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Rh not against the nation, but against the government. This announcement was intended, while soothing the masses, to strengthen the opposition to Bustamante; and not without success, for the federalists grew more confident as they saw the supreme authorities becoming involved. Pronunciamientos increased in every direction, under the wing of Guzman in Michoacan, under Olarte in the mountains of Puebla and adjoining provinces, breaking out with particular force in Tampico, and under Urrea in Sonora and the region southward; besides which the Texan question came looming up again. Chiapas was threatened with a Guatemalan invasion, and San Luis Potosí with military mob rule, due partly to an impoverished treasury that could not provide pay for the troops or means to execute the plans of the cabinet. The president had to ask permission to contract fresh loans for meeting the difficulty, and received special powers. Orders were issued to strengthen the coast defences. Additional troops were levied and several volunteer corps formed, but in so spasmodic and unsatisfactory a manner as to evoke an outcry from several quarters. The government aimed rather at securing itself against the federalists and other opponents than at protecting the country. Comandante General Rincon of Vera Cruz, for instance, was directed to strengthen the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, the