leagues (1.5 million acres) in Texas, in order to generate income for the state treasury for the purpose of a volunteer militia to protect the citizenry specifically against Indian attacks. Samuel May Williams and John Durst introduced Decree 293, which passed on March 14, 1835, and was similar to Decree 278. However, Decree 293 did not limit the funding to protection against Indian attacks. 293 also lifted restrictions for the method of selling the four hundred leagues of land. On March 16, Williams, Durst and Grant proposed to buy the four hundred leagues themselves, before the land went on sale to the public. Grant also gave Williams his power of attorney in the sales. The appearance of conflict of interest angered many. General Cos declared the new law illegal. On March 31, 1835, the Central Government passed the Federal Militia Reduction Act 1835. On April 28, 1835, federal legislation in Mexico invalidated the Four Hundred League Law. The state legislature challenged the federal invalidation, and the two entities found themselves entangled. General Cos sent troops to shut down the legislature, and ordered the arrest of all who voted for the Four Hundred League Law. Colonel Domingo Ugartechea, as principal commandant of Coahuila y Texas, ordered Carbajal arrested, but soldiers were unsuccessful in their attempts at doing so when they arrived in Victoria. Upon orders from Victoria's alcalde, who happened to be Carbajal's brother-in-law Plácido Benavides, the local Victoria militia blocked the soldiers from entry into Victoria, and the soldiers retreated. Carbajal had gone into hiding. He described himself as a "true Mexican" who was not in opposition to Mexico, but rather Santa Anna and the Centralist regime he had installed. Texas war of independence In 1835, Stephen F. Austin issued an appeal for arms to equip the Texans in the war against Santa Anna. Carbajal responded to his old mentor's appeal by teaming up with his brother-in-law Fernando De León, and with Peter Kerr. The trio rounded up horses and mules, and herded them aboard the Hannah Elizabeth to be traded for munitions in New Orleans. During a pursuit by the Mexican warship Bravo on the return trip with the purchased equipment, the crew was forced to dump the cargo into the Gulf of Mexico. The crew of the Bravo boarded the Hannah Elizabeth, taking several prisoners. Carbajal and De León were incarcerated at Brazos Santiago, but Kerr was set