public service after having employed in it the whole of my past life; and now that the triumph has conferred rights so sublime upon all, shall I alone be deprived of that prerogative? No, the congress and the Colombian people are just; they will not seek to give me up to the ignominy of desertion. But a few days now remain to me: I have passed more than two thirds of my life; let me then be permitted to hope for an obscure death in the silent retirement of my paternal mansion. My sword and heart will nevertheless ever be Colombia's, and my last sigh will ascend to heaven for her happiness. "I implore from the congress and from the people the favour of simple citizenship. "God preserve your excellency, (Signed) "Most excellent sir, "SIMON BOLIVAR." (P.) Proclamation of Bolivar, dated 19th June, 1827. "Colombians! your enemies threaten the destruction of Colombia: it is my duty to save it. "I have now been fourteen years at your head, by the almost unanimous wish of the people. At every period of the glory and prosperity of the republic I have resigned the supreme command with the most perfect sincerity. I have desired nothing so much as to divest myself of irresponsible power; an instrument of tyranny which I detest even more than ignominy itself. But, ought I to abandon you in the moment of peril? Would it be the conduct of a soldier or a citizen? No, Colombians! I am resolved to confront every danger rather than anarchy should usurp the laws of liberty, or rebellion that of the constitution. "As a citizen, as liberator and president, my duty imposes upon me the glorious necessity of sacrificing myself for you. I march, then, to the southern confines of the republic, to expose my life and my fame, to free you from those perfidious men, who, after trampling on their most sacred duties, have raised the standard of treason to invade the departments which have proved themselves most faithful and most worthy of our protection. "Colombians! the national voice is suppressed by that modern prætorian band, which have taken upon them to dictate laws to the sovereign which they ought to obey. They have arrogated to themselves the supreme rights of the nation; they have violated every public principle; in a word, the troops, which were Colombians, the auxiliaries of Peru, have wished to establish in their country a novel and foreign government upon the spoils of the republic; and, in their outrages and insults, surpass even our ancient oppressors. "Colombians! I appeal to your glory and to your patriotism. United round that national flag, which has been borne in triumph from the mouth of the Orinoco to the summits of Potosi, continue your attachment to it, and the nation will yet preserve its liberty, and again repose, with full confidence, on the national will for the decision of its destinies. The 'grand convention' is the cry of Colombia, and of most urgent necessity to its welfare. The grand convention I shall without delay convoke, and in its hands I shall deposit the baton and the sword which were given to me by the republic; yes, which were confided to me by the people as constitutional president, as invested with supreme extraordinary authority in the state. We have obtained freedom, and glory, and laws, in spite of our enemies. That freedom, that glory, and those laws, we will preserve in spite of a monstrous anarchy. "BOLIVAR. (Signed) "Head-quarters, Caracas, 19th June, 1827." INDEX. A. Abadia, Don Pedro de, a Spanish merchant, ii. 144, 145. Abreu, Spanish commissioner, arrives in Peru, i. 300. Aguerro, Dr., Don Julian Segunda de, ii. 404. 413. Alarcon, Captain Don Juan, aide-de-camp to General Miller, ii. 202. Albano, Cardinal, ii. 396. Albuquerque, Duke of, i. 36. Alcazar, General, murdered, i. 228. Alcedo, governor of Corunna, i. 33. Aldana, Dr. Lopez, i. 298. 302. Aldao, Major, i. 282. 295. Aldunate, Lieutenant-Colonel, i. 293. 416; ii.371. Alomi, Corporal, assists Captain Brown to escape, i. 223, 283. Alvarez Condarco, Colonel, ii. 258. Alvarez, Royalist general, surrenders at Cuzco, ii. 230. Alvear, Don Carlos de, i. 76; takes Monte Video, 79; elected Althaus, Colonel, ii. 174; his inexhaustible humour, 178. 181; Amazons, river, source of the, ii. 139. Ameller, Royalist Colonel, afterwards General, i. 331; ii. 18. Americans, their enthusiastic loyalty, i. 31; their generosity, 33. Andenes or terraces, i. 219. Andrews, Captain Joseph, ii. 292; arrives at Potosi, 310. Aramburu, Captain, afterwards commandant, i. 324; is drowned, Araucanian Indians, their vindictive character, i. 228. Arches, triumphal, ii. 304. Arcos, Major, i. 171; his character, ibid., note. Arenales, Don Juan Antonio de, i. 78; takes Ica, 281; Arguelles, Don Andres, ii. 283. Aristizabal, Lieutenant, executed on a charge of conspiracy, ii. Armistice of Punchauca, i. 302. Armstrong, Reverend Mr., ii. 426. Artigas, i. 54.; biography of, 56; his character, 74. 80; his death, 82. Artillery, Buenos Ayrean, i. 173. Atrocities of the Spaniards, i. 41—51. Asagra, Captain, i. 324; ii. 371. Assassin, execution of an, ii. 36. Atacama, description of the desert of, ii. 124. Auchmuty, General Sir Samuel, i. 58. Ayacucho, battle of, ii. 197-200. Ayoma, battle of, i. 77. B. Balcarce, Don Antonio de, i. 67. 75; marches against and attacks Sanchez, i. 226; death of, 227, note. Ballejos, Major, ii. 285. Balls, at Lima, i. 402; at Potosi, ii. 290. Balsas, rafts made of logs of wood, description of, i. 220; balsas made of bull-hides, ii. 34; description of, 54. Banda Oriental, i. 82; ii. 409-417. Banditti, near Lima, i. 386. Barber Beaumont, Mr., ii. 414. Bardaxi, minister for foreign affairs at Madrid, ii. 373. 376. Barnard, Mr. James, ii. 113.254. |