Star.
London, England, 1820-09-13 00:00:00

'nature, hoivever important, cat% overcome insur-
mountable difficulty.
" From circumstances like these the celebrated
author of the Spirit of Laws concludes that no other
kind of Government but the -despotic can long pre-
serie countries removed at a great distance from the
centre of dependence. It may be asked by the reader;
what is the object of these observations, and what
have they to do with the rumoured amnesty ? It is
not here proposed to enter into any analysis of the
rumoured proposal for a peace, which may, after all;
terminate in a war renewed with more ardour ; the
attention of this article'is directed towards the Cortes
assembled at Madrid or at any other place in the
Peninsula. It may be conceived that a majority of
the Cortes-may be very busily occupied in devising
means to accommodate the Constitution to the situa-
tion of South America, and it may even be antici-
. ted that an offer of an equal representation for
• 'uth America may form a part of their remedies
for the existing evils; and, in short, that all the de-
fects of the Constitution of 1812, in relation to South
America, may be attempted to be rectified or amended
in such a way as they may consider the people of
South America should accept, as the alternative of
a recurrence to arms.
" Those ideas are merely hypothetical. It will not
be asserted positively that such will be the result of
the deliberations of the Cortes in relation to South
America. If the Members of the Cortes, or a ma-
jority of them, were Quirogas and Acevedos, there
would be nothing to apprehend ; the conclusion of
this sanguinary war *euld then be certain, and it
would be succeeded by a definitive Treaty of Peace,
Of which the fundamental basis would be the abso-'
lute independence of all South America.
But as this certain), will not be the case, it is,
proposed to offer an unanswerable replication to the
Humoured project—which will be, that the central
supreme power devised by the Constitution shall be
established in South America; that the national le-
gislative body shall be assembled at Panama, or any,
other position that may be selected in South Ame-
rica, where the executive power also shall reside ; and
that Spain shall be dependent on the authot ity
their common Governnien:. Such is the outline of
the counter project. With these conditions, it may
be safely presumed, in anticipation, that the people
of South America would swear to the Constitution.
" A proof of this truth shall be presented in the
' acknowledgments of one of the greatest opponents of
South American independence. We allude to the
last paragraph in an article contained in the Madrid
Gazette* of the Bth July, 1816. Every liberal man
in Spain is satisfied of the force of that eloquent pro-
duction ; isone of them will like to depend on a Go-
vernment existing at the Isthmus of Dai len. at
Quito, and at Bogota. All will at once cast their
eyes upon the example of Portugal, and the insigni-
ficance into which it has fallen, since the seat of Go-
vernment was transferred to Brazil ; and they will
point out, too, the failure of the attempt made by the
noble European Portuguese, in 1817, to become in-
dependent of the Court of Rio Janeiro, with the only
view to pi event the evils experienced by the distance
of Portugal from the central Government. La the
Spaniards be just towards the South Americans, who,
after 300 years of injustice and privations, claim
their rights with the sole view to become independ-
ent and free, and as the Constitutional Spaniards pro-
pose to be themselves. The best blood and the finest
genius had been already sacrificed by the South
Americans to obtain that liberty and emancipation;
that the realization of those rights will be no more
than a just compensation for such sacrifices. To se-
cure those rights, if no other means remain, they are
prepared and resolved on renewed sacrifices. The
conflict in that event will become still justified on the
part of the South Americans, because they would
then have to produce the recent example of the Spa-
nish people, who had exercised only the same right
of an ordinary insurrection against arbitrary power,
by resisting the Despot who oppressed them. Then
the firmness and constancy of the South American
Pau lots will be crowned with cempleteariumph, and
the defenders of a cause so just will obtain that im-
mortal glory which is due •by mankind to those
whose constancy is unshaken, and courage invincible,
in a career so glorious.
" The judiciary power in the Peninsula shall be
exercised accord;ng to the forms presented by the
law of the 9th cf October, 1812, for South America;
and America shall exercise its judicial power, inde-
pendent of any interference from Spain.
" To
.propositions like these, it is probable the
Spaniards may raise the very objections • which the
South Americans have already offered against the
Constitution; because, as they might say, the judi-
ciary power would otherwise be exercised at a dis-
t3nce of 2,000 leagues. The Spaniards cannot allege
that they would have better motives in such a case
than the South Americans have had for maintaining
their rights by arms since 1810. Then; if so, why
pretend that the Americans should submit themselves
to • the convenience of the Spaniards, who would
themselves refuse to submit on the same terms to the
South Americans? Where, then, is the strict ob-

servance of the natural rights of mankind, alike obli-
gatory wi Spain as on South America, according to
our hypothesis ? Do not, unto others, as you would
not that others should do unto you. What,.then, is
to be done in such an alternative?

64 Suppose we place the Central Government at
Bermuda, or in some other spot in the Ocean equally
distant from both countries ; indeed, there is no other
intermediate step which can obviate the absurdity of
two countries so distant and so unequal in extent
and population, being attempted to be governed
upon terms of equality. As this is the only remedy
by which this unity could be obtained, and it appears
impracticable, the extensive territory of South Ame-
ricA.can never expect to reach that state of felicity
which nature appears to have intended, by any other
"liens than actual and unequivocal independence."
• “. The following is a translation of the paragraph from the
Madrid Gazette alluded to: •
" The epoch is not far distant when a wise policy will instruct
politicians of Europe, that the dependence of South America is
opt an advantage peculiar to Spain alone ; but that it enters
deeply into the general interests of Europe, whose ancient su-
premacy and preponderance over all other parts of the globe
will be destroyed the moment that independence shall establish
her temple in those regions which Nature has so bountifully and
abundantly enriched. The activity of the spirit of industry and
the arts will predpitate theist upon those more favoured coun-
tries ; Europe will be abandoned ; and that superiority which
has hitherto justly given to Europe the claim to tie the centre of
civilization, win not only cease, but Europe may, perhaps, be-
e:Am kealave or the dependent subject dig gm world."