Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil Volume I Part 15

Yet General San Martin, and others interested in a line of policy which in its prosecution was inimical to the true interests of Chili, afterwards charged these proceedings upon me as "acts of piracy."

That the Chilian Government was, however, well satisfied with all the steps taken for provisioning and maintaining the squadron, as well as with the seizure and disposal of the public money at Ancon, is evident from the following acknowledgment:--

Most Excellent Sir,

I have informed the Supreme Director of the note which you addressed to me on the 7th of October, accompanying the accounts of the monies supplied to the payment of the officers and seamen of the squadron, and to the other objects of the naval service; as well as the accounts of money and bars of silver returned at Ancon to their respective owners.

His Excellency approves of all that you have done in these matters and orders me in reply to convey his approbation, which I have the honour now to do.

Accept the a.s.surance of my high consideration,

(Signed) JOAQUIM DE ECHEVERRIA, Ministry of Marine, Santiago de Chili.

To LORD COCHRANE, Vice-Adm. & Comm.-in-Chief. Nov. 13, 1821.

On the same date, the following was received relative to the officers who had deserted from the squadron, for the purpose of entering the service of the Protector:--

Santiago de Chili, Nov. 13, 1821.

Most Excellent Sir,

His Excellency the Supreme Director has received with the greatest dissatisfaction a list of the naval officers who have deserted from the squadron. These will not fail to be noted in order to be tried by a court-martial, in case they should again tread the soil of Chili. It is fortunate that your Excellency has altered the private signals, lest Capt. Esmonde should divulge those which were in use.

(Signed) JOAQUIM DE ECHEVERRIA.

Vice-Adm. Lord Cochrane.

Immediately after my arrival, an intimation was forwarded to me by the Supreme Director of his wish to confer with me privately on the subject of my letter of May 2nd, in which had been pointed out the danger arising in Peru, from the tyranny exercised by the Protectoral Government.

Santiago, June 4th, 1822.

My Distinguished Friend Lord Cochrane,

I do not wish to delay a moment in expressing my satisfaction at your arrival, of which you have informed me in your letter of the 2nd inst. As in that letter you acquaint me that you will speedily be in this Capital, with a view to communicate matters which would be better conveyed in a verbal conference, shall anxiously await the day to express to you all the consideration with which I am

Your sincere friend,

BERNARDO O'HIGGINS.

Having as yet received no official acknowledgment of the accounts of the squadron, beyond the previously mentioned general expression of entire satisfaction on the part of the Government, I applied to the Minister of Marine for a more minute investigation into their contents, as from the charges made against me by San Martin, I was desirous that the most rigid inquiry should be inst.i.tuted forthwith, and indeed expressed my surprise--from the time which had elapsed since they were forwarded--that this had not been done. On the 14th of June, the Minister replied as follows:--

MOST EXCELLENT SIR,

The accounts of monies applied by your Excellency in the necessary requirements of the vessels of war under your command, which you conveyed to me in your two notes of the 25th of May last, have been pa.s.sed to the office of the Accountant-General, for the purpose indicated by your Excellency.

JOAQUIM DE ECHEVERRIA.

Knowing the dilatory habits of the departments of State, I did not deem this satisfactory, and being engaged in preparing a refutation of San Martin's charges, I again urged on the Minister to investigate the accounts without further delay, when, on the 19th of June, he acknowledged--in a letter too long for insertion--the specific items; at the same time declaring his "high consideration for the manner in which I had made the flag of Chili respected in the Pacific."

This was satisfactory, but it is perhaps necessary to a.s.sign a reason why so much importance is attached to a mere matter of routine, especially after the Government had declared its satisfaction with all my proceedings. The reason is this--that for all the services so warmly acknowledged, the Government of Chili restrained from conferring either upon myself or the squadron the slightest pecuniary recompense, even the prize-money due to the officers and seamen, part of which the ministry had appropriated. On pressing these claims year after year subsequent to my departure from Chili, I was informed _sixteen years afterwards!_ that my accounts required explanation! the reason for this unworthy proceeding being, that, as the claim could not be disputed, it might thus be evaded.

My refutation of San Martin's accusations was drawn up in the most minute manner, replying to every charge _seriatim_, and bringing to light a mult.i.tude of nefarious practices on the part of his Government, which had been previously kept back. Lest I might appear in the invidious light of an accuser, I was strongly dissuaded from its publication, as being unnecessary, the Chilian Government paying no attention whatever to his charges, but being afraid of embroiling themselves with Peru, the weakness of which they failed rightly to estimate.

Having, however, my own character to defend, I did not think proper to comply, and therefore forwarded my refutation to the Government, the Minister of Marine acknowledging its receipt, with an intimation that it had been deposited in the archives of the Republic.

As, from the Minister of Marine's reply, the doc.u.ment was evidently intended to remain there without further notice, I addressed the following letter to the Supreme Director:--

MOST EXCELLENT SIR,

As the game attempted to be played by the Government of Peru for the annihilation of the marine of Chili is now being put in practice in another form, conjointly with further attacks on my character, I have to request permission from the supreme authority to publish my correspondence with San Martin and his agents on these subjects; together with a copy of his accusation against me, with my reply thereto, in order that the public may no longer be deceived, and falsehood pa.s.s for truth.

I have the honour, &c.

COCHRANE.

To this the following reply was returned:--

Santiago, Oct. 1, 1822.

MOST EXCELLENT SIR,

Your Excellency is too well acquainted with political affairs not to understand the reasons which oppose the publication of the disagreeable occurrences which have taken place with the Protector at the termination of the Peruvian campaign. Were they made public, it would be opening a vast field of censure to the enemies of our cause, and also weakening the credit of the independent Governments, by shewing dissensions amongst themselves.

Already have we felt the inconveniences of the injurious impressions _made on the British Cabinet_ by the dissensions between your Excellency and Gen. San Martin; for they had no sooner been informed thereof, than the diplomatic negociations which had been established with our Envoy at that Court were paralysed; and had he not laboured to counteract the rumours, which had been exaggerated by distance, there is no doubt but that his influence in advocating the cause of South America would have most prejudicially failed.

His Excellency the Supreme Director feels confident that these reflections will have in your mind all the weight they merit; but if you still insist on the publication of your reply to Gen. San Martin, you may nevertheless avail yourself of the liberty of the press which prevails in Chili.

(Signed) JOAQUIM DE ECHEVERRIA.

It was "_the injurious impressions made on the British Cabinet,_" which made me chiefly desirous of replying to the Protector's charges; but being thus adjured not to sacrifice the interests of South America, and being, moreover, strenuously requested to let the matter drop, as being of no consequence to me in Chili, I reluctantly yielded, contenting myself with sending a copy of my reply to the Peruvian Government.

Further to a.s.sure me of the disbelief of the Chilian Government in the charges made, an additional vote of thanks was given me by the Senate, and inserted in the Gazette.

On my return to Valparaiso, I found a lamentable instance of the cruelty practised by the military tyrants of Peru, It has been mentioned that the old Spaniards were ostensibly permitted to quit Lima on surrender of half their property--a regulation of which many availed themselves rather than submit to the caprices of the Protectoral Government. In place of the security which they thus purchased for the remainder of their property, they were seized and stripped on their way to Callao of the whole that remained, thrust on board the prison s.h.i.+p, and finally sent, in a state of complete dest.i.tution of the necessaries of life, to be added to the Spanish prisoners in Chili. The _Milagro_ had arrived in Valparaiso full of these miserable people, many of whom were shortly before amongst the most respectable inhabitants of Lima; and, to add to the bitterness of their treatment, they were accompanied to Chili by the agents of the Protector, Paroissien and Garcia del Rio, with his charges against me, no doubt for the further purpose of again tampering with the officers of the squadron. I did all in my power to interfere on the part of the unhappy prisoners, but in vain; they were at length transferred to the hospital of San Juan de Dios, where they were confined with the common felons, and would have been starved but for the English inhabitants of Valparaiso, who raised a subscription on their behalf, and appointed one of their body to see their daily food distributed.

They were afterwards transferred to Santiago. The cruelty practised towards these prisoners in Peru, is of itself a reason why their tyrants did not venture to encounter the Spanish General Cantarac. Cruel people are invariably cowards.

On my arrival at Santiago, I found the Supreme Director on the point of resigning his high office from the opposition he had to encounter by adhering to a ministry which in one way or other was constantly bringing his Government into discredit, and from being supposed to favour the designs of General San Martin, though to this I attached no credit, believing that his high sense of principle led him to take upon himself the obnoxious acts of his Ministers, who were partisans of the Protector. The dissatisfaction increasing, the Supreme Director at length tendered his resignation to the Convention, who, being unprepared for this step, insisted on reinstating him in the supreme executive authority.

Being indisposed to mingle in the conflicting state of parties which distracted Chili after my return, and being in need of relaxation after the two years and a-half of hara.s.sing anxiety which I had encountered, I requested permission of the Government to retire to my estate at Quintero, intending also to visit the estate which had been conferred upon me at Rio Clara as an acknowledgment of services rendered at Valdivia; my object being to bring it into a state of cultivation, which might give an impetus to the low condition of agriculture in Chili.

At this juncture, the _Rising Star_, the steamer which was spoken of as having been left behind in England, arrived in Valparaiso, too late, however, to take any part in the operations which were now brought to a close by the surrender of the Spanish navy. This delay had been caused by want of funds to complete her equipment, which could not even now have been accomplished, had not large means been furnished to the Chilian agent in London, by my brother, the Hon. Major Cochrane, who, to this day, has not been reimbursed a s.h.i.+lling of the outlay advanced on the faith of the accredited Chilian Envoy! Though the _Rising Star_ was now of little use as regarded naval operations, she was the first steamer which had entered the Pacific, and might, had she not been repudiated by the Government, have formed the nucleus of a force which would have prevented an infinity of disasters which shortly after my departure from Chili befel the cause of independence, as will presently be seen.

The political fruits of our successes in Chili and Peru now began to manifest themselves in the recognition of the South American Republics by the United States, so that Chili had a.s.sumed the rank of a recognised member of the family of nations.

I took with me as a guest to Quintero, my former prisoner, Colonel Fausto del Hoyo, the Commandant at Valdivia on our reduction of that fortress. Previous to my departure for Peru, I had obtained from the Government a promise for his generous treatment, but no sooner had the squadron sailed, than he was thrust into prison, without fire, light, or books, and in this miserable condition he had remained till our return.

As he received the promise of generous treatment from me, I insisted on and obtained his liberation, and he was now on parole. By paying him every attention, I hoped to inculcate that national greatness does not include cruelty to prisoners of war.

No sooner had I arrived at Quintero, than I zealously entered on my improvements, having now received from England a variety of agricultural implements, such as ploughs, harrows, spades, &c, all of which were new to Chili; also European agricultural seeds, such as carrots, turnips, &c, which, previous to their introduction by me were unknown in the country.

But I was not long permitted to enjoy the "_otium_" marked out for myself. Letter after letter came from the squadron, complaining that, like the Spanish prisoners, they too were in a state of dest.i.tution, without pay, clothes, or provisions. Starting again for Valparaiso, I found their complaints to be more than realized, upon which I addressed to the Minister of Marine the following letter:--

MOST EXCELLENT SIR,