Star.
London, England, 1818-09-15 00:00:00

SOUTH AMERICA.

Letters ana Gazettes have been received from
Buenos-Ayres to the 25th of June, by the ship Lind-
sey*, arrived in the Downs.
A letter of the 24th gives the following intern-
race should seem that Artigas is nearly hots
..420
.44.11.4 at least against the Portuguese. The
tatter are taken Arroyo de la China, where they
eciminitted'the greatest excesses, sparing neither age
nor sex, nor any property, whether Spanish, British,
or of this State.
It is not positively known where Artigas now is,
but some accounts state that he is far to the North,
pushed up almost to the frontiers of the Brazils.—
That he is sinking fast is highly probable, because
the towns hitherto under his sway, such as onrientes,
&c. have expelled the Governors appointed by him,
ana have sent deputies here, requesting to be admit-
ted into the Union. It is even reported that Paraguay
has expressed a wish to the same effect.
In Tucuman and Upper Peru nothing has occur-
red yet ; but it is very likely that the news of the
events in, Chili will cause the Royalists to think of a
retreat on Lima.

---
From Chili we have an official account, that 200
men of the national troops stationed at Taba, have
surprised a royal detachment under Colonel Bulnes,
consisting of 300 men, at Parral, killed 200, among
whom was Dulnes himself; and taken 70 prisoners...-
The United States sloop of war Ontario had returned
to Valparaiso from Lima, having on board a Com-
missioner from the Viceroy, Peznela, authorized to
treat for an exchange of
.prisoners. She also conveyed
two -Lieutenant-Colonels and two Captains of the
Buenos-Apes troops, made prisoners some years ago
in the battles of Villeapugio and Ayoma; these were
freely restored, in order to show the sincerity of the
Viceroy. It is a proof of the impression which the
victory of Maypo has made at Lima ; for it is not
long ago that General San Martin made proposals
for an gxchange of prisoners to the Viceroy, who not
even condescended to return an answer. Now he
sends a Commissioner with dispatches to General
. .

San Martin, who is addressed in the style of “ Ex-
cellency and General-in-Chief of the Armies of the
Andes and of Chili: _

One of the British ships of war arrived at Valpa-
raiso, had on her passage put into Talcahuano, where
she found the Spanish frigate Esmeralda, much dis-
abled by her late engagement with the Lautaro. It
was said she had lost 50 men in killed and wounded.
General Osario was at Talcahuano, but had only
about 1000 men under him, being all that he could
collect, pat tly of the garrison left there and of the
militia in the vicinity. He was shipping his heavy
artillery, which seemed to indicate that he despaired'
of defending the place. •
The Chili Navy is now composed of the Cumber-
lead of 64, the Lautaro of 42, and the Avon of 26
guns. General San Martin is to set out from hence
for Mendoza in a few days, • and will cross the Cor-
dillera on his return to Chili as soon as practicable.
Most Excellent Sir—Authorized by his Excellency the Vice-
ro) and Captain General of rem, Don Joaquin de la Pezuela,
for effecting an exchange of prisoners of the Royal army, made
by the army under the command of your Excellency, lam ar-
rived in this port under the guarantee of the flag of the United
States of America, in the sloop of war named Ontario, of that
nation, commanded by James Biddle, Esq. who generously
ole--ed to contribute, by means of conveying me in his vessel,
to the relief of the Meritorioui warriors whom the chance of
war has put in your Etcellency's power; for which purpose I
am the bearer of dispatches from the Moat Excellent Viceroy to
your Excellency. I have SLIP ten thousand dollars for supplying
the said Officers, and request that your Excellency will grant
permission for the landing and distribution of that money, if
there should not be an objection to it : I further request that
your Excellency will communicate orders either for my pro.
ceeding to the capital for the purpose of arranging an exchange
of prisoners with your Kiceilency in person, or to treat here
with the person whom you may think proper to name.
I must mention for the information of your Excellency, that
Lieutenant-Colonels Don Juan Jose Quesada, and Don Juan
Jose Balderrarna, and Captains Don Pedro Equino, and Don
VranciscoVillanueva, being of the number of prisoners detained
at Callao, are arrived with me, and are already gone on shore,
for the purpose of being exchanged. All the rest would have
tome with me, if Captain Biddle had had accommodations for
th flt in his vessel; or if it could have been expected to find an-
other to convey them under his convoy, to which effect he was
applied to, as he himself can inform your Excellency. May
Goo preserve you many years.
Port of Valparaiso, on board the United States corvette On-
tario, May 29th. (Signed)
FELIX D'OTHABERRIAGUE BLANCO.
To the Most Excellent Sir Don Jose de San Martin, General-
in-Chief of the Army of the Andes and of Chili.
(A true copy) BALCARCE.

The HYACINTH, of 26 guns, Captain ALEXANDER
Itrwrou SHARPE, C.B. lately arrived at Portsmouth
from the South American station, where she had been
employed two years and a half, left Buenos-Ayres an
the 14th of June ; touched at Monte-Video ; and
finally sailed from Rio Janeiro on the 21st ofJuly.—
Though there had been no meeting between the con-
tending forces in South America, since the battle of
Illaipo, yet the general state of affairs there is consi-
dered highly favourable to the cause of independence.
With respect to the state of affairs in Peru, the Buenos
Art-eau Army had advanced towards it, as far as
Salta, and the Royalist Army was within a short
distance to the Northward, at Jujay. A revolt was
daily expected to take place at Lima, which, it was
presumed, would occasion the recall of the Royalist
army ; and then it was anticipated the Buenos Ay-
reans, aided by the Chili Patriots, would be enabled
to advance unopposed to Potosi. The Portuguese
troops, whose object appeals to be to extend the
Brazilian boundaries to what may be called their
natural limits (the river Parana), had shewn no dis-
position whatever to give up any part of the country
they had occupied : they affect to say, that if Fag-
DINAND will send a sufficient body of troops to keep
down the Independent forces, they will then retire.—
However, two days before the Hyacinth left the river
Plate, '2,000 Portuguese troops, under General PINTO,
had passed up that river, to land at Rio Negro, to
act in furtherance of the object of making the river
Parana, the western or internal boundary of the Bra-
zilian territory in South America. The Spanish and
Native inhabitants are decidedly adverse to this inva-
sion ; and it can only be said that the Portuguese
have military possession of the country—on which
their army encamp. The Spanish frigate Esmeralda,
which struck her colours to the Independent frigate
Lautaro (late Wyndham Indiaman), and afterwards
got away, was not secured to her captors, owing to
the imprudence of the First Lieutenant of the Inde-
pendent frigate. She completed her number of men,

and got her guns on board, only the day before the
.action. Seeing her opponent - (which she went out
purposely to fight) she commenced the action by
firing a broadside into the Esmeralda, which the lat-.
ter returned ; but only three guns took effect. The
Independent then ran close alongside, and Captain
O'BatEN and about 25 men boarded her—the Spa-
niards all running below. The First Lieutenant of
the Independent, instead of well securing the prize,
by putting more men on board, dropped off to cap-
ture the brig Pazuela, the consort of the Esmeralda.
The brig hereupon struck her colours ; but, in the
mean time, the Spaniards in the Esmeralda tiad
gained fresh courage by the absence of the Indepen-
dent frigate, and, after a hard struggle, in which
Capt. 0 BRIEN and most of the boarders were killed,
they regained possession of the frigate. The Inde-
pendent, upon this unfortunate issue, returned to Val-
paraiso, as did the Spaniards to Talcahuana. The In-
dependent squadron has been since joined by several
other armed ships ; among them is the Cumberland,
carrying 64 guns and 400 men, formerly an East India-
man.
The Lautaro mounts 52 guns, and has a crew of
450 men, 130 of whom are said to be Englishmen.
—Captain q--, of the British Navy (brother of
a Baronet), had lately arrived at Buenos Ayres, in a
brig of war, mounting twenty-four 18-pounders, for-
merly his ajesty's brig Hecate. Captain —, two
Lieutenants, and several Midshipmen, formed part of
her establishment. She was intended to be sold to
the Independent Government, but the terms not being
agreed to, she was proceeding to sea, under British
colours, when Commodore Bo vi.rs sent the Tyne
and Icarus after her, and brought her into port, for
a breach of the navigation laws. Had she been under
the Patriot colours, and provided with a commission
from either of the Chiefs, she would have been iden-
tified with the Belligerent cause, and, of course, no
interruption would have been offered to any of her
proceedings, wherein the British flag or name was
not concerned. The Andromache, Captain BEHR-
RZFF, and Blossom, Captain HICKEY, were in the
Pacific Ocean, attending to the British interests rn
that quarter : they arrived at Valparaiso in 42 days
from Rio : they were lying at Valparaiso so late as the
12th of May. The Amphion, Commodore Bow Lits,
and Icarus, Hon. Captain RIDGMAN:Were in the
River Plate. The Tyne, Captain FALCON, was left
at Rio ; she was to sail soon for the Pacific, to relieve
the Blossom. The Portuguese Government have
cause to regret having laid a duty upon the importa-
tion of merchandize from Europe to Rio: in the
quarter previous thereto, the produce of the Revenue
was 60,000 dollars ; in the next it was 16,000 ; and
in the last 6,000: the goods are now smuggled into
the place. The Hyacinth brought diamonds to the
value of 60,0001.