r that witnessed the final effort of Santa Ana to "subdue"
Texas to Centralization beheld General Cushing declaring that slavery
should not be introduced into the North, thus "agitating" the country,
and winning for himself that Abolition support without which his
political career must have been cut short in the morning of its
existence. Such are the coincidences of history!

From the time of the victory of the Centralists until the commencement
of the war with the United States, Mexico was the scene of perpetual
disturbances. Mexia, a rash, but honest man, made an attempt to free his
country in 1838, but failed, being defeated and executed by Santa Ana,
who came from the retirement to which his Texan failure had consigned
him, as champion of the government. After some years of apparent
anarchy, Santa Ana became Dictator, and in 1843 a new Constitution, more
centralizing in its nature than its immediate predecessor, was framed
under his direction. At the beginning of 1845 he fell, and became an
exile. His successor was General Herrera, who was desirous to avoid war
with the United States, on which account he was violently opposed by
Paredes, with success, the latter usurping the Presidency. Aided by our
government, Santa Ana returned to Mexico, and infused new vigor into his
countrymen. On his return, he avowed himself a Federalist, and
recommended a recurrence to the Constitution of 1824, which was
proclaimed. Paredes had fallen before a "revolution," and was allowed to
proceed to Europe. He was a monarchist, and at that time the friends of
monarchy in Mexico had some hopes of success. It is believed that the
governments of England and France were desirous of establishing a
Mexican monarchy, and their intervention in the affairs of Mexico was
feared by our government. Two things, however, prevented their action,
if ever they seriously contemplated armed intervention. The first was
the rapid success of our armies, coupled as it was with the exhibition
of a military spirit and capacity for which European nations had not
been prepared by anything in our previous history; and the second was
the potato-rot, which brought Great Britain to the verge of famine, and
broke up the Tory party. The ill feeling, too, that was created between
the English and French governments by the Montpensier marriage, and the
discontent of the French people, which led to the Revolution of 1848,
were not without their effect on affairs. Had our gov