INTRODUCTIGN. 



no doubt have been very honorable exceptions, but it 

 is natural to suppose, that the number who resist 

 these temptations is not great. By the laws of the 

 Indies, the viceroy, after the expiration of his term of 

 office, is liable, like all other civil functionaries, to 

 what is called the residencia^* that is, he is subject for 

 a certain time to have his conduct examined into, at the 

 instance of any person declaring himself aggrieved; 

 but these powerful delinquents are seldom brought to 

 justice; they are generally shielded from responsibi- 

 lity by the wealth and influence they have acquired. 

 The short duration of their office, intended as a safe- 

 guard against the formation of any ambitious designs, 

 as well as to prevent the abuses of power, operate 

 rather as an incentive to make the best of their op- 

 portunities of enriching themselves; while at the same 

 time their government is generally lax, and enforces 

 but little obedience from the people. This accounts 

 for the apparent contradiction between the despotic 

 nature of the government, and the mildness of its ope- 

 ration on the individual inhabitants. Mr. Brougham, 

 in his treatise on the colonial policy, has explained 

 this subject in a philosophic manner, and has shown, 

 that even the distant provinces of Rome experienced 

 a government much less rigid, than those in the im- 



* The residencia is still contiuued at Buenos Ayres. There 

 are few of the chiefs of the revolution, who have not undergone 

 this scrutiny into their conduct, and the presumption is, that it 

 has more of reality in it, than under the old regime. While I 

 was at Buenos Ayres, Rondeau and Saavedra were waiting their 

 decisions in their respective causes. They have both since been 

 declared ciudadanos benemeritoSt or deserving citizens, without 

 which they could not have been employed in any public offices. 

 VOL, I. 8 



