A prudent Government would have looked upon the guano monopoly as an extraordinary item in the receipts, and would have reserved it for paying off the internal and foreign debt, for public works, and improvements; but the heads of the Peruvians appear to have been turned by this wonderful increase of their revenue, and they have squandered it with ruinous and dishonest recklessness. It is true that the interest of the foreign debt has been paid,[364] but otherwise the large receipts have either been embezzled, as in General Echenique's time, or spent on immense and unnecessary armaments, and in jobbing salaries and pensions. Thousands of families now live on the public money, and, when the guano receipts fail, the ruin and suffering will be severe and widely spread. On the strength of the guano monopoly almost all the taxes have been abolished, the tribute of the Indians amongst them, and the revenue is composed mainly of three items—guano, customs, and stamps. A biennial budget, containing the receipts and disbursements, is laid before Congress every session. I have these budgets before me for several years back; but that for 1859 will suffice to show the extraordinary nature of the revenue, and the still more extraordinary way in which it is spent:—
| Receipts. | Disbursements. | ||
| Dollars. | Dollars. | ||
| Guano | 15,875,352 | Pay, &c., to members of Congress | 211,084 |
| Customs, &c. | 5,079,439 | Army and navy, with pensions | 9,746,432 |
| Surplus from 1858 | 938,389 | Civil expenses, with pensions | 2,129,904 |
| Payments to ecclesiastics | 63,296 | ||
| Public works | 718,124 | ||
| Education and charitable institutions | 332,471 | ||
| Police | 92,807 | ||
| Compensation for slaves and internal debt | 1,576,004 | ||
| Redemption of Bonds | 3,218,700 | ||
| Miscellaneous | 107,146 | ||
| Interest of all kinds | 2,191,777 | ||
| 20,387,745 | |||
| Surplus | 1,505,435 | ||
| 21,893,180 | 21,893,180 |
The foreign debt is 24,205,400 dollars, and the internal debt and compensation for slaves amount to a still larger sum. But the great drag upon the public treasury is the enormous army of 15,000 men for a population under two million, with upwards of 2000 officers, those who are unattached being still retained on full pay. This will give some idea of the number of families who are living in luxury and idleness on the public money, and of the distress that will follow the sudden stoppage of their incomes, which is inevitable when the guano comes to an end. It will be an embarrassing and difficult question for some future Government to decide upon the proper measures for the disposal of an unwieldy army and a crowd of hungry beggared officers. The best suggestion on this subject has come from the late General Miller, who, when governing Cuzco in 1836, proposed to establish military colonies in the forests to the eastward of the Andes, and thus convert a mischievous and dangerous tool for treason and faction into a means of enriching the country.
The administration of justice in Peru, though the laws are excellent, and have been codified and ably edited, is so corrupt that it is better to pass over the subject with a hope that things may be better in a future generation; and the police administration, especially round Lima, is disgraceful.
Much indeed will be required, and much I trust is to be hoped, from the rising generation of young men who are now about to enter upon public life. Many of them have been educated in Europe, a large proportion are well-informed, polished by travel and extensive reading, and ardently desirous of distinguishing themselves in the service of the State. In literature they have already displayed considerable industry and ability. The 'Revista de Lima,' a bi-monthly periodical, contains archæological, biographical, historical, and financial articles and reviews, generally very ably written, in an enlightened and liberal spirit, and by men who evidently take an earnest view of life. The contributors, among whom are the Señores Lavalle, Ulloa, Pardo, Flores, Masias, and the painter Laso, are all young men with a career before them. It is a good sign, too, that effective steps have been taken to edit and reprint historical materials which have long remained in manuscript, or in scarce old editions. Thus Don Manuel A. Fuentes has recently brought out six most interesting volumes containing reports of the administrations of several of the Spanish viceroys of Peru,[365] and a new edition of the 'Mercurio Peruano.' His 'Estadistica de Lima' is also a work which displays considerable merit: and Don Sebastian Lorente's well-known learning, and habit of careful research, promise that his history of Peru, now on the point of being published in Paris, will be a work of great value.
This hasty glance at the present state of Peru, as regards its government, material resources, and literature, will, I trust, have shown that the people of these South American states are not altogether the hopelessly degraded race that they are often represented; and that there are grounds for believing that there is yet a happier future in store for them. For, be it remembered, that Peru is far from being the best specimen of these republics, and that the Chilians have displayed tenfold the ability, both in governing, in commercial and agricultural pursuits, and in literature. I think there can be no doubt that a hasty conclusion respecting the South American races, founded on their history since the independence, is likely to be erroneous and unfair; and that, under more favourable circumstances, they are in every way capable of better things.
I cannot better conclude this chapter than by quoting the words of that noble old warrior General Miller, written only a few months before his death, in November 1861. This most excellent of men fought all the battles of independence from 1817 to 1824; he was covered with wounds and riddled with bullets[366] while striving for South American freedom; he had watched with sorrowful attention the subsequent anarchy and civil wars, and his words carry great weight with them. It will be seen that he does not despond, but looks forward with hope to the future.
He says, "South America, with good reason, must feel for ever proud of Camilo Henriquez, Vigil, and Mariategui, Olmedo and Felipe Pardo, San Martin and O'Higgins, and many others of her illustrious sons. And what may not be expected from the rising and future generations, now that there are such universities as that of Santiago de Chile, and such men as Bello to direct and foster them! Who can be blind to the genius and great natural abilities of the Peruvian youth, now shooting forth, notwithstanding the great disadvantages under which Peru at present labours, with regard to the state of her colleges? With her immense resources, a good government, and tranquillity, what may not be expected! But every nation has its beginning, an inevitable and perhaps necessarily rough ordeal to undergo, and South America must not expect to make a leap that no other country has been able to do."