REVOLUTIONS OF GUAYAQUIL. 



23 



that, in their formation, the true interests of the 

 people have not been consulted. The exclusive 

 privileges which those regulations grant to the 

 merchants are most grievous to all the rest of the 

 population, as I shall endeavour to prove. It is 

 a well-known principle, that the wealth of a peo- 

 ple consists in satisfying their wants at the lowest 

 cost possible ; and disposing of their own produc- 

 tions at the highest cost possible. The regulations 

 alluded to have a direct tendency to prevent this 

 ever taking place. The trammels in which foreign 

 intercourse is held by the third, twelfth, and fif- 

 teenth regulations, will for ever exclude it from 

 our port, and limit the buyers and sellers in our 

 province, to an exceedingly small number : this 

 result, although it be not so styled, is precisely 

 the same thing as the ancient monopoly ; a mis- 

 chievous system, under which no country can 

 prosper. The regulations cited above give our 

 merchants an absolute power over the rest of the 

 people — they impose the most unworthy obliga- 

 tions on foreign merchants, and subject them to a 

 degrading subordination. There can be no doubt, 

 indeed, if they be allowed to continue, that our 

 commerce will remain in the same confined state 

 as formerly, and the interests of the whole pro- 

 vince will be sacrificed to those of a new mono- 

 poly. 



" I am a merchant who fully enjoy the exclu- 

 sive privileges of the regulations ; and happening 

 to be acquainted with all the languages most use- 

 ful in commerce, I possess an advantage over 

 most of my companions ; nothing therefore, in 

 appearance, can be more beneficial to me, than the 

 enforcement of the three articles in question. 

 But as long as I desire the good of the province, 

 and prefer the interest of the public to my own, 

 I shall never cease to pray that these evils, which 

 paralyse all commerce, may be corrected. 



" Let those three articles be erased, and I 

 pledge myself, that, before ' a year shall have 

 elapsed, the beneficial influence of a commerce, 

 really free, will begin to be felt. Foreign mer- 

 chants, protected by law and seeing their specu- 

 lations encouraged in every way not opposed to the 

 public advantage, will flock to our market ; this 

 competition will lower the price of articles con- 

 sumed in the country ; while it will raise that of 

 such as are produced in it for exportation, and 

 opulence will speedily take up her residence 

 amongst us." 



The first of the three articles alluded to forbids 

 the introduction of any goods, unless consigned to 

 an inhabitant of the city, and a naturalised sub- 

 ject. The second directs that no stranger shall 

 be allowed to establish a factory, or a commercial 

 house, in the province ; and the third is intended 

 to give such advantages to the native merchant, 

 as must prevent all foreign competition. 



As might be expected, these laws were begin- 

 ning to be evaded by English and other capitalists, 

 who settled on the spot, and, without their names 

 appearing, really transacted the whole business. 

 The government were by these and other circum- 

 stances eventually made to feel the absurdity of 

 their restrictions, and I have been informed that 

 a new and liberal set of regulations has since been 

 established. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



GUAYAQUIL. 



Political Revolutions of Guayaquil. — Declares itself an 

 Independent State. — Military Interference. — Terror ex- 

 cited by these Commotions. — Politics the reigning Topic, 

 even amongst the Ladies. — General View of the State of 

 Politics in South America. 



In the latter end of the year 1 820, Guayaquil 

 declared itself independent of the Spanish autho- 

 rity ; framed a new government ; established laws, 

 and opened the port to foreign trade. They ham- 

 pered it, however, injudiciously, in the manner 

 alluded to in the foregoing letter ; and, conse- 

 quently little good arose from the change, or at all 

 events, much less benefit than a more liberal sys- 

 tem would have produced. 



The population in this town is about twenty 

 thousand, and in the surrounding country subject 

 to it, about fifty thousand more ; and although it is 

 evident that so small a town, and so limited a 

 population, were insufficient to constitute a sepa- 

 rate state, yet at the time I speak of, the sur- 

 rounding countries were so circumstanced that no 

 other power had leisure to interfere ; and Guaya- 

 quil threw off' the Spanish yoke. It is the princi- 

 pal port of Quito, and belonged formerly to the 

 province of New Granada, at that time in posses- 

 sion of the Spaniards, who, however, were pre- 

 vented from sending troops to re-establish their 

 authority, as their whole attentien was then occu- 

 pied in trying to repel the Patriots. When Bolivar 

 was creating the republic of Colombia in 1819 

 he included Guayaquil in that territory, although 

 he had not actually taken possession of it. In the 

 meanwhile, the people of Guayaquil, as has been 

 stated, became independent, and remained as a 

 separate state, till Bolivar came in the middle of 

 1821, and then he confirmed his former appro- 

 priation of this port to Colombia. But the place 

 was still disturbed, and the Guayaquil flag was 

 again hoisted. The only other person besides 

 Bolivar that could have interfered with them was 

 San Martin ; but he had enough on his hands 

 already ; so that, in the general bustle, Guaya- 

 quil was allowed to carry its Independent flag, 

 and call itself a separate state unmolested. All 

 reflecting persons in the town, however, saw that 

 it was utterly impossible to maintain such a position, 

 and that, sooner or later, they must fall permanently 

 under one or other of the great powers, Colombia 

 or Peru. The inhabitants were nearly divided on 

 this subject ; and contemptible as the discussion 

 was, more violent party-spirit was never displayed. 

 A constant war of words was maintained, for no 

 swords were drawn : distinguishing badges were 

 worn by the different parties ; and each bawled 

 out in the streets, or from their windows, the 

 names of their respective favourites, Bolivar, or 

 San Martin. There was something a little ludi- 

 crous, perhaps, in their notion of displaying an 

 Independent flag, and calling themselves an inde- 

 pendent nation, while in the same breath they 

 were vociferating their determination to submit to 

 the will of a military leader, and were quarrelling 

 amongst themselves, merely as to which of the two 

 chiefs they would be governed by. It was an 

 election, however, and one in which all classes 

 took an active and sincere part. This was a new 



