The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-04-03
The Overthrow of Rosas.

[From the London Times. March II.
Wo have received with great satisfaction the in
teigcnce of the decisive action al Santos Lugares,
on tho Sd of February, which has not only ter
minated the long course Of hostilites on the banks
of the Rio de la Plata, but has oyerthrown the
government of the Dictator Of Buenos Ayres,
and driven him to seek the protection of British
vessel The fight of Rosas, in the dress Of a
common seaman. accompanied by his daughter.
disguised as cabin boy, to the protection Of that
flag which he had SO often insuied and dcted, is
suitable termination TO his mcodramatic history. In
the hour Of peril government like that Of Rosas
finds no support in the population which has so
long trembled beneath its cruelty and its caprices
The approach Of hostile army is the signal Of
dcliverance and beyond the loose bands of Guachos
who secured the Pampas, but were unable to sustain
the attack Of regular troops, Rosas had lost all
means of defence. Already for several weeks pre-
viousy, since the raising of the siege of Monte
the Parana, the language Of the population n
Buenos A,yres had asSu,aed on uliicousiomed
freedom. The policy of the Governor was de-
nounced in terms that would have been punished by
torture or by death few months before, and it was
evident that the terror By which alone the existence
OF such power had been prolonged was rapidly
changing into disafection and contempt The first
corps OF Rosistas who were sent to meet the enemy
after the passage of the Parana deserted at to
the combined forces under General Urquza; and the
moral power of the Buenos Ayrean government was
destroyed before it played its last stake upon the
plain OF Santos Lugares few miles from the
capital. Rosas seems to have foreseen his downfall,
and thought it inevitable: for the last few weeks Of
means to support himself in exile, rather than in
preparing vigorously for the defence of the territory
The bulk of his vast property, consisting in lands
and herds of cattle, will of fall to the vcto
rious party, and ought properly to revert to the
State. We have never denied that Rosas has dis
played certain abilities in the government of rude
and indocile people, and that his administration,
tyrannical as il was. had some advantages over
the inccssant revolutions and deplorable anarchy
that had hitherto prevailed in most Of the
Spanish settlements on the Rio dc Ia Plata. He
found it his interest to favor and protect British
commercial interests ut Buenos Ayrcs but his
whole policy was directed to establishing the
dancy and monopoly of that port over its ncighbors
and rivals. He therefore continued to blockade and
ruin Montevdeo by slow system of hostties;
and no succeeded in closing against the commerce Of
Europe the magnificent rivers which afford such ma
ural facilities of access to the vast territories Of
Santa Fe, Entrerios. and Paraguay. The partial
support at time afforded to Rosas by the
goyernm ent Of this country and its agents was one
of the grossest political blunders upon record.
Nevertheless, we know not how long system of
tyranny might have lasted which had completely
oyerlowered all resistance among its own immediate
subjects. The mercantile interests of tho eommu-
nifty OF Buenos Ayres had submitted to this bondage
and the Guachos looked upon Rosas a one of them
selves. He had, in fact, all the qualities of one
those rough-riders of the Pampas, savage, yan
bold. adroit and convinced that the world did not
contain greater man than himself: but the arro-
gance OF his foreign policy, and his attempts to I'M
pose the most ruinous and humiliating conditions
the neighboring States, have ut length brought on
the day ofretrbuton and destroyed his power. He
divided his army in order to carry ON hostilites and
establish n dependent authority on the northern
shore OF the Rio dc la Plata, in defiance Of all the
engagements which secured the independence Of the
Banda Oriental. Hence his forces were beaten in
detail, and the men who had served in his army
under Oribe Joined the subsequent march of Ur-
qu1a: they formed tho left wing the army Mt SAN
tos Lugares, where they murdered their Colonel,
and again endeavored to desert to their old chief
but were cut to pieces by the cavalry of En-
trerios. The operations Of General Urauiza since
the first junction of the Brazilian and Entrerios
forces in the neighborhood Of Monteyideo, seem to
have been conducted with skill and resolution. 1t
is a remarkable circumstance in this campaign that
the battalions of the late Schleswg- Iolstein army
which passed into the Brazilian service at the ter
mination Of hostities in the Duchies, should have
arayed the energy and strength Of Northern Eu-
rope against the degenerate militia of South
America; for these Holseiners rode down Rosas and
his Guaehos as a Crusader may have dispersed a
swarm OF Saracens, or as the Varangian body-guard
of the byzantine Court lowered over the Greeks of
the Lower Empire. But the native population has
everywhere supported the movements ofthe iberat-
ing army, increased its forces provided for its
wants, and covered its rear; and all the objects of
the late intervention of England and France are now
accomplished by indigenous forces
The TALL OF Rosas is unquestionably the most inn
portant revolution that has taken place in South
America since the declaration Of independence for
the States OF the Argentine confederation are those
in which, from their geographical position, from the
facility OF emigration, from their climate, and from
the freedom of labor, Europe feels the strongest
interest ltls, otco0rse, premature to conjecture