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which you so worthily preside; besides extending the blessings of peace, prosperity, and regeneration, to an extensive and valuable range of country, that will, at no distant period, remunerate us for all our exertions in its favour.

To one, who like yourself, holds in his hands the reins of a government, so much concerned in the political welfare of every nation of the globe, but particularly so, when interest, sympathy, and political engagements add to the bond; of a government, in short, that has sacrificed so much for the freedom and independence of the States of Europe, and has ever been foremost in the cause of reason, justice, and humanity, it cannot be an unseasonable theme, to dwell on those national interests we have now at stake-to advert to that fund of odium accumulating on our name, and those dangers we, at the same time, incur, by an entire dereliction from our plighted faith, and reiterated and solemn promises: neither can it be irrelevant here to pourtray the oppression, calamities, and destruction of one entire quarter of the globe, with whose natives we have so long sympathized, and to whose interests we are so closely connected; when, at the same time, a safe and consistent remedy is within our reach; a remedy not only in perfect unison with our national honour, and founded on sound and lasting policy, but, moreover, by no means opposed to those very engagements, under which we stand bound to the third party concerned.

The object of my present address, is to call the attention of your Royal Highness to the long neglected and melancholy situation of the great continent of Spanish America, where a destructive civil war has been waging for more than four years: a deadly war, that like a

spreading cancer threatens to overrun, and soon to destroy that fair portion of the habitable globe, if the necessary remedies are not speedily applied. It is, at the same time, to point out the immense resources there uselessly wasting, and the oceans of blood spilling in every section; and, in a full manner, to explain the origin, nature, and progress of that complicated and aggravated dispute, which has so long desolated Spanish Columbia, rent asunder the ties of blood and nature, and filled it with unheard of scenes of horror and devastation. In short, the pages I have now the honour to inscribe to your Royal Highness, are intended to throw light on a subject that has been but partially understood in this country; whence have originated delusive theories, and erroneous conceptions of the actual state of the great question here alluded to; and I am the more solicitous to undertake this essential task, from the general ignorance in which the public has been kept, of all the transactions carried on in that unfortunate country, owing to its distance, and the confined use of the language, in which they have been detailed; as well as from the misconceptions and prejudices diffused amongst us, in consequence of the partial and incorrect statements, copied into our public prints, from those of Cadiz.

This is, perhaps, the only great political question that has not hitherto met with the attention of the British public, or called forth the discussions of our statesmen or writers of the day; yet, to us, as the allies of the Spanish monarchy, anxious to give every efficiency to that alliance, and acting on the broad principle of justice and equity, it cannot be deemed of trifling importance; much less so, when we view it connected with our present and future prospects of trade, and

linked with our most interesting maritime relations. Commerce, has ever been considered as the main sinew of our political existence, and we have now in view, the great and gigantic efforts of the enemy, if not to paralyze, at least to corrode this pillar of the British empire, and to diminish its energy and extent. Some of our greatest and most enlightened statesmen of the age, have, moreovor, established as a political axiom, that considering our insular situation, the nature of our defence, and the circumstances of the enemy, it behooved us, in a particular manner, to extend our influence, our connections, and our consumption of merchandise, in those regions which are beyond his reach, and consequently not subject to his control, his systems, or to the fortunes of war, he may threaten to wage against them. This safe and fundamental principle, founded on our naval preponderance, and so intimately connected with our political economy (that real basis of our strength and grandeur) has been verified by the experience of the last twenty years, by successive events, and by the failure of our past energies on the continent, as well as by the depressed state to which we now stand reduced.

In conformity to this principle, and considering also the present condition of Europe, not only in consequence of the influence of France, but also owing to a continental policy existing even amongst our oldest allies, to trade as little with us as they possibly can; Great Britain is particularly called upon, at this moment, to enquire, if in any other quarter of the world, a barrier can be found to resist the general combination formed against her mercantile interests, and to open new channels, in lieu of those closed against her. In this

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important enquiry, the political economist naturally casts his eyes towards the great continent of Spanish America, a country far surpassing the whole of Europe in extent, in fertility, and in rich productions, though hitherto debarred from the intercourse of foreign nations. A position, therefore, unparalleled on the face of the globe, for the union of commercial advantages; an extended range of country, varied in soil and productions; rich in every thing necessary to minister to the wants and luxuries of man ; one that in its late degraded state, annually coined forty-two millions of dollars, in gold and silver; consumed fifty-nine and a half ditto in European imports, circulated thirty-eight and a half ditto in choicest exports,* besides being inhabited by a large and increasing population, certainly presents a scene worthy of the contemplation of the first magistrate of so enterprizing a nation as ours; yet fair as is this prospect, considerable as is this produce and consumption of Spanish America, the timely adoption of better systems, and a newly diffused regeneration (as will hereafter be fully proved) would long since have doubled both. And, yet, in addition to this scope for commercial enterprize, in addition to this flattering but correct picture of the resources of Spanish America, and these considerations of national expediency, political motives of a still more sacred nature, have long called upon us to look with anxious concern to the fate of the Western continent, and to prevent its entire destruction.

The increase and protection of trade, undoubtedly, becomes the paramount duty of the heads of government;

* Vide Humboldt's Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain, vol. 4, book 5, chap. 12.

and any elucidations on so interesting a subject, cannot, therefore, by your Royal Highness, be deemed ill-placed or offensive. Every thing relating to Spanish America, that we have undertaken for many years past, proves how little we were acquainted with the dispositions, sentiments, and resources of those distant regions, notwithstanding the expences government has incurred to obtain information; and how much we have been puzzled to fix on an enlightened and accordant policy, in our new alliance with Spain, results from many facts that will hereafter be adduced. I am, for this reason, the more encouraged in my present attempt, as well as from a conviction that my sources of information are not only extensive, but also correct, and in most cases, official. And whilst I deplore that want of influence we have never obtained over the councils of Spain, whilst I regret our complete failure to infuse liberal principles in her members of government, and to awaken an enlightened policy in the nation at large, respecting its vital interests with Spanish America, (the grand cause of most of the evils with which we have now to contend, in our relations with the Spanish monarchy of both hemispheres) though late, I still hope something useful may be deduced; and at all events, it may be of service to delineate those results which would have been produced by a different line of conduct on our part, and to point out where we erred, in our new and delicate connection with European and American Spain.

Important, however, as might have been the consequences of keeping the two halves of the Spanish monarchy strong and united; offensive both to justice and humanity as has been that cruel, desultory, and unnatural war which has so long been waging between them; im

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