SO U T H A 
habit of frequenting the house, and at which strangers are 
received with the greatest kindness and cordiality. The 
female part of the family is alone seen, or sometimes the 
gentleman of the house, but generally both the fathers and 
brothers are either forming part of another tertulia, or 
talking politics in the coffee-house. The general amusements 
are Spanish country dances, of a superior kind to those 
known by the name in England; waltzing, minuets, and a 
dance accompanied with words, in which the lady first 
advances, and sings, “ Cielito, mi Cielito,” thence termed 
Cielito, or little heaven. Music also forms a part of the 
entertainment, and many of the ladies are no despicable 
performers. Refreshments are abundant, and about 11 
o’clock the party breaks up. This takes place night after 
night. Nothing can exceed the politeness and elegance of 
the ladies : and a stranger generally would conclude that it 
was produced by the most finished education instead of 
proceeding from innate goodness of disposition. 
Since the separation of the provinces, in February, 1820, 
the style of the Chief became necessarily altered : that of 
General Rodriguez, who was appointed on the 6th October, 
1820, for three yeaTs is. Governor and Captain General of 
the Province of Buenos Ayres. There is little to be said 
respecting this officer, excepting that he possesses in an 
eminent degree the greatest of all virtues for a commander— 
firmness ; and to this must be attributed the great ameliora¬ 
tions which have taken place in the province since the 
commencement of his rule. His conduct through life has 
always been marked with great patriotism, and he was one 
of the first who declared for the freedom of the country and 
the downfall of the Spanish yoke. He was one of the 
sixteen who planned the revolution in 1810, and who named 
the first junta of government to supersede that of the 
Viceroy Cisneros. His known character for firmness has 
had a strong tendency to keep the people quiet. When he 
took charge of the government, after the rising of the 
Civicos, many lives were lost in the streets of Buenos Ayres. 
Alluding to that event, he told the people on one occasion, 
when there was the probability of a tumult, that by blood 
he entered, and by blood he should go out. Perhaps no 
disposition could have been found better suited for the times 
and the people ; and it appears the general wish that, on the 
expiration of the period of his command, it should be 
renewed for another term. The prerogatives in the republic 
are very limited •, the governor has the power of promoting 
officers to the rank of Coronel Maior, and of rewarding 
them with grants of land ; but there is no order of nobility 
or knighthood in his gift. 
After the Director Pueyrredon went out of power, towards 
the end of 1819, and {he separation or the provinces took 
place, the legislative power was very irregularly conducted. 
Sometimes it vested in the cabildo or municipal authorities, 
sometimes it was perfectly dormant, and the various changes 
in the executive annihilated for the time its exercise.— 
After the defeat of the Civicos, the Junta de Representantes 
again exercised its rights, and after a lapse of some months 
was regularly organized. The election is indirect. Each 
of the primary or parochial assemblies votes for twelve re¬ 
presentatives, and of the whole number those who have most 
votes are chosen. For the parishes and villages in the pro¬ 
vince eleven are chosen in a similar way. Scrutineers are 
named to examine the votes, which are verbally given. At 
the commencement of August, 1821, the Chamber of Repre¬ 
sentatives was declared extraordinary and constituent, and 
various regulations were made. First, it was decreed that 
the number of representatives for the city and the country 
should be doubled, and that one should be added for Pata¬ 
gonia, thus making the number forty-seven, which, taking 
the amount of population into account, is sufficiently po¬ 
pular. Secondly, That at the commencement of each ses¬ 
sion, half of the members should go out, and fresh elections 
take place. Thirdly, That no members should receive pay 
from government. And lastly, That a president and vice- 
president should be chosen in turn annually. At first the 
M E R I C A. 379 
distinction of deputy was not an honour much sought for by 
the people: it was elevating them to what appeared a 
dangerous height, from which they might be precipitated, 
they knew not how soon: for little confidence could then 
be put in the stability of the government. At the last elec¬ 
tion this feeling had very properly worn away, and the 
electors and candidates seemed aware of that distinction 
which, in all countries, where a proper feeling exists, is 
viewed with eager eyes. The sessions of the chamber com¬ 
mence about May or June, and last until December, when 
it is prorogued on account of the summer heats. 
The very improved state of the country in every branch, 
but particularly in the finances and police, must be attri¬ 
buted to the appointment of D. Bernadino Rivadavia to the 
secretaryship of state. This nomination took place in July, 
1821, when the country, from intestine disturbances and 
misrule, was reduced td the lowest ebb. From that period, 
every thing has put on a renovated appearance ; confidence 
has been restored, and old and dangerous prejudices com- 
bated and eradicated. Rivadavia had been for some time 
the agent of Buenos Ayres in London, and while there, he 
watched all our admirable institutions, and, in his mind, 
saw what could with advantage be transplanted to his native 
country, and what was as yet too refined, or not adapted 
to its sphere. He appears to have used, whenever it was 
possible, England as his model; and his public spirit has 
certainly been well seconded by the most thinking part of 
the community. 
Garcia, the secretary of the treasury, was long the agent in 
Rio de Janeiro; and his appointment also reflects great 
credit on the governor. 
One subject, which appears to have received much of 
Rivadavia’s attention, is the state of the church and its dis¬ 
cipline. It is well known that, while the Spanish power 
existed in South America, the quantity of property held by 
ecclesiastics and monastic institutions was immense. The' 
king was the head of the church; that power having, at the 
conquest, been delegated to him, with the sovereignty of the 
country, by the Pope. In right of this, the tithes of the 
country fell into the royal treasury, as well as the first fruits, 
and other ecclesiastical resources; to which, in the mother 
country, he could lay no claim. In all the cities, the num¬ 
ber of convents for monks and nuns was numerous; and, ex¬ 
cepting the Jesuits, and since their extinction, the Francis¬ 
cans, who were charged with the care of public instruction, 
these were all so many drones and useless members of a rising 
state. 
At the commencement of the revolution, the country was 
deprived of the services of the bishop of Buenos Ayres, who 
was a suffragan of the see of Lima. The government then 
made itself the head of the church, after much curious 
reasoning on the part of the ecclesiastics, to whom the 
question was proposed. Whether any scruples were, after 
all, entertained of the correctness of this decision, does not 
appear; but, in 1815, the Pope was solicited to arrange the 
affairs of the church, an office which his holiness declined : 
he could not indeed act otherwise. 
The first thing which occured to Dr. Bernadino Rivadavia, 
on his coming into power, was to clip the wings and every 
way curtail the influence of the cloistered clergy. He con¬ 
sidered that all his plans would be frustrated by this body, 
which have been in all catholic countries famous for their 
powers of intrigue and illiberal principles. He first put a 
stop to the importation, by expressly forbidding any to enter 
the province without an order from government; and by 
degrees passed through the chambers a variety of decrees, by 
which he accomplished his purposes; and at the same time, 
by excellent articles in the periodical papers, he prepared the 
minds of the people for the change, and even contrived to 
cast an odium on the reputation of the cloister. On the 
other hand, every thing was done to raise the secular clergy 
in the eyes of the people. A board was named to take pos¬ 
session of the rents of all the convents, and to examine the 
number of the inmates, their ages and dispositions. Shortly 
after 
