Page:Vol 4 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/69

Rh person of the viceroy should be seized, and the government of the country held for Spain. Yerrno told his associates that if he took the lead the affair must be conducted without display of any rancorous feelings, that bloodshed must be avoided, and the proposed coup d'état accomplished in a single night.

Assembling in the city a force composed of faithful laborers on his estate, he next proceeded to gain over the officers of the palace guard. This force was composed of a company drawn from the infantry regiment organized and paid by the merchants of the capital, who moreover had the appointment of the officers. These, being selected from the commercial class, were with few exceptions devoted to the European faction, and it would not be difficult to win over the officers of a single company. The troops of the viceroy were already drawing near to the city, and the active conspirators, who numbered three hundred, appointed the night of the 14th of September. The viceroy had been several times warned of the plot, and had it not been for his egotism, apathy, and obstinacy, he might have prevented it.