
IN . compIiapce with their demands. FL
paIiy Iturbide was sent for, that his pre-
seuce might serve 10 quiet bi> troops anc
protect the MembeIs-and under !h''
state OF affairs was The question whether
he should be declared Emperor, put to IL.
house Some Is or 90 only ba'mg the
courage to vote in the negative, ne was
Immediately proclaimed by the so'd'e'y.
He conducted himself at hrst win muco
circumsp, clion, am attten' on 10 Popu'
lsri,y: but when he was CROWDED, ws'ich
was on the 9Ist OF July last, and had se'u'
red, as he thought, by this solemn and sei'
pious act, land a truly farcIcal scene The
religious ceremony was,) the great "ass
Of the Mexican people to acsno"l.dge ms
'divine right" he Immediately tire" OH
the mask.
A short time after the coronation, a man
who had been the prime mover q ins'',
gator of the disturbances ot TIE ION u
May, Chen . sergeant 10 lturbloe feg'-
ment, but promoted immediately lot n'S
important services on that occasion 10 a
captaincy,) repaired TO the Congress, ana
by the mos: lnHama DRY speeches ana eA-
ampIes endeavored 10 incIte the s0loiery
TO out down that body ; in this sttempf
he was unsuccessful, and as a reward Tor
his patriotic intentions he was arrested oy
order OF that body and placed in c,ose
confinement. A few days after this affair
the following proposition was made to The
Congress, under Inc plausible pretexi OF
taking measures to secure hal assembly
in the exercise OF is functions, but IN truth
TO cloak the designs and despotic view; o.
Iturbide THAT military tribunals sh'l'1
| be established %tbrougboui the empire, IN
power to make arrests, try, condemn, anu
execute, all persons gully Of disatsc,ioo,
or who spoke disrespeclfully OF The I'm
| peror. the Congress or the Govern cent
-insidiou proposition which would have
been only another name Tor he lnqu''''
| %si,iou,) worse than the darkest era OF opa-
| nish intolerance. and more infamous 'na',
| the arbitrary directory which deso'aleq
| France during The re & Of anarchy anu
terror. was rejected by q unanimous vote.
The Emperor now determined TO 'hEo"
off all restrain, .aa &C! on his own respon'
, s,biIi,y: Accordingly on The night OF the
| a6lb Of August, q number oil members of
Congress as well as officers OF the army
were arrested and imprisoned; and arrests
and ~jmpr,sonnents took place every day
far some weeks after In that country the
day Of The Patron Saint is kept in lieu OF
| birth days,as with Us The s6th was stAu-
gustin's day but there was no public re-
ioiei,, or other NANTES ton OF sttacb
ment ; on the contrary, all was Gull and
| gloomy, md at night, instead OF a genera
Illumination a solitary lamp here mo tne's
! in The house OF some public functsonar'
served only 10 'ren'ter darkness visible
On the night OF the s9:h, that part .:
| the troops devoted TO the Emperor evInced
| a disposition 10 murder the prisoners !; the
other regiments avowed a determination
10 protect them ; both parties wers under
! arms the whole night, and a shout word.
from any imprudent individual would
have lighted the brand u civil %cSn'enIon,
| and set them 10 butchering Que smother
and in this vacilating state affairs remain
| Ell for several days,
Congress instantly demanded OF The
! Emperor, that the charges against those
| Members OF their body who had been I'm.
prisoned should be Immediately furnished
to them, to enable that body to proceed
on their trial in conformity with The Spa
nish Constitution, which al present IS The
law Of the land. or their colleagues should
| be Immediately released. The Emperor
replied, that "the conspiracy IN which
they we're implicated was very extensive,
and time sufficient had not elapsed to en-
able the Government 10 digest the char
aes against them /; independent OF which
a question arose with him as 10 The com
p~etency oil Congress to try the prisoners,
as he suspected upon an iavestlsa alton II
| would be found that other Members Of
that body would be implicated. in winch
case Congress So should be diss lvcd ."-A'-
ter several days consumed in negotiation,
the question was compromised, and It was
agreed that they should be tried by about
40 members of the Congressional body,
all OF whom were to he selected by the
Emperor. Alter alaborious investigation
there were only four OF the imprisoned
members against whom CHARGES could be
sustained, namely, Gen. Anaya, who
fought under Jackson at New.Orleans 4
received the public thanks OF that officer,
the venerable Padre Mier, Charles Busta-
mente and --.
At the commencement; OF The contest .he
Congress evinced much 6runess, and taeir
demands, although urged with resp CT,
were conyeye, n strong language AT
me time the impeachment or arrest OF
Herrera, the Minister Of STATE. was said
10 have been contemplated as a re,alia:ory
measure, founded l presume, on the di-
vine right of Kings, and the MAXIM that
they can do no wrong-6nding their re-
mopstrAnces were of no avail, and that all
their representations were either received
with trigid indifference, or answered with
all the superciiious arrogance Of arbitrary
and usurpipg power, they notified Him.
that they should be under tho unpleasant
necessity Of dissolving tbemselves.-This
measure would have been fraugh with the