The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-07 00:00:00

THE RIVER PLATE AND ITS

T.RIBUTABIES.

The following memorandum on the advantages which
Great Britain may expect to derive from the recent
opening of the rivers Parana, Paraguay, and Uruguay
to vessels of all nations, and from the conclusion of the
recent commercial treaty with the Republic of Para-
guay, will be, read with much interest by our commer-
cial readers :
"The advantage which trade can expect to derive from
the permission recently accorded to vessels of all nations to
proceed by the above-named great rivers to the centre of
South America is very obvious, but, at the same time very
likely to be much exaggerated or misrepresented. It ap-
pears to me necessary, firstly, to show how trade was car-
ried on with these interior countries before, and then to
consider what change will take place from those recent
acts of the Argentine and Paraguayan Governments.
" All goods from Great Britain destined for the Argen-
tine Confederation, the Republic of Paraguay, and even the
southern part of Brazil, were formerly sent to Montevideo
or Buenos Ayres, and appear in the English returns of the
Board of Trade under the head of ' Shipments to the River
Plate ;' thence they were reshipped into smaller vessels,
earrying the Argentine colours, but manned in general by
French or Italian seamen, and thence ascended the rivers
to where they were destined, bringing back country pro-
duce in return, which was again reshipped into larger ves-
sels destined to Europe, at the ports of either Montevideo
or Buenos Ayres. I speak of when these countries en-
joyed internal peace. A civil war, of course, interrupted
these communications.
"I have made particular inquiries of the merchants if
there were any complaints or illegitimate interruptions of
trade under this system, and the answer has been inva-
riably 'No.' These river craft and crows were quite good
enough for the purpose ; British merchants could own
them, and therefore appoint their own men.
" Freights were very moderate, and the towns in the
interior fully supplied with all the manufactures they re-
quired.
" Ascin`sion, a city 800 miles in the interior, is at the
present moment glutted with British goods. The value of
the importations for 1852 (a year of over-supply) was sup-
posed to be about 80,0001. ; the average annual wants of
the people estimated at 60,0001. All the other cities in
the interior consumed a full proportion of British goods ;
and we know from official sources that, while in 1851
100,000 tons of shipping was sufficient to convey the whole
of the productions of Europe to Buenos Ayres, no less
than 2,000 vessels, of an average of 36 tons each, or an
aggregate of 72,000 tons, were employed from Buenos
Ayres on the river coasting trade—an amount which can
be seen at a glance to be amply sufficient to carry the pro-
portion of foreign manufactures which the interior pro-
vinces required, as well as to meet the requirements of
their own internal trade.
" In the month of August, 1852, General Urquiza, the
Provisional Director, opened the navigation of the rivers
Parana and Uruguay to vessels of all nations, and, although
the country has undergone revolutions since, the decree
remains unchanged.
" A general impression seems to have taken place in
England, arising from an ignorance of the actual existing
state of the trade, that an immediate and rapid expan-
sion of trade would take place, and that Central South
America, long excluded from British manufactures, would
become a new and large purchaser. But this paper shows
such expectations are entirely fallacious, for the country
prior to that was glutted with British manufactures.
"The necessity which, however, politically existed (poli-
tically, because foreign flags could not ascend the rivers) of
changing cargoes from British vessels into Argentine, en-
tailed, of course, loss of time, additional charges of freight,
additional port dues and insurance, tending, therefore, to
make the goods dearer, and therefore in some degree to
restrict their sale. This political necessity is by General
Urquiza's decree removed ; but it remains for us to ascer-
tain whether practically, from the shallowness of the
water and from the general difficulty of making large ships
ascend the rivers, it will not answer better for the mer-
chant to reship his cargoes into river craft, just in the
same manner as before, rather than send his sea-built ves-
sels up a long and tedious river navigation. To enter upon
this question it is necessary to take a map of the Parana,
and trace the river upwards ; and I will give the particu-
lars required, as to the depth of water, current, prevailing
winds, and so forth, taken from actual observation, ascend-
ing and descending the river, corrected by charts, conver-
sations with naval officers and pilots, and the general
opinion of merchants and others who understand the
subject.
" At the entrance of the rivers Parana and Uruguay is
the island of Martin Garcia, and here we enter what is
called the Martin Garcia Channel.
"A long and wide expanse of shoal water, not unlike
the Nore, is here. The channel you have to find has from
14 feet to 16 feet of water, and is difficult to light upon
from want of buoying, but if buoyed would be easy enough •
but vessels drawing more than 14 feet water are in general'
excluded from entering the Parana or the Uruguay.
" This difficult passage passed, there is no impediment
whatever to the navigation of the Parana for 150 miles.
The Channel is very deep, and easy to find. Ships can
sail up in clear nights, and if they get ashore it is their
own fault : 150 miles brings them to the city of Rosario,
the most important spot on the Parana.
" It is the most important, because it is the most
western, and therefore nearest the markets of Western
South America; the anchorage is excellent, ships can lie
close to the shore, and discharge and load with ease, and,
as I mentioned before that ships drawing 14 feet water can
get there at all seasons of the year, there can bo no doubt
that a direct trade with Europe can bo established for a
large class of brigs or corvettes, and with advantage, from
Rosario.

"Ascending the river higher, we find the Parana, like
all rivers flowing from the tropics, has a high and low
season. Six months in the year (from December to June)
the river may be considered high, and six months low ;
where the river is wide, 3 feet may be the rise ; where
narrow, 8 ; taking the whole, perhaps an average of 4 will.
be near the mark. Of course, larger ships can ascend in
the high season than in the low ; but one point is clear to
me, that, taking into consideration the uncertainty of sea
voyages from countries so distant as Europe, andwhen the
vessel has arrived up these rivers the uncertainty of getting
immediate return freight, no direct trade can be established
between these countries and Europe unless carried on in
vessels which can ascend and descend the rivers at all times
in the year, because, if any accident occurs to a ship which
cannot descend in the low season, it involves a detention of
six months up the countiy, which is a risk which no mer-
chant will run when he can avoid it by getting his goods
up in small vessels certain of being able to ascend and de-
scend at all seasons.
" Therefore, my narrative will consider the river at the
low season- only.
" Leaving Rosario, 00 miles brings us to the towns of
Santa Fe and Bajada, but there aro three or four shallows
in the way, which "prevent vessels draw ng more than 10
feet of water arriving here at all seasons of the year.
"Leaving Bajada, 160 miles fir...her up, we arrive at a
very bad shallow, called ' The Pass of San J11,13' Here
vessels of more thin feet water vre stopped in the dry
season.

" 180 miles further up we come to Corrientes, the most
rising place after Rosario, on the Parana.
" The trade of three great rivers, the Parana, Paraguay,
and Vermejo, meets here. 200 miles further up, or 150
as the crow flies (for here the river winds very much),
brings us to the city of Ascension in Paraguay.
" Further than that I have not been, and the rivers at
present are not opened beyond to other than Paraguayan
vessels ; but the river is said to be naNlo•able 800 miles
above Ascension, but to what class of vessel's, and, if at all
seasons of the year, I have no personal knowledge, and it
is very difficult to arrive at the truth through other per-
sons reports.
"The distance of Ascension from the Martin Garcia
Channel is 800 miles as the river winds, or 700 following
the general course of the stream, but not the particular
bends.

" The Pass of San Juan is the pass which stops the whole
of the upper rivers. Vessels drawing more than 7i feet
water cannot pass that in the dry season ; but over that
barrier they can get to Ascension, and certainly a great
distance beyond at all seasons of the year.
" The depth of water which I have given must, I think,
satisfy you that Rosario is the only town which can hope
for a direct trade to England, and that all the remainder
of the interior of South America must still be content to
remain purchasers at Buenos Ayres or Montevideo ; and
although vessels drawing 11i feet of water in particular
seasons of the year can even get as high as Ascension, yet
I will mention ono fact which I saw, which practical3y
shows that even then these large vessels cannot compete in
these rivers against the existing river craft.
"Our steamer drew 10 feet water. We had sent up be-