It shall be permitted in the new settlements that the individuals who form them may unite themselves in municipal corporations, under the presidency of the governors of the respective districts or territories, for the purpose of making laws relative to the local administration, without giving the governors created by this decree any power to interfere with rights, of whatever nature, in respect to individual liberty; they only taking care for the preservation of public order, and of the national authority, in conformity with the laws.
Article 22.
Because this territory is a new establishment, and has no judicial authorities, it shall be permitted, for the administration of justice, that the new settlers shall name their own judges, electing them in the form most convenient, until Congress shall legislate in relation to the administration of justice and in municipal affairs.
The other articles divide the territory proposed to be settled into districts: four on the Amazon, from Loreto upwards to Nauta; two on the Ucayali, from the mouth to Sarayacu; and four on the Huallaga, from the mouth of Tingo Maria—all under the direction of a governor general established at Loreto. The Intendente general of the missions of Pozuzu, which are near the sources of the Pachitea, a confluent of the Ucayali, is directed to observe the conditions of the decree; while the governors of the Upper Mission, which is all the country on both sides of the Amazon above the mouth of the Huallaga, are directed to exercise their authority as before, in dependence on the prefecture of Amazonas, until special decrees shall be issued for their guidance and government.
Article 25 appropriates the funds necessary to open roads from Cerro Pasco to Pozuzu, and from Pozuzu to Mayro, at the head of navigation on the Pachitea, under the direction of the intendente of Pozuzu. So that my old chatty acquaintance of Huanuco, whom Col. Lucar designated as the best animal magnetizer in the world, has at last carried his point and accomplished his long-cherished purpose. If the country between Cerro Pasco and Mayro be such, as he described it, this certainly will be the best route of communication between Lima and the Atlantic; but earnest and enthusiastic men see no obstacles to their favorite schemes; and I much doubt if this road would, according to his account, run for the greater part of its distance over a pampa or plain.
The portions of land granted by this decree are not sufficiently large, a fanegada being only about two acres; but I have no doubt that a proper representation to the Peruvian government would set this matter right, and very much increase the size of the grants. No man would be willing to undergo the exposure, privations, and hardships of a dwelling in the wilderness whilst he was clearing his lands, unless with the prospect of having a large and valuable estate, if not available for himself, at least for his children. The government should make legal titles to each adult male settler of a tract of land at least a mile square.
The decree says nothing in relation to toleration of creeds in religion. The President could not grant toleration, for it would be contrary to the constitution of Peru; but he knows as well as I do that there will be very little trouble in that country from that cause. The country will afford room for every shade of opinion and every form of worship; and men will be too busy there for years to come to find leisure for quarrelling on such trifling yet mischievous subjects. The decree refers in several places particularly to Catholics, as if in contradistinction to, and tacit acknowledgment of, a Protestant interest.
In his letter to the council of state, asking its concurrence in the appropriation by the executive of the $200,000 towards the establishment of steam navigation and exploration on the Ucayali and Huallaga rivers, and the colonization and settlement of the lands upon their banks, Señor Tirado thus expresses himself:
"Amongst the most urgent national obligations is that of procuring the civilization of the savage tribes who dwell on the borders of the Ucayali and in other parts of Eastern Peru; and also that which binds the republic to lay the foundations of the prosperity which may be expected from commerce and communication with the rest of the world, by means of the navigation of the Amazon and its confluents.
"The Spanish government, and subsequently the independent, on account of divers circumstances, has applied but feeble means to the accomplishment of the first of these objects. The wants and spirit of the age now call for the full and immediate application of the care and resources of the nation towards these places, subject to the territorial sovereignty of Peru, which will soon see an influx of foreign merchandise, and in which, probably, an abundant emigration, and an extensive traffic, will create towns of important commerce and a field for the efforts of civilization and industry."