Manners and customs. 



553 



theatre of action have grown up 

 since the coramenceraent of the 

 revolution, and have had the 

 advantage of the light thrown in 

 by it, it is fair to suppose that 

 they will be better prepared to 

 support and administer a free 

 government than those whose 

 habits were formed under the 

 colonial government of Spain. 



The commerce and manufac- 

 tures of the country have grown 

 beyond its agriculture. Various 

 causes, however, have contri- 

 buted to lessen some branches 

 of manufacture since the revolu- 

 tion, but commerce is understood 

 to have been increased by it. A 

 much greater variety and quan- 

 tity of foreign goods are imported, 

 and a greater demand is opened 

 for the productions of the country. 

 The city of Buenos Ayres is the 

 seat of this commerce. From it 

 foreign and some domestic goods 

 are spread through the interior, 

 as far as Chili and Upper Peru ; 

 and, in return, the various pro- 

 ductions are drawn to it. This 

 trade is carried on principally 

 by land, as is that between the 

 different provinces, though some 

 small portion of it finds its way 

 up and down the large rivers 

 forming the La Plata, which is 

 itself not so much a river as a 

 great bay. The abundance of 

 cattle, horses, and mules, and of 

 some other animals peculiar to 

 the country, which are used in 

 the mountainous regions of Peru, 

 furnish facilities for transporta- 

 tion not to be found in any other 

 country so little improved ; hence 

 the price of transportation is very 

 low, and the internal trade 

 greater than it otherwise would 

 be, though it had been materially 



lessened in some important 

 branches by the war with Peru, 

 and the system adopted in Para- 

 guay. 



The export and import trade 

 is principally in the hands of the 

 British, though the United States 

 and other nations participate in it 

 to a certain degree. It is de- 

 pended on as the great source of 

 revenue to the state ; hence they 

 have been tempted to make the 

 duties very high, and to lay 

 them upon both imports and 

 exports, with the exception of 

 lumber and military stores. This 

 circumstance, connected with the 

 fact that payment is demanded 

 at the custom-house before the 

 goods are delivered, has led to a 

 regular system of smuggling, 

 which is said to be carried to 

 great excess, and doubtless oc- 

 casions the official returns to 

 fall short of the actual amount 

 of the trade. This may be the 

 reason why they were not given 

 to us. The articles imported are 

 almost every variety of European 

 and East India goods, principally 

 from England ; rum, sugar, coffee, 

 tobacco, cotton, and timber from 

 Brazil ; lumber of almost every 

 description, cod-fish, furniture, 

 gin, and some smaller articles, 

 from the United States, together 

 with military stores ; which, how- 

 ever, find their way into the 

 country directly from Europe, 

 and are thus furnished at a 

 cheaper rate than we can sell 

 them. The principal articles of 

 export are taken from the various 

 animals of the country, tame and 

 wild, from the ox to the chin- 

 chilla ; copper from Chili, and 

 some of the precious metals, 

 drawn principally from Peru ; 



but 



