principal points of concession to the colonies, of those rights, which alone, could secure to them, a just part, in the representation of the body of the Spanish empire."* The British government, even if no other means of information, were attainable, was, thereby, early aware, what was absolutely necessary for the wellbeing of Spanish America; and was it by suffering a war to be declared against her unredressed inhabitants, even without a hearing, and when they merely took their own reform into their own hands, because they had been forgotten at home, that these requisites, pointed out by Lord Wellesley, were to be obtained?

No record of the Central Junta, or of the Cadiz Regency, that is, no governmental act, during a period of more than two years, can be produced to prove, any effective measure in alleviation of the wrongs of Spanish America; or to evince, that the members of either government, were actuated by a sincere and zealous desire, to remove the hideous and galling yoke, that had, so long, rested on the shoulders of her oppressed inhabitants. Lord Wellesley had sufficient candour to confess this truth, up to his own time, when he told his government, "that the admission of the colonies, to a participation in the government, and in the representation of the mother country, appeared rather to have been suggested, as an expedient to secure to the Junta, a continuation of its actual authority, and that it had no connection whatever, with any extensive or liberal view of policy or government." As I have before asserted, this

* Lord Wellesley to Mr. Canning, Seville, September 25, 1809. + Ibid

measure on the part of the Central Junta, was, consequently, no more than a lure; since these verbal sentiments of moderation, were belied by actual conduct. At the same time that the executive published flattering decrees, private orders, of a very opposite tenour, were sent over to the chiefs in power; so that its insincere offers, though fair on paper, when put to the test, were as flimsy as the texture, on which they were transcribed. Was this, then, the species of justice, that was to satisfy the wants of a suffering people; or were they to continue to place their confidence in a government, which, besides being illegal and inadequate, was sunk into every error and every corruption, which, in the course of ages, had crept into the cabinet of Madrid? Lord Wellesley, in his said letter, assures his government, that, even in Spain, "no plan had been adopted for the effective amendment of injuries, the correction of abuses, the alleviation of exactions, the administration of justice, the regulation of the revenue, imposts and commerce, the security of persons and property; and that all the other branches of government, were as defective as that of the war department.' Yet this is the picture of the very government, Spanish America was commanded to obey; this was the nature of the executive, from which her inhabitants were to expect relief. Lord Wellesley further adds, "The Supreme Junta, continues multiplying precautions to prolong the duration of its command, in spite of the interests of the monarchy, and the intentions and wishes of the people; by which means, all the evils and abuses, which now op press the nation, will increase," &c. The Spanish Americans were, then, not the only ones, who were sensible of the degraded state of the Peninsular government,

since it was public to the whole of Europe, and particu larly known to the British government, through the most respectable channel that possibly could be found. But what is more, Lord Wellesley, actually, foresaw the effects which would be produced in the ultramarine provinces, by the disorders of the Seville government, when as early as September, 1809, he announces to Mr. Canning, "that when the true state of the government of the mother country, is known in the colonies, there will be imminent danger of a commotion, in this most important part of the empire," The commotions in Spanish America, were, consequently, foreseen, and must have emanated from causes, not only of an imperious nature, but, also, exclusively originating on this side the water. And are the inhabitants of the transmarine provinces, then, to be plunged into the horrors of a civil war, on this account, and treated as rebels, for the adoption of measures, which were both suggested by prudence, and controled by motives, arising out of the common order of things?

§ Lord Wellesley, moreover, certified to his government, that "the greatest obstacle to the liberty of Spain, was the very state of her government; but, for the Spanish Americans to be sensible of this fact, and to act accordingly, is a crime of high treason, is pronounced rebellion, and their conduct is branded with all the terms of opprobrium, that malignity, disappointment, and rancour, could invent. Actuated by the pressure of their own ills, and as we have already seen, urged by the desponding situation of the Peninsula, they elect a provi. sional government, the most rational and the most constitutional they could; and for this, war is proclaimed against them. For this, they are, in fact, declared, hors

de la loi ; and on this unjust basis, the subjugation of the ultramarine provinces, becomes a plea for the greatest excesses of ambition and revenge, of which instances, such as never before soiled the page of history, will be, hereafter, quoted. The two reasons alleged by all the sections of Spanish America, for thus varying the forms of their own local administration, was the hopeless situation of the Peninsula, and the illegal and degraded state of its government; and these sentiments, were fully con veyed both to the Spanish and British cabinets, in the two documents placed in my Appendix, under the heads of E and F. The first, in a letter written by the Junta of Caracas, to the Marques de las Hormazas, as Spanish minister, under date of 20th May, 1810; in which, the deplorable situation of that province, (exactly the same as in the other sections) is faithfully pourtrayed, and the reasons for preferring local Juntas, fully explained. I have thought it best to give it in its entire state, not only on account of the energetic and plain display of facts, therein contained; but, because it serves as a remarkable contrast to the sentiments of a British minister, alluding to the conduct of Caracas, of which notice, will be, hereafter, taken. Document F. is a letter, written by the said Junta of Caracas, to his Majesty George III, under date of the 1st January, 1810; which I have, also, inserted at full length, in consequence of its being extremely explanatory of the views and motives, which urged the Spanish Americans to vary their forms of government, Having, moreover, in the course of this exposé, strongly urged the neglect of timely interference, on the part of the British government; and, besides, argued, that it was not only inconsistent with our true po

licy, but even with our pledge made as the joint guardians of the Spanish monarchy of both hemispheres, to suffer the ultramarine provinces to be rent asunder by unjust civil wars, and their resources to be wasted away; I conceive it my duty to manifest to my reader, what was the nature of the appeal, at that time, made to the feelings and justice of the British nation; particularly, when I can thereby explain, in a full and official manner, the grounds on which the Spanish Americans acted.

The object of this letter, was to announce to the British government, that the inhabitants of Venezuela, under the dangers to which they were exposed, and the pressure of domestic ills, by which they were bent down, had no longer been able to endure the illegal, unfair, and corrupt government of the Peninsula, through the immediate control of its agents. It was to complain of the inadequate and tyrannical measures of a government, that, up to that period, had concurred in no single act for the relief of the ultramarine provinces; but, that seemed resolved, to sustain the edifice of the most oppressive tyranny, ever invented for the misery of the human race. As the mutual ally of the entire monarchy, it was to inform England, of the prostration of a galling and political despotism, not only opposed to sound reason and rational freedom, but also in direct contradiction to the general welfare of the state. It was to complain of restraints and privations, which Spain prolonged, from motives of interest and illiberality; and, it was to condemn a system, that sacrificed a populous continent, to the gains of one hundred and fifty Cadiz monopolists. It was, in short, to enumerate aggravated hardships, of