ABDICATION OF ITURBIDE'. 261 



against the Emperor. At length, on the 30th of 

 October 1822, Iturbide dissolved the assembly by 

 force, and formed a new assembly, called the In- 

 stituent Junta, consisting of forty-five members of 

 the Congress. An insurrection shortly afterwards 

 broke out, under an officer of the name of Santa- 

 na, a strenuous republican ; and a document, 

 known by the name of the " Act of Casa Mata,^' 

 was published on the 1st of February 1823 by 

 the chiefs of that insurrection. By this act, it 

 was decided that the Congress should be reas- 

 sembled, notwithstanding their dissolution by the 

 Emperor ; but the chiefs took upon them to pro- 

 scribe certain deputies, and directed the provin- 

 ces to elect members more suitable to their views. 

 Iturbide, feeling himself unequal to resist the 

 tide of republicanism which was setting against 

 him, and not choosing to hold his authority un- 

 der these chiefs, reassembled the Congress, abdi- 

 cated the throne, and requested permission to re- 

 tire from the country. His presence, as he states 

 in his pamphlet, might have proved prejudi- 

 cial to the country, by exciting the people to civil 

 war. 



