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succession on the water; and the circumstance of their sleeping in hammocks, suspended between branches, has given rise to the story of their living in the tops of trees.

The kingdom of new Grenada is probably the most important Spanish feudatory in South America. It is equal in extent to the United States west of the Mississippi, and capable of containing a greater population. In most respects it resembles Peru, lying chiefly between the two Cordilleras, which begin near the sea coast in San la Martha, and which form the valley of the great river Magdalena, on which is situated Santa Fee de Bogota. This kingdom is probably one of the most diversified in its surface in the world; but its most remarkable characteristic is, its mountainous aspect. Excepting by the channel of the Magdalena, or by the way of Peru, there is no way in which an army can be sent by Spain to subdue its inhabitants in their inaccessible mountains. But for a series of causes of a most peculiar nature, Morillo, even with the assistance of the troops from Peru, and all the old Spaniards, then in the country, never could have put down the revolution as he did.

Intending hereafter to give a more detailed account of the situation of things in this quarter, I shall at present simply state the position of the military force. The commander-in-chief, Bolivar, as has already been stated, is master of New Grenada, and probably at this time of the province of Maracaibo, while Paez, on the opposite side, with his terrible cavalry, is constantly harassing him. In the army of Paez there is a corps of British troops, seven hundred strong, under Colonel Pigot, a brave and experienced officer. The army of the coast, under the command of General Bermudez, is composed of about the samenumber, and twelve hundred English troops, under

the command of General Urdinatta (formerly under Colonel English.) The legion of General Devereux will form a part of this army, when it arrives. These forces will probably march towards Caracas, as soon as the season of rains shall have ceased; and with the assistance of Bolivar from the opposite side, must, in all human probability, terminate the contest;-an event, for the sake of human nature, greatly to be desired.

APPENDIX.

A LETTER

ON

SOUTH AMERICAN AFFAIRS,

BY AN AMERICAN,

TO JAMES MONROE, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

"More powerful each, as needful to the rest,

And in proportion as it blesses, blest." POPE.

SIR-The discovery of America, the separation of the British colonies, and the present struggle for independence in the colonies of Spain, are three of the most interesting occurrences of the last thousand years. Columbus, in search of a passage which would change the track of eastern commerce, discovered a new world, possessing greater riches than the east, and capable of sustaining a population nearly equal to all the rest of the globe. Although disappointed in one object, he succeeded in opening sources of wealth to Europe, which have changed its condition for the better, in every department of life. The discovery of America enabled Europe to reach a point of improvement, which she could not otherwise have arrived at for centuries, if at all. Those who followed Columbus, with little or no scruple, appropriated to themselves whatever was found in the newly discovered countrics, peace

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ably sometimes, but in most instances, by violence and cruelty. The inhabitants of America, in some districts numerous and far advanced in civilization, were regarded by the Spaniards with little more respect than the wild beasts of the forest. They were destroyed without pity, their possessions were seized without compunction, and all the principles of humanity and justice violated without remorse.

The superior skill of the Europeans in the arts, derived from the use of letters, which preserve the discoveries of the ingenious, and enable the human mind to advance towards perfection, necessarily placed the unfortunate Americans in the power of their invaders. The first discovery of America, and the subsequent encroachments, were alike the acts of enterprising individuals, although their respective sovereigns were careful to come in for the lion's share. As to those portions of America where vast regions lay waste, (for the possession as hunting grounds by a few wandering tribes, could scarcely be considered an appropriation of the soil,) the laws of God and nature might justify other members of the human family in taking a sufficient portion of the common inheritance, for their subsistence. This was the case with respect to the country now possessed by us, who, as the first of the colonies in forming an independent government, have become peculiarly entitled to the appellation of AMERICANS. Our conquests were principally over the asperities of the climate and the earth; the axe and the plough were the weapons with which they were effected. If the natives have been sufferers we are not to blame; the hunter cannot subsist by the side of the cultivator ; the wild animals, which furnish him subsistence, fly the fixed habitations of man. As in the natural progressive stages of society, so in relative position or vicinity, there must be a separation between these two states of human existence. The hunter and the cultivator could not be neighbours; the hunter, therefore, retired, and our settlements advanced.

In other parts of the continent, the natives were far beyond the hunter state. Although unacquainted with letters, they were not barbarous. They had made no inconsiderable progress in the arts; they had their fixed seats or cities, vieing in population with those