Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/200

180 surrendered the executive authority on the 19th of April, 1837, never again to appear in public life. His rule had been one of the most injurious to Mexico in every sense of the word.

President Bustamante encountered from the first a number of obstacles clearly indicating how difficult it would be to sustain himself in power for the term of eight years for which he had been elected. The promises of his inaugural address were received by the nation at large with indifference. Acts, not theories, were wanted. The liberal masses had been, however, buoyed up with hopes that the new administration would really endeavor to carry out an enlightened course; but they were disappointed from the first, as soon as the names of the ministers called to form the cabinet became known, for the reason that they belonged to the ranks of the aristocracy and intolerance. Luis Gonzaga Cuevas, the minister of relations, as a creature of Lúcas Alaman, was generally looked upon with distrust; Manuel de la Peña y