[map]

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TRAVELS

IN

CHILE AND LA PLATA,

INCLUDING

ACCOUNTS RESPECTING THE

GOEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, STATISTICS,

GOVERNMENT, FINANCES, AGRICULTURE,

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS,

AND THE

MINING OPERATIONS IN CHILE.

COLLECTED DURING A RESIDRNCE OF SEVERAL YEARS IN
THESE COUNTRIES.

BY JOHN MIERS.

ILLUSTRATED BY ORIGINAL MAPS, VIEWS &c.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY.

1826.

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C. Baldwin, Printer,
New Bridge Street, London

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TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIV.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF CHILE.

Page

From the commencement of the Revolution in 1810 to the present time.—Revolt from the Domination of Spain.—Invaded from Pern.—Assisted by Buenos Ayres.—Army commanded by General San Martin crosses the Andes.— Gains the Battle of Chacabuco.—General O'Higgins made Supreme Director.—Independence proclaimed.—Battle of Maypo.—Origin of the Chilian Navy.—Command given to Lord Cochrane.—Public Characters.—Proceedings in Chile relative to Peru.—Invasion of Peru.—Operations of the Army and Navy.—Disagreement between the Naval and Military Commanders.—Capture of Lima 1

CHAPTER XV.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF CHILE.

Contraband Trade.—Licenses.—Seizure of British Vessels.—Coast of Peru described.—Money Freights in British Men of War.—Conduct of General San Martin in Peru.— Of Lord Cochrane.—Political Events in Peru.—Retirement of San Martin from Peru 50

CHAPTER XVI.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF CHILE.

The Carrera Family.—Character of General San Martin.—Lord Cochrane returns to Chile.—Mutiny in the Fleet.—

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Appeased.—San Martin returns to Chile—Lord Cochrane quite Chile.—Revolution.—San Martin quits Chile.—The Supreme Director abdicates and retires to Peru.—General Freyre appointed Supreme Director.—New Constitution.— Expedition to Chiloe.—British Consul arrives in Chile.— Chile and Buenos Ayres compared.—Senate dissolved, and the Constitution set aside by General Freyre 88

CHAPTER XVII.

POLITICAL HISTORT OF CHILE.—GOVERNMENT.

Under the Spaniards,—Principal Functionaries.—Public Bodies.—Tribunals.—General and Local Authorities.—Judicial Processes.—Under the Spaniards and Independents.— Supreme Director.—Senate.—Responsibility of Ministers.— Empenos, what.—Bribery common.—Parties.—Army Militia.—Administration of Justice.—Local Magistrates, venal, corrupt.—Governor of a Province, his Character.—Post-office.—Law Suits 122

CHAPTER XVIII.

FINANCE.

Receipt and Expenditure.—Official Statements.—-Financial Difficulties.—Government insolvent—Estanco.—Revenue in Details—1. Tithes.—2. Roads— 3. Canal of Maypo.—4. Stamp Duty.—5. Customs. — 6. Church Property.— Causes of Diminution of Revenue from Mines.—Tariff.— Loan negotiated in London.—Its Imprudence.—Consequences.—Conclusion 165

CHAPTER XIX.

RELIGION, MORALS, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF THE CHILENOS.

One Religion only.—Church Establishment—Morals.— Husband and Wife.—Parent and Child.—Mendicity.—Food.

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—Domestic Hahits.—Houses.—Furniture.—Occupations of Women.—Dress.—Manners of the better Classes.—Dirtiness. —Commercial Class.—Pilfering common to all Classes.— Robbery common.—Ingratitude.—Gaming.—Want of Curiosity.—Education hardly known.—Public Library.—Fine Arts unknown.—Funerals.—Rapacity of the Clergy.—Consumption of Tobacco.—Customs common to Chilenos and Arabs.—Murder frequent.—Murderers protected by the Church.—Punishments 218

CHAPTER XX.

TRADE, COMMERCE, MANUFACTURES, WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Pretended Encouragement given by the Government of Chile for the Establishment of Manufactories.—Examples.— 1. My own Case—2. Whaling.—3. Copper refining.—4. Brewing.—5. Estate at Quintero.—Observations and Cautions—Creole or Native MANUFACTURES.—Copper.—Soap.—Leather.—Wine and Brandy.—TBADE.—In Bread— Cattle. — Charqui.— Grapes as Food.—Meat.—Wool.— Swine.— Garden Produce.—COMMERCE.—Sugar.—Rice. Cacao.—Fruits.—Salt.—Fuel.—WEIGHTS and MEASURES. —Gold.—Silver. — Other Weights and Measures.—Transport of Goods.— 1. By Mules.—2. By Carts.—3. By Water. — Duties levied on Trade 275

CHAPTER XXI

AGRICULTURE, TENURES.

Chile divided by the King of Spain among 360 Adventurers.—Productive and Unproductive Lands.—Cattle Estates.—Extent of Posture.—Mortality of Cattle.—Management.—Rodeo.—Condition of Tenants.—Manners of the Proprietors.—Agricultural Estates.—Tenures.—Condition of Tenants.—Descent of Landed Property.—Laws.—Farming Processes.—Implements.—Division of Labour 341

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CHAPTER XXIII.

MINES.—MINING.

Mines, by whom worrked.—Officers.—Labourers.—Workings all on a small Seale.—Cannot be worked productively by Foreigners.—Large Capitals cannot be employed.—Situation of Mines.—Mining Operations.—Banco de rascate.—Particular Modes of reducing Ores.—Of Gold and Silver.—English and South American Mines compared.—Produce.—Expense of working.—South American Modes described.—Economical.—Copper melting.—ORES.—Gold—Mines described.—Silver, several Kinds.—Copper, various Sorts 377

CHAPTER XXIII.

MINES.—MINING.

Mining Prjects in Chile by English Companies.—Probable Results.—No considerable Mining Districts in Chile.—Numerous small Mines.—Annual Produce.—Gold.—Silver.—Copper.—Ores of Lead and Tin.—Peruvian Mines.—Pasco.—Exaggerated Statements.—Annual Produce of the Mines of Chile.—Coining.—Present State of the Mines.—Smuggling.—Laws relating to Bullion.—Duties 417

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE INDIANS.

Indian Chile.—Aborigenes.—Their Number.—Arts.— Houses.—Dress.— Manners.—Customs.—Religion.—Funerals.—Governmment.—Dr. Leighton's Journal of a Military Expedition into the Indian Territory 458

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APPENDIX.

A. Papers relating to the Revolution in Chile in 1825 505

B. Prospectus of the Chile Loan 518

C. Report of Mr. Portales to the Supreme Director, on Mr. Yrssari's Proposal to raise a Loan in Europe for the Service of Chile 521

D. 1.2. Lists of Plants 529

E. List of Birds 533

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TRAVELS

IN

CHILE AND LA PLATA.

CHAPTER XIV.

POLITICAL HISTOEY OF CHILE.

From the commencement of the Revolution in 1810, to the present time.—Revolt from the Domination of Spain.—Invaded from Peru.—Assisted by Buenos Ayres—Army commanded by General San Martin crosses the Andes.—Gains the Battle of Chacabuco.—General O'Higgins made Supreme Director.—Independence proclaimed.—Battle of Maypo.—Origin of the Chilean Navy.—Command given to Lord Cochrane.—Public characters.—Proceedings in Chile relative to Peru.—Invasion of Peru.—Operations of the Army and Navy.—Disagreement between the Naval and Military Commanders.—Capture of Lima.

IT is not my intention to treat of the remote causes which led to the emancipation of the Spanish colonies in South America, but to relate the principal circumstances respecting the revolution of Chile, and so much respecting the provinces of La Plata, and of Peru, as were immediately connected therewith.

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It may be observed that, of these southern provinces, Buenos Ayrea was the first which openly revolted from the Spanish domination, and having to considerable extent atchieved its independance, the new government became interested in producing s revolt in the other colonies.

A shrewd intriguing Creole, named Antonio Alvarez Jonte, who was subsequently sent as a chargé d'affaires to London, on the part of Buenos Ayrea and Chile, was dispatched to Santiago de Chile, where he became the secret agitator and principal contriver of the change which subsequently took place. The first public proceeding was on the 18th September, 1811, when a general meeting of the landholders and principal authorities was held, at which it was resolved that a provisional government, or junta composed of five members, should be established in the name of the King, at the head of which was the president, Marquis de la Plata. Some time before this occurrence, proclamation had been made of the constitution recently adopted by the cortes in Old Spain, which had deposed the president Carrasco, who held that office under the king, and appointed the Marquia de la Plata in his stead. It seems, however, that the four members associated with Carrasco, as early u February 18, 1811, signified their wish to co-operate with the provisional junta of Buenos Ayrea.

In the month of April, in the following year, the revolution was openly declared. The president was deposed and banished; the audiencia was dissolved, and a camera de apelaciones, for the discharge of its legal functions was appointed in its stead; the junta

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was vested with the executive power, and a congress was called.

This was all done in the name of the king. The Spaniards attempted to rally,—a skirmish took place in the grëat square of Santiago, which terminated in favour of the Independents, in which Josè Miguel Carrera, a son of one of the junta, and an officer in the army, who after wards became the head of the government of Chile, distinguished himself. This affair gave the Creoles greater courage to proceed. When the congress was assembled, instead of consulting upon the most judicious mode of securing the power they had obtained, and of pursuing the career of independance they had so boldly commenced, they occupied themselves in discussions of party feelings and absurd punctilios: the landholders of the middle provinces outnumbered those of Concepcion and the southern provinces, yet these were wealthiest most enterprising, and possessed of greater talent: the most influencial and most extensive family of Santiago, whose head was Don Francisco Xavier de la Reyna, took side with the Penquistos, as those of the southern provinces are called, and Don Ignacio Carrera, with the leading families of the middle provinces.

Among the most promising, enterprising, and liberal officers in the army were Don Josè Miguel Carrera, and Don Bernardo O'Higgins, a natural son of Don Ambrosio Higgins, who successively discharged the high offices of president of Chile, and viceroy of Peru, with high and well merited reputation. The disputes between these parties rose to a great height, but ended in a compromise, in which

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the La Reyna party, which included the Penquistos, gained the ascendancy, through the intervention of Bernardo O'Higgins, who, on this occasion, stepped forward as the mediator of the disputants.

The congress proceeded in the name of the king of Spain, yet their measures were secretly directed in a hostile manner against his authority; and, as the most effectual method of weakening the power of Old Spain, in Chile, means were taken to remove the Spanish officers who commanded the troops, and to replace them with Creoles: the execution of this measure was entrusted to the three sons of Don Ignacio Carrera, who were all at the time serving in the army. The Spanish officers were seized in the barracks at Santiago, by the troops who were gained over. This important proceeding, which took place in September, 1812, induced the government to carry their plans still further: they diminished the salaries and abridged the power of the clergy, rendered the Cabildo an annually elected body, declared trade and commerce free to all nations equally; abolished for ever the slave trade, and at the same time proclaimed that the future issue of the existing slaves should be free-born subjects of the nation. This was to all intents and purposes a complete act of independance, it being clear that it never would be acceded to by Old Spain, and that those who had in any way participated therein would be considered as traitors to the king's authority.

A junta of seven persona was appointed, one of whom was Josè Miguel Carrera. This body soon became impatient of the control of the congress, and was desirous of usurping the whole power of

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the state; bat Carrera anticipated them: at the head of his troops he compelled the congress to appoint a new junta, consisting of himself, Portalis, and La Cerda, and then dissolved the body. The junta still acted in the name of the king of Spain.

The Carreras now came into full and uncontrolled power, and committed, during a period of two years, all kinds of enormities, many shocking details of which I have heard from those who were witnesses to their tyranny, confiscations, and corruption. The Penco faction, annoyed at the loss of their influence by the arbitrary dissolution of the congress by Carrera, made loud complaints, and in order to pacify them, and to remove all appearance from his ambitious views, Carrera proclaimed a constitution wherein the power of the junta was apparently to be controlled by a senate. This for the time, suppressed the jealousies in the leading persons among the aristocracy, whose attention was now directed to an opposing force that required their union and co-operation. The viceroy of Lima, informed of the usurpation of the presidentship by Carrera, the deposition of the audiencia, and other acts of rebellion against his viceroyal authority, lost no time in dispatching to Concepcion a considerable body of Spanish troops, to reduce the insurgents to obedience. Josè Miguel Carrera put himself at the head of his forces to meet the Spanish troops, who were much superior in numbers, and had advanced to Talca.

Carrera, by a rapid movement, surprised their encampment in the night, and compelled them to retreat in confusion. They, however, rallied next morning, and an action ensued, in which they were again

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worsted, and compelled to retreat to Chillan. The junta, which had been watching for an opportunity to put an end to the tyranny of Carrera, took advantage of his absence, and on Nov. 24, 1818, removed him, and appointed Don Bernardo O'Higgins commander of the forces in his stead. At first Carrera refused to submit to the junta; but as the army declared for that body, he was obliged to yield. The three Carreras, who were now deprived of all authority in the state, quitted the army, and retired towards Santiago, where, by family influence and intrigue, they hoped to regain the power they had lost. By a singular coincidence, they were all three made prisoners on the road by a Spanish piquet, and conveyed to Chillan. The two opposing forces prepared for an active campaign, each confident of success, when in the beginning of 1814, the preponderance in point of numbers and ability, in consequence of the arrival of a reinforcement commanded by an able royalist officer, general Gainsa, was decidedly in favour of the Spaniards, who opened the campaign with vigour. The Spaniards Were far superior in two most powerful arms, artillery and cavalry. O'Higgins had many opportunities of displaying his good generalship: his bravery was unequalled; and his disposition, such as to allay all party spirit for the time among his officers, while his prudence inspired general confidence.

Carrera, who in ebullitions of ebullitions had displayed much bravery, had in the field evinced a want of courage, owing, perhaps, to a want of self confidence in his own military skill, though hit courteous manners commanded respect, out his oc-

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casional bursts of ungovernable temper made him inimical to his brother officers: the excesses of his lees educated brothers, and their influence over him, rendered him still more disliked. These were motives sufficient to induce all parties to look up to O'Higgins at this eventful period. The able manner in which he fulfilled the expectations of his countrymen was soon apparent, for the Spaniards though greatly superior, were for a considerable period unable to advance. At length, when by great efforts they succeeded in capturing Talca, and were advancing towards the capital, another revolution took place in Santiago, when it was agreed by both parties that the junta in these critical circumstances was incompetent to conduct the affaire of state, that it should he deposed, and that a single person should be invested with the unlimited command of the executive authority, under the title of Supreme Director.

Calomel Lastra, then governor of Valparaiso, a man respected by all, was called to this situation: conscious of the danger that menaced them, he proposed a compromise with the Spanish general, that his forces should evacuate Chile and return to Lima, on condition that the existing government engaged to exercise its authority in allegiance to the regency, and obey the laws of the constitution, as established by the cortes in Spain; far it is to be remembered that up to this moment the executive authority was still exercised by the junta and supreme director, in the name of Ferdinand the Seventh. This treaty was concluded and agreed to on the 5th May, 1814. The Carreras, now set at liberty, repaired to Santiago,

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and succeeded in gaining over the troops: their first measure was to restore the old junta, and abolish the office of supreme director. O'Higgins, solicited by the call of the greater part of the citizens, who sided with the opinions of the La Reyna party, was called upon to enforce the fulfilment of the compromise with the Spaniards: there were now, for the first time in Chile, two bodies of Creole troops, headed by the two most able chiefs, in arms against each other: a battle was fought on the plains of Maypo, and Carrera gained the ascendancy. This proved, however, of little avail, for in the meantime the viceroy of Peru had refused to ratify the treaty, and had dispatched his most able commander, Osorio, with additional re-inforcements, to supersede Gainsa. The danger to the patriots was now universally acknowledged: all parties again united in the general cause; Carrera made extraordinary efforts to recruit his forces, and, at the solicitation of the citizens, was induced to cede the command of the army to O'Higgins, who marched towards the south against the Spanish forces, now quickly advancing towards the capital. O'Higgins made his stand in Rancagua, where he was besieged for two days, when, on the 2d October, 1814, the place was attacked, and the patriots were defeated. The greater part, however, united in a phalanx, and cut their way through the Spanish lines, and then retreated in confusion towards the Cordillera, giving up the contest as a hopeless cause. The general place of rendezvous was Mendoza, on the opposite side of the Andes. Carrera, despairing of the strength of the national resources, posted to Buenos Ayres, and took a passage for the United States, to

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procure assistance from that quarter, while the expelled Chilenos applied to the government of Buenos Ayres for assistance.

General Osorio marched victoriously to the capital, where he restored the Spanish authority in its full sway. The principal persons who had taken part in the several stages of the revolution were banished to the island of Juan Fernandez; the number amounted to upwards of 100; severe denunciations were issued to enforce future obedience, and to destroy the seeds of independance. The great body of Chilenos hailed the return of the Spaniards with the same show of satisfaction with which they had hailed the measures of the revolution; to them the prevailing party was always the best. There was, however, some excuse for their conduct on this occasion; for so grossly had the patriots abused their authority, that great numbers were alienated from them, and became more earnestly attached to the Spanish cause; and the entrance of Osorio into the capital was hailed with enthusiasm as a delivery from tyranny. Affaire continued peaceable under the Spanish authorities for two years and a half, during which time the government of Buenos Ayres, having established its own independance, looked with an eye of consideration towards the freedom of Chile. It was evident that while Peru and Chile remained under the command of the Spaniards, there was but little hope of securing the great advantages the people of Buenos Ayres had acquired, for the several provinces of Buenos Ayres, Cuyo, Cordova, Santa Fè, Banda Oriental, Entre Rios, Paraguay, Tucuman, Rioja, had already freed themselves from the Spanish yoke,

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and their troops were contesting with the Spaniards the freedom of Salta, Jujuy, Potosi, and the other provinces of Upper Peru. It was justly perceived that the most effectual mode of carrying on the warfare was to make a diversion in Chile, so as to divide the strength the Spaniards were now concentrating in Upper Peru: part of the troops were drawn from the army of general Belgrano, in the upper provinces, and new troops were raised, to which was given the name of the Liberating Army of the Andes; the head-quarters were established at Mendoza, and the command given to general San Martin, who had a short time before highly distinguished himself against the Spaniards at San Lorenzo. San Martin displayed considerable generalship in the organization of his force, and exhibited a superior degree of political tact and artful intrigue, well suited to the occasion. When his troops were sufficiently organized, and his resources collected, he began to make arrangements for the expedition: he managed his schemes so well that he did not divulge his plans even to his associates in command. His principal force was cavalry, which was well equipped for the campaign; and all who have seen the gauchos of the pampas will agree that their habits peculiarly fit them for this service. In another place I have detailed the measures taken by general San Martin with the Indian caciques, in order to deceive the Spanish general Marco as to his schemes for invading Chile; and for the purpose of carrying these measures into effect, he sent over to Chile, by the southern pass of the Planchon, a body of cavalry, principally Chileuos, under the command of colonel

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Rodriguez, a young officer of great enterprise and matchless bravery, allied to some of the first families of Santiago: he was an individual to whom the party of the Carreras looked to supply the place of Josè Miguel, whose return was not wished for. Rodriguez kept his little guerilla party in a state of continued motion, the theatre of his actions bang in the neighbourhood of San Fernando, which town he took many times from the Spaniards; and for a twelve-month, before the army of the Andes under San Martin was in motion, this brave little band performed prodigies of valer, in defiance of the whole force of the Spaniards. The viceroy, aware of the preparations of San Martin, sent general Marotto, a Spaniard of high family, influence, and military fame, to replace general Osorio in Chile; the president's forces amounted to upwards of 4000 regular troops, besides the militia. San Martin succeeded in deceiving the Spanish general as to the line of operations he was about to pursue; no doubt was entertained that he would invade Chile by the pass of the Planchon, and support the operations of Rodriguez: accordingly general Marco fixed the head quarters of his troops at Rancagua, posting corps of defence in the valley of Aconcagua. The cavalry under the command of San Martin advanced by the pass of Putaendo, the infantry and artillery moved by the ordinary pass of the Cuevas. Each cavalry soldier had no more than his sword, horse, saddle, and poncho; each infantry soldier had his musket, his complement of cartridges, and a poncho; each carried in his wallet all the provisions and stores for the journey. To every man was distributed eight days' pro-

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vision, which consisted of pounded charque, toasted maize, pepper, &c.: there were neither baggage, tents, stores, provisions, nor fodder, to encumber the march: its consequent rapidity over such a country as the Cordillera was beyond all possible belief; and the dexterity with which the pieces of artillery were drawn over the stony difficult passes could have been the work of great genius only, supported by enthusiasm. San Martin had calculated well on the character of his countrymen: improvident like all the gauchos, their provender was quickly expended, and in four days scarcely a morsel remained, so that, aware of their situation, they were compelled to push on with a kind of desperation, being five days with scarcely a single day's pro vision: to this they had in some degree been inured from their childhood, so that to them it was not a very extraordinary hardship. On the 16th February, 1817, the whole force reached the valley of Aconcagua; those who came by the Patos remained at Putaendo to refresh themselves; and those who came by the Cuevas remained at the en trance of the valley: on the 17th they moved forward, the former by Curimon, the latter towards Villa Nueva, where the junction was effected. A skirmish took place with the Spanish troops at the foot of the cuesta of Chacabuco, over which the royalists retreated in order to fall back on the main body, which was advancing from the south. Nothing could exceed the enthusiasm of the people on this occasion, the gausos came spontaneously, bringing fresh horses for officers and soldiers, they themselves joining the body, forming a guerilla militia; the women and children thrust into the hands of the

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soldiers, as they passed along, melons, sandias, fruits, meat, bread, every thing they could procure that was edible. San Martin dispatched a considerable body of cavalry, under colonel Nicochea, by the circuitous pass of the Tavon, to reconnoitre the country in that direction, and then to join him on the other side of the cuesta: the troops bivouacked on the summit of the cuesta, and at dawn descended the opposite side, advancing slowly towards the enemy, whose forces had taken an advantageous position, with two eminences on their flanks, commanded by artillery. The force of the Spaniards was increased to 2000, having, during the night, received a reinforcement of 1000 men, headed by general Marco. The Spaniards, who with a handful of men might have commanded the pass of the cuesta, neither took the trouble to do SO, nor to ascertain the description or number of the patriot force; too confident of success, they waited to receive them on the plains of Chacabuco: the patriot cavalry, under general Soler, advanced, but were briskly repulsed; they fell back, skirmishing on their main body, to await the advance of the infantry, who were led on by general O'Higgins. It seemed that the Spaniards had conceived that San Martin's division consisted wholly of cavalry, never believing it possible for a body of infantry to march over rugged mountain passes of 300 miles in length, that in places attain an elevation of 12,000 feet, in the space of eight days. With this impression, they received the advanced party in a square; the fogginess of the morning, and the dust of the vanguard of cavalry, had favored the deception; and it was only when the infantry advanced within a quarter of a

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mile from the enemy's positron, that O'Higgins ordered the bands of music to strike up, and led on his comrades to the charge. The Spaniards now discovered their error, the troops were ordered to deploy into line; but before this could be effected, the cavalry rushed in between them, disordered their ranks, and foiled their manœnvres: from the fury of the charge, the royalists apprehended that the patriot force was greater than it really was; terror and dismay seized them to such an extreme that these veteran troops fled, scarcely firing a gun, general Marco, who commanded, being the first to set the example; Their rear was annoyed by the cavalry, and by the Guaso volunteers. The detachment of cavalry sent by the pass of Tavon descended into the plain just as the royalists began to give way, they joined in the pursuit, and destroyed great numbers of the enemy. This victory was of vast importance. The president Marotto was a Spaniard of little personal bravery, and of no political talent: he o wed his situation solely to his family alliance and influence; he was effeminate and weak. Upon hearing the result of the action, he was about to strengthen Marco's farces with 1,200 new troops, which had promptly marched from Rancagua, When he met Marco in flight outside the city: a council of war was held, the army refused to act, the officers fled to Valparaiso, where many of them, together with Marco himself, were captured by the patriot guerilla: Marotto, however, effected his escape.

The patriot chiefs were so greatly amazed at their success that they could not credit the amount of

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their victory: they advanced that night towards Colina, where they remained three days, never expecting they should reach the capital without another and more sanguinary conflict. Such, however, was the panic of the Spaniards that they fled straight towards the Maypo without approaching the city, which was abandoned to the conquerors. San Martin entered Santiago on the 15th February, at the head of his troops, where he was received by the natives in sullenness and silence: no voice hailed him as a deliverer; he was looked on and treated at a barbarous invader by a people tired of patriot tyranny, and accustomed to the more welcome yoke of Spanish authority. I received a very interesting detail of the action from colonel Pereyra, who was wounded in the first cavalry attack in the action of Chacabuco, and was left, together with many officers and men, wounded on the field: they had no surgeon to attend them, but there was an abundance of friars running about to confess the dying, but not one of them would stop to bind up their wounds or administer relief. In this state they ware left till they were conveyed with the troops to the capital, where they were placed in the hospitals: here no one came to their relief--no provisions could be found--not even a medical attendant was at hand-- they were actually dying far want when Pereyra represented their deplorable situation to San Martin; but the general himself was no less destitute, he had no military chest, no stores of any kind. He was the only one among the officers who had any money, and even he, when he entered the city, had but two

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doubloons, and these he was obliged to part with, in sending off an express to Buenos Ayres, with the welcome news of their success. All who were present have acknowledged that the patriots owed their victory to the imprudence and cowardice of the Spaniards, for they poasessed the advantage greatly in point of numbers: their troops were all veterans, and well-disciplined men, with excellent officers, a well-stored military chest, the capital in their rear, the only approach to which was along the narrow valley of Chacabuco, whose whole width could have been defended by the length of their line; while, on the contrary, the patriots had newly raised troops, ill-disciplined, badly officered; they had no military chest nor material of any description. "We trusted wholly," said colonel Pereyra, "to the goodness of our cause, our enthusiasm, and the protection of Heaven."

The possession of the capital left the patriots at liberty to pursue their own course. General O'Higgins was appointed supreme director and the government in other respects assumed the form it had taken under the previous revolution, except that it was no longer considered as being subject to the king of Spain or the cortes, but was declared completely independent, and a provisional constitution was accordingly announced in April 1817.

Nearly the whole country fell under the power of the patriots. The troops of San Martin advanced towards the south, driving the remains of the scattered force before them, which shut themselves up in Concepcion. Hearing of the defeat of Chacabuco,

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the viceroy of Peru sent reinforcements under general Osorio, who was a second time appointed to command the king's troops in Chile, Osorio marched from Concepcion with near 6000 well-disciplined troops. The patriot army, amounting to about an equal number, were encamped in the neighbourhood of Rancagua, when Osorio advanced upon them on the night of the 19th March, 1818, surprised them in their encampment on the field of Canchayarada, and completely routed the whole army with considerable loss. O'Higgins endeavoured to rally his troops, and on this occasion showed great presence of mind and personal bravery; one of his arms was broken by a musket ball, and he was obliged to retire towards Santiago. Osorio gradually advanced towards the capital with his victorious troops, fully confident of success, but was met on the plains of Maypo near Santiago on the 5th of April, by the troops which had been collected by general San Martin, when a well-contested and sanguinary battle took place—the Spaniards brought 5000 men into the field, the patriote had nearly as many. The heat of the battle was near the farm house of the Espejo, which was twenty times alternately captured and re-captured, and victory, until nearly the close of the day, inclined in favour of the Spaniards: at this time the Spanish centre and one wing had the decided advantage, and the defeat of the patriot army seemed alraost inevitable: some impression however having been made by the patriots on the other wing of the Spanish forces, the Spanish regiment of Burgos attempted to form

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itself into a square. This critical moment was seized by the gallant colonel O'Brien, a native of Ireland, who had some time before joined the patriot forces, and who now commanded a body of troops called the horse-grenadiers; with these he made a furious and well-conducted charge upon the regiment of Burgos, the flower of the Spanish army, routed it, and being well supported threw the whole of this wing into confusion: the defeat of this regiment caused a panic, which spread rapidly through the Spanish army. The patriot troops availed themselves of the terror of the enemy, charged at all points, carried every thing before them, and gained one of the most complete victories ever recorded in history: half of the Spanish soldiers were either killed or wounded, and nearly all the remainder were taken prisoners. General Osorio with about 280 officers and men escaped over the cuesta of Prado, marched by Melipilli, along the cross road to Concepcion, where he embarked for Peru, leaving Chile entirely free from any opposing force. This was the last time any Spanish troops appeared on the soil of Chile. The battle of Maypo established the independence of the country.

About this time an effort was made to establish a naval force. Soon after the battle of Chacabuco, the port of Valparaiso was blockaded by the Spanish frigate Esmeralda and the Pezuela brig of war. The government of Chile purchased an American brig, mounting eighteen guns; she was named the Chacabuco, and was employed in protecting the entrance and exit of vessels in defiance of the blockade. At

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this time the Wyndham East Indiaman, an extra ship, put into VaIparaiso; and with the view of raising the "blockade, the government agreed to purchase her: this was effected by a contributïon upon the natives, and a loan borrowed from the few British merchants who had settled there. In a short time she was equipped, manned, mounted with fortyfour guns, and named the Lautaro: these two Vessels sailed from the bay, maintained an action with the two Spanish ships, which were finally beaten off the coasts of Chile. Soon after the action of Maypo, the Cumberland East Indiaman arrived from London, having been purchased by the Cnileno deputies, on account of this government; she mounted sfxtyfour giine, and was called the San Martin, in honour of the hero of Maypo.

Ferdinand VII. having been restored to his throne, and fearing the consequences to Peru frora the revolution in Chile, sent a considerable body of troops from Spain, under convoy of a line-of-battle ship and two frigates. The man of war was obliged to return to Spain, being not found sea-worthy. The remainder of the expedition was dispersed in a gale off Cape Horn, and the soldiers and crews on board two of the transports mutinied and carried the vessels into Buenos Ayres. One of the frigates, the Maria Isabella, with another of the transports, put into Concepcion soon after the battle of Maypo. The other frigate was for a long time unheard of.

The government of Chile, on learning the arrival of the Maria Isabella, appointed general Blanco to the office of Admiral, who hoisted his flag in the San

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Martin, and, accompanied by the Lautaro, sailed for Concepcion, where, when he arrived on the 28th October, 1818, he found the Spanish frigate, together with four transports, anchored in Talcahuano Bay. On sight of the patriot vessels the crews deserted the Spanish ships, which were immediately taken possession of by the patriote. This fine frigate was brought to Valparaiso, where she Was named the O'Higgins, and added another vessel of war to the now respectable navy of Chile.

After the victory of Chacabuco, San Martin and O'Higgins directed their deputies in Englahd to procure competent naval officers and seamen, but the passing of the foreign enlistment bill in a great measure prevented the deputies from executing these orders. Fortunately for Chile, lord Cochrane, whose attachment to the cause of liberty, and whose wishes for the emancipation of South America, were well known, accepted the proposals of the deputies to become the Admiral of Chile, and sailed from England, in August, 1818, to take the command of the naval force of that country. He arrived in Valparaiso in the November following, where he was received with great enthusiasm. His appointment was confirmed, and he proceeded to equip and regulate the fleet, now become a respectable force. The Galvarino, formerly an English brig of war, the Intrepid, and the Araucano, both of them American built vessels, had been purchased and added to the navy of Chile. The first operations of lord Cochrane were directed against Peru: he hoisted his flag on board the O'Higgins, and sailed from

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Valparaiso, the 15th of January, 1819, his force consisting of the following shipe and vessels:

O'Higgins	Lord Cochrane	Capt. Forster	48 guns.
San Martin	General Blano	Capt. Wilkinson	64
Lautaro		Capt. Guise	44
Chacabuco		Capt. Carter	18
Galvarino		Capt. Story	18
Araucaho		Capt. Crosbie	16
Puyreddon		Capt. Prunier	14

After his departure the navy was increased by the purchase of a new American-built corvette, mounting 26 guns, to which the name of Indepencia was given.

Lord Cochrane sailed with his squadron directly into Callao bay, with the intention of attacking the fortifications, and carrying the place by surprize; but in this he was foiled by two circumstances: as he entered the harbour of Callao a very thick fog came on, the other vessels of the squadron took advantage of it to disobey his orders, and he entered alone towards the anchorage, under the very walls of the battery, the Spanish frigates Esmeralda and Verganza, as well as two brigs of war, being there at anchor: lord Cochrane opened his fire against the principal battery; but this being the day on which the viceroy of Peru made his annual visit of inspection to the forts and vessels of war, in Callao they were well prepared to repel the attack. Pezuela, the viceroy, was himself on board one of the frigates when lord Cochrane sailed into the harbour. When the O'Higgins entered, the garrison of the

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forts were all at their guns, and the crews of the ships of war at their respective quarters: lord Cochrane, therefore, met with a warmer reception than he anticipated, as well from the fortifications which mounted 360 guns, as from the vessels of war, which carried above 100 guns. To their fire he was exposed for two hours, as the calm did not allow of his retreat: unsupported as he was against so unequal a force, he returned the fire briskly, and succeeded in destroying an angle of one of the fortifications; but as the breeze sprung up he retreated. The Spaniards supposed that the attack was made by the whole Chileno fleet, but as the fog cleared away, their own frigate Maria Isabella was seen to be the only daring aggressor.

The Spaniards, astounded at the intrepidity and daring courage of their adversary, when informed that it was lord Cochrane, conferred upon him the title of "E1 Diablo, " the Devil, a name by which he was afterwards well known among them. From the habitual carelessness of the Spaniards, and the masterly style in which lord Cochrane succeeded in silencing the main battery, it was the general opinion, that had this attack been made on any other day of the year, and had he been seconded by the other vessels as he ought to have been, he would have succeeded in taking the place by storm; and of this the viceroy seemed fully aware, as he lost no time in instantly dismantling his ships of war. lashing their spars and masts together, so as to form a double boom round the anchorage, to prevent all approach to it, and to the batteries. Lord Cochrane contrived to blockade the harbour, occasionally en-

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deavouring to entice the Spanish vessels to come out and fight him, but all to no purpose; they had wisely determined to act on the defensive. Lord Cochrane sailed in the O'Higgins at different periods along the coast, for the purpose of compelling the Spanish authorities to furnish his ships with provisions; on being refused supplies, he marched with part of his crew into the country, and took the towns of Payta, Supè, Guambacho, Guaruney, and other places, capturing Spanish property alone, and respecting that of the Creoles, striking terror into his enemies, and yet from the mildness of his conduct gaining many friends among the natives, which was afterwards of great importance when the country was invaded by the Chileno army under San Martin, and this part of the country became the principal field of operation of the invading army. In making these descents the admiral ascertained that the greater portion of the people were favourable to the cause of liberty, and desirous of throwing off the Spanish yoke.

Pending his operations along the coast, admiral Blanco was left with the remainder of the fleet to maintain the blockade of Callao: lord Cochrane at length returned, with the intention of attacking the forts and ships in the harbour with the whole of his force, but on reaching Callao he found that admiral Blanco had raised the blockade, and sailed to Valparaiso. On his arrival at Valparaiso, Blanco was put under arrest by the government, and ordered for trial: on the return of lord Cochrane a court-martial was held, by which he was honourably acquitted.

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Lord Cochrane had taken with him from England a skilful practical workman, as well as the machinery requisite for the preparation of Congreve rockets; but on his return from his first cruize, he found that the government, with the dilatoriness which he now discovered was inseparable from the Chileno character, had done but little towards their manufacture. After waiting three months in port, a sufficient number of rockets were got ready, and trials were made of their power, when it was found that their ranges were equal to those of the English Congreve rockets. Lord Cochrane obtained two merchant vessels, with a portion of combustibles, destined for fire-ships, and he now urged the government to send with him a body of 1000 men, pledging himself to capture the castles of Callao, and either take or destroy the Spanish shipping in the harbour. This force the constituted authorities undertook to provide; but on this, as on all other occasions, they broke their promise. On leaving Valparaiso, on his second expedition to Peru, he was told that the troops were waiting for him at Coquimbo. The minister of marine had impressed upon 'the admiral in the strongest terms the necessity of carrying on the most active warfare against the Spaniards; but, anxious as he was on this point, his extreme jealousy, in which he was countenanced by too many of his countrymen, prevented him from trusting, as he ought to have done, to an officer of such acknowledged talent, merely because he was a foreigner. It will appear strange, but no less strange than true, that lord Cochrane, who had urged on the government the necessity of

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expedition and secrecy, was told the nature of his secret orders by a native officer under his command three days before he received them: he was so mortified, as to hesitate whether or not to throw up his commission, but his ardour, his expectation of the effect of the rockets, and the confidence in the military assistance he was promised, induced him to proceed. He sailed from Valparaiso on the 12th of September, 1819, and on arriving at Coquimbo, instead of 1000 men the admiral found only ninety soldiers ready. Having made up his mind to the enterprize, this disappointment did not damp his ardour: he proceeded on his voyage, and arrived before Callao, and on the 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th of October, he made trial of the rockets; on these occasions they failed wholly of success, owing to two causes, both resulting from bad preparation: there could not be found in all Chile sufficient borax or spilter to solder the iron cylinders, and there was no other alternative left but to use bell-metal solder, which made the joints so insecure as to burst by the expansive force of the rocket: the Chile government, to save expense of labour, had employed Spanish prisoners to fill the rockets, who threw in at intervals unobserved layers of earth which impeded the progress of the combustion, and of course destroyed their power. The fire-ship which was sent in on the 5th of October also failed of success. Under these disappointments lord Cochrane would have proceeded to attack the Spanish squadron at anchor in Callao, but, on referring to his instructions, he found his orders restricted him. By these instructions he was peremptorily commanded not to

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approach with his ships within range of the enemy's batteries; not to do this or that: in short he was to make no attempt upon the enemy's squadron except by means of the rockets and fire-ships, and to return to Chile within a certain time. Lord Cochrane did not receive the necessary supplies for the use of his ships which the government promised to send him: and he was, therefore, induced to proceed to Pisco to procure provisions, but hearing that two line-of-battle ships and a frigate had arrived at Arica from Spain, he resolved at once to proceed in search of them. On his arrival there he was disappointed in not finding them: he, therefore, sent the Galvarino and Lautaro, with his soldiers and marines, under command of the gallant colonel Charles and the heroic major Miller, to Pisco, while he proceeded to Callao in quest of the Spanish ships, which he concluded had made for that harbour. The troops were landed before Pisco, where they were warmly received; they succeeded in capturing the place, though the victory was too dearly purchased by the death of the intrepid Charles, and by the severely wounding of major Miller. Upon obtaining the stores wanted, the vessels rejoined the squadron off Callao: upon their arrival, a singular event took place; the Spanish frigate Prueba, one of the vessels lord Cochrane was in search of, appeared off Callao, which he mistook for a whaler: next morning he saw her again, and gave chace, but she escaped in the night. The Europe line-of-battle ship, which formed one of the Spanish expedition, in crossing the line was pronouneed not to be seaworthy enough for the voyage: the Saint Elmo,

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another line-of-battle ship, foundered of Cape Horn during the passage, and the Prueba frigate alone reached the Pacific in safety: on her arrival off Callao, finding that port blockaded, a boat was sent on shore with the dispatches for the viceroy, and on his return from the chase lord Cochrane fell in with and captured the boat on her return to the vessel, from the crew of which he learned that the ship he had chased was the Prueba frigate. As the seamen of the squadron were now become infected by an epidemic complaint introduced on board by the troops taken from Coquimbo, lord Cochrane dispatched the San Martin, Independencia, Araucano, and a transport filled with sick, to Valparaiso, while in company with the Lautaro and Puyreddon he went in quest of the Prueba to Guayaquil, whither he concluded she had sailed. On his arrival at Puna he proceeded up the river Guayaquil, without a PILOT, and by night, a thing never before attempted on account of its difficult navigation: here he captured two large armed merchantmen, the Aguila, of 900 tons and 32 guns, and the Begoña, of 600 tons and 26 guns, both laden with timber destined for Lima. On the approach of the admiral the Prueba frigate threw her guns and stores overboard, struck her rigging, and, thus lightened, ascended the river beyond the possible reach of the O'Higgins. Finding further pursuit hopeless, lord Cochrane left Guayaquil on the 21st of December, and sailed for Chile, committing the prizes to the command of the other vessels, while he alone in the O'Higgins proceeded to reconnoitre Valdivia. His object was, if possible, to achieve something worthy

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of his reputation, that should counteract the disappointment consequent upon the want of success in the present cruize. Off Valdivia, he took the Potrillo Spanish brig of war, and in the O'Higgins alone stood into the port of Valdivia, under Spanish colours, where he remained some time reconnoitring the place: the Spaniards mistook the frigate for the long expected Prueba, and did not offer to disturb him till they found the boat sent off to him detained. From these people he derived what further information he required, and retiring from the heavy fire of the fortresses, he sailed a way, confident of the capability of carrying this place, which, from its great strength, no one but himself would have attempted with his small force: he sailed, however, to Concepcion, to obtain a succour from the commander of that place, Colonel Fryre (the present Supreme Director of Chile), from whom he promptly received more co-operation and more succour than the government would have afforded him: the sequel of this most brilliant enterprize, which was accomplished on the 2d of February, 1820, has been fully detailed in the description already given of Valdivia—au achievement which, for cool judgment, heroism, and success, has never been surpassed.

Subsequent to the action of Maypo, general San Martin retired with his army to Mendoza, where he employed himself in raising and organizing new troops, and completing the extensive equipments required by the grand expedition he had in view for carrying the seat of warlike operations into the heart of Peru upon an extensive scale. The object of this expedition was not only to divert the hostile

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measures that might be used against the recently declared independent countries, but, if possible, to effect the liberation of Peru from the Spanish rule, and thus complete the emancipation of all South America. It was at this period, the beginning of 1819, that I became first acquainted with general San Martin, in Mendoza; it was only during my more intimate acquaintance with him, in the middle of the year 1820, that I learned fully to appreciate his character. As the general has since been the principal mover of political events in that part of the world, and as his character has been so variously represented, I will endeavour to delineate his portraiture, as well as those of several other leading personages, which I shall studiously do with the fullest impartiality; and, being in no way within the influence of political, commercial, or other local interests, I may be allowed to be a disinterested spectator of the passing events of the times.

It was the general opinion and expectation among those who knew the dispositions and intentions of general San Martin that, after the action of Chacabuco, where he had been mainly instrumental in establishing the independence of Chile, he would have aspired to the directorship of that country; but in this they were mistaken; for, though offered to him, he refused it, and recommended general O'Higgins, whose name, talents, and exertions in the cause of his country, added to the general respect and confidence reposed in him, qualified him above all others for the office. This act at the time was held to be one of extreme disinterestedness, patriotism, and noble-mindedness; but those who were thus dis-

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appointed in their expectations were only for a time deceived as to his real character: still more ambitious notions were formed by San Martin; and by this apparent for bearance he rendered the actual governors of Chile his grateful followers, and made them the more subservient and efficient agents to his plans, which were directed to the subjugation and command of Peru. San Martin lost nothing in respect of power or influence by the transferred boon, but was enabled more effectually to exercise the authority he had obtained. Had San Martin been surrounded by advisers of discrimination, prudence, and foresight, he would undoubtedly have succeeded in the object of his ambition; and as his intention was to regenerate Peru, the most oppressed and degraded of all the Spanish colonies, he might have obtained the sovereign power. It was the want of advisers, or rather the presence of bad counsellors, that misled him; for he is himself but a weak man, not sufficiently imbued with that kind of knowledge which enables a man from his own resources to command his fellow men, or to ensure their respect. He had read but little, and had no sound notions of government: he had, however, an unusual share of cunning, was quick of comprehension in ordinary circumstances, and a good share of physiognomical acuteness, and was generally successful in his choice of those who were to act in subordinate capacities. I gathered from San Martin, previous to his expedition to Peru, his real intentions relative to the government of that country. I often represented to him the condition of the people both of Chile and Peru—the want of education among even the higher

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classes—the inanition of the people, their contentedness and submissiveness under almost any control, however severe; I showed how impossible it was, in a society so constituted, to establish a republican government, and how much better it would be suited to their disposition, their happiness, and their more rapid advancement in the arts of civilization, were it possible to establish among them a well-regulated despotism under a man of talent, determination, liberality, and disinterestedness. I represented to him, that these people, to make them happy, must be governed by such a despot before they could be brought to a sufficient state of advancement to be trusted out of their leading strings: on these occasions the eye of the general used to glisten, and he readily assented to the truth of these observations. I then formed the idea of his ultimate determinations, notwithstanding he studiously endeavoured to conceal them. No one who understands the condition of the people whom he sought to deliver would find fault with San Martin, for wishing to make himself emperor of Peru: his best friends, however, cannot but confess and regret the want of candour and of good faith under which he concealed his intentions. I never believed that San Martin was the origin of one-half the misconduct that was committed during his short reign in Peru; the bad man Monteagudo was doubtlessly the main spring of the worst of his enormities; but as he acted under the authority of the general, the whole disgrace must fall upon his head.

San Martin was a cruel enemy of the Spaniards. It is a prominent feature in the Spanish character,

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and especially among the Creoles, in all grades and conditions of society, to be servilely submissive to those vested with influence or authority, and on the contrary to be cruelly oppressive to those placed within their power: such is the pertinacious fealty of the old Spaniards to the mother country, such their blind adherence to the cause of their king, that no losses, no privations, could shake their loyalty; and they are therefore dangerous opponents, only to be got rid of by banishment, imprisonment, or extirpation.

Those in civil or military employments were the first on whom vengeance fell heavily. There was no sacrifice they would not make, no act whatever which they would not commit to promote the royal cause. Of those who followed mercantile pursuits, though equally active and zealous, many were very rich, and excuses were not wanting to seize their property: the exigencies of the state, as well in Chile as afterwards in Peru, could not at the moment have been supplied in any other way; and it seldom happens, in revolutionary times, that much ceremony is used in procuring the means to satisfy the necessities of the government All the old Spaniards in those countries were either put to death or banished; their property was partly delivered up to public use, but by far the greater portion was plundered and divided among the most active and vindictive enemies of the old Spaniards.

I have been assured by one of the most respectable Chilenos, who took an active part in the proceedings of the revolution, that previous to the action of Maypo no less than five millions of dollars of readily

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convertible property was seized by the government, principally to supply the demands of the military chief, and that subsequent to that battle property to the value of three millions of dollars was appropriated to the same objects. Such was the system of public robbery, that any one who inveighed against it was discharged from public employ. One remarkable instance is said to have occurred in the Tribunal de Cuentas, the accompt and audit office, before which all public accounts must pass; a rich hacendado, named Eyzaguirre, was then auditor of accounts; he returned the accounts of the treasurer with a refusal to pass over items amounting to 280,000 dollars, for which false documents appeared before him; it was referred to the minister, who put his vistabuena on it, and ordered it back to the tribunal to audit: still the account was rejected by Eyzaguirre, and he was accordingly dismissed from his situation; another more willing agent was appointed in his stead, who soon overcame the difficulty. A similar removal took place about the same time in the treasury: the head treasurer refused to acknowledge the proceedings of his inferior colleague; it was referred to the government; the former was dismissed, and the latter substituted in his stead. These proceedings were common at the beginning of the revolution; and, considering the expensive preparations that were necessary, and the great exertions that were made, it is wonderful how, amidst the incredible roguery that all parties acknowledged to hare been put in practice, the government went on at all.

One of the principal features of the new govera-

VOL. II. D

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ment of Chile was bad faith: its promises were never kept; it made laws to suit the interests and inclinations of favoured individuals, and adopted ex post facto laws, whenever it suited its purposes. The British merchants were the only individuals to whom the government could look up for assistance in periods of difficulty: these merchants had no confidence in the promises of the governors, and would only come forward with assistance upon securities which enable them to reimburse themselves out of forth-coming duties at the custom-house; and even then they needed the constant interference of the captains of British ships of war, who could demand the fulfilment of engagements to British subjects by the government of Chile.

After the rejection of the supreme authority of Chile, by general San Martin, in favour of general O'Higgins, by which, as has been observed, he lost neither power nor influence, he found it expedient that those more immediately connected with the administration of the government should be men suited to his views. Among the most important of them was the minister of war, and to this situation was appointed one of his dependants, who had been taken from a low occupation in Mendoza, and placed in a confidential situation about his person: this man, Don Ignacio Zenteno, was selected to fill the occupation of minister of war and marine, which post he filled more to the satisfaction of his patron than to the advantage of the state. The principal direction of the affaire of government was in his hand, and as the ministers of state and finance were weak and un-

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informed men, they were easily led in the direction which accorded with their personal interests. The supreme director, O'Higgins, was continually embarrassed and impeded in his operations by the influence of San Martin and the conduct of the ministers: he has frequently assured me that this influence and opposition has often prevented him from carrying into effect many measures of great importance to the prosperity and happiness of the people.

The finance department was, in the first instance, confided to Irraguis, who was soon afterwards displaced to mate way for Don Antonio de Irizarri, a Mexican by birth, but married into a Chileno family. He was subsequently sent to Europe, and replaced Josè Antonio Alvarez, as agent of the Chileno government in England, and the office he held in Chile was filled by Don Anselmo Cruz, an imbecile old man, a willing tool for every state purpose, and many very strange things were called state purposes by most of the individuals in power. Cruz retained his office till 1800, when he was succeeded by a man named Rodrigues.

The affairs of "State and Justice" were managed by Don Joaquim Echeverria, a man of good intentions, but not the less on that account a tool in the hands of his employers. He was too indolent to exert himself to expedite any business, and e very thing in his department followed the Spanish routine, than which nothing can be more ruinous. He had been brought up in the midst of the abuses and chicanery which had prevailed. Subterfuge and deceit were means to ends, and well calculated to answer the

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sinister purposes of those in power. Echeverria was therefore selected, and made a minister in these departments. He was greatly caressed by San Martin, and was very useful to him on many occasions.

After San Martin had landed in Peru, Rodrigues, who was one of the most corrupt and intriguing ministers Chile ever possessed, outgeneralled Zenteno, succeeded in ousting him from office, and divided the duties of war and marine between himself and Echeverria. Zenteno was made governor of Valparaiso.

From the moment Don Bernardo O'Higgins was appointed to the office of supreme director, he was indefatigable in his endeavours to introduce the most essential improvements. But for his judicious interposition between conflicting parties, and his temperate management at the commencement of the revolution, Chile would neither have driven out the Spaniards, nor have carried war into the heart of Peru;—Chile, but for him, would have wasted her strength in party struggles, and have been the scene of incessant commotions. He may be said to have been the only man in power who had the good of his country at heart; the only disinterested man who possessed authority: his only ambition was to promote the good of his country; he would listen attentively to any proposition for its advancement, but for want of sufficient discrimination he was sometimes imposed upon, and induced to accede to measures of private advantage, militating against the public good. I have at times spoken to him of the probably distant period, when effectual ameliorations could take place, and he would then expatiate on the

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hope of introducing arts and civilization among the people, and of improving the condition of the poorer classes. On one occasion, in a burst of enthusiasm, he said, "if they will not become happy by their own efforts, they shall be made happy by force, by God they shall be happy. " He laboured hard to overcome the prejudices of his ministers and other influential persons in favour of free commerce with all nations, and encouragement of foreigners: he did all the good he was able, but he was forced to, submit to the most flagrant abuses committed by ministers, who were more powerful than he was;— he was obliged to overlook the grossest acts of peculation by persons in authority. Still his amiable disposition was well fitted for such a country as Chile, for though he could not force any rapid advancements as a man of greater determination would have done, he had a happy manner of conciliating and keeping peace among all parties. The country was more respected abroad during his short reign than any other state of South America; and, since his removal, there has been a gradual but extensive retrogradation in its political character and importance.

It has been before noticed that general San Martin was at Mendoza, raising men to increase the Chileno army destined for the invasion of Peru: this intended expedition was not only a matter of great importance, but, in the then state of Chile, an effort of vast magnitude, requiring all the power of the state and all the resources which the government could command. The difficulties attending the equipping and fitting out this expedition were such as can scarcely

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be conceived by persons unacquainted with the country, and the small resources which existed for such an enterprize. There was no wharf whence stores could be embarked and carried to the ships; there was not even a common crane in the port of Valparaiso, it required all the skill, perseverance, and knowledge of the admiral to convey to his ships the horses, artillery, ammunition, stores, and baggage necessary. It may here also be observed, that this was the first time any Chileno military force, excepting the 250 men taken on board by Lord Cochrane for his attack on Valdivia, had ever been on snip board. The exertions of general San Martin and Lord Cochrane were unremitted, and to the surprise of almost every body, this expedition was got ready, and the troops embarked in an incredibly short space of time. The army consisted of about 4200 men, besides a corps of supernumerary officers destined to organize the forces proposed to be raised among the Peruvians.

The whole navy of Chile was employed in this expedition: ships were hired as transports for the conveyance of the troops, and the whole sailed for Peru on the 20th of August, 1820. The fleet reached Pisco on the 7th of September, and on the 11th a detachment under colonel Arenales was landed: this enterprising officer was well acquainted with the country, and in pursuance of the plan of the campaign he marched his detachment into the interior, and took up a position to the eastward of Lima.

It was general San Martin's intention to proceed with the main body of the troops to Truxillo, but the admiral succeeded in persuading him to give up

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his intention, as Truxillo was too far distant from Lima, which could not, in this case, be proceeded against without great delay, difficulty, and expense.

Lord Cochrane's plan was to land the forces at Chilca, the nearest place to Callao, the port of Lima, and at once to carry the capital. There was not then in the mind of Lord Cochrane, nor is there now in the mind of any one acquainted with the country, a doubt that this plan would have been successful; but it was too decisive a step to suit the temporizing policy of San Martin, who had other objects than merely revolutionizing Peru.

After fifty days useless delay at Pisco, the expedition again sailed on the 26th of October to the northward, and arrived off Callao on the 29th. Lord Cochrane strenuously urged an immediate disembarcation of the troops: to this the general objected, and proceeded to reconnoitre the bay of Anchon, a port a few miles to the northward of Callao. Meanwhile Lord Cochrane planned an attack upon the Spanish frigate Esmeralda, moored under the guns of the fortresses of Callao: he did not at first apprize San Martin of his intention, apprehensive, from what he had seen of the timid policy of the general, that his design would not be concurred in. It was not, therefore, until the day preceding the attack that he acquainted the general with his intention.

The patriot ships of war, San Martin, Galvarino, Araucano, and the transports, sailed for Ancon, while the O'Higgins, Independencia, and Lautaro, remained, as if resuming their old blockade. Lord Cochrane fixed the day of gunpowder plot, the 5th of November, for the enterprize. Captain Forster was left in

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command of the ships which on that day were sent out to sea, as if the blockade were entirely raised, and thus put the enemy off their guard. Lord Cochrane, captain Guise, and captain Crosbie, each led his own division, amounting in the whole to 240 volunteers, in fourteen boats. At ten o'clock at night the boats plied with muffled oars towards the bay, and at midnight the divisions reached within hail of the Esmeralda, when they were challenged by a guard boat, with the cry of "quien vive," ("who's there.") Lord Cochrane himself replied in a low tone, "silence, or death, you villain," and was immediately alongside the frigate. In an instant the vessel was boarded at several points by the sailors from the boats: the affrighted crew of the Esmeralda jumped upon their legs, flew to arms, and maintained the combat for a quarter of an hour with much fury. The deck was bravely defended, but the crew were driven to the forecastle, where they again made a stand; at length they gave in. At this moment the admiral received a wound from a musket-ball in the thigh. The order and discipline was only equalled by the excellence of Lord Cochrane's dispositions, which were so admirably arranged, that at the moment of boarding, scarcely had the admiral reached the deck and called out "fore top there," than he was answered by the sailors, who had already got possession of it, "ey ey, sir,—main top there."—"Ey ey, sir," was the reply; they were here also at their station. Contrary to. Lord Cochrane's orders, captain Guise ordered one of the parties in the boats to cut the cables. This being done, there was no

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alternative but to loose the top sails, the tacks were hauled on board, and the snip; assisted by a party in the boats, was under way sometime before the fighting on the deck had ceased.

The firing on board the frigate alarmed the garrison; she was moored close under the walls, near the British frigate Hyperion, and the American frigate Macedonian. The heavy fire opened from 82 guns did but little mischief to the two neutral ships, and none at all to the Esmeralda. Upon the Esmeralda being boarded, both the Hyperion and Macedonian showed two coloured lights fore, and two aft, cut their cables, and moved away. But Lord Cochrane, who had foreseen the probability of such proceedings on board these vessels, came provided, and similar lights were hoisted on board the Esmeralda; it was this which induced the people on shore to avoid firing at him.

The frigate mounted 42 guns; the Spanish admiral was on board at the time, and his flag was flying: he and all his officers, with 200 seamen, were made prisoners; the remainder of the crew were either killed, drowned, or swam ashore.

This exploit is perhaps unequalled in the annals of naval history, especially as the frigate was protected by a double row of armed gun-boats, and commanded by the batteries on shore. In this achievement was displayed the same genius, cool judgment, courage, and. admirable disposition, which has ever characterized the enterprises of Lord Cochrane.— Immediately on the striking of the flag, the command of the frigate was conferred upon captain Guise. By half-past two the Esmeralda was an-

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chored in the outer roads of Callao, and Lord Cochrane wished to return to cut out the other vessels in the bay, but the English seamen were too much occupied in plunder: they had broken into the spirit room, and were rendered unfit for any further service. Had it not been so, every vessel in the harbour would have been captured.

Lord Cochrane, as before stated, did not intend to have cut the cable of the Esmeralda, but to have captured in succession every ship in the harbour, and to have followed up his exploit by an attack on the fortifications of Callao; for such was the terror and dismay of the Spaniards, that but little doubt exists that, had he been properly seconded by his officers and seamen, he would have accomplished his object, as his plans were well arranged for that purpose.

On receiving the news of the action, general San Martin, in compliment to Lord Cochrane, named the captured vessel the Valdivia, a name she still bears in, the Chileno service. He confirmed the promise of 50,000 dollars, which Lord Cochrane had said should. be divided among the captors, in addition to their share of prize-money.

Lord Cochrane left some of his ships to blockade Callao, and sailed with the remainder in convoy of the transports to Huacho, where the expedition was disembarked on the 10th November.

The head quarters of the army were established at the town of Huara, a few miles in the interior. While preparations for the advance of the troops towards Lima were going forward, the general proposed to send a succour of 2,000 men to, Guayaquil, in order to favor a rising of the people of that place,

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and forward the progress of the revolutionary spirit there exhibiting itself; but from this he was dissuaded by the admiral, who was desirous of directing the whole force upon the capital of Peru. At length San Martin advanced with his troops towards the capital, and in the beginning of January, 1821, had arrived within a few leagues of Lima, where he had communication with a number of the principal and most influential inhabitants of that city, who assured him of their desire to forward the good cause, and of the general disposition among the people to throw off the yoke of the Spanish authority. A proof of this was exhibited among the troops of the viceroy: a whole regiment, that of Numancia, 800 strong, went over in a body, to the head-quarters of the patriot army. At this time, too, general Arenales, who had landed at Pisco, had made a most daring march into the interior; by which bold movement, he had cleared the whole country to the southward of Lima, as far as Arequipa, of Spanish troop; he had opened the country to the westward, and in a brilliant action with the Spanish general O'Reilly, whose forces, amounting to 1,800 men, he had totally routed, having either killed or taken the whole of them prisoners, After this brilliant exploit, Arenales having fulfilled his orders, formed a junction with the army of general San Martin: he had previously opened. the road, so as to command the enemy's resources in the interior, and had also secured the possession of the silver mines of Pasco, from which he had derived a considerable booty: about this time news arrived of the accession of Guayaquil to the patriot cause, and that Truxillo and the nor-

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thern provinces of Lower Peru had declared for the independance of the country. No campaign could have opened more brilliantly for the success of the operations of the liberating army; nearly all Lower Peru might be said to have acceded to the invitations of the general, the capital alone excepted, and that was now invested, for on the 6th January his advanced guard was only three leagues from Lima, his head quarters being at Rites, near Chancay. The port of Callao was vigorously blockaded, so that the inhabitants felt greatly the want of provisions: in the capital itself, the cause of the king was daily losing ground, and many openly had the hardihood to express good wishes for the success of the patriot arms.

Such was the promising state of affairs when all the world expected the advance of the patriot forces to the gates of the capital, whose inhabitants were prepared to receive them with open arms; but general San Martin had from the first determined to pursue a different line of policy, as equally contrary to the expectations of his officers and troops as to the people of Peru and Chile. On many occasions where success was clearly within the reach of his arms, he carefully avoided coming into hostile contact with the enemy: some attributed this to cowardice, especially under circumstances which placed great advantages within the scope of his military operations. But those who remembered the fame he had acquired at Chacabuco and Maypo could hardly accuse general San Martin of cowardice: 'the policy of the general evidently induced him to place more reliance upon intrigue and diplomatic finesse than upon the hazard of warfare: in the eyes of military men he has

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been condemned; in the opinion of others his policy has been defended as the more prudent line of operation, considering him certain of ultimate success by the mere maintenance of the blockade of the. port, thus cutting off the resources of the Spaniards in Lima, both by sea and land, which it was expected would oblige the viceroy to abandon the capital.

The country between Chanca and Lima is, in the rainy season, one of the most unhealthy and destructive climates in Peru: this season had commenced when the general approached the capital; and during the short time he maintained his position, his troops experienced the fatal influence of the climate. There was no alternative but to advance upon the capital or to retreat again to his former headquarters; the latter course was taken, much against the advice of the admiral, the wishes of his soldiers, and the expectations of the royalists of Lima, who dreaded the approach of the patriots. From this moment the Spaniards began to entertain a contemptuous opinion of the military knowledge of San Martin, who, to counteract these notions, and convince the world that his policy was not founded in fear, came to the magnanimous resolution, in a council of war, of ordering that, in the event of his being attacked and beaten, all the transports should be burned; on which the admiral remarked to the general, that if he were ever reduced to so desperate a situation, the. transports might as well sail away under protection of the ships of war.

Whatever unfavourable notions the Spaniards entertained respecting the military courage of the ge-

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neral, it did not extend towards Lord Cochrane, whose approach was dreaded wherever he was heard of, and the fear of his foes continually increased: he moved with celerity from one part of the coast to another, and thus kept up a perpetual alarm; this indeed was so great, that whenever his approach to Callao was known, the whole of the Spanish army was instantly on the alert, the coast was guarded by cavalry, and 8000 men were posted on the road between Callao and Lima, to be ready upon any emergency.

The enemy fully expected that "Il Diablo," as they called him, would make a dash at the capital, and that he would find his way into Lima; he would indeed have accomplished it could he have obtained even a small body of able troops in whom he could confide. Lord Cochrane was so convinced of the practicability of the attempt, and so well informed of the good will and desire for co-operation of the inhabitants of Lima, that, having in vain urged general San Martin to advance, he requested him to place at his disposal 2,000 men, with which he offered to march upon Lima, and take possession of it. So certain indeed was he of success, that on his request being refused, he offered to undertake it with 1,000 men, but his solicitations were unattended to, and nothing was done. Finally, he urged San Martin to embark with his infantry, and take the enemy in the rear by disembarking at Chilea, while he would himself head the cavalry, and lead them to the charge in front of the Spanish encampments, and clear the way for him to the very gates of Lima. The urgency of Lord Cochrane to attack

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the enemy, when the general had resolved upon a different line of conduct, created violent jealousies in the mind of San Martin against the admiral, whom be now looked upon as a rival; and as his own officers were loud in their praises of the heroism of Lord Cochrane, the general was induced to seize every opportunity of endeavouring to lessen the admiral's reputation, and of placing out of his reach as much as possible the gaining of fresh laurels: but the naval commander, tired of being idle, and satisfied that the army must remain inactive at Huacho, during the winter season, resolved to attempt to revolutionize the south of Peru with his own means, the general having refused him any military assistance whatever. He therefore, without consulting with San Martin, collected from all his vessels of war a number of marines, and some sick soldiers carried on board for the benefit of their health: these he placed under the command of his constantly faithful and brave marine officer, colonel Miller, and sailed with them in the San Martin vessel of war alone in the end of April, leaving the remainder of his ships blockading Callao. On his arrival at Arica, he landed his small body of veterans: during his voyage the wound he received in the attack of the Esmeralda, and which had been nearly cured, now from over exertion broke out anew, so that during the landing and attack, he was obliged to remain on board: it was in great measure owing to his inability to move that eight days were spent before the town surrendered.* Sufficient time was

* Soon after his arrival at Arica, Lord Cochrane wrote to solicit of the government of Chile the assistance of five hundred men, with which he pledged himself not only to maintain the whole country of Lower Peru to the southward of Lima, but to secure possession of all the richer and more populous provinces of Upper Peru; but the same jealous policy which the government had ever displayed induced the minister to reply that they had no funds to equip such an expedition, although the distance of Arica from Valparaiso is only five days' sail before an unvarying wind, and the cost of conveyance could not hare exceeded one pound sterling for each man.

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therefore allowed for the authorities to remove the public treasures, amounting to a million and a half of dollars, to Tagna, the chief town of the province, lying forty-five miles in the interior. Thither Colonel Miller proceeded in pursuit, the Spanish authorities retreating before him; he took possession of the town, established a patriot form of government, marched thence to Morquegua, and routed the Spanish troops in a decisive action at Mirabè. Lord Cochrane followed his line of operations along the coast, so as to afford him the necessary supplies; the admiral was at Ilo on the 29th of May, and was proceeding to Quilea, while the victorious colonel Miller was marching upon Arequipa, the possession of which would have completed the liberation of the whole south of Lower Peru, when news was received over land from Lima, announcing that an armistice for twenty days had been concluded on the 24th of May, between general San Martin and the viceroy La Serna as president of the Junta de Pacification of Peru, the former having refused to treat with the latter as viceroy: the object of the treaty was "to enter into negociations that should consult the happiness of America. " He was driven to this extremity from the scarcity of provisions in the capital, and the consequent dissatisfaction of both inhabitants

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and soldiers. This led the patriots to believe that the viceroy was about to abandon the hopeless cause of Spain, and agree to the accession of the country to the cause of independence. Lord Cochrane therefore sailed for Callao, to hold conferences with the general, leaving the southern parts of Peru in possession of colonel Miller. During this armistice no treaty could be made, as San Martin would be satisfied with nothing short of a complete declaration of independence, which the viceroy could not listen to; the armistice being ended, and the blockade being rigorously maintained, the Spaniards at length began to make demonstrations of abandoning the capita], and retiring to the interior. San Martin had before the armistice advanced his head-quarters to Chancay, a few miles to the northward of Lima; the 8panish authorities quitted the capital on the 6th of July; but the cautious general San Martin, apprehensive of deceit on the part of the. Spaniards, or from other causes best known to himself, did not order the troops to advance by land till the 9th, when he himself proceeded by sea in a little schooner to Callao, on board of which he remained till the 14th, not thinking it prudent to enter the capital: in the meanwhile the people of Lima, left eight days without government, subject to the dangers of popular ferment, sought the protection of the British naval commander, captain Basil Hall, who advanced with his marines, and preserved the public tranquillity.

On the night of the 18th, the patriot troops took possession of Lima, and on the 14th the general himself entered the capital of Peru.

VOL. II. E

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CHAPTER XV.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF CHILE.

Contraband Trade.—Licences.—Seizure of British Vessels.—Coast of Peru described.—Money freights in British Men of War.—Conduct of general San Martin in Peru;—of Lord Cochrane.—Political Events in Peru.—Retirement of San Martin from Peru.

ABOUT this time several warm altercations and numerous explanations took place between Lord Cochrane, as admiral of the Chile squadron, and the several British naval commanders in the South Sea, relative to the detention of British merchant vessels: as this has since made considerable noise at home, and as the facts have been misrepresented, it will be proper to state the leading circumstances relating to this subject It appears that the viceroy of Lima, to raise funds to sustain his falling fortune, had recourse to the system of licences, a course formerly pursued to some extent by the Spanish authorities, long before any part of America became revolutionized. According to the Spanish colonial laws, which have never yet been repealed, no foreign ship can, without permission previously obtained, be allowed to enter any port of Spanish America. So strictly were these laws construed, that in many cases, where foreign vessels were driven by necessity or distress into those ports, they were often refused assistance; and, even when assistance was granted, all intercourse with the crew and people on shore

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was strictly interdicted: so rigorously were the laws sometimes put in force, that vessels thus circumstanced were seized, and their crews thrown into prison. But in time of war, it was usual to grant licences to foreign vessels to carry Spanish cargoes, in order to secure them from capture.* This system of licences was well understood during the late Continental wars, as well by British merchants in London as by British naval officers on service; and the various modes of concealing and masking property were fully explained by the proceedings of our English prize courts: Lord Cochrane among others was by long experience well acquainted both with the law and practice. The viceroy of Peru had, some time previously to the arrival of Lord Cochrane, granted, for a notable consideration, licences to one of the principal Spanish merchants in Lima, named Abadia, who had extensive connexions with many rich Spaniards and foreign merchants abroad. These licences were to permit the importation into Peru of full cargoes from Spain, in eight British vessels, which in consequence claimed protection from the Spanish authorities as if they had been Spanish bottoms; but as Spanish goods and capital could alone be engaged in these adventures, it was necessary to make it bear the semblance of British property, in order to elude the vigilance of hostile vessels, by which the property, if found to be Spanish, would become lawful prize: with the under-

* Sometimes these licences were secretly pawned to British merchants, who assisted the Spaniards with capital, upon sharing with them the proceeds; but in all cases the investiture passed alone in the name of Spaniards.

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standing, therefore, that they might bear the outward garb of British property, these cargoes were allowed to be imported into Peru, upon exhibiting to the Spanish authorities the clandestine papers which should prove them to belong to subjects of the king of Spain. Eight British vessels were accordingly hired by the agents of the owners of these licences. They took in their cargoes in Cadiz, of which quicksilver formed the principal part. It was necessary that the vessels should appear to have been loaded at Gibraltar, in order to legalize them against capture by patriot cruizers; accordingly, they proceeded thither, entrusted to the agency of an English house established in Gibraltar as well as Cadiz, whose name it is not necessary to mention. English supercargoes were openly appointed to each vessel, which had also on board Spanish supercargoes. under the guise of passengers. Some of these vessels proceeded to Rio Janeiro, consigned to one of the first British mercantile houses there, and were thence dispatched to Peru as an adventure of their own, and the simulated papers were consigned to their established agents in those parts; but it is to be observed that the vessels, on arriving at Gibraltar, were put under quarantine, which under the port regulations would have obliged them to remain fourteen days before they could take in cargo; but as they remained there only three or four days, while their simulated papers were prepared, this fact would of itself be sufficient to establish the impossibility of having taken in cargoes at Gibraltar. On their arrival upon the coast of Peru, finding the part of Callao strictly blockaded, they put on shore

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at Pisco and Arica the Spanish supercargoes, with their real papers, and proceeded along the coast as regular British merchantmen. Two of these were detained by the Independencia and Araucana, forming part of the blockading squadron, and were for a while detained, as the patriot authorities had received full information relative to the transaction. Some of these vessels which had been detained but could not be proved to be laden with Spanish property were quickly released; but the two alluded to were sent into Valparaiso for adjudication: they were the Edward Ellice and Lord Suffield; the real Spanish documents belonging to them had been lodged in the custom-houses of Arica and Tagna, and, upon the capture of those places by Lord Cochrane, were found and forwarded by him to the government of Chile, in order to prove the legality of the seizure of the Spanish property. Altercations took place between the British commanders and Lord Cochrane, as admiral of the Chile fleet, upon the alleged illegal seizure of British property; retaliatory measures were threatened by captain Basil Hall, captain Mackenzie, and commodore Sir Thomas Hardy, who was at that tune in Valparaiso; but, upon an interview with Lord Cochrane, who explained the real circumstances of the case, Sir Thomas admitted there were grounds for detaining the vessels. The masters of the vessels which had been released fearing that proofs would be obtained of the nature of the traffic carrying on, sailed from the Pacific with such precipitation as not to wait for the supplies of water and provisions of which they stood In need.

The British mercantile agents in Peru and Chile,

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who had received constant protection from Lord Cochrane, were loud in praise of the hero whom they were proud to call their countryman; but as, in consequence of the capture of Arica, their smuggling to the "Entremedios" was stopped, and their commissions put an end to, they now became as loud in their abuse, calling him pirate, robber, and other epithets equally disgraceful. These reports, when they reached England, were injurious to the character Lord Cochrane had maintained in the Pacific; and it is but justice to record the fact, that captain Mackenzie, of the Superb, upon leaving the Pacific, addressed a letter to him, paying him the tribute due for his conduct, and assuring him that during his stay upon the coast he neither knew of any case of injury having been done to the British flag by the Chileno vessels of war, nor of any impediment thrown in the way of British commerce; but, on the contrary, he had witnessed on all occasions every possible disposition to promote the interests of Great Britain; and added, that he was induced to pay this tribute in consequence of the injurious reports raised against the character of Lord Cochrane. From captain Hall I have heard the highest eulogium on Lord Cochrane's conduct, notwithstanding the angry discussion that had previously occurred between them: and I have repeatedly listened with pleasure to commodore Sir Thomas Hardy, while expressing his respect for the character of his noble countryman generally, and his approbation of his conduct particularly in allusion to these transactions.

Much delay occurred in the prize courts of Valpa-

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raiso in the adjudication of these vessels, but the British agents had power sufficient to procure the acquittal of the captured vessels, notwithstanding the real Spanish papers were before the court; and if more proof could be required, the books and papers of Abedia and Aresmendi, which had been seized by the patriot government of Peru, afforded irrefragable evidence of every particular of the transaction; but, notwithstanding all this, the vessels were liberated. This to people in England would be more than presumptive evidence that the detention of these vessels was illegal; not so with those who understand the nature of Chileno courts of law: from what I have elsewhere said this incongruity will be easily reconciled, and when I state the met, that two of the judges who before were poor, and only supported themselves upon their miserable salary of 1200 dollars per annum, 240l. sterling, now became rich; and that I saw each of them build, for his own use, a capital house, at the expence of upwards of 20,000 dollars. I questioned one of the supercargoes as to the truth of a report generally believed, that no less than 80,000 dollars had been given to the judges: he smiled, and did not attempt to disprove a fact that was notorious; and, as the vessels had now sailed and were free from the danger of detention, he no longer disputed the truth of their real proprietorship. In other places I have described the British trade to Peru as one of smuggling; for, though rendered necessary to the revenue of the viceroy, yet being so greatly in violation of the rigorous colonial laws, it was permitted for British vessels to enter upon false

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representations, but the greater part of the trade was managed by smuggling, without the cognizance of the Spanish authorities. At no one of the intermediate ports of Peru is it possible for a supercargo to dispose of his cargo; he is obliged to become a kind of peddling merchant, to wait off the coast, and proceed from place to place as circumstances direct, that is to say, as he can hear of native merchants coming from the interior provinces, bringing with them money to purchase, and mules to carry off a small assortment. There are no factories along the coast, and from this circumstance, a vessel bound to these parts is said to be going to the "Entremedios," the intermediate points between Pisco and Chile: even Arica, which is the second port in Peru, presents an open anchorage, a sandy-beach, and a tremendous, surf, so that goods and passengers are obliged to be landed on balsas, a sort of Indian float, formed by two large inflated air bladders, 'made from the skins of seals, or sea-lions. The landing of persons can sometimes be effected in long buoyant whale boats, but this is frequently attended with danger. Here is a little Indian village, containing less than 500 mulattoes, where neither fruit nor vegetables can be procured, as no vegetation can be maintained in this sandy desart within nine miles of the coast. This is the best part of the Entremedios, the other parts are still more dangerous and desolate, the coast presenting nothing but rocky shores interrupted at short intervals by small sandy beaches, along which the surf breaks with tremendous fury in successive parallel waves, in which no boat can live, and over which nothing but balsas can pass: such is Ilo,

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where there are about fifty huts belonging to poor mulattoes and Indians. There is one point Where a boat on some few occasions, when the sea is more than usually quiet, may land, but even then it is very dangerous on account of a reef of rocks extending out nearly a mile, partly hidden under water, between which it is necessary to pass.

Mollendo is a place of about sixty huts, inhabited also by a few poor mulattoes, who subsist chiefly on fish, and are obliged to bring fresh water from the distance of fifteen miles, the nearest place where it can be obtained: this miserable population, scanty as it is, is only induced to reside here in hopes of being hired as labourers to land the few goods that are brought for the use of the people in the interior: the same may be said of Quilca, an equally miserable place, with scarcely any population: the same of Nasca, where there is not a house or habitation; the Indians who assist in landing having fixed their wretched abodes at a small place behind a range of sand-hills: the same may be said of Cañete, a little village of Indians, seated upon a sandy arid district, made habitable by the blessing of a very scanty brook of water; and in the midst of these is Pisco, a mach larger place, and the only one deserving the name of a port; but, though seated near the mouth of a small sandy valley, rendered productive by a small rivulet, it is of little importance as a place of foreign commerce, not being commodious for the transport of goods to the interior provinces over mountains and deserts, which to any other than a Peruvian population would be impassable even by mules, as indeed they are in many

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places in toe interior even to Peruvians, who employ llamas and alpacos, whose loads never exceed seventy-five pounds, and whose average rate of travelling over these routes is only from ten to twelve miles a day.

The port of Cobija presents the same description of barren coast, with a still more dangerous landing, place, and a small hamlet of miserable fishermen, who are obliged to procure water from a very scanty and brackish spring, two miles distant; such is the true description of the coast between the deserts of Atacama and Callao, comprising a length of more than 800 miles; and these are the facilities for commerce to the so much boasted of rich and populous provinces of Upper Peru. Such are the dangers attending this commerce, such the caution requisite in commercial transactions, that on the consignment of a British cargo to an English commission agent, who upon its arrival in Valparaiso or Callao generally accompanies the ship himself, or sends his most confidential clerk with the English supercargo to the Entremedios, where they wander from one place of traffic to another, and either reside among the wretched and filthy Indians, or, if desirous of avoiding the horror of their vermin, erect a shed upon the bare Bands by means of some of the vessel's sails and spars, and depend for subsistence upon the ship's stores; there they await the arrival of customers from the distant interior. If, in satisfaction for this worse than animal existence, the charges of the merchants for commissions be excessive, and the expence of maintaining an establishment in any part of the coast of Peru is

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great beyond ordinary belief, it should excite no surprise that, at the time of the capture of Arica by Lord Cochrane, the markets of Peru had been glutted with English good. To such an extent had speculation been carried, that a friend of mine saw at Ancon no less than forty British vessels detained there on demurrage, the cargoes worth little more than their freights, charges, and expences, and the super cargoes in absolute despair: there was a kind of scramble among the British agents who Should sell their consignments to the few bidders, and who should out-jockey the others: with them this kind of conduct is considered fair in the way of trade.

The clamour raised at Valparaiso by the British agents, who were interested in the fraudulent trans-actions before-mentioned, induced the British naval commanders to demand explanations of Lord Cochrane. I have a high respect for the British naval character, and for the two individuals in particular whom I must name. For Sir Thomas Hardy and captain Basil Hall I entertain the greatest personal regard and esteem: the scientific character of the one, the admirable intrepidity of the other; the gentlemanly conduct, the high and honourable feeling of both, would induce them at all times to sacrifice their own interests to their country's good. It must not be supposed that, in what I am about to relate, I make any personal allusions to them.

The peculiar circumstances under which it was judged necessary by our government to encourage and protect for so many years a British commerce, in violation of the laws of Spain, and

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in concert with new authorities in rebellion against that state, which in consequence of our alliances we could neither acknowledge nor send accredited commercial agents to, without exciting the jealousies of the other continental powers, rendered it necessary to maintain along the coast of South America a naval armament to protect our countrymen against the impositions of ever-changing authorities, and to ensure the safe conveyance of homeward remittances, which necessarily consisted of dollars and bullion. The Admiralty regulations, which gave to the captains of our men of war in the Pacific a certain per centage upon all remittances sent to England in their ships, made the appointment to that station more than usually lucrative; and the first officer dispatched thither considered his three years' appointment as a gift of great consideration. The interest of the commander was in some degree identified with that of the trading class; the great object of our adventurers was to push immediate trade and the quick return of capital to Europe, without regard to the ultimate fate of British commerce. Upright and conscientiously disinterested as British naval officers are, it is clearly beyond the influence of human nature to avoid being affected by those feelings which the prospect of money-making excites; nor always possible to resist the influence of prejudices arising from those circumstances that might retard the immediate remittance of money homeward. Under such excitements, therefore, the naval officers were sent out to perform the very difficult task of defending British property and British rights, to act the parts of re-

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gulators of custom-houses, consuls, and plenipotentiaries. That any man could perform all these functions uninfluenced by local prejudices, is what no one ought to expect These commanders, from the manner in which they so happily succeeded in upholding the individual, as well as national honour, deserved fax higher remuneration for those important services than the compensations they obtained in the manner alluded to; and I have often regretted that the British government never abolished the per centage upon the conveyance of British money, and granted to the deserving commanders a handsome remuneration for the trouble, annoyance, application, and responsibility, attached to the situation.*

* In allusion to the high responsibility to which British naval commanders are subjected in conveying money to England, it may be observed that, for the per centage they obtain, they become answerable for the safe delivery of the property placed on board the vessels they command. They are liable to frauds, from which few escape: their whole time is necessarily occupied in diplomatic and other duties, while it falls to the lot of the purser's clerk to count over the money, and examine the bills of lading, which the Captain upon this proof has to sign; and when it is considered that above two millions of dollars are generally to be counted within a very short period, to be packed and stowed away, we may easily conceive the chance there is of imposition. Captain Mackenzie, of the Superb, was induced to sign double sets of bills of lading for money placed on board his ship, by a first rate house in Peru, which no one could have suspected of dishonourable intentions. On his arrival in England the different bills of lading were presented and paid at the bullion office, when there appeared in the amount of bags of dollars a deficiency of 80,000 dollars, which captain Mackenzie was called upon by the bank to make good: he died shortly after, and it is generally believed that this heart-breaking circumstance contributed to the termination of his existence.

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Recurring to the subject of our narrative, it followed that, in consequence of the success at Arica, and the effect it had upon the smuggling trade to the Entremedios, the British agents, fearful of losing their commission, and of displeasing their principals at home, urged the British commodore to adopt hostile measures against the admiral of Chile. Captain Hall, of the Conway, was dispatched to Arica to precede Sir Thomas himself, and to demand explanation: the spirit in which he went down, and the manner of executing the commission, show that considerable prejudice had been generated against Lord Cochrane. The Conway had been some days in Arica when Lord Cochrane returned in the San Martin from reconnoitring the adjacent coast, and anchored his ship close to the Conway. An order was given by captain Hall to avoid any communication between his officers and crew and those of the patriot man of war. This was at least offensive, as the officers and men of both ships had hitherto treated one another with all possible cordiality, and the best harmony reigned among them. An angry correspondence now took place between captain Hall and Lord Cochrane, in which the latter, well versed in the law of nations, in the practice of the British service, and conscious, moreover, that the eyes of the world were directed towards him, showed the charges raised against him to be frivolous and untrue; and of this the commodore became convinced, as well as captain Hall, upon an investigation of all the circumstances that had occurred.

Colonel Miller having cleared the southern pro-

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vinces of Lower Peru of the Spanish authorities, and driven them beyond the Cordillera, and Lord Cochrane having established the freedom of the ports of these pro vinces, turned his attention to the collection of the customs and made an arrangement which, while it did not impede the course of British commerce, nor obstruct its trade, enabled him to collect the revenue.

Under the Spanish authorities the custom-house duties were thirty-four per cent. upon some goods, and sixty-eight per cent. upon others, on an arbitrary valuation fixed by the custom-house searchers. In order to prevent the frauds thus practised by the officers on shore, and to put in force that degree of liberality in the collection, to which he had ever vainly urged the government of Chile, and particularly recommended to the adoption of general San Martin, he was waited upon by the supercargoes of two British vessels in Arica, desirous of disposing of their cargoes on shore: to them he proposed, in order to relieve them from the annoyances they never ceased to feel from the custom-house officers, that the cargoes should be landed without obstruction, upon their fixing the fair valuation themselves, and paying to him on account of the government of Chile the moderate duties of eighteen per cent. upon all goods equally. This liberal offer was hailed by the supercargoes as an unexpected boon, and most cheerfully acceded to on their parts. They deposited with Lord Cochrane a quantity of quicksilver as a guarantee for the payment of duties, and gave afterwards in payment cables and other naval stores, shipped for the use of the viceroy of Peru, which

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Lord Cochrane received in payment of duties from these vessels, although he might lawfully have sent one of them to Valparaiso for adjudication. As this put an end to smuggling, the British agents in Chile objected to the proceeding, and, coupling it with the seizure before mentioned, represented to the commodore the dangerous consequences which might result to British commerce if the admiral was permitted to establish"a floating custom-house." The commodore, unacquainted with all the circumstances of the case, led away only by ex parte statements and interested reports, protested against the measure to the Chile government, and sailed in the Creole frigate to demand the necessary satisfaction. The British agents now observed no bounds in their invectives, and Lord Cochrane was called not only "pirate and robber," but, "a traitor who deserved to be hanged." Thus they treated the man from whom the fair British merchant was receiving the most important services.

The result of these investigations has been stated. We will now recur to the proceedings on shore. We left general San Martin in July, 1821, in possession of the capital of Peru, the Spaniards had retired through Xauxa to Cuzco, where the viceroy had his head-quarters.

One of the most remarkable circumstances attending the possession of the capital and the establishment of the new government, was the self-appointment of general San Martin to the office of chief of the state, under the title of Protector of Peru. One of the first proceedings of general San Martin in his new office was the appointment of a new govern-

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ment for Peru. Don Bernardo Monteagudo, who had been for years past the confidential friend and adviser of the general in Chile and Mendoze, and had accompanied him in this expedition, was appointed minister of war; Don Juan Garcia del Rio, who had likewise accompanied the general from Chile, was appointed minister of state; and Don Hypolito Unanisè, an old Limeño of great influence and of great patriotism, was named minister of finance. From this moment the general ceased to hold himself responsible for his acts and proceedings to the government of Chile, to which state he declared himself no longer an officer; he ceased to transmit to Chile the bulletins of his actions, and in every way conducted himself towards his government as the chief of a new and independent state. This was contrary to his duty to the government of Chile, with the command of whose army he was intrusted, for the purpose of enabling the people of Peru to throw off the Spanish yoke, and to establish an independent government for themselves, and was also. directly opposed to all the proclamations and public pledges he had given the world.

This conduct on the part of general San Martin was so wholly unexpected by Lord Cochrane, that in a letter written by him from the palace at Lima, on the 19th July, only a fortnight before the general usurped the powers of state, and proclaimed himself protector, he expressed himself thus: "I have no doubt we shall have here a very rational government; all looks well so far as we have proceeded. "The general, to the last moment, pretended that it was his intention to establish a perfectly independent

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representative government, and the disappointment of the admiral at the conduct of the general in seizing the government into his own hands can hardly be conceived. Previous to the entry of San Martin into Lima, Lord Cochrane, with the utmost frankness and sincerity, wrote to the general on the existing position of affairs, and pointed out to him the advantages that would accrue to the world if he would throw aside his Spanish policy, and adopt a more liberal system, which would constitute him in the eyes of the world a second Napoleon; this letter gave great offence to San Martin.

On the 4th August, three weeks after his entry into Lima, the admiral waited on him to confer upon the most speedy means of paying the squadron their arrears, and also paying them the gratuity of twelve months' pay, which San Martin, in a proclamation, had promised should be paid upon the capture of Lima; this had been loudly called for by the seamen. San Martin attempted to evade this demand by asserting, for the first time, that he was no longer the general of Chile, but protector of Peru; and, as chief of this state, he was not bound, and would not be justified, in paying debts which belonged to the government of Chile, under whom alone the seamen were engaged. Instead of complying with the request of the admiral, he had the temerity to propose to Lord Cochrane to follow his example, accept the post of admiral of Peru, and employ the ships he commanded in the service of that state. Lord Cochrane rejected the proposal to become a traitor with disdain; high words ensued, when San Martin said that he would neither pay the seamen their wages

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nor the gratuities which had been promised, unless the navy of Chile passed over to the service of Peru.

About a week after this interview, Lord Cochrane wrote to the protector, announcing the discontented state of the navy, in consequence of his breach of faith, and again demanded payment. Upon this San Martin issued a decree, ordering one-fifth of the receipts of the customs to be put aside, and appropriated to the joint payment of the army and navy. The customs at this time amounted to a very small sum, and this pretence of the protector fully convinced every man on board the fleet that he had no intention of paying them a single dollar. On the 1st of September Lord Cochrane again wrote to the protector respecting the wages of the seamen, without producing any effect. In the mean time the Spanish army, under Cantarac, had advanced, and on the 10th of September passed in sight of San Martin's forces, in the direction of Callao. San Martin's forces were drawn out in the neighbourhood of Lima to oppose them. Lord Cochrane, who had not ventured on shore since his interview with the protector, thinking there was about to be a decisive action, for which the troops on both sides were prepared, proceeded to head-quarters, where he found the patriot officers eager to lead on the troops, which amounted to 13,300 men, but they were restrained by San Martin. Lord Cochrane's arrival animated them with fresh hopes, but his presence had no effect upon the general, who refused to permit his army to engage, and the Spanish troops, amounting only to 3,200 men, were suffered quietly to enter Callao. At this time some of San Martin's best officers, Las

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Heras, &c., were so disgusted with his conduct that they left the army, and returned to Chile. On the approach of the Spaniards under Cantarac, the protector, for greater security, sent away to Ancon the public treasure, as well as that which belonged to himself and those immediately about his person; it was put on board the Sacramento yacht, and the Laura merchantman, then at anchor: upon hearing this, Lord Cochrane sailed to Ancon, demanded the guias (dockets) of the mint master and officer of the custom-house, who, as well as others, had fled to Ancon, in order that, as admiral, he might select the government property, and distinguish it from individual property. These documents were given without suspicion, and with these the admiral went on board, and seized all he could ascertain to belong to the Peruvian government, on account of and in the name of the government of Chile.

This measure highly irritated the protector of Peru, as a contempt of his authority, and a lessening of the consequence of his government. He first tried persuasive means and promises to induce the admiral to give up the property he had seized, but not succeeding, menaces were used with as little effect, till at length he was obliged to give the order Lord Cochrane desired, for the distribution of the money in payment of his officers and men, he accounting for it to the Chile government. This order came on the 26th of September, and on the next day the officers and crews were paid their arrears as far as the property went, Lord Cochrane alone refusing to receive any part as his share. Care was taken to distinguish the public from the private property, which was all returned to those who claimed it. Even

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San Martin's private property was returned, consisting of gold coined and uncoined, and a quantity of rough silver, which was so considerable in amount, that it was necessary to remove the ballast from the schooner before it could be placed on board. About this time a confidential officer waited privately on Lord Cochrane, charged with fresh proposals from the protector: these were, that on his becoming admiral of Peru, a confiscated estate worth 200,000 dollars should be given to him, the insignia of the newly founded order of the sun should be conferred upon him; he informed him also that the medal of the order, richly set in diamonds, had been destined for him, together with the estate, only the day before the seizure of the property at Ancon; he pointed out how much more honorable as well as profitable it would be to Lord Cochrane to become admiral of the powerful state of Peru, than to remain viceadmiral of the less powerful state of Chile: it is almost needless to say these offers were rejected with contempt.

The protector having failed in his attempts to persuade Lord Cochrane to betray his trust, and make common cause with him, directed his attention to the formation of a Peruvian navy. By offers of promotion, higher pay, badges of distinction, and other means, he succeeded in inducing several of Lord Cochrane's officers to join him; among these were captains Guise, Forster, Spry, Carter, Esmonde, and others of inferior rank. The term for which the English sailors on board the Chile navy had engaged their services having expired, they, on receiving their pay, went on shore, and, according to custom, spent their money. Lord Cochrane sent his

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first lieutenant to re-engage the men, but he was seized by order of the protector, on the pretence that it was not lawful for a foreign officer to recruit in this state, and was thrown into prison, where he remained a short time.

The protector wrote to Lord Cochrane, stating, that, by virtue of the instructions he received from the supreme director of Chile, as commander of the liberating expedition, he could dispose of the squadron as he thought proper, and he therefore commanded Lord Cochrane to quit the coasts of Peru; thus acting in the double character of protector of Peru and general of Chile, disclaiming, as protector, the authority of Chile, and yet, when occasion served, pretending to act as its general. The object of San Martin, in this instance, was to deprive Lord Cochrane of the men on shore, in the hope of inducing them to enter on board of his own ships. To this Lord Cochrane replied, on the 5th October, that he was about to dispatch some of his vessels to Chile, and would employ the others as it seemed best to him. He accordingly did dispatch the Lautaro and Galvarino to Valparaiso. On this San Martin issued orders to the commanders of the ports in Peru to the northward of Lima, to refuse Lord Cochrane all supplies, even wood and water: these authorities, however, were not in a condition to obey the orders sent by the protector, but were constrained by fear to permit the admiral to purchase the supplies he stood in need of. This conduct of general San Martin was little short of a declaration of war against the admiral. Lord Cochrane arrived at Guayaquil. just before two officers, who had been dispatched over

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land by the protector, in the hope that they would be able to induce the authorities of the new and independant government there to refuse the assistance which his ships required. Lord Cochrane did not disclose his real object, which was to search after the Spanish frigates Prueva and Venganza: on his arrival in Guayaquil, he was received by the new government with every demonstration of honor and respect, and by the people he was hailed with enthusiasm. The best house in Guayaquil was given up for his residence; the O'Higgins was careened, and the whole of the ships properly equipped; provisions and all other necessary stores were produced in abundance; and, in order to provide for the necessaries of a cruise in search of the Spanish frigates, Lord Cochrane disposed of the prizes he had taken on the Peruvian coast. The value of these prizes belonged to the crews under his command, but it was expended in fitting his vessels, and the Chileno government never repaid the money which had thus been laid out on their account; and, but for the judicious and provident measures pursued by Lord Cochrane on the present as well as on other occasions, the navy of Chile must have been ruined.

Having been prevented by San Martin from reengaging the English seamen who had gone on shore at Callao, his ships were nearly destitute of able seamen; his crews consisted almost wholly of Chilenos, the vessels had considerably less than half their complement of men, and were equally deficient in officers: so that when he quitted Callao, no one expected he could keep at sea; but concluded that he would be obliged to return to Valparaiso. But the admiral,

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unwilling that a single ship of war belonging to Spain should remain in the Pacific, and always fruitful of resources on trying occasions, found, as has been related, the means of procuring supplies and putting to sea, in the hopes of capturing the two Spanish frigates. He left Guayaquil, on Nov. 30, and sailed to Acapulco, but the commanders of the Spanish frigates. apprehensive of being attacked by Lord Cochrane, fled from port to port, evaded the admiral, and at length took refuge at Guayaquil. During this long cruize Lord Cochrane was prevented from coming up with the frigates by the state of his crews, and by the condition of his ship, the O'Higgins, which had always been in a leaky condition, and now, in consequence of the heavy gales she encountered, kept nearly one hundred men constantly at the pumps; all on board except the admiral gave up the ship for lost, and expected she would founder at sea, but here again the character of the admiral was displayed:—

The principal leak was under the bows; he caused a bulk-head, or close well to be built, which confined the water to the fore part of the ship, and having thus got at the leak he personally superintended and worked himself day by day, repairing the rotten timbers, until he made her nearly watertight; this circumstance, so characteristic of this extraordinary man, was performed during the chase, and at a distance of 600 miles from the shore. On reaching Guayaquil, he found the Spanish frigates had arrived there a fortnight before him, and that their commanders, unable to procure supplies, and consequently to prosecute their intended voyage to the

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Manillas, fearful of being captured, had offered to give up the ships to the independent government there, "upon receipt of a stipulated sum of money. With this demand the government were unable to comply, but the agents of general San Martin, who were there at the time, acceded to the proposition, and concluded a bargain on account of the protector for their surrender, which was concluded upon a false report by telegraph, announcing the arrival of the Chileno fleet under Lord Cochrane, in the mouth of the river. This invention was promulgated to suit the occasion. The money stipulated to be paid was equal in amount to the sum due from the Spanish government to the officers and crews for wages. It was also stipulated that general San Martin should provide a passage to Spain for the officers and men, but this part of the agreement was never fulfilled.

On Lord Cochrane's return to Guayaquil, he found that the Prueva had sailed for Callao. The Venganza was however in the river, and he claimed her as lawful prize; bat fearing that if he seized the vessel it might cause a dispute between the two governments of Chile and Peru, he entered into a treaty with the governor of Guayaquil, who bound himself in the sum of 40,000 dollars to detain the Venganza till the pleasure of the Chileno government could be made known. Lord Cochrane had, however, left Guayaquil only a few days, when admiral Blanco, who commanded the Peruvian navy, arrived, and, in defiance of the agreement, took possession of the Venganza, repaired her, and sailed with her to the shores of Peru.

Lord Cochrane reached Callao on the 25th of

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April, when he found the Prueva at anchor with the Peruvian colours flying. Before coming to an anchor he wrote a letter to the Peruvian government, in which he expressed his surprise at not finding the Spanish frigate he had driven into the port of Guayaquil under the colours of Chile. Apprehensive lest Lord Cochrane should seize the frigate, she was moored under the protection of the batteries of Callao. The next day the protector's minister Monteagudo waited upon the admiral, and made fresh attempts to bring him over to the interests of his master: he assured the admiral of the desire which the Peruvian government had to place him in command of the united navies of Chile and Peru, and that the Marquis of Torre Tagle, who was now the nominal head of the government, had prepared his house for his reception; he again repeated the offers which had before been made, and begged of him to recall the letter he had written the day before.

Lord Cochrane replied, that he would accept nether honours nor rewards from a government constituted in defiance of solemn pledges not emanating from the people; nor would he set his foot on shore in a country governed not only without law, but contrary to law; neither would he recall his letter.

Hostile dispositions were now made, and were only discontinued upon his threatening that, if persisted in, he would cut out the Prueva in spite of their utmost efforts to prevent him. Being refused provisions and supplies by the governor of Callao, who was himself a Chileno officer, he left that port, and arrived at Valparaiso on the 1st of September.

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He had been absent nearly two years and a half without having received from his government any new instructions, or indeed any communications. It happened unfortunately that all the dispatches sent had missed him: had he known the unbounded approbation of the Chile government relative to his conduct toward San Martin, and their opinion of the breach of faith towards them, he would have accomplished his anxious wishes in seizing both the Prueva and Venganza, to which he considered the government of Chile legally entitled.

San Martin, on his first landing at Pisco, issued a proclamation guaranteeing full protection of person, and security of property, to all old Spaniards who should conform to the new order of things, and not openly, or by force of arms, resist the progress of the independent cause. This was afterwards repeated in other places, bat on the capture of Lima the Spaniards took alarm, and were fast embarking for Europe.—One English vessel took on board 164 families, another 150 families, and several others from 50 to 100 families each. To prevent this, a proclamation was issued in the name of the protector, reiterating the fullest promises of security to all who should choose to remain in Peru; and this for a while put a stop to the tide of emigration. Not long after, however, another proclamation appeared, commanding all the old Spaniards to quit the shores of Peru: one half of their property was to be guaranteed to them, and they were to be allowed to embark it for Europe; but the other moiety was to be delivered to the new government. The Spaniards, confiding in this promise, prepared to quit Peru; but no

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sooner was the one half of their property delivered up to the government, and the other half placed on board, than a pretext was found to seize it as well as the persons of the Spaniards, who were put on board a hulk, and, thus destitute, sent captives to Chile: half of them died of grief and privation before they reached Valparaiso.

All the old Spaniards were dreadfully persecuted. An elderly lady, allied to one of the first families in Peru, who openly condemned the treacherous conduct of the patriots, was threatened in vain: she was at length apprehended, and punished in an extraordinary manner: she was dressed in one of the vestments of the inquisition—a black robe ornamented with red devils and skulls; on her head was placed a pointed cap, representing flames, and in her mouth a human thigh-bone was placed, fastened behind her head, and in this condition she was exposed for two days in the public square.

Two of the principal merchants in Lima, Abadia and Arismendi, men of considerable wealth and great influence, agents for the Phillippine Company, and large proprietors of mines, had been mainly instrumental in forwarding the cause of independence. As the chief object of the protector in persecuting the Spaniards was to obtain possession of their wealth, a pretext was soon found for seizing the property of Abadia and Arismendi, and banishing them the country.

General San Martin pretended not to interfere in the measures carried on by the government. He had appointed the Marquis Torre Tagle subdelegado, or ostensible head of the executive department; the

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power, however, remained in his hands: Torre Tagle was a wretched pusillanimous creature, a mere cypher in the hands of the minister Monteagudo, who was the creature of the protector.

The reasons for the pretended retirement of general San Martin from all active interference in the details of the government were soon manifested: not only did he persuade himself that he should escape from the responsibility and opprobrium of the pending measures, but he hoped he should be publicly called upon from his retreat to put an end to the weak management of Torre Tagle, and thus be the better able to accomplish his ambitious intention, and become emperor of Peru. He never appeared in public but in a state carriage drawn by eight horses, the postillions dressed in scarlet, and protected by a guard of fifty horse soldiers, who also wore a scarlet uniform. The minister Monteagudo, who possessed no property on his arrival in Peru, but had since amassed great wealth, lived in the style of a prince; his whole establishment was ostentatious and revolting to the inhabitants of Lima, on whose notice it was perpetually intruded. The order of the sun was created under the auspices of the protector, of which he was the patron. This was not a mere military decoration, like other South American badges of distinction, but was attended with all the paraphernalia, detail, and pomp of an European grand order of knighthood. About the palace were displayed the most ridiculous court ceremonies and grand levee days; some of the old Creole nobility were retained, and their titles displayed upon every occasion, and every thing calculated to impress upon the people the notion of mo-

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narchical government. Men were hired by Monteagudo in the theatres and in the processions to cry out "Viva el Emperador José," in order to feel the pulse of the people; but as they did not join in these proceedings, they were laid aside, in the hope of a more favourable opportunity for effecting his purpose. The ministry of Monteagudo was quite absolute, most tyrannical, and obnoxious to the people: terror was the order of his rule, avarice and pompons state were among the chief of his leading passions.

Though San Martin appeared generally as a private gentleman, and assumed parade only on state occasions, it was generally believed that the acts of the minister were in consonance with the taste and wishes of the protector. Corrupt as the Spanish authorities in South America had always been, the present system far exceeded in atrocity any thing which had ever been witnessed in Peru. Under the Spanish system the royal revenue was the object of universal plunder, but private property was always respected. It was not so, however, under the ad-ministration of Monteagudo;—the property of individuals was no longer safe, but was made subservient to his insatiate avarice and the ambitious views of the protector. Public confidence was totally destroyed, commerce drooped, and trading occupations became extremely ruinous: those who had money took every pains to conceal it, or sent it to Europe for security in order to avoid becoming objects of persecution: money in consequence became so scarce that the government was forced to make extensive issues of paper, from one dollar upwards. A quantity of sheet copper was coined into tokens

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about the size of a silver twopence, which were made to bear the value of about sixpence English. Both the paper and the debased copper currency were made a legal tender in all payments in the proportion of one third paper money, one third copper tokens, and the other third Spanish silver: no one dared to refuse payments thus offered under pain of imprisonment, flogging, and confiscation. Provisions in consequence became very scarce in Lima; for though this artificial currency could be forced to pass current in the city, those who supplied the markets sold their provisions nominally for thirty dollars, but actually for no more than ten hard dollars.

Such was the reign of terror; such the general Suspicion from the number of spies kept in public pay, that it became dangerous for any one to express an opinion that might be interpreted to imply anything contrary to the wishes of those in power. Many who were not sufficiently reserved in their observations were apprehended and severely punished.

More than twelve months had now passed since general San Martin took possession of Lima, and still he appeared but little solicitous to carry on the war against the Spaniards: he seemed contented with possessing the provinces of Truxillo and Lima; while Arequipa, Arica, and the whole of Upper Peru, which contained the riches and resources of the country, remained in the power of the royalists. The only efforts he made were sending two expeditions at different periods and to different places against the Spaniards: these were commanded by officers utterly incompetent to the charge entrusted

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to them, and the troops on both occasions were cut to pieces, and totally destroyed. San Martin, though he had proved himself dexterous in waging a war of intrigue, now showed an utter incapacity to manage the resources of a state. Every thing fell into disorder, and universal discontent prevailed: it now appeared that he possessed none of the requisite talents for government.

The Spaniards, who had retired from the coast, seemed satisfied with the country they held; they envied not the possession of the capital, which they had voluntarily abandoned to the patriots, as their internal resources, though sufficient for the maintenance of their army and the protection of their own provisions, were incompetent to the support of so large a population as Lima. The protector, seeing the Spaniards displayed no inclination to disturb him, had for some time past directed his thoughts towards the possession of Guayaquil, and the annexation of its fine harbour and province to the kingdom of Peru, on account of its importance as an arsenal, a dock-yard, and a place whence other resources could be drawn for the maintenance of his naval force.

He, therefore, dispatched several confidential emissaries to Guayaquil, who by promises of making that port the great emporium of the South Sea, and by establishing there extensive arsenals and docks for ship-building to enrich the inhabitants, and draw to them a great accumulation of power and respect, the good will of the town was gained over to his cause. He dispatched also 1000 men to Truxillo to be ready to act as occasion required.

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General Bolivar had also set his mind upon the possession of Guayaquil, with the intention of annexing it to Columbia. The Columbians had crossed the Cordillera, had successfully invaded the province of Quito, and were marching towards Guayaquil. The proceedings of San Martin respecting Guayaquil excited the jealousy of Bolivar; the people of Lima took advantage of this, and it has always been understood that they privately solicited his assistance to liberate Peru, as well from the protector, as from the Spaniards. San Martin, aware of the intentions of Bolivar, was about to seize Guayaquil, when the news of the unfortunate affair at Ica, before-mentioned, reached him. This obliged San Martin to recall his force from Truxillo, and in the mean time general Sucre, the next in command under genera! Bolivar, having totally defeated the Spaniards near Quito, took possession of that city and province, and advanced to Guayaquil, of which he also took possession.

The Spaniards in Peru, flushed with their success at Ica, began to make demonstration of attacking the patriot force in Lima; San Martin, alarmed, now sent in the most urgent terms to the Chile government for succours, and, trusting to his power of intrigue, determined to make an immediate visit to Guayaquil, where he expected to meet general Bolivar; and by soothing and flattering induce him to send an armed force to Peru to assist him in his views, hoping that he might thus be able to prevent Bolivar from coming himself to Peru.

On his arrival at Guayaquil, he had an interview with general Bolivar; but the conduct of that chief

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was so unexpectedly haugbty, and so full of recriminations against the protector for the hostile conduct he had shown towards him, and the line of policy he was pursuing, that San Martin, it is said, had reason to fear nis rival was entertaining designs for his apprehension; and, therefore, to secure his personal safety, he left Guayaquil precipitately, and immediately returned to Peru.

During his absence, however, a revolntion wholly unexpected by him took place at Lima, which reflects no small degree of merit upon the pusillanimous Limenians, who, availing themselves of the absence of the protector, resolved to make an effort to shake off the disgraceful yoke to which they were subjected by the new government. It was not then considered prudent openly to declare against the protector, but as his minister Monteagudo had rendered himself personally, as well as politically, odious to them, the heads of some of the principal families instigated the people to assemble in a body, present themselves before the supreme delegate Torre Tagle, and demand the dismissal of the obnoxious minister. The affrighted supreme delegate summoned the cabildo, or municipal authority, to concert the measures necessary to be taken in this emergency. This body coincided with the people and joined them in demanding the instant dismissal of Monteagudo: with this demand he complied, and the minister was dismissed. At the same time that Torre Tagle summoned the cabildo he ordered the troops to assemble in arms, believing that the cabildo would take part against the people, and he would then have put down their clamour by force:

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in this he was disappointed, for the cabildo having decided in favour of the people, the commander of the troope resolved to remain neutral. Monteagudo, fearful of being torn to pieces by the people, who cried aloud for vengeance, put himself under the protedtion of the cabildo, by whom he was conveyed on board a small vessel of war, and sent to Panama. This act was directed secretly against the authority of San Martin, whose conduct was totally at variance with his promises. His acts were, they thought, directed against the property and interests of the community, but the juxtaposition of an armed force prevented any immediate attempt at resistance to his authority, the more especially as San Martin never personally appeared in the acts of govenment. These feelings were manifested in the documents, and published by the cabildo on the occasion, which included the proclamations of San Martin; and the promises to which he had pledged his faith and sacired word were contrasted with the shameful manner in which they had been disregarded by the ministers.

The place of Monteagudo was supplied by a temporary junta, who managed the affairs of state during die absence of the protector. The junta seized the favourable and long sighed for opportunity; they summoned the national congress, which had been frequently promised, but always deferred upon some slight pretext. This was a mortal blow to the anthority of the protector, who, when after the expiration of a month he arrived from Guayaquil, first learnt the public movement, and that the congress was actually sitting: alarmed for his personal

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safety, he waited on board tbe ship which brought him from Guayaquil, but no one of the civil authorities paid their respects to him, and only two of his principal military chiefs came on board, with whom he held a council of war; and, as soon as he was satisfied that he could rely upon the military, presented himself in the palace of Lima, where, resuming his public functions, and calling the authorities before him, he threatened them with vengeance for the insult offered to him as protector of Peru, and told them he would recall Monteagudo. It now appeared to him necessary to have recourse to a still more arbitrary system, in order to check the spirit that had exhibited itself, as well in the cabildo as among the people. The menacing deportment of the protector towards the cabildo induced them to apply to the congress for advice: that body, which had not been welcomed in the manner they expected to be, were occupied in a secret sitting on the line of conduct necessary to be pursued, placed as they were between two dangera, that of the anger of the protector, and the threatened advance of the royalists. General San Martin finding that the cabildo did not submit to his authority, but had taken refuge among the representatives assembled in congress, and surrounded on all sides by difficulties, especially as he had lost the only man of talent in whom he could confidently place the management of his political affairs, thought proper to retire to Callao, whence he issued a proclamation containing his abdication. This extraordinary document bears the date of Lima, September 20,1822. It alluded in no way to passing events, but treated the affairs

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of the day as in their ordinary course, congratulated the people of Peru on the attainment of independence, announced that he was in consequence about to retire, in conformity with his pledges, having established the liberty of the country, with the satisfaction of having fulfilled all his promises: he declared himself mortified at the avowed report of his desire to make himself their sovereign; and, as the best proof of its falsehood, he now voluntarily left them to the full and uncontrolled exercise of their own free will, and the full enjoyment of a national representation.

The first measure of the congress at Lima, now left to itself, was to proclaim its own sovereignty, and to abolish the office of protector; the second was to confirm the executive power in the hands of the junta; and the third was a tribute of gratitude to Lord Cochrane, who had some months before quitted their shores for ever, in disgust at the treatment he had received for his important services. This act was the more remarkable since great pains had been taken, as well by San Martin as by his more immediate dependents, to misrepresent the conduct of Lord Cochrane, and to make him odious to the people of Lima. As this act of congress has never appeared in print it is here introdnced.

"The Soyereign Constituent Congress of Peru, contemplating what the liberty of Peru owes to the Honourable Lord Cochrane, by whose genius, fortitude, and valour, the Pacific is freed from deceitful enemies, and the standard of liberty planted on all the coasts of the South Sea,

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Resolves,

That the Junta of the Executive Government in the name of the Nation, renders to Lord Cochnane, Admiral of the Squadron of Chile, the most sincere sentiments of gratitude for his efforts in favour of this people, heretofore tyrannized over by powerful forces, but now arbiter of its own strength.

The Executive Junta will have its sentiments understood, and take the necessary measures for this purpose, by ordering these resolutions to be printed, publighed, and circulated.

Given in the House of Congress, in Lima, September 27th, 1882.

Xavier de Luna Pizarro, President.

Jose Sanches Carrion, Secretary.

Franciaco Xavier Marreategui, Second Secretary."

But for the interposition of Lord Cochrane, who first braved the authority of San Martin, and curbed as well as humbled nis power, he would probably have continued much longer in Peru, as a nominal sovereign; and, could he have succeeded in establishing himself in power, the acts of nis government would have been glossed over in the same raanner as the deeds of all fortunate conquerors have been; and thus, like other successful tyrants, he would have been represented as a great hero, a liberator of the country, and, perhaps as a benefactor of mankind. But even San Martin was not destitute of merit; he had done much for Chile before being led away by his ambition: he however betrayed his trust, placed himself in a situatian he was incompetent to fill, and at length returned to Chile, disgraced and

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degraded. But he conferred several benefite on the people over whom he tyrannized; among the chief of which was his attempt to extirpate those vices of the people of Lima which are of a shocking description: he put down the most shameful abuses, and left at least a more tolerable appearance in the outward manners and charaeter of the demoralized and worthless Limeños.

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CHAPTER XVI.

POLITICAL HISTOEY OF CHILE.

The Carrera Family.—Character of General O'Higgins.—Lord Cochrane returns to Chile.—Mutiny in the Fleet.—Appeased.—San Martin returns to Chile.—Lord Cochrane quits Chile.—Revolution.—San Martin quits Chile.—The Supreme Director abdicates, and retires to Peru.—General Freyre appointed Supreme Director.—New Constitution.—Expedition to Chiloe.—British Consul arrives in Chile.—Chile and Buenos Ayres compared.—Senate dissolved, and the Constitution set aside by General Freyre.

WE will now return to the affaire of Chile, from the time that preparations were made for the embarkation of San Martin with the array for Peru.

One of the most remarkable circumstances that occurred was the total destruction of the Carrera family. Josè Miguel Carrera, the oldest of the three brothers, and the most enterprizing and daring of them all, had, as has been related, embarked for the United States of North America, where he remained for some time, and then returned to Buenos Ayres, bringing with him the means of raising and equipping a force with which he intended to invade Chile, and re-establish his party in power. This occurred a short time previous to the action at Chacabuco. The governor of Buenos Ayres not only threw every obstacle in his way, but banished him, his two brothers, and their friends, from the proviuce. They retired to Moute Video in order

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to mature their plans, and here they heard of the battle of Chacabuco. This ought to have put an end to all hopes on their parts of any successful invasion; but they had embarked in the business, and went on headlong, as if courting destruction. Having been refused permission to proceed across the La Plata towards Chile, they waited for some time under the protection of the Portuguese, hoping for some occurrence which might enable them to proceed in their career. The three brothers considered their exclusion from Chile personal injuries to be revenged upon their enemies on every occasion. Upon hearing that the Spanish general Osorio had landed in Chile, and concluding that all the force of the independents would be drawn from the capital to oppose the Spanish troops, they resolved to make an attempt to invade Chile. The two brothers, Luis and Juan Josè, were therefore sent forward in disguise, for the purpose of preparing the way for Josè Miguel, and such forces as might be able to get across the La Plata. The two brothers crossed the country, and had reached the foot of the Andes, a little to the southward of Mendoza, when they were discovered, and carried prisoners to that town. Here they were called before a military commission, accused with crimes said to have been committed years before, condemned, and shot, by order of colonel Luzuriaza, the then governor. These proceedings exasperated the relatives and partizans of the Garrera family in Chile, and caused Josè Miguel to threaten to retaliate upon generals San Martin and O'Higgins, whom he looked upon as the instigators of the proceediog. Among the most power-

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ful of those who reprobated so gross a violation of the laws of society were general Jose Maria Benevenuto and colonel Rodriguez, the latter, young, fearless, impetuous, and honest, was loud in his expressions of execration against general San Martin, to whose orders he attributed the murder of the two Carreras; he was, therefore, ordered to quit Chile, and was sent from Santiago under an escort to Valparaiso. The escort proceeded by the unfrequented road of La Dormida, commanded by a serjeant of the guard. They passed through Colina, and lodged for the night near Polpayco. Here the serjeant succeeded in persuading Rodriguez to accompany him a short distance, under pretence of introducing him to some girls of his acquaintance, when, seizing a favourable opportunity, he stabbed him in the back, and repeated his blows until he had dispatched him: he was buried near the spot, and the escort returned to Santiago. Every body concluded, that this respectable young man, who, on several occasions had distinguished himself and done much for his country, and to whom the principal Chilenos were greatly attached, had been murdered by the escort: but it was not until after the abdication of the supreme director, O'Higgins, and the revolution in ravour of general Freyre, that the facts were made known. The serjeant who murdered Rodriguez, and who had retired to Mendoza, where he established himself as a petty merchant, happened at this time to be at Santiago, on commercial business. On being recognized, he was apprehended, and charged with the offence, when he confessed the particulars as before related, and acknowledged that

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he had received from the military chest seventy onnces (equal to 240l. sterling) for the fidelity with which he had executed the commission. It may be supposed that this miscreant received the punishment he deserved: so far however from this being the case, he was suffered to depart, when he again retired to Mendoza, where he lives in respect among the people of that town; and so little does he eonsider himself entitled to reproach, that he hesitates not to relate all the particulars of that atrocious deed to any one who is willing to listen to his story.

A number of other partizans of Carrera were sent from Santiago over the Gordillera towards Mendoza, and on their road many of them were murdered. In fact, so great was the persecution against those who favoured this party, that the most atrocious cruelties were practised toward them. These circumstances induced Josè Miguel Carrera to seek immediate revenge, and he therefore applied to Artigas, the roving brigand of the Banda Oriental, and to Lopez, the chief of the province of Santa Fé, who furnished him with men for the invasion of Chile. With these marauders Carrera for some time carried on a roving warfare in the pampas, frequently encamping among the Indians, many of whom he gained over to his aasistance: he was oppeosed by Bustos, the governor of Cordova, and by Dupuis, the governor of San Luis. In these roving expeditioins he suffered his men to commit the most barbarous and cruel excesses upon the farmers of the pampas. In one of these excursions he succeeded in capturing the town of San Luis de la Punta. Thence he marched towards Mendosa, when

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the people of the town sent out a force to oppose him; a battle ensued, and Carrera was defeated, taken prisoner, and carried to Mendoza, where, being considered a rebel and an outlaw, he was shot in August 1821; his head was sent to Chile, and his hands to Buenos Ayres. About this time a further prosecution of the friends of Carrera took place in Chile; many were banished and others violently persecuted.

Thus with the last of the Carreras fell the hopes of that party: they were, as has been related, among the earliest to throw off the yoke of Spain, and to declare for the independence of the country; but their ambition was boundless, and nothing less than the absolute government of Chile would have satisfied them. They were, however, opposed by men scarcely, if at all, less ambitious, less cunning, or less cruel than themselves, but, as events proved, more powerful.

The expences attending the purchase, equipment, and stores of the navy, the pay of the marine, and the raising, maintaining, and equipping of so considerable an army as that dispatched in August 1820 to the Liberation of Peru, were far greater than any one can conceive so young and hitherto so resourceless a state as Chile could have furnished. The treasury, however, made an extensive issue of government promissory bills, which not bearing interest fell to a great discount. This paper was receivable at the custom-house according to a certain scale; that which was first receivable was principally in the hands of the merchants, and on this portion the depreciation was about thirty per cent., while that

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which was not receivable until a more remote period was at a discount of from sixty to seventy per cent.

It was some time before the country could relieve itself from so heavy a burthen. In the first two years of independence, 1817 and 1818, the confiscated property of the Spaniards mainly assisted to carry on the struggles of this infant state: in 1819, the whole revenue, aided by a few forced monthly contributions, were sufficient to supply the exigencies of the state: afterwards the revenue of the country alone furnished the necessary means, not only for the ordinary but the extraordinary expences. Under the administration of O'Higgins, notwithstanding the peculations of the Chilenos in office, the public receipts appear to have so far exceeded the expenditure, that the floating government debt was at the end of the year 1821 reduced from 800,000 dollars to lees than 50,000 dollars; and the treasury bills, formerly at so great a discount, now became transferrable at par. The trade of the country was rapidly increasing, public confidence was greater than was ever before known, and Chile obtained in Europe a far greater repute and more solid respect than any other of the new independent governments then enjoyed: at that time Chile may be said to have reached the highest point it ever attained.

Yet, strange as it must appear to those who reflect on the then rising state of the country, and the hopes which were reasonably entertained of its continuing to rise, this was the very time seized upon, when it was least needed, to encumber the country with a foreign debt, by a loan raised in London.

Don Bernardo O'Higgins, from the first assump-

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tion of his authority, entertained the idea of establishing in his native country a free and representative form of government; but in these hopes he was always disappointed by the influence of the aristocracy, Whose interests were ever most zealously protected by the ministers. There did not exist in the whole country another man virtuous enough to second the well-intentioned views of the director: he urged from the first the necessity of a congress, which was always opposed on the score of the difficulties of the times; it was said that it would be soon enough to call together a representative assembly of the people when the country should be free from the operations of war. With the view, however, to supply in some respects the want of a legislative body, and to assist him in the exercise of his authority, O'Higgins, soon after he was appointed director, named five of the most able and influencial citizens to form a senate. In process of time he found that this body, instead of seconding his views, threw every possible obstacle in the way of improvement, and proceeded to establish their power in perpetuity. This they thought they had accomplished, and were deliberating on the propriety of making their functions hereditary, when the supreme director, taking the advice of his friend, Lord Cochrane, adopted the bold measure of freeing himself from the control of so hateful an oligarchy. Following the plan always pursued in the patriot governments, of getting rid of obnoxious ministers and servants, by advancing them to higher grades, and then superseding their commissions, he dispatched one of this influencial body on a mission to

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the Pope; another he sent on a secret embassy to Lima; a third was already somewhere absent; a fourth he induced to resign; and the fifth, who now remained, was obliged, greatly against his will, to renounce an authority which he could not alone exercise. At this critical moment O'Higgins issued a proclamation for summoning a national congress: this called forth from the remaining senator a violent protest against the legality of the proceeding.

The congress, however, assembled in July 1822; for a considerable period their time was spent in frivolous discussions; at length the minister submitted for their approval a new tariff, the object of which was professedly to facilitate and encourage commercial enterprize: this tariff, together with the new constitution, which had been presented to them, occupied the attention of the sittings of the congress till the 1st October; the intention of the director was, by the tariff, to prevent smuggling, and encourage home manufactures—objects incompatible with each other, and in the adjustment of the tariff many impracticable impediments were thrown in the way of the foreign merchants, who inveighed loudly against the measure, yet the general tenor of the reglamento was more liberal than usual: clauses were introduced, evidently intended to favour the private speculations of the minister, Rodriguez, which now became so open and undisguised that public clamour was loudly directed against him. The speculations of the minister were managed by a Frenchman, who had been an officer in the patriot army at the beginning of the revolution, hut who lost his military repute-

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tion by running away somewhat disgraced from the field of Maypo. He subsequently became a merchant, and, being married to the niece of the bishop of Chile, became a person of consequence, and by the influence he acquired with the officers of government contrived in the course of two years to amass a considerable fortune, not less it is supposed than 200,000 dollars. It was suspected that the sister of O'Higgins participated in the speculations and illegal gains of the minister and his agent, but no one ever ventured to impute any connivance in the transactions to the director; and had any such connivance existed, it would no doubt have been brought to light after his abdication. In order to show how these speculations were conducted, two examples shall be given. The agent before-mentioned having bought up all the tobacco in the market, a new and heavy increase of duties was immediately laid upon the importation of that article; this gave a greatly increased value to the stock on hand. On another occasion, he bought up all the sugar; upon which an additional duty of eight dollars per quintal was levied on the importation of sugar: a similar transaction took place respecting foreign spirits.

Lord Cochrane returned to Valparaiso a short time previous to the dissolution of the senate. After so long a cruize he obtained leave of absence for six months; he also obtained an assurance that the attention of the government would be immediately directed to the payment of the officers and men on board the fleet: this was the more to be expected, as during a two years' cruize he had supported the navy principally upon the resources of the enemy,

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had made expensive repairs, purchased naval stores, and had paid au the officers and seamen, himself alone excepted, one whole year's wages, with the money taken from San Martin in Ancon and by the proceeds of the prizes taken from the Spaniards, and had drawn upon the government of Chile for no more than 21,000 dollars, about 4,300l.

The officers and men were suffered to remain unnoticed five months in the bay of Valparaiso; they had returned from their long and arduous cruize destitute; they were ragged and pennyless, and in debt for their present expences; their pay, so long withheld, was constantly promised, and those promises as constantly broken: not a single article of clothing was given to the sailors. This at length produced a mutiny in the fleet, which was only appeased by Lord Cochrane quitting his retirement and interesting himself to induce the government to do them justice: his applications to the minister were all in vain; not even the apprehension of a general mutiny, which Lord Cochrane pointed out to them, and which he assured them he could not much longer restrain, could move the ministry from their habitual procrastination. At last a memorial, signed by all the officers, was sent to the government, intimating, that unless they were paid, they would find means to pay themselves, and the sailors actually threatened to make an attack upon the town of Valparaiso: upon this, Lord Cochrane made a journey to the capital, for the purpose of urging the government to pay the fleet, and thus avert the impending danger.

He waited upon the supreme director, stated the

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circumstances of the case, and the necessity of complying with the reasonable request of the seamen. He thence proceeded to the office of Echeverria, the secretary of state and marine, and repeated to him what he had already told the director, and assured him that one cause of the irritation of the officers and seamen was the conviction that the minister of finance, Rodriguez, was speculating in commercial affaire with the money which ought to have been paid to them some months before. At this instant he observed the minister Rodriguez listening in the passage leading from the office he was in to the director's sala. Lord Cochrane brought him into the office, and repeated what he had just said, and added, that not only the navy, but all Chile believed it was true.

Lord Cochrane then led both the ministers to the director, and called upon them, for the honour of the government, and the security of the country, to devise some immediate plan of satisfying the mutinous disposition of the seamen, which he assured them could be effected by nothing short of actual payment of the wages due to them. This was promised, and as the director agreed to proceed to Valparaiso, and attend to the distribution of the money, Lord Cochrane returned to Valparaiso with the welcome news. On the 3d of November the director, attended by the ministers, arrived in Valparaiso, but information having been conveyed to the officers that it was the intention of the ministers to seize them, and put in irons all those who had signed the memorial, and that for this purpose handcuffs and fetters had been prepared, they all kept on board their respective

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ships, and thus compelled the ministers to give up their intention.

The payment commenced, contrary to the usual custom, with the seamen, but Lord Cochrane soon put a stop to this proceeding, and ordered the paymaster to follow the usual course. The intention of the ministers was to have paid the men whom they thus expected would be in their favour, and in that event no money would have been given to the office, least of all to Lord Cochrane, whom they accused of promoting the dissatisfaction of the crews; he was, however, inflexible, and thus obtained his own pay for his services during two years and a half, and the arrears for all the officers and seamen.

Nothing but the certainty that the men would have stood by their officers, and that an attack would have been made on the town, and a total stop put to the commerce of Chile, could have induced the ministers thus to have done no more than a bare act of justice.

The aristocratical interests of Chile expected that the capture of Lima by the forces, and the money raised in their country, would ensure to them not only a commanding influence in the political management of Peru, but that the outlet it would afford for the sale of produce would meet with success proportionate to their extravagant imaginations. These expectations were wholly disappointed, and this was attributed by them to the conduct of San Martin, who, besides having betrayed his trust to Chile, had thrown many impediments in the way of its commerce, and levied heavy duties upon the introduce-

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tion of its produce into Peru. This, together with the unpopularity produced by the violent measures pursued in that country, tended al together to render San Martin as unpopular in the eyes of the aristocratical interest of Chile as he had before been popular with them. His unexpected arrival from Peru, involved as it was in mystery, and the attentions paid and honours bestowed upon him by the government of Chile, excited fears that he would be again invested with power which they expected would be exerted against their interests. Immediately upon his landing at Valparaiso he visited the baths of Cauquenes; but when O'Higgins went to Valparaiso to pay the fleet, San Martin went to Santiago, where a guard of honour received him on his entry, and he was lodged in the directorial palace. This considerably increased the jealousy and alarm of the Chilenos, in addition to which the public disappointment at the measures of the congress, the unpopular tariff, and the misdeeds of the minister, in commercial monopolies, produced throughout the country a general spirit of discontent against the ministry, which was still further aggravated by the tremendous calamity which about the same time befel the country——the great earthquake of the 19th of November, which, by the bigotted Chilenos, was considered a divine act of displeasure against the wicked ministry of the day. A great degree of local dissatisfaction had also prevailed for some time in the jurisdictions of Coquimbo and Concepcion; in the latter general Freyre, the military governor, had been refused supplies by the ministers, so that his

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troops were in twelve months arrears of pay, and destitute of clothing; a general inattention to his remonstrances had rendered him disaffected, so that in defiance of the ministerial orders, he broke through the prohibitory laws, and sold licences for the exportation of wheat from Concepcion. The natives of the jurisdiction complained, too, that they were not properly represented in the new congress. In the jurisdiction of Coquimbo the people were no less dissatisfied. They knew that the export duties upon the copper shipped from their ports afforded a considerable help to the revenue. Its collection being premortgaged and paid in Santiago caused a want of means with the local authorities for carrying on the government of the jurisdiction: it was, moreover, observed that the regulations affecting their trade regarded more the immediate relief of the general revenue than the mining interests, or the trade of the jurisdiction. The regulations with respect to commerce were from time to time altered to snit the interests of favourites; and even ex post facto laws were frequently adopted: it was thought that the new reglamento was made to favour the monopoly, and the extensive speculations in which the minister of finance was understood to be engaged.

These circumstances induced general Freyre to take measures for dissolving so powerful a conspiracy, which, in his opinion, was likely to impede the rapidly advancing commerce of the country. In this he was assisted by the most influencial persons of the jurisdiction, among whom were the long disgraced friends of the Carreras, who now openly de-

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clared that part of the country separated from the rest of Chile; they pronounced the laws and constitution promulgated by the ministry of O'Higgins to be illegal, because they were not fairly represented in the congress. They said the congress was composed of tools in the hands of a few designing men, who plotted the ruin of their country: they summoned a provincial congress to countenance these measures, from which body issued all the proceedings subsequently acted upon by general Freyre. A somewhat similar movement took place in Coquimbo, to which place an Englishman was confidentially dispatched with an account of these proceedings, and an invitation to co-operate by a simultaneous movement, while another Englishman was sent to Santiago to move the disaffected there in favour of the schemes of Freyre. The governor of Coquimbo was deposed, and a noted Carrera partizan appointed in his place: the jurisdiction was declared independent, and the acts of the general congress illegal. These proceedings were declared not to be directed personally against O'Higgins, but against his ministry, and the illegal combinations of his partizans. The same feelings prevailed in the capital, though they were not so openly expressed; but all were prepared for a change of government.

Previous to this, two envoys dispatched by general San Martin to Europe, in March 1822, had deposited with the government of Chile serious charges against Lord Cochrane, relative to his conduct at Ancon, and his long and arduous services which were opposed to the wishes of that general:

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they demanded, in the name of the government of Peru, that the supreme director of Chile would "imprint upon Lord Cochrane the stamp of his indignation in that efficacious and energetic manner demanded by the magnitude of the insult, the harmony which reigned between the two governments, and their mutual interests, confident that his excellency, the protector, would not find his hopes frustrated. " With these personalities of the protector of Peru the supreme director of Chile did not coincide, first, because he approved of the conduct of Lord Cochrane; and second, because he had great respect for the integrity of the admiral, and knew that he had not in any case given cause of complaint to San Martin.

These charges had been made in the absence of Lord Cochrane, and it was some months after his return to Chile before he heard that they had been made. At length a friend procured him a copy of the papers, and he prepared a complete refutation, copies of which, with the accusations, he sent to England. While Lord Cochrane was engaged in drawing up the refutation, the supreme director, O'Higgins, was in Valparaiso, but he caused the papers to be laid before the government No notice was taken of them, but every means were used by the ministers to throw obstacles in his way, and to annoy him: this, as well as the previous conduct of the government towards the navy, had made him determine to quit the service of Chile, and this event was hastened, by information given him by a respectable man, a colonel in the army, whose name for his own sake

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must be suppressed, that a plan was laid to assassinate him. Ever since the mutiny, ministers had sent their orders to the captains of the different vessels, instead of sending them to the admiral. These circumstances at length induced him to accept the offers of the emperor of Brazil, and to insist upon the resignation which he had some time before tendered being accepted.

He accordingly embarked on board the brig Colonel Allen, and sailed from Quintero bay on the 16th of January, 1823. On leaving the bay, his flag, as admiral of Chile, was lowered for ever from the mast-head of the national schooner Montezuma, and thus Chile lost the farther services of the most brave, zealous, successful, and meritorious officer it ever possessed; a man whose services they never repaid, whose merit they never were able to appreciate, and whose salutary advice was always treated with disrespect; whose splendid achievements had secured the independence of Chile, laid the foundation of the liberties of Peru, and wholly cleared the Pacific Ocean of every Spanish vessel; achievements which were repaid with the most unpardonable ingratitude by the government he served.

Six months after his return from his brilliant and important success at Valdivia, he could obtain neither for himself nor his officers any acknowledgement, either approving or disapproving of his or their conduct. He was treated with such marked neglect that he at length tendered the resignation before alluded to. As, however, the success of the contemplated expedition to Peru would, it was fore-

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seen, in a great measure depend on his being retained in the service, the government at length not only made an acknowledgement of the benefits received, but, as a proof of its sincerity, and as a token of its gratitude, gave him, in the name of the Chileno nation, a fine estate on the Rio Claro, a branch of the La Laxa river, in the province of Concepcion. The title deed which conveyed his estate was declared to be a mark of grateful remembrance of his services; and in order to perpetuate his exploits, and to attach the name of Cochrane for ever to the soil of Chile, the estate was entailed upon his heirs for ever. This has, however, turned out like most of the proceedings of the Chileno government towards foreigners: the government has lately made a grant of the estate to another person, and Lord Cochrane s steward has been driven from the land, otter having been robbed of all his effects by the local authorities.

When Lord Cochrane left Chile there was due to him from the government, on account of prize money, the gum of 60,000 dollars, or 12,0001. sterling. Not a single dollar had he any hope of receiving, nor is there the most distant chance that any part of the sum due will ever be paid by the government.

But Lord Cochrane is not a solitary instance. I hare seen many brave and meritorious officers actually pennyless, uselessly wasting their time in fruitless attempts to obtain payment of wages and prize money acknowledged to be due to them.

Late accounts from Chile assure me that the whole of the officers and crews have been turned

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adrift without any payment being made to them, or intended to be made, and the vessels have all been dismantled.

Lord Cochrane had foreseen the change that was about to take place, and was early informed of the movements at Concepcion and Coquimbo; he, therefore, lost no time in apprizing the supreme director of the danger which awaited him, and again stated to him the cause and remedy, that of displacing at once the obnoxious minister, and throwing upon him the opprobrium which fairly belonged to him. He pointed out to him the necessity in such cases of conforming to the wishes of the people, as proved by examples in other governments. But supreme directors are somewhat in the situation of princes, surrounded by flatterers and evil counsellors, and are the last to benefit on critical occasions by good advice, and this was the case with general O'Higgins, who was from the first to the last imposed upon, and most absurdly upheld the obnoxious minister against the public opinion.

The supreme director appears to have supposed that he could put down the revolt, and punish Freyre for his conduct, without involving the country in a civil war. He was on this occasion probably led by his feelings: he had been Freyre's protector and benefactor, and was the more hurt on this account at his conduct. He ordered the militia to be called out, when he heard that Freyre's troops had advanced beyond the river Maule. The corps of Quillota and Aconcagua refused to move out of their respective districts, and it was at length apparent to the director that his power was fast declining.

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The Coquimbanos had taken arms in favour of Freyre; all the disposable force of the jurisdiction, assisted by a portion of militia, advanced toward the capital. In December, 1822, they reached Illapel, and at the end of January arrived in Aconcagua. On the road, a party of them was dispatched to Quillota to secure the accession of that place.

I happened to be at Quillota that very day on a visit to the governor of the province, when he announced to me the events which had occurred: he told me that on the previous night, while conversing in his parlour with the curate, a party of horse-soldiers appeared in his court-yard, that the officer who commanded them entered the house, and declared him a prisoner; another party took possession of the barracks. The cabildo was instantly summoned by the governor to receive the communications brought by the officer, inviting them to join the cause of the Coquimbanos: upon its assembling, the invitation was instantly acceded to, and a general meeting of the people was ordered to be held in the public square on the next morning. This matter of form accordingly took place, when the proceedings of the cabildo received the popular assent. I was surprised to hear of such a movement, for there was nothing in the appearance of the place which indicated the change that was going on. All was peaceable and quiet; there were 750 soldiers in the town, and not one excess had been committed: the extreme quietness of the people under such circumstances affords the best proof that can be offered of the remarkably pacific disposition of the Chileno character.

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On the 28th of January, 1823, the long expected movement took place in Santiago. A meeting of the principal disaffected persons was held at the house of the governor intendente, Guzman. This officer, accompanied by the commander of the guard of honour, appeared before the supreme director, and requested him to resign his authority into their hands: he reproached them with their rebellious conduct and ungrateful desertion; expressed his willingness to resign his unenviable situation into the hands of any competent authority, but refused to do so to them, or to any one they should name: they threatened force, but the director was firm. These officers returned to those who had deputed them, when the meeting proposed that the supreme director should be invited to resign his authority into the hands of a junta composed of Don Agustin, Eyzaguirre, Don Fernando Errazuris, and Don Josè Miguel Infante. As the congress had some short time before ceased to hold its sittings, and as there was no other authority to whom he could convey his renunciation, in order to contribute to the public tranquility, Don Bernardo O'Higgins consented to accede to this invitation upon conditions that the junta would engage that another national congress should be summoned, and called together with the least possible delay, to whom they should resign their temporary authority; and that if after an interval of six months the differences then existing between the then great jurisdictions of the country should not be terminated, the functions of the junta should cease, and the power revert to the people, who at a general meeting might take such steps as

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they should think necessary for the establishment of a government.

This treaty was signed on the same day by O'Higgins and by Don Mariano Egaña (the present deputy of Chile resident in London), as on the part of the people of Santiago. It was agreed that the power of the new junta should be determined by three citizens, one of whom was the father of Mr. Egaña. The junta were immediately installed, and appointed Don Mariano Egaña minister of state and marine, and Don Agustin Vial minister of finance and war.

On the approach of general Freyre with an armed force from the south, and of general Benevento with the Coquimbanos from the north, the soldiery had assured Don Bernardo O'Higgins that he might depend upon their fidelity and support, but he preferred a voluntary renunciation of an authority which had been to him a source of privation, anxiety, and fatigue, to the evils which he foresaw would follow from his refusal: he adopted this line of conduct, neither from any personal apprehension, nor from any conviction of the good that would follow what he considered an usurpation of a dangerous tendency, but from a desire to avoid all chance of a civil war, and to contribute to the restoration of public tranquillity.

The first act of the junta was to summon the congress. General San Martin, aware of the growing storm, had set off for Mendoza. General O'Higgins immediately repaired to Valparaiso, with the intention of embarking for Peru. On the evening of his arrival in the port, general Freyre appeared in the

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bay on board the Independencia, accompanied by two transports from Concepcion, bringing 1500 men, who were immediately landed. The governor's house was surrounded, and general O'Higgins was arrested, but the better sort of people went in a body to general Freyre and solicited his liberty, and requested that no injury might be done to the much respected ex-director. This request was so far complied with, that a mere surveillance was placed over him, and even this was continued for a very short period.

I had private interviews with both these chiefs at this time, and felt much interest in these singular proceedings;—it was the only revolution I had witnessed, which certainly was very remarkable for the manner in which it was conducted.

General Freyre marched his troops towards Santiago, but abstained from entering the city: he there repeated the proclamations he had previously issued, disavowing all intention of placing himself at the head of affairs: his sole object, he declared, was to procure for the nation such a fair elective and representative government as should secure to the people more perfect liberty than they had hitherto enjoyed; he recommended that the office of director, in order to ensure the responsibility of the situation, should under no circumstances continue for a longer period than two years.

With a view to leave the congress at full liberty to act upon its own free will, he encamped his forces upon the plains of Maypo a few miles to the southward of Santiago: and, that his presence might not be said to overawe the people, he himself refused to

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enter the city. The junta that still nominally governed in the capital, aided by the other partizans of general Freyre, offered him the office of director, which he, in conformity to his proclamation, refused. The matter was afterwards discussed in congress, when his friends urged that general Freyre should be called upon peremptorily to take upon himself the office of supreme director. The general, however, fled alone in the direction of the river Maule, whither he was followed by messengers bearing the order of the congress, which called on him to assume the supreme authority, however contrary to his wishes; a mandate to which he submitted as if under great restraint. This is one of the many fooleries frequently practised in Chile, no lees than in other parts of South America at the present day.

General Freyre upon assuming the reins of government was able to effect little good for his country: he proved himself, in fact, to be the weak-headed tool of a party. No one who knows the general will deny him the merit of being a brave soldier, a well meaning patriot, an amiable unassuming man in private life, actuated by a desire of doing good: in person, in address, and in suavity of manners, he greatly resembled Don Bernardo O'Higgins, but he was still less qualified than his predecessor for the office of supreme director.

Many changes now took place in the public offices, and nothing but reforms were talked of. A general inquiry was ordered to be instituted into the peculations of the late minister, whose malpractices were openly proclaimed and particularized in print. In-

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vestigations were also ordered to be made respecting public accounts; every one looked anxiously for a thorough regeneration of the national affaire, and many projects were talked of by the new government for the prevention of similar abuses in future, but public expectation was disappointed: the so much talked of decrees of inquiry and reformation were passed over in oblivion, and the new ministers, Don Mariano Egaña and Don Diego Benevente found it inconvenient to alter the system; no report was ever made, nor, as far as the public could learn, did any investigation ever take place.

The new order of affaire, after a sufficiently long trial, was found to have produced none of the good it promised: it was discovered to have effected only a change of men; the same system of public robbery, the same procrastination, and bad faith, still continued to be practised. General Freyre possessed no talent for government; in all cases he refused to act upon his own responsibility, and referred every thing to the decision of the congress, a body which only held its sittings during one fourth of the year, and wasted that time in discussions of mere frivolity and etiquette. Every body became in consequence discontented, and thus matters are still going on ripening for a new revolution.

The first great object adopted by the government of Freyre was a new tariff, which, though apparently more liberal than the former, was still counterbalanced by the extraordinary regulations which I have detailed in my account of the revenue.

The congress, after sitting above a twelvemonth, at length produced, at the close of 1823, the long

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talked of new constitution, which as a specimen of legislation is one of the most curious productions of the age. These sapient legislators were desirous of having a representative government without a representative assembly, as some of them assured me they had witnessed in all other constitutions of the several states of South America the evil effects resulting from representative congresses in which little more than dissatisfaction and jealousy prevailed; unanimity, they said, was never known upon any subject, and could only be expected from a small body where dispassionate discussion might be carried on, and in whose hands the sovereign power of the people could with more safety be lodged. With equal wisdom they conceived that all public servants should be made responsible for their acts, and they took a curious method for this purpose: by way of preventing malpractices, no one of them was to be allowed to act in any case whatever, but under the influence and direction of a small aristocratical assembly. The outline is this: the executive power is vested in a supreme director, whose duty it is to administer, execute, and promulgate the laws of the country; he has the prerogative of first proposing the outline of any new law, but for this he must have the previous sanction of the council of state; he is to organize and dispose of the land and sea forces, but not to command them; to appoint all subaltern officers by his own free will, but none above the rank of lieutenant-colonel without consent of the senate; he is to declare war or peace as sanctioned by the senate; to appoint his own ministers, subject to the approval of the

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council of state; to mitigate and pardon convicts, but only with the approval of the senate; to remove public officers for incapacity, with consent of the senate, or for malpractices only, by handing ever their accusations to the public tribunals; to make treaties of peace, and alliance, commerce, &c. only by consent of the senate; to appoint diplomatic agents, and to define their powers only with the full consent of the senate; to nominate persons to office with consent of the senate: he is to have three ministers of state to assist him in his political functions.

The council of state is composed of seven persons, via. two members of the supreme court of justice, one church dignitary, one military chief, one inspector of rents, and two acting directors of national economy. Its functions are—to consult with the director, and to approve or reject any project of a new law; to approve of the appointments of the ministers, or to move for their dismissal; to examine the budget to be presented to the senate; in fine to be consulted by the director on every matter of consequence. This body is to assemble in the house of the director twice every week.

The senate is composed of nine individuals, chosen for six years, which term may be indefinitely extended! Its duties are to watch over the due observance of the laws, and good conduct of public functionaries; to sanction or disapprove the laws; to suspend instantly any executive act of the director, which they may think likely to lead to bad results, or any violation of the laws; to watch over the national habits and morals; to re-

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gulate the education of youth, to see that civic virtues and morality may attain public reward and distinction; to protect private guarantees; to qualify the merit of individuals, preserving a register of the services and virtues of each citizen to be recommended to the notice of the director, or proposed far benemeritos to the sanction of the national chamber to be admitted to this grade. Moreover, the duties of the senate are to sanction the rules and ordinances of every public body, or regulations of every public office presented by the director; to sanction declarations of war, with the previous consent of the national chamber, treaties of peace and commerce, taxes and contributions budgets, loans, appointments and dismissals of public officers, formations of cities and towns, ceremonials of public feasts, public establishments of all kinds, and a very long list of petty duties which properly belong alone to the executive authorities. The details of its farms of proceeding are minute and childish, particularly such as relate to the distinguishing all the deserving citizens into certain classes in the grand registry of civic merit—via, that of ordinary merit, deserving merit (benemeritos), and merit of heroic degree (en grado heroico).

The national chamber is a body of representatives called together on any important occasion; its somber must be above fifty and under 200; one-eighth part of this body is replaced every year by an equal portion of new members elected for the purpose. The members of this body most reside in the town where the senate assembles, and when-

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ever the senate chuses to order a convocation of the chamber, one of the ministers of state, the secretary of the senate, and the fiscal (or attorney-general), proceed to ballot for the names of twenty-five out of the list of the whole chamber; and the number so ballotted are bound immediately to assemble in order to approve or disapprove of such laws as the senate may transmit to them; to approve or disapprove of questions of war, peace, loans, and contributions; to sanction the appointment of citizens of ordinary merit, and those of heroic degree; and to appoint the tribunal of censorship of the press. Each session is to continue during two sittings only, one to receive the laws and listen to the speech of the reporter, the other to discuss and determine the matter: these two sittings must not exceed the time of the two following days.

There are, besides, electoral assemblies formed in every district or parish of 200 inhabitants, whose functions are, to elect or eject such citizens as benemeritos as are proposed to them by competent magistracy. They may petition the executive to discharge any functionary whom they consider to have abused his situation.

A new arrangement is to be instituted in the judicial courts, but no mention is made respecting any reformation in the jurisprudence of the country.

A perfect liberty of the press is pompously declared; but the law is to permit no one to intermeddle with the mysteries, dogmas, or discipline of religion, or the system of. morality generally approved of by the catholic church. The tribunal of the liberty of the press is to be composed

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of seven individuals; there is also to be a body of literary counsellors to whom every article to be printed is to be submitted, for the simple and only purpose of cautioning the author against any censurable proposition he may desire to publish: should the author be dissatisfied with this caution, he may appeal to the above-mentioned tribunal, which is to decide upon the subject.

Finally, among the many absurd reforms that are ordered to take place by the new constitution, is that of national morality. A moral code is to be formed, "wherein is to be defined, the duties of a citizen in all stages of his life, and in every condition of society, forming for him, habits, exercises, duties, public instruction, rituals, and pleasures, which the laws are to transform into customs, and the customs into civic virtues and morals"!!

From this outline it is easy to perceive that no satisfaction could result from the operations of a government so constituted: the people of Coquimbo and Concepcion found that the grievances of which they had complained were increased, especially since the publication of the constitution, which deprived them of all voice and influence in the government, and placed the whole power of the state in a email junta self-elected and self-invested with sovereign authority.

This dissatisfaction was increased by the failure of an expedition to Chiloe, for which great preparations were made by General Freyre, both in the military and naval forces. The expedition, commanded by general Freyre in person, was intended to drive the Spaniards from their hold in the Archi-

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pelago; the disembarkation was effected without the least opposition from the enemy; but the general, instead of dashing forward at once upon the fortifications of San Carlos, and carrying the town of Castro by surprize, lost the opportunity by over-caution: the Creole, no less than the Spanish soldier is as capable of carrying any object by a coup de main as he is unable to resist an unexpected attack. The one half of the forces advanced upon Castro, driving before them the enemy, but as their orders were to wait half-way for the junction of the remainder of the forces, the Spaniards, thinking them afraid, attacked them in ambush, and cut off their retreat: panic-struck, they separated in confusion, and rejoined their comrades how they could; all lost their courage by this mismanagement. They again embarked, and returned to Chile with me loss of one-fourth of their armament, and without having gained the least advantage.

About this time a most important event occurred, in the arrival of the British consul-general, who came accredited from his government to prepare the way for the recognition of Chile by Great Britain—an object intended to be consummated by the British ministry, whenever that country should so far have established its independence as to possess a government which might be deemed to have the requisite solidity, capable of affording due security to such British subjects as might venture there upon the same understanding as that in which they are received and protected by old established governments.

Such was the state of the country on the arrival

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of the consul-general, Mr. Nugent, that he did not think it advisable to take such prompt measures for the recognition of the government of Chile, as Mr. Parish has so judiciously taken with that of Buenos Ayres. Chile is still in a state of revolution; while Buenos Ayres, from the experience gained by her legislators, has attained a sufficient importance, a better administration of justice, sound commercial views, and has displayed such punctuality and good faith in all her engagements, as fully to entitle the government of that country to rank with the regular governments of other nations. Chile, on the contrary, has been for some time past retrograding, and can scarcely be said to possess any government at all; all its affaire are mismanaged, its revenues are misapplied, its commerce has decayed; and a great change, probably a violent one, must take place before it can again be restored to the state in which it was even under the administration of Don Bernardo O'Higgins. It is difficult however to conjecture how any change can benefit the country.

In the middle of the year, 1824, the government of Chile was alarmed at the news of a Spanish force, consisting of the Asia, a sixty-four gun ship, and the Achilles, of eighteen guns, being in the Pacific. These vessels arrived at the island of Chiloe soon after the troops under Freyre had left the place. They remained there nearly four months to recover the health which their crews had lost in the voyage from Europe. On their voyage from Chiloe to Peru they boarded and searched ah English merchant vessel, which brought the news of their being on the coast. It may seem remarkable

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that these vessels should have remained for months in the neighbourhood of Valdivia, and yet that they should neither have been heard of by the garrison in that place, nor that any information should have been given thereof to the government at Santiago. But it is almost impossible for any one to conceive, or even to believe when related, the manner in which things are managed or left alone in Chile. As soon, however, as the news was spread, general Freyre, who feared an attack upon Valparaiso, dispatched a force to that place, and wished to put the ships in the port in condition to act on the defensive; but the senate absolutely refused to incur the expense. This seems to have incensed the general against this body. He soon afterwards dissolved the senate, and abrogated the last made constitution. He now ordered the ships of war to be refitted; this took several months, and the sailors would not move without being paid a great portion of their arrears of pay: for this purpose new direct taxes were levied, such as patentes or licences upon all merchants, shop-keepers, dealers, ships, &c.

At length, towards the close of the year 1824, the director and ministry repaired to Valparaiso, paid a portion of the money due, and promised the remainder, which induced the fleet to put to sea, under general Blanco, in search of the Spanish ships.

The more recent proceedings of the government of Freyre are detailed in the chapter on the national revenue, one of the more remarkable among them being the confiscation of the conventual property of the country.

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Since I left Chile, in the beginning of 1825, an attempt at revolution has taken place. One of the earliest measures of the minister, general Pinto, was to summon another national congress, but, like all the former, no good was produced by this body; it served only to generate fresh animosities, and to widen the existing spirit of dissatisfaction. An attempt to assassinate two of the members of the congress by others of that body, because of their known connexion with, and support of, the government, led to a general ferment; and a proposition on the propriety of dissolving itself was discussed by that body, as was also another proposition for placing the legislative and executive power without controul in the hands of the director.*

* Appendix A.—Papers respecting the revolutions in Chile in the months of July and October, 1825.

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CHAPTER XVII.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF CHILE.—GOVERNMENT.

Under the Spaniards.—Principal Functionaries.—Public Bodies.—Tribunals.—General and local Authorities.—Judicial processes.—Under the Spaniards and the Independants.—Supreme Director.—Senate.—Responsibility of Ministers.—Empeños, what.—Bribery common.—Parties.—Army.—Militia.—Administration of Justice.—Local Magistrates.—Venal.—Corrupt.—Governor of a Province—his Character.—Post-office.—Lawsuits.

GOVERNMENT.—In attempting to describe the government of Chile I am bound to pronounce that there never has existed since the first discovery of the country any system deserving the name of a regular government. There has always existed in Chile an aristocracy, whose interests were peculiar, in consequence of their feudal tenure, and the total absence of any middle class in society: under such a system no collision of interests ever took place. The government, such as it was, being perfectly despotic, required but little from the aristocracy; the desires of the body of the people being very limited, and their character very mild, they were easily directed in the way the government wished. No desire existed of disturbing this harmony, as the colonial laws, so inimical to a free trade, threw the entire monopoly into the hands of a few Spaniards; even commerce lost its influence, and as the interests of these persons, though of different grades, were co-equal with those of the go-

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vernors or public agents of the mother country, no jealousies were created in these quarters. These monopolies being granted tinder the royal authority, and as the existing and only tolerated religious system inculcated the strictest passive obedience, each class of the community kept their separate interests distinct; the landholder and farmer Were quite independant of the merchant; the merchant was again independant of the placemen, who derived their appointments from the king himself; no thought of interference with one another ever arose among these several branches of the society. The whole country was originally divided and granted in immense possessions to a few favoured settlers and the clergy; and these persons, in consequence of the harsh feudal services they exacted from the labourers, who seemed ever uncorscious of their slavery, exercised, as if by common consent, a perfect tyranny over his own district, Disputes between neighbouring landholders were referred to the courts of reference, and high tribunals in the capital. As these landholders were few in number, and those few connected by intermarriages with one another, the settlement of disputes, which were very numerous, depended more upon family privileges, or the influence of relatives, than upon any solid expectation or wish for the exercise of a digested system, or any definite principles of justice: with such an aristocracy it resulted insensibly that individual interests by universal consent were converted into the general interest of the class, and hence proceeded the system which universally pervaded South America.

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There was an established form of government in Chile, but there never were any settled regulations which defined the obligation s of each portion of society; those which were attempted were always superseded by private influence.

In the relations between the rich and the poor, the dependance of the latter upon the former rendered any regulations respecting mutual duties mere matter of form; the will and power of rewards and punishments were left wholly in the hands of the former.

The practical distribution of the executive authority throughout the whole community was purely military; the president was captain general deriving his authority immediately from the king of Spain, and liable to be displaced unless active in supporting rigidly the power, authority, and system of the king: the military governors of strong holds held their authorities from the president; the intendentes of jurisdictions were brigadier generals, acting under the orders of the president. The governors of provinces were, in all their actions, subject to written orders from the intendentes, and thus the executors of public authority were so few that they could be easily controlled.

The subordinate authorities placed more immediately over the people were the jueces de partido, translated, judges of divisions: this office was, in fact, purely military, and corresponding to the rank of corporal of militia: the male population of the district was embodied into a kind of military community, having the character of a militia, which name it actually bore.

This judge, ignorant and brutal like his fellow

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peasants, exercised his authority over them with martial severity; and, as his time was mostly consumed in his duties, for which he received no pay, he always made a trade of his authority, which was permitted by his superior officer: this judge could not, however, turn his authority to account without the consent of the landholder, or lord of the vassal peasantry; he was, therefore, always submissive and subservient to the hacendado, or landowner, who, in fact, was the silent director of the operations of the judge.

The governor of the province always confirmed the actions of the juez, however unjust and arbitrary, provided they did not militate against the hacendado, whose interests were always protected. Any peasant, therefore, who appealed to the provincial superior against any act of the juez, always received from the latter such treatment as was sure to pro-duce the most humble compliance with the wishes of his superior.

There was neither law nor justice for the poor: in the towns, however, there was a somewhat better system, and less oppression.

Of law indeed there was plenty for the rich, and disposition enough to recur to it, notwithstanding the parties knew that the suit would be ultimately awarded in favour of the party which had the longest purse, or the most influence at court.

There was in the capital a court of first trial, where the contending parties were confronted before the intendent of the jurisdiction. This was also a court of appeal from the decisions of the governors

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of provinces; and from the verdict of this court there was another appeal to the chamber of justice, where suits were carried on by written representations, which could be prolonged by litigants to an indefinite extent, by the discussions of matters quite irrelevant to the topics in dispute: the vexation, delay, and cost of those suits kept many persons away from them, and their decisions were always the result of the private influence or indirect bribery of the judge. From these decisions there was again an appeal to the court of audiencia, a court composed of old Spaniards, who generally received their authorities from the king: this office was in most cases purchased.

In every branch of administration one of the principal features of the Spanish system was that no one officer could at any time execute his duties without being checked by two or three persons in other departments: this system, intended as a control upon the public servants, only tended to defeat its object, since, instead of being checks upon one another, each for himself and by common consent turned his office to the best possible account, and thus a system of corruption and fraud was established: this was general throughout the departments; so that all pursued their course without fear of detection, as each thus obtained his indemnity as he proceeded, and was in no degree responsible for his actions. In this manner frauds in the distribution of justice and in the administration of finance were carried on through every ramification; the arrangements of the public accounts were so complicated, under die appearance of simplicity and detail, that attempts at detection generally

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failed: this was so notorious at home that orders were sent from Spain to manage their boots of accounts by double entry, and formulae were sent out to instruct them in these matters. No change, however, was adopted; it was said that book-keeping by double entry could not be understood in South America; and, as all-the persons employed had an interest in the old system, all innovation was an evil not to be introduced, and none was permitted. A pretence of compliance with the wishes of the court of Spain was made, but the accounts were so purposely confused, that an order was issued to return to the old system, under which affairs continue to be managed to the present day.

The royal court of audiencia consisted of the captain-general as president, four vidores, two fiscals, one for civil affaire, the other for protecting the Indians, an alguazail, mayor, secretaries, and reporters. Ordinary causes were heard by the camera de justicio, which consisted of two of the vidores, and the fiscal acting as attorney-general: before these matters were discussed by advocates, but the litigants themselves were never examined, the processes consisting only of written declarations made by one party, and alternately referred to the other for reply: thus a snit could be maintained ad infinitum. The general business of the court therefore consisted of perusing and referring those documents by one of the secretaries called the relater, and it was only at the period of decision that the advocates were heard in prosecution or defence; the decision of the sitting judges was not given at the time, but after long delay: the causes referred to them were only appeals from the

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tribunals of intendencia, or cabildo; and if the defeated party was dissatisfied, his suit could be brought before the whole audiencia, wherein the president of Chile presided. This hearing consisted of several numerous short distant sittings, wherein the president of Chile presided. This hearing consisted of several numerous short distant sittings, wherein the relator read one day after another the long verbose representations, the merits of which were afterwards again discussed by the advocates before the audiencia, which took some time to deliberate on the justice of the suit, but from its decision there was no appeal, except in cases involving the payment of very large sums of money, where the documents were transmitted to Spain, and laid before the council of the Indies, where the suit underwent a similar process.

Where no written laws exist accessible to an injured person—where the forms of the court preclude the possibility of an understanding of the case by the judges—where the real merits of the suit are hidden amidst heaps of extraneous matter, from which they are never separated; and where the tribunals do not admit of confronting witnesses, and proving the truth of allegations by vivâ voce examinations, it may readily be conceived that the courts of justice resolve themselves into mere engines of dishonesty, intrigue, vexatious delay, and ruinous expense. Indeed justice ceased to be dreamed of in suits of laws, when each litigant depended for a successful issue on family connexions, or the influence which a friend could use with the judges over a bowl of punch, or at a gambling match: such, in point of fact, has been for many years, and still continues to be, the practice.

The restrictive system of the mother country,

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which made it felony for any foreigner, on any pretence whatever, to land upon the shores of Chile, and also prohibited, under pain of confiscation, every foreign vessel from coming within her jurisdiction upon the South Sea, was rigorously adhered to, and to this may mainly be attributed the power which Old Spain so long exercised throughout America.

The change of policy introduced all over the continent, in consequence of the revolt of the colonies facilitating commercial intercourse with foreign nations, has broken the charm which had hitherto wholly impeded its progress towards civilization: a change that cannot fail to lead ultimately to the establishment of free principles, not in words, as alone has been hitherto effected, but in practice. When I state that no change has taken place of any practical importance towards the liberty of the subject or the security of property, I am stating a fact which admits of no denial: the president and captain general have been changed for a supreme director and captain general; the royal audiencia has been converted into a senate or junta of privileged individuals; the outer forms of the courts of laws hare received some alteration; but to all intents and purposes the functions of the operative parts remain unchanged, and the detail of management in every department is precisely the same, without having undergone the least variation: we hear of a sovereign congress, of elective assemblies, of checks upon the administration of power, and responsibility of all public servants; but there is no change except in the exterior, without any the least internal alteration.

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It would be absurd to expect that any beneficial changes could be effected in the existing state of ignorance of the Chilenos, not only of the poor and rising middling classes, but of the higher classes also: the ignorance, intolerance, and superstition among the first persons in the country exceeds all possible belief: the consummation must be the work of more than one generation; the least advance must be preceded by general instruction of all classes, which from the fanaticism and influence of the priesthood has hitherto been effectually resisted.

The police regulations of Santiago have lately been committed to the charge of the intendente, so that the powers of the cabildo have by degrees become almost annihilated. The city is divided into wards, each consisting of four quadras or quartiles, committed to the superintendance of a kind of head constable, called the alcalde de barrio, having under him four tenientes, or acting constables, one to each quadra: their duties are to quell broils, apprehend offenders, and execute the orders of the intendente gobernador. There is besides a set of watchmen and patroles to protect the streets, who are under the regulation of the police, which is also charged with the cleansing of the streets: this part of its duty, however, is generally forgotten for two years together.

The intendente gobernador is the chief municipal officer, not only of the province, but of the town; his court is called the intendencia, and sits daily from 11 to 2 in the morning, and from 7 to 10 in the evening. This is the court of first instance in all disputes and civil cases; the duty of the intendente

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is to endeavour to accommodate matters by bringing the parties together, arguing the matter over, and compromising it, if possible, end if not, by deciding by a written verdict upon the margin of the representations submitted to him: he acts in all cases with the assistance of a legal adviser, called the asesor, a man who is expected to possess extensive legal knowledge. The office of intendente gobernador is the same as that known by the name of corregidor under the Spanish domination; the authority and prerogative being essentially the same. The decisions of the intendente are open to appeal, in matters of police and justice, to the chamber of justice; in finance to the junta de hacienda, or council of state; in affairs of state to the supreme director.

There is another court of first instance for disputes in commercial matters called the consulado, which is composed of a president called the prior, and two other members called consules, all chosen annually from among the native merchants or shopkeepers: they are assisted also by an asesor: appeals are made from the decision of this court to the chamber of justice, or to the junta de hacienda.

The superior court of justice is re-modelled at every revolution, but its changes consist of no more than mere alterations of its titles, being sometimes called chamber of justice, at others, chamber of appeals: its functions are constantly the same, its duties, the forms by which its proceedings are governed, as well as the laws which regulate the decisions, are the same as they were under the Spaniards. By shifting the members it resolves itself into several courts, for instance, the camara de justicia is com-

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posed of five members, three of whom form a quorum: they are assisted by two fiscals, or attorney generals, all appointed by the supreme director. One fiscal is for civil, the other for criminal cases; they have under them a deputy or acting fiscal, with their several escubanos, procuradores, and relatores.

There is sometimes a junta de hacienda, sometimes a council of state, to whom are referred appeals in matters of finance or state: it is composed of the three members of state, the intendente, president of the senate, and chamber of justice: its functions are similar to that of the audiencia in similar cases.

Such have been the variable conditions of the several officers of state under the patriot governments, that it is difficult to define precisely the extent of their powers. The checks on the will of the supreme director, ostensibly for the advantage of the people, have, according to the Spanish practice, been made subservient to the interests of the aristocracy. The supreme director occupies, in fact, the situation and power of the viceroy, only, instead of being amenable to the wishes and favors of a king, he has to succumb to the disposition of a senate or junta, representing the aristocracy. He presides over every department; every act, whether of his several secretaries of states, of the officers of revenue, of justice, or of police, must await his sign manual; but such is his subjection to the aristocracy, that on no occasion can he act against their will. He is captain-general of the army and militia, appoints his own ministers, governors of provinces, and intendentes of jurisdictions, but his power is, as has been seen,

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considerably circumscribed. He is obliged to give audience on certain fixed days to all applicants in the hall of government, and to hold a levee every evening to those who chuse to visit him in familiar. His house is guarded like that of a king; and when he rides out, it is always with a body guard, gayly clothed. The salary of the supreme director is ten thousand dollars, or two thousand pounds sterling per annum, and with this he has to support the attributes of royalty. To an ordinary person it would seem impossible that this small income could enable him to maintain his state, and bring up his family with decency; and the inference is therefore inevitable, that he must have other means of obtaining resources by participating in the disposal of his patronage.

For the purpose of preventing undue influence and maintaining his dignity, he is forbidden, by express order, from visiting the house of any individual. Thus general O'Higgins could never visit Lord Cochrane while in Santiago, though his noble and distinguished rank, his important and brilliant services, and his high attainments, might have exempted him in this case, if it could in any, from so absurd a restriction.

The senate was a body of great importance under the administration of general O'Higgins. This body, the tools of the aristocratical interest, assumed powers to itself which took away all influence from the executive government, so that it was impossible to effect any projected good against the interests of so venal a body: and as the same faction has subse-

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quently endeavoured to re-establish this junta under the name of a council of state; and as it perhaps will again soon appear under some other title, I will describe the powers it possessed at the time of its institution in 1818. It was composed of five members, one of whom was the person appointed to exercise the function of the bishop, who was in exile. There could be no vacancy in this body, as suplentes, or sub-delegates, were appointed to supply the place of any member who might die or be sent away on a national mission: the functions of this body were to have been exercised only for a short period, during the immediate struggle to establish the independence of the country; but this was construed by them afterwards into an interpretation of a permanent and hereditary right.

This body held the title of "Most Excellent," the highest that could be given. The persons of the members were inviolate, they could hold their sittings whenever they pleased, and any complaint against the misuse of their authority was to be examined by a commission appointed by themselves: they each enjoyed a salary of 2000 dollars per annum. The functions of this body were to cause a strict observance of the constitution, and to see to its fulfilment on the part of the supreme director, who was responsible to them for non-compliance. The supreme director was only nominally the head of the executive, could undertake no affair of importance without the acuerdo, or consent of the senate—he was in fact their mouth-piece: no taxes could be levied; neither war nor peace could be declared; no troops raised nor disbanded, nor any ar-

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mament sent to any place; no public work could be undertaken; no minister or diplomatic agent sent to any power; no new employment created, unless by the consent of this body. They had the power of limiting or amending the constitution as they pleased, could annul old laws and make new ones, could institute what reforms they pleased in any department or office of the government throughout the country, and it rested with them to call the national congress whenever they chose: this was however continually deferred notwithstanding it was repeatedly called for and as repeatedly promised; they were averse from its being assembled, as it would diminish their own power. Thus the whole power of the state was vested in the senate. The power of the supreme director existed only as a shadow, and he officiated as the puppet of the senate. The senate was one of the most dangerous oligarchical bodies ever known in any country which pretended to establish an elective and responsible government. The motive of general O'Higgins for consenting to transfer this extraordinary power to the senate was well intentioned: he was aware that in the then state of the country all attempts at establishing an elective form of government would not only be useless, but would tend to keep alive party spirit, and throw all the affaire of the state into confusion. His purpose was to extinguish as much as possible this pernicious party spirit: he was conscious that however well intentioned he might be, he could not avoid the suspicions or stifle the jealousies of the aristocracy, if he maintained the sovereign authority in his own hands; he therefore conceived the notion of

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dividing his sovereignty with five of those who had the confidence of the aristocracy, but in this be displayed too little knowledge of human nature, and especially of the Chileno character. The result was that this body managed their trust with treachery, and formed a league with the ministers of state, so that at all points general O'Higgins was circumvented and betrayed in every attempt to accomplish his views for the amelioration and ad van cement of his country. He did much however in preventing and modifying many obnoxious and injurious measures, but he was unable to withstand the power which such a combination possessed.

It was not at all extraordinary that the ministers as well as the senate should possess great power and influence. They are supported by the aristocracy, which, being a small body, are easily managed for a time by the distribution of favors, the appropriation of the public property, and the equalization of power according to their respective influence. The various programmes pompously stiled constitutions, represent these ministers as responsible for their actions, but this, like all their displays of liberality, are mere words never intended to be applied in practice.

Business in the ministerial offices of the executive departments is managed with much dilatoriness; every application is conducted by representations to the ministers, written upon stamped paper, which receive his dictum upon the margin; but, to ensure promptitude and the success of his decree, it is necessary previously to obtain an interview with the minister, at which the applicant may state his case,

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backed by the prayer of some friend who has influence: without this, there is little chance of success. Even in cases where I had the personal friendship and cooperation of the supreme director, I have been tired of applying for an interview with the minister, and have abandoned my pursuit rather than attend day after day for weeks together for this purpose. In cases of importance the ministers were summoned by order of the director, but on trivial affairs, in which I did not chuse to trouble general O'Higgins, it has happened frequently that I experienced these delays. But scores of others, who possessed less influence than I did, have attended in the capital for months together to wait the issue of their just claims, or to obtain the protection they expected in support of their rights, without having been in any way attended to.

In cases even where the decree of the government has been given, it has been frequently of little avail when it has been contrary to the interests of influencial individuals, who, by their connexion with the underlings in office, can oppose such quibbling impediments and such vexatious delays against its being carried into effect as cannot fail to wear out the patience of most individuals: in few cases indeed. whether in matters of great importance or of little consequence, success cannot be secured without an empeño, a word of the most important signification all over South America, but especially in Chile, and difficult to render into the English language; a word meaning a favor obtainable by influence such as I have above described to be essential to success.

Under such a system it is evident that the con-

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duct of persons in office, and of all local authorities, is capricious, cruel, and unjust.

Having spoken as to the weight and importance of empeños, it remains to say something of them more in detail. So prevalent have they become, that not only are they requisite to get through a matter of importance in any of the public offices or administrative tribunals, but ordinary affaire of business are greatly facilitated by means of such' influence. Empeños are of two kinds—in the one case, where the favor results from patronage or attention shown to the bestower; or in the other, where it flows from bribery. This applies no less to the justiciary than to the executive authorities; justice is the last consideration among persons in authority, though in all cases the greatest parade and talk is made respecting it: it cannot be otherwise where corruption reigns in every shape, where moral principles of action are but little known, and never practised.

It must not be understood that in all cases, especially among the heads of office, actual money bribes are given, but I have known the ministers of state receive from British merchants a valuable watchchain and seals, a super b gold snuff-box; or I have known them make a pretended purchase of a piano forte valued at 1,200 dollars for 250, and even that turn has remained unpaid. Among the inferior officers of state I have seen acts of direct bribery; in cases of money bribes it is not unusual to send a tray of fruit covered with a white napkin, in the corner of which a number of gold doubloons are tied up. In another place I have recounted the extensive bribery which took place in the prize cases for the

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release of detained Spanish cargoes 'under cover of the British flag. In my own case, when I was pashed to a law suit, in order to obtain the title deed to some land on which I built ray establishment in Chile, I was urged to bribe the judges, bat I refused to do so, law and justice being both on my side. As I did not bribe the judges, every impediment was thrown in the way by them. At length, urged by order of the government, they gave their sentence in my favor, but added an atrocious and illegal reserve, in order to keep me in interminable litigation. I was told it was of no use resisting, as a person high in office had opposed my claim, and I had it intimated to me that all opposition would cease on paying him 6,000 dollars. I spurned at it, and again applied to the supreme government, when the judges were obliged to take off the reserve, and grant me the full right of title; but such were the impediments still thrown in the way of a very simple process in a mere matter of form, that after nearly three years' farther delay I never obtained such a title as would enable me to dispose of the land to let it or to sell the buildings I had erected at a great expense of time and money.

There does not exist any real patriotism among; the Chilenos, nor are they capable of entertaining l any feeling of disinterestedness towards their fellow; beings. At the commencement of the revolution, a land of wild sensation pervaded some of the leading personages to shake off the Spanish yoke, and to substitute for it the present order of affaire, which virtually is the same as the former under another name: all acts, all new establishments, differ only in title.

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There is hardly one citizen who would not sacrifice his country for money, or for hopes of pecuniary aggrandisement; even its independence would have been bartered away or sold for money long ago, but for the existing jealousies among them, and the conviction that greater facilities for plunder, and a less degree of responsibility, exist under the present condition of affairs. It stands recorded that the national embassador of Chile, acting in his diplomatic capacity, actually concluded a bargain for the sale of his country to a Bourbon prince, and this, too, after its independence had been secured by the battle of Maypo, and long subsequent to the extirpation of the enemy from Chile.

No one unacquainted with the national character can conceive the total disregard of honour and honesty which pervades the Chilenos in political matters: suffer them only to pursue their petty trading occupations, and party men may fight and intrigue for power and influence, may make laws, and levy duties, may enrich themselves at the public expense, and ruin the resources of the country without their taking the trouble to notice it; much less is even a public murmur heard, or an inquiry called for. Whenever conspiracies or revolutions take place, they are looked upon with the utmost unconcern, exciting as little sensation or reflection in the body of the people as if the event had occurred in a foreign country. This apathy in the public, or rather the non-existence of any notions of government, or of being governed as they should be, renders any plan of a republican, or free government, both absurd and impracticable in Chile. The only persons who take

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any interest in the government are about 120 families in the capital, and eighty families in all other parts of the country. The ministers are either the members or the tools of these families; the officers of the army are branches of these families, every office of emolument is in their hands; and what with intermarriages, and other ties of affinity, the real power and influence is comprised within the reach and command of less than twenty persons. These ties are so bounded by interest, so cemented by long existing habits and prejudices, and so upheld by old forms and established regulations, that no hope can rationally be entertained of altering the system, till the great body of the people become enlightened, and can think for themselves: there exists almost as little hope of their advancement in these respects at the present time as might have been expected under the Spaniards.

The dread lest knowledge should extend among the people operates strongly with the heads of families and the clergy; all sorts of engines are set to work to exclude foreigners with the same spirit which actuated the Spaniards. The class of persons named pelucones is by far the most prevalent and extended throughout Chile. The liberates are but few in number, and those few exist only among such young men as have visited Mendosa and Buenos Ayres, and have there imbibed those principles which threw the pelucones into the back ground, and set in motion the work of amelioration which cannot fail to progress gradually, however slowly, in those more fortunate countries. Notwithstanding the violent prejudices against fo-

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reginers in Chile, the circumstances of the times have now made it impossible to exclude them, since the chief resources and revenue of the state, as well as the trade and income of the aristocratical community itself, must greatly depend on the foreign trade, which has become necessary to its support

I have already shown enough of the constitution of the government of Chile to demonstrate that it is wholly military in. its nature: so much is military rank valued, that all officers of the state possess it, and claim precedence according to their grade. The supreme director, or those who have passed this office, are the only persons who hold the rank of captain general. Lord Cochrane, as admiral of the squadron, and vice admiral of Chile, and general San Martin, as commander-in-chief of the forces, both held the rank of major general. They have generals, brigadier generals, major generals, and field marshals, (mariscal de campo) a rank differing from ours of that name, inasmuch m it is an intermediate grade between a colonel and brigadier general. Civil officers generally bear military rank from captain upwards.

At the present time, when Chile has established her independance, the expenses of maintaining an armed force is great beyond reason: the estimated expenses of the army for the year 1824, as published by the minister of finance, amount to the egregious from of 1,228,323 dollars, which, according to the financial statement of the national ways and means, exceeds the whole amount of the revenues of the country. This great expense was never incurred in the tone general O'Higgins, nor was the army then so large

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as at present. No excuse can be offered for this, because Chile possesses such admirably inaccessible boundaries, which secure her from aggressions on all sides, excepting from the Indians, against whom a small force is sufficient, and the militia of the country is more than enough to secure the nation, both from the inconveniences of unexpected invasion, or from internal disturbances. No motive, therefore, can exist for the retention of a strong military force, but to support the faction in power against other opposing parties. The present director, general Ramon Freyre, is maintained chiefly by the penquisto influence, the people interested for the southern provinces, who look forward with certain anticipation of removing the seat of influence and government nearer to their own possessions: to this the estate holders of the middle provinces will never accede, as the present capital is the centre of their riches and influence. The penquistos are unquestionably men of greater talent then their opponents; for, if we look round to those who have distinguished themselves in the revolution and have attained power and place, we find almost all are penquistos from O'Higgins and Freyre downwards, in military, civil, and legislative situations. A strong jealousy exists among the three several jurisdictions of Coquimbo, Santiago, and Conception: the former has every disposition to separate itself: it is conceived that the government takes from them the duties on the produce of their mines, and lessens their importance below what they are entitled to claim; a talk of separation, and the loudest dissatisfaction have become very general.

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The penquistos feel in no small degree the mined condition of their provinces, and the insecurity of their possessions, which would claim first rate protection were the seat of government in Concepcion. They are conscious of their individual superiority and of the extent of their internal resources, and are jealous of being ruled over by persons whom they despise: had it not been that so many penquistos remained in power, the jurisdiction of Concepcion would long before this have attempted to separate itself and establish an independant government; this is yet likely to happen, for there exists an insatiate jealousy, a wish to produce a change, and a wellfounded distrust of each other. There is not in the whole country a single individual whom they can trust, or to whom they can look up with confidence as a political leader; the fear of producing worse consequences by a change has alone kept down popular ebullition: this feeling is general among the aristocratical circles; as to the great body of the people they care very little whether they be ruled by a prince or a beggar, by a rogue or a fool. This is the state of public feeling which has sanctioned the ministers of general Freyre in the continuance of so useless and so burthensome a military expenditure.

The militia forms an important part of the civil, or rather the military government of the provincial districts. In every province there is a central town, and. very seldom more than one, which is governed by an officer who holds the rank of colonel in the army: the civil government of the town itself is managed by a cabildo, or body of individuals always

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at the command of the governor; civil cases are settled by himself, with the assistance of his asesor, or legal adviser, who expounds to him the law. In very trifling matters the parties are called before him, and the dispute is settled on the spot; others of greater importance are conducted by written declarations, as I have described more minutely in treating of the court of intendencia, this being indeed a similar tribunal: his decisions are final, unless the aggrieved party choose to undergo the trouble, vexation, expense, and loss of time in maintaining a suit of appeal to some tribunal of first instance in the metropolis, whether it be the intendencia, consulado, or ecclesiastical court, according to the nature of the case, and subsequently to the higher tribunals. I have known cases where a man has been robbed of his paternal estate by his more powerful neighbour, and has lost his cattle, and every thing else he possessed in defending his right in Santiago, and finally has been obliged to sell his unstocked and depreciated land to leep his family from starving:—a remarkable instance of this species of injustice, so very common all over the country, occurred within three leagues of my residence.

The cabildo looks to the minor administration of the town, superintends the police, the irrigations, the public feasts, the supply of the town, and all matters of general convenience: its functions do not extend beyond the limits of the town itself. The governor alone rules the whole province, by means of the militia, the colonel and superior officers of which generally reside in the town. The province

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is divided into as many partidos as there are large haciendes, or estates, upon each of which a certain number of tenants are compelled to form the militia: these persons are placed under die control of one of the milicianos, chosen by the governor at his pleasure, who performs the double office of teniente (lieutenant) of militia, and jues del partido, or constable of the district The duty of this man is to summon together his soldiers, whenever ordered to do so, and direct them in the performance of his instructions; every man must find his own horse, and do whatever service the teniente commands without the least pay or gratification, not even that of his food when on service. The duties of the jues is to convey prisoners, either civil or military, who are delivered to him by the juez of the adjoining partido, and he has to pass them on to the jnez of the succeeding district, and in this way prisoners are conveyed to their ultimate destination. The jues has to manage all acts of leva, or impressment, and to send the conscripts to the provincial town: he has to press bones from farmers and peasants for these purposes, as well as all the horses, mules, and supplies, which any military or civil officer may take from any traveller. His duty is to apprehend all criminal persons in his district, to suppress riots, to arrest and punish offenders, to regulate races, cock-fights, and all public amusements. These ignorant people in office ant armed with a dangerous authority, inasmuch as their support depends upon their extortions from the poor peasantry. The greater part of their time is devoted to the discharge of their duties, for which they receive

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not one real in shape of pay or remuneration: they have, therefore, no other means of maintaining themselves than by acts of robbery and extortion upon the community. The proprietors of haciendos, in order to render the juez. respectful and obsequious to them, generally give him the privilege of keeping a bodegon (retail shop) upon their estates: by this he contrives partly to maintain his family, but he expects that all the people will spend their feast-days and holidays at his pulperia, in preference to any other; to those who do not, he has the means in his power of offering much annoyance, and of punishing them in a thousand ways. Other privileges are conceded to him by virtue of his office: no races can take place among the peasantry but by his permission, for which he exacts a certain sum, and a certain share in all bets which are laid; no cock-fighting can take place but in his own pulperia; the great feasts of Christmas and Easter are celebrated at his house, and on these occasions he sells considerable quantities of wines, spirits, and eatables. One of his most dangerous privileges is that of arresting whomsoever he pleases, and placing them in a pair of stocks, which he keeps in his house, from which no sue is released, unless he either pays money, or engages to perform so many days, personal labour in his garden grounds: with this view he encourages drunkenness and gambling, which frequently terminate in fighting; on these occasions he executes his privilege of arrest and inflicting punishment, to extort money. In pursuit of the same object, he prowls about in the dark upon feast-days,

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and, assisted by his soldiers, he pounces upon his prey, affirming that he found them quarrelling, although perhaps engaged in boisterous drunken amusements, and carries them off to the stocks. I have seen this commonly practised in various parts of the country, and I have often known the juez of Concern, where I resided, extort money from persons, thus apprehended. On one occasion, I remember, he took twenty-five dollars (six guineas); often he has exacted twelve, ten, eight dollars, and downwards to a few reals, according as he knew his victim was able to afford it. In consequence of this nefarious system, the jueces, instead of preventing vice, encourage it: considering the many temptations to do wrong, surrounded as they are by so many inducements, it is surprising that the peasantry of Chile are not much worse than we find them. Whenever a robbery has been committed I have always found the juez forward in screening the offenders; this has been observed in many different parts, and at all times. When I have been robbed, I never could get the juez to apprehend the robbers: on one occasion, in particular, three peons broke into my premises: the juez, I afterwards discovered, knew the thieves, and received part of the stolen property for holding his tongue: through him, I offered a reward for the apprehension of the robbers, and after pretending to search for them, he came to tell me of the hopelessness of tracing them. I discovered a clue, exerted myself in finding out the robbers, and apprehended two of them: these I delivered into the possession of the juez, With the view of taking them to Valparaiso, to find

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out the third, who was the instigator of the robbery, and whom I was most anxious to punish. I obtained from the governor of Valparaiso all the aid of the police authorities; but the juez, instead of executing his errand, advised the hidden culprit to abscond, and suffered the two thieves I had taken to escape: in vain I applied to the governor of Quillota for the sake of public decency and justice to obtain his punishment and dismissal, my request was not attended to; and this was the cause of the insolent and violent conduct offered to me on the subsequent affair of the impressment, which I shall relate. This case was not peculiar; I discovered evidences of the same disposition in all places twenty leagues round Concon. One instance more atrocious than the rest I cannot refrain from mentioning, as it pourtrays much of the callousness of feeling inherent in the Chileno character. One of my principal workmen, an Englishman, and an engineer of very great merit, had gone during Easter time with his wife (a Chilena) to Limache, a village seven leagues distant from Concon, for the purpose of buying his winter stock of provisions: one of his acquaintances from Valparaiso, bound to Limache upon business, called on him as he was setting off, and gallopped away with him on his errand: the business being settled over a glass of grog, of which he partook rather freely, he went away in search of his horse, in order to join his wife, when passing a pulperia where some drunken peons were regaling themselves, he was insulted by them, and, more than usually buoyant, he resented the affront, and a quarrel took place, which

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led to blows: in the affray a woman got a side blow from the Englishman* who, being a powerful man, six feet high, had cleared away with his bludgeon above a dozen of his assailants, and remained master of the field. One of them, a relation of the Woman, ran to the juez of the village, who was then amusing himself in drinking a matti with some friends in his pulperia the justice excused himself from personal attendance, but gave to the infuriated peon a loaded musket, telling him it contained a good ounce ball, and advised him to shoot tine heretic. On his return, the Englishman had left the house, and as he was crossing the lane, Slipped off a bank against a hedge, just as the peon came running up to him, with others: in this situation the rascal pointed the musket to his breast, it flashed in the pan, he cocked the piece again and fired, when the poor fellow was shot through the heart, in the act of rising: the deceased was rifled of his cash, and robbed of his clothes: next morning the assassin went to the hut where the poor wife was weeping over the corpse of her bus* band, when he insulted her grossly, and maltreated the body. I went to Limache to investigate the affair, and made application to the governor of Quillota for an inquiry into the conduct of the assassin and of the judge; the judge was declared in no fault, and the assassin was screened by the governor, and sent to work in his vineyard!! This governor of Quillota was an Englishman, who had been twenty years settled in the country, and had almost forgotten his native tongue: he had procured himself, I may say usurped, the situation of governor, in the then trou-

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bled period of the rising of general Freyre, and as his history is very singular, this will afford an excellent opportunity of relating it. His name is Henry Faulkner, though he goes by the name of Don Enrique Fullner in Chile. He was connected with the atrocious murder Of a fellow-countryman, Captain Bunker of the Scorpion, an affair which happened many yean since on the coast of Chile. The particulars of this affair are notorious. I have heard the following relation with little variation from scores of people, and no one doubts its correctness. It seems that this Mr. Faulkner, who received the education of a surgeon, went to Chile about twenty-two years ago, being one of a hundred convicts who ran away with a ship bound to, or belonging to, Botany Bay. They landed in Concepcion, whence they were distributed over the country. At those periods our South Sea whalers carried on a smuggling trade along the coasts of Chile and Peru, which continued until the breaking out of the revolution. The colonial laws of Old Spain most rigorously prohibited any foreign Teasel, however distressed for provisions, or damaged by stress of weather, from putting into any port along this coast, and we have instances of distressed British whalers and merchantmen, who have ventured into the ports of Chile under such circumstances, being seized and condemned under the colonial laws of Spain. But there were in London some persons who, in spite of these restrictions, carried on a regular smuggling trade on this coast. The Scorpion whaler, commanded by captain Bunker, was one of these vessels: some say this was Bunker's second voyage, others that he had been

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many times upon the coast: be this as it may, he had formerly known Faulkner, and had rendered him very essential services, and the latter, on the plea of gratitude, offered to assist him in the dispatch and sale of his cargo. The first interview after his arrival was at San Antonio, a small fishing port, near the mouth of the river Maypo. Faulkner there arranged that Bunker should proceed with his vessel to the bay of Pichidangui, a small unfrequented harbour in the district of Quilimari, northward of Valparaiso, where he (Faulkner) would bring the merchants, all men of honour and property, to bargain for the cargo.

The Scorpion accordingly repaired to Pichidangui, where Faulkner soon arrived with six natives, whom he introduced as Spanish merchants of the first consequence, some of them wearing crosses and insignia of nobility: they were assassins in disguise. They had hired six launches of a rich old Spaniard in Valparaiso, at the rate of twenty dollars per day for each launch, and manned them with seventy-two men armed for the occasion, and placed them in ambush in a little cove outside the point of the bay. Faulkner and his friends had caused a large ramada or shed to be built near the beach for the accommodation of the party, and the storing of the goods: numbers of mules appeared in readiness, bringing petacas (hide trunks) filled with bags of sand in imitation of talegas, or bags of dollars; one talega of real dollars being displayed to carry on the deception. Faulkner acted as the interpreter, and Capt. Bunker gave a dinner to the whole party in the ramada. A very respectable American merchant

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now resident in Coquimbo, was then in Valparaiso, and was made acquainted with the arrival of the Scorpion, and of the scheme laid to en trap her: he accordingly dispatched a letter to captain Bunker, to apprise him of the suspicions he entertained, and of the facts he had heard, advising him to be guarded against those who were treating with him, as they were impostors. Bunker received, while at dinner, two other letters from other quarters, which he showed to Faulkner, who persuaded him they were designs to lead him into a snare, and that he was responsible for the honour and integrity of his friends. Bunker feeling all possible confidence in the assurance of Faulkner, as well as those of gratitude towards him, tore up the letters with contempt. After dinner he went on board to bring his invoices, with which he was immediately to return, in order to commence arrangements for the sale of his cargo. This was the period fixed upon, he came at the appointed time, and had no sooner put his foot on shore than a number of people sprung upon him from an ambush; the head of the gang, a Portuguese, struck Bunker a mortal blow in the breast with a poignant, and the others soon dispatched the boat's crew; they endeavoured to defend themselves, but they all fell victims to the treacherous barbarity of the Chilenos. The mate, who is now a merchant in Valparaiso, alarmed at the appearances on shore, was deliberating whether or not to slip the cable and put to sea, or send a boat to ascertain the cause of the bustle, when to his surprise the armed launches came along side, the crews of which instantly boarded and took possession of the vessel. The Scorpion

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was carried to Valparaiso, where her valuable eargo, vaasel, and all were sold by the porties concerned. Carrasco was at that time president of Chile, and Roses was the fiscal, or principel asesor; the whole plot had been arranged with their knowledge. It is said they received 30,000 dollars for their share. The Portuguese named Lorenzo is now a rich pulpero, or liquor dealer, in Valparaiso. The seven associates in this affair, after paying the miscreants they hired, divided the remainder of the property among themselves: one of them, named Francisco Carrera, still lives in Aconeagua. All of them, not long after, became reduced to poverty by gambling and debauchery, excepting Faulkner, who was more careful of his portion, amounting, it is said, to 20,000 dollars. He afterwards purchased the estate of Quilimari, in which the bay of Pichidangui is situated, and continues to own it: he afterwards married a woman of respectable family in Quillota, where he now owns one of the largest and best houses, possessing also several habitations and vineyartls, and has lately bought another large estate in Llaillay. He is accordingly a man of great proparty and influence among the Quillotanos: he leads a quiet and domestic life, attending only to the accumulation of his fortune, but the Chilenos aay "it is evident the curse of God is upon him, because his children die off as fast as they are produced," which, in their eyes, is quite sufficient punishment for his former evil doings. He has never ventured into Valparaiso since the arrival of our first ships of war many years ago; he never can look an Englishman (a stranger) in the face; but, as he becomes familiar-

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ized to them, he gains confidence and undisturbed tranquillity: he was simple enough to make hinnelf notorious in aspiring to the situation of governor of his provinoe, for he had for many years acted in the subordinate situation of primer alcalde, and head of the cabildo an office that caused the head authority to devolve upon him in the frequent absence of the governor. It will be asked, What! if the Chilenos were aware of the part that Faulkner acted in the affair of Pichidangui, could they countenance his being suffered to hold distinguished civil appointments? It is only necessary, however, to learn a little of the character of the Chilenos, to find that a murderer, or any one guilty of the most atrocious crimes against society is not held in much less estimation on that account.

A short time after the murder of the English eagineer, Faulkner was superseded, and I applied to the new governor for punishment of the murderer; and there being at that time a general leva, or impressment, the culprit was marched off with many honest labourers, who were dragged from their homes by the barbarons anthoraties of the district, and sent to join the arnay.

The mode of recruiting the army is generally by a leva, or impressment The minister communicates to the intendente of the jurisdiction that he must he supplied with a certain number of recruits; the intendente divides this demand into proper quotas, which he dispatches to the governors of the provinces; the governor distributes an order to every teniente, or juez de partido, to furnish him with the appointed number of men. The teniente is obliged

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to use secrecy on the occasion; he calls together a few milicianos, and, mounted sword in hand, they sally after dark to all the pulperias in the partido, when they seize many more than the number required: the juez fixes upon such persons as he chuses for his conscripts, and those who have offended him, or have not been regular in attendance at his pulperia, are the surest victims of his choice; those who can afford to purchase from him their release do so, and those who cannot remain prisoners. He will even take payment, when it suits his purpose, in promised labor: should he, upon these occasions, have released more than his number, he has to make fresh sallies, and will then enter the huts of his victims, or watch both day and night until he obtains them. It is customary, upon the alarm of a Ieva, which runs from hut to hut with a fearful cry, for all the peons to fly into the ravines, and conceal themselves in some hole, where they will remain, till, conceiving the danger past, they creep back to their dwellings by night, in quest of news. The unfortunate prisoners are kept bound in the stocks till the teniente has found the number he is to furnish, when he conveys them upon horses, attended by his militiamen, like so many murderers apprehended for punishment, to the provincial town, where they are confined in the barracks till opportunity offers for sending them to the capital, for which purpose, all horses and mules that come in the way are pressed for the occasion; and any one attempting to escape is liable to be shot on the spot by the guard that attends them. On their arrival in the capital they

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are distributed in the quarteles (barracks), and drilled under confinement till they have acquired the idle and debauched habits of a Chileno soldier, which takes away all desire for returning home. This barbarous mode of raising soldiere is practised in a country pretending to be free, and whose constitution stipulates for the inviolability of every man's person; but in no part of South America are we to judge of the degree of freedom enjoyed by the people from the perusal of their laws and conatitutions.

Soon after I was settled in the country, I found the great inconvenience of frequent levas, so that whenever they happened I could not obtain labourers for many days, and this often occurred at critical periods when I most stood in need of their services. A number of the natives had become used to my ways and to English implements, these persons were generally selected by the teniente, in the hope that I wonld procure their ransom. I, therefore, applied to the supreme gorernment for licence to protect the peons in my service from leva, which was always granted while general O'Higgins remained in power; but on the coming in of Freyre my privilege was disputed in Quillota, and partially infringed upon: I therefore applied to the new supreme government for a continuation of the licence I had enjoyed, which was replied to by a reference to the governor of Valparaiso, to know what right I had to claim such a favor: general Freyre and his ministers were personally acquainted with me, and well knew the national importance of my establishment at

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Concon: the reference therefore to my well known enemy Zemteno* was considered by me an insulting; mode of refusing a right which I had reason to clains as affording; protection to about a dozen persons engaged in acquiring the use of handicraft arts which had hitherto been unknown in that country: of course I dropped the application rather than suffer the intended mortifacation of a refusal. I had also begged an exemption from porata, a name given to the inspresanent of mules and horses; for as I was a foreigner my animals were always seized upon in proference to those of a native: I shall presently detail the nature of these proratas.

I shall here relate a circumstance which took place in consequence of this refusal, more especially as it is illustrative of the mode of government in country places, and the pcotection that foreign settlers are likely to experience. I had always made it my rule to conform, wherever it was required, to the customs and prejudices of all persons in Chile; I had shown certainly too much lenity and kindness towards the country people, and did much towards the amelioration of their condition: certainly I was less heeded upon this account than the natives, my equals, in the neighbouring estates, who, from their tyrannies, inspired fear in the labouring classes; for among the Chilenos fear and respect go hand in hand, and

* The reply to my application was, "Let the request be referred to the governor of Valparaiso, to report what claims the informant has to the privilege solicited." As the jurisdiction of the governor of Valparaiso does not extent beyond the town from which I was distant thirteen miles, no mistake could aries as to the intention of the government.

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are inseparable from cach other. A leva some time afterwards took place, when the juez of Concon, who had two years before been a common labourer in my employ, could neither read nor write, and was therefore incapacitated for his situation, came to me, telling me of his intention to seize two peons in my service, the one becauee he had not been born upon the estate, the other because he was a foreign Creole, a native of Guayaquil; he ordered me to give them up to him. I replied I should resist so treacherous an intention: determined upon carrying his point, he went to the governor of Quillota, and stated that I had secreted two deserters; upon which the governor, without taking the trouble to inquire into the truth of tbe fact, gave him an order, with which the fellow came to me next morning at day-break with his his pistols in his belt and his drawn sabre, attended by two armed soldiers, telling me he was come to take away the men from my house by force: on seeing the juez, the men who were at work secreted themselves behind the house, and effected their escape by a back door while I was parlying with them. I then told him they were no longer about the premises, which he demanded to search, a privilege which I denied him, arming myself with a brace of pistols and a good rifle. The fellow ratired and brought with him six soldiers, armed wtth muskets (some of whom were at the time peons in my employ, whom he called out upon the service,) threatening to enter the premises by force, which however he had not courage to attempt: he retired, leaving the soldiers at my gate, giving orders to suffer no one to pass in or out. In order to put a

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stop to so daring an outrage, I mounted my horse, and rode with all speed to Quillota, a distance of twenty miles, where I saw the governor, and stated to him the indignity: he said he was sorry the mistake had happened, and gare me an order to the juez to remove hia guard, and desist from the search, upon the assurance that the men were not in my house. I was absent little more than three hours, and returned home just in time to prevent more serious outrages. The juez, hearing of my absence, had returned to my house; had entered over the walls of my yard, in the middle of which he had drawn up his armed soldiers in array, with their muakets loaded, to the great terror of my children and servants: the spirited conduct of my wife upon this occasion alone overawed the cowardly rascal, and on the very moment of my return, he was taking freah courage to storm the defenceless rooms, when I arrived with the order to oblige him to desist, no less to the gratification of the whole neighbourhood, than to the delight of the affrighted soldiers, who did not much like to encounter the armas de fuego (fire-arms), which they knew I kept within. This anecdote will suffiriently demonstrate the kind of persons the jueces are, no less than the governors of provinces. I could give many other instances in illustration, bui this I trust will be quite sufficient.

The prorata, of which I promised to speak, is also another of the great hardships which the industrious labourers suffer from the tyrannical abuse of power by their superiors. However detrimental to the parties concerned at the moment, it is customary to proratar, that is, to impress horses, troops of mules, carts,

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&c. whenever it is desired lo transport stores, goods, or baggage from one part of the country to another, be it for the public service of the state, or for the private accommodation of any officer of govemment, whether civil or military, or for the convenience of the local authorities of a town. Upon these occasions a soldier is ordered to sally forth upon the highways, and impress, without admitting excuse or delay, as many single mules or troops of mules, horses, carts, and oxen, as he requires: these are sent off to perform such journies, or to do such work, as are ordered, without the owner receiving the smallest compensation. This often bears very cruelly upon an arriero or muleteer, whose troop may have come a long distance, perhaps a fortnight's journey, with heavy loads; and, however desirous of obtaining rest for his tired beasts, he is obliged to submit, if it be not convenient to the soldier to seek for others. This custom is of Spanish origin, and is one of a thousand arbitrary impositions laid upon the industrious part of the community, to keep them poor and helpless: they submit from habit without opposition. My troop of mules has frequently been sent to Casa Blanca, a distance of thirty miles, with heavy loads, after performing a hard day's work towards Valparaiso; and if my muleteer did not on these occasions attend them, the poor animals would remain to starve in the pound in which they are inclosed when done with. Some of my mules, after such severe treatment, have been kept starving without a morsel of food for three days, before I could learn where they were to be found, which was not alwaya easy, as I lived at the distance of eighteen

VOL. II. M

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miles from Valparaiso. These are only a sample of the many and frequent inconveniences a foreigner must expert to meet with who settles in Chile.

The post-office establishment in Chile, though somewhat better managed than formerly, is still form the nature of its regulations conducted very badly. The recent improvements consist in the establishment of a daily post from Santiago to Valparaiso, whereas, formerly, it was sent only onoe a week; and a weekly courier is now dispatched to Mendosa, whereas, formerly, he went monthly. The Valparaiso delivery of letters from Santiago, a distance of ninety miles, is effected in eighteen honrs; the courier carries the bag tied to his saddle. The Mendosa delivery, a distance of 310 miles, over stupendous mountain ranges, is generally effected in six days, whence the lettere destined to Buenos Ayres and Europe are dispatched by the post-office establishment of Mendosa. Some days' delay generally takes place here, so that the delivery between Valparaiso and Buenos Ayres, on an average, occupies twenty-six days. Communications from the capital to Coquirabo and Concepcion are managed in the same manner, but with much more dilatoriness, and at distant intervals, so that it is still usual for commercial houses to dispatch their letters by propios, or individual expfesses, instead of the ordinary route through the post-office; but in this case, though the parties pay the great expense of the messenger, the post-office exacte the full postage, which upon extensive correspondence is heavy. The Coquimbo courier takes in the routes of Aconcagua, Quillota, Illapel, Petorca, Guasco, and Copiapo. That of

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Concepcion carris the correspondence for Rancagua, San Fernando, Curico, Talca, Chillan, and Concepcion, so that the actual expenses of the post-office establishment is trifling; they keep no horses on the road, but bargain with paople for animals, which the courier hires at the rate of a real per league—two-pence per mile. The charge of the conveyance of a single letter from Mendose to Santiago is four reals (two ahiilinga); from the lattar to Valpsnüso, two reah (one shilling), doubhng the proportloa of paatage, according to the weight of the letter. On the arriral of the bags at the pont-office, the letters are not distributed by postmen, but an alphabetical list is made of the dirertions, with the number affired upon the letter, which list is placarded outside the office; and as persons ask for the numbers, so are the corresponding letters delivered upon payment of the postage: should the person to whom a letter is directed fail to pass the post-office and examine the list, it is likely to be thrown aside for a twelve-month, as at the end of each year a list of the un-called-for letters is exhibited. I have had several letters lying for me in the post-office for two years, when I have discovered them by accident in the lists when I have visited Santiago. One of the greatest inconveniences of the system is the facility with which inquisitive and ill-disposed persons are enabled to obtain possession of the letters of others without chance of detection. I have myself lost letters in this way, and I have known others engaged in mercantile transactions become great losers by this nefarious practice.

In the chapter upon Chile farming, I have de-

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scribed the nature of the descent and distribution of property, and the many incitements to litigation. Under the existing methods of testamentary succession, hardly a family is known that is not engaged some how or other in tedious law-suits: at one time there were above a thousand cases. pending in the chamber of justice, besides a greater number in all the other courts: there are more law-suits pending in Santiago than there are houses in the town: the extent of litigation I conceive to be greater there than in any other place in the world. Several cases I found to be pending which had lasted from twenty to forty years; one case came to a hearing when I was present which had been sixty-two years in progress; it was a simple case of mortgage. I was well acquainted with one native who had twenty-seven law-suits pending at one time.

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CHAPTER XVIII.

FINANCE.

Receipt and Expenditure.—Official Statements.—Financial difficulties.—Government insolvent.—Estanco.—Revenue in detail.—1. Tithes.—2. Roads.—3. Canal of Maypo.—4. Stamp Duty.—5. Customs.—6. Church Property.—Causes of Diminution of Revenue from Mines.—Tariff.—Loan negotiated in London.—Its impudence—Consequences.—Conclusion.

THE revenue of Chile, under proper management, would be quite sufficient to provide for the exigencies of the state; but such is the corrupt state of all connected with the management of its affairs, that the country is now reduced to the most lamentable financial difficulties. Subsequent to the final establishment of the independence of the country in 1817, and during the six years' direction of general Bernardo O'Higgins, the resources of the state were sufficient to satisfy its expenditure, notwithstanding peculation and robbery under every shape at that time existed to a fearful extent, both in the collection and expenditure. Not only were the current exigencies of the state then satisfied, but the tremendous expences attendant upon the recovery, and I may say the conquest of the country, were paid to the liberating army, under general San Martin, and to the government of Buenos Ayres, which provided that army: not only was the gigantic task accomplished of driving the Spanish forces and authorities from the soil, but a large military force was raised

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and equipped, which ultimately carried active warlike operations into Peru. Not only was a very respective naval force also purchased and equipped, but a most efficient marine establishment, under the command of Lord Cochrane, was put into action, which in a short time cleared the Pacific Ocean of every Spanish Vessel, and opened the whole line of coast from California to Chiloa to a free commerce and foreign trade. It certainly redounds much to the honour of Chile that, by means of her own resources alone, circumstanced as she was, she should have contributed so efficiently toward the liberation of Lower Peru; it is no less creditable to general O'Higgins, that he should have so ably appropriated, and so successfully directed the means placed at his disposal: the disgrace attendant upon the subsequent loss of these advantages from the proceedings of general San Martin does in no degree attach itself to the government of Chile. It is true that during these extraordinary exertions, the government was greatly relieved from the pressure of its financial difficulties by the British merchants, who came forward with loans of money: but as these loans were secured by debentures, which were afterwards received at the custom-house in payment of duties upon the importation of British goods, the government, in great measure, became dependant upon foreigners, and, at the sacrifice of its interests, was obliged to wink at connivances existing between them and the custom-house officers, who were the very organs through which smuggling transactions were carried on to a great extent, and in which many agents of the government were notoriously

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known to share. The produce of the custom-house had, in consequence of the opening of the ports, become the principal branch of revenue, so much so that, while the importation duties in the first year of independence, 1817s amounted to 375,000 dollars, the nett receipts in the year 1819 increased to the sum of 1,466,571 dollars, notwithstanding the extensive smuggling then carried on. Owing to the cause before-mentioned, the government had its revenues mortgaged to the merchants; and in satisfying the many claims upon it, the treasury gave bills payable at the custom-house, the demand upon which were much greater than the amount coming in to its coffers: persons therefore holding these debentures could procure the money, which was always greatly needed, only by selling them at a considerable discount to the British merchants, who alone, were able to obtain the value they represented by paying them into the custom-house in discharge of duties. The quantity of paper money constantly afloat brought it in time to a considerable discount: in 1819 it was at thirty per cent, and afterwards it increased to fifty and sixty per cent.

Subsequently these debentures were mostly received by the government, and its debt was nearly annihilated when general Freyre arrived with his troops at Valparaiso, and produced a revolution in the government One reason for this change was the conduct of the government respecting the revenue, and its appropriation, which, it was said, would be wholly reformed. But so far from this being the case, the evils complained of were greatly increased, and the revenue of the state was misapplied to an

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extent hitherto unknown: that this was so, I shall prove from the statements of the finance minister, from documents and from information derived from the best sources.

Government paper, which had almost wholly disappeared from the market at the close of O'Higgins's power, as soon as the ministry became shortened of means, was re-issued to an extent equal to that made on the extraordinary struggle for independence, and bills upon the custom-house were now again discounted at a loss of thirty, forty, and fifty per cent The minister, finding his situation very critical, resolved to have recourse to an extraordinary mode of raising money: he was aware it would meet with violent opposition, and he therefore presented to the congress an exposition of the state of the national finances, hoping by a confession of their insolvent condition to excite an alarm in the country, which might enable him to carry his further designs into execution. Every one knew that the affairs of the nation were in a sadly ruined state. In order more effectually to succeed in his manœuvre, the minister most absurdly and indiscreetly adopted the plan of painting the state of the finances even worse than they really were.

Owing, however, to the pressing difficulties of, the moment, it became necessary, as one of the first steps, to confiscate, or at least to appropriate to the service of the government, the whole monasterial property of the country: this was certainly a dangerous measure, and great indeed was the courage of the minister who carried it into execution. A proper application of the money thus raised might

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have relieved the temporary pressure; but here again, as in respect to a remittance from London, on account of the Chile loan, peculation in every shape set to work its powerful engines; and that which might have brought into the treasury coffers immense sums of money, was undergoing, when I left Chile, a distribution among favourites, and was sacrificed to the influence of the aristocratical interest: for instance, one of the finest haciendos in the country, belonging, I believe, to the Dominican fraternity, and situated in the plains of Maypo, was all but given to a needy but influential man, partly in lieu of old supposititious claims, which he had vainly endeavoured to establish under the government of O'Higgins, and partly in exchange for some mortgage bonds upon this property: at the same time that another person offered in hard cash for the estate the sum of 120,000 dollars, being double the amount of the estimated sum for which it was sold to the other individual. From these powerful sources but little immediate relief was obtained, and it became necessary to propose "the direct contribution," a species of property tax upon all mercantile, agricultural, and other property.

It was at this juncture, that the minister, thinking to intimidate the monied interest, presented to the congress the report before alluded to, respecting the financial ways and means; and as the discussion of its merits will, more than any other evidence, expose the weakness of the country, the unworthiness of its governors, as well as the spirit existing among the more powerful members of the

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community of Chile, I shall prelude the subject with a sketch of the revenue as it stood in the year after the action of Chacabuco.

Copy of an official statement of the revenue of the republic of Chile in the year 1817.

Extraordinary		Ordinary.
	Quintas of gold, silver, and copper	80,000
	Papal bulls, cruzada, and indulgence	10,000
	Tenths, including four novenos	70,000
	Bridge duty and tolls per cordillera	2,000
10,000	Debts of confiscations, by returns of	8,019
	Encouragement of mines, salaries deducted	5,000
	Road duties	2,000
	Canal of Maypo	5,500
18,000	Quicksilver	nil
	Stamp duty	11,000
	Duties on flour, cattle, eatables, &c.	24,000
	Duties on home-made spirits, pulperias	24,000
	Balanza and tacama duties	8,000
3,300	Imperial missions	165
	Monthly contributions	292,000
50,000	Debts	nil
35,481	Capitals of confiscations	nil
		541,684
	Custom-house	375,000
187,500	Administration of tobacco	nil
	Produce of profits of the mint	60,000
	of gold and silver	250,000
304,231	Ordinary	1,226,684
	Extraordinary	304,231
	Total, dollars	1,530,915

The nett revenue, therefore, putting aside the extraordinaries, amounted to 1,226,684 dollars: two

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years afterwards it amounted to 1,752,127 dollars 4 reals. But the minister, in the last statement, evidently wishes to impress the belief that the resources of the country since the revolution have been gradually decreasing. It should be known that no annual statements of the revenue or other statistical accounts of the country are ever published; on the contrary, they are studiously concealed from the public eye. Circumstances that need not be named put me in possession of the documents I am now using. The minister Benevente proceeds to show that, in the year 1824, the revenue of the country amounted to no more than 953,200 dollars. The following is his statement.

Tenths (diesmos)	249,650
Duties on retail of cattle, eatables, &c.	20,300
Stamp duties, and papal bulls	12,787
Confiscations	550
	283,287
Custom-house of Santiago during nine months of this year, up to the 7th of November, including Alcavalao	322,546 13/4
Custom-home of Valparaiso, in like manner, to the 29th of October	347,387 33/4
	953,220 51/2
Add by supposition three months' customs	223,311 13/4
	£ 1,176,531 7

The real produce of each item, as it ought and is known to be collected, is as follow:

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State of the revenue of Chile in the year 1824.

Papal bulls of Cruzada, and indulgence	10,000
Tenths	300,000
Bridge duties and roads per cordillera	2,000
Road duties	50,000
Canal of Maypo	10,000
Stamp duties	20,000
Duties on flour, meat, and other eatables	24,000
Duties on home-made spirits, pulperias, &c	20,000
Custom-house (at least)	1,000,000
Ordinary	1,436,000
Produce of confiscated property of the church in rents alone Extraordinary	200,000
	1,636,000
Estanco on tobacco	400,000
	2,036,000

The last item is added merely to show the whole annual amount of the revenue of Chile; it does not come into the coffers of the treasury, but is kept as a distinct account, and for a foreign purpose. The total amount, therefore, received into the treasury during the year 1824 could not have been less than 1,636,000 dollars, whereas the minister of finance accounts for and acknowledges only 950,000 dollars; but this fact is of little moment in a country like Chile: we will, however, look into the opposite side of the account, and examine the ministerial statement of that year's expences, which is preposterous beyond all former example.

The expences attendant upon the government of general O'Higgins never approached the amount exhibited this year, even at the height of its mi-

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litary and naval struggles. We ought to bear in mind that Chile is now in a state of peace, and that the charges of its administration ought to be much less than in the periods of the greatest national exertions. It cannot be urged that the charges of government were increased by the cost of the naval armament sent to Peru in 1824, under the command of admiral Blanco, for that was defrayed by an extraordinary levy now made permanent, which I have not taken into the account of the national resources; the equipment itself cost about 100,000 dollars; the chief expenditure attending it was the partial discharge of arrears of pay due to the navy. This extraordinary sum was levied by taxes, under the name of patentes, licences claimed from every merchant, shop-keeper, retailer, pedlar, ship-owner, and dealer.

As a contrast to the receipts, and as a proof of the inadequacy of the ways and means to meet the current charges of the year, the minister of finance presented to the congress the following items of the national expenditure of Chile for the year 1824.

Executive branch of government	136,103
Legislative ditto	26,500
Judicial ditto	47,900
Administration of finance	209,130 2 3/4
Army	1,223,323 3
Navy	514,849 2
Library	3,000
Direction of national economy according to recent statute	36,520
Ordinary and extaordinary expences	300,000
Dollars	2,497,325 7 1/2

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This ministerial statement places the country in a terribly insolvent state: its expenditure of two and a half millions is to be satisfied by a revenue of little more than one million. The object of the minister's application to the congress was to put a good face upon his schemes, and to feel the pulse of the hacendados respecting the tax he had projected upon the landed proprietors, to whom he had reason to fear the measure would be obnoxious. But these too cunning people, strongly averse from any direct taxation, or from any measure that should tend to expose the value of their property and the extent of their incomes, came to a very opposite determination to that of the minister. Reasoning among themselves, the landholders said, if this be a true statement of our condition, to what a situation are we reduced! Let the minister retire, we will not give our support to any such lavish expenditure of the resources of the country: we are, in fact, now worse off than we ever were under the administration of O'Higgins, from the ruinous proceedings of whose ministry the present men came expressly to deliver us. This was the persuasion of the most respectable landholders I met with, previous to leaving Chile: the country was divided, party spirit among the few most interested ran so high that an attempt was made to assassinate the friends and advisers of Freyre, who in like manner were determined to avert the growing storm: a proposition was made to the congress, that it should dissolve itself, and place the supreme legislative authority in the hands of the director—a measure that I believe has since been carried into

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effect. Benevente attempted to retreat from his critical situation, but the party would not suffer him to do so, and he again resumed his functions. It is not easy to foretell where these turmoils will end, but we may safely predict that Chile cannot quietly progress under the present system.* The great body of the people feel no interest how they are governed, or who governs them; the persons of consideration, who determine who shall be rulers, are a small body; and as these persons enjoy exclusive privileges, and are permitted to defraud and plunder the revenue, the members of the government are left to do nearly as they please, without the least check being placed upon their actions, excepting as in the case just quoted, where the immediate interests of these privileged persons come into collision with the necessities of the government. No solid advancement can be expected to take place in the country while its very feeble resources are thus swallowed up; no beneficial measures can be adopted while the gross ignorance and intolerant prejudices of even the most leading personages among them oppose all useful progress. Before any essential improvement can take place in the country, the Chilenos must acquire useful knowledge, and gain the light of experience to guide them to a better mode of action. As a first step, they must learn the advantage resulting from honesty and good faith, discover the good policy of adopting these principles among themselves, and oblige their rulers to have recourse to them in all their actions. A long period of time must elapse be-

* Since this was written the revolution recorded in Appendix A has occurred.

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fore this change can take place in a society so constituted as that of Chile; and if it ever be effected it must be the result of such a conflict of parties, such a scene of trials, as Buenos Ayres suffered during a period of many years: out of these convulsions much good may result, but before any solid government can be established, there must arise men of talent, of patriotism, of liberal feelings, and of honesty; a great portion of the people must be taught to think how they can best be governed; public opinion must be created before any solid checks can be placed upon the conduct of public men. But, happen when it will, it can never take place with the same rapidity, nor to the same extent, as we have witnessed in Buenos Ayres; the Chilenos possess little of the vivacity, quick perception, or mental talent observable in the people of Buenos Ayres.

The existing state of Chile is indeed most lamentable; the few who are best informed are sufficiently aware of their condition, but they know not how to set about remedying the evil: they feel sensible that there exists no single member of the community to whom they can look up with confidence. Conscious that some great change is necessary, they entertain a very reasonable apprehension that a mere change of persons will only increase the evil. All respect general Freyre as a man and a soldier, but consider him incompetent to manage the helm in such a period of difficulty as the present: all the Chilenos with whom I conversed seemed disposed to put up with their present bad management rather than risk the hazard of exchanging it for a still worse government; San Martin they say took away enough from them; the administration of O'Higgins fleeced them;

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the present men, have stripped them; and another set will be no less rapacious in filling their coffers without effecting the least good to the country. All parties in this respect are alike, and they therefore prefer the retention of the present men in power as the least of unavoidable evils; but such a state of affairs never can remain long, and Chile beyond doubt must be torn asunder by dissensions, so long as no right mode of judging of the conduct of public men exists, while mutual confidence is lost, and while public robbery, without restraint, is permitted among the governors of the state. There can be no doubt that the resources of Chile are sufficient, if properly husbanded, to discharge the necessary expences of the government without calling for the levy of fresh imposts: even the present duties might with advantage be diminished, and yet be made more productive. I shall treat briefly and successively upon the several branches of revenue.

It is well known to all who are acquainted with the history of the Spanish colonies, that its financial system was founded on a perfect monopoly and exclusion in favour of the mother country, and that the measures tending to the creation of its revenues were regulated by the most selfish and tyrannical principles. Among others equally notorious and injurious was the estanco, a monopoly which the government claimed to itself in the growth and sale of several articles of first rate necessity with the Creoles. Among the principal commodities of the estanco were tobacco, foreign wines, and spirits; and of these, tobacco yielded almost the whole product of

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this branch of revenue. On the Pacific coast, Guayaquil was the principal place of culture, but the central warehouses of the king were in Lima. In Chile no tobacco was suffered to be grown, but its supplies were entirely drawn from Peru; no person was allowed to retail the article without obtaining a previous licence from the government, nor to purchase any but such as came directly from the government stores: for this purpose depôts, all subject to one general administration, were established in every principal town. In the year 1808, it appears from an official document published by the present minister of finance, that the nett produce of this branch of revenue amounted to the sum of 183,278 dollars: it ought to have netted 300,000 dollars according to the return, but its product was lessened in consequence of the diminished value of the stock in hand.

Statement of the Estanco of Tobacco.

		Dollars.
The nett produce of the several administrations of the estanco, in the whole year of 1808, produced the total amount of		318,218
Deduct salaries and various charges, viz.—
Salaries of management	17,325
Freight, carriage, rent, postage, and other expences	10,859
The tobacco account has been debited as below	33,268
	——	61,447
		256,834
Deducting the diminished value of the present stock compared with that existing in 1807		73,556
	Dollars	183,278

After the revolution, which established the inde-

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pendence of Chile, in 1817, the produce of the estanco was 187,500 dollars; but the action of Chacabuco took place on the 12th of February of that year, and the patriot troops did not enter the capital till the beginning of March: if, therefore, under the confusion of the establishment of a new order of things, and under an entirely new administration of persons, the estanco netted that sum in the course of ten months, we may conclude it ought not to have produced less than 300,000 dollars under the royal government. Owing to the robberies and the smuggling frauds upon the revenue, which quickly exhibited themselves as the leading objects of the most influential persons in the patriot government, the produce of the following year amounted to little or nothing: subsequently it became so losing a concern, that the government abandoned the monopoly, and declared the whole trade of tobacco free from all restriction, and in common with all other general merchandize it became importable from all parts, upon tie payment of certain duties. The heavy charges levied upon die introduction of all foreign commodities opened an extensive door to smuggling, but that in tobacco more especially was carried on to so shameful an extent, that for a long while it ceased to yield a revenue of more than 20,000 dollars per annum. After the assumption of the government by general Freyre, one of the most formidable difficulties that presented itself was the obligation just then entailed upon the country, of paying the accruing interest and charges upon the loan negotiated in London, amounting annually to a sum little abort of 400,000 dollars: the abselute inability

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on the part of the government to satisfy so heavy a call, especially under its increasing difficulties, was notorious. This induced a number of native merchants and landholders, conjointly with the resident British commercial agents, to propose to the minister a scheme which should rid him of this frightful burden: they offered to take upon themselves the punctual discharge of the interest of the loan, provided the ancient royal monopoly of the estanco was renewed and granted to them upon certain advantageous stipulations: they proposed to pay off the whole of the debt at the end of twenty years, as well as to satisfy all intermediate accruing interests, upon conditions that the importation of tobacco should be prohibited to all but themselves; that they might have the right of growing it in the country in lieu of importing it, if they so preferred; that they should have the monopoly of selling it at the price they chose, and also that they should enjoy the exclusive trade in every other article formerly estancado by the Spaniards. This monopoly was to continue secured to them for the above term, and the government was to grant them a capital of half a million of dollars to facilitate the carrying of the scheme into execution. The preliminaries of this treaty were agreed upon, but not finally settled, when Freyre annulled the last new constitution he had adopted, and called together another congress; which no sooner met, than the half-finished treaty was submitted to them by the estanquistos under somewhat altered features: all the former clauses and obligations were retained excepting one, certainly not the least important, that of paying the

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principal of the loan at the end of the term expressed: this article was suppressed, and the contract was agreed to and ratified!! It may be justly wondered how this circumstance happened, but it is only necessary to know the Chilenos, and to learn that almost every body of influence and of capital had a share in the proposed company, and that empeños were not wanting to carry through the desired object with the requisite success.

The minister in his report states this to be a most fortunate bargain for the country: so it may be in one sense, since by the mode followed in the collection of the duties upon the importation of tobacco, no greater sum than 20,000 dollars per annum was for a long while obtained; indeed the greatest sum known to be collected by the patriot government while the estanco was in force never exceeded 200,000 dollars. In order to trace the cause of this mismanagement to its true source, it will be necessary to inquire what are the advantages the estanquistos are likely to derive from their bargain.

The tobacco consumed in Chile is mostly brought from Guayaquil and Peru, in the pure dried leaf, twisted into long thin bundles, called masas, each weighing one pound; these, under the royal estanco administration of the Spaniards, were usually retailed at three reals and a half per masa: after the patriot government had thrown open the trade, and established its free importation, upon the payment of regular and heavy duties, a fair competition reduced its price to three reals and even to two reals and a half per masa. The average consumption throughout the whole territory of Chile is allowed to be two

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millions of masas, or pounds, of tobacco. With the view of cultivating in Chile the tobacco plant for the consumption of the country, the new estanco company immediately purchased certain estates, and are now making preparations for an extensive culture of this plant: they calculate upon very reasonable, indeed upon established data, that, provided no political obstacles intervene to prevent them, they will succeed in producing it in a marketable state for half a real per pound. The new administration of the company commenced its operations at the beginning of the year 1824, previous to which it was obligatory upon every holder of the commodity to hand over his stock, however large or small, upon being satisfied in a fair and equitable remuneration: but this value was determined by the company itself, which purchased up all the tobacco in the country at two reals and two reals and an eighth per pound: several persons, and among them some Englishmen, had previously speculated beyond their actual means, and upon credit, in the purchase of a large stock of tobacco, in the full expectation that the company would be obliged to buy it of them at a fair profit. But here they were mistaken, and it is supposed they will be nearly ruined by the adventure: the company, aware of their movements, it is said, made them fair offers in the beginning, which they did not choose to accept, and the consequence is, that they have placed themselves at the mercy of the privileged individuals, who have felt aggrieved that the offers which they made were treated disdainfully. Every pulpero and dealer has been obliged to take out a licence, and to

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place a painted sign over his door, before he can be allowed to sell tobacco, segars, or other especies estancadas: the company, after the manner of our excise establishment in England, only that it is more inquisitorial and open to abuses, is fully empowered to enter every house, search all stores suspected to contain unregistered tobacco, to pry into the books of licensed dealers, and examine persons on oath as to receipts and sales: indeed the privileges it enjoys are of a most dangerous tendency in a country that pretends to have launched into independence upon the principles of unshackled commerce, and the uncontrolled enjoyment of civil freedom. These dealers are allowed a certain per centage upon sales of the especies. The price fixed by the company for the retail of tobacco is five reals per pound. Now, calculating that the annual expences of the monopolists will be amply covered by the interest and utility of the half million of dollars given to them by the government, we may estimate as follows the probable revenues of the new estanco company:—

CHARGES.		RECEIPTS.
To 2,4000,000 pounds of tobacco, at half a real per pound	125,000	By the sale of pounds of tobacco, at 5 reals per pound	2,000,000
To the payment of the annual dividends upon the London loan, including charges	425,000	Dollars	1,250,000
	550,000
Balance remaining as the annual profit of the estanco company	700,000
Dollars	1,250,000

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In this statement we arrive, by approximation, at the probable advantages which this privileged body-will derive from their bargain: the first two years before their arrangements have become fully organized they will probably make little more than common interest for their advances, but every year afterwards their profits will accumulate prodigiously: estimating the annual revenue of 700,000 dollars, with interest at five per cent, (while money in Chile is worth from twelve to eighteen per cent, interest) during the period of seventeen years, sinking the first three years of their charter as unproductive, we shall find accumulated a sum little short of twenty millions of dollars: but let us reduce the probable annual profits on the score of contingencies to two-thirds of our estimate, say to 500,000 dollars, and calculate the accumulation that must ensue in the same term of years, and we shall find a product of fourteen millions and three quarters of dollars;—a monstrous privilege to be allowed to a private company, in the present distressed state of the country, at the expence of the community, and that too of the industrious part the least able to afford it

If we examine into the political tendency of the estanco monopoly, we shall find it one of the most injurious measures that can be conceived: it strikes at the root of every free principle of commerce, not only in its immediate effects, but indirectly in many ways. The only excuse the government has been able to offer in extenuation of the measure is, that, however injurious, it is unavoidable: many have replied to this, "If necessity, then, has driven you to the adoption of the measure, why not suffer it to be

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under your own control only so long as difficulties press upon your finances?" To which the minister thus replies in his report or exposé of the national weakness: "Few who look upon our necessities can deny the advantage of the estanco, but some are anxious that it should be administered by the republic: but let us look to the fact that even the Spanish government, in 1808, could obtain out of the estanco only a nett produce of 183,278 dollars; let us observe that we were then ruled with union and energy by a tyrannical government; that we then obeyed with the humble resignation of slaves; that the tobacco stores of Peru belonged to one and the same authority; that Chile had not to advance funds for the purchase of the monopolized article; that an unchangeable established order reigned throughout. Now every thing is quite opposite, and yet we have the advantage presented to us by the proposed plan which will place at the disposal of the government annually 400,000 dollars, a sum that will be paid for us in London."

This statement, though containing some truth, is mixed with a great deal of sophistry; the short and plain fact is, that the company is not the speculation of a few; but that all the influential persons in the capital have been allowed a share in the promised golden harvest: hence the true source of the dangerous monopoly. Here again we have before us another sad example of the utter hopelessness of Chile doing any good for herself, when all those who should be her chief supports unite hand in hand to sacrifice the best interests of the country to their own private advantage.

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I stall now proceed to make some observations relative to the different branches of the national revenue.

1. TITHES.—The tenths, or diezmos, collected throughout America, under the Spanish government, belonged to the king of Spain by a special extension of the papal authority, which gave to him the patronato in all ecclesiastical matters: the church was placed under his especial keeping, and for this purpose it was that he collected the tenths, one fourth of which was distributed among the archbishops and bishops, another quarter among the deacons and canons, a third quarter was given to the curates, and the remainder was devoted to the building of churches. In the course of time, however, the king, in cases where it could be afforded, appropriated a considerable portion of these revenues to other purposes, allowing to all the members of the church certain considerable fixed salaries. It was at this period that the diezmo, like many other important branches of the revenue, was farmed out to individuals in several lots, corresponding with the several provinces in the kingdom; these were put up to public tender, and granted to the highest bidder: by him the right of gathering tithes was leased out again at a considerable profit, in small portions corresponding with the smaller districts to other individuals, whose interest it was to make the best they could of the right they had acquired by purchase. The system, therefore, lost the charm which had formerly invested it when claimed immediately by the church; but it was only when it became a secular commerce that the people even thought of evading its col-

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lection whenever they could find opportunities of doing so: it ceased then to be paid with the same good will as formerly, until at length it came to be considered by the peasantry as a severe imposition upon them. This system of collecting the tithes exists in Chile to the present day, except that the patriot government appropriates to itself almost the whole of the tenths by diminishing the salaries of the clergy: for instance, the bishop, whose income used to amount to 40,000 dollars per annum, was curtailed to a salary of 7000 dollars; that of a deacon to 4000 dollars; and that of a canon to 2500 dollars.

It is, however, only within the last two or three years that the tithes have netted an increasing revenue to the government. Formerly they were leased out in three great divisions, Coquimbo, Santiago, and Concepcion, each producing about 25,000 dollars: the system of tendering for these purchases opened a door to collusion, at the same time that it took off all responsibility from the superior authorities, in such manner that each diezmero held his administration of the tenths as a sort of hereditary tenure.

One of the good effects attendant upon the change of O'Higgins's government was the breaking up of this monopoly which, like many other remains of Spanish habits, had still continued in existence. By the division of tithes into smaller lots, and the separation of the right of collection of living stock from that upon the product of the soil, a more open competition was produced: the consequence of which has been that, while formerly the tenths never produced above 75,000 dollars per annum, they have recently brought into the treasury, according to the report of

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the finance minister, 249,650 dollars. But this amount affords no criterion as to the sum actually exacted from the people; and herein consists the insuperable objection, as well as the dangerous policy attendant on this mode of collection. The people, fully aware that they are unjustly paying a tax to a set of individuals who have no claim either on them, or upon the state, feel sensible that the amount exacted is two or three-fold that which is really paid over to the treasury for the use of the nation: this idea never occurred to them under the Spanish regime, where no one ever entertained any notion beyond that of implicit obedience under an unvarying uniform system—ideas which, more especially in this case, were rigidly inculcated by the established clergy; but since these duties have assumed a still more secular character, since the clergy have ceased to feel an interest in their collection, and since produce of all kinds has greatly increased in value, these notions have become supplanted by others of an opposite character. It will not be difficult to conceive how this tax, left to a more open competition, has lately produced such an increased amount of revenue to the government, when we reflect that, within these few years, wheat upon the threshing ground seldom bore a higher value than four reals, or half a dollar per fanega; whereas, after intervening years of dearth, we have witnessed in the season just passed a most productive crop of wheat, which is not likely to sell for less than three dollars, or, at the lowest, two dollars and an half per fanega, while in the intermediate seasons the price has never been less than three dollars and a half, seldom below five dollars, and has more

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than once attained the value of twelve dollars per fanega, even in the capital. Now, as all kinds of agricultural produce, in years of abundance as well as of scarcity, have acquired, during the progress of the revolution, a great increase in value, it follows that the revenue of the tithes ought to have increased considerably. A similar advance in the value of cattle has taken place throughout Chile; a fat ox, that used to sell for twenty dollars, now fetches sixty and seventy dollars; a cow, formerly worth eight dollars, is now saleable for twenty-five or thirty dollars; a calf, from eighteen months to two years old, out of which ages it is customary in Chile to select the tithes, was worth in 1820 only a dollar and a half, whereas at the end of 1824 they were commonly sold for ten dollars. I have myself sold calves of fifteen months old for seven dollars and a half each. The same comparatively increased value has been observed to take place in all kinds of grain, garden produce, and fruits of every description throughout Chile, a country which is no longer the seat of excessive abundance and cheapness which it was formerly represented to be.

Many circumstances have contributed to this extraordinary rise of prices: the increase of population, no doubt, has had some effect, so has the influx of foreigners, as well as the provisioning of shipping, and the maintenance of the army and navy; but all these added together will not account for the variation of prices between those of the present and those of former years. We may look for an explanation with greater certainty to the increased and more general distribution of capital throughout the coun-

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try: within the last few years the competition presented in a more open and free internal commerce, which by creating a facility of producing at all times a certain market, which formerly did not exist, has greatly increased the consumption.

In Chile, under the Spanish rule, the only purchasers were a few men of large capitals, who combined together to regulate the markets at their pleasure, When the farmer or holder of produce was obliged to send his stock to warehousing agents in the ports, where perhaps it remained for many months, and at length was sold very frequently at a losing price. The cause for the increased value of produce has by the natives been invariably attributed to the account of scarcity; but this I am persuaded has not operated to any great extent, as I cannot believe the scarcity ever existed to the degree represented. It is extremely difficult to arrive at any certain information in such a country as Chile, or to obtain any satisfactory data that may guide us toward any statistical estimate of the extent and capabilities of its resources. Anxious, however, to ascertain the quantity of wheat annually raised in the several provinces of the country, I instituted the most diligent inquiries, and obtained a series of data, which, though not founded on positive returns, may perhaps be admitted as approximations. The government has never made it an object to ascertain the amount of the actual returns, and it has been the interest of the diezmeros to conceal the real truth: the following table must, therefore, be received in the view in which it has been framed: in the first column is placed the names of the dis-

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tricts; in the second, the amount of tithes collected in fanegas of two and a half bushels each; and in the third, the quantity of wheat actually produced in like measures.

Districts of	Amount of tithes collected in fanegas.	Total quantity of wheat reaped in fanegas.
Aconcagua, San Felipe	7000	70,000
Putaendo	3500	35,000
Santa Rosa and Curimon	7000	70,000
Santiago and Colina	4000	40,000
Quillota	2000	20,000
Casa Blanca	1000	10,000
Melipilli	1000	10,000
Rancagua	4000	40,000
San Fernando	8000	80,000
Talca	4000	40,000
Petorca	400	4,000
Illapel	200	2,000
Guasco, Coquimbo, Copiapo	500	5,000
Other smaller places	1400	14,000
Concepcion, including the country southward of Talca, and northward of the Biobio	21,000	210,000
Fanegas	65,000	650,000

The annual amount of wheat exported from Valparaiso to the ports of Peru used to vary from 120,000 to 200,000 fanegas; during the last four years there has been no exportation whatever, Peru

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being supplied principally from the United States of North America: say that,

The quantity of wheat annually sent to Fanegas.

Peru from Valparaiso used to be	160,000
The quantity of wheat shipped annually from Conception to Peru	40,000
Total amount of export of wheat in fanegas	200,000

Deducting, therefore, the quantity of wheat exported from that raised, as before shown, we ascertain nearly the amount consumed in the country: now as the population of Chile cannot exceed 600,000 souls, we find the quantity of 450,000 fanegas of wheat consumed by this number of persons, which is about a bushel and a half to each individual per annum, without deducting the quantity put by and expended in sowing the land for the next year's crop: the amount consumed by each person in England is eight bushels yearly;* a remarkable difference; but it should be remembered, that in Chile the poor people eat very little bread, their support consisting chiefly upon maize under different shapes of masamorra, chococa, and harina tostada: of French beans (frijoles), pumkins, potatoes, fruits, and vegetables.

* The population of Paris is stated to be 714,000, the annual consumption of bread is 251,336,719 pounds, equal to 352 pounds for each person: the quantity of flour or wheat from which this is made is thus calculated 352—352/5= 282 lbs. or 42/3 bushels of wheat consumed by each person.

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2. THE DUTIES UPON ROADS.—When the father of the late director was president of Chile, under the authority of the King of Spain, among the principal objects of his care were those of making new roads and repairing old ones. The face of the country between the metropolis and its sea-port, has been noticed as a very undulatory surface, formed by many ramifications, proceeding from three principal forks, which strike off from one mountainous ridge, branching from the main Cordillera towards the coast. These ramifications have already been described, together with their gorge, ravines, valleys, and table-heights: it will have been seen that the three forks present ridges of suddenly steep ascent, known in the country by the name of Cuestas, each are about 1000 feet above the bottom of their bases; no roads formerly existed over these cuestas, other than mere beaten, irregular, and stony tracks, which with difficulty were passable by loaded mules: the traffic from Valparaiso, therefore, used in former times to be by way of Melipilli, so as to avoid passing over the cuestas, for this route trends round the base of their termination along the bed of the river Maypo. This distance was above forty leagues, whereas the actual geographical distance is no more than twenty-two leagues. Don Ambrosio O'Higgins conceived the idea of shortening this route by making new roads over the several cuestas, which should be passable as well by carts as by mules, so that the conveyance of goods from the coast to the capital might be greatly facilitated. This great work he executed with much skill and judgment, and we

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have here presented one of the most lasting monuments to the memory of the president, and one of the greatest ornaments the country can boast of. These roads have been cut in a zig-zag line along the steep sides of the cuestas, the most favourable spots being chosen to facilitate a commodious access and egress; they present gradually inclined planes about twenty feet wide, and the requisite precautions have been taken to prevent the draining waters flowing down the mountain slope, from approaching the main road. By this work the journey was shortened to nearly two-thirds its former distance, being now reduced to thirty leagues.

This road under the Spanish government was kept in excellent repair; and, to defray the expence of maintaining it, a very small toll of half a real (or threepence) was levied upon the entrance to, and departure from, Valparaiso, of every mule laden with merchandize. But no sooner was the patriot government established, and the traffic of foreign merchandize as well as of the produce of the country had increased to an extent before unknown, than the government bethought itself of the utility of appropriating the tolls to the revenue, first starting half a real, and subsequently a real upon every mule load, and in proportion upon every cart load proceeding by this route. The original object of the impost, however, quite escaped the recollection of the government, so that during a period of eight years' most rigorous exaction of the toll, not one dollar was expended upon repairs; in consequence of which the roads are in many places going rapidly to decay: this is the more unpardonable, as perhaps no coun-

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try in the world presents better materials for road making than Chile.

The government likewise established another set of tolls upon the road leading to Quillota, Aconcagua, La Ligua, and the northern road to Coquimbo. As by this route, Valparaiso is almost wholly supplied with provisions and fruits for the use of the town, as well as for the consumption of the shipping, the traffic along this road is, perhaps, greater than that upon the route of the capital. The roads from Aconcagua and Quillota present only beaten, rugged, and stony tracts on the side of the hills in many places where the valley is impassable: the hand of man has yet in no degree cleared the way; so very rugged is the track that a stranger, unaccustomed to Chileno roads, would Wonder how it was possible for a loaded mule to pass along; but the dexterity of a Chileno arriero exceeds that of any other muleteer in the world; it may be said of them, that the art of managing mules is the only one in Which the natives of Chile display the least ability. Ambrosio O'Higgins conceived the plan of completing the northern road, and bad actually commenced it, when his appointment to the viceroyalty of Peru put an end to this useful and much required public work: he bad already finished the cart-road over the Siete Hermanas, a series of hilly ridges jutting into the sea between Valparaiso and the Viña de la Mar, a small valley two leagues and a half from the former. At the first breaking out of the revolution this road was passable by carts, as I Was assured by an estate

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proprietor, who brought along this road, in vehicles, all his family and household effects, in moving towards the capital; but in 1819, I surveyed it with much attention, with the expectation of being able to convey by land to the place of my establishment certain valuable articles which I was very unwilling to risk by sea: it was, however, impossible to attempt the conveyance even of a sledge, the road was so completely broken up by the rains, from the want of timely and trifling repairs. Notwithstanding the sum annually exacted from the poor muleteers, upon whom the tax alone falls, the road of the Hermanas, owing to the same cause, since I have been in Chile has become almost impassable by mules: had no more than 100 dollars been expended every year in repairs from the beginning of the revolution, it would have been maintained in good condition as a serviceable cart road.

But to return to the subject of the revenue: when the toll exacted on these roads was no more than half a real per load, they were farmed out, like many other of their taxes, to private individuals, the one for 20,000 dollars, the other for 22,000 dollars per annum: when the tolls were doubled, some portion was given to the municipal administration of the town of Valparaiso, the greater share remaining at the disposal of the treasury. This branch of revenue cannot produce less than 70,000 dollars, whereas the sum actually exacted from the muleteers is not less than 100,000 dollars. In having placed in my statement of the revenue 50,000 dollars as the product under this head, I

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cannot fail to be considerably below the sum actually received.

3. CANAL OF MAYPO.—This was a very useful public work, commenced many years ago under the Spanish government. Between the river Maypo and the capital there exists a tract of fine level ground, which for want of sufficient moisture had been heretofore useless: it occupies an extent of many square leagues: it was foreseen that the waste barren land so contiguous to the metropolis would become of immense value, could it only receive the benefit of irrigation. The water of the river Mapocho is wholly consumed in the irrigation of its own fertile valley, in the supply necessary for the metropolis, in watering the village of Renca and the lands lying to the northward and westward vicinities of Santiago. A canal was cut along the eastern side of the Maypo plain, near the foot of, and parallel to, the Cordillera, commencing at the point where the river Maypo entered the southern part of this plain: its course runs northward for about nine leagues, and it has a sufficient declivity to enable its surplus water to flow into the river Mapocho above the city. On the first breaking out of the revolution, the work was not half finished; but as it proceeded, irrigation was afforded to the bordering plains: in 1817, before the work was completed, the revenue produced by the annual renting of irrigating channels amounted to 5,500 dollars. About two years ago the work was finished, and this brought by far the most valuable and extensive

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portion of ground into cultivation: the proprietorship of these lands has lately fallen into the hands of the government, as the whole of these fine tracts formed parts of estates belonging to several convents. The quantity of ground thus brought into cultivation since the year 1817 has trebled in extent, and in placing this item of the revenue at 10,000 dollars, we are certain of falling below the truth.

4. STAMP DUTY.—According to the official statements of 1817, the returns upon stamps during that year netted 11,000 dollars; since then the duties have been doubled, I may say in many cases trebled; and, were it not for the notorious malappropriation of the stamps by the government officers, this branch of the revenue would nett from 50,000 to 80,000 dollars per annum. In Buenos Ayres, the same system formerly prevailed to a no less degree of enormity; but during the last substantial reforms there, no sooner was the distribution of stamps and the collection of duties placed wider proper checks, than this item of revenue in* creased five or six fold. I am satisfied that, in placing 20,000 dollars as the amount of the revenue actually received into the treasury under this head, the sum is considerably below the actual amount.

5. CUSTOM-HOUSE.—In the foregoing part of this chapter, I have stated the amount of this branch of revenue at the earlier periods of the national independence what it is now quoted to be by the ministerial official reports, and what it ought to produce under the existing trade of the country, and a more honest system of management

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I have elsewhere alluded to the mode in which the duties upon the custom-house were paid, and to the great extent of the contraband introduction of foreign goods. It now remains to say a few words upon the mode of levying the customs. The duties are always, after the Spanish system, estimated and levied at so much per cent upon a valuation, not determined by the market price of the articles, but by the arbitrary valuation of the vistas, or custom-house searchers: it is, therefore, impossible for a merchant to calculate upon the actual cost of introduction of foreign goods; but, as the government of Chile does not allow their officers a sufficient salary, they are obliged to connive with the merchants, both in smuggling and in fixing under-valuations, receiving from the latter a proportionate bribe. Similar parcels of goods may at one time be valued in the custom-house at 1000 dollars, at another 100 dollars, and the usual tariff duties paid thereon accordingly; the difference is a robbery to the state, no advantage whatever results to the foreign manufacturer, but goes entirely into the pockets of the custom-house officers, merehants, and agents. The foreign agent can dispose of goods with greater facility in proportion as he is in favour with the custom-house officers, and the rate he pays is regulated by the mutual understanding existing between them: the fair merchant who has no such means at his command cannot stand in the market against such unequal circumstances.

The foreign trade of Chile, therefore, like all matters in state, justice, and police, is maintained by empio, intrigue, and bribery.

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According to the latest tariff that I have seen, the duties upon the introduction of foreign goods into Chile are twenty-six and a half per cent ad valorem; this is upon all goods of whatever denomination not particularly specified in the tariff; and upon goods So specified, such for instance as wines, spirits, made-clothes, furniture, and other things, the manufacture of the country, double duties, or fifty-three per cent ad valorem are levied. The general duties above-mentioned consist of the following:

Rentas generales	15 per cent.
Almoxarifazgo	7
Subencion (to support war charges)	1 1/2
Impuesto	1/2
Averia (convoy duty)	1/2
Correspondencia	2
	26 1/2 per cent.

Upon the entry of a foreign ship, the master or consignee is obliged by the law, within twenty-four hours after its anchoring in the port, to deliver into the custom-house two manifests—the manifesto por mayor is the gross account of the bills of lading—the manifiesto por menor, which is a new regulation, is the particular account of the contents of each package: this latter is very vexatious, as it is not always in the power of the consignee to state these contents, and the law is therefore necessarily disregarded in this particular, no less than in

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that far the time of delivering in the manifests, which is generally delayed a week, in which time full opportunity is allowed for connivance with the vistas. Upon being landed, all goods are placed in the custom-house; the store-keeper taking an account of the marks which are checked against the manifest, and the consignee obtains an order from the administrador, or chief officer of customs, to deliver such goods as he applies for: with this order the merchant receives the goods, at which time the packages are opened by the vista, who puts upon the margin of the order such a valuation as he pleases, and upon this valuation there is no check whatever, and the packages are immediately carried off to the merchant's warehouse. This valuation fixed, by the vista, is then carried to the administrador, from which a reduction of two per cent is made to foreigners and six per cent to natives; and upon this reduced valuation either twenty-six and a half, or fifty-three per cent duties, are levied, according to the description given in the tariff.

Three years ago the single and double duties amounted to thirty-six and a half, and seventy-three per cent; but at that time, in order to satisfy the general call of the mercantile classes, the alcavala duty of ten per cent, was remitted, and ostentatious parade was made by the government respecting its generosity in this great reduction of customs.

The minister of finance, in order to counterbalance this loss to the revenue, invented a new description of duty, which he called el derecho de aumentacion—the augmentation duty. This financial in-

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vention, hitherto unheard-of in the civilized countries of Europe, is due only to the genius of the sage political economists of Chile.

Two custom-houses were established: la aduana, the principal, was fixed in Valparaiso, la aduana, the general, in Santiago; in both of which foreign goods can now be passed with equal facility, whereas, formerly, the passing of goods could only be effected in Santiago, while the deliveries in the port were made conformable to the orders obtained from the heads of the department in the capital. This is so far advantageous, as a consignee can now manage with only one establishment, whereas, formerly, two were requisite, and he can now at once dispatch all his goods in the "principal custom-house" of Valparaiso; but in case of his having so passed his goods, and he desires at a future time to send than in preference to the market of the capital, where a more certain demand generally exists, he cannot do so without passing the same goods once more through the "general custom-house" of Santiago; in this process the goods are subjected to a new valuation, which in the capital is necessarily augmented by the duties already paid, by the heavy expenses of landing and warehousing in the port, and by the extravagant cost of carriage over ninety miles of difficult road, upon the backs of mules; and this augmented value may also be still more increased by the increased average of that particular market The vista of the "general custom-house" is directed to ascertain this augmented valuation of goods so introduced, and upon this increased valuation the owner of the goods, who may have bought them of the

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consignee, has to pay new duties at the sane rate per cent, as was paid on their first introduction into Valparaiso.

This may be beat exemplified by two cases, which came immediately under my cognizance: in the one ease a quantity of goods were bought in Valparaiso of a merchant, duties paid; they had passed through "the principal custom-house, " under a valuation of fifteen dollars; they were now sent to Santiago, where, in the "general custom-house" they were re-valued at seventy dollars: an additional duty of twenty-six and a half per cent was therefore levied upon the amount of fifty-five dollars, the augmented valuation, and the owner had to pay fourteen and a half dollars augmentation duty for goods which he had bought, including duty, for twenty dollars. The other case was in a cask of nails introduced into Santiago by an original consignee, who had paid duties in Valparaiso under the valuation of 109 dollars: arrived in Santiago, the value of the cask was declared to be 297 dollars, and fresh duties of twenty-six and a half per cent were accordingly exacted upon the augmented value of 188 dollars. This rate of valuation is arbitrary, and presses chiefly upon the smaller dealer, and fair trader; but with those natives and foreigners who maintain an understanding with the vistas, the valuations are moderate, in proportion to the bribes and gratifications given to the examining officers. This law operates as well upon goods recently introduced as upon those which have been a long while warehoused after paying the first duties.

6. CHURCH PROPERTY.—The value obtained by

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the confiscation and seizure of monastic property, and the spoliation of the churches has been very great, yet but little money has found its way into the coffers of the treasury. I happened to be in Quillota at the time the seizure took place, when the public authorities robbed the sanctuaries of their silver ornaments, the friars and heads of convents themselves assisting in the general plunder. The mere rents alone of the confiscated estates, which consist of the most valuable cultivated lands in Chile, would constitute a very considerable item of revenue to the state, but it does not seem the wish of the ministry to retain them as fiscal property; a desire has rather been displayed to appropriate them as much as possible among certain favoured partisans by artificial sales and similar subterfuges. One instance of this came within my knowledge, as before stated: instead, therefore, of being retained as portions of the national revenue, and applied to the alleviation of its difficulties, a great part will be squandered among a small class of individuals. In stating the nett revenue derivable from the confiscated monasterial lands at 200,000 dollars, after deducting the charge of maintaining the friars, I am certain I have quoted it below the actual amount.

Produce of Seignorage at the Mint. Duties on Bullion. Duties on product of Mines.—In my observations relative to the mines, and mining operations of Chile, I have entered fully into the causes, of the utter annihilation of this, formerly one of the principal branches of the revenue: from the official

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report of 1817, it will have been seen that the

Seignorage at the mint yielded	60,000
Duties on bullion	250,000
Duties on product of mines	80,000
Dollars	390,000

I have elsewhere shown, that in the year 1824, according to the return of the intendente of the mint, the total produce did not amount to the sum necessary for discharging the salaries and the expences of maintaining the mint establishment. Having already entered so fully into the subject, it would be useless to repeat those observations, and the reflections to which they have given rise.

National Expenditure. — Notwithstanding the financial difficulties of the country, and in spite of the outcry against useless expenditure raised by the party of general Freyre, as the ground for excluding general O'Higgins from the government, the expences of the state since this change in the directory have been nearly double of what they were previously. Among other modes of increasing the calls upon the treasury, an unnecessary waste of the public money has occurred in granting salaries to the members of the congress, who are the mere tools of the reigning party, and under the head of national economy, a most useless and absurd expenditure has been invented, both amounting together to the sum of above 60,000 dollars. The expences attendant upon the administration of finance are preposterous beyond example, being nearly twenty per cent upon the last

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year's receipts, if the official return of the finance minister is to be credited; for while he states the nett receipts of the revenue at near 1,000,000 of dollars, he brings a charge upon its collection and management of 210,000 dollars. In the army estimates, a tremendous and unjustifiable charge is made at a time when the nation requires no armed force, or at most not above 3000 soldiers for the protection of the province of Conception against the irruptions of the Indians, and for all other useful purposes; jet a large standing army is maintained at an expence, amounting to a sum one-fourth greater than the total receipts of the treasury, according to the Computed statement of the minister. Under such egregious mismanagement of the public resources, it is no wonder that the ministry should be reduced to great straights to satisfy the increasing demands upon its coffers: indeed from all the Samples we Have had of Chileno ministers, we may be assured that were the annual receipts of the treasury multiplied twenty fold, means would be found for its misappropriation r the national finances can never be clear of difficulties so long as the same irresponsible system exists in Chile. I shall dismiss the subject of the revenue by alluding to the direct contribution, and the appropriation of the loan negociated upon the Stock Exchange of London by the minister plenipotentiary from Chile.

I have spoken of the attempt of the government to establish a "contribution directa, " the first permanent direct tax ever levied upon the monied part of the community. Formerly, forced Aid temporary contributions were raised in periods of urgent want, the

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quota upon each person being arbitrarily apportioned, but they were only had recourse to when there was no other alternative: the onus on these occasions generally fell upon the commercial classes, or upon those who refused to go hand in hand with the party in power, meet of the hacendados and other privileged persons being omitted purposely. Since the ruined state of the finances has been apparent, and it has been made evident that some pecuniary levies are necessary, the "comerciantes," or trading class, fearing the recurrence of old times, have begun to talk loudly on the injustice that nearly all the burthens of the state should be made to fall upon trade alone; and that the landholders, who by the effects of the revolution had doubled and trebled the value of their estates, should not be made to-bear an equivalent share with them in contributions to the revenue. This has emboldened the minister to propose, in imitation of the example set by Buenos Ayres, the direct contribution which calls equally upon all persons to contribute to the wants of the state according to their incomes. The Chilenos have hitherto been remarkable for the implicit obedience shown on every occasion to the orders of the superior authorities, whatever party happened to be in power; hardly an instance is known of any attempt at resistance, even in those cases which met with general disapprobation, or that wounded their most violent prejudices. The patient manner, in which the people submitted without a remonstrance to the confiscation of church property, surprised all the world; and this is the more remarkable when we consider the manner in which the measure was

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effected.* No measure could have been more opposed to the general wish of the people; nothing ever offended their prejudices more violently; still with their usual inanition not a murmur was heard in public, notwithstanding that in private all complained, held up their hands, muttered a prayer and crossed themselves, whenever the subject was mentioned: at that time it was well observed, that whenever the government should decree that every Chileno should wear a ring through his nose, few would be found to disobey the supreme mandate. The hacendados, however, considering themselves exempted by a kind of natural right from personal exactions of all descriptions, formed at once the resolution not to submit to the direct contribution; the gain acquired by this class of the community by honest as well as by dishonest means was extremely

* On this occasion the Chileno government appeared to have followed the example punned by the Spanish court, in accomplishing the dissolution of the very extraordinary religious order of the Jesuits, which possessed power and address sufficient to have withstood that arbitrary act, had a previous intimation of such intention reached the ears of the fraternity. But in the present instance the friars were possessed of no political authority or address; they were without means and defenceless: the conduct shown to them was therefore mean and despicable. Throughout Chile at one hour of the same day, or rather it was in deep midnight, the military governor of every town attended by a military guard, took possession of every convent, seizing all the books and documents of the several brotherhoods: no one would quarrel with the ministry on the score of the act alone, which in the state of the country was in every way wise and judicious; but the manner of performing it was disgraceful to those who ordered its execution: it bare the appearance of performing an act of which they were ashamed.

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great: each was desirous to conceal the extent of his means, especially the more influential among them, who had acquired fortunes by means they did not like should be made apparent: the tax was pronounced to be an inquisitorial measure, which would lead to exactions from them greater than they could apprehend: not only were their fears excited, but their pride was wounded, and a report of a measure which was seriously contemplated by the government two years before was industriously circulated among them: whether this belief was founded upon any actual arrangement I had no opportunity of ascertaining before I left Chile. It was believed that the government had in contemplation a somewhat Spencean plan—to increase the productions of the country, the industry of the people, and the revenues of the state, by apportioning to every poor person in the community a freehold spot of ground and a portion of living stock, which were to be taken from the richer classes. The report produced the required effect, for when I left Chile every person of property, down to the lowest shopkeeper, had resolved not to comply with the order of the government, and either neglected to return the schedules sent to them, or else sent them back blank: they were directed to each individual a second time, with as little success, when the director began to talk of coercive measures; but the weak state of his finances and the fear of causing another revolution prevented any further proceeding; for, according to later accounts from Chile, we find him demanding his resignation, and that being objected to, he was

VOL. II. P

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dissolving the congress and establishing the directory in absolute supremacy.

Having so far given a comprehensive view of the revenue and expenditure of the country, it seems necessary to a full and clear understanding of its financial affairs that I should make some observations on the loan negociated in London ostensibly for the use of that state, and expose the misrepresentations contained in a printed paper headed "CHILE LOAN," put forth in London in the name of "DON ANTONIO JOSE DE YRISARRI, Minister of State, Subofficer of the Legion of Merit, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the Government of Chile, and now residing in London, (who) has, by virtue of the special power vested in him, contracted with MESSRS. HULLETT, BROTHERS, and Co., in conjunction with eminent houses in London and Paris, for a loan of ONE MILLION STERLING for the service of the Republic of Chile."*

This is a most extraordinary paper. The loan is not stated to be necessary in consequence of any pecuniary difficulties under which the country labored. It was not to discharge any debt, it was not to fit out the fleet or to equip the army; for it expressly says, "Chile has no foreign public debt, and the paper money which was issued on the credit of the government has already been redeemed." It was, says the printed paper, "to reform the financial system," "to call forth the productive capabilities of a diversified territory, an extensive coast, and a hardy

* See Appendix B.

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population. The modern improvements in agriculture and mining will be introduced, and the number and funds of the banks of Rescate will be increased in the mining districts; all these measures will benefit the public revenue not less than the national prosperity." These plausible pretensions, so alluring to those who knew nothing of the state of Chile, were never heard of in that country as reasons for raising a loan until the printed paper arrived; and when it did, people looked at it with perfect astonishment: those who knew any thing about the country knew that no loan was wanted for any useful purpose, and that it was utterly impossible that it could be applied to any of the purposes named in the printed proposals. But they were even more astonished to find Mr. Yrisarri put forward in it as their late minister of state and present plenipotentiary, and made to assert that "the present annual revenue of the state is equal to nearly fourteen times the amount of the yearly interest of the loan, that the securities are a mortgage on all the revenues of the state, estimated upon the produce of former years to amount to about FOUR MILLIONS of dollars, or 800,000l. sterling per annum, and the following revenues are specially pledged for the payment of the interest and redemption of the loan, viz:—

The nett revenue arising from

the mint estimated at 300,000 dolls, or 60,000l. per ann.

And the land tax, or diezmos, at 250,000 do. or 50,000l. do.

Being upwards of half a million of dollars, or about 110,000l.

nearly double the amount of the yearly interest and contribution the sinking fund."

P 2

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It was almost impossible for the people to persuade themselves that what they read was seriously intended, but they were unaccustomed to these transactions.

The last assertion is very remarkable; the interest and sinking fund for the first year is 80,000l., and that for the second year nearly 70,000l., and yet this modest paper asserts that 110,000l. is nearly double these amounts respectively.

The government of Chile was, as has been shown, vested in a supreme director and senate, and that they had no such objects in view as there stated in the printed paper, I knew well from the assurance of the supreme director himself, and that this was so is fully proved by the report made to the director by Don Jose Santiago Portales, intendente of the mint, in consequence of a proposal from Mr. Yrisarri to raise a loan in Europe for the service of Chile,* this report deprecates, in the strongest terms raising money by any such means.

The tithes or diezmos, called in the printed paper "Land Tax," and the revenue arising from the mint are said to be "specially pledged are to be collected, and kept separate and distinct by the Treasurers General of Chile by virtue of an irrevocable decree of the supreme director and senate, and no part thereof is to be applied to the expenditure of the state, except such surplus as may accrue after the sum necessary for the half yearly remittance to England shall be completed and ready for transmission."

I have already shown that the revenue derived

* See Appendix C.

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from the mint did not pay its current expences, and consequently produced no revenue whatever, yet the printed proposals state the revenue at 66,000l. per annum; and as to the irrevocable decree, it is only necessary to repeat the words to satisfy every one, that if any decree had been passed, it could not be irrevocable, and that those who caused the words to be printed were knowingly and intentionally doing what was not honest. But what must every one who reflects think of this assertion when they are informed that the report of Mr. Portales was made on the 15th of April, 1822. condemning the proposal to raise money by loan, and yet that the loan was contracted for and made public in London on the 18th of May, 1822, and consequently before the answer of the government in Chile to the proposal to raise a loan in London could be received. Had it not, however, been thus precipitated, it never could have been made, and consequently it could not have been turned to account in the way the Chilenos say it has been by those whom they hesitate not to name, and on whom they cease not to bestow the most opprobrious epithets. So far from the supreme director countenancing the transaction, I know that he was completely ashamed of the gross exaggerations and falsehoods which the printed proposals contained, and that he hesitated not to express his indignation in the strongest terms. Notwithstanding the irrevocable decree to put aside the produce of the mint and the land tax for payment of the interest of the loan, not one dollar arising from these or any other regular source of revenue has been appropriated for any such purposes.

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While the matter was under discussion a vessel arrived at Valparaiso from England, bringing a portion of the loan in Spanish gold money amounting to 60,000l. sterling: the temptation was too great for a venal and corrupt ministry to withstand, the money was accepted, and the bargain for the loan was ratified. The gold was landed, and was on the road to Santiago, when general Freyre arrived at Valparaiso. It was currently reported and believed that in the changes which took place at the moment scarcely any of the money reached the public treasury.

The printed proposal, it has been observed, says that the revenue of Chile is "nearly fourteen times the amount of the yearly interest of the loan," and that this revenue amounts annually to about fourteen millions of dollars. I have shown, from the statement of the minister Benevente, that in the year 1824 it amounted to no more than 1,176,531 dollars, about 235,306l., and that this was probably the whole amount which the plundering rapacity of the ministers permitted to be appropriated to the public service, and must therefore be considered as the net* revenue. The interest of the loan is 60,000l. per annum; the sinking fund and charges will make the sum to be paid more than 80,000l. per annum; but if we take the interest only at 60,000l. per annum, this sum, instead of being a one fourteenth part of the revenue of Chile, the whole revenue will be less than four times the amount of the interest of the loan, and not so much as three times the amount of the interest, charges, and sinking fund.

The best informed people in Chile are totally ig-

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norant how the money raised has been disposed of; but the time will come when an account must be given, and then it will be known how it has happened that the country has been burthened with the enormous debt of five millions of dollars, without any but a very small sum indeed having in any way been appropriated even to the use of ministers. They know that an immense annual burthen has been thrown upon the country, for which no equivalent has been received, and it is pretty certain that from the time this inquiry takes place, if not before that period, and, perhaps, even very shortly, the government will determine that no remittance on account of the loan shall be sent out of the country. The printed proposals were filled with misrepresentations, which will, hereafter, have the effect of disgracing the Chilenos, through the conduct of their government in having sanctioned the proceedings, and misapplied the small portion of the loan which reached Santiago. It has had the effect of deluding the people of England, many of whom will eventually be sufferers. But it has enriched some persons, who will care nothing for the disgrace or injury it may produce either in Chile or England. Such speculating times as we have lately witnessed are the times for bad men to make money, and such transactions as are set forth in these proposals for a loan for Chile, and such proceedings as we have seen take place under it cannot fail to encourage cunning and roguish men to plunder those who have not wisdom enough to avoid the inducements held out for advancing their money.

The advantages which the transactions related

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seemed to hold out to those who could contrive to be sent to England in an official capacity caused a sort of contention at Santiago for diplomatic employments or agencies to England. It was well understood in that city that mining and jobbing in London could be turned to great account, and men who thought more of money than of the honour of their country were exceedingly desirous to take advantage of these circumstances.

Much dissatisfaction was felt in Chile at the conduct of Mr. Yrisarri, who was ultimately superseded, and Don Mariano De Egaña was sent in his stead.

Mr. Egaña's name has, since his arrival in England, appeared in more than one prospectus for mining, and other purposes, in South America, and it may be predicted with as much certainty as any event can ever be predicted, that no one of these projects will succeed; and, indeed, it may fairly be doubted whether some, at least, among those who brought them out ever contemplated any thing beyond the gain they expected from selling shares at a premium, and the other advantages now so well known to have resulted to those who got such companies up. It is equally disreputable to foreign deputies and the governments which send them, that their names should appear in any such speculations; they bring odium on all such persons and all such governments, and tend to prevent their being recognised as independent states by the governments in Europe. They have degraded the English nation and government in the opinion of the South Americans, who cannot distinguish between the acts of associated individuals

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and the measures of government. Whatever contempt these semi-barbarians and egotistical people may entertain of the conduct of our countrymen on the Exchange, it will tend to lessen the respect they would otherwise have had for our government, more especially the Chilenos, who, not having even the materials for forming a government sufficiently regular and stable to induce a recognition of their independence, will see in the refusal nothing but the same pitiful, and apparently disgraceful conduct which they will not, and, indeed, do not fail to attribute to the jobbers on 'change.

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CHAPTER XIX.

RELIGION, MORALS, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF THE CHILENOS.

One Religion only.—Church establishment.—Morals.—Husband and Wife.—Parent and Child.—Mendicity.—Food.—Domestic Habits.— Houses.—Furniture.— Occupations of Women.— Dress.—Manners of the better Classes.—Dirtiness.—Commercial Class.—Pilfering common to all Classes.—Robbery common.—Ingratitude.—Gaming.—Want of Curiosity.—Education hardly known.—Public Library.—Fine Arts unknown.—Funerals.—Rapacity of the Clergy.—Consumption of Tobacco.—Customs common to Chilenos and Arabs.—Murder frequent.—Murderers protected by the Church.—Punishments.

No religious sect can be tolerated in Chile; none but the only true religion, the most holy Roman p catholic can be known there. Every true believer among the Chilenos is satisfied that such as dissent therefrom, in the slightest degree, are doomed to everlasting perdition in the next world, while in this world they should, as infidels, be held up to public execration, and subjected to private abhorrence. This feeling is prevalent throughout Chile among all classes, even among the best informed of them; and the injurious influence of this persuasion against foreigners is greater than is generally imagined. Lest in the many reforms of state so often projected by different parties the least suspicion should arise in the minds of these bigotted people that any relaxation from their debasing intolerance might be

[page break]

Diversions observed among the peasantry of Chile on the Festival of Corpus Christi

Sketched by John Miers. I.M. Baynes litho:

[page break]

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even contemplated, every faction, on all occasions, more especially in the fundamental laws, and several constitutions promulgated from time to time, has caused it to be distinctly proclaimed that no other religion should be tolerated in Chile.

In the last new constitution of Chile this is stated in the most positive terms; and the principal author of that constitution, who is held to be an oracle of wisdom among his countrymen, and is the organ of the opinions of the best informed on this subject, says, in an elaborate essay published by him in praise of this specimen of legislation, that no other persuasion ought on any account to be permitted in Chile. The reasons why it never can, and never ought, to be permitted in Chile are, in his opinion, conclusive, owing to the peculiar circumstances under which she is placed.

"Toleration," he says, "cannot exist in Chile, because this presupposes a necessity for permitting it, but here we neither have any other, nor know any other religion than the Catholic; other nations have, because it has happened that nearly half the population has been composed of various sects who have had recourse to frequent, long, and bloody civil wars against each other in order to enforce the toleration of their different persuasions; and when other colonies have been formed, settlers of all sorts have established themselves by common consent, with equal civil and religious rights. Under such circumstances alone has religious toleration been permitted, and then, under a thousand restrictions, and even worse consequences. In England, no sooner was religious toleration permitted than the

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Catholics became proscribed. In France, all Calvanistic hugonots were put to the sword or banished. In Spain, the Moors and Jews were expelled, in spite of the laws and decrees in favour of toleration. The Romans, notwithstanding their tolerating spirit, which has been so much extolled, sacrificed seventeen millions of Christians, and an almost infinite number of Jews. The Roman law of the twelve tables, and the similar one of Athens, prohibited, under severe punishment, strange religions. In China, and other regions of Asia, said to be tolerant, no one can draw a line of distinction between the moral and religious codes. How miserable would be that people whose politics had little to do with religion; its criminal code would be atrocious, and its morality corrupt."

The church establishment of Chile was under the control of its bishop, who was subject to the archiepiscopal see of Lima. Chile can now boast of the only remaining high church authority in this part of America, as Buenos Ayres is without a bishop. Owing to the uncompromising opposition which the bishop of Santiago offered to the new order of things, and the powerful influence of his authority in upholding the dominion of the king of Spain, it became necessary to curb, and to reduce his power, and be was banished to Mendoza; but his great distance causing some inconvenience, and exciting the fears of the conforming clergy, he was recalled; but as he again displayed his unconquerable hatred to the new system, he was sent to Melipilli, whither the clergy might have access to him for regulating purely ecclesiastical matters. After the expulsion

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of general O'Higgins, with the hope of his ultimate accession to the patriot cause, now that the Spanish domination was irretrievably lost, the bishop was recalled to Santiago, where he co-operated in the installation of the new government, to the no small joy of the superstitious Chilenos, who attributed all their political misfortunes to divine displeasure, which was more especially and portentously manifested by the great earthquake with which the country was visited about this time. But it was soon found that the government was retarded by his influence, and he was again banished to Melipilli.

In the account of the finances of the country, under the head of tithes, I have entered into the detail of the appropriation of the tenths, and the remuneration of the clergy, and in another place in the same chapter I have spoken of the confiscation of conventual property, and as there is nothing peculiar in the ecclesiastical establishment of Chile beyond what is usually met with in the most bigotted catholic countries, I shall proceed to show what effect its influence has produced upon the morals and character of the people.

The morals of the Chilenos are greatly influenced by the clergy. The church establishment of Chile is divided into several jurisdictions, corresponding to the ancient divisions of the provinces, and these are subdivided into several curacies, each of which embrace within its range the circuit of eight or ten large haciendas, in an extent probably of 200 square miles. Each hacienda has generally a chapel built close to the estate house, which is the property of

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the possessor. It is by no means the duty of the curate to cause the church service to be performed at any of these places, except at the central place of his curacy; those, therefore, who reside at a distance from this place, are deprived of the opportunity of attending church service. In order, however, to collect his fees, and to correspond with the letter of his duty, the curate either by himself, or by some friar whom he sends as his deputy, visits once a year the chapel of each hacienda. This generally happens at Christmas. According to the rites of the Romish church every christian is obliged to confess at least once a year, under pain of excommunication: a devout christian who attends mass upon every feast-day will, as a matter of duty, confess his sins at every opportunity that offers; but if he comply only to the extent of his obligation, he will have to rake out of his memory all the sins and failings he may have committed during the preceding twelve months, and lay the whole in the most undisguised manner before the priest: the priest according to his pleasure adjudges the extent of penance and of corporal suffering the confessed sinner is to inflict upon himself, or he grants absolution, or concedes the favour of indulgences, or papal bulls, for avoiding any rigorous observance of the ordinances, for which the poor penitents and fearful creatures pay according to their circumstances. It is at these times that we see fanaticism carried to its height; the acts of self-punishment on some occasions are dreadful. The minds of the miserable fanatics are wrought up against heretics, for the clergy view with angry feelings the change

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in public opinion, which since the introduction of foreigners has taken place respecting their influence, their resources, and their power: they endeavour to arm the more fanatical and the lower classes against foreigners, and, on these occasions, the life of an Englishman is in danger among the peasantry of Chile. The act of confession discloses connexions that are but too common among a people bound by no moral restraint: no sooner is this discovered by the priest than he obliges the parties to many, whether they entertain or not mutual regard or affection, and most frequently against their will.

The moral debasement of the population is great beyond belief; it is produced in no small measure by the intolerant system under which they are bred, and is increased by the terror excited by the priests and the tyrannic sway exercised over their understandings: they are taught implicit obedience, intolerable deception, and absurd fanaticism; every good and moral feeling is stifled in the bud; human industry and ingenuity are destroyed, by the belief that a confidence in the Virgin is of more effect in assisting the progress of nature, or in averting the evils and miseries attendant upon our earthly career, than a more rational and manly reliance upon our own muscular and mental exertions over the elements of the material world which has been placed under our immediate control.

The Chilenos, though they may be said to possess in no degree a single virtue, hare the credit of possessing fewer vices than other Creoles; there is a passiveness, an evenness about them approaching to the Chinese, whom they strongly resemble in many

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respects: even in their physiognomy they have the broad low forehead and contracted eyes; they have the same cunning, the same egotism, and the same disposition to petty theft. They are remarkable, too, for extreme patience and endurance under privations; they can seldom be moved to passion, and are most provokingly unfeeling. A foreigner may use towards a Chileno the most opprobrious epithets, may convict him of falsehood and deception, may fly into a passion about his conduct, but he cannot be moved from his sang froid, he will bear all patiently, even blows, and look at a stranger with a sneer: his patience is not unlike that of the sheep, the camel, or the llama and alpaca.

In respect to man and wife, there is a considerable degree of attention displayed by the woman towards her husband: the husband never is known to raise his hand against his wife, it would be an eternal disgrace to him; there is the same evenness of conduct observed between them, but we perceive none of that apparent ardour of affection, that domestic union between the sexes which is seen in other places. For such a country, they may be considered as tolerably faithful to each other, though this is far from pure constancy. The laws place them so perfectly independent of each other, that they can separate at their pleasure, each upon their own property; or the wife may whenever she pleases retire from her husband, obliging him to give her the moiety of the increase upon their fortunes since their marriage. Among the better classes this is a common case, both enjoying their paramours, or following the course of life best

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suited to their tastes: this is generally the case in default of children; where there is a large family they quietly overlook each other's failings. Among the peasantry the same kind of relation exists between man and wife; and though we never see any remarkable affection for their children, there is always a steady care shown towards them, especially towards the females. The mother watches her daughters with an anxious eye, evidently aware of their frailty: no attempt is made to inculcate any strong principle of virtue in them, or to conceal from them the knowledge of any thing which has a tendency to looseness; and this tends to make them faithless wives. This character is general in all classes of society. I have noticed, among the poorer class, the attention shown by children to their aged parents who, when unable longer to provide for themselves, are supported with much care and attention. This, however, may proceed as much from obligation as from a sense of real affection, as a law is still in force by which a young man is obliged to give the half of his earnings to his parents until the period of his marriage, when he becomes released from this obligation: if a peon do not marry till a late period of life, his father is entitled to enforce from his son the moiety of his earnings: yet I have known instances of young men, who, from this cause alone, have left their homes for some distant province, that they might enjoy unmolested the fruits of their labour. Mendicants are very seldom met with in the country. There exists among the peasants toward each other a degree of hospitality that

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is truly admirable. These may be said to be the only amiable feelings possessed by the common people in Chile.

The wants of the peasants are very few, and those few are soon and easily satisfied: when they can procure bread they will almost subsist upon it; when they have it not they are contented: the same may be said with respect to meat; and, when they have neither bread nor meat, they will as happily enjoy a hodgepodge of beans boiled till they form a thick soup, swimming with tallow, a greasy mess of which they are peculiarly fond of when flavored to their palate with a due admixture of red pepper, garlic, and onions. At their meals they never sit down to table: some few of the better order of peasants it is true use a table, but it is one about eighteen inches diameter and a foot high, just large enough to support the earthen bowl in which their mess is served: round this the whole family squat themselves, some on the stool, some on a saddle cloth rolled up, some on a block of wood, and others with their knees to their chins: a few horn spoons and a single knife are the only implements made use of; forks are not known among them; the same spoon is passed from one person to another in turn; they never Bit on chairs, nor do they use plates; all eat out of the same dish without any nicety. Their drink is water, or a little chica when it is procurable; chica is a half fermented wine made of grapes or berries; it is handed round in a horn cup, and is supplied from a store preserved in the akin of a goat or lama. The only furniture possessed by them is generally a sin-

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gle wooden chair, a table, a few earthen bowls and jars, a knife or two, a few wooden or horn spoons, green glass bottles are now generally seen in their houses, and sometimes an English earthenware plate or a mug. Their bed is made of four stakes driven into the ground, across which are lashed horizontal sticks, over which is stretched a hide: this is concealed at one end of the rancho by a partition made of rush matting.

The rancho is constructed in a similar manner throughout Chile: posts with forked tops are stuck into the ground at the distance of six feet a-part, and of the height of six feet; these form a parallelogram twenty feet long and twelve feet wide, which is the size of the building. In the central line within are fixed two similar posts, twelve feet in height above the floor, which serve to support the ridge tree of the roof and the hipping ridges; horizontal poles are then laid in the forks of the shorter posts, forming a square frame, which, with the ridge pole, support the rafters: these are secured generally with strips of hides. A number of thin branches, or canes, are tied cross-ways upon the rafters, and other short pieces are tied so as to form eaves all round the building: this constitutes the frame-work of the rancho; the poles fixed in the ground are generally of hard red wood, such as molle or espino, which never decay by insertion in the moist soil. The roof is made of bundles of thatch tied on to this frame-work by the back of climbing plants, so as to sake a water-tight covering against the rain: the walls consist merely of a spreading of twigs and boshes placed vertically, tightly secured on both sides

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between several opposite canes, which are tied together and fastened to the upright posts: the whole being plastered inside and outside with a mixture of mud well kneaded with chaff, and forming a close walling, which, though crooked and rough, sufficiently answers the purpose required. These walls are never white-washed, and it may be easily conceived how dark, miserable, and dirty these ranchos must be: they have no windows, excepting sometimes a small opening of a few inches square, formed of a few sticks, closed by a door. Fire-places, and of course chimneys are unknown among them: a few boards nailed together, turning on wooden pivots in lieu of hinges, forms a door, and constitutes all the carpenter's work about the building; iron work is not required. Every peon constructs his own hut, and when he has occasion to shift his residence, the whole is easily pulled down, and the materials conveyed to the new place of abode, and there easily put together again; all the fresh materials being a few bushes, a little twine, or strips of bark, and some fresh mud. There is a simplicity in the construction of these huts well suited to the habits of the people: their great fault is a general want of cleanliness, for the floors being of the bare earth, and seldom swept, are very dirty, and correspond with their general habits of filthiness. Instead of a wooden door, it frequently happens that a hide stretched on a frame is substituted.

The dress of the peasantry is almost entirely of their own manufacture: I ought to have premised that the females are much more industrious than the males; their occupations are sedentary and better

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suited to their habits. When not otherwise employed they are generally engaged in spinning, their mode of effecting which is remarkably simple: neither distaff nor spinning wheel is known among them; a web of cotton or wool is loosely. twisted and slung upon their arm; the jenny is a simple wooden stick about a foot long, and a quarter of an inch in diameter, loaded at the bottom with an annular disc of iron, to afford it gravity and to act as its fly wheel; one end of the web is fixed to the upper end of the jenny, which being spun round by the finger and thumb gives a twisting motion to the end of the web: being guided by the eye and regulated by the fingers of both hands, is pulled out to the degree of extension necessary to give a proper thickness to the thread: the length spun at each trial is as long as the hand can reach above the head, the jenny nearly touching the ground, the operator sitting cross-legged on the floor. After this, the spun thread is twined round the jenny, and a dexterous loop made round the top of the stick by the finger and thumb, when another length is in like manner spun: the loop is then undone in a twinkling, the thread again wound round the instrument, and the process repeated with great dexterity, regularity, and neatness. When a proper quantity of yarn is thus spun, it is wound round a sort of reel into hanks, and is then dyed of the requisite color; every woman is a most excellent dyer, the only foreign materials used being indigo, sulphuric acid, and Brazil wood, which are imported; alum and green vitriol, called polucra, are brought in a natural state from the Cordillera: all other materials are found in

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the neighbourhood; they consist of various vegetable substances, flowers, and roots; and it is surprising to see the various as well as the brilliant and permanent colors they produce with no other assistant than a copper saucepan set over a few embers in the open air.

The principal material used for the dress of both males and females, is a kind of loose unfulled and undressed woollen cloth which they call bayeta: it is either white or blue; for men more especially the latter. These cloths are woven in a rude kind of loom made of rough sticks fixed outside the cottage, with merely a shed of bushes thrown over it to protect the weaver from the scorching heat of die sun. There is nothing remarkable in the construction of the loom more than in its rudeness, its simplicity, and its efficiency, considering the materials that compose it The weaving is always performed by women; the wife and daughters spin and make all the clothes for the family, as well as a surplus quantity which is readily disposed of at a very cheap rate. It will, therefore, excite no wonder that our coarse cloths do not find a more extensive sale in Chile, when we find these bayetas, which are a yard wide, and very durable, sell for two and a half reals the yard undyed, and four reals or two shillings when dyed blue. In like manner they weave sashes, blankets, saddle-cloths, ponchos, &c of cotton as well as woollen: the uncivilized Indians to the southward are even more dexterous in these arts than the more cultivated Chilenos, and it is admirable to witness the ponchos brought from Conception; in fineness and closeness of texture, in

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brilliancy and durability of colours, in variety and elegance of patterns, some may vie with many of oar best European works of art.

The dress of the men consists generally of a shirt of this blue bayeta, open at the collar, a pair of white cotton drawers or trowsers that come half way down the legs, and over them a pair of breeches made of blue bayeta, fastened round the waist by a long woven sash of variously coloured worsted, into which their knife is stuck on one side. Their breeches are open at the knees so as to show the loose trowsers hanging somewhat below them: they wear no stockings, and generally sandals made of raw hide as substitutes for shoes: this, with a poncho and a small straw hat, constitutes the dress of the working peon. The better class of peasantry, however, wear cotton stockings, knitted by the females, and shoes of leather; a short blue jacket over a cotton shirt, and a pair of large silver buckles at the breeches knees, which are worn more for ornament than use. Their principal distinguishing accoutrements consist in their saddle equipage: about their bridle reins there is much silver; the stirrups are of silver, massive and clumsy, with silver ferrules upon the stirrup leathers, and a sort of gay silver ornamented martingale. The saddle traps are prized according to the number and value of the different cloths, some of which are of fine wool, woven and ornamented of various colours and gay patterns. The rider wears a showy pair of worsted boots, coming up to his knee and down to his ancle, a pair of massive silver spurs, the large rowels of which hang loosely upon their pivots, so that in

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walking their loud clanking serves to announce the approach of the wearer long before he is seen: this indeed seems their chief purpose. A man thus accoutred, with the addition of a small gay poncho, with a fringed margin, has arrived at the summit of his ambition; he never desires more riches than such as appertain to his own dress, and that which belongs to his horse; for his saddle-cloths form his only bed. All wear their hair plaited in a thick tail hanging down their backs; but within the last three years this custom has gradually fallen into disuse in the more immediate neighbourhood of Santiago and Valparaiso.

The stirrups of the poorer peons are of wood, very large and clumsey, gayly carved and hollowed out on one side like a box, into which the foot is placed.

The spurs of the poorer class of peons are of iron with large rowels.

All wear a worsted sash (a faxa) two yards long and six inches wide, of fine texture, and dyed of some very gay colour, generally of pea-green or crimson, which is wrapped round their body and

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serves to keep up their breeches: one end of the sash is used as a purse, their money being tied up in it. Their knives are loosely tucked into the girdle behind.

A triangular piece of seal skin, whose two acute angles meet in front and are secured by a loop and button, the obtuse angle hanging behind them, serves to keep their trowsers from wearing out either in riding or when sitting on the ground, as they invariably do in doors.

The women wear neither stays, gowns, stockings, nor shoes, a loose cotton shift and petticoat of blue bayeta slung from their shoulders usually constitutes the whole of their dress. Their bosoms are uncovered, and these in most of the married women have a disgusting appearance: from their sedentary habits and want of cleanliness, the breasts become relaxed and hang down over the tops of their petticoats: when they move abroad, or at home in cold weather, or before foreigners, they usually throw over their shoulders a rebosa, a three-cornered shawl of coloured baize, which conceals their neck and chest: they wear their hair plaited in long tails hanging down their backs like the men. On going to mass, or on going abroad on feast days, many of them now wear a long sleeved gown of English printed calico, cotton stockings and shoes, and a large round man's hat: they seldom appear abroad without their rebosa, which is commonly scarlet, pink, light blue, or green. Their saddle is the sillon before described; they carry a whip in their right hand, and hold the reins in their left. They will gallop up and down steep hills, and fearlessly

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manage their horses with admirable dexterity. They are dexterous in mounting; placing the face to the saddle, a man will lay hold of their heels and lift them up, when they make a sudden turn into the chair; the foot board is then adjusted, and their short clothes properly accommodated.

Boys are frequently seen with nothing on them but a poncho, at other times a simple shirt of blue beyeta and a pair of short loose trowsers of the same material; girls wear a single petticoat and a calico shift, which has a sort of body to it: neither boys nor girls wear either shoes or stockings; their coarse black hair, which is seldom or ever clipt or combed, hangs loosely over their face and shoulders: their skins are never washed, they never change nor shift their clothes, and are brought up amidst all kinds of filth and wretchedness. In this respect men, women, and children are all alike. None of them ever wash themselves (except to bathe their hair.) From the time their shirt or trowsers are newly put on, they are never removed till they fall off in rags; they all sleep in the open air in fine weather upon a few sheep skins or saddle cloths, in their day clothes, merely covered with a poncho. The washing of their heads before alluded to is performed several times during the summer season, and is considered a great luxury among them. The bark of the quillay tree is beaten between two stones, and then agitated with water in a wooden trough till it forma a strong lather, the hair is then washed with this lather, which removes from it the grease and vermin: it is then dried in the sun, combed, smoothed, and plaited: their coarse Mack straight hair thus

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assumes a bright lustre, of which they are very proud. The labouring men can seldom read or write; sometimes a few of the better class of tenants can with difficulty decypher a letter and write a note, but it is rare, and even of those few are able to read printing; a book indeed by no chance ever falls into their hands.

The dress of the better sort of females in society, such as those residing in the interior towns, announces a higher degree of civilization, though in the uncleanliness of their persons, and the filthiness of their garments, they are but little better than the lower orders. They assume an exterior covering of cleanliness and neatness of dress, especially the women, who appear generally in white calicos or muslins, gaily worked and flounced. The younger ones turn up their plaited hair with combs, after the European fashion, and curl the front hair, which at night they keep in form by wooden pins, but the older dames never fail to display at their full length their plaited tails, combing back their front hair, and never wearing caps, or other covering to their heads. In the capital, the females of the first class are as extragavant in dress as can be imagined. When surprized in the morning before eleven o'clock, until which time they will never show themselves if they can prevent it, they are seen in old cotton gowns, with shoes but without stockings, their hair hanging over their shoulders, sitting cross-legged at their needle-work, to which they apply themselves from day-break: after mid-day they are dressed in elegantly worked muslins, showy gossamers, or silk dresses, their hair turned

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up, sitting on chairs, displaying on their feet silk stockings and tight satin shoes. When walking in the streets we see them in a most showy attire, as if dressed for a ball, without bonnets, having a laced veil or a handsome shawl thrown over the back of their heads and falling over their shoulders: their conceit cannot be surpassed in any country, it is, perhaps, equalled only by their excessive ignorance; though when young taught by their mothers to write and read, they never, when grown up devote an hour to the perusal of books: their only accomplishment is the piano forte, upon which all learn, not to play from notes, but merely by the ear; all they strive to acquire is the ability of playing a few waltzes and country dances, which they execute without taste and without judgment. Seldom indeed are the ladies of the first families better than the picture here drawn: they acquire from an early age an air of self-importance, and a pleasing manner. They are courteous to all, talk much and loud, flirt with ease, and are pleased with the attention of young men; but beyond a gossip of scandal, touching articles of dress, or where purchasable articles are to be obtained, and perhaps the incidents of the theatre, not an idea escapes them. I never could sit half an hour in the society of any of them before all topics of conversation were worn out: they are. exceedingly inelegant in their gestures, vulgar in their deportment, laugh at every trifle, and have, in common with the lower classes the habit of spitting before you in a disgusting manner: it is, indeed, astonishing that our countrymen can entertain the lofty notions some have ex-

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pressed respecting the Chileno belles; they have nothing, in my opinion, to render them even tolerable. The older dames seldom stir out of doors, but sit at home in state to receive company, and assist in gossipping with the young men who come to flirt with their daughters. In their exterior they are no less gay in their own fashion, but the knowledge of the filth existing underneath a gay exterior is disgusting beyond endurance. Soon after the great earthquake I happened to call very early in the morning upon one of the first families in Chile, consisting of nearly a dozen females, who are usually seen most gaily attired: they had deserted their house, and were living in a temporary shed, made for the purpose, in the middle of the patio: it was an unfortunate visit, for I surprized the ladies in dishabille. The father was absent in the country, the husband of one of the daughters was in a distant part of the country: the anxiety for receiving news, which they know foreigners are always first to communicate, favoured my admission, and I was received under circumstances which at other times would have excluded me. I cannot describe all that I saw: suffice it to say, that the appearance of the beds, the confusion and filth of the room, exceeded all I could have conceived; the dishabille and dirtiness of the young ladies was far beyond the worst I had heard of them, and more than I was before willing to believe; but the old mother, generally so gay, presented a picture beyond all belief, dressed in a dirty old red calico gown, faded, and almost worn out, which never had been washed from the day it was made, was loosely

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hanging about her shoulders and displaying in the opening behind the only other garment she had on: but such a sight! its texture was actually soaked and stiffened with grease from her skin, and discoloured with old age and long wearing nearly to the colour of mahogany.

The women make all their own dresses; mantua-makers and milliners are unknown in Chile. Such is the folly and rage for expensive finery, that any particular dress worn at a tertulio, or ball, becomes the topic of conversation of the female part of the community for many days afterwards. A lady, to indulge her rage for extravagance in this respect, will not be deterred by price from purchasing any thing novel or extraordinary; and, however expensive a dress, it is the custom never to appear twice in public in the same vestiture. They certainly display much taste and ingenuity at their needle: a foreigner who meets them only at a dance may be excused in forming too favourable an opinion of the Chileno ladies.

The dress of the young men of the capital is equally extravagant; in points of dandyism they will almost outvie our first bucks at home: the European fashions are greedily sought after, and the tailor's has become one of the best trades in the capital. The hats of the country, though of better materials than our own, can never be endured when those of English manufacture are to be obtained. The young men are generally of very dissolute habits: they are, however, completely exempt from the vice of drinking, but in gambling and debauchery they excel.

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One of the most ludicrous customs prevalent among the higher classes is the extreme precocity of children: we meet boys at the age of seven or eight years, dressed in surtout coats, trowsers, boots, and hats, after the model of grown-up persons: the strutting walk and air of importance they assume in passing through the streets is extremely ridiculous. It is the same with girls of six or eight years old, they are dressed in imitation of grown-up women, sit in the same state at home, twirl their fans between their fingers, and join in the passing conversation with all the assurance and air of consequence of their elders. They are indeed very commonly married at the age of twelve or fourteen.

I have hitherto said nothing of the commercial classes. The introduction of foreign goods is almost wholly in the hands of the British houses, but the internal distribution of those goods, and the mutual, commerce in the produce of Chile and Peru is mostly carried on by the native merchants: this was formerly held among the old Spaniards as almost their only privilege; but as the policy of general San Martin, on the first invasion of Chile, was to annihilate and seize upon all Spanish property wherever it could be found, the whole capital employed in commerce disappeared, and the trade necessarily fell into the hands of the British houses. The property here employed was in no case belonging to the houses so established: it consisted entirely of consignments from Europe; so that within a certain limit the same value became necessarily withdrawn in the shape of homeward remittances, its place being supplied by increasing consignments, upon

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which, whether the agents in Chile make profitable or losing returns, they, in either case, deducted their large commissions, which were still further increased by reductions in the regular duties made in connivance with the officers of the custom-houses, and by both sides carried to their private accounts, being mutually considered a private speculation.

The first commission houses established in Chile might have made rapid fortunes had they saved their profits; but falsely calculating that these advantages would continue for ever, many ran into extravagancies, and set up magnificent establishments, without calculating that their career would be but a short one.

The wholesale trade having fallen into the hands of foreigners, and their gains being known to be great, the hacendados came forward with their limitted command of means to habilitage their sons and dependants in little shops for the sale of the immense influx of European goods, which were retailed at an extravagant profit: owing to the scarcity of money, the foreign consignments sold below their value; indeed, it was necessary, in order to obtain the sale of large cargoes, to give long credits, and thus sprung up rapidly a new and independent race of shopkeepers, formerly unknown in Chile. The whole trade was carried on by the Spaniards, under the habilitacion system, so that the retailers were always servants, the merchants themselves being the real owners of the shops. The number of independent shopkeepers in Santiago is now, however, considerable, many shopkeepers possessing his thousand or ten thousand dollars, according to his success in

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trade: this race of beings has already produced a considerable effect upon the trade of the country, and will in the end, as they increase in number and in property, have a considerable influence on morals, and not less weight in the scale of politics, for hitherto every thing has been under the controling patronage of the aristocracy. The principal feature among their shopkeepers, who style themselves merchants, (commerciantes) is honesty and correctness in their dealings. I have heard most of the English merchants state, that they never in the long run lost a hundred dollars among these Creoles, while with their own countrymen they have lost thousands: this is greatly to the credit of the Chilenos, though it must be confessed there too commonly exists great irregularity and quibbling in their proceedings. One of their great faults is want of punctuality in their payments; it being considered of no importance, and no disgrace, to dishonour a bill or promissory note upon its becoming due: it is, indeed, an universal practice, arising, perhaps, from the circumstances before-mentioned. A Chileno will always pay when he has money at hand, but he will not exert himself to procure the necessary means, as it has become the too general practice for every body to put off a punctual compliance with his engagements. No one can ever calculate with certainty on his available resources. This, more especially, is considered of little consequence, when punctuality in the discharge of an accepted bill is not held to be necessary in the eye of the law. A remarkable instance of this came under my observation: a shop-keeper purchased of an English mer-

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chant a quantity of goods, for which he gave his acceptance at three months: at the time when the bill became due, leave was asked and granted for an extension of three other months' credit; when six months came round, three more months were solicited and obtained. Nine months having expired, and payment not forthcoming, a similar extension of time was granted, upon condition of a then punctual discharge of the bill: at the end of the twelve months payment being still withheld, the shop-keeper was summoned before the consulado, (the commercial court of justice) when on a representation of the case, the acceptor pleading his inability of payment because he still possessed the greater part of the goods, the prior, or judge, dismissed the suit, appealing to the merchant to convince him of the hardship of the case, and showing how unreasonable and how incompatible it was with justice to expect that a man should pay for goods before he had sold them. Such are Chileno notions of mercantile probity!

Generally speaking, however, the laws afford prompt and equitable redress in commercial disputes, should both parties be honorably inclined; but in the consulado, as in every other judicial court of Spanish origin, any man who has the disposition to be litigious and dishonest, and is aware of all the forms and quirks of the law, can, by appeals and other processes, protract the issue of the most just cause, especially if he employ a lawyer of corresponding cunning and astuteness. In case of legal claims, the means of embargoing property are ready and prompt; a man can follow up his property if unjustly detained, until the final right be established

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by legal process; but these means, advantageous as they are to the just claimant, open a door to tile most wanton litigant, however unjust his right of claim to the property sought to be embargoed. Indeed, the whole system of law is very bad and inefficient in practice and ought to be replaced by a code more simple, and better suited to the cunning of the people.

The Spanish laws afford protection to him who holds a written contract, but an engagement unless signed upon a stamped paper is of little validity. In commercial matters, therefore, any verbal engagement may be held for nothing; promises are of as little avail. I may indeed say, that no sooner is a bargain entered into for the performing of a contract, than the Chilenos will puzzle their heads to find how they can pervert she letter of the agreement, and the chances are many against one, but that on some points they will contrive to evade it In many material points, though they will faithfully discharge their contracts according to the construction they may chuse to put upon them, they have a kind of instinctive cunning, which leads them to the commission of many acts of meanness. This I have ever found the case, upon every instance of dealing with the best of them; and it ought to be held as a general rule, in entering into any agreement, to take the same precautions as if bargaining with a professed rogue.

The Chilenos are guilty of the most barefaced falsehoods, and where proof is brought against them from which they can no longer shuffle, they will turn round with incredible effrontery, and persist

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they were only joking, or endeavouring to surprize you. This belongs to their character, from high to low.

However honest in their commercial dealings and payments, they are only so from necessity, and not from any moral conviction: so mean do they often show themselves, that in extensive mercantile purchases the most respectable of the shop-keepers will steal trifling articles whenever they can do so unnoticed. I have met several English merchants, who have assured me of the fact as of frequent occurrence. I entered lately into a merchant's store, where a shop-keeper had been purchasing goods of about 2,000 dollars in value, for which he paid ready money, and dispatched them to his house by hired peons: in putting them up he contrived to slip from an adjoining heap a cotton shawl, worth no more than a dollar and a half, which he concealed among the woollen cloths he had been purchasing: yet the merchant assured me he would readily give the same man credit to the amount of 10,000 dollars. This kind of petty theft is common among Chilenos of the highest repute and of the richest classes. I cannot avoid mentioning two remarkable instances of this among the better class of females. Both occurred to Lady Cochrane. The first was at a ball given at the house of the American consul, where, on her entrance into the room, she was met by three Chileno ladies of the first respectability, who, with overpowering civilities embraced her one after the other, according to the fashion of the country on wishing to display great esteem: at this time a valuable diamond brooch was taken from her dress; she quickly missed

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it on perceiving a part of the dress torn away; a general search was made about the room in vain, the trinket was lost. About a twelvemonth afterwards a clergyman called upon Lady Cochrane, desiring to see her in private, when he delivered to her the lost jewel, saying that, during confession a lady had disclosed to him the criminal act, that he insisted on its restoration to its rightful owner as the first means of atonement. The clergyman of course did not disclose the name of the lady, but it was sufficient to know she was of a most respectable family. The other instance occurred to her on a visit from three ladies belonging to one of the first families in Chile; they begged a sight of her baby linen to take some patterns for themselves. A drawer of lace caps, &c., was brought out, one after another was admired, but on putting them up again she missed three valuable lace caps and several pieces of lace that were folded up in paper: she immediately informed her visitors that these articles were missing, and on their rising from the sofa, as if to search for them, there fell upon the floor the parcel, wrapped in a pocket handkerchief belonging to one of the visitors. Another instance of a somewhat suspicious character occurred in Lord Cochrane's house: he had a little rose-wood cabinet containing a number of medals and coins, a gold watch, several jewels and valuable relics of family antiquity that he prized highly: during his absence on a cruize this cabinet disappeared from the drawing-room; many inquiries were made about it, applications were also made to the governor, the servants were examined, rewards offered, all in vain: some months afterwards Lady

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Cochrane, on making a visit to the daughter of the governor, saw, in an adjoining room, the door of which was left inadvertently open, the lost cabinet. She immediately claimed her property, which was denied to be the same; she insisted upon its being brought out, and upon the governor being called from his office, the matter was discussed: the governor assured lady Cochrane that he had not the slightest idea the cabinet was the one lost; his daughter had bought it of a soldier, but that it Was then empty; they had never seen any thing of the other lost property. The cabinet was restored z it was remarkable as being the only thing of the sort ever seen in Chile, and must have been noticed frequently by the governor and his daughter in their visits to Lord Cochrane's house.

Imprisonment is never suffered for debt, the person of the debtor being Inviolable: his property however may be seized and confiscated to satisfy the demands of his creditors; that done, he is no farther responsible for the discharge of former claims.

In many places, when speaking of the nature of the government, I have ventured to mention the spirit of peculation existing among the Chilenos in office: it need only be said, that it also formed a principal feature in the Spanish system; all robbed and plundered the public revenue, and all provided for themselves while they continued in public employment From the highest to the lower offices of the state the same system prevails; bribes are every where taken—a destructive system this in a young state. Little hope of amendment in this particular is to be expected in Chile; in Buenos Ayres the case

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has been different; the system of preventive checks so ably put in force there are not likely, for some time, to be adopted by the aristocratical and venal people of Chile.

The Chilenos, in common with most of the Creoles of South America, are amazingly clever in appreciating the character of individuals: they are not easily deceived; ever suspicious, they constantly watch the intentions of those they have to deal with: this feeling is somewhat instinctive among them, or is rendered habitual from necessity, where, like those of more civilized nations, they have not had the opportunity of studying human character from books or from instruction derived from others.

The Chileno peasantry are notoriously thieves, yet scarcely more so than their betters; it is a propensity common to the whole race, having perhaps a little modification among the poorer classes. If we take into consideration the ruling system, and the encouragements to vice thrown in their way by the existing Spanish laws, we may wonder that the peasantry are not more dishonest than we find them. I have lived in the country where, with the exception of peasants' huts, not a house was to be found within ten miles; my house and other buildings were exposed night and day for several years, open to any one who might have had courage to enter them, but it never was robbed; my tools were stolen without number, but such only as were useful to them were taken. There is not one peon in the country who would not steal a knife or a hatchet, a crowbar, or any article of immediate utility, but he would hardly have courage to steal a thing which was not in ge-

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neral use through the country, for fear of detection, and because he could not find a ready sale for it: could they barter it away without great chance of detection, no article would be secure from their hands; but their cowardice is the best safeguard against stealing valuable articles. Chilenos who will rob other persons will take care of their master's property, and it is not often that they abuse confidence reposed in them. A person may travel over all parts of the country without the least fear of robbery; the only places where I have heard of highway robbery have been on the road between Santiago and Valparaiso. Highway robbery is indeed extremely rare in Chile; the instances known have generally been instigated by revenge, or resulted from drunken quarrels: the few instances that have come to my knowledge in other parts of the country have been from the freaks of renegade sons of hacendados. I have been in the constant habit of travelling alone once or twice every week from Concon to Valparaiso, a distance of eighteen miles, generally carrying much money about me, reaching home long after dark: it was a sure sign of my return at night if seen going to town in the morning; but I was never insulted nor attempted to be waylaid on the road, to the surprise of most of my countrymen in Valparaiso. In Valparaiso and Santiago, however, robbery and house-breaking are very common, and hundreds of vagabonds support themselves upon the plunder of others: an active police has lately been established, which has in great measure tended to the prevention of crime.

The Chileno peasants are remarkable for want of

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gratitude, a feeling in no small degree engendered by the system which governs them, teaching them fear to their superiors in lieu of exciting respect, and inspiring pusillanimity instead of manly independence. The superiors never exhibit indulgencies to the peasantry, but from the most selfish motives, so that a reciprocity of selfish feeling must ever exist: the Chilenos inherit from the Spaniards their prominent national characteristic, haughty pride in prosperity, base servility in adversity; tyranny towards inferiors, and passive obedience to superiors: they inherit also Spanish ingratitude in an equal degree, and afford in their national character an apt illustration of the Spanish adage which affirms that "to make your neighbour your enemy you have only to bestow on him a favor." With such habits the Chilenos are not to be managed with much kindness or consideration: to ensure their active services they require to be ruled with severity, and in proportion as they are rigidly treated they will the more respect their masters, and contrary wise by opposite treatment.

The same feeling is apparent in the higher classes of society, and is remarkably conspicuous in the acts of the government towards the servants of the state. To those meritorious foreigners in particular who have ventured their lives in the consummation of the national liberty, and have rendered such transcendent services to the country, the government has shown marked ingratitude: Lord Cochrane, to whom Chile and Peru are chiefly indebted for the annihilation of the Spanish power in the countries bordering upon the Pacific, the government has behaved shamefully.

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I have related many of the glaring acts of injustice and ill-treatment towards him, and the jealousies excited against this illustrious chief, instigated principally by the minister of war in return for those acts which ought to have been cherished by the nation with pride and exultation, and which finally were augmented to so insufferable a height as to oblige him to quit its service in disgust: to this day the government of Chile has actually refused to pay him the prize money for the vessels he captured, and which are now employed in the national service. Among the number of these prizes is the Esmeralda (now called the Valdivia), in effecting which he received a severe wound in the thigh, and which capture is one of the most brilliant exploits in naval record; the amount of prize money now due to him is above 60,000 dollars. It cannot be forgotten that the minister of Chile publicly declared that Lord Cochrane deserved to lose his life for attempting the capture of Valdivia, an exploit perhaps never surpassed in point of heroism and judgment, and an event of such vast importance to the country, and the final success of the great cause of extirpating the Spaniards. Ashamed at length of its conduct, the government of Chile made Lord Cochrane a donation, in the name of the grateful nation of Chile, of an estate, which, in order to perpetuate the remembrance of his name in the country, was to remain for ever as an heir-loom to his descendants, for he was not allowed to dispose of it. It must, however, be recorded, to the disgrace of the Chileno nation, that this paltry boon has been taken from him, and his steward sent off the estate by force.

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The other meritorious officers who served under this illustrious chief have been equally ill-treated, and many, tired out with useless applications for the payment of their due, have retired from the country disgusted and pennylees.

Gaming is a vice to which the Chilenos are greatly addicted, from the supreme director in all grades down to the meanest peasant: among the higher classes games of chance are common; that called monte is a favorite game, because bye-standers can take as much interest in the stakes as the actual players. In one night it has happened that a man has lost more money than the amount of his annual income, and mean and hesitating as he may be in the purchase of trifles, and saving as possible in his household expences, he will lose thousands of dollars without an emotion. Women are no leas notorious for gambling: the lady with whom I had a longpending law-suit, and who possessed great property, was the most notorious gambler in Santiago: this afforded her great influence among the judges and people in power, and though in other respects a notoriously bad character, she was every where received by her countrywomen with distinction. While resident in Valparaiso, she always kept an open gaming table, to which she brought young girls from Santiago as decoys, and the officers of the British frigates stationed there were terribly fleeced of their money by her. On one occasion, I remember, a surgeon, who could ill afford to part with it, lost in one night thirty-six ounces (124l. sterling). Her name was current among the British as Mrs. Montè, or Mother Montè: whenever a run of ill luck went

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against her in Santiago it was only necessary to make a journey to Valparaiso to replenish her coffers. The poorer classes of females seldom game, but men of all grades partake of the general mania: the peons also play at cards when they can get them, but the most frequent amusement is pitch and toss, of which game the better people are not less fond: one of the most remarkable scenes of this description I remember to have seen was in Valparaiso, where two white friars were pitching gold ounces with laymen in the open street in front of the church-door of La Merced, in the almendral. The clergy indeed are as notorious gamblers as any other class of the community. The lady above alluded to had always in her train a clergyman who performed the part of banker at the monte table. The poor classes, upon feast-days, and at all times when they can run to the pulperia, practise scarcely any amusements besides gambling and drinking.

The Chilenos are remarkable for a want of curiosity, and a carelessness respecting any new or foreign object This has been attributed by an intelligent author* as resulting from an over-cautious deliberating spirit, which renders it difficult to excite them to strong emotions: but he has certainly erred in imagining that their insensibility arises from any process of deliberative reasoning: it rather proceeds from a propensity to shrink from mental exertion, a feeling prevalent among mankind in proportion to their ignorance and want of civilization. I have frequently endeavoured to produce surprise by exbi-

* Captain Basil Hall.—Extracts from a Journal, &c. p. 18.

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biting experiments in electricity and pneumatics, and other branches of natural philosophy and of art, expecting that at least it would excite their curiosity; but I hare universally observed the same apathy and nonchalance from the highest person in the state to the lowest being in the country with very few exceptions; their reputedly best informed persons have shown the greatest mental torpor and carelessness at the sight of objects which I fancied would have excited great curiosity. It is difficult to entertain the Chilenos when we fall into their society: if we speak to them upon the most ordinary or common-place topics, a stop will immediately be put to the conversation by a negative or affirmative observation that precludes its further discussion: it is an irksome task to maintain a conversation with them except upon horses, races, gaming, cattle, haciendas, or subjects directly connected with their rude tastes or barbarous frivolities, on which occasions they display a little animation. Often, when speaking to females, they make indecent allusions, put indelicate questions, in the humor of which the ladies heartily join with loud jokes and violent laughter. This I have observed more apparent as reserve on my first acquaintance with these foreigners wore off.

The language made use of among the Chilenos is far from pure Castilian: the Spanish language is perhaps one of the fullest in variety of words, most comprehensible in its terms, and loftiest in expression of the modern tongues; but that of the Chilenos, though nothing but Spanish is known in any part of the country, is poor and inelegant, rendered worse by an intolerable nasal pronuncia-

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tion, and possessing a paucity of words scarcely sufficient to express their United ideas. Few are to be met with who entertain the most distant idea of geography, or even the topography of their own country: they are as ignorant of the relative situation of the different states of Spanish America as they are in respect to other parts of the world; many among the best informed people have inquired of me if England were in London, or London in England, or India close to it, and other similar questions. I have found the same incredible ignorance among the letrados, the learned doctors of the law. Education can scarcely be said to exist among them. In the country parts, as I have already deserved, schools are absolutely unknown, and, even in. the capital, instruction is at the lowest ebb: there are a few schools where a small number of boys are taught reading, writing, and notation; but arithmetic, grammar, and languages, are reserved alone for the students of the university. Such are the seminaries of the great capital of Chile; it is not, therefore, difficult to account for the for grosser ignorance, and the more intolerant bigotry of the Chilenos, above any other of the nations of South America. It would be unpardonable to pass over the detail of the only school in Chile, and which is dignified with the name of colegio: it is endowed by government, and has regular masters attached to it, who are called professors. To this school are sent the sons of the richer hacendados and merchants: we may form some notion of those among the better class of gentry, who feel disposed to extend to their children the benefits of a school education, when we learn

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that the number of boys sent from the whole country of Chile to this seminary amounts only to 120, although there is ample room in the school for the accommodation of nearly three hundred students: this school is held in the convent of the ex-jesuits. The edifices of this order are the best arranged, and most commodious buildings in all South America. In the college of Santiago, grammar, latin, and arithmetic; theology, laws, and philosophy, are professed to be taught: arithmetic is seldom carried beyond instruction in the four elementary rules, and the philosophy taught here is nothing but a series of unintelligible and useless dogmas; none of the liberal or natural sciences, nor any branch of useful knowledge, form subjects for instruction. The sons of the aristocratical families, such at least as are intended for the church or the law, are generally sent here. The college boys are conceited beyond measure; they are dressed in the habits of men, assume airs of self-importance, and upon reaching the age of puberty, which is generally at twelve or fourteen, are taken from college and sent to undertake the profession of the law or the church, or placed in some public employment, or perhaps sent to the country estate to reassume the habits and the ignorance of guasos. The egotism and self-conceit of the Chilenos are proportioned to their ignorance, and they pride themselves in not requiring the knowledge of books: they have indeed scarcely any, nor can they endure the trouble of reading those they have. I remember that the president of the senate, a man looked up to by his countrymen as a sort of oracular authority, boasted he had not looked into a

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book for thirty years, and another principal officer of the government, who prides himself on being a learned man, made a similar boast, insinuating thereby that to him book knowledge was unnecessary. Books, therefore, are very scarce, and unsought for among them. General O'Higgins with difficulty succeeded in overcoming the impediments thrown in the way of their introduction into the country by the senate, and obtained the passing of a decree for the importation of all books without reserve, but the elevation of general Freyre to the supreme government, bringing in its sequel the restoration of the bishop to his functions, brought back with all its force the reign of bigotry, and the interdiction against the introduction of books: no book was now allowed to be passed by any customhouse officers, nor even to be sent from Valparaiso to Santiago without the strictest examination, for the purpose of preventing the introduction of any work tending to the extension of heretical knowledge; and every obnoxious book was ordered to be destroyed. These interdictions only affect foreigners, since, as the Chilenos display no taste for reading, books are not worth importing upon speculation for them. In Santiago there is a public national library, called La Bibliotica National, being the remains of the library of the Jesuits: it is rich in polemical works, and in the writings of the fathers, mixed with others of more general utility, but they lie upon the shelves neglected and forgotten. I made many attempts to procure admission into it, obtained an especial order from the supreme director, but I could never find any body in attendance to open the door for me,

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upon the many occasions I attempted to gain admittance. Mrs. Maria Graham, with the most laudable desire of benefiting the country, when she quitted it in the beginning of 1823, contributed to the national library a number of useful and valuable books, in history and the fine arts; I was charged with the delivery of them to the university, but the director of the library never even returned a single line of thanks to the liberal donor.

The supreme director, O'Higgins, showed much anxiety to establish schools, but no one could be found to second his endeavours. In 1821 Mr. Thompson, a missionary from London, endeavoured to establish two Lancastrian schools in Santiago, and one in Valparaiso, and, being supported by the supreme director, schools were commenced in spite of much bigotted resistance, but immediately after Mr. Thompson's departure for Peru, the schools were given up. It is needless to say, that no seminary for the instruction of girls is known in the country; what little intuition they receive is given by the mother, and the friar who performs the family worship.

Among such a people a taste for the fine arts cannot have been acquired: a map or a plan is unintelligible even to their learned advocates at the bar: as to painting, no display of taste has yet exhibited itself; there is not an artist in all Chile, nor a native who can sketch any natural object. A French portrait painter endeavoured to establish himself in Santiago, but he was soon forced to abandon his professional pursuits for those of a more

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mercantile character. Not a picture is to be met with in all the city, except some miserable daubs of the Virgin Mary, or a favourite saint. The art of sculpture is equally unknown; there is neither a bust nor a figure of national workmanship in the whole country, nor is there a single person who is competent to make even a sculptured or a carved ornament. The public buildings, though imposing in their effect, are heavy, badly proportioned, and defective in the most common principles of architecture, surpassing in these respects any moorish edifices I have seen: the better class have all been constructed under Spanish architects, but even they are far inferior to those of Lima and Buenos Ayres: among those which claim any pretensions to stile in architecture, are the mint, the cathedral, and the palace. The former, which is the great boast of the Chilenos, is the most egregious of the whole: we there see great columns upon lofty pediments out of all proportion, standing out from the walls, and supporting nothing but a projecting patch of cornice. The heavy building, which is of brick and mortar, is very large and substantial: it was built by Don Ignacio Huidobrio, for which he was created marquis of Casareal.

The burial of the dead in Chile is most indecently performed, even with persons in good circumstances. A shell is brought from the church, in which the body is laid almost as soon as dead; it is enwrapped in a shroud, and in two days time carried to the church for burial. The procession is always at night-time, and performed according to the expence which the friends of the deceased chuse to bestow upon it, with the two-fold object in view,

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respect to his memory, and a desire to release his soul from purgatory. On the sight appointed, the sacerdotal of the church where his remains are destined for interment, attended by a host of friars from the different convents, assemble at the house of the deceased, where a grand entertainment is laid out for them, in which the friends of the defunct participate: To the crowd assembled around the house is distributed a number of glass lanthorns fixed upon staves, each furnished with a lighted candle, and the people carry them upon their shoulders. This crowd of lights precedes the procession in a slow step, and is followed by the friars chaunting loudly the Requiem: these are succeeded by the priests in their tonics, before whom the tall wax candles and silver chalices are borne: then comes the body, carried in the shell, upon a litter supported in the hands of the bearers, the shroud being held by the nearest relatives; his intimate friends succeed, and another crowd, carrying lanthorns, closes the procession. Arrived at the church, the body is uncovered, and exposed to the crowd while the service is read and mass is performed: no sooner are all retired from the church, than the sexton, who has prepared the hole before-hand, unceremoniously tosses the corpse out of the shell, and throwing over it a quantity of time proceeds to cover it with earth, while two assistants with heavy wooden rammers beat down all the earth; the body must consequently be squeezed and broken, in a manner that shocks our notions of delicacy. The cost of such a funeral is from 500 to 1000 dollars, including the masses

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that are afterwards said for his Aral. To obtain a decent burial in the church, without any procession, with the benefit of mass, the cost is forty dollars. For burial in the Campo Santo, with a mass in the church, sixteen dollars are necessary; but for burial in the Campo Santo, without mass, fourteen reals are essential; and without this fee the poorest person cannot be interred. I have frequently seen dead bodies exposed in the public square of Santiago, and no less frequently in the country, upon the ground, with two or four candles burning near it, awaiting the charitable donations of passengers, till the sum of fourteen reals (seven shillings) has been collected for the interment of the corpse: this has happened at feast times, when many fall a sacrifice to fighting with knives; or it has occurred when some poor person has casually died, removed from his friends or relations, without having wherewith about him to pay for his interment. The Campo Santo is a consecrated piece of ground walled in, outside the city, for the interment of poor people: as soon, therefore, as the necessary money is collected, the corpse is unceremoniously carried to this burial place, where the door is not opened until the fourteen reals have been paid to the gate-keeper; no farther assistance towards the burial is given by the church, but the more charitable peons who have carried the body to the place beg a spade, open a small trench close to the surface, throw in the corpse, and cover it up. The rapacity and unfeelingness displayed on these occasions are demoralizing lessons to the lower classes of society.

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Even in country villages such is the rapacity of the clergy that no person, however poor, can be buried in the church under the cost of sixteen dollars; and if he be interred outside, the unfeeling Chilenos, such is the universal want of respect for the dead, will most assuredly dig up the body, for the mere wanton purpose of stealing the shroud in which it is sometimes enwrapped.

The burial of the poor in the village churches costs four dollars, without the benefit of mass to pray the soul of the deceased out of purgatory: for, according to the general belief, no one can be admitted into heaven without this intercession of the priest, which can be obtained only through purchase; and frequently the poor peasant will pawn or sell every article he possesses in the world to procure for his relative the necessary salvation.

Tobacco is an article of first rate necessity among the Chilenos: they neither take snuff nor chew the leaf, but every man, be he rich or poor, smokes: they use invariably very small cigars, the tobacco a piece of leaf being pulverized on each occasion between the finger, is placed within a small piece of unsized paper, three inches long and one inch broad; this is folded round, into a little pipe, each extremity being turned up to prevent the powdered tobacco from falling out. Each peon carries a pouch made of a kid-skin: the richer classes have tobacco boxes; these hold the tobacco, paper, flint, and steel: the better classes use a kind of tinder brought from Peru, made from the inner

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bark of a particular shrub: die poorer classes have their tinder made from cotton rags, inclosed in the tip of a bullock's horn: they obtain a light very dexterously: the flint is held against the tinder box in the left hand, while the steel in the right hand is smartly struck against the flint; the tinder generally takes fire by a single blow. Both rich and poor prefer on all occasions the sheath of Indian corn instead of paper for making their cigars, as the latter has always a strong empyreumatie flavor. In another place, in speaking of the revenue, I have described the nature of the monopoly or estanco lately put upon tobacco: this has doubled the price of tobacco, and will be felt as a great hardship among the poor, but the greatest inconvenience will he the difficulty and loss of time in procuring it: no one can now deal in tobacco bat those who have proper licences, and these the country pulperias cannot obtain:—the peon will therefore have to go to the towns, which are from thirty to sixty miles distant from each other; whereas formerly every little pulperia and bodegon at the distance of a mile or two used to retail this much required article.

There are many striking coincidences between the Arab and Chileno customs, which are deserving of notice: the present race of Chilenos retain very little of their original customs; they have been mostly adopted from the example probably of the earlier Spanish settlers. The discovery of America was not long subsequent to the expulsion of the Moors from Grenada, their last bold in Spain; and Arab customs met for come time have been

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particularly marked in Old Spain, and many of them transported without much refinement to South America: hence we see a stronger similarity in the habits of the Creoles with the Saracens than are to be observed even in Spain.

The Arabian mode of sitting on low mud benches covered with a carpet, called the estrado, is similar to that of the Chilenos.

The smooth-faced civility and intolerable hypocrisy of the Arabs is strikingly in character with that of the Chilenos.

The Arab mode of cooking mutton on a wooden stake over wood embers, immediately upon being lolled, is common throughout Chile.

The mode of eating out of one dish with their fingers is characteristic of both Arabs and Chilenos.

The Arabs kill their goats and sheep so as to make use of their skins for bags: the head is first removed, and while the body is yet warm, the hand is introduced between the skin of the neck and worked round, till the two fore feet are drawn out. The skin is then stripped off, so as to be without any cut in it, and thus forms a bag which is used to carry water, or other liquids. In Chile, the same skins are used for keeping wine, honey, flour, or other materials.

At El Tah Sidna Mahommed, the huts are described by Belzoni as built of logs, placed perpendicularly in the ground, and lined with canes on both sides, with bushes in the intervals, and covered with mud; the roofs are thatched with rushes. The

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exactly similar construction of the Chileno rancho is very striking.

The dress of the people of El Hesch is a dark blue shirt, a pair of short trowsers, which reach to the knees, a red girdle, and a knife at their side; their legs are bare, and on their feet they wear slippers or sandals. This is the ordinary costume of the Chileno peasantry.

The women of El Hesch have bare legs, and a white haick, or large cotton shawl, in which they are so enveloped that no part of their body is visible except one eye, their slippers, and their bare heels. The singular dress of the females of Lima accords precisely with this description. This peculiar costume is seen no where in Peru, except in Lima, and in the village of Lambayeque: it is not seen in the large town of Truxillo, near the latter place, nor in Arequipa, Guamanga, Cuzco, or other towns of Peru. It was not known among the Indians, and is only now used in the places above-mentioned, by the Spaniards, and those Creole admixtures descended from them.

These remarkable coincidences might be multiplied to a greater extent, but I shall close the comparison with one no less remarkable, which many travellers have observed among the Arabs.

"The Barabra boatmen, who ply on the Nile, in Lower Nubia, are very hardy, and eat any thing," says Belzoni; "they chew natron, mixed with tunny djebel, a sort of dried leaf, brought from Syria, putting the mixture between the front teeth and

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lower lip: this is to them the greatest luxury. The practice of chewing the coca among the Indians of Peru is remarkably striking. Coca is a name given to the leaf of a small shrub, growing in the interior of Peru, in appearance it is like an apple leaf, and is dried for sale; its taste is somewhat astringent. The Peruvians always carry about them a small bag of coca, and a little calabash shell, filled with wood ashes, or quicklime. They dip a stick into the lime, and convey a small portion of it on to their tongue while they are chewing the coca leaf, which gives to it a peculiar and sweet taste; the effect is enlivening, and somewhat intoxicating: by its use the Peruvian is able, in the sterile regions of the high table lands, to subsist four whole days without food; it has the effect, it is said, of preventing sleep: formerly, three millions of pounds' weight were annually used in Lower Peru, and thirty millions of pounds in Upper Peru.

One more coincidence occurs that appears worthy of notice: in the mountain ranges about Cuzco are heaps of stones similar to those known in Arabia, and continually accumulating by a somewhat similar practice, as every traveller, upon accomplishing the passage of certain difficult paths, is accustomed to rest himself a while, and throw a stone he has brought with him upon the heap, as an offering to the god Pachacamac, repeating at the time the word apachecta.

I have just said that but few of the aboriginal customs of the Indians prevailed among the Chilenos

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of the present day. In farther illustration I shall state that, from die northern parts of Chile to the limits of the Biobio, no pure Indian is to be met with: the poorer classes of settlers have become so intermixed with the original population, and we meet with such different shades, from white to the darkest brown, that the peculiar character and physiognomy of the aborigines has become greatly altered, their language and customs entirely forgotten. The only relic of Indian ceremony that I hare seen, or could bear of, is the festival of Corpus Christ], for the celebration of which the office of cacique still remains. This festival is the engrafting of a Romish ceremony upon an Indian feast, as it was the policy of the Spanish settlers to allow the converted Indians to retain some appearances of their old customs, so as not too violently to break them from established prejudices; and on this occasion the old ceremony remained, merely substituting the Virgin Mary for one of their former deities.

The office of cacique is still hereditary, although neither the language nor any of the aboriginal customs Mare descended with it. The functions of cacique are confined merely to the celebration of this farce: he merely preserves the insignia ad instruments, and heads the procession upon the octave of Corpus Christi. On this occasion the cacique, followed by the peasantry, sallies from his house, preceded by a man carrying a banner made of different strips of various colored silks and ribands surmounted by a cross; he is followed by two rude tabors, and half a dozen pipes of various tones, each pipe having only one tube and a single note, so that

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one is blown after another by as many peons in succession, without regard to order or harmony, as they march and stamp in unison with their feet. The tabor or drum used on these occasions seems very old: it is formed of two skins stretched over a cylinder of wood, and bound tight by lacing: the pipes are about eight inches long, two inches broad, and one inch thick, carved fantastically out of a solid piece of wood having a hole bored down the middle: tike note is produced after the manner of a Pandean pipe, by a tremendous effort of the breath. The appearance of the people coming over the distant hills, with the banner waving before them, and the discordant noise of their instruments, is curious. The cacique chooses the place where the feast is to be held, which is always at some pulperia, and a bargain is entered into with him by the keeper of the pulperia, by which he shares half the profits of the fair. The first destination, however, is to the church, which the people enter with their music and their banner, advancing before the image of the Virgin Mary, saluting her with a serenade of their instruments, bowing the insignia before her, and demanding her blessing, the fanatic crowd stamping with their feet to the tune of the pipers. This done, they adjourn to the pulperia, in front of which the banner is set up; the cacique says or sings aloud, in a language be does not understand, a long harangue, the people joining him at intervals in chorus: a party then forms itself into a circle, and dances round the flag with slow, alternate, and violent stamping of the feet, giving at each step a side way motion of the body; the pipers form part of this circle, and keep their in-

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struments in time with their feet, and in unison with their drums. When tired of this amusement, they withdraw to the pulperia, while others are in readiness to supply their places: this circular movement, this blowing of pipes, and a constant refreshment with ardent spirits or wine, soon make all the performers intoxicated: this stupid amusement is kept up for three successive days, from day-break till dark, without intermission.

In some parts of the country, as, for instance, at Tavolango, near Quillota, at Romeral, near Ocoa, and at another place near Quillota, as well as at many others, are Indian villages, that is to say, little spots of ground descended from Indian possessors, whose small possessions were left unclaimed by the king of Spain; these asientos being left as boons to conciliate the aborigines: the possessors, however, are no more Indians than any other of the peons throughout Chile.

In describing the character of the people, I have said, that in the country instances of murders are rare, and that they are more frequent in towns: the greater portion take place in Valparaiso; to put a stop to which the governor has lately had recourse to more rigorous punishments. Under the old Spaniards a man was seldom punished for murder; but from its frequency in the sea-port town, especially among the foreigners, it became necessary to place some preventive checks, and to make some exemplary punishment. The present governor, Zenteno,* has

* Since this was written, Zenteno has been banished the country as a conspirator to restore the supreme director general O'Higgins.

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displayed more activity in the apprehension of assassins, and more determination in bringing them to justice, than any of his predecessors. Cases of murder are generally attended with acts of wanton cruelty and shocking barbarity: a small matter will excite a Chileno to undertake a murder. One instance happened just before I left Chile: half a dozen peons working by mere chance together one night in kneading bread, one of them proposed to the others to attempt the murder of the master, a German; every one instantly acceded with the utmost sang froid, and left their work to accomplish the deed, which they effected in the most cruel manner. Another instance I remember, where an Englishman, a lieutenant in the Chile navy, had excited the jealousy of a woman with whom he cohabited: she hired the first four peons she met with at the price of two reals (one shilling) each, to murder him: they were faithful in their engagement, and dispatched the object of her jealousy in the most barbarous manner. Three of them were taken and shot, when they confessed the motive of their crime, and pointed out the instigator, but she was not molested: indeed, in no instance is a female ever apprehended or tried, much less are they made to suffer punishment. I remember a case where a woman stabbed her husband, and was never molested by the public authorities: this was also the case in Buenos Ayres until very lately; women were hired there for the commission of crimes, under the idea that the law could not reach them, until it became necessary to make a public example, and lately, when I was in Buenos Ayres,

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the first public execution of a woman took place by shooting her in one of the squares. Neither the crime of murder, nor the savage barbarity with which it is executed, nor the culprit's carelessness about it, excites the abhorrence of a Chileno; they look at such things with the same cold blooded feeling as they would witness the slaughtering of a sheep; the stigma is soon forgotten, and pardon is thought to be obtained from God by the atonement of confession to the priest: this done, no stings of conscience remain, and no moral culpability attaches to a murderer.

In the country where I lived, the neighbourhood for some miles round was, for many months, the scene of shocking barbarity. A rich haciendado, who possessed a large estate in the neighbourhood, and who belonged to one: of the first families in the country, had two sons, who amused themselves in the most barbarous acts of robbery and marder; they were the terror of the neighbourhood: their father's tenants afforded them shelter, and gave them assistance whenever required. A tenant, upraiding one of these reprobates for having used violence towards his wife, upon threatening to inform of his places of retreat, became the object of his revenge, and was murdered. His head was severed from his body, and wantonly carried a league from where the body was thrown out to the dogs and birds of prey. The head was some time afterwards discovered by a peon who was passing by the spot accidentally; and I saw it exposed in a half-corrupted state upon the public highway, before the house of the mayor-domo

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of the estate, placed upon a small low table, with lighted candles kept burning round it In the middle of the day, awaiting there the charitable subscriptions of these who passed along the road to buy it.

The young man who committed the murder, notwithstanding the notoriety of this act of infamy, was suffered to go about unmolested: he is now living with his family, but he occasionally sallies forth in his excursions, when drunk, and commits breaches of public order. I hare had my neighbourhood kept in a state of alarm for a fortnight together, while he and his friends have been rioting from one pulperia to another.

When in Santiago, I have seen bodies of murdered men brought in for interment by the local police; the most shocking spectacles have frequently been exhibited—the mangled body, stiff with gore, covered with gashes, and half dried up by exposure to the sun, has been seen tied on the bade of a mule, uncovered, the legs and arms stretched out: the people, as it has passed through the street, instead of compassion, have burst out into loud jokes on the swagging about of the stiffened limbs: these exhibitions are horrifying.

The process by which a murderer is brought to punishment is a statement, or kind of proces verbal, drawn up by the alcalde or juez of the place, and presented to the asessor of the town, by whom the culprit is examined and called upon to confess his crime: witnesses are also called upon to give in their statements by written documents, to which re-

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presentations the governor listens, and determines the sentence: it is then requisite that this sentence should be confirmed in the capital, for which purpose all the documents are sent to the supreme court of judicature, and the culprit, if he have sufficient interest, may appeal: after a tedious delay, without hearing a single witness, the court rejects or confirms the sentence; should the culprit have friends to urge their influence in his favor with the judges, he is certain to escape. It commonly happens that the clergyman to whom the culprit has unfolded his bosom interferes to prevent the infliction of death, conceiving that the confession and repentance offered by the culprit are a sufficient expiation for the crime; and this interest, whenever urged in his favor, seldom fails in its effect: imprisonment is frequently commuted for the punishment of death, in which case the murderer is soon set at liberty to practise his evil propensities. The mode of executing a murderer is indecent and cruel: it always takes place in the public square, where the culprit is seated upon a small stool, placed against a wall, and half a dozen soldiers stand before him at the distance of six paces: all level their muskets at him, and fire at one time, but so barbarously, and with such little aim, that two or three rounds are sometimes given before the wounded wretch is put out of misery: the gore is left on the spot, and against the white-washed wall till time alone effaces it: the sight of the place afterwards is for many days disgusting. Robbery, maiming, and such like crimes, are punished with imprisonment and public labor; but a miscreant who has

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friends, or means of bribing the jailor, immediately escapes. It is, indeed, very difficult to bring any person guilty of crime to punishment; it requires the greatest perseverance and influence on the part of the prosecutor; and even if convicted, the chances are twenty to one that the miscreant evades punishment, and is set at liberty to revenge himself on the person who has sought to obtain justice. This is more frequently the case now than under the Spanish regime; the laxity of an efficient police has encouraged licentiousness. Several efforts have been made by the government in respect to public morals, and the security of the citizens, but these have been more bombastic displays of words than practical regulations for the preservation of good order.

I shall take this opportunity of describing the prison of Santiago, which forms one of the principal buildings in the great square adjoining the palace. The front is occupied with the offices of the government scriveners, the upper story is the hall of the cabildo and the chamber of justice, the prison is within. On passing the front gate, there is a court-yard open to the visits of the friends of the prisoners: the inner building, in which the latter are confined, consists of two large halls, with a small space between them; and behind these again is a large yard, to which all confined have free access: there are no separate cells, but at night all the prisoners, with or without fetters, are promiscuously shut up in the halls, where no beds are provided, but each stretches out a sheep�s skin, hide, or poncho upon the bare ground, and lays himself down

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to sleep. By the Chilenos it is considered too hardship, for they are bred up to this mode of sleeping. The only means the prisoners have of communicating with their friends are from two large windows with iron gratings, looking into the front court-yard. On the sides of the inner court are two suites of small rooms for the accommodation of prisoners of a better class. The food of the prisoners is good, and regularly provided at the expence of the cabildo, out of the funds raised by municipal duties. There is no classification among the prisoners: those suspected of crime are huddled together with those who are convicted, be it for murder, robbery, moral, or state offences. The fetters with which some of them are loaded are heavy and awkward. There is another class, consisting of those condemned to the public works, whose quarters are in a miserable building in the suburbs: they are all ironed, and are daily brought out to clean the roads, clear the azequias, to assist in building or repairing of public works; they are accompanied by soldiers, who stand over them with loaded muskets, who smoke cigars, and joke with them as fellow companions. These people seem callous to the disgrace of their situation, and appear happy and contented with their lot: there are no other punishments known, nor are tortures inflicted: in some cases for political offences flogging is given with a cane. I remember a German, the editor of a public journal, who, for stating some facts displeasing to die government, was punished publicly with 200 palos, or stripes of the cane.

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CHAPTER XX

TKADE, COMMERCE, MANUFACTURES, WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Pretended Encouragement given by the Government of Chile for the Establishment of Manufactories.— Examples.—1. My own Case.—2. Whaling.—3. Copper refining.—4. Brewing.— 5. Babate at Quintero.—Observations and Cautions.—Creole, or Native Manufactures.—Copper.—Soap.—Leather.—Wine and Brandy.—TRADE.—In Bread.—Cattle.—Charqui— Grapes as Food.—Meat.—Wool.—Swine.—Garden Produce.—COMMERCE.—Sugar.—Rice.—Cacao.—Fruits.—Salt.—Fuel.—WEIGHTS and MEASURES—Gold.—Silver—Other Weights and Measures.—Transport of Goods.—1. By Mules.—2. By Carts.—3. By Waters—Duties levied on Trade.

THERE is not in all Chile a single establishment deserving the name of a manufactory, if we except a very small one at Santiago for weaving coarse hempen bags, upon a very limited scale, erected by a German, with scarcely any capital. I shall detail in succession all the handicrafts that upon a small scale ace carried on in the country.

The government, at times, with the view to some ultimate purpose, will affect a great deal of liberality on this head; and, in some cases, it has been known to carry these affectations to a ridiculous extent: for instance, because the man before-mentioned put up a small stocking-frame to work by hand, it was ordained, before he was prepared to make half-a-dozen pair of stockings per day, that a prohibitory duty

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should be laid upon the importation of foreign stockings, an order that was soon obliged to be taken off. I should regret exceedingly that any foreign artizan or manufacturer should think of settling in Chile for many years to come. I should lament to hear that any British capitalist, however flattering the offers made to him, should invest his capital in any enterprize upon the soil of Chile: having myself failed in such an attempt, from impediments that natually exist in the country, together with the absurd obstacles opposed by the general and local authorities, as well as by the obstinate jealousies of the natives, notwithstanding all the flattering inducements that were held out, and the outward show of protection afforded in an especial manner to me individually. My own case was simply thus: owing to the flattering inducements held out to me, and the promises of protection from the government of Chile which I received, I ventured to export, at an incredible risk, an immense train of machinery for the purpose of refining and manufacturing copper into sheathing for the consumption of America and the East Indian market. I invested in machinery and implements no less a sum than 40,000 dollars, besides an equal sum which I expended in forming my establishments in Chile: the obstacles that stood in the way of my success are detailed in another place; but, independently of these, every little selfish engine, every malicious obstacle that could be invented, were thrown in my way, no less by some of the principal officers of the government, than by powerful individuals of the country. I will recount one of the principal difficulties I met with, as it is

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aptly illustrative of the manner in which legal processes are carried forward, and as affording much useful matter of fact connected with the present condition of the country.

On my arrival in Chile I was hospitably welcomed by general O'Higgins, who then held the office of supreme director, and who assured me that all the assistance and protection the government could afford would cheerfully be extended to me, as well as his own personal services, which he heartily pledged, and which, as far as he was individually concerned, he never failed to contribute. He also rendered me what services he could by opposing the tide of opposition and empeño directed against my efforts by many jealous powerful natives, and especially by one of the ministers. My first object was to fix upon the most eligible situation for my establishment: some recommended Coquimbo as being nearest the copper mines, but this presented the difficulties of want of fuel and sufficiently constant water power; others suggested Conception as the centre of an abundant and well-peopled country, having plenty of coal in the vicinity. The continual inroads of the Indians, and the insecurity of property there, rendered this part of the country inappropriate: I therefore chose the neighbourhood of Valparaiso, the most central part of the country, and at no great distance from the capital. The spot I fixed upon was at the mouth of the river Concon, the nearest point to Valparaiso where sufficient command of water was to be obtained, and to which an easy water carriage was to be found from Valparaiso, for the landing of my pon-

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derous machinery, which it Was absolutely impossible to convey by land, even a few miles, in any part of so hilly a country. Fixing my eye upon this spot, I wrote to general O'Higgins, begging he would tell me where I could learn the legal mode of purchasing the freehold; I was replied to by an Official communication from the minister of state, assuring me that as my enterprize was of such vast utility to the nation, the government wished to arrange for the purchase of the land on my account, in order to afford me greater security, and orders were accordingly issued to the governor of Valparaiso to proceed legally in the affair: considering, of course, that the proffered assistance was most advantageous, I readily acceded to it. It turned out that the estate belonged to a lady, married to the Spanish general Marotto, who was second in command in the action of Chacabuco, and was living in exile with her husband at that time, in Chuquisaca, in Upper Peru, of which province he was governor: but her mother, Doña Mercedes Garcia, a Chileno lady, living in Santiago, had a life-interest in the property, and held it in trust, so that, during her life-time, its confiscation to the government as the property of a native fled from the country, could not be confirmed. The public scrivener therefore applied to the lady to know whether she would consent to the sale of the ground, so as to assist the views of the government in forwarding an object of great public utility: her reply, given in the affirmative, was properly registered, and the usual process of surveying, valuing, and reporting, were gone through, prior to obtaining the necessary boleta de

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venta, which is the basis of every title-deed, according to the Spanish laws. As all these processes, managed especially by the hands of government, were very dilatory; as the vessels that had my machinery on board could no longer remain in port; as the machinery once landed in Valparaiso could not easily be re-shipped for the place of its destination; and as considerable expence and preparation were necessary at Concon to effect the landing of the goods, for which an extensive mole required to be constructed, I applied to the government to know whether I was secure in proceeding to the preparation of the mole; and, being assured of the fullest security, I commenced. this great undertaking, which was continued during the time I was absent on a journey to Mendosa, to bring over my wife, who had been long detained there by the causes mentioned in a previous chapter. On my return from Mendosa, I was astonished at finding that Mrs. Garcia had refused to sign the title-deeds: this, I afterwards discovered, was at the suggestion of the minister of war, who was her first-cousin. The director, and the minister of state, assured me the refusal was not of the least consequence, and advised me not to relax in the pursuit of my plans; with a little patience the matter would soon be settled. In the fullest reliance upon the unsolicited pledges, and on the good faith of the government, I prosecuted my labours, and after a tremendous expence landed my machinery, made the roads for conveying it to the scite of the intended mills, erected the necessary work-shops, warehouses, and dwellings, and commenced the ca-

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nals and other hydraulic works, preparatory to the grand undertaking. I never ceased for many months together to urge the government to the completion of the task it had undertaken, until at length the minister of state got rid of my importunities, by telling me, that my only chance of success was by the institution of a law-suit against Mrs. Garcia!! A stranger in the country, without any assistance, ignorant of the laws, and unacquainted with the moral turpitude of the Chileno character, was I placed in this trying situation; general O'Higgins was the only friend to whom I could trust for advice, but his whole time was absorbed in too many important matters for me to expect much assistance from him. It was only now that I was beginning to open my eyes to my situation, to perceive the gross exaggerations relative to the resources which the country was likely to present to my enterprize, and to witness the changes that free commerce was operating upon the value of the national products: all these, but more especially the insecurity of my possession, determined me to suspend for a while my great enterprize; and, as I had brought with me from England, five intelligent workmen, at great risk and expence, and had bound them in contracts for a certain number of years, I compromised with two of them and sent them back to England, retaining the other three at high salaries. With the prospect of affording them employment during the period of suspension of my plans, I resolved to build a small flour-mill with three pairs of stones, which I completed after the English fashion, obtaining from England French

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burr stones, but completing every other article upon the spot. This mill of three pairs of stones, together with dressing cylinders, corn cylinders, sawing benches, &c., was a very perfect piece of mechanism, and is, I believe, the only one of the kind ever built in South America.

My application was first to the court of intendencia, by which I gained some insight into the rogueries of the Creole courts of law. The intendencia is a court held before the governor-general, or intendente of the central jurisdiction of Chile, the professed object of which is to bring the litigating parties face to face, after they have urged before him their respective claims by representations which have been alternately referred to the parties for reply: from the perusal of these voluminous statements, without examination of witnesses, or of documents, but upon the mere word of the litigants upon paper, the intendente is supposed to be put into possession of all the merits of the case, by the time he chuses to call the parties before him: the truth is, that he never reads them, but listens privately to the view of the case, urged by friends of the litigants, and decides accordingly as one or the other possesses the most influence with him. As a foreigner I stood but little chance of success, except inasmuch as my case was the act of the government, and supported by the personal good-will of the supreme director. Upon our meeting, after a long delay, the intendente, instead of viewing the matter in the point at issue, viz.— that the government had, in my name, undertaken to purchase the property, and had obtained the

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consent of the owner to that effect, who now could assign no other reason for her refusal to abide by her contract of sale, excepting that of mere caprice or dishonesty—to my astonishment turned to me, and asked how much money I would offer to compromise the matter with my litigant In vain I urged the merit of the question; the intendente shuffled to the formor ground so that I could hardly restrain my indignation. My friend who accompanied me pulled my sleeve, and whispered that it was useless to resist, and that I had better listen to the suggestion: the ground was valued at 457 dollars, and I therefore offered 1000 dollars, but Mrs. Garcia immediately demanded 3000 dollars for half the ground I required for obtaining the necessary command of water, and which she had bargained to sell. The intendente in no way urged her to more reasonable terms; on the contrary, he appeared her advocate throughout the whole affair. The intendente, with the most provoking hypocrisy, assured me of the desire he had to serve me at all sacrifices, and regretted he could not bring the affair to a favourable issue. I then little understood the manœuvre: a long time passed over before I could obtain from the intendente his verdict, which was at length only hastened by an order from the government: his decision gave me a right to the ground I had obtained; not on the terms of the valuation, but at the price of roy rejected offer of compromise, 1000 dollars. This was done to bring the suit within the limits of an interminable litigation, as I afterwards discovered.

Against this sentence nay opponent appealed to a

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high court, la camera de justicia, a suit that lasted two years longer before I could obtain a decision. The minister of war, Zenteno, with his usual hypocrisy, in order to cajole me into delay, now came forward as the intermediator, under the garb of a sincere regard for my interests, and under violent professions of friendship, at the very moment that be was urging Mrs. Garcia against me, and was using all his influence to ruin my suit, as I afterwards learned from general O'Higgins: indeed, to the treacherous opposition of this individual who had no other motive for injuring me than that I was a foreigner, and an intruder upon the soil of Chile, and a friend of lord Cochrane's, I, in a great measure, attribute my failure. During the tedious lawsuit in the camara, the most shameless falsehoods were brought forward, to make it appear that I had seized the whole estate of Mrs. Garcia, had ravaged the country, burned down the houses of the poor, and had committed the enormities of a brigand; falsehoods backed by the testimony of another cousin of Mrs. Garcia, who held an adjoining estate, but who soon after quarrelling with his cousin, gave me a document denying all his former falsehoods. This I presented to the court, for no examinations upon oath of the parties are ever listened to, nor witnesses admitted as evidence in the courts of law, but the most gross falsehoods are admitted on all skies without calling for the smallest observation from the judges, by whom the true merits of a case are never listened to. This recantation could not be passed over, and therefore prevented the loss of my cause; yet, notwithstanding the partiality of the

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judges was now even more glaring than on the former occasion, my perseverance perplexed them, and at length a day of ordeal was fixed upon, to get rid of my importunities; my advocate pleaded my cause, but no one on the part of my opponent appeared to answer for her: the hearing passed over, until after some delay I found in the record office the sentence in my favour. This confirmed the decision of the intendencia, but added a most atrocious reserve, disannulling the right of title in case the machinery (without alluding to what machinery, or knowing what machinery I had proposed to erect), was not completed in twelve months. I had specified to no one my objects, which of course would be guided alone by the circumstances of the times: I had already erected very extensive works on the premises, which were even of more importance to Chile, in a national point of view, than those at first proposed to be completed.

The enormity of the judges in Creole courts of law, the hopelessness of justice, the insecurity of any domiciled property in Chile, may by these proceedings be judged of, as used towards me, under circumstances which ought to have received the protection of all the public authorities, and the good will of the natives. If I had not watched for the appearance of this decision, which by the rule of court allowed me only three days for the appearance to put in a protest, I should have lost all chance of appeal. I applied for redress to the supreme government, which expressed its disapprobation of the proceeding; and, had it not been for the spirited conduct of general O'Higgins upon this occasion, urged

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still more by the unexpected arrival of Lard Cochrane from his long cruize, my writ would hare been lost: the judges received a peremptory letter to reconsider and revise the illegal sentence issued against me: this they subsequently did by annulling altogether the reserve, which left my case confirmed according to the sentence of the intendencia. At the end of three years I considered myself fortunate in thus terminating a suit, which, but for the powerful assistance I received, would have remained undecided for ever: but, notwithstanding all my prospect of security, such is the. facility with which even the decisions of the highest tribunals of the country are set aside, that to the present moment the verdict has been a mere useless form of court. On the publication of my decree, my opponent went into the country: it was necessary to await her arrival in town, to have made known Regally to her (para hacer saber) the sentence of the court; for, as she had refused to accede (otorgar), a fresh order was issued to oblige her, but before this order could be officially made known to her, the great earthquake happened, which caused the delay of another year, as it was pretended that all the archives had been jumbled together, so that my documents could not be found. At length they were discovered, and I obtained a new order from the camara, to notify the latest forms of court, which was necessary to be effected before I could possibly enter upon any further proceeding. During this interval the minister Zenteno had been promoted to the governorship of Valparaiso, and the legal advocate of Mrs. Garcia bad been selected by him for his asesor or legal adviser; and she herself

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had gone to remain some time in Valparaiso: the notification could only pass through the hands of the governor and his asesor; numerous delays and excuses were invented to evade the notification for six months, when I was summoned to Peru respecting the re-establishment of the mint in Lima. On my return, I again applied for the certificate of the notification to Mrs. Garcia, when, after another year's delay, the document was declared to be lest; this I was told by the asesor, with sarcastic sang froid. Disgusted with the proceedings, despairing of the least chance of obtaining justice, perceiving the growing disturbances of the times, and the still less chance for security of property in the country, conscious that every engine was at work to rain my views, the hopelessness of any success in my flour speculation to Peru, while the government refused to protect my interests, or second my endeavours, I resolved to abandon so hopeless an enterprise, in which I had sunk so muck money, and directed my steps to Buenos Ayres, on hearing of the intention of that government to erect a national mint. I felt confident that in treating with die government of Buenos Ayres, I was upon surer ground than I had hitherto been in Chile. I observed, that this people, by the extension of education, were rapidly outgrowing their more violent prejudices; and, profiting by the experience of many years of active revolution, had learned to reason, to judge for themselves, and had established among them a public opinion, which exists no where else in South America. The check thus placed upon public au-

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thority, the improvements introduced into the financial, legislative, and executive deportments, which are said to be chiefly due to the minister, D. Bernardo Rivadavia, have established upon a solid footing public credit, individual security of property, and a character far good faith both in the administration and among the people.

Another project of considerable advantage to Chile, and on a large scale, was entered into by an English merchant, named Henderson, and a North American, named Wooster, who had retired from the naval service of Chile: the object was whaling for sperm-oil, and refining it for exportation to Europe. This enterprize offered encouraging prospects, and was founded upon the moot rational calculations to ensure success: the government highly applauded the scheme, and assured the individuals, that although its difficulties would not permit it to follow the example of the British government, in granting a premium upon the whale fishery, still it was disposed to offer every possible assistance; and, as an earnest of this desire, guaranteed that not only all materials required for the purpose might be imported by them, free of all duties, but that the export of the oil should be duty free, and that all the local authorities throughout the country should afford diem every possible protection. Upon the faith of such prospects the sum of 60,000 dollars was invested in the enterprize, vessels were chartered, equipped, and furnished with proper crews, and materials for whaling, and they were sent to sea: the refining establishment was to have been fixed at Coquimbo, whither were sent all the

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barrels and barrel-staves that could be purchased on shore, or afloat. Soon after this was done the grand expedition sailed from Valparaiso; but, as the governor of that port had neglected to procure sufficient water-casks for the use of the transports and ships of war, an order was given to the commissary-general to put into Coquimbo, and there take all the hogsheads prepared for the whaling establishment: in vain did the individuals interested protest against this violation of private property; in vain did they urge the ruin it would cause them on the arrival of the whaling ships, shortly expected to return with sperm oil: all was of no use, the casks were taken for the public service. They collected together all the old whale-oil hogsheads that could be mustered to receive the returns of the first vessel that should come in; but, on its arrival, the governor of Coquimbo claimed the right to levy duties by virtue of an old Spanish law exacting a portion of the produce of the fishery, amounting, I believe, to about one-eighth share of the whole product; and, for acquittance from these duties, application to the supreme government was made in vain. But neither of these arbitrary proceedings could damp the ardour of the speculators, or arrest their operations, until another most violent measure was put in force against them. The want of casks in which to store the oil-blubber was provided against as well as it could be, by sinking a reservoir on the high promontory that overlooks the bay of Coquimbo; this work was stopped by the governor of the town and province, on the plea that it would be injurious to the health of the in-

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habitants, although the spot is several miles distant from the town: jealousy against foreigners was the motive which produced these proceedings. The want of storage brought on immense charge for demurrage of vessels, which arrived with cargoes of blubber, and this, with other unavoidable expences, compelled them to abandon the speculation, after losing a very considerable sum of money.

Another instance occurred; it was a plan for refining copper, and manufacturing vessels for exportation to Peru. Some such establishments on a very small scale exist at Quillota, Melipilla, and Santiago, and will be described in their proper place. On this occasion an attempt was to be made on a larger scale nearer the copper mines, and the projector fixed himself in Coquimbo, where he built his rude refining furnaces after the mode of the country, and commenced his operations with every prospect of success; but no sooner were his copper pans brought to market, than duties of thirty-three per cent were laid upon their exportation; this could not be borne, and thus one of the first manufacturing establishments that really promised to be useful to the nation was put down by the iniquitous policy of the government.

Another instance of folly, on the part of the government toward manufactures, has been displayed since I left Chile. Many attempts have been made to establish breweries, but all have failed, owing to the difficulty of making malt in a country possessing a climate so different from that of England. Lately, a very intelligent Englishman conceived the practicability of brewing of good beer,

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for which there promised to be a considerable consumption: with the aid of his scientific and mechanical knowledge he succeeded in his attempts, contrary to the expectations of those who had failed to effect the same objects; but no sooner had he completed his first brewings for sale to the shipping, than the government, having previously made many public protestations in favour of manufacturing establishments generally, and promises to the one under consideration in particular, decreed beer and ale to be foreign spirituous liquors, and that the manufacturer was therefore liable to be taxed: they at first charged him with a levy of fifty dollars—where it will stop no one can contemplate; it is not unlikely it may be so heavily increased as to force him to abandon his enterprise.

I shall cite one more instance to show the disposition which always has existed, and may be expected to exist, against the establishment of useful enterprises in Chile by foreigners. When Lord Cochrane made a purchase of his estate at Quintero, lying about thirty miles to the northward of Valparaiso, it excited much jealousy on the part of the natives, and especially of the government: the Chilenos could not conceive what object Lord Cochrane could have in the purchase of an estate, other than the desire of accumulating money by its means; and, judging of him by themselves, they formed the idea that he had purchased it with the view of carrying on a smuggling trade, as the bay of Quintero presented an excellent landing-place, and as he had the ships of the na-

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tion at his command: such was the narrow-minded policy of the Chileno government, that the fiscal of the state was directed to issue a document, claiming the estate of Quintero in the name of the government, which, according to the Spanish law, could demand a right and preference over every other purchaser or claimant, by giving the same amount of money that another had offered; but this was not the only right on which the fiscal claimed the property: the terms of his claim expressed, "el gobierno tiene derecho de ocupar a los bienes de individuos siendo para il uso publico"—that the government possessed the privilege of taking possession on its own account of the effects of individuals, in case they were required for the public service. Nothing was said of purchasing—nothing was particularized, but the learned expounder and propagator of the laws of Chile gave this as his dictum as to the respective rights of his government and individuals, using the sweeping term "bienes," which included all the property and effects that a man might be worth. The conduct of Lord Cochrane upon the occasion, and the fear of losing his services at the time, when he was then about to sail with the grand expedition to Peru, made the government rescind the order with respect to Quintero, but the promulgation of the rights of the government stood recorded in the public archives. I naturally took alarm at this claim, thinking that if such were the law of the land, the government might at any future time seize upon ray establishment at Concon, on the plea that it was "para el uso publico," for the public service. I therefore

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presented a memorial to the government, requiring to know by a formal record, whether my investiture upon the soil of Chile came within the possible interpretation of so alarming a privilege as that claimed by the fiscal.

The director and general San Martin both seemed to take an interest in my affair. My document was passed over to the fiscal at the same time that the secretary of state assured me I had no cause for alarm. I heard nothing more of the affair until two years afterwards, when I discovered my representation and the reply of the fiscal attached to the archived documents of my law-suit in the records of the camara, which had been sent down to the minister Zenteno for the purpose of being handed over to me, but which had been thrust into the situation I have mentioned. This reply of the fiscal was a most insolent invective against me for interpreting his words; "did the appellant suppose," said the law-officer, "that the government was barbarous enough not to respect individual rights? presumptuous man! could it be endured that he should entertain such notions, such constructions of the principles by which the government of Chile was actuated? the sense in which he had applied the right in the case cited was landed property, capable of becoming ports, harbours, arsenals, or other government works." This was no reply, and left the claim of right as undecided as ever; but, concluding it better policy not to raise the enmity of the fiscal, I took no notice of my discovery, especially as my law-suit was then in progress before the court. But it is clear, that the govern-

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ment of Chile at any time may appropriate to itself the property or establishment of individuals on the pretence that it is capable some day of becoming useful for the public service.

This insecurity of property in the possession of individuals, and the arbitrary proceedings of the government, may serve as a caution to other Englishmen against risking their property in any except mere mercantile speculations in Chile.

The trade of a coppersmith in Chile is conducted upon a very small scale; their implements are rude, their materials few, the whole being included in a small rancho or hut, which often serves for their residence. For making the large pans or paylas, the metal is first cast in circular cakes sixteen or eighteen inches diameter, and from three to five inches thick, according to its intended size; it is cast in an earthen mould, made of the size of the intended cake, previously baked, and sometimes bound round with an iron hoop; these serve several times without breaking: the mould is placed in a small pit, into which the nozzles of a pair of Chileno bellows are placed; the hole is piled round with loose bricks, and charcoal is heaped within it. Having made a good fire, the copper is thrown in by small quantities at a time, and as it melts it falls into the mould beneath, by which means the metal is both melted and cast in one operation. When cooled, the metal is removed from the mould, and is ready for the making of a payla. The anvil for forging them is generally a lump of bronze metal, flattened at top, lashed by a hide thong to the side

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of a short thick stake, firmly let into the ground: the heads of the hammers made use of are very long, having the handle at one end. The copper from time to time is annealed in the same pit that serves for melting, by a fine clear fire maintained by the bellows, the fuel on this occasion being the trunk or decayed leaf stalks of the cardon, an aloëcious shrub of the country, pourretia coarctata (the puya of Molina): when sufficiently hot, the cake is removed to the anvil, and there beaten out by hand, half a dozen men being employed upon the largest payla, which sometimes weighs two or three hundred weight: they are again annealed from time to time, and the hammering continued till it is beaten to a proper shape: with such rude implements and materials the pans are of course very rough and of uneven thickness; they frequently hammer the metal through in places, and oftener crack it; these flaws are afterwards patched up with brass or coarse silver solder. The price charged by the manufacturer of the paylas is three reals, 1s. 6d., the pound, and they are retailed in the towns at four reals, or 2s., the pound. Considering the length of time the making of a payla requires, it is astonishing how they can afford to manufacture them at so cheap a rate; it shows what little value the manufacturer places upon his labor; he is indeed invariably a very poor man, and is always habitado, or assisted with capital by the town retailer. The small paylas are very light, and are tinned inside with pewter, for which purpose they use mineral pitch as a flux instead of rosin; those which hold nearly a gallon are sold for the low price

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of twelve reals, or 6s. The small calderas, or pots, used by every person throughout the country for boiling water for their mattè, and which hold nearly a pint, are made and sold for a dollar (4s.); they are hammered out of a small round cake, without brazing, the handle being rivetted on, and the cover secured by a small copper chain. They have a singular contrivance for a forging iron to raise so small and so deep a vessel; a forked branch of a tree, whose two diverging stems make an isosceles triangle, having a short transverse piece tied across near its ends, forming somewhat the shape of a letter A, is the framework for the support of the implement: an iron bar, somewhat rounded and turned down at one end, is placed over the transverse stick and under the angles of the fork; in this position it is laid upon a mud-bench raised above the floor, the beaked end of the iron overhanging the edge of the bench. The workman seats himself over the forked end of the stick, stretching his legs on each side the diverging end of the fork, and steadying them with his knees: the piece of copper placed upon the iron beak is beaten to the shape required, the workman never quitting his seat, as an assistant hands him in succession the annealed pieces from the fire as he requires them.

There is not a large manufactory of soap in the country, but there are a considerable number upon a very small scale; indeed it is usual for all large families to make their own soap, the mode and materials employed being very simple. At every hacienda, where cattie are killed in quantities, a small soap manufacture is considered a necessary part of

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the establishment; the fat, however, generally made use of in the country, is that of the goat, which is preferred, as making the best soap. I have visited the soap manufactories of Santiago, which are all on the same limited scale. There are generally two circular boilers; the lower, or bottom part of each is a copper payla, imbedded in the upper part, which is merely a round wall of mud-bricks, plastered over with a cement of lime and sand; the fire, therefore, only playing round the very bottom of the boiler, prevents the soap from being burned: these boilers at the top are about four feet and a half in diameter, about two feet and two thirds at the bottom, and four feet and a half deep, nine inches of which at the bottom is formed by the rim of the copper pan; a small chamber, having an arched opening, is left under the copper bottom, which serves for the fireplace, but it has no chimney; espino wood is used for fuel. The leys are made in a tank about eight feet long and four feet broad; this is constructed of sun-dried bricks, lined with a cement of lime and sand, and has a small plug-hole at bottom, by which its contents may be drawn off: they are refined, after concentration in the boilers, in boticas, or earthen jars brought from Pisco, in Peru, in which the brandy of that country is contained; these jars are about the size and shape of those used by our sugar refiners. The leys are prepared from wood ashes brought from the kitchens of the towns, or are purposely made in the more woody districts; six fanegas (fifteen bushels) of these ashes are boiled with about half a fanega (a bushel and a half) of shell-lime;

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this, prepared into the proper lixivium, is boiled with seven arrobas (175 pounds) of fat, to which the due proportion of salt is added, to separate the waste leys, and harden the soap. This is made at two boilings, generally occupying three or four days; the soap prepared weighs above 200 pounds, is very bad, being nearly black; when dry, it is cut up into small pieces: eight pieces, weighing about a pound, are sold for a real (6d.); it is never sold by weight.

Among the few manufactories of Santiago are about forty tanneries, all on a small scale. There is nothing remarkable in the process followed; the bark is crushed by a rolling stone, drawn by a mule, somewhat after the manner of their trapiche mills. Oak bark is not known in Chile: for sole leather, or ox hides of good quality, they use the bark of linguy (laurus linguy); for ordinary purposes, thin cow hides and sheep skins, they use the bark of peumo (laurus peumo); but for morocco and tanned kid, they make use of the root of the pankè (gunnera scabra). The consumption of leather is wholly in shoes, it is seldom used for any other purpose. It is of bad quality; first, because the bark is inferior to that of oak; and second, because time enough is not allowed in the operation of tanning.

Wine and Brandy Manufactures.—In the elevated valleys of Chile, near the Cordillera, are many vineyards, the grapes are of very good quality. The vines are generally irrigated every three days: this is said to be injurious to the sweetness and flavour of the fruit, but in so dry a climate it is thought necessary to prevent the roots from striking

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down too deep in search of moisture, which is supposed greatly to diminish the abundance of the crop. With the Chilenos, quantity of grapes, and not quality, is the main object; they, therefore, never plough nor hoe between the rows, as is customary in Europe. Weeds are suffered to grow in abundance, and these also tend to diminish the flavour of the fruit. A bad crop seldom happens from too much rain falling at the time of vintage, but the crops are sometimes lessened by the frosty nights of August, which destroys the young buds; these losses are very partial, and seldom happen but after very severe winters. The vintage commences towards the end of April: boys and slaves are employed to pluck the grapes and put them into capachos, or large hide buckets, two of which are slung across a mule; a boy being seated between them, conducts them to the bodega, or wine manufactory, which is a long building. At one end of this building are too logares, or reservoirs, built of brick and lime, about fifteen feet long, seven feet broad, and two feet high, having a passage between them of five feet. Over one of these reservoirs two large rectangular sieves are placed; the sides of these sieves are of wood, about six inches deep, and the bottom is a network of small strips of hide; upon these sieves each of the two receiving peons take a capacho of grapes as each mule arrives, throws the contents into the sieves, and replaces the baskets on the mule; between the arrival of each load they rub the bunches of grapes over the net with both hands, by which all the fruit passes through the meshes into the reser-

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voir below, but the stalks are thrown aside into a heap, and are preserved for making brandy. After the day's work is finished in the vineyard, which is after sun-set, the two peons enter the reservoir and tread the grapes with their feet. The bottom of the reservoir is somewhat inclined, and at the lower end is a small hole, through which the expressed juice flows into a receptacle, or small well: this done, a boarded partition is placed across the higher end of the reservoir, all the skins of the grapes thrown into it, other boards are laid upon them, and are pressed down by the weight of several tons of loose stones laid upon them: the next morning the stones and planks are removed, the mass of husks is beaten with a heavy wedge-shaped rammer, and again pressed with, the boards and stones, and this operation is repeated three or four times in the course of the day, by which means a considerable portion of must is expressed. At the time this is going forward in the one reservoir, the peons go through the operation of the sieve in the other, as before described. This process is continued for several days; and as the vintage always happens at the period when the first rains are anticipated, it is an affair of consequence to accomplish the operation as quickly as possible: for this purpose neither Sundays nor feast-days are allowed to interfere or arrest the progress of the vintage. Along each side of the bodega, which is generally about seventy feet long, are arranged a number of large earthen jars, called tinacas, each holding from sixty to one hundred gallons. They are lined with a kind of mineral pitch called

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brea, brought from the Cordillera, near Curico; it is of a similar kind to that already described as being found at the Tortoral, near Mendoza. Into these jars the expressed juice of the grape is poured, together with a portion of cocido, where it is suffered to ferment: the cocido is the fresh must boiled down to two thirds of its bulk, and of this liquor about one part is added to ten parts of pure must, without which precaution the wine would become sour, as the grape hardly possesses sufficient saccharine matter to afford the necessary quantity of alcohol: the cause of this want of sugar is attributed by many to an over-irrigation of the vineyard, which some Frenchmen have told me should not be done oftener than once a month, instead of two or three times every week, as is the custom among the Chilenos. Experiment alone can determine this point. The cocido is boiled in shallow copper pans, set in mud brickwork; and to effect its quick evaporation, a very brisk fire is maintained by bushes of the espino, a mimosa tree, the flame of which is violent: it thus contracts a strong empyreumatic flavor, which is communicated to the wine. The Chileno peasantry are very fond of this wine, but it is consumed chiefly at the pulperias, which are mostly frequented on Sundays and feast-days; a great portion is consumed while yet in the fermenting state. In this state it is preferred on account of its being more intoxicating; to this no cocido is added, and it is sold about the country under the names of sancochado, or chica. It has been customary with me to purchase a quantity of this fresh sancochado, by adding sugar to

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which, and watching its fermentation carefully, I have made wines no way inferior to the best Teneriffe. I have hitherto spoken only of white wines: a red wine is made in Chile, in imitation of Carlon, or Catalonian wine: both white and red are alike the product of the same black grape; but in order to extract the color of the husk, a quantity of burnt gypsum is added, by which means a very disagreeable astringent flavor is given to the wine. After the wine is properly fermented in the tinacas, the mouth of the vessel, which is eighteen inches diameter, is closed with a baked earthen cover, luted over with a compost of clay and horse-dung; and this is not opened till the wine is sold, or till the season of brandy-making arrives, when all the contents of the tinacas are passed through the stills; so that every year the stock is cleared off entirely, and old wine is never to be met with in the country.

Aquardiente, a kind of brandy, is produced from the distillation of wines, as well as from the fermented husks and from other fruits, such as peaches, which are first thrown into receptacles, formed of large hides stretched over a frame of sticks, and supported upon four stakes driven into the ground; the fruits and husks are thrown into these receptacles, called also lagares, and mixed with a portion of burnt gypsum, in order to quicken the conversion of whatever saccharine matter they may contain into alcohol. The body of the still is formed of two pieces; the bottom is a large copper pan (payla) nearly three feet in diameter, and ten inches high, on to which is cemented a tinaca, whose bottom has been cut off;

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this, as well as the sides of the payla, are imbedded in a cement of plastic clay lute, in a frame-work of sun-dried bricks, the whole being sunk in a large pit made for the purpose, so that the mouth of the tinaca, or still-head, is on a level with the surrounding ground: a chamber under the payla, having an arched opening in front, but without a chimney, constitutes the fire-place: the fuel used is the hard trunk of the espino tree.

The head of the still, or cover of the tinaca mouth, is formed of a solid piece of wood, made circular, of the diameter of the still's mouth, and hollowed out somewhat in the form of a cup, having on its edge upon one side a kind of projecting neck, scooped out sufficiently to receive the larger end of the cañon, or refrigerating tube of copper, about twelve feet long, one inch diameter at the smaller end, and two inches at the larger extremity: near the mouth of the still, a shallow reservoir is made of brick and lime, ten feet long, five feet wide, and six inches deep; this is supplied by means of a brick gutter with a constantly running stream of cold water, while another channel carries off the heated surplus stream, the copper tube is laid horizontally along the reservoir, having its smaller end projecting through the brick-work over a small pit; the larger end passes through another corresponding hole in the brick-work, and lays upon the rim of the still-body, which is previously charged with the matter to be distilled: the wooden inverted cap is now placed over the mouth, its neck fitting upon the tube, and the whole is carefully luted and closed by a cement

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made of mud, bran, and coarse pollard; the stream of water is let into the reservoir or cooler, and the fire is gradually lighted.

The feints, which are the first product of the distillation, are put aside, and as the spirit comes over it drops from the small end of the cañon (which answers the purpose of the worm in our stills) in a trickling stream into a cantaro, or earthen jug, placed to receive it: it is thence removed into wooden barrels. This spirit is farther prepared for sale by mixing with it a portion of aniseed, by which the aquardiente of Chile is always strongly flavored: it is then diluted with water to the proper degree, and the only criterion of its strength is the kind of bead or bubble formed by shaking it in a wine-glass covered by the hand.

The profits derived from these manufactures may be deduced from the following calculations.

It is evidently not within the compass of any individual to conduct such an establishment excepting hacendados, or estate proprietors, for grapes cannot be purchased: he must be the proprietor of a sufficiently capacious estate, with the necessary command of water, fire-wood, &c. I knew a man in Aconcagua, who became rich chiefly by his vineyards; he bought a piece of arid ground close to the Cordillera, and, contrary to expectation, succeeded in bringing water from a rivulet upon it, and by enclosing it, and laying out year after year his earnings upon it, he increased his property to the value of 120,000 dollars; and, in the course of about ten years, drew an annual profit from it of nearly 12,000 dollars. He bought his estate

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on a mortgage tenure, which he has since paid off by degrees, amounting to 36,000 dollars; he had only about 10,000 dollars to begin with; his possession comprises 200 quadras of irrigatable land, besides a much larger portion of hilly district in the Cordillera fit for cattle grazing. Out of these 200 quadras of irrigatable land he has planted eight quadras of vineyard: he cleared last year about 5,000 dollars by his wheat, pasturage, and garden grounds, about 5,000 dollars by his vineyards, and 2,000 dollars by his cattle. His whole expences do not exceed 1,500 dollars, including the maintenance of his wife, his family of seven children, and eight servants. He employs constantly thirty peons. It will be seen that these eight quadras of vineyards afford him as much profit as his 200 quadras of cultivatable land. The vines are nine feet asunder, and the rows are nine feet apart, so that there are about 3,000 vines to each quadra; he has in the whole 22,000 vines, which yield him 1,600 arobas (12,000 gallons) of wine, worth last year three dollars per aroba if sold as wine; but he reserves almost the whole for the manufacture of aquardiente, of which he prepares about 500 arobas (4,000 gallons), which he sold last year at eleven dollars the aroba, it producing him 5,500 dollars. He had two stills for the preparation of this quantity, which he accomplished in about ten weeks; each still produced nearly five arobas per day. His bodega was small, only half the size necessary for the extent of his vineyards. He had only sixty tinacas in his bodega, containing about 5,000 gallons; the remainder he was obliged to keep in large underground reservoirs. The price of aquar-

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diente is now generally eleven dollars the arroba; before the revolution its usual price was five and six dollars the arroba. This cultivator was about to build a new and more extensive bodega, when I left Chile, which would probably enable him greatly to increase his profits.

Wheat and cattle are the two principal products of the country: I have already spoken of their production; it remains only to remark upon their application to purposes of consumption. Two kinds of wheat are raised in Chile, the one white (trigo bianco); the grain is round, plump, very farinaceous, and yields flour of an excellent quality: the other, called candeal, is of the red bearded kind, a sort of buck wheat, with little farinaceous matter, the corculum being hard and transparent, with a very thin external skin: it is preferred by the poor people, both on account of its peculiar sweetish taste, and its greater economy, for it yields less bran in proportion, and that even grinds so fine, that the meal requires no boulting, and is at once made into bread. There is another sort of wheat still larger grained, called barbaruvia, having a somewhat more farinaceous medulla.

The flour-mills of the country are of very rude, though of very simple construction, costing little money in their erection, and very trifling expence in working. The motive power in all cases is water; their construction is similar in principle to that of the trapiche already described: the situation is always chosen on the side of a hill or declivity, along which a canal of water can be brought, so as to afford a fall of about ten, twelve, or fifteen feet: at this

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place a wall is built of rough atones and lime, about six feet in diameter, and eight or ten feet deep, closed on all sides except at an arched opening in the bottom, by which the water may find a ready exit: a horizontal wooden beam is extended across the bottom, having one end wedged in the stone-work; the other is loose, having an upright bar of wood mortised into it, coming through the upper floor, which, by means of another short lever or wedge, serves to raise or depress the horizontal beam lying across the well. Upon this beam and in the centre of the well a small iron plate is fixed, into which the central pivot of the revolving vertical shaft is adapted: this pivot is of bronze metal, formed of six points, radiating at equal angles from the centre, so that any one in succession may serve as the working pivot; four of the others serve as a cross, on which the square end of the upright shaft rests, and the sixth fits into a central hole in the shaft: as one of these radii wear away, the brass is shifted, so as to present another wearing point, and thus all the six arms serve in succession. Across the top of the well are laid two or three strong timbers, and upon these is placed the bed-stone, which is either of granite or of syenite: it is from four to six feet in diameter, and about two feet in thickness; there is a hole in its centre, through which the upright shaft passes: on the top of this shaft is imbedded a small cross, or triangle, of iron, the arms of which fit into corresponding notches in the lower surface of the upper mill-stone, or runner, which is of equal diameter with the bed-stone, and one foot in thickness. It is evident with this contrivance, that by means of the wedge or lever

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before described the surfaces of the two stones can at pleasure be brought into contact, or separated to any required distance, according to the nature of the substance intended to be ground.

The contrivance by which the mill is put in motion, is no less simple: upon the upright shaft, near the bottom, is wedged a small round plate of wood, on the rim of which are fixed a number of short radiating arms, hollowed out in form of inclined cups, which form a circle of about four feet in diameter. The jet of water is brought from the canal upon the upper level by opening a small shatter, whence it fells down a very inclined trough, hallowed out of the straight trunk of a tree, whose tower end is suspended over the periphery of cups: the jet of water, which is not usually more than a column of five or six inches diameter, is thus made to impinge with all the momentum it has acquired in falling perpendicularly eight or ten feet: this force expended upon the cups causes the upright shaft, and consequently the upper stone to assume a sapid gyratory motion, which has sufficient power to grind a considerable quantity of corn. A stone of five feet diameter will make ninety revolutions in a minute, and grind two bushels and a half per hour, which is about the same quantity of work oar mills in England of equal sue usually perform. The construction of the other part of the mill is equally simple; the stones lie on the ground-floor of the mill, for the buildings never have upper stories; round the lower stone a circular wooden open channel is cut out of solid blocks of wood, leaving on one side a notched opening: as the meal

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leaves the outer edge of the stone it is thrown into this channel, the raised border of which prevents its being projected beyond it: the miller at distant intervals draws out the meal, through the notched opening, into a receptacle made in the ground dose to it. The corn is placed in a large hopper, suspended over the running stone upon a rude framework, supported upon forked sticks fixed in the ground, like our hoppers; the corn falls out of a small opening in the bottom into a conical trough, whose smaller end hangs over the eye of the running stone, but the regularity of the supply of corn is effected by suspending a small stick by a string to the end of the trough, whose other end drags over the stone, near its outer edge, the rapid motion of which causes the stick to jump, and this gives to the trough the shaking required to make the corn fall out in a constantly trickling stream. The same stream of water generally gives motion to three separate mills, all placed close together, under the same roof. These mills are always the property of some haciendado, or estate proprietor, which he sometimes leases out at the rate of 600 dollars per annum, for each mill; or he places a mayor-domo to conduct it, at the pay of ten dollars per month. The people from all the neighbouring parts bring their wheat to grind, which is usually done while they wait. The common charge for grinding, is one twelfth part of the corn when it is white wheat, and one eighth part when it is back wheat, the reason of the difference being the longer time required to effect the grinding of the latter.

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The meal is always very dirty and gritty—first, because their granite stones grind away rapidly, and second, from the mode of threshing out the grain by the treading of horses. The corn is seldom cleaned; dirt, stones, seeds, and wheat, are all ground together: in the cities they make use of a rude sifting cylinder for separating the seeds of alfalfa from some of the dust and the larger stones, but even then the meal is necessarily gritty; in some cases they wash the wheat, which cleans it, but the meal in this case will not remain long sweet. The millers never dress or sift the flour, this is in all cases done by the consumer. The farmer therefore carries his flour to market in the state of meal. Bakers are known only in large towns; in the country the people bake their own bread; they use a kind of sieve, covered at bottom with a dressed sheep-skin, having in the middle a square piece of open horse-hair cloth, with which the flour is sifted by hand: this is the duty of the women, who also make the bread, which is fermented with leaven, and made up into small flatloaves, weighing from three to four ounces each. Eight of these are sold for a real (6d.), the same price at which it is also sold at the pulperias. In the towns bread is prepared in the same manner by the bakers, who have no retail shops; but the sale of bread is conducted by dealers, who carry it about the streets in large hide paniers, on horses or mules: it is retailed at the same rate, the loaves becoming smaller as the flour bears a higher value.

Horned cattle are disposed of either for immediate consumption in the market, and for the preparation

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of charqui. There is a great difference between the charqui of Buenos Ayres and Chile; the climate of the former place being hardly sufficiently dry to prepare it after the manner of the latter, but it is cut into thicker pieces, salted, and then dried in the sun. The charqui of Chile requires no salt, and will keep sweet many years if preserved in dry places. It is an article of great consumption in Chile, and more especially in Peru, where formerly large bales of it, packed in hide net-work, used to be imported from Valparaiso and Conception. Captain Hall has given a very excellent description of a matanza, the slaughtering place of a large hacienda, where cattle are killed in numbers with the view of making charqui: the fleshy parts alone are used, all the soft fat being carefully cut off for making grassa, the suet and hard fat for making cebo or tallow.

Tallow is prepared by beating the suet fat and mesenteric membranes by means of a heavy wedge-shaped wooden rammer upon a hide, by which the fat is expressed from the cells, and the finer membranes broken in with it: in this state it is rammed into square hide-bags, which hold from 150 to 175 pounds, half a mules load; in this state it is called cebo en maquetas: it is prepared for the candle-makers, and sometimes, though not often, for exportation, by melting it in copper boilers, brimming off the membraneous skum, and pouring it into hidebags, in which state it is called cebo diritido. Formerly the exportation of tallow to Lima was considerable, but of late years the internal consumption has so much increased, that little is now sent there:

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its price, in Chile, varies from seven to twelve dollars the quintal; its consumption is confined wholly to soap and candle-making. The grassa, before spoken of, is melted and cast into round cakes, the size of a small muffin, and is used by all classes of Chilenos for cooking; a large portion of it enters into every dish put upon a Chileno table. Olive oil is never used but in salads. Among the poorer classes grassa having become too dear and scarce for their messes, a substitute is found for it in the common coarse tallow; but even that cannot always be obtained.

There are no butchers, except in towns, where meat-markets are alone to be found: it is the custom to cut all the flesh off the bones and sell it in strips, so that a joint of meat is unknown to the Chilenos. In Valparaiso, where the foreigners almost entirely reside, and whence the shipping are supplied, there are two or three English butchers, who cut their meat in the English fashion. These joints are better flavored, and more suited to the taste of a foreigner in consequence of the mode employed in killing: among the natives it is customary to slaughter an ox by running a knife into the spine, and consequently much of the blood is left in the flesh.—Meat is dear in Valparaiso, seven dollars per quintal, or three-pence per pound: two years ago it was less than half that price. The foreign butchers have introduced several establishments for preparing salted beef for the supply of shipping.

In the country, beef can very seldom be procured; a pulpera will sometimes buy a cow or a heifer, and

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kill it for sale among the poor inhabitants of the neighbourhood. This is generally about the time of their great feasts, when the people enjoy themselves with a mess of beef.

Hides are become much dearer than they were formerly: during the years 1819, 1820, and 1821, I bought them at one dollar each; during the last year their price has been two dollars and a half, and three dollars each; at which price large quantities have been bought and sent to England.

Mutton is poor, scarce, and dear. Three years ago a two years old ram, for wethers are seldom seen, could be bought for a dollar, but now it cannot be bought under three dollars. The sheep of Chile are long-legged, long-backed, and have very small bodies: the mutton is very poor; a leg of one of their largest sheep is about the size of an ordinary leg of lamb; the price may be estimated at about five pence the pound. Sheep are sheared once a year: their wool is coarse and long; it is entirely consumed in the country, where the poorer classes all manufacture their own woollens: the fleece of wool was formerly sold at two reals (one shilling), now it is worth more than double that price.

Pigs are not very common; they have lately been more in request for the use of the shipping: bacon and hams are never made in the country; it would require more care and trouble in their preparation than a Chileno feels disposed to bestow on any thing. They are, however, very fond of the hams prepared in the island of Chiloe, where pigs are abundant: this is because they do not require the trouble of feeding, or of being looked after. They run almost

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wild over the island, and subsist upon grass, wild nuts, and the great quantity of dead fish thrown upon those shores. Hams are prepared by salting, drying in the sun, and beating between two stones, until they become as thin as a board; they are very lean, and have a strong flavor.

The fruits cultivated in Chile are principally the same as those common in Europe, such as peaches, apples, pears, cherries, plums, strawberries, &c., which, with few exceptions, are all poor and ill-flavored; their walnuts, figs, almonds, grapes, and oranges are tolerably good. Fruit was formerly very abundant and cheap, but it has become much dearer than it is in England, since my first residence in the country. Melons and water-melons form, however, an exception, they are abundant and cheap, the poorer classes almost subsisting upon them in the season. The Chilenos are extremely fond of fruit, for the attainment of which they will at all times deny themselves more solid food, and yet they will not take the trouble to cultivate it The only fruits exported to Peru are walnuts and almonds.

The only vegetables grown in quantities are frijoles (French beans), pumpkins, and potatoes; peas cabbages, cauliflowers, and asparagus, are raised only for the supply of towns: a great part of the peasantry subsist almost wholly upon frijoles, pumpkins, and potatoes, principally upon the former; these beans, together with another kind of pulse called garbansas, are reared for exportation to the Peruvian markets.

Among garden produce, I may include maise, which is extensively cultivated, and in the agricul-

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tural district of Aconcagua, and other places, forms one half the. food of the poorer classes.

HEMP is cultivated about Quillota, and prepared by the usual process of steeping and beating. Chile hemp is said to be very good, and did there exist a demand for it, it might be cultivated to a considerable extent In the event of a war with the northern powers, Great Britain might obtain some supply from Chile, but in the present state of affairs it cannot be introduced into England as cheap as from the Baltic. A very poor sort of cordage is made with extremely rude implements, by the poor peasantry about Quillota, who value their labor little: the government of Chile is very desirous of inducing some foreign capitalist to establish a rope manufactory in Chile on a large scale; but whoever should attempt it would run an almost certain chance of ruin. The consumption of cordage is very trifling in the Pacific Ocean; more than sufficient is already made for the demand: Chile cordage answers very well for laying cables and ordinary purposes, but for rigging English cordage is invariably preferred, although it costs more by fifty per cent Flax is not raised in the country, as there is not the least demand for it.

SUGAR.—An attempt was made many years ago to rear the sugar cane, with the view of manufacturing an article so much in demand among the Chilenos this was on an estate near Petorca, called Ingenio, from its possessing the sugar works; the cane grew but poorly, and the manufactory was abandoned. The requisite supply of sugar had always been obtained from Peru; but after the expedition of ge-

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neral San Martin to Peru, When all the Blares were liberated, the proprietors proscribed, and the estates confiscated or ruined, the sugar manufactories of Peru were nearly destroyed. Chile has since depended for a supply of sugar upon England, as the sugars of the East and West Indies, and Brazils, are not so well adapted for the market. Lump sugar is always preferred when it can be obtained; the granulated sugars have, however, met with a good sale, principally for the supply of the shipping.

RICE and COCOA are brought chiefly from Guayaquil.

The only edible land of wild fruit is the cocoa: this is a small round nut not larger than a walnut, it is poor and insipid: formerly it was exported in quantities to Peru, where it was used for preserves. In the southern provinces a kind of nut, called the avellano, or hazle nut, grows abundantly; it is the fruit of the quadria heterophylla, a genus peculiar to Chile. I never saw the fruit brought to Valparaiso except upon one occasion; it appeared to me inferior to our hade: it has a soft coriaceous shell which makes it soon become dry and tasteless. The penon is a fruit also much esteemed by the Chilenos, though seldom brought to Valparaiso: it is the fruit of a pine (pinus chilensis) very common all over Indian Chile, especially to the southward.

The luma (acteras Incuma) is very scarce in Chile, still more so is the cheremoya (annona cheremoya). The only tree bearing fruit I saw in Chile was in Quillota; it was fifty years old: in the same garden are several younger cheremoya trees, one of which was fifteen years old when I saw it, and it

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was then, for the first time, bearing fruit: both the lucuma and cheremoya are natives of Peru.

SALT is brought from the province of Maule, and is also imported in large slabs of rock salt from the coast of Peru.

It is likewise procured from the evaporation of large lakes near the sea-side, which are filled during the winter tempests, and evaporated in the subsequent summer by the influence of the sun.

FUEL.—A sort of pitch coal is found in several places in the environs of Concepcion harbour, which might be advantageously employed were it not that the expense of conveying it from Concepcion to Valparaiso is equal to the cost of coal, including freight, from England. Newcastle coal is generally sold in Valparaiso for thirty dollars the ton, equal to 7l. 16s. per chaldron. It is used only by the English blacksmiths, as the Chile coal is too bituminous, and bums quickly to an ash, so that it does not afford the requisite heat in the forge for smith's work.

Charcoal is made from the hard woods, such as the espino and algarroba; it is of good quality, and is used by the Chileno blacksmiths, who are unable to manage any heavy work in their rude forges. It is an article of considerable consumption in the towns during winter time, where fire-places are not known in the houses; it is burned in large brazeros or chafing-dishes. It is first burnt in the open air till the more dense carbonaceous vapours are sent off: it is then brought into the room, half consumed, in the state of glowing ashes, and the females crowd round it, placing over it an open osier basket, upon which they put their feet. No accidents from

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fire or suffocations ever happen from the use of their brazeros, as the floors are always of brick; the rooms are lofty, and the doors and windows are so ill fitted as to admit the entrance of fresh air, and the exit of whatever noxious vapours may arise; but its use in the way stated is very injurious to females, and productive of many constitutional complaints.

The consumption of fire wood is considerable, inasmuch as it is essential to cooking. In all large houses the fire-place is a square raised hearth; a lofty circular dome is supported by pillars of brickwork at the four angles; the apex of the dome has a short chimney, which goes through the roof, but in most cases the fire is made upon the ground in the middle of the room, and the women who cook live in the smoky atmosphere which fills the whole room. Fire wood is sold by the mule-load, and is of two kinds: the hard red wood, such as espino algarroba, which is sold at six reals (three shillings) the muleload; and the common white wood, such as laurels, lilen, &c. at three reals the load: I could get it delivered at one real per load at my house in the country. A mule-load generally consists of eighteen logs, about two and a half feet long, measuring altogether about 9860 cubic inches, and weighing about 320 pounds.

In the northern provinces, where wood is extremely scarce, and where it is required in large quantities for the mining and metallurgic operations, the cost of conveyance, and the difficulties of procuring it are in some cases excessive. In many parts of those provinces small poles are not to be procured even for the rafters of their huts: the quisco (cactus peruvianus) comes into great use as a sub-

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stitute, both as a building material and as. fuel, for which it is very ill suited. This species of the cactus grows upon, these barren mountains, and attains the height of from fifteen to thirty feet: as this succulent plant acquires age, it has a woody interior, parenchyma, which is, in fact, a tube about two inches in diameter, and a quarter of an inch in thickness; its substance is reticulated like open network, and in consistence and hardness resembles bone; this is the substance which answers as a substitute for timber, and it is capable of bearing a far more considerable weight than could be supposed. This cactus in the growing state cannot be approached, as it is closely beset with hard horny spines, from six to nine inches long, besides a number of smaller rugos prickles, which produce severe wounds on entering the flesh: although the cactus itself is abundant, the stems of the decayed plants are not so very frequently met with as to be procured in any quantity for purposes of fuel, for which indeed it is at best but ill adapted, as it does not contain much combustible matter.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

WEIGHTS.—The precious metals are calculated by the marc, which is different for gold and silver.

GOLD—Is always bought by the castellano or the marca, but its relative fineness is expressed in quilates or carats, as follows:

8 partes	=	1 grano
4 granos	=	1 quilate
24 quilates	=	1 castellano

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The weight of the marca is 4800 Spanish granos, or 3550·7 English troy grains, or 7 ounces, 7 pennyweights, 22 grains English, and is divided as follows:

12 granos	=	1 tomine
8 tomines	=	1 castellano
100 castellanos	=	1 libra
6 castellanos and 2 tomines	=	1 onza
16 onzas	=	1 libra
8 onzas	=	1 marca
2 marcas	=	1 libra

Or,

granos
12	tomine
96	8	castellano
600	50	64	onza
4800	400	50	8	marca
9600	800	100	16	2	libra

The gold onza therefore weighs 443·8 English Troy grains, or 18 pennyweights, 11·8 grains: the castellano weighs 71 English Troy grains. The standard fineness of gold is 21 carats.

Silver is bought by the adarme and the marca, bat its relative fineness is expressed by the assayer's rule of dineros,—viz.

24 granos	=	1 dinero
12 dineros	=	1 marca

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The weight of the marca is 4608 granos, or 3408 English Troy grains, or 7 ounces, 2 pennyweights: the ounce is consequently 17 pennyweights, 9 grains, and the adarme is 26·62 grains. The marc is thus divided.

12 granos	=	1 tomine
3 tomines	=	1 adarme
2 adarmes	=	1 ochavo
8 ochavos	=	1 onza
8 onzas	=	1 marca
2 marcas	=	1 libra

granos
12	tomine
36	3	adarme
72	6	2	ochavo
576	48	16	8	onza
4608	384	128	64	8	marca
9216	768	256	128	16	2	libra

The standard fineness of silver is that of the Spanish dollars, or 10 dineros 14 granos of fine silver in 12 dineros, or 103/4 fine in 12 parts, but the smaller coined money contains only 93/4 parts fine silver in 12 parts.

The dry measure of capacity is the fanega: and almude; twelve almudes making one fanega: the usual measure for meting corn is the half fanega, it being a long parallelopipedon, one end of which

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is trapezoidal, the other square: its dimensions are as follows:

Its length at bottom is	28·7	English inches
Its length at top	27·6
Its breadth	13·45
Depth of its square end	7·9

Hence its solid capacity is 2715·313 cubic inches.

The contents of the whole fanega are 5430·626 inches: the imperial bushel contains 2218·274 cubic inches; so that the fanega of Chile is to the imperial bushel as 1 to 2·448, or about 1 to 24 The average weight of a fanega of wheat is 150 pounds. But in South America the fanega measure varies greatly: I have never been able to ascertain their exact capacities, but the usual weights of a fanega of corn in different places are as follows:

In Chile	150 pounds
In Peru	102
In Buenos Ayrea	210
In Santa Fè	240

The liquid measure used for wine is the arroba, which is a mere arbitrary measure; they have the arroba mayor, by which wine is sold at the bodegas or manufactories, and the arroba menor, by which it is retailed in towns. The ratio of the one to the other is nearly as 13 to 10, that is to say, the former contains 52 frascos, and the latter only 41 frascos; the frasco being about the capacity of an English wine quart and a half. The capacity of

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the arroba mayor I have found to be about 2000 cubic inches English, or 7 English gallons; that of the arroba menor to be about 1575 cubic inches English, or 54/7 gallons: but I have observed that these measures vary in different manufactories, so that it is difficult to ascertain any standard capacity.

The measure of length used in Chile is the vara, or cloth measure of Spain, equal to 333/4 inches English; though perhaps it has been originally equal to the vara of Burgos, which measures 32·9375 English inches. The cloth measure of Spain bears the proportion of 100 varas to 100 yards English.: the retail varas of the country, however, never exceed 33 English inches, and some I have found no longer than 32 inches.

Land is measured by the quadra, which is a square, each of whose sides are equal to 150 varas, and contains 22·500 square varas, or nearly 4 acres English.

The weights used in Chile for all sorts of goods and produce, is the avoirdupois weight of Spain. The Spanish pound is within a small fraction the same as our pound, that is to say, 122 Spanish pounds are equal to 123 English pounds. Goods are generally sold by the quintal, or the arroba; the quintal weighs 100 pounds, and the arroba 25 pounds.

While on the subject of weights and measures, it will be desirable to add a list of those used in Buenos Ayres.

The vara of Buenos Ayres is equal to 0·8677 French metre, or 34·161 English inches; that of

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Castile or Burgos, is equal to 0·8366 metre, or 32·9375 English inches. The ratio of the vara of Buenos Ayres to the vara of Portugal and the Brazils, is as 0·7936 to 1; that is to say, 100 Portuguese varas are equal to 126 varas of Buenos Ayres. The following is the table of its long measures, with its corresponding ratios to English, French, and Spanish measures.

	Leguas,	Quadras.	Varas.	Pias.	Pulgadus.	English Feet.	French Meters.	Spanish Feet.
Terrestrial Degree	21·97
Marine League			6411	19234		18291·2	5555·5	19952·7
League of Buenos Ayres	1	40	6000	18000		17143·38	5296·2	18669·
Quadra		1	150	450		428·58	130·155	466·72
Vara			1	3	36	2·856	0·8677	3·1115
Piè				1	12	0·952	0·2892	1·0371

The measure by which building ground is sold in the city, is as follows:

square varas
612·5	medio quarto
1225·	2	quarto
19600·	32	16	manzana

A quadra, it has been observed, is a square of 150 varas on each side; a manzana, is the square space built upon of 140 varas on each side, the 10 varas being taken off by the breadth of the street.

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The manzana contains exactly 3 French arpents, or 3·67 English acres.

The measure by which land is sold in the country is as follows.

	Lequa quadrada.	Suerto de chacra.	Quadra quadrada.	Vara quadrada.
Suerta de estancia	0.75	108
Lequa quadrada	1	144	2304
Suerte de chacra		1	16
Quadra quadrada			1	15625

10,000 varas quadradas being equal to 7528·9 square metres, or 75 square acres = 10753·7 square varas of Castile = 9063 square yards English.

The dry measure of Buenos Ayres is the fanega, which is subdivided into 4 quartillos. The fanega contains the capacity of 591·9 cubic feet of Buenos Ayres, or 0·1417 cubic metre, or 8528·45 cubic inches English, nearly four imperial bushels. The quartillo has the capacity of 1·479 cubic foot of Buenos Ayres, the standard measure being in shape like that described as the half-fanega measure of Chile.

Length at bottom	18·9956 English inches
Length at top	22·3 316
Breadth	13·2 222
Depth at square end	7·8 037

its capacity being 2132·1128 cubic inches English.

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Liquid measure, is that by which wine and spirits are sold. The barril consists of 32 frascos. The barril contains 1232 English cubic inches, or nearly 4½ gallons. The frasco has a capacity of 38·5 cubic inches: the measures are as follow.

octavo
2	quarto
4	2	medio frasco
8	4	2	frasco
64	32	16	8	quartillo
256	128	64	32	4	barril
1536	768	384	192	24	6	pipa

Wine is sold in Mendosa also by the arroba, which has a longer capacity than that of Chile, but I do not recollect the proportion.

The mode of conveying goods in Chile is generally by mules, which travel in troops of so many piaras, of eight mules each piara, being managed by a separate peon or arriero: there are always in each troop a proportionate number of spare animals, to relieve those that may become fatigued on the journey: a mare, called the madrina, carries a bell round her neck, and is led with a lasso by a boy mounted on a mule, the whole troop following instinctively the sound of the bell. The average rate of journeying is twelve to fifteen

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leagues per day: on arriving at the alojamiento, any spot by the road-side presenting water and pasture, the loads, with their pack-saddles, are taken off, and arranged on the ground in a circular form. The animals are then led to any nook where pasture can be found, the fore-feet of the mare are tied together, so that she cannot stray, for it is rarely that a mule moves away from the sound of the bell: the arrieros are generally to be confided in, robberies being seldom heard of among them. In dispatching goods by mule conveyance, it is necessary to adjust the parcels to the requisite sizes and weights. A mule load consists of two equal parcels, called tercios, each weighing from six to eight arrobas (150 to 200 pounds); some of the Mendoza mules will carry more, but in such cases a greater freight is expected to be paid. I have seen tercios of yerba de Paraguay carried over the Cordillera, weighing each twelve arrobas (300 pounds). The price of mule carriage varies according to the demand for conveyance, the seasons, and scarcity of pasture: from Valparaiso to Santiago, a distance of thirty leagues, the price per load varies from twelve to eighteen reals; from Aconcagua to Valparaiso from seven to twelve reals; wheat flour and other loose commodities are always carried in costales, which are furnished by the arriero; each costal is a square hide-bag, capable of containing a fanega measure (two bushels and a half). In most parts of Chile every kind of traffic is necessarily conducted by mules, as the roads admit of no other conveyance; but between Valparaiso and Santiago, and Santiago and Talca, the roads admit of carts, which are much used for purposes of car-

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riage. The carts of Chile are extremely rude; they consist of a square rough frame eight feet long and four feet broad, having a central perch projecting nine feet before the body: the axle-tree is of wood, and pinned below the frame-work; it is generally of soft wood, the rough trunk of a young quillay, or peumo tree. The wheels are very thick, and of clumsy construction, the nave being twenty inches in diameter, and two feet in length, somewhat conical, and fashioned out of an algaroba trunk: the spokes and fellies, thick and clumsy, are made of espino wood; the fellies are in a double set, one exterior to the other; the spokes are mortised into the inner rim; the outer, which are the wearing fellies, are pinned to the inner set, so that, as they wear out, they can be replaced by a new set, without displacing the other parts of the wheel. The body of the cart is generally covered by a kind of tilt, formed of canes lashed together. The diameter of the wearing part of the axle being about five inches, the hole in the nave generally eight or ten inches, the length of the nave two feet, much of the strength of the animals is lost in overcoming the immense friction caused by its draught; and as greasing the axle is generally dispensed with to save both tallow and trouble, the disagreeable creaking noise produced by the tremendous friction of a loaded cart is heard at the distance of 300 yards, and as they generally travel in troops of from five to ten, the discordant music in travelling along the road is almost insufferable: this music is not, however, the consequence of any legislative enactment for the pre-

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vention of smuggling, so as to apprize the customhouse officers of the approach of these vehicles, as some ingenious wag has successfully contrived to implant a belief upon a very intelligent observer who lately visited Chile. The greatest burden these carts are capable of bearing is twenty quintals, a ton weight; the goods are adjusted so as nearly to equipoise the load upon the axle, preponderating a little forward, so as to bear somewhat upon the yoke of the shaft oxen. Three pairs drawing successively with their yokes connected by hide lassoes, are required, by each cart, to accomplish the ascents; but on more level ground two yokes only are used, giving rest to one pair in succession. In descending the steep cuestas, always one, sometimes two pairs, are attached to the tail of the cart, with their heads towards it, so that by goading them back, their strength, in addition to their weight, serves as a back pull, or drag, in regulating a necessarily slow pace. To every two carts three peons are employed, one of whom carries in his hand a long cane, armed with an iron point, with which he unmercifully urges the poor beast forward. The charge of conveyance of goods to the capital varies from twenty to thirty-five dollars per cart load, according to the seasons and the demand; in periods of great request the charge has risen as high as fifty dollars per load. Those goods which are liable to damage, or are too large for the ordinary conveyance only, are sent in carts; mule carriage is indeed always preferred, both as a cheaper and quicker mode of transport; for the carts seldom perform the journey in less than eight to twelve days,

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whereas by mules goods are generally delivered in three or four days.

It may be expected that something should be said relative to the water conveyance and coasting trade of Chile, but these are terms not at all familiar to a Chileno ear. The rivers, from their shallowness, their rapid descent, and other impediments, do not admit of navigation; the hilly nature of the country, and great fall of its rallies, forbid, in truth, all possible chance of introducing inland water-carriage, whatever may be the future degree of advancement which the country may attain. It might also have been expected that, presenting so fine a coast, and seasons at all times to be depended on, the coasting trade of Chile, in the eight years of independence and free trade, would have been considerable; more especially as the great difficulties attendant upon the conveyance of light goods northward and southward of Valparaiso, and the utter impossibility of transporting heavy articles to the northward in the direction of the mining provinces, that the government would offer every facility. In a country destined by nature to be maritime, and accessible only by sea, a prudent administration would have facilitated an extensive national coasting trade, were it only to serve as a nursery for seamen; but, alas! such has been the blind, the stupid policy prevailing in the government, such the universally suspicious and narrow-minded principles of its leading members, that coasting has absolutely been prohibited. The old Spanish notions of interdiction can only be obliterated among the Chilenos gradually, and in a long course of time; the custom-house regulations, in

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order to prevent smuggling, render it unlawful for any boat or vessel to enter any harbour or creek which is not a puerto rayado. Now along an extent of coast above 1,000 miles in length, presenting at every few miles' distance little bays or inlets, there are only seven places thus licensed, viz., Copiapo, Coquimbo, Guasco, Valparaiso, Maule, Conception, and Valdivia; no boat can depart from one to another of these places without license from the officers of the three principal ports of Coquimbo, Valparaiso, and Conception, where custom-houses are established: no vessel arriving from any place beyond the coast can enter any but these three places, which are the sea-ports of the three great jurisdictions. Lord Cochrane, while in the service of the state, never ceased to impress upon the government the necessity of some alteration of the laws in these respects; but like every other useful suggestion, it was received with a professed acquiescence in its utility, but with a silent resolve to afford no relaxation in the old established principles of the Spaniards. These restrictions were felt by many of the natives, but upon me more especially they bore very hard on many occasions, for it frequently happened that, owing to the nature of the road, a conveyance of heavy articles for my establishment could be effected only by water carriage, its distance by sea being no more than ten miles from Valparaiso. During general O'Higgins' administration, though I met with many obstructions, yet by repeated appeals to the superior authorities in Santiago, I always procured the necessary permission; but after his abdication, difficulties were so multiplied that I bad articles remaining

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in Valparaiso two years. Impedimenta were thrown in the way of shipping goods belonging to Lord Cochrane after he quitted the country, and it was with great difficulty that I succeeded in procuring a license for shipping a quantity of salted beef his Lordship had prepared on his estate in Quintero for the market of Valparaiso. Owing to these restrictions, coasting vessels of a larger class are very few; those of the smaller kind are absolutely unknown. Even in Valparaiso, so lately as 1823, no shore boats were allowed to ply in the bay, so that the only means of communicating from the shore to the shipping was by means of dangerous canoes or ships' boats, which casually happened to be on shore, and even now no boat is allowed to land any where but in front of the custom-house. Many hacendados along the coast, sensible how much cheaper their produce could be transported to more advantageous markets by sea than by land, have applied for licences in vain. Even propositions for improving the produce of their mines were not admitted. Near the sea-coast, to the northward of Copiapo, are some valuable mines of copper in a situation destitute of wood and water, and separated from Copiapo by an almost impassable desert: the proprietors, for the last five years, in order to render them productive, have begged that they might be permitted to transport the ore by sea, to any point of the coasts of Quilimari and La Ligua, where there exists abundance of provisions, water, wood, and animals. Their request has been urged through every possible interest; but the government, fearful of opening facilities for smuggling, have refused the

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slightest relaxation of the existing interdictory system. While such obstructions exist, and there appears no prospect of their abatement, there can be no hope of the creation of a coasting trade. The distance by land from Coquimbo to Valparaiso is 142 leagues. Both Coquimbo and Illapel are the foci of the copper mining establishments: to the one facilities of water conveyance are allowed, to the other they are prohibited, so that the expence of the carriage of a mule load of copper from Illapel to the central port of Chile, a distance of eighty leagues, costs five dollars; while the conveyance of the same weight of copper by sea from Coquimbo to the same port, a distance of 142 leagues, is only fourteen reals. Were not the facility of water-carriage permitted, the cost of carriage could not have been less than eight dollars.

But Illapel labours under still greater disadvantages, for while its miners are obliged to suffer the heavy drawbacks attendant upon the land carriage of their copper to Valparaiso or Coquimbo, those of Copiapo, Coquimbo, and Guasco, have the privilege of embarking it at once in their own ports, and the British India ships, which almost exclusively export the Chile copper, are allowed to take in their cargoes in these places.

Under such impediments, water conveyance in small craft, whenever it can be obtained, is very heavy. The expence of launch hire from Valparaiso to Concon, a three hours' sailing distance, has always cost me, besides the difficulty of procuring a licence for every launch load, as much, and sometimes more, than the price of freight from England to

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Chile. I conveyed, at different times, about eighty tons' weight of machinery and implements intended for my establishment; the hire of a launch, which would never carry more than two tons and a half, cost me, on an average, forty-five dollars each trip (9l. sterling); the expences of landing it cost as much more. A small schooner, which conveyed thirty tons of beef from Qnintero to Valparaiso in two trips, the distance being seventeen miles, cost 300 dollars (60l. sterling). I mention these as practical illustrations which have fallen under my own observation.

These impediments have naturally retarded the growth of a fishing trade upon a coast abounding with fish: and the efforts still made to procure this wholesome, food are as rude and as little productive as were those of the Indians before the coming of the Spaniards. The catching of fish is carried on by means of canoes, or balsas, which never venture a mile from the coast. These canoes are of the rudest possible construction, far inferior to those of the South Sea Islands. They are cut out of a large tree, generally the bellota, a fine species of laurel: the largest are fifteen feet long, two feet wide, and eighteen inches deep, their bottom partaking of the rounded form of the tree; both ends are alike rounded: they are guided by two men, who sit in the bottom, one amidships, who rows forward the fragile bark with a double-bladed paddle, which he grasps firmly by both hands in the middle, alternately rowing on the right and left of the canoe, by a reciprocating motion of his arms, after the manner of the Esquimaux: the other man sits

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in the stern, with a single-bladed paddle, with which he steers his course: the canoe is furnished with two short logs of cork-wood lashed on the sides of the gunwale, when they can be procured, their buoyancy serving to prevent the vessel from upsetting. The net, which is laid in the bottom of the canoe, is at a small size. The fishermen both spin the yarn as well as twist the line, and dye it in tins stale with the astringent baric of a laurel (either peumo or linguy), and sometimes that of the molle, to prevent its decaying. Stones are used for weights, and the cup-shaped bases of the decayed leaves of the cardoa (pourretia coarctata), are used in lieu of corks as floats. Their shape is that of a square common drag-net. For fishing upon the beach, a kind at sean-net is also used: canoes are employed for this purpose in harbours where the water is smooth; but in such heavy surfs as are common along the sandy parts of the coast, where no boat could live, a balsa is employed, which is of a peculiar construction; it is formed of two equal shaped air-bladders, each about ten feet long, its meridian diameter three feet, one end being larger than the other: each air-vessel is made of two seal or sea-elephant skins, taken off whole, and joined together by a transversal seam, sewed in a peculiar manner: the two edges cut straight are brought together as if for sewing; little short pegs of wood, or rather cactus spines, are thrust through both as closely as possible: thin strips of the same spines are twisted backward and forward round each peg, and drawn tight, so as to dose the edges in a manner which prevents the air from passing between them: the strip of hide or thread does not therefore

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pass through the skins after the manner of sewing, as an inward pressure has a tendency to open and enlarge the stitches, so as to allow an egress for the confined air. Prior to using the skins, they require to be moistened and well softened: they are then inflated by means of a long tube of the same material, to which a man's mouth is applied; and, when at length filled with air, the tube is crossed and twisted round a small stick: when at sea, should any air escape, they are easily again filled by fresh inflations in the same manner. The two air vessels are connected together by hide lashings side by side; over the larger end a platform of light sticks is secured, upon which the net is placed, and the fisherman sits who throws out the sean. Another man sits upon two sticks, fixed over the smaller end of the balsa, so that his legs hang down between the vessels into the sea. In both hands he grasps a very long double-bladed paddle, which he employs in the same manner as that described in managing a canoe. Leaving, therefore, one end of the rope on shore, the balsa proceeds to sea through a tremendous surf, the fisherman dropping the net as he proceeds, and returns in an arched direction again to the shore, bringing with him the other end of the sean, other fishermen drawing in both ends of the net at an equal rate; and thus they catch the fish, which are drawn into a bag-net in the middle of the sean.

The coasts of Chile present a fine fishing ground, had but the people the means and the courage for employing their exertions for fifty miles off the coast: there is a fine bottom at from 100 to 300 fathoms, on a bank which would, doubtlessly, present a plen-

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tiful supply to the fisherman: did they possess boats and good nets they would soon become excellent fishermen; but, profligate and lazy as they are, together with the want of better materials, but little good arises from their exertions. The government of general O'Higgins felt in some force the necessity of encouraging a nursery for seamen; but, fearful of facilitating smuggling, they neglected the proper method, and had recourse to some very inefficient regulations. A decree was passed, granting the fishermen rights of possession upon land which could but little encourage their habits of seamanship: upon every line of coast where a canoe or balsa could land, however long in extent, the fishermen could demand an undisturbed right for the distance of eighty yards in depth from high water mark; and they were privileged to claim from every haciendo room for their huts, and food for their cattle. This measure is a great detriment to the farmer; for the fisherman, feeling himself independent, is no longer obliged to seek his maintenance by fishing, preferring rather to lurk about the neighbourhood and support his family by stealing of cattle, and by other acts of depredation. One of the fishermen is appointed as "judge" over his fellows, but instead of preventing depredation, he only encourages and protects unlicenced robbery of the neighbourhood: there is not in all Chile any race of people so abandoned, lazy, and worthless as the fishermen.

These relations will appear almost incredible, but when we reflect on the benumbing despotism of the court of Spain, the ignorance and dependence in

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which all its colonies were kept, we shall scarcely be surprised at the excess to which these were carried in the particulars related. But that the same system should still continue to be pursued by the independent government proves the shocking extent to which debasement has been carried even among the best informed people in those colonies, and the almost hopelessness of improvement.

From the preceding account of the manufactures, products, and industry of the country, it will be seen that the trade of Chile is extremely limited, and that at a time when the attention of so many of our countrymen is directed to the employment of capital abroad, it is the more necessary that they should be undeceived respecting countries so much unknown, and yet so highly valued for their supposed capabilities for the employment of their capital. Throughout all South America there is scarcely any way of employing capital in a large way, more especially so in Chile and Peru. In the capacity of an habilitador of mines any one might advance small sums of money with a chance of considerable profit, but this, like our lotteries, is at a very hazardous risk, and more especially to a foreigner, but ill acquainted with the localities, customs, and character of the individuals of the country, who must feel repugnance in placing himself upon a level with the barbarous people he must have to deal with, and without which success in any case would be quite impossible, as a merchant or foreign capitalist has no chance of employing capital but in the traffic of the fruits of the country, or in the hazardous commerce in foreign goods. The consumption of foreign manufactures is

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at all times very limited; the introduction or a small consignment of any one article immediately lowers the wholesale price to a losing account: indeed, the markets of Chile must continue to be very uncertain, as the supply is always sent at random, without any regard to the real consumption; most articles are therefore sent in great excess, and, consequently, sell to an immense loss, while others are so scarce at times as to be with difficulty obtained: goods sent from Europe are not bonâ fide mercantile adventures, but consignments sent, in comparatively small allotments by numerous adventurers and manufacturers at home unknown to one another, to British agents in Chile, who sell them to the best advantage; but who, after deducting their heavy commissions and charges, are seldom able to send home nett remittances above sixty or seventy per cent upon real invoices; so that the foreign trade of Chile entails in most cases a loss to the home adventurers. I will give a remarkable illustration in proof: within the last three years an auction establishment has been permitted in Valparaiso, where all allotments of damaged goods have been sold: and goods mildewed and injured by sea water, so as to be depreciated to half their value, have been sometimes sold at this auction at higher prices than the merchants were able to dispose of similar sound goods in their warehouses; the consequence was, that the merchants found it a more advantageous way of disposing of the sound goods than the regular way: this would seem inconsistent were it not for the petty nature of the trade of Chile. A mercantile agent cannot part the contents of a sin-

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gle package, whereas, in an auction, a single package, or a small number of pieces are allotted together in assortments better suited to the small means of the shopkeeper, who can afford to give proportionally higher prices for a small quantity than he can for a larger bulk: this is particularly the case in Manchester and Scotch goods, shawls, woollen cloths, &c., and shows upon how very limited a scale the trade of Chile can be carried on.

In national produce but little chance exists of employing capital to advantage, from the small amount of the demand and consumption, and the mode of bargaining, which can only be done by natives. Great difficulties oppose themselves to frequent interchanges of property, on account of the heavy expence in the conveyance of all produce and commodities. Suppose, for instance, any one desire to purchase a quantity of wheat in Aconcagua, or a quantity of copper in Illapel, he would find that the holder of the article would only bargain for its sale by a regular contract, signed by both parties, and the purchaser has to send at his own risk, the money in hard dollars, to the seller: purchases can only be made with money remittances, so that if large payments are to be effected, it is requisite that the purchaser should go himself with the money, and put himself to the inconvenience of riding a distance of from 100 to 300 miles, since few servants or dependants can be trusted with large sums: the usual mode of sending small sums in the way of payment, is by the arriero who delivers the goods, but the money goes in this case at the risk of the purchaser. These people are generally very

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honest; and yet, I must confess, I should be unwilling to trust the best of them with any large sum, as the temptation might be too great. The exchange is better effected between Santiago and Valparaiso, since in the former place there are two muleteers of considerable property, who take upon themselves the responsibility of delivering money entrusted to their servants at per centage upon its value; but this can be effected in no other part of the country.

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CHAPTER XXI

AGRICULTURE.—TENURES.

Chile divided by the King of Spain among 360 Adventurers.— Productive and Unproductive Lands.—Cattle Estates.—Extent of Pasture.—Mortality of Cattle.—Management.—Rodeo. Condition of Tenants.—Manners of the Proprietors.—Agricultural Estates.—Tenures.—Condition of Tenants.—Descent of Landed Properly.—Laws.—Farming Processes.—Implements. Division of Labour.

AFTER the conquest of Chile by the Spaniards, the king of Spain divided it into 360 portions, and gave it to as many adventurers. In consequence of the Spanish laws of descent, these possessions have been subdivided, and the number of proprietors considerably increased, but the greater portion of these estates are even at the present day very large.

In the geographical description of the country it has been shown that the greater portion of the land is unsusceptible of cultivation. The hilly-parts are, however, useful for cattle grazing. The numerous gorges which fall into the ravines being wooded, afford not only shelter, but pasture, when the surface of the hills themselves becomes dried up. A mere glimpse of the map of Chile will show that the level irrigatable land, susceptible of cultivation, is in proportion to the small hilly land which is uncultivable. It is therefore evident, that what

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has been so frequently related respecting the productiveness of Chile must be taken with great limitation.

The lands of Chile may be divided into two classes, those adapted for cultivation, and those in which cattle may be reared. Some of the estates consist of one or the other kind of land, but by far the greater number consist of both kinds. It is generally considered that such as are adapted for cattle-breeding are the most valuable; and, as the grand object of the hacendados is directed to this species of farming, I shall first describe the estates of this class.

No one must imagine that any of the modes of farming which have been carried to such perfection in Europe have been adopted in Chile. We must remove from our minds all ideas of rich level meadows, fine grass pastures, enclosures, farmhouses, sheds, barns, markets, &c. &c.; we must bring back our notions to a more pristine condition, and fancy the country in a wild and natural state, in order to comprehend the simple mode of farming which I shall have to describe. I cannot do better than select, as an instance, one estate, the description of which may serve as a fair example of the whole; for all are more or less subject to the same management The boundary of an estate generally is either the bank of a river or an estero, or the extended ridge of a mountainous cordon; the lines of demarcation are no where fixed but in the records of the courts of law; fences indeed are seldom known, except in cases of partial inclosures in the valleys, which are held in reserve when subsistence

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is no longer to be found in the more open parts: The surface of an estate we may conceive to be divided into numerous deep hollows and ravines tailed caxones, and subdivided into smaller delves called quebradas: we must suppose the sides and tops of the hills to be studded with bushes, while the quebradas are beset with lofty ever-green trees, whose shade serves to perpetuate little rills of fresh water, which otherwise would soon be evaporated, if exposed to the heat of the sun: let us imagine such s country extending over a surface of twelve square leagues, or about 60,000 acres, with about 5000 acres of irrigatable ground, and we shall have a fair sample of the kind of estate most commonly kept as cattle farms.

As it rains only in the three winter months of the year, the pasture upon the hills is of very short duration; indeed, I may say, that no grass grows upon them: but in the intervals between the bushes the ground is thinly covered with numerous little Bowers, herbaceous plants, and tuberose roots, which, immediately after the first rains, shoot out and produce a pleasing verdant covering, of which it is destitute more than half the year. These plants, after flowering, soon fade and die away, giving to the whole face of the country an appearance of being scorched up by the heat of the sun. The first rains generally take place in May, during which month there are not usually more than eight days of rain; from this time verdure proceeds with a rapidity truly surprising: its progress is rapid during the few rainy days in June, July, and August. In November the whole

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begins to assume a burnt-up appearance, and from December to May the country bean an aspect of barrenness, which ill accords with the notions entertained in Europe respecting the beautiful country of Chile. From July to December, therefore, the hills afford a tolerable sustenance to the cattle. Some districts toward the Cordillera are thinly covered with a kind of wild oat, called tiatina; and indeed the estates bordering upon the main Cordillera are said to afford the best and most lasting pastures. Such parts of the enclosed grounds before-mentioned, as are not cultivated for wheat, maize, beans, or garden produce, contain the cardales, the reserved pastures where cardos are left to propagate. The cardo is a perennial plant, fading away every year down to the root, which never dies, but throws out next season numerous shoots, from which proceed large bunches of prickly esculent leaves of thistle-like growth, and from among them rise several flower-stalks, to the height of four or five feet: it is an onicus, the cardoon of our gardens, and was introduced from Spain into Chile expressly for fodder for cattle, which are extremely food of it. The best and richest lands are chosen for cardales. From November to February, or even to March, when the hills no longer afford sustenance, the cattle are driven into the cardales. In March they are allowed to roam over the garden grounds, the little stubble of which serves for a while to keep the poor animals alive: henceforward, till some time after the rainy season, the cattle roam from hill to hill in search of a mouthful of food, in de-

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fault of which, they are forced to subsist upon green bushes and dried leaves of trees.

The food found upon such estates is barely sufficient for the maintenance and for the procreation of the cattle: nothing more is looked for; they are never sufficiently fat for killing except at one time of the year, when the pasture is at its height, and they are then sufficiently muscular for making charqui. When required for the supply of towns, it is usual to convey them to the irrigated lucern pastures, such for instance as those of Aconcagua, where they are fattened for butchering. In years when little rain falls in Chile there is always a terrible mortality among the cattle: it is but few that can comparatively subsist for many months upon underwood and bushes.

Upon a grazing estate the proprietor seldom permits many persons to reside: the animals, being bred up quite wild, would be scared away from the pasturage by the continual passing by of men on horseback, and by dogs; and there is also less chance of robbery where there are fewer persons in want of the necessaries of life. Such an estate has, therefore, only a mayordomo, and a capataz, or principal herdsman, whose general business is to look after the stock of cattle, and who directs the few vaqueros, or herdsmen, whose duty is to drive the cattle from one part of the estate to another, as the means of subsistence can be found. About the month of September, when the cattle are in the best condition, it is usual to hold rodeos, that is, to congregate the cattle towards certain fixed spots near

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where there are enclosures or pens for receiving them.

The term rodeo is generally used for any collection of cattle on one spot, whether for the purpose of counting, of taking stock, of selecting, or of removing into particular gorges or poturos; whether for the selection and separation of the tithes, the marking of young heifers and steers, or for allotting certain animals for sale, or for slaughter, with the view to the preparation of charqui and tallow.

The rodeo is a time of general amusement; and though it is the duty of the few tenants of each particular farm to collect the cattle, they are generally assisted by the vaqueros of neighbouring estates, who come to look out for strayed cattle, and by guasos from all parts of the province, who come to assist merely for diversion, for it is no small sport with them to gallop up the hills and down the dales, driving before them the wild cattle that they search out from the middle of the gorges, and dodge them among the trees, from one recess to another; and the hallowing, the hooting, the lassoing, the sport shown upon these occasions, are to the peasantry the greatest possible amusement.

The place of the rodeo is generally on some flat spot in the centre of the estate near to the farm house; here large corales or pens of several divisions are adapted for the more ready separation of the cattle: the corales are generally of a square form, and made of poles or rude trunks of trees, closely set together, and let into the ground. There is on all rodeos a gaiety and an activity seldom observed at other times among the Chilenos, since it affords

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barbarous sports suited to their habits; they are generally dressed in their best attire, their gayest ponchos, are mounted on good horses, and gallop about with their lassoes in hand. The vaqueros are habited in like manner, only that they are distinguished by a kind of Indian boot or spatterdash, made of untanned hide, curiously marked and cut on the edges into long thin stripes or thongs, some of which, in lieu of buttons, are drawn through a line of small holes made on the opposite edge, thus forming a lacing along the outside of each leg: above the knee the boot is not closed, but extends upward in a flattened form before the thigh, not unlike a piece of armour, only that it stands erect: the use of this is to protect the legs, knees, and hands, in galloping after the cattle, from the hard talon-like prickles of the leaves of the cardon (the pourretia coarctata), a kind of aloe-like looking magnificent shrub, which in some places beset the hills and plains in the cattle tracks, so as to render them almost impassable: were it not for these boots, the legs of the rider would be dreadfully lacerated. The cattle are generally frightened out of the almost impenetrable shrubbery and recesses in the numerous gorges, by the hollowing and yelling of the horsemen; the vaqueros are always most forward in the pursuit, especially among the prickly thickets. The grand rodeo generally lasts three days; the first being occupied in searching the principal quebradas, and driving the cattle into places whence they cannot well roam out of sight; the second being the continuation of the same labour, and the gathering of the collected cattle near the corales; the third be-

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gins with driving the whole into the enclosed pens, and dividing them as required into the several partitions. Herein consists the greatest amusement, as there is an opportunity afforded and a competition opened to all the guasos for displaying their dexterity in the use of the lasso, of which they are very fond: it is indeed surprising to witness the command, they exert over the most powerful animal. The capataz issues his directions to the vaqueros, by whom the several peons are guided in the selection of the cattle. This is also an amusement in which the first people of the country take great diversion; females too of every condition flock from all parts in their best clothes to attend these rodeos: at this time there is no distinction of persons, all are on a level. The evenings of these days are periods of great diversion, and merry-making; chinganas, feasting, drinking, singing, and such like national amusements prevail. On each day an heifer is killed by the mayor-domo, and distributed among the assisting people. Other days are subsequently devoted to the disposal of the selected cattle, whether in killing, marking, or driving away those sold; while all the remaining stock is again set at liberty, and driven to those particular feeding spots which the mayor-domo may appoint. The mode of killing, the preparation of charqui, of tallow, and of hides, as well as the manner of marking cattle, has been elsewhere described.

To return to the subject of the estate: the management of such an estate is attended with very little expence: the mayor-domo is generally paid 120 dollars per annum, the capata has 100 dollars, the vaqueros (and we will. suppose there are three)

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have 80 dollars each; the ovejero, or shepherd, is paid 70 dollars; his children take care of the sheep; but it is not uncommon for the haciendado to lease out to a few poor old tenants, who are assigned certain places of residence, a flock of 200 or 300 sheep, on condition that they deliver annually to the mayor-domo a certain proportion of increase: the surplus augmentation of the flock belongs to them, and is greater according to the care taken of the flock. It is the object of the proprietors to have as few tenants as possible upon the estate, but it is necessary to have some to assist in the rodeos, as well general as partial: these are kept as dependant as possible, and too poor to aspire to the rearing or obtaining of cattle of any kind: for their use a number of horses are kept upon the hacienda, so that they may have no excuse for keeping beasts of their own. On all occasions required by the mayor-domo, every tenant must hold himself in readiness to be called upon to devote so many whole days in any work according to a stated period of service (servicio is the name given to this obligation). These periods are not continued necessarily in succession, but generally apart and arbitrary, according to the will of the master or his bailiff: fifteen days is usually the smallest period of service: these he must devote entirely in any employment without pay; he must likewise give up his time for any further number of days for very low wages; the tenant must be the slave of the master. This kind of tenure necessarily has a bad moral tendency upon the condition of the poorer classes, but it is so universal over the whole country, and being bred up in the practice of it, it has become so

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habitual that no one thinks it a hardship. A tenant may also be sent away on some dispatch to the distance of above a hundred leagues; he never grumbles, but obeys, receiving only a real, or sixpence, per day for his maintenance on the road.

Under such a system of management we may readily conceive a cattle estancia to be well attended to, with comparatively little or no expence to the landlord. Indeed, an estate of the size before-mentioned, which probably is capable of maintaining from 5,000 to 8,000 head of cattle of all ages, will not cost more than 500 dollars for the total expence of management: the annual amount of increase, sold, or killed off, will be 800 head, which formerly, at eight dollars each, produced 6,400 dollars revenue, but which now, in consequence of the increased value of cattle during the last few years, when a heifer is worth' twenty dollars, produces to the proprietor a rental of 16,000 dollars.

This kind of estate yields a more constant Profit, and requires less trouble in management, than any other: and this, to a man of Spanish education and habit, is the greatest desideratum. The proprietor must, however, be frequently on his estate; he must be acquainted with every nook and recess; must frequently ride over all parts, and be able to recognize every animal, in order to keep a check upon his mayor-domo: he must be bred up in the knowledge of all the little arts of roguery the peons would have recourse to for the purpose of stealing the cattle: in fine, though he may assume the finer airs of a caballero when in the town, be must be in spirit and in education a perfect guaso, or he will never

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render his estate as productive as it is capable of being made. Hence every hacendado brings up his sons to the practical part of the management; they live among peons from their infancy, from whom they acquire all their habits, and follow the same half-savage life, until polished by the assistance of the padre, or friar, attached to the household, who teaches them to read and write; then it is that they acquire that smooth-faced civility, that external appearance of information, that air of importance, that cunning and egotism, which distinguishes them more readily from the lower orders. Previous to acquiring any interest in the estate, that is, so long as their father lives, they commonly enter into collusion with the tenants and neighbours in acts of robbery; they drink, gamble, and debauch, in common with the guasos, and are the most applauded vagabonds throughout the country. It is only when interest guides them, on coming to their inheritance, that their selfish feelings come into full play; then it is that they instinctively assume that tyrannical power over their former associates, with whom they never cease to place themselves on an apparent level whenever it suits their purpose to do so. Such are the hacendados of Chile, and such must be, more or less, their education, in order to make their stock productive. The estate-house, generally speaking, is little, better than a barn. The females of the family usually, though not in all cases, reside now and then in the capital, where, should the proprietor himself be called, it is indispensable that he should return to his estate at all rodeos and at other times, his presence being frequently necessary.

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While speaking of cattle estates, I ought not to omit the mention of a custom generally prevalent throughout Chile: no tenant is allowed to accommodate a stranger or a traveller in his house above twelve hours, without giving notice to the proprietor of the arrival of such visitor upon the estate: it is, moreover, his duty to ascertain, as far as he is able, the avocation, destination, and business of the traveller. In some estates this is a very severe hardship, where the tenant resides ten or twenty miles off the estate-house; but whatever may be the distance, any neglect of this obligation is rigorously punished by the landlord. The intention of this practice is to provide for the security of the cattle; for if any one arrive on the farm without the appearance of travelling onward, he becomes immediately an object of suspicion, and other tenants are dispatched to watch his movements: if the parson cannot give a good account of himself, he is sent away by the road he came, without ceremony. The vaqueros, or some of the most trusty tenants, have their dwellings stationed at eligible distant points for the purpose of keeping watch on strangers, and these enjoy more extensive privileges than others.

In the vicinity of towns, or in the most frequented roads, this obligation cannot be put in force; but in the more distant forms the practice is common at the present day.

There are but few haciendas or estates wholly devoted to agricultural purposes, since, at the period of the year when the natural pasture fails, the stubble is valuable as fodder, and since the portions of irrigatable land are of comparatively small extent.

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They are generally in narrow vallies, enclosed by larger portions of hilly ground, so that with equal facility the two objects of farming and grazing can be combined together.

Here the same miserable dependence of the poor upon the rich prevails; the interests of the humble cultivator are wholly sacrificed to the rapacity of the landlord. Land is never leased out to the poor tenants but from year to year, so that the proprietor may at his pleasure turn any one who displeases him off his estate. These people are extremely poor, and devoid of comfort; neither means nor opportunity are within their reach for educating their children; very few can either read or write; universally they are without capital, and in all respects are dependant upon the landlord. I shall select, for illustration, examples from the best lands in the country, such, for instance, as those about Aconcagua and Rancagua, where land is let out for twelve dollars, frequently for twenty dollars the quadra. The tenants have no oxen of their own; money is advanced to them by the landlord at the harvest season, when oxen are hired, as is also a troop of mares for threshing. All this, and every other sort of assistance, comès from the proprietor, and is paid for from the produce of the land; what remains is generally bought up by the hacendado, previous to the harvest, at a price which. leaves the poor farmer scarcely any profit This want of capital among the better order of labouring people renders them wholly dependant on the landlord, but not necessarily so, for any stranger, by advancing money to enable the farmer to get in

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his crop to a move profitable advantage, may secure the whole produce at a very moderate rate of purchase: but here the stranger runs great risks; the farmer may turn rogue, and sell his produce to another, leaving the stranger to seek the best remedy he can. On the contrary, the landlord has the fullest security, the produce being upon his own lands; and his mayor-domo seeing that it is duly placed in possession of his master. Hence it has become a custom throughout the whole country for the landlord to buy up the produce of the tenants at two-thirds, or one half, of what the farmer would procure, had he the necessary funds at his command to get in his crops. In presenting a general view of the real state of agriculture, we must not take the instances of the last three years, which were seasons of dearth almost unprecedented in Chile, and which, by the alteration of prices they occasioned, introduced a spirit of gambling, that will require a year or two of abundance to destroy; but I will select instances which I witnessed in the season of 1818, 1819, and 1830,—seasons such as had been common for the previous twenty years, and such as will in all probability again be common in Chile; when the farmer in harvest times never sold his wheal at a price above four reals the fanega (two shillings for two bushels and a half.) Upon these date we may calculate the profit a farmer might derive from a. farm of five quadras, or twenty-four acres, supposing him to cultivate it for wheat The quantity of seed consumed in the sowing of each quadra of land is three fanegas: he will, therefore, have to borrow fifteen fanegas of seed

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from his landlord, for which he will have to return out of the produce, according to the usual custom, a double quantity, or thirty fanegas. The produce of the beet lands which have been successively cultivated is twenty-fold. I have seldom seen it on an average exceed twelve; and during the last three or four years not more than five or six. Few lands in these yean of scarcity yielded more, but the increased prices made up for the general deficiency. I have seen large districts of wheat crops so ruined that reaping was not attempted, the cattle being at once turned in. We will, however, assume the highest produce at twenty-fold.

The usual rate of hiring oxen is ten fanegas of corn for each pair borrowed, to be paid out of the produce; the piece of land stated will require from three to five yokes of oxen. Let us take only three pairs. The established rate of hire of the troop of mares for treading out the corn will be five fanegas in every hundred of produce. The ploughing of the twenty-four acres of ground will require the labour of three men. These men cannot plough and sow the land in less than a month, nor can they harvest the produce in less than a fortnight; the hire of two peons at the cheapest rate, including their food, will be sixteen dollars for the month, and eight dollars for the fortnight. It has been presumed that the landlord affords the farmer at the early part of the season a considerable advance upon the purchase of the wheat to be produced, which is bargained for at four reals per fanega. The produce of a good crop is assumed to be 300 fanegas: after setting apart the tithes, thirty fanegas for the diezmero, he

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will have to hand over 270 fanegas to the landlord, excepting, perhaps, five fanegas, which he will reserve for his family consumption: with this, and with the produce of his chacra, or garden, which will afford him a competent supply of maize, potatoes, beans, and pumpkins, for his yearly stock of provisions, he will be able to supply his family with as much as they can eat, and this is all they expect.

From the 265 fanegas, or from the value of them, will be taken:

	Fanegas.
For the hire of seed	30
——— oxen	30
—— quivalent in corn for money borrowed to pay peons	48
—— hire of mares in threshing	15
—— expenses in threshing	17
—— equivalent for the rent due to the landlord	60
Total	200

The value of these 200 fanegas, which he may consider as expended, deducted from the 265 fanegas (left him out of the 300 fanegas) which he will have to deliver over to his patron, will afford him a residue of thirty-four dollars in money, being the value of sixty-five fanegas which remain. This is not equivalent to what he would receive as a hired peon, at four dollars the month, with his victuals found him; many, indeed, of these farmers are in the habit of hiring themselves out as day-labourers when they find their purse rather low. He is, however, quite

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contented with his gain, so long as he can maintain his family, and has some small surplus to spend at the pulperia; his ambition soars no higher.

Money is of no use to the generality of the Chilenos, who are too profligate and improvident to retain it long in their possession: such is their disposition for gambling and debauchery, that it is, perhaps, fortunate it is not in their power to obtain any great deal of it by their exertions. But the fault is not so much inherent in them as in the whole system reigning throughout the country, in which the landlord bears no small share of the blame: little inducement is afforded to them for laying by or providing for the future, even were they in the least degree disposed to avail themselves of such advantages: it will be seen what little desire there can be of raising themselves in the scale of society. The hacendado, instead of encouraging habits of frugality and forethought in the tenant, instead of allowing him to feel a pride in his possession, in improving and enriching the lands, in accumulating a farm stock, in making conveniences about his dwelling, takes every means in his power to keep the tenant poor find miserable; he treats him like a slave, without the consciousness of so doing; he refuses him the use of his hired land from the moment the harvest has been got in; the stubble and the pasture are greedily sought after by the landlord for the benefit of his cattle; and on this point, above all others, he is most tenacious, so as not to allow the tenant to keep his own ploughing oxen, but at rents which it is known he is not able

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to pay; in fine, the policy of the master is to keep I the tenantry in a state of debasement, and to make them dependent on him for every thing.

The landlord will seldom allow the tenant to build his rancho, or hut, upon the cultivated grounds; they are generally stationed about the nearest hills: this to us would seem inexplicable at first sight, but the motive is soon made apparent. For the same reasons, they are prevented from inclosing their chacras with hedges; all the possessions must be one open range. Arbitrary as this may appear en the part of the landlord, what will be thought of the practice, but too universal of turning into the garden grounds immense droves of hungry cattle, before the produce has been reaped off the ground? Yet I have seen this in all parts of the country, for several years past. The cattle constitute a far greater object of care than the tenants themselves. We should be less disposed to think ill of the practice, did the fault lie with the peasants, who really have not sufficient time allowed them for collecting their produce, and never a year passes but great part of the garden crops are consequently gathered in a half-ripe state. Among other places, I remember to have seen in the San Pedro estate, near Quillota, 3000 head of cattle turned into the extensive garden grounds belonging to it, at a time when at least one third of the produce of the grounds remained yet unripened: there were extensive crops of wheat, of maize, of beans, of potatoes, and other garden produce; the women and children left their ranchos on the hills to keep the cattle off the crops

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by day, while by night they lighted large fires for the same purpose.

In years of scarcity of pasture this bears more particularly hard on the poor tenants. The stubble of the chacras is made an object of importance by the landlord, and this paltry consideration is the only motive for the exclusion of the tenants from a permanent residence on their farms; as, in that case, the few horses, and the fewer cows, would be subsisting On the fodder, which the narrow-minded proprietor conceives belongs to himself alone. Even in cases where the tenant is allowed to enclose his grounds and build his rancho thereon, the whole must be thrown open to the cattle of the landlord after the crops are got in. These are considerations which must ever prevent the cultivator from feeling an interest in the soil, since he can have no possible inducement to ameliorate the land. Indeed, the whole system of farming management greatly militates against any improvement in the pursuits of agriculture. The proprietor of an agricultural estate can in like manner command the services of all his tenants; so much so, that in case of leasing off any possession, he can direct every such person to perform any work he pleases, either in sowing, ploughing, hedging, ditching, &c. without the least cost, and in this way he cultivates extensive portions of ground to great advantage. The farmer is, in point of fact, no better than a poor labourer; and though he has occasionally opportunities of doing so, he never thinks of storing up or increasing his means. There appears little hope of any amelioration in the con-

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dition of the peasantry during the present generation, nor in the next, should the same blind system be continued: in progress of time, however, in spite of all opposition from the hacendados, a very important change must take place, both from the increasing value of land, an increasing population, and from the operation of the existing hereditary descents. The mayorasgos, or entailed estates, are very few in Chile; and, owing to the existing Spanish laws, a more extensive and gradual division of landed property must ensue; for a parent is obliged to portion out his estates in equal sections among his children: these, again, must become subdivided, and estates becoming thus reduced within moderate limits, the owners will be driven to the adoption of a more liberal system: the period to which we may look forward for such a change is, I fear, too distant to be predicted with certainty.

I have not yet spoken of the extent of service demanded upon an agricultural estate; there is no general rule, it being in some places more excessive than in others. In Ocoa, for instance, the landlord is extremely hard in this respect, and on inquiry I found this more general over the country than I had anticipated. The tenants there are obliged to give one month and fifteen days' undivided time in ploughing and sowing the corn fields of the landlord; they are again called on at the harvesting. They are obliged to attend all rodeos, clean ditches, make fences, &c.; in all, devoting nearly four months of their time to the hacendado, who gives them not a real for this most grievous amount of servitude. For the lands they occupy, they are, moreover,

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charged at the rate of twelve dollars per annum per quadra, as well as the usual exactions for the hire of oxen, mares, &c.

Such of the country people as do not take upon themselves the risk of forming, but prefer to let out their labour upon hire, can obtain a small plot of ground upon the hills, where they may build their ranchos free of all rent; but they are obliged to contribute their quota of service. The extent of this obligation is fixed by no rule, but each hacendado has his own term. The instance of Ocoa, before mentioned, is the heaviest I have ever heard of. The lowest I met with was twenty days in the year; it is no boon to the peasant to allow him to live rent-free, if forced to contribute his services to the landlord without pay. How much more advantageous, in a moral point of view, would it be, were an equivalent rent demanded of him; for, as it is, the peons are kept in the most abject dependence on the landlord, or too generally upon the still more brutal and tyrannical mayor-domo, who, for any trivial offence, can dispossess the poor labourer of his possession, and at a moment's warning turn him off the estate. The same punishment may be inflicted on the tenant, but he has a right to demand the privilege of remaining a sufficiently reasonable time for the gathering and disposal of his crops: having hired his possession for the season, the Spanish law gives him a right to all that the sowing can produce; but it is not so with the labourer who pays no rent. It will hence be seen that the peasantry of Chile are kept down under one of the most demoralizing systems that ever existed in any country. No Chileno, from high

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to low, appears to be aware of its influence: being BO general, and of ancient practice, the evil tendency has not been appreciated, and it is singular that this system is almost peculiar to Chile. This domineering principle does not terminate here, for the poor peasant is not allowed the honest means of seeking any other livelihood than that of a mere labourer, nor is the tenant suffered to follow any other business but such as strictly appertains to his tenure. No one is allowed to keep a shop, or to sell any article whatever upon an estate, without leave of the mayor-domo, or the proprietor, who must share one half or more of the profit. Generally the principal shop, or bodegon, is in the estate-house, its management being given to one of the sons of the hacendado: this bodegon is a little hole with a mud bench thrown across it to answer for a counter, and here are sold spirits, wine, chicha, tobacco, candles, sugar, bread, vegetables, coarse cottons, baize, cloth, or such other of the few commodities comprised within the limited necessities of the peasantry. Two or three other such bodegones are allowed upon each estate, at certain distances from each other, one of which is generally the privilege of the mayor-domo. This most contemptibly avaricious system, combined with the principle of the tenure, has prevented the establishment of villages, or congregations of the people into societies, which would greatly militate against the profits of the landlords; the consequence is, that shops are to be found no where in the country. If a peasant wish to purchase a shawl, or a cotton gown for his wife, a hat, or a pair of stock-

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ings for high days and holidays, or any other things not found in the bodegon, he must seek it in the towns, which are sixty or eighty miles distant from each other, or he may await till some travelling pedlar passes through the estate with such an assortment as he can carry with him on horseback, which very seldom happens.

The Very few entailed estates which remain are called mayorasgos; but an obligatory kind of hereditary descent of property exists in another shape; a man cannot bequeath away his property to another person if he have children, nor can he disinherit any one child, or give to another a greater share, all possessing an hereditary right in the eye of the law, and can demand equal shares of the property of a deceased parent, excepting one-third part of the whole, which appertains to the mother during her life-time, should she survive the husband, and then at her death it descends to the children in equal portions; the testator, however, is allowed to bequeath, I believe, the fifth part of his property to any other part of his family, the remainder being disposed of as before stated. There is, indeed, a law officer specially appointed to watch over the descent of the property of minors; he has extensive privileges and great power: he is called el defensor de menores.

This mode of hereditary descent is favourable to the ultimate division of property, the breaking up of large estates throughout the country, and the destruction of the influence of the small powerful aristocracy which is so inimical to the general in-

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terests of the community, and brings a train of evil consequences in a thousand shapes, one of the principal being the tendency to endless litigations and continual law-suits: to such a length, indeed, does this reach, that hardly a family of property is to be found throughout the country, where its several members are not or have not been engaged in law suits: the disputes as to partitions, boundaries, and rights, are endless, especially where the inducements to litigation are so ready and numerous.

The laws respecting dowries are likewise very singular: the husband can under no circumstances dispose of the property of the wife without her express consent; and in case of separation, divorce, or bankruptcy, she can always claim her own dowry, together with one-half of all the profits he may have accumulated since their marriage; but, in the event of her demise, her property is liable to the same laws of hereditary descent as the husband, but should she leave no children, the husband can establish no claim whatever to her fortune.

In cases of adultery and divorce, it seems singular that a woman should claim her own dowry as well as her husband's profits; but in all instances the Spanish colonial laws display a remarkable tendency in favour of the woman, rendering her in fact quite independent of her husband. Hence it is not at all uncommon to see married people live separately by mutual consent, each following the kind of life best suited to their tastes or desires. The privileges claimed by the woman seem quite incompatible with the customs of commercial persons, and yet it is

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surprising to see Englishmen marrying the native women: two or three instances I have known where oar countrymen have been most fortunate in their selection, but it is a hazard of too great risk for a prudent man to venture upon: should the wife please, she can prevent the husband from being master of his own house, she can introduce and maintain as many of her relations as she chooses: it may indeed be said that, in marrying a Chilena, he marries her whole family. A singular instance of this occurred to an Englishman, who kept an inferior kind of tavern in Valparaiso: soon after his marriage with a Chileno woman, she began to introduce her sisters into the house, till at length she brought together, one after another, no less than eighteen persons, whom she claimed as her relations: the poor Englishman, who bore a reasonable encroachment without grumbling, took fire at so monstrous an intrusion, and was about to turn all out by force, when he was taken before the governor, who declared his conduct unwarrantable, and that he would be liable to severe consequences were he to transgress in like manner in future: there was no alternative, and the wife and her friends soon ate the poor fellow out of house and home.

According to the treaty lately concluded between Great Britain and the united provinces of Buenos Ayres, I perceive that our consul-general has been alive to the evil tendency of these laws, so far as they affect British property, and with great judgment has procured a special clause, which leaves to Englishmen married to natives a perfectly free-will

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in the testamentary disposition of all their property and effects.

There exists much uncertainty in the tenure of leases throughout Chile. If a Chileno wishes to let his house in town upon lease, or to let out his hacienda for a period of years, the law prescribes a certain limit to this kind of tenure, which is not valid above nine years: granting, then, a lease to be concluded for this term, it is in the power of the lessor at all times to supersede it by a sale of his property: but it must be a public sale, and the lessee can come forward and offer the same price as the highest bidder, when he may obtain a preference in right of purchase; but supposing he does not choose, or is not able to do so, he must give up the hired property to the new purchaser, without any satisfaction or redress for the money he may have expended upon it Now, supposing the lessee, who, in consideration of the money he may have expended upon the house or hacienda, in expectation of retaining it for the whole nine years, rather than make the required sacrifice, may have become the purchaser, should the lessor be intent upon getting back the property so improved, and dissolving the lease, the law allows him to do it by a singular subterfuge: after the sale is concluded by the lessee, and he has reason to consider himself rightful owner of the property, any relation of the old proprietor is allowed to come forward Within a certain time, and demand it upon the same terms it has been bargained to be sold for.

The laws, indeed, every way tend to preserve as

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much as possible property within the some family, however much they may favour its division among the members of it An instance of this came within my knowledge: an Englishman took the lease of a house for five years: so inconvenient are the Chileno houses, so much do they resemble barns, that a foreigner, used to cleanliness, light, and personal comforts, necessarily must spend a thousand dollars, or more, in alterations, before he can enter the generality of their buildings: so it happened in the present case, when the proprietor was tempted to claim the property, which he did by making a sham sale to a relation: the Englishman objected to give up the house, a legal process was commenced, which would soon have obliged him to yield possession, when the earthquake of November 1822 cut short the dispute, by rasing the building to the ground. Those who are aware of the tendency of the law, however they may be unable to withstand the reversion of leasehold property, may regain, or cause to be returned to them, the amount of expences laid out in its improvement, by making, at the time of contract, a clause to that effect in event of such a sale.

The state of agricultural art is very low: the only implements known in husbandry are the plough, the spade, the crow-bar, and a large hoe, called the asadon; the turning up of the soil by spade-digging is not known; the use of the English hoe is unknown; what little weeding is practised is performed by the hands, or the blade bone of a sheep: lately, since English spades have been introduced, the people who have

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seen their utility use much exertions to steal them, and I lost in this way, by robbery, above three dozen of spades and shovels. The plough is an implement of extreme simplicity, and is every where alike though out the country; it consists of two pieces, the body and the shaft: the former is merely part of the trunk, and of a crooked branch, of a tree roughly hewn; the trunk serving as the body, and the branch as the handle of the plough: the forepart of the trunk is wedge-shaped, and has nailed to it a somewhat pointed flat plate of iron, which performs the necessary operation both of coulter and share, neither of which were ever heard of by the natives: the shaft consists of a straightish pole, tenented at one end into the top of the body, while a slanting stick fixed in the plough body passes through a long mortised slit made in the pole, so that a wedge driven on each side renders the shaft steady. According to the resistance of the soil, and the mode in which different oxen draw, it is necessary to alter the elevation of the pole, for this alone regulates the depth of the furrow: it is only necessary, therefore, to withdraw the wedges, adjust it to the proper inclination, and again knock in the wedges with a stone, which is always at hand in every soil. The oxen invariably draw from a straight yoke, lashed to the heads of both animals behind their horns: a hide thong passes through a hole in the upper end of the plough shaft, which is lashed round the middle of the yoke, and secures the one closely and firmly to the other, at the same time that it is allowed a rotatory motion. In dropping the plough handle to the ground the peon can at once stop the process of

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furrowing, either in turning an angle, rounding a bush, a stone, or other impediment.

In the management of a plough a single labourer is sufficient, and so habituated from children are the Children to its use, that every peon is an adept in the operation of ploughing. The plough being adjusted as already described, the peon guides the exact line of the furrow, by his mode of directing the oxen: this he manages by a loose thong fixed to the horn of the near bullock, and by pricking the off bullock with a short goad, which, with one end of the thong, is held in his right-hand, while the other hand firmly grasps the plough handle, maintaining its erect position, and weighing it down so as to prevent the point of the plough from jumping out of the furrow. The body of the instrument being wedge-shaped below necessarily throws the earth equally on each side; but, having finished one furrow, on proceeding back again with the plough point directed five inches from its former course, the peon contrives by a side-way inclination of the handle to throw most of the earth on the side of the former furrow, which, as it never exceeds three or four inches in depth, it is never difficult to accomplish. Having thus successively broken up the soil till he has finished the whole plot, an operation generally performed after the first winter rains, it is left to moulder and soften till the rainy season has passed over, when he devotes himself to the final preparation: the whole ground is again ploughed, and, as the harrow is not known among them, a rude substitute, a heap of bushes weighted

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with stones, and drawn by oxen, is dragged over it: the ground is then ploughed in a transverse direction, again harrowed, and lastly ploughed over the former way, when it is ready to receive the seed. Wheat is always sown broadcast by the old method of hand-scattering, and covered in by the bush harrow. Peas, french beans, maize, potatoes, sandias, and melons, are always sown in furrows made by the plough, the seed being dropped in by another peon who closes in the furrow by a side motion of his feet as he walks along, or the furrows are all closed in at once by a sweeping of the bush harrow over them. Every thing else is left to nature: weeding is practised only in the early stage of things of delicate growth, such as most kinds of garden produce, when it is performed by the hand or the blade-bone of an animal: irrigation is performed by little gutters, or more commonly by overflowing the ground; the large asadon before-mentioned shortening the labour in clearing the gutters, stopping off some and opening others, as the water is required to be let on different spots. After lands have been cultivated many years they are worn out, but the natives have no knowledge of the use of manure: it is customary to suffer cultivated spots to lie in fallow for a twelvemonth every four or five years. All writers have talked loudly and largely of the amazing productiveness of the soil of Chile: these accounts are exaggerations, they are repeated by the natives, who believe no other soil in the world can equal that of Chile. The climate certainly is fine, crops have been seldom known to

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fail; they produce too with little labour; but, notwithstanding these advantages, which the soil of Chile possesses over that of England, the production of the latter is incomparably greater in all cases, taking extent of surface as our criterion of comparison. The data given under the head of agricultural haciendas will afford good estimates for judging of the product of wheat: I have stated the average of the wheat fields to be from eight to twelve fold; the average of the best crops are from twelve to twenty fold: farmers who never calculate, but come to conclusions from traditional habit, will say it is much greater; but, if we compare the quantity sown with the produce, we shall find it to be no more than I have stated: many found their assertions upon the produce of a piece of ground never before cultivated, recently cleared of trees, and rich in decomposed vegetable matter: such ground may produce to the extent of 100 or even 200 fold during the first year; but such lands are now scarce in the cultivated parts of Chile, and the produce must gradually diminish to the average stated.

Reaping of wheat and barley, the only kinds of cereal grain raised in Chile, is performed by an iron sickle, which has a rough sawing edge: the stubble is left as long as possible, to abridge both the expence of carriage, and the labour of threshing. The tenths are not set apart in the field, nor are they delivered in the sheaf, bat are collected from the produce after threshing: all the reaping, therefore, is gathered and collected in heaps, which are placed on a sort of rude sledge, formed of a forked tree, having a stretched hide for its bottom. On

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this barbarous carriage it is dragged along to the era or thrashing-ground, which is a hard dry spot, formed into a circular enclosure of about twenty feet diameter, by stakes fixed at intervals into the ground, and secured by others placed horizontally, and tied to them by thongs. When all the corn is brought from the field and spread out upon the era, a troop of about fifty mares are driven into it, the inclosure is secured, and the peons employed in the operation, assisted by a number of others, who come to the spot for diversion, place themselves round the coral, and with thongs, sticks, and hootings, frighted the animals, keeping them galloping about incessantly. The corn is then turned over, the mares again introduced, and again gallopped over, till by the straw being broken sufficiently small, it is judged that the corn is trodden out of the ear. This operation generally occupies one day, and thus from 300 to 500 fanegas (94 to 156 quarters) of corn, are threshed in a large era. The trodden mass is then all piled in a heap, on the windward side of the coral, to be winnowed, an operation which merely consists in throwing it into the air, by means of rude wooden forks; when the wind carries away the mere chaff to the opposite side of the enclosure, and the corn, from its greater weight, falls down again into the heap. This operation is repeated several times with the residuum till the corn becomes sufficiently cleaned. Such ears as have refused to part with their grains by the operation of treading, and fall half-way between the corn and the chaff, are collected in a heap upon the ground; a flat piece of wood, loaded,

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is drawn over it by oxen, so as to squeeze out the grains. It may easily be imagined that corn so thrashed must be excessively dirty, and that, as the Chilenos do not think it worth while to clean it, their flour must be insufferably gritty. The corn thus thrashed is generally left in the open air, upon the era, till March, in expectation of finding a sale before the coming rains, when, if not sold, it must be housed.

Wheat is subject to a general blight in certain seasons. I have never seen the smut in Chile, but the rust has of late years been more than usually prevalent. For the three years preceding 1824, there was a general failure in the harvests, probably owing to the lateness of the period at which rain fell. In former seasons it was usual for the rains to commence in April: and so constant was this, that it was a proverbial saying throughout the country, "il mes de Abril traë aguas mil;" but during the last twenty years the rain has not commenced till the end of May, or the beginning of June. In the three years alluded to the rains set in, even later than usual, so as not to fall till July, August, and the beginning of September: the consequence was, that, for want of rain, the soil could not be broken for sowing till July or August, whereas it was formerly tilled in April and May. The foggy weather which usually follows the rainy season, formerly happened in the early growth of the corn. A long subsequent time of warm bright weather produced a dry period, which ripened the crops without blight or mildew: the farmers were certain of abundant crops of full-grained wheat, and hence

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the harvests of Chile became proverbial for productiveness. Owing, however, to the causes mentioned in the three years alluded to, damp foggy weather by day, and heavy dews by night, prevailed at the season when the farinaceous matter recently secreted was in the milky state: hence the rust or blight showed itself first upon the stem in a red powder, which gradually fixed itself upon the ear, the corn shrivelled up, and bad crops followed all over the country. There was barely sufficient wheat produced for the consumption of Chile; scarcity raised the price so high as to place bread wholly beyond the reach of a vast number of the people. In the wheat districts the price of corn used to vary according to the time of year, from four to seven reals per fanega; the price rose in consequence of the bad harvests to five dollars, and this was the average price during the last few years, though I have known it at times as high as twelve dollars per fanega.

Labour is actually dearer in Chile than in England, if we regard the quantity of work done, and not the number of hours employed for the wages given. In Valparaiso and Santiago the usual daily pay of a peon is from four to five reals (two shillings to two shillings and sixpence) but he will not perform half the work of an English labourer. Many foreigners employ Englishmen in preference, at one dollar per day (four shillings). I have done it whenever the opportunity offered. A native will work only when he pleases: if with the labour of three days he can support himself all the week, and have some money left to spend at

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the pulperia, his services are lost for those days to his employer. On feast days it is a matter of duty to abstain from work, though there be no church service, and in this way above 120 days are annually lost out of 365. This is a tremendous national loss, and the government, aware of it, has lately ventured to oppose the wishes of the priesthood, by diminishing the number of non-working feast-days to twenty, exclusive of Sundays. The country people, however, do not feel disposed to avail themselves of this concession. In haciendas, in vineyards, and in mines, where many persons are continually employed, it is usual to hire peons by the month, at the rate of four dollars (or sixteen shillings), and their victuals. The hours of labour are from sunrise to sunset, that is, from seven till five in the winter, and from five to seven in the summer. Two meals are furnished each day: the first at noon, consisting of two plates of soup, or a kind of porridge, made of frijoles, boiled into a thick mess, with pumpkin and water; tallow and red pepper being added to make it more palatable; a loaf of bread weighing about three ounces is also given. At dusk they have a second meal, consisting of a similar mess, with perhaps, though rarely, a piece of beef or mutton boiled in it. Neither wine nor spirits are allowed; yet with this seemingly poor fare, the Chilenos are contented, hearty, and robust. A daily labourer in the country gets three reals (one shilling and sixpence) per day, finding his own food; and one and a half or two reals per day, when the master feeds him. All are allowed two hours at noon, for

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dinner and sleep (siesta), but I obliged my peons to take half an hour's rest at eight o'clock, and an hour at noon; an arrangement which better pleased them. Wages are gradually rising in Chile, and labourers are becoming more scarce. A good labourer in Valparaiso will earn five, six, and even seven reals per day; whereas three reals was the price when I first visited Chile: and should there ever arise a demand for workmen at the mines, from the employment of British capital to the extent of a fiftieth part of what has been projected, there is no calculating the extent to which this rise may be carried.

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CHAPTER XXII.

MINES.—MINING.

Mines, by whom worked.—Officers.—Labourers.—Workings, all on a small Scale.—Cannot be worked productively by Foreigners.—Large Capitals cannot be employed.—Situation of Mines.—Mining operations.—Banco de roseate.—Particular Modes of reducing Ores.—Of Gold and Silver.—English and South, American Mines compared.—Produce.—Expense of working.—South American Modes described.—Economical.—Copper Smelting.—ORES—Gold—Mines described.—Silver, several kinds.—Copper, various sorts.

I HAVE in several places spoken in general terms of the mines, and shall now endeavour to bring together the more striking features connected with this interesting branch of Chileno industry and resource.

Captain Hall, in his observations respecting Chile, has given many interesting and correct details concerning the mines of Coquimbo, and has added some particulars of the relations subsisting between the habilitador, the miner, and the labourer. The habilitador, as he justly defines him, is the mining capitalist, who has nothing to do with the proprietorship or the working of the mines; he advances the capital necessary to enable the minero, or mining proprietor, to work his mines; the ordenanza de mineria, the Spanish code of laws regulating mining operations, distinctly insures to each his respective

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rights and privileges; their immediate relations are generally established by written contract, the habilitador advancing money to enable the minero to commence his operations, who agrees to pay him from the produce of his labour, that is, in metal of legal standard quality, at a stated price. Generally, the advances to the minero are not in money, but in such goods and materials as must be obtained from a great distance, such, for instance, as quicksilver, iron, steel, gunpowder, wheat, beans, clothing, spirits, wine, tobacco, and other articles consumed by himself and the mining labourers; the terms of these bargains are, it is true, generally most advantageous to the habilitador; but, as his money is a marketable article, open to all competitors, the minero has no reason to complain. Since it is clear that he cannot without capital work his mines, he who advances the capital must obtain a corresponding compensation for the facilities he affords. It always has happened, in all countries, and it ever will be the case, that the money lender will require a consideration or interest for his advances, high in proportion to the scarcity of money, or to the inability of the borrower to repay him. It should also be borne in mind, that although the habilitador may gain considerable profits by his advances, in event of the minero being able to comply with the terms of his contract, he is the only person who bears the risk, and, in the event of loss, he is the only sufferer; for, by the ordenanza, whatever the minero loses upon his adventure, is borne by the habilitador, who cannot recover from the former what he has ad-

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vanced him, and cannot claim from him a greater amount than the borrowed money can be shown to have produced.

My attention having been necessarily drawn to other matters, I have not had such frequent opportunities of examining, on the spot, the modes pursued by the miners as I could have wished; but I lost no opportunities of making all the observations I could, and collecting from the most intelligent miners, and other well informed persons, all the information possible; of comparing my own observations with their communications, and their accounts with one another: the information I have thus collected is sufficiently minute and correct to be interesting, so at least I conclude, in no small degree, at a period when public attention is directed to the mining concerns of South America.

When captain Hall relates that he met with some English merchants in Coquimbo, who exerted a very laudable interest in support of the cause of the mineros, with the philanthropic view of destroying the monopolies of the habilitadors, he was not aware that he received his information from persons who were interested in stating the case in the view in which it was represented to him; he appears not to have known that these same individuals were as much monopolists as the very habilitadors of whom they complained. The supercargoes of the several East Indiamen trading to Chile have universally inveighed against the manner in which these persons, from their local interest and connexions, contrived to get the whole trade into their own bands, the habilitadors, as well as the mineros,

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being greatly at their mercy; in this respect no one can blame them, because it is the practice of their trade as merchants.

I have found no one in Chile disposed to sacrifice his views of gain to motives of philanthropy, all are alike eager to secure as extensive an advantage from their competitors in the market as their influence can command, or their money can purchase.

The agents interested in the India trade continually made anxious inquiries as to whether it was my intention to carry into execution those ulterior objects I had in view, in settling in Chile, and I was repeatedly assured that a capital of 200,000 dollars would at any time be forthcoming from the houses in India to facilitate the trade in copper, so as to remove the inconveniences under which they laboured, and to place the system upon a fair and liberal footing.

The several associations raised in London with the view of working the mines of Chile will probably find it more to their interest to act the part of habilitadors, and not that of miners, for they will discover that the natives can work the mines with much greater economy than they possibly can. This I shall be able to demonstrate when the subject comes to be more minutely detailed.

Our countrymen at home are evidently deceived in imagining that the Chilenos understand but little of the art of mining: they may, on the contrary, be assured that they are very skilful and efficient miners, and will not only produce the ore at the earth's surface at a lower, rate than others, but that, in their rude and economical processes, they will ex-

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tract the metals at a much less cost. In the construction of the furnaces, and in other respects, many improvements may and will be introduced; but any one who has made correct observations upon the country, will, at one glance, perceive that all attempts to introduce foreign modes, new materials, or novel processes, will cause great confusion and loss. The Chilenos cannot, will not, comprehend any other than their old methods. Before any one attempts mining, he ought to gain sufficient experience and knowledge of the character of the people, and the resources of the country, so that he might be competent to calculate with certainty how far his arrangements could be adapted to the peculiar habits he will have to contend with, and the scanty materials he will be able to command. I can speak on this subject with the advantage of experience; I was at first deceived to a great extent, and so will all foreigners who attempt any operations in Chile: the very customs and methods which to them will appear barbarous and inefficient, will be found, on better knowledge, to be grounded upon experience and reason; and to benefit by these observations; so as to apply them to their own particular views, they must so far exert their judgment as to trace them to their origin, and discover the necessities which have induced them. Necessity alone has been the author of national customs, and it cannot be denied that methods must vary according to the peculiar resources of the country, and the habits of the natives. On my arrival in Chile every thing appeared to be irrationally contrived and barbarously managed; but the more I became acquainted with the people and

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their customs, the more I saw of the country and its productions, the better I understood the capabilities of the land, the more I discovered ingenuity in that which I before considered barbarous, and could trace afar better adaptation of those means to the condition of the people, and the present nature of the country, than our own English notions could possibly have contrived. It is the habit of an Englishman, educated in the midst of the most admirable contrivances, and used to means adapted to a highly refined, industrious, and intelligent community, to carry his notions of improvement to every foreign object which comes under his observation; and it is easier, and more gratifying to apply these notions than to unlearn his knowledge, and bring back his ideas to a state applicable to a more primative condition of society. This difficulty will operate strongly towards the failure of the numerous adventures now directed to the vast continent of the new world, and on the mining companies, in particular, it will operate still more forcibly: in the outset, an immense portion of their capital will be wasted in merely learning how they should conduct their operations to advantage, and in acquiring the necessary experience of the country. If this has been experienced by the persons who have lost their own capital in the trial, how much more certain must it happen to those who are exerting themselves with the capital of others, and who cannot feel the same interest in economising their resources as they would if the adventure were entirely their own, and superintended by themselves on the spot. It cannot be expected that the persons sent out from England, however competent to the practical dis-

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charge of their duties at home, will be equally so in the execution of their functions abroad, with the want of local experience and the necessary adaptation of new habits to a new and uncivilized people.

I employed a number of the most intelligent English workmen, but I found, in every case, the greatest difficulty in managing them. Their efforts, their knowledge and art, most valuable at home, become useless among the Chilenos, and in the absence of their habitual resources.

The agents to whom I have alluded will be surrounded with difficulties on every side, and be deceived in every possible way: it is not enough that they will be assisted by the advice of Englishmen who have been resident in the country, if those persons do not possess the requisite judgment to guide them; and this not one of them has. It is, indeed, incompatible with mercantile proceedings that a commercial agent should direct his attention to objects of research not connected with the concerns of the counting-house. I know, from experience, that many clerks, who have unfortunately manifested a disposition to matters not immediately relating to commerce, have lost their situations; of course there are exceptions to this rule, but it is beyond doubt generally the case. On my arrival in Chile I felt this acutely. I was surprised to find persons of considerable ability provokingly uninquisitive, and unconscious even of the existence of matters that had been incessantly under their observation. However distinguished for commercial knowledge, these deserving individuals are not those from whom may be expected any assistance in matters of speculative

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utility respecting the country, or any valuable statistic information. From the natives, the mining agents will have reason to be more on their guard: the smooth-faced exterior and plausible manners of the Chileno, his apparent sincerity and generosity, will at first operate powerfully on a stranger, who has not yet ascertained his true character. I will repeat here what I have elsewhere said of them, that in treating with the best of them, as little confidence and as much caution are requisite as it is possible for one person to use with another.

Another consideration, which will operate powerfully against the success of mining companies, is the absolute impossibility of employing any considerable capital in mining speculations, much less the immense sums contemplated in England. It will be seen from the modes adopted in the country how little capital is actually employed therein; and there is an evident relation between the scantiness of capital, and the scantiness of population. It is clearly deducible from the simplest principles of political economy, that the one cannot operate without the other, and any attempt to force capital into employment, so as to raise the demand for labour beyond what can be supplied, must raise wages, and lessen profits. This has been proved at the very outset in Mexico, where the. suddenly increased demand for labourers has augmented the price of wages above ten-fold, and this advance will be increasing in proportion to the projected employment of workmen. It operates in all ways; the demand for labour at the mines takes away the agriculturist from his operations, and the

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demand for produce increases with the diminution of hands to produce it: the same in the demand for transport, for collecting materials, &c, would operate to an extent that could not have been contemplated in England. It is, however, not only certain that the capital proposed cannot be employed in mining operations, but it is no less certain that, whatever British capital is forced into mining speculations, will be unproductive, and that loss must take place to a considerable amount, but that this will happen over all South America. In an extraordinary case an exception may occur, bat this cannot affect the conclusion. The inference is so clear as to require no farther illustration.

I may, however, mention one fact in illustration, which will, as proof, be worth-a thousand conjectures. Three years ago, an extensive copper miner at Illapel withdrew the whole of his capital from mining operations, on account of the rise in the price of provisions; the difference of cost in feeding the miners destroyed his profits, and compelled him to turn agriculturist.

Having described the habilitador and minero, I have only to speak of the mining labourers. This class of men differs but little from that of the agricultural peons already described. They are remarkable for the same inanition, want of interest in passing events, improvident carelessness for the future, disposition to gambling, and contentedness under bodily privations. They are hired, as has been before related, for a fixed period, but their

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clothes, and all luxuries, such as tobacco, spirits, &c., are at their own cost, and are purchasable at the pulperia of the master-miner. The period during which the miners actually work does not amount to much more than half the time occupied by labourers in England. They work only from sunrise to sunset, taking, in the middle of the day, their long siesta of two hours, like ordinary peons. On the numerous feast-days they never work at all, so that the productiveness of mines on these accounts is less than it ought to be.

The mines, in most instances, are situated far in the interior of a hilly and difficultly. accessible country, whence the conveyance of fuel and materials is enormously expensive, and the transport of the product to the places of embarkation is attended with almost incredible charges. It is impossible to calculate on the serious impediments which the increased demand for materials and conveyance of products would occasion, should any of the British mining companies endeavour to push the working of the mines much beyond their present extent The Chileno miners are very expert in following the course of a vein, though entirely ignorant of any rule which they can explain. In all countries the most promising appearances often prove fallacious, so in Chile it frequently happens that the most expert are mistaken, and many miners are ruined by their speculation.

From the structure and the arrangement of the hills of Chile, much certainty cannot be expected in the direction of veins of metalliferous rock: for the

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greater convenience and saving of labour the galleries are generally opened on the sides of hills, and a vertical shaft is seldom excavated, unless where the vein makes a fault, and the shaft follows it upwards or downwards till it again meets with the vein. These passages, for they do not deserve the name of galleries, generally descend in a direction so inclined, that it is with difficulty the peons can creep along them: they are seldom more than four feet in height, and the same in width, so that it requires the labourer to carry his load with his bade and his knees nearly doubled; in some places they are so contracted that it is with difficulty a peon can crawl among them. The Chilenos, however, who from their infancy are accustomed to sit upon their hams, acquire a remarkable suppleness in their hip and knee-joints, which qualifies them for crawling through these passages, while an English miner would be unable to bear the cramped posture of such confined channels. Whenever these passages assume a vertical direction, the workmen mount by a ladder formed of sticks, tied together with hides. In tome places, where the lode has been productive, the galleries expand into chambers, which are spacious: whenever this happens, it generally indicates the farther impoverishment of the vein. The rode is generally too solid to yield to the crowbar alone; blasting, therefore, becomes necessary, in which the natives are very expert Formerly, in order that the mines should sot became retarded for want of gunpowder or quicksilver, and that individuals should not be al-

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lowed to monopolize these articles, and raise their price, uncertain as the communication with Europe then was, the king of Spain held the trade in these things in his own hands, and they became attached to the estanco. Government stores were established in all the mining districts, and the distribution of these materials came under the administration of the tribunal de mineria. The consumption of gunpowder was, however, very small in value, compared with that of quicksilver. The tribunal de mineria was authorized to lend to each miner a certain quantity of quicksilver, according to his wants, and payment was not required until the miner was supposed to have gained the product of his labours; advantages which have been cut short by the events of the revolution. But the assistance was even greater, for the miner, or trapichero, applied to the administration for a certain quantity of quicksilver whenever he required it; at the end of the year his stock was calculated and compared with the amount distributed to him: he was not then called upon to pay for the whole amount borrowed, but only for so much as it appeared he had actually lost or consumed. These terms, so liberal to the miner, were not less so in the price at which the payment was fixed; for whatever was the excess or scarcity in the royal warehouses, the price of quicksilver was never suffered to vary from the standard value of fifty dollars per quintal. This was a monopoly by which the king generally lost; for it often happened that, in times of scarcity and difficulty, the revenue paid for it at the price of seventy, eighty, or

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even 100 dollars per quintal. This liberality was of the greatest assistance in the working of gold and silver mines, inasmuch as it prevented those mineros who had capital of their own from being dependant upon habilitadors. Another establishment was also created, and placed under the royal protection, for the encouragement of mines; this was the Banco de Rescate, which at first was attached to the office of the mint, but subsequently the privilege was granted to a few individuals associated in a company, subject to regulations fixed by the king. The Banco de Rescate, as its name implies, is a bank of exchange for the purchase of gold or silver in piña, or in grains, in which articles all other individuals were prohibited from dealing: no one was indeed allowed to have in his possession even stamped bullion without a licence from the government previously obtained; and even then he could not remove the bullion from place to place without an order, under liability of confiscation. In every noted mining town or village the Banco de Rescate had its offices and deposits, where, at all times, the minero or ingeniero, on presenting his product of piña, could obtain the value for it in money, at a price established by the government, which left the company a fair profit or interest for the outlay of capital.

It does not always happen that the miner is enabled to reduce or recover the metal from the ores by his own means, he having neither the command of water nor of other necessary resources; these are generally possessed by the neighbouring haciendado, or land-holder; when he himself happens to be the

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minero, the case is otherwise, but this does not always happen. The miner can claim no further right of ground about the mouth of his mine than that prescribed by the ordenanza: he is therefore obliged to have recourse to other persons for the means of grinding the ore. The proprietor of the nearest stream of water possessing sufficient fall never fails to erect there a trapiche, or grinding mill, which affords him a certain and coustant source of revenue: the miner, therefore, carries his ore to the trapichero, who conducts for him the operation of pulverization, and also, if he pleases, the processes of amalgamation or reduction, taking so much per cent, of the produce for the maquila, or moulter. The average charge of grinding is four dollars (16s.) for each caxon of 5,000 pounds weight of ore, which is judged of by the quantity that sixteen mules can carry. Some trapiches will grind this quantity in two days, while others cannot perform it in less time than three days.

The trapiche, or mill, for grinding the ores of gold and silver, is a very simple and rude piece of mechanism: its moving power is constructed after the same fashion as the mills used throughout Chile, and in some parts of Spain and France, for grinding corn, that is to say, a place is chosen where a small current of water, whose section will present a surface of six inches diameter, can be brought to a spot where it can fall perpendicularly ten or twelve feet; at this place a well is built of this depth about six feet diameter; in its centre is fixed an upright shaft, upon a central brass pin; it is confined above by a wooden collar. A little

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above its foot the shaft has affixed to it a small wheel, around which are fixed a number of radiating spokes shaped at the ends somewhat like hollow cups, and forming, in the whole, a kind of horizontal wheel four feet in diameter: upon the periphery of the cups the jet of water is made to impinge with all the force it has acquired in falling down an inclined and nearly perpendicular trough, formed by scooping out the solid trunk of a tree: the application of this force causes the wheel to revolve with a quick rotatory motion. The arm extends about six feet above the top of the well, and at about half this height is fixed a small horizontal arm, four feet long, which serves as an axle to a ponderous stone of granite, whose diameter is from four to six feet, and which is thus made to roll upon its edge in a circular trough sometimes made of granite, sometimes of bard wood.

The weight of this stone, assisted by its velocity, effects the pulverization of the ore: in some cases it is taken out in the dry state, and subjected to the application of sifting, in order to separate the finer powder for amalgamation, and the coarser parts are thrown again into the mill; but more generally, in order to save labour, this separation is accomplished by the action of water: for this purpose a small stream is made to trickle into the annular trough, by which means the pounded ore is mixed into a state of mud, the finer particles being sufficiently attenuated to run off with the superfluous water, through a notch made for the purpose in the margin of the circular, trough: this is received in little pools, where the pounded ore is left to settle; the clear

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water is run off, leaving the powder at the bottom to be taken to the place of amalgamation.

The tahona is a mill resembling the trapiche in its upright shaft, its heavy rolling stone, and the circular trough in which it revolves; it differs only in the mode of applying the motive force, which, in the former case, is a circular wheel, revolving in a well beneath, on which a current of water is made to expend its force: but in the present case both the well and the nipped wheel are dispensed with; a lantern pinion is fixed on the top of the upright shaft, in which the teeth of a large horizontal wheel are made to catch, and which wheel is caused to revolve by the drawing operation of one or two mules. This mill is only used in those situations where a current of water cannot be applied.

The ingenios, or stamping mills, are moved by water by means of a small undershot wheel of five feet diameter, and one foot broad; the float or paddleboards of which are about a foot square, and move in a very inclined trough, down which a fall of water is allowed to run; the impetus of the falling water upon the float-boards causes a quick revolution of the wheel, which is fixed upon one end of a long horizontal shaft, furnished with five or six cams placed at different situations round the shaft, so that one is made to act as soon as the other has ceased its operation; behind this shaft are arranged as many upright rods as there are cams, each furnished with a projecting tooth, against which, at every revolution of the shaft, the cam comes in contact, and thus lifts the rod a small height, which again falls down by its own weight, as soon as the

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tooth becomes free from the lifting action of the cam: each rod is furnished at its bottom with a copper hammer, or pestle, weighing 200 pounds, which works in a corresponding mortar of stone or hard wood: it is dear that at every revolution of the shaft, all these several hammers will make a blow in succession, and by this contrivance the ore which is put into the mortars is pounded.

In those places where the ore is ground dry it is required to be sifted: this is generally effected in a large box, in which a circular cylinder is worked by a common winch handle, its periphery being covered with pieces of coarsely woven hair cloth: the pounded ore is thrown inside the cylinder; the finer particles pass through the sieves into the box, while the coarser fall out at the opposite end of the cylinder, which is somewhat inclined for this purpose.

The amalgamating floor, called la cancha, or patio de benificiar, is a level place, in the open air, about twenty feet square: the finer pulverized ore is brought and deposited in heaps, containing each half a caxon, which are separately wetted and kneaded into a mass called a cuerpo: they mix with each about two quintals of salt, and a quantity of dry mule or horse dung, which is incorporated well together, and turned over with a spade several times, for two or three days, until it begins to ferment—they then add to it a certain quantity of quicksilver. The quicksilver is put into a soft goat's skin, bag, or purse, which they squeeze with the hand, so as to make the quicksilver run out in a shower of minute globules, the quantity of mercury used

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being apportioned to the nature and richness of the ore; those of silver require generally from ten to twenty pounds to each cuerpo. Gold ores consume much less; the quantity is judged of by experience. The mass is moistened with water, and kneaded by the pressure of the foot of the workmen six or eight times every day. There are generally from ten to thirty cuerpos upon the floor at one time, and the workman goes from one to the other in succession, till all are kneaded; he then begins again at the first, and so continues the operation, taking care after each kneading to beat up the mass smoothly in the form of a cone. In Chile, the heat of the sun is generally sufficient to forward the amalgamation; but in some of the high table lands of Peru, where the temperature of the air is cold, the amalgamating floor is built upon arches, under which a fire is kept to preserve the necessary temperature. In the winter time in Chile the amalgamation often requires three weeks, while in summer eight or ten days are sufficient. When the process is supposed to be completed, the foreman takes a small sample of each cuerpo, washes it in a small earthern bowl, or in a bullock's born, to separate the amalgam, and judges by its colour and consistency whether it has readied the precise point: if the amalgam, or, as he calls it, la pella, be hard, more quicksilver is added to the cuerpo, and the mass is again kneaded. If, on pressing the sample under the thumb, it forms a cake, and adheres to the skin, the amalgamation is judged to have been carried to the correct point: if, in forming the cake, a portion of quicksilver escapee from it, the mercury is not sufficiently incorporated,

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and the mass is left to ferment some time longer; if the colour of the amalgam be dark, more salt and dung are added, and the mass again kneaded and fermented.

Such cuerpos as are decided to have arrived at a proper state, are carried to the washing places: the first is a small square shallow reservoir, made of brick and lime plastered; across this is stretched a sort of hollowed apron, made of a piece of hide, suspended at the four corners from the angles of the pit; the reservoir is filled with water, into which a fresh current is always running, while the displaced quantity is made to flow along a narrow gutter into a second reservoir. Upon the hide apron the cuerpo is placed, and is carefully kneaded by the hands; the saline, vegetable, and earthy matters are carried off by the water, while the heavier metallic particles fall into the concavity of the hide. Farther off, at short intervals in the course of the inclined gutter, are made four or five small reservoirs, of the size and shape of inverted sugar loaves; across these, in like manner, are stretched small leather diaphragms, so that any very small metallic particles which may have escaped from the first reservoir, suspended in the running stream, may be deposited in these successive receptacles. The amalgam, by these means, is separated and collected at a trifling expence. When a sufficient quantity is collected, the pella is put into a woollen bag, shaped like a cone with the point downward; it is then hung up, to allow the superfluous mercury to drain off; the mouth is then tied up, laid between two boards with a weight on the top, by which process all the redundant quicksilver

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is expressed. The amalgam is then shaped in cones of certain sizes, to be subjected to the operation of distillation. Under the Spanish system, it was usual to mould them in octagonal moulds of certain weights, but now it is customary to make them of any convenient size or shape.

There is another mode of extracting gold where it is very minutely disseminated in grains in a soft rock, by washing, a process much more economical, and effected by the poor people with their own means only. This can only be done where a small spring of water issues from the side of a hill, in which the gold is minutely disseminated, and the place where the operation is effected is called a lavadero: these are very numerous in Chile, and though all on a very small scale, still, from their number, they become, in the aggregate, of national importance. I have visited some of the most celebrated lavaderos in Chile, those of Tiltil, Assiento, Viejo, and Dormida, where the mountain range, nearly 2,000 feet above the valley beneath, consists of a decomposing sienitic rock, owing to its containing an excess of hornblend, which, assisted by the moisture which oozes through its mass, has reduced its surface to a considerable depth, to a somewhat loose ferruginous marl, and this interposes between the small masses of loose angular stony fragments, into which the rode has become decomposed. The scenery about these places is beautiful: here nature has distributed her bounties with a lavish hand; the mountain sides are covered with beautiful shrubs and evergreen trees; little springs issue from the many breaks and recesses in the hills, which maintain their flow throughout the year, as

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they are protected by the foliage from the drying influence of the sun: the narrow valley, thus shut in by these lofty precipitous evergreen hills, is rendered most cool and delightful, from the lofty shrubbery of culen and other beautiful trees that cover it. The extreme beauty of the place forms a striking contrast to the rude huts, and the poor, ill-formed, filthy, miserable, idle beings, who waste their almost useless existence in this charming paradise. The little springs spoken of bring down into the ravine a great quantity of clayey matter, which contains minute particles of gold, mixed with iron sand. It is usual, however, to change the course of this stream to where gold is supposed to be most abundantly existing; and, to command a greater force of water from these little trickling springs, it is also usual to form a pit on the side of the hill, and bank it up, so as to accumulate a small reservoir of water: the workman scrapes from the side of the hill a portion of the earth, he then opens the embankment, and suffers the water to flow over his collected earth, and forms a small channel, by which the water, thus rendered muddy, is conveyed to his hut. While descending the declivitous mountain side, no more preparation is requisite than a small gutter, to confine the precious water; but, where it crosses the less inclined valley, the muddy fluid is made to flow down troughs hollowed out of trunks of trees: the operator continues to turn over and stir up the earth while the water flows over it, so that it may carry off all the earthy matter in which the particles of gold are suspended. After it is sufficiently washed, he examines carefully the stony and gravelly resi-

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due, for whatever pepitas, or large grains, or masses of gold, which are sometimes, though very rarely, found disseminated in the rock. I once saw in the possession of the curate of the Plazilla, a mass of gold, weighing about ten ounces, which had been thus recovered from a lavadero at Purrutum. The muddy water, thus conveyed to the hut of the goldwasher, is received upon a large rude stone, whose flat surface has been hollowed out into a shallow basin; a notch in its exterior allows the water, which has in great measure deposited its heavier particles, to flow off by means of another trough, upon another similar stone basin, and in the same manner into three or four others in succession; the auriferous particles are thus allowed to deposit themselves in these receptacles, while the lighter earthy atoms still suspended, are carried off by the running water. The gold thus collected is mixed with a quantity of ferruginous black sand and stony matter, which requires a yet farther process of trituration, and this is effected by a very rude and simple kind of trapiche, formed of two stones, the under stone being about three feet in diameter, and slightly concave The upper stone is a large spherical boulder of syenitic granite, about two feet in diameter, having on its upper part two iron plugs fixed oppositely, to which is secured, by lashings of hide, a transverse horizontal pole of canelo wood, about ten feet long: two men, seated on the extremities of this lever, work it up and down alternately, so as to give to the stone a rolling motion, which is sufficient to crush and grind the materials placed beneath it. The washings thus

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ground are subjected to the action of running water upon inclined planes formed of skins, by which process the silicious particles are carried off, while the heavier grains of gold, mixed with a portion of ferruginous matter, are extracted by a load-stone; it is again washed till nothing but pure gold-dust be left behind. The whole process is managed with much dexterity; and, if there were much gold to be amassed, it would afford very profitable employment; but generally the small quantity collected is sufficient only to afford subsistence to the few miserable families employed in these works. It is probably the accidental finding of a rich prize on rare occasions that excites the constant hope of good fortune, and keeps the washers to this employment; added to which, it is an occupation which, not being attended with much personal exertion, is well suited to the idle and dissolute habits of the Chileno. Whenever labour becomes more valuable, and greater incitements lead the uncivilized Chileno to more active employments, gold-washing will never be worth following; it is now only so because the labour of these idle persons is scarcely of any value. The minute portions of gold-dust collected in these operations are preserved in quills, in which they are carried to the pulperias for sale, or kept for barter with the travelling hucksters, who go about the country vending the very few articles of clothing required by the peasantry. The gold-dust collected in the lavaderos is generally considered finer than the piña, the former being nearly pure, of twenty-four carats fine, and is worth from seventeen to eighteen reals the castellano;

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whereas the piña obtained by amalgamation seldom exceeds twenty-two carats fine, and is worth fifteen and sixteen reals the castellano, six castellanos and a quarter being equivalent to a Spanish ounce, which weighs only eighteen pennyweights eleven grains English troy weight; even as much as twenty and twenty-two reales per castellano have lately been paid for it

The mode before detailed of amalgamation is employed alike for the recovery of both gold and silver, very little variation existing in the process, and the description above given is alike applicable to either. This is unquestionably the most economical mode in which the precious metals can be wrought in South America to advantage, where buildings, materials, and fuel, can with difficulty be procured.

Captain Hall appears to have understood that some miners effected the separation of silver ores by the more simple process of cupelling or smelting, an error into which he has been led by hearing mention of the roasting furnaces. This is adopted not with the view to any chemical advantage, but to the mechanical one of effecting the more ready disintegration of the particles, so as to facilitate the operation of grinding. I made at all times very particular inquiries on this head, but I could no where hear that silver is reduced in Chile by any process excepting that of amalgamation.

I shall conclude these observations upon the methods used in Chile and other parts of South America, for the recovery of gold and silver from the ores, by some more precise details of the processes followed

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Furnaces for the Reduction of Gold and Silver

Sketched by John Miers IM Baynes litho:

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at Uspallata; and as these rude works are upon the high road to Chile, and within the reach of the traveller, the description will afford him the best opportunities that can be offered in illustration.

The situation of the mines, and of the amalgamation works, are each distinctly marked out in the description of the road over the Cordillera; it is also mentioned that they were last year at work under the management of a native named Molina. The kind of ore I have described to be a galena, containing a small portion of silver, which it is the object of these works to extract. I shall therefore proceed to describe the several processes in succession, as well as the implements, buildings, and materials employed therein.

1. Roasting the Ore.—It is a common practice in different parts of South America to roast the ores for the purposes already described, in reverberatory furnaces: this was the practice in former times pursued at Uspallata, but Molina assured me that he did not find this necessary, and he accordingly generally dispensed with it: the reverberatory furnace was however built to be ready for any exigency.

Including the fire-place at one end, and the flue at the other, the furnace is about sixteen feet long and four feet broad; the fire-place and roasting-hearth are on the same level, raised three feet above the ground; the fire-place is about three feet long by four feet wide; three mud arches, with flat tops, thrown across, serve instead of fire-bars, the ashes falling down into the pit below between the chinks of the arches: the fire-place is separated from the furnace by a partition, through which, by means of a

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low arched communication, the flame is thrown directly upon the ore. The heated air, together with the fumes, find an exit through another arched opening at the opposite end into a chamber, above which is a columnar chimney about four feet high, and eight inches internal diameter; through this flue the heated air makes its escape. In the front of the fire-place is an arch opening for the introduction of fuel, which, being resinous bushes of jarillo, causes a great blaze, quickly burning to ashes, without leaving any permanent cinders. No door is therefore necessary, as the fire requires constant feeding. On the side of the furnace is an opening on to the hearth, by which the ore is introduced: this opening is dosed with a few rough bricks, and plastered over with mud.

2. Grinding the Ore.—This is accomplished by the same means, whether it be previously roasted or not A rude kind of trapiche, or mill, is here constructed. It differs from those used in Chile, already described, and is more upon the principle of the Spanish flour mill, except that instead of an upper stone revolving horizontally upon a lower of equal else, there are here two rough heavy fragments of rock, affixed by hide ropes from each end of a horizontal arm, and dragged round upon the lower stone; it is, therefore, more a process of grinding than of crushing: the moving power is water. Here, as in all mils of Spanish construction, a small current, from a height of about eight feet, runs in a trough placed at a very elevated angle, and falls into a aeries of wooden cups, hollowed out of so many spokes radiating horizontally from a vertical shaft, fixed upon a central pivot. The impetus given by this small

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quantity of water is considerable, and is communicated to the vertical shaft, whose upper end passes through a hole in a horizontal circular mill-stone, fire feet in diameter, and extends a few feet above it Across the upper part of this abaft a piece of wood is fixed horizontally, forming two opposite spokes, from whose ends the two blocks of stone before-mentioned are loosely slung. As the vertical shaft makes about sixty revolutions in a minute; the two blocks are therefore dragged round as many times in the same period. A man attends to feed the mill with ore, and to remove the powder by means of a wooden scoop, when it is sufficiently ground.

The next process is the sifting of the powder through a cylinder, covered with coarse cloth, having a door in the side to introduce the pulverized ore. The cylinder is enclosed in a wooden case, and is turned by a winch handle; the finer powder passes through the canvass, and falls to the bottom of the case; the coarser particles are taken out at the door, carried back to the mill to be re-ground, and the cylinder is again filled with fresh materials. This operation requires the constant attention of a peon. The man who attends the mill brings the rough ore, and carries away the pulverized mass to the amalgamating ground.

3. Amalgating the Ore.—The Caneha de Beneficiar, or level space on which this operation is carried forward, is in the open air, and differs in no respect from that before described.

4. Washing the Amalgam.—This part of the process followed at Uspallata is the some, with

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scarcely any variation, as that before described. After washing, the surplus quicksilver is expressed in the same manner.

5. Distilling the Amalgam.—This is effected in a sort of reverberatory furnace, and a very rude alembic. The furnace resembles that used for the roasting of the ore; in like manner it is wholly constructed of sun-dried bricks and mud. Including the fire-place at one end, and the flue at the other, its length is fifteen feet, its breadth about four feet. The fire-place and hearth are raised four feet above the ground, and in all respects it is like the roasting furnace before described, except that the chimney is of smaller diameter. In the centre of the hearth is a circular hole; in this hole is cemented a conical earthern jar, two feet six inches long, and fourteen inches diameter at top, diminishing to half an inch diameter at bottom: this jar is so placed that the mouth is raised a few inches above the hearth. The nozzled bottom is received into a large, earthen jar, filled with cold water, and placed in an arched chamber beneath the hearth: this simple contrivance supplies the place of a worm or condenser, to collect the vaporized quicksilver. A circular grating made of hoop iron stands upon three legs, the claws of which rest upon the inner edge of the mouth of the jar. Upon this grating, a tile is placed, and on it a ball of amalgam. A rounded conical head, of just sufficient capacity to contain the tripod and amalgam, is made to fit closely upon the mouth of the jar. The joint is secured by a plastic lute, so that none of the vaporized mercury can escape. When the alembic is thus prepared, the

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opening at the side of the furnace is closed, and the fuel in the fire-place is lighted. The fire is briskly kept up during the operation, and reverberating round the alembic head, keeps it at a red heat, by which the quicksilver is converted into vapour, and is condensed in the earthen vessel placed beneath the jar, when it again becomes running mercury. The silver in a pure state remains in a porous mass upon the tile; it is called plata en pina: in this spongy state it is very light, compared with its bulk. Silver piña is equally marketable with silver bars.

Molina told me that the produce of the galena ores of Uspallata did not average more than two marcs* per caxon. The miners here have sometimes met with veins of grey silver, which afforded them two hundred to five hundred, and even a thousand marcs per caxon. This good fortune, however, has very seldom occurred; and when it has, the quantity has been very small.

If this statement of Molina be true, and I see no reason to doubt it, the mines of Uspallata cannot be so rich as they are universally believed to be. Fearful that I might have mistaken dos for doces, (two for twelve), I again asked him if he meant two marcs, as the average product per caxon, to which he replied in the affirmative. If he understood me, and spoke the truth, the ore must indeed be of very poor quality, not containing more than 1/5000th part of silver; if the product were twelve marcs, it would contain 1/103d part of silver.

* A marc is eight Spanish ounces, equal to 7 oz. 3 dwt. 14 gr. troy; caxon is a term used to designate 50 quintals, or 5000 pounds weight of ore.

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The argentiferous galena ores of Cumberland and Wales yield on an average from seventeen to twenty ounces of silver for every ton weight of ore; and to repay the expenses of extracting the silver, a product of not less than fifteen ounces is necessary: reducing the latter to the Spanish mode of computing the product, this would afford seventy-five English ounces, or eighty-seven Spanish ounces, or eleven marcs, of silver per caxon. Now the average product from the silver ores at the celebrated mines at Potosi, is only five or six marcs per caxon, and those of Uspallata only two marcs per caxon. These comparisons afford the clearest evidence that can be adduced that the English mode of smelting can never be brought into competition with the process of amalgamation, as practised in America; and it is dear that to ensure economical results, the aid alone of the people of the country, as well as the application of their peculiar habits and management must be resorted to; wherever English improvements are attempted to supersede the old methods, I should decidedly pronounce that such trials will be attended with loss. No one can doubt but that in the barbarous mode of operation followed in Chile, great loss of product is occasioned; but when this loss is placed in competition with tie increased cost of labour, materials, and management necessary to ensure a greater amount of produce, the inference is irresistible, that it is better to put up with this loss than to expend a sum of money far beyond the value of what can be obtained by adopting the improved methods used in countries where facilities abound, but which can hardly be procured at any price in Chile and La Plata.

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The smelting and refining of copper is conducted by a process certainly neither the most economical nor scientific, as far as regards the quantity of metal produced; though, perhaps, the small expense incurred in the simplicity of the method, more than counterbalances the loss of copper sustained in such rude metallurgic operations. It does not often happen that the process of reduction can be carried on in the immediate vicinity of the mines; more generally it is at some distance, where wood and water can be obtained in sufficient abundance: in such case the ore is brought from the mines on the backs of mules. The first process of reduction is that of roasting, which is conducted in a rude sort of furnace, excavated from the foot of a hill. One of the perpendicular walls, part of the side walls, and the hearth, are formed by the hill itself; the front wall, and part of the sides, being built up of sun-dried bricks, or of rude stones cemented with mud; the hearth of the furnace is prepared with a mixture of cement, mixed with calcined bones, in order that it may resist the fire, as it would otherwise contract by the heat, and crack, and through these cracks the metal Would escape.

The ore and fuel can thus be easily thrown from the hill into the top of the furnace, which is always purposely left open, and is never closed. A quantity of wood is first cast in, then a portion of ore, then alternately wood and ore, till the furnace is charged; the ore is carried to the furnace by peons in wooden troughs, called batteas; so many batteas being apportioned to a number of mule loads of wood, as circumstances may determine. The fuel is mimosa,

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or any thorny wood which can be procured. The fire being lighted at the bottom, a blast of air is constantly maintained by a rude sort of bellows, which are circular, single valved, and in pairs; in some cases worked by a rude water wheel, from two crank motions, wherever circumstances allow of it; bat more generally they are worked by hand. The two bellows are fixed vertically, side by side, upon a wooden base. A tube generally formed out of the hollow osseous stem of the torch thistle, or cactus peruviana, mudded over so as to close up the reticular openings, proceeds from a central hole in each front fixed board; and these tubes, converging, are inserted into a small hole, made for the purpose in the bottom of the furnace. The hind, or moveable bellows boards being jointed at bottom to the front boards, a peon stands holding the handle of each in his hands, and, by a violent alternating motion, pushes forward first one then another board, by which action he maintains the continuity of the blast. This is the only kind of bellows known in Chile; the native smiths use no other. By these means the fire is briskly kept up for above twenty-four hours; and when the process is considered forward enough, a tap-hole is opened, and there flows out a strange admixture of crude scoria; for the mud lining of the furnace, as well as the adobes, being extremely fusible, are partly melted by the heat, adding to the bulk and fluxibility of the mass. The fluid mixture is suffered to flow into a small pit, where it cools into a solid mass, the metallic particles being found in flakes and globules, interspersed throughout the

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mass, which is subsequently broken up by a man called the chanquero, who, seated on the ground, performs this tedious operation with a hand hammer.

The slag is first broken into large masses, to separate the flakes and larger lumps of copper, which are placed apart: these masses are then broken into small pieces, so as to separate the smaller portions of copper; and these are a third time carefully turned over by the chanquero, who, by poising them in his hand, can, by practice, ascertain whether to cast them aside for mere slag; whether to break them still further, so as to separate more globules; or to throw them altogether among the metallic portions for refining.

This being completed, the metal is now ready for refining—a process which is considered among the Chilenos to be a master piece of ingenuity. The hearth of the refining furnace is constructed of a solid mass of adobes or sun-dried bricks, and is about fifteen feet long, five feet wide, and three feet in height above the ground. The sides are raised two feet higher, and the top is arched over: there are two chimneys, raised four feet above the hearth, placed at the corners farthest removed from the fire-place: at each end of the furnace is an opening, one leading into the open air, the other into the fire-place, which is a small close chamber built against the end, and is the height of the furnace: its length is about eight feet, its breadth four feet; it is a continuation of the length of the whole structure. On the opposite sides of this chamber is a large arched opening for the admission of fuel;

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and on the intermediate side, in a line of the two openings of the furnace, is a small aperture, which permits a view of the operations within the furnace from that end. From this description it will be seen, that in principle it is a most rude and imperfect imitation of a reverberatory furnace. It is necessary to remove the arched ceiling of the furnace every time the bed is charged; the rude lumps of metal collected, as before described, are heaped in; the ceiling is again closed up, and luted over with mud plaster; the fire is gradually lighted, and kept at a gentle heat for a day or two, so that the furnace is dried gradually. At length the fire is briskly maintained by throwing into the two large openings of the chamber faggots of brush-wood, or more generally billets of the torch-thistle, and is thus maintained for forty-eight hours in a glowing state. All the doors and vents are kept open during the operation, as well to watch the progress going forward, as to allow a free exit for the flame at all parts, according to the notion of the natives, who believe they could not produce the requisite heat were any of the openings closed. It happens, as might be expected, that at frequent intervals cracks are made in the ceiling or dome of the furnace, through which the heated air escapes. On these occasions nothing more is necessary than to patch on a dab of plastic mud, which is always at head for the purpose. During the process of reduction, the peons keep stirring the fluid mass; and when it is considered to be completed, a tap-hole is opened on one side of the furnace, where, the bed being lowest, the metal has collected. The ground around

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the furnace, into which the metal is to be received, is prepared by digging out a number of square holes, about sixteen inches long, twelve inches wide, and four inches deep, which when smoothed are covered over with a coating of wood ashes, to prevent the adhesion and fusion of the earth with the metal. A number of small channels communicate from one to another, and as the fluid metal runs from the tap-hole the moulds are successively filled. The thickness of the cakes varies from two and a half to four inches, and their weight from 140 to 220 pounds. The copper thus refined, as it is called, is more crude than the common pigs, which come from our English smelting-houses; it is extremely impure, and filled with numerous vacuities, owing to its being half melted: these are the cakes of copper, known in commerce by the name of Peruvian slabs. They are almost wholly sent to the Indian Market.

The Chilenos are fully convinced that their copper is superior to any in the world: they cannot be dissuaded from an error current among them, that their copper contains a large proportion of gold.

NATURE OF METALLIC ORES.

GOLD.—The greater portion of gold found in Chile is recovered from the auriferous sulphuret of iron, or gold pyrites, which is generally met with in high and lofty ridges. Those of Illapel and Petorca are of this description. Others again art veins of rock, where very small grains of gold are

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disseminated in syenite, so minute as not to be visible by the naked eye, such as I have seen in the neighbourhood of La Ligua. Others, again, consist of an ochreous decomposing syenite, distributed in veins, in which native gold is disseminated in thin flakes; specimens of these I have seen brought from the neighbourhood of Curico and Talca. I have seen many of what are called gold mines, within a circle of fifty miles round Quillota: among others, the celebrated mines of La Ligua, which are situated on a hill a little to the north of that town. They are mere holes dug in the rock, to the depth probably of twenty or thirty feet; and in looking at the earth, there does not appear any thing indicative of the precious metals; indeed, I do not think they would be considered worth working in any other hands than Chilenos. There is one, however, which was formerly wrought to some advantage, but is now inundated. Some persons have attempted to cut an adit, so as to drain it, but they failed in reaching the bottom of the pit There are two large square Shafts near the mouth of the mine, where some rude machinery was erected to extract the water, but it failed of success.

The Chilenos universally entertain the notion, which is also mentioned by Frezier, that the ground of Chile is creative of gold, and that the same places whence gold has been excavated, was found, after the lapse of a few years, to have reproduced it on the same spot. This has arisen from the following circumstance, which was noticed lately at one of the amalgamating mills near Illapel. The

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ore from which the gold had been extracted, was the auriferous pyrites: the pyritous matter had been collected from the washings of the amalgam, and thrown away as useless. An old practico had discovered that this heap of waste had reproduced gold, and he was engaged in separating a small quantity from it. This must evidently arise from the decomposition of the sulphuret by long exposure to air, by which minute atoms of gold must be released from the further disintegration of the particles of pyrites during the chemical action, and which before had been so mechanically enclosed as to have escaped contact with the mercury on the former amalgamation.

In every gold mine a practico is employed, who is paid at the rate of ten dollars for his services, while the common labourer, or capachero, gets only four dollars, and the barretero six dollars a month. The practico takes a sample from the workings several times in the day, and assays it; for as the gold ore is not distinguishable from common rock, he requires this assistance to guide his otherwise uncertain operations. The mode of assaying is very simple; the pieces of ores are selected, and laid upon a hollow stone, always kept at the mouth of the mine for the purpose: the miner holds another round stone in his right hand, with which he crushes the sample, protecting it from flying out by means of his left hand: having thus ground the sample to a fine powder, he puts it into his assaying instrument, which is a large bullock's horn, and agitates it carefully in the water with his fingers, by which more of the

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earthy matter becomes separated: this done, he pours fresh water into the horn, agitates it, and suffers it to drain off the sediment, which is repeated three or four times, till only a small portion of the powder is left; a little water is added, the powder is stirred round by the finger; and finally, by a dextrous twisting inclination of the horn, he contrives to bring all the minute gold particles the ore may contain into a fine fringe upon the margin of the remaining earthy matter; by which rude operation, with constant practice and consequent dexterity, he can pronounce with confidence as to the relative qualities of the different samples, although the quantity of gold on most occasions must be a very small fractional part of a grain. The whole process is effected in less than three minutes.

ORES OF SILVER.—Towards the southern provinces, silver is found principally in limestone, or calcareous syenite: to the northward it is said to exist in a kind of marly limestone. It is also frequently found in beds of quartz, disseminated through it in the metallic state. Towards Copiapo, silver is generally found in lead ores, principally argentiferous galenas: towards the south it is chiefly mineralized with sulphur. It is seldom found in very massive quantities, being mostly disseminated widely and minutely in certain veins of rock. The mines of silver generally are very poor; some, of amazing richness, are said to have been formerly wrought by the Spaniards, which have soon become exhausted, and in some few cases

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lost, by inunndations, as in the case of the mines of Pedro Nolasco, situated in a ravine falling into the river Maypo, upon an estate belonging to the convent of La Merced, or the White Friars. Others have been mentioned as lost from inundation; but there is generally so much exaggeration, so many falsehoods, and so much fabulous nonsense, current with the Chilenos, respecting their mines, that I feel disposed to give credit to little more than what has been testified by the authority of intelligent and disinterested observers.

COPPER ORES.—There have not been wanting travellers of credit who have maintained that the mountains of Chile consist almost wholly of copper ore; but all we have heard of the extraordinary cuperiferous riches of the country is unpardonable exaggeration. In many parts of the country indications of copper are observed, which have induced many an adventurer to lose his little estate, in the vain search of what existed only in some accidental small deposition, which led on his imagination to hopes which have never been realized. Formations of copper are, however, frequent in several parts of the country, but it seldom happens that they are sufficiently rich to pay the expences of working. Copper is most frequently found in the state of sulphuret called bronce. In the northern provinces it is not unusual to find it in the state of carbonate, or sulphuret and carbonate mixed. Some of the richest ores of malachite are said to exist in the northern parts of Copiapo, but placed by circumstances out of human attain-

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ment in the present age. The principal mining districts are in the neighbourhood of Copiapo, Guasco, Coquimbo, and Illapel; scarcely any is wrought to the southward.

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CHAPTER XXIII.

MINES—MINING.

Mining Projects in Chile by English Companies.—Probable Results.—No considerable Mining Districts in Chile.—Numerous small Mines.—Annual Produce.—Gold.—Silver.—Copper.— Ores of Lead and Tin.—Peruvian Mines.—Pasco.—Exaggerated Statements.—Annual Produce of the Mines of Chile.— Coining.—Present State of the Mines.—Smuggling.—Laws relating to Bullion.—Duties.

THE state of the mines, the condition of the miners, the want of means for mining purposes, and the nature of the country, described in the preceding chapter, show most plainly that English projects for mining on a large scale, with great capitals, cannot be accomplished. That this is so, was well known to many persons in London who had been in the country, and to many more who had correspondents there. It was particularly well known to every native who was not a mere peasant. Yet persons in this country, the best informed of the real state of Chile, and of the utter impossibility of employing any considerable sum of money in mining with the least chance of its being productive of any profit whatever, put forth proposals for raising immense sums from the credulity of persons less informed than themselves, for the purpose, as it was pretended, of working mines of gold, silver, and copper, which were to produce immense profits.

After some time, a company, called the "Chilian

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Mining Association, "was formed, and of this company, with a nominal capital of "One Million sterling, His Excellency Don Mariano de Egana, Minister Plenipotentiary from the Republic of Chile, and late a Judge of the Tribunal of Mines in that State," became the "President." Soon after the formation of this company, another company "came out" under the title of "Anglo Chilian Mining Association," with a nominal capital of "One Million Five Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling, established with the sanction and approbation of His Excellency Don Mariano de Egana, as Minister Plenipotentiary from the Chilean Government." But as speculation seemed inexhaustible, and credulous people were eager to become partners in joint stock South American mining companies, another company also "came out," under the title of "Chilian and Peruvian Mining Association, Capital, One Million Sterling;" and the prospectus declared that "one of the first objects of this Association is to undertake the working of copper mines, and to form smelting establishments in the neighbourhood of Coquimbo, Guasco, and Copiapo."

The prospectus of the "Chilian Mining Association," of which "His Excellency Don Mariano de Egana," is President, says, "the Republic of Chile contains nine mining districts, or reals, producing gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, and iron. They have the advantage of being situated on that branch of the Cordillera of the Andes nearest the sea coast. The climate is healthy—labour is cheap—wood and water are generally abundant—and coal is to be found

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on the coast of Concepcion." And the "Anglo Chilian Mining Association, established with the sanction and approbration of Mr. Egana," in their printed prospectus, informs us "that the territories of Chile, and more particularly those parts which are situate between the parallel of thirty-five degress of southern latitude and the northern boundary, are known to abound in rich mines of gold, silver, copper, tin, and other minerals." That "few countries are so well watered as Chile; numberless rivers flow from the western declivity of the Andes, rendering the vallies fertile, and affording means of conveyance by water to the ports of the Republic in the Pacific Ocean." The "Chilian and Peruvian Mining Association," in their printed prospectus, go even greater lengths: they assure us that "the copper ores of Chile exist in extraordinary abundance, and in general are easily accessible, being at a little depth from the surface, and at a short distance from the sea coast. Although they are for the most part extremely rich, the copper produced from them has hitherto obtained an inferior price. This is to be attributed to the imperfect manner in which the process of smelting has been performed. Coals, a preferable material to charcoal, which is now employed for smelting copper, are found in inexhaustible quantities on the coast of Chile, and, it is considered, may be conveyed to the mines at a trifling expence."

Notwithstanding the assertions contained in these prospectuses are made in the most confident and imposing manner, and are backed by great names, it is my duty, as a recorder of facts, while giving

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an account of the country, to say, that they are great exaggerations, holding out delusive hopes which never can be realized.

By a mining district is usually understood extensive metalliferous beds, which have been, or are capable of being worked upon a large scale, such, for instance, as the districts of Pasco, Potosi, Gualgayo, Caxamarca, and others in Peru. In this sense, and I am not aware that the words of the prospectus can be taken, or were intended to be taken, in any other sense, there is not one mining district for gold and silver in all Chile, neither is there any mining district for any other metal excepting Coquimbo and Copiapo, where copper is procured; and, from the insignificance of the establishments there, it scarcely deserves the name of a mining district. In this district there is not a single stream navigable by a boat of any sort; neither coals, nor fuel of any sort, can be procured in the country for any but a very small establishment; the country is barren, difficult of access, and, from want of rain and rivers, utterly incapable of improvement by human efforts. No expectation can be entertained by any one acquainted with the country that the quantity of copper manufactured there can be much increased. Any attempt to mine there by Englishmen, or under English management, must fail; any show of an intention to mine on an extensive scale, by foreigners, would immediately cause such an enormous advance of wages, as would totally destroy all chance of profit, even could hands in sufficient numbers be procured, which is impossible, to say nothing of the expence of superintendence, tools, and buildings, and

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nothing of the monstrous expence of digging coals at Conception in the south, and conveying them to Coquimbo, in the north of Chile. It seems difficult to persuade oneself that those, who projected the scheme of mining for copper in Chile, could be ignorant of the facts of the case, for they say, in their prospectus, that "an experienced and highly respectable agent, possessing great local knowledge and influence in Chile, has been some time since dispatched, furnished with a credit and powers to contract for the most eligible mines, and to confirm the provisional contracts which may have already been made for the mines by two persons resident in Chile, under directions previously sent out." It seems extraordinary that many of the persons whose names appear in these prospectuses, should have permitted their insertion in such delusive projects.

If there had ever existed any great indication of metallic wealth in places where mining could be carried on with any chance of success in Chile, it would unquestionably have been undertaken by the Spaniards, who would have preferred the finer climate and more productive country, to the elevated, bleak, inhospitable, unhealthy mining districts of Peru.

The fact is, that no single great mine has ever been known in Chile, nor any one of sufficient importance to call together any of the principal Spanish capitalists, who have risked their fortunes in the more productive mines of Peru: the means employed in mining operations in Chile have been small, and corresponded to the poverty of the mines; the small extent of the excavations in those mines is

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proportioned to their means. The mines are distributed Widely over distant portions of the country; and, where they are the most numerous, a small central town has been built for general convenience; and, from the few inhabitants existing in these few mining villages, may at one glance be deduced the very small scale upon Which mining operations ever have been, and are ever likely to be conducted in Child for ages to come. These mines have never been productive of much profit to the speculators, and would, from their known unproductiveness, cease for the most part to be worked, were labour to increase much in price; the mines, therefore, although numerous, employ each but a few individuals; from their limited workings, from their poverty, many cannot possibly be employed, were it desirable they should now be so. The little value the miners have set upon their services, the inconceivably few Wants of so uncivilized a people, and the absence of any strong excitements, have alone given rise to the search for metals. Whenever, as I have elsewhere shown, the demand for labour is increased beyond the natural limits of the national riches and resources, the natives will cease to work the mines on their own account.

The prospectus of the Chilian Mining Association, of which Mr. Egana is president, as has been seen, says, that "few countries are so well watered as Chile, affording means of conveyance by water to the ports on the Pacific; and that north of 35 deg. S lat. are the great mining districts;" yet it is a fact, of which Mr. Egana could not by arty possibility be

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ignorant, that north of 25 deg. S lat there is not a single river navigable in any way; that there is scarcely a stick of timber of any kind, and no coals.

From the most accurate accounts I could gather of the productiveness of the mines in Chile, they are as follows:

	Dollars.	£ sterling.
Gold, 5000 marcs, valued at	680,000	136,000
Silver, 20,000 ditto	180,000	36,000
Total Gold and Silver	860,000	172,000
Copper, 40,000 quintals	480,000	96,000
Total value of metals extracted annually from the mines of Chile.	1,340,000	268,000

This amount of gold and silver is, I am convinced, larger than that now extracted, and may be considered as the average product existing in the periods of Spanish rule. This is confirmed by the returns quoted both by Helms and Humboldt, for the year 1790, where, though the weight is not stated, the value is given, at the usual mint price, and affords an accurate means of judging of the quantity.

The following is an extract from the official returns of the quantity of gold and silver brought to the offices of the mint of Chile, from January 1, to December 31,1790.

	Dollars.	£ sterling.
Gold	721,754	144,351
Silver	146,132	29,226
	867,886	173,577

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The quantity of copper quoted at 40,000 quintals is the greatest ever raised in Chile; the amount is generally about 30,000 quintals, or 1340 tons. The price of copper in Chile under the Spaniards, used to be furnished ready for exportation, at eight and a half dollars the quintal, and has frequently been lower. Since the ports have been open to foreign trade, such has been the demand for returns, that copper has obtained a higher price. The India ships have been those which have carried off the greatest quantity, and, as the object has been dispatch, great prices have been offered, owing to the want of any other remittance; for gold and silver bullion, or Spanish dollars, are of less value in India than in England; a corresponding increase of price of copper above its fair relative value in other markets, has been given equivalent to the depreciated value of exchange in the precious metals in India. Copper has, therefore, been purchased at far too high a price, so as to make it a losing traffic with India, while all hopes have been abandoned of sending it to the French market, where it used to be taken as return cargo by the French ships.

This will explain how it was that the English habilitador, of whom Captain Hall speaks, could afford to give eleven dollars the quintal to the miner, instead of eight dollars, at which prices he had previously bargained to furnish it to the Chileno habilitador, as mentioned in another place. When I arrived in Chile in 1819, instead of eight dollars per quintal, which I had expected was the price at

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which good copper could be procured from the mines, I found it to vary from eleven to twelve and a half, according to the quantity required. I could procure a quantity not exceeding ten quintals, at the price of ten or eleven dollars; but if 100 quintals were required, the price demanded was twelve or thirteen dollars, which cost fourteen and a half dollars, placed on board for exportation. The usual return for this in India was thirty-four rupees per mohaund of seventy-four pounds, or twenty-three per quintal, which just allowed a freight on the homeward passage. In England, entered in bond for exportation, it has been worth ninety to ninety-five per cwt., equal to sixteen or seventeen dollars the quintal, but this was at a time when the market was unusually high, and there existed a demand for India. In France, it was worth only seventeen dollars and three-quarters per quintal; at the same time, Russia and Swedish pig copper fetched twenty-two and twenty-three dollars. Cornish standard copper at the same time was worth 118s. per cwt. or twenty-five dollars and a half the quintal. This will furnish the best evidence of the relative purity of the copper. The demand for India was, at some times, greater than at others, so that the price varied from thirteen to fifteen dollars, but the wise Chilenos, thinking to increase the revenue, placed additional duties of two dollars per quintal on its exportation, so that it cost seventeen dollars placed on board, a price which has diminished greatly the demand, as it becomes a losing remittance to India. The duties upon the importation of foreign copper into England

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was 55s. per cwt., or twelve dollars and a quarter per quintal; the duties have since been somewhat reduced.

In the event, therefore, of a more extensive production of copper in the country than the India ships can carry off in the shape of returns, the price of copper Would fall considerably: the increasing price of labour, of provisions, and carriage, which must result from the employment of a large portion of foreign capital in the country, must greatly increase the cost of its production above its present amount. It is, consequently, evident, that any attempt to work the copper mines of Chile to a much greater extent than they are at present worked, would enhance the first cost of the metal, and diminish its market price, so as to entail great loss to the capitalists engaged in the speculations; and it is no less clear that, even if all the present peddling mining concerns of Chile were to fall in the hands of any one of the mining companies, the profits would not even pay the expence of management, much less interest on the capital employed, without taking into account the chances of loss of capital, from numerous causes, which have already begun to be incurred in the purchase of machinery, the hire of vessels, the engagement of English miners, the building of establishments, and the recourse to new methods of operation erroneously entered upon for want of better and more correct statistical and general information relative to the country, or From a desire to put a face upon disreputable concerns.

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Having made these observations in proof of the fallacious notions entertained as to the productiveness bf the mines of Chile with respect to gold, silver, and copper, our attention is naturally directed to the remaining rich mines of lead, tin, iron, and other metals, said to abound throughout the country. Although iron and lead ores do occasionally occur, I do not believe they are frequent, or rich; certainly there is not one single mine of these metals wrought in the whole country, simply because no demand Whatever exists for lead, except for the few bullets required by the army, and this is extracted from a mine at no great distance from Santiago, at the price of twelve dollars per quintal, equal to fifty-four shillings per cwt., While it can be purchased in Europe at twenty shillings per cwt. The whole quantity of lead raised in Chile throughout the year does not amount to a single ton weight. As to the rich mines of tin, certainly no one mine has ever been Wrought in Chile: nor do I believe that the least indication of that metal has ever been discovered in the country. I made many diligent inquiries, and have satisfied myself of its untruth: how, therefore, any envoy from Chile could give countenance to the representations put forth to the British public, in order to induce them to send their capital to Chile in search of what he must have known had never been produced, must be left for him to explain in his own way.

No just or rational man will impute evil intentions to those who bona-fide invest their money in these speculations, who are themselves deceived from

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want of correct information, and who may therefore become misleaders of others to their ruin; although it must be evident, that those whose names are likely to influence the actions of others, ought to be particularly careful not to lend them to purposes which may be used improperly. But those who sanction what they know to be misrepresentations, ought to be made responsible to the greatest extent.

Hitherto I have spoken only of those impediments and drawbacks presented by the mere natural circumstances and resources of the country. Those to be expected from the prejudices, jealousies, intrigues, and avarice of the natives, will not be the least of the difficulties which foreigners will have to contend against in mining speculations. If Helms and Baron Nordenfleadt, men possessed of the greatest practical knowledge, and directors of the chief mining establishments in Europe, failed, notwithstanding they were armed with all the power and recommendation of the king of Spain; and, under his protection, met with such determined opposition from the natives of South America, as compelled them, after severe hardships and privations, to abandon in disgust the hopeless undertaking of introducing improvements into the modes of amalgamation in the mining districts of Peru, what have we to expect from the operation of companies formed in London? I cannot express the treatment Mr. Helms and his associates experienced better than by quoting his own words:—

"Accompanied by their families, a few negro servants, and a great number of German miners,

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they sailed from Cadiz for Buenos Ayres, and on the 29th October, 1789, the spring season of that part of the globe, began their journey at first in carriages, and afterwards on horseback, by the common route of the post in an oblique direction across South America, through Tucuman, and over the Cordilleras, to Potosi and Lima, an extent of way amounting, from Buenos Ayres to Potosi, to 1,700 miles, and from thence through Cuzco and Guancavelica, 1,300 miles.

"In Potosi the German commissioners remained until 30th January, 1791, and, during their residence, endeavoured to dispel the incredible barbarism and ignorance that prevailed in the mint and mining departments there. Helms erected a laboratory, and read daily lectures, accompanied with suitable experiments, to an audience composed of officers of the mint, and proprietors of the mines, and fully instructed six young men in the science of metallurgy. Supported by the governor, he succeeded in exposing the ignorance of the American overseers, and officers of the mint and mines, although the latter counteracted, with all their might, the royal commissioners, and particularly Helms, by secret cabals, and the basest calumnies. In writing and in conversation they decried the Germans as arch heretics, German Jews, and cheats; as men, in short, who, it was feared, would corrupt the morals of the honest miners and their overseers; and tried every means to render them suspicious to the proprietors of the mines, fearing lest, enlightened by Helms and his associates, they

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should examine too narrowly into the conduct of their ignorant and roguish servants.

They even excited the Indian labourers against them by insinuating that the foreigners had come solely for the purpose of working the mines by machinery, and would thus deprive them of their means of subsistence. In this opposition They were joined by a numerous band of merchants in the principal cities, as Helms in particular spoke loudly against the enormous usury by which they oppressed the workers of the mines, and made every effort to put a stop to their rapacity.

Scarcely had Helms arrived in Lima, when, at the desire of the intendant of Guancavelica, he was ordered to proceed to that celebrated quicksilver mine, to introduce there the Idrian furnaces. But in procuring Helms this commission, the intendant, an old Creole, who, by pretended patriotic projects, had amassed a fortune of a million of dollars, had no other end in view but to derive a profit from furnishing the necessary building materials, for which he received more than four times their value; and when Helms set his face against his nefarious proceedings, he had the address surreptitiously to procure an order from the viceroy to suspend the work. Vexation at the unjust treatment he here met with threw Helms into a fever, which caused him to leave Guancavelica.

Two other commissions, which be received from Lima, to introduce a better mode of warking the mines of Pasco and Bellabista, proved equally fruitless, as the viceroy absolutely refused any pecuniary

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assistance appropriated to the promotion of the mines, and would not permit him to raise the necessary supplies by means of a loan. All be could obtain was a commendatory epistle in praise of his zeal.

"He therefore resolved to leave Peru, a land morally and physically pernicious to him, where, in the execution of the most dangerous and laborious commissions, he was obliged to act not only as a director of the smelting houses, but likewise of a carpenter, smith, and mason. Accordingly, in the beginning of 1793 he sailed from Callao, and, after a passage round Cape Horn, arrived safely in Cadiz."

Another instance occurs in the unfortunately ruinous result, and lamentable ill treatment of the persons engaged in the attempts to introduce European improvements and British machinery into the great silver mining district of Pasco, in which was engaged one of our most celebrated engineers, a most able mechanic, to whom the grand improvements in our Cornish mince is chiefly indebted—I mean Mr. James Trevethick.

I shall premise the detail with a few observations respecting the celebrated mines of Pasco: the description of them by Baron de Humboldt, in his "Essai Politique," has been so often quoted that it must be fresh in the recollection of most readers. Humboldt, however, derived much of his information respecting them from the account furnished by the intelligent Helms.

The celebrated mines of Pasco are properly in the

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ridge of Yauricocha, and are seated at the great height of 13,500 feet above the level of the sea, far above the level of vegetation. The distance of the village of Pasco from Lima is reckoned fifty-eight leagues, being twenty leagues from the town of Tarma, which is on the high road to Xauxa. The only persons who can be constantly employed in an atmosphere so attenuated, where the barometer is always below nineteen inches, are Indians of the country, bred upon high table lands; while those Creoles and foreigners used to a denser atmosphere, at such elevations are capable of very little personal exertion.

The riches of the metalliferous bed of Yauricocha are not very deep below the surface: the greater portion of the pits are somewhat less than 100 feet, and none of them exceed 400 feet. The length of the bed, according to Humboldt, is 4,800 metres, or 15,747 English feet, or 5,740 Spanish varas; its breadth 2,200 metres, or 7,217 English feet, or 2,630 Spanish varas; its thickness, according to Helms, is ninety feet. The number of mines, as appears from the following official report, appears to be ninety-nine, seventy-eight of which only were at work; but after the arrival of San Martin in the country, toward the end of 1820, the old Spanish proprietors, fearful of the patriot forces, withdrew themselves from the mines, and it appears that soon after his entry into Lima the number worked were only four

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An official Account of the Number of Mines of Gold, Silver, and Mercury, existing in all the Intendencies of the Viceroyalty of Peru, distinguishing those in work and those unemployed, their Refineries of Gold and Silver, &c.

	Silver mines		Gold mines.
Intendencies.	In work.	Not at work.	In work.	Not at work.	Quicksilver mines in work.	Amalgamation works of silver.	Ditto of gold.
Lima	117	70	—	—	1	41	—
Huancavelica	80	215	—	—	2	42	—
Cusco	19	—	—	—	—	18	—
Arequipa	55	48	1	4	—	33	—
Tarma
Paaco	78	21	—	—	—	102	—
Huallanca	149	—	—	—	—	48	—
Truxillo	134	161	2	1	—	82	—
Huamanga	38	63	60	3	1	32	121
Total	670	578	63	8	4	398	121

Signed, MANUEL DE VALLATA,
EUGENIO DE MIOTA,
EUGENIO GONZALES DE PERALTA.

Lima, September 24, 1796.

Some have asserted there are upwards of 3000 mines at Pasco: this is a misconception; the number is not above 100, as above shown. But taking the square superficial extent of the bed, as given by Humboldt, as 15,747 feet x 7217 = 112,646,099 square feet. Supposing this to be divided into legal estacadas of 21,600 square feet each, as established by the ordinanza, it would make 5,215 possessions, which is quite a theoretical division. It appears to be in frontage of its length 17,547 feet; in the usual length of an estacado, 180 feet, we shall find the number of possessions ninety-nine, the

VOL. II. 2 F

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exact number given in the official return. It is, therefore, a fallacy to pretend that every hole a man may dig is a mine; any number of holes may be dug, as many are dug, and yet they may all belong to one mine; and no one, who did not intend to mislead others, would presume to say that each of these holes was a separate and distinct mine.

The mineral bed appears, from the accounts of Humboldt and Helms, to be a fine porous brown iron stone, in which fine silver is interspersed. Its produce is about nine marcs the caxon, though, owing to the rude mode of working, which, from its elevated and barren situation, is said by both these respectable authorities to be the most imperfect of all the mines of America, the Spaniards seldom obtained more than seven marcs the caxon by amalgamation; while the Indians, in their rude blast furnaces, seldom produced more than four marcs. Patches of friable white argillaceous earth, about ten inches thick, are sometimes met with in the midst of the large bed, so rich, as to yield from 200 to 1000 marcs per caxon: many miners, therefore, instead of following the large bed regularly, have perforated it at random, in search of these uncertain riches, and, from carelessness, have endangered the falling in of the whole mine. It is these perforations which are now called mines. This is commonly the mode followed throughout all South America; and, although the laws of the ordinanza command the galleries in such cases to be properly secured with timbers, still these precautions are mostly avoided, especially in such places as Pasco, where timber is almost impossible to be

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obtained, on account of the enormous expence of getting it there. The rule of all Spanish miners has been, to work where metal could be most easily found, without regard to future security, or any other circumstance beyond the immediate consideration of the moment. It generally happened that they had not capital enough to proceed in a regular course of mining operations: their object was to lay out little money, and to expect immediate returns,—a system very different from that followed in England and Germany.

The books of the provincial treasury of Pasco prove that, in the year 1796, the produce of these mines, including those of Huallanca, was 227,514 marcs of silver; and that, in the ten years ending in 1801, the average annual produce was 247,014 marcs. Looking at this produce, our attention is naturally excited to admiration at the riches which the immense profit of these mines must have yielded to the persons engaged in them. But, on more minute investigation, we shall find that mining speculations have never been profitable in Pasco. The produce of the Pasco mines, before the revolution, has been shown to be on an average 247,014 marcs per annum. Humboldt states, that the expences attending the working of the mines, and freeing them from water, by means of pumps, worked by men, was so great, that the charges incurred by the proprietors of one mine alone was 1000 dollars per week. Let us assume the average expences of the whole seventy-eight mines in work at one third of the estimate; their total expenditure in the course of the year will amount to 1,351,974

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dollars. When in Lima, I was assured by the director of the mint, who was an extensive proprietor of silver mines in the province, and connected with the mining proprietors of Pasco, that he could obtain any quantity of silver piña at six dollars and a quarter the marc. His object was to establish a banco de rescato for supplying the national mint, for the re-establishment of which I was summoned to Lima. This, indeed, was the nett produce of silver bullion at the mines, after deducting the government duties, as shown in another place. Estimating, therefore, the 247·014 marcs of silver at six dollars and a quarter, it amounts to the sum of 1,549,381 dollars, which, after deducting the charges above stated, leaves 197,407 dollars; taking from this the expence of carriage, the profit yields but a small interest for the capital embarked in these undertakings.

It was this conviction that led Don Pedro Abadia, the agent of the Phillippine Company, to conceive the plan of economizing the unavoidably expensive charges of extracting the silver from these gigantic mountains. The enterprize totally failed; and the three original projectors of this great undertaking, after expending upwards of a million of dollars, were totally ruined.

A short account of the proceedings of these persons will throw a light upon the subject, and enable any one to judge of the probability of success likely to attend our English mining projects.

In July, 1812, two of the richest Spanish merchants of Lima, Abadia and Arismendi, agents for the great Philippine Company, assisted by one

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Uville, associated themselves into a company to procure steam engines and competent engineers from England, for the purpose of draining the celebrated mines of Pasco and Yauricocha: they accordingly entered into a contract with the mining proprietors of that district, obliging themselves at their own expence to bring over steam engines, and to erect them at Pasco, for the purpose of freeing the mines from water; in compensation for which, the draining company was to be entitled to one-seventh part of the product of the mines of Yauricocha and Yanacuncha, and one-fifth part of that of all other mines together, with one-half of the ores extracted from such mines, as should be selected for sinking the pits. Their contract was to last for nine years, counting from the time the steam-engines were erected; and then to be renewed, or annulled, as the parties might agree. Accordingly, Uville embarked for England, where he arrived in April, 1818, and engaged with the celebrated Cornish engineer, Trevethick; but, being disappointed in his letters of credit, and therefore wanting of means, Trevethick was induced to furnish the machinery, at an expence of 3000l. sterling, upon condition of being admitted a partner in the amount of 12,000 dollars, in the joint stock of the company, and entitled to a share corresponding to the capital employed. This share was calculated at a fifth. In order to pay the expences of freight and workmen sent out to Peru, an additional sum of money was advanced; and the persons so advancing, were also admitted to a joint interest of 3200 dollars in the capital of the draining com-

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pany. With these means Uville returned to Lima. Trevethick, before he embarked for Peru, divided his interest in the concern into 320 shares, each representing a capital of thirty-eight dollars; and these were sold in the market for 125l. sterling each; some few were sold for 100l. each.

Upon his arrival in Peru, a new agreement was made, in conjunction with the richest and most influential persons in the country, by which the concern was to be extended on a grand scale; an immense quantity of machinery of various kinds was procured from England, which is now lying useless in the cellars of the mint at Lima, where I saw it. It consisted of immense trapiches, grinding and amalgamating mills of cast iron, a series of rolling and laminating apparatus, all intended to be worked by the power of two steam-engines, which accompanied them, together with much furnace work for the refining and alloying of the silver. To effect the great work, the whole power of the viceroy was necessary, assisted by the means and co-operation of the richest men in Peru. Three thousand mules, and four thousand Indians, were put in requisition by the government, and, by dint of the most extraordinary exertion ever made in any undertaking in South America, one of the engines, in the course of time, was put together. The description of the difficulties of this undertaking, and the means employed, which were detailed to me by Don Yavaria, and others engaged in the undertaking, show, that what most persons consider as impossibilities, can be effected, but only with perseverance, and at an enormous ex-

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pence. The first trial of the engine was insufficient, on account of the imperfection of the machinery; but this, imperfect as it was, brought from the governor of the province in which the mines are situated, the most bombastic eulogiums; in the style in which South American authorities are in the habit of colouring the most common-place events.

"That the great difficulties which presented themselves, and were consequent on the undertaking, have been surmounted, and extensive mines, formerly unproductive by being filled with water, now promise to realize to individuals most ample rewards, and to render to the state services of infinite value. The few seconds which were occupied, in that operation, (the working of the engine) gave a convincing proof of the removal of the obstructions from the mines, and of the easy extraction of the metals from the greatest depths, and also that the skill of the partners and assistants of the company will overcome any difficulties that nature may present, and consequently that the meritorious individuals who have risked their property will be compensated by a fortune. It would be doing little on our part, and that of the whole body of miners, to erect a monument to them, which should transmit to the latest posterity the record of this great and patriotic undertaking; but we now congratulate ourselves that our labour, pains, and fidelity, will completely fulfil the desires of the company, by extracting from the bosom of those rich mountains, not only the wealth of the pits of Amilcar, not only the treasures of the vaunted Potosi, but a torrent of

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silver, which will give energy to all our operations, and be the means of diffusing wealth and happiness throughout the kingdom."

The first engine was put up towards the end of the year 1817, and the following year the next was finished; but even then there were many defects to remedy; the furnaces of the boilers were not adapted to the consumption of the bad peat found at some distance, and consequently failed to generate the requisite quantity of steam. To supply the engines with fuel it required the aid of a considerable body of mules, which were maintained at a vast expence; for five times the number of mules at any time in actual work were necessary; since, about the working ground, placed at an elevation above the limits of vegetation, no food whatever, not even bushes, grow. The mules fattened up, before they were brought into work, were prepared for a long abstinence: fresh troops of these animals were brought from Tarma every Monday morning, and were worked all the week in a starving condition; at the end of which time they were sent back to Tarma to recover their strength, by four weeks' rest and feeding upon barley and straw, grown at a heavy expence at that place. In 1819, however, a vein of coal was discovered, about five miles, or a day's journey from the workings: with this, the engines worked better, and succeeded in lowering the level of the inundation twelve feet. The success of the engines gave to some of the persons interested much confidence, who conceived they could now do without the management of the ingenious Trevethick, Every possible obstacle was, therefore, thrown in his way, by those who, from motives

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of jealousy, wished to get rid of him. The persons to whom Trevethick's and other shares had been sold in London sent out to Lima an agent, whose duty it was to look after their interests in the concern; but, as it was found a much larger sum would be necessary for carrying the enterprize into effect than had been calculated, a collision of interests took place, complaints were made on all sides as to the delays and expences, which those who did not comprehend the almost insurmountable difficulties of the undertaking attributed to mismanagement and carelessness. The greatest share of opprobrium fell unjustly upon Trevethick, who, being a man of great inventive genius, and restless activity, was at length completely disgusted, and retired from the undertaking. He left Pasco, although Abadia offered him 8000 dollars per annum, together with all his expences, if he would continue to superintend the works: on no conditions would he consent to contend with the jealousies and ill-treatment of the persons with whom he had to deal. He soon afterwards entered into speculations with some of the miners at Conchucos, for whom he constructed grinding mills and furnaces, with the view to substitute the process of smelting for that of amalgamation, in silver ores, in which vain pursuit he became a considerable loser.

When in Lima, I was told by Abadia's mother-in-law, Yavaria, that, at the end of seven years, the engines had succeeded, in 1821, in draining the mines to the desired depth; but they had hardly time to commence the mining operations, when the patriot forces advanced, took possession of the mining district, and seized whatever property could be found

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on the spot. All those parts of the steam engines which were likely to be destroyed, robbed, or carried off, were carefully concealed in some hiding-place, where they have since remained, in consequence of the political disturbances of the country. The concern was thus circumstanced when I was in Lima at the end of 1823, and the subsequent convulsed state of the country has prevented all farther proceedings. The company recently established in Loudon, by means of their large capital, may doubtless restore the activity of the works, provided the patriot authorities do not consider the mines as confiscated property; and if the government of Bolivar be as liberal in this respect as it ought to be, we shall hear of operation in the Pasco mines, and shall ascertain with what success they can be worked by a foreign influence and capital, compared with that under Spanish control, and native capital.*

But it will appear evident to those conversant with Spanish affairs in South America, that it is almost impossible to make any arrangements from which interminable law-suits will not result.

From a report published in the Lima Gazette, in October, 1821, it seems that thirty of the mines had been drained, but only four of them were attempted to be worked. At this time the prospect of riches likely to flow from the interest which Abadia, Arismendi, and Uville, had in the draining project of the Pasco mines, rendered these persons the object of persecution by the government of San Martin, and

* Since this was written, part of the mining district has been taken possession of by the Peruvian Mining Company, and a report of their proceedings has been published.

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more especially of the avaricious Monte Ajudo. Captain Hall has given a very interesting account of the perfidious ill-treatment and treacherous persecution towards these individuals, particularly to Abadia, of whom he speaks in terms of great praise. I had the pleasure of being introduced to this unfortunate gentleman, in his exile at Valparaiso. I afterwards saw his wife and her brother, in Lima. From them I received much information relative to the unfortunate speculation of Pasco, in which he, Abadia, and Arismendi, had wholly lost the sum of 600,000 dollars.

In former times, the duties exacted from the produce of the mines of Chile constituted one of the principal branches of the revenue. I shall premise what I have to state on this head, by a very cursory review of the mining system, as it existed under the government of the king of Spain. The ardent thirst for the precious metals is well known to have been the principal incentive which led the earlier Spanish adventurers to explore the coasts, and the interior of South America: it was this which induced the kings of Spain to countenance the unparalleled cruelties and atrocious barbarities which the rapacious conquerors inflicted upon the natives; and this was the object which led to the annexation of so vast an extent of territory to the Spanish crown: it was the avaricious lust for gold and silver which laid the foundation of the most extensive, and at the same time most unhappy, colonial system ever known; not but that the laws of the Recopilacion de las Indias, and other legislative enactments made expressly for its government, contain a vast display of jurisprudential wisdom, of keen forethought, and

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an intimate acquaintance with the Spanish as well as the Indian character; but still time has proved, that, however excellent these laws may be in themselves, they have been little calculated in practice to withstand the cunning disposition of the Spaniards, or to avert the evil consequences which the selfish disposition of men in possession of authority, even when vested in them by the wisest laws, may, when out of the reach of control, inflict upon the human race. The management of the revenue, which the successful issue of adventures to the Americas produced to the kings of Spain, was placed under separate administrations, not subject directly to the pleasure of the viceroy of the particular kingdom, but emanating immediately from the cabinet of Madrid: among these, the Intendencia de Mineria was an administration of importance, and, for its regulation, perhaps one of the wisest system of laws in the whole colonial code, was expressly made under the title of Ordenanza de Mineria. The principal object of these laws was to afford an efficient right of property to the discoverers of every mine, the fullest security and protection to those who should work them, and the necessary checks against a fraudulent diminution of that proportion which the king claimed as his just share in the product of all the mining operations carried on in the colonies. The mode in which the mines were assisted by that branch of the direction called Fomento de Mineria has been spoken of in another place, and I shall now proceed to show the annual produce which the king of Spain derived from these sources so lately as the period which immediately preceded the revolution.

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The Annual Produce of all the Mines of America before the Revolution.

Kingdoms.	Marcs of gold.	Do. of. silver.	Val. in dollrs.
New Spain	7,000	2,338,220	23,000,000
Peru	3,400	611,090	6,240,000
Buenos Ayres	2,200	481,830	4,850,000
New Grenada	20,505		2,990,000
Chile	5,212	29,700	1,000,000
Total in Spanish America	38,317	3,460,840	38,080,000
Brazil	29,900		4,360,000
Total in Spanish and Portuguese America	68,217	3,460,840	43,500,000

From this statement it will be seen that the value of gold and silver raised annually in the Spanish colonies of America amounted to thirty-eight millions of dollars.

We can only arrive at the total product of the royal duties by general averages and approximations derived from the few records, which appeared before the public. An official document, published in Buenos Ayres, gives the total produce of all the mines of that kingdom, including those of Potosi, from the year 1556 to that of 1804, a period of 248 years, at 823,950,000 dollars: these produced in that time, in the royal dues of Quinto and Cobo, a total nett revenue of 158 millions of dollars. If we look to the preceding statement we shall find that the mines of the kingdom of Buenos Ayres yielded one-eighth of the total gross produce of all the mines of the colonies: assuming, therefore, that the grand total of all the mines yielded in the same average ratio, we have 158,931,121 x 8, for the fair approximative induc-

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tion that the revenues of Quintos and Cobos alone upon all the mines of the colonies amounted, in all that time, to the sum of 1,263 millions of dollars. If, in addition to these, we take into consideration the profits upon the sale of quicksilver and of gun-powder, the duties upon the alloying the piña, the coinage of money, and the exportation of bullion, we shall find the total royal dues bear to those of Quintos and Cobos as two and a half to one: hence we. arrive at the conclusion that the grand total received by the king of Spain, in the shape of duties, from the products of all the mines of the colonies, amounted, in 248 years, to 3,357 millions of dollars, affording, on an average of that whole period, an annual revenue of thirteen millions and a half of dollar (about 2,700,000l. sterling), a calculation which we may believe to be rather under than over the truth. This may be inferred in another way: in the year 1817 the total produce of the mines of Chile was, 1,161,283 dollars: the official returns of the revenue afforded that year in duties were as follows:—

	Dollars
In Quintos and Cobos, on gold and silver	50,000
In export duties on uncoined bullion	250,000
In duties on coining according to the mint returns	60,000
	360,000

amounting to thirty-one per cent on the total produce of the mines: but, if we consider that for a long series of years the Quinto and Cobo duties amounted to twenty per cent., since reduced to eleven and a half per cent., upon which our calculation is founded, we shall be under the truth in stating

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the average produce of the mines for the whole 248 years at thirty-five per cent. on the total produce, now 33,080,000 x 248 x 35 / 100 = 3305,344,000 dollars an estimate that sufficiently approaches the former induction.

It will appear from the statement of the general produce of the colonial mines, that those of Chile, before the year 1804, yielded annually 5,212 marcs of gold, and 29,700 marcs of silver: but, since the revolution, owing principally to the impolitic annihilation of Spanish capital, the mines have been less extensively wrought. According to the official returns, the quantity of precious metals carried to the mint of Santiago for coinage, marking, and exportation, during the first year after the revolution, that is to say, in 1817, is as follows:—

	Dollars.
Gold, 4,509 marcs, valued at	613,240
Silver, 64,475	548,042
Total value	1,161,283

The quantity of silver is here increased beyond the usual average product of the mines, by the melting down and coining of the confiscated property of the Spaniards: the quantity of bullion in the market was before never equalled, and remittances to Europe were great in proportion. But, in the year 1823, we find the mint return considerably reduced; it was as follows:—

	Dollars.
Gold, 2,286 marcs, valued at	317,757
Silver, 5,870	49,901
	367,658

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The next year, 1824, the return was immensely reduced: six whole months passed without an ounce of silver or gold being carried to the mint: the quantity upon dues collected in the year was—

	Dollars.
Gold, 868 marcs, valued at	118,088
Silver, 1874	15,006
	133,094

It becomes, therefore, an interesting inquiry to ascertain the cause of the rapid deficiency in the annual mint returns, and the apparent decrease in the produce of the mines: we find, indeed, that this formerly important branch of the revenue was destroyed, so much so, that the intendant of the mint, in representing the case to the government, and calling for some timely checks, has stated that the profits upon the coinage no longer pay the expences of the establishment

This, as far as I have been able to investigate the subject, appears to have originated from three causes—1. The diminution of the capital employed in the mines; 2. The failure of the harvests; 3. The smuggling trade of bullion by the foreign merchants.

1. The Diminution of Capital.—Immediately after the patriot troops assumed the reins of government, the most hostile measures were taken against the property of all Spaniards and others attached, or suspected to be attached, to the royal cause: indeed, the officers of the invading army had been looking forward to this as their only chance of reward; in the royal treasury but little wealth was expected to

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be found. These measures put it out of the power of the Spaniards to assist the royal chests; but they produced more difficulties than were anticipated, and it is not easy to ascertain what part of this plunder went into the patriot military chest; but it is well known that many of the officers received very handsome gratuities. That many of these brave and meritorious officers richly deserved the full amount of those rewards, and even more, for the efficient services rendered to the state in the delivery of the people from slavery, and the establishment of the national independence, is most willingly admitted; but these rewards ought to have been paid by them by the country which received the benefit The patriots had no right to appropriate the private property of an individual because he had the misfortune to be rich, or to be born a Spaniard, but so it was; it was not necessary that he should be caught in arms against the patria; it was sufficient that he was a Spaniard to become the object of plunder. In order to legalize these acts of robbery, an order was established, called la legion de merito, divided into three classes, fundadores, benemeritos, and civicos asociados. The members all wore enamelled gold crosses, in imitation of our European monarchical orders. The first grade was given to all the principal officers of the army and the state; the others to less privileged persons according to their influence or merit. To this body was assigned a certain share of all the confiscated property of denounced or suspected enemies to the country, as well as all their landed estates. Where sufficient evidence could not be adduced to proscribe or imprison a sus-

VOL. II. 2 G

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pected individual (for not only old Spaniards, but Chilenos who refused to take the oath of allegiance to the petria, became equally guilty of state crimes), suits were instituted against them, which hung over their heads in terror; and, whenever called upon by the military superiors, they were obliged to contribute whatever sums they were commanded to advance. From numbers of old Spaniards they took in this manner from 100,000 to half a million of dollars each: one of them, Don Manuel Cruz, an old man, of neither family nor influence, who bad risen from a low condition, and bad amassed property, in effects and estates, to the value of a million of dollars, was fleeced of all his property, notwithstanding his daughters were married to Creoles. He used to show receipts for hard money thus taken from him for 400,000 dollars: being thus robbed of every thing, he died of a broken heart.*

Many cases of equal enormity are notorious in Chile; and it is an undeniable fact, that between the actions of Chacabuco and Maypo, property to the amount of five millions of dollars were thus sacrificed; and, subsequently to that battle, three millions more fell into the hands of these merciless aggressors. All persons of property became alarmed;

* This old man had built two of the largest and handsomest houses in Santiago; these, of course, were confiscated. Four years ago hit son-in-law commenced a suit to recover them, and made an empeño with the minister of finance to give him one of the palaces if he gained his suit; the estates were returned to the Creole son-in-law, and the ex-minister is now living in one of the mansions. I had this information directly from the individual interested in the affair.

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some buried their money, others dared not display their actual resources, for fear of corresponding contributions: the consequence was, that the commercial world lost its wonted capital, but more especially that engaged in mining, for in former undisturbed times these monied men were the principal habilitadors of mines: this was indeed the only manner in which they could invest their money so as to receive a corresponding interest.

The whole mining system thus received a shock which at first greatly diminished its products; the assistance of the hacendados, and the advances of foreign merchants, who stood in need of bullion for their remittances, in some measure restored their operations, but not to the extent to which they were worked before the revolution.

2. The Failure of the Crops.—In speaking of the management of mines, I have explained the mode in which the proprietor is dependent upon the habilitador, and the relation of the laborer to the proprietor: I have shown that, to the working peons, the price of provisions is of no consequence; the loss attendant upon the rise of price falls entirely on the proprietor. The years of scarcity, 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823, were principally and most severely felt in the mining districts, which are in the northern parts of Chile: the difference of expence to the proprietor, when the price of corn rose from twelve reals to twelve dollars the fanega, was immense: the crops failed to such an extent, that it was necessary to convey wheat from Aconcagua and Valparaiso to the mines of Petorca, Illapel, Guasco, Coquimbo, and Copiapo. Many of the proprietors lost consider-

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ably by their exertions, withdrew their capitals from mining operations, and invested them in the cultivation of the soil, which they found yielded them far greater profits; I have shown enough to prove that where a man can command his own resources in agricultural pursuits, the profit is great and certain, even in years of scarcity; still more so when the price bears more than an equal ratio of advance to the diminution in quantity of produce. This subtraction of capital from the mines operated only to a certain extent. The principal habilitadors of the capital, themselves hacendados, and holders of wheat, dispatched supplies to the mining districts, and kept up the produce of the workings. We must bear in mind that all these operations appear very contemptible to an European eye, accustomed to view such works upon a grand scale. The Chileno mines, however, make up as well as they can, in the number of the establishments, for the smallness of their extent, and the poverty of the ores.

3. Smuggling of Bullion.—It is to be remembered that, under the Spanish regime, all trade in gold and silver piña was illicit; it subjected the offender's property to confiscation, and himself to punishment. It was allowable for habilitadors, or capitalists, to make tours through the mining territories in order to exchange or purchase (rescatar), the piña from the proprietors; but they could not move it from the spot without an order of the resident agent, of the mining intendency, whose duty it was to transmit a note of it to the capital. The purchaser (rescatador), who, in return for the inconvenience to which he was subjected, was allowed certain privi-

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leges, was obliged to carry this piña to the mint, when it was melted down into bullion, received the proper stamp, and contributed the quota of quintos and cobos. Since the revolution, independently of the large remittances of Spanish property sent to Europe in consequence of the policy used towards its owners, and shipped under the British name for security, there never ceased to be extensive remittances from the foreign commissioned agents, in return for the numerous cargoes sent to their consignations, and introduced by them into the country, it being notorious that Chile is incapable of producing any commodity marketable in Europe: it follows that such remittances can be effected only in the precious metals, either in the shape of coined money or bullion.

The difference in transmitting bullion at the price in which it was accustomed to be sold in the mines, and coined money, was never less than thirty-five per cent: thus the temptation to smuggle it on board vessels of war was very great, and thus the national duties were evaded. This could not be prevented in a country where every one engaged in trafficking were smugglers. The mercnants therefore could afford to give a higher price than piña ever before obtained; the other part of the advantage was secured by the rescatador, and the custom-house officer, who smuggled it on board. Indeed, with the temptations which since the revolution have existed, it is only wonderful how any bullion has found its way to the mint. Such small portions as are sent there are used for purposes of deception, by the very persons who carry on the

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principal traffic, and who cannot altogether conceal the trade in which they are engaged.

Experience has proved that while the excessive duties levied upon the produce of the mines, in conformity with the Spanish ordinances, are continued in force, the illicit export of bullion will continue in spite of the severest restrictions, and the government will cease to derive its accustomed revenue from it: but whenever, in furtherance of its better interests, it shall reduce its exorbitant taxes upon the precious metals, and allow a free commerce in, and export of bullion, it will afford a reasonable quota toward the revenue, as no one in that case would hazard the risk of seizure, and no one could afford to pay the price of bribery for concealment. Hence we have a most satisfactory explanation of the cause of the diminution in the mint returns, and we may satisfy ourselves that those returns no longer afford the true amount of the product of the mines of Chile. This could not be so while the foreign trade remained in the hands of the Spaniards, under the royal authority, and supported upon a system which maintained an union of interests, and presented a series of checks upon all: but in an open competition of interests, a free internal trade, and a foreign commerce with persons of all nations, the case must be far otherwise.

It will now be necessary to show the amount of royal duties upon the produce of the mines, and the manner in which these were collected. The invention of bancos de rescate,—the rendering of all traffic in unstamped bullion illegal, under heavy penalties,—the relations between miners and capi-

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tatists, have been already explained; and the system which established the checks upon the collection of duties, has been sufficiently detailed. The amount of duties collected is shown by the following illustrations upon a single marc of silver piña, which, carried to the callaña office at the mint, would be melted down into a mass of bullion, deducting.

Percent.

10	Diezmos, or half quinto dues.
1 1/2	Cobos, old duty.
1	Duties on smelting and refining.
1 1/2	Dues for salaries of tribunal de mineria.
14	per cent.

The marc of piña weighs	3408	grains English.
Deduct from this the above dues of 14 per cent	477
	2931	fine silver.
The quantity of copper alloy added to reduce this to the legal Spanish standard	244
	3315	standard silver.

This weight of standard silver, after receiving the mint mark, is returned by the officer of the callana for a mark of pure silver, and may be exported WJ paying eight per cent fresh duties; but if taken to the mint office for coining Into Spanish or Chile dollars, the mint master would return 7·31 dollars, which, bearing legally a newly increased current value of 1/32 augments the value to 7·54 dollars, yielding to the rescatador of piña nearly seven dollars and a half for his marc of fine

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silver; whereas he can dispose of it at the present time to a foreign merchant, when placed on shipboard, for eight dollars and three quarters, or even nine dollars the marc.

Summing up, therefore, the duties actually received by the government, they are as follow:

Percent.

10	Diesmos, altered quinto duties.
1½	Cobos, ancient duty.
1	Derechos de fundicion.
1½	Sueldoe del tribunal de mineria.
14	Carried forward 14 per cent.
6	Seignorage.
3¼	Augmented currency value of one
—	quartillo upon every hard dollar.
9¼	On 86, amount returned at the mint in exchange for 100 piña, which is equivalent to 10 3/4 per cent on the original piña 10¾
	24¾
Exportation duty upon coined money	2
Total actual amount of duties	26¾ per cent.

This temptation to smuggling under the present state of affairs in Chile,—a state so different from that which existed under the Spanish reign,—will sufficiently account for the immense diminution of profit in the mint department; and it is certain that, were not the dealers in bullion to send a small portion to the mint in order to conceal their smuggling, not one ounce of piña would now pay duties to the government.

This amount of 27 per cent, is just so much taken,

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from the natives engaged in mining concerns by the government, and the value given to the product is as follows:

	Grains
The marc of piña	3408
The amount of alloy added to make it standard	456
Standard silver	3864

which, coined into dollars each of 426 grains, produces 9·07 dollars, and this, increased by the augmented value, is equivalent to 9·35 dollars. Were the piña sold to the intendente of the mint, he could not legally give more than seven dollars and a quarter, while under the Spanish government the banco de rescate used to give no more than six and a half, or six dollars and three quarters per marc, making an increased value of the silver in the former case of twenty-nine per cent, in the latter forty per cent and upward upon the sum which formerly used to be actually obtained by the miner and the habilitador.

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CHAPTER XXIV.

THE INDIANS.

Indian Chile.—Aborigenes.—Their Number.—Arts.—Houses. —Dress.—Manners.—Customs.—Religion. —Funerals.—Government.—Dr. Leighton's Journal of a Military Expedition into the Indian Territory.

THE aboriginal population of Indian Chile has continued from the period of the Spanish invasion, to resist the subjugation of the Christians. These Indians, as they are called, to distinguish them from the Chilenos, or Christian natives, have been the theme of much exaggeration with all Spanish authors, who, to excuse the ill success of their arms against these barbarous tribes, have magnified their numbers, their arts, their social government, their knowledge, and attainments. They have been classed generally under the name of Araucanos, though this is only the title of the district bordering upon Concepcion. The Chileno Indians are more advanced in civilization than the wandering Indians of the Pampas, who have no fixed residences, never cultivate the ground, and subsist wholly on the produce of the chase; while those in Chile associate in small communities, have fixed residences, cultivate the ground, and subsist chiefly on the produce of their labour; they are, however, still far behind the state of advancement in which they are said to be by Herrera and Molina.

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After premising in general terms the actual condition of this people, I shall add an extract from the journal of my friend, Dr. Thomas Leighton, who accompanied me over the country, from Buenos Ayres to Chile, and rendered me such essential service at Villa Vicencio. This document presents by far the best account of the Indian territory I have ever met with, and gives, in an able manner, a description of some of the peculiar customs still observed among them. It cannot be that the Indians have retrograded in knowledge since the arrival of the Spaniards; they have doubtlessly advanced somewhat, especially in the use of implements of husbandry, and better modes of culture. Dr. Leighton assured me that the state of agriculture among these savage tribes was in no respect inferior to that of more civilized Chilenos.

The Indians have the same modes of making pottery common all over Chile, and which probably was known to them before the arrival of the Spaniards.

They possess the art of weaving, for which they were famous before they were visited by Europeans: indeed, I have seen some of their woollen ponchos, which, for fineness of thread, evenness of weaving, durability and brilliancy of colours, and elegancy of pattern, are superior to any thing of the kind I ever beheld. In this art they far excell their more civilized Creole neighbours. These fine ponchos are rare, as the labour required for their production is very great, one of the finest kind requiring the constant labour of a woman for two years; but for this, they obtain about 100 dollars.

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The arts of spinning, weaving, and dyeing, are practised solely by the women. The art of dyeing is precisely similar to that in use among the Chilenos. The more lively colours, obtained from vegetable dyes, are employed. The favourite colour is a kind of azure, or turquoise blue.

The huts of the Indians are precisely the same as the rancho of Chile, not only in the construction of the more solid frame-work, but in the mode (de quinchar) of securing the bushes, preparatory to the mud coating they put over to keep out the wind. In the interior their huts are similar, in having a raised estrada, or mud bench, covered with a piece of carpeting. Others of the huts are made of posts, fixed close together in the ground, and plastered over with mud.

The dress of some of the caciques is very like that of the more civilized Chilenos: the men wear the same kind of woollen shirts, breeches, sash, and jacket, the same poncho, ojotes (hide sandals), spurs with large rowels; precisely the same saddle equipage, the same box stirrups. They wear, instead of straw hats, worn in the north of Chile, a woollen conical cap, without a brim, which is even common among the Chilenos, to the southward of the Maule. Sometimes they wear merely a band or woollen coronet round their head; but the generality of the Indians, especially those to the southward, wear nothing more than a kind of woollen petticoat, tied round their waist with a sash, and a poncho over their shoulders.

Polygamy is still practised among them; some of the more powerful caciques have two, three, or

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four wives: all, however, work hard: the women, in fact, are by far the most industrious: they not only spin, dye, and weave, but they labour in the cultivation of the land, and toil hard in works of drudgery: they are even said to plough, to reap, and carry wheat to the thrashing grounds, while, the men stand by unemployed; and, while they are employed cultivating potatoes and maize, the men are sleeping, or enjoying themselves abroad, on horseback. The females are said to be very cleanly in their persons; they bathe frequently, and wash their hands and faces several times every day, a custom which the converted and civilized Indians of Chile have, by communication with the Spaniards, entirely lost, as the Chilenos have a great antipathy to washing themselves. The men are said to be also fond of washing; but, notwithstanding all that can be said on this head, neither men nor women can be very cleanly, when we consider that the houses are dirty, that they lie upon the ground, that their clothes are woollen, and their habits those of savages. When it is said they are clean, it must be understood to be so, only respectively with other savages; but I suspect they are upon the whole much cleaner than the Chilenos.* Children are bred up to the water from their births, for no sooner has a woman been delivered, than she walks with her infant to the nearest stream, washes both herself and the babe, and sets about her work the next day, as if nothing

* From the habit of constant bathing, both males and females are excellent swimmers and divers.

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had happened. The child is slung in a kind of basket, formed of a wooden hoop, having a network stretched across it: this is hung by thongs to the roof of the hut, and swung backward and forward as the mother is at work. Like the Chilenos, they are very fond of washing their hair with the back of the quillay (smegdudermos quillay.)

The females have, however, a dread of childbearing; and abortion is very commonly practised among them. This is effected by taking a medicinal herb, which produces no ill consequences, nor dangerous results. Dr. Leighton endeavoured to extract from them the name of the herb, or where he could find it, but they evaded all his inquiries. The women of Valdivia frequently have recourse to this practice.

The abbe Molina has attempted to show, that the Indians have attained some proficiency in the sciences, but this is rhapsodically fallacious. It is not possible that a nation of savages should have any definite ideas of the nature and motions of the heavenly bodies; or of time, according to the theories and conclusions he attributes to them. Nor can it be conceded, that they have any notions of measure, or capacity, or of relations of forms, as he attempts to show they possess in detail; when it is considered (as Molina himself confesses,) that they possess no word in their language to designate a point, a line, an angle, a triangle, a square, a circle, a sphere, a cube, a cone, &c. These accounts of Molina are absurd, but not less so than that of attributing to them proficiency in any matter of knowledge. In rhetoric and poetry they can have

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made no progress; these can flow only from the cultivation of intellect, and the acquisition of knowledge. Their language itself is extremely poor, harsh, difficult to pronounce, and inexpressive. The chiefs, in their assemblies, affect a pomposity of style, a boisterous action, and an air of grandeur; but it is ridiculous to suppose that "they cultivate the sciences of rhetoric and poetry."

They possess no written language, have no idea of painting, nor of forming any hieroglyphic character, to represent any natural object or expressed idea. They have neither any emblems by which to record events, nor any mode of handing information from one to another, but by oral tradition. They seem to be well-disposed people, have few of the vices which other savages possess, and excite our admiration by the firmness and courage they have displayed in resisting the attempts of the Spaniards to subjugate them.

The Indians are very fond of intoxicating liquors, which they call chicha, and prepare them by fermenting different fruits, principally apples. Their mode of making this liquor is described in Dr. Leighton's Journal, at the end of this chapter.

They do not make bread, but both maize and wheat-meal are made up into cakes, and roasted in the ashes: this is what they call couque: the corn is ground by bruising between stones. These cakes, however, are not so universally used, as those which they call milleon, a kind of omelet, made of roasted pumpkin and potatoes, mixed up into a paste, with eggs and salt, and roasted in the ashes.

They make also umitas, a sort of cake made of

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maize, commonly used in Chile. In like manner they prepare curagua (harinatostada of the Chilenos) from a particular small-grained maize, which they roast in sand, and grind to powder between stones. This meal, not unlike our barley-meal, forms part of their daily food, made into a kind of gruel, by mixing it with either hot or cold water, generally the latter: it is then called ulpa: this is sometimes made of barley-meal, as well as of maize.

All the Indians throughout South America had, before the coming of the Spaniards, learned the art of working in gold and silver. The Chile Indians were in the habit of extracting these metals, when found in the native state, which they melted in rude pots, blown on by a current of air: with these metals they made those ornaments which so greatly excited the avarice and cruel oppression of the Spaniards. They had, it appears, made use of a kind of bronze metal, found native in the country, and is a natural alloy of copper, zinc, and antimony, called campañil by the Spaniards: of these they formed their cutting instruments; but it appears they had in some very rare instances, before the arrival of the Spaniards, iron blades to their lances. This has caused many erroneously to conclude, that the Indians must have acquired considerable proficiency in the arts of metallurgy to have effected the smelting of iron ores, and of refining the metal. Molina mentions, that in the Araucano language iron was called panilgue, which word rather signified to work in iron. Our surprise will cease, on recollecting that this valuable metal already existed

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naturally in South America, in the very extensive mass of native iron at Santiago del Estero, (the province northward of that of Cordova) which has been proved to be of meteoric origin, and differing from that of Lacaticas and Durango, in Mexico, described by Humboldt, in the absence of earthy matter, in cellular cavities, and in not being like them in round masses, but in a horizontal bed, of considerable extent, and of variable thickness, being now for the most part covered with drifted sand, and lying on a bed of the same material.

The knowledge of medicine, which it has been asserted they possessed, is greatly exaggerated; they possess crude notions of the curative effects of certain herbs, which from experience are found efficacious in certain complaints; but, they have no methodical knowledge of medicine which they can impart to others, as some writers have endeavoured to persuade us.

The Indians, like all barbarous tribes, believe in the existence of evil spirits, of which they entertain great dread: they believe that all illness proceeds from bad spirits, and that death also proceeds from their influence. They suppose that the evil spirit has been induced to take away the life of the deceased at the instance of some malicious and revengeful living person; and it is still the custom to consult one of their wise men, called machis, who fixes on the supposed guilty person, who is immediately pursued, and, if taken, put to death in the most cruel manner. An instance of this was related by Dr. Leighton, who was instrumental in saving the life of one of these innocent and devoted victims.

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It is to observed that the machis are consulted upon the sickness of any person. Pain and sickness are attributed to the same causes as death, and the supposed exciter is persecuted in a similar manner. The ceremonies practised by the machis on these occasions are well described by Molina, In the hut of the sick person a number of lights are placed, and in one corner, among several branches of laurel, is placed a large bough of canelo, to which is suspended the magical drum: near it is a sheep ready to be sacrificed. The women, at the direction of the machi, sing in loud tones a doleful song, accompanied by the beating of small drums, while he fumigates three times with tobacco smoke the canelo branch, the sheep, the women, and the sick or deceased person: he then kills the sheep, takes out the heart, and, after sucking the blood, he fixes it on the canelo branch: he next approaches the patient, and by certain charms pretends to open his belly, in order to discover the poison given him by the pretended sorcerer: he then takes the magical drum, which he beats, sings, and walks round the women: all at once he falls to the ground like a maniac, making frightful gesticulations, and horrible contortions of his body, sometimes wildly opening his eyes, then shutting them, appearing like one possessed of an evil spirit. During this farcical action, the relations of the sick interrogate the machi upon the author and cause of the malady, to which he replies by naming some person. In this manner many innocent persons fall victims to fanaticism. These absurd ceremonies constitute

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some of the principal causes of the extreme thinness of the population.

The ceremonies observed in the interment of the dead are peculiar. Dr. Leighton, in his journal, has given us an account of one of the Indian cemetries which he visited, which confirms all the accounts I had heard of their savage rites. Molina describes the ceremonies and funeral rites observed on this occasion, but his account is exaggerated. These customs are not essentially different from those followed among the Peruvians, and to this day practised by the Indians of Upper Peru. On the death of an Indian, the body is placed in a canoe, which has generally been long before made by the deceased for this purpose: this is closed up carefully, and kept in the hut, perhaps for months, until the season arrives for making chicha, when it is customary to assemble together the friends of the deceased, to perform a sort of entertainment not unlike an Irish wake. The canoe containing the remains of the deceased is placed in the middle of the hut, and the men and women being seated around it, they amuse themselves with weeping, howling, and lamenting, refreshing themselves occasionally with the intoxicating chicha, and eating plentifully of dishes prepared for the occasion. A quantity of chica is poured over the canoe, and good wishes heaped upon the soul of the departed: next day the body is carried to the burial place upon the favourite horse of the deceased, together with all his relics. The canoe is deposited in a hole dug in the side of a hill, close to the bank of a river: the

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grave is seldom more than three feet deep, and in it are deposited a large earthen jar filled with chicha and a bag of toasted maize ground to flour; these are thought necessary to support the deceased upon the long journey he has to undertake: to these are added, if he be a man, his lance and lasso; if a woman, her spinning implements, and various cooking utensils. These ceremonies being concluded, they take leave of him with many tears, and bewailing lamentations, wishing him a prosperous voyage: they then close up the grave, and return home. The deceased, it is believed, is subsequently carried down the river, across the occean, to a place beyond the sea, called Gulcheman, where the sun sets, and where they fancy he enjoys a new life, and an elysium. There is evidently a great similarity between these notions and those of the Greeks and Romans.

There is nothing in their religion but what we generally meet with in the crude notions entertained by savage nations. They believe in a plurality of deities, of numerous good and evil spirits, who regulate all their little terrestrial affairs, and afford their intercession whenever sought for by proper incantations: hence notions of witchcraft and most absurd superstitions, hence jealousies and fears of each other, and the constant enmity of different tribes. All the accounts we read respecting their institutions, their federal and representative governments, are almost wholly fabulous: they live, it is true, in tribes, subject to the controul of their caciques, or chiefs, who enjoy their rank by hereditary descent; but these tribes are in constant enmity

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and at war with each other. The accounts of the Spaniards, quoted by Molina, respecting their republican and civil form of government, are fabricated. They have no laws, but usages suited to their barbarous habits; the cacique possesses absolute power, by common consent, over his own tribe, and the best check against any misapplication of this power is the fear of revenge from the oppressed. Whenever the family of the cacique becomes extinct, another is elected by approbation of the tribe, which meets for this purpose. In order to make more effectual resistance against the Spaniards, and other savages of different habits to their own, it has become necessary to form an union of tribes in times of war: neighbouring caciques meet together, and submit themselves to some one elected from among themselves to be an ulmen; and, in the great struggle against the Spanish commanders, these ulmenes again appointed a principal chief, whom they called a toqui; but this was a mere military union, and cannot be said to form any part of their government or legislative assemblies; it is clear, that among such savages neither law nor government can exist. I have received several interesting accounts from a Chileno, whose father was governor of Conception, and who recollects, when a boy, to have been present at a kind of conventional meeting of the different tribes of Indians, assembled to make a treaty of peace with the Spanish authorities. The meeting took place on a level plain, the Indians, to the amount of 3,000 or 4,000, being seated on the ground, while the head caciques were parleying and treating with the Spa-

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niards. As each article of the treaty was agreed upon, one of the chiefs addressed the meeting, to explain the nature of the bargain, which being done, all the Indians rose and gave their assent by loud acclamations. On these occasions, any one may state his objections; but this seldom occurs, because man, in a savage state; is generally as gregarious and as obedient to the motions and wishes of his chief in matters of general polity, as a flock of sheep is to their bell-wether. These assemblies always ended in feastings and inebriations, as it was the custom among the Spaniards to distribute among them a number of oxen, and a large quantity of ardent spirits.

It has been shown that the Indians inhabiting the most fertile portions of Chile, between the limits of the river Biobio, and the Archipelago of Chiloe, refused to adopt the religion, the customs, or the government of the Spaniards, and that a war was maintained for many years in order to compel them to conform in these respects; that the Spaniards built several towns, and established numerous fortified posts from the Biobio to Osorno and Caral Maypo, from all which they were from time to time driven by the Indians, and were compelled at length totally to abandon the Indian territory, preserving only the harbour and towns of Valdivia, and the island of Chiloe; none of the country beyond the limits of the guns of Valdivia was held by the Spaniards, and the Indians were permitted to remain masters of their native country. After the decisive actions of Chacabuco and Maypu, many of the persecuted Spaniards took refuge among the Indians, whom

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they incited to take arms and to levy war on the southern provinces of Chile. Benavides, formerly a corporal in the Spanish, service, a worthless and sanguinary renegade, for a long while maintained this Indian warfare, assisted by many old Spaniards. It required a considerable force, under the command of Colonel Freyre (the present director of Chile), to keep this roving body of depredators in check. Benavides, however, after a complete rout, abandoned his cause, and fled towards Peru in an open boat: putting into a fishing-bay near the mouth of the Maypo, he was recognized, apprehended, carried to Santiago, and ignominiously put to death, in the most barbarous manner, by the government of Chile. When Lord Cochrane, in 1820, captured Valdivia, a number of the affrighted Spaniards took refuge among the Indians, whom they, in like manner, incited to acts of warfare against the patriots. These were joined by several whom Benavides had deserted, and they excited the Indians to such acts of enterprise against the people of Valdivia, that the safety of the place was doubted. At the solicitation of Colonel Freyre the government of Chile dispatched a military force, under command of Colonel Beauchef, a Frenchman, to which expedition my friend, Dr. Thomas Leighton, before acting as surgeon of the directorial guard of honor, was appointed chief medical officer. The object of this expedition was to chastise the Indians for their daring temerity, and to compel them to give up the Spanish refugees, who continued to excite them to acts of hostility. It was in pursuit of this object that the following circumstances came under the ob-

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servation of the narrator, which affords the most accurate and interesting decription ever given of the actual state of civilization, habits, and customs of the Auracanian Indians. I have carefully given the narration in the words of Dr. Leighton; any attempt to arrange the subject matter would destroy the force, and much of the importance of the detail.

"The account I send you," says Dr. Leighton, "is an extract from my diary, which I have kept pretty regularly since my arrival; you will perceive that it is hastily and carelessly written. In the situation in which I was often placed it could not be otherwise; however, as I always noted down the circumstances as soon as possible after they occurred, I can rely upon their correctness, and the detail would lose probably some of its interest were I now to attempt either to curtail or to dilate upon it.

Valdivia, December 16, 1822.—Three hundred infantry were embarked in canoes, and proceeded up the river (of Tree Cruces) towards the rendezvous appointed on the Indian frontier: a single suit of duck clothing, a sheep skin to lie on, a poncho to wear in rainy weather, and to serve as a covering during the night, a musket and bayonet, with sixty rounds of ball cartridges, completed the equipment of each soldier; neither baggage nor tents were thought necessary, and, as for provisions, reliance was placed on the aid of friendly Indians, or on whatever could be taken from the enemy.

December 17.—At eleven a. m., I embarked with Colonel Beauchef, and, after four hours' hard rowing, arrived at Tres Graces: this is a small fort, dignified in the Spanish maps with the name of a castle:

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it is seven leagues distant from Valdivia, and is situated on the northern bank of the river which passes that town: this fort is merely a quadrangular space on the top of an earthen mound, enclosed by rough palisadoes, and surrounded by a dry ditch: within it a small field-piece is mounted at each angle, and huts or barracks are erected for the shelter of about fifty men: it was constructed by the Spaniards as a check against the Indians: it has often been found inadequate to this purpose; even last year the Indians took it by storm, massacred the garrison, and burned the neighbouring village. After resting here an hour, we pursued our route on horseback through a thick forest, and at sun-set arrived at San Josè, distant five leagues from Tres Cruces: this was the place of rendezvous; Major Rodriguez, with the infantry, Captain L'Abbè, with his company of cavalry, and about sixty Indians from the vicinity, had encamped a few hours before our arrival: the appearance of these Indians by no means came up to the idea I had previously formed of them; they appeared exceedingly effeminate and tame; they are below the common stature, of a dark complexion, round and full-faced, with small keen black eyes, very little forehead, the hairy scalp, in many cases, almost reaching the eye-brows; flat noses with wide nostrils, large mouths, their teeth white and regular, with the exception of the superior dentes canini, which are in general very large and long; they have no beards, their bodies are large, their limbs very muscular, their legs disproportionably short, and generally bandy.

The cacique wore a hat and feathers; the others

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were in general bare headed; some had their long black hair flowing loosely over their shoulders, while others tied it in a knot on the crown of the head, but all had their heads encircled by a piece of ribband or tape, generally red, which added greatly to the effeminacy of countenance so remarkable among them. Their dress is very simple; the under garment consists of a piece of woollen cloth tied round the middle, reaching nearly to the ancles; the upper garment, or poncho, is likewise woollen, two yards long, and a yard and a half in breadth, with a slit in the middle, sufficient to let the head pass through. Several were dressed in old Spanish uniforms; some had stockings without feet, but none wore shoes, nor any substitute for them; some had brass spurs, the rowels of which were an inch and a half in diameter; but, for the most part, their heels were armed with wooden spurs, sharpened to a point. Each Indian carried his lance, an extremely aukward looking weapon; the head is generally the blade of a knife, a broken bayonet, or a piece of iron hoop, ground sharp, and tied to the end of a cane from eight to twelve yards long. I observed some of the lance-heads which had been forged and tempered by the hand of the blacksmith, and these I understand were furnished last year by the patriots. The lance is used on horseback, or on foot, where the field of action is mountainous or woody: it is never thrown, but when a charge is made the shaft is pressed hard between the right elbow and side, which serves both as a rest and fulcrum: it is always poised and directed by the right hand. When the Indian is pursued, he never quits his lance, but drags it after him.

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The caciques had swords, and all the Indians had machetes, long, heavy, broad-bladed knives, which nerve for cutting and chopping; and without these they could not find their way through the thickets of trailing shrubs which cover the country. Though very dexterous in the art of throwing the lasso, they do not seem to use it as a weapon of offence, nor did I see any of the bolas, the missile weapon which renders the Indians of the pampas so formidable. The horses I have hitherto seen are diminutive and poor-spirited creatures. A few sheep skins, and a saddle-tree, scooped out of the solid trunk of a tree, from which are appended two small triangular wooden stirrups, which only admit the great toe, compose the saddle furniture, so that the back of the poor animal is always galled. The cacique had an old Spanish bridle and saddle, very gaily studded over with silver, and silver stirrups, weighing at least ten pounds weight each.

December 18.—We recommenced our march about day-break. Twenty Indians led the way about 100 yards a-head; the cavalry followed, and then the infantry; a small guard brought up in the rear the little baggage we carried. With us marched the whole body of Indians in a most clamorous state of confusion, which was kept up the whole day by the. continual arrival of small parties; we marched about seven leagues through a country well wooded and watered. At four p. m. we halted at the site of a small village called Cheskè; it was burned down last year by Major Rodriguez; several plants and thistles choked up the lanes, but the broken down enclosures and orchards of apple trees pointed out

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the dwelling places of a late tolerably numerous population. A few charred posts of cottages showed that the hand of the destroyer had been there. On our approach to this ruined village my attention was suddenly called to the Indians, who set up a hideous yell, and immediately dispersed.

It appeared, that on the approach of the advance, a solitary Indian had been seen, who immediately left his horse, and plunged into the thicket: he was suspected to be (un bicho) a spy, and the Indians, who were not wanting in eagerness to do so, were encouraged to search for him. I can compare this scene to nothing but a pack of hounds let loose: some galloped off to secure the passes, others dismounted and beat the bushes with their lances, crawling at times on their hands and knees, putting their ears to the ground, and even smelling, as if they could discover the track of the fugitive by the scent. I pitied the poor fellow, for his escape appeared to me impossible. As soon as the centinels were placed, and the ground cleared for the encampment, several bullocks were killed, and in a moment a hundred fires appeared. Incommoded by the heat, and vivid corruscations which flew about in all directions, I retired from the busy scene, and sat down under an apple tree, when the novelty of my situation, the glare of the fires reflected upon the swarthy countenances of the soldiers employed in broiling the still quivering flesh of the animals, and the unceasing yells of the Indians, afforded abundant matter for the exercise of the imagination.

December 19.—The Indian seen last night was brought in while we were preparing for our march;

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the poor fellow was naked to the waist, his hands were tied behind him, and in his countenance great terror was strongly depicted. As soon as the poor fellow could be relieved from his extreme agitation, he stated that he had left his master, Pedro Xara-millo, for the purpose of reconnoitring the road; that his master was proceeding to Valdivia, with the intention of surrendering himself; and that, upon seeing armed Indians only, he had conceived them to be some hostile body in march against his own tribe; and, aware that they would kill him on the spot, without listening to, or crediting whatever he might relate, he had endeavoured to make his escape. This Pedro Xaramillo, I learned, was the second son of an old Spaniard, who fled among the Indians, when the patriot forces first took possession of Valdivia; the old man, who was known among the Indians by the name of Calcaref, possesses great influence with all the tribes; he had Shown much hostility against the patriots, and accompanied the party that surprised Tree Cruces last year, on which occasion he showed so much determined revenge, that he killed, with his own hand, one of his relations who commanded the fort: in fact, he had been the instigator and leader of every hostile attack made upon the patriots in Valdivia: he has three sons, the eldest of whom was taken prisoner two days before the commencement of the campaign, in attempting to pass over to Chiloe with letters from his father: the second son, Pedro, is persecuted by his father: for having displayed an attachment to the patriot cause; the youngest still commands a body of Indians under the direction of his father. The af-

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frighted Indian, after relating his story, had his clothes restored to him, and was sent back to his master, Pedro Xaramillo, to assure him of the protection of the colonel; and a message was sent to the old man, at the same time, to inform him that his eldest son still remained a prisoner, and that his life would only be spared on condition that Palacios, another daring refugee, and his adherents, were surrendered, which the old man, from his influence among the Indians, could easily command. During to-day's march, we passed several Indian cottages; they were very small and extremely rude in their construction, being formed merely of rough posts stuck side by side in the ground, and thatched with straw: a low narrow aperture served the purpose of a door, and some of them presented a hole in the top to let out the smoke. A few were large and oblong, and the walls appeared to be made of clay, but they were constructed without any attention to regularity or regard to comfort. The inhabitants seemed to have only recently deserted them, as the ashes of their fires were still hot. I saw no utensils of any description except a long trough at the side of each hut, hollowed out of the trunk of a tree, and in which they mash the apples in making chica. Each of these huts had an enclosure in the vicinity cultivated with great care: the large white bean and maize appeared to be the produce chiefly raised, though I saw likewise potatoes, peas, barley, and wheat, the appearance of which would have done credit to an English farmer. About noon we halted at the side of a small rivulet. Here several old Indians brought us a milky looking liquor, in earthen

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pipkins, which I tasted, and found to be a fermented liquor of a pleasant subacid flavor: being fatigued and thirsty, I took a very hearty draught, and found it very refreshing. I then invited ray companions to partake of ray feast, but they refused, laughing merrily at me, and explained to me what I had been drinking. I was told that the liquor was prepared from apples while very young: having yet acquired very little saccharine matter in this stage, the old women chew them, and spit the juice, mixed with saliva, into an earthen pot, when it speedily, ferments, and forms the liquor I had just tasted. I soon ejected all I had taken, and tacitly made a vow never again to eat or drink any thing prepared by the hands of an Indian. I had the curiosity to go and see this nauseous beverage prepared: four hideous old women and a child were sitting on their hams upon the ground, busily employed in masticating apples, and squirting the juice into a large earthen pan which stood in the centre: they occasionally took a mouthful of water, and the child frequently stirred the liquid with a small stick of canelo.

In the afternoon we arrived at Calfacura, the residence of a powerful cacique of that name. This man had formerly given his aid to the Spanish refugees; but, having been severely chastised last year by Major Rodriguez, he had become a patriot He waited on the colonel upon his arrival. He was a very ugly old man, and so extremely corpulent that I wondered how he could possibly walk; he made a long speech in extenuation of his former conduct, and concluded by making a propitiatory offering of five fat oxen, which at this time was a very season-

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able supply. Major Rodriguez here pointed out to me the spot where he had shot an Indian last year; his account made my blood run cold. It seems, that on attacking the place, he could only surprise a woman, her son, and her daughter: the latter was a child. The tribe had succeeded in escaping to their hiding-places in the woods: in vain did he menace the woman and her son with immediate death if they did not discover the hiding-places of the Indians; nor were promises of reward more successful; till, infuriated by their obstinacy, the inhuman major obliged the son to kneel, in which posture he was shot in the presence of the distracted mother and affrighted child. Still the woman remained obdurate, and she was made to kneel down, and on the muskets being levelled at her, the child rushed toward the murderers, begging them to spare her mother's life, and she would conduct them to the retreat of her father and brothers; the mother, enfuriated, started upon her legs, rushed upon her daughter, whom she attempted to strangle. The child was rescued from her grasp, and dragged to the spot toward which she had pointed as leading to the place of retreat, while she upbraided the child with degeneracy and wont of courage. She finally expired in agony on beholding the massacre of her whole family, giving her last breath m curses upon the relentless murderers!

Our Indian Auxiliaries now amounted to about 200, and were under the command of a chief, who bore the rank of captain in our army, and the title of commissary for the Indians: he officiated as their magistrate in time of peace, and as their general in

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war. I observed that each Indian had a bag made of the entire akin of a goat, filled with coarse flour: which I found was barley meal: it is prepared by the women, who roast the grain, and grind it between two stones. The Indians are very food of this food, which they mix with water to the consistence of thick gruel, and call it ulpa. Although the chicha I took at noon was so fresh in my recollection, I ventured to taste the ulpa, and found it so good that I was determined to drink nothing else during the march. To-night we had a most beautiful view of the volcano of Villa Rica, which appeared to the eastward about twenty leagues distant A bright redness was observed at a considerable height above the crater; it appeared neither like a reflection nor a cloud, but more like a sheet of liquid fire suspended in the air, which changed neither its situation nor form. About every four seconds a light appeared to issue from the mouth of the crater, at first of a dull red, quickly becoming bright, and then again dying away gradually. When the light from the crater seemed brightest, the red expansion first described was not observable, but it gradually returned as the light from the crater decreased.

December 20.—We marched about five leagues, the road lying through a thick forest, and being very bad. We reached a clear spot of ground in the afternoon, where we pitched our tents for the night. I was very much fatigued with this day's journey, for we had passed through a dull and dreary forest, in which not a bird could be seen for its thickness. The narrowness and badness of the road

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precluded all opportunity for conversation, and, as my whole attention was required to prevent my horse from stumbling, I was even debarred from meditation.

December 21.—We commenced our march before sun-rise, and continued it with great perseverance during the day, in order that we might arrive at Pitovquin before dark; the roads were very bad, and in some parts rendered impassable by a sort of creeping shrub, called quilo, which is of remarkably quick growth, and choaks up the paths in a few days. The very narrow and little frequented roads through these forests, therefore, are soon rendered impassable. This caused us much annoyance; the troops were frequently obliged to halt, standing up to their knees in water, while the Indians were clearing the obstructions with their machetes. Our faces and hands were severely scratched, and our clothes torn. We, who were mounted, received the greatest annoyance, for we were frequently so entangled that the horses marched from under us. About noon our progress was interrupted by a river, so deep that it would not have been passable but for a ledge of rocks which crossed it obliquely, and over which the water ran with a rapidity that rendered the fording very dangerous. Several of our men were swept away by the force of the current, and were saved only by the activity of the Indians, who were all most dexterous swimmers. A little before sun-set we emerged from the wood, and were now rewarded by the sight of a most beautiful landscape, in which we saw extending before us a pleasing view, as far as the eye could reach; it was covered with a most

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delightful verdure, through which a broad river, as smooth and transparent as crystal, flowed toward the sea. To the eastward the Cordillera seemed a black, stupendous, and impenetrable bulwark, forbidding all farther progress in that direction. It was surmounted by the snow-covered cone of the volcano of Villarica, to which we now seemed to have closely approached. In this delightful valley not the least vestige of human habitation was distinguishable. It was dark before we reached the banks of the river, when, to our great disappointment, we found no one in readiness to meet us; for we expected to have been joined by 1000 friendly Indians, and to have obtained the supply of provisions, of which we stood greatly in need. Chagrin was marked in the countenances of all as they reached the appointed place of encampment: oppressed with fatigue and hunger, they sat down with the prospect of being obliged to kill their jaded horses on the morrow for subsistence. I had intended this night to have watched the appearance of the volcano; but, tired with my day's journey, I was soon overpowered by sleep, and insensibly lost in oblivion all recollection of the romantic situation in which I was placed.

Sunday, December 22.—The sun had already attained a considerable height before I was released from my unconsciousness; the full powers of the solar rays acting strongly on my face awoke me, when I found all our camp in motion. A few Indians had arrived, bringing with them four bullocks, which were not long suffered to remain in existence, for the apathy occasioned by yesterday's fatigue had been replaced by an unusual activity, and a most

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ravenous appetite. In less than ten minutes the animals were slaughtered, cut up, and every man had his ration already upon his wooden spit broiling over the fire. As it was ordered that the troops should rest here during the day, I went to reconnoitre the neighbourhood, when I observed at almost every step the scite of some Indian cottage that had been lately destroyed. All the neighbouring land appeared to have been in recent cultivation; the apple and pear trees were in great abundance, and there was every indication that the banks of this delightful river had been lately inhabited by a numerous community. The destruction of this village of Pitovquin had been accomplished by a combination of several surrounding tribes, whose hostility had been instigated by the Spanish refugees, in consequence of the Pitovquin Indians having espoused the patriot cause. A few of this tribe, who had escaped the vengeance of fire and sword, were still hunted through the woods by their enemies like wild beasts. We found here abundance of potatoes and beans growing wild, and the whole country was profusely covered with wild strawberries, of a most delicious flavour. This night I remarked that the combustion of the volcano of Villarica was by no means so active nor so beautifully brilliant as on the night of the 19th.

December 23.—We received intelligence that Palacios was within a few leagues of us, and was advancing toward our camp, under the impression that Indians alone were here uniting their force, in order to invade his possessions. Colonel Beauchef determined to surprize him, if possible; and with this intention he selected 100 men from the infantry,

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whom, together with fifty cavalry and all the Indian auxiliaries, he put under the command of major Rodriguez, and, as it was likely that some fighting would ensue, I was ordered to accompany them. The colonel remained behind with the rest of his force, intending to cross the river and proceed to Borroa, which he supposed was the head quarters of the enemy. We accordingly set off, and, after marching about two leagues, halted to refresh our men. At this time the Indians performed a sham fight, sometimes charging at full speed, at other times dismounting and fighting on foot: they made a great noise, but there appeared not the least regularity or discipline in their manœuvres, if such they could be called. In some of their charges they approached very near to us, and the major, apprehensive of treachery, ordered our troops to load their pieces, and to stand prepared. Although there existed no grounds for this apprehension, the precaution in the sequel proved fortunate to us. After a short consultation it was determined to send fifty of the best mounted Indians to explore the road; this was done; the cavalry passed through a deep slough, and disappeared in the woods, and the infantry, in their attempt to follow, soon sunk up to their hips in mud: at this moment our attention was excited by a confused noise, and we quickly distinguished the voice of captain L'Abbè, calling upon the Indians to advance,—a summons that was obeyed with the utmost alacrity. I was among the last who passed the Barranca, and found the troops in some confusion, pent up in a small area, surrounded by steep banks surmounted with lofty trees and impenetrable bushes, from which

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only two exits were to be found; one by the pass, from which we had entered from the Barranca,— the other by a narrow pass opposite to it, leading to the wood above. The fifty Indians whom we had sent in advance, had unexpectedly fallen in with the enemy, and were instantly routed, when, falling back on our cavalry, and these again retreating upon our infantry, we were all pent up in the small area before described. Order was soon re-established by forming the infantry into line, the cavalry drawing up on the right flank, the Indians on the left. We now perceived the enemy staring down upon us from above; the horrible yells that rent the air announced to us that the wood was filled with them. In this moment of fearful suspense, a courier was dispatched back to Pitovquin, to inform the colonel of our situation. There were only two alternatives; either to retreat upon our head quarters, or to force the pass in the possession of the Indians: the latter was resolved upon: a corporal and five men led the advance, the charge being preceded by a discharge of muskets; for we could not, in consequence of the thickness of the wood, see ten yards before us. The infantry then advanced in a column, and, after the first discharge of musquetry, the shouts of our Indian auxiliaries, and the clattering of the horses' hoofs, announced to us that the enemy had fled. For my part, I was hurried along in the rear guard, first over broken lances, and then over the bodies of the dead and dying Indians, who presented, the most shocking sight I ever beheld: they had previously stripped for the combat, and were seen extended on the ground, writhing in the agonies of death, and

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biting the dust, while the blood flowed slowly through the large gashes, except when propelled more profusely by their deep sighs and lamentations. These poor wretches were despatched outright by our soldiers as they passed along, not from any feeling of humanity, but from one of savage barbarity. We soon arrived at an extensive place, whence the flying enemy could be distinguished in the distance, enveloped in a cloud of dust: they succeeded in effecting their escape; for, as they were so much better mounted than our cavalry, the pursuit was given up. While resting on our arms, we were agreeably surprised at the return of Mr. Arengoen, a Swedish gentleman, who had accompanied the advance party of Indians, and whom we fancied had been taken prisoner. He related to us, that at first he rode boldly into the midst of the enemy, thinking it was a party of Indians on their road to join us, and he discovered his error only on receiving the charge of an Indian lance, which he parried by firing a pistol at the aggressor; he then clapped spurs to his horse, and rode into the thicket, whence he heard distinctly the firing of the musquetry, which had brought him toward them. Soon after, a prisoner was led in, who had been stripped of all covering by the captors; he was brought before the major upon a mule. At first he attempted to deny having borne arms against them; but when proof was offered to the contrary, not a word else could be extracted from him: he was again delivered over to the Indians, who led him a few paces off, and proceeded deliberately to put him to death. Little did I expect such barbarity would have been permitted

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before Christian soldiers, but I was greatly shocked to witness such inhumanity. A cacique first struck him a blow on the head with a sabre, after which be was dispatched with repeated stabs from lances and swards. This victim displayed strongly that passive courage frequently noticed among barbarians: on finding all resistance vain, and all escape hopeless, though his first wounds were not mortal, he neither uttered a cry nor a groan, but setting his teeth hard together, and repressing his breathing, he suffered in patience all his pain, until finally dispatched by his ferocious murderers. Our officers and soldiers looked on with the utmost sang froid, nay, with a secret pleasure, as if they were accustomed to similar sights. I observed that every Indian stuck his lance into the body of the victim; and I was told that it was considered among them disgraceful to return home from a warlike expedition without having imbrued their lances in the blood of an enemy. I found too that it was an invariable custom among the Indians to put their prisoners to immediate death;—caciques are always excepted from this rule, they are ransomed; so, likewise, are old men, for whom, on occasions, they show great respect. At sun-set we encamped at the side of a small river, at some distance beyond which, upon the opposite bank, the enemy also rested. We here discovered a wounded Indian, who was instantly put to death. Our loss to-day was found to be one Indian killed, and a cavalry soldier wounded; the loss of the enemy was supposed to be about thirty killed. We passed the night under continual apprehension, for the enemy's camp appeared in great bustle and confusion;

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the clamor they kept up could be distinctly heard. I could sleep but little, for my imagination was haunted by the cruel scenes I had witnessed during the day, and I deprecated my lot a thousand times in having been associated with such inhuman monsters.

December 24.—This morning, at day-break, three prisoners were brought in naked, and instantly put to death. About eight, a.m., the colonel joined us with the remaining force. He would have come up last night, but the Indian guides could be persuaded neither by promises nor threats to pass the field of battle after dusk; the moment they saw dead bodies strewed upon the ground they refused to proceed. We now advanced, without loss of time, in pursuit of the enemy, but they had the start of us, and we saw nothing more of them. Our route was along the left bank of the river formerly mentioned. The country was uniformly level, and we passed several large enclosures of beans and peas, well cultivated: in one of these a woman and child were surprised, who, terrified by threats, conducted us to the family, consisting of an old Indian, his son, three young women, and five children, two of which were at the breast. Two of the women were young, and really handsome, one in particular, who had blue eyes, and a fair and ruddy complexion. The men were given in charge of the guard; the women and children were seized by the Indians with an avidity which showed how greatly they valued their prize. The women did not appear much concerned by the change of masters, but, mounting behind their new paramours, rode off with apparent indifference,

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and entered at once into familiar conversation with them. They did not seem much more affected at being separated from their children, for, although they shed a few tears, they neither embraced nor kissed them. About five, p. m., we encamped in a large bean field, which being near harvest time, afforded a good supply for our troops. This spot appeared the most charming I had ever beheld, presenting such a rich assemblage of wood and water, such a beautiful variety of hill and dale, as can hardly be exceeded in imagination. It seemed that the enemy had crossed the river here; but, as it was impossible to ford the stream, and as they had conveyed all the canoes to the opposite side, all farther attempt at pursuing them was rendered hopeless. I walked towards the guard, with the view of conversing with the prisoners, but I was shocked to find they had been bayonetted on the road by our own troops, by order of the officer who had them in charge: the old man was killed outright, the young one escaped with three bayonet wounds in his body. This was the first time our own soldiers had been directly concerned in the deliberate murder of their prisoners; but they are, I find, altogether as barbarous and as unfeeling as those who bear the name of savage Indians. At night my attention was attracted by a number of fires, and to ascertain the cause I walked towards them, when I found each soldier with a large earthen pot, boiling beans and peas, several being already drunk; astonished at the fact, I was desirous to know whence they had procured the utensils, and the intoxicating spirit; but my surprise ceased on learning

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that near our encampment there was a burial place of the Indians, with whom it is customary to inter with each deceased all his household utensils, a bag of toasted flour, and a large jar of chica, which keeps a long time, as the mouth of the jar is closely sealed. Here the fellows had procured abundant cooking utensils, and plenty of cider, with which they had become intoxicated. I paid a visit to these cemetries, and found the bodies deposited in small canoes, generally placed in a cave dug in the side of a declivity. According to their superstitious notions, they go by water to the sun, so that their canoes are made carefully water-tight. In the preparation of the flour and chica great care is also taken, as it is supposed to last him during the voyage. The canoe of a man is generally made by the deceased himself, so that while he lives in this world it serves him in his hut for a chest. Our people seemed to be dispirited at the little prospect of subduing the Indians, or of apprehending Palacios or his adherents.

December 25.—Early, this morning the cavalry was sent abroad to forage. At eleven, a. m. Calcaref (the old Spaniard, father of Pedro Xaramilla, before-mentioned) was brought in by the Indians. They found him on foot, and alone. He appeared about sixty years of age, hale and stout, with large features, which, though rather heavy, bespoke intelligence and shrewdness. He informed us that the enemy we attacked on the twenty-third consisted of about 250 Indians, with whom were Palacios and his adherents; they were marching to give malon, (an Indian term for surprise, robbery, and murder)

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to the Indians of Pitovquin, and that, when they met our advanced guard, they dismounted to attack them, little suspecting the proximity of our troops. The Indians had in consequence dispersed, and he, who had accompanied them, was endeavouring to reach his home, when he was surprised and taken by our Indians. He stated, that Palacios and his family were near his home, and he offered himself as a guide to discover the place of his retreat. Capt. Tupper was accordingly dispatched with the old man, taking a strong party with him. About five, p. m. three young women, two of them the daughters of Calcaref, were brought in; another party of cavalry likewise surprised two. Indians and a Spanish boy; but Palacios, who happened at that time to be in their company, had effected his escape: the boy was sent to the camp, but the poor Indians, as usual, were murdered. Several milch cows, with their calves, were brought in: the poor old man shed tears when he saw them, as he said his family mainly depended upon them for support.

December 26.—Capt L'Abbè received orders to proceed toward Pucallan with the cavalry, about four hours' march farther on, where it was supposed Palacios had taken refuge. About two, p. m. Capt. Tupper and his party arrived, having spent the preceding night in the woods. This party brought in the youngest son of Calcaref on a litter: he appeared to be about twenty years of age, and had been affected with paralysis of the lower extremities for some months, and still continued helpless: the care and attention bestowed toward him by his father and sisters was truly affecting, offering a singular con-

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trast to the callousness and want of feeling which I had witnessed in all others. At four, p. m. the troops were ordered to retrograde towards Pitovquin. While preparing to set out, I overheard some of our superior officers abusing the commander of the division that brought in Calcaref's youngest son, for not having bayonetted him in the woods, and an order was given to the officer of the guard to dispatch him during that afternoon's march. Shocked at this monstrous inhumanity, I determined to use every stratagem to save him. I therefore secretly acquainted the young women of the danger that menaced their brother's life, and strongly enjoined them not to leave him for a moment; presuming that the barbarians, savage as they were, would not have the hearts of steel to murder him in presence of the women. During the march, one of our chief officers sent to see if his orders had been executed, and, if not, to endeavour to withdraw the women. I absented myself in order to see the girls, when I again cautioned them more forcibly, and formed an excuse for them to the commander. I had the pleasure to see my stratagem succeed so far, that all arrived safely at the place of encampment.

December 27.—We continued our march leisurely towards Pitovquin: the ground all the way was covered with most delicious strawberries. We found the bodies of the Indians, who fell in the action of the 23d, entirely consumed by condors and other birds of prey: the bones only remained to point out the place where they had been slaughtered. We reached Pitovquin, and encamped near

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the same spot on which we had rested on the 21st. During the day our sick prisoner was sedulously watched by his sisters, so that no opportunity was afforded for the execution of the intentions of the commander.

December 28.—Several caciques visited us today, and brought in some oxen as presents. Capt. L'Abbè joined us again from his excursion in quest of Palacios: he brought with him forty-five bullocks, fifteen calves, and other stock. He described the country he had visited as much richer, and much better cultivated, than any we had hitherto passed through. The terrified Indians fled, on all sides, leaving their property at the mercy of the destroyers; mercy! alas! they had none: the poor Indian was hunted like a beast of prey, and murdered wherever he could be caught. One solitary Indian was suffered to escape, in order that he might convey to his countrymen the cause of the exterminating war carried on against them—the crime of supporting Palacios and his adherents. The younger Calcaref appeared to have benefitted by his journey, and, with the view of placing him in safety, I reported to the colonel his improving state, with an assurance that under proper management his health might easily be re-established, and proposed that he might be sent to Valdivia with his sisters. I was rejoiced to observe the proposal was acceded to, and I remained happy in the idea of having been instrumental in saving the life of a suffering fellow-creature. Our object is now to cross the river,* and penetrate into Borrea, a country inha-

* Tolten?

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bited by a warlike race of Indians, whose features and complexions we were told are like those of the northern Europeans. This was the race which maintained so furious a war against the Spaniards in former times, who destroyed the cities of Imperial and Villarica, murdered all the male inhabitants, and carried off the women. I have already met with several Indians who answer this description: their features greatly resemble those of Europeans, and they have a much fairer complexion than other tribes, by whom they are called Uingues, the name they also apply to Europeans. I questioned some of these Uingues as to any traditional genealogy which might throw some light upon their origin, but I could gain no information whatever. This evening part of our grenadier company passed the river, preparatory to our movement.

December 29.—A very heavy rain fell during the night, and the weather still continued cloudy. Our troops were ferried over slowly, and we made but small progress, having passed only sixty men in the course of the day. The river is three quarters of a mile broad, and we had only a single canoe, which with difficulty contained six soldiers, with their accoutrements. On pushing off from the bank, the canoe was carried down the river with great rapidity, notwithstanding the exertions of four lusty Indians, who, with the utmost efforts with their paddles to stem the violence of the current, could not prevent their being carried a mile below the place they started from. Much time was, therefore, lost in drawing the vessel up, against so rapid

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a current; which was managed by the force of horses, towing along the bank. Several Indian women visited our camp to-day, bringing strawberries, pears, and peñones for sale. They cared not for money, barter was preferred, and salt especially was in great request. These women were all extremely dirty, and seemed affected with itch: their dress was nearly similar to that of the men, only instead of a poncho they wore a piece of woollen cloth thrown over the right shoulder, and passing over the left arm-pit, exposed that shoulder and part of the breast on that side. Their mode of dressing their heads gave them a very ludicrous appearance, for their hair, which is very long, was divided into two parts, each part being tightly bound round, and covered with a tape, and, after encircling the head different ways, had the end brought round and laid over each ear, so that every woman appeared armed with a pair of horns, some being blue, others red, and some party-coloured, according to the hue of the tape by which the hair was bound. The fruit called peñones are of the size, and somewhat of the shape of almonds, but more curved and tapering; they are covered with a ligneous shell, like that of the chesnut, which fruit they much resemble in taste, especially when boiled or roasted. They are found only in the Cordillera of this, and more southern latitudes, and are the fruit of a species of pine, which is said to grow to a great height.* The pehuenches, a wandering tribe of Indians, inhabiting the Cordillera,

* Penon is the fruit of the pinus chilensis.

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who are ignorant of the art of cultivating the ground, use the peñones as a substitute for bread and potatoes: they indeed appeared to me to be a delicate article of diet. It rained during the whole day, and every one of us was wetted to the skin.

December 30.—The weather still continued very unfavourable: with great trouble, but without any serious accident, all our troops crossed the river.

December 31.—It rained in torrents during the whole of last night The spot in which we had been encamped was a mere sand-bank, having no vegetation upon it, excepting a few stunted shrubs; so that we had not the smallest shelter: in this situation we were alarmed by a cry of the Indians! the Indians! We speedily formed, but it luckily happened to be a false alarm, for had it been true we should have been in an awkward situation, as not one musket in ten would have been useful. About noon the weather somewhat cleared up, and having marched about half a league we encamped on a small plain, sheltered by a number of tall trees. Several caciques with their attendants, in all amounting to about 150, paid us a visit of homage and friendship: they galloped round us several times at full speed, flourishing their swords, making a great halloing noise, at the same time clapping their hands to their mouths frequently, so as to increase the yelling noise: they finally halted in front of the troops, which were drawn out in a line, to make as great a display of force as possible: they enquired if our arms had not been injured by the rain, and on the grenadier company discharging their pieces, man by man, they set up another hi-

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deous cry of joy. The drums and fifes now struck up some lively airs, which incited them to caper about with the most extravagant antics, on which occasion they displayed the most ludicrous appearance: they had called to their aid every piece of finery they could muster—tattered Spanish uniforms, foraging caps, cocked hats, morrions, feathers, old gold and silver lace, &c., were displayed in the most ridiculous manner: it was impossible to resist violent laughter on witnessing so extraordinary an exhibition.

January 1, 1828—The day broke with fine weather, and, after a hasty survey of our arms, we commenced our march. In the course of two hours, after ascending a steep acclivity, we readied an extensive plain, as level as a bowling green. Here about 200 Indians awaited us. The troops were ordered to halt, when the Indiana approaching commenced a long harangue: they made several preposterous demands, more in quest of gratification of private revenge than in furtherance of the object of the campaign, proposals which of course were resolutely rejected by the colonel The Indian, apparently surprised and irritated at the little respect paid to their counsel, began to make use of threatening language and menacing gestures: the troops were immediately formed into a hollow square, and affairs seemed to be arriving at extremities: the Indians, however, perceiving the determined conduct of the colonel, finally submitted the direction of all matters to his arrangement. At noon we reached the termination of the plain, and halted to dine in an orchard. Hereabouts the vestiges of recent de-

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vastation were visible; in all directions were seen burned cottages, broken down fences, human bones were also lying scattered about, signs of devastating warfare. We had now arrived on the frontiers of the enemy's country, and proposed, this night, to attempt the storming of their fastnesses. During the afternoon our road was through a wood, and we found our progress impeded at every few hundred yards distance by barricadoes formed by large trees felled and laid across the road. About sun-set we surprised two women and two children employed in gathering strawberries; they assured us we were close upon the enemy, and our Indians begged the colonel that he would await till next morning. It turned out, upon further inquiry, that we were yet at a considerable distance, and we still continued our march. The Indians, however, advanced with the utmost circumspection, so that we were anticipating we should come upon the enemy at every turning of the road. About nine in the evening we halted, at the very urgent solicitation of the Indians; no fires, however, were permitted, and every body was on the alert: we fancied we could hear the barking of dogs and the crowing of codes at no great distance. At twelve o'clock the moon rose, we again proceeded, and in about an hour we arrived at another deserted village, from which the enemy, as we learned, had retreated to a fastness about a league and a half distant: accordingly we halted here.

January 2.—We commenced our march at day break, and, after proceeding about a league, we found ourselves under the necessity of leaving the cavalry and baggage behind us, on account of the obstacles

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presented to our progress by the numerous barricadoes, ditches, and ravines, which stood in our way. By sometimes walking, by creeping on our hands and knees at other times, we discovered, in about half an hour, the huts of the still unsuspecting Indians. We soon, however, heard the alarm resounding through the village, which, succeeded by the shrieks of the women, announced the terror of the people; a rush was made by our troops, but too late to gain admittance, as their further progress was stopped by the malal, which is the Indian name for their strong hold, or fortified retreat, made use of only in time of danger. A malal is possessed by every tribe, and on this occasion it was formed on an eminence, the access to which was stopped by palisadoes eight or nine feet high: this crossed the road up the ascent of a hill; they were planted close together, with notches cut on each side for musquetry: in the front of it was a deep ditch, and on each side of the eminence was a steep precipice which cut off all approach. The Indians and Spanish refugees were seen behind the palisadoes, and appeared determined to make a stand: orders were accordingly given for the grenadier company to advance, but the enemy did not await the attack, for after discharging their few muskets at random, they fled: our troops lost some time in climbing over the palisadoes; and, after an hour's fruitless chace, we halted, all being very much exhausted. Small parties were sent out to scour the wood, and, after a little rest, we began to retrace our steps. We here discovered that one man was wounded, having received one of the random shots fired by the enemy at the malal. We carried

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away with us several women and children prisoners, about 300 sheep, several horses, bullocks, pigs, &c. Licence was given to every soldier to kill and destroy whatever belonged to the enemy, and, accordingly, on our return to the spot where we left our cavalry, the cottages, materials, and implements of every kind were set fire to, all the plantations were destroyed, and the most wanton mischief committed wherever an opportunity offered. Small parties were kept on the alert all day, some going, some returning, bringing with them women, children, oxen, sheep, &c; many Indians were massacred in the woods. Our camp was now crowded with cattle, and appeared like a large fair: serious quarrels now began to arise about the division of the spoil; the great contention was for the women and children; so that it became necessary to issue an order, that all prisoners and spoil should be given in charge of the guard. Two male prisoners, who were brought in to-day, were not put to death, as they were claimed as relatives by some of our auxiliaries. Two women and their children were liberated, and instructed to inform their cacique, that if he would come to the camp, suspension of hostilities towards him should take place; his person, and that of his attendants, should be safe, and he would be allowed to depart as soon as the matter was accommodated.

January 3.—We were thrown into great confusion last night by a false alarm, occasioned by the sergeant on guard firing on some of our straggling Indians, whom he mistook for enemies; the example was followed along the whole line, and it required some time to restore order. About noon the cacique

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Millan, confiding on the promises of the colonel, came to the camp; he seemed a very respectable middleaged man, and willingly acceded to all the propositions made to him. After promising to return on the morrow, he was dismissed.

January 4.—The cacique Millan returned early this morning, bringing with him several old men, caciques, and Indians of influence in the neighbouring district; every one of whom, in his turn, made a complimentary speech to the colonel. Upon this occasion age seemed to claim precedence with them; for although there were several caciques of considerable rank among them, the older men always spoke first: their orations were very long; they never pause nor seem to want words; they make use of no gesture, gesticulation, nor emphasis. Our auxiliary Indians, between whom and our visitors a deadly enmity exists, threw every obstacle in the way of an accommodation. They even solicited permission of the colonel to be allowed to massacre Millan and his friends; this being refused, they begged hard to be suffered to immolate one of them to the manes of one of their friends, whom Millan and his allies had treacherously allured into their power, under pretence of negotiation. Notwithstanding a positive refusal, and a menace of the most summary vengeance should any such attempt be made, one of the caciques who accompanied Millan was treacherously stabbed in the evening: the strictest scrutiny was made, in order to discover the perpetrator, but in vain. The act was, however, highly applauded by the whole Indian encampment.

Nothing particular occurred during the remain-

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der of the campaign: a treaty was entered into with all the hostile Indians, and we retraced our steps to Valdivia, where we arrived on the 13th. The Indians stipulated to give up Palacios and his adherents, and to remain at peace with their patriot neighbours, all which terms have been religiously observed."

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APPENDIX.

APPENDIX A.

Papers relating to the Revolutions in Chile in the Months of July and October, 1825.

No. I.

EXPOSITION MADE BY A MAJORITY OF THE CHILIAN CONGRESS OF THE CAUSES THAT INDUCED ITS DISSOLUTION.

The respect due to the opinions of men, and the responsibility of the high trust of representing the rights of the people, oblige the undersigned to publish their reasons for the communication made to the executive on the 15th inst.

We make this representation, for the benefit of those citizens of the republic, who did not witness the disgraceful scenes on the nights of the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th.

This capital, which has been the theatre of those occurrences, would excuse us the labour. It was as sensible as ourselves, of the necessity of arresting a disorder, which threatened the utmost excesses. Our interference operating with its wishes, restored tranquillity to the place, and dispelled from the imagination of the citizens, the frightful image of a revolution which had already broke forth. Armed citizens at the bar of congress, shouting tumultuously, others outside, invoking the omnipotence of the people, and clamours within the hall, for the expulsion of a member who had addressed the citizens in a manner unpleasant to them, were circumstances, considered by men enlightened by experience or history, as the

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flash preceding the bolt, or rather as anarchy fully exhibited. There were only wanting tribunes of the people demanding their victims, and that the national legislature should find them guilty of crime.

The sanctuary of law being profaned, and the majesty of the people being violated in the persons of their representatives, many of the subscribing deputies requested of the president a full and extraordinary meeting of the house, to consider upon the suspension of its sessions.

The incidents of previous nights made precautions absolutely necessary. The house, from this consideration, resolved to meet in secret session; but its deliberations were interrupted by a body of people who thronged to the door of the congress, with threats and vociferations.

The house adjourned till 10 o'clock of the next morning, and directed the principal doors to be kept closed, that the hall might not be occupied by anticipation. The disorder without was less alarming during the session, bat the like spirit seemed to have penetrated the hall itself.

We may be permitted, in honour of the country, to pass silently the occurrences which took place within the house on that day. They were such, that the undersigned, abandoning all hope of a central assembly, declared their absolute separation, and retired to communicate it to their constituents, and resolved unanimously to notify the executive, recommending to him the public peace, so greatly disturbed.

Our object in this short exposition, is to prevent the astonishment of those who, without a knowledge of the facts, have been apprized of a dissolution of the Congress. We believe that honourable men will appreciate oar motives, and approve a beneficial resolution.

Our regret is sincere, that the legislature has left the republic unprovided with important laws. We are, however, consoled with the reflection that the government will speedily restore the representation, and that the people will be convinced, notwithstanding the unfortunate

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results of former congresses, that they are the only source of felicity to the republic.

Santiago, May 16, 1825.—Signed by nineteen deputies.

No. II.

CONVOCATORIA.

Desiring to consult the universal wishes of the people of Chile, so ardently manifested for a general meeting in congress, and adopting the convocatoria issued in the year 1823, with the additions made to it in 1824, so far as the same are adapted to circumstances, I decree—

1. The nation shall meet in a general constituent congress, which shall be installed in Santiago on the 5th September of the present year.

2. The congress shall be composed of public deputies freely elected by each district, and with reference to the population of each.

3. The election will be conducted on the basis that one deputy shall be returned for each 15,000 souls. In those parts where that number may be exceeded by 9,000, an additional deputy shall be returned.

[The convocatoria then proceeds to specify the numbers to be returned for the several provinces or districts which it enumerates, the qualification of persons eligible to be returned as deputies, and the forms to be observed in electing them, and in examining the returns.]

This document is dated July 6, 1825.

(Signed)RAMON FERIRE.
JUAN DE DIOS VIAL DEL RIO.

No. III.

PROCLAMATION.

THR SUPREMS DIRECTOR OF THE STATE TO THE PEOPLE.

Circumstances the most imperious and urgent obliged me to convene the general congress to which I had in-

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vited the nation in my former decrees; circumstances which are of such high importance, that they do not admit of the preliminary steps then announced being previously taken, and which perhaps would have been desirable for the provinces in less eventful moments. Europe hastens to decide on the fate of America, and England has recognized the independence of Mexico, Colombia, and Buenos Ayres, hoping for the arrival of that period when a legal organization of Chile will justify that recognition, to which she is entitled by her valour, her moderation, and her virtues. The new governments invite us to assist and prepare to form a South American assembly, in which may be organized the grand pact of union and the public law of the New World. Already they have sent their plenipotentiaries to Panama. The government of Chile has felt itself embarrassed by these official invitations, being unable to refer to the national representation, and could only reply, that it was about immediately to instal the national congress, whose first sittings would be directed exclusively to that sublime object. Great negociations, connected with the national industry, destined to promote the prosperity of Chile, seem paralyzed, because the undertakers of them delay the completion of the speculations, waiting for the legal and consistent establishment of our system. More than twenty-three millions of dollars, it has been announced by our plenipotentiary, have been raised in London to encourage our industry and agriculture. The government, vacillating, and without a recognized code to direct its administration, can scarcely act, feeble and cramped as it is in all its operations, and without authority to establish principles or a policy adapted to our institutions. Oppressed by so many urgent circumstances, I hope to see the nation assembled on the 5th of September. In order to secure the greater freedom and dispatch in the elections, I have, in the subjoined proclamation, taken the most efficacious means to secure impartiality and good order.

Inhabitants of Chile!—This nation knows sufficiently

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well that I have no other interest at heart but that of the country; no love for any other dignity than that of increasing its glory. Without hesitation I protest to you anew, by that which is most sacred, that I shall behold with the greatest horror (and will take care that the judicial authorities shall discharge their functions by exemplarily chastising), any one who may directly or indirectly seek to make it believed that the government takes any interest in the persons or the opinions of those to be chosen your representatives. From motives of delicacy I have resolved to withdraw, during the period of the election, all the governors dependent on the directorial nominations, in order that the slightest influence on the part of the government shall not be exercised.

It is for you now to pursue, with the greatest purity, the national interest. You have to decide on the fate of your country. Look well to the important charge, and consider the awful responsibility you incur, and tremble for the inexorable judgment of posterity.

Santiago de Chile, July 12, 1825.

(Signed)FREIRE.
JUAN DE DIOS VIAL DEL RIO.

Bulletin of the Orders and Decrees of the Government. Santiago, October 15, 1825.

MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR.

Decrees of the 8th October, nominating Ministers for all the departments of public business—viz. D. Joachim Campino, "for Foreign and Home Affairs;" D. Jose Maria Novoa for "War and Marine;" D. Diego Jose Benevente "Minister of Revenue;" all signed "Freire," and countersigned "Astorga."

DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF SANTIAGO.—SANTIAGO, OCT. 8, 1825.

Observing the notorious abuse with which some of the

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representatives of the province of Santiago have treated their powers, and the confidence of the people, declaring themselves the general congress of all the republic; and after this declaration, resolving that they ought to consider themselves authorized, as such, to apply for the aid of foreign troops, to introduce them into the territory of the republic, and to proceed to the deposition and election of a supreme chief; considering that these anticipations rendered impracticable the reconciliation of the provinces, and the re-assembling of the national congress; and, further, the angry spirit and irritation of mind which the said representatives have manifested, as it is their systematic endeavour to impede and ridicule the general executive chosen by the representatives of the whole nation, they ought to lose all hope that any thing useful can result from their deliberations.

Urged also and supported by the populous neighbourhood of this capital, which having to-day assembled, has solicited the dissolution of this body of representatives, accompanying to that purport an act (which shall be published), founded in the same motives which are expressed, protesting that nothing affects me more than thus to see myself compelled to take such a measure against the representatives of this province; having ever been the most zealous and constant promoter of the representative system in Chile, preferring a love of order and peace to my most favourite sentiments and the regard due to my reputation, for with this I shall give my enemies a motive to censure it Offering again my assurance to re-assemble that representation, according as they shall give orders for a new election of deputies; and assuring them, finally, that I shall be indefatigable in trying every method to obtain a national representative body, which I hope will have more beneficial results than the former bodies, whose defects are excusable in consideration of our inexperience, the excitement of our passions, and the parties and factions which the revolution has necessarily produced. In consequence whereof, and in requital of the confidence

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which the nation has placed in me, and compelled by the urgency of the circumstances, and by my obligation and desire to cut off in the beginning the civil dissensions which would follow, I have resolved, and decree, That the assembly of representatives of the province of Santiago is dissolved from this day.

Communicate this to the president of the said corporation, and publish it in the usual way. Insert it also in the bulletin.

FREIRE. CAMPINO.

THE ACT OF THE PEOPLE.

In the city of Santiago de Chile, on the 8th of October, 1825. The people, assembled in the chamber of the municipality of this capital, entreat of the supreme director that he suspend immediately the sittings of the representatives who style themselves the "congress," or "assembly," in virtue whereof, having been assembled to insure the public prosperity and peace, their proceedings, especially those of the last few days, are destructive of their proper object, exciting discord, and arrogating to themselves unsuitable faculties: in consequence whereof, the people of Santiago, re-assuming their authority, withdraw the powers of their seven representatives! and from this moment prohibit the continuance thereof, and subject their late conduct to the consideration of a commission, which they now name for that object, to be composed of the intendant D. Francisco de la Lastra, D. Fernando Errazuris, D. Manuel Gorderillas, D. Pedro Palaguelas, D. Martin Orgera, Ypara Fiscal, D. Jose, and M. Barros. The people charge and entreat of the director, that considering the urgency of the circumstances to which the congress has brought us, that we proceed to take, with all possible activity, the necessary steps for the safety of the public tranquillity, making him responsible for whatever omissions there may be in this respect; but he may proceed with lenity. In virtue whereof, and using to its

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extent the power which belongs to its high situation, he will proceed to secure the persons of those individuals who may, by their conduct or manœuvres, occasion the troubles or anarchy in which we find ourselves. It being the declaration of the people that this act be signed only by their representatives, the intendant who presided, with such of the cabildo as may be present, authorised by the notary, in consideration of the number of people assembled, the length of time which such an operation requires, the inconvenience of the situation in which they were from so early an hour, and desirous of saving time in the present very urgent circumstances, they agreed to give, as sufficiently authorised, this act, which was read and debated, article by article, with these signatures only, and for all the motives expressed.

F. DE LA LASTRA, M. DE HUISI,
D. MARTIN DE ERGERA, &c. &c.

CIRCULAR TO THE PEOPLE.

The 13th of September last a popular movement took place in Valparaiso, to make resolutions against some of the proceedings of the minister of revenue, with regard to that port. The government desired to take measures of prudence and precaution, in order to re-establish order, as well as to avoid the contagion's spreading to other points, which so much retards and impedes the organization of the country, and which daily increases our shame. For this object the government sent 100 cavalry to place themselves on the road, there to wait orders, as might result from the occurrences of the day. Meanwhile the representatives of Santiago, who also had received communications from Valparaiso of the event, gave orders to the government that no force should be marched to that point. The government replied first, to the representatives, that the preservation of the public tranquillity being recommended, they believed it their duty to take such measures as

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might conduce to its safety. But upon this it was replied by the said representatives, insisting chiefly that they answer categorically, whether he recognized them as the congress or no. The director could give no other answer but that which honesty, justice, and the respect due to the rights of the people required—that not only were they without representatives named by them in that assembly, but that they had even resisted the formation of the general congress, owing to difficulties which had been raised by the deliberations of those representatives. He replied, that he could not recognise them as a national congress, nor obey the resolutions that they might pass on general affairs, repeating his assurances of consideration and respect to them as a representation of the provinces; and that it would afford him great satisfaction if they would undertake the re-establishment of order in Valparaiso, assuring them that it never had been his intention to use arms in endeavouring to effect this, which was evident from the number of men he had ordered out, being only 100, and these placed in the road. The representatives then, after long and heated discussions, in which, above every thing else, they discovered their hostility to the national executive, decreed, that on the morning of the 7th this should pass, and all the magistrates resident in the capital should take the oath of recognition and obedience to them, as the national congress. The director, under such circumstances, fearing to see compromised the authority which the people had confided to him, took the resolution to leave the capital, repeating, in a communication which he left them, his motives for not considering them the congress general, and making some observations on the fatal consequences which the injustice of their pretensions would produce. The representatives then proceeded to extremities, naming, as supreme chief of the republic, colonel D. J. S. Sanchez. The director having, in the interim, undertaken his march to the south, had encamped with the 100 cavalry, about five leagues from the capital (which be bad ordered out for the affair of Val-

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paraiso, and which had already mustered), received, on that day, numberless communications from the neighbours, persons employed, and chiefs of the regiments of this capital, as also many distinguished citizens, who went to him, and not only urged him to return, but made him responsible for all the evils of which the city was about to be the theatre, owing to the excitations of the parties that had just broken loose, in consequence of the deliberations of the representatives, principally of the last, which was considered only as the manœuvre of a faction, which ought to dread every description of vengeance from a people almost compromised in the destruction of the old administration. The director could not help being moved by such serious considerations, and resolved to return to the capital this morning, which offered a spectacle of the most complete triumph in the acclamation of every class of citizens assembled for the purpose.

The first step which these circumstances imperiously demanded, was the dissolution of the said assembly, for the reasons which are summarily explained in the accompanying decree, confusedly published in the midst of the occurrences which took place this morning, and which it was necessary to compose with promptitude. It is probable that in the brief relation whith we have made for the information of the people, many incidents may have escaped, and many circumstances may have been omitted; or that it may be so succinct as not sufficiently to instruct the people in all the occurrences and the motives which caused them, as desired by the governor, but he offers immediately to publish all the details and documents relating to these events, which shall be circulated throughout the state.—God preserve you many years.

Oct. 8, 1825.

(Signed) JOAQUIM CAMPINO.

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A MEASURE FOR SECURITY.

Santiago, October 8, 1825.—The experience, acquired daring my administration, has convinced me, that if it be expedient to be tolerant in ideas and opinions, and to grant to the people the greatest possible liberty in expressing them, even though they be opposed to the government, provided it be not in a seditious manner, or compromising the public tranquillity, it has also convinced me that a faction, which, if it possess any system, is only for the re-establishment of absolute power and of vengeance, ought not to be permitted to exist a moment longer with impunity—a faction which neither "el olivolo" nor generosity obliges, and which to prevail and triumph has DO regard to means, nor would desist, even though it should sacrifice its country by entreating foreign aid. Considering that the influence, which some of the parties enjoy, either in riches and connexions, or in the patronage they have formed during the long period of the former administrations; veterans, morever, in the art of revolution, availing themselves of all opportunities, and of the liberty allowed them, making to accord with their views the differences of opinion which naturally exist in a country at the time of constituting it, exciting one another, they form parties, now adhering to these, the next moment to those, they make with such weapons, hostilities and manœuvres, which, in a government like ours (which cannot possibly be as firm and as well supported as those anciently established) keeps us in a state of constant change and uncertainty, they occupy, fatigue, and impede the progress of the administration, excite all classes to tumults, and prolong, unfortunately, this state of anarchy.

Responsible for the well-being and tranquillity of the country, I find myself at last compelled, not without great reluctance on my part, to take practical measures, believing myself authorized so to do by necessity, and as an example to all governments in similar circumstances.

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and having been supplicated thereto by the people. But never forgetting that my first duty is to spare the feelings and tears of the people, and that a severe example will serve to restrain others, those alone being comprehended in it who are the most influential and the most notorious of the party; and even with regard to those who have been distinguished patriots, many of them have rendered illustrious services to the cause of independence; and although we have the misfortune to see them engaged in a faction, which, if it be ominous, is also a natural result of the revolution, desiring to conciliate this measure, with the considerations, which at the same time I think they deserve;

I have resolved to decree and do decree—(the most important articles are);—that the individuals comprehended in the annexed list shall be put under arrest;—that they may elect the place, out of the territory of the republic, to which they may desire to go, leaving this capital on the third day, accompanied by an escort as far as the port or frontier whence they depart;—that such, holding civil or military employment, as are comprised in this determination, will continue to enjoy half their salaries; the government taking upon itself to provide with the means of subsistence such others as have not salaries:—that they should be recommended particularly to those states they may choose for their residences, describing the circumstances which have compelled this measure, and the liberty and the consideration which the government desires they may enjoy in all parts;—and signed

FREIRE, CAMPINO.

The individuals included in the first article of the preceding decree are—D. Miguel Zanartu, D. Jose Gregorio Argomedo, D. Jose Antonio Rodriguez Aldea, D. Joaquin Eckeverria, D. Gaspar Marin, D. Francisco Borja Fontesilla, Fr. Justo Oro, D. Felipe Santiago del Solar, El Coronel Palacios de San Fernando, D. Jose Maria Argomedo vecino de idem, D. Jose Santiago Palacios vecino de Aconcagua.

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THE RMIGRANTS FROM SAN JUAN.

Having learnt that there have been introduced into the republic, without passports, or the least notice from the governments whence they came, the principal chiefs and commanders of the revolution in the province of San Juan, I decree, that the intendant shall cause to depart, in the space of twenty-four hours, all the individuals from the province of San Juan, who may have introduced themselves without passports, since the restoration of the legal government into the said province.

FRRIRE, CAMPINO.

CONSULTING COUNCIL.

Santiago, October 12, 1826.—To aid under the circumstances, in expediting the serious affairs which occur, I deem it expedient to decree, and do decree,

1st. That there shall be a consulting council, composed of the ministers of the government, the president of the supreme court of justice, the chief of the court of appeal, &c.

2d. That they shall have their ordinary sittings on the Tuesday and Friday of every week, at night, in the hail of the government, and moreover, that they shall assemble as often as may be necessary.

3d. The same council shall agree the means which may be most convenient for the management and distribution of its labours.

4th. The minister of the interior is charged with the execution of this decree, and that it be inserted in the bulletin.

FREIRE, CAMPINO.

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APPENDIX B.

CHILE LOAN.

DON ANTONIO JOSE DE YRISARRI, minister of state, sub-officer of the legion of merit, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary from the government of Chile, and now residing in London, has, by virtue of the special power vested in him, contracted with Messrs. Hullett, Brothers, and Co., in conjunction with eminent houses in London and Paris, for a loan of 1,000,000l. sterling, for the service of the republic of Chile, to be raised by the sale of 10,000 bonds, payable to bearer, and bearing interest at the rate of six per cent per annum, payable half-yearly, without any deduction, at the counting-house of Messrs. Hullett, Brothers, and Co. upon dividend-warrants, sixty of which are attached to each bond.

The interest commences from the 31st of March last,* and is payable on the 30th of September, and the 31st of March of each year.

A sinking fund is to be established in London, for which purpose 20,000l. sterling will be laid out in the first year, and 10,000l. in every succeeding year, in the purchase of bonds, together with the accumulating interest on the same. If at any time the bonds shall be above par, then, in order that the sinking-fund may continue in due operation, lots are to be drawn, to determine which of the outstanding bonds shall be paid off at par. If any bonds should remain unredeemed, at the expiration of thirty years, they are to be paid off at par.

The securities are, a mortgage on all the revenues of the state, estimated upon the produce of former years to amount to 40,000,000 dollars, or 800,000l. sterling, per annum, and the following revenues are specially pledged for the payment of the interest, and redemption of the loan, viz.

* There is no date to the year.

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	dollars.		Per amount.
The net revenue arising from the mint, estimated at	300,000	or	60,000
And the land-tax, or diexzmos, ditto	250,000		50,000
Being upwards of 500,000 dollars, or about		=	110,000

nearly double the amount of the yearly interest and Contribution to the sinking-fund.

These revenues, specially pledged, are to be collected and kept separate and distinct by the treasurers-general of Chile, by virtue of an irrevocable decree of the supreme director and the senate, and no part thereof is to be applied to the expenditure of the state, except such surplus as may accrue, after the sum necessary for the half-yearly remittance to England shall be completed and ready for transmission. Should, however, these revenues, from any cause, fall short of the amount to be remitted at the end of any half-year, the deficiency is to be made good from any or all the other branches of the revenue, so that the regular half-yearly remittances may never be retarded.

The government of Chile to pay all the expences for raising and managing the loan.

As the bonds cannot be ready for delivery before the end of June, Mr. Yrisarri has issued certificates, to serve in the meantime as marketable securities. Each certificate entitles the bearer to receive five bonds, for 100l. sterling each, on payment of 10 per cent down, and the further sum of 60 per cent, on or before the 31st of December next.

Due notice will be given when the bonds are ready to be delivered; and, on taking up the same, a discount will be allowed at the rate of 5l. per cent per annum on the sum of 60l. per bond, from the day of payment to the 31st of December next Such bonds as are not taken up on or before the 30th of September next, will lose the benefit of the dividend then due.

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The state, or republic, formerly denominated the kingdom of Chile, has been independent since the beginning of 1817. Under the wise and temperate administration of the supreme director D. Bernardo O'Higgins, and the senate, the Chileans during these five yean have enjoyed internal tranquillity, uninterrupted by civil dissensions or revolutions. The only attempt for the subjugation of the country, made by the royalist forces from Lima, was defeated by the valour of the Chileans; since which their army and navy have subverted the power of Spain in Peru, liberated Lima, and stretched out a friendly hand, in aid of the common cause, to the sister republic of Colombia.

Though nominally still at war with Spain, Chile is now in fact, at peace with all the world; the geographical position of the country secures it from a collision of interests with the neighbouring states, and removes it completely out of the sphere of European politics.

In this state of peace, at home and abroad, it is the wish of the government to promote plans of internal improvement. No country can boast of a finer climate, and a more fertile soil than Chile; in addition to which, it possesses rich mines of gold, silver, copper, &c.: it is considered the granary of the greatest part of the western coast of America, and the exports of the agricultural produce encourage its navigation, and contribute to the support of its maritime superiority in the Pacific.

Blessed, however, as the country is by the gifts of nature, it is still far short of that degree of wealth and improvement to which it must have attained, long since, had not ages of sluggish, perverse, and impolitic administration checked its progress.—It is with the view to accelerate that progress, and to reform the financial system, that it has been resolved to raise this loan, which will be employed to call forth the productive capabilities of a diversified territory, an extensive coast, and a hardy population; the modern improvements in agriculture and wining will be introduced, and the number and funds of

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the banks of "rescate" will be increased in the mining districts; all these measures will benefit the public revenue not less than the national prosperity.

Notwithstanding the great expence of the armaments which were fitted out against Peru, Chile has no foreign public debt, and the paper money which was issued on the credit of the government has already been redeemed.

The present annual revenue of the state is equal to nearly fourteen times the amount of the yearly interest of the loan, so that the half-yearly payments can be made with ease and punctuality, and the sinking-fund beginning to operate from September next, will powerfully contribute to support and raise the value of the bonds in the market.

APPENDIX C.

Report made to the Supreme Director of Chile (Don Bernardo O'Higgins) by Don José Santiago Portales, Intendente of the Mint of Santiago, on the Proposal of Mr. Yrisarri to raise a Loan in London for the Service of Chile.

MOST EXCELLENT SIR,

By the preceding decree your Excellency orders me to examine and analyse the proposal made by the deputy at the court of London, Mr. A. I. Yrisarri, for raising a loan, to the payment of which this government is to be pledged, on such terms and conditions, as it may be contracted for, and to give my opinion on the subject.

In order to put in a clearer point of view the enormous difference there would be between the amount of debt entailed on the state, and the small comparative proportion of ready money to be received, I will take as examples the loans received by the kingdoms of Prussia, France, and Spain, word by word, as the said deputy has communicated them.

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The government of Prussia, be says, in the year 1818, contracted for a loan with Mr. Rothschild, amounting to 3,774,900l. in cash, which amount in current dollars to 18,874,500, thus meaning a debt of 5,000,000l. which are equal to 25,000,000 dollars, which were to be paid off by the operation of a sinking-fund, in 28 years, paying interest at 5 per cent, equivalent to 10 per cent, on the amount of the sum actually received. In 28 years, the interest comes to 7,000,000/. sterling, or 35,000,000 dollars, and the sum appropriated to its consolidation to 1,650,000l. or valued in dollars to 8,250,000; these two sums together amount to 43,250,000 dollars, which in reality is the sum that Prussia has to pay in 28 years, for the 18,874,500 dollars she has received in cash, which is the same as to pay 2,250,000l. for 1,000,000l.

France contracted her loan with the house of Baring in 1815, giving bonds of 100l for 50l. which she received in cash; this is giving 500 dollars, paper stock, for 250 dollars in money, promising to pay besides an annual interest of 5 per cent on the stock, or the nominal amount, or an interest of 10 per cent on the cash received; this is in reality paying 50 per cent on the same sum. No time was fixed for the duration of the loan, nor was any sum appropriated for the extinction of these bonds, or stock.

Spain, in 1820, contracted a loan with the houses of Lafitte and Hubbard, of Paris, for the value of 15,000,000 dollars; this was stated in the circular letters at the rate of 70 per cent. It is said that no one ever regarded this but as a pretext, or plan adopted for raising the value of the Spanish paper, and that the government of Madrid had, in reality, agreed with the pretended contractors to make no farther demand of money, than the sums they would be able to realise from the sales of the stock, at any price they could. It is said, that at the above-mentioned time, these bonds were sold at the rate of 55 per cent, and that the Spanish government engaged to pay

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the bonds at their nominal value; by which means a merchant who buys in London one bond of 100 dollars, doubles his capital, and gains in the speculation an annual interest of 10 per cent, promised by Spain, I suppose that it is not calculated in sterling money, but according to the principles of the loan, for 15,000,000 dollars.

With respect to the loan received by the United States of America, at the time they effected it, and by Colombia, I will only say, that, although they have been small in comparison with the before-mentioned loans, they were borrowed upon hard, cruel, and frightful conditions, as stated in the paper before me, from the deputy of this government, in London.

In the proposed loan for Chile, they offer to take bonds of 100l. to pay 50l. in money, or to exchange 500 dollars in paper for 250 dollars in specie, paying besides an interest of 5 per cent on the nominal value, answering to 10 per cent on the money to be advanced, which in our current money, is the same as to pay an interest of 50 per cent on the money received—this is not all—moreover an additional 2 per cent, which in our money is equal to 10 per cent, on the total amount of the loan, so as to provide for its extinction, which, with the 2 per cent, make in reality, with the 12 per cent, 60 per cent of our money. This 12 per cent, or 60 per cent of our money, would take from Chile within the space of 19 years, 2,280,000l. sterling, which in our real, effective money make 11,400,000 dollars: this is the sum that would be required to pay the interest, and repay the principal sum borrowed, according to the amount of the loan received. I do not put down minutely in figures the total amount of the loan, for I believe it is explained in another paper, relative to the first proposal alluded to; but judging by the numerical account, and by the example of 100l. for 50l., I calculate, that the loan for Chile was intended to be 1,000,000l. in paper, to receive in cash 500,000l. Besides the expences above-mentioned, those of remit-

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ting and insurance, ought likewise to be considered, in case the risk of a total loss would not be ventured upon.

The plan, or table of progression, is substantially in every sense as is stated; the same progressional proportion is explained at the rate of 10 per cent, which is a 50 per cent; or that of 15 per cent, which is a 75 per cent; the first proposal cancels the debt in a longer, the latter in a shorter time, on account of the difference of the sums applied to that purpose. I think there may be some error between the nominal sums of the tables by which they calculate, at the rate of 10 and 15 per cent, compared with the total sum of the expense above explained, in its value in effective money with respect to the expense of paying off the loan. But be this as it may, it is scarcely worth while to enter into an explanation.

Your Excellency calls on me for a report, to enable you to decide affirmatively or negatively, whether the proposed loan ought to be rejected or accepted. I am bound to state not only what is matter of fact, but likewise the whole truth, in furtherance of the ends of justice, to point out the good or evil that might ensue, if I failed to explain myself freely and frankly upon the subject. I consider myself bound to do so in this case, and particularly as I am expressly commanded to make known to you every thing that occurs to me upon the subject and, therefore, to the best of my humble abilities, after consulting with intelligent merchants, I give it as my opinion, that, from the proposed loan, the sum that would be available in favour of Chile, would be very disproportioned to the debt she would incur thereby, which circumstance alone should be sufficient to set aside the specious considerations alleged.

Before coming to a decision we ought, however, to give the subject the most deliberate consideration, and inquire whether we are actually in such a situation, as any of the powers above-mentioned were, at the time they resorted to the like expedient; whether we ought to

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procure a loan on similar terms, and in what manner we shall be able to fulfil our engagements if we do so.

The accounts they had in London of the situation of Chile, at the date of the said proposal, would lead them to conclude we should embrace any expedient to improve so doubtful a situation; these gloomy data necessarily entering into the political calculations, gave a tendency to an opinion, which in our present circumstances must be viewed through a very different medium. We were then considered to be exposed to the danger attending the expedition to Peru, which, if unsuccessful, would have laid us open to invasion. Our southern territory was in danger from forces whose existence threw us into a state of great uncertainty. In England they were unacquainted with the successes which followed, and which, uniting to the cause of Chile all the ports of the Pacific, will cut off any maritime force, which may be sent by the Spanish government, from all resources. The convulsions of that country had not at that time reached such a height as utterly to dissolve the last remains of vigour and stability whereby they could be enabled to annoy this country. There was no idea that we could rely upon the opulent state of Mexico as a powerful ally. It did not appear probable that Chile was drawing near the accomplishment of her independence, nor that she could effect the independence of Lima without incurring a national debt. Being now happily placed in a different situation, the measures to be adopted for the accomplishment of our object must be regarded in a different point of view, and treated with great caution. We are to consider whether the loan be absolutely necessary, whether it can be useful in its results, and how it can be obtained with the least sacrifice.

When nations have had recourse to loans, it has been because they could not provide by any other means against expences upon which their safety depended; and in comparison with this risk, the enormous burthen thrown upon them, both present and future, appears trifling.

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Chile ought to reckon that, according to the natural order of things, her destiny will soon be fixed, without any further great efforts; and that it will be decided before the power to pawn her resources can be received by her AGENT in London. Every thing has been accomplished with our own means; and we shall continue increasing in our strength by the good opinion we shall necessarily create by this proof of our resources, order, and economy.

The loan not being absolutely necessary, can any great advantages accrue from it?—I do not in truth perceive them; for I am convinced, with a celebrated politician, that the progress of nations is not owing to the gold, but to the energy, intelligence, and the developement of the peculiar riches, which is always produced by time, and by the intelligence of the people; which is never disseminated by money–but by industry, the daughter of necessity and application, stimulated by honour. Mere pecuniary recompense was never sufficient to induce useful and meritorious men to emigrate; and those who are allured by this recompense, always cause us regret at having brought them to this country. The protection of the magistrates and of good laws, public estimation, and the encouragement to be found in the country, will be sufficient in themselves to enable us to procure useful and serviceable inhabitants. We can hold out all these encouragements in our present situation, if we but earnestly desire it; without burthening ourselves with debt, and heavy taxes, the necessary consequence of debt

This is not the only evil that a great national debt produces; it is productive of a sudden and ephemeral opulence, which tends to a wasteful, lavish expenditure, which leave behind habits of show and expense; and these being incompatible with the inevitable indigence that must ensue, leads to violent expedients, depression, and finally to despair; thus banishing from our country the tranquillity and economy in which consist the riches

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of Chile, never to be regained. We should already have been reduced to this fatal situation if the loan had been procured. It would have been spent in satisfying claims, now forgotten; in silencing claimants, restrained at present by the scantiness of our means; whose clamours and intrigues would otherwise have forced us to attend to pretensions which the possibility of success would have raised; and would have found itself in the dilemma of acceding to them, or rendering itself odious. We sec a different line of conduct pursued in a neighbouring state, ruled with surprising judgment, by men who recently arrived from the very countries where the like engagements are contracted; they know perfectly well how such things are managed, and yet, having found their country exhausted, and in a state of anarchy, before they resorted to this distressing expedient, they directed their attention to restoring their country to such a state as not to need it; re-establishing public credit in a short time; thereby freeing themselves from difficulty, without incurring such immense burthens. This secret is nothing else but order, good administration, reform of abuses of all sorts, measures that ought to precede the desperate alternative of a loan; in order to carry conviction of its necessity, as well as to justify a measure of so much hardship, and to obtain relief on terms not so burthensome and severe. Chile happily advances rapidly, under the auspices of your Excellency, towards that, or even a better state of things; and, after having discharged her important engagements, will give, in a state of well-established order, the best guarantee for advantageously engaging in these negociations; and what is still more desirable and probable, will soon be in a condition not to need them. I think I have complied with the commands of your Excellency, whether well or ill I know not.

(Signed) JOSE SANTIAGO PORTALES.

Mint of Santiago;

April 15, 1822.

[page] 528

Early in 1825, a commission was appointed by the congress, to inquire and report on the state of the public revenue, and on the 16th of March the commissioners reported that they had taken every means to make themselves acquainted with the state of the public revenue, and then say,—

That during the last years, there has been a deficiency of revenue to meet the expenditure of more than 700,000 dollars annually, which has thrown the finances into the utmost disorder, and totally destroyed the national credit.

That the only resource which remains, is to be found in the national pledges (confiscated property, principally that which belonged to the church) which have been considered as applicable to the payment of the national debt, which so sorely oppresses us.

That, in consequence of the congress having come to no determination respecting the confiscated property of the church, it has been constantly deteriorating in value, so that the proceeds do not at length pay the expenses incurred by the meetings of the clergy, and those occasioned by the office of temporalities.

The commissioners turned their attention to the remainder of the wretched loan (multradado emprestito) negotiated in London, but they found it consisted of little more than 30,000 dollars (about 6,000l.) according to the reports of the directors of the Caja de Descuentos; and the congress must partake in the bitter regret felt by the commissioners, when they observe, that 5,000,000 of dollars, (the nominal amount of the loan) have disappeared, without its being possible for the wildest imagination to conceive one single useful purpose to which any part of the money has been appropriated.

"Santiago,

March 16, 1825.

(Signed) FERNANDO ANTONIO ELIZALDE,
JOAQUIN PRIETO,
SANTIAGO MUNOZ BEZANILLA."

[page] 529

APPENDIX D.

List of Plants, of which drawings have been made, and descriptions prepared, with a view to publication.

1.—A list of Plants noticed in Chile and in the Cordillera de los Andes, supposed by the Author to be novel genera.

New Genera.	Natural order.	Remarks.
Placea ornata.	Amaryllidiæ.	Phycillæ proxima.
Distrepta vaginantia		Author.
Gillesia graminea.	Asphodiliæ?	Lindley MSS.
Miersia Chilensis.	Asphodiliæ?	Lindley MSS.
Cruckshanksia graminea.
Grahamea spicata.
Lithrea venenosa.	Amyridiæ.
Cochranea conferta.	Verbenaceæ.
Xeranthus salicosus.	Portulaceæ.
Micræa pulchella.	Gentsaniæ.
Trevoa trinervia.
Talguenea costata.
Porocillæa Chilensis.		Gen. Nov.?
	Leguminosæ.
	Euphorbiaceæ.
	Zygophylleæ.	Porticra affine.
	Liguminosæ.
		Streptium affine.
Atamisquea emarginata	Capparideæ.
	Euphorbiaceæ.
Genus?	Euphorbiaceæ.

VOL. II. 2 M

[page] 530

2.—Lists of the Plants noticed in Chile and the Cordillera de los Andes;—those marked with an asterisk are new varieties of known genera.

Ornithogallum striatellam

———

———

Acæna hexandra

—— hirsuta

Ophioglosssum lingulatum

——— stipatum

Sysyrinchinm gramineum

——— pinciforme

——— cæruleum

——— sessile

——— grandiflorum

——— junctalum

——— luteum

——— flavum

——— azureum

Duranta umbilicata Eupatorium

—— salvifolia

Teucrium axillare

* Talinum stipulatum

* —— teres

* —— rugosum

* ——decurrens

* —— membranaceum

* —— lineare

* —— minimum

* —— crassifolium

* —— lanatum

* —— nubinum

* —— andinum

* Talinum Brodiæa ixioides?

* —— allioides

* —— angustior Lathyrus

Chlorea punctatum

—— lindl.

Chlorea lingulatum

—— fimbriatum

——— subspe.

—— cucullatum

—— fuscum

—— uncinatum

—— aurantium

—— bicolor

—— cristatum

—— luteum

—— viridior

—— venustum

Dichondra repanda

Geranium

——

——

Aristotelia maqui

* Verbena laciniata

* —— lobata

* ——

* ——

* ——

* ——

* ——

* ——

* Antirrhinum funiculate

Villaresia mucronata

* Laurus peumo

* ——

* —— bellota

* —— linguy

Madia sativa

* —— odorata

* Tillæa minima

* Triptilion bicolor —— laciniata

* Stenæa volubilis

* Loasa placei

* ———

* ——grandiflora

[page] 531

* Loasa albida

* Ipomæa Chilensis

* Nolana paradoxa

* Salpiglossis purpureus

* —— glutiaosus

* Centauria Chilensis

* Gerardia compositifolia

* —— odorata

Conanthera campanulata

——— bifolia

Pourretia coarctata

—— cærulea

—— rubricaulis

Azara alternate

Lobelia Chilenis

—— spathulata

Calceolaria purpurea

———

———

———

———

———

———

———

Calseolaria

———

———

———

———

———

——

——

——

Chironia Chilensis

Dioscoræa hederacea

Lycium Chilensis

——

——

——

——

Cactus corrugatus

Nerium umbellatum

——?

Mutitsia cirrhosa

—— uncinata

Mutisia aurantia

—— glaucifolia

—— depressa

—— marginalia

—— Chilensis

—— albida

—— tomentosa

—— tricarinata

Gynopleura glandulosa

—— dentata

—— laciniata

Aristolochia Chilensis

Tricuspis dependens

Fuschia serrata

——

——

——

Ephædra bracteata

Viola stellata

——?

Mimulus punctatus

——

Amaryllis

——

——

——

——

——

——

——

Echites multifolia

Cassia flexuosa

Gilia laciniata

Tropæolum azureum

—— coccineum

—— minimum

—— prostratum

Schizapetalon Walkeri

—— lanatum

Schizanthus laciniatus

Edwardsia Chilensis

Salvia bicolor

Jaborosa decurrentia

—— laciniata

Calycera Andina

Alatæmeria scandens

[page] 532

Aistræmeria

——

——

——

——

——

Neirembergia hippomanica

—— rigida

Mimosa

Cupania Andina

Lamourrouxia serrulata

Mesembryanthemum doca

Phytolacca Chilensis

Drymia Chilensis

Tourretia lappacea

Boerhavia glutinosa

——

——

——

Cerastium

Arenaria Andina

Passiflora Chilensis

Onothera acaulis

—— glandiflora

—— tenuifolia

——

—— dentata

——

——

Loranthus aphyllus

——

——

——

Lupinus

——

Lychnis

——

Berberis

——

——

Valeriana

——

——

Hoffmanseggia Chileosis

—— Andina

Portulaca

APPENDIX E

List of Birds noticed in Chile by the Author, of which he has prepared drawings and descriptions.

Passeres.

Philotoma rara

Sturmus loyca

—— maculates

—— Chilensis

Turdus Chilensis

—— sorsalus

Fringilla diuca

—— diucona

Fringilla edelarida

—— chingola

—— chirigui

—— chilensis

Trochilus Chilensis

Hirundo Chilensis

Other Birds.

Alcedo Chilensis

Psittacus jaquilina.

THE END

[page] 533

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