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Untitled Article
The only excuse for the c Christian' warriors is , that the Indians would serve them precisely in the same way if they could . It is lex talionis by anticipation . But how a change can be brought about involving * a different order of things it is difficult to pronounce . Even in Northern America , the humane laws made by the
government for the protection of the Indians fail to produce the wished effect of creating harmony between white men and red men . If this be the case amongst people who recognise the principles of justice as their rule of action in all public documents , even though individuals amongst them may be deficient in the practice , what can we expect from people who have inherited nothing from their Spanish rulers but the vices connected with the practice of arbitrary power , and
have not yet had time enough to allow virtues of their own , or their own by imitation , to take root amongst them . The name of 4 Don Estanislao Lopez , Governor of Santa Fe , ' sounds very awful in English ears , but the sight of the man and the knowledge of his actions , would remove the awe and leave only disgust in its place . One anecdote will suffice : Santa Fe , be it premised , is an enormous province , principally consisting * of grassy plains and sandy woods , partially intersected with rivers and brackish streams . Its principal produce is horses and some few black cattle , and one of the most profitable employments of the governor and his myrmidons , is rescuing stolen cattle from the Indians , just as British men of war used to
prefer retaking merchant vessels to the prevention of their capture , as a more profitable speculation . Another profitable matter to Don Estanislao and his people , is the capture of Indian women and children to sell for slaves amongst the whites ; a matter which is exceedingly convenient , as the slavery of blacks is by law prohibited . All that
can be said in palliation of the disgusting practice is , that in their state of slavery , after the massacre of their male protectors , they are usually treated by their masters and mistresses with humanity and consideration . I remember a mechanic in Buenos Ayres who had three Indian boys from fourteen to seventeen years of age , one of whom was the son of a Cacique . He caused them to undergo the
ceremonies of the Romish Church under the names of Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob . One he made a blacksmith , another a carpenter , and the third an upholsterer . They were not very skilful , but they seemed content . The Cacique who would , occasionally , earn a real by taking charge of my horse , frequently told me that he had but one cause of disquiet , viz that he wanted to go back to his country to bring- away a favourite dog which had been left with his tribe , and then he should be quite happy . I know not whether he was sincere
in this , but assuredly I , myself , should have preferred the wild life of privation amongst the red men to the degraded position he held amongst the whites . But to return to Don Estanislao . On one occasion the courier who carried the post-bag between Buenos Ayres and Chile was stopped and murdered within the province of Santa Fe . Don Estanislao was considerably annoyed at this , not that he cared much abviut a simple murder and robbery considered abstractedly , but the matter in question was an impeachment of his authority , and likely to do injury to his revenues in a ccmmercial point of view . Having made several ineffectual attempts to find out
Untitled Article
856 Notes on the Newspapers .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1833, page 856, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2628/page/52/
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