"I shall not retain any part of the authority, even if the people themselves would entrust it to me."
His report of the 31st of December is one of the most conspicuous documents of the life of Bolívar. It ranks as high as his proclamation of Cartagena at the beginning of the campaign. In this report, through his Secretary of Foreign Relations, he expressed his idea about union between Nueva Granada and Venezuela. The document appears as addressed to him, and of it the following words deserve special consideration:
"The lessons of experience should not be lost for us. The spectacle presented to us by Europe, steeped in blood in an endeavor to establish a balance which is forever changing, should correct our policy in order to save it from those bloody dangers…. Besides that continental balance of power which Europe is seeking where it seems less likely to be found, that is, through war and disturbances, there is another balance, a balance which concerns us, the balance of the universe. The ambition of the European countries is to reduce to slavery the other parts of the world, and all these other parts of the world should endeavor to establish a balance between themselves and Europe in order to destroy the preponderance of the latter. I call this the balance of the world, and it must enter into the calculations of American policies.
"It is necessary that our country be sufficiently strong to resist successfully the aggressions which European ambitions may plan; and this colossal power, which must oppose another great power, cannot be formed but through the union of all South America under a national body, so that a single government may use its great resources a single purpose, that of resisting with all of them exterior aggressions, while in the interior an increasing mutual cooperation of all will lift us to the summit of power and prosperity."
The present ideas of inter-American coöperation do not differ very much from those existing in the mind of Bolívar.
Following the deposition of Monteverde, the army of Puerto Cabello had left for Coro and practically disappeared on its way. But some royalists had gone to the south, and entered the city of Calabozo, after having destroyed an insurgent force. Its commander was one of the worst men who had ever breathed the air of America, José Tomás Rodríguez, a native of Spain, who, after having been a pirate, was sentenced to the prison of Puerto Cabello. Several Spaniards applied for a mitigation of the sentence, and he was set free within the city of Calabozo, where he was employed when the revolution began. By that time he had changed his name to that of Boves. He first joined the patriots' army, but for some reason or other he was imprisoned. He was released in 1810 by the royalists, and swore revenge against the revolutionists. He organized a cavalry corps and committed infamous deeds of cruelty wherever he happened to be, at the same time achieving military success for, though morally a beast, he was clever in the field of battle and possessed dauntless bravery. He held the banks of the Orinoco with the aid of his lieutenant, Francisco Tomás Morales, a native of the Canary Islands, whose moral worth can be judged by a single word applied to him by Boves himself. Boves called him "atrocious." While Boves killed Americans systematically, considering that it was the best, and perhaps the only way to end the insurrection, Morales killed Americans for pleasure, whether or not their death would foster the ends of the royalists. He had formerly been a servant. He was brave and obdurate, and a very able second. In the army of Boves, composed of 4,000 llaneros, he helped to take the city of Calabozo. Bolívar immediately asked Mariño, who was commanding in the East, to help him, but for several reasons, and perhaps mainly because Mariño wanted to have supreme power, he did not go to the rescue. This was the sad state of affairs at the beginning of 1814.
This year began with an assembly in Caracas of representatives of the people, to whom Bolívar submitted a report on the use he had made of his authority. On that occasion Bolívar spoke his mind as plainly as before. Although his words depicted legitimate pride, he was very anxious to make it understood that he was unwilling to retain any power over the nation. Among other things he said:
"I accepted and retained the supreme authority in order to save you from anarchy and to destroy the enemy who tried to support the p of oppression. I have given you laws, I organized for you the administration of justice and revenue, and, finally, I have given you a government.
"Fellow citizens: I am not the sovereign. Your representatives should draw up your laws. The national treasury does not belong to the government. All those who have kept your wealth should show you the use they have made of it…. I am anxious to transfer this power to the representatives you must appoint, and I hope you will relieve me of a burden, which one of you can worthily bear, giving me the only honor to which I aspire, that is, to continue to fight your enemies, for I shall never sheathe my sword until the freedom of my country is altogether secure."
The political governor of Caracas answered the address of the Liberator, praising him for his brilliant campaign and for the successes due to his genius. After a brief summary of his heroic deeds in Nueva Granada, he said that the greatest merit of a man lay in the handing over of the power entrusted to him. To take the power from Bolívar, he reasoned, would very likely work to the ruin of the country, and he expressed his belief that the thing necessary to do was to offer Bolívar supreme power for the time being. In his answer to the governor, Bolívar paid a deserving tribute to his brothers-in-arms, and then added the following words: