Retrospect of French Laterature—Voyages and Travels, 
they were drowned, by the light of the 
flames that consumed their country. 
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 
‘Voyage a la Partie Orientale de la 
Terre-Ferme de Amérique méridionale, 
fait pendant les années 1801, 1802, 1803, 
et 1804.”—A Voyageto the Eastern Por- 
tion of the Terra Firma of South Ame- 
rica, performed during the’ Years 1801, 
1802, 1803, and 1804; by F, pr Pons, 
3 vols. 8vo. Ata period like this, when 
the eyes of Europe are stead{astly fixed 
on the possessions of Spain on the 
transatlantic continent, a work of this 
kind cannot fail to prove interesting. 
The author has accordingly seized the 
present opportunity, not only to detail 
tle information gleaned by himself, but 
-to expose the mistakes, misapprehensions, 
and ridiculous speculations of others. 
M. De Pons accordingly commences 
his introduction with an account of the 
principal errors hitherto propagated re- 
lative to the geography of the country ; 
he then exhibits the plan of his own 
work, which is divided into eleven chap- 
ters, The first is dedicated to the dis- 
covery of the country, and the conquests 
formerly made by the Spaniards; the 
second includes every thing relative to 
the climate, the soil, the productions of 
the earth, the forests, the lakes, the 
mountains, the rivers, and the ports. 
The third includes the population, both | 
European and African; while the fourth 
conveys an idea of the indigenous inha- 
bitants, “ improperly termed Indians.” 
After this, we proceed to a detailed 
account of every thing relative to the 
government and administration: this oc- 
cupies the fifth chapter. The 6th contains 
a sketch of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction ; 
the seventh relates to agriculture and the 
territorial products; the eighth treats of 
commerce; the ninth of the finances; 
the 10th of the state of the towns, and the 
adjoining territories which are dependent 
onthem; and finally, inthe 11th, wehave 
a description of Spanish Oroonoqua and 
Guyana. 
The author himself presents his readers 
with a most excellent analysis of the 
whole, in a preliminary discourse; but it 
is perhaps a mistaken policy to enter into 
particulars, anterior to the body of the 
work; while on the contrary, had this 
paper followed it, it would not only have 
exhibited the design, and served to en- 
_grave the chief subjects still more forcibly 
on the mind, but also conveyed a just 
idea of the intentions of the writer, 
which 
659 
The history of the discovery and the 
conquest of the Terra Firma, as well as 
of the first establishments made by the 
original adventurers, is written with great 
care and attention. The author is not 
imposed upon, either by the recitals or 
the authority of Oviedo; and he is at great 
pains to discuss his principles, and in 
some instances to overturn his reasoning. 
It was the hope of gold, and of gold 
alone, that engaged the Spaniards to 
encounter so many toils and difficulties, 
to obtain possession of this country: but 
every atteinpt to realize this speculation, 
as we shall speedily see, hath hitherto 
proved inetiectual. 
“ Tt affords me pleasure to think,” says 
M. de Pons, “ that none of these pro- 
vinces have ever enjoyed, and probably 
are not ever destined to enjoy, the short- 
lived reputation arising from the posses 
sion of mines. They have been recom- 
pensed however, more than an hundred 
fold, by the abundant, precious, and in- 
exhaustible productions of a country, 
which, both on account of its extent and 
its fertility, seems ‘destined to be the 
constant asylum of happiness. This 
portion of the earth, indeed, will con- 
tinue to flourish, when those colonies that 
yield only the precious metals, present 
nothing but misery, ruins, and frightful 
excavations, the sad memorials of their 
past opulence.” 
According to the best accounts that 
could be obtained by M. de Pons, the 
population of the Spanish provinces of 
Venezuela, Maracaibo, Cumana, and 
Gayana, amounts to 728,000, out of 
the whites constitute no more 
than two-tenths, while the slaves amount 
to three; the descendants of those who 
have been enfranchised to four, and the 
Indians to the remainder. 
““ These fine provinces were at first 
enfirely neglected, merely because they 
were deficient in respect to the precious 
metals. ‘The court of Madrid afterwards, 
when their value began to be better uy- 
derstood, opposed a variety of obstacles 
to the progress of their population, by 
restraining the permission to repair to, 
or settle in them, Its system in this 
point of view, is very different from that 
of other states, who contribute not a lit- 
tle to their own comforts, by leaving 
such an opening to all those who wish to 
repair to the plantations, that for a long 
time past those establishments have: 
been considered as so many depositories, 
into which the mother country empties 
all its filth and impurity, instead of con- 
siGering 
