the Colombian Territory, there to unfurl the Peruvian Banner, and to instigate the inhabitants to insurrection. It has permitted the General of the same Army, and the Prefect of the Department of "La Libertad” to issue threatening Proclamations, in which the President of this Republick is scandalously abused and insulted; and it has inserted, in its Official Journals, malicious articles against Colombia and its Government; it has, in short, determined upon hostilities, and actually commenced War, without any regard to the Law of Nations, and whilst Negotiations with its Envoy were still pending, of the result of which it must be ignorant.

War has, therefore, become inevitable between Colombia and Peru, and the Party that has provoked it will be responsible for its consequences. The Government of Colombia has not sought it, and would have wished never to have been placed under the necessity of commencing it; but it had no alternative. Peru is already attempting to invade this Country, as it has invaded Bolivia; the Blockade of its Ports is resolved upon, and an attempt is made to induce insurrection in the Auxiliary Division which still remains in Bolivia. Shall the Govern

ment of Colombia be indifferent to these evils, and allow the intended conquest to be effected? The impartial World will decide whether its moderation and forbearance should be carried to that extreme.

The Government of Colombia has no cause of complaint against the People of Peru; it is not ignorant of their sentiments, and of the gratitude with which they are animated towards this Country. The War is not, therefore, against them, but against their Government, which is the sole cause of it, and of all the outrages, insults, and injuries which Colombia has suffered. May Heaven direct that upon that Government and its Agents, alone, the calamities which must follow, may be visited. May it also direct, that the War may soon terminate, and that that Government may be induced to recognize justice, and to give the necessary satisfaction; leaving its Neighbours in the enjoyment of peace, and giving them guarantees for its future friendship and good faith!

The Government of Colombia invokes the testimony of the other American States in proof of its pacific disposition, and of its desire that they should assist it in cementing the ties between them all, by the strongest bonds of fraternity and alliance. To this end it promoted the American Confederation, which, if it existed, might this day have averted the extremity to which the disputes between Colombia and Peru have led. It would act as Umpire and Mediator, and its mediation would be efficacious; but the genius of evil has rendered abortive the efforts to give effect to the Confederation; and the Government of Peru has obstinately refused to become a party to it, although bound thereto by existing Treaties. It has adopted a policy of its own, in order to offend other States with impunity, and has looked with horror towards an impartial Assembly that would have condemned its conduct.

The Government of Colombia enters on this War against its will; it does not desire a victory obtained with American blood; it will avoid Hostilities as long as possible, and will always be ready to listen to such proposals of Peace, as may be consistent with the honour and credit of the Nation over which it presides.

DECREE for the Provisional Government of Colombia.27th August, 1828. (Translation.)

SIMON BOLIVAR, LIBERATOR PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLICK OF COLOMBIA, &c.

CONSIDERING that, from the beginning of the Year 1826, a strong desire has been expressed for a reformation in our Political Institutions, a desire so universally, and, in all cases, so earnestly manifested throughout the Republick, as to have induced the Congress of 1827 to convoke the Grand Convention for the 2d of March in the present Year; thereby anticipating the period appointed for its convocation, by Article CXCI of the Constitution of the Year 11, (1821):

That, as the Convention was convoked for the express purpose of effecting the Reforms so much desired, there was reason to expect the restoration of the national tranquillity:

That, the Convention being accordingly assembled at Ocaña, on the 9th day of April of the present Year, did solemnly and unanimously declare, the existence of an urgent necessity for reforming the Constitution:

That this solemn declaration of the National Representatives, convoked and assembled for the purpose of considering, in the first instance, whether such necessity and urgency existed, fully justified the universal cry for a reformation, and confirmed, in consequence, the unpopularity of the said Constitution:

That the Convention could not carry into effect the reformation which it had itself declared to be necessary and urgent; but was forced to its own dissolution, in consequence of the want of unanimity amongst its Members on points of the most grave and paramount importance:

That the People, thus circumstanced, exercising their inherent and undoubted right to free themselves from the evils of anarchy, and, in the most adviseable way, to provide for their present security and future prosperity, have invested me with the Supreme Authority, in order that the union of the State may be consolidated, internal Peace restored, and the necessary Reforms effected:

That patriotism forbids me to abandon my Country, amidst the imminent dangers which threaten it;-that, as Magistrate, Citizen, and Soldier, my duty alike commands me to save it :

That, lastly, the National voice has been found unanimous, in all the Provinces of which the Acts have hitherto reached this Capital,these Provinces constituting the great majority of the Nation :

After a lengthened and mature deliberation, I have resolved to assume, and from this day forward I do accordingly assume, the Supreme Power of the Republick, which I shall exercise under the Title of Liberator President,- —a Title bestowed upon me by the Laws and suffrages of the People; and I, therefore, issue the following

DECREE OF ORGANIZATION.

TITLE I.-Supreme Power.

ART. I. To the Supreme Chief of the State it belongs;

1. To establish and maintain order and tranquillity within, as well as to defend the State against every attack from without:

2. To command the Forces by Sea and Land:

3. To direct Diplomatick Negotiations, to declare War, to conclude Treaties of Peace and Amity, of Alliance or Neutrality, of Commerce, and all others of whatsoever nature, with Foreign Governments:

4. To nominate to all Employments under the Republick, and to remove or relieve the Employés as he may deem it expedient:

5. To issue the necessary Decrees and Regulations of whatever kind, and to change, reform, or abrogate established Laws:

6. To see that all Decrees and Regulations, as well as Laws that are to continue in force, be punctually carried into execution, in all parts of the Republick:

7. To watch over the collection, application, and due Returns of the National Finances :

8. To cause justice to be promptly and impartially administered by the Tribunals and Courts of Law, and to enforce the due execution of their Decrees:

9. To confirm or modify the Sentences of the Councils of War and other Military Tribunals, in Criminal Causes instituted against Officers of the National Army and Navy:

10. To commute Capital Punishments, with the concurrence, however, of the Council of State established by this Decree, and at the instance of the Tribunals which shall have either decreed or heard them previously:

11. To grant Amnesties and Pardons, whether general or particular, and to mitigate punishments when required by weighty motives of publick expediency, but always with the concurrence of the Council of State:

12. To issue Letters of Marque and of Reprisal:

13. To exercise the powers appertaining to the Chief of the general Administration of the Republick, in all its branches,-as the Person invested with the Supreme Power of the State :

14. To preside over the Council of State, whenever he sees fit. II. In the exercise of the Executive Power, he shall be assisted by the knowledge and opinion of a Council of Ministers.

TITLE II.-Ministry of State, and Council of Ministers.

III. The Council of Ministers is composed of a President, and of the Ministers, Secretaries of State.

IV. The Ministry of State is divided into the 6 following Departments: viz.

Interior Government; Justice; War; Marine; Finance; and Foreign Affairs.

A separate Decree will organise the Ministry and its Departments, and will assign to them their respective functions. The Liberator President may charge one Minister with the business of two or more Departments.

V. Each Minister is the Chief of his respective Department, and the necessary organ for communicating the Orders which emanate from the Supreme Power. No Order issued through another channel nor any Decree which is not authorised by the proper Minister, is to be carried into execution by any Functionary, Tribunal, or private Individual.

VI. The Ministers, Secretaries of State, shall be held responsible, whenever they may fail in the exact fulfilment of their duties, and, for such failure, they shall be tried in conformity with a Special Decree to be promulgated on the subject.

VII. In the event of the sickness, absence, or decease, of the President of the State, the President of the Council of Ministers shall take charge of the Government of the Republick, and his first Act, in such case, shall be the convoking of the National Representation, to assemble within a term not exceeding 150 days.

TITLE III.-Council of State.

VIII. The Council of State is composed of the President of the Council of Ministers, of the Ministers Secretaries of State, and of one Councillor, at least, for each of the Departments of the Republick.

IX. When the Liberator does not preside in the Council of State, the President of the Council of Ministers will fill the Chair.

X. To the Council of State it belongs,

1. To draw up all Decrees and Regulations which are to be issued by the Chief of the State, whether emanating from its own authority, or that of the respective Ministers, or in virtue of Orders communicated to it a special Regulation, which the Council shall frame for its own guidance, subject, however, to the approbation of the Government, will determine the mode of procedure and its peculiar administration.

2. To advise the Government in the event of a Declaration of War the discussion of Preliminaries of Peace, and the Ratification of Treaties with other Nations, in the cases mentioned in § 9, 10, and 11 of Title I. Article I., of this Decree, and on all other occasions when its advice may be required.

3. To point out Persons of merit for the Prefectures, and Governments of Provinces; for Judges of the High Court of Justice, the Courts of Appeal, and other Courts and Tribunals; for Archbishopricks, Bishopricks, Dignitaries, Canonries, Prebendaries, and Minor Orders of the Cathedrals and Metropolitan Churches; and for Heads of the chief Offices in the Department of Finance.

TITLE IV.-Organization and Administration of the Territory of the Republick.

XI. The Territory of the Republick shall, for its better administration, be divided into Prefectures, of which the Boundaries will be defined in concurrence with the Council of State on its first assembling.

XII. The Head of each Prefecture shall be called a Prefect.

XIII. The Prefects are the superior Political Heads of their respective Districts, and, as such, the natural and immediate Agents of the Chief of the State: their functions and duties are the same as those which the Laws assign to the Intendants.

XIV. The Departmental Intendancies are suppressed: each Province will be administered by a Governor, whose functions and duties are detailed in the Laws: the classification of these functions will be regulated by a Special Decree.

TITLE V.-Administration of Justice.

XV. Justice shall be administered in the Name of the Republick, and with the authority of the Law, by a High Court, by Courts of Appeal, and Tribunals of first instance, by Tribunals of Commerce, by Courts of Admiralty, and Military Tribunals.

XVI. One of the first duties of the Council of State will be to inspect the Decrees, relating to the organization of the Tribunals and Courts of Justice, as well as to discuss the propriety of establishing Justices of the Peace, (Jueces de Hecho) Tribunals of Correctional Police, and the organization of the Publick Ministry.

TITLE VI.-General Provisions.

XVII. All Colombians are equal in the eye of the Law, and they are equally admissible to all Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Military Offices.

XVIII. Individual liberty shall be equally guaranteed to all, and no one shall be apprehended for ordinary Offences, except in the cases determined by the Laws, or on summary cognizance of the fact, pre