Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil, from Spanish and Portuguese Domination by Earl of Dundonald Thomas Cochrane (speed reading book txt) 📖

and which are, in their consequences, ruinous, I shall, at present, only add, that had kings and princes but one man in their dominions who would, on all occasions, utter the naked truth, multifarious errors would be avoided, and the mischief to mankind would be infinitely less.

You will plainly perceive that I have no personal interests in these, or any other points, at variance with yours; but, on the contrary, if I were base and interested, I have now taken a decisive and irrevocable step to ruin my prospects; having no other security for such not being the consequence of my candour save my good opinion of your judgment and your heart.

Believe me, under all circumstances, your attached friend,

COCHRANE.

To this letter, on the 9th of August, General San Martin replied as follows:—

Lima, 9th August, 1821.

My Lord,

The best proof of friendship that can be given by you is the sincere announcement of your opinions as to the course I should follow in my new political character.

Assuredly you have not erred, when, under the title of Protector, you do not anticipate any change in my personal character. Happily, the alteration is only in a name, which, in my opinion, was required for the benefit of the country; and if, in the character in which you have known me, you have met with civility and frankness, it would be an injustice to deny me confidence, having always listened to you as an enlightened person, experienced in the world; especially as you do me justice in enabling me to make observations on the spirit of your last communication.

I am aware that good faith in one who presides over a nation, is the vital spirit of its prosperity; and as, in this respect, a singular current of success has called me temporarily to the supreme magistracy of this country, I should renounce the advantages acquired and betray my principles, if vanity or servile acquiescence in bad advice were to induce me to deviate from the social interests of Peru, and so expose it to the evils which in such case you dread.

I know, my Lord, that one cannot fly with waxen wings. I perceive the course I ought to pursue, and that, however great the advantages already gained, there are rocks which, without the aid of prudence and good faith, must be encountered.

By good fortune, I have not forgotten the maxim of religiously adhering to the word of a gentleman, which, as General, has been the pivot on which my anticipations have rested.

It now behoves me to explain my engagements towards the Chilian squadron, to which, it is very gratifying to declare that Peru, in part, owes its liberty; an acknowledgment which would have been made on the medals coined, if, in the hurry of business, I had been able to give my attention to the subject of the inscription that was presented to me as a model! You yourself have heard me eulogise its merits and services.

I have offered to the crews of the squadron of Chili twelve months' pay, as an acknowledgment of its services, and am employed in providing the means, and also in endeavouring to collect the reward of 50,000 dollars which you offered to the seamen who should capture the Esmeralda, and I am not only disposed to pay these sums, but to recompense valour displayed in the cause of the country.

But you know, my Lord, that the wages of the crews do not come under these circumstances, and that I—never having engaged to pay the amount—am not obliged to do so! That debt is due from Chili, whose government engaged the seamen. Although it may be just, in the state of its finances, to indemnify Chili in some degree for the expeditionary expenses, that will be, for me, an agreeable consideration; but in no degree will I acknowledge a right to claim arrears of pay!

If I could forget the services of the squadron, and the sacrifices of Chili, I should manifest ingratitude, which, neither as a public or private virtue will I ever forego; but it is as imprudent to lavish rewards, as to withhold them from the meritorious. I am engaged in finding means to realize measures as regards the squadron, which I intend to propose to the Supreme Government of Chili, and thus conciliate all interests.

   Your affectionate friend,
   JOSE DE SAN MARTIN.
   To Lord Cochrane, Vice-Admiral of Chili.

In this letter, San Martin attributes his usurpation to a "singular current of success;" omitting to state that he neither achieved one blow, nor devised one plan which led to it, whilst he had all along offered it every obstruction in his power. He declares that the arrogation of the fall of the Spaniards, attributed by the inscription on the medal to the army and himself, was a mistake, brought about by "his not being able, in the hurry of business, to give attention to the model presented to him;" whereas the inscription was his own writing, after days of deliberation and consultation with others, who advised him not to mention the squadron in the inscription.

In this letter he repudiates all connection with Chili, though he had sworn fidelity to the republic as its Captain General. He denies ever having engaged to pay the squadron their wages, though on no other condition had it put to sea from Valparaiso, and his own handwriting to this specific promise was accepted as the inducement. Though himself an officer of Chili, he treats Chili as a state with which he had nothing to do, whose debts he declares that he will not pay, as he had previously told me on the 4th of August; finally, he says that he will propose to Chili to pay its own seamen! As to his promises to give the men a twelvemonths' pay in acknowledgment of their services, this was neither intended nor given; whilst, as to the 50,000 dollars promised to the captors of the Esmeralda, which he is "endeavouring to collect," he had long before "collected" many times the amount from the old Spaniards—who had offered a similar reward for the capture of any vessels of the Chilian squadron—and kept it. Fortunately, his own letters prove these matters, which otherwise I should have hesitated to mention, unsupported by testimony so irrefutable.

General San Martin afterwards denied to the Chilian Government that he refused, on the 4th of August, to pay the squadron. Here is the same assertion, in his own handwriting, on the 9th! During the whole of this time the squadron was in a state of literal destitution; even the provisions necessary for its subsistence being withheld from it, though the Protector had abundant means of supplying them; but his object was to starve both officers and men into desertion—so as to accelerate the dismemberment of the squadron which I would not give up to his ambitious views.

The sound advice contained in my letter General San Martin never forgave—and he afterwards fell exactly as I had predicted—there was no merit in the prophecy, for similar causes lead to like effects. Adhering to my own duty, I felt that I was free from his command, and determined to follow no other course than to carry out, as far as lay in my power, the pledge of the Chilian Government to the Peruvian people.

Concealing for the present his resentment, and reflecting that the forts of Callao were still in the hands of the Spaniards, the Protector endeavoured to explain away the disagreeable nature of our interview on the 4th of August, by asserting, "that he only said, or meant to say, that it might be interesting to Chili to sell some of her vessels of war to Peru, because the latter wanted them for the protection of her coasts;" adding, that "the Government of Chili would at all times devote their squadron to the furtherance of the cause of Peru." He repeated, that the arrears of pay to the squadron should be liquidated, as well as the rewards which had been promised.

As none of these were forthcoming, the squadron began to shew symptoms of mutiny at the conduct of the Protector. On the 11th of August I wrote to him, apprising him of the increasing discontent of the seamen, again requesting payment. On this a decree was issued, ordering one-fifth of the customs receipts to be set aside for the joint pay of the army and navy, but as the fortress and port of Callao were in the hands of the Spaniards, these receipts were most insignificant, and the measure was rightly regarded by the squadron as a subterfuge.

To this communication the Protector replied, on the 13th of August—at the same time hinting that I might reconsider my refusal to accept the command of the contemplated Peruvian navy.

The subjoined is his letter:—

Lima, 13th of August, 1821. MY LORD,

In my official letter addressed to you on the disagreeable business of paying the squadron, which causes us so much uneasiness, I have told you that it is impossible to do as we wish. I have nothing to add, unless my previous declaration, that I shall never view with indifference any thing that interests you. I told you in Valparaiso, that "your lot should be equal to mine" and I believe myself to have proved that my intentions have not varied—nor can vary, because every day renders my actions more important.

No, my Lord, I do not view with indifference anything which concerns you, and I shall be deeply grieved, if you do not wait till I can onvince you of the truth. If, however, in despite of all this, you determine on the course, which, at our interview a few days ago, you proposed to take, it will be for me a difficulty from which I cannot extricate myself, but I hope that—conforming yourself to my wishes—you will conclude the work begun, on which our common lot depends.

Adieu, my Lord, I repeat that I am, with sincere esteem, your eternal friend,

JOSE DE SAN MARTIN.

The assertion, that he could not satisfy the seamen, was a subterfuge; he had abundance of money, derived from the wholesale spoliation of the Spaniards, to which indefensible course I had alluded in my letter of August 7th. He also hoped that "conforming to his wishes," I would accept the appointment of "First Admiral;" the consequence of which—together with the decree transferring the Chilian officers—without their consent—to the service of Peru, would have been to turn over to his Government the Chilian squadron.

CHAPTER VII. TAMPERING WITH CHILIAN OFFICERS—THE ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA—HIS EXPULSION—NEGOCIATION FOR SURRENDER OF THE FORTS—THIS COUNTERACTED—SAN MARTIN'S BOMBASTIC PROCLAMATIONS—HIS REFUSAL TO ENCOUNTER THE ENEMY—THE SPANIARDS RELIEVE CALLAO—DELUSIVE PROCLAMATION—THE UNBLUSHING FALSEHOOD—SPANIARDS CARRY OFF THE TREASURE—DISCONTENT OF THE SQUADRON.

Finding that I was indisposed to acknowledge his self-assumed authority, and still less to contribute to measures which would, in effect, have deprived Chili of the