Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/243

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CH. XV.]
TO GUATEMALA.
223

trary to the wishes of the executive; and, in justice to the authorities, it is necessary to state that, the causes, which led to so unsatisfactory a termination of the affair, originated in some incidental points of gratuitous and pernicious interference on the part of an English gentleman resident there, and who, when the matter was referred to the assembly, advised one or more of the members, in set and plausible terms, not to accede to the restoration sought for by the intendant of Belize. Mr. Hines, the gentleman alluded to, had not any improper intention; but every Englishman, whatever might be his rank or situation in life, felt himself warranted and called upon to dabble in politics; not knowing the mischief they might do; and he could not resist the temptation;—but, when he saw the turn the business had taken, he expressed himself much surprised and very sorry for the difficulties he had unwittingly occasioned. On his return to England, the poor man, who, I perceived, on my leaving