DECREE GRANTING A MEDAL OF CIVIC HONOR TO COL. THOMAS HERRERA.

The constituent convention of the State of the Isthmus, considering: First. That Col. Thomas Herrera is worthy of the gratitude of his fellow-citizens because of his able cooperation in the political transformation, proclaimed on that celebrated and memorable day, the 18th of the month of November, 1841, and for the administrative skill with which the provisional government of the State intrusted at that time to his wisdom and genius, has been conducted;

Second. That these services are worthy of remuneration by the representatives of all the Isthmian people, decrees:

SOLE ARTICLE. Col. Thomas Herrera is granted a gold medal to be worn on his left breast, suspended by a tricolored ribbon. This medal shall be of an elliptical form, 15 by 11 lines in diameter, and shall bear on its obverse side, in raised letters, the following inscription surrounded by a wreath of laurel: "Soldier citizen," and on the reverse, in the same manner, "The convention of the people of the Isthmus in 1841," all in the manner indicated in the description accompanying the decree.

Given in the hall of sessions of the convention.
Panama, April 6, 1841.

For his excellency the vice-governor of the State in charge of the Government, the general secretary,

JOSÉ AUGUSTÍN ARANGO.

DECREE CONCERNING THE FLAG AND COAT OF ARMS OF THE STATE.

The constituent convention of the State of the Isthmus, decrees:

ARTICLE 1. The State of the Isthmus shall continue, for the present, to use the flag and coat of arms of New Granada.

ART. 2. All official acts which formerly read Republic of New Granada shall in future read State of the Isthmus.

Given in the hall of sessions of the convention.

Panama, April 26, 1841.

The President,

For his excellency the governor of the State, the general secretary,

JOSÉ AUGUSTÍN ARANGO.

The constituent congress of 1841 was, as has already been stated, composed of a brilliant personnel of Isthmians, surpassing all the other delegations in ability and political and social prestige. The Isthmian members of that congress were venerable representatives of distinguished families, and the plan of emancipation which they advocated with such firmness and vigor was to be, as it has been, a moral heritage which their successors have cherished and preserved.

The numerous gaps shown in the history of Colombia concerning the political events which succeeded each other in the second half of the last century have prevented us from discovering the details of the reincorporation of the Isthmus of Panama to the Republic of New Grenada, as it was then called. But we know that that reincorporation was the result of diplomatic negotiations, which took place in this city in 1842 between the government of the State of the Isthmus and the Granadine Government, represented by Gen. Thomas C. de Mosquera, in which negotiations the latter, in his official capacity, made liberal promises concerning political and

administrative decentralization, in order that the people of the Isthmus might themselves attend to their wants and interests, and expressed a hope for better and more favorable times for New Granada.

III. These promises were fallacious, inasmuch as a new constitution was adopted in 1843 which was nothing more than a copy of the former one, with alterations and modifications even more despotic and centralizing, and in which there was no provisions for creating in Panama a government adequate to its standing and requirements. The civil wars brought only very short periods of truce to the distressed people and devoured with vertiginous fury the private riches in search of public wealth.

But the ceaseless clamor of the Isthmians and their protests, which burst forth at times with relentless fury, convinced the Granadines at last that in order to prevent Panama-wounded to insensibility by a sense of danger-from unyoking herself from the cart which was so stealthily being drawn toward the abyss, it was necessary to grant her a special government, formed and organized by her own people, with partial autonomous powers, committing to her hands the charge of guiding this isolated region to the goal of its destinies.

Our countrymen of a former generation should have exclaimed "better late than never" when the act of February 27, 1855, was promulgated, which act amended the Granadine constitution of 1853, under which the sovereign federal State of Panama was created, while all the other Granadine provinces remained bound to the post of centralism.

The names of the illustrious citizens who filled the executive office in Panama from 1855 to 1860-Justo Arosemena, Francisco de Fábrega, Bartolomé Calvo, Ramón Gamboa, Rafael Núñez, and José de Obaldía-justify the affirmation that the administration of the government in that territory during said period of five years resulted in all the good that could reasonably be expected of it. It proved, nevertheless, insufficient to satisfy the patriotic aspirations of the people and to remedy the evils which oppressed the Isthmus, inasmuch as the sovereignty granted to the State was illusory, since in fact it was limited by powerful restrictions, which maintained between the State and the nation the bond that unites the serf to the lord whose plans he follows and to whom he must give the best he possesses as an inexcusable tribute.

In 1858 the federation of New Granada was established in a general manner, but the following year it was thought necessary to lower the sails for fear that the ship of state would take with too much impetus a direction that many thought dangerous to the power of the central government. In 1859 the national congress passed several laws, among them an election law, which greatly abridged the powers granted to the States and which was in conflict with the federal constitution of 1858.

The State of Cauca, led by General Mosquera, rose in rebellion, disavowing the laws which threatened its liberties and refusing obedience to the Government at Bogotá. Immediately thereafter Bolivar, Santander, and other States rebelled, taking for their standard the conquests of the federation, and a desperate and terrible struggle between the political parties of the Granadine Confederation ensued.

During that bloody revolution; which was prolonged even after the triumphant entrance of General Mosquera into Bogotá, the State of Panama remained comparatively quiet, inasmuch as there only occurred, on September 27, 1860, the pronunciamiento of Gen. Buenaventura Correoso and other companions, directed, not against the President of the State, but against the intendent, Mr. José Marcelino Hurtado, who was acting as agent of the President of the confederation, Mr. Mariano Ospina, and endeavored to involve the Isthmus in the conflict by assisting the cause of the Government which he served.

Simultaneously with the pronunciamiento of General Correoso, a new agitation was commenced among the people of the Isthmus directed toward its separation from the Granadine Confederation. The distinguished citizen and illustrious patriot, Mr. José de Obaldía, from the high position which he occupied, had categorically declared, in a circular which bears his signature, dated June 4, 1860, that the Isthmus, in order to insure its welfare, had no other course than that which he would adopt of freeing itself forever from the disorganized Granadine Confederation." The people were ardently engaged in fomenting a movement which was to give to the Isthmus an autonomous government under the protectorate of the United States of North America, of France, and of England, who found the intent justifiable. This city, that of Santiago de Veraguas, where the famous isthmian, Mr. Francisco de Fabrega, exercised a merited influence, and other towns in the interior of the Isthmus, were active centers of the secessionist movement.

a Felipe Pérez, Anales de la Revolucion.

There was no lack of Panamans, as discreet as optimistic, who, confiding in the foresight and wisdom of the leaders of the Republic, extinguished the ardor of the rebels with the coldness of their counsel.

General Mosquera, having already occupied Bogotá, under the title of provisional President of the United States of New Granada, addressed, under date of August 3, 1861, to the governor of Panama, Mr. Santiago de la Guardia, an interesting message, in which he complained of the attitude taken against him by Mr. José de Obaldia, and, referring to the latter, said:

"The enunciation of these facts will show to you, Mr. Governor, the degree of responsibility which your predecessor incurred. His policy left the position which the inhabitants of the State have intrusted to you full of difficulties. And while his conduct as an official placed the Isthmus in a difficult predicament, the very same citizen comes now in his private character and promotes the secession of the State, thus breaking the fraternal bonds which perpetually unite it with all others in the union, and depriving it in this way of the future awaiting it when becoming, if not the capital, the center of a great confederacy in the world of Columbus." And then added:

"I trust, Mr. Governor, that in reply to the letter you will advise me that the State of Panama is united to the other States, and that you will send the plenipotentiary who is to take a seat in the Congress, the convocation of which I communicate to you."

The great revolution, led by General Mosquera, had almost dissolved the political and social bonds which united the different ethnical portions of the nation. The States of Cauca and Bolivar, for the purpose of mutually assisting each other, had formed a compact by means of a treaty dated September 10, 1860, and adopted the name of United States of New Granada, and there was a tendency in each section to organize itself as it thought fit.

The occasion was favorable for Panama to constitute itself into a free and independent State. The President, Don Santiago de la Guardia, a loyal isthmian, and an enthusiastic secessionist, realized clearly the advantages of the situation, but he did not resolve to carry out the plan, because he expected to obtain the unanimous consent of all isthmians without dissent. Yet realizing the sincere and powerful feeling of the humiliated people by whom he was surrounded, who were inclined to struggle for their freedom, he deemed it his duty to take advantage of that occasion to declare, in the name of the people he governed, that the Isthmus would not again unite itself to the Granadine nation unless under conditions which would allow it to enjoy the autonomy which its welfare demanded.

Animated by such a spirit, he concluded an agreement in the city of Colon on the 6th day of September, 1861, with Don Manuel Murillo, an eminent public man, sent for that purpose by the President of the nation. Such agreement was to be submitted to the legislature of the State, and in it were stated, by way of stipulations, the demands made by the Isthmus in order for it to continue united to the Granadine nation.

The text of said agreement is as follows:

"The undersigned, Santiago de la Guardia, governor of the State of Panama, on the one side, and Manuel Murillo Toro, commissioner of the Government of the United States of New Granada, on the other side, in view of the circumstances under which the territory of the late Granadine Conferation finds itself at present, and considering the necessity of putting an end to the anomalous condition of this State, whose best interests require the recognition of a national government and the making of a compact of union wherein the federal principles, properly so called, should be duly acknowledged, have agreed to conclude the following arrangement, the execution of which shall depend upon the approval referred to in the last article of the

same.

"ART. 1. The sovereign State of Panama incorporates itself into the new national entity called United States of New Granada, and consequently becomes one of the sovereign federal States composing the aforesaid confederation under the terms of the treaty celebrated at Cartagena on September 10, 1860, between the plenipotentiaries of the States of Bolivar and Cauca, to which the State of Panama adheres, with the sole reservations and conditions stipulated in the following articles:

"ART. 2. In conformity with the decree of the 20th of July last, supplementing that of the 22d of March previous, the State of Panama shall send to the capital of the United States of New Granada a representative to the congress of plenipotentiaries for the purpose of ratifying the compact of union, and calling a national convention to frame the constitution, and shall thereby become a member of the aforesaid United States. But the State, in use of its sovereignty, reserves the right to approve

or disapprove the new compact, and the constitution which gives expression to it, if, in its judgment, the principles established in the treaty of Cartagena of September 10, supplemented by the present one, are violated to the detriment of the autonomy of the States, or if the neutrality granted the Isthmus by the treaty with the United States of North America, in cases of international war, is not recognized in case of domestic struggles, civil wars, or revolts which may arise in the rest of the United States.

"Consequently, and in order to more clearly understand the treaty of September 10 between the States of Bolivar and Cauca, it is peremptorily stipulated:

"1. That there shall be in the State of Panama no other public employees with jurisdiction or command except those authorized by the laws of the State, who shall at the same time act as agents of the Government of the United States of New Granada in all matters which are or should come under their jurisdiction.

"2. That the administration of justice shall be independent in the State, and the acts of its judicial officers shall be final and shall never be subject to revision by other officers in so far as said administration and said acts do not relate to affairs appertaining to the National Government.

3. The Government of the United States shall have no power to militarily occupy any point of the territory of the State without the express consent of the governor thereof, provided the State itself maintains the necessary force for the protection of the transit of either ocean; and

"4. That all the revenues, property, and rights of the Granadine Confederation in the State of Panama shall hereafter belong to the latter under the conditions stated in the eleventh clause of the treaty of September 10, 1860, between Bolivar and Cauca, except in so far as they may be affected by the obligations, debts, and liabilities incurred by the Government of the old Granadine Confederation and now assumed by the United States, on condition that all that the State should have to disburse or fail to perceive for such reason be deducted from the quota which it has to contribute to the general expenses of the Union, less the value of the public lands which may have to be disposed of by virtue of former promises. No deduction shall be made on account of this value.

"ART. 3. The territory of Panama, its inhabitants and government, shall be recognized as perfectly neutral in the civil wars or rebellions that may break out in the remaining portion of the territory of the United States, under the conditions specified in article 35 of the treaty with the United States of North America and in accordance with the neutrality of foreign nations as defined and established by international law. "ART. 4. It is furthermore agreed that the neutrality mentioned in the preceding article shall, from now on, be scrupulously observed. Therefore the State shall take no part whatever, either in favor of or against the Government of the Union, while the latter is attacked by the adherents of the defunct Confederation and of the Government which represented it. Nor shall the State of Panama be bound to contribute by means of forced loans or special taxes in order to pay expenses made or to be made in the struggle now going on in the other States.

"ART. 5. The Government of the United States of New Granada shall recognize the expenditures made, or ordered to be made, up to the present date in the State of Panama for government purposes, provided that they are duly verified and authorized by the laws which were in force in the Confederation. The Union shall likewise recognize the expenditures which are absolutely essential to discharge and send home the men composing the garrison which, in the name or on account of the late Granadine Confederation, still exists in the city of Panama.

"ART. 6. Persons confined in jail or detained in any other manner, with or without a trial, for causes arising out of the civil war waged in other States, shall be given immediate and complete liberty.

"ART. 7. The vessels, arms, and other elements of war that may have been acquired with the funds of the late Confederation shall be placed at the disposal of the Government of the United States as property of the nation.

"ART. 8. The present agreement shall be submitted for examination and approval to the legislative assembly of the State of Pamama at present in session, without which approbation said agreement shall not be put in force.

"In testimony whereof we sign two copies of the present agreement at Colon on the 6th day of September, 1861, which copies shall be attested by the Secretary of State.

"S. de la Guardia,

"The Secretary of State,

"M. MURILLO.

"B. ARZE MATA.”

The legislative assembly of the State approved the treaty by a law of October 15 of the same year, which concluded with the following special provision for the purpose of protecting the interests of the Isthmus:

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The governor of the State is authorized, upon the reestablishment of the Republic, to incorporate said State into the Republic: Provided, That the same concessions made by the agreement of September 6 ultimo are granted to said State." IV. Peace having been reestablished in the country in 1863, the great national convention to be held and which was held in the city of Rio Negro, State of Antioquia, for the purpose of making a new constitution for the Republic, was called. Messrs. Justo Arosemena, Buenaventura Correoso, Gabriel Neira, Guillermo Lynch, José Encarnación Brandao y Guillermo Figueroa attended said constitutional convention as delegates of the Isthmus, and these gentlemen were carried away, willingly or unwillingly, by the wave of enthusiasm which sprung up among the delegates when discussing the draft of constitution, in which the federal organization established in the United States of North America was adopted for the Republic.

Without bearing in mind that the happiness and progress produced in that great country by its institutions are the result of a combination of circumstances quite different from ours, the members of the convention believed that they had discovered the wonderful expression of political perfection, and thought that nothing more was necessary to secure for the different entities of the Republic the calm and prosperity so much desired by them. The engagements entered into by the Republic in favor of Panama in the Guardia-Murrillo agreement were naturally rejected by the convention as undesirable disturbers of the harmony of the union.

The constitution of Rio Negro grew up as a luxuriant tree in the soil of the United States of Colombia, extending its branches over the nine confederated entities. But soon afterwards the Isthmian people discovered that this tree was growing in a stormy atmosphere, that it was nourishing itself with poisonous substances, and throwing an unwholesome shade. They noticed at the same time that one of its roots was extending vigorously and deeply in the territory of the Isthmus, absorbing its rich sap and spreading contagion of a frightful disease which seems to be congenial as well as chronic in the Colombian soil.

According to the constitution the election of the President of the Republic was to be made by the vote of the States, each State having one vote, which was that of the majority of its own electors under its law. The Congress, consisting of senators and representatives elected by the States, was to declare elected as President the citizen who had obtained the absolute majority of the votes of the States.

Such principle established in the supreme law and the authority granted therein to the executive power of the union to organize and maintain public force which was to be at his service in the States, were causes which largely contributed to the great disaster which befell the whole Republic, and especially Panama, but the principal factor, the factor chiefly responsible for all the evils, consisted in the ambition of command, the political fanaticism characterized by a ferocious intolerance, and the revolutionary spirit accustomed to all kinds of violence which, save in marked exceptions, seem to be inherent to the public men of Colombia, whether civil or military. Inasmuch as the sectional governments exercised an inevitable influence over the result of the popular elections, whenever the time came to replace the presidents of the States, or to appoint a successor to the supreme commander of the nation, or to select, by the vote of the people, the senators and representatives who would contribute by their votes in the Congress to finally declare the election of said commander, the national public force quartered in each State devoted itself with frenzy to the immoral and unlawful task of restraining or violating the suffrage in order that there might be in the States, derisively called sovereign, only humble servants of the controlling political circle at the capital and in order that the final vote of each section might be given in the direction most convenient to the interest of such Bogotánian political machine.

If we add to the above the fact that the presidential election has been unwisely and arbitrarily regulated by short periods of two years, it will be easily explained why the evil with which the Colombian nation was afflicted became still more serious and deep. None other was the origin and cause of the general wars which broke out with fury, the collisions, scandals, headquarter revolts, insurrections, the iniquitous overthrowing of the regional presidents, all that series of tragical and mournful events which developed in the Isthmus of Panama during a quarter of a century and all of which can be traced directly or indirectly to the governors of Colombia, who caused the misfortune and unhappiness of the people of this land.

All the natives of Panama are aware of the accuracy of this statement, and it is only because we fear that outside of our territory our veracity may be doubted that