dawn, facing civilian guards and police officers ready for their defense. In the fighting, five guards were killed and nine were injured, while the cantonalists saw one dead and three injured. 14 civilians and 40 police officers were taken prisoner. After their victory in the so-called "battle of Orihuela", they returned to Cartagena the next day, along with the civil guards and police who were carrying prisoners. There the cantonalist general Félix Ferrer addressed the following congratulations: At the beginning of August, "Antonete" Gálvez and General Contreras headed a third land expedition, composed of 3000 men distributed in three trains, in the direction of Chinchilla to cut off the general Arsenio Martínez Campos’ railroad communication with Madrid. The first skirmishes took place at the Chinchilla railway station, where the cantonalists manage to evict the troops sent by Martínez Campos, upon learning of the cantonalist's plans. But when the cantonalists received the news that the canton of Valencia had fallen, they withdrew. The "centralist" forces counterattacked, supported by artillery, which caused panic and disruption within the Murcian canton. Finally Gálvez and Contreras managed to reorganize their forces, receiving the help of a reserve column that had been left in Hellín. They returned to Murcia where they arrived on the night of 10 August. The battle of Chinchilla was a disaster for the Murcian canton because they lost about 500 men, including 28 chiefs and officers, in addition to 51 wagons, four guns and 250 rifles, and especially because it left Martinez Campos free to occupy Murcia. The repression of the cantonal movement The motto of the government of Salmerón was the "rule of law", which meant that to save the Republic and the liberal institutions it was necessary to finish off the Carlists and Cantonalists. To quell the cantonal rebellion he took tough measures such as dismissing the civil governors, mayors and military who had somewhat supported the cantonalists and then appointed generals opposed to the Federal Republic such as Manuel Pavia or Arsenio Martínez Campos to send military expeditions to Andalusia and Valencia, respectively. "In addition, he mobilized the reservists, bolstered the Civil Guard with 30,000 men and appointed Government delegates in the provinces with the same powers as the Executive. He authorized the Provinces to impose war contributions and organize provincial armed bodies, and decreed that the ships held by the Canton of Cartagena be considered pirates – which