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THE

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

RESOURCES, CHARACTER, AND CONDITION.

LETTER FROM THE ARGENTINE MINISTER.

NEW YORK :
BAKER & GODWIN, PRINTERS,
PRTNTIXQ-IIOUSE SQUARE, OPP. CITY IIALL.
1865.

THE

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

RESOURCES, CHARACTER, AND CONDITION.

LETTER FROM THE ARGENTINE MINISTER.

NEW YORK :
BAKER & GODWIN, PRINTERS,
PEINTING-HOUSE SQUARE. OPP. CITY HALL.
1865.

THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

A number of letters have been lately received by the Consul
of the Argentine Republic, in New York, from parties desirous
to emigrate to that country, and anxious to have some details
respecting it. That a general answer may be given to these
inquiries, the minister of the Argentine Republic has, at the
request of the Consul, addressed him the following letter :
LETTER OF HIS EXCELLENCY D. F. SARMIENTO.
JSTew Yoke, June 24, 1865.
Sir: The undersigned, minister plenipotentiary and envoy
extraordinary of the Argentine Republic, in answer to the
application of the Consul, begs to furnish him with some
details relative to the Argentine Republic, which may interest
those who contemplate going there.
We may consider as one region the lands washed by the
River Plate and its confluents, divided as it is into three States,
viz. : the Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
The first of these embraces an extent of 900,000 square
miles, reaching to the frigid zone at the south, and to the torrid
at the north, in which latter is placed Paraguay. The chief
city, Buenos Ayres, is placed in the 33d degree of south latitude,
and Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is on nearly the same
parallel. The climate is similar to that of Maryland and those
other parts of the United States which produce the cereals,
peaches, figs, and grapes, but is free from the snows and colds
which here cover the ground and freeze up the rivers in winter.

• 4
Paraguay, with the northern interior provinces of the Argentine
Republic, produces coffee, sugar, cocoa, indigo, and cotton,
though as yet not in large quantities, owing to the want of
capital and intelligence. The lands, in their vast extent in the
Argentine Republic and Uruguay, are devoted mainly to cattle
and sheep, which give an annual net increase of 30 per cent.,
requiring little other attention than that given them by nature,
and involving no inconvenience, except on a part of the extreme
inland frontier, from occasional depredations by Indians. Agri
culture is being profitably extended along the borders of the
great rivers, and in the neighborhood of the cities, wheat,
corn, &c, flourish. Little has yet been done in raising hemp,
flax, and similar products. The raising of cattle and sheep
daily increases, and augments rapidly the wealth of the country.
In 1864 the exports reached 191,000 bales of wool, of an
average weight of 600 pounds each, and of a value of $8,000,000
to $10,000,000. The number of cattle on both banks of the
river is about 10,000,000 head. The price of land depends on
its distance from the coasts and commercial centres. In the
province of Buenos Ayres it is sold usually in parcels of one to
one-and-a-half square leagues of three miles each, at from
$10,000 to $40,000 the league. In Santa Fe, though on the
banks of the river, the price is not yet so high, and it diminishes
as you progress inland. The price of cows is from $8 to $10,
and in large lots much less. Merino and Mestiza sheep sell at
$2, a higher price being paid for those mixed with the JSTegrete
and Rambouillet breeds, the rams of which have been brought
by thousands from Europe at a cost of $500 each.
The wools are sold at the ports of export at prices depending
on the fineness of the fleece. Horses are very cheap, not
bringing, on the average, over $10 each. Wages of peons, who
do the work done here by Irishmen chiefly, and there by
Basques, are from $20 to $25 a month, and much more at cer
tain times and places. Mechanics are sure of employment, and
there is a committee to assist emigrants, having an annual
donation of $10,000 from the Government ; yet, during the
two years in which Dr. Gowland was President of the Com
mission, they had no need of paying out anything, as the

emigrants hardly landed before they were engaged, at good
prices; there being, in fact, always a scarcity of laborers.
Montevideo and Buenos Ayres are handsome cities, nearly
opposite each other, separated by the wide mouth of the River
Plate. Endemic diseases are unknown in that temperate climate,
and the celebrated Dr. Stam, sent by a Prussian society to
study the diseases of South America, assured me that Buenos
Ayres occupies the second place among the healthiest spots on
the globe, and that the average of life there was 42 years.
The same climatic conditions rule for 200 leagues around.
Buenos Ayres has 150,000 inhabitants, of whom half, and per
haps more, are foreigners ; the majority being Italian, Spanish,
and French. Those speaking the English tongue are generally
rich, and are either merchants, or graziers owning large tracts
of land. In 1860, in addition to many daily English newspa
pers, 506 copies of The Illustrated London News were sub
scribed for. The English have a race-course, and the races are
much celebrated and crowded. The Standard, an English paper
published in Buenos Ayres, has 2,000 subscribers.
Ths Argentine Review and The Argentine Citizen have been
recently established in Rosario. The Brazil and River Plate
Mail is received from England, and is occupied exclusively with
the interests of those countries, and with English interests in
their banks, railroads, and exports. The River Plate Hand-
look — Guide, Directory, and Almanac — published at Buenos
Ayres in English, contains all the details usual in such publica
tions. Entire freedom of religious worship is an old rule and
institution of that country. There are seven dissenting churches
in Buenos Ayres ; among them, the Methodist, in charge of the
Rev. Mr. Goodfellow from the United States. The cities of
Montevideo and Buenos Ayres are, in appearance, customs and
food, completely European; foreigners forming a large part
of the population, and having the bulk of the commerce and
all the navigation of the rivers in their hands. In Buenos
Ayres, for the last five years, there have been annually built
800 to 1,000 dwelling houses and other buildings ; indeed, in
1860, it became necessary to suspend work owing to the ab
solute scarcity of lumber, paint, and other materials, which

6
are usually imported from the United States. It has railroads
to the north, south, east, and west, connecting with the coun
try, and the Republic has now in construction roads 900 miles
in length. The Central road from Rosario to Cordova is
building under the direction of Mr. Wheelwright of the
United States. There is a monthly line of English steamers
from Buenos Ayres to England, connecting in 30 days, via
Montevideo, Rio Janeiro, and Bahia ; another line of French
steamers runs to Bordeaux. Two lines keep up a daily com
munication with Montevideo, and three lines with the interior
by the rivers Parana and Uruguay, which are navigable, and
the navigation free for hundreds of leagues. Another line
is to touch at the River Plate, on the way from England to the
Pacific, and a line is announced between JSTew York and Rio
Janeiro, which will give much activity to the commerce with
the United States, establishing, as it will, direct communication
between countries whose production of staple articles is so
valuable. There are various hotels, whose arrangements are equal to
those of the United States, and with prices one-half to one-
third the rates charged here. Such are the Hotel de la Paix,
built as a copy of the one of the same name in Paris, the
Louvre, the Universel, the Provence, the Globe, the Plata, and
many others. There are several first-class hospitals — one
Italian, one French, and two English ; one of the latter sustained
by the Irish.
In 1864, 103 vessels loaded in the United States for the
River Plate ; to-day there are loading 16 vessels. The average
monthly shipments of lumber amount to two millions of feet,
beside kerosene, carriages, agricultural implements, nails, &c.
The institutions of the country are republican, and the
Government federal, similar to the United States. At the head
of the Administration are men distinguished for their purity
and intelligence, and the Government now enjoys excellent
credit on the London Exchange, its bonds being quoted at 96,
a price which few European nations can command. The civil
wars which so much afflict the nations of South America, arise
from the sparse population of so vast an extent of country, and

from the want of the traditions and habit of submission to good
government — a want which Spain could not supply, as she
has it not herself, as may be seen by the discredit of her
finances, and the daily changes of her ministry, and her disor
derly and unjustifiable course in South America. But this
great curse has ceased entirely in the Argentine Republic, by
the extinction and exhaustion of the disturbing elements which
it formerly cherished.
The bringing together, by railroads and steamboats, of the
cities which, in the settlement of the country, were scattered
over so vast an extent of territory ; the daily communication
with Europe ; the immigration which is daily increasing the de
velopment of wealth ; and the liberality of the institutions, put
in practice by men who love them because they have themselves
created them, all tend to assure a durable if not a perpetual in
ternal peace. It is now the conviction of all the people, even
of the lower class, that with ten years of peace, that country.
will approach, even if at a distance, the United States, whose
institutions it follows, not only in form but in reality, founding
schools and colleges in all the towns, enjoying complete liberty
of speech and of the press (the latter having numerous organs
in the capital and at least one in each province), and enlarging
the studies of the two ancient Universities.
In Buenos Ayres there are English schools and colleges.
These countries have been surprised with a foreign war by
Paraguay, commenced without any notice, when they were oc
cupied solely with the development of their commerce and the
general advancement of the country. A petty, ignorant despot/
who received from his father, as an inheritance by will, the
Government of Paraguay, which he in his turn had received
from the fearful dictator Francia, who had made that country,
by prohibiting all commerce, the China of America — this despot
has taken upon himself to make war on all his neighbors, only,
it would seem, to give occupation to his wicked youth ; attack
ing yesterday Brazil and to-day the Argentine Republic ; a war
made without pretext or previous notice, and so begun that he
might surprise the undefended frontier towns. But this war
will be carried on in Paraguay itself, toward which are now

marching the allied forces of the Argentine Republic, the Em
pire of Brazil, and the State of Uraguay ; the three being able
to put in the field a force of 70,000 men, half of them veterans,
beside a formidable squadron on the Parana and Paraguay
rivers. The result of the war, sad as it always is to appeal to
arms, will be to- open Paraguay to the commerce of all nations,
to found a Government in accordance with the customs of
Christian States, and to permit that isolated " Guaranie " people
to labor and enrich themselves. In Paraguay, witli a popula
tion of 1,000,000, with a rich, fertile soil, with iron, and forests
of valuable woods, there is not one person worth $50,000 ;
while Lopez has accumulated many millions, monopolizing all
commerce, the tobacco, the verba mate (or native tea), and even
the woods of the forests, which are not allowed to be cut except
for his use — the punishment being death to all who sell to others
than to the Government. An end will now be put to this
shameful robbery of a million of people by one single trader,
and the commerce of the rivers which empty into the River
Plate will in a few years assume colossal proportions.
I think I have said enough to give a general idea of what
those countries offer — an agreeable residence, and occupation
to those wishing to go there ; the certainty of making fortunes,
with labor or capital, and the enjoyment of a life as comfortable
and convenient as could be obtained in many cities of Europe
or America. Further details may be found in the work of Mr. Wood
bine Parish, entitled " Buenos Ayres and the United Provinces
of the River Plate," or in the works in French of M. de
Moussy, and of Mr. Santiago Arcos, recently published, as well
as in various other works on those countries.
With which, believing I have accomplished, though in a
geaeral way, the object of this note, I subscribe myself your
obedient servant,
D. F. SARMIENTO.
Edwaed F. Davison, Esq.,
Consul, dee.

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