monarchy, which besides promoting the mutual interests of each, would have maintained harmony on the other. side of the Atlantic, and testified her gratitude to England. When the grounds, on which a trade with Spanish America was denied to the latter, are made known, a very just conclusion may be drawn, of the principles and motives, which have operated as a bar to the extension of justice, on a larger scale.

Had the commotions in Spanish America, not originated in real grievances, such as would admit of redress, so great a share of blame, would not have fallen to the lot of those, who thus unfairly withheld it. But if these grievances were real, why was the proper remedy delayed, till the public mind, would bear them, no longer? If lenient measures had been adopted, and had only tended to increase the resentment and exasperation of the complaining parties, ad to enlarge their demands; had equitable proffers been made, and rejected with scorn; had the conciliatory efforts of the Spanish government, given edge to their audacity, and had they actually organized a systematic plan of rebellion, confounding liberty, with a contempt for legal control, then, the rigour of the Cadiz Regency, the subsequent apathy of the other governments, and the coldness of England, might have had some plausible grounds; and the conduct of the insurgents, might have equally been lamented and deprecated. Had the latter been bent on magnifying positive evils, and fomenting causeless jealousies and distur-. bances; had they asked any thing opposed to law and justice; had they thrown off their allegiance to that monarch, whom the entire nation had acknowledged, or joined the French, Spain might have been warrantable,

in her declaration of war, and England might have had some reasons, for all her indifference. But if this was. not the case, ought not all the fatal consequences, of so many horrors as have been committed, to fall on the heads of those, who first provoked the contest; and why should England be ashamed of men, who do no more, than assert their own rights? Ought not the oceans of blood, so long flowing in Spanish America, to rest wholly on the heads of those, whose self-interest, and indiscreet and arbitrary conduct, first gave rise to such a long reign of atrocities?

§ The true Spanish patriot, could not fail to regret the clouds which so early spread over the brightest morn, that ever dawned on the monarchy of both hemispheres. From the period of these dissentions, its political sitution was such, as to excite every feeling of anxiety; under the existing embarrassments, it was difficult for the wheels of the public machine, to move on with any probability of success; the future, in short, presented little else, than a gloomy obscurity of doubt and fear. The gathering clouds, became dark and menacing, so as to threaten a storm big with impending ruin; and besides an empty treasury, and the pressure of a potent enemy, complicated and heavy calamities, which flowed from the inefficacy of the general government, were to be deplored; whilst nothing but the interference of England, or a return of equity and, liberality to the councils of Spain, could prevent an accumulation of difficulties, and ward off some terrible convulsion. Negligence on the part of the Central Junta, and rashness on that of the Cadiz Regency, had plunged the whole sections of Spanish America, into scenes of desolation, which would

be widely felt, and long remembered; and would, besides, close the only secure source of pecuniary supplies. Yet, a large portion of these horrors, would have been spared; and at least the national honour might have been retrieved, if the succeeding Cortes, had been possessed of an enlarged philanthropy, and if they had followed the sound dictates of policy, prudence, and justice. Had they even acted, with the same generous liberality to the transmarine provinces, as the Emperor of Russia, did, with regard to Poland, and afterwards to France; had they, like him, assured their American brethren, that they were ready to cooperate with them, in any establishment, that might secure their freedom, happiness, and prosperity; had they, instead of impotent wars, forgotten the past, and offered a sacred and sincere amnesty; had they, like Charles V. used conciliatory men and measures; and had they, above all, cordially set about the discussion of their rights, and the full redress of their wrongs; that immense and valuable portion of the Spanish empire, might have been preserved tranquil and entire, its resources might have served as a powerful instrument to repel the French, and the European" and American brethren of Spain, might have been bound together, by the ties of fraternity and fellowship, even stronger, than those, which before existed, And would not this have been grateful to the true Spaniard, who had long, wept in silence, over the misery and degradation of Spain, as well as of Spanish America? And would not the contemplation of such results, to England, have given rise to reflections, not less satisfactory, than interesting? After the freedom of Spain, was not this, the next glorious object, to which she could aspire?

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But the Cortes of Spain, as well from the defects of their formation, as owing to the prevalence of illiberality, were not disposed to spread the blessings of peace and regeneration to the other side of the Atlantic; as will be shewn in a subsequent section of this exposé. The American deputies therein, laboured in vain, they were always outvoted, and it was evident, that the issue of their exertions, could not fail to increase the mortification and resentment of their constituents. The whole of this passed, under the eyes of the British agents in Cadiz; and if we had no other than the records of our mediation debates, and the results of our free trade solicitations, these would have sufficed to have convinced us, that illiberality and injustice, were the chief basis of the conduct of the Cadiz government, And, if England had before neglected opportunities more favourable, could she not, when the Cortes first assembled, have recommended and urged, in the most forcible, glowing, and pathetic terms, which language could afford, or a sense of justice inspire, what was absolutely necessary and indispensable, for the salvation of the country, and the avowed honour and interests of the nation at large? She ought never to have forgotten, that the Spanish Ameri cans were entitled to every consideration; and that if they were not redressed, and war was proclaimed against them, for merely insisting on what was their due, it would result, that the rights they were contending for, would be rendered doubly strong, by being afresh withheld. And could any motive, more honourable and just, have been made the basis of those mediatory exertions on the part of England, which might have shielded many thousand victims from the vengeance of the

ifritated and illiberal, and have, besides, given renewed energies to Spain? When the magnitude of the prize we were contending for, is considered, as well as the apparent doubtful issue of the contest, it appears impossible, that the British government should not have thought, seriously, on the fatal consequences of closing to Europe, the only country from which coin could be obtained, as well as of desolating by anarchy and civil war, the best section of the world for the relations of trade. Placed on an extensive continent, comprehending all the soils and climates of other hemispheres, England beheld a people, ready to sacrifice the produce of their industry, in support of the same cause in which herself and Spain were engaged; and who by calling their inert resources forth, would have been able to make easy, many of those privations, which the inhabitants of each, were suffering. Was it liberal in Spain, to command those resources to continue closed, or was it candid in England, omitting any means of removing the causes of such extensive disquiet? She then, more than, ever, required new channels in which to transfer her pursuits of trade; and in this, was she opposed by obstacles, that discouraged the adequate attempt?

Conclusive reasons induce a confident belief, that the affairs of Spanish America, did not receive that prompt consideration, which the public exigence demanded, or the magnitude of the subject required. Yet, England® had before her a plan of conduct, not only consonant to the plain rules of justice; but, she had it also in her power, to effect results, which would have afforded infinite delight to every benevolent and liberal mind. She might have produced a reconciliation, that would have