On the 19th of September, 1840, Francia died. But unhappily his death did not prove the dawn of freedom for the Paraguayans. After a brief interregnum Don Carlos Lopez, a lawyer, finally took up the sceptre of his terrible predecessor, and wielded it with a hand equally relentless. He professed, it is true, to rule in conformity with the constitution of 1844, if this name can be given to an act which merely legalised despotism; but if any difference existed between the position of Lopez and Francia, it was simply that the iron rod of the latter was gilded and painted in the grasp of the former.
Without repudiating the exclusive policy of Francia, Lopez the elder permitted some partial commerce with foreign nations. But this licence was hampered by the most absurd restrictions, and he continued to exhibit the greatest dislike for foreigners, upon whom extreme barbarities were inflicted. If the isolation of the state was a little relaxed it was because the “trading” interests of the Dictator would else have suffered:—
The modifications effected in the commercial and economic system were of such a nature as to secure for the State a monopoly in the majority of mercantile transactions. Paraguay was and is a great firm under the management of the President. Lopez authorised the people to work in the yerbales, but it was necessary to ask and obtain a licence. The yerba thus produced was purchased by the State, which exported it on its own account. The Government paid for it five piastres per arroba, and resold it for fifteen in the interior, and for so much as forty piastres to export. In consequence of the monopoly in the sale of this important product, an exorbitant price was maintained, which enabled the Brazilians to give a great development to its production in the province of Parana. The yerba there grown, though of inferior quality, nevertheless found an immense consumption in the Plate, on account of its more moderate price. The utilisation of the forests of Paraguay was also permitted; but the State imposed a duty of 20 per cent.; and as the value was fixed by itself, this pretended liberty of commerce in timber was simply a device to extort money, and ruin the individuals who might engage in it.
With regard to the raising of cattle and the commerce in hides, the State possessed farms and tanneries, and did not allow private persons to offer any serious competition. The State could, in addition, command labourers without payment; for the citizens were still subject, as under the colonial administration, to be pressed into the public service. At every requisition of authority they are bound to work without receiving either reward or nourishment; and it was by means of these auxilios that roads have been made and repaired, churches built, and both the fortress of Humaita and the arsenal of Villa Rica erected. The Guardias Auxiliares—to-day soldiers, to-morrow labourers—are employed in the cultivation of the lands of the State. These soldiers carry the posts, gather the maté harvest, and fell timber; but receive no remuneration, being only fed like the rest of the army. These labourers cost so little, that, thanks to them, the State defies all private competition in the produce of its yerbales, forests, and farms.
One thing Don Carlos Lopez did not leave out of sight. He felt his Government was an anomaly and a menace to civilisation and political freedom in the surrounding States, and any day even his so patient subjects might find their bonds too galling for longer endurance. He, therefore, developed the military strength of the Dictatorship, and raised the fortress of Humaita on the banks of the Paraguay in such a position as to render the country all but impregnable to external assault.
At the end of a long reign Lopez I. died, and his dominion went by testament to his son,—Don Francisco Solano—as Vice-President. M. Quentin gives the following account of the proceedings adopted by the present ruler of Paraguay to secure the position he has used to bring ruin upon his unfortunate country:—
Don Carlos Antonio Lopez died on the 10th of September, 1862. On the very same day Don Francisco Solano Lopez assembled the bishop, the supreme judge, and the principal functionaries, and in their presence opened the sealed envelope which contained the testament of his father. In virtue of the law of 1856 Don Francisco Solano Lopez was designated Vice-President, and in that capacity he convoked the Extraordinary Congress.
As under such circumstances it is well to neglect nothing, young Lopez prudently confided the command of the army to his brother, and one of his uncles was already at the head of the clergy. Thus all the avenues to power were guarded.
The Congress assembled under the presidency of Don Solano Lopez. The result of the vote was certain. Every precaution had been well taken. They were about to proceed to the ballot, when a deputy, named Varela, commenced speaking. He began by eulogising General Lopez, and assuring him of his personal esteem and sympathy, reminded Congress of the express terms of the Act of Independence—Paraguay shall never become the patrimony of a family, and concluded with these words:—“I have the most profound respect for General Lopez, but I have sworn to obey the laws of my country. I hesitate between my affection and my conscience.” The moment was a critical one. An unexpected opposition manifested itself, and drew its force from the law, for the first time invoked in the heart of a Congress. Lopez tremblingly witnessed this episode, but retained his coolness and self-possession. He made a sign to Father Roman, the Bishop of Asuncion, who of right formed part of the Congress. The prelate approached Varela, who humbly fell on his knees in the midst of the assembly, and the bishop, placing his hands upon his head, said with a loud voice—“Ego te absolvo; thou art released from thy oath; this is not the case for its observance (no es este el caso de observarlo).” Varela rose with delight, and cried, “Then I will be the first to give my vote to his Excellency General Lopez!” It need not be stated that the President obtained unanimity, and that the people welcomed his new master with transport. The Lopez dynasty was founded.
Lopez II., thus firmly seated in his place of supremacy, adhered to the traditions of his father. His government has been equally despotic, and the same policy of isolation and monopoly has been persistently observed. Public opinion has no existence, and the only paper published in Paraguay is the official organ, edited by the Dictator himself. The commerce and industry of the people—their toil, their means, their blood—are at the uncontrolled disposal of their tyrant. And how this authority has been exercised we all know. Inflamed by ambition, and desirous to extend his power beyond the limits of Paraguay, the greater part of his reign—I use the word advisedly—has been devoted to the steady accumulation of military and naval stores, the organisation of an army out of all proportion to the number of inhabitants, and the erection of strong fortresses on the riverine passages to the interior. For what purpose? Let his acts of gratuitous invasion tell; let the story of the present war with Brazil and her allies testify. I have already placed the facts with respect to this struggle before my readers, and I feel sure they will concur with me that the real object of Lopez was to bring the whole of the River Plate under the terror of a Guarani-Indian subjection. Happily this calamity has not occurred, but it has only been avoided by a prodigious outflow of blood and treasure.