Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-04-12
THE NAVIGATION OF The AMAZON.


~-'~s6
PARA, Maych 3, 1854
My DEAR SIR: | have received, per steamer
Marajo the Rio Negro newspapers which ac-
companied your favor of the 18th ult- have
perused the diplomatical correspondence con-
4 tanned in them, and, on mature reflection, must
confess that am not much edited by it, or by
the manner in which the question of the Anna
zon has been considered and treated up 70 the
present day.
From all that has been done and said as yet
in this affair, particularly as regards the CON
duct Of the Government at Washington, and
that Of its agent here, in relation to the steam
er Penobscot, it appears to me neither the
| Americans nor the Peruvians are acquainted
with their rights in the premises.
| Really the pretensions Of Brazil to be the
mistress Of the Amazon, to arrogate to herself
tho right to hold it's mouth, and to permit or
deny its navigation, is the most arrant piece of
folly imaginable To admit, seriously, such .
pretension even to argue or discuss il, or to
waste one moment upon il, evinces equally q
| want Of common sense and sound reason--an
/ ignorance alike of all notions Of justice and
! truth To discuss an absurd'ty il to share it,
/ and is in itself an absurdity
Such, however, is the line which the Ameri-
cans, like tho Peruvian have followed. Mel
Their Of them have, as yet, been Intelligent
enough to understand that. Ii Brazil per-
mits the passage Of the waters which descend
from the Cordileras to the Ocean, it is ipso
faeto obliged, by all divine and human lave
to grant pa rage, with these waters y oil that
the people who posse the sources may embark
upon them. q IF Brazil forbids the Spanish
republics floating their vessels down to the
ocean, or receiving by way Of the Amazon,
the vessels of other nations seeking intercourse
with them, it would be intercepting their COM
munication, it would constitat, real state OF
blockade, it would be committing real act of
he ,tility against these republics; and It would
| be- at the same time an act of violence and
barbarity against the third parties who desire
to visit tho republics. Brazil would undoubt-
edly be soon chasts ed as it deserves for such
an act Of barharity, for the laws of reason,
| right, and Justice, cannot be violated with i'm
punity. But Brazil, unfortunately, does not
perceive into what inextricable difficulties its
absurd vanity is going to involve it.
Notwithstanding cannot understand how
it is that neither the Americans nor the Peru
vians (since two years that this question has
been agitated) have, rTyet perceived how en-
tirely void, how ridculors the Brazilian pre-
tensions are, how dametrically oppc ed TO
public, private, and natural law, how opposed
to the law Of nations!
To ask of Brazil to open the Amazon, does
not this constitute, at least does it not tscitly
imply, that it has right to keep it closed ?
And If there is a party 70 whom the having
vote in this question ought to be denied, it is
precisely Brazil She is the last who ought to
| DO consulted in such an affair. Placed at the
! mouth Of the Amazon, she must suffer the
consequences of her geographical position, or
| give up that position. In her position as the
/ lower borderer che is bound to suffer the servi-
tude Of the higher borderers, or to retire.
/ By conserving to limit their navigation 70
| the q Barra de Rio Negro" when they had an
unquestionable right to descend to the ocean
by signing the ridiculous treaty Of the cad If
| October, 1851, the Peruvians have shown
want Of common ssnse, and unnecessarily
made themselves tributaries to Brazil.
As regards the Americans they have been
neither more clever nor lc ignorant. In the
affair of the aPenobscot,n for instance, they
have been more timorous than is credible Of
any people that live unon bread! The ques-
| ton of the passage of the Amazon for that YES
sci was think, very clear. Does Peru invite
the Americans to ia ports? Yes it does, since
| it opens its free port, to all nations. Then /,
if an American, may 20 up the Amazon to
| Peru Who will dare - oppose mea Brazil?
By what authority 1t would be very queer
| ID see the inhabitants of the first floor of a
house prohibit the Inhabitants of the ocond
and third floors from receiving the visits of
| their friend9; and, after all, this great ques-
ton of the fire., navigation of the Amazon may
| 4 al
son, and ought to be decided as summary J
| an agent Of police would, no doubt decide the
OF 80 Of the unreasonable inhabitant Of the first
floor.
Decidedly, my dear sir, ] shall at last be
obliged to believe that these Yankees, whom
you SO much ext)lled for their practical judg-
ment, their spirit of progre J their persevering
energy, are only st Of "big takers" IKE our
adottrinairesn at home.
| Pre- 3dent Belzou, Of Bolivia, he's not been 90
yer simple. Enclo. ed send you copy of his
wi reply to the prop ais Of Brazil. Citizen
BeIzou better under stands his business Of gov
erning, is more clear-sighted than the whole Of
the Americans and Peruvians taken together.
He her in that instance shown himself a
stat ,sman indeed.
Below we give President Belzou's reply, in
troduced with an extract from the letter Of a
private correspondent OF the author OF the let
ter from Para:
PRESIDENT BELZoU'S REPLY.
Extract Of private letter
Chuquisaea. The following is what
the President Belzou is reported to have replied
to the offers Of Brazil, when invited to enter
into q treaty in order to monopolze the navi-
CATION Of the Amazon, for the exclusive adyan-
! tage Of its borderers;
aThat Bolivia needed no treaty whatever TO
| 90 from ia frontiers down to the Atlantic
Ocean, because such is o right resulting from
the undeniable fact Of its higher geographical
position--that is to say, resulting from the very
nature of things; as also, that on account of
i, Numerically contrary geographical situa-
ton, Brazil is to be held and obliged to suffer,
pro- ct, and favor the communication of Be-
| fivia with Europe, and that Of Europe with
Bolivia, by way Of the Atlantic Ocean.