Star.
London, England, 1807-09-09 00:00:00

SOUTH AMERICA

MANIFESTO OF NIS EXCELLENCY THI 'merry OP
PERU. ON THE CAPTORS OP SUENOS AYRES HT THY

ENGLISH.
[Takeo from the Peruvian Minerva 1
41 Although I am convinced. the perufal of the
three proclamations. publifhed at the city of Buenos
Ayres by the Englifh General Beresford, muft have
filled with indignation the breafts of all his Majefty's
loyal fubjeas, and particularly of thofe who enjoy
the happinefs of inhabiting this metropolis, fo much
favoured and diftinguiflted by
.our Sovereign. ; yet
I cannot refrain from indulging myfelf in pointing
out to my countrymen the venom, hidden under the
hypocritical profeffions of the enemy, therein con-
tained—for which purpofe, without recurring to any
other arguments, I (hall confine myfelf folely to a re
trofpea of the recent atrocious condo& obfetved by
that nation in every quarter of the globe. Years
after years have let in and paired, eluting which all
Europe have witnefred the Englifh Government
ufing every means it can invent, for cementing and
propagating its deteflable tyranny, availing itfelf of
every circumaance favouring fuch a purpofe ; (loop-
ing to praaices the molt vile and infamous, letting
afide the molt facred principles of the rights of man,
and trampling upon all the ufages and caroms, for
many agesuniverfally received and obferved amongft
civilized nations. Far from proceeding, either in
carrying on war or negotiating peace, with that no-
ble franknefs and good faith, the charaaeriftics of
nations generous and brave, it recurs to dark artifices
of fiaion and feduaion, to dazzle and c-nrupt the
unwary, who are weak enough to truft and confide
in its perfidious promifes. Such is the object of the
three proclamations which I have mentioned—to lull
to fleep the undertlanding of the inhabitants of Bu.
cnos Ayres, with hopes of an imaginary happinefs;
to blindfold them, that they may not perceive the
abyfs of evil which furrounds them ; to cover, as
with a garland of flowers, the iron chains which
their oppreffors have prepared for them ; to (bpi&
"the native energy of thofe active Spaniard,; to
alienate from their hearts, if it is poftible, the love,
the fidelity, and gratitude they owe to the moil bene-
volent and juft of all Monarchs ; to prevail upon
them for ever to lay down their arms, nor think of
avenging themfelves and retrieving their loft honour,
but folely to afpire to the felicity of being numbered
among the vilefl flaves of the Tyrant of the Seas.—
From thefe motives, they fpeak of the great advan.
tages which they pretend would refult from an alli-
ance with Great Britain : under that Government,
they fay, oppreffion is unknown ; they promife im
mediately to free their commerce from the heavy du-
ties and imports to which it has been fubjeaed, to re-
fpea the Catholic religion and its holy Minifiers,and
that the local laws and national cufloms fhall re-
main untouched ; and they conclude with Rating,
that their only objet is to protea the eaftern emits
of South America, and to render it the country the
moil profperous in the univerfe. But where is the
man of fenfe and judgment, who does not immedi-
ately difcover, under fuch affected expreflions, the
vile language of hypocrify and fiction, fo foreign to
the intrepid foldier, and natural only to the. cow-
ardly legions of thofe fOrdid iflanders ?. Where is the
man whole blood does not boil, on heating the_facred
names of proteition, humanity, and benevolence, pro-
nounced by a Government Rained with recent rob-
beries' perfidies, and murders ? by a Gcvernment
which does not ceafe lowing the feeds of difcord and
rebellion every where ? by a Government which has
fo lately, before our eyes, kindled a fire in the faireft
part of the globe (alluding to Europe), whole '
pro-
vinces we have fo recently feen inundated with
flreams of the blood of its inhabitants, by a Govern-
ment which has fo bafely forfakenits allies, by haftily
withdrawing its troops from all thole parts where
any of the invincible battalions of Bonaparte made
their appearance ? by a Government whole friend-
(hip has proved fo baneful and ruinous to fo many I
powerful Princes, and covered with mourning and
defolation the immenfe countries fituate between the I
fertile banks of the Adige, and the frozen lakes of
Bohemia? by a Government, laftly, which has Co ,
long endeavoured to erect the throne of its tyranny
upon the fpoils and tombs of all other nations, and
which, of late yea.rs, has not even shrunk, in the face
of the whole world, to adopt, as a bails of its Machi-
avelian fyftem of politics, the plan of a perpetual
war ; a plan at which humanity shudders ; a plan
which pollerity will record and hand down to our re-
motel' defcendants, as a memorable monument of the
ferocity and barbarity to which egotifm and a thirft
for monopoly can precipitate a nation which lent its
lar to no voice, but that of its arrogant and unnatu-
ral avarice ?
14 Generous men of Lima ! let us fling far frOm
us, with that contempt which they fo well detente,
thole infamous proclamations, with which the Eng-
Hill General attempts to furprife the innate fidelity of
our countrymen, who inhabit the banks of the river
Plata. Let us look upon them as an infult to our
honour, as an attempt againft our happinefs, and a
plan directed to the deftruaion of our native land!
‘' Merchants ! the fame men who now pretend to
have poireired themfelves of Buenos Ayres, folely
with a view of protecting your commerce, are the
fame who have precipitated it into a (late of ruin, fo
prejudicial to your ufeful fpeculations, and to which
you fee it reduced. They are the fame who com-
menced the prefent hoftilities, by capturing three of
the King's frigates, and blowing up another. They
are the fame who feized upon your defencelefs (hips,
peaceably navigating the fees, under a confidence
that the Spanifh flag which they difplayed in the air
would prosea them againft all injuries from a nation
with which we were not then at war. A general in-
dignation was manifefled by all the Valiinets of
Europe ; but even this was infufficient to induce
thofe avaricious and cruel iflanders to reflore the
treafures which they had fo unjufily taken, with the
blood of fo many innocent victims.
46 Spaniards ! That perfidious nation, which now
pretends to appear to the inhabitants of Buenos
Ayres as, of all others; the molt hurnaue, is the
fame which, not fix years (ince, fent a fquadron and
an army before Cadiz, at a time when the 'plague
reigned within its walls, fpreading horror and de-
(huaion. The Englith Admiral, who, from his
cabin u indows, could feaft his eyes with the fpeaacle
of mountains of corpfes yet unbaried, and the
gloomy light of the funeral piles,• yet had the cou-
rage to ohallenge our valiant thief to furrender, cr