48 



INTRODUCTION. 



the catholic seminary^ under Mr. Dubourg. What- 

 ever external appearances these young men would 

 afterwards be compelled to put on, can we for a mo- 

 ment doubtj that they must secretly detest a govern- 

 ment^ which could thus treat them? Or that they 

 would heartily rejoice to behold its sceptre crumbled 

 in the dust? It is a fact but little known, that there 

 were in South America many valuable manuscripts, 

 which were not permitted to be published; the valua- 

 ble papers of the Mercuria Peruviana are exceptions; 

 but the botanical works of the celebrated Mutis were 

 only in manuscript, until the establishment of the 

 congress of New Grenada, by whom they were di- 

 rected to be published, before its members fell vic- 

 tims to the bloody executioner Morillo. About the 

 year 1800, the Spanish ministry was siezed with a 

 momentary desire to encourage agriculture in the 

 viceroyalty of La Plata, and as conducive to this end, 

 permitted the establishment of a weekly journal, en- 

 titled mi Semanario de Jlgricultnra Industria, y 

 Commercio. It was like preaching the blessings 

 of health to the patients of an hospital. The paper 

 appeared on a mean type, and was continued down to 

 the revolution by its editor. Dr. Castelli, a man of let- 

 ters from Peru. The subjects treated of in this pub- 

 lication, are extremely limited, and with the great 

 body of readers would excite no interest. Its essays 

 are in general tolerably written, and occasionally 

 throw light on the geography of the country, or point 

 out its resources with a timid hand. The pages of 

 the Semanario, were of course purified from political 

 or religious heresies, and no dangerous variety of to- 

 pics was allowed. When the revolution broke out, 



