12 



THE FLAG OF INDEPENDENCE AT LIMA. 



better, and agreed, for example, not to receive the 

 copper for more than nine or ten dollars, instead 

 of eleven : but his principal object was to set 

 competition at defiance, and, by concluding such 

 bargains only as produced moderate profits, secure 

 the whole produce of the mine, by making it per- 

 manently the miner's interest to go along with 

 him. Such a principle is quite foreign to the 

 practice and ideas of the native habilitador, who, 

 notwithstanding the great alteration both in the 

 extent and advantages of the trade, cannot bring 

 himself to submit to smaller, though more certain 

 profits. In process of time, he must, no doubt, 

 consent to act as he has already been obliged to 

 do in part ; but in the meanwhile, the more active 

 foreign capitalist has stepped in and displaced 

 him. 



The advantage which the merchant derives from 

 securing, in this manner, the constant produce of 

 the numerous mines similarly at his command, 

 consists in his being enabled to act with confidence 

 as an agent for the commercial houses of the 

 capital. The manner in which this branch of 

 trade is carried on is as follows : — Goods are sent 

 from England or Calcutta, adapted to the Chilian 

 market, and consigned to British or American 

 merchants resident in Santiago. The returns for 

 these goods can be made at present only in bills, 

 in specie, or in copper. If this last be decided 

 upon, the consignee at Santiago writes to his cor- 

 respondent at Coquimbo, the British merchant 

 alluded to above, telling him, that on such a day 

 a ship will call on the coast for so many quintals 

 of copper, and authorising him to purchase at a 

 certain price, and to draw bills upon Santiago to 

 the required amount. All that the Coquimbo 

 merchant has to attend to is, to see that a suffi- 

 cient stock of copper be ready by the appointed 

 day. To enable him to do this at all times without 

 risk of failure, it is essential he should possess the 

 complete command of a great many mines. His 

 method of acquiring such influence has been 

 detailed ; but to carry his plan into effect on an 

 extensive scale, he must have capital to work 

 with ; and this is accordingly furnished by the 

 various credits which the Santiago merchants 

 supply him with from time to time. 



Thus, by a beautiful system of interchange of 

 advantages, the benefits of unrestricted commerce 

 are rendered very apparent. The European or 

 East Indian merchant receives a valuable return 

 cargo for his goods ; the population of Chili are 

 supplied at low prices with articles which they 

 want, but cannot produce at home ; the consignee 

 having made the required remittance, and charged 

 his commission, makes a further profit on the 

 retail distribution of the imported cargo ; the 

 agent at Coquimbo, besides gaining by the sale 

 of his copper, acquired in the manner already 

 described, gets a per centage on the transaction ; 

 and, lastly, the produce of the mine is enhanced 

 in value to its owner, while the expenses of all 

 ln's operations are reduced. 



Such manifest advantages have naturally direct- 

 ed much c;i]>it:il to tbis productive source of wealth; 

 and fresh mines are opening in all parts of the 

 district, under the genial influence of the new 

 system. As the increased supply may be expected 



to lower the price of copper, ;i more extensive use 



of the article will inevitably follow, which will be 



succeeded, in due time, by a greater demand. All 

 this, however, it is important to observe, is new 

 to South America ; and is to be attributed solely 

 to the recent changes. Its successful progress, 

 it is extremely important to remark, has also been 

 essentially promoted by the good sense of the 

 Chilian government, who have left every branch 

 of the subject entirely to itself. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



PERU. 



Return to Lima.— First Appearance of the Independent 

 Flag on the Fortress of Callao.— Effect of the Change of 

 Masters on the Inhabitants of Lima. — Their Sentiments 

 respecting Free Trade and Independence.— Mummy of a 

 Peruvian Inca. 



Our stay at Lima, upon this occasion, was short, 

 but very interesting. We arrived on the 9th, and 

 sailed on the 17th, of December 1821. In the 

 interval of four months, which had elapsed since 

 we left Peru, the most remarkable change had 

 taken place in the aspect of affairs. The flag of 

 Spain had been struck on the castle of Callao ; 

 and in its place was displayed the standard of 

 Independence. The harbour, which we had left 

 blockaded by an enemy, was now open and free 

 to all the world ; and, instead of containing merely 

 a few dismantled ships of war, and half-a-dozen 

 empty merchant-vessels, was crowded with ships 

 unloading rich cargoes ; while the bay, to the dis- 

 tance of a mile from the harbour, was covered 

 with others, waiting for room to land their mer- 

 chandise. On shore all was bustle and activity. 

 The people had no longer leisure for jealousy ; 

 and, so far from viewing us with hatred and dis- 

 trust, hailed us as friends ; and, for the first time, 

 we landed at Callao without apprehension of 

 insult. The officers of the Chilian expedition, 

 whose appearance, formerly, would have created 

 a sanguinary tumult, were now the most impor- 

 tant and popular persons in the place, living on 

 perfectly friendly terms with the very people 

 whom we well remembered to have known their 

 bitterest, and as they swore, their irreconcilable 

 foes. There was nothing new, indeed, in this 

 degree of political versatility ; but it was still 

 curious to witness the facility and total unconcern 

 with which the sentiments of a whole town can be 

 reversed, when it suits their interest. As the 

 population of Callao depend for subsistence entirely 

 upon the port being open, their anger had formerly 

 been strongly excited against the Chilians who 

 had shut it up, and thereby brought want of 

 employment, and consequent distress, upon the 

 people. But now the Independent party had not 

 only restored the business of the port, but aug- 

 mented it much beyond its former extent. The 

 inhabitants of Callao, thei-efore, whose interest 

 alone, quite independent of any speculative opinions, 

 regulated their political feelings, were in raptures 

 with the new order of things. 



In the capital also a great change was visible. 

 The times, indeed, were still far too unsettled to 

 admit of ease, or of confidence, in the society. 

 The ancient masters of the city were gone ; its 

 old government overturned ; its institutions, and 

 many of its customs, were changed ; but, as yet, 



