CHAPTER XXV.Sucre—Seat of the Government—Court of Justice and Archbishopric—Cathedral—Image of “Our Lady of Guadalupe”—Plate and pictures—Revolting character of the pictures—The clergy of Bolivia—Palacio del Gobierno—Sala del Congreso—Deputies and Debates—Treaty with Chili—Diplomatic body—Politics and parties—Quintin Quevedo—Casimir Corral—Sack of his house in La Paz—Rojos, or Ballivianistas—Hilarion Daza—Schemes for roads to the river Paraguay—River Amazonv.river Paraguay—Remarks upon the finances of Bolivia—Results to be expected from the enterprise of the Madeira and Mamoré Railway—Closing of Congress—The Bolivian flag—Revolution of 1874—Defeat of Quevedo and Corral, and deposition of Frias by Daza.
Sucre—Seat of the Government—Court of Justice and Archbishopric—Cathedral—Image of “Our Lady of Guadalupe”—Plate and pictures—Revolting character of the pictures—The clergy of Bolivia—Palacio del Gobierno—Sala del Congreso—Deputies and Debates—Treaty with Chili—Diplomatic body—Politics and parties—Quintin Quevedo—Casimir Corral—Sack of his house in La Paz—Rojos, or Ballivianistas—Hilarion Daza—Schemes for roads to the river Paraguay—River Amazonv.river Paraguay—Remarks upon the finances of Bolivia—Results to be expected from the enterprise of the Madeira and Mamoré Railway—Closing of Congress—The Bolivian flag—Revolution of 1874—Defeat of Quevedo and Corral, and deposition of Frias by Daza.
The capital of Bolivia was formerly called “Chuquisaca,” which in the Quichuan tongue is said to mean “River of Gold,” but at the establishment of the independence of the republic, the town received the name of “Sucre,” in honour of Bolivar’s celebrated coadjutor. If General Sucre gained fame by the nomination, the town certainly lost a pretty name and received a very commonplace one. Amongst the Indians and lower orders the prettier title is preserved, but as amongst the educated classes the ugly one prevails, I suppose one must, in writing of the town, follow the lead of the upper ten.
Sucre owes its importance to its being theoretically the constitutional seat of the government of the republic, but as, owing to the frequent revolutions,the government is generally “en campaña,” or “on the war path,” the other towns, such as La Paz, Oruro, and Cochabamba, have the responsibility of housing the president and his ministers quite as often as the capital. Both Cochabamba and La Paz possess larger populations than the capital, which may be said to have about 25,000 people, who are of very mixed races, ranging from the pure-blooded descendants of the “Sangre Azul” of Old Castile, through the “cholo,” or half-breed, down to the Quichuan and Aymará Indians.
There are no manufactures whatever carried on in the town, and but little commerce, the merchants of the district being numerically far below those of Cochabamba, La Paz, or even Santa Cruz de la Sierra. In former years the Indians appear to have been well skilled in the art of inlaying in mother-of-pearl and ivory. Many beautiful specimens of this work, in cabinets, crucifixes, and ornaments, can be seen in Sucre, although they are now becoming very scarce, as travellers have nearly exhausted the stocks, and the art seems to have entirely died out. There are a few well-stocked drapery stores, and a well-managed and completely equipped “Botica Inglese,” or English chemist and druggist’s establishment, to which is attached an American bar for soda ice-cream drinks and other curiously compounded and consoling beverages, which receive a fair share of the patronage of the young men about town.
It is said that Sucre owes its origin to the proximity of the famous Silver Hill of Potosí, the wealthier miners of that place having chosen it as a preferable place of residence to the cold and bleakslopes of the mineral district of Potosí, from which it is distant about twenty-five leagues. Universities and ecclesiastical establishments were erected, and in the early part of the seventeenth century the town became the seat of an archbishopric and of a supreme court of justice for the Spanish acquisitions in South America, with the titles of “San Arzobispado y Real Audencia de la Plata y Charcas,” and jurisdiction from the river Plate up to Alto Peru, formerly the country of the Charcas Indians, a race said to exist prior to the Incas. Most of the universities have been allowed to decline, so that to-day there are but two that have maintained any degree of repute. I did not have an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the routine of academical life in Sucre, but judging by the number of diploma’d men in the country, the acquisition of the title of “Dr.” cannot be a very difficult task. In Bolivia, as indeed in most South American countries, one is quite safe in accosting a stranger or chance acquaintance as “Señor Doctor;” and if this be not the right title, then one may try “Mi General,” or at least “Mi Coronel.”
Churches and conventual establishments abound in the city, but none of them are at all remarkable for their architecture, which is of the plainest possible style, the simplicity being spoiled by a thick coat of plaster. The largest of these edifices, the cathedral dedicated to “Nuestra Señora de la Guadalupe,” standing in one corner of the principal square, is a spacious building, the interior of which, on account of its extent, presents an imposing appearance on festival days, when it is filled with a well-dressedcongregation. This church must, in very recent times, have been the receptacle of an enormous wealth of jewels and precious metals, poured into its treasury by the successful miners of Potosí. The principal object of value, and of interest to strangers, is the image or picture of “Our Lady of Guadalupe,” from whom the church takes its name. The figure is rather more than six feet in height, and is formed in jewels of many kinds, set upon a plate of gold. All the precious stones are of great size and of first-rate quality, but some of the pearls are of especial beauty, advantage having been taken of peculiarities of shape to fashion them into representations of animals or birds, which adorn the virgin’s robe. Thus, a pearl about the size of a pigeon’s egg, and with a peculiar shape, has, by the addition of a golden head and legs, been made to represent a slender Italian greyhound; another represents an ox, another a frog, whilst the whole of the figure gleams resplendently with rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and jewels of all kinds. Some authorities set down the value of the image at 2,000,000 dollars, but I think this must be an exaggerated estimate, as probably, had the church been in the possession of such a large amount of convertible treasure, not even the sanctity of the patron saint of Sucre would have saved her from the rapacious hands of some of the adventurers that have occupied the presidential chair. On high festivals the image is carried round the principal squares of the town, under the escort of a procession, including the president and his ministers, the archbishop and his principal clergy, a battalion of infantry, bands of music, andthe most important merchants, lawyers, doctors, and gentry of the town. Upon these occasions “Sucre” isen fête, fine weather being almost always to be relied upon; the streets are full of people of all ranks and conditions, the gay colourings of the ponchos, shawls, and petticoats of the lower orders affording a lively contrast to the black coats and silk dresses of civilized society.
Besides the rich image of the virgin, the cathedral contains a very valuable collection of vestments and plate, and it is said that a few years ago it possessed twenty-four massive silver candelabra; but President Melgarejo, being pressed for silver to continue the coinage of his bad money (“Moneda de dos Caras”), melted down all these magnificent candlesticks except two, which alone remain to testify of the splendour of the church in former days, and of the ruthless vandalism of a Bolivian in power. The two remaining are about seven feet in height, and appear to be of solid silver. There are also several fine paintings, some of which have been attributed to Velasquez and Murillo; they may be worthy specimens of the masters, but the taste displayed in the exhibition of these pictures in a church is, to say the least, peculiar, as the subjects portrayed are of the most revolting character. One is a representation of the flaying alive of a saint (St. Bartolomeo, I think): a dreadful picture, with full life-size figures, representing an executioner tearing the skin from the saint’s body, while he holds between his teeth the knife which he has been using during his ghastly work. The horridly cool and unconcerned look of thewretch, who goes about his business as steadily as though he were skinning the hide from a dead bullock, is most marvellously painted; whilst the suffering, yet resolute look of the saint, can be more easily imagined than described. Another of these pictures depicts the martyrdom of a saint in a cauldron of boiling oil, another a saint being impaled, and each one of these pictures perpetuates the memory of a dreadful crime that has, at some period of the church’s history, either been committed or imagined. The policy of accustoming unreasoning Indians to such scenes seems to be a very unwise one.
The whole of Bolivia may be said to be priest-ridden, but Sucre, perhaps, suffers more than any other place in the republic from the incubus of a numerous and not over scrupulous clergy. Travellers in South America will scarcely need to be told that the Roman Catholic clergy include men of all shades of character; but though I have met many worthy pastors in other countries of the continent, I must unwillingly say, that I cannot recollect having met with any very striking excellence of character amongst the priesthood of Bolivia. Open violation of the vow of celibacy, insobriety, passion for jewellery, fine horses, and other worldly gear, are amongst the most venial of the charges that might be brought against many members of the clergy; so that one is tempted to think that the first reform the country requires is a reform amongst its pastors and teachers.
The streets and squares of the town are broad, and fairly well paved, and the town has altogether a rather imposing appearance, although it is to beregretted that the sanitary arrangements of the municipality should in Sucre, as well as in the other principal towns of Bolivia, be remarkable and conspicuous solely from the utter absence of care or attention to the commonest requirements of our times. The description that I have given of the state of Cochabamba will apply equally to Sucre, and need not, therefore, be repeated. For this reason it is, that small-pox hangs for such long periods of time about these cities, and kills yearly large numbers of the Indian population, who, averse to vaccination in ignorance of its benefits, fall easy victims to this terrible scourge of South American cities. Whilst I was in Sucre this plague was rife, my own servant-boy, the Cruzeño who accompanied me from Exaltacion, falling a victim thereto.
Two sides of the principal square of the town are occupied by the Government House, the Hall of Congress, the Municipal Buildings, and a Barrack. The first, dignified with the name of “Palacio del Gobierno,” is a very plainly-built edifice, with interior and fittings of the simplest possible style. Here the president has a suite of apartments, and the several ministers have offices. The “Sala del Congreso,” or House of Commons, is arranged after the usual South American fashion, with a “barra,” or outer bar, to which the public are admitted without any restriction, except on occasions when the house itself votes a secret sitting. A president of congress, and two secretaries, are elected by ballot from amongst the deputies every month, the president’s duties being to preserve order, whilst the secretaries regulate the proceedings and edit thereports of the speeches; but, as these reports seldom leave the printer’s hands until some months have elapsed, they cannot be said to be of any very great value, either to the deputies themselves or to the country. The barra divides the hall into two equal parts, so that when a debate of interest takes place, the public present far outnumbers the deputies, and does not fail to make its presence felt by frequently interrupting the speakers with approving hurrahs for a popular sentiment, or groans, cat-calls, hisses, and other lively expressions of disgust, for one that does not coincide with the mob’s whim of the moment. The members of the house generally speak from their seats, but at times the public shout for them to ascend the tribune, as a small pulpit placed at one side of the hall is grandiloquently termed. Two soldiers, armed with rifle and bayonet, standing at the centre of the barra, curb, in some measure, the fury of the mob that at times fills the hall, and protect unpopular deputies from actual violence. During my stay in Sucre, a treaty of boundaries with Chili, which, being very adverse to Bolivia in its terms, was naturally much disliked by a decided majority of all classes, came on for discussion, and at several sittings I fully expected to see a free fight in the Congress Hall. Popular deputies would harangue the crowd at the barra, which would loudly cheer the sentences that sympathized with its patriotic notions, whilst those members who dared to differ from the opinions of the mobocracy were scarcely allowed a hearing. Republican institutions may be acceptable dispensations of Providence to well-settled countries, butprobably a European, visiting the Congress of Bolivia at a stormy sitting, will carry away with him the belief that the advent of a thoroughgoing despot would be about the best event that could happen to the country. The Bolivian House of Commons may, however, in one respect, be considered an improvement upon our English one, for the presence of ladies is not supposed to be a hindrance to the proper discharge of the functions of a deputy. The ladies of Sucre, instead of having to hide behind a grating, are accommodated in an open gallery, occupying a prominent position at one end of the hall, so that a susceptible deputy may be animated to oratorical effect by the smiles and approbation of his fair countrywomen. During the debate on the Chilian question, several very excellent speeches were made, and though I was much impressed with the eloquence displayed by many of the deputies, I could not help especially remarking the speech of a youthful deputy from Cochabamba, who, apparently scarcely of age (although he must have been, or he could not have been elected), spoke for about three hours, in a style that showed he had thoroughly mastered his subject; but doubtless the presence in the gallery of a young lady to whom he was paying his addresses, and who was one of the prettiest girls of the city, gave him courage to offer his opinions at length to his fellow-deputies, the majority of whom had, in age at least, a better right to the title of “patres conscripti.” This question of settlement of boundaries with Chili occupied the attention of the Congress for nearly a whole month, being argued with much warmth by theopponents and supporters of the treaty which the government had made with the Chilian minister, Señor Carlos Walker-Martinez. The final modifications, as agreed to by the Congress, defined the twenty-fourth degree of latitude as the northern Chilian boundary, from the Pacific coast to the highest points of the Andean range, excepting towns already under Bolivian government, such as Antofogasta—not to be confounded with the town of the same name on the coast. This treaty, therefore, reduced the Bolivian coast-line to even less than that afforded by the miserably small slip given to the republic at the time of the partition of the Spanish empire of South America.
A sort of private box is apportioned to the members of the diplomatic body, from which, for some years past, a representative of Great Britain has been missing, Brazil, Peru, Chili, and the Argentine Confederation only, maintaining resident ministers. As long as there was any chance of raising a loan on the London market, the presidents of Bolivia managed to accredit ministers to England, but as soon as it became evident that there was very little prospect of launching further loans, the envoy invariably found that the state of his private finances necessitated his departure from the court of St. James, for the poverty of the treasury of Bolivia is, apparently, so great, that the country is unable to maintain any paid representatives abroad. A misunderstanding seems to have occurred between the last English minister to Bolivia and one of the numerous presidents that have, during the past few years, successively usurped the powers of government,the president going so far as to send the minister his passport; since when, the English government has declined to accredit any one to the republic. As this happened some years ago, it might now be an assistance to a struggling country, if the recognition of European governments were afforded by the presence of ministers or consuls.
Politics in Bolivia are best described as purely personal, for the different political parties seem to spring up, change, and die out according as some ambitious leader comes to the front, and soon gives place to a newer man. During my stay in the republic I tried to discover whether there was any difference in the policy of the parties, but, to my perhaps limited vision, they all seemed embued with the same creed, namely, either to turn or keep your adversary out of place and power. One party, called “Rojos,” or “Reds,” may perhaps be deemed “Liberals,” whilst another, “Los Oligarcas,” may be supposed to be the “Conservatives”; but it was difficult to see that either of them had any other platform than the ruling maxim just mentioned. The political division was, however, at the time to which I refer, a threefold one—Quevedistas (Oligarchs), Corralistas (Liberal Oligarchs), and Ballivianistas (Rojos, or Radicals). The party once led by General Melgarejo, a former president, had then for its chief General Quintin Quevedo, and its supporters were therefore termed Quevedistas. They were decidedly in a minority, but their activity and good organization, aided by the unpopular course of action taken in the disputes with Chili by the party in power, enabled them to commence a revolutionwhich very nearly succeeded in placing General Quevedo at the head of the country. However, the old adage of “many a slip, etc.,” is very applicable to the fortunes of revolutionists; and the final result of Quevedo’s enterprise was that he had to seek a refuge in Puno, where, I regret to hear, he has since died. There are rumours that he was poisoned, and it is quite probable that this means of breaking up the party may have been resorted to, for by Quevedo’s death only could it have been entirely defeated, all his followers being greatly attached to him. He was universally looked up to as the future president, and his career seems to have been singularly free from the faults that have, with few exceptions, been recorded of the rulers of Bolivia.
GENERAL QUEVEDO.(From a photograph taken at Cochabamba.)
GENERAL QUEVEDO.(From a photograph taken at Cochabamba.)
GENERAL QUEVEDO.
(From a photograph taken at Cochabamba.)
The “Corralistas” were led by Dr. Casimiro Corral, minister of home government and foreign affairs under the presidency of General Morales, and seemed to me to embrace the most talented men of the country. This party was, however, singularly unfortunate, not being popular with the lower orders. Its leader had to expatriate himself to the town of Puno, which, together with Tacna, seems to be the refuge of disappointed Bolivian revolutionists. The government of the day did not, however, come out of the dispute with Dr. Corral with any greatéclat, as they gained a very bloodless victory over the gallant doctor and some of his adherents, who, to the number of about twenty, were holding a conference in the doctor’s house at La Paz on a certain evening in September, 1874. The meeting probably was a political one, but there was no immediate danger of a disturbance of the public peace from the fact that politics were being discussed. However, the government determined that the assembling of a caucus opposed to their ownrégimewas a movement that must at once be suppressedvi et armis, so they sent a general in command of a company of infantry, with a field-gun, which they loaded with grape shot and laid point blank on Dr. Corral’s front door. Then, after a flourish of bugles, the general summoned the doctor and his friends, mostly young men, to surrender, and upon their declining to open the said front door, the cannon was discharged, and a way made for the entrance of the soldiers. Then, whilst part of the troop fired from the street at theclosed windows, the remainder entered, firing upwards through the floor, so that the gallant doctor and his adherents were exposed to a curious style of cross-fire. Of course, resistance was out of the question, and Dr. Corral, with about half a dozen of his friends, after being well buffeted by the soldiery, and after witnessing the sack and destruction of the contents of the house, were marched off to the military prison, where they remained until they could raise sufficient funds to pay their jailers for conniving at their escape. Occurrences such as these are very frequent in Bolivia, notwithstanding that it is supposed to enjoy the free liberty of republican institutions.
The third party in Bolivia has been in power for about three years, and therefore has had a long term of office, although it has hard work to keep its place. The terms “Rojos,” or “Reds,” and “El partido Ballivian” are somewhat indiscriminately applied to this section of public opinion, which includes many independent members, as well as many of the supporters and co-political religionists of the lately deceased President Don Adolfo Ballivian. At the time I write of, it was nominally headed by Dr. Tomas Frias, who was apparently far too old to be at the head of a turbulent republic, and he was evidently only a puppet in the hands of his able minister of “all work,” Dr. Mariano Baptista, one of the cleverest men Bolivia has ever produced. However, Dr. Frias and his “alter ego,” Dr. Baptista, have lately been jockeyed out of the reins of government, and exiled from the country by an unprincipled adventurer, one General Hilarion Daza,whose advent to power must universally be allowed to be the greatest misfortune that could possibly have happened to the republic. He commenced life, I have been credibly informed, as a “mozo,” or waiting-boy, in the house of an Englishman in Sucre. He was then a tailor for a short time, after which he became fired with military ardour, and, joining the army, his audacity and unscrupulousness made him so useful to his first patron, General Melgarejo, that he passed rapidly from the appointment of “full private” to that of “general of division.” Arrived at this position, he took the earliest opportunity of deserting his benefactor, and selling himself and his battalion to General Morales, after whose death by the hand of his son-in-law, Daza became generalissimo of the army, and subsequently minister of war to President Frias. Being thus practically in command of the republic, he soon usurped the supreme power, for notwithstanding that at the commencement of the last Quevedistic movement he voluntarily took an oath to support the civil power of the state, exemplified in the person of Dr. Frias, he so manipulated matters that poor old Dr. Frias was driven into exile, and the quondam “mozo” installed himself at the head of the republic. Of all the adventurous careers recorded in the annals of South American republics, Daza’s, when written on history’s page, will perhaps stand out as the most glaring instance of successful perfidy and audacity. The secret of his success is, however, easily discovered, and proves how little suited are republican institutions to countries which, like Bolivia, containsuch a mixture of races that adventurers are never at a loss to find elements of discord ready to be set in action against the respectable portion of the community. Daza, throughout his career, made it his study to keep one battalion of soldiers, well clothed, fed, and paid; the result being, that whilst the soldiers talked loudly of their “country,” they really served their chief, who thus had unlimited power at his command. The finances of Bolivia have generally had to be balanced by means of forced loans or contributions; but whether the treasury had or had not the wherewithal to pay the salaries of the ministers and the employés of the various departments, it had, somehow or other, to find pay for the first battalion; and on the shoulders of this battalion, composed entirely of uneducated Indians, Daza has ridden to the presidential palace. Installed in power, he seems, however, to be endeavouring to conduct himself in somewhat more civilized fashion than when he was a simple general of division, for one of his principal supporters (an Englishman) tells me that he rules his countrymen excellently well, and that, as to his moral character, whereas he was formerly drunkevery evening, he now only allows himself to be thus overcome onthree nights in the week. Let us hope, therefore, that he will go on improving in respectability until, if he stays in office long enough, he becomes a model for South American presidents. But to what a pitch of degradation must the country have sunk, when a man of Daza’s antecedents and character is elevated to the seat once honoured by occupants such as the great liberator, Simon Bolivar, and his famous coadjutor and friend, General Sucre.
A great deal of the time of the Congress, which, I believe, only sits for two or three months in the year, is always taken up in considering new schemes, which speculators are continually bringing forward with the object of breaking up Bolivia’s isolation from the civilized world. Not that I would by this be understood as saying that I consider the republic to be outside the pale of civilization but, hemmed in, as she is, by the Andes and her neighbours, Peru and Chili, on the west, and by the impenetrable swamps and morasses of the yet unexplored Gran Chaco on the east, she may with truth be said to be so secluded as almost to form a small world of her own, and will continue to do so until the magnificent route of the Amazonian watershed is accepted as the natural inlet and outlet of trade. In the Congress of 1874 most of the schemes for which new concessions or renewal of old ones were being sought, were connected with the opening up of the eastern side of Bolivia. On the Pacific side, the only enterprises are connected with the silver mines and nitrate deposits of the desert of Atacama—a district so rich in minerals, that alone it should be sufficient to form the basis of the well-being of its fortunate owners, the Bolivian nation. From La Paz many efforts have been made to conduct the trade of Bolivia, by the lake of Titicaca and Puno, to the Peruvian seaboard, but up to the present time little has been done except the granting of concessions for projected railways, although a couple of steamers have with great trouble been carried up to and launched on the lake.
The applications for concessions on the easternside were four in number, all having for their object the construction of roads across the unknown territory which separates Bolivia from the river Paraguay. One scheme which met with a good deal of favour in Sucre, was started by a Señor Antonio Paradiz, who obtained the renewal of concessions granted so long ago as 1853, for the construction of a cart-road from Santa Cruz,viâChiquitos, to a port on the Paraguay, to be called Port Vargas, and to be situated about 180 miles below the Brazilian port of Curumbá. The projector of the enterprise estimated that with about £60,000 he could complete his track, establish a rural colony at the port, and place two steamers, a schooner, and sundry lighters upon the river. He secured the right to all duties that might be levied at the port, for a period of eight years. But the scheme has doubtless fallen through, for poor Señor Paradiz lost his life in his patriotic endeavour to open up a new trade-route for his country, being killed by savages in 1875, while ascending the river Paraguay, exploring for a good situation for his proposed Port Vargas.
The second scheme was propounded by Señor Miguel Suarez Arana, a Bolivian gentleman of good family. He proposed to construct two cart-roads, one from Santa Cruz to an undefined port on the Paraguay, and the other from a town called Lagunillas in the Cordillera to the same undefined port. Thisconcessionnaireasked for two-thirds of the duties to be created at the proposed port, for a period of forty years, together with tolls, premiums, and other special advantages; but nothing was done in the matter by the Congress, and doubtless the scheme remains on record as a project only.
The next scheme was one brought forward by one Captain Greenleaf Cilley, a retired commander of the United States navy, who had married in Buenos Ayres a lady descended from one Oliden, who received a concession of lands from Bolivia nearly fifty years ago, and whose name is still recorded on all the maps of the republic. These lands are high and well-suited for the cultivation of coffee or cocoa, and Captain Cilley hoped to be able to attract emigration to them, if he could obtain a concession for a railway and funds wherewith to construct it. He therefore asked for a concession to construct a railway from Santa Cruz to the territory of “Otuquis,” on the upper waters of the river of the same name, an affluent of the river Paraguay, and in which the Oliden lands are situated. The length of this proposed line would probably be not less than 300 miles, and Captain Cilley, who estimated the cost of construction at £8000 per mile, asked for a guarantee of seven per cent. on the expenditure, and for two leagues of land on either side of the line. But even Bolivia was not reckless enough to promise a guarantee on such an enormous capital, and this scheme has also gone to the region of cloudland.
The fourth and last scheme was “invented and arranged” by Dr. Reyes Cardona, some time minister to the court of St. James, and to the Brazilian court at Rio Janeiro. This enterprising statesman proposed a colossal scheme of railroads, commencing at Bahia Negra on the Paraguay, crossing the deserts of Izozo to Santa Cruz, and thence passing by Sucre on to La Paz. The doctorwrote pamphlet after pamphlet and paper after paper concerning the merits of this vague scheme, but the only settled idea that he seemed to have was to seize the funds belonging to the Madeira and Mamoré Railway. In what part of the grand scheme of internal railways for Bolivia the fund was to be spent did not appear to be of much consequence, so that it was handed over to the doctor, to be dealt with as his much-vaunted “honor, talento, y patriotismo” should direct.
These numerous and spasmodic efforts to obtain an outlet for trade in an eastern direction, made by Bolivians themselves, prove satisfactorily that the proper route for the commerce of the country is acknowledged to be one that shall lead to the Atlantic Ocean. Whether this route should be down the Paraguay or the Amazon is, in my opinion, sufficiently well determined in favour of the latter river, whose affluents spring from the richest slopes of the republic, and flow through its most fertile plains. Whatever opposition there is in Bolivia to the opening of an eastward trade route, is kept up by a small minority of interested parties, principally some of the leading merchants of La Paz and Tacna, who see in the success of the eastward route a break-up of the monopoly of trade that they have so long enjoyed, and a consequent probable diminution of their profits. Another influence retarding the development of the trade of Bolivia, is the jealousy that exists between the principal towns, and which, instead of finding vent in a healthy competition of trade, occupies itself with any sort of project calculated to hinder the legitimate progressof one town or province above its neighbours. The Paceños are, as a rule, very jealous of the growth of Cochabamba, and of the importance that will accrue to that town from the opening of an eastward route; and many of the deputies of the La Paz provinces have systematically voted against enterprises whose realization would improve the condition of the eastern provinces: but in the Congress of 1874 three deputies, Dr. Belisario Salinas of La Paz, and Señores Roman and Merisalde of the Yungas of La Paz, deserve to be mentioned as having emancipated themselves from these narrow ideas, preferring to assist in the general development and welfare of their country, rather than restrain their efforts to the benefit only of their own immediate provinces.
One of the most talented ministers that the republic ever possessed, Don Rafael Bustillo, writing to the Brazilian government in 1863, described in forcible language the position of his country. “Bolivia,” he wrote, “occupies a territory entirely central in the vast continent of South America. She has but five degrees of latitude on the Pacific Coast, and even this is disputed, in part, by the Republic of Chili. (This five degrees has been reduced to two and a half by the treaty of 1874, and one almost certain result of the war now being carried on by Bolivia and Peru against Chili, will be that Bolivia will lose all her seaboard; for if Chili prove victorious, she will certainly annex the whole of the desert of Atacama, whilst if Bolivia and Peru succeed in their ill-advised enterprise, Bolivia will probably have to cede the same much-coveted territoryto Peru in payment for her assistance.) Bolivia is seated upon the masses of silver of the double range of the Andes. She has a territory fertile beyond measure, where the treasures of the most opposite climates are grouped together. With all this, Bolivia perishes from consumption for want of methods of communication which may carry to the markets of the world her valuable productions, and stimulate her sons to labour and industry.” These words, which forcibly depict the condition and requirements of the republic, are almost household words in the country; yet, although they are well known and thoroughly appreciated, the interests of the monopolizing merchants of the Pacific seaboard have hitherto been powerful enough to preserve the isolation of Bolivia, which they have only allowed to be communicated with through their narrow toll-gates of Arica, Tacna, and La Paz. The only certain means of providing efficient modes of transport for the, at present, useless riches of the country, lie on its eastern side, for nature has declared that the route to Europe shall not be a western one; and the navigation of the Madeira and Amazon Rivers, when the railway of the rapids is completed, will offer a more speedy and economic transport than can be afforded by any scheme having the river Paraguay for its basis. In regard to time, the Madeira and Mamoré Railway can with ease despatch its freights from the port of San Antonio to Europe in twenty-eight days or possibly less, whilst the Paraguayan route from Bahia Negra to Europe will occupy at least forty. In reference to cost, the Madeira and Mamoré Railway offers to carry a ton of freight fromthe centres of Bolivia to the markets of Europe for £15, whilst the lowest estimate by the Paraguayan route was that of £26 per ton, proposed in 1858 for the navigation of the Vermejo.
Another reason for the present deplorable condition of the country may be found in the absolute non-existence of any financial talent, or even ordinary knowledge of national account-keeping amongst the ministers and officials in power of late years. This has been thoroughly exposed in the matter of the loan raised in London in 1872; and if the shortcomings of the officials of the finance department are not to be set down to want of knowledge, they must be charged to want of candour or straightforwardness. In the financial accounts for 1873 the debt appears as 8,500,000 Bolivian dollars, or £1,700,000, the correct nominal amount of the loan; and although no notice is taken of the operation of the sinking fund, which by the end of 1873 had paid off a first drawing of £34,000, there is in the estimated outgoings of the treasury a credit taken for the service of a loan of £2,000,000.
The national receipts at the time the country gained its independence amounted to 2,500,000 of hard dollars, and in 1873 were as nearly as possible of similar amount, being 2,566,034 Bolivian dollars, or say £513,207, showing clearly the state of stagnation in which the country has vegetated during its fifty years of independence. In the same year the minister of finance declared a required expenditure of 3,660,679 dollars, or say £732,135, thus showing a deficit of £218,928; and, nevertheless, the minister did not propose to Congress any plan for equalizingthe national accounts; whilst it is a fact that in the Congress of 1874 not one proposal, either financial or political, except the treaty with Chili, emanated from the ministry. In the ministerial statement of the national finances, or budget, for 1874 one sees at a glance that there is no effort made to equalize income and expenditure, for not much more than £20,000 per annum is got from the Bolivian people by any kind of direct taxation.
Customs’ rentals cannot be expected to increase until the completion of the Madeira and Mamoré Railway creates new entries on the eastern side of the republic, for Peru only can benefit by any growth of commerce on the western side, having stipulated with Bolivia that it shall only pay her £81,000 per annum out of the receipts of the port of Arica. It seems certain, therefore, that direct taxation must be resorted to, and as there is no individual poverty visible in the country, there is no reason why the government should not be able to show easily a fair balance-sheet, which should meet the current wants of the nation, and provide honourably for the service of the public debt.
It is not, perhaps, too much to say that the realization of the joint enterprises of the Madeira and Mamoré Railway, and the National Bolivian Navigation Company, will change the entire character, not only of the eastern provinces of Bolivia, but also of the republic itself; whilst, at the same time, the Brazilian provinces of Matto Grosso and the Amazons will be most materially benefited. It may, in the case of Bolivia, seem absurd to say that its mineral wealth can ever appreciably decrease; and,certainly, such an assertion must, to any one that has passed over the highly metalliferous districts of Potosí, Oruro, and the whole central plain of the country, appear entirely groundless; but the examples of California and Australia teach us, that though mineral discoveries are the first cause of the creation and settlement of new countries, it is the development of their agricultural and industrial resources that causes them to take rank amongst the nations of the world: and this it is that Colonel Church’s enterprises will do for Bolivia, for there can be no doubt but that their realization will place Bolivia in the foremost rank of the republics of South America. No scheme that has for its object the opening-up of the country on any other sides than its northern and eastern can effect this result; for there alone exist immense plains and tracts of country suitable for any kind of agriculture or cattle-rearing. On the western side, the barren and inaccessible heights of the Andes forbid any attempts at settling, while the southern and eastern territory of the Gran Chaco is a cheerless swamp, never capable of affording a home to other than the irreclaimable savage, or the wild animals of the fast-decreasing forests of the continent.
Few, perhaps, are the enterprises that can hope to create and unfold such vast industries as those found in the districts to be benefited by the opening of the Amazonian route to the interior of the continent; for as the traveller descends, in an eastward journey, from the barren summits of the Andean Mountains, he will find that the railway will prove the outlet, not only for the mineral riches ofBolivia, her wools, hides, and other animal products, the cinchona bark (cascarilla), and other drugs, dyes, and commercial values of her unexplored forests, but also for the agricultural riches that already exist in considerable scale on the descending plateaux of her eastern plains. At altitudes of 12,000 feet, barley and potatoes are grown; at 9000 to 6000, corn, potatoes, apples, pears, and all kinds of fruits; at 6000 to 2000, coffee, coca, cocoa, and plantains; and from 2000 to the plains, cocoa, plantains, sugar-cane, maize, mandioc, arrowroot, yams, tobacco, and other tropical products. The republic, therefore, in addition to the speculative allurements of mineral wealth, can hold forth substantial inducements to the breeder of stock, or the tiller of the soil; and there is no doubt that the character of the people will improve when, through facilities of communication, remunerative work is afforded them, for Bolivians, whether of Indian or Spanish extraction, are very industrious, differing greatly in this respect from the inhabitants of many other countries of South America.
Politically considered, the enterprise will be of vast benefit to Bolivia, for her population will find employment in the impetus given to commerce, and will consequently become less turbulent, as revolutions will decrease commensurately with the interest that each one will find in their increasing prosperity. A bond of unity will also be created for Bolivia, with her powerful neighbour Brazil, whereby she will be rendered more secure from the encroachments of the republics of the Pacific seaboard.
The results, financially considered, will be, that a trade, equal, if not superior, to that now carried on through the Peruvian towns of Tacna and Arica, will be created on the eastern side of the republic; and from the custom’s receipts of this trade, Bolivia would have far more than sufficient to keep up the service of, and rapidly pay off, both her internal and external debts. Taking the year 1873 as a guide, we find that the imports through the port of Arica amounted to £1,422,369, and the exports to £860,607. Of these figures, three-fourths of the imports, or £1,066,766, and £842,345 of the exports, fairly belong to Bolivia, making a total of £1,909,121 in value of Bolivian commerce that passes through Peru. The duties arising from this trade may reasonably be averaged at twenty per cent. of the gross value, so that Bolivia annually affords Peru a rental of more than £381,000, out of which she magnanimously grants Bolivia a subsidy of £81,000. That Bolivian commerce is not decreasing is proved by the fact that the exports of Arica for 1874 exceeded those of 1873 by nearly a million hard dollars, or about £200,000. These statistics sufficiently account for the opposition offered by the parties interested in the above trade to the opening-up of the Amazonian trade-route. (See Appendix, p. 400.)
Bolivia is generally supposed to have rather more than 2,750,000 inhabitants; the above figures give, therefore, an average trade of about 14s.per head per annum, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that a similar amount of trade will soon be carried over the Madeira and Mamoré Railway. The loanof 1872 demands an annual service for interest and sinking fund of £136,000, and the gradual payment of the other debts of the country would require about £120,000 more. This total requirement of £256,000 would, in a very few years, be provided by the custom’s duties collected on the eastern route, for the amount is not equal to three-fourths of the duties shown to be received by Peru from Bolivian commerce.
Bolivia would still have the Peruvian subsidy, the profits received from sale of the nitrates and guano of the desert of Atacama and islands near the Pacific coast. These sources of revenue, together with the departmental rentals, would more than suffice for the general government expenses and the improvement of her internal means of communication. It is not, therefore, too much to say that the realization of the Madeira and Mamoré Railway may be made the means of materially changing and improving the present deplorable financial and political situation of the republic. It is, however, hopeless to expect that the men in power should have sufficient foresight or courage to enable them to foster such an important and promising scheme of progress for their country. No, the policy of the so-calledstatesmenof Bolivia is the short-sighted one of self-interest, and because the realization of Colonel Church’s enterprises would not be attended by immediate pecuniary advantages to themselves, they have of late years placed every possible impediment in his way. Fortunately for the masses of the population, Colonel Church has proved himself to be of sterner and honester metalthan Bolivian statesmen are made of, and has refused bribes innumerable, offered him with the view of tempting him to abandon his enterprise, and leave the Bolivian people to the mercies of their gaolers of the Pacific seaboard; and so the country will, in spite of its leading men, probably receive the immense benefit of communication with Europe by the Amazon River within a reasonable time. I can only hope that Colonel Church may be spared to a long life, during which he may reap the due reward of his steadfastness of purpose and integrity of motives, by seeing the development of the country, which will then hail him as its best and truest friend since the days of the great liberator Simon Bolivar, who may be said to have given it independence or birth, while Colonel Church will have given it lungs, through which to breath the invigorating stimulus of intercourse with the civilization of Europe.
The labours of a Bolivian Congress generally last about sixty days, and for the rest of the year the president and his ministers reign supreme. The closing of the house is celebrated by a procession of the ministers, who, led by the president, and escorted by a body-guard of soldiers, go from the Casa del Gobierno to the Sala del Congreso, where they are received by the members, standing and uncovered. By the way, Bolivian deputies, though representatives of a land of liberty, are not allowed, as our members are, to wear their hats in the House, but have to leave them in the lobby. The president, arrayed in a gorgeous uniform of dark blue, embroidered heavily withgold lace, begirt with a tricoloured scarf round his waist, with a tricoloured plume in his cocked hat, gives the spectator a curious notion of republican simplicity. On every state occasion the president is immediately preceded by the national flag, which is, perhaps, the prettiest flag to be found (barring, of course, our own Union-Jack). It is composed of three colours, yellow, red, and green, arranged in three wide parallel bars; and I have heard it said, that the three colours were adopted to typify the green earth, and the rising and the setting sun, the founders of the republic wishing their Indian population to believe that their country included the whole of the world.