The loss of the Spaniards in the assault had been seven hundred men. The garrison, together with its commander General Huïdobro, became prisoners, six hundred of whom were despatched to England. The news of the capture of _Monte Video_ produced such commotion in _Buenos Ayres_, that the people who could not yet readily believe that they were not invincible, chose to impute the blame to Sobremonte. He was accordingly solemnly deposed by a popular vote, the chief authority being vested in the High Court of Justice, pending the receipt of orders from Spain, whither Sobremonte was sent. Thus the province of _Buenos Ayres_ was in full course of revolution. It was the people who had taken the lead in every movement which had followed the attack on Beresford; but as they were acting against the enemies of the King of Spain, everything was done in the name of that monarch, even to the degradation and dismissal of his Viceroy. The High Court of Justice, to which was temporarily confided the executive power, was composed exclusively of Spaniards. The magistrates, though they did not fail to perceive the revolutionary tendency of events, were yet aware that the _Creoles_ alone were in a position to withstand the English; they therefore yielded to the current. The leaders of the revolutionary party took advantage of the complaisance of the Spanish authorities; and the municipality, who were greatly influenced by popular meetings, assumed every day greater importance. On the capture of _Monte Video_ the English established themselves in that most desirable place in a manner which showed that they had every intention of retaining possession of it. Whilst General Auchmuty occupied the chief city and likewise _Maldonado_, Colonel Pack had driven the Spaniards from _Colonia_, and the side of the river _Plata_, which to-day belongs to the Republic of _Uruguay_, was then in full English possession. Already the merchant ships thronged the river-side, carrying more goods than the people could afford to buy. In _Monte Video_ goods were sold at a hundred per cent. less than the prices which, owing to Custom-House exactions, they had hitherto commanded. Even a half-English, half-Spanish journal, called the “The Southern Star,” was set on foot under English auspices, with a view of proclaiming the downfall of Spain.