28 



ARGENTINE CONFEDERATION. 



cemetery to which he had been beguiled. 

 The leader of the insurgents, Lopez Jordan, 

 forced the State Assembly to appoint him 

 Governor; and he, accepting and approving 

 of all this bloodshed and crime, issued procla- 

 mations in favor of liberty and freedom, and 

 sought an immunity from punishment by ap- 

 peals to the national Government, which 

 were rejected with horror and indignation. 

 "Liberty," replied President Sarmiento, in a 

 proclamation issued to the people of Entre 

 Eios, "has not the dagger.for its instrument." 

 According to the Argentine Constitution, the 

 General Government cannot send troops into 

 any of the confederated provinces unless on 

 receiving a requisition from the legal govern- 

 ment of the province. However, Sarmiento 

 could not recognize a legal government based 

 upon the murder of a governor, and was re- 

 solved to put down the rule of Jordan. Con- 

 sequently, the President declared all the Argen- 

 tine ports on the river Uruguay closed, and 

 sent about 1,000 troops, with artillery, to Con- 

 cepcion del Uruguay, which still held out 

 against Jordan. The troops arriving from 

 Paraguay had orders to stop at Rosario and 

 enter the province of Entre Rios from that 

 quarter, and every effort was made to raise 

 forces sufficient to suppress Lopez Jordan 

 and his supporters. "Be not deceived," said 

 General Emilio Mitre, addressing the Entre 

 Rians on landing in the State, "the war pro- 

 voked by Lopez Jordan, the murderer of the 

 hero of Caseros, is not against a party or 

 circle, but against the whole republic, and 

 against the national Government, which had 

 inaugurated for us all an epoch of peace, prog- 

 ress, and industry." And in this spirit the 

 most important States recognized the attitude 

 of the President ; Santa Fe, La Paz, and Men- 

 doza, sent down contingents; and, wrote the 

 Governor of the first-named State to Sar- 

 miento, "Your Excellency may feel certain 

 that the attempt of the rebels in Entre Rios 

 will be fruitless." 



Although the national Government collected 

 an army of over 10,000 men to put down the 

 insurrection, the nature of the country greatly 

 aided Lopez Jordan in his defence. He was, 

 moreover, aided by General Caccres, of the 

 neighboring province of Corrientes. In July, 

 Lopez Jordan surprised and captured, at the 

 head of 2,500 men, of all arms, and fifteen 

 .pieces of artillery, after a stubborn resistance, 

 the flourishing port of Encarnacion, in the 

 province of Entre Rios, giving the city up to 

 his soldiery for sacking and outrage. He cap- 

 tured 200 prisoners, and is reported to have put 

 them all to death. 



In August and September the insurrection 

 assumed larger dimensions. Early in Septem- 

 ber the armies of the national Government, 

 under Gelly y Obes and Ayala, operating in 

 Entre Rios, had a general .engagement with 

 the whole rebel force, under Lopez Jordan, 

 near Rosario, resulting in a rebel victory. The 



Government forces lost heavily in ordnance, 

 prisoners, and horses. The killed and wound- 

 ed on both sides numbered over 1,500 men. 



According to the official telegrams, Jordan 

 offered battle on the 23d of September, at 

 Santa Rosa, with 8,000 or 9,000 men in line 

 of battle, and was attacked by the government 

 army, under General Rivas. This commander 

 announces that, after a long, well-contested, 

 and bloody struggle between the contending 

 armies, Jordan was completely routed, losing 

 all his infantry and artillery, and only 600 

 cavalry escaping, which were pursued for 

 twelve miles by the cavalry of the victors. 

 In December the war was, however, not yet 

 ended, and both parties claimed to have gained 

 advantages. 



In October President Sarmiento stated, in 

 his message to Congress, that the revolt in 

 Entre Rios " was dearly quelled. The rebels 

 had to divide their forces, and commenced 

 to disband. The war in Europe," he adds, 

 " has rendered it impossible to negotiate loans, 

 and, in consequence, many measures of public 

 utility are retarded." 



Congress passed a new tariff law, to take 

 effect next year. The rates are as follows: 

 All foreign merchandise is to pay 20 per cent, 

 ad valorem, with the following exceptions: 

 Spirits of wine, sugar, beer, coffee, liquors, 

 tobacco, tea, vinegar, wine, and yerla, are 

 subject to 25 per cent, ad valorem. Ploughs, 

 coal, sheet and bar iron, iron wire, timber, 

 gold and silver articles with or without 

 precious stones, common salt, silks, and arti- 

 cles ornamented with gold or silver to the ex- 

 tent of half their value, are to pay 10 per cent, 

 ad valorem. 



The tariff on exports places 6 per cent, ad 

 valorem' on the following : Horns, cured meats, 

 animal oil, hair, cowhides, horseskins, bones, 

 bone ashes, salted tongues, skins in general 

 (except sheepskins), ostrich-feathers, tallow, 

 and grease. Sheepskins exported with wool 

 and tallow are subject to 2 per cent. 



On the 13th of October Admiral Petz, 

 minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraor- 

 dinary of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, pre- 

 sented his credentials, and was received with 

 warmth, he being the first ambassador ac- 

 credited by Austria to the Argentine Republic. 

 His principal mission was said to be to nego- 

 tiate a treaty of commerce between the two 

 countries. 



Foreign immigration continues to increase, 

 and is becoming of great importance. The 

 Central Committee of Immigration in Buenos 

 Ayres has published a pamphlet on the subject, 

 containing a number of interesting facts. 

 From January 1, 1860, to December 81, 1869, 

 the number of immigrants who arrived in 

 Buenos Ayres was 150,440. During the year 

 1860 the number was only 6,000 ; in 1867 it 

 exceeded 37,000, and, as during the first five 

 months of 1870 there arrived 18,408, it was 

 expected that for the whole year the number 



