Condition of Spanish South America. after all, but a measure which the humanity, the justice, and the convenience and interest of this nation demand. Reduced as Spain is to an absolute inability to continue the war, her pride wishes an opening, perhaps, to meet with a pretext for making her peace with the Americans, and nothing would better answer her purpose than the recognition of the independence of Colombia by the Federal Government. Don Manuel Torres to the Secretary of State. PHILADELPHIA, December 30, 1821. SIR: The General Congress of the Republic of Colombia, in the session of the 6th of September, appointed the Liberator and Captain General, Simon Bolivar, President of the State, and General Francisco de Paula Santander, Vice President, for 3d of October they took possession of their respecthe constitutional term of four years; and on the prescribed by the Constitution. tive magistracies, after having taken the oath from the 10th of said October, on the Vice PresiThe functions of the executive power devolved, dent of the State, agreeably to the 158th_article of the Constitution, in consequence of the Liberator President having taken the command of the armies of the Republic. On the other hand, if the war between Spain and Colombia must continue, the law of neutrality of the United States would operate with equality with respect to both belligerents, which was not and cannot be the case whilst this Government does not recognise the independence of the new republic. Lastly, between the United States and Colombia there can never exist a competition or rivalship in The Supreme Government has fixed its resiagriculture, commerce, and navigation, because Colombia has no mercantile navy, nor can she dence in the city of Bogota, in virtue of a decree of the General Congress of the 8th of October; form one for many years, and the products of exportation of her agriculture are entirely different and, by another decree of the Liberator President from those which are cultivated in the United of the 7th, the Senor Pedro Gaul has been apStates. She wants annually twenty thousand bar-pointed Secretary of State and Foreign Relations rels of flour, and other provisions from these States, for which she pays in coffee, indigo, hides in the hair, and in money, according as the intercourse between the two countries is favorable to the agriculture of both. The political events in Peru and Mexico render the recognition of the independence of Colombia urgent, on account of the great confidence with which this act would inspire those nations to establish popular representative Governments. All South America formerly Spanish is emancipated that is, upwards of eleven millions of souls; this has given a new importance to the new world, and now they are no more afraid of the machinations of the Holy Alliance to keep America dependant upon Europe, and to prevent the establishment of free Governments. The present political state of New Spain requires the most earnest attention of the Government of the United States. There has occurred a project, long since formed, to establish a monarchy in Mexico, on purpose to favor the views of the Holy Alliance in the new world. This is a new reason which ought to determine the President of the United States no longer to delay a measure which will naturally establish an American alliance, capable of counteracting the projects of the European Powers, and of protecting our republican instituations. My Government has entire confidence in the prudence of the President, in his disposition to favor the cause of the liberty and of the independence of South America, and his great experience in the management of public business. Confined for about three months past to my bed or my chamber by a grievous indisposition, which till gives me very few moments of repose, it has not been in my power to address this communicaion to you sooner. I have the honor to remain, with the highest repect and distinguished consideration, sir, your host obedient, humble servant. of the Government of Colombia. I communicate this to you, sir, that you may be pleased to communicate it to the President of the United States. I renew to you, sir, the sentiments of respect and distinguished consideration with which I have the honor to remain, &c. MANUEL TORRES. Don Manuel Torres to the Secretary of State. PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 2, 1822. SIR: In the official note which I addressed to you on the 20th of February of the last year, soliciting the recognition of the republic of Colombia on the part of the President of the United States, I represented how important it was to my Government to know the determination of the United States respecting the said demand. In that which I had the honor to transmit to you, dared the 30th of November last, I repeated the substance of that of the 20th of February, and I suggested some additional powerful reasons which urgently required the positive knowledge of the decision of the President of the United States in regard to a question of so much importance to my Government in the present circumstances, for the regulation of its polítical and commercial relations with other nations. I ought not to conceal, sir, my pain in being compelled to distract your attention by requesting once more an answer to my former notes. This course, under all circumstances an indispensable duty of my station, has been rendered the more urgent by the negotiations of peace between Colombia and Spain having lost all their importance in consequence of the Peninsular Government tenaciously persisting in its extravagant and unjust pretensions, at the very time of its most absolute incapacity and impotence to invade the territory of the republic, or to prevent the prosperity which its inhabitants now begin to enjoy a blessing of Condition of Spanish South America. the independence which they have gained by their arms, and of the liberty which their Constitution secures to them. The present state of my health does not yet permit me to visit the capital; but I shall do so as soon as I can undertake the journey without in convenience. Be pleased, sir, to accept the homage of the sentiments of esteem and distinguished consideration with which I have the honor to be, &c. MANUEL TORRES. The Secretary of State to Don Manuel Torres. Washington, Jan. 18, 1822. SIR: In reference to your letters of the 30th of November last and the 2d of this month, I have the honor of informing you that the subject to which they relate is under the consideration of the President of the United States, whose definitive decision concerning it shall, when taken, be forthwith communicated to you. In the mean time, should you receive advices of the surrender of Porto Cabello and the isthmus of Panama, I have to request you would favor me with the information of those events as early as may suit your convenience. I pray you, sir, to accept, &c. JOHN Q. ADAMS. To the Secretary of State of the U. States of America. MEXICO, October 25, 1821. SIR: The love of my country, the spring of every noble and generous action, induces me to communicate to you, for the information of the President, and for the benefit that may result to the Government and citizens of the United States, the following circumstantial and exact account of the happy revolution that has lately occurred in this kingdom of New Spain, which, by the blessing of God, the intrepidity, talents, and exertions of its patriotic chief, General Don Augustin Iturbide, the enlightened policy of its mother country, and the liberal and philanthropic ideas of its late Captain General, Don Juan O'Donoju, has ended in its complete and entire emancipation. That you may have a clear and distinct view of the subject, be fully impressed with the justice of the cause of this hitherto afflicted and oppressed people, and have also a general idea of the face of the country, its inhabitants, productions, &c., it may not be improper to state that, since its conquest, (which, if my memory serves me, was in the year 1521,) it has been governed by sixty-two viceroys, and innumerable commandant generals, governors, and superintendents of provinces, who, according to general tradition, have been, with very few exceptions, as many merciless and mercenary tyrants, the rapacity and unfeeling barbarity of whom nothing could have withstood for such a length of time but a land enriched by the bountiful hand of nature to a most extraordinary degree, and a people born and brought up, until of late, in all the intolerance of superstition and ig norance, and accustomed from their earliest infancy to the innumerable, and I may say almost incredible impositions of both Church and State. Few foreigners have, perhaps, had an opportu nity of seeing as much of the kingdom as myself, having travelled on horseback from the port Guaymas, on the Gulf of California, to almost every part of Sonora, and afterwards through the provinces and superintendencies of New Biscay, New Galicia, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, and Mexico, to this city, a distance at least of seven hundred leagues, passing through all the principal cities, visiting the most celebrated mines, and conversing familiarly with all classes of people. The provinces of Puebla, Mexico, Mechoacan, San Luis Potosi, and Guanajuato, may be termed the central ones, and, of those I have seen, the best watered, most fertile, most productive, and most inhabited; those that border on the Gulf of Mexico are Merida de Yucatan, Oaxaca, Vera Cruz, New Santandero, and Texas; the second, from all accounts, beautiful in the extreme; and the third and last very fertile, but almost entirely uncultivated: those on the Pacific ocean and Gulf of California, New Galicia, Sinaloa, and Sonora, fertile in parts, but very scant of water; and the extensive internal ones of New Leon, New Biscay, and New Mexico, that reach to the latitude of fortytwo degrees north, which have for the most part the same defect, and which may be called a gene ral one throughout the kingdom, there being in most parts but little rain, and in no part, excepting Texas, what we would call rivers. Where there is an abundance of water, however, the country is wonderfully fertile, producing in many parts two or three crops a year, and yielding each time four and five hundred for one, with the si gular advantage of a diversity of temperature within very short distances, produced by the greater or less elevation of the lands, the centre of the kingdom being from eight to twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea; so that it is not uncommon to see in the same market all the fruits grains, and other productions of temperate, hot. and cold climates, as is the case in this, and mos of the principal cities. Before the insurrection of the ear 1810, the kingdom contained six millions of inhabitants and it is worthy of remark, that Providence bas been no less lavish in the distribution of her gifts as respects mankind, than in the fertility and pr duction of the earth; the natives of this countr not excepting even the Indians, being endowed with a quickness of perception and ability to a quire and make themselves masters of the arts sciences that is very notable, and far exceeds of the inhabitants of Old Spain, and perhaps ny other countries. At the abovementioned riod, the kingdom may be said to have been 2 acme of prosperity; the royal revenue excee $20,000,000, and the money coined at the Mira this city upwards of $28,000,000 annually; however, ever since been on the decline, in sequence of the devastations committed by parties in the long and cruel war carried o the Europeans and Americans, so that he pop betwee Condition of Spanish South America. lation cannot now be computed at more than four millions, the revenue at more than half of what it was, and the money coined yearly at from 5,000,000 to $8,000,000; this year it will probably not exceed $4,000,000. I have been informed that a very correct history of this insurrection, up to the unfortunate expedítion of General Mina, has been written by a Mr. Robinson, and published in Philadelphia; it is useless, therefore, to say more on the subject than that its commencement was undoubtedly caused by the abuses daily committed in all branches of the Government in this kingdom, by the disorder in which Spain was thrown in consequence of the invasion of the French, and by the imprudent measures adopted in this city, one of which was the arrest of the Viceroy Iturigaray, and many of its principal American inhabitants. It is also worthy of remark that, in proportion as it was prolonged, the evils increased, and its symptoms became more malignant; the various incidents of the struggle, imbruing its character with blood, produced other passions, and among them those of rancor and hatred, which, irritated and inflamed by the inconsideration, imprudence, and want of policy on both sides, divided the kingdom into two parties, the Europeans and Americans, whose respective opinions formed essentially the war that destroyed both. Among those that contributed most to quell the insurrection was the before-mentioned General Don Augustin Iturbide, then colonel of the regiment of Celaya, and native of the city of Valladolid, in the province of Mechoacan. Born of European parents, and animated by a mistaken zeal, he was induced to embrace the royal cause, and, with a fervor and impetuosity peculiar to his character, committed many arbitrary and violent acts, that in a great degree tarnished what would otherwise have been deemed brilliant achievements, and over which it is necessary to draw a veil, his subsequent conduct having entirely effaced them from the memory even of those most aggrieved. Indeed, it would appear that a sense of the injustice he had committed, an innate conviction of the impropriety of adhering to the party he had espoused, and a remorse of conscience, were the principal causes of the change in his political seniments; for we see him all at once assuming à different character, and at a moment when his sovereign had heaped upon him innumerable onors. The impossibility of re-establishing peace and quietness in the kingdom by the force of arms was ully ascertained during the Viceroyalty of the Captain Generals Venegas and Calleja, of whom t may be said that they rather dispersed than onquered the Americans, the country being in a omplete state of revolt, and full of chieftains that ommanded from three to six hundred, and even thousand men each, and bands of robbers that fested the highways in September, 1816, when he Viceroy Apodaca arrived. To this disintersted, good, and virtuous man is due the pacificaon of the kingdom; his penetration, skill, and umanity having suggested to him the propriety of laying aside the arms that had hitherto been in use, and of winning the affections of the people by means of persuasion, pardons, and premiums, who, without general officers, money, or any immediate expectation of establishing the liberty of their country, and weary of the wandering and wretched life they had so long endured, embraced readily the opportunity that presented of returning to the bosoms of their families. No sooner was the plan adopted than its wisdom became palpable; entire towns and districts yielding to the solicitations of the agents appointed by the Government for carrying it into execution, so that at the end of two years all was tranquillity, and you could travel in every direction without escort of arms, except that of Acapulco, between which and this city the chieftains Guerrero, Asensio, and a Colonel Bradburn, of Virginia, that came with General Mina, with about fifteen hundred men, had taken refuge, and fortified an almost inaccessible mountain, from whence they made predatory excursions. To reduce these to obedience was the ultimate object and wish of the Government; and, with this view, General Iturbide was invested with the important military command of the department of the South, that contained about three thousand veteran troops, and had its headquarters in the town of Iguala, distant about thirty leagues from this city, on the direct road to Acapulco. It is proper to mention here that, a few months previous to his nomination, news had been received of the regeneration of Old Spain, and of the establishment of the Constitution in that country a circumstance that created great alarm in this among the clergy and friars; the lower class of people were also taught to believe that the planting of it here would be attended with the entire destruction of their long-established form of religion. The Viceroy, (Apodaca,) who was now graced with the title of "Conde del Venadito," was also opposed to the new system, and discovered so much reluctance in the change of his measures, that his unwillingness and tardy mode of proceeding became evident to all, and gave occasion to many just and violent complaints that were made by its admirers, who publicly accused him of its infraction; while the American writers, taking advantage of the liberty of the press, and the confused and unsettled state of public opinion, called aloud for independence as the only certain remedy for the numerous evils that surrounded them. The crisis was too important and obvious to escape the penetration of our hero, Iturbide, who was also instigated to an immediate execution of the plan he had, in consequence, formed, of liberating his country forever from its thraldom, by the mutiny of several of the officers of the regiment of the "four military orders," that had before given many unequivocal proofs of disaffection and insubordination, which was supposed to extend to the soldiers of that corps, and by the departure of a convoy for Acapulco with near a million of dollars, that was intended to be embarked in a ship bound to Manilla, that he resolved on detaining. Condition of Spanish South America. was named commander-in-chief, and a numerous staff and army was committed to his charge. Hẹ was, however, so slow in his motions, that a de tachment of troops sent by Iturbide had taken pos session of the town and castle of Acapulco, and he himself, and the remainder, were on their march in the direction of Valladolid before the army of Linan moved from its cantonment in the neigh He immediately, therefore, concerted his measures His next step was to form a plan for the installation of the new Government, (a copy of which I enclose,) and to give to his army the style and title of the "army of the three guarantees," from the protection it was to afford to the Catholic religion, to the independence of the kingdom, and to the indissoluble union between the Europeans and Americans. A copy of the plan was immediately sent by him to the Viceroy, with a letter, stating all that had passed, explaining his motives for having formed and adopted the new system; inviting him and the Government to aid and assist in its establishment; and, finally, naming the said Viceroy, the "Conde de Cortina," and the president of the royal audience, the members that were to compose the regency, reserving to himself the command that he had assumed of the National Army. The ery of independence was no sooner raised in Iguala than it spread in all parts, and an army was formed in the Provinces of Puebla and Veri Cruz, by the Colonels Herrera, Bravo, and Santa Ana, that took possession of the cities of Orizaba Cordova, and Xalapa; which was the most important conquest, the two former being the depotof the Government tobacco, of which a prodigious quantity fell into the hands of the Independents, with a large sum in specie-circumstances that were attended with the double advantage of being a powerful succor to them, and an irreparable los to the Government, which counted on the remis sion to, and sale of, the tobacco in Mexico as its principal means of supporting the war. In this state of things, it was resolved to divide the Government army into three divisions: one of which, under the command of Colonel Margues, was to retake Acapulco; another, commanded by Colonel Hebia, to march against the cities of Orizaba, Cordova, and Xalapa; and the third to return for the defence of this capital, on the supposition that Iturbide might suddenly change his route, and take the city by surprise. It, however, soon appeared that his intention was very different, and that his object was to pass Valladolid, and unite with a Colonel Bustamente, of San Luis Potosi, who had risen at this critical period, and proceeded against the city of Guanajuato with a considerable part of his regiment of dragoons, de claring independence in all the cities and towns in the Bajio, the inhabitants of which received him with open arms. On arriving at Guanajuate, it also surrendered to him; and, as he was joine by the garrisons of the several places he passe through, Iturbide, on meeting him, found himself at the head of an army of five thousand men, including the divisions of Colonel Barragan and Major Parres, that left Valladolid with what troops they could seduce, as soon as they knew of his intention to pass that way. With this respectabit force it was determined to attack that city, which was the best fortified of any in the kingdom, and had a garrison of seventeen hundred men. I however made no defence, and its commandant Colonel Quintanar, and all but about six hundred of the troops, went over to Iturbide. The Viceroy, had he been left to himself, would, I believe, have assented to the proposal, from the vehement desire he has ever manifested to avoid the effusion of blood, and the miseries concomitant to a renewal of the war, as well as from a conviction that the plan and policy adopted by Iturbide could not fail to gain him innumerable friends, and to enable him, finally, to accomplish his views. It was necessary, however, to call to his counsel the members of the various tribunals of which the Government was composed, as well as the principal military officers, all of whom, counting on the versatility that had been conspicuous in the Amer- At Guanajuato, where is one of the richest mat ican character up to that period, resolved, unani-erals in the kingdom, a mint was established, that mously, to maintain the then existing Government, in the belief that the few troops that had adhered to Iturbide would leave him the instant the royal army should approach Iguala. The old favorite system of blood and murder was also upheld; but to this the Viceroy would not consent, and an amnesty was offered to all, not excepting Iturbide. The Field Marshal Linan proved afterwards very serviceable to the Inde pendents, and injurious to the royal party; th silver from all the neighboring mines taking the direction of that city instead of Mexico. Acapulco remained but a short time in posse sion of the Independents, the castle having capi ulated before the arrival of the division of Colone Margues to two Spanish frigates that accidentally Condition of Spanish South America. arrived there from Panama. San Juan del Rio, a fortified town between this city and Queretaro, was next invested; the siege, however, lasted but a few days; the greater part of the garrison, being Americans, deserted, and joined the Independents, obliging the few that remained to capitulate. The division of Colonel Hebia that had marched, as before stated, against the cities of Orizaba, Cordova, and Xalapa, surprised Colonel Bravo, with about fifteen hundred Independents, in the town of Tepeaca, about nine leagues from Puebla, who, unprepared for action, retired with his troops to a large convent of the order of San Francisco, that was constructed by Hernando Cortez, soon after the conquest, in the form of a fortress, to serve as a place of refuge for him and his followers in the event of any sudden emergency. Hebia had with him his own regiment of "Castile," and other European troops, that equalled in number those of Bravo. A field-piece was, however, necessary to make a breach in the wall of the convent, and, to obtain this, he sent immediately to Puebla, asking, at the same time, for a reinforcement of five hundred men, that the success of the action might be placed beyond all doubt. Bravo, suspecting his intention, resolved on a sortie, with the determination to cut his way and escape, as Iturbide had given positive orders to all his officers to avoid the effusion of blood, and to act solely on the defensive, from the double motive of conciliating the enemy and avoiding the butchery of his countrymen; sensible where one European should be killed, four or five Americans would fall, the number of the latter in the King's service exceeding greatly that of the former. In the first and second attempts he made, he was unsuccessful; the third, however, proved more fortunate, and he got off with the loss of fifty or sixty men, killing as many of those that were opposed to him. This was the first action that had occurred, and the result proved highly important to the Índependent cause; the gallant conduct of their troops inspiring a universal confidence, animating their companions in arms throughout the kingdom to a singular and unexpected degree, and demonstrating to the political and military officers of the Government of Mexico that they had to contend with a brave and determined enemy. Disappointed and chagrined at the result of the action, and undeceived as to the sort of troops he had to deal with, Hebia proceeded on his march to Cordova, where he was killed in the first assault, and his army obliged to retire from the siege by Colonel Herrera, and the valiant troops that defended the city. While these scenes of glory were achieving in the provinces of Puebla and Vera Cruz, the siege of the city of Queretaro, one of the most beautiful in the kingdom, and the third in rank as respects size, opulence, and commerce, was pushed with much vigor by Iturbide in person. Its garrison was composed of nine hundred Europeans, draughted from various regiments, and about six hundred Americans, all under the command of Brigadier General Loaces, a native of the kingdom of Peru, colonel of the regiment of Saragossa, and a brave and expe rienced officer. He had determined to make a vigorous and desperate defence; and, as the fate of the kingdom depended in a great measure on that of this city, the Government resolved to abandon that of San Luis Potosi, and to succor Queretaro with the European regiment of Zamora that was stationed there. The order to this effect was no sooner despatched than Iturbide knew of it, and concerted measures to surprise the troops on their march, which were so well executed that they found themselves surrounded when they least expected it by a body of three times their number, and compelled to surrender at discretion. This happy occurrence for the Independents was a deathblow to the Government, who found itself at once deprived of the important capital and province of San Luis Potosi, that were immediately occupied by the Independents, and without the means of contributing to the relief of Queretaro, which capitulated shortly after; the American part of the garrison joining Iturbide, as usual, and the Europeans going on parole to Celaya, until such time as they could be transported to the Havana. These troops, to their eternal disgrace, proposed afterwards to their colonel to rise and march to Mexico; but he, like a man of honor, sent the letter to Iturbide, who immediately ordered them to be disarmed and dispersed. The next action of any importance was in the neighborhood of Toluca, fourteen leagues from the city, between the regiment of Fernando VII., commanded by Colonel Castillo, and a body of the Independents of an equal number, under the orders of Colonel Filisola, which was indecisive, both parties claiming the victory, after an obstinate battle, in which more than two hundred were left dead on the field, and the Independents in possession of two cannon, that their opponents were obliged to abandon. At this period, General Negrete, commander of the troops in the province of Guadalaxara, rose with the whole of his army, obliged the commandant, General Don Jose de la Cruz, to fly from the capital of that name, where, and in all other parts of the province, independence was sworn; the commerce of the port of San Blas was also declared free to all nations. Cruz took the road leading to the internal provinces, with the intention, it was said, of uniting with Brigadier Don Joaquin Arredondo, commandant general of the eastern provinces, of raising an army in union with him, and of returning, either to reconquer his own province, or to the aid of that of Mexico. Arredondo had, however, already caused independence to be sworn throughout his district, and, on hearing this, Cruz made a halt in the city of Zacatecas, but, being pursued by Negrete, fled to Durango, the capital of the province of New Biscay, carrying with him a large sum in specie that he found in the treasury at Zacatecas, which city soon after surrendered to a detachment that was sent against it by the commandant of San Luis Potosi. On the death of Hebia, the command of the regiment of Castile devolved on Lieutenant Colonel Luna, who, on the fall of Queretaro, was |