Page:Guatimala or the United Provinces of Central America in 1827-8.pdf/104

Rh assure themselves of his death, and for this feat the leader of the detachment, was raised from a lieutenant to the rank of captain. After this, no further search was made for the real delinquent, and in two or three days the whole affair was forgotten.

Such was the exact state of the police of Guatimala in the year 1827, and the picture is certainly not overdrawn. The Patriot Cavalry, composed of the principal young men in the different shops and warehouses, was formed for the defence of the city, and is called out in case of tumult; but from their total want of discipline, and frequent refusals to obey the orders of their officers, they are but a poor protection either against internal or external enemies. In the month of August, a plan was formed for surprising the nightly guard, setting the prisoners free, and then murdering the chief officers of the government. This was discovered on the eve of its execution, and the Patriot Cavalry were called out at eleven o'clock at night. The corps consists of 150 men, and in this emergency only sixteen appeared.

The murder of the British consul, although arising from motives which but too powerfully influence the lower orders, cannot be considered as an event connected with passing circumstances. The primary motive was certainly revenge for