Forgetting, after a few days, the honeyed words of his manifesto, Gainza,[III-33] on January 9th, issued a stringent edict, countersigned by José María Celaya as secretary, giving renewed force to his former edicts of September 17th and December 1st, and forbidding, under the penalties provided by the laws against sedition, that any one should, either by tongue or pen, censure or refute the action adopted as the will of the majority. Conversations on the subject in the streets or public places were prohibited, and citizens were enjoined to report at once to the authorities any attempted conspiracy against the new government which might come to their knowledge. Constitutional alcaldes and other local authorities were charged with the execution of this decree. Gainza and his junta thus gave way to the wishes of the would-be oligarchs and the clergy, ignoring the fact, formerly recognized by them, that to the representatives of the people in congress exclusively belonged the decision of the question on the future status of the country.[III-34] The aristocrats and clericals brought about difficulties to prevent the election of representatives, and took advantage of them to carry out their designs. The truth is, that the device resorted to, of acting upon the opinions of ayuntamientos which they well knew had no authority in the premises, was illegal. And, indeed, could a population of upwards of one million, scattered over 75,000 square miles of territory, have duly considered so vital a matter as the abdication of their national autonomy within the short period of thirty days? The whole secret of the aristocratic success lay in the pressure brought to bear on the country with a military force sent by Iturbide to support his pretensions.[III-35] The following facts appeared in the imperial gazette of Mexico: The regency announced on the 12th of November to the junta soberana that Chiapas, as well as the towns of Guatemala, had signified a wish to be received as a part of the Mexican empire, asking for military aid to uphold its acts. The regency added, that the military aid must then be quite near Chiapas, under the orders issued beforehand by the generalissimo, 5,000 men having already, under the conde de la Cadena, crossed the Tehuantepec River. The junta graciously assented to the so-called wishes of the people of Chiapas and Guatemala, giving them the rights of Mexican citizens.[III-36] A division under Brigadier Vicente Filisola, with Colonel Felipe Codallos as his second in command,[III-37] began its march in November 1821; but a large portion of the men deserted on the way, and the ranks had to be recruited in Chiapas; and yet Filisola finally arrived in Guatemala with only 600 men.[III-38] [Sidenote: TROUBLES IN SALVADOR.]