484 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 



vernment to change the habits of the people ; 

 to rouse them, from mental and bodily inacti- 

 vity, to reflection and industry ; to incite them, 

 from careless inertness, to habits of vigorous - 

 exertion, and a taste for the conveniences of life. 

 This course would be diametrically opposed 

 to the system pursued by the old masters of 

 the country. To extinguish the first spark of 

 genius that might stimulate them to rise 

 above their degraded condition, and to keep 

 them in darkness, w^ith respect to the more 

 ameliorated state of the rest of the world, was 

 the crooked policy of Old Spain. To effect 

 this debasement, they exerted every means- — 

 but all proved unavailing ; and the very mea- 

 sures adopted to keep the people under con- 

 straint and degradation, had a precisely con- 

 trary result to that proposed. One main 

 cause was the improper needy characters se- 

 lected to send out to the colonies ; who bought 

 their situations, or were poor members of 

 some noble family, and who went out with 

 no other view than to amass riches. Many of 

 these keen and crafty characters, observing 

 that no European produce (except that coming 

 through Spain) was permitted to be brought 



