Biographical memoranda on the late British minister to the Plate.—First impressions of the Uruguayan capital unfavourable.—The New Custom House.—An instance of enterprise without prudence.—Commercial advantages of Monte Video.—Prosperity obtained at the expense of Buenos Ayres.—Revisal of the Buenos Ayrean tariff.—Alluvial deposits of the Rio Plata.—Gas from mares’ grease.—Traces of a siege.—Unprofitable ploughing by Oribe’s projectiles.—Condition of the streets.—The Horses of La Plata, and the Lasso.—Commerce of London with Monte Video and Buenos Ayres.—Mules for the Australian Gold Diggings.—Diminution of the Customs.—Bitter fruits of British and French intervention.—Sir William Gore Ouseley and the British Loan.—The Market-place.—Italian boatmen.—Encouragement given to foreigners.—Aspect of the environs.—The English burial ground.—The latest revolution.—Sketch of the History of Monte Video.—Senhor Castellanos.—Immigration from Europe.—Abolition of slavery in Uruguay.—Formation of agricultural colonies.—Diplomatic and consular memoranda.

The impression on landing here is unfavourable, or at least, was so when I visited it, though such is the rapidity of change in South American regions, that, I believe, matters have put on a very much improved aspect within the short period that has since elapsed. At that time, at all events, the place was very dirty, from rainy weather; ill-paved streets; great confusion with carts and horses; all kinds of queer-looking beings about; and a medley of nations, remarkable even in this focus of motley emigration. Things looked in a rough, unfinished state, such as you would hardly expect to find in the second important city of the La Plata; and the reality contrasted sadly with the gay houses, their fantastic turrets and look-outs, which present such a picturesque appearance from the sea. The poverty the place displays is too fully accounted for by the many years of siege, blockade, civil war, and disaster it has gone through, rendering it almost miraculous that so much should still exist in the shape of a city. You land at the ponte, or custom-house wharf, built out a short distance into the bay, whilst the custom-house itself is in a street some little distance off. On the right, near the entrance of the harbour, is the new custom-house, an immense pile, which, when finished, must prove a great convenience to commerce, so long as the latter is made to go through the ordeal of fiscal duties, which here comprise nearly the entire revenue of the state. Close to the new custom-house is a light-looking jetty, made chiefly of iron, with a good landing-place, and rails running along the wharf to bonded warehouses on shore. This wharf or pier was the work of an enterprising Englishman, who had more public spirit than prudence, and was unsuccessful in his views, owing partly to there not being sufficient water to enable vessels to come alongside the structure. The city of Monte Video is erected on a kind of promontory, running out into the sea, which washes one side, and the bay the other. Like most Spanish towns in South America, it is built in squares, with parallel streets, the houses all shapes and sizes, with square courts, from which you enter the different suites of rooms, many very handsomely arranged and furnished, the area of the court being adorned with plants and flowers. Since the siege was raised, parts of the old fortifications have been pulled down, and new streets are in process of building, as also a new theatre; so that with a continuance of peace, Monte Video would soon assume more importance, and many of its civic defects be remedied. Some spirited individuals have got up a gas company, and the town is now excellently lighted from a local commodity called mares’ grease, and certainly a clearer or better light I never saw anywhere. Country houses are also springing up since the desolation in which the outskirts were left by the nine years’ siege at the hands of Rosas and his creatures, of which it still bears the traces in all directions, particularly at that memorable point between the city and General Oribe’s camp at Cerrito, where every house was riddled or destroyed with cannon-shot, and the very ground ploughed up by the same unproductive metal. In a large square, at the extremity of the town, stands the cathedral, a huge unfinished building, which towers above everything else, and is emblematic of the old Spanish taste in churches. This square will be an acquisition when finished and put in order, planted with trees, &c., towards which there is already some movement; but the majority of the streets are scarcely passable in a conveyance, many being without any pavement at all, a few rough stones being here and there visible; the rest is a compound of mud and filth, and with holes that would astonish any well-educated European animal, however profound his gravity or elongated his ears, but apparently quite natural to the horses and mules of this country, and regarded by them with an exemplary equanimity which bipeds of philosophic pretensions in vain endeavour to emulate.

The difference of race between the inhabitants of Brazil and the River Plate is very remarkable, indicating at once the great change in climate, and those other physiological influences that contribute to determine variety of character among people. At the same time it must be observed that South America furnishes many almost irreconcilable anomalies of this kind; for instance, a feeble and peaceful people dwelt on the cold mountains of Peru; a hardy and warlike race wandered under the burning sun of Brazil. The Uruguayans partake largely of the attributes of the latter. The natives are generally athletic-looking men, mounted on horses that appear part and parcel of themselves; seemingly centaur-like, ‘demi-encorpsed with the brave beast;’ and dressed in a fashion savouring strongly of the Turk—minus the turban.

The Plata is indeed the land of the horse, par excellence, as will be inferred from the fact of this, the first town of importance on its banks, being lighted with mares’-grease gas. The animals are, generally speaking, described by connoisseurs as not exactly equalling the splendid Spanish parent stock they are descended from, and the first appearance of which in the country where they are now counted by millions, and are part almost of the very being of the natives, was regarded with an awe and astonishment that well nigh paralysed resistance to the invader. Those that swarm along the plains are rather more useful than handsome; heads not clumsy, though not elegantly shaped; body tolerably round, though croup often low; legs, though light, firm and well placed. They are caught with the lasso, in the use of which, as likewise of course in the bolas, the Uruguayan Guacho is fully equal, and is deemed by many even superior, if possible, to his brother of the Buenos Ayrean pampas, with which the European idea of the exercise of these captivating implements is chiefly associated; for the Banda Oriental being much intersected with streams, and trees, and hills, a greater degree of address is perhaps required in managing a herd of wild horses or oxen than in the vast table-land stretching, for hundreds upon hundreds of miles, in an almost unvaried flat, on the opposite bank of the river. But if the Plate be the land of horses, doubly is it the land of cows: the whole region may be said to be one vast horn-and-hoof fair; and the predominant bovine element in the air, the street, the field, proclaims itself overpoweringly to every sense. This, of course, strikes one more forcibly, because of its novelty, on landing at Monte Video, than subsequently at Buenos Ayres, and in the interior; for it is extraordinary how quickly one loses his fastidiousness, and looks with indifference upon sights, and inhales odours, that appear insufferably revolting at the outset of one’s noviciate. The trade carried on by the Uruguayans in the flesh, and hides, and tallow, of cattle, and the skins of horses, is very great,[78] considering the extent of territory and population, and bearing in mind the many impediments of which we have already spoken, and to which we shall have further to advert presently. Latterly, a profitable trade is springing up in the article of mules for Australia; those animals being reared in great perfection in the fine pastures of the Banda Oriental, and being of infinite use in the gold fields, owing to their hardy constitution, strength, and docility. Passengers from Australia, calling at Monte Video, declare the neighbourhood greatly to resemble the vicinage of Melbourne; and there is little doubt that judicious explorations would reveal the presence of large quantities of gold, some having already been found. That the whole state abounds in metalliferous riches is the conviction of many competent judges; and, probably, in no part of the civilised world might small mining capitals be invested with greater certainty of success, or small ‘captains’ commence operations on their own account with stronger assurance of reward, especially as the climate, a most important consideration, admits of Englishmen pursuing their labours without the enervation experienced from the greater heat and drying winds that prevail on the opposite side of the river.

To judge from the number of vessels and small craft laying in the harbour, you would conclude a large trade was carried on; but such is not exactly the case, although matters are fast improving; the custom-house revenue, from being down to 700,000 dollars, is now doubled, or 1,400,000 dollars, against 3½ millions of dollars which it returned in 1842, previous to the siege. The work of destruction was industriously pursued during that disastrous period, and for hundreds of miles the Banda Oriental was not only shorn of its cattle but of its population. The land, in fact, was rendered a desert waste, and made only subservient to the wants of Oribe’s army. Future annalists will hardly believe it possible that the history of a second Troy could be illustrated in the duration of the aggression it was subjected to, under the protective cannon of the two most powerful nations of Europe, France and England; but such, alas! was the fact; and the recent melancholy position of Monte Video is the fruit of an intervention that was not rendered effective, as it might have been, if vigorously followed up in conformity with the judicious advice of the resident English minister during a great part of the troubles, and whose wise suggestions are now reverted to with regretful but admiring respect, by all dispassionate men in Europe or America who have read the then requirements of the Plate by the light of subsequent experience.[79] Indeed, that this feeling has at length prevailed is shown by acts, more of justice than of favour, on the part of succeeding governments that, though tardy, are not the less honourable to those concerned. It will require many years of peaceful industry to restore this district to what it was in 1842, rich as the soil undoubtedly is, and reproductive as its affluence in cattle may be. In the meantime, a good deal of produce is brought hither from the neighbouring ports and down the rivers, in small craft, which occupy a long time on the voyage; and some idea may be formed of the number of these conveyances, when I mention having seen one as high as No. 1,200 at Buenos Ayres, where they are all numbered, and, it is to be presumed, at Monte Video likewise. It is hardly necessary to say that there is a strong rivalry between the two ports for this kind of trade, and also in numerous other respects; but Monte Video has immeasurably the advantage as a harbour, and it might be rendered as commodious as any in the world by a little energy and judicious outlay. It is much to be regretted that this peaceful rivalry should not be the predominant incentive to mercantile action, instead of each country wasting its strength and energies in interminable political squabbles. But both have paid so bitterly for the indulgence of these internecine animosities, that they are at length beginning to learn charity and reciprocal indulgence of each other’s foibles; and there is a reasonable probability that this mutual comparative toleration is the precursor of joint stability of institutions, and of that solid and progressive prosperity of which each is so eminently capable. A most remarkable evidence of the growth of this better spirit was afforded on the occasion of some disturbances in the Banda Oriental, at the close of last year, when the authorities at Buenos Ayres actually offered to place their vessels of war at the disposal of the Uruguayan authorities, for the maintenance of peace and order. This the latter were fortunately able to preserve without extraneous aid; the proffer of which, from such a quarter, augurs the advent of an era when peace as well as plenty shall take up its abiding place in these luxuriant regions, from which it seems to have fled from the hour the white man set foot upon the soil. But the good time, so ardently desiderated, is not yet exactly arrived; for such is the fluctuating condition of things in these countries, that almost every alternate mail brings accounts that upset all one’s previous calculations, and hardly is the ink dry with which we record our felicitations on the seeming solidity of peace, when tidings of civil broils once more open the door of incertitude as to the present, and the worst apprehensions as to the future. But Brazil is now the great peace-maker, and, as long as she is so, outrage at least is impossible.

One of the old defences of Monte Video is a Spanish wall, of which only a portion remains, with a Moorish-looking gateway, which has a very picturesque air about it, contrasting with the modern appearance of the houses near it. Through the gateway is visible a large quadrangular building, apparently used as a barrack in former times, but now appropriated to a much more useful purpose, that of a public market; and early in the morning may be seen dozens of people going to and fro with their purchases for the day—meat, fish, and fine vegetables. The latter appear to be in profusion; and some cauliflowers were far the largest I ever saw. Things of this sort are dear, owing to the limited cultivation, which is carried on chiefly by the Basque population, whilst the boatmen who ply for hire about the port are Italians to a man.[80] Some idea may be formed of the scarcity of labourers, when the commonest cannot be got on board ship for less than 2 dollars each (eight shillings) per day, and this must be a great drawback to the progress of the place; otherwise, what may be seen of the soil, even close to the walls of Monte Video, proves that anything could be grown there under proper cultivation. Hedges of immense aloes, cactus, clover, and other spontaneous vegetation, are everywhere visible; whilst near the edge of the bay there is splendid granite rock, in any quantity, for building purposes and paving the streets. True, you see no trees about, as they were all levelled for firewood, &c.; but that the soil close to the town can grow thousands of them, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt, and the territory of the Uruguay itself, in many parts, is famous for its timbered affluence. The citizens are now planting some trees, and with peace for a few years, the outskirts of Monte Video would present a very different appearance indeed to what they do at present. The walls of the English burial-ground were also levelled during the siege; and there is now only a hedge of aloes, which does not hide even the tombstones. Owing to that and other circumstances, there is some talk of the site being removed. Before our arrival, a revolution, attended with some bloodshed, had again broken out, and things appeared in a very unsettled state, finally coming to a head by a total upset of the then existing president, Giro, and his foreign minister, Berro, who took refuge in a French vessel of war.[81] A provisional government was soon formed, which certainly seemed to carry with it the sympathies of the people, who, it is to be hoped, will settle down again quietly—a consummation to which everything that has happened, as far as is known in Europe, since our departure, would seem to be steadily tending. Hitherto, as is notorious to every one, the great curse of these countries is personal ambition; for no man considers it necessary to consult the interests of his fellow-citizens beyond what will serve his own purpose. Such a principle as that of true patriotism, or dispensing legislation for the good of the many, was a mere chimera, and no wonder the masses should at length kick against a system by which they are always sufferers.

Fortunately, however, a most marked change in this respect has recently occurred. The love of anarchic excitement has well nigh subsided, even amongst the most volatile and hitherto inflammable portion of the population; while the sentiment conveyed in the Shakspearean malison, ‘A plague on both your houses,’ is that uppermost in the mouths of the really intelligent and respectable classes of every way of thinking, when appealed to by contending chiefs, panting for public embroilment for the sake of personal aggrandisement. A most striking, and, it is to be hoped, conclusive, evidence of this was furnished in the case of the recent ejection of the President Giro, or, rather, his own renunciation of office and attempted exercise of its functions afterwards; for, rather than join any standard, at least any that involved the disruption of the public peace, certain classes, who had hitherto been at the beck of every incendiary in turn, actually fled into the country and hid themselves, for fear of being compelled to participate in scenes they had previously so often rejoiced to riot in. The adherents of the Giro government have since made an attempt to seize upon the power they have so capriciously abandoned, and succeeded in producing some confusion for a while, especially at Colonia, whence the authorities had to fly in a whale-boat to Buenos Ayres; but the provisional executive, strong in the pacific disposition of the whole people, as already adverted to, quickly succeeded in restoring order, and maintained it with firmness and temper, till Brazil has insured enduring peace.

In speaking of the overthrow or dissolution of the recent government of President Giro, it may be necessary to state, in justice to a deserving and distinguished public servant, Sen. Don F. Castellanos, that he had no hand whatever in the circumstances which led to that occurrence, having many months before resigned the office of Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the duties of which he discharged with exemplary assiduity, ability, and success, under the exceedingly difficult obligations imposed upon the State of the Uruguay, subsequent to the siege being suddenly raised by the defeat and flight of Rosas. M. Castellanos, whose personal acquaintance I had the honour of making, is a gentleman of European as well as American repute, being well versed in the constitutional laws of the New World, and familiar with the institutions and literature of the old, speaking French and English with facility and correctness. During his administration everything possible was done to supply that great desideratum of the Uruguay and of all the South American states—immigration from Europe. To this end Senr. Castellanos, shortly after he accepted office, addressed a despatch to the Consul-General for the Republic of the Uruguay in London, commanding him to make known to all whom it might concern, that the whole of the fertile territory of the Banda Oriental was in a condition of perfect tranquillity, in which it has virtually since remained, notwithstanding the sudden cessation since of the government of which he was at the time the Foreign Minister. He stated that the authorities were anxious to receive any number of peaceable, well-disposed European emigrants, to whose industry they were prepared to guarantee all the protection extended to native citizens, together with peculiar exemptions because of their introduction of skill and capital. Complete toleration in all matters of religious observance was insured; and, in a word, every inducement held out to the redundant population of the Old World to avail itself of the fruitful soil and genial climate of a constitutionally governed country, admirably adapted in every respect to Europeans of the Saxon and German stock, the climate being temperate and healthy in an eminent degree, and its numerous rivers, extensive sea-coast, and noble harbours, affording every facility for commerce. In the present condition of our Russian trade in tallow, for whose production this region has unlimited capabilities, as it has for another staple—cotton—whose supply is by no means encouragingly ‘looming in the future,’ the announcement here made is likely to have the effect of directing towards the La Plata a considerable stream of emigration, which circumstances of various kinds—moral, sanative, and social—may repel from quarters more alluring to the inconsiderate millions. Indeed, we understand that a formidable ‘exodus,’ as the phrase is, may be looked for shortly from the Rhenish provinces on the Swiss border, to the Banda Oriental; and that an organization on a very large scale is being matured for colonizing with Germans several hundred thousand acres of the beautiful undulating tract on the borders of the Rivers Arapey Grande, Arapey Chico, and the Curaeim. There is no doubt that the causes which attract the industry and energy of the prudent Germans in this marked manner will also draw a great number of English agricultural settlers to the neighbourhood of a city in which so much English capital and enterprise are being commercially employed as in Monte Video; and a very potent stimulus to the wishes of the Uruguayan government in this respect must be afforded by the new Liverpool line of steamers, running monthly to Brazil and the Plata, under circumstances very different from those that formerly characterised the Anglo steam communication with that part of South America.

Some twelve years since, slavery was abolished in the territory of the Republic. Many hands, then obliged to devote themselves to tillage, abandoned it in order to occupy themselves in some other branches of industry which appeared to them more lucrative. Agriculture, which even then was not engaged in to any great extent, felt the blow; but what appeared fatal to it was converted into a benefit. For slaves was substituted free labour, because the government at once comprehended the necessity of favouring, by all possible means, the principal branch of industry which supports states; and agriculture, instead of dwindling away, comparatively flourished. The abandonment of the most fertile plains, and the prices of their produce, encouraged strangers to come to cultivate them; and not only did agriculture gain in extent, but the soil likewise in production, which was doubled by industry. Attracted by the certainty of profit, and encouraged by the government, the emigration to the Uruguay was daily increased, and vessels, loaded with 200 to 300 emigrants, continually arrived at Monte Video. More than one company has been formed, in order, in conjunction with the government, to promote emigration to the interior of the country and its colonization. One, under the name of ‘Pastoral and Agricultural Company of Merinos,’ (Sociedade Agricola Pastoral de Merinos) is establishing a colony near the village of Carmelo, to which it destines a large tract of land. In its centre will be formed a city, under the name of Pueblo de la Estrella; and the same colony will have a normal school of agriculture, and a garden of acclimatization and practical essays of this science. On the banks of the Uruguay, an agricultural colony of European families of the same class is also being established. In the same manner a town will be constructed there, the plan of which is being formed. Another agricultural society of the colony has promoted an association among the inhabitants of the city of Colonia, for the colonization of the country. Some time ago it issued the greater portion of its shares, and, as I learned, intended to import from the Canary Islands 50 agricultural families, of four persons each, to whom to distribute lands, seeds, instruments, &c. In the department of Soriano, other societies intend to introduce 800 to 1,000 European families, who are to devote themselves to agriculture; lastly, the necessity for the encouragement of colonization is everywhere recognized, and its promotion is sought in every possible way.

These and many other schemes of a somewhat similar kind are yet a very long way indeed from fruition; and some considerable time must elapse before they can be anything but dreams. Doubtless the disturbed state of Europe will lend a great impetus to the immigration we have spoken of, and the mere talk of the improvements we adverted to bespeaks a yearning after social good that must ultimately realize its own object. For one who knows the people well, says:—

This naturally leads me to speak of social life in Monte Video, which, as far as I had an opportunity of judging, is frank, cordial, and agreeable, there being a much greater admixture of the citizens with foreigners, and especially with English, than I observed at Lisbon, and than I know exists in Brazil. English society in itself is also much more extensive than I could have well believed, and is of a very superior order—refined, intelligent, and hospitable. There is full freedom for religious worship of every kind; and Mr. Samuel Lafone, of the firm of Lafone Brothers, of Monte Video and Liverpool—a name preËminent in British trade with the Plate—having, at the expense of several thousand pounds, constructed a handsome and commodious church for the use of his Protestant fellow-countrymen, presented it, and the ground on which it stands (convenient to the anchorage for men-of-war), to them in perpetuity, without the slightest reserve or expectancy of remuneration, save the reward conveyed by the consciousness of having done a noble act, for the best of purposes, and with the purest motives. There are also considerable numbers of British mechanics in Monte Video, and agriculturists and shepherds in the Republic, the climate being humid, temperate, and bracing, like our own. The Uruguay adjoins that fine healthy province of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, to which some hundreds of Irish emigrants, more especially from the Barony Forth, in the county of Wexford—admirable specimens indeed of ‘the finest peasantry in the world’—have proceeded, within the last few years, from Liverpool, under the auspices of Admiral Grenfell, the Brazilian Consul-General at that port; and all the accounts they have hitherto sent home, whether by themselves, or the pastor who accompanied them, the Rev. R. Walsh, represent their circumstances and situation as prosperous and happy, an admirable loamy land being obtainable, in an unlimited quantity, at a dollar an acre. Some Anglo-South American houses also have a good many Welch on their properties in the same province, and their reports are all to the like effect. At still cheaper rates may yet finer land, and in a still better climate, be obtained in the Uruguay; and from all I have been able to see, hear, or read, I am inclined to believe that there is no more eligible spot in the world for an intending emigrant than the Banda Oriental, whether capitalist or labourer, whether an agriculturist, a grazier, a wool grower, or even a cotton grower, a horse or cattle breeder, or one skilled in the preparation of hides, horns, or tallow for the home market; or whether he be a rural mechanic or farm servant, or small yeoman desirous of bringing up a family in any or every branch of husbandry. On all subjects connected with agricultural pursuits in this region of the world, but more especially as regards the breeding of horses, cattle, and sheep, and their preparation for the several markets they are suited to, the excellent work of Mr. M’Cann (‘Two Thousand Miles’ Ride through the Argentine Provinces’), may with great confidence be recommended, as furnishing on these points a mass of information nowhere else to be found, and valuable especially as being the result of the author’s actual experience. My own observations were naturally confined to the capital and its immediate vicinity; and my opinion, therefore, on such extensive matters as those embraced by Mr M’Cann would be of about the same value as those of a Cockney who should pronounce on the territorial condition of England from a Sunday afternoon’s contemplation of a suburban tea-garden. And, speaking somewhat in the latter sense, I should say that the neighbourhood of Monte Video would be pronounced by the sentimental gentleman in Pickwick to be the very paradise of market gardeners, with or without gazelles, as the case might be.

The mention of gazelles is naturally suggestive of some remarks about certain other and biped proprietors of beaux yeux; but we must reserve such matters for the next chapter, merely premising that the observations therein offered are in every respect perfectly applicable to the fair Monte-Videans, who are, indeed, even fairer, or at least less embrowned, than the Buenos Ayrean belles, being, if possible, more distinctive types of Spanish beauty, or what used to be such; for according to the recent[82] pronunciamento of a most competent and accomplished critic, the syrens of Southern Europe are no such great charmers after all—an assurance that must be consolatory to the British mammas of young Hopefuls quartered at Gibraltar. But, be that as it may, few of the worser half of humanity will question the right of the Transatlantic descendants of Castillian dames to the suzerainty of all beholders, especially when to the Moresque complexion is added that distinctive optic attribute of the Goth which the Celts so much admire, as shown in the familiar Portuguese ditty:—

I am happy to be able to fortify my own opinion of the attractions and conveniences of Monte Video by the very competent authority of Mr. L. Hugh de Bonelli, secretary to Her Britannic Majesty’s legation in Bolivia, who, in a very interesting couple of volumes, published by Messrs. Hurst and Blackett, in the course of last month, (February, 1854,) entitled ‘Travels in Bolivia, with a Tour across the Pampas to Buenos Ayres, &c.,’ expresses himself infinitely pleased with the place; and his description is so felicitous that I venture to append it in a note.[83]

Since these remarks were written, the news from the Uruguay continues to be of so conclusive a character as to give every assurance that this fine country has really at last entered upon the prosperous destiny its great natural advantages so clearly point to, provided only peace were ensured. That peace will henceforth be preserved is now certain, and consequently we may calculate on ordinary events following ordinary causes, as in all other parts of the world. By the common consent of the moderate and intelligent of all classes in the Banda Oriental, Brazil has been solicited to assume the protectorate of the Republic. This high and responsible trust she has undertaken in the spirit of magnanimity and disinterestedness that will be inferred from the perusal of our observations towards the close of the chapter on Rio Janeiro. As there stated, Brazil has no acquisitive designs on Uruguayan territory; but she has a design and determination to keep peace in that state for the sake of having a quiet neighbour on her own important southern frontier, irrespective of her natural anxiety for the advancement of so important a portion of the South American east coast as has Monte Video for its capital. She has not interfered, nor does she intend to interfere, with the internal or domestic affairs of the Republic in any way, further than securing the inhabitants the exercise of the right to elect their own rulers, and securing to those so elected the right of peaceably discharging their functions without the perpetual molestations which the armed violence of military adventurers have for so many years entailed upon all administrations in succession. As the most essential preliminary to quietude, Brazil has undertaken to remove one source of ever-irritating provocation and confusion from the Uruguay, by subsidizing the government to pay what is necessary to carry on its affairs properly and efficiently, without those pecuniary impediments that have so frequently paralysed every administration in turn; but Brazil has insisted that the fiscal resources of the Republic shall not be squandered in the mere process of collection, as has been the case hitherto. Brazil, in fact, occupies the position of a police, who has only the one object to prevent outrage, compel the observance of honesty, and ensure obedience not to her arbitrary edicts or capricious ordinances, but to the recognized laws of the country itself. It is needless to say that if the native Orientals are delighted at this stable state of things following on the anarchy that had become almost chronic, still more so are the foreigners, who constitute so large a portion of the wealthy and influential trading inhabitants of the capital, and of the landed proprietary. Some suspicions have been expressed that Brazil would convert her present position to the frustration of the liberal commercial policy lately established between some of the adjoining South American states and Europe, and that Paraguay may be relegated to her former isolation once more in consequence. But nothing can be more unfounded than such apprehension; for, apart from its being the obvious interest of Brazil to bring all portions of the continent of which she forms so important a section into commercial contiguity with the old world, the former treaties between the Banda Oriental and England and France and Sardinia, and the new ones between those latter countries and Paraguay would necessarily demand an intervention from which Brazil would intuitively shrink; and, moreover, the United States of North America would immediately resent any obstructions that should impede the course of events which she evidently contemplates by despatching a diplomatic and consular representative to Paraguay. Altogether, then, there is every reason to believe that the good offices of Brazil will prove of inestimable benefit to the Uruguay, and that that Republic and England will alike find in such offices the best auxiliary to the mutually beneficial interests between the two countries.[84]

In Monte Video, accommodation for travellers is naturally very limited, principally owing to the disorganized state of the city for so many years. Still, there are some tolerably good hotels, and a fair number of cafÉs and restaurants. At Buenos Ayres hotels are numerous, and so far as my experience extended, the charges are by no means extravagant, as will be sufficiently proved by a perusal of my bill of costs presented to me on leaving the Hotel de Paris, where I remained some ten days, retaining my apartments, though absent up the river nearly half the time:—

There are also plenty of good lodging and boarding-houses, several of them kept by English and other foreign residents; and the increase to this kind of accommodation appears to be only limited by the demand.