Page:Vol 4 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/582

Rayon made his appearance at Chilpancingo on November 2d, and in order to soften his fall the men of Morelos joined his adherents in tendering him a pompous reception, with triumphal arches and allocutions.^[1] Bustamante and others having also arrived, the congress opened for regular business, the first act being the famous declaration of independence of November 6th, wherein New Spain, or Anáhuac, is declared forever freed from Spanish control, with liberty to administer its own destinies,^[2] and with the Roman catholic religion for the exclusive spiritual guide. Seal of the Congress. Rayon sought in vain to oppose this radical step as dangerous and needless. He admitted that to retain the name of Fernando was a mere disguise, but one which served to gain a vast and valuable support, especially among the Indians who were accustomed to venerate and bend to royalty.^[3] This view received favor, that of Bustamante among others, as indicated by his proposal through the ayuntamiento of Mexico for a base of conciliation, or at least for a more humane warfare;^[4] but Morelos

1. As described in his Diario, 649. Morelos kept away till the morrow.
2. And make treaties with foreign powers. All who oppose this act or refuse aid toward the war of independence are declared guilty of high treason. In Hernandez y Dávalos, i. 877, among others, is given the text of this brief document, signed by Vice-president Quintana, Rayon, Herrera, Bustamante, Verdusco, Liceaga, and secretary Zárate. See also Derecho Intern. Mex., pt iii. 469; Mex. Refut. Art. de Fondo, 27-8; Pap. Far., xxxvi. pt 08, no. 2, pp. 2-4; Zavala, Rev. Mex., 64, 303-12: Liceaga, Adic. y Rectif., 246-7; Mendibil, Res., 184-6; Ward's Mex., i. 202-3.
3. As instanced in the representation of 1812 from Tlascala. Rayon's paper argues the point with detail. See text in Rev. Verdadero Origen, no. ii. 2-3, prepared after the 6th, but the independence act had not been published as yet.
4. Dated Oct. 1st. Hernandez y Dávalos, Col. Doc., v. 181-3, extract in Cuad. Hist., ii. 378-82. Yet Bustamante framed the act of independence. Little in accord with this is the declamation of Morelos on Nov. 2d against Spanish tyranny and foreign interference, as reproduced in Castillo Negrete, Méx., v. 529-30. Cancelada instances that a Mexican deputy at this time suggested the concession of independence as inevitable. Tel. Mex., 426.