BUDGET BUENOS AYRES. 



749 



testament; and, upon its being contested by his 

 nephew, it was set aside. The disgrace of this affair 

 had such an effect upon this unhappy man, that, on 

 May 4, 1737, taking a boat at Somerset stairs, he 

 threw himself overboard, with stones in his pocket, 

 and immediately sank. Besides the above mentioned 

 works, he also possessed a share in the Craftsman, 

 wrote several papers in the Guardian, with the history 

 of Cleomenes, (8vo,) and memoirs of the lives of the 

 Boyles, (8vo.) 



BUDGED in the parliamentary language of Britain, 

 means the minister's proposed plan of taxation for the 

 ensuing year; and comprehends a general view of 

 the national debt, income, and expenditure, ways and 

 means of raising supplies, &c., with the actual product 

 of the preceding budget. It is brought forward by 

 the chancellor of the exchequer. The term has also 

 been introduced into France, where the minister of 

 finances presents the budget to the king and cham- 

 bers. 



BuDwass ; a circle and city of Bohemia. The 

 circle is separated from Austria by high mountains, 

 in which the Muldau has its source : it contains 

 extensive forests and sheep-walks, and abounds in 

 game and fish. The city of B. is a mining town on 

 the Muldau, with manufactures of saltpetre and 

 cloth. Population of the circle, 170,000 ; of the city, 

 4,600. The latter lies in Ion. 14 20' E.; lat. 49 

 2-N. 



BUENAVENTURA ; a settlement, and Spanish mission, 

 on the coast of New California. Lon. 118 58' W. ; 

 lat. 34" 16' N. It was founded in 1782, and contains 

 950 inhabitants. It has a tolerably good roadstead, 

 and the soil and climate are very favourable to the 

 production of a great variety of fruits. 



BUENAVENTURA ; a seaport in Colombia, on the bay 

 of Choco, at the mouth of a river of the same name ; 

 ninety miles W. N. W. Cali, 200 W. by S. Santa Fe 

 de Bogota. It is supported by the vessels that touch 

 at it ; the entrance is difficult, and the climate un- 

 healthy. It is the port of Santa Fe de Bogota, 

 Popayan and Cali. Lat. 3 56' N. ; Ion. 77 42' E. 

 There are many small settlements and villages of this 

 name in Spanish America. 



BUEV AYRE, or BONAIR ; a small island near the 

 coast of South America, belonging to the Dutch, fifty 

 miles in circumference, inhabited chiefly by Indians, 

 with a small mixture of Europeans; mountainous; 

 producing a few cattle, goats, large quantities of poul- 

 try, and a considerable quantity of salt. It has springs 

 of fresh water. On the S. W. side is a good harbour 

 and road. Fifty-two miles E. Curaqoa. Lon. 67 

 36' W. ; lat 12 26' N. 



BUENOS AYRES ; an extensive country of South 

 America, formerly belonging to Spain, and styled the 

 viceroyalty of La Plata, or of Rio de la Plata ; but 

 since the declaration of independence, in 1816, it has 

 assumed the name of the United Provinces of South 

 America. It is bounded N. by Bolivia, E. by Brazil, 

 S. E. by the Atlantic ocean, S. by Patagonia, and W. 

 by Chili and the Pacific ocean. It comprehends most 

 of the valley or basin of the great river La Plata, and 

 is watered by the river La Plata, and its tributaries, 

 the Parana, Paraguay, Uraguay, Pilcomayo, and Rio 

 Grande, and also by the Colorado and Negro. The 

 great chain of the Andes extends along the western 

 side, and the western and northern parts of the coun- 

 try are mountainous. Most of the other portions, 

 which comprise the greater part of the whole country, 

 consist of one vast and uniform plain ; and extensive 

 tracts which border on the river are liable to inunda- 

 tion. In the southern division are found immense 

 pampas, or plains, which extend into Patagonia, and 

 are upwards of 1200 miles in length, and 500 in 

 breadth. They are covered with tall, waving grass, 



which affords pasture to vast numbers of cattle and 

 wild horses, and have few interruptions from forests 

 or eminences. The climate is different in different 

 parts, but generally healthy. On the plains the at- 

 mosphere is moist, and, in summer, the heat is exces- 

 sive, with frequent rains, accompanied by tremendous 

 thunder and lightning. A large part of the country 

 has a very fertile soil, . adapted to the growth of 

 wheat, maize, barley, tobacco, sugar, wine, and 

 fruits ; but agriculture is much neglected. A great 

 portion of the wealth of this country consists in the 

 immense herds of cattle and horses which graze upon 

 its plains. The principal exports are hides, tallow, 

 beef, gold, and silver. It lias valuable mines of gold, 

 silver, copper, lead, and tin Some of the principal 

 towns are Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, Cordova, and 

 Assumption. Respecting the relations of Buenos 

 Ayres and Brazil, see Brazil. 



BUENOS AYRES, or NUESTRA SENORA DE BTJENOS 

 AYRES ; a city of South America, and capital of the 

 country to which it gives name, on the S. W. side of 

 the La Plata, sixty-six leagues from its mouth ; first 

 built in the year 1535. Lon. 58 31' W. ; lat. 34 

 3& S. The population is uncertain, and, within a few 

 years, has been variously stated at 50,000, 70,000, 

 and 100,000. About one- fourth of the inhabitants 

 are whites ; the rest are Indians, negroes, and mixed 

 breeds. The situation is agreeable and healthy, and 

 the city derives its name from the salubrity of its cli- 

 mate. The temperature is nearly the same through- 

 out the year. The city is built with great regularity, 

 and the principal streets are straight and regular, and 

 some of them are paved. They are broad, with side- 

 walks, but, from the great scarcity of stone, are gene- 

 rally unpaved in the middle. The houses are mostly 

 built of brick or chalk, with flat roofs, many of them 

 of two stories, though the greater part of only one. 

 They are generally plastered on the outside, but now 

 appear somewhat shabby. The public buildings are 

 a palace, a royal chapel, a cathedral, a college, two 

 hospitals, four monasteries, two nunneries, ten or fif- 

 teen churches, a public library of nearly 20,000 

 volumes, an academy, and eight public schools. Some 

 of these public buildings are large and splendid. 

 There is no harbour at Buenos Ayres, nor so much as 

 a mole to facilitate the landing of boats. Ships can 

 only come within three leagues of the town ; there 

 they unload their goods into boats, which enter a little 

 river named Rio Chitelo, from whence the merchandise 

 is brought in carts to the town, which is about a 

 quarter of a league from the landing places. The 

 ships which want careening, or take lading at Buenos 

 Ayres, go to the bay of Baragon, a kind of port about 

 twelve miles S. E. of the town. The environs of this 

 city are well cultivated, furnishing all the necessaries 

 of life in abundance, except wine, which is brought 

 from Spain, or from Mendoza. The inhabitants have 

 country houses there, called quintts. Wood is very 

 dear at Buenos Ayres and at Monte Video. In the 

 neighbourhood of these places are only some little 

 shrubs, hardly fit for fuel. All timber for building 

 houses, and constructing and refitting the vessels that 

 navigate in the river, comes from Paraguay in rafts. 

 After the province of Buenos Ayres withdrew from 

 the government of Spain, the city of B. was the tem- 

 porary seat of the central government, and the con- 

 gress of the United States of South 'America. In 

 1826 it was made, by the congress of the United 

 Provinces of La Plata, the permanent seat of govern- 

 ment, and the capital of the confederacy. It is also 

 the geat of a bishop. The city has an extensi ve trade 

 in ox hides and tallow, which are disposed of, princi- 

 pally to the British and people of the United States. 

 The Germans and Dutch likewise trade with B. 

 Much of the commerce of Brazil, Chili, Peru, and 



