Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/287

Rh Paredes was not to be moved by so flimsy a display of generosity, for his prominence secured his life, at least under actual circumstances. It is certain, however, that he was placed under momentary arrest and exiled to Toluca for refusing to fall in with the views of a government which sought to remove him to a safe distance, by charging him with the expedition to Yucatan.

Paredes wished to be with his friends and near the scene of action; and leave of absence having been granted, he found himself at Guadalajara to manœuvre the pronunciamiento now bursting upon the country. Accepting the proffered leadership, he on November 2d issued a manifesto, charging the government in the most scathing terms with violation of pledges and abuse of trust, especially during the dictatorship, and declaring Santa Anna suspended from office pending an examination of his acts by the congress. The government, now thoroughly startled, sought to conceal the importance of the movement, and came forward with exaggerated reports of some petty victories over the Indians on the south coast. Finding this useless, it openly hastened to take precautions, including a reënforcement of the garrison at Mexico, which revealed its doubts regarding the capital itself. In a flaming proclamation it thereupon stamped the pronunciados as enemies of the country, and Paredes as