Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/273

Rh federalist victory, greatly to the disappointment of Santa Anna, who had striven hard by intimidation and other unfair practices to modify the issue, and who from the very day the congress was installed, on June 10, 1842, sought to influence the discussions, although with little success. The deputies exerted themselves only the more to produce a constitution that should meet the evidently liberal feelings of the country and cut short a despotism that threatened even the nation's representatives. Several projects had been presented and rejected, including an elaborate plan partaking of both central and federal systems. This was referred back to the committee, which in November presented a revised outline that received greater favor and promised to pass, for the departments were left to adıninister their affairs with almost the same freedom as under the federal system, electing their own legislatures and governors.

Foreseeing what was coming, Santa Anna had recourse to his now well understood manœuvre of retiring to his estate in Vera Cruz, and thence watching and directing operations, leaving the brunt of the contest to be borne by a proxy, with perhaps the humiliation of defeat, while in case of success he could step forward to reap the fruit. He withdrew