CHAPTER XIII.

EVENTS SUCCEEDING THE ELECTION.

REVOLUTIONARY SYMPTOMS.—PROGRESS OF THE DISAFFECTION.-
THE DISAFFECTION.-CONGRESS

GIVES THE PRESIDENT EXTRAORDINARY

POWERS.—REVOLT AT COQUIMBO AND CONCEPCION.—INTERFERENCE OF GREAT BRITAIN.—REPRISALS BY THE BRITISH, AND THEIR TREATY WITH THE INSURGENTS.-DEPARTURE OF GEN, BULNES FROM THE CAPITAL TO COMMAND ARMY OF THE SOUTH -REVOLTS AT SAN FELIPE AND SAN BERNARDO.-BATTLE OF PETORCA AND DEFEAT OF THE INSURGENTS.SECOND INTERFERENCE OF THE BRITISH.-REVOLTS AT VALPARAISO AND CHAÑARCILLO.-STATE OF AFFAIRS AT SANTIAGO IN OCTOBER.-BANISHMENT OF LADIES. —THE ARMIES NEAR THE ÑUBLE.-MASSACRE OF ZUÑIGA AND HIS COMMAND BY THE ARAUCANIANS.-CONTEST AT LOS GUINDOS, NOVEMBER 19TH.-REPORT FROM GEN. BULNES.-LETTERS BETWEEN THE COMMANDERS-IN-CHIEF.—GEN. CRUZ CLAIMS THE VICTORY.-MONTONEROS.-BULNES IS OBLIGED TO RECROSS THE ÑUBLE.— AFFAIRS AT SERENA.-REVOLT AT TALCA.-FIRE AT SANTIAGO.-DEATH OF GEN. FREIRE.-FIRST NEWS OF THE BATTLE OF LONCOMILLA.—MINISTERIAL REJOICINGS.—BURIAL OF GEN. FREIRE.-FURTHER NEWS OF THE GREAT BATTLE -PEACE AT THIE SOUTH.-LETTER FROM GEN. CRUZ ANNOUNCING THE RESULT―EVACUATION OF SERENA AND REVOLT AT COPIAPÓ.— CONFLICT AT LINDEROS AND SURRENDER OF THE INSURGENTS.-REVOLT AT THE PENAL COLONY IN THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN.-CLOSE OF THE STRUGGLE.—ALLEGED CAUSES FOR THE INSURRECTION.—PROBABLE RESULTS HAD THE OPPOSITION PARTY TRIUMPHED.

Whilst the ministerialists were congratulating themselves on the success of their candidate, and making preparations to inaugurate him at the approaching national anniversary, with a degree of pomp previously unequalled, the members of the opposition were not idle. Though their acts were not quite so open to the world, there were not wanting some to assert publicly, "Mr. Montt will never assume the band of office." Rumors soon became rife that the 14th of September had been decided on for a revolutionary blow; and though, by its programme for the festivities and the erection of triumphal arches across the Cañada and many of the streets, the government continued its outward show of confidence, there were evident signs of apprehension.

polls really meant to On that day a number

The first tidings corroborating belief that the party beaten at the strike a more vital blow came from Valparaiso on the 5th of September. of men were arrested in the manufacture of ball cartridges, intended for use in an attempt to take possession of the city on the following morning. On the 8th, news arrived from Concepcion that the Intendente (a general, also) had marched to the frontier with all the force under his command to preserve peace between two of the neighboring Indian tribes. As this province had been one of the two to give a decided majority for Gen. Cruz, his partisans were suspected of tampering with both regular and civic troops for the purpose of inciting them to march on the capital. Suspicion became fact; the alleged Indian difficulty was only a pretext of the Intendente to take officers and men away from the sophistry and money-bags of the liberals. Gen. Cruz, a much-beloved resident of Concepcion, had been its Intendente until very recently, and Gen. (then only colonel) Viel, its present chief, had been kept there some months on nominal duty.— most probably to get him away from the regulars at Santiago, with whom he was too popular. The arrival of Cruz at the capital to remonstrate against the course pursued towards him subsequent to the revolt of April 20th, the adulation of influential gentlemen of his party, the cheers of the populace in public on more than one occasion, and the fact that he was a candidate for the Presidency in opposition to the government nominee, rendered it necessary to have in the province a military governor belonging to the ministerial side. After twenty odd years service as colonel, the merits of Viel became so suddenly apparent, that he was made general

and Intendente at the same time-a sagacious and bold move to secure a valuable advocate, long a personal friend and partisan of Cruz.

On the morning of the 13th an express came from an estate within thirty leagues of Coquimbo, the rider having been so closely watched at many places that he only got through by subterfuge. He brought alarming news to government from a relative of the President. It was to the effect that the troops sent to preserve order in Coquimbo in July had revolted: they had shot the commandant of the civic force and one other officer who had resisted; imprisoned the Intendente; seized the custom-house, with its treasure; banished a part of the ministerial party; levied heavy contributions on others; and, finally, had created a provisional government. This had taken place on the day after the outbreak was to have been installed at Valparaiso. Many of the villages through which the rider passed were already in the possession of the disaffected; and, indeed, the whole northern part of the province might be regarded as in a revolutionary state. A few hours later in the day, by sanction of the Council of State, Santiago and the neighboring provinces were declared under martial law, and orders were issued for the Chacabuco battalion to take up its line of march next morning for Coquimbo.

To circulate such intelligence on the very day that a grand public ball was to be given would not only have subjected their own party to mortification, but anxiety for the fate of relatives and friends whose homes were near the seat of conflict would have deterred many from attending; and therefore few were informed of it beyond the palace. However, incidents were accumulating, and before the festivities were closed another was added to the national sources of regret. Instead of marching loyally to Valparaiso, about midnight the Chacabuco regiment revolted; imprisoned the colonel; placed at their head an officer who had risen from the ranks; and started for Aconcagua, with their whole equipment and the contents of the military chest. Both facts had to be told, and the ball hastily broke up-none knowing how soon the sounds. of strife might be near their own domicils.

Prompt measures were indispensable. A confidential officer was forthwith despatched to the Intendente of Aconcagua, directing him to collect all trustworthy troops and march towards the capital. By avoiding the route the Chacabucos had taken, and riding with all speed, it was hoped he would be able to cross the hills for which the revolted regiment was named, and return with an opposing force by the time that it arrived there on the way north. Preparations were made to send other troops in pursuit; Congress was convoked, and requested to confer special powers on the President; and at earliest dawn a bando was published, declaring all the northern provinces except Atacama under martial law. By this time, too, portions of the artillery and lancers had gone, and the protective police remaining in the city were not only greatly increased in numbers, but each individual of them was furnished with an escopette in addition to his sabre. Later in the morning a part of El Buin, a new regiment, was also sent after their mutinous colleagues. This regiment was formed when the Valdivias were disbanded after the fight on the 20th of April; and as there was in fact little more than a change of name, many feared the Buins would array themselves under the banners of the Chacabucos as soon as they met. In such case, a military President was inevitable. It was believed that the regular troops almost to a man were opposed to Mr. Montt, and indeed to every civilian; and the fact that of five battalions the whole number of civic troops who obeyed the summons to the quartels was less than 200, whilst arguing little for the popularity of the government cause, was not much less indicative of the feeble opposition a mob would meet. No wonder, then, housekeepers were found preparing fire-arms; and the palace doors were besieged all day by a crowd anxious to obtain the earliest intelligence brought by the expresses. One who had been sent to the insurgent leader, with an offer of pardon if he would surrender, arrived while I was making a customary visit to the family of the President; and so great was the excitement that the crowd thronged even to their private apartments. The answer brought was, in effect, he would take his chance" seguir la suerte”—rather than give up.

Before night Congress had conferred the extraordinary powers asked by the President.

When it is recollected how little power is given him by the Constitution, how much it grants the Council of State under the authority to declare martial law at will, and how representatives elsewhere regard what is due to their constituents, it is remarkable that only three deputies should have been found to oppose making him absolute Dictator. The law passed is in the following (translated) terms:

"The President of the republic during a period of one year is authorized to cause the arrest and removal of persons from one part of the republic to another; to fix the residence of any individual, and change it if he so considers necessary; to augment the standing army to such numbers as circumstances may require; to expend public funds without previously submitting estimates; and to displace public officers without the formalities prescribed in section 10 of the 82d article of the Constitution.

Towards morning the Chacabucos arrived at the ridge of that name, memorable as the scene of the first victory of the patriots under General San Martin over the Spanish forces. Instead of meeting welcoming friends from San Felipe, they were greeted by a summons to surrender from the confidential officer, who had succeeded in his mission and returned here with quite a force to back him. At the same moment, the pursuing troops from the capital were so close in the rear, that their bugles could be heard quite plainly. Traitors are cowards; and in this predicament the insurgent leader made his escape under the cover of darkness, when the serjeants, instigated by an ensign, without a blow arrested and delivered all the other officers to the government troops. A few hours later the leader also was captured; and before daylight of the 16th he was lodged in prison at the capital, the greater part of his troops for the moment. dispersing. As this leader had been a known spy of the government, who was seen to issue from the President's quarters near midnight of the apparent revolt, many believed it only a feint to draw opposition leaders into acts which would authorize their arrest, and thus the new administration would come in with all the malcontents under lock and key.

But the news of this result-so gratifying to the mass of peaceable citizens-was not unalloyed. The revolutionary government at Coquimbo was hourly becoming stronger. It had above 2,000 men under arms; and had taken possession of a small steamer, on board which it shipped quite a large amount of treasure to the confederates at Concepcion, from which province not a word of information reached government until the middle of the festivities. When it did come, the news was much of the same character as that from Coquimbo, with the additional fact that the insurgents had appointed rulers pro tempore until answers should be received from Generals Cruz and Viel, to whom respectively they had tendered civil and military authority. They had obtained possession of all the arms, had seized a small steamer with money sent by government to pay troops, and had begun to drill men whose constant skirmishes with Indians on the frontier made adept pupils. They were overjoyed by the intelligence which the Coquimbo steamer brought them; and as General Cruz accepted the revolution, his name was all-powerful to raise both soldiers and money.

Meantime, it having been established to the satisfaction of the parties interested that the steamer Firefly had been forcibly taken from the port of Coquimbo, the British vice-admiral of the station declared that bay under blockade until restitution should be made, and the owners indemnified for damages. To this end, the war steamer Gorgon was sent to cruise in the mouth of the harbor. This was a deliberate interference in a domestic quarrel-a fact which the representatives of Chile and Great Britain knew well enough. But the officers of the former were in need of all the support attainable from every quarter; and if they did not directly solicit, as there is reason to infer, the following official notes show that they at least assented to the interference:

VALPARAISO, September 24, 1851.

SIR: The verbal communications which I had the honor to hold with his Excellency the

President of the Republic of Chile, with yourself, and Mr. Urmeneta (Minister of Finance), will have explained the delay in replying to your note of the 16th instant.

In the present state of affairs, it is my duty, and that of the commander-in-chief of the naval forces of her Majesty in the Pacific, to supervise the interests of her Majesty's subjects, and at the same time to afford to a government in amity with her Majesty the aid and assistance circumstances permit, without compromising the principle of neutrality.

The presence of her Britannic Majesty's steamer Gorgon prevented the premeditated capture of the mail steamer, and orders have been given to detain the Firefly, piratically taken at Coquimbo. Her Britannic Majesty's steam corvette Driver sailed for Talcahuano yesterday evening, as well for the protection of British interests as to take possession of the Firefly, if found at that port. Respecting the act of aggression upon the Firefly at Coquimbo, ViceAdmiral Moresby informs me that he is prepared to take more coercive measures against the persons in Coquimbo to whom is attributed the authority of ordering the capture of that vessel, as soon as the government of Chile expresses to me its need of means for the protection of foreign interests in that port; and in this opinion I wholly coincide, for those irregularly constituted authorities cannot be recognised by us, it being the government of Chile alone to whom we may apply for indemnification of the losses suffered in that illegal capture.

To avoid repetition of the insult to the English mail steamer, communication with her will only be permitted through the British ship of war stationed off the port of Coquimbo. I avail myself of this occasion to renew to you, &c., &c.

His Excellency DON ANTONIO VARAS,

J. H. SULLIVAN..

Minister of Foreign Relations.

VALPARAISO, October 1, 1851.

The undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America near the government of Chile, has the honor to enclose to his Excellency Don Antonio Varas, Minister of State and Foreign Relations of Chile, a copy of a paper that has been placed for some days in the Exchange of this city, and which was inserted without comment in the "Mercurio" of the 29th ultimo-a periodical considered to be the organ of government.

The undersigned respectfully asks his Excellency the Minister of Foreign Relations to inform him whether the embargo or blockade of the port of Coquimbo, promulgated by the representatives of her Britannic Majesty by medium of that notice, is an act of hostility towards the government of Chile, or if said blockade has been instituted by the knowledge and consent of this government.

In asking this question, the undersigned is moved only by a desire to secure the interests of citizens of the United States.

The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to renew, &c., &c.

His Excellency DON ANTONIO VARAS, &c., &c.

BALIE PEYTON.

1

SANTIAGO, October 2, 1851.

The undersigned, Minister of State in the Department of Foreign Relations, has had the honor to receive yesterday's note which the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America near this government was pleased to direct to him, accompanied by a copy of an advertisement published in the "Mercurio" by the consul of her Britannic Majesty in Valparaiso, and posted in the Mercantile Exchange of that city, respecting the

embargo or blockade of the port of Coquimbo, and requesting of the undersigned the nature and origin of that measure as a precautionary security towards American interests.

After making known to the President the communication of Mr. Peyton, the undersigned has been instructed by his Excellency to reply: That, on account of the revolution which broke out in the city of Serena on the 7th ultimo, in order to prevent the grave evils to be feared as consequences of excess, as well to the republic as to foreign commerce, and to stop the progress of the insurrection through maritime communication, the government ordered the closing of the ports in the province of Coquimbo. Persuaded, also, that the co-operation of the British forces in the execution of the measure would be of much importance, the government consented to the part taken by the British agents respecting the port of Coquimbo, after having communicated with the Chargé d'Affaires of H. B. M. concerning the prejudices already caused to British interests in Coquimbo by the insurrectionists, the necessity of preventing them in future, and the impossibility in which the government actually finds itself to afford those interests, at a point occupied only by factionists, the protection belonging to them.

In thus replying to the American envoy, the undersigned regrets that the actual circumstances of the administration should have caused him to forget the necessity of notifying his Excellency opportunely of what had occurred relative to the subject embraced in his note.

The undersigned will not close the present without adding, for the information of his Excellency, that the "Mercurio de Valparaiso" is not the organ of the government, as he mistakenly

supposes.

The undersigned is gratified in repeating to Mr. Peyton, &c., &c.

To the ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY

ANTONIO VARAS.

of the United States of America.

To blockade a port of a friendly nation with the armed vessels of the country against one of whose vessels wrong had been perpetrated in its waters, can be justified only as an ultimate mode of redress. For offences committed by its citizens, justice can be sought by the foreigner only at the hands of the government de facto. Disorders among its citizens should be quelled wholly by its own power, unless the party interposing be an ally both in war and peace. Insurrection may prove revolution, in which case the triumphant party become responsible for violation of neutral rights during the struggle.

On reaching Talcahuano, H. B. M. steamer Driver found that the Firefly had sailed; and the commander, instead of remaining "for the protection of British interests," returned to Valparaiso forthwith. By this arrival such information was obtained of the proceedings at the south as compelled the government to make every effort for the maintenance of its position. A large number of his rank and file having deserted, to preserve the remainder General Viel found himself under the necessity of retreating, instead of being able to march on the insurgents at Concepcion. Himself of French origin, a soldier of the revolution, and a liberalist all his life, he possibly remained faithful only because of the confidence reposed in him by government-not from want of sympathy with the Cruzistas.

Though official bulletins announced the loyal dispositions of surrounding provinces, and trivial advantages over detached parties near Coquimbo were published at the capital from day to day, and sometimes twice a day, yet the enlistment of new battalions in every province where a body of recruits could be trusted, and a constant despatch of arms and ammunition from Santiago, were direct contradictions to the repeatedly asserted belief expressed in the government paper that the insurrection would be quelled immediately. Of course, the opposition was not allowed a printing-press openly; nor were letters to them permitted to pass the post unopened. Indeed, the few known members belonging to it who dared remain within Santiago, clergymen not excepted, were forced to conceal themselves in the houses of friends. Yet they did manage to print brief notices; and when letters could no longer be trusted, confidential partisans were