The science of the Americans, as we have seen, has also been displayed in a very remarkable and useful manner, in the construction of several large canals and railways, some of which are hardly to be equalled in any other country. The same skill is exhibited in improving the navigation of their rivers, in constructing bridges, in architecture, and in ship-building.

FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

From the rapidity with which the population of the states has hitherto increased, and is diffusing itself over the wide and fertile continent of which it is in possession, the most magnificent anticipations are formed by the Americans of the future greatness of their nation. “Let us assume," say they, "what appears highly probable, that the people of the United States will ultimately spread themselves over the whole North American continent west of the Mississippi, between the parallels 30° and 49°, as far as the Pacific Ocean. This will be found to add 1,800,000 square miles to the territory east of the Mississippi, and, putting both together, the area of the United States, thus enlarged, will be 2,700,000 square miles. A surface of such extent, if peopled to the density of Massachusetts, would contain two hundred millions; or if peopled to the density of Great Britain and Ireland, four hundred and thirty millions. If the population of the United States continue to multiply in the same proportion as hitherto, it is demonstrable that the two hundred millions, necessary to people this vast territory, will be produced within a century." These are indeed magnificent anticipations, and we know no reason why they should not be realized. But we must remark, that, whatever they may add to the national greatness of the American name, they are by no means likely to be favourable in the same degree to the individual comfort of the mem

which capital now accumulates in that country, are partly owing to the large tracts of fertile and easily accessible land, which are always at the disposal of its inhabitants. Were the government weak, ignorant, or partial, these unoccupied territories might exist, as they do in many other countries of the world, without being of advantage to any one. In America, the qualities of the government render them easily available, as long as they last; but nothing can renew the same advantage after it has once been expended. As those splendid prospects, in which the Americans are fond of indulging, approach to realization, the quantities of new land will be daily growing less-the rapidity with which capital now accumulates will be diminishing in the same proportion-the wages of industry will gradually fall off-and as the nation becomes greater and more powerful, in the same degree will the resources of its individual population be lessened. But the truth is, these fancies concerning the rapid increase of population, and the filling of the whole American continent with a nation of unparalleled power, "greater than the sands of the sea in multitude," are mere playthings of the imagination. Too little is known of the real numerical progress of population to enable us to say any thing on the subject; and certainly it is not the circumstance that their immense and fertile country will one day be fully occupied, which ought to be a subject of satisfaction or pride to the Americans, however powerful the nation might then be, but rather that their gigantic population has rich fields and abundant pasture in which to carry on its increase for many ages. During this time, it may set an example of equal government and peaceful industry to the rest of the world, which, unhappily, has been hitherto wanting; and by the reac tion of just principles on the influential part of the old continent, the new nations of the west may be the means of redeeming it from many oppressions. When these are removed, it will be seen, that, in our world too, there is not wanting abundance of unoccupied and rich land: whole kingdoms and provinces of Europe, Asia, and Africa, are at present shut up from industry by one kind of barbarism or other, and the example of America may yet enable mankind to enjoy the advantages of their fertility.

THE Southern portion of the American continent is a peninsula of a triangular form, extending from north latitude 12° to south latitude 52° 30′, or, including the Archipelago of Terra del Fuego, to 56°, the small island called Cape Horn, situated in that parallel, being generally reckoned as the most southerly point of South America. In longitude, it extends from 35° to 80° west from Greenwich. It is connected with North America by the Isthmus of Panama. On the south and west it is washed by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by the North Atlantic, and on the east by the South Atlantic Ocean. Its greatest length, from north to south, is 4600 miles; its greatest breadth, from Cape St. Roque in Brazil, to Cape Blanco in Peru, latitude 4° south, is 3500 miles; and it has a superficial area of about 7,000,000 square English miles. As mentioned in the article MARITIME DISCOVERY, the West India Islands were discovered by Columbus in 1492, and the adjacent conti

nent of South America in 1498. In the following year the coast of Brazil was discovered; after which period various parts of the continent were visited by different navigators, and the discovery of the whole maritime territory was effected in about five and twenty years.

GENERAL ASPECT.

South America may be said to be separated into two portions by the hand of nature, which has raised that huge chain of mountains, or cordilleras-the Andeswhich run from the Straits of Magellan to the Isthmus of Darien, parallel to the shores of the Pacific. Nature may also be said to have separated it into five distinct regions:-1. The low flat country lying between the foot of the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, averaging from thirty to a hundred and fifty miles in breadth. 2. The valley of the Orinoco, enclosed by the Andes and their branches, consisting of huge plains, or stepp

called by the natives llanos. The heat is so intense in these platts during the summer, that the ground is split into great rents or fissures. 3. The basin of the Amazon, or Maranon, which embraces nearly a third of the whole continent, or above 2,000,000 of square miles, and the soil of which is everywhere densely covered with vegetation. 4. The great plain of the Rio de la Plata and its tributaries, consisting of numerous varieties of soil and climate. 5. The elevated country of Brazil, very woody towards the Atlantic, and opening into fertile plains in the interior.

Every thing in South America is upon a grand scale. The mountains, the rivers, the forests, the plains-every feature of nature, in short, is characterized by magnificence and sublimity, and calculated to excite alternately admiration and wonder. In one point are seen mountain-summits above the clouds, white with snows that never melt, while their bases rear the banana and pine-apple. In other places are to be seen ever-living volcanoes, throwing out flames, smoke, ashes, and stones. Then, again, we have vast and dark forests, which never yet rang to the woodman's axe, where vegetation prevails in its most gigantic forms. "In the interior of the new continent," says Humboldt, "we almost accustomed ourselves to regard men as not being essential to the order of nature. The earth is loaded with plants, and nothing impedes their development. An immense layer of free mould manifests the uninterrupted action of organic powers. The crocodiles and the boas are masters of the river; the jaguar, the peccari, the dante, and the monkeys, traverse the forest without fear and without danger; there they dwell as in an ancient inheritance. This aspect of animated nature, in which man is nothing, has something in it strange and sad. To this we reconcile ourselves with difficulty on the ocean, and amid the sands of Africa; though in these scenes, where nothing recalls to mind our fields, our woods, and our streams, we are less astonished at the vast solitude through which we pass. Here, in a fertile country, adorned with eternal verdure, we seek in vain the traces of the power of man; we seem to be transported into a world different from that which gave us birth."

The Andes derive their name from the Peruvian word anti, signifying copper. They stretch, as we have said, throughout the entire length of South America and the Isthmus of Darien, and are, indeed, prolonged into North America, traversing Mexico and the United States as far as the shores of the Polar Sea. The southern Andes vary very much in breadth. Near Potosi and lake Titicaca (in Bolivia) the chain is 180 miles broad. The loftiest, which are near Quito, under the equator, were, until the height of the Himalaya was ascertained, always accounted the loftiest in the globe. The Pico de Illimani, first peak, is 24,450 feet in height; the second peak of the same 24,200 feet; Sorata 25,000 fect; Chimborazo 21,440 feet; Cotopaxi 18,890 feet; and Potosi 16,000 feet above the ocean level. All these are in Peru and Bolivia, and they are the loftiest mountains in South America. When Humboldt crossed the Andes, he passed through a deep forest, which took him about twelve days to traverse, during all which time not the slightest trace of man was to be seen. The pass over the ridge was not more than from one to two feet broad, and resembled a hollow gallery open to the sky. The Quebradas are immense rents, dividing the mass of the Andes, and breaking the continuity of the chain which they traverse. Mountains of great size might be swallowed up in those almost fathomless ravines, at the bottom of which only the astonished traveller can judge of the awful magnificence of the mountains.

In no one respect is South America more distinguished than in the number and magnitude of her rivers, some of which might with propriety be described as running oceans. Of these the Amazon, or Maranon, claims the

first rank. For a space of 22°, in a direct meridional distance, not a single stream descends the eastern side of the Andes, but what contributes to swell the oceanflood of this river, which, for length of course and volume of water, has no parallel in the world. The main trunk is composed of several very large streams, its chief effluents being derived from the south. First is the Huallaga, whose source may be traced to the neighbourhood of Lima, not far from those of the Maranon itself. The next is the Ucayale, a river not inferior to the Maranon at its junction, and sometimes held to be the true Maranon. The Purus, or Cuchivara, is also a river of the first class; but the most celebrated of these tributaries is the Madera, formed from the Beni, the Marmore, and the Itenes. The Rio Negro, which comes in from the north, is likewise a very large stream. Having said this, we must refer the reader to the map for a description of its onward course to the ocean. The total navigable course of the Maranon is calculated at upwards of 3000 miles in a direct line; but the length of its course is estimated at 4095 miles. Ships of 500 tons burden might ascend it for 2500 miles, while many of its tributaries are equally navigable almost to their source. More than one-half, indeed, of this vast continent might enjoy a maritime shore from these numberless streams, any of which would spread commerce and civilization through a widely extended empire. The territory watered by the chief stream and its branches is at least equal in extent to continental Europe, and may be stated at 2,177,000 English miles. There are no sand-banks, nor shelving rocks, nor ice at any time of the year, to impede navigation; and so strong an easterly wind blows constantly from the Atlantic, as to carry up vessels against the tide. Yet, notwithstanding all these advantages, the mighty Maranon rolls on its course through regions unknown to industry or civilization. Throughout its whole course it is studded with large and fertile islands, from five, ten, twenty, to a hundred leagues in circumference. The waters of this mighty stream, and those of its tributaries, are stored with an infinite variety of fish of the most delicious kinds.

The La Plata, Plate, or Silver River, is next in magnitude to the Amazon. It is composed of three principal streams, the Parana, the Paraguay, and the Uruguay, and receives all the waters that flow from the eastern declivity of the Chilian Andes, and from the southern, south-western, and western faces of the Brazilian mountains. The three principal streams, with their tributaries, offer facilities for inland navigation little inferior to the Amazon itself. The estuary of the La Plata is broader than the British Channel. The length of its course is estimated at 2430 miles, and the area of its basin at 1,240,000 miles.

The Orinoco is the third largest river in South America, but much inferior to the two above mentioned Through a direct course of about 1200 British miles, it receives all the streams that water the Caraccas and New Granada, with the exception of the coast rivers. It was only about fifty years ago that there was discovered a communication between this river and the Amazon, by means of the Rio Negro. Humboldt, who has since explored these rivers, has accurately laid down the previous courses and junction of the Rio Negro and the Orinoco. In one part of their course they flow along a level plateau, which has little or no declivity; their branching waters meet and mingle in a sort of basin; and when thus united, they form what is called the natural canal of Cassiquiare. There are several cataracts and rapids on the Orinoco, described by Humboldt as splendid in the extreme. There are some other very large streams in South America, particularly in Brazil; these will be noticed when we treat of the individual countries in which they occur. There are likewise some large lakes, which will be described in the same manner

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION.

A country embracing so many degrees of latitude and elevation, possesses of course equally diversified degrees of climate. "The three zones of temperature which originate in America," says Malte Brun, "and form the enormous difference of level between the various regions, cannot by any means be compared with the zones which result from a difference of latitude. The agreeable, the salutary vicissitudes of the seasons, are wanting in those regions that are here distinguished by the denominations of frigid, temperate, hot, or torrid. In the frigid zone it is not the intensity but the continuance of the coldthe absence of all vivid heat-the constant humidity of a foggy atmosphere--that arrests the growth of the great vegetable productions, and, in man, perpetuates those diseases that arise from checked perspiration. The hot zone of these places does not experience excessive heat; but it is a continuance of the heat, together with exhalations from a marshy soil, and the miasmata of an immense mass of vegetable putrefaction, added to the effects of an extreme humidity, that produces fevers of a more or less destructive nature, and spreads through the whole animal and vegetable world the agitation of an exuberant but deranged vital principle. The temperate zone, by possessing only a moderate and constant warmth, like that of a hot-house, excludes from its limits both the animals and vegetables that delight in the extremes of heat and cold, and produces its own peculiar plants, which can neither grow above its limits, nor descend below them. Its temperature, which does not brace the constitution of its constant inhabitants, acts like spring on the diseases of hot regions, and like summer on those of the frozen regions. Accordingly, a mere journey from the summit of the Andes to the level of the sea, or vice versa, proves an important medical agent, which is sufficient to produce the most astonishing changes in the human body. But living constantly in either one or the other of these zones, must enervate both the mind and the body by its monotonous tranquillity. The summer, the spring, and the winter, are here seated on three distinct thrones, which they never quit, and are constantly surrounded by the attributes of their power. Vegetation presents a greater number of gradations, of which it becomes necessary to point out the principal.

In the region of the palms, next the sea, the natives Eurocultivate the banana, jatropha, maize, and cocoa. peans have introduced the sugar-cane and indigo plant. After passing the level of 3100 feet, all these plants become rare, and only prosper in particular situations. It is thus that the sugar-cane grows even at the height of 7500 feet. Coffee and cotton extend across both of these regions. The cultivation of wheat commences at 3000 feet; but its growth is not completely established lower than 1500 feet above this line. Barley is the most vigorous, from a height of 4800 to 6000 feet. One year with another, it produces 25 or 30 grains for 1. Above 5400 feet, the fruit of the banana does not easily ripen; but the plant is still met with, although in a feeble condition, 2400 feet higher. The region comprehended between 4920 and 5160 feet is also the one which principally abounds with the cocoa, or Erythoxylum Peruvianum, a few leaves of which, mixed with quicklime, support the Peruvian Indian in his longest journeys through the Cordillera. It is at the elevation of 6000 and 9000 feet, that the Chenopodium quinoa and the various grains of Europe are principally cultivated: their cultivation is greatly favoured by the extensive plateaus that exist in the Cordillera of the Andes, the soil of which being of smooth surface, and requiring little labour, resembles the bottom of ancient lakes. At the height of 9600 or 10,200 feet, frost and hail often destroy the crops of wheat. Indian corn is scarcely any longer cultivated anove the elevation of 7200 feet; 1000 feet higher and

the potato is produced; but it ceases at 12,600 feet. At about 10,200 feet barley no longer grows, and rye only is sown, although even this grain suffers from a want of heat. Above 11.040 feet all culture and garden ing cease; and man dwells in the midst of numerous flocks of lamas, sheep, and oxen, which, wandering from each other, are sometimes lost in the region of perpetual snow."

ANIMAL KINGDOM.

The multitude and diversity of its zoological riches harmonizes with the other magnificent characteristics of South America. Among the quadruped beasts of prey, the jaguars are the most formidable, being of enormous size. They generally frequent the impenetrable jungles that skirt the banks of the larger streams; and Humboldt, who explored the Orinoco and many of its tributaries, had many narrow escapes from them. The natives, however, attack them fearlessly, receiving them, when they spring, upon the point of a pike; a manœuvre in which they seldom fail. Pumas, a small species of lion, ocelots, and long-tailed tiger-cats, are common. Bears appear to be unknown, and the largest wild animals appear to be the tapirs. Deers and antelopes are sparingly scattered; in which respect South America offers a singular contrast to the opposite continent of Africa. Monkeys, squirrels, and some other inferior quadrupeds abound. Of domestic animals the list is scanty. The horse and mule, originally brought by the Spaniards from the old world, are the most universally used in the new, where they have multiplied prodigi ously. The immense herds of wild oxen which swarm over the pampas of Buenos Ayres, are well known; these are also of European descent. The guanaco, llama, alpaco, and vicuna, animals closely allied to the camel of Africa, are found in abundance on the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and Chili. These were the only ruminating animals found in America on its discovery by the Spaniards. They are not only valuable as beasts of burden, but on account of their rich fleeces. The ornithology of South America is celebrated for its variety and splen dour, but we cannot enter into details. Nor is it neces sary to occupy space with descriptions of its reptiles, insects, and fishes. The forests abound with the two former, and the rivers and seas with the latter.

EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES.

Of the whole of the active volcanoes known to exist in the world, by far the greater number are scattered along that range of mountains which has been described as extending, under the name of the Andes, from the south to the north extremity of South America, and thence passing along the Isthmus of Panama into North America, everywhere keeping near the shore of the Pacific Ocean. South America is therefore eminently a volcanic region. From the 46th degree of latitude, northward to the 27th, there is an uninterrupted line of active volcanoes; farther to the north, in Peru and Quito, they are less numerous, but very lofty and conspicuous. The volcanoes of Chili rise through granitic mountains; that of Villarica, which is so high as to be distinguished at the distance of 150 miles, burns without intermission. In Quito there are some above 16,000 feet in height, as Antisana, Cotopaxi, and Tunguragua, all of which frequently emit flames. As a necessary consequence of so much volcanic action, the region of the Andes is remarkable for frequent earthquakes. In Peru, scarcely a week passes without some slight tremor of the surface being felt. In Chili, it is seldom that a year is unmarked by some considerable shock. About once a century, or oftener, a tremendous earthquake shakes the greater part of the Andean region, destroying cities and towns, and producing extensive changes of the earth's surface. One of the most destructive in modern times was that which

occurred at Caraccas in 1812, when about 20,000 people in the city and surrounding district (16,000 of whom belonged to the city alone) were destroyed, being swallowed up by the rending of the earth, or buried beneath the ruins occasioned by the shock. One remarkable result of these great convulsions is an elevation of the land. In consequence of the great earthquake in Chili in 1821, the land was raised several feet along a space of a thousand miles, the sea receding from it accordingly, and leaving dry an extensive tract formerly covered by the ocean. Similar raised beaches are to be traced at various elevations along the slope between the sea and the Andes, showing that phenomena of the same kind must have taken place at different distances of time. Indeed, it is now the belief of geologists that the whole of the continent of South America has been raised out of the sea at a comparatively recent period; and it is ascertained that a sinking of it to the extent of only five hundred feet would again submerge the greater part. Humboldt is of opinion that the Andean volcanoes are but the spiracles of an immense volcanic vault, extending under the surface of this part of the globe, and part of which is covered by the bed of the Pacific. The connection of the volcanoes of Pasto in New Grenada with the volcanoes of Quito, was strikingly displayed in 1797. A column of black smoke had continued for several months to issue from the former, but it suddenly disappeared on the 4th February of the same year, at the precise moment when, at sixty-five leagues from the city of Pasto, the city of Riobamba, near Tunguragua, was swallowed up by an earthquake. This eruption was of a very extraordinary nature. An enormous area of ground rolled backwards and forwards, like the sea, for four minutes, during which time every town on its undulating surface was levelled with the ground, and the cities of Riobamba and Quero were buried under the ruins of the impending mountains. Tunguragua was rent asunder and vomited a sea of mud, covering the valleys to the depth of 600 feet.

NATIVES.

The question respecting the origin of the native population of both continents of America, seems to have been settled by the discovery of Behring's Straits, and there is now scarcely a doubt entertained of their descent being Asiatic. There are, throughout most parts of the interior of South America, innumerable hordes of Indians still living in a savage and primitive state. Of the general features of these people it would be in vain to attempt an enumeration here, as they are divided into thousands of small tribes, or nations as they call themselves, all distinguished by their own peculiar characteristics. Many of them, such as the Chilians and Peruvians-and of the former, the Araucanians more especially-were certainly marked, from the earliest period of their discovery by Europeans, by many of the finest and noblest traits of human nature while in an unenlightened state-hospitable, faithful, social, peaceful, and affectionate; while those in other parts of the immense continent were conspicuous, as many of them indeed still are, for all the cruel, deceitful, bloody, and barbarous features displayed by the most savage nations.

SUBJUGATION OF THE COUNTRY BY EUROPEANS.

After the discovery of Brazil by the Portuguese in 1499, the country was taken possession of in the name of the sovereign of Portugal. In 1531, it was divided into captaincies, and granted to such persons as were willing to undertake their settlement. But these lords possessors abused their powers, and a governor-general was appointed, with full authority, civil and criminal. The first individual selected for this high office entered upon the duties of it in the year 1549. The Pacific Ocean was discovered in 1512 by Nunez de Balboa, go

vernor of Darien, which a few years before had been colonized by the Spaniards. In 1524, the famous, or infamous, Francisco Pizarro landed in Peru, which he found in a partially civilized state, and governed by a race of princes named incas. In a few years he com pletely subjugated this simple, and, in many respects, amiable people. The treachery, cruelty, and perfidy, by which he effected his object, have rendered his name odious to mankind; but into details we cannot enter. An army was despatched from Peru for the conquest of Chili, but this proved a very difficult undertaking, on account of the indomitable courage of the natives. Of all the aboriginal nations of America, the Promaucian and Araucanian tribes of Chili possessed the highest degree of intelligence, energy of character, and warlike prowess. To keep even a partial possession of Chili cost the Spaniards more blood and treasure than all their other settlements put together. The Araucanians, indeed, maintained their independence for three centuries, in spite of all the efforts of Spain to subdue them. Only a part of the country submitted to the Spaniards, and cities were there erected and local governors appointed, but still frequent hostilities mark the history of this portion of South America, down to the period when, along with the rest of the continent, it achieved its independence.

That large tract of country situated at the north-east base of the continent, and which for some time bore the name of Colombia, was explored at a very early period, and settled by the Spaniards. The natives, however, showed something of the spirit of the Chilenos, and were only subdued with difficulty. The territory of New Granada was formed into a government in 1547, and Venezuela in 1550. Quito depended on the government of Peru till 1564, when it was constituted a presidency. These three territories underwent repeated changes, but finally became known under the names of the captaingeneralship of Caraccas (Venezuela), the viceroyalty of New Granada, and the presidency of Quito. Guiana was settled in 1550 by some French Protestants, who had fled thither as to an asylum from the persecution of the League. The Dutch settled Berbice in 1626; Essequibo in 1698; and Demerara somewhat later. The history of the ill-fated colony of Darien, established by the Scotch at the close of the seventeenth century, is well known. The country situated on the shores of the Rio de la Plata remains to be noticed. A considerable part of the river having been explored by Sebastian Cabot in 1526, the region was taken possession of for the Spanish crown. Buenos Ayres (good airs) was founded in 1535, but soon after destroyed by the natives. It was rebuilt, but a second time reduced to ruins by the savages; and not until 1580-did the Spaniards succeed in their object of erecting a city on this spot. In the meanwhile Paraguay had been colonized, and the country conquered as far as Potosi. The permanent settlement of the Spaniards here was greatly facilitated by the Jesuits, who founded those celebrated communities called reductions, or missions, in which they made strenuous efforts to civilize the natives, and bring them within the pale of Christianity.

CONDITION OF SOUTH AMERICA UNDER THE SPANIARDS

The power of Spain and Portugal having been firmly established over the greater part of the South American continent, such methods of government were adopted as seemed best calculated to secure the allegiance of these territories to the mother countries. That the measures to which the Europeans had recourse for this purpose were tyrannical and most oppressive to the natives, may be taken for granted. We shall, in the first place, treat of the Spanish dominions, leaving Brazil to be noticed afterwards. The whole of the Spanish possessions in the new world were originally divided into two immense governments, one subject to the viceroy of Mexico, and

the other to the viceroy of Peru. But these were of too unwieldy a size to be properly managed; so that about the middle of the eighteenth century, they were distributed into nine distinct governments, all constructed on the same plan, and independent of one another. Five of these belonged to South America; three of the first rank being viceroyalties; namely, Peru, La Plata, and New Granada; and two being captain-generalships, Chili, and Venezuela, or Caraccas. By this arrangement, Quito was incorporated with New Granada; but, as has already been noticed, it assumed a distinct and independent form, which it maintained until the revolution. The government was vested in the viceroy or captain-general, who was held to represent the king, with all the prerogatives attached to the regal character. The royal audiencas, or supreme courts, consisting of Spaniards nominated by the crown, enjoyed extensive judicial powers-as also did the municipalities and corporations:-but perhaps the clergy possessed more influence than any. All these contributed to modify the otherwise unlimited powers of the head of the government. Considerable security and many privileges were enjoyed by all classes, excepting the miserable Indians, who were treated little better than beasts of burden. They were at first slaves, paying a capitation tax to the crown; and although modifications took place in the system, they were never released from vassalage till the period of the Revolution. For, although laws were made by the home government from time to time for their protection, they were never acted upon; and as the only object of the government was to raise a large revenue from the colonists (whom they taxed to the uttermost), no notice was ever taken of this disregard of the laws. The Creole, or American-born Spaniards, were excluded from all public offices, from the highest to the lowest, all of which were bestowed on the natives of Spain. These functionaries, whose sole object was to make money, acted the part of true despots towards the other classes; plundering, taxing, and exacting, without the slightest regard to mercy or justice. Men rose to affluence in offices without salaries, and the priests rivalled the laymen in the art of extracting money from the natives. In a word, the Creoles were little better situated than the miserable Indians. All books of general knowledge or information were prohibited from being imported; schools of every kind discouraged; while the priests filled the minds of the natives with the most childish superstitions and religious terrors. Even to visit foreign countries was generally forbidden to the people.

Amongst other deeds of darkness which were brought to light by that remarkable document, the manifesto put forth by the congress of Buenos Ayres, at the time of the revolution, we find it stated that "every thing was disposed on the part of Spain, in America, to effect the degradation of her sons. It did not suit the policy of Spain that sages should rise up amongst us; fearful lest men of genius should remind them of advancing the condition of their country, and of improving the morals and excellent capacities with which its sons have been gifted by their Creator. It was her policy incessantly to diminish and depress our population, lest one day we should imagine aught against her dominion, guarded by a force too contemptible for keeping in subjection regions so various and vast. Commerce was exclusively confined to herself, from a mean suspicion that opulence would make us proud, and render us capable of aspiring to free ourselves from so many vexations. The growth of industry was checked, in order that the means of escaping from our wretchedness and poverty might be denied us; and we were excluded from all participation in public employments, in order that the natives of the peninsula might have entire influence over the country, so as to form the inclinations and habits necessary for

retaining us in a state of dependence, that would neither permit us to think nor act but in conformity to the modes dictated by the Spaniards."

We must here find a place for the description of two distinct features of the tyranny exercised over the abori gines of Peru. These were the mita and repartimiento, The former was a civil conscription, by which the popu lation of every district was compelled to furnish annually a certain number of labourers for the service of the proprietors of the lands or mines. Under the most favourable circumstances, we are told, scarcely one Indian out of five survived the first year of his unwholesome and exhausting labours in the mines, to which he had been dragged from home and kindred, it might be many hundred miles away. It is asserted by several Spanish authorities, and surely they are to be credited, that the effect of working in the mines was to reduce the popula tion of some districts to one-half, and of others to onethird, of what it was in 1581. It is computed that upwards of 8,000,000 of men perished in the mines of Peru alone. This estimate is very probably exaggerated, for there were several other causes which contributed to thin the population, such as small-pox, and other dis eases, and the intemperate use of ardent spirits, the mortality arising from which might be ascribed to the operation of the mita. But such a statement being made by the Spaniards themselves is a sufficient proof of the horrible nature of this conscription. The other griev ance, called the repartimiento, was a privilege originally granted to the corregidors or governors of districts, empowering them to furnish to the Indians, at a fair price, articles of necessary consumption. In course of time, this privilege degenerated into a compulsory and oppres sive exaction. Not only were the Indians compelled to purchase the most worthless commodities at an enormous price, but articles for which they had no use were forced upon them. For instance, razors for men without beards; furs and velvets for people who lived within the tropics; silk stockings for Indians who went barefoot at all seasons; and spectacles for those whose strength of vision was proverbial. Even luxuries, the very use of which was unknown to them, formed part of the sup plies which they were compelled to purchase. Such is a brief outline of the system by which Spain continued for three centuries to sacrifice the interests and degrade the nature of many millions of human beings.

Long before the great revolt of the American provinces of Spain, partial attempts to shake off her op pressive yoke were made in several of the provinces; and we have seen that it was never very securely imposed upon the warlike natives of Chili. The most remark able of these efforts to achieve independence was that made by Tupac Amaru, in the year 1780. He claimed to be a descendant of the last inca of Peru, who was be headed in 1562; and to give eclat to the cause, he assumed not only the name of his ancestor (which means the highly endowed), but the style and pomp of the incas. The immediate cause of the revolt was the shameful avarice of the corregidors of some districts, who imposed upon the Indians more repartimientos than the law gave the authorities power to inflict on them. At first it wore a very serious aspect, but was ultimately suppressed, after one-third of the whole population of Peru had perished by violence. An attempt at revolution was made in Venezuela in 1797, and another in 1806, both without success. But events were taking place on the continent of Europe, which, singularly enough, were completely to change the destinies of South America.

THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE.

It is a remarkable fact, that the first revolutionary movement originated not in a spirit of resistance to the powers by which America was oppressed, but in a spirit of enthusiastic loyalty to the imbecile Ferdinand, the