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rated for the public welfare. The Apo-Ulmencs, 

 or Arch-Ulmenes, govern the provinces under 

 their respective Toquis. The Ulmenes, who are 

 the prefects of the regucs, or counties, are de- 

 pendant upon the Apo-Ulmenes. This depend- 

 ance, however, is confined almost entirely to 

 military affairs. Although the Ulmenes are the 

 lowest in the scale of the Araucanian aristo- 

 cracy, the superior' ranks, generally speaking> 

 are comprehended under the same title, which is 

 equivalent to that of Cacique. 



The discriminative badge of the Toqui Is 

 a species of battle-axe, made of porphyry or 

 marble. The Apo-Ulmenes, and the Ulmenes, 

 carry staves with silver heads, but the first by 

 way of distinction have a ring of the same 

 metal around the middle of their staves. All 

 these dignities are hereditary in the male line, 

 and proceed in the order of prihiogeniture. 

 Thus have the dukes, the counts, and marquisses 

 of the military aristocracy of the north been esta- 

 blished, from time immemorial, under different 

 names, in a corner of South America. 



With its resemblance to the feudal system, 

 this government contains also almost all its de- 

 fects. The Toqui possesses but the shadow of 

 sovereign authority. The triple power that 

 constitutes it, is vested in the great body of the 

 nobility, who decide every important question, 

 in the mannsr of the ancient Germans^ in a ge- 



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