same time, also, that it was the foremost demand of the Americans. It, unfortunately, had all the effect proposed. And can it be possible, that there was not, at that time, in Cadiz, an Englishman, sufficiently patriotic and enlightened, to have answered such a string of inconsistencies; to unmask such an assemblage of dark inuendoes, and to confound their abettors? Can it be supposed, that there was not one to prove, that the pacification of the ultramarine provinces, and the increase of their revenue, depended on this measure; of conse quence, that on it rested the integrity of the monarchy, and, indeed, the existence of Spain, as a nation? Was there no one, when the British people, as a mercantile body, stood expectant for such a boon from the gratitude of Spain, and from the liberality of the Spanish Congress, to expostulate, and even to remind them, that the very manifest which they made the basis of their conduct, confesses the misery, to which the late wars had reduced the merchants of Cadiz; of consequence, that they were not able themselves, adequately, to carry on this trade, being without capitals, vessels, or manufactures? Was there no one, dared tell this insolent body of monopolizers, that when they called themselves the interpreters of the wishes of all the trading bodies of both hemispheres, and when they asserted, that the voice of the trade of Cadiz, was that of all America; that it was the refusal of this very trade, which left the productions to rot on the trees, which deprived the Americans of cloathing, which produced distress, and that, in short, this very stagnation and inactivity, constituted the most material complaint of the Western provinces, and that the removal of this odious monopoly, would, of itself, destroy

the principal barriers, which impeded a good understanding between the two sister kingdoms?

Amongst the other strange inconsistencies found in this celebrated manifest; it boasts of the great advantages, America enjoys from her connection with Spain, such as the consumption of her productions, mental improvement, and religion. Yet this was at a moment, when cocoa in Cadiz, would not pay the duties, and when in Mexico, paper was worth 30 dollars per rheam. That the late conduct of Spain, with regard to her settlements, was an object worthy the imitation of all the world-when, her colonial policy has been an object of execration to every writer, who has touched on the subject. That the trade ought to be kept exclusive, as a nursery for seamen,—but they forgot to state, where the vessels were to come from. That a competition with British merchandize, would ruin their own,-and this, in 1811, when their own manufactures were destroyed, and the principal provinces in the hands of the enemy, so that the Americans were to wait for cloathing, till their works and looms were rebuilt, and reorganized, and the country freed from the French. That the trade licences, formerly granted to foreigners, have tended to demoralize the American provinces; at the same time, that it is universally acknowledged, that they have been of the greatest service, for a large share of the science, at present, found in Peru, is owing to the intercourse, that country once had with the French.*

4

Such are the arguments, used in the report of the mercantile interests of Cadiz, to combat the wishes of

* All the sentences in italics, are literally translated from the original.

England, in a particular point, not only due to her subjects on the score of gratitude, but, also, necessary, as the only means of adding to the revenue of Spain, and of tranquillizing the ultramarine provinces. The question was, however, negatived, and this in August, 1811, when Spain had, for two years, experienced the sincerity of England, when the resources of Spanish America, were nearly suspended, and the claims of her inhabitants were still unredressed. Similar arguments, and similarly pointed reflections, were used by the European Consulado of Mexico, in support of the monopoly mutually enjoyed by them, and their Peninsular brethren, but in which, however, a greater degree of illiberality was blended, so much so, that the Cortes themselves, sent out a spirited reprimand. It was under the general prevalence of such impressions, that both the discussion of the trade, and the mediation affair, were lost; and such will be the fate of all liberal questions, supported by the American deputies, and consonant to the good wishes of England, as long as the latter suffers such wrong and incorrect opinions to prevail, without seriously attempting to counteract them, and as long as the poison of such remarks, is not extracted, by the very same means, as those by which it had been infused.

And can it be supposed, that the government of Spain, situated as it was to England, could act with less justice, and with less liberality, than a former Spanish ministry had done; for during the war of Succession, the French enjoyed a free trade to the Spanish settlements, particularly in the South Seas; and both Feuillés and Freziers' voyages, will be found to refer to many licences granted, even for Lima. And, as an American orator,

(when urging a viceroy in America, to open a trade with the British, as the only means of alleviating the distresses, of the landed interests, and repairing the wants of the treasury), justly said: Spain ought to be ashamed of denying to gratitude and to England, what was, at that time, through dependence and dread, snatched from her. In working our own good, added he, let us not be sorry, that that nation should share therein, to whom we owe so much, and without whose aid, our intended reform, would not be possible.*

The above respective quotations, constitute a fair and correct contrast, between the sentiments of the Spaniards and Spanish Americans on the subject alluded to; and it is particularly deserving of notice, that there is not a measure, agitated in the Cortes for the interests of England, a proposal in which her policy has been implicated, or a plan of any nature founded on liberality, that has not met with the aid and concurrence of the American deputies, and similar also, has been their conduct, in several questions they have defended in print. When that of free trade was brought forward, they defended the measure, as necessary for the welfare of the Western provinces, which stood in need of supplies, Spain could not send out, and a sale of those productions she could not consume. They upheld it in favour of England, alleging, that Spain was in gratitude, and in justice bound, to make this sacrifice for a people, who were making so many for her. When the mediation affair was discussed they voted for it ir a body, and, in like manner, on the nomination of Lord Wellington. And, does a con

* Representation for free trade with England, Buenos Ayres, 1810, by Dr. Mariano Moreno.

duct so firm, and so disinterested as this, deserve no reciprocal support from the British government, when it sees these deputies, in vain struggling to obtain for their constituents, what numbers and illiberality have alone withheld ?

The French under their late treaty with Spain, and when united by no other bond than that of terror, were allowed the residence of official agents in Spanish Ame✩ rican ports; Depóns was in Caracas, Humboldt had ac cess to the whole continent, and in Cuba and Puerto Rico, privateer agents resided, who publicly condemned and sold English and other prizes, in the ports of these islands. The United States have a Consul at the Havannah, and we have none; nor have we, on either the Atlantic side of Spanish America, or islands, an indivi❤ dual to protect trade, the subject,or to hinder the false aspersions thrown on the British name. In the month of March, 1809, the Spanish consul-general Forunda, announced in the public papers of the United States, that all the Spanish consuls, were authorised to give clearances to Anglo-American vessels, desirous to trade to Puerto Rico, Cuba, Maracaibo, La Guira, and the Floridas, but no similar arrangement was made for the English merchant. In fact, the cream of the trade to Spanish America, up to the late declaration of war, has been enjoyed by the United States; and besides the sale, freight, and shipment of goods, we have lost the real and effective means of creating an influx of precious metals, both for our wants at home, and the supply of our armies abroad; and this, merely, because we forgot, that such a country as Spanish America existed, when we rushed into our alliance with Spain.