PAPERS OF l\IIRABEAU BuoNAPARTE LAMAR 487 lous consciencious agents. It was too unjust in its principles and too mercinary in its ends.- What was the object of Spain in extending her dominion over the Americas? Was it the good of the people- the only legitimate end of all government? Was it to improve their condition-elevate them to the rank of other nations-and to make them great and prosperous as herself ? No one will assert this. On the contrary, we have just seen that all her enegies were <lirected to the very opposite purpose, of keeping the inhabitants in a state of igno- rance, servility and degradation, in order that she might snatch, with insatiate rapacity, the products of their extorted labor.- No good man could lend himself to such a purpose. Who that possessed one par- ticle of humanity, piety or justice, could have consented to serve as an instrument to impoverish by taxation-shut out from the lights of knowledge-exclude from social equality, and in every way to crush the independent spirit of a million of people who sprang from his own race-spoke the same language, and professed the same religion, for the purpose merely of ministering to a tyrant's unhallowed lust of gold and dominion. Yet all this was necessary to the ends of the Crown; for without it, Spain would have lost her power over the Americas, and the unbounded wealth of their mountains would have found its way into other nations instead of the Peninsula. Hence the necessity of employing such miserable miscreants, both civi] and acclesiastical, who were willing to misguide and plunder the people to any extent for the benefit of the Crown, so long as they were allowed a due share of the spoils. The price of their services was the toleration of their private and individual rapacities. The same privilege of oppressing and plundering had to be extended to all the European Spaniards in the Colonies, whether in or out of Office; for it was through them, that the Sovereign was able to mentairi his authority in the country; and in order to make sure of their fidelity and loyalty, it was necessary to have their interest identified with the geJJeral system, and to keep their prosperity antagonistic to that of the Creoles. All, therefore, felt that they were privileged to gather sppils wherever found; and that to prey upon the people and peculate upon the government, involved no immorality. or crime These feelings gave rise to a universal corruption, which pervaded the whole body politic; and was practised to an incredible extent by every officer of govern- ment-from the Sovereign himself, to his humblest subaltern. Not satisfied with the enormous sums which were continually flowing into his coffers from exhaustless fountains, the King monopolised the traffic in tobacco and quicksilver, and speculated in the Pope's Bulls. His regal representatives, the Viceroys, animated by the spirit of their royal master, augmented their own treasures by the sale of exclusive privileges, nominations to office, and grants for the introduction of prohibited goods; while innumerable swarms of army and revenue officers, defrauded the crown of a goodly portion of the gathered trib- utes of the people. Under such a state of things, what value can we attach to those apologies which are intended to serene the Spanish Monarchs from the odium of those transactions which darken the pages of their Colonial history? These very corruptions and oppressions were ihe main pillars of their power; without which the whole Colonial Policy would have tumbled into ruins.-
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