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SOUTH A 
was accomplished in May, 1822, to the amount of a million 
sterling. It does not appear that the proceeds of this trans¬ 
action were dedicated to the payment of the troops. The 
discontent among them was strongly excited, and an event 
which happened soon afterwards produced an open rupture 
between them and the government of St. Jago. An English 
merchant, who had resided many years in various parts of 
South America under difficult circumstances, and was well 
known for his talents and enterprize, proceeded by sea to 
Conception. On his arrival there he naturally fell into the 
company of General Freire, who was previously acquainted 
with him, and on hearing his grievances, and the distressed 
state of his army for want of their pay and allowances, 
the merchant suggested to the chief the grant of a li¬ 
cense from him to load a cargo of wheat; a measure 
strictly forbiddeu by the government, in order to harass 
the Spanish force under La Serna, at that moment greatly 
suffering in Peru for want of provisions. The general 
was pleased with the idea, and unwilling that his troops 
should undergo farther sufferings while he had the means 
of relieving them. Accordingly, he gave the necessary 
license to embark a large cargo, upon which of course 
a handsome profit was realized. This transaction, as 
might be supposed, excited the greatest indignation in the 
government, and Freire was accused of assisting the enemy ; 
in reply, he declared that the state of the army was such 
that he could not avoid the expedient of paying them ; and 
on some farther correspondence of a warmer nature, O’Hig¬ 
gins on the 10th of December put some troops in march 
towards the southward. Two days after, General Freire 
issued a proclamation complaining of the proceedings of the 
secretaries of state, who, he declared, intended to starve the 
army ; he made no complaint against the Director, with 
whom, it is said, he was in correspondence. He instantly 
commenced his march against the capital, and demanded 
judgment on the secretaries, the deposition of the govern¬ 
ment, and the installation of a sovereign congress. On the 
19th January, 1823, while O'Higgins assembled what forces 
were near the capital, General Freire obtained possession of 
the country between the Biobio and the Maule, and the pro¬ 
vinces of Conception and Coquimbo declared for the new 
order of things. After these events it was unlikely that the 
remaining province would hold out, or that the Director 
could longer stifle the murmurs of discontent which prevailed 
in the city. On the 28th January, the people assembled in 
groups in the Consulado, and loudly called (or the appear¬ 
ance of the Director, who refused to present himself, and to 
whom they subsequently sent deputies ; these he threatened 
with the force of his power, which was nearly reduced to a 
name, and afterwards harangued the few troops he had col¬ 
lected with much warmth and eloquence ; finding, however, 
the troops lukewarm in his cause, and the people anxious for 
a change, at ten o'clock at night he resigned the command. 
As soon as this event was notified, a junta of governors was 
formed, to which the ex-director gave his sanction ; General 
Freire, a few days after, entered the capital, and being de¬ 
clared commander-in-chief, took upon himself the govern¬ 
ment. 
The last revolutionary movement of which we have an 
account, took place in September, 1823, when the royal 
standard was hoisted near Conception, but it' was soon put 
down. Under whose command or by what force this 
attempt was made is unknown; but it is more than pro¬ 
bable that the governor of the island of Chiloe was con¬ 
cerned in the plot. The time for making such attempts has 
long since passed by, and nothing short of independence 
will ever satisfy the inhabitants of this country. 
Betwixt Buenos Ayres and Chili, stretches the boundless 
plain of the Pampas—the habitation of the Gauc/ios , or 
wild Spaniards, and of the still wilder Indians. These races, 
fed by their vast hordes of cattle, and provided with swift 
horses, lead a life half hunters, half graziers, and present all 
the vices and virtues of savage life—independence and hos¬ 
pitality, with ferocity and pride. We have already described 
this region under the article Pampas ; but Heade’s descrip. 
M E R I C A. 
tion is so characteristic, that we must insert it here. He 
says, that this plain varies with the four seasons of the year, 
in a most extraordinary manner. “ In winter, the leaves of 
the thistles are large and luxuriant; and the whole surface of 
the country has the rough appearance of a turnip-field. 
The clover, in this season, is extremely rich and strong; 
and the sight of the wild cattle, grazing in full liberty on 
such pasture, is beautiful. In spring, the clover has vanished, 
the leaves of the thistles have extended along the ground, and 
the country still looks like a rough crop of turnips. In less 
than a month, the change is most extraordinary ; the whole 
region becomes a luxuriant wood of enormous thistles, which 
have suddenly shot up to a height of 10 or 11 feet, and are 
all in full bloom. The road or path is hemmed in on both 
sides; the view is completely obstructed; not an animal is to 
be seen; and the stems of the thistles are so close to each 
other, and so strong that, independent of the prickles with 
which they are armed, they form an impenetrable barrier. 
The sudden growth of these plants is quite astonishing; and 
though it would be an unusual misfortune in military history, 
yet it is really possible, that an invading army, unacquainted 
with this country, might be imprisoned by these thistles be¬ 
fore they had time to escape from them. The summer is not 
over betore the season undergoes another rapid change: the 
thistles suddenly lose their sap and verdure, their heads 
droop, the leaves shrink and fade, the steins become black 
and dead, and they remain rattling with the breeze one 
against another, until the violence of the pampero, or hur¬ 
ricane, levels them to the ground, where they rapidly de¬ 
compose and disappear—the clover rushes up, and thi scene 
is again verdant.” 
Columbia is perhaps the most firmly established of all the 
South American States. It is bounded on the north by the 
Caribbean sea; on the north-east by the Atlantic; east by 
Guiana; south by Brazil and Peru; west by the Pacific. 
Its area is about 350,000 square miles, and it is situated be¬ 
tween 5° 50' south, and 12° 30' north lat. and 58° and 82° 
west long. 
The Andes, continued from Peru, divide in Columbia 
into three vast chains. Of these the eastern, called Ve¬ 
nezuela; the second, Santa Martha, and the third, the 
western range. This country abounds in rivers, of which 
the Orinoco, the Amazon, the Magdalena, the Couca, the 
Atrato, the Guayquil and Guarapiche are the principal. It 
is also indented by numerous gulfs and bays, and altogether 
presents the appearance of a country highly advantageous 
for maritime purposes, as well as excellently calculated tor in¬ 
ternal navigation. 
Columbia is somewhat thinly peopled, including all classes 
whether Spaniards, Creoles, Indians, negroes or foreigners; 
we can emunerate but 3,000,000 souls. 
The commerce of this fine country, so long oppressed and 
cramped by the absurd legislation of the Spaniards, is now 
assuming considerable importance: cocoa, coffee, indigo, 
sugar, hides, Brazil and other wood, and most beautiful 
pearls, are the chief articles exported. The value of these 
exports in 1823 was upwards of 16 millions of dollars. 
It is only since 1819 that this country has received the 
title of the Colombian Republic, previous to which it was 
known as the Viceroyalty of Granada and Captain-General¬ 
ship of the Caraccas. After its establishment, of which a 
short notice has already been given, it remained tolerably 
free from internal dissensions until recently, when the inha¬ 
bitants began to make objections to some part of the Colom¬ 
bian enactments. In consequence. General Paez put him¬ 
self at the head of the army, and refused obedience to the 
Colombian Congress, Recent advices inform us, however, 
that he has been quieted by Bolivar, who is now, pro tem¬ 
pore, Dictator, and that the latter now proposes to resign 
the Dictatorship. 
In 1824, Colombia entered into a treaty with Great Bri¬ 
tain, which secured to the two nations mutual freedom of 
trade to the same extent as their respective governments 
allowed it to other nations. 
The stream of our national wealth has of late been so 
much 
