The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-05-25
A Centnrr Of the ArrrntInc.

Most faithful or most docile of all
the great American viCeroyalties II
Spain. the viceroyalty n Buenos Avres
was fairly thrust from the nest and is
independence forced upon Il by the
mother country. The lands through
which the great River Plate draws the
commerce oi half the continent had
more than their share ~ the misrule
which spain gave 20 its colonial possess
siOns under the name II government.
Even their great river was closed TO
them. il was only after almost a century
of petitloning that thcy were allowed
n export even two shiploads a year of
the produce II the River Plate.
Yet Buenos Ayras remained faithful
even when the fame II revolt was
running like wildfre over the northern
dependencies II was Spain itself which
ordered the acts II Independence which
created the Argentine Republic Once
having learned % act Independently il
was no long stride for Buenos Ayres 20
be independent.
This wa In the Peninsular war. Eng
land was fighting tho Napoleonic idea
in Spain The Argentine found itself
in the position of an outpost upon which
attack Is delivered and which must have
support or yield BEREsFoRD in 1896
captured the city II Buenos AyrcS under
the guns Of Sir HOME PoPHAM's feet.
Dislodged in 1907 by the Argentines.
the British under WHITELOCK returned
20 the attack tho next year and were re-
pulsed with such severe los that within
two months they abandoned both hanks
Of the great estuary When the British
menaced this remote possession Spain
instructed Buenos Ayres that Il must
fight its own battles, that M help could
come from overseas. That the British
were beaten back was wholly the work
OF the Americans under LINERS
Having learned their power in indie
pendent action the Argentnes were pre-
pared 70 deal with the problem Of the
rightful King - Spain They refused
20 accept JOSEPH BoNAPARTE. When
BEREsFoRD captured Buenos Ayrps
SoBREMONTE was ViCeroy. The victory
over WBITELOCK made LINERS a popu-
lar idol and secured his appointment a.
Vioeroy. But no accepted JOSEPH Box
APARTE and his popularity was Ohscured.
He was depOsed by tho adherents n
FERDINAND VII, who numbered in their
ranks all the public spirited men Of the
Viccroyalty. The new VicerOy, CIs-
NERos, broke through the Spanish ira
dition 81 exclusion and invited the COM
merCe Of the world N traffic on tho river.
He consented. this on tho surface Of
things, 70 tho establishment n a Gov
ernment independent n Spain in nll but
name J. il now well comprehended that
his consent was but the mask which
politely covered his initiative in bringing
70 pass the event 70 which he seemed 10
yield.
This was the event which to-day Is
celebrated over a great nation stretch
ing from the Rio 10 Ia Plata 20 tho
mouth NJ the Strait II Magellan. living
eastward from tho Andes submits to the
sea This Is the initial date " tho free.
dom n the argentine Republic. the
formation on NAV .. 1910. " the pro
visiona' Government II the provinces
Of the Rio 10 Ia Plata
SPIN had east M its mos. valuable
ohiid, had taught u 10 fight ~ own
battles The formation " tho pro-
visional Government q century AGO this
day was not a declaration. o. was an act
Of independents, ftIy. therefore. "a dav
70 celebrate. There we're battles vet 70
hght before Independence came. twelve
years 81 war with spain, the Argentine
fighting 10 own battles and the battles