and ornamented with fountains. To these may be added the Alameda, or public promenade, a square completely surrounded by a stream of water, and rendered still more pleasant by the large and beautiful jet d'eau, which throws forth its sparkling and refreshing columns from the centre of the square. The Alameda is intersected by eight broad walks, shaded on each side by two thickly-planted rows of trees. The private buildings of Mexico are, generally speaking, good, some of the public edifices might be compared, without disadvantage, to those of the same class in Europe. The city is, however, disgraced by that most abominable of all jurisdictions--the Inquisitionwhich has here established one of its detestable tribunals. The Quemadero is described as an enclosure environed by four walls, filled with ovens, into which are precipitated the miserable victims of inquisitorial cruelty. The abolition of this infernal institution, is one of the desirable results to be rationally expected from the success of the patriotic arms.It would be folly to suppose that prejudices which have been the growth of ages, are capable of being eradicated instantaneously, or that the elevation of the people of South-America to the dignity of an enlightened race of beings, should take place immediately on the establishment of their liberties. The prize they are now contending for is sufficiently glorious, and the efforts they are making for its attainment, sufficiently ardent and persevering, to entitle them to the good wishes of every humane and liberal mind, without our requiring from them those extensive changes and improvements in their moral and religious system, which can arise only from a thorough conviction of their reasonableness and utility-a conviction, we may observe, that will, in all probability, be much slower in its birth, than the political revolution which is now sounding its joyful alarums, and marching in the fulness of its triumphs, from the southern to the northern-from the western to the eastern-extremities of a continent for the first time vocal with the strains of freedom. Their independence once secured, and their rank as free and sovereign states vindicated, their statesmen and influential characters, will then have leisure to direct their attention to the ameliorating of the moral and intellectual condition of the people, and in the universal diffusion of schools and seminaries, to lay a certain and solid foundation for those important changes in the minds of their countrymen which instruction alone VOL. III. No. IV.

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is competent to effect. That many of the enormities linked with, and forming, indeed, part, of the old system, wil! at once vanish, cannot, we think, be reason ably doubted.-That instead of the resources of the country being drawn off to supply the wants and rapacity of the Spanish court, or the ridiculous pageantry of its viceroys, the revenue will not only be moderate, but devoted to its only legitimate purposes, (those involving the interests of the new republics,) is an immense advantage, and one of the natural consequences of the revolution;-their separation too, from Spain, by withdrawing them from the sphere of her policy, disentangling them from her quarrels with other powers, and thus leaving them at full liberty to pursue in peace the true objects of national interest, must be esteemed a benefit of unspeakable value to the rising states of South-America,--nor should the important advantages be overlooked or underrated, arising from the free intercourse they will enjoy as neutrals, not only with Spam herself, but with all pow ers at war with the mother-country ;the mutual and unrestricted communication between the United States of SouthAmerica, must not be omitted in this glance, slight as it is, at the important benefits necessarily resulting from the new order of things in that extensive and favoured region of the globe, and, if we are at all justified in the supposition that, with the example of North-America before their eyes, the political edifice of our southern neighbours will be built on corresponding foundations, additional causes for rejoicing will present themselves, in the reflection that the new world, as it has given the first, will also offer to mankind the second example of the superior adaptation of the republican form of government to the best interests of society.

Viscardo, the author of an interesting tract on Peru, estimates the population of Spanish America at 18,000,000 of souls. The number of inhabitants in Mexico alone is calculated at 8,000,000, that of Venezuela at 800,000, and ten or twelve millions for the vast regions of Peru, Chili, Santa Fè, and Buenos Ayres, is surely no exaggerated estimate for countries so far exceeding, in territorial extent, the kingdom of New-Spain. In 1748, the population of Mexico amounted, according to the returns made to the receiver gener to nearly 4,000,000-a number which Clavigero, the celebrated author of the History of Mexico, esteems too small by at least half a million. The Almanac of Mexico for 1802, contains the

San Sebastian

49 411

227

Total 948 6155 3581

It is impossible not to be strongly impressed with the immense difference between the births and the deaths, and we cannot avoid concluding, that a place in which the former nearly double the katter, must be one of the most salubrious on the globe. Dr. Price supposes that in healthy districts the proportion of births to the whole population varies from 1-35th to 1-60th. Now, the medium, 1-48th, will give about 300,000 inhabitants to these fourteen parishes; and it is upon this foundation that Alcedo, a native of New-Spain, and author of an admirable geographical work (Diccionario Geographico Historico de las Indias Occidentales o America, ad verb, Mexico), states the population, comprehending the suburbs, at 350,000. "El vecindario se compone de mas 350,000 almas de todas clases y castas." In addition to what we have already said on this subject we would observe, that in a statistical report drawn up by one of the commissioners from South-America, who met with General Miranda at Paris in 1797, the number of inhabitants in the whole of Spanish America, is stated at 20,000,000. Upwards of twenty years have elapsed since that period, and though the progress of population may have been somewhat retarded by the war which has raged with such unparalleled sary for the last nine or ten years, yet we can scarcely suppose that its ravages have been so considerable as to lessen the population. On the contrary, we are inclined to think, Hotwithstanding the wide spreading desolation which has been produced by a struggle we have every reason to suppose will be brought to a speedy and fortunate conclusion, the inhabitants of South-America must have increased rather than di

The authority of Spain over her colonies continued to be absolute and undisputed till about the middle of the last century, when the first example of resistance to the power of the mother-country was given, by a Canarian of the name of Leon, who having formed a considerable party, attempted the subversion of the company of Guibuscoa, to which the royal privilege had been granted of the exclusive trade with Venezuela. His enterprise, however, was discovered before it could be put into execution, and was of course crushed. Then followed the bold but unfortunate attempt of Tupac-Amaru.

In 1781 some additional imposts on the kingdom of New-Grenada by the then governor, Pineres, created considerable agitation, and the province of Socorro, erecting itself in open opposition to government, raised a force of nearly seventeen thousand men to enforce their repeal. The interference of the Archbishop of Santa Fè quieted the tumult, a capitulation was entered into, and the multitude separated to their houses, but every article of the treaty, according to the custom of the Spanish government and its officers, was subsequently violated.

The French Revolution seems to have acted with no inconsiderable energy on the minds of the South-Americans. A spirit hostile to the mother-country had long been growing up in the colonies, and this was further exasperated and encouraged by the increasing haughtiness of their governors, and the reduced and enfeebled state of Spain herself, who, at this time, had been compelled to sign a treaty of peace and alliance with the French Republic. The late William Pitt was then Premier of England, and to weaken the resources of Spain (now at the command of France) formed his wellknown plan of liberating her transatlantic settlements. The knowledge of this exalted the hopes of the Creoles, and a conspiracy was formed, the object of which was a co-operation with a British force then in the neighbourhood of the

Main. On the point of bursting forth, it was discovered, and

"The ostensible leaders, Don M. Gual and Don J. M. Espana, made their escape to the neighbouring island. Don Espana returned two years after to La Guayra, but being discovered, he was hanged. The following is sir Thomas Picton's proclamation, which was circulated through the contiguous islands at that time :- By virtue of an official paper, which I, the governor of this

island of Trinidad, have received from the right honourable Henry Dundas, minister of his Britannic Majesty for foreign affairs, dated, 7th April, 1797, which I here publish in obedience to orders, and for the use which your excellencies may draw from its publication, in order that you may communicate its tenor, which is literally as follows: The object which at present I desire most particularly to recommend to your attention, is the means which might be best adapted to liberate the people of the continent near to the island of Trinidad, from the oppressive and tyrannic system which supports, with so much rigour, the monoply of commerce, under the title of exclusive registers, which their government licenses demand; also to draw the greatest advantages possible, and which the local situation of the island presents, by opening a direct and free communication with the other parts of the world, without prejudice to the commerce of the British nation. In order to fulfil this intention with greater facility, it will be prudent for your excellency to animate the inhabitants of Trinidad in keeping up the communication which they had with those of Terra Firma, previous to the reduction of the island; under the assurance, that they will find there an entrepot, or general magazine of every sort of goods whatever. To this end, his Britannic Majesty has determined in council to grant freedom to the ports of Trinidad, with a direct trade to Great Britain.'

"With regard to the hopes you entertain of raising the spirits of those persons, with whom you are in correspondence, towards encouraging the inhabitants to resist the oppressive authority of their government, I have little more to say, than that they may be certain that, whenever they are in that disposition, they may receive at your hands all the succours to be expected from his Britannic Majesty, be it with forces, or with arms and ammunition to any extent; with the assurance, that the views of his Britannic Majesty go no further than to secure to them their independence, without pretending to any sovereignty over their country, nor even to interfere in the privileges of the people, nor in their political, civil, or religious rights.

THOMAS PICTON, &c. &c. "Puerto de Espana, 26th June, 1797."

In prosecution of Mr. Pitt's plan, the expedition of Miranda to Venezuela, and that of Whitelocke to Buenos Ayres, were

sent out under the auspices of the British government. The complete failure of both renders it unnecessary to dwell upon

events that had so trivial an influence on the destinies of the countries to which they were sent.

The author's remarks upon the causes of the insurrection, and those which prevented it bursting forth sooner, appear duced to lay them before our readers. to us so perfectly just, that we are in

"The different attacks made by the English and French on the coasts of Spanish America obliged the Spaniards to form a plan for raising an additional military force to assist the army already stationed in the ports, in case of any renewed attack. The civil commotions above alluded to gave rise likewise to a desirable military system, for placing the capitals in a situation which might enable the chiefs both to give and receive support in case of any insurrection. But although the troops were chiefly concentrated in the capitals, some were still kept in the provinces to enforce allegiance in case of necessity.

"When we observe the attachment of

the Spaniards to their country, the respect the Creoles entertained for Spain, the feeble minds of the Indians, and the state of political insignificance in which the other races were kept, it is not wonderful that for three centuries they should have submitted to be governed by laws established in a country more than two thousand leagues distant, without making any effort for independence. And when some enterprising characters endeavoured to excite revolt, the difficulties which attended their undertaking, and the facility with which the Spanish government stifled their plans for independence, may easily be accounted for, by the vigilance of the chiefs, as well as of the inquisition, and the apathy of the Creoles, the natural consequence of their education.

"I do not pretend, however, to assert that the inhabitants of Spanish America were satisfied with the court of Madrid; on the contrary, I affirm that they were highly discontented. The following were grievances of which they complained; 1st. The arbitrary power exercised by the viceroys and captains-general, who very often eluded the laws, and even the orders they received from the king; see ley 173. tit. 15. lib. 2. de la Recopilacion, in which it complains that the officers sent by the king to Spanish America, were frequently impeached and deposed, which was never the case with those nominated by the viceroys, 2d. That the audiencias were composed of Europeans, who in trials were sole judges, and who had the power of interpreting the laws in their very application. 3d. That it was under the authority of the audiencias that clandestine decisions were often made, nocturnal arrests, banishment without previous trial, and numerous other hardships. 4th. That they were treat

6

ed with distrust by the government, notwithstanding the loyalty which they manifested in the war for succession to the crown of Spain, in their resistance to the suggestions of the French and English to induce them to revolt, and, above all, in the loyal behaviour and uncommon courage which they displayed when Carthagena and Buenos Ayres were attacked by the English. 5th. That they were obliged to bear insults from the meanest of the Spaniards, who, merely because of their European birth, considered themselves superior, and, as it were, masters of the Spanish Americans. Among many other examples of this, the report may be quoted, which was made to the king by his fiscal, on the petition of the city of Merida de Maracaybo, in Venezuela, to found a university; the opinion of the fiscal was, that the petition was to be refused,' because it was unsuitable to promote learning in Spanish America, where the inhabitants appeared destined by nature to work in the mines.' After a pretended solemn deliberation of the consulado or board of trade in Mexico, the members informed the cortes, that the Indians were a race of monkeys, filled with vice and ignorance, automatons, unworthy of representing or being represented. 6th. That, notwithstanding the original compact made between the king, and the first settlers in Spanish America, ley 13. titulo 2. libro 3. de la Recopilacion, which stipulated, that in all cases of government, justice, administration of finances, commissions, &c. the first discoverers, then the pacificadors, and lastly, the settlers, and those born in the said provinces, were to be preferred in all appointments and public employments;' the Creoles were gradually shut out from all participation in local commands and dignities: for, from the period of the first settlements, until te year 1810, out of one hundred and sixty-six viceroys, and five hundred and eighty-eight captains-general, governors, and presidents appointed in Spanish America, only eighteen have been Creoles, and these few only in consequence of their having been educated in Spain; when, at the same time, the Creoles were prohibited from visiting the mother-country, without an express permission from the king, which could only be obtained with much difficulty. 7th. That the prosperity of Spanish America was viewed with such a jealous eye by the Spanish government, that no manufactories were permitted, though Spain could not furnish merchandise sufficient for the consumption of her settlements; and that even the plantations of the colonial produce were restricted. As an example of such restriction, although Spain paid considerable sums annually to Portugal, for tobacco supplied from the Brazils, yet only a certain number of tobacco plants was allowed to be cultivated in South-America, and that number was fixed by the king's officers; and were a single plant found more than the number

allowed to each cultivator, the whole plantation was in danger of being rooted up. Another example of this kind was, the prohibition of extracting oils, or of making wine or brandy, or of planting vines or almond trees in any province of Spanish America, excepting Peru or Chili; and that exception was in consequence of the length of the voyage from Spain for articles of so heavy a nature; and even the wine, almonds, &c. produced in Chili and Peru, were not permitted to be sent to Mexico, New-Grenada, or Terra Firma: titulo 18. libro 14. de la Recopilacion: and to counterbalance these privileges enjoyed in Chili and Peru, to cultivate tobacco or the sugarcane was forbidden in Chili. 8th. And in order to check the progress of population, and to keep distinct the different classes, there were many laws tending to put obstacles to marriage. Vide cedulas sobre el dissenso, y varias leyes del Recopilacion sobre los matrimonios.

"Notwithstanding these complaints, Spanish America might have existed in its dependent state many generations, I might say centuries. The court of Madrid knew perfectly well how to answer the petitions of its American subjects without redressing their grievances; how to keep them distant from public affairs; how to grant or to refuse their demands, without impairing the general system of exclusion with regard to them adopted by Spain. But Napoleon Bonaparte, who was, in fact, already master of the peninsula, and possesssor of the wealth of America, by the influence he had in the court of Madrid, having invaded the kingdom, and seized the royal family of Spain, loosened those bonds which united the new to the old world, and gave rise to a revolution which, from the wide extent of the country in which it is seated, its character, and consequences, is unparalleled in the annals of history."

Such was the state of things when the news of the abdication of Ferdinand, and the ascension to the Spanish throne of Joseph-Napoleon reached the colonies, and so strong appears to have been their attachment to the mother-country, notwithstanding the injurious and insolent system always acted upon by old Spain towards her settlements in the new world, that it required only measures of the most ordinary prudence to preserve these valuable dominions, and secure their assistance in every way that the peculiar șiamelioration in the government-the adtuation of Spain herself demanded. mission of the distinguished native fami lies into its administration-the grant of a free trade between the colonies and Spain-the abolition of monopolies-the opening of the quicksilver mines to the enterprise of all possessing the means to

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