INTRODUCTION. 65 
out by the chiefs of the expedition. Views in which Lord Cochrane 
sincerely participated ; and his sentiments in favour of leaving the 
Peruvians to govern themselves were so well understood, that San 
Martin, fearing lest they should thwart some private projects of his 
own, actually obtained from the Chileno government secret instruc- 
tions, empowering him to act as a check on the admiral’s conduct ; 
but it was long ere he found it convenient to make known that he 
possessed. such instructions. 
The Chileno officers, both native and foreign, of the army and 
navy, certainly believed in the sincerity of their leaders; and they 
imagined that, prepared as Peru was to receive them, they would have 
been led immediately to attack the capital, in order to put an end 
to the war at once. All were in the highest spirits, and on the 21st 
of August, 1820, San Martin hoisted the captain-general’s flag on 
board the ship named after himself, and sailed with the squadron 
and transports, amidst the congratulations of all ranks of people. 
San Martin had with him the soldiers of Chacabuco and Maypu; 
and Lord Cochrane himself commanded the squadron. Victory was 
considered as certain; and the departure of the army was like a 
triumph. * 
The soldiers and sailors were animated by the hopes of extraordi- 
nary rewards: San Martin having promised them a bounty of a year’s 
pay, in addition to their wages, on the taking of Lima. 
At Coquimbo, the squadron stopped to take in more provisions, 
and to embark the troops assembled in that town, and then pro- 
ceeded towards Peru. Meantime, the director declared all the ports 
between lat. 2° 12’ and 21° 48’ south, or from Iquique to Guayaquil 
in a state of blockade, unless they should fall into the hands of the 
Chileno leaders: but in order not to oppress neutrals more than was 
necessary, the admiral had full powers to grant licenses upon certain 
conditions, for landing or trans-shipping their cargoes. + 
* Among the poems that appeared on the occasion, the farewell of the ladies of Chile 
to the liberating army, and the answer, are the most considerable. 
+ Against this blockade the British commander-in-chief remonstrated, somewhat intem- 
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