BUENOS AYRES. 



Ay res. 



The junta 



of the present oppressed and degraded sons of Ame- 

 rica. " We have beheld with regret," says the new 

 government, in their decree of September 1811, 

 " the miserable and deb-ascd condition of the race of 

 Indians. Those our brothers, who are certainly the 

 first-born sons of America, were excluded from the 

 blessings and advantages of their native soil, and 

 made th'_> victims of ambition. They were not only 

 buried in the most ignominious slavery, but were 

 condemned to glut the avarice and luxury of their 

 oppressors. A fate so humiliating could not fail to 

 interest the sensibility of a government, which en- 

 deavoured to promote the general happiness of the 

 country, by carrying into effect the same liberal 

 principles to which it owed its formation, and which 

 must produce its continuance and felicity. The go- 

 declare the vernment, deeply impressed with these principles, 

 freedom of an d desirous of adopting all the means calculated to 

 the Indians, restore ^ Indians to their primitive rights, have 

 and abolish , , 11 11 '' n- i_ i 



<he tribute, declared them as capable of rising to all the ranks, 



offices, and posts, which have been the birth right 

 of Spaniards, as any other class of the inhabitants : 

 and, to destroy the last link of the chain of servi- 

 tude, have resolved, that henceforth, in all time 

 eoming, the tribute which the Indians paid to the 

 crown of Spain shall be abolished in all the districts 

 of the provinces united to the existing government 

 of the river Plata." 



We shall now conclude this article with a short 

 account ol' the government and revenues of this vice- 

 royalty, as they existed before its separation from 

 the parent state. 



The government of Buenos Ayres is vested in a 

 viceroy, who represents the person of the Spanish 

 monarch, and who exercises the supreme authority 

 in every department of the state, civil, military, and 

 criminal. He possesses the power, and is surround- 

 ed with all the splendour and dignity of a sovereign 

 prince ; and though his salary is extremely moderate, 

 not exceeding 40,000 ducats, yet, from the nume- 

 rous opportunities which he possesses of accumula- 

 ting wealth, he may raise an annual revenue superior 

 to that of any European subject. It is a common 

 saying among the Spaniards : " The legal revenues 

 of a viceroy are known, but his real profits depend 

 upon his opportunities and his conscience." He is 

 generally nominated only for three years, though he 

 is sometimes enabled to purchase a prolongation of 

 his government, by his influence at the court of Spain. 

 The administration of justice is entrusted to the royal 

 audiences of Buenos Ayres and Los Charcas, who 

 take cognizance of all civil and criminal causes. 

 Their sentence is final in all lawsuits concerning pro- 

 perty, not exceeding 10,000 piastres in value ; but if 

 the subject of dispute exceeds that sum, the cause 

 may be carried by appeal before the royal council of 

 the Indies in Spain. Those tribunals have the power 

 of remonstrating against any of the political regula- 

 tions of the viceroy, which involve in them a ques- 

 tion of civil right, and of laying the matter before 

 the king and the c< un -il of the Indies. They pos- 

 sess also the more substantial prerogative, of exerci- 

 sing all the functions of viceregal authority, upon 

 the death of a viceroy, until another is appointed by 

 the king. Each province has a governor, who is 

 subject to the commands of the riceroy, and amea- 



Buenoi 

 Ayrei. 



Civil go- 

 veinment. 



ble to his jurisdiction ; and subordinate to these are 

 magistrates of various orders and denomination** 

 " Every department of domestic police and finance," 

 says Wilcocke, ' is encumbered with a variety of 

 tribunals, and of officers, multiplied with anxious 

 atteotion, from the jealous spirit with which Spain 

 watches over her American settlements, and from her 

 endeavours to guard against fraud in provinces so re- 

 mote from inspection." And M. Azara, speaking 

 on the same subject, says, " On erigt-a tant de tnbu- 

 naux, et on multiplia tellement les employe ^ de tous 

 cotes, -qu'il me serait impossible de les compter." 



The ecclesiastical establishment of Buenos Ayres Ecclesi.ti- 

 equals in power and splendour that of any kingdom C al 

 in Europe. The Indians are attracted by the' mag- meat. 

 nificence and pageantry of its rites ; and the super- 

 stitious liberality of the American Spaniards has 

 adorned their cathedrals and churches with the most 

 profuse munificence. The tithes, which are exacted 

 with the utmost rigour, are almost entirely devoted 

 to the support of the hierarchy ; but while the dig- 

 nitaries of the church are endowed with splendid in- 

 comes, many of the inferior orders are allowed to 

 languish in poverty and dependence. One fourth of 

 the tithes is allotted to the bishop of the' diocese; 

 another fourth to the dean and chapter, and other of- 

 ficers of the cathedral 4 and the remaining half is di- 

 vided into nine equal parts; two of which are paid 

 to the crown, under the name of los (Jos novenos 

 reales ; and the other seven are applied to the main- 

 tenance of the parochial clergy, the erection and sup- 

 port of churches, and other pious uses. Numerous 

 monasteries and convents are scattered throughout 

 the whole viceroyalty, which have proved most ini- 

 mical to the prosperity and population of the coun- 

 try. The superstition and misguided zeal of the 

 European Spaniards are far surpassed by their bre- 

 thren in America ; and even the most remote and de- 

 sert provinces are filled with these mansions of bi- 

 gotry and sloth. 



The public revenue of this viceroyalty is derived Public re- 

 from various sources, of which the following state- venue, 

 ment is given by Mr Wilcocke, in his History of 

 Buenos Ayres. He divides it into four capital 

 branches : 1st, What is paid to the king, a* superior 

 lord : 2d, The duties on commerce : Sd, What the 

 king receives as head of the church : And, 4th, Pro- 

 fits arising from the monopoly of various branches of 

 trade. 



First Branch. Piastres. 



Duties on ^hegeld and silver coined at Potosi, 650,000 

 Profit on the coinage, - 120,000 



Tribute of the Indians, - - 550,000 



Second Branch. 

 Alcavala, or excise on the sale of goods, 



which is 4- per cent. - 385,000 



Minor duties of excise, - 200000 



Stamp duty, - 32,000 



Aduana, or customs on imports and ex- 

 ports, including the almajorifazgo. or 

 custom-duty, the averia, or convoy-du- 

 ty, and the consulado, or town's dues ; 

 and amounting to 34| per cent. - 750,000 



Carry orer, 2,687,000 



