Page:History of California, Volume 3 (Bancroft).djvu/590

572 not however of long duration; for in a day or two an event occurred which put a new face on the whole subject. On August 13th. the Cataluia arrived at Monterey with news from Mexico. Castillero wrote that he had been successful in his mission, and that he would soon arrive in California as a comisionado from the national government. Just how far he entered into details is not known, as his letter is not extant; but from this arid other private communications it was known that Alvarado and his associates had nothing to fear, even if they were not to be continued in power. There came also official despatches about the war with France, addressed to the governor and general respectively. One package of correspondence was sent in haste to Sonoma, while Jesus Pico started at once to deliver the other to Alvarado at Los Angeles. Vallejo, on August 17th, circulated to military authorities the despatch respecting the French war &quot;addressed to him&quot; by the Mexican government. From San Fernando on the 18th Alvarado wrote a long letter to the general, communicating the good news, and next day issued a proclamation, in which, besides alluding to the French war, he announced also the happy results of Castillero s mission to Mexico, without specifying what those results were.

There was of course no further thought of giving up the governorship to Carrillo before Castillero s arrival, and Vallejo s plan of a convention at Santa Clara