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he was sunk into a humiliating obscurity, whence he rose from the condition of a 

 subaltern to the high rank of chief of these provinces, of which he had juft been 

 the reftorer and defender, not by the effect of his military talents, but through the 

 favour of fortune alone. Vain of success equally unexpected and glorious, he 

 devoted himself entirely to the most ambitious projects, and finished by uniting 

 himself with the revolution of Spain, which, leaving the monarchy without a 

 head, and dismembering all the parts of that great edifice, presented to him the 

 most favourable field for the execution of the various plans he was continually 

 forming. At one time it appeared to be his intention to keep all these parts of the 

 kingdom inactive, until the fate of the metropolis should be decided, and he might 

 join the victorious dynasty, as was done by his predecessors in the war of the Suc- 

 cession ; at another time, he openly favoured the cause of the French, and, as if he 

 distrusted the result of the contest, seemed desirous of precipitating these countries 

 into the power of the Usurper. He even ventured to issue cautionary proclama- 

 tions of an insidious nature, in which he invoked the name of His Imperial and 

 Royal Majesty, a name hitherto never recognized in these regions, and sent out 

 emissaries with letters for Napoleon, giving an account of the state of the colony, 

 as he had done even in the lime of Charles IV,, when he addressed to Paris the 

 accounts of the late defeat of the English in the river Plata, suing, by this plausi- 

 ble pretext, the favour of the Regulator of the Destinies of Europe, for such he 

 styled him. Lastly, he was disposed to uphold the pretensions of the Infanta 

 Carlota to the internal government of that territory, by way of a provisional ad- 

 ministration, during the uncertain state of the Spanish monarchy. Of all these 

 projects, among which I should be at a loss to distinguish the favourite one, the 

 basis and indispensable condition was, the permanency of his own command in 

 the provinces, which is indeed the end and motive of all the public functionaries 

 of America j and, as it was to be feared, that the disorder in the metropolis might 

 give rise to commotions in the colonies, which are ever to be dreaded by the con- 

 stituted authorities, the Viceroy Liniers thought proper to conceal the real state of 

 affairs, at least for some time, until he might be able, with greater security, to fix 

 his views on a certain point. Conformably to this safe line of policy, he contra- 

 dicted all the rumours which had been spread, respecting the disastrous fortunes 

 of the house of Bourbon in Europe, and constantly gave the lie to all the varying 

 accounts concerning them which were received through private channels, so that 

 whoever dared to doubt the sincerity of the French towards Spain, was accused 

 of treason and blasphemy. The magistrates (^Oidores) would have entered into the 

 plai), had it been merely for the sake of continuing in their offices j and the Cabildo, 



