308 



SPANISH AMERICA. 



of the civil and military officers convened 

 by the Viceroy, despatches arrived, stating 

 the establishment of the Junta of Asturias, 

 and cautioning the Mexicans against ac- 

 knowledging the Junta of Seville, — another 

 instance of that absurd policy w^hich pre- 

 vailed in Spain, with reference to South 

 America, and which tended to distract and 

 bewilder those who were disposed to up- 

 hold the supremacy of the mother-country; 

 it being impossible for them to distinguish, 

 amidst such conflicting claims, what au- 

 thority they were to obey, or to consider 

 as legally established. 



Such was the effect produced at Mexico ; 

 the authorities and the inhabitants being, for 

 a few days, equally at a loss what course to 

 take. On the 5th of August, however, a 

 remonstrance was presented by the munici- 

 pality of Mexico to the Viceroy Iturrigaray, 

 urging the assembling of a Junta. The 



