winter; few, I presume, would hesitate much in the choice; the higher regions are, therefore, abandoned to the more wretched of the Indians, who subsist on papas, or potatoes, and to the timid guanaco; while the condor soaring above the loftiest peaks of the Andes, seems to belong to another world. All who have visited the region of perpetual spring, have expressed themselves with rapture*—a perpetual serenity, skies the most brilliant, an air as soft and balmy as Elysium; "Felices nimium populi, queis prodigua tellus, "Too happy people, to whose wishes the prodigal earth showers her gifts, to whom are given summers that resemble the spring, winters without cold, a sky unclouded, and a soil that requires not the aid of showers to be rendered fruitful." Such is the kingdom of the Incas; extending from Chuquisaca,† to Cusco, from Cusco to Quito, and containing, according to the calculation of some of the early writers, eight million of souls, when conquered by that ferocious monster, Pizarro, and his greedy followers. . The eastern side of the second Cordillera, differs * I saw several Peruvians at Buenos Ayres, who spoke of the climate of that place with a kind of horror, and were unceasingly praising the temperature of their "blissful seats above." In the proceedings of the congress, in my possession, there is a notice of a member from Peru, who asked leave of absence from Bue nos Ayres, his constitution having suffered from the unhealthiness of the climate! † This is the Indian name of the city of La Paz, or Charcas, the capital of the audiencia and province of Charcas. in some respects from the western. There are numerous openings and deep glens, through which the mountain streams, after having gathered their waters from their fountains, become navigable rivers, which make their way towards the vast plains of the Amazon. The spurs and broken ridges of the Cordillera del Oro, constitute a surface of the most extraordinary variety; profound valleys, whose temperature is that of the torrid zone, the most delightful amphitheatric slopes, open groves, pastoral plains, abundant waters, and impenetrable forests of gigantic trees. This region is, in general, moist and hot; and, therefore, far inferior to the high plains between the Cordilleras. It gradually subsides into the immense plains which stretch towards the Paraguay, and the Portuguese possessions, inhabited by uncivilized tribes of Indians, and forming, in point of territorial extent, by far the greater one of the natural divisions, in which, I have included the provinces of alto Peru. To speak of the productions of this country, would almost appear superfluous, when it is evident, that it is capable of producing all the fruits of the earth! If there be exceptions, their number is so small, as scarcely to deserve to be noticed. It is true that nothing can exceed the sterility of the mine tracts, (of limited extent,) and from this, arises the common error with respect to the countries in which they are situated; those are, beyond comparison, the most * The vast tract called Moxos, Chiquitos, and Chaco, watered by some of the southern branches of the Amazon, and stretching along the west side of Paraguay, is called by the Seminario, another terra incognita, and is estimated by Sobreviela, at fifteen hundred miles in length, by six hundred in breadth. fertile and pleasant on the globe. That they have not been known by their agricultural productions to every region of the earth, is owing to their having mines, and to the jealous policy of Spain. If without mines, the produce of the soil would have found its way long ago to the Atlantic, through the channels of La Plata and the Amazon. The Mamore is navigable from Chulumani, a district of La Paz, through the province of Cochabamba. The Beni, another tributary of the Amazon, is navigable from Paucartambo, a district of the province of Cusco; the Apuremac is navigable from the province of Truxillo, and the Maragnon is navigable from Maines. These rivers afford an easy communication with the gulph of Mexico, or the coast of Caraccas; the connexion between the Amazon and the Oronoco, still a subject of doubt when La Condamine descended the first of these rivers, is now fully established, and accurately described by Humboldt. It has already been stated that the Pilcomayo is navigable from the neighborhood of Potosi; opening a water communication with Buenos Ayres, as easy as that of the western parts of Pennsylvania with Orleans, by the Ohio. As has been stated in the introduction, it was the policy of Spain to confine the inhabitants of these districts, to the working of mines; any exports besides the precious metals, and a few products almost of equal value, were not encouraged. It is not to be supposed, however, that there was a want of stimulus to cultivate the earth. The mine districts collected crowds of people, great cities rose up, which must be supplied by the cultivators of the soil, a home market was formed, greater perhaps than even in this country. The enormous size of the interior cities, is noticed by Humboldt, as a kind of phenomenon; they were certainly out of all proportion to the rural population. The size of the cities were in proportion to the produc tiveness of the mines, near which they grew up, and usually occupied the most unpleasant spots of the whole country; but the surplus of agriculture grew only in the same proportion. What would have been its increase if the whole world had been laid open as a market? What would have been the proportion of foreign demand of articles of universal consumption, when compared to the fixed amount of gold and silver? Would it have been greater or less? Would it have employed and given life to a greater number of human beings? Would it have produced a greater change in the face of things throughout the world? The exportation of the precious metals was, after all, only a more convenient mode of carrying the surplus produce of labor to market, in a more portable shape; and if it were impossible to get it to market by any other means than by the assistance of the representative of value throughout the world, (in this respect a thousand times better than mere bills of credit, whatever name may be given to them, whose circulation is limited and partial,) the case would be different; but in opening channels of trade, there was no danger that a surplus would be wanting, both for foreign exports and for the business of mining-they would both increase in proportion to the demand. The articles which were permitted to enter into the commerce of Peru, were, unquestionably, sources of wealth. Would not that wealth have increased with the augmentation of those exports? And how was this to be effected? By simply using the means which "God and nature," have given by opening the navigation of the Amazon and La Plata, and by improving the communications with the Pacific. Labor is the foundation of all national wealth; the precious metals are not taken from the mines without labor, and gold is, itself, of no value but to purchase the labor, or the products of the labor, of others. At the same time, it may be justly regarded as the standard of value, because it is used for this purpose among all commercial nations, and is the great agent in equalizing and regulating the products of labor. If our banks had been mines, the many millions thrown into circulation, would have been slightly felt throughout the world; but without producing any injurious effect, other than the gradually increasing bulk of the circulating medium. There would be inconvenience in having to lug about a cart load of specie, to make the most trifling purchase; as it came to be the case with the leather and iron money of the Greeks. Unfortunately, our paper coin, was only a standard of value in our own country; and, although for a while it effected improvements, and caused every thing to flow, in the end it embarrassed the whole of our foreign trade, by raising the produce in our country to a value, which did not correspond with the change of times on the return of peace in Europe. This event caused us to feel the consequences of our mistake somewhat sooner, but we should have felt it at last, and aggravated a thousand fold. The theory of Dr. Bollman, of preserving a certain equilibrium by regulating the issues of paper-money, is very beautiful; its only defect is, that it cannot be put in practice, at least in this country. Nature has placed a |