Miguel, informing him of the serious position of af fairs. She also informed Arias, but received a reply so unsatisfactory as to cause her much anxiety.[1]
On the following morning the corregidor began proceedings against the accused, but conducted them in so procrastinating a manner that evidently his heart was not in the work. Probably Arias was right in representing to the alcalde Ochoa that Dominguez was endeavoring to gain time, and that the plot was rapidly approaching its denouement. A little by-play was enacted: the traitor, with his own connivance, was arrested on the evening of the 15th, and on his person were discovered papers implicating Hidalgo and Allende. But this was not enough. The letters spoke of friends who could be relied on; and when closely questioned Arias admitted that these friends were the corregidor, his wife, and a number of others who were wont to assemble at the revolutionary meetings. The subordinate officer, the alcalde Ochoa, supported by the Spanish faction, now proceeded to act. The comandante Rebollo, who hitherto appears to have been quite unaware of the magnitude of the revolution, placed under Ochoa's directions three hundred soldiers;[2] and Dominguez, his wife and family, with a number of other suspected persons, were arrested and imprisoned during the night.[3] The corregidor was closely confined in a cell in the college
- ↑ 'Pero aquel contestó de una manera desabrida, diciendo que se veia en aquel compromiso por haberse fiado de quienes no debiera y que ya tenia tomado su partido.' Alaman, Hist. Mej., i. 309.
- ↑ 'La manana de 15 al 16 una faccion de europeos regentados por el alcalde ordinario D. Juan Ochoa, y como trescientos soldados del regimiento de Celaya, auxiliados por García Rebollo, sorprendieron al Lic. Dominguez. ' Bustamante, Cuadro Hist., i. 31.
- ↑ Hernandez y Dávalos, Col. Doc., ii. 74-5.
arrest, he considers not probable, since his inactivity under the circumstances for 24 hours would be inexplicable. Moreover, citizens of San Miguel affirmed that he was in that town on the morning of the 15th, attending with his troops a religious ceremony, and was seen there as late as 5 o'clock in the afternoon. From the evidence, therefore, this author concludes that Hidalgo and Allende acted immediately upon receipt of the news from Querétaro, and did not waste a day in indecision. Adiciones y Rectific., 44-5. Liceaga's conclusion is proved to be correct by the statements of Sotelo, a participator in the proceedings. He asserts that Allende arrived at Dolores at ten on the night of the 15th of September. Hernandez y Dávalos, Col. Doc., ii. 322.
