Sources of information.—General Pacheco.—Inaccuracies of Sir Woodbine Parish.—Navigability of the Parana by large vessels.—Decrees of the government of Paraguay on the treatment of foreigners.—Decrees relative to inventions and improvements.—Mr. Drabble’s commercial mission, and its results.—Cultivation of cotton.—Drawbacks to its extension.—Scarcity of labour.—Provisions of the treaty between Great Britain and Paraguay.—The commercial resources of the country little known in this.—Navigability of the Paraguay and the Uruguay.—Obligation of the Brazilian and Buenos Ayrean governments to remove impediments.—Population of Paraguay.—Public works undertaken by the Consular Government.—Salubrity of the climate.—Fertility of the soil.—Pasturage illimitable.—Character of the Paraguayans.—President Lopez.—Diplomatic mission of Sir Charles Hotham.—General Lopez.—State of the country at the death of Francia.—First measures of the Consular Government.—Revenue of Paraguay.—Administration of justice.—Revision of the tariff.—Release of political prisoners at the termination of Francia’s Reign of Terror.

As indicated at the conclusion of the last chapter, my ascent of the Parana ceased at Rosario, whence I descended to the mouth of the Plate, on the return voyage to Europe; consequently, what I am about to say of Paraguay is not the result of actual personal experience in that strange land. Nevertheless, I offer the annexed observations with considerable confidence, as the fruits of diligent inquiry among several who had been there, some for many years, some very recently; and as the fruits also of the perusal of nearly all accredited works on the subject, of one of which in particular,[104] whose merits and reliability are vouched for by the distinguished Uruguayan soldier and administrator who has edited it—General Pacheco—I have availed myself to some extent, having been also assured by other competent critics that it is most trustworthy in its data and most dispassionate in its views. The paucity of works on this country is not surprising, but the inaccuracy of that which, being the most recent, is naturally accepted as the most authoritative in England, is indeed marvellous. The obligations of all interested in Platine affairs are so great to Sir Woodbine Parish, and as regards Paraguay in particular, members of his family long ago afforded so much invaluable information then derivable from no other source, that it is with the utmost reluctance I say a word calculated to diminish the deference due to the veteran diplomatist and author; nor should I attempt to impugn his statements if he spoke from his own individual knowledge. Still, his predilection in favour of Rosas, to which I have adverted in the introductory chapter (page 30), and his antipathy to everybody and everything inimical to the regime and the system of the Buenos Ayrean Dictator, are, or at least in 1852 were, so potent as completely to run away with his otherwise excellent judgment. On what other grounds can we account for his lending all the emphasis of italics to such passages as these, for which he quotes Colonel Graham, the United States Consul, who proceeded on an official mission to Paraguay, in 1845, and who is apparently regarded by Sir Woodbine as an indisputable authority, viz.:—

The best answer to all this is what I have already said in the preceding chapter respecting Colonel Graham’s fellow-countryman, Mr. Hopkins; and as to ‘vessels adapted for crossing the ocean not going up the Parana,’ Sir Woodbine must surely have been well aware, even at the time Graham wrote, saying nothing of subsequent experience, of the facts borrowed from Sir W. Gore Ouseley, in the note to the illustration of Corrientes (see p. 324), respecting the ascent, not merely of the Parana, by British vessels of war, but of the Paraguay, as far as Assumption, by the French war steamer Fulton, commanded by Captain Mazeres; also that for upwards of 300 miles beyond Assumption the navigation of the Paraguay is even better than it is below the capital, as was lately exemplified, since my return to England, by the voyage of the American steamer Waterwitch, far beyond the limits previously understood to be navigable, except to the small river craft of the country.

It may be said that Colonel Graham could not have known these latter facts when he wrote what Sir Woodbine has quoted. But Sir Woodbine himself must have known them, and should not, therefore, have quoted the Colonel; and he must have known also that public notification had been given, in the following document, which I also take the liberty of printing in italics, that there had been an end put to the isolation in which Paraguay had so long been kept by Francia; and that ‘one Lopez,’ as Sir Woodbine calls the present enlightened President, had made every advance to the external world years before the world became persuaded that the system of Francia had been buried with him.

At the same time, publicity had been given to another document, which showed that not only were the persons and property of strangers perfectly safe in Paraguay, but that protection was afforded to the fruits of their invention and ingenuity, in a manner that other nations, pretending to a much higher degree of civilization, would do well to imitate, viz.:—

In respect to what Sir Woodbine says in reference to the products of Paraguay not bearing the expense of transport, it will perhaps be sufficient to cite in a note[105] the opinions of practical men upon the exceeding desirability and the feasibility of Europeans availing themselves of one of its staples most essential to English manufactures, as set forth in the leading journal a few months back.

There was always a strong presentiment among commercial men in this country that a treaty with Paraguay would be productive of great advantages; and there is an equally strong conviction still, despite the apprehended obstacles raised by the Buenos Ayrean Government in respect to the enforced protectorate of the island of Martin Garcia, that the treaty ratified on November 2nd, by Lord Clarendon and his Excellency Don F. Lopez, the accomplished son and representative of the President of Paraguay at the British Court, and a copy of which was presented to parliament the opening day of the present Session, by Lord John Russell,[106] will, in due time, effect most of the benefits anticipated. But so complete is the ignorance in England of the real mercantile resources of Paraguay, that even public writers most disposed to augur well of the treaty in question propagated notions concerning that territory so far short of the actual fact, that, if they were true, certain politicians might be almost justified in now pooh-poohing what has been accomplished, just as they did when it was attempted some years ago. For instance, one journal, long celebrated for its supposed peculiarly accurate information on foreign topics, mercantile as well as political, stated, immediately after the ratification of the treaty, as a piece of intelligence of great significance, that Paraguay was the most populous of all the La Plata provinces, ‘except Buenos Ayres’—the truth being that the Paraguayan population exceeds the Buenos Ayrean upwards of threefold—exceeds that of all the Argentine States and the Banda Oriental put together! while, contrary to the general belief even in South America, its power of consumption is greater than the rest of the interior provinces of the Confederation.[107] Considering its extreme isolation hitherto, and that modern writers professing to treat of it have almost invariably drawn their information from second-hand or apocryphal sources, it is perhaps but natural that there should be extant but little reliable knowledge respecting Paraguay. In proceeding to supply much of the void complained of, the first fact to which we would draw the attention of mercantile men is, not so much its varied products, many of them most suitable to British purposes, nor its advantages, peculiarly fitting it to nourish an important commerce, considering its fine climate,[108] fruitful soil, and numerous[109] population, but to the stable and enduring nature of its governmental status.

Unlike all the Platine provinces, Paraguay is blest with a government which, though Republican in name and in the forms of its administration, guarantees the preservation of public order; and is not exposed to those constant revolutionary vicissitudes that have come to be regarded as the normal condition of the neighbouring powers of Spanish origin. Hence, to our thinking, the great value of this treaty with a government not only willing but able to realize its intended share in the arrangement. We have not only fully entered into relations with a country new, rich in natural treasures, peopled with a docile race well disposed towards us,[110] and situate at the head of a vast internal navigation, but we may rely upon the utmost effect being given by the executive to the stipulations it has undertaken to observe, and that the open navigation of the Paraguay and Upper Parana shall be secured to the British flag, free from all alteration or sudden closing of these rivers;—thus completing that security so essential to successful enterprise and speculation.

Surely we are not too sanguine in believing that a noble territory geographically so situate, politically so secure under the firm and sagacious guidance of President Lopez,[111] whose capacity promises to be hereditary, and affluent in so many of the raw materials of European manufacture and necessity, will speedily develope itself among nations in a manner worthy of its natural endowments. The prospective mutual benefits that are likely to be derived from this treaty are of far greater magnitude than appear to be generally understood in England, or perhaps even in Paraguay itself, although they must, in a great measure, depend on the spirit in which the new reciprocal relations may be cultivated and extended; but, be the result what it may hereafter, we have abundant reason to be grateful for the exertions of Sir Charles Hotham in having done so much to lay the foundation of future commercial prosperity. Probably opposition will continue to be made by Buenos Ayres to the execution of the other treaty with Urquiza, although the active energies of Sir Charles were, in both cases, exerted only for the obvious mutual advantage of all parties concerned; but as regards the Paraguay treaty, at all events, no such obstacles are to be apprehended. The government of Paraguay have constantly shown a laudable desire to establish European intimacy, which circumstances not depending upon itself have too long delayed. Had the project so wisely entertained, and so vigorously promoted, as far as his power extended, by our able Minister at Monte Video in 1845-6, been prosecuted to the end, and the independence of Paraguay recognized by the British Government in conformity with the wishes of Sir W. Gore Ouseley, when, in conjunction with Baron Defaudis, the French Minister, Captain (now Sir C.) Hotham was sent to Assumption, to treat with President Lopez, there can be no question that many of the subsequent troubles and difficulties of the La Plata question would have been altogether obviated; Rosas would long ago have been expelled; his vast property (the non-sequestration of which was the grand error of Urquiza) would not have been employed to promote the revolutionary intrigues it has since done, but which it will do no longer, as it is now confiscated; and Paraguay, instead of merely being about entering on its noviciate, would have had seven years’ experience of reciprocity with the old world by this time.

By selecting Sir C. Hotham for the mission to Paraguay, Lord Malmesbury virtually continued, in the person of the very officer chosen for that purpose, the commercial policy initiated in ’45-6 by Sir W. G. Ouseley. On that occasion, as more recently, the English were received by the Paraguayans with the greatest cordiality, though at the same time with a reserve not unbecoming a people whose amour propre was wounded by their independence not being recognized in the first instance. Once that all-essential formality was complied with, negotiations proceeded as satisfactorily as could be desired. It is understood that when the Paraguayan Envoys were sent to Monte Video in ’46 to treat with our then Minister there, Sir William suggested that a number of distinguished young natives should be sent to England, that they might judge of our institutions and commercial spirit for themselves, and report to him that this country had, and could have, no sinister motive to serve by a treaty with Paraguay. Concurring in that opinion, President Lopez wisely caused his son, the minister plenipotentiary to this court, General Lopez, to be accompanied by a numerous suite of military officers and civilians, together with a younger brother of the General’s, as secretary, full of intelligence, and by M. Gelli, a veteran diplomatist. The General, though a young man, has for some years been commander-in-chief of the Paraguayan forces, and is said to manifest great ability and a large faculty of observation, evincing a keen desire to obtain information on all subjects likely to be of benefit to his country. He made a very favourable impression in England, and still more so in France, where he was received with the greatest distinction, the Emperor, Napoleon the Third, according him public and private audiences amidst the most imposing ceremonial of state. He is now (April, 1854,) engaged in making a tour in Italy, and through the continent; and in the course of the present summer will return to Paraguay, his naturally fine mind stored with the fruits of an observant and diversified experience, and his excellent disposition in no way deteriorated, it is to be hoped, by his acquaintance with the peoples of the old world.

BRIGADIER GENERAL FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ, ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY OF THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY.