existed down
to 1812. Not a vestige of Liberalism was to remain. He selected for his
chief tool the once famous Agustin de Iturbide, who turned out an edged
tool, so sharp, indeed, that he not only cut the viceroy's fingers, but
severed forever the connection between Mexico and Spain. Iturbide had
eminently distinguished himself in the royal army, and to him it was
owing that Morelos had been defeated. He was brave, ambitious, and able,
and he possessed a handsome person and elegant manners. He was appointed
to head an army in Western Mexico, on condition that he should
"pronounce" in favor of the restoration of absolute royal authority. He
accepted the command; but on the 24th of February, 1821, he astonished
his employer by proclaiming, not the plan upon which they had agreed,
but what is known as the _Plan of Iguala_, from the town where the
proclamation was made. This plan provided that Mexico should be
independent of Spain, and for the erection of the country into a
constitutional monarchy, the throne of which should be filled by
Ferdinand VII., or by one of his brothers,--or by some person chosen
from among reigning families, should the Spanish Bourbons decline the
invitation. The monarch was to be called _Emperor_, a title made
fashionable and cheap by Bonaparte's example. Perfect equality was
established, and all distinction of castes was abolished. Saving that
the Catholic religion was declared the national religion, the
twenty-four articles of this Plan were of a liberal character, and leave
an impression on the mind highly favorable to their author. Viewing it
in the light of thirty-nine years, and seeing that republicanism has not
succeeded in Mexico, even a democrat may regret that the Plan of Iguala
did not become the constitution of that country.

The simple abolition of Spanish rule would have satisfied the mass of
the inhabitants, who cared little for political institutions, but who
knew the evils they suffered from the tyranny of a class that did not
number above one-eightieth part of the population. For the time, the
Plan was successful: the clergy, the military, the people, and the old
partisans of independence all supported it; and O'Donoju, who had
arrived as successor to Apodaca, recognized Mexican independence. The
victors entered the capital September 27, 1821, and established a
provisional Junta, which created a regency, with Iturbide for President.
On the 24th of February, 1822, a Congress as