Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/510

490 troops at Orizaba. His stay at that town, where he was surrounded by his creatures, was marked by a series of disgraceful orgies, and when in May 1798, he embarked for Spain, he took with him nearly five millions of pesos in gold and silver, the greater portion of which belonged to him. Never had the people of New Spain complained so bitterly and with so good cause, as against this viceroy, who in after years deserted his sovereign in the hour of his sorest need.

The new viceroy, Don Miguel José de Azanza, assumed office on the 31st of May 1798, and as he was known to be a man of ability and character, his public reception in the capital on the 10th of July following, was enthusiastic. He showed himself worthy of the good opinion of the people, and secured their confidence and respect by one of the earliest measures of his administration. Having determined that the exigencies of the war with England did not require a standing army of eight or ten thousand men, he at once dissolved the military encampments formed by Branciforte, which had been maintained at a monthly expense of over sixty thousand pesos. This heavy tax on the colonial treasury had long been a burden on the people, and the withdrawal of so large a number of men from industrial pursuits necessarily retarded the progress of the country. He took all needful precautions, however, to provide for the coast defences, and ordered gun-boats to be built, two of which were stationed in the River Alvarado.

The continuation of the war with England again necessitated heavy contributions from the Spanish