party at length grew so desperate, that in June colonel Raoul, who had acted a prominent part in all the troubles, deserted his party, and submitted to Arce. In him, Salvador lost one of the few mili. tary men upon whom she could rely. His desertion was probably occa. sioned by the complete anarchy which reigned among his former associates, who held out but a short time longer against the na. tional troops. When the government obtained possession of St. Salvador, the rebellion might be considered as completely quelled. Some of the leaders of the revolt were shot, and others pardoned on various conditions, according to particular circumstances. And thus, by the salutary union of clemency and rigor, the civil war was wholly terminated by the end of August; and tranquillity restored, at least for a season, to this distracted country.

It is worthy of note, in concluding our account of these unfortunate disturbances, that foreigners appear to have been most active in exciting the revolt, and hurrying the state of Salvador into the first acts of hostility. Further intelligence will better develope the character of the war, and enable us better to appreciate the character of the opposite parties. The inhabitants of Salvador uniformly alleged, that their sole inducement for taking up arms, was their apprehensions of

the designs of Arce and his friends, whom they identified with the servile party, the old Spanish interest, and the clergy. There surely could be no well grounded fears of the restoration of the Spanish authority itself. Whether the president entertained the design of subverting the federal government, and substituting a central one in its place, must remain for time to show. Well informed persons from Guatemala have affirmed, at any rate, that the defeated Salvadoreños, instead of being criminals and rebels, were, in fact, genuine patriots and republicans, and the friends of the constitution. Their opposition to Iturbide, when he extended his usurped authority to Guatemala, and their being the foremost to organize a republican state government, would seem to countenance such a belief.

It is plain, also, that Arce's decree for convoking an extraordinary congress, issued at the very time when the constitutional congress was in session, and was deciding the means to assemble a regular quorum, was not such a measure as the chief magistrate of a well ordered republican government would have proposed, and endeavoured to enforce, against the protest of the constitutional congress, and of the supreme court. An English newspaper, published in Honduras, whose editor warmly advocated the cause of Arce, and the party of the general govern

ment, states his belief, that the most respectable, and the most nu. merous portion of the people of Central America, would have preferred a limited monarchy to the existing republican institutions. We cannot credit this representation; and at any rate, if it be true, and if the views of Arce were opposed to freedom, the patriotic party should have met their opponents in the legislature, instead of in the field; and in a peaceful and temperate manner, shown wherein their liber. ties were invaded, and their rights infringed. And if the Salvadoreños, were truly the friends of liberty,they may impute to their own indiscreet zeal, which included their precipitate appeal to arms, and hurried them into a civil war, the ascendancy of the opposite party. But we have no doubt, that the disturbances are to be ascribed to the extreme ignorance of the people, their vague ideas of liberty, and igno. rance of the forms of a free govern. ment; and the hostility of the castes against the white population, who hold the reins of government, ra. ther than to any criminal designs on the part of president Arce.

The project of an oceanic canal through the lake of Nicaragua seems to have been relinquished, at least for the present; from causes inde. pendent of the political troubles in Central America. An attempt was made by a company of merchants of New-York, to obtain a contract

for this canal; and Mr. Edmund Blunt, of that city, went out in 1825, to survey a route for, and to ascertain the practicability of a canal. The jealousy of the public authorities prevented him from commencing his surveys, until the rainy season rendered it unsafe to explore the country. Notwithstanding those difficulties, the examination of a route was undertaken and completed, excepting about 4 miles, when he was attacked by the fever of the country, and compelled to relinquish the survey. Enough, however, was obtained, to prove the feasibility of effecting a water communication between the two oceans; but on account of the extravagant terms offered by colonel De Beneski, and the unsettled state of the country, the project was given up.

This contract was made in June, 1826,between the government of the country, and colonel De Beneski, acting in behalf of Mr. Palmer, of New-York; and ratified by the congress. But it encountered considerable opposition, even in Central America, where it was justly objected, that the contract was altogether premature. No surveys had been made, on the part of colonel De Beneski, or of the government, of the river St. Juan, the lake, or of the lands intervening between that and the ocean; all which lay in the proposed line of water communication across the isthmus. Nor in fact was any accurate knowledge

of the country possessed by them. Before the contract could be made upon any well founded calculations, all this, and much more, should have been ascertained, in order to judge, whether the construction of the canal was practicable, and its cost. The singular inexpediency of placing such a canal in the hands of foreigners, however friend. ly they, or their nation, might be, was very strongly urged. Still the contract was ratified, but in such terms, as amounted to a virtual rejection of it.

Proposals were also made by Messrs. Barclay, of London, as well as by Mr. Palmer, of New-York. The first stipulated for the exclusive privilege of navigating the canal with steam-boats, for thirty years; for the possession of all the tolls, until the capital invested should be reimbursed; and of one half of them for fifteen years afterwards. Add to this, the capital in vested was to be assumed by the nation as a debt, and paid to the

contractors by the government of Central America, unless the profits of the canal should suffice to reimburse the undertakers. It is evident, that the safety of this contract would depend, in a great measure, upon the stability and solvency of the government. The terms of the contract, as concluded with Mr. Palmer's agent, were vastly less favourable to him. He was to have a privilege for steam-boats for only twenty years; and half the tolls for but seven years. The government assumed no responsibility for the expenses of the works. On the contrary, the contracting company was to advance two hundred thousand dollars immediately for fortifications; and to be subject to further advances, without limitation, trusting for repayment solely to the expectation of future profit. It became, of course, impossible to obtain subscribers to the stock on these conditions; and the contract was not performed, as might have been expected.

on the second day of January, and on the same day the functions of the president and vice president would, in the regular course of things have ceased. But the peculiar circumstances of the nation at that time, prevented the assembling of the legislative body until May. In order, therefore, to preserve the government from absolute disorganization and anarchy, or from some equally deplorable alternative, it was necessary that the existing executive authorities should assume to retain the direction of the government. In the exercise of his extraordinary functions under the constitution, Bolivar had therefore suspended the law, which would have vacated the government at the ordinary period. The vice president, Santander, felt that, amid the perplexing difficulties of the times, he ought not to oppose the dispositions of Bolivar, and thus increase the public disorders. It was considered, also, that his continuance in office, although not qualified anew according to law, was the least illegal course that could be pursued in the actual crisis.

The message of the vice president, and the annual expositions of the several heads of departments, were prepared, for the purpose of being presented to the legislative body at the usual time, although they could not be presented, in fact, until May. These docu

ments are drawn up with more than common care; and enter very fully into the condition of public affairs in Colombia. Before proceeding to narrate the events of the year, we think it well to premise a general account of the state of things at the close of 1826, collected from a source so entirely authentic, as these important statepapers.

Notwithstanding the calamitous effects which the insurrection of Paez had upon the internal condition of Colombia, happily it did not immediately prejudice any friendly relations which previously existed, between the republic and foreign powers. Those governments, which, from their similarity of condition and origin, were the natural allies of Colombia, such as Mexico, and the other Spanish American states, not only maintained towards her the same amicable feelings; but some of them entered into still more intimate union with her, at the congress of Panama. Representatives from Central America, Peru, the Mexican states, and Colombia, assembled there in June, 1826; and although their session lasted but a few days, yet, by assiduously devoting their time to the great objects of the meeting, they completed a treaty of perpetual union, league, and confederation; and several subsidiary conventions, of which the particulars are given by us in another place. Friendly