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Art. V. Voyage to South America; Performed by Order of the American Government in the Years 1817 and 1818, in the Frigate Congress. By H. M. Brackenridge, Esq. Secretary to the Mission. 2 Vols. 8vo. pp. xx, 688. Price 11. 4s. London. 1818. THESE volumes comprise, under cover of the covering title,

A Voyage, an historical view of Spanish America, by way of Introduction, observations on the geography and history of the United Provinces, disquisitions on the affairs of South America, and an appendix of public documents. Although there is rather too perceptible a disposition on the part of the Author, to make the most of his subject and of himself, and although we could sometimes have wished that he had adhered more closely to his professed object,-namely, to give a narrative of a voyage of nearly twenty thousand miles, with all he saw and heard, or could collect from authentic sources, at the places where he touched,'-yet, upon the whole, we must acknowledge our obligations to him for having brought together a valuable mass of information relative to the state of things in the United Provinces of South America.

The Mission to which Mr. B. was attached in the capacity of Secretary, was composed of Cæsar A. Rodney, John Graham, and Theodoric Bland, Commissioners: its objects were- To ⚫ obtain correct information on every subject in which the United 'States are interested; to inspire just sentiments in all persons in authority, on either side, of our friendly disposition, so far as it may comport with a strict neutrality, and to secure proper respect to our commerce in every port and from every flag.' The Congress frigate, having the Commissioners on board, sailed from Norfolk on the 4th of December 1817, and about the 27th of January, cast anchor in the harbour of Rio Janeiro. Here the Commissioners landed, but having no communication to hold with the court, they did not think proper to claim the 'honour of a presentation to the king.' His majesty is described as rather below the middle size, enormously fat, of a very dark complexion, large black eyes, with a good natured face.' The coronation took place while the Congress lay off Rio; and it affords a fine occasion for a burst of republicanism from our Author, who could not but

draw a comparison between the simple and unaffected ceremony of installing the chief magistrate chosen by a free people to guide their affairs, and all the noise and glitter calculated to intoxicate, astound, and stupify the human intellect. I could not but reflect,' he says, how small the number among this wretched rabble, that reasoned justly and wisely' (comme moi) on the scene before them.' real enthusiasm of a freeman, stands in no need of these aids.'

The

It would be useless, our Author elsewhere tells us, to conceal

the truth: Every American who goes abroad, has a contempt for royalty and its attendants, and he is only restrained by 'prudence or good manners from expressing it.' Mr. Brackenridge having read a great deal of kings, and queens, and 'princesses,' had no idea he should have felt so little awe in the presence of majesty. If, however, he wished us to believe that this contempt was quite unaffected, he should have bragged less of his magnanimity. Contempt is not precisely the feeling in which those who reason very justly or very wisely would indulge, either towards the wretched rabble, or their rulers. But the swaggering spirit of a raw ultra-democrat, is as remote from benevolence as it is from philosophy. We shall not, we trust, be mistaken for either admirers of empty pageantry, or worshippers of the decrepit institutions of Continental Europe, because we deprecate the cant of republicanism. To us it appears strange, that a high-spirited American gentleman should think it at all necessary to boast of feelings in which we have not a blackguard in London that would not vie with him, and come up to the same pitch of philosophical elevation.

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Mr. B. is of opinion that the Portuguese royal family never will, nor ever can, quit the Brazils, unless driven away by the people, inasmuch as every day increases the difficulty of putting them back again to the colonial state.' Brazil, he says, is in fact, the body and heart of South America.' This metaphorical language is not very correct, since Spanish America has quite as good a claim to be considered as the body, being a more extensive, though less compact territory. But the Author means, that the Brazilian empire is the most important, that it has the greatest capacities and resources, and that it has the most formidable pretensions to be regarded as the destined rival of the United States; on which last account, he thinks it is very well that she is placed under a race of kings, instead of being inspired with the tremendous energy of a republic!

Monte Video exhibited all the signs of the ravages of war. There is something,' our Author justly remarks, extremely painful in the contemplation of scenes of recent and rapid decay.' Ancient ruins are associated with beings who, in 'the course of nature and time, would long since have passed away at any rate, but we unavoidably share in the miseries of our contemporaries where we are surrounded by their sad 'memorials. Within eight years, the population has been reduced at least two thirds, and it is now, in fact, since its occupation by the Portuguese, nothing but a garrison with a 'few starved inhabitants, who are vexed and harrassed by the 'military.'

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Traces of the most rapid decline of this lately flourishing and populous town, every where presented themselves. The houses, for

the greater part, were tumbling down or unoccupied; whole streets were uninhabited excepting as barracks for the soldiery. I am told, that, notwithstanding this misery, there is a theatre here, and that the evenings are spent in balls and dances, perhaps for want of better employments.' There is little doubt, that had this place remained attached to the government of Buenos Ayres, the Portuguese would not have molested it; but the result of Artigas and his disorganizing system, furnished too fair an opportunity for making themselves masters of a territory they had coveted for more than a century and a half?

Mr. Brackenridge does not think it possible, however, that they will make any further progress in the conquest of the country, which is entirely in the hands of the gauchos, as the demi-savage native population are termed, the Tartars of the boundless plains of this province. These are the banditti at whose head Artigas has been able to make a stand as an independent chief. The following account is given of this extraordinary person.

General Carrera had paid a visit some time before to Artigas, and from what I gathered from him, his gratification was not high. He painted him as a kind of half savage, possessing strong natural mind, taciturn, but shrewd in his remarks when he chose to speak. He wore no uniform or mark of distinction, and took up his abode in a cart or waggon, caring little for the refinements or comforts of civilized life, to which, in fact, he had never been much accustomed. His life had been passed in the plains, and he had an aversion to living in towns, and to the constraints of polished society. His residence then, was at a small village on the Rio Negro, called Purification, consisting of a few huts constructed with mud, or ox hides; but his seat of government often shifted place. He lives on the same fare, and in the same manner, with the gauchos around him, being in truth nothing but a gaucho himself. When told of a pamphlet published against him at Buenos Ayres, he spoke of it with the utmost indifference, and said, "My people cannot read." He has about him a small body of men, who are considered regular soldiers, but his chief force consists of the herdsmen of the plains; its numbers, therefore, extremely fluctuating, as it cannot be kept long together. His followers are greatly attached to him. His fame and superior intellect commands their respect, at the same that he indulges them A few in a certain kind of familiarity, which wins their affections.* simple words, liberty, country, tyrants, &c. to which each one attaches his own meaning, serves as the ostensible bond of their union, which in reality arises from "their pre-disposition to an unrestrained roving life." His authority is perfectly absolute, and without the slightest control; he sentences to death, and orders to execution, with as le formality as a dey of Algiers. He is under the guidance of an apostate priest, of the name of Monterosa, who acts as hig

They address him by the familiar name of pepe."

secretary, and writes his proclamations and letters; for although Artigas has not a bad head, he is by no means good at inditing. Monterosa professes to be in the literal sense, a follower of the political doctrines of Paine; and prefers the constitution of Massachusetts as the most democratic, without seeming to know that the manners and habits of a people are very important considerations. The men bearing arms under Artigas, probably amount to six or eight thousand, but the number at any time embodied is much less; the want of commissaries and regular supplies, rendering it impossible to keep them together. The neighbouring Indian tribes are also devoted to him, principally through the means of his adopted son, an Indian named Andres.' pp. 208, 9.

These Indians have occasioned great terror in the settlements on the Parana. I saw several families at Buenos Ayres, who had fled down the river in consternation, even from the neighbourhood of Santa Fee. Mr. Bonpland, the celebrated naturalist, had intended to ascend the river for the purpose of pursuing his researches, but was prevented by the accounts he heard of the Indians around that place; the defeat of the troops of Buenos Ayres was chiefly effected by them in the thick woods of the Entre Rios. This philosopher, whose opinion is worth attending to, observed to me, "It is a fortunate circumstance that Artigas is very old, and cannot live long, otherwise it would be in his power to do irreparable mischief." pp. 209, 10.

Artigas is a native of Monte Video, the son of respectable parents; but when quite a youth, he became enamoured of the wild life of the herdsmen, and joined a band of robbers and sinugglers who infested the country. In the course of time he became a noted leader. When, however, about the year 1798, the depredations and murders committed by these marauders compelled the Spanish Government to establish a provincial corps for the express purpose of scouring the country and repressing their excesses, Artigas, after having been for nearly twenty years an outlaw, was induced to accept of a free pardon and a commission, which his father had interest enough to obtain in the hope of reclaiming him; and so effectually did he hunt down his old companions, that the country was restored to comparative tranquillity. At the commencement of the civil war between Monte Video and Buenos Ayres, he had risen to the rank of Captain in the Spanish service; but in 1811, having, it is said, taken offence at some real or fancied insult, he deserted the royalists, and came to Buenos Ayres, where he was gladly received by the patriot government. At the head of his guerillas, he gained considerable reputation by defeating the Spanish troops under Elio, at Las Piedras. It was not long, however, before his impatience of control discovered itself

Paine's Common Sense, and the American constitutions, have been widely circulated in every part of South America.

in a reluctance to obey the orders of Sarratea, the commander in chief; and he at length became quite unmanageable. On the convention of an oriental congress by General Rondeau for the purpose of nominating deputies for a national congress and a provincial governor, Artigas took fire, annulled the transactions of the assembly, and then, on finding his opposition fruitless, deserted Rondeau, at a critical moment, and betook himself with all his guerillas, to the plains. Posadas, who had in the interim been appointed to the supreme authority, under the title of Director, proceeded upon this to offer a reward for his apprehension as a deserter; but this had no other effect than to exasperate the rebel general into a declaration of independence. The people of Buenos Ayres now became alarmed at the prospect of a civil war; and, as Artegas grew powerful and dangerous, they began to blame the government for the hostile measures which it had taken against him. A revolution took place; Alvear, who had succeeded to the Directorship on the resignation of Posadas, was compelled to fly; and a series of humiliating but unsuccessful negotiations was entered into with Artigas, by the new government, in the hope of bringing about a reconciliation. Monte Video was at this time in the possession of Artigas; he had taken possession of it in his title of chief of the orientals,' on the withdrawment of the Buenos Ayres troops the city of Santa Fee and the Entre Rios, of which he claimed the protectorship, had also submitted to him. Such was the state of things at the period of the Portuguese invasion. General Lecor, in answer to the remonstrances of the Buenos Ayres government, stated, that he had no hostile intentions against their territories, but alleged, that the country he had invaded, had declared itself independent. Artigas being unable to stand his ground against the Portuguese, without the aid of Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, and other principal places, submitted to the invading army with scarcely a shew of opposition; many of the inhabitants, as well as the regiment of Libertos, having previously joined the standard of the United Provinces.

At the first sight of Buenos Ayres, our Republican goes off into another rhapsodical flourish, to the following tune.

How different the thoughts which rushed across my mind from those which suggested themselves on my approach to Rio Janeiro! There is no king here-no hereditary nobility-the power of the state is acknowledged to be in the people and in no other. The public functionaries have been made, and can be unmade by them; of how many countries of the world can this be said? I own myself one of those who prefer the whirlwinds of democracy to the stagnant pool of despotism. Never shall I again behold a scene more sublime.'

&c. &c.

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