CHAPTER XXVI.

FURTHER WARS AND REVOLUTIONS.

1863-1885.

PRESIDENTS GOITIA, SANTA COLOMA, AND CALANCHA—UNDUE INTERFERENCE OF FEDERAL OFFICIALS—COLUNJE'S ADMINISTRATION—PRESIDENT OLARTE'S ENERGY—ENMITY OF THE ARRABAL'S NEGROES—SHORT AND DISTURBED RULES OF DIAZ AND PONCE—PRESIDENT CORREOSO—NEGRO ELEMENT IN THE ASCENDENT—CONSERVATIVES REBEL, AND ARE DISCOMFITED—ARMED PEACE FOR A TIME—FEVERISH RULES OF NEIRA, MIRÓ, AIZPURU, CORREOSO, AND CASORLA—CERVERA'S LONG TENURE—TEMPORARY RULE OF VIVES LEON—PRESIDENT SANTODOMINGO VILA—OBTAINS LEAVE OF ABSENCE—IS SUCCEEDED BY PABLO AROSEMENA—AIZPURU'S REVOLUTION—AROSEMENA FLEES AND RESIGNS—OUTRAGES AT COLON—AMERICAN FORCES PROTECT PANAMÁ—COLLAPSE OF THE REVOLUTION—AIZPURU AND CORREOSO IMPRISONED—CHIEF CAUSES OF DISTURBANCES ON THE ISTHMUS.

A constituent assembly installed on the 6th of May, 1863,[XXVI-1] decreed a constitution to conform with the national one.[XXVI-2] Pedro Goitia, who for some time past had been president of the constituent assembly, was chosen president of the state, to hold the position till the 1st of October, on which date the elect of the people was to assume the executive authority.[XXVI-3] After this, the state being tranquil, the military force was placed on a peace footing. But Goitia was not permitted to complete even the short term for which he had been appointed. He had to resign the position, General Peregrino Santa Coloma being chosen by the legislative assembly to fill it, and he took possession of the office on the 13th of August.[XXVI-4] Santa Coloma, being afterward as was made to appear elected president, held the executive office a short time only, for the reason that he was chosen a representative in the national congress at Bogotá.[XXVI-5] José Leonardo Calancha, as vice-president, now took charge of the executive, which he was allowed to hold only till the 9th of March, 1865, when he was deposed.[XXVI-6]

[Sidenote: RAPID SUCCESSION OF RULERS.]

Jil Colunje[XXVI-7] was placed at the head of affairs by the revolution, and a convention called on the 8th of April to meet on the 1st of July, and reconstruct the state.[XXVI-8] Colunje was appointed president for the term from August 9, 1865, to September 30, 1866.[XXVI-9] At the expiration of that term Vicente Olarte Galindo, who had been apparently elected, became president on the 1st of October, 1866, and appointed José M. Bermudez his secretary of state.

Olarte's election is represented as an enthusiastic one, and intended as a reward for the services he rendered to the better portion of the Isthmian community, with his defeat of the Caucano invaders.[XXVI-10]

He found himself in a constant disagreement with the legislature of the state, which he forced to submit to his dictation.[XXVI-11] The whole negro party of the arrabal was his mortal enemy, but he managed to keep it under by making it feel occasionally the effect of his battalion's bullets. In the last attempt against his power, the negroes were severely punished, and they never tried again to measure strength with him.[XXVI-12] His power was now more secure than ever, and his way became plain to procure the election as his successor to the presidency of his brother, then residing in Chiriquí.

[Sidenote: BLACK PROCEEDINGS.]

The negroes were in despair, as they could find no means of seizing the government. From the time of Guardia's deposal they had been enjoying the public spoils, and could not bear the idea of being kept out of them, when their number was four or five times larger than that of the white men. The success of Olarte's plans would be the death of their aspirations, which were the control of public affairs, by ousting the whites, who were mostly conservatives.[XXVI-13] It became, therefore, a necessity to rid the country of that ogre; and as this could not be done by force of arms, poison was resorted to. The plan was well matured, and carried out in San Miguel, one of the Pearl Islands, where Olarte went upon an official visit. Olarte's death occurred on the 3d of March, 1868, without his knowing that he had been poisoned. This crime was not the act of one man, but of a whole political party, which took care to have the death attributed to a malignant fever. It became public, however, through the family of another man, who also became a victim.[XXVI-14] No official or post-mortem examination was made, and the matter was hushed up.

Olarte's death was greatly deplored by the better class of the community, and high honors were paid to his remains,[XXVI-15] by the legislature and the community, the foreign consuls and their countrymen joining. In the absence of the first designado, Manuel Amador Guerrero, the second, Juan José Diaz, took the reins of government.[XXVI-16] His tenure of the presidential office was a short one, however; for in the morning of the 5th of July, a revolution by the black men of the arrabal broke out in Panamá, headed by General Fernando Ponce, commander of the national forces, and Diaz was overthrown.[XXVI-17] They said that the liberal party had been cheated out of its majority at the late election for deputies, by the unlawful devices of its conservative opponents; and it was but logical to conclude that the same practices would be again resorted to at the coming election of president of the state.[XXVI-18] There was really no cause for this revolution. The excuses alleged by the promoters were frivolous. They only wanted to seize power and secure the spoils.

Ponce was placed at the head of affairs as provisional president, to rule in accordance with the national and state constitutions, and existing laws; and in his absence, the following persons, in the order named, were to assume the duties: Buenaventura Correoso, Pablo Arosemena, Mateo Iturralde, Pedro Goitia, and Juan Mendoza.[XXVI-19] Thus was the movement accomplished; a provisional government was recognized by the foreign consuls, and by four of the interior departments, which submitted to the change rather than become involved in civil war. On the 20th of July a general amnesty was decreed.[XXVI-20]

[Sidenote: PANAMÁ AND CHIRIQUÍ.]

The situation was by no means enviable. The military element was not united, much animosity existing between the state battalion 'Panamá,' and the 'Santander,' which led to a second revolution on the 29th of August, and Ponce resigned the presidency to Buenaventura Correoso,[XXVI-21] who received it on the next day. Cárlos Icaza Arosemena was appointed secretary of state. Correoso[XXVI-22] was not permitted to enjoy his office peaceably. He used his best endeavors to that end; but was erelong summoned to crush a revolt of the conservatives in Chiriquí, at the head of which were the prefect of that department, and Colonel Arístides Obaldía, a son of the ex-president.

The conservatives desired change. To accomplish this, the people of the interior armed themselves to come to the capital and crush the negro element.[XXVI-23] Correoso sailed with a considerable force provided with superior arms on the steamboat _Montíjo_,[XXVI-24] and had the good fortune to return triumphant with 350 men on the 16th of November. The conservatives, about 400 strong, under Obaldía, attacked Correoso's force of about equal number, at the Hatillo, near Santiago, and were defeated,[XXVI-25] after which, the government of the 29th of August being proclaimed, prisoners were set at liberty. The revolution was at an end. Correoso then summoned a constituent assembly, which elected him constitutional president for the term of four years ending September 30, 1873. With occasional attempts at disturbance, which were successfully quelled or peaceably adjusted, Correoso held the office till the 1st of October, 1872, when he resigned it, and was succeeded by Gabriel Neira to fill the rest of the term. Neira was not permitted to hold the position long, for a little before eleven o'clock in the forenoon of April 5, 1873, the revolutionary party of the arrabal, headed by Rafael Aizpuru, commander of the state troops, and fourth designado, revolted against the government, marched into the city, and made prisoners President Neira and Secretary Eladio Briceño. Dámaso Cervera, as fifth designado, was called by the superior court to the presidency.[XXVI-26]

The Pichincha—battalion of national troops—interfered to restore Neira. After some firing, it was agreed that Cervera should continue in power, and Neira remain in the custody of the national force.[XXVI-27]

[Sidenote: ISTHMUS RECONSTRUCTION.]

The national force having taken part in the troubles, its efficiency to protect the transit was rendered doubtful, for which reason troops were landed from the United States ships of war by order of Rear-admiral Steedman.[XXVI-28] Finally, terms of peace were arranged in the evening of May 9th, based on the conditions that Neira's government should be reëstablished. The state militia surrendered their arms to the foreign consuls the next day, the Pichincha performing the duties of the state force. Meantime, till Neira's return, Colonel Juan Pernett was to act as president.[XXVI-29] Neira heard of the change at Barranquilla on the 13th of May, and returned at once. On the 21st he made José María Bermudez secretary of state, and Colonel Pernett comandante general.[XXVI-30] The votes for senators and representatives to the national congress were counted on the 15th of July, and the names of the elect were published.[XXVI-31]

The people of the arrabal made another disturbance on the 24th of September, attacking the government outposts at Playa Prieta. Hostilities were continued during twelve or fourteen days, when the rebels, under Correoso, abandoned their ground, and were afterward defeated in the country. Meantime an American force of nearly 200 men, sent on shore by Rear-admiral Alony, a second time within four months, occupied the railway station and the cathedral plaza.[XXVI-32] The minister resident of the United States, William L. Scruggs, on the 19th of December, 1873, laid before the Colombian government, of which Colunje was secretary for foreign affairs, a protest of the Panamá railway company upon the recent disturbances of the Isthmus, and a demand that the transit should in future be under the immediate protection of the Colombian government against the acts of violence of local factions.[XXVI-33] The latter acknowledged the justice of this demand on the 26th of December, pledging that in future there would be a national force stationed in Panamá, for the purpose of protecting the transit.

On the 1st of October the constituent assembly, which had been summoned on the 1st of August, assembled. Neira sent in his resignation, requesting the appointment of a chief of the executive who could secure peace. The assembly appointed Neira provisional president, and a number of designados.[XXVI-34] Afterward the assembly passed an act reducing the presidential term to two years.[XXVI-35] A new constitution in seven titles, comprising 144 articles, was issued on the 12th of November, and nine transitory articles on the following day.[XXVI-36] A general amnesty to political offenders was decreed on the 15th of November. President Neira having attempted in the morning of the 14th of November to make a revolution with the Herrera battalion for the purpose of setting aside the assembly, in which he failed, and afterward concealed himself, that body met at 8 o'clock and deposed him. Whereupon Gregorio Miró, the first designado, was summoned to assume the executive for the term ending September 30, 1875, which he did on the 16th,[XXVI-37] appointing José M. Bermudez his secretary of state, and Ramon Vallarino Brájimo secretary of the treasury. These two departments of government were abolished on the 25th of July, 1874, and the office of secretary-general created, which was intrusted to Pablo Arosemena on the 11th of August.[XXVI-38] This arrangement lasted only till the 8th of April, 1875, when the offices of secretary of state and of the treasury were reëstablished.[XXVI-39]

[Sidenote: CHRONIC UNREST.]

Miró's administration was a restless one, owing to constant conspiracies based on various causes. The last one was headed by Rafael Aizpuru, who claimed to be acting in the interest of the federal policy in that stormy period of Colombian history.[XXVI-40] An attempt was made to establish a provisional government with Aizpuru at its head, annulling Miró's authority. The latter took the field, leaving Juan J. Diaz, the second designado, in charge of the executive; but after some unsuccessful efforts to quell the rebellion, his official term came to an end, and Pablo Arosemena[XXVI-41] succeeded him on the 1st of October; but he was allowed to retain the position only till the 12th, when he was ousted by General Sergio Camargo, commander of the federal force,[XXVI-42] and Rafael Aizpuru was placed at the head of affairs, first as 'jefe provisional del poder ejecutivo,' and later was recognized as provisional president.[XXVI-43] Dámaso Cervera became secretary of state, and Francisco Ardila of the treasury.

A constituent assembly, presided over by B. Correoso, met on the 25th of November, and on the 28th approved all Aizpuru's acts, and authorized him to retain the executive office until a constitutional president should be chosen by it. The assembly on the 6th of December adopted another constitution for the state, containing 126 articles.[XXVI-44] On the same day Rafael Aizpuru was elected constitutional president, and was at once inaugurated.[XXVI-45] A law of December 25, 1876, ordained that the president of the state should take possession of his office on the 1st of January following his election. His term was for two years.[XXVI-46] The republic being now the prey of a general civil war, promoted by the clergy, the state of Panamá, complying with the demands of the national government, sent an armed brig with troops and arms to the port of Buenaventura, and the Colombia battalion to the headquarters of the army of the Atlantic.[XXVI-47] The legislature, early in 1877, authorized the executive to raise troops for the defence of the state, and to obtain money by voluntary or forced loan.[XXVI-48]

[Sidenote: ISTHMUS POLITICS.]

Buenaventura Correoso, having been elected, assumed the presidential office on the 1st of January, 1878; but being worried by the frequent disturbances, and desirous of averting further scandals, resigned in December following, and was succeeded by the designado José Ricardo Casorla.[XXVI-49] This president was disturbed by two revolutions. The first was occasioned by the battalion 3d of the line, under the supposition that the state authorities were hostile to the national government.[XXVI-50] The second partook more of the nature of comedy than of tragedy. General Aizpuru, having returned from Bogotá, whither he had gone as a senator from Panamá, went off to Colon on the 7th of June, and proclaimed himself provisional chief. That same night Casorla was arrested near his residence, and carried off to Colon, where he was held by the revolutionary chief. The second designado, Jerardo Ortega, then took charge of the executive.[XXVI-51] But under a subsequent arrangement Casorla was surrendered, and replaced in the executive office, which he resigned three days later into the hands of Jerardo Ortega, who held it till the 1st of January, 1880, when Dámaso Cervera, chosen for the next constitutional term, was inaugurated,[XXVI-52] his term of office being two years.

The legislative assembly, June 13, 1881, passed a law amending the constitution. Under this law the assembly[XXVI-53] after 1882 was to meet on the 1st of October, and within the first fifteen days of its ordinary sittings count the votes for president of the state, and for senators and representatives to the national congress. Among other things, it was enacted that the present assembly would name the substitutes of the executive for the term to begin on the 1st of January, 1882. Cervera succeeded in maintaining order during his term, though constantly disturbed with intrigues of the most reprehensible character.

Rafael Nuñez, who had been declared the president elect of the state,[XXVI-54] should have appeared to assume the executive duties on the 1st of January, 1882, for a term ending on the 31st of October, 1884; but as he failed to do so, Dámaso Cervera, the first designado, was summoned to take charge pro tempore of the office.[XXVI-55] Nuñez resigned the position in November 1882, on the ground of ill health; and though he offered, at the request of the legislature, to reconsider his action, he never came to fill any part of his term.[XXVI-56] Nothing worthy of mention occurred in the politics of the Isthmus during this year, except a continued opposition on the part of the so-called ultra-liberals to Cervera's occupancy, notwithstanding which he had been chosen 1st designado for 1883, and on the 1st day of January following was again placed in possession of the presidency.[XXVI-57]

[Sidenote: PANAMÁ PRESIDENTS.]

The election for president of the state for the next term became a question upon which there was a disagreement between the superior court during recess of the legislative assembly, which decreed the election should take place on the fourth Sunday of July, and Cervera, who claimed that it ought not to be till the following year. The latter proposition was acted upon.[XXVI-58] Cervera obtained early in the year a month's leave of absence, during which the executive office was in charge of the second substitute, J. M. Vives Leon, whose first act was to suppress the comandancia general, and to muster out of service a number of officers of all grades.[XXVI-59] The state was in constant expectation of war, owing to affairs in other states, and particularly to the presence of agents of the general government having no recognized official position. In the apprehension of political troubles, the states of Panamá and Cauca entered into a convention[XXVI-60] to support one another's interests in the expected contest. Cervera thought, however, that the time was now past when the national troops could interfere in the internal affairs of the state.[XXVI-61]

The presence of federal forces on the Isthmus had often been a source of danger to the state government. But it was required by international obligation, and its necessity could but be recognized in view of the fact that the construction of the interoceanic canal, already under way, demanded the employment of thousands of men from all parts of the world, who in the event of strikes or for other causes might commit outrages.[XXVI-62] The election of senators and representatives to the national congress was effected this year by the legislature, Dámaso Cervera, Ricardo Nuñez, and José C. de Obaldía being chosen to the former position.[XXVI-63] Cervera having been also elected first designado of the presidency for 1884, he again was placed in possession of the chief magistracy of the state on the 1st of January.[XXVI-64]

An abortive attempt was made, at the instigation of Cervera's political enemies, to have him removed. One of the justices of the superior court, on the 2d of July, impeached and suspended him from office. General Benjamin Ruiz, as second designado, was accordingly handed the reins of government. But Cervera resisted, and appealed to General Wenceslao Ibañez, commanding the national brigade, to support his authority. Meantime, the superior court by a majority decided on the 6th that Plaza's decree should have no effect, and that Ruiz had illegally assumed the president's functions.[XXVI-65] Ibañez, however, on the 8th insisted on Cervera's leaving the government, and himself took control, his troops besieging Cervera in the state house. The latter then applied to the superior court for a leave to proceed to Bogotá to take his seat in the senate. Ruiz again seized the presidency, and appointed B. Correoso secretary-general. By some misunderstanding he was recognized by the national executive. At this time, General Eloi Porto, who ranked Ibañez, arrived in Panamá, and through his good offices Cervera was replaced.[XXVI-66] Ruiz might have been permitted to rule a while had he followed in Cervera's footsteps; but he began to remove prefects, and to despatch commissioners into the interior, the peace of the state being again jeopardized, which compelled Cervera to remain.

[Sidenote: FIGHTING AT SEA.]

A revolution broke out at David in the night of September 19th, proclaiming a genuine suffrage, and setting aside the declarations made by the judges of election for president of the state and deputies to the assembly. Movements of the same kind followed in other parts. In the night of the 27th Cervera's authority was pronounced in Panamá at an end, and Ruiz was made the executive. Cervera on the 14th of October proclaimed that public order had been disturbed by Ruiz and his supporters,[XXVI-67] and established martial law. An encounter between a government force on board the steam-tug _Morro_, and another of the rebels on the steamboat _Alajuela_, took place at sea in the afternoon of the 15th of October. The former experienced damage and loss of crew.[XXVI-68] Cervera, who was on board, was blamed for the repulse. The _Alajuela_ kept away a while, and then returned to land some wounded men. The rebel chiefs, B. Ruiz, Gonzalez, and Andreve, marched into the interior, respectively to Veragua, Aguadulce, and Penonomé. This condition of affairs being telegraphed to the national government, the executive decreed that public order was disturbed in Panamá, and directed the commander of the national forces to arrest the guilty persons.[XXVI-69] General Gónima, the federal commander, repaired to Aguadulce, and prevailed on Ruiz and his friends to lay down their arms, which he reported to Cervera on the 2d of November.[XXVI-70]

The elections for president of the state took place on the 27th of July, 1884. Juan Manuel Lambert was chosen,[XXVI-71] and was recognized by the assembly in October. But the intrigues of the liberal party, supported by Gónima, deprived Lambert of his office.[XXVI-72]

On the 1st of October, upon the assembling of the legislature, Cervera sent in his resignation; and no notice having been taken, he reiterated it on the 20th, reminding that body that it had enacted measures which would necessitate his retaining power till the end of December, when his term should cease on the 31st of October, and the president elect assume his duties. The resignation was not accepted, and the assembly on the 21st, by all the votes present, but one, desired him to continue at the head of the government.[XXVI-73]

[Sidenote: PANAMÁ POLITICS]

The assembly had on the 14th of October passed an act empowering the executive to call a convention to be elected by direct popular vote on the 7th of December, and to assemble on the 1st of January, 1885.[XXVI-74] The convention met on the appointed day. It has been alleged that the election of members thereto was a mere farce.[XXVI-75] In the still unsettled condition of affairs President Cervera concluded, on the 24th of November, to retain in service a force of officers for any emergency that might occur.[XXVI-76] Still, he considered his position one that was by law untenable, and on the next day laid his irrevocable resignation before the superior court, alleging that he had held power too long—four years and eleven months—and referring to the interference of the federal government, he said that he must either submit to or oppose its influence. His opposition would prolong an anomalous situation in the country.[XXVI-77] The court, in view of the reasons adduced, accepted the resignation, and summoned the second designado, Vives Leon, to the presidential seat, which he held till the 6th of January, inclusive, on which date the convention almost unanimously chose General Ramon Santodomingo Vila president of the state.[XXVI-78] A few days previously—on the 3d—Benjamin Ruiz and the other liberals in the convention, after declaring that they would hold as traitors all liberals who, by joining the conservatives, who would strengthen the latter to make themselves masters of the state, abandoned the chamber.[XXVI-79]

The new president at once appointed his secretaries and his so-called cabinet.[XXVI-80] In the apprehension of disturbances at Colon, the executive requested the commander of the American war vessel _Alliance_ to land a force there to guard the transit.[XXVI-81] The request was complied with, but the force not being needed then was reëmbarked.

The Isthmus now becomes again the theatre of deadly strife, with its concomitant bloodshed and general destruction, to the disgrace of the nation of which it forms a part, and the scandal of the world. A plot by some men of the national force to seize the revenue cutter _Boyacá_ having been detected, thanks to the loyalty of other members of the same force, the executive notified the convention that the time had come to proclaim martial law, which he did on the 9th of February. The convention accordingly closed its session on the 11th.[XXVI-82] On the 17th, Santodomingo Vila obtained a leave of absence to proceed to Cartagena, where his military services were required, and Pablo Arosemena, the first designado, was summoned to assume the executive authority.[XXVI-83] At about five o'clock in the morning of the 16th of March the population was awakened by the cries of Vivan los liberales! Viva el general Aizpuru! accompanied with numerous shots. Aizpuru, at the head of about 250 men, attacked the Cuartel de las Monjas, and the tower of San Francisco, which were defended by a handful of government troops, and a running fight from corner to corner ensued.[XXVI-84] The assailants overran the city. The British war ship _Heroine_ then landed some marines and sailors to protect the railroad. The president called for troops from Colon, which came at once under General Gónima, and entering the city early on the 17th, compelled the portion of the revolutionists who had remained in the city to rejoin their main body in the plains.[XXVI-85]

[Sidenote: PANAMÁ RIOT.]

Upon the government troops leaving Colon, a notorious man, Pedro Prestan,[XXVI-86] with a motley gang, among whom were many of the worst characters, seized the town,[XXVI-87] and sacked several merchants' houses, demanding forced loans from such as were known to have pecuniary means.[XXVI-88] It is stated, however, that he gave orders for the protection of foreigners and their property.

The revolutionists under Aizpuru encamped at Farfan refused to listen to any propositions. Their chief, on the 24th of March, notified the foreign consuls of his intention to assail the city of Panamá, which he also made known to President Arosemena.[XXVI-89] This functionary at once resigned his office into the hands of the superior court, and sought safety on the British ship _Heroine_. No other designado having been appointed by the convention, General Gónima assumed civil and military control, and appointed B. Correoso his secretary-general. Another decree proclaimed the neutrality of the state of Panamá in the war raging in the rest of the republic. This proceeding restored calm for a while, as it was taken to be the result of an understanding between the revolutionists and the government. But it seems to have become known too late at the headquarters of Aizpuru and Prestan.[XXVI-90]

On the 29th of March the American mail steamer _Colon_ arrived at the port of the same name from New York, and the government directed that she should not deliver arms to the rebels. This gave rise to most high-handed proceedings on the part of Prestan, culminating in the arrest by his orders of the American consul, Mr Wright, Captain Dow, general agent of the steamship line, Connor, the local agent at Colon, Lieutenant Judd and Cadet Midshipman Richardson, of the United States war steamer _Galena_.[XXVI-91] Soon afterward Richardson was released and sent on board the _Galena_ to tell his commander, Kane, that the other prisoners would be kept in confinement till the arms were surrendered, and if the _Galena_ attempted to land men, or to do any hostile act, the boats would be fired upon, and every American citizen in the place would be shot. Kane, knowing Prestan's character, did not attempt any hasty act. Prestan then went to the prison and told Consul Wright that he must order Dow to deliver the arms, or he would shoot the four prisoners before that night. Wright complied, and they were set at liberty.

[Sidenote: ACTION OF THE REBELS.]

But Kane took possession of the _Colon_, and in the night landed a force and three pieces, under Lieutenant Judd, with orders to release at all hazards Dow and Connor, who had been again imprisoned.[XXVI-92] No sooner had the Americans occupied the offices of their consulate, and of the railway and Pacific mail companies, than a force of Colombian national troops[XXVI-93] came on, driving the rebels before them into the intrenchments. During the whole morning the firing was kept up, and ended about 12, noon, when the rebels being routed, Prestan and his rabble set fire to the town at various places, and fled.[XXVI-94] A strong wind blowing, the flames spread violently, and the town was consumed with all its contents.[XXVI-95] The American forces continued some days longer holding the place, Commander Kane's authority being recognized, and the Colombian officers coöperating with him in the preservation of order.[XXVI-96]

But to return to Panamá. Aizpuru took advantage of the situation, Gónima being left with only 60 soldiers, and a few civilians that had joined him, to occupy the principal streets, on the 31st. To make the story short, by 3 o'clock in the afternoon he was master of the place, Gónima having surrendered.[XXVI-97] Aizpuru announced in a proclamation on the 1st that he had assumed the functions of jefe civil y militar, to which he had been called by the supporters of free political principles, and on the 4th appointed his advisers,[XXVI-98] and adopt measures to protect the city from incendiarism, and specially to guard the interoceanic transit. Marines and sailors having been landed on the 8th of April from the United States frigate _Shenandoah_, by Aizpuru's request, both ends of the Isthmus were on the 10th guarded by American forces. Soon after the United States sent reënforcements of marines and sailors with special instructions to protect the transit and American citizens and their interests, avoiding all interference in the internal political squabbles. Several war vessels of the U. S. home squadron, under Rear-admiral Jouett, arrived at Colon.[XXVI-99] In the night of the 24th of April, while the revolutionists were erecting barricades, against an understanding with the American commander, the marines under Commander McCalla took possession of the city, as a necessary measure to protect American property, and Aizpuru and others were arrested. However, on the next day, Aizpuru having pledged himself not to raise barricades or batteries, the prisoners were released, and the Americans retired to their encampment outside.[XXVI-100]

[Sidenote: RESULT OF COLUNJE'S SYSTEM.]

On the 27th a well-equipped Colombian expedition of about 850 men, under General Rafael Reyes, arrived from Buenaventura to support M. Montoya as civil and military chief of Panamá until a constitutional government could be organized.[XXVI-101] With the good offices of the foreign consuls, a peaceable arrangement was entered into, by which Aizpuru bound himself to disband his forces, deliver all arms, and retire to private life.[XXVI-102] But having failed, as it was alleged, as late as the 2d of May to surrender all the rifles and caps in the hands of the rebels, he and others were arrested and confined in the town hall.[XXVI-103] On the 12th Aizpuru was sent to Buenaventura and held at the disposal of the supreme government of Colombia.[XXVI-104] It is understood that the rebel leaders were called upon to pay large sums of money to meet the government's necessarily increased expenditures; and that, in order to secure payments, their property was seized. This is the result of Colunje's system, which Correoso followed. He has been now repaid in the same coin.

The Isthmus being now pacified, and 500 more Colombians having arrived on the 9th of May, under Colonel Dominguez, being another portion of Reyes' force to relieve Santodomingo Vila at Cartagena, the American marines, who had been expressly sent out by their government, returned home, leaving a good name for discipline and general good conduct.[XXVI-105] The flagship _Tennessee_ of Admiral Jouett, and the _Galena_, Commander Kane, went to sea from Colon on the 11th of May. The former conveyed General Reyes, with relief for the Colombian government's troops at Cartagena.

After the death of President Olarte in 1868, the Isthmus for many years did not enjoy a single day of peace. The general wealth having declined throughout the country, and more so in the interior, poverty prevailed. Capital, both foreign and native, abandoned so dangerous an abode. The cattle ranges and estates disappeared; likewise agriculture, except on a small scale.[XXVI-106]

The black men of the arrabal in the city of Panamá, after they were made important factors in politics, accustomed themselves to depend on the public funds for a living, and the people of the interior, who were always peaceable and industrious, came to be virtually their tributaries. The state became the puppet of the men at the head of the national government, or of political clubs at Bogotá, whose agents incited disturbances, removing presidents indisposed to coöperate with or to meekly submit to their dictation, substituting others favorable to their purposes, and thus making themselves masters of the state government, together with its funds, and with what is of no less import, the state's vote in national elections.

[Sidenote: SOCIETY AND POLITICS.]

Since the establishment of the constitution of 1863, Panamá has been considered a good field by men aspiring to political and social position without risking their persons and fortunes. They have ever found unpatriotic Panameños ready to aid them in maintaining the quondam colonial dependence, and investing them with power, that they might grow fat together on the spoils. Almost every national election, since the great war of 1860, has brought about a forced change in the state government. The first victim, as we have seen, was Governor Guardia, deposed by national troops under Santa Coloma. That was the beginning of political demoralization on the Isthmus. Every similar illegal device to insure party triumph and power at Bogotá has been, I repeat, the work of agents from the national capital assisted by men of Panamá to push their own interests, and supported by the federal garrison.[XXVI-107]

The office of chief magistrate is desired for controlling political power, and the public funds to enrich the holder and his chief supporters. Patriotism, and a noble purpose to foster the welfare of the country and the people in general, are, if thought of at all, objects of secondary consideration. At times, the presidency is fought for with arms among the negroes themselves, and the city is then a witness of bloody scenes. The aim of every such effort is to gain control of power for the sake of the spoils.

Panamá cannot, being the smallest and weakest state of the Colombian union, rid itself of the outside pressure. Neither can it crush the unholy ambition of its politicians. Both entail misfortunes enough. But the Isthmus must also share the same sufferings as the other states in times of political convulsion in the whole nation.[XXVI-108]

In view of the fact that the Isthmus of Panamá may before many years become much more than it has heretofore been, a great highway of nations, and that the great interests which will be constantly at stake on the route will demand an effectual protection, it is self-evident that measures of a permanent character must in time be adopted to secure that end. Panamá, as an appendage of Colombia, and at the mercy of an irresponsible population, cannot afford that protection; neither is Colombia, with her constantly recurring squabbles, better able to fulfil any international obligations she might assume in the premises. Without intending to cast any slur upon her, or to doubt her honorable intentions, all—herself among the number—must own that it would be extremely dangerous to lean on so weak a reed. The question therefore occurs, and must soon be solved, What is to be the future status of the Isthmus? A strong government is doubtless a necessity, and must be provided from abroad. Shall it assume the form of a quasi independent state under the protectorate of the chief commercial nations, eliminating Colombia from participation therein? or must the United States, as the power most interested in preserving the independence of the highway, take upon themselves the whole control for the benefit of all nations? Time will tell.

[Sidenote: PANAMÁ A DEPARTMENT.]

Since the foregoing remarks were written, a change has taken place in the political organization of the United States of Colombia, by which the government has been centralized, the name of the republic being changed to República de Colombia, and the state of Panamá, being reduced to a mere national department, to be ruled by a civil and military governor appointed by the national executive at Bogotá. Under the new order of things, General Santodomingo Vila, the former president, became civil and military ruler, with powers to inaugurate the departmental organization.[XXVI-109] He took possession of his office, and dictated several measures toward that end, and the suppression of gambling and other abuses. But without good grounds, after recognizing the press to be free, suddenly suspended that freedom, though he soon after restored it. Meantime, however, he caused the suspension for sixty days of the _Star and Herald_ and _Estrella_ newspapers, alleging their hostility to the government because they declined to publish some of his measures.[XXVI-110]