This name has been recently given to a new state or republic in South America, formed from the provinces of Upper Peru, which formerly constituted part of the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres, and were well known by the names of Charcas, Potosi, La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. These provinces, on securing their independence, soon after the battle of Ayacucho, 9th December 1824, found it necessary to come to a determination as to their future political state and institutions; and therefore it became a question with the inhabitants of Upper Peru, whether they should continue their former connection with the Buenos Ayrean or Argentine provinces, attach themselves to the republic of Peru, or form their country into a separate and independent republic. But the existing government of Buenos Ayres having with equal judgment and generosity divested itself of the claim which it had on the provinces of Upper Peru, the inhabitants of the latter were left at perfect liberty to decide on the future political government of their country. Deputies from all the provinces were in consequence nominated; and having assembled in Chuquisaca, the capital of the republic, in August 1825, the result of their deliberations was, that the provinces of Upper Peru should in future constitute a separate and independent nation. This assembly, continuing its sessions, issued a declaration of national independence; and in the exuberance of their gratitude to General Bolivar for the important influence he had exercised in accomplishing the liberation of their country, they determined on giving the name of Bolivia to the whole country.

Bolivia extends from 12° to 23° of south latitude, and from 57° to 71° of west longitude from London, and it is bounded on the north by Peru and Brazil, on the east by Brazil, on the south by the Argentine or Buenos Ayrean provinces and Chili, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean and Peru. It has been divided by the constituent congress of Bolivia into six departments, viz. Potosi, Chuquisaca, La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, and Oruro; and these have been subdivided into provinces and cantons. Thus each department includes in its jurisdiction certain provinces of the ancient regime. The department of Potosi contains Atacama, Lipez, Potosi, Porco, Chayanta, and Chichas; Chuquisaca contains Charcas or Chuquisaca, Cinti, Yamparaes, and Tomina; La Paz, the provinces of La Paz, Pacajes, Sicassica, Chulumani, Omasuyos, Larecaja, and Apolobamba; Santa Cruz, the provinces of Santa Cruz, Mojos, Chiquitos, Vallegrande, Pampas, and Baures; Cochabamba contains Cochabamba, Sacaba, Tapacari, Arque, Palca, Clissa, and Misque; and the department of Oruro, the provinces of Paria, Oruro, and Carangas.

The province of Atacama, which belongs geographically either to Chili or Peru, forms the only part of Bolivia which comes into contact with the Pacific Ocean, and is situated between the Andes and the ocean. It is almost entirely desert and destitute of population. At its northern extremity is situated the small port of Cobija, which has been recently denominated Puerto la Mar, and has acquired additional importance from its being now the only avenue by which foreign articles of commerce can enter the Bolivian republic without the payment of transit duties; having obtained peculiar and valuable privileges, as an encouragement to the introduction of merchandise by this route, in preference to the more convenient routes by the Puertos Intermedios, belonging to the republic of Peru. But the arid nature of the surrounding country, and the great scarcity of water, must greatly retard its advancement, as the inhabitants are not only scantily supplied with this very essential necessary of life, but the mules employed in the transportation of goods into the interior are exposed to great privations and hardships from the want of water and pasture.

The provinces of Lipez, Porco, Potosi, Chichas, Oruro, Paria, Carangas, and some others, are very elevated districts, and principally valuable on account of their mineral riches. The climate is so cold that scarcely any vegetable productions present themselves, except a species of coarse grass, which serves as pasture to the numerous herds of llamas, guanacos, alpacas, and vicunas, which abound in these elevated situations. Cinti, Yamparaes, Tomina, some parts of Chichas, and other places, enjoy a milder climate, and the vegetation is more abundant and varied; while from these mining districts are principally supplied with provisions and other necessaries. In the provinces of Chayanta, Larecaja, Sicassica, Chuquisaca, and other places in the department of La Paz, there are also numerous and valuable mines of gold and silver; but the nature of the country being more diversified and less elevated in many places, the inhabitants are less dependent on the neighbouring provinces for their supplies. The greater number of the eastern provinces, which belong to the departments of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, are of less elevation, and consequently possess many of the productions peculiar to tropical regions. The province of Tarija, which is situated at the southeastern extremity of the department of Chuquisaca, and which belongs politically to the Argentine republic, forms geographically a part of the Bolivian republic, and was at one period claimed and taken possession of by them as such. This quarter has always been described as possessing a delightful climate, with a rich and fertile soil.

The greater part of the republic of Bolivia is situated in a mountainous and elevated country, more particularly tains at its western and central parts; but towards the east it becomes much less so, and at length terminates in extensive plains, which are bounded on the east by the Brazils. That part of the Andes which is situated in Bolivia is divided into two separate chains, of great elevation, running in a northerly direction, and nearly parallel to each other. Their separation commences near Potosi, in the province of Porco, between 19° and 20° of south latitude, and they continue apart from each other, forming the eastern and western Cordilleras of Bolivia, and terminate by their union, between 14° and 15° of south latitude, to the south of the city of Cusco. These lofty ranges inclose an extensive valley or table-land, which has no visible outlet for the discharge of its waters; in this respect resembling the valley of Mexico before the formation of the artificial outlet denominated the Desaguado de Huehuetoca. The former, however, greatly exceeds the latter in extent, as well as in elevation. From Carangas at its southern extremity, in 19° 43', to Lampa, in 15° S., its extent has been estimated at about 3500 square leagues; and the barometrical observations of Mr Pentland give it an elevation above the level of the sea, at Oruro, the lowest point of observation, of no less than 12,441 feet. The mountains of the western Cordillera vary in elevation from 18,605 feet, which has been observed at El Paso del Alto de los Huesos, to that of 18,898 feet, which is attained by the Cerro de Tacora or Chipicani. In this chain are found several active volcanoes, amongst which may be enumerated those of Shama and of Arequipa, the latter of which presents to the observer the most perfect natural cone which has yet been observed in any country. The eastern Cordillera, which is entirely confined to Bolivia, has been ascertained, by the trigonometrical observations of the same gentleman, to possess an elevation greatly exceeding that of Chimborazo, or of any other mountain in the New World. Thus he has found that the summit of the Cerro Nevado de Sorata has an elevation of 25,250 feet, and that of the Cerro Nevado de Illimani, situated to the eastward of the city of La Paz, an elevation of 24,350 feet above the level of the sea.

From that part of the eastern Cordillera which is situated between Oruro and La Paz, in about 18° of south latitude, there branches off a chain, which proceeds from west to east, constitutes the mountains of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and is called, in the different parts of its course, the Cordillera de Chiriguanas, de los Sauces, and de Yuracares, each rising to the region of perpetual snow. Their eastern declivity is very rapid, and their loftiest summits are situated, not in the centre, but in the northern part of the group. This lateral ridge, where it terminates, forms the point of partition between the basin of the Amazons and that of the Rio de la Plata. The Cachimayo and the Pilcomayo, which rise between Potosi, Talavera de la Puna, and Chuquisaca, flow to the south-east to unite with the Parana; while the Parapiti and the Guaype or Rio de Misque pour their waters into the Mamori towards the north-east, and thence into the Amazons. But the ridge of partition being placed near Chayanta, between 19° and 20° south latitude, and south of Misque, Tomina, and Pomabamba, the river Guapey, which flows through these provinces, is forced to sweep round the whole group or chain of Cochabamba in order to reach the plains of the Amazons. From that part where this chain of mountains closes the ridge of partition of Cochabamba, it proceeds towards the north-east to 16° of south latitude, and forms, by the intersection of two plains slightly inclined, a kind of wall in the midst of the savannahs, which separates the waters of the Guapore, flowing into the Madeira, from those of the Aguapéhy and Jauru, tributary streams of the Rio Paraguay, and thus forms a line of junction between the lateral Cordillera or counterfort of Cochabamba and the mountains of Brazil. This level strait, which divides the sources of the Mamori and the Pilcomayo, and crosses the provinces of Mojos and Chiquitos, displays bare and grassy steppes, like the plains of Casanare and Buenos Ayres.

The valley or table-land which is occupied by the lake of Titicaca and the Rio Desaguadero forms the most elevated table-land in the globe, with the exception of that of Thibet, which presents only mountain pastures, covered with sheep; while this table-land of the New World presents towns and populous cities,—affords support to numerous herds of cattle, llamas, guanacos, and sheep,—and is covered with harvests of maize, rye, barley, and wheat, at an elevation which has nothing to equal it in any other part of the world. The lake of Titicaca or Choquito, which occupies its northern extremity, is 12,703 feet above the level of the sea, and its extent is equal to twenty times that of the lake of Geneva, or 448 square marine leagues. It is surrounded by numerous towns and villages, with a rich and fertile country, and contains several islands, the largest of which is called Titicaca, and was long held in great veneration by the Peruvian Indians, in consequence of its having been the place from whence Manco Capac and his consort Manco Oello Huaco, the great founders of the empire of the Incas, issued, to spread civilization, industry, and good government among the surrounding nations; in memory of whom, and as a testimony of gratitude for so many benefits conferred upon the country, the Incas afterwards erected in this island a magnificent temple to the sun, in which were accumulated great riches in silver and gold, being offerings of the Peruvians, all of which were afterwards thrown into the lake, to prevent their falling into the hands of the Spaniards. This island has in latter times fallen sadly from its former high destinies; since, during the revolutionary war, it served the purpose of a secure prison, in which were confined the patriot prisoners who had had the misfortune to fall into the hands of the royalists. The lake of Titicaca is very irregular in its form, but it has been estimated at about 240 miles in circumference; in many places it has a depth of seventy or eighty fathoms, and admits of extensive navigation for ships and smaller vessels, though not unattended with danger, as it is subject to sudden storms and violent gusts of wind from the neighbouring mountains. This forms the most elevated scene of navigation perhaps in the universe. This lake communicates with the smaller lake of Paria, situated at the southern extremity of the valley, by means of the Rio Desaguadero, which flows out of the lake of Titicaca, and has a breadth of from eighty to a hundred yards. This river and lake form part of the western boundaries between the republics of Bolivia and Peru. Over this river was formed, in the time of the Incas, a suspension bridge, composed of cables and cords made of the grass and rushes which grow on its borders; and the work was constantly renewed from time to time, to obviate the effects of decay, as it constituted the only line of communication between the opposite sides of the valley. These lakes, with the Desaguadero, form the only recipients for the water of these rivers and streams which arise from the surrounding mountains and enter into this extensive plain, which has no visible outlet, by which any portion of its contents can escape, otherwise than by means of evaporation.

Those rivers which take their rise from the western declivity of the western Cordillera, and flow into the Pacific, are so inconsiderable in magnitude, and so short in their course, as scarcely to merit observation, and are only useful in supplying the means of a partial irrigation to the arid plains which separate these mountains from the Pacific. But those numerous rivers taking their origin on the eastern declivity of the more elevated or eastern Cordillera, which is distinguished in the different parts of its extent, as the Cordillera of La Paz, of Palca, of Ancumá, and of Pelechuco, present a very different aspect, and are of much greater importance, since they communicate with large navigable rivers, which terminate in the Atlantic Ocean.

The river Paro or Beni, which takes its origin in the neighbourhood of the city of La Paz,—and the Guapey, which arises near Cochabamba, and, sweeping round the southern and eastern bases of the Cordillera of Cochabamba, unites itself to the Mamori,—flow to the north-east to mingle with the waters of the mighty Maranon or Amazon; while the Pilcomayo, which arises near Potosi and Chuquisaca, and the Vermejo, which has its origin in the valley of Tarija, bend their courses, at a considerable distance from each other, to the south-east, until they mingle their contents with those of the Paraguay, which terminates in the Rio de la Plata. All these rivers are navigable throughout their whole extent, until within a very considerable distance of the important cities above mentioned; and not only afford the most convenient and extensive lines of river communication with the nations of Europe and all the countries which border on the Atlantic, but will likewise, in time, by means of steam navigation, open up the vegetable wealth of the intermediate districts.

The animals which distinguish the more elevated parts of Bolivia are the guanaco, the llama, the alpaca, and the vicuna, which are found in great abundance in such situations. These animals, in their structure and habits, are all closely allied to the camel of Africa. Thus, an examination of the structure of the stomach shows that they are capable of existing during a considerable time without any supply of water, and in fact they are seldom seen to drink from the streams of their native mountains. The camel seems peculiarly well calculated to live in the arid and burning deserts of the Old World, and the form of its feet is singularly adapted for traversing rapidly these extensive plains; whilst, on the other hand, the guanaco and the llama have their feet so constructed as to enable them with facility to ascend and descend the abrupt declivities, and to traverse the rugged and uneven passes, which abound in these mountains. They seem likewise to frequent particularly those parts of the Cordillera of the Andes which are the most dry and arid, and which are least clothed with dense forests and shrubbery. Thus, in the Cordillera which separates the Argentine republic from Chili, the guanacos are found in great numbers on the summits and eastern declivities, which are exceedingly arid and bare, when compared with the western or Chili side, where the Andes in their whole extent are clothed to a certain elevation with a broad belt of forest trees and evergreens, and where, at certain seasons of the year, there are heavy and continued rains. On this side the guanaco is of comparatively rare occurrence.

There has existed considerable diversity of opinion among naturalists whether the guanaco, llama, alpaca, and vicuna, are different, or only the same species: but it is now the prevailing opinion that they comprise two distinct species, the three former constituting one, the Camelus Llama of Linnaeus, or Auchenia Glama of Illiger; and that the differences which have been observed are only the results of domestication,—the guanaco being the animal in its wild or native state, the llama the same animal after it has been modified by a long period of domestication, and the alpaca only differing from the llama in being covered with a more abundant fleece, and kept in flocks for the sake of the wool. The subject, however, of the identity of these animals requires some further investigation, as it has been asserted that the distinctive types of the different kinds may yet be discovered in a wild state. In their natural state, the guanacos are found in numerous herds on the more elevated parts of the Andes, Peru, and Bolivia, and of the Cordillera which separates Chili from the Argentine provinces, and extend even a great way along that chain as it approaches the Strait of Magalhaens, having been met with in considerable numbers, according to the testimony of Captain King, in various parts of the islands composing Tierra del Fuego, at a distance of only fifty miles from Cape Horn. They are likewise found in the Andes of Colombia or New Grenada, but are there much less numerous. In the summer they usually frequent the most elevated parts of the mountains; but on the approach of winter, the snow and the inclemency of the season obliges them to seek shelter in the valleys and plains below. They are then in high condition, and at this season are most prized by the hunters. The young of the guanaco are easily tamed, and soon become remarkably gentle and attached to their keepers.

These were the only ruminating animals found in South America on its discovery by the Spaniards; and the llamas were then extensively employed as beasts of burthen by the Peruvian Indians—a custom which is still continued to a considerable extent, in consequence of the greater facility and economy in feeding them. But, in many instances, the introduction of horses and mules has entirely superseded the use of them. They are capable of carrying a load of from 100 to 150 lbs., which they convey, at the rate of fifteen, and sometimes even of twenty, miles a day, over rocks and precipices where their attendants sometimes with difficulty follow them; and they require very little care to direct them in their course. The larger species are capable of carrying a full-grown man, and will trot or run under him with great swiftness for several miles. The chief merit of the llama, next to its being sure-footed, seems to be its extreme docility, and the trifling expense of its maintenance. "They want neither bit, bridle, nor saddle," says Feuillée; "there is no need of oats to feed them; it is only necessary to unload them in the evening at the place where they are to rest for the night; they go abroad into the country to seek their own food, and in the morning they return to the same place; their baggage is replaced, and they continue their route." Their defects are, their comparative weakness, their slow rate of travelling, and their obstinacy. If their load is too heavy, if they are fatigued, or are urged forward too fast, they lie down and refuse to proceed. It is therefore requisite to have a number of spare llamas in readiness to supply the places of such as are fatigued or give in; for after four or five days' travelling they generally require to rest.

The guanaco, and the llama, which is considered as of the same species, but only in a domestic state, are exceedingly graceful and handsome animals; and their whole physiognomy indicates vivacity and intelligence. They usually march two and two when in troops, in a stately manner, with their heads erect; and it is a remarkable circumstance, that the llamas, in passing underneath an archway to which they are unaccustomed, always bow their heads, however high the arch may be. In their wild state, when disturbed by the approach of strangers, these animals seem to possess a considerable degree of curiosity, placing themselves on the summits of the neighbouring mountains, and gazing upon the intruders beneath, occasionally uttering a peculiar interrupted cry, after which they scamper off to a distance. They are remarkably gregarious, and may sometimes be seen in herds of from 300 to 500; and when disturbed, or when travelling in the mountains, they constantly follow a leader—a circumstance of which the hunters who lie in wait for them frequently take advantage. The llamas are so exceedingly tame and gentle in their manners, that in passing along the streets or roads they occasionally approach their heads towards the bystanders, as if requesting corn or some other article of food: when irritated, however, the guanaco, in its tame state, as well as the llama, squirts on the aggressor some saliva from a cleft in the upper lip; but our own experience has proved to us that this saliva is quite destitute of that acrid quality which some have attributed to it. On the arrival of the Spaniards in Peru these animals were killed in vast num-

Gregorio de Bolivar estimates, that in his time 4,000,000 were annually killed to be eaten, and no less than 300,000 llamas were employed in the transport of the ores from the mines of Potosi alone. Even at the present day the guanaco or wild species exists in great numbers in those parts of the Andes which are least frequented; yet many are still annually destroyed and eaten by the Indians, and also by the puma or American lion, which is found in many parts of these mountains. Their flesh is savoury when young, but not very palatable when full grown; their wool, however, is very valuable to the Indians, who manufacture it into hats and various kinds of woollen stuffs; and their skins, when tanned, are useful in making shoes and harness.

The vicuna (Camelus Vicugna) is a smaller animal than the guanaco or llama, and only useful for its fleece. The wool is long and fine, and forms a valuable article of commerce; it is of a brownish colour, somewhat resembling that of a dried rose leaf; it has a soft, silky, and close texture, and is well calculated for the manufacture of hats and warm clothing. The vicuna very much resembles the llama and guanaco in its habits and dispositions, but cannot be usefully employed as a beast of burthen. It usually frequents the highest parts of the mountains, even where frost and snow prevail. It is extremely timid, but gregarious, and runs very swiftly. The chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) is also an inhabitant of the mountainous parts of Bolivia. The skins, however, are of an inferior quality, although larger than those obtained from the northern parts of Chili; but still they form a very valuable article of commerce, on account of the great fineness and delicacy of their furs. The eastern or more thickly wooded parts of Bolivia are inhabited by a variety of wild animals, which are more or less common in Brazil, and the other parts of intertropical America of inconsiderable elevation.

The vegetation of Bolivia is exceedingly various, depending principally upon the elevation of the district above the level of the sea. In many situations the mountains are covered with perennial snows, below which level we find those extensive plains or paramos, on the less elevated parts of which are situated the cities of Potosi, Oruro, and other towns in the district of Charcas. On these vegetation is very slight and scanty, consisting principally of a coarse wiry grass called ichu, and rushes, which only serve the purpose of food for the llamas, guanacos, alpacas, and vicunas, which abound there; and during long journeys, as from Oruro to La Paz, scarcely a tree is to be seen. In the more sheltered spots may be found some stunted bushes of the carob tree, and another shrub called tola. Several species of the cactus tribe are also found in these elevated regions, and especially the Cactus Peruvianus, so general an inhabitant of South America, where it sometimes grows to the height of from twenty to thirty, or even forty feet, and is either in single stems or variously branched. It is used in many parts of Bolivia as a fence for inclosures; and the stems, when divested of their spines, are employed in the formation of rafters and door-posts for houses. Descending in level, as on the margins of the lake of Titicaca and at La Paz, the vegetation becomes more vigorous and varied, and the plains may be seen covered with abundant crops of grain; while in the neighbourhood of La Paz is cultivated to a great extent the coca plant (Erythroxylum Coca), in such general use, and so essential an article with the Indians, that its culture in the province of La Paz is productive of great wealth to the inhabitants of that part of the country. It is used by them as a masticatory in combination with a particular alkaline substance, called hipta, and on long and painful journeys serves the Indian in lieu of all other nourishment. In the neighbourhood of Chuquisaca and Cochabamba, which have respectively an elevation of 9331 and 8448 feet above the level of the sea, and in numerous other valleys, the vegetation is so rich and luxuriant, that they are considered as the gardens of Bolivia, and supply the more elevated mining districts with a great part of those necessaries and luxuries of life which their more rigorous climate denies them. As the country descends towards the east, the sides of the mountains become clothed with dense forests, and at length present all the exuberant richness and variety which characterize the vegetation of level districts within the tropics.

The geological structure of the colossal mountains situated in Bolivia has hitherto been very imperfectly examined. We learn from Humboldt, however, that the metalliferous mountains near Potosi are principally composed of trachytic porphyries; and Mr Pentland likewise discovered trachyte in the mountain of Pichu, one of the most elevated of the western Cordillera. In the same chain there likewise exist various volcanic mountains, some of which are in an active state. There is perhaps no part of the world which affords a more interesting field for the investigations of industrious and intelligent geologists than Bolivia, not only on account of the great elevation which it attains, but also from the exhibitions of internal structure presented by volcanic agency and otherwise; while powerful aid might be afforded by such inquiries in searching for mines, and in the prosecution of mining enterprises, and also in discovering beds of coal and other important auxiliaries, tending to lessen the difficulty and expense of such undertakings.

The great variety, extent, and value, of the mineral productions of the mountainous districts of Bolivia have given to this part of America an importance and celebrity which it would not otherwise have obtained, and caused large and populous cities and towns to be built at elevations where the rigours of the climate and the deficient vegetation would otherwise have afforded very few inducements for fixing the abodes of industry.

Gold is found in considerable quantities in the mountainous parts of Bolivia; but, owing to the expense of extracting the metal from the ore, the mines which produce it have not been worked to the extent of which they are susceptible. In these it is usually found in the form of grains or nodules, or intermixed with antimony, silver, and other substances, and is separated by reducing the whole to a fine powder, and by amalgamation with quicksilver. The colossal mountain of Illimani is believed to contain great quantities of gold, in consequence of that metal having been found in a native state in considerable quantities in the lake of Illimani, situated at its base, and at an elevation of 15,780 feet above the level of the sea. In the seventeenth century, likewise, an Indian found near its base, at a short distance from the city of La Paz, a mass of native gold, which was said to have been detached from the mountain by the agency of lightning, and which, having been purchased for the sum of 11,269 dollars, was afterwards deposited in the cabinet of natural history at Madrid.

But by far the greater part of the gold procured in Bolivia is obtained by means of the lavaderos or gold washings, in the beds of rivulets, where it is found in the form of grains. The most productive of these are the celebrated lavaderos of Tipuani, consisting of streams descending from the snow-capped summits of the Cordillera of Ancuma, situated about sixty leagues to the north-east of the city of La Paz, in the province of Larecaja. The town of Zorata, which is the great resort of the miners and all others who are attracted by these gold washings, is at a considerable distance, and is reached by a road full of difficulties and dangers. The eastern sides of the mountains, when contrasted with the western declivities, looking towards the lake of Titicaca, present a rich and vigorous vegetation, and the climate becomes sensibly milder as we descend. The waters rush with impetuosity from these lofty mountains, and, accumulating greatly in their progress, at the distance of fifteen miles from the summit called Amicarpa, form the river Tipuani, which runs with great rapidity; and, passing between two lofty mountains, emerges, after a course of about forty miles, near the village of Tipuani, where it loses its former rapidity, the country now consisting of only gentle undulations. This river terminates in the Beni, one of the tributaries of the Amazons; but before reaching the Beni its channel ceases to be productive of gold. From its inconsiderable elevation, the country where these lavaderos are situated is hot and moist, and subject to intermittents. The surrounding country is covered with a very luxuriant vegetation, and teems with all the animal and vegetable productions of tropical America.

The gold is found in the form of grains or pepitas, at the depth of ten or twelve yards below the surface, imbedded in a stratum of clay of several feet in thickness, and has the purity of 23½ quilates. All the operations are performed by manual labour, and the excavations are kept free from water by means of buckets, at an expense of labour which might easily be saved by the employment of pumps and other mechanical contrivances. An idea may be formed of the disadvantages of pursuing such a course by stating, that at the works of Isola alone, in the years 1819, 1820, and 1821, no less than from 300 to 400 labourers were constantly employed in emptying the water by means of hide buckets; yet the gold-washings were so productive as not only to cover the heavy expense thus incurred, but greatly to benefit the proprietor. The gold-washings at Tipuani were worked in the time of the Peruvian Incas, as is evinced by their tools, which are occasionally found imbedded in the alluvial soil, and almost invariably in such situations as prove the most productive.

Silver, however, has hitherto been the staple metallic production of Bolivia, and has given to it that celebrity which it has long possessed. In the rich mountain of Potosi alone, according to the records kept at Potosi of the quintas or royal duties from the year 1545 to the year 1800, no less than $833,950,509 dollars were coined during that period; and if to this be added the amount of the preceding years, not included, and that obtained in a clandestine manner, without the payment of the customary dues, not less than $1,647,901,018 dollars have been obtained from this source alone in the space of 255 years.

The Cerro de Potosi, or argentiferous mountain of Potosi, has somewhat of a conical form, resembling a colossal sugar-loaf; its base being about three leagues in circumference, and its summit 16,037 feet above the level of the sea, and 2723 above the level of the great square or plaza of the city of Potosi, which is situated at its base. At the foot of the cerro is a smaller mountain called Huayna Potosi, or the Younger Potosi, likewise containing silver, but in less abundance than the other, and less accessible, from the numerous springs which there impede the operations of mining. The principal mountain has been worked as high up as within 125 feet of its summit. The labours of the miners have hitherto been principally confined to the upper half of the mountain, which has been perforated by numerous excavations, with at least 5000 bocas minas, or opening of mines. This number, however, does not indicate the existence of so many mines, since each mine has often two or more openings. These operations have not been conducted with any regard to order or convenience. The upper part of the mountain is exhausted to a considerable extent of its valuable contents; but the lower part is still in a great measure untouched, as the springs are there more numerous, and the water accumulates in such quantities as materially to interrupt the further progress of the miners. Various works have been commenced and prosecuted, for carrying off these waters from the lower part of the mountain, but none of them have ever been carried to such an extent as fully to answer the purpose of their formation. The most extensive of these has been the Socabon or adit of San Juan Nepomuceno, in the formation of which the Spanish government expended no less a sum than $560,243 dollars. It is 2200 varas or yards in extent, six feet in height, and six in breadth at the base, and it is arched and lined with rough stones without cement. In various parts of the country near the mountain are numerous lakes or pools formed from the water of these springs and other sources in the mountains, which, being economized, give motion to the machinery employed in reducing the ore.

The mines of Potosi, according to Humboldt, rank next in importance to those of Guanaxuato in Mexico. The existence of silver in this place was first accidentally discovered by an Indian in the year 1545, and ever since that time its mines have been worked. A few years prior to the commencement of the revolution it was worked to a considerable extent, and no less than 40 ingenios or mills for grinding ore were in full operation; but the events which followed proved most destructive, not only to the machinery employed, but likewise to the capital embarked in mining operations. From fifty to sixty bocas minas were worked in 1825, when General Miller became prefect of the department; but Temple, when he visited it soon afterwards, found only about fifteen ingenios at work, affording on an average 1500 merks of silver weekly, or about £125,000 sterling per annum. Pazo, in his Letters on South America, on visiting the mountain of Potosi, thus expresses himself: "The sublimity of the surrounding scenery did not so much interest my feelings as the celebrated mountain which has poured forth its lavas of silver upon the world, to animate enterprise and reward industry; to pamper the luxurious, and minister to the comforts of the sober and virtuous; to disseminate knowledge and religion, and to spread the desolations of war, marshalling armies in the field, and pointing the thunder of navies on the ocean; filling cities with monuments of taste and art, and overwhelming them with ruin; founding mighty empires, and levelling them with the dust; inciting, in short, to virtue and to crime, and being the source of much good, and the root of great evil, in the world."

The silver mines of Portugalete, in the province of Chichas, have acquired considerable celebrity on account of the richness as well as quantity of their ores, which yield from 60 to 80 merks of silver to the caxon, while those of Potosi only afford about 10 merks from the same quantity of ore. The silver mines of Choromo, near Tupiza, in the province of Chichas, were worked, until lately, on account of General Olañeta, the proprietor, and were considered as productive. Besides these there are various other silver mines in the province of Chichas, but their value is much diminished by the scarcity of water, and their being situated in an almost desert and unproductive country. At La Plata, Porco, and Lipes, there exist silver mines, especially one in the latter province, celebrated for the purity of its ores, which were formerly in great repute, but since eclipsed by the more important ones of Potosi and of other places. In Carangas there are rich mines, where the silver is found in its metallic state, disseminated in the rock, a kind of ore which is considered as very productive. At Oruro the silver mines were formerly very rich and productive, as the opulence of its inhabitants, of which there are some remarkable instances on record, sufficiently evinced; but these, as well as the celebrated tin mines of the same place, have fallen into decay, principally in consequence of the disastrous events which attended the insurrection of Tupac Amaru. They are now filled with water, and the inhabitants being deficient in the requisite machinery, have no means of emptying them. Besides those already enumerated, many other gold and silver mines were worked to advantage; but in consequence of the diminished confidence and capital resulting from the long and disastrous war of independence, they have latterly been neglected.

Timber or coal for smelting is a great desideratum in Potosi and others mining districts, as, from the nature of the ores, in which the silver is principally associated with copper and lead, they are unsuited for the process of amalgamation, and can only be properly extracted by fusion, by which means the copper and lead are also preserved. The loss of mercury, in extracting the silver by the process of amalgamation from the ores produced in the mines of Bolivia and Peru, is from 15 to 25 per cent. on the value of the silver produced; while, by the process of smelting, all the silver might be obtained at an eighth part of the expense, in a tenth part of the time, and with infinitely less labour, and great quantities of lead and copper at the same time preserved.

The methods hitherto employed for the reduction of the silver ores of this country are exceedingly imperfect and inefficient; the manipulations are tedious, operose, and expensive; and a considerable proportion of the silver is entirely lost in its extraction by means of amalgamation, while much of the mercury is also unnecessarily wasted. But great advantages may be expected to arise from the introduction of improved methods of mining and metallurgy. These mines can never be worked to advantage in the manner which has of late been so generally followed. More skill and capital are requisite to render them productive and remunerating.

The roads which form the means of communication between Bolivia and the surrounding countries, and between the various provinces of the same republic, are in no respect commensurate to the important purposes which they are destined to serve. By inattention to the formation and preservation of roads, the Spaniards and their descendants have fallen greatly behind the Peruvians, whose industry and civilization they affected to despise, and laboured hard to depreciate. We have the testimony of a late observer, that the most distinct traces of an ancient Peruvian road may be observed at the present day as far south as the valley of Uspallata, in 32 degrees of south latitude; and there is little doubt that it was continuous with that formed between Potosi and Cuzco, since the inhabitants of the provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, and La Rioja, which are situated along the eastern base of the Cordillera of the Andes, separating Chili from the Argentine provinces, are in the constant practice of conveying to the upper provinces of Peru their wines, brandies, dried fruits, and mules, by this mountain route, which is distinguished by the name of El Despoblado. Those persons who are in the habit of travelling by this route describe it as by no means difficult, since, with only occasional interruptions, it proceeds along longitudinal valleys, running north and south in a direction parallel with the Cordillera; and it has been remarked by Andrews, a recent traveller in Bolivia, that there is another road distinct from that by Jujuy, which might easily be made passable for carriages, from Salta to Tupiza and Potosi, and even to Cuzco; and which is only distant twelve leagues from the one presently in use between Potosi and Jujuy—a miserable tract, incapable of being passed except on mules and horses, and in many places not only difficult, but dangerous. The present route, for it can scarcely be designated by the name of road, from Potosi to Jujuy, the first city belonging to the Argentine republic, is about 310 miles in length; and this place forms the point where a road commences for carriages and waggons as far as Buenos Ayres, an additional extent of land carriage of about 1617 geographical miles. The various routes from Bolivia to the coast of the Pacific, by the way of Cobija or Puerto Lamar, Tarapaca, by Oruro to Tacna and Arequipa, can only be passed on mules or horseback; and travellers are sometimes exposed to great perils and hardships from exposure to those storms which occasionally prevail at such great elevations. The difficulties which at present embarrass the transport of all articles of commerce proceeding to Bolivia greatly enhance their prices to the inhabitants, and consequently lessen their consumption; but it is to be hoped that one of the earliest and most important duties of their new government will be to remedy these evils by every means in its power.

The climate of Bolivia is exceedingly various, being principally dependent upon the proportional elevation of the district above the level of the sea. In some parts the mountains are covered with eternal snows, below which are extensive plains or paramos destitute of vegetation, where the climate is cold and rigorous. Here travellers are frequently exposed to great danger and hardship, owing to the storms that occasionally prevail, especially snow storms, which, besides other inconveniences, frequently produce the surumpi or snow blindness, an affection which has proved fatal to some travellers, and to many of the brave and energetic men employed in the late eventful struggle for independence. On the less elevated of these plains are situated the cities of Potosi, Oruro, and others. The climate of Potosi, at an elevation of from 13,314 to 13,668 feet, is disagreeable, and so various that in one day it frequently exhibits the vicissitudes of the four seasons of the year. Thus, during the night and the early part of the morning it is piercingly cold; in the forenoon it resembles our fine weather in March; in the afternoon the rays of the sun, in so pure and attenuated an atmosphere, are very powerful, and scorchingly hot; while towards evening the air usually becomes mild and serene. Europeans and the Creoles therefore require to be well clothed; but the Indians, who are inured to the climate from early infancy, seem less susceptible of its effects, and enjoy good health with inferior clothing. Strangers, on first arriving in this country, are usually affected with difficulty of breathing, owing to the extreme rarity of the atmosphere; they are likewise frequent sufferers from dysentery, which, however, for the most part soon disappears, and then they enjoy tolerably good health. Here no inconvenience is experienced from troublesome insects. The climate of Oruro, which has an elevation of 12,441 feet above the level of the sea, is likewise cold, but by no means unhealthy. From its sheltered situation, the city of La Paz, at an elevation of 12,195 feet, enjoys a mild and pleasant climate; but that of Chuquisaca, with 9331, and Cochabamba, with 8448 feet of elevation, are universally admitted to be the most delicious and agreeable places in Bolivia. In descending through the eastern provinces, towards the plains of Mojos and Chiquitos, are experienced all the gradations of climate, from the mildness of Chuquisaca to the temperature which characterizes the equinoctial regions of America, where intermittent fevers, dysenteries, and other diseases peculiar to warm climates, are found to prevail.

The only productions hitherto furnished by Bolivia as commerce articles of commerce have been the precious metals, which were exchanged for various articles of luxury and necessity. The rude and simple fabrics manufactured by the Peruvian Indians are usually appropriated to their own domestic uses; while the valuable vegetable productions, and the herds of cattle and mules, which are reared in the eastern parts of the republic, have hitherto scarcely been sufficient for the supply of the inhabitants of those populous mining districts, that are principally dependent on them for subsistence. Coca to the value of 200,000 dollars is annually exported from La Paz to other parts of Bolivia and Peru.

Before the revolution a very extensive traffic was maintained between the upper provinces of Peru and the provinces of the Rio de la Plata, for supplies of cattle and mules. These were reared in great numbers in all the interior Argentine provinces, expressly for the use of those countries, and were first sent by easy journeys to the luxuriant pastures of Salta and Jujuy, where they were carefully fed and tended during the winter, previous to their being conveyed to their final destination in Bolivia and Peru. Some idea may be formed of the extent of this traffic by stating, that besides all those furnished by the other Argentine provinces, the province of Salta alone supplied annually to Upper and Lower Peru from 60,000 to 80,000 mules, on all of which they realized considerable profits, the prices being proportioned to the distance to which they were conveyed. The war of independence, which has so greatly desolated the northern provinces of the Rio de la Plata, and the diminished working of the mines of Bolivia, have almost annihilated this lucrative traffic; but it may be expected to revive with increasing vigour on their again resuming their former habits of tranquillity, and becoming stimulated to increased exertion, by the accession of laborious and intelligent Europeans, and by the spread of education and intelligence.

By the route of Cordova, Tucuman, and Salta, the provinces of Upper Peru or Bolivia formerly received their supplies of articles of commerce from Europe, which were landed at Buenos Ayres; and by the same channel they likewise obtained large supplies of Yerba or Paraguay tea, to the great amount, it is affirmed, of 100,000 arrobas, or about 2,500,000 pounds annually, which had been previously conveyed by water from Paraguay to Buenos Ayres, and from thence by waggons and mules to Jujuy and Bolivia; thus enhancing its value by a circuitous and expensive land-carriage of from 2000 to 3000 miles, while by a more improved system of conveyance it might be sent by the rivers Vemcojo and Pilcomayo into the heart of Bolivia, at a vast saving of trouble and expense. The large amount of goods sent from Buenos Ayres by waggons to Jujuy tended greatly to enrich the various provinces through which they passed, giving employment to numbers of the inhabitants; and Jujuy, which formed the most distant point that could be reached by waggons or carriages, became a place of considerable importance, forming the entrepot of the commerce of Peru and the Argentine provinces. From this place the various articles of commerce were conveyed on mules to their ulterior destination.

The new order of affairs consequent on the revolution has necessarily produced important changes in this branch of commerce, and Bolivia has in a great measure ceased to receive her supplies of foreign commodities by this expensive route. Commerce, where unrestricted, always finds out the shortest and least expensive channels for the introduction of its commodities. The trade is now in a great degree diverted to the ports of the Pacific, called the Puertos Intermedios. Tacna and Arequipa, with their respective ports, have now become the principal channels through which Bolivia receives the produce and manufactures of other countries. How far the Bolivian government has succeeded in making Cobija or Puerto la Mar of that exclusive commercial importance which it contemplated, remains yet to be ascertained. Nature presents great obstacles to the success of the undertaking, which is certainly a most praiseworthy one; while all the rest of the coast, in which are situated the Puertos Intermedios, forms part of the republic of Peru, to which, therefore, they must necessarily pay transit duties. A new and very important channel of communication for commerce will be opened between Bolivia and the Atlantic, whenever commercial enterprise and increasing civilization shall have established steam navigation on the Rio de la Plata and its tributary streams, the Vermejo and Pilcomayo, and from the mouth of the Amazons to its distant tributaries the Beni and the Mamori.

By a decree of the republican government of Peru, dated 22d February 1831, the following judicious regulations have been established for settling the commercial relations of that state with the republic of Bolivia:

1. The productions of the territory of the Bolivian republic, introduced into Peru for its consumption, shall be subject to an import duty of four per cent. on their valuation.

2. Those productions of Bolivia which only pass through the territory of Peru for embarkation from its ports, shall only be subjected to a transit duty of two per cent.

3. Silver and gold, either coined or otherwise, introduced from Bolivia into Peru, shall be exempted from any duties.

4. All foreign articles of commerce passing through the territory of Peru, and destined for Bolivia, shall only be subjected to the payment of two per cent. ad valorem; and the decree of 22d January 1830, which imposed transit duties of from fifteen to forty-five per cent. on such commodities, has been repealed.

5. All articles of foreign commerce which are exempted from the payment of duties on their introduction into Peru, such as books, quicksilver, iron, machinery, &c., shall likewise be exempted from the payment of any transit duties on passing into Bolivia; and the decree of 5th March 1830, imposing a transit duty on such articles of fifteen per cent. has been repealed.

Very imperfect materials are accessible for obtaining correct estimates of the population of Bolivia. But an idea may be formed of that of some of the principal cities, from the statements given on the authority of Miller, Temple, Pentland, and others. Chuquisaca, the capital and seat of government, is stated to contain only 18,000; Cinti, 12,000; the city of La Paz, 40,000; Zorata, 12,000; and Cochabamba, 30,000. Potosi, in 1825, during the five months' equitable and judicious administration of our countryman General Miller, increased in population from 8000 to 10,000; while in 1611, according to the census of Bejerano, it amounted to 150,000. Oruro was formerly populous, but in consequence of the insurrection of Tupac Amaru, which proved so fatal to the aboriginal population of the neighbouring districts, the numbers have greatly diminished, and now only amount to about 5000 souls.

In estimating the amount of the population of Bolivia, the following approximation may be offered, although derived from sources which are evidently incorrect and unsatisfactory; yet, in the absence of others more precise, they may be found deserving of some attention.

I.—Department of Potosi.

| Provinces | Creoles | Indians | Total | |-----------|---------|--------|-------| | Potosi | 14,000 | 21,000 | 35,000 | | Atacama | 8,000 | 22,000 | 30,000 | | Lipes | 8,000 | 12,000 | 20,000 | | Porco | 15,000 | 115,000| 130,000| | Chayanta | 40,000 | 60,000 | 100,000| | Chichas | | | |

85,000...230,000...315,000 ### II.—Department of Chuquisaca.

| Provinces | Creoles | Indians | Total | |-----------------|---------|---------|-------| | Chuquisaca | 16,000 | | 16,000| | Cinti | 25,000 | 35,000 | 60,000| | Yamparaes | 12,000 | 28,000 | 40,000| | Tomina | 12,000 | 28,000 | 40,000|

| | 65,000 | 91,000 | 156,000|

### III.—Department of Oruro.

| Provinces | Creoles | Indians | Total | |-----------------|---------|---------|-------| | Paria | 13,000 | 37,000 | 50,000| | Oruro | 6,000 | 9,000 | 15,000| | Carangas | 8,000 | 17,000 | 25,000|

| | 27,000 | 63,000 | 90,000|

### IV.—Department of La Paz.

| Provinces | Creoles | Indians | Total | |-----------------|---------|---------|-------| | La Paz | 14,000 | 26,000 | 40,000| | Pacajes | 60,000 | 30,000 | 90,000| | Sicasica | 20,000 | 40,000 | 60,000| | Chulumani | 15,000 | 35,000 | 50,000| | Omasuyos | 30,000 | 30,000 | 60,000| | Larecaja | 25,000 | 40,000 | 65,000| | Apolobamba | 5,000 | 30,000 | 35,000|

| | 169,000 | 231,000 | 400,000|

### V.—Department of Cochabamba.

| Provinces | Creoles | Indians | Total | |-----------------|---------|---------|-------| | Cochabamba | 30,000 | 70,000 | 100,000| | Sacaba | 15,000 | 45,000 | 60,000| | Tapacari | 30,000 | 70,000 | 100,000| | Arque | 10,000 | 25,000 | 35,000| | Palca | 6,000 | 14,000 | 20,000| | Clissa | 35,000 | 65,000 | 100,000| | Misque | 8,000 | 12,000 | 20,000|

| | 134,000 | 301,000 | 435,000|

### VI.—Department of Santa Cruz.

| Provinces | Creoles | Indians | Total | |-----------------|---------|---------|-------| | Santa Cruz | | | | | Moxos | 50,000 | 170,000 | 220,000| | Chiquitos | | | | | Valle Grande | 30,000 | 70,000 | 100,000| | Pampas | | | | | Baures | | | |

| | 80,000 | 240,000 | 320,000|

**Total of Departments.**

| Department | Creoles | Indians | Total | |-----------------|---------|---------|-------| | Potosi | 85,000 | 230,000 | 315,000| | Chuquisaca | 65,000 | 91,000 | 156,000| | Oruro | 27,000 | 63,000 | 90,000| | La Paz | 169,000 | 231,000 | 400,000| | Cochabamba | 134,000 | 301,000 | 435,000| | Santa Cruz | 80,000 | 240,000 | 320,000|

| | 560,000 | 1,156,000 | 1,716,000|

The civilized Indians inhabiting Bolivia, and descendants of the Peruvians under the empire of the Incas, are still numerous, notwithstanding the many causes which have so much tended to diminish their numbers, and form a distinct and peculiar race, preserving the language, the manners, and even the dress of their ancestors; their habits having been only somewhat modified by the peculiar circumstances and situation in which they have been placed since they came under the dominion of the Spaniards. They are naturally mild and passive, and seemingly a subdued and apathetic race; but these qualities are the natural result of that state of subjection and debasement in which they have so long been held by their merciless conquerors; and, under every disadvantage, they still possess a latent energy, which was fearfully exemplified in the insurrection under Tupac Amaru, during which great numbers of them perished, the victims of their patriotism. Their defects originate from extraneous causes; their virtues are their own; and, with the exception already mentioned, they are generally unattained by those great moral crimes which prevail in more civilized countries, and require the strong arm of the law to repress them. The plaintive ditties, or *yararis*, in their sweet and melancholy tones, evince the prevailing feelings which animate them, and are highly characteristic of the race. They possess considerable intellectual talents and capabilities, and are exceedingly sensible of kindness and justice; to which, however, they have long been strangers. Any attempt at dictation, or an imperious behaviour, on the part of their superiors or strangers, always produces an opposite effect to that desired, and they become stubborn and reserved; but when treated with mildness, they usually relax from their accustomed apathy, and often evince to strangers, when in sickness or distress, proofs of the most genuine humanity and hospitality. This was experienced, in a remarkable manner, by General Miller, during his administration of the department of Potosi, where, by his just and benevolent demeanour towards them, he so completely won their confidence and good-will, that his name is still a sufficient passport with the whole nation. With their great numbers, the union of purpose they still exhibit, and the energy of which they are capable, it will require much tact and discernment on the part of the new republican government to prevent their eventually obtaining a powerful, perhaps injurious, ascendancy in the country. By the judicious and excellent regulations established by the distinguished individuals into whose hands the charge of first organising the Bolivian administration devolved, all those odious and oppressive distinctions which had so long depressed the native energies of the Peruvian Indians have been for ever abolished, and in point of legal rights they have been placed on the most perfect equality with the other portions of the community. But new laws are often very inefficient when opposed by long-continued customs and inveterate prejudices; and the Indians of Bolivia are still in too many instances subjected to acts of oppression and injustice on the part of their more fortunate fellow-citizens. These occurrences, however, may be expected to diminish in frequency and extent, as education prevails and intelligence extends its beneficial influence over the country.

The Bolivian Indians are very industrious. The men attend their flocks and herds, and cultivate the land according to their rude and primitive modes of husbandry; while the women are usually employed in spinning, knitting, and weaving coarse fabrics, in the laborious occupation of pounding maize in a rude mortar, and in other domestic occupations. They live principally on vegetable food, especially maize and potatoes; but indulge freely in their favourite *chicha*, an intoxicating liquor, which they prepare from maize. They are apparently contented and happy, mild and submissive in their manners, and particularly amenable to those placed in authority over them, especially when caciques of their own nation, who in fact commonly hold the situation of *alcaldes* in the Indian villages, and carry a gold-headed cane as their badge of office. By appealing to the people through these *alcaldes*, travellers will generally have their wants supplied in a manner which, under different circumstances, money could not provide for them. The Indians are very superstitious, and scrupulously devout in the performance of their religious duties.

They are generally of small stature, and resemble Malays in their physiognomy. They are robust and muscular, and are capable of undergoing great fatigue when travelling. on foot. Thus the postilions who usually accompany persons travelling on mules are frequently in advance, although they proceed on foot; and they perform long and toilsome pedestrian journeys of from twenty to thirty leagues a-day, with scarcely any other sustenance than a portion of the leaves of the coca plant, which they masticate in combination with the liqta, an alkaline substance prepared for the express purpose, and with a little roasted maize. From this custom of habitually travelling on foot, they are equal to undertakings which no other persons in South America can accomplish. They travel at a trot, take short steps, and keep their feet close to the ground. To this cause may in a great measure be ascribed the circumstance of the Spaniards having been able, during so long a period, to maintain their political superiority in the mountainous parts of Peru, and the success which usually attended their military operations in that country. Their infantry force being principally composed of native Indians, compelled to serve as soldiers, they were thus enabled to move with that decisive celerity which characterized most of their evolutions during the war of independence. As striking instances of this fact may be cited the feats of General Valdez and others previous to the dispersion of the patriot army of General Santa Cruz in 1823. Valdez, with his division of infantry, marched during fifty-seven successive days at the rate of seven leagues a day; at another time the royalist army marched eight leagues a-day for eight consecutive days; and on one occasion, previous to coming into action, they had actually accomplished a march of thirty-nine leagues, or 117 miles, in three days.

In all parts of South America, even in the most distant parts of Chili, the Argentine provinces, Colombia, and Brazil, may occasionally be met with, parties or groups of certain tribes of Peruvian Indians, who are denominated Callavayas. They always travel on foot, and carry on an extensive traffic in a variety of gums, resins, barks, and other medicinal productions, collected in the Yungas and other parts of the mountains, which are plentifully covered with vegetation, and in other parts of the provinces of La Paz and Larecaja, near which they principally reside. They also carry on an extensive and profitable practice as itinerant physicians, employing only their native remedies. They always travel along the remains of the ancient Peruvian roads, where such exist, these being uniformly the most direct; and they generally return to their own districts, sometimes after an absence of several years. They are very loquacious, and employ considerable artifice in extolling the virtues of their remedies and the extent of their own skill. Besides the Spanish language, which is that in general use in Bolivia, they employ the Quichua or language of the Incas; but the Aimaru is the language in common use in the department of La Paz.

Religion, as it has been practised in Bolivia and most other parts of South America, has long been in a very degraded state, consisting almost entirely in the repetition of a certain number of prayers, imperfectly understood by the greater part of the people, and the performance of a number of ceremonies, the object of which seems to be, to occupy the attention, and to serve as a pretext for extorting money from the community. It truly exhibited the form of sanctity without the substance; for the spirit of true religion was entirely lost sight of, and the higher faculties of reason and reflection were never called into exercise. With some few honourable exceptions, the clergy were profoundly ignorant of every thing appertaining to their sacred profession, and were only adepts in deception and immorality. They were notoriously licentious in their conduct, and although bound by their vow of celibacy to a life of chastity and virtue, they were the great promoters of vice and immorality, especially amongst the weaker sex, from the opportunities they enjoyed at the confessional, and the influence they possessed in virtue of the sacredness of their office. In South America, particularly in Bolivia and Peru, it has been quite customary for many of the curates to live in a state of concubinage with females, by whom they have numerous illegitimate children, who are generally designated as cousins, nephews, nieces, and the like, although every one is fully aware of the nature of the connection subsisting betwixt them.

The evil consequences resulting from this condition of the ministers of religion may easily be conceived. They fell as heavily upon the Creoles or Spanish South Americans as upon the Peruvian Indians; but the extortions which, under the semblance of religion, were exercised upon the ignorant, indigent, and inoffensive aborigines, almost exceed belief. Not contented with the salaries allowed them by the Spanish government, they weekly exacted contributions in various forms from the Indians on the administration of the communion and the other ordinances of religion, such as baptisms, marriages, and funerals; and the amount of these was graduated according to the discretion of the curate, and the knowledge he possessed of the ability of the devotee to defray them. By these, and other devices still more nefarious, the clergy generally contrived to amass large incomes, frequently seven or eight times the amount to which they were legally entitled; and many of the curacies in Peru thus afforded incomes of from 5000 to 15,000 dollars per annum.

Under the guidance of such spiritual leaders, and breathing a moral atmosphere so tainted, it could hardly be expected that pure and undefiled religion and morality could prosper and advance. The elements requisite to produce such effects were wanting, since neither precept nor example was given to the people; and it is rather matter of surprise that, in countries thus circumstanced, so many remarkable instances should be met with of individuals distinguished by a virtuous and amiable deportment. Such occurrences, however, speak volumes in favour of the naturally good disposition which characterizes them, and warrant the most pleasing anticipations of their future improved condition, when in the full enjoyment of the facilities and advantages presented by the extension of education and the diffusion of knowledge.

Free and unrestricted religious toleration does not yet exist in any part of South America, excepting in Buenos Ayres and Bolivia. Still, the bad consequences which have in some instances resulted from premature attempts to establish toleration in South America, where the public mind was not prepared for the reception of such a measure, induce us to deprecate the repetition of such attempts as exceedingly dangerous and injudicious, until some preparation has been made. At the same time, it would be an act of great injustice not to mention, that before and since the commencement of the revolution, there have appeared amongst the catholic clergy of South America, men whose just and benevolent demeanour, and whose enlightened patriotism and devotion to the cause of humanity, would do honour to any age or country. And of late years, when circumstances more fully favoured the development of the nobler faculties, many of them have taken a prominent part in promoting education, intelligence, and every institution calculated to improve the religious, moral, and intellectual condition of their countrymen.

Since the commencement of the republican government, Education, a considerable part of the revenues of the minor convents and monastic establishments in Bolivia has been diverted from their original purposes, to form a fund for the establishment and support of seminaries of education. Colleges on improved modern principles are forming in each of the departments, and Lancasterian schools are in course of being established in all parts of the republic. A university having long existed at Chuquisaca for the education of the youth of Upper Peru, the utility of the establishment was greatly augmented, during the administration of General Sucre, by an improvement in the modes of instruction, and an increase in the number of the departments of education, analogous to the advanced state of knowledge in other parts of the world. In Potosi, likewise, efficient means were adopted by General Miller, while prefect of that department, to establish there a college for the study of mineralogy; a branch of education of great importance in a place wholly dependent on mining.

The society in Bolivia is exceedingly agreeable, the inhabitants being kind, hospitable, and courteous to strangers. The ladies are particularly affable and pleasing in their manners, exhibiting a happy mixture between the reserve of the English and the vivacity of the French. Their countenances are handsome, they have small feet and ankles, and possess fine figures, with a most graceful carriage, especially in promenading, and when walking abroad. They dress with much taste, using at the church, and on occasions of ceremony, their former costume of the basquina and mantilla; but on other occasions they assume the more modern fashions of Europe. The fan, which they use with much dexterity, is a constant accompaniment on all such occasions. They have frequent tertulias or evening parties and balls, and dance with considerable gracefulness. Their conversation is agreeable, and even superior to what might be expected in a country which has enjoyed so little of the advantages of education and moral training.

The early history of that part of the empire of the Incas which now forms the republic of Bolivia is so intimately connected with that of Peru, that the consideration of it may with propriety be deferred until we come to treat of that country, in which Cuzco, the capital of the Incas, is situated. Attention will therefore at present be directed only to that period of its history which is more recent, and which has so materially influenced its present condition,—the unsuccessful insurrection of the Peruvians or aboriginal population under Tupac Amaru, and subsequently the more fortunate war of independence. But before proceeding to the consideration of these, it seems requisite to point out the principal causes which gave rise to events so memorable in South American history.

The Peruvians, ever since the conquest of their country by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century, have been subjected to a system of tyranny and oppression which has few parallels in the history of the universe. They were treated little better than beasts of burden. By their toil the gold and silver were obtained from the mines, the lands were cultivated, the flocks and herds were attended to, and all the domestic and menial offices performed. Yet the fruits of their labour, especially that of mining, which was attended with numerous privations, and too often with great loss of life, were altogether devoted to enriching their cruel oppressors. While so employed they were denied all the comforts and many of the necessaries of life; they were treated as minors, and considered as incapable of attending to their own affairs and interests, nay even deprived of the means of information and improvement; while the clergy powerfully contributed to the general degradation, by keeping them in the most profound ignorance of their moral and religious duties, and substituting instead of these a few unmeaning and useless ceremonies, by means of which they plundered the Indians, without ceremony or remorse, of the scanty pittance which they were able to save from the rapacity of their civil rulers. These heart-rending occurrences are fully detailed in the secret report of Don Jorge Juan and Don Antonio de Ulloa; which important document, after the lapse of nearly a century, was procured from the archives of Madrid, by our countryman Barry, and by him given to the public.

One of their principal grievances was the mita, a compulsory kind of personal labour either in the working of the mines or in the cultivation of the fields, exacted from the Indians generally for the space of one year. The proprietors of mines and land to be worked or cultivated, were privileged to claim as their undoubted right, the personal services of the Indian population of the district surrounding that in which their property was situated. By the regulations of the mita a proportional number of the Indians of the district were annually chosen by lot for the purposes required; and some idea may be formed of the effects of such a regulation, by stating, that 1400 mines were registered in Peru alone, and that every mine which remained unworked a year and a day became the property of the first claimant.

So much was the labour of the mines dreaded by those persons on whom the lot fell, that they considered it as equivalent to a sentence of death, and made all their arrangements accordingly, carrying with them their wives and families to their new and dreaded place of abode. While thus employed, each person was nominally paid an allowance of four rials or two shillings daily, out of which he had to provide himself and family with food, clothing, and habitation, which were furnished to him at an exorbitant rate; the one third was retained for the purpose of paying the expense of returning his wife and family to their homes in the event of his death or at the expiry of his period of service; and besides, at the end of every year a tribute of eight dollars was exacted, which being in arrear, or any other debt contracted with his employer, was too often used as a pretext for retaining him in this odious service, generally till death put a period to his misery. An estimate may be formed of the extent of this evil, by stating that 12,000 Indians were annually required by the mita of Potosi alone; and it is calculated that, in the mines of Peru, no less than 8,285,000 Indians have persisted in this manner.

Besides the mita for the service of the mines, the Indians were also compelled to labour for their superiors on their cultivated estates, their estancias or grazing farms, and also in their obrages or manufactories. In these latter establishments, according to Ulloa, they were obliged to work all day, and only received a pittance for their labour; the half of which was in many instances stopped to pay their arrears of tribute, and the other half was generally insufficient to pay for their necessary sustenance. The Indians were besides liable to serve as pongos or menial servants to the governors, and other functionaries, as likewise to the caciques and the curates; but for this service they received no recompense, excepting their food and clothing. The numbers employed in these domestic occupations in Peru and Bolivia have been estimated at 60,000.

The tribute exacted by the government from every Indian, between the age of eighteen and fifty-five was a capitation tax of eight dollars. This was levied with the greatest rigour, and the official persons charged with its collection too frequently committed great injustice in doing so; obliging the Indians to commence these payments at fifteen, and continue them until seventy years of age, and putting the amount of tribute for the years before and after the legal period into their own pockets. In proof of the extent to which this evil was carried, and of the rapacity of the Spanish government, it may be stated that a law was enacted for the express purpose of augmenting the number of the people liable to pay tribute. By it the Indians were obliged to marry, the men at the age of fifteen, the women at thirteen. The governor of each province was responsible to the government for the amount of the tribute, which was regulated by a census of the tributary Indians, taken every seven years; and in this many frauds were practised, the actual number being often much underrated. The governor of the province of Porco, in the department of Potosi, according to the testimony of Miller, was believed to have collected annually a surplus of 10,000 dollars by these fraudulent means. This tribute continued to be exacted until the year 1825, when it was finally abolished by General Bolivar on his arrival in the country; and all the Indians now enjoy the same rights and privileges as the other inhabitants of the country.

Besides all these, the Peruvian Indians were long subjected to another system of extortion no less grievous and unjust,—the law of repartimiento. This was originally established with the best intentions; the governors or corregidores of the districts being intrusted with the charge of supplying the inhabitants under their care with such articles as they might require at a fair and equitable price. But the law, which had so plausible an origin, was shamefully abused; and it was made compulsory on the Indian population to purchase articles of the most worthless description, both in kind and quality, whether they required them or not, and at a price double or treble that for which the same article of the best possible quality might have been purchased. Thus razors were forced at an exorbitant price on Indians who had no beards to shave; and those who had never gone otherwise than barefooted were compelled to purchase velvets and silk stockings, of the use of which they were even ignorant. On one occasion a large assortment of spectacles was forwarded to a merchant at Lima, who, finding them unsaleable in a country where the natives proverbially retain their vision unimpaired till an advanced period of life, got them disposed of at an exorbitant profit by consigning them to a corregidor, who issued a decree to the Indians of his district, ordaining that no Indian should be permitted to attend divine service on certain occasions without having on a pair of spectacles. A repartimiento took place in 1743, at about forty leagues from Lima, where the corregidor exacted the sum of 300,000 dollars for goods which he had purchased at 70,000 dollars. The Indians of this district, according to Ulloa, "finding themselves tyrannized over with greater cruelty than they had experienced from the predecessors of the corregidor, determined to complain to the viceroy, and produced before him the goods, together with the proofs of the exorbitant prices which they had been obliged to pay for them. We do not state this fact from report, as we happened to be present when the Indians came to make known their grievances. The viceroy heard them, and referred them to the audiencia; and the result was that the Indians were seized and punished as insurgents."

These accumulated grievances at length exceeded even the powers of endurance possessed by these pacific Indians, and gave rise to the memorable insurrection of Tupac Amaru in 1780, in which torrents of native as well as Spanish blood were shed before it was finally suppressed. This event, however, gave a death-blow to the law of repartimiento, which was then finally abolished.

The constant and extensive operation of these demoralizing practices, although more immediately affecting the aboriginal population, could not fail to produce the most pernicious and injurious effects on the Creoles or descendants of the Spaniards; but, in addition to these causes of debasement, the latter were subjected to numerous unjust and oppressive laws, all tending to paralyze their advancement in industry, intelligence, and civilization.

The raising of those vegetable productions which form the principal objects of culture in Spain, as articles of commerce, was strictly prohibited to the South Americans, however favourable the soil and climate of their native country might be for the production of them. The prosperity and happiness of the transatlantic population were of no value or importance when put in competition with the interested views and wishes of the mother country. Thus the cultivation of the vine and the olive was either prohibited, or the plants were rooted out where they had been introduced. Prohibitory decrees were issued against the manufacture of wines, brandies, vinegar, olive oil, &c.; and even the culture of almonds and raisins was interdicted. No kind of manufacture of cloth or articles of clothing was permitted which could interfere with the commerce of Old Spain, excepting only the coarse fabrics manufactured and worn by the Indians. Even the valuable mines of mercury and iron found in South America were, in a great measure, hermetically sealed by prohibitory decrees, lest they might interfere with the traffic carried on by Spain in these articles. And, not contented with confining the commerce of South America entirely to Spain, and prohibiting it under the severest penalties with other nations, these colonies were not permitted to have any intercourse or commerce with each other.

The South Americans were generally excluded from all offices of honour or emolument in their own country; and when any deviation from this law took place, it was too frequently in consequence of enormous bribes received, or a reward to some unnatural Creole for acts of cruelty and oppression committed on his own countrymen. They were also systematically deprived of the means of obtaining a suitable education for their children; nothing being taught at their seminaries excepting Latin, philosophy, the civil and canon law, and theology, while every attempt at improvement on the part of the natives was resisted by the government.

The upper provinces of Bolivia and Peru were those which formed the principal scenes of the memorable insurrection of Tupac Amaru, so just in its origin, so energetic in its prosecution, and so unfortunate in its results to the Peruvian nation. From the details which have appeared of this eventful period, it is evident that a deep-rooted feeling of the oppressive and degrading servitude to which they had so long been subjected by the Spaniards, united with a lively recollection of the happiness and glory of their more fortunate ancestors, conspired to rouse the latent energies of the whole nation to accomplish their liberation from the cruel yoke under which they had groaned. And they found an able and a willing leader in Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui, cacique of Tungasuya, a lineal descendant of the Inca Tupac Amaru, whose name and title he afterwards assumed. But although an excellent and intrepid man, and possessing the entire confidence of his countrymen, he was deficient in that knowledge, foresight, and energy, so requisite for conducting to a happy termination so difficult and hazardous an enterprise. He experienced various successes and reverses, but was eventually taken prisoner, and put to death in the most barbarous manner by the Spaniards. He was succeeded in the direction of the enterprise by his nephew Andres, who, with the aid of Catarí and other caciques, continued the contest with great and indiscriminate carnage on both sides; but having to contend against the superior skill, discipline, and arms of the Spaniards, aided by treachery, they were finally overcome, and the insurrection was put down in 1782.

Having thus failed in their arduous undertaking, after the destruction of great numbers of their nation—for neither the lives of men, women, nor children, were spared on either side during this sanguinary contest—their chains were rivetted with double force; and the sorrow and despondency which followed these disastrous events were so great that they never again recovered their wonted energies. Yet there is every reason to believe that, had they possessed better arms and discipline, more knowledge and experience, and leaders better adapted for such an enterprise, they would, from their number, union, and devotion to the cause, have finally accomplished their deliverance.

These circumstances will account in a great measure for the apathy and comparative indifference with which they viewed the rise and progress of the war of independence, the objects of which they did not rightly understand, and found difficult to reconcile with their knowledge of the active part taken by the Creoles in the suppression of their own previous endeavours to throw off the Spanish yoke.

From the causes already stated, the war of independence was principally carried on, as regards Bolivia, by the resources of, and in concert with, the neighbouring provinces of the Rio de la Plata and Peru, all of which had equal cause to avenge themselves on their oppressors, but were placed in circumstances somewhat more fortunate for accomplishing their purpose. When the patriots of Buenos Ayres had succeeded in liberating, from the dominion of Spain, the interior provinces of the Rio de la Plata, they turned their arms against their enemies in possession of Upper Peru. General Antonio Balcarce was therefore sent with the forces of Buenos Ayres into that country, and succeeded in defeating the royalist general Nieto, at Cotagaita, on the 27th October 1810; and on the 7th November following, a similar fate overtook Colonel Cordova at Tupiza. These successes gave him possession of the country as far as the bridge of the Incas, which crosses the river Desaguadero; at which time his army had been increased by recruits to about 4000 men. Castelli was sent from Buenos Ayres as governor of Upper Peru, and to act as the commissioner of the Argentine government, with the army of Balcarce. He was a man distinguished for his great and versatile talents, but was of a restless and fiery temper. By the violence of his proceedings, and numerous acts of unjustifiable cruelty, he so far succeeded in inspiring the Spaniards with terror and dismay, that the army of Buenos Ayres was enabled, on the 25th of May 1811, to celebrate the first anniversary of their independence among the ruins of the palace of the Incas at Tiaguinaco, on the shores of the lake of Titicaca, 690 leagues distant from Buenos Ayres. The dissolute conduct of Castelli, however, and the irregularities of the Buenos-Ayreans who accompanied him, tended greatly to alienate the affections of the inhabitants of Upper Peru from their deliverers, and considerably aided the efforts of Abascal, viceroy of Peru, who, after some unsuccessful attempts to conclude an armistice with Castelli, in which little courtesy seems to have been observed on either side, collected all his disposable forces under his best generals. The civil administration of the provinces was neglected by the patriots; and the army became disorganized, from the dissolute conduct and negligence of Castelli and his followers. General Goyeneche was intrusted with the command of the Spanish army, which, to the amount of 4000 men, took up a position on the north side of the Desaguadero, two days' march from their opponents. In the interim an armistice had been concluded between the two contending armies; but, regardless of the inviolability of such a transaction, Goyeneche attacked and defeated the patriot army under Balcarce and Castelli at Huaqui, on the 20th June 1811, six days before the expiry of the truce. Balcarce retired from Bolivia with the remains of his army, and took up a position at Jujuy, distant 236 leagues from the scene of action. After his success Goyeneche committed great cruelties in Bolivia, particularly at Chuquisaca and La Paz; but he met with considerable opposition from the patriots, who had retired to the mountains of Cochabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and Chayanta.

General Belgrano, who succeeded to the command of the army of Balcarce, had the good fortune, at Tucuman, to defeat the royalist army, 3000 strong, under General Belgrano Tristan, on the 30th September 1812, while his own force did not amount to half that number. And, again, on the 20th February following, he obtained another victory over the same general, who had entrenched himself in Salta with 2000 men, all of whom were either killed or taken prisoners. Belgrano generously permitted the vanquished Tristan, with his officers and men, to return to Peru, on their giving solemn pledges not again to bear arms against the republic of the Rio de la Plata. But all of them, influenced by the example of their general, and regardless of their obligation, violated their parole, and joined the army of Pezuela, which, by such dishonourable means, was augmented to 4000 men. With these he attacked Belgrano, who, with his army, had advanced into Upper Peru, and defeated him at Vileapugio, between Oruro and Potosi, on 1st October 1813; and again at Ayoma, in the department of Cochabamba, on the 14th November of same year. Belgrano escaped with the remains of his army to Tucuman.

Notwithstanding these disasters, the cause of independence did not slumber in Upper Peru, since numerous bands of patriots maintained themselves in Cochabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Chayanta, and Yamparaes, and obtained many advantages over the royalists, under the able command of Warnes, Camargo, and Padilla, who carried on a guerilla warfare. On 25th May 1814, Colonel Arenales obtained some advantages over his opponents in the provinces of Cochabamba, and Warnes was equally fortunate on the 9th October following, in the Quebrada of Santa Barbara. Guemes, with the irregular troops of the province of Salta, cut off the supplies of the royalists in front; whilst the guerilla parties under Warnes, Padilla, and Munecas, in the rear, so distressed them, that Pezuela with his army was obliged to retire upon Cotagaita. The patriot army at Tucuman under the command of General San Martin never came into collision with the royalists until after his removal to the command of Cuyo, when General Rondeau succeeded him in the direction of that army, amounting to 3500. With these he marched again into Upper Peru against the royalists, whom, in nearly equal numbers under Pezuela, he encountered at Sipe-sipe, between Potosi and Oruro, on 28th November 1815, and was totally defeated; and this was followed soon after by another defeat at Viluma, which again placed Upper Peru under the control of the royalists. General Belgrano was a second time appointed to command the army stationed at Tucuman, composed of the remains of the army which had been vanquished at Sipe-sipe and Viluma; and, by unrewarded exertions, he soon collected a force of about 4000, well equipped. But a spirit of disaffection and anarchy had crept into his army, which, incited by the principal officers, revolted against their general. He was deposed and made prisoner; and the officers, with such soldiers as chose to follow them, dispersed over the provinces, where, in many instances, they usurped the civil and military administration, which in some cases they retained until a late period.

To these events succeeded, under Pumacagua, an insurrection of the Indians of the neighbouring provinces of Arequipa, Cuzco, and Huamanga, in Peru; and the object being the independence of the whole country, it was joined by numerous Creoles from Bolivia and Peru. But this attempt was speedily put down by the activity of the royalist general, Ramirez, who inflicted a severe retaliation on Pumacagua and his followers. After this period Upper Peru remained tranquil for a considerable time, unless when disturbed by the enterprises of Lanza and his followers, who maintained themselves in the Yungas.

On the viceroy Abascal being superseded in that office by Pezuela, General Laserna was appointed commander in chief in Upper Peru, where he arrived in September 1816, with 2000 fresh troops. He introduced many innovations, and very humanely prohibited the infliction of the punishment of death for political offences, without his previous permission. He made an attempt, with an army of from 4000 to 5000 men, to penetrate into the Argentine provinces, intending to march to Buenos Ayres; but he was completely foiled by the activity and intrepidity of the Gauchos, or irregular troops of the provinces of Salta and Jujuy, and was compelled to retire with the remainder of his army to Cotagaita.

The expedition of General Santa Cruz, prepared with great zeal and activity at Lima, landed in June 1823, in the Puertos Intermedios, and marched in two divisions to Upper Peru: the one under Santa Cruz by the Cordillera of Iscuchaca, obtained possession of the bridge of the Incas on the Desaguadero on 29th July, and occupied La Paz on the 7th August; the other division, under General Gamarra, marched by the route of Tacora and San Andres de Machaca, and reached Calamarca on the 10th August, where it had a sharp rencontre with a division of the army of General Olañeta, and then marched to Oruro, where it was joined by Lanza with 600 men. During six years the latter had maintained himself in the Yungas with great valour against all the efforts of the Spaniards. At this period General Urdininea, with 1000 men, occupied the quebrada or defile of Humaguaca, near Jujuy, ready to approach Potosi on the first favourable occasion.

At this time the royalist force in Upper Peru, under Olañeta, did not exceed from 2000 to 3000 men, besides about 1500 men in garrison at Puno and La Paz. But Canterac, then near Lima, hearing of the large army which had gone to Upper Peru under Santa Cruz, dispatched General Valdez with three battalions of infantry, 400 cavalry, and two cannon, to unite with the forces under the viceroy Laserna, and Generals Carratala and Olañeta. On the other hand, General Sucre also sent from Lima 3000 troops, either to co-operate with Santa Cruz, or to act separately, as occasion might require; and he soon afterwards proceeded in person to command them, with authority from the congress, if necessary, to assume also the command of the army under Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz remained in quiet possession of Upper Peru, occupying the country from Oruro to the bridge of the Incas, his head-quarters being at La Paz. Valdez proceeded by Andaguaylas and Sicuani towards Puno, having completed a march of about 400 leagues in fifty-seven successive days. On the approach of the royalists, Santa Cruz took up a position near the bridge of the Incas; and at Zepita, on the 25th August, fought an indecisive action with Valdez, who commanded 1800 men, his own force being only 1600. The royalists immediately concentrated their forces at Sicuani, amounting to 4500 men, whilst those of Santa Cruz were about 7000 men. Various movements now took place on both sides, which evinced much skill and activity on the part of the royalists, and great indecision and want of judgment on the part of Santa Cruz. The royalists being at length joined by the forces of Olañeta, amounting to 2500 men, and considering themselves equal in number to the patriots, began to act on the offensive, and came in contact with the army of Santa Cruz at Sicasica. But this general showed no disposition to come into collision with the royalists, and retreated towards Aya-aya, losing some of his baggage, and many deserters. He appears to have resisted all the endeavours and entreaties of his officers, as well as the declared wishes of his army, to rally and engage the enemy. A severe storm, which overtook them here, served to increase their disasters, and converted the retreat of the army into a precipitate flight. The fugitives retired by Santa Ross and Moquegua towards Ilo, where about 1300 embarked in the transports; but of an army of 7000 men only 1000 returned to Lima. About 1000 retired from Sicasica with Lanza, but were afterwards defeated by Olañeta, and their leader and a few followers only escaped to the mountains. It is difficult to account for the strange infatuation which led to the destruction of this fine army, as Santa Cruz on other occasions had shown himself an able commander; but these events will always remain as a cloud upon his military character.

In May 1824, Generals Valdez and Olañeta occupied Upper Peru, each with about 5000 men under his command, but opposed to each other on political points; the former having withdrawn his allegiance from the viceroy Laserna, in consequence of advocating the constitutional cause of Spain, while Olañeta adhered to the principles of absolute monarchy. This dispute was useful to the cause of the patriots, as it prevented Olañeta from uniting his forces with the viceroy during the campaign which terminated in the battle of Ayacucho, so glorious to the cause of freedom. General Sucre, whose abilities and valour so much contributed to the success of that day, improved the advantages he had obtained, by his clemency and generosity to the vanquished, and by the rapidity with which he followed up his successes; so that none of the fugitives could unite with the army of Olañeta, now the only royalist general in arms in Upper or Lower Peru. A part of the army, therefore, proceeded towards Upper Peru, and in their march experienced in some instances great hardships; the division of General Cordova having lost many men near Santa Ross, from surrumpi or snow blindness.

On hearing of the victory of Ayacucho, the patriot prisoners of war confined in the island of Chuquito, in the lake of Titicaca, rose on their guards, whom they overcame; and placing themselves under the command of General Alvarado, likewise a prisoner, they took possession of the country as far as the bridge of the Incas; a division of 1500 patriots under the command of General Urdininea still occupying the quebrada of Humaguaca, on the southern frontier of the department of Potosi. General Olañeta, however, still retained his position in Upper Peru, at the head of about 4000 men, having refused to accede to the liberal and even generous terms of accommodation proposed to him by General Sucre. The latter, therefore, on recruiting his army after the fatigues they had undergone, and supplying them with clothing and other necessaries, advanced to Oruro, and afterwards to Puno, which he reached on the 1st February 1825, and there obtained information that the royalist garrisons of Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, had declared for the patriots, and that the city of La Paz was in possession of the gallant and indefatigable Lanza. Olañeta, with his army, diminished to 2000, was confined to the department of Potosi, but still persisted in his determined opposition, notwithstanding the entreaties and remonstrances of Colonel Medina Celi, his second in command, who at length, with a considerable portion of his army, rose against him. Olañeta, with a few resolute followers, resisted to the last; until, in an action with some of his own revolted troops at Tumusa, sixteen leagues south of Potosi, he was mortally wounded, on the 30th of March 1825.

General Sucre was now invested with the supreme command in Upper Peru, until the requisite measures could be taken to establish in that country a regular and constitutional government. Deputies from the various provinces to the number of fifty-four were assembled at Chuquisaca, the capital, to decide upon the question proposed to them on the part of the government of the Argentine provinces, respecting their separation or otherwise from that country. In August 1825 they decided this question, and declared it to be the national will that Upper Peru should in future constitute a distinct and independent nation. This assembly continued their session, although the primary object of their meeting had thus been accomplished, and afterwards gave the name of Bolivia to the country; issuing at the same time a formal declaration of independence. They also voted one million of dollars to General Bolivar, as a reward for his past services; and an equal sum to those belonging to the army who had served in the campaign of 1824. The former grant, however, was only accepted by Bolivar on the express condition that it should be wholly appropriated to purchasing the freedom of about a thousand slaves still existing in Bolivia.

The first general assembly of deputies of Bolivia dissolved themselves on the 6th of October 1825, and a new congress was summoned, and formally installed, at Chuquisaca, on the 25th May 1826, to take into consideration the constitution prepared by Bolivar for the new republic. A favourable report was made to that body by a committee appointed to examine it, on which it was approved by the congress, and declared to be the constitution of the republic; and as such, it was sworn to by the people. General Sucre was chosen president for life, according to the constitution; but only accepted the appointment for the space of two years, and on the express condition that 2000 Colombian troops should be permitted to remain with him, which request was agreed to by the congress.

The Bolivian constitution is founded on the strictest principles of justice, in as far as regards the civil rights and privileges of the community; but in other respects, and particularly in reference to the supreme executive authority, its provisions savour strongly of a monarchical spirit. The supreme authority is vested in a presidente vitalicio, or president for life, with the power of naming his successor. It guarantees to the Bolivians civil liberty, security of persons and property, and equality of rights; the free exercise and communication of thoughts and opinions, either by the press or otherwise; liberty to remain or leave the territory of the republic with their property, at their pleasure, but without prejudice to others; equality in the imposition of taxes and contributions, from the payment of which none can be exempted; and the abolition of all hereditary employments, privileges, and entails. No profession, trade, or employment, can be prohibited, unless repugnant to public feeling, or injurious to the health and security of the community; and every inventor is secured in the benefits of his discovery. No one can be arrested without previous information of the alleged fact of delinquency, unless when taken in flagranti delicto. All trials and judgments are public; and in criminal cases none can be imprisoned more than forty-eight hours without having presented to him the charges preferred against him, and being delivered over to the proper tribunal or judge. No demand for redress in civil or criminal cases can be brought judicially before the justices of peace, until they have first endeavoured to promote reconciliation, by hearing the representations of the parties, explaining to them their respective rights, and proposing some means of accommodation.

By this constitution, all legitimate power emanates directly from the people, and is in the first instance exercised by all who can justly claim the privilege of citizens. Of these, every ten nominate an elector, who exercises his delegated authority for a period of four years. At the commencement of each year all the electors assemble in the capitals of their respective provinces, and regulate their proceedings and the exercise of their various functions by a plurality of votes. They elect the members of the three legislative chambers, the number for each amounting to thirty; those for the chamber of tribunes being nominated for four years, and renewed by moieties every two years; those for the senate for eight years, and renewed by moieties every four years; and those for the chamber of censors being nominated for life. The electors also exercise the privilege of proposing in ternaries, 1st, To the executive power, all candidates for the prefectures of departments, for the government of provinces, and for corregidors of cantons and towns, and also curates and vicars for the vacancies in their provinces; 2dly, To the senate, the members of the courts of the judicial district to which they belong, and the judges in the first instance; and, 3dly, To the prefect of the department, the alcaldes and justices of the peace, who are to be appointed in their respective provinces.

The functions of the chamber of tribunes are, to originate all laws respecting the revenue, peace and war, and to exercise an immediate inspection of those branches which are administered by the executive, with the least intervention of the legislature. This chamber also possesses the initiative in the settlement of the territorial division of the republic; the coinage, weights and measures; the seaports, roads, bridges, and public buildings; the police, &c.

The attributes and functions of the chamber of senators are, to form the civil, criminal, and ecclesiastical regulations and codes, and watch over the tribunals of justice and religion; to choose, from the ternaries presented to them by the executive and by the electoral body, the prefects, governors, corregidors, judges of districts, and all others in the department of justice; to propose to the chamber of censors those who are to be members of the supreme tribunal of justice, the archbishops, the bishops, dignitaries of the church, canons, and prebends; and to examine the decision of ecclesiastical courts, bulls, rescripts, and pontifical briefs, with a view to their approval or disapproval.

The chamber of censors exercise a political and moral power. It is their duty to watch that the constitution, the laws, and treaties, are strictly adhered to and executed; and to express the national judgment, when such is rendered necessary by the good or bad administration of the executive government. The censors are also charged with the protection of morality, the arts and sciences, education, and the press. They exercise the important functions of condemning those who usurp sovereign power, or are guilty of high crimes and malversation; and they bestow public honours and rewards on the services and virtues of illustrious citizens. This chamber also exercises the functions of choosing, from the ternaries presented to them by the senate, those who are to form the supreme courts of justice, to become archbishops, bishops, canons, and prebends.

The general or collective duties and attributes of the three chambers, when united, are, to nominate the president of the republic for the first time, and to confirm his successor; to approve of the vice-president proposed by the president; to determine on the seat of government; to decide on any charge against members of the chambers, the vice-president, or secretaries of state; to invest the president with extraordinary powers in cases of great emergency or danger; to select from the candidates presented in ternaries by the electoral bodies, those members who are to fill up the vacancies of the chambers; and to regulate and judge the department of police. All the sessions must be public, excepting in such state cases as require secrecy. No public functionaries are capable of being members of the chambers; and the latter enjoy inviolability in their persons for opinions expressed, and are not subject to arrest.

The executive government consists of a president, vice-president, and three secretaries of state. The president of the republic is named for the first time by a majority of the collective legislature, and retains the dignity during life, with the power of naming his successor. He is the chief of the administration of the state, and is not responsible for the acts of his administration. On his death, resignation, or infirmity, the vice-president is virtually his successor. In the absence or non-existence of both of these functionaries, the three secretaries of state take charge, ad interim, of the administration of the government, the oldest in office acting as president until the assembling of the legislature. The constitutional privileges of the president are the most limited that have been intrusted to the supreme chief of any nation. They extend only to the nomination of the officers of the revenue, of peace and of war, and the command of the army. He proposes to the chambers the vice-president, and he nominates the three secretaries of state, and can remove any of these functionaries when he judges it necessary. He appoints all diplomatic functionaries; receives foreign ambassadors and agents; directs all negotiations; and, with the previous sanction of the legislature, concludes treaties of peace, alliance, commerce, &c. He presents to the senate, for its sanction, one of the three candidates proposed by the electoral body for each of the situations of prefect, governor, and corregidor; and to the ecclesiastical government, one of the three candidates proposed by the electoral body for each of the offices of curate and vicar in the provinces. He authorizes the regulations for the proper fulfillment of the constitution, laws, and treaties; he forwards and causes to be executed the sentences of the tribunals; and he has the power of commuting capital punishments awarded by them.

The president cannot deprive any Bolivian of his liberty, or inflict punishment on him, of his own accord; nor can he imprison any one longer than forty-eight hours without delivering him over to the proper judge or tribunal; nor deprive any individual of his property, unless such a proceeding be urgently demanded by the public interests; nor impede the elections or any other public functions authorized by the laws; nor absent himself from the republic or the capital without permission of the legislature. He is nominated for life, and made irresponsible as a security for his permanency; but his hands are nevertheless tied, so that he cannot do injury to any one. He does not nominate the magistrates and the judges, nor does he appoint to any ecclesiastical dignity, however subordinate; and hence he is, at least nominally, deprived of the powerful influence over society which is exercised by other supreme rulers. The administration belongs wholly to the ministry, which is responsible to the senate, and is subject to the zealous vigilance of the legislators, magistrates, judges, and citizens.

The vice-president is proposed by the president, and approved of by the legislature. He is at the head of the ministry, and, with the secretaries of state, is responsible for all the acts of the administration; while, in the name of the president and the republic, resigns all the public documents, along with these secretaries, in order to legalize the orders of the executive. Of all the magistrates intrusted with command, the vice-president is that one whose hands are most shackled; for he has to obey both the executive and the legislature. He receives laws from the latter, and orders from the former; and between the two has often a difficult course to steer. His nomination as the successor of the president insures the services of an individual whose previous experience in the difficult art of government, and knowledge of those in subordinate situations, render him the most eligible of any for such an office; and by this means are avoided those elections for the supreme ruler so productive of mischief in other republics. As the expectant of the supreme command, the vice-president has the most powerful motives for the zealous and conscientious discharge of his functions, in order to secure, on the one hand, the confidence and support of the president, and, on the other, that of the legislature and the people. The three secretaries of state are for the home and foreign departments, for the finance, and for war and marine; and each is required to give in accounts of the expenses incurred in his respective department, and the estimates for each ensuing year.

The judicial power enjoys the most perfect independence, the members composing it being proposed by the people, and chosen by the legislature; a condition which insures the strict and impartial administration of the laws. Tortures and confessions are altogether abolished, as repugnant to humanity. The territory of the republic is governed by prefects, governors, corregidors, justices of the peace, and alcaldes; and the proportion of these is regulated by the population: the details to be defined by the congress; and every one in the enjoyment of office is made responsible for his actions. The armed force is composed of the regular army to garrison and defend the frontiers, of the national militia to preserve internal order, of the preventive service to protect the revenue, and of the navy; when circumstances may require the formation of such.

Slavery in every form was abolished, as inconsistent with the just rights of mankind, and at variance with the whole spirit of the constitution. The exercise of religion was freed from all restraints; it being considered incompetent to legislate in matters affecting the consciences of others.

Such are the principal features of the Bolivian constitution, the merits of which will be variously estimated, according to the particular political bias of each individual. It contains in theory much that seems calculated to insure the liberty, the prosperity, and the happiness of the community. The legislative portion has been objected to as being too complicated for practical purposes; but this requires to be put to the test of experience. No part of it, however, has excited more criticism, or given rise to more sinister suspicions, than that which provides for the election of a president or supreme ruler for life, with the power of nominating his successor. With such a provision, the Bolivian constitution is, in fact, nothing more nor less than a limited monarchy, somewhat incuriously disguised under republican forms. This seems undeniably its political character; and although it may have worked tolerably well in Bolivia, the country for which it was ostensibly intended, and where, according to the latest accounts, it still subsists, yet there seems to be little doubt that it was conceived in a spirit more friendly to individual aggrandizement than to the liberty of the people or the ultimate consolidation of republican institutions.

Had Bolivar, the lawgiver of this republic, ceased to exist, or had he retired altogether from public life, on the promulgation of the Bolivian code, his reputation as a patriot and a statesman would have been handed down to posterity as one of the brightest in the annals of history. But, unfortunately, the formation and establishment of this constitution gave rise to events in Peru, Colombia, and other parts of South America, which incontrovertibly prove that it was not dictated by that pure spirit of patriotism which his friends and admirers have attributed to Bolivar; but that under it lurked a gigantic scheme of ambition and aggrandizement, in fruitless endeavours to accomplish which much crime and misery were occasioned, whilst the glory which its author had previously earned contracted a stain which, it is to be feared, no length of time will ever efface. The project which emanated from the promulgation and establishment of this code in Bolivia, and in the prosecution of which Bolivar principally employed his active energies during the latter years of his life, was the establishment of the same constitution in Peru and Colombia as well as in Bolivia, and the union of these three republics, either federally, or as one state, of which he was to be the president for life. The celebrated congress at Panama, which took place in June 1826, was originally pro- jected by him for this express object; and many other expedients, which it is foreign to our present purpose to enumerate, were also resorted to for the accomplishment of his design. But all his schemes proved abortive, and he died without effecting any of the objects, personal to himself, for which he had compromised his fame, and incurred the suspicion and dread of all who were friendly to republican institutions.

The congress which sanctioned the adoption of the Bolivian code, and elected General Sucre as the president of the republic, continued its sessions, to legislate more in detail. The republic was peculiarly fortunate in its first choice of a president in the person of the conqueror of Ayacucho, whose mildness, urbanity, integrity, love of justice, and devotedness in the discharge of the important duties confided to him, endeared him to every one capable of being influenced by generous feelings. He had few personal enemies; and those who opposed him were principally influenced by the impression of his intimate connection with Bolivar, and of his favouring the political principles advocated by the latter; for all viewed Sucre as the firmest and most energetic supporter which Bolivar possessed. Under the upright administration of this officer much progress was made in organizing the various departments of the administration; the resources of the country were called forth; and effectual means were adopted for promoting the extension of education and intelligence throughout the community.

Amidst these powerful inducements to tranquillity, much discontent was excited by the presence of a body of Colombian troops in the country, which, in a period of profound peace, was considered by many as derogatory to the dignity, and inconsistent with the liberty, of the republic. The number influenced by such feelings was greatly augmented by the accession of those aspirants to place and power, who considered their respective claims as having been neglected or ill requited; and strength and consistency were given to these malcontents, by a belief, which subsequent events proved to be well founded, that the government of Peru favoured their views, and that they would be supported by a numerous and well-appointed Peruvian army, stationed in the department of Puno.

Meanwhile they succeeded in gaining over to their party the Colombian battalion of voltigeros stationed at La Paz, among whom a mutiny took place on the 23rd December 1827; but this was speedily suppressed by the Colombian cavalry under Colonel Brown, and the armed peasantry of La Paz, after a desperate resistance on the part of the mutineers, of whom eighty were killed. The battalion was consequently disbanded. This revolt was hailed with loud demonstrations of joy by the government and people of Peru, who viewed it as the first step towards the downfall of the policy of Bolivar.

General Sucre, convinced that removing the principal source of discontent was essential to the stability of the constitution and the welfare of the country, applied to the government of Peru for permission to the Colombian troops to march through the territory of that state, and embark at Arica. But the Peruvian administration denied to these brave men the privilege of returning to their native country by the route by which they had formerly advanced to establish the freedom of Peru, unless they submitted to the humiliating condition of suffering themselves to be disarmed; a condition which was spurned at by Sucre and the Colombians. On the 5th March an interview took place near the Desaguadero, between Generals Sucre and Gamarra, the latter commanding the Peruvians. On this occasion each disclaimed any intention of interfering in the internal affairs of the republic to which the other belonged; a pledge which subsequent events proved to have been insincere on the part of Gamarra. General Sucre succeeded; however, in obtaining the sanction of Gamarra to the embarkation at Arica of all the Colombian troops in Bolivia, excepting about 500 men; and this was accordingly carried into effect without any further opposition on the part of the Peruvians.

While Sucre was occupied with these transactions, the spirit of discord had extended itself to Chuquisaca the capital, and spread amongst the garrison. With the view of repressing this disorder, Sucre rode in amongst the mutinous soldiers, accompanied by his staff and a few other officers; but he was unsuccessful in his attempt to quell the mutiny; Colonels Lanza and Escalona were mortally wounded, and the general himself was so severely wounded as to be made prisoner. This revolt, however, was ultimately suppressed by General Lopez with some troops from Potosi, aided by the well-disposed inhabitants of Chuquisaca; and Sucre was set at liberty. But he intimated his fixed determination not to resume the office of president, except for the purpose of resigning it into the hands of congress, at its first meeting.

On hearing of the affair at Chuquisaca, Gamarra called a council of war, the members of which, with only one dissentient voice, agreed as to the propriety of his marching into the Bolivian territory, with the ostensible object of preventing anarchy, and protecting Sucre from further personal violence; and this resolution was soon afterwards sanctioned by orders to the same effect from the Peruvian government. Accordingly, Gamarra and his army crossed the Desaguadero on the 1st of May; but they were coolly received by the Bolivians, whose forces being too few for resistance, retired from La Paz, and concentrated themselves towards Oruro and Potosi, under the command of General Urdininea. But the latter, instead of advancing with his whole forces to encounter Gamarra, weakened his army by detaching a large division, in order to reduce a mutinous regiment of cavalry under Colonel Blanco, in the province of Chichas. Ineffectual endeavours at negociation were followed by some indecisive affairs between the two armies in the province of Paria. Meanwhile Blanco, eluding the vigilance of the party sent against him, placed himself in communication with the Peruvian forces, and with a party of them proceeded to Chuquisaca, where he seized General Sucre, hurried him by forced marches to the head-quarters of Gamarra, and during the whole journey treated him with the greatest inhumanity and indignity.

A treaty of peace was now entered into between Generals Gamarra and Urdininea at Piquisa (6th July), by which the independence of Bolivia was guaranteed, and the object of the Peruvian invasion accomplished by the retirement of General Sucre, and the removal of the remaining Colombian troops from the territory of the republic. Accordingly the latter embarked at Arica for Colombia on the 28th of July, under the command of Colonel Brown. Sucre was then set at liberty, and formally resigned the presidency of Bolivia on the 18th of August 1828; on which occasion General Santa Cruz was elected as his successor.

General Sucre descended from his high station in a manner which accorded well with his elevated character. His message to the congress of Bolivia, dated the 4th of August, will serve as a lasting monument of his merits in organizing Bolivia, and of his impartiality in pointing out that part of the Bolivian code which he considered as most imperfect. During the two years of his administration, colleges and Lancasterian schools were established in the capitals of each of the departments, and schools of the same description for females were instituted in three of them; besides which, other schools were multiplied throughout the country under improved regulations, and well provided with funds. Important ecclesiastical reforms were effected, and the number of friars so diminished that only six convents remained of the thirty-six in existence when he came into office, the funds of those suppressed having been devoted to the purposes of education and other useful public institutions. Some progress was also made in the improvement of the police, prisons, &c.; and the army was left in a very efficient state. Agriculture had been improved in all its branches, and no forced loan or contribution of any kind was made. Mining had increased so much, that during the preceding year one third more of the precious metals had been extracted than on any former year. Commerce had also been promoted, and efforts were made to establish the free port of Cobiza or La Mar. Although the amount of the revenue received had diminished in consequence of the changes in the imposts; yet, such had been the economy observed by the administration, that the revenue was not only sufficient to defray all necessary expenses, but a surplus had been accumulated to meet extraordinary charges.

General Velasco was chosen vice-president, and intrusted with the presidency of the republic until the arrival of General Santa Cruz, who was then in Chili; but, in the absence of Santa Cruz, Colonel Blanco usurped the supreme authority, which, however, he retained but for a short time; for in the course of a few months he perished by assassination. Meanwhile General Gamarra, having accomplished the principal object of his enterprise, recrossed the Desaguadero with his army on the 30th of September 1828. This invasion of Bolivia was stated as one of the grounds of offence against the Peruvian government by General Bolivar in his proclamation from Colombia, which afterwards brought on the war between that state and Peru.

In 1829 and the early part of 1830 there arose between Peru and Bolivia various disputes, in which both parties complained of injustice. The heavy transit duties imposed on the commerce of Bolivia through the Puertos Intermedios, was a grievance severely felt by the inhabitants of Bolivia; and, on the other hand, Peru complained of the intrigues of Santa Cruz and his partizans to gain the ascendancy in Peru as well as Bolivia. These caused much angry discussion on both sides, but at length ended in an arrangement, one of the first results of which was the decree of the Peruvian government already mentioned, regulating the transit of Bolivian commerce through the Peruvian territory. The latest intelligence confirms the suspicions entertained of the ambitious views of Santa Cruz, who has succeeded in ejecting General Gamarra from the presidency, and in placing himself at the head of the Peruvian government. What influence this event may have upon the future destinies of these republics it is difficult to foresee. It is perhaps desirable that it should bring about a close union between them, which would at once remove every source of contention, and unite in one firm political compact all the territory formerly governed by the Incas. The republic of Bolivia, with those of Chili and Guatemala, are the only new states of South America, the independence of which has not yet been acknowledged by Great Britain. Yet the former has during seven years been free from foreign domination, and in a state of internal tranquillity; and possesses, besides, such great natural sources of wealth as to form an important market for the manufactures of Great Britain. (Secret Report of D. Jorge Juan and D. Antonio de Ulloa; by Barry; Relation Historique des Voyages de Humboldt et Bonpland; Brackenridge's Voyage to South America; Andrews' Travels in South America; Temple's Travels in South America; Edinburgh New Phil. Jour. Oct. 1829 to April 1830; Memoirs of General Miller.)