48 TlMEHRI, 



Aberdeen, *' the title of first occupant and discoverer 

 " of the new world in favour of Spain, as she had been 

 ** recognized by all nations, especially in the country of 

 " Guiana, over which she exercised jurisdi6tion and 

 ** founded towns and established missions to spread the 

 " Gospel ; so much so that the enemies of Spain found 

 ** there in 1579 towns to destroy and priests to persecute.*' 

 " Towns to destroy" ! This is, indeed, a magnilo- 

 quent description of a supposed Mission station, for 

 Indians, with two priests ! But, the mythical town of 

 1579, itself disappears. The British Blue Book shows, 

 that the first town of San Thome came into existence 

 .1 only in 1596, so our neighbours must be at more pains 

 to re-write the History of their Country. Quoting Cas- 

 SANl'S History of the Society of Jesus (1741), the British 

 Case states that " About 1664 the Fathers Lauri and 

 " Vergara were sent to explore Guiana, with a view 

 " of seeing whether a Jesuit Mission should be founded 

 " there. They reported the province abandoned by 

 *' the Spaniards, and nothing came of their expedition." 

 A footnote to the year 1664, says, *' The date sometimes 

 " erroneously assigned to this expedition is 1576." It is 

 true that Father Gumilla, in his History of the Orinoco, 

 says that Captain Janson, a Dutchman, destroyed San 

 Thome in /J/p ; but, this must be a slip of the pen, or a 

 misprint (pp. 38, 39). At the end of the same chapter in 

 which that date is given. Father GUMILLA says that Father 

 Lauri and his companion laboured at Nezv Guiana 

 (p. 42, Histoire de rOrenoquc : MarseiljT 1758). Now, 

 it was not until 1637, ^^'^ there was a New Guiana. So 

 the good Jesuit Priests could not have visited the Ori- 

 noco in 1576. 



