Sir Home Popham, who in 1804 had been appointed to confer with the insurgent General Miranda concerning his views on South America, had long entertained an idea that an expedition should be sent against the Spanish settlements on the Rio de la Plata; and having been successful at the Cape, he turned his thoughts to the conquest of Buenos Ayres, taking upon himself a high and extraordinary degree of responsibility. Having persuaded Sir David Baird to acquiesce in his plans, and obtained from that officer a small body of troops, under General Beresford, he sailed from the Cape about the middle of April, without leaving a single armed vessel to protect that colony from insult, and directed his course to St. Helena, where he obtained a small reinforcement to his little army, which, after all, did not exceed 1600 men, including marines. With this inadequate force he arrived at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, in the beginning of June, when it was debated whether an attack should be made on Buenos Ayres or Monte Video, and the former being preferred, the troops were removed from the line of battle ships into the transports and frigate that accompanied the expedition, in which, after surmounting with great skill and perseverance the difficuties of a most intricate navigation, they arrived before Buenos Ayres on the 24th of June, and next day disembarked without resistance at the Punta de Quilmes, about twelve miles from that city. A body of Spaniards, placed on the height at two miles distance, witnessed the landing of the British army without opposing it, and General Beresford having marched against them on the following morning, they fled with precipitation at the first fire, leaving behind them their artillery. No other difficulty occurred after this success, except the passage of a

river, which it was necessary to cross before getting to Buenos Ayres; but this being effected with the help of rafts and boats, the bridge having been burnt by the enemy, General Beresford entered the city on the 27th, the viceroy having previously fled to Cordova with the small body of troops under his command. While the army was thus employed, the line of battle ships of the squadron made demonstrations before Monte Video and Maldonado, in order to alarm and occupy the garrisons of these places, in which were stationed the regular troops of the colony, while the defence of Buenos Ayres, supposed, from its situation, to be less liable to attack, had been committed to the militia. Favourable terms of capitulation were granted to the inhabitants, and the property of individuals on shore was respected, but a great booty was made of the public money and commodities, and of the shipping in the river.

Elated with his success, Sir Home Popham sent a circular letter to the principal commercial towns in Great Britain, expatiating on the advantages likely to accrue to their trade from this conquest, and the intelligence was received with the highest exultation, The rage for commercial enterprise, always easily excited in England, now knew rebounds; articles were exported that had never been heard of in the country to which they were destined, and were utterly unsuited to the customs or wants of the inhabitants; and the failure of speculations thus absurdly entered into, drew down much censure upon the author.

When intelligence reached government of Sir Home Popham's unauthorized departure from the Cape, and meditated invasion of South America, orders were instantly dispatched to recal him, and put a stop to his expedition. These orders, however, were too late

to prevent it; and when the news of his success arrived, the strong objections to his plan were drowned in the universal joy at the fortunate result. A conquest which the government would not have made, it had not the resolution to abandon; or possibly, deceiv ed by the ease with which the victory had been gained, it gave in to the popular delusion, and supposed that South America required only to be attacked, in order to be subdued. The British government seemed, as it were, bewildered as to the course they ought to take in the present state of Spanish America; and before the system proper to be followed with Buenos Ayres came to be discussed in the British cabinet, that settlement was recaptured.

The Spaniards were at first taken by surprise; but on recovering from their panic, they collected the few troops they had in the neighbourhood, under the direction of Liniers, a French colonel in the Spanish service, who crossed the river in a fog on the 4th of August, with about 1000 men, unobserved by the English cruisers. On the 12th a desperate action took place in the streets and great square of the town, in which the English were severely annoyed by a destructive fire from the windows and balconies of the houses, and were at last compelled to lay down their arms, and surrender themselves prisoners of war; but, contrary to the articles of capitulation, they were marched up the country. The loss of the English in this action amounted to 165 killed, wounded, and missing, besides 1300 made prisoners. Sir Home Popham continued to blockade the river with his squadron till the arrival of troops from the Cape of Good Hope, in the month of October, enabled him to attempt Monte Video; but finding it impossible for the ships to approach near enough to act, he was

obliged to desist. On the 29th a body of troops was landed at Maldonado, and the Spaniards having been driven from thence, and from the isle of Gorriti, the troops were encamped, and the ships anchored off the shore, waiting further reinforcements.

Lord Howick, on the 19th of December, announced the recal of Sir Home Popham, in terms of severe reprehension; and on the 17th of February following that officer arrived in London, when he was put under a formal arrest, preparatory to his being brought to trial by a court-martial, for acting without orders, and for leaving the Cape in an unprotected state. After an able defence, the court adjudged him to be severely reprimanded.

During these transactions on the Spanish main, the negroes of St. Domingo rose against Dessalines; and, having come upon him by surprise, put him to deatha catastrophe which he had merited by the cruelty and injustice of his government. His successor, Christophe, contented himself with the humbler title of Chief of the government of Hayti, and in that capacity issued a proclamation, distinguished for the liberality of its sentiments, opening to neutral nations the commerce of his dominions.

Differences had existed, for a considerable time, between the United States of America and Spain, arising out of the ill-defined boundaries of Louisiana, and the Spaniards had made inroads on the district of New Orleans and the Mississippi, even in those parts which had been expressly and unequivocally ceded to the United States. Some disputes between America and the English government also assumed an important character. The complaint of the United States involved three points: first, The practice of impressing British seamen found on board American merchant

vessels on the high seas; second, The violation of their rights, as neutrals, by seizing and condemning their merchantmen, though engaged in what they considered a lawful commerce; and third, The infringement of their maritime jurisdiction upon their own coasts. On the first point it was urged, that native Americans were impressed on pretence of their being Englishmen, and forced to serve in the British navy; and the public mind in the United States was inflamed with exaggerated reports, stating that thousands of their citizens were in this situation. The second ground of complaint arose from a desire on the part of the Americans, not only to trade with the colonies of a belligerent, in a manner that would not be allowed in a time of peace, but to become the carriers of their produce to the mother country; protecting it, at the same time, under their neutral flag. The third point, which merely required that the extent of their maritime jurisdiction should be defined, admitted of easy arrangement.

An amicable adjustment of these differences being equally desirable to both parties, a special mission was appointed to England, and conferences were opened in London by Lords Holland and Auckland on the part of Great Britain, and by Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney on that of America. After some deliberations respecting an efficient substitute for the practice of impressment, the latter consented, though in opposition to their instructions, to pass to the other subjects of negociation, on receiving from Lords Holland and Auckland an official assurance that the right should be exercised with great caution, that care should be taken to preserve the citizens of the United States from molestation, and immediate redress afforded on representation of any injury sustained. On the