288 SPANISH AMERICA. 



government lent a little assistance, a de- 

 claration of independence would then have 

 been made by the province of Caraccas. 



It cannot, however, be denied, that there 

 were considerable differences of opinion 

 amongst the leading men in Caraccas, as 

 there were, and have been at different pe- 

 riods, in other sections of Spanish America, 

 with regard to the form of constitution and 

 government which it would be most ad- 

 visable to adopt ; nor can it be concealed, 

 that in some instances, individual ambition 

 had a large share in producing and foment- 

 ing these disputes, which were sometimes 

 even carried on to the length of open hos- 

 tility, and led to much bloodshed. 



Whether any of these bickerings or jea- 

 lousies contributed to the failure of the 

 expedition in 1806, it is not easy to as- 

 certain. There is now no doubt of the 



