GENERAL HISTORY. 



[161 



ftpTied to by the president of that 

 body; and the day closed with a 

 solemn proclamation of the consti- 

 tution, auri a grand dinner, at 

 which the British ambassador was 

 a consijicuous guest. 



In May, the Regency caused to 

 be |)uhli^hedadecre^■of the general 

 and extraoidinary Cortes, signil'y- 

 ing, that, as it is provided in the 

 constitution that the Cortes be 

 assembled every year, and that tlie 

 observance of this rule could never 

 be more necessary than in ihe pre- 

 sent circumstances of ihe nation, 

 the ordinary Cortes is to be con- 

 voked for the year 1813; but that 

 as it is impossible that the deputies 

 from the more distant parts can be 

 assembled by the 1st of 3Iarch, 

 the opening is deferred to the 1st 

 of October. It is also a regulation, 

 that no deputy for the present ex- 

 traordinary Cortes can be elected 

 for the ensuing ordinary Cortes. 



The Cortes passed a decree in 

 June, detailing the mode of apply- 

 ing to the wants of the state such 

 part of the tithes as exceed what is 

 necessary for the maintenance of 

 thosewhohold them. The juntas 

 in the provinres were to assign the 

 several quotas, and the intendants 

 to levy them. In this month the 

 Duke de Inl'antado arrived at Cadiz, 

 and took his seat as president of 

 the Regency. 



At a sitting of the Cortes in Oc- 

 tol>er, Senor Castello made a long 

 and well-reasoned discourse con- 

 cerning the inhumanity and in- 

 justice of that regulation in the 

 American colonies called the Mitas, 

 by which each district is required 

 to contribute a certain number of 

 men for the cultivation of the land, 

 the working of mines, and other 



Vol. LIV. 



task labour; and after a full discus- 

 sion of the subject, the followin"'- 

 propositions were put to the vote, 

 and unanimously a|)proved : l.That 

 the Mitas should be for ever ai)o- 

 lished : 2. That the Indians should 

 be exempted from the personal 

 service they gave the clergy, or any 

 other public functionary whatever ; 

 obliging them, nevertheless, to 

 satisfy the parochial rights, in the 

 same manner as the other classes ; 

 3. That the public charges, such 

 as the rebuilding of chu dies, and 

 making roa is, should be equally 

 borne by all the inhabitants indis- 

 criminately: 4. That divisions of 

 lamis should be made to the In- 

 dians, leaving to the provincial de-i 

 puties the care of assigning the' 

 quotas : 5. That in all the Ameri-' 

 can territories, some of the digni- 

 ties should necessarily remain with 

 the Indians. The policy as well 

 as justice of thus endeavouring to 

 conciliate this much-injured part of 

 the colonial population to the mo- 

 ther country, by redressing the 

 cruel wrongs under which it basso 

 long groaned, is evident; and if it 

 has been a consequence of the civil 

 war kinrlled in those regions be- 

 tween the native and transatlantic 

 Spaniards, the friends of humanity 

 may be gratified by some compen- 

 sation for the evils of which the 

 war has been tht; cause. 



h\ the historical account of the 

 last year, notice was taken of the 

 jealousy prevaili ig in the Spanish 

 nation of any attempt to place 

 their armies un ler British com- 

 mand. The great success and high 

 merits of Lord U'elilngton in the 

 campaign of this year overcame, 

 in the general feeling, this repug- 

 nance as far as regarded his person ; 

 [M] and 



