PRESENT CONDITION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS OF PERU.

Population—Civil wars—Government—Constitution—General Castilla and his ministers—Dr. Vigil—Mariano Paz Soldan—Valleys on the coast—Cotton, wool, and specie—The Amazons—Guano—Finances—Literature—Future prospects.

After a sojourn of a few days at Lima we took a final farewell of the land of the Incas, on June 29th, 1860. As we steamed along the coast, in sight of the emerald-green valleys, surrounded by trackless wastes of sand, and of the glorious cordilleras which towered up behind them, a long train of memories passed in array before us. In this land alone, of all the nations of the earth, did the ideal of a perfect patriarchal form of government become a reality. Here, too, are the scenes of the most romantic episode in modern history, comprised in the career of the Pizarros. The sufferings of the gentle Indians excited the indignation of the Elizabethan chivalry; the fabulous riches extracted from the mines of Peru attracted the adventurous spirit of the buccaneers of a baser age; and the brave struggle for independence led more than one gallant Englishman to shed his blood in the cause of Peruvian liberty.[351] What is now the state of this famous land, and what prospect is there of the glowing hopes expressed in Mr. Canning's well-known speech ever being fulfilled, are questions which cannot fail to arouse some passing interest.

In giving an account of the present condition and future prospects of Peru, the invariable kindness and frank hospitality of its inhabitants impose an obligation to speak with as much leniency and forbearance as the interests of truth will admit. The South American Republics are peopled by races of mixed origin, who are doubtless inferior to Europeans, both mentally and physically; and the unsettled condition of those countries, which inevitably succeeded the struggles for an independence for which the people were unprepared, has continued longer than might justly have been expected. But it appears to be a generally received idea in England, originating from the accounts of travellers unacquainted with the people, and ignorant of their language, that the South Americans are a mongrel degraded race, incapable of improvement, and hopelessly degenerate.[352] So far as my experience extends, and after a careful consideration of the subject, I can see no grounds for resigning the hope that a brighter future is yet in store for the land of the Incas.

It is true that, after a casual and superficial glance at the state of affairs in South America since the expulsion of the Spaniards, the prospect appears sufficiently gloomy. But a more intimate acquaintance with the subject, and especially a knowledge of the tone of thought amongst the younger men, as expressed in conversation and in their writings, would show that, under the surface, noble aspirations and steady enlightened views prevail, which must eventually yield fruit, and thus justify our hopes for the future. When independence was established in South America, there were two principal causes which led to the civil wars which ensued; namely, the question between a federal or a centralized form of government, and the disputes respecting boundaries. The power attained during the revolution by the armies, and the selfish ambition, treason, and corruption of public men, aggravated these sources of evil to a melancholy extent. But other countries, far greater and nobler than these poor struggling republics, have had to pass through as long and as degrading a crisis in their history. Englishmen must remember the thirty years comprising the reigns of the two last Stuarts with quite as much shame as the great-grandchildren of the present Peruvians will experience when they learn the history of their country for the first forty years after its independence. It is recorded that in a British House of Commons there was but one Andrew Marvel. To my personal knowledge there are now several Andrew Marvels in Chile and Peru. These young and inexperienced countries have had to pass through a fierce ordeal, and, truth to say, they have played their part but indifferently as yet. They indeed require forbearance, but let us not turn from them with disdain and contempt, in the pride of our present grandeur and prosperity. Were treason and corruption and base selfish faction never rife in England's court and parliament?

The fatal mistake of several of the old Spanish colonies was in establishing a federal system of government, in imitation of the United States. This was the case in Mexico, Central America, New Granada, and the Argentine Confederation. No system can possibly be more entirely unsuited to a thinly-peopled mountainous region, without roads, and unprovided with a sufficient number of capable educated men in the distant provinces to undertake the local government. Power necessarily falls into the hands of any cunning adventurer, every little state becomes a focus for revolution, and an endless succession of civil wars are the result. Such, in fact, has been the fate of those republics where federation has been established. Pernicious as centralization always is when carried too far in old and densely-peopled countries, it is an absolute necessity in young states, with a small population thinly scattered over a vast extent of country. The distant inaccessible districts do not possess the materials for self-government within themselves, and necessarily depend for their prosperity and advancement on the capital.

Peru has only once been subjected to the federal experiment, and she has not suffered so much from internal dissensions as the unfortunate countries above mentioned. She holds a central position amongst the South American republics, not so cruelly torn by anarchy as Mexico on the one hand, and not enjoying so good and settled a government as Chile on the other. Her people too are perhaps inferior in capacity and mental endowments to the Chilians and the natives of New Granada, but infinitely superior to those of Central America and Mexico. She may, therefore, be taken as an average example of these half Spanish, half Indian states; and as such I will proceed to give some account of her people, her government, and her material resources.

The population of Peru, by the latest accounts, was 1,880,000 souls: the whole of the labouring classes in the interior being pure Indians; the artizans and shopkeeping classes in the towns partly Indians and partly half-castes or mestizos; the lower orders on the coast being negros, or zambos, a caste between negros and Indians, with some imported Chinese; and the upper classes being chiefly of Spanish descent with a slight dash of Indian blood, many nearly or quite half-castes, not a few pure Indian, and an exceedingly small proportion of pure Spanish descent.[353] The men of Indian extraction display perhaps more energy and equal ability with their fellow-countrymen of pure Spanish origin; and many Indians are wealthy enterprising men, while others have held the highest offices in the state. The Peruvians are intelligent and quick of apprehension, exceedingly hospitable and kind-hearted, and remarkably humane and forgiving, as a rule, in the conduct of their civil wars; but they are apt to be fickle and volatile, incapable of any long-sustained effort, and inclined to indolence. Corruption, bribery, treason, and pusillanimity are but too common; but may not these be the vices engendered by civil strife and periods of anarchy, rather than the normal characteristics of the people? With the exception of the negro races on the coast, there are few people among whom crime is more uncommon.

The causes of the civil and foreign wars which have retarded the progress of Peru since her independence may be explained in a very few sentences.

The first of these has arisen from disputes with her neighbours respecting boundaries. On her southern frontier the ambitious policy of Bolivar created a small republic, from no reason or motive that was apparent, beyond the childish vanity of having a country called after his name. This country was to all intents and purposes a part of Peru. Her people, her languages, her traditions and feelings were the same, and, until the latter part of the last century, she had formed a part of the Peruvian viceroyalty. No good end was attained by this division; while disputes respecting a doubtful unsurveyed boundary, jealousies and misunderstandings arising from all imported goods from Europe having to be landed at the Peruvian port of Arica, and conveyed to Bolivia across Peruvian territory, has created a hostile feeling, embittered year by year, between people who should have lived as brothers under a single government. On her northern frontier Peru has the little republic of Ecuador, until 1830 a portion of Colombia; which possesses the only good port, with the exception of Callao, on the western coast of South America, that of Guayaquil. This port has always been coveted by Peru; and the question of the frontier was further confused by the civil jurisdiction in Peru and Quito, during Spanish times, having been divided by one line, and the ecclesiastical by another. The generally recognised rule for deciding the frontiers between the South American Republics is the uti possidetis, as regards the former colonial jurisdictions, at the time of the war of independence.

These frontier disputes, carried on with feelings embittered by former jealousies, led to a war between Colombia and Peru in 1828,[354] in which the latter republic was worsted; and a campaign, ending in a treaty, between Peru and Bolivia at the same time.

The second and more disastrous cause for civil dissensions was the question between a federal and a centralized form of republican government. Peru enjoyed a period of peace between the war with Colombia in 1828 and the year 1834; but between the latter period and the year 1844 the unfortunate country was subject to a constant series of civil wars and insurrections. The ten years between 1834 and 1844 was Peru's most miserable time. Her public men were corrupt, pusillanimous, and selfishly ambitious; she was given up to be torn and distracted by wretched military adventurers; and the marches of armies, with their system of forced recruiting, banished all attempts at advancement or improvement from the country. Yet even during this dark interval there was a space of two years, when General Santa Cruz established his dream of a federal republic under the name of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, during which the land enjoyed peace and some signs of revived prosperity. The able and vigorous administration of Santa Cruz, whose mother was an Indian chieftainess, was the one bright spot in this dreary waste of anarchy.

For the following ten years Peru enjoyed a period of peace, under the rule of General Don Ramon Castilla, an old Indian of Tarapaca, for the first six years, and afterwards of General Echenique. During this period the country advanced rapidly in material prosperity, but in 1854 it was again convulsed by a revolution, caused by the general discontent of the people at the gross malversations and unblushing robbery of Echenique's Government. Castilla placed himself at the head of this movement, and, with the aid of a large army, has retained his power up to the present day. The insurrection at Arequipa, and mutiny in the fleet, in 1857-58, were purely local, and did not affect the general tranquillity of the country.

Towards the close of Peru's ten years of convulsion, a constitution was adopted, establishing a strictly centralising form of government, in 1839, in which immense power was placed in the hands of the executive. But during the ten years of peace which followed the election of Castilla in 1844, men's minds were strongly influenced by European travel and by more extended reading, extreme liberal views were very generally adopted, and the old constitution was felt to be out of date. In 1856, therefore, a new constitution was promulgated by a national assembly summoned for the purpose by General Castilla, in which abstract ideas of what is just and right were unhesitatingly and heedlessly adopted; and a strong tendency to federalism and local self-government was displayed.

By a stroke of the pen the capitation-tax paid by the Indians, the principal source of revenue in ordinary times, the slavery of negros on the coast, and all capital punishments were entirely abolished. There would have been some nobleness in the abolition of slavery, and the grant of 1,780,000 dollars as compensation, as well as a display of liberal sentiment, if it had in any way increased the burdens of the people, but this was not the case. For the same reason the discontinuance of the tribute paid by the Indians was a mere act of recklessness. In this constitution there were two legislative chambers, a Senate and a House of Representatives; but half the representatives were chosen by lot to form a Senate, so that one chamber was a mere counterpart of the other. The most remarkable clauses, however, were those in which measures leading to the federal form of government, a plagiarism of the disastrous system of the United States, were adopted. Peru continued to be divided into Departments governed by Prefects appointed by the President; but it was now enacted that in the capital of each Department there should be a sort of state legislature called a Junta Departmental, the members being elected by the people, and empowered to deliberate and legislate for the good of the Department. This measure was but a commencement of that fatal system which had convulsed some of the other republics; and its tendency was so apparent that Castilla was accused of intending to divide Peru into a dozen petty states, and to rule as a Dictator, by fomenting dissensions among them.[355] A wiser and more useful measure was the establishment of what are called Juntas Municipales in the towns and unions of villages, composed of the principal residents, who are intrusted with the supervision and promotion of all local interests and improvements.

In November 1860 this constitution was reformed, improvements were introduced, and some of its more absurd and injurious provisions were repealed. Capital punishment for the crime of murder was again enacted. The Congress was to meet every two years on the 28th of July; a third of their number to be renewed every two years; and, during the recess, a permanent committee of the Congress, consisting of seven senators and eight deputies, to be elected at the end of each session, was to watch the execution of acts passed by the Congress, and to exercise its functions. A great improvement was also adopted in the constitution of the Senate. The members of that body are to be elected by the Departments, each one electing a certain number according to the number of its provinces, and the qualification of a senator is raised to 1000 dollars a-year. Thus there is now an intelligible difference between the two chambers, and, in the formation of the Senate, one of the few good points of the constitution of the United States has been wisely adopted. The executive power is in the hands of a President and two Vice-Presidents elected for four years, and a council of ministers. Finally the mischievous Juntas Departmentales, which I believe had never been allowed to meet, were abolished, while the municipal institutions of the constitution of 1856, which could only be productive of good, remained in full force.

Such is the present form of government in Peru, perhaps as good a one as the country is fit for, and capable, in firm and honest hands, of meeting all the present requirements of the people; but it is of more importance to know in whose hands the government of the country is placed, and what manner of men are intrusted with the destinies of a country so rich in memories of the past, as well as in material resources; a young republic still bleeding at every pore from a series of civil wars, yet with a growing desire to struggle up, through shame and misfortune, to a respectable place among the nations. I will give a few hasty sketches of the men who formed the executive power during my stay at Lima in 1860.

General Ramon Castilla, the President, is a native of Tarapaca in the extreme south of Peru, and must now be close upon seventy years of age. He is the son of Pedro Castilla, who worked the refuse silver-ores of the mines of El Carmen,[356] and young Ramon acted as his father's leÑatero, or woodcutter. He, afterwards, entered the Spanish army, and on the arrival of the patriot forces from Chile in 1821 he joined their cause, and attained the rank of colonel. After the independence he was appointed Sub-prefect of his native province of Tarapaca, in 1826; and he was Prefect of Puno from 1834 to 1836; but he was mixed up in all the civil wars, and, after a victory gained by him in 1844, he was elected President of the Republic. Castilla is a small spare man, with an iron constitution, and great powers of endurance. His bright fierce little eyes, with overhanging brows, stiff bristly moustaches, and projecting under lip, give his countenance a truculent expression, which is not improved by a leathery dried-up complexion; but he has a look of resolution and an air of command which is almost dignified. This remarkable man is an excellent soldier, brave as a lion, prompt in action, and beloved by his men. Uneducated and illiterate, his political successes and management of parties almost amount to genius, while his victories have never been stained by cruelty, and his antagonists have seldom been proscribed for any length of time, generally pardoned at once, and often raised by him to posts of importance in the service of the Republic. His firm and vigorous grasp of power has secured for Peru long periods of peace; faction has been kept under, while an incalculable blessing has thus been conferred on the country; and probably no other man had the ability and the nerve to effect this. But Castilla, though a necessity, has been a necessary evil. His want of education renders him useless as a statesman. He has generally shown himself indifferent to all public works, and to measures for the moral or material benefit of the country, while he insists on keeping up an enormous standing army, and on spending untold sums on a costly navy, thus squandering the public money, and continuing a pernicious and ruinous system. The brave old man has been a necessity. He alone has been able to keep the peace, and give time to the Peruvians slowly to develop the resources of their country; and through this period of tranquillity, when he shall have passed away, interests and influences may have insensibly risen up, which will prevent the recurrence of such periods of anarchy as preceded Castilla's first accession to power.

Juan Manuel del Mar, the first Vice-President, a tall, sallow, earnest-looking man, is a native of Cuzco, the old capital of the Incas. He has held office for some years, and has more than once been in supreme command during the absence of Castilla. This statesman was called to the bar in 1830, and has led an active public life as deputy to Congress, judge, or minister ever since. He is thoroughly honest, possessed of enlightened views and some ability, very popular, and universally and deservedly respected.

The second Vice-President, elected under the provisions of the reformed constitution of 1860, is General Pezet, the son of a physician of French extraction, who died in Callao Castle when it was held by the Spaniards, and stood a long siege. General Pezet, a native of Lima, joined the patriot ranks when they landed in Peru in 1821, then only eleven years of age; and was at once sent on active service. Thus he was present at the battles of Junin and Ayacucho, which destroyed the Spanish power, and was mixed up in the subsequent civil wars.

Castilla's ministers, at the time of my visit, were far from representing the most able and distinguished class of Peruvians. Colonel Salcedo, the Minister of Finance, a native of Lampa, was born in 1801. He was one of the few members of Congress who, in 1824, firmly opposed and defeated the ambitious designs of Bolivar; and he has since almost constantly served as sub-prefect or prefect, or as a member of Congress. Another minister was Don JosÉ Fabio Melgar, a brother of the famous poet of Arequipa, whose melancholy death I have already mentioned. He has served as chief clerk in one or other of the public offices since 1833, is an amiable man, well read, and intelligent, but with only moderate abilities, and no originality or force of will. The minister of Foreign Affairs was Don Miguel del Carpio, a veteran statesman, born in 1795, and who, having joined the patriots and been taken prisoner by the Spaniards in 1822, was long kept in prison, and heavily chained. Since the independence he has held important offices both in Bolivia and Peru.

But old Castilla requires obedient clerks around him, not independent ministers, and the more able and active-minded Peruvians are not to be found filling high political posts. The best specimens of the natives of Peru are either to be met with leading unobtrusive literary lives, and preparing for better times; or on their estates actively and energetically developing the resources of their country. Such men are Mariategui, Felipe Pardo, Vigil, Paz Soldan, and Elias, whose patriotism and great ability would do honour to any country.

Dr. Vigil is one of Peru's most distinguished sons. In early life he was an active and eloquent member of Congress; subsequently he was engaged on one of the most learned, as well as the most liberal works that a Roman Catholic clergyman has ever ventured to publish on the Papacy; and now in his old age he continues to advocate, in his forcible writings, every cause and every measure which is intended to advance religious freedom, or the moral well-being of his countrymen. Dr. Vigil fears that liberal views on religious subjects, such as toleration, the marriage of the clergy, and independence of Rome, cannot be expected to make any rapid progress at present, but he is confident that a future generation will appreciate his works, and introduce the measures which he advocates. One of his strongest convictions is that priests will never lead virtuous lives until they are humanized by family ties: and that, while now they live for the Church—that is for themselves and their order—they ought to live for their flocks.

While the learned and amiable Vigil represents the literary men of Peru, Mariano Paz Soldan is one of the best specimens of the men of action. His benevolent mind was shocked at the wretched condition of the prisons in Peru, and he has displayed an amount of energy and ability in endeavouring to remedy this evil which goes far to vindicate the Peruvian character from the charge of indolence and procrastination. In 1853 Paz Soldan published a very able and detailed report on the prisons of the United States; and in 1856, by dint of unceasing representations, he obtained the necessary grant from the Government for the erection of a penitentiary on the most improved principle at Lima. The work was at once commenced with vigour. The foundations, basement, and first story are built of a very hard porphyritic stone, brought from the hills about two miles from Lima, where a quarry was opened for the first time by Paz Soldan, with a tramroad direct to the works. The entrance is by a flight of four steps, cut out of a single block of this porphyritic rock. The second story is of brick, and all the iron for gratings, doors, bolts, and roofing came out ready made from England. The wards for men, women, and children are separated, each with its large well-ventilated workroom, exercising yard, and cells; and everything is arranged on the best English and American models. It will hold 52 women, 52 boys, and 208 men. This great public work will be a credit to the country, and a lasting monument of the energy and perseverance of its projector, who trusts that it will be but the first of a series of such penitentiaries in different parts of the country. Don Mariano Paz Soldan is also engaged in organizing a general topographical survey of Peru.

There are many landed proprietors and others, of Paz Soldan's stamp, who have availed themselves of the period of tranquillity since 1844, interrupted only by one year of revolution, to improve their estates, and thus add to their country's wealth, especially in the valleys on the coast. The long slip of land between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean enjoys an equable climate, rain and heavy storms are nearly unknown, and refreshing dews descend during the night. The greater part of this region consists of sandy desert, traversed by ridges of rocky barren hills; but wherever a stream, descending from the Andes, is of sufficient volume to reach the ocean, a rich and fertile valley borders its banks. These valleys, of greater or less extent, and at various intervals, break the monotony of the desert from the bay of Guayaquil to the river Loa, which separates Peru from Bolivia. They are admirably adapted for the cultivation of cotton, the vine, the olive, and sugar-cane.

Immense wealth is already derived from these valleys, and, with judicious outlay for obtaining more regular supplies of water, their capabilities might be multiplied indefinitely. The valley of CaÑete, south of Lima, which is in the hands of six enterprising proprietors, is covered with sugar-cane plantations. In 1860 it yielded sugar worth 1,000,000 dollars, all raised by Chinese and free negro labour. Further south, the valleys of Pisco and Yca, thanks chiefly to Don Domingo Elias and his sons, yield 70,000 botijas of a spirit called pisco, 10,000 barrels of excellent wine, 800,000 lbs. of cotton, and 40,000 lbs. of cochineal. Still further south there are many valleys which render their owners wealthy by the produce of cane-fields and vineyards, in the departments of Moquegua and Arequipa; and in the valley of Tambo, near Arequipa, there are 5000 olive-trees and seven mills.

Now that the question of cotton-supply is attracting so large a share of attention in England, it is gratifying to be able to state that landed proprietors on the coast of Peru have seriously turned their attention to the subject, and that in 1860 the cultivation of cotton was becoming a favourite speculation. The soil and climate of these coast valleys are admirably adapted for its growth, and, though the quantity that could be drawn from them would be insignificant when compared with the vast demands of Manchester, yet the quality is good, and they will supply one out of many sources which may hereafter render us partially independent of the Confederate States. The estates of Don Domingo Elias and others, in the valleys of Yca, Palpa, San Xavier, and Nasca, yield 800,000 lbs. of excellent cotton. I visited these cotton estates in 1853, and found that the cotton was carefully picked, and packed by screw presses. A great deal of cotton is also shipped from the port of Payta, which sells in Liverpool at 8d. to 9½d. the lb.; and in the valley of Lambayeque,[357] between Payta and Lima, cotton cultivation has lately been undertaken on a very large scale. In 1860, in the four districts of Talambo, Cayalti, Collus, and Calupe, there were already 600,000 plants in the ground, and in neighbouring estates extensive tracts of land had been prepared for cotton by the house of Zaracondegui and others. At Talambo, in the valley of Pacasmayo, there are many Biscayan families, numbering in all 176 souls, who are exclusively engaged in cotton cultivation; and the yield in that district in the first year was 800,000 lbs. In the province of Chiclayo 700,000 plants were put in the ground during 1860, and land was being prepared for the growth of cotton crops to a much larger extent. These cotton-growing provinces of Lambayeque, Chiclayo, and Truxillo are fertile and well watered; storms of rain are unknown, and they enjoy an equable climate with a mean temperature between 70° and 84° Fahr. It has been calculated that, after leaving a fifth of the available land for crops to supply provisions for the inhabitants, as many as 140,000 fanegadas[358] might be brought under cotton cultivation in these provinces alone. Allowing four feet for each plant, and that each plant yields four pounds a year, this extent of land would produce 580,000,000 lbs. of cotton annually, worth twelve dollars the cwt. at the port of shipment, or 69,600,000 dollars. Deducting 22,400,000 for expenses, this would leave 47,200,000 dollars profit. But these provinces only contain a small fraction of the fertile coast valleys of Peru; and it is clear that, if the speculations of 1860 yield a reasonably profitable return, the cultivation of cotton may, in all probability, be undertaken over a vast area, and render Peru an important source of supply for Manchester.[359]

The lofty table-lands of the cordillera of the Andes produce sufficient maize, wheat, and sugar for home consumption; but their chief exportable wealth is to be found in the vast flocks of sheep and alpacas which find pasture on those grassy uplands, and in the veins and washings of silver and gold. About 400,000l. worth of wool is annually exported, of which 5,017,100 lbs., valued at 287,339l., were embarked from the port of Islay in 1859, and 4,214,000 lbs. in 1860. The export of specie amounted to about 200,000l. in 1859, of which 34,705l. were exported from Islay, and 32,000l. from Arica. But of this a portion is in coined money and chafalonia, or old plate.

Besides the raising of the various valuable products suitable to the coast valleys and the sierra, the vast forests to the eastward of the Andes, and the great fluvial highways which flow through them to the Atlantic, offer an inexhaustible field for Peruvian enterprise. The incredible resources of this portion of Peru are only now beginning to be fully appreciated, though ten, and even twenty years ago, there were evident symptoms of the first early pulsations of life and commerce on the mighty river Amazons and its tributaries. Petty traders, the pioneers of a stirring future, were then busy, each in his little traffic; canoes laden with hammocks, hats, wax, sarsaparilla, copaiba, and other products of the forest, found their way to Para at the mouth of the Amazons, and returned with European manufactured goods.

But of late years an immense stride in advance has been taken; and in 1857 a Brazilian company was working eight steamers on the Amazons and its tributaries, conveying passengers, and bearing up and down a ceaseless ebb and flow of commerce. Measures were adopted in 1853 to connect the Brazilian line of steamers with a Peruvian line navigating the upper waters, and two small steam-vessels were sent out from New York for the purpose, called the "Tirado" and "Huallaga." The revolution of 1854 temporarily put a stop to these efforts, and the two steamers were left to rot at Nauta, 2300 miles up the Amazons. Latterly, however, steps have again been taken to supply the Peruvian tributaries of the Amazons with steam navigation, and thereby to encourage settlement, attract commerce, and thus develop the incalculable wealth of Peru's Amazonian provinces.

In October 1858 a fluvial convention was signed between Brazil and Peru, establishing the free navigation of the Amazons, under certain restrictions; and in February 1860 the Brazilian steamer 'Tabatinga' arrived at Laguna on the Peruvian river Huallaga, upwards of 3000 miles from the mouth of the Amazons. Meanwhile the Peruvian Government have ordered steamers to be constructed to work on the upper waters of the Amazons, in conjunction with the Brazilian line; and roads are to be made connecting inland towns with the nearest navigable points on the tributaries of the Amazons. In June 1860 a party of sixty men left the town of Huanuco to explore the wide forest-covered plains known as the "Pampas del Sacramento" to the eastward; and in July a road had already been commenced, which is to connect Huanuco with a navigable part of the river Ucayali, a distance of 150 miles. A small colony of Germans has been established on the river Pozuzu. Other measures of a similar nature are in contemplation, and it is impossible to estimate the rapid and certain increase of wealth which will accrue to this hitherto neglected region, when steam communication has thus brought one of the richest regions in the world within reach of a market. Para, at the mouth of the Amazons, already exceeds, in the number of its staple commodities of export, all indigenous to the regions of which it forms the outlet, almost any other port on the surface of the globe. My space will not allow me to dilate further on this most interesting subject; but it is assuredly one which well deserves the attention of commercial men in England.

The most remarkable source of Peruvian wealth, and one which has caused effects on her financial system which are perhaps unique in the history of any country, is the guano on the desert islands off the coast. When the South American Republics were thrown open to the trade of Europe, the value of guano as a manure was soon discovered, the demand rapidly increased, and the Peruvian Government were not long in availing themselves of this, as they believed, inexhaustible source of riches.[360] The three Chincha islands, in the bay of Pisco, contained a total of 12,376,100 tons of guano in 1853, and, as since that time 2,837,365 tons have been exported up to 1860, there were 9,538,735 tons remaining in 1861.[361] In 1860 as many as 433 vessels, with a tonnage of 348,554, loaded at the Chincha islands; so that, at the above rate, the guano will last for twenty-three years, until 1883. The guano monopoly brings in a revenue to the State of 14,850,000 dollars.

In Peru even the arid deserts are the sources of enormous wealth; for while the desolate Chinchas pour millions into the treasury, the pampa of Tamarugal, in the Tarapaca province, contributes its nitrate of soda (salitre) and borate of lime to swell the riches of this favoured land. It is calculated that the nitrate of soda grounds in this district cover fifty square leagues, and, allowing one hundred pounds weight of nitrate for each square yard, this will give 63,000,000 tons, which, at the present rate of consumption, will last for 1393 years.[362] In 1860 the export of nitrate of soda from the port of Iquique amounted to 1,370,248 cwts., and a good deal of borax is also exported, though its shipment is prohibited by the Government.

The extensive use of mineral substances, such as guano and nitrate of soda, as a top-dressing for corn-crops, is a discovery of modern times, and these manures were not generally appreciated in England until a period between 1824 and 1829. I believe that farmers consider guano and nitrate of soda to be about equally efficacious as a top-dressing for corn; and it is now a matter of pressing interest to the agricultural community in England to reduce their prices, which are as high as twelve and sixteen pounds a ton respectively. But, with this view, a careful search for deposits of guano in other parts of the world has only led to the discovery of those at Ichaboe, on the coast of Africa, in 1843, and of those on the Arabian Kooria Mooria islands more recently. The deposit at Ichaboe was all carried off by the end of 1845, while that on Jibleea, one of the Kooria Moorias, is still being worked; but it is very inferior to the guano of the Peruvian islands.[363]

On the whole these attempts to find other deposits of guano, which would tend to bring down the price in England, have failed of success; and the Peruvians may consider themselves secure of their strange source of revenue for some twenty years to come. And a stranger means of defraying nearly the whole expenditure of the state was never before heard of. In 1859 the disbursements amounted to 20,387,756 dollars, of which sum three-fourths were raised by shovelling heaps of dirt off a desolate island on the coast!

A prudent Government would have looked upon the guano monopoly as an extraordinary item in the receipts, and would have reserved it for paying off the internal and foreign debt, for public works, and improvements; but the heads of the Peruvians appear to have been turned by this wonderful increase of their revenue, and they have squandered it with ruinous and dishonest recklessness. It is true that the interest of the foreign debt has been paid,[364] but otherwise the large receipts have either been embezzled, as in General Echenique's time, or spent on immense and unnecessary armaments, and in jobbing salaries and pensions. Thousands of families now live on the public money, and, when the guano receipts fail, the ruin and suffering will be severe and widely spread. On the strength of the guano monopoly almost all the taxes have been abolished, the tribute of the Indians amongst them, and the revenue is composed mainly of three items—guano, customs, and stamps. A biennial budget, containing the receipts and disbursements, is laid before Congress every session. I have these budgets before me for several years back; but that for 1859 will suffice to show the extraordinary nature of the revenue, and the still more extraordinary way in which it is spent:—

The foreign debt is 24,205,400 dollars, and the internal debt and compensation for slaves amount to a still larger sum. But the great drag upon the public treasury is the enormous army of 15,000 men for a population under two million, with upwards of 2000 officers, those who are unattached being still retained on full pay. This will give some idea of the number of families who are living in luxury and idleness on the public money, and of the distress that will follow the sudden stoppage of their incomes, which is inevitable when the guano comes to an end. It will be an embarrassing and difficult question for some future Government to decide upon the proper measures for the disposal of an unwieldy army and a crowd of hungry beggared officers. The best suggestion on this subject has come from the late General Miller, who, when governing Cuzco in 1836, proposed to establish military colonies in the forests to the eastward of the Andes, and thus convert a mischievous and dangerous tool for treason and faction into a means of enriching the country.

The administration of justice in Peru, though the laws are excellent, and have been codified and ably edited, is so corrupt that it is better to pass over the subject with a hope that things may be better in a future generation; and the police administration, especially round Lima, is disgraceful.

Much indeed will be required, and much I trust is to be hoped, from the rising generation of young men who are now about to enter upon public life. Many of them have been educated in Europe, a large proportion are well-informed, polished by travel and extensive reading, and ardently desirous of distinguishing themselves in the service of the State. In literature they have already displayed considerable industry and ability. The 'Revista de Lima,' a bi-monthly periodical, contains archÆological, biographical, historical, and financial articles and reviews, generally very ably written, in an enlightened and liberal spirit, and by men who evidently take an earnest view of life. The contributors, among whom are the SeÑores Lavalle, Ulloa, Pardo, Flores, Masias, and the painter Laso, are all young men with a career before them. It is a good sign, too, that effective steps have been taken to edit and reprint historical materials which have long remained in manuscript, or in scarce old editions. Thus Don Manuel A. Fuentes has recently brought out six most interesting volumes containing reports of the administrations of several of the Spanish viceroys of Peru,[365] and a new edition of the 'Mercurio Peruano.' His 'Estadistica de Lima' is also a work which displays considerable merit: and Don Sebastian Lorente's well-known learning, and habit of careful research, promise that his history of Peru, now on the point of being published in Paris, will be a work of great value.

This hasty glance at the present state of Peru, as regards its government, material resources, and literature, will, I trust, have shown that the people of these South American states are not altogether the hopelessly degraded race that they are often represented; and that there are grounds for believing that there is yet a happier future in store for them. For, be it remembered, that Peru is far from being the best specimen of these republics, and that the Chilians have displayed tenfold the ability, both in governing, in commercial and agricultural pursuits, and in literature. I think there can be no doubt that a hasty conclusion respecting the South American races, founded on their history since the independence, is likely to be erroneous and unfair; and that, under more favourable circumstances, they are in every way capable of better things.

I cannot better conclude this chapter than by quoting the words of that noble old warrior General Miller, written only a few months before his death, in November 1861. This most excellent of men fought all the battles of independence from 1817 to 1824; he was covered with wounds and riddled with bullets[366] while striving for South American freedom; he had watched with sorrowful attention the subsequent anarchy and civil wars, and his words carry great weight with them. It will be seen that he does not despond, but looks forward with hope to the future.

He says, "South America, with good reason, must feel for ever proud of Camilo Henriquez, Vigil, and Mariategui, Olmedo and Felipe Pardo, San Martin and O'Higgins, and many others of her illustrious sons. And what may not be expected from the rising and future generations, now that there are such universities as that of Santiago de Chile, and such men as Bello to direct and foster them! Who can be blind to the genius and great natural abilities of the Peruvian youth, now shooting forth, notwithstanding the great disadvantages under which Peru at present labours, with regard to the state of her colleges? With her immense resources, a good government, and tranquillity, what may not be expected! But every nation has its beginning, an inevitable and perhaps necessarily rough ordeal to undergo, and South America must not expect to make a leap that no other country has been able to do."