854 



HONDURAS. 



took place about the same time, was generally 

 regretted throughout the country. He had 

 distinguished himself by his tact and bravery 

 at the battle of Santa Barbara against ex- Pres- 

 ident Medina. 



For many years past Honduras has rarely 

 enjoyed peace longer than one or two months 

 at a time ; it has either been lit war with some 

 of the neighboring states, or convulsed with 

 internecine strife. In 1873 turbulence bad 

 for a while subsideded within, no troubles 

 from without seemed to threaten the national 

 quiet, and the people under the soothing in- 

 fluence of the momentary calm began to turn 

 their attention to the arts of peace. But this 

 happy state of things was of short duration, 

 for the first six months of the year had not 

 fully rolled over when the storm again burst 

 forth upon the republic with redoubled vio- 

 lence, and the existence of the Arias adminis- 

 tration trembled for a season in the balance. 

 In the last days of May, the arrival at Panama 

 of Seflor Palacios, accompanied by Colonel 

 Medinita of Honduras notoriety, gave rise to 

 suspicions and rumors, soon after confirmed, 

 that the mission of those men boded no good 

 for the peace of Central America. The news 

 immediately spread about that Palacios had 

 purchased the steamer General Sherman, 

 loaded her with arms, embarked with a num- 

 ber of men, and set out upon a filibustering 

 expedition to some part of Honduras. Pala- 

 cios reached Bahia Islands, and there disem- 

 barked without any resistance on the 6th of 

 June. He at once set about reorganizing the 

 so-called constitutional Government, and to 

 that end was issued the following decree, 

 signed by two of the old ministers of ex-Presi- 

 dent Medina : 



MAXFEL COLIUDRES and RAFAEL PADILLA, Minittert 

 of tht Conttitutional Goternmtnt of the Btpvtlie 



of ffondunu, tonndering : 



That they are called, by Article 80 of the political 

 constitution of the country, to exercise the supreme 

 executive power thereof, in the absence of the per- 

 sons whose primary duty it is to do so : 



Finding the country without a (governing) head, 

 IB consequence of the events which took place in the 

 port of Omoa, in the month of July last : 



ID fulfillment of the sacred dutv imposed upon 

 tbera by the will of the people of Honduras, as ex- 

 pressed in the above-mentioned code : 



Constituted in council, 



DECREE: 



That the ministers aforenamed do, from this day 

 forward, take upon themselves the constitutional ex- 

 ercise of the supreme executive power of the repub- 

 lic, and in view thereof do proceed to reorganize the 

 loihlic administration in all its branches. 



Given under our hand and seal in Utila, this 6th 

 day of Jtroa, 1873. 



(Signed) MANUEL COLINDRE8. 



Minister of the Interior and of Fon-iirn Affairs. 



(Signed) KAFAKI. I'APII.I.A. 



Minister of Finance and War. 



A few days after issuing this decree, Pala- 

 cios set sail for the port of Tmjillo, and fa- 

 vored, it In said, by the treasonous conduct of 

 tin' commandant Don Jose D. Torre, mice , . ,|, ,1 

 in taking the ancient Spanish fort at that place. 



Part of the garrison, under Colonel Turcio, 

 which did not take part in this treason, en- 

 deavored to retake the fort, but were repulsed 

 with loss. They then withdrew, and joined, 

 in the capital of the department, the forces 

 which the Government had prepared to go 

 out and attack the filibusters. General Stre- 

 ber was in command of the forces destined to 

 cover Port Cortez and the rorth coast, wink- 

 General Alvarez defended Omao. 



The Arias Government issued a proclama- 

 tion and decree, and put the troops in move- 

 ment in accordance with tlie Governments of 

 San Salvador and Guatemala, which also took 

 active measures to frustrate the invaders. The 

 people in general were on the side of the Gov- 

 ernment, and a strict watch was kept on the 

 Indian tribes, who, however, remained quiet. 

 In the decree above mentioned the invaders 

 were declared to be pirates and outlaws. 



The Honduras Government directed a note 

 to the British minister in Guatemala, inform- 

 ing him of the invasion of the territory by an 

 expedition which had arrived in a vessel carry- 

 ing the flag of the United States of America, 

 and requesting him to communicate tin- fact 

 to the English Government, and, by virtue 

 of existing treaties, to notify the authorities of 

 all English ports at which the expedition 

 might be likely to touch. Dispatches were 

 sent to Belize and Jamaica. 



The following extract, from a St. Thomas 

 paper of June 28th, gives an account of some 

 of the movements of the General Sherman 

 about that time : 



" On the 1st inst., the American steamer General 

 Sherman arrived at Btlizc, having called for some 

 Remington rifles and ammunition which hud been 

 consigned to a mercantile firm of Belize some time 

 ago, and which, bi-ini; foreign-manufactured arms. 

 had been, by some mistake, permitted to be imported 

 in transit; but the local government, suspecting a 

 trap, laid an embargo on them, some months ago. 

 and so the General Sherman got none. She started 

 next day, having tjikcn on board Colonel Tracy, ]>r. 

 Gahne, late President of Kuatan, Seftor Padilla, and 

 others, shipped from some of the neighboring keys 

 men who had been landed there and proceeded 

 to Kuatan, where Dr. Gahne was to be proclaimed 

 Governor. The same party (Medina 1 * friends) took 

 Trujillo. The schooner Zenobia arrived from Kun- 

 tan on the 14th inst., with ex-Governor Popleton on 

 board, Kuatan having been captured hy the react!' .11- 

 ary partv (Medina's). Gahne was installed as Gov- 

 ernor of Kuatan. At Trujillo, General Castro Alvn- 

 rado has been made the new commandant. The 

 steamship Geiirrn] Sherman is the one. which cleared 

 I'n >in Aepinwall under the I'nited States Hag, and is 

 another of the class of the notorious Virginius." 



The invasion, however, proved a failure; 

 the Palacios party was attacked near Puerto 

 Cortez hy the united troops of Guatemala, San 

 Salvador, and Honduras, and after an obstinate 

 fight, which lasted eleven hours, gave ground 

 and fled in the greatest disorder, leaving many 

 dead on the field, among them being I'on Cas- 

 tro Alvarado, one of the filibuster chiefs. This 

 engagement took place in August. 



In that same month the General Sherman, 

 whose name had in the mean time been changed 



