Star. — London, England, 1808-08-20 00:00:00

riarornadra.,.l...• • . . NI AFFAIRS OF SPAIN. SKETCH OF THE EVEh.TS WHICH LED TO THE citAior OF DYNASTY IN SPAIN. (From the Fr7lch ) (The following has been circulated in Spain In the forniof pamphlet It may be considered as the Manifesto of Bostarinrit to the . people of that country. It is certainly a very plausible-Iw. count of the events which have led to the introduction of tLat sys tem which he endeavoured to iintoie Upon them. But, fortunately., the Spaniards had practical experience of the downright falsehood of almost every assertion that is advanced In It. They k.iwtt that the arrangement by which CuitaLeS IV. was 'removed from the Throne, so far from bang the work of a few factious men, pro ceeded from the soundest and roost patriotic heads and hear,* in the country. They were. aware also, that the alldication of FiRDIN AND VII. the Sovereign of their choice, was compulsory. They were persuaded, that by being transferred, like a parcel of Russian serfs, to a branch of the House .of RONA PAR TE ; they would gain nothing in point of dignity, independence, or Irappi ness as a nation ' • and they therefore determined, in spite of the manifest sophistry and perversion of facts in this very laboured political statement, to maintain their privileges, and resist the ty ranny attempted to be imposed upon them. Mach of the substance of this paper has already appeared in the French Journals, but it is worthy of being perused as a whole.— It will make no despicable figure among the vast mass of doeu- silents which may be brought forward to illustrate the;ntomen. , fous history of the last nineteen years.] . " The events which have taken place ingrain dna ring the last two months, have led to 'such iMportant changes in the condition of that monarchy, that it is necessary to present a faithful- relation of them, in: l order to shew'the dangers with which the kingdom, ' Was threatened, and the salutary ,measures which; ' -have preserved it from ruin. , I • 44 On the 19th of March, 1808, a Monarch, 60 1 ears of age, was compelled to abdicate his throne;l in the midst of alaopular. insurrection, in order to . l were the lives of himself and consort. His friends I were persicuted, his first Minister delivered over to the fury of the seditious, and-the Prince, his son, oc cupied a throne which could' not be vacated withiaut the free and repeated manifestation of the Sovereign's will. [Qu-ry, What freedoin w there in his mg-, 'nation of it to Bonaparte ?] • . , • • • " Endeavours had long been made to raise a tu mult. The discovery made in--the month of October of an enterprise against the throne, had not intimida -ted the conspirators : they remarked, that the hatred and envy of the Prince of Peace continued to increase, -and' that the Royal authority was no longer able to "enforce its own orders, and guide the public opinion. ItOdies of Spanish troops put in motion in every part, „without concert and without apparent object, ceased -to protect the coasts. The people were alarmed • a change of system was talked of; divisions prevailed -around 'the throne and the Royal Family ; and the object of these opposite pretensions was, to contend .by anticipation for the spoils of the Royal authority. A.Fnineh army was then employed in the expedition of Portugal vend other corps, destined to act in con cert with it andniaintain the communication with France, were in Spain. " The seditious, who feared that order and public safety:might be restored, hastened to execute their rtijd ect. They caused alarming reports to be cirea : they asserted, that the Royal Family were about to set out from Aranjuez for Seville ; that their treasures and troops had preceded them, and that their flight was to be the signal for civil war. The populace .was inflamed by promises and intoxicating liquors. They arose on the 18th of March at Aran juez.. The King was abandoned by a part of his family, and the rebels *sore in his palace. This day afforded memorable, instances of reverse of fortune and ingratitude : the greater part of the body-guard, whom the Prince of Peace had long commanded, en- , tered• his palace, and joined in the pillage with the populace. On the next day, this prince, who lay hid =lid the ruins of his house, was delivered up by one of his own body-guard, of whom he implored a drop of water, after remaining 36 hours without food, and the man was covered with insults and wounds, before whose feet his assailants had lain prOstrate. His de gradation was less an act of personal' revenge than an attempt to degrade the authority of the King.— The presence of the Monarch could not save the favourite from blows and insult, and himself was constrained to abdicate, in order to spare the insur gents greater crimes. This insurrection spread to Madrid, and the Prince of Asturias mistaking the - cry of a mob for popular favour, thought he might clothe himself in the spoils which had been torn from his august father. • " But, at the very moment when he 'demanded al legiance from the subjects of Charles IV. that un fortunate Monarch, a prisoner at. Aranjuez, and expecting to be sent an exile to Badajoz, protested against the abdication, and solicited aid from tli i e Emperor of the French, in Whose hands he placed hrs . fate and that of the Queen and tle Prince of the Peace. The Royal and paternal authority is sacred.— Respect for Kings is the first safeguard for the tran quillity of nations. The Emperor saw, in the exal tation of the Prince of Asturias, nothing but a source of calamities to Spain, and an incitement to other insurrections. Pe felt for the misfortunes of Charles IV. Ought Spain to ice i;ate Turkey in the deposi tion of her Monarchs ? or. imitate the French revolts-. tion ? What safety could Sovereigns enjoy, ifit right to dethrone them existed whenever their own fainily were weary Of their government ? Nevertheless; the. Emperor was desirous to examine more closely the events which had taken place, and their causes. He ! repaired to Bayonne, where the Deputations from the Kingdom arrived. The Infante Don Curlers was 'al. ' ready there. The Pridce of Asturiai left Madrid on the 10th of April, and went ,to Bayonne, leaving the government of the kingdom- and the Presidency of the Supreme Junta in the hands of Don Antonio, brother of King Charles, who had hitherto 'teed apart from pitblic affairs: 44 Charles IV. having transmitted -a new protesta tion to Dori Antonio against his compulsory abdica tion, repaired, with the Queen ? , to Bayonne.:" He ar -rived on the soth of Aprit..and Was received With cordiality by the Emperor. He imparted to him his 'misfortunes; the greatest of which was that he had to accuse a son. The Prince of the Pesti wins already arrived, all resent. .1-e 4 rittli , The Emperor Awaked for this, is crawl:a fix his opi n 00. lie lad prevauusiy written -to- use Fruit& of _ ..1..5, 4144, -without difficulty, admit of t e abdication of -King' Charles, Alunihr it appear that- it had -been ya r iiluntary ; but he was convinced, frum his intervicy p with.ght King, the Princes, the we'reattached , to the -.calamities of the • 1 ;1 I !. father, or the hopes of-his successor, of tjlp 491egdi and insult . committed upon King Charles..,Writ Monarch, still cloathed with paternal auefibrity,..tid dressed bitter complaints to his son, made hint reran to his duty, and• induced him finally to renounce' crown, ill secured by usurpation, and which could onk bring calamities of long duration upon the kingdoms - ; " These latter fears were, in fact, too, : veeil fo . . • ' ed—the ephemeral authority, of the Purace of Aim- rias only had served to rouse thelactions,andspbt i d discontent in the provinces. - The -people of M . . were in a state of agitation. The Prince, even be fore his departure, could.no longer govern, those to whom he owed his elevation. Quarrels freqnently arose between the inhabitants and the French soldiers .—to decry thL ancient Government, ctinfiscate the goods of the Prince of Peace, to seek for popularity by detecting abuses—this was called governing ; and 'wher. the Prince of Asturias had quitted Madrid, and absence had weakened his authority, the spirit of sedi tion displayed itself with more audacity, The in triguers combined with the neighbouring provinces : the number of strangers increased in Madrid ; and only the - wise measures taken by the Grand Duke of Berg, and the discipline of the troops he commanded could prolorig the duration of' the public tranquillity against- the efforts of a vile populace hired by conspi rators. But the spirit of sedition prevailed. Indul gence and goodness were imputed to weakness. A fresh insurrection, prepared several days before the publication of , incendiarrwritings, burst out on the 2d of May. The signal was the departure of the IQueen of Etruria and the Infante Don Francisco, i who were resolved to seek in Bayonne a shelter from popular insult. Some French Officers, who were I found alone, were first attacked. The insurrection ' spread and became general, but troops repaired wherever bodies of- the people were assembled, and dispersed the insurgents. One party seized , the arse nal, others fired froth the windows of the houses.— They were pursued" every where, and all who were found with arms in their hands perished. The sedi • tion belonged to the lowest class of the people. " The good conduct of the . Spanish troops, and that of the first'Aiithorities .of the kingdom, did not pass unnoticed. The Supreme Junta, the Council of Castile, the. Tribunals, the Captain General, repaired to the most populous and dangerous quarters, in or der to bring back' those who had strayed from their duty. " The 2cl of May was the last day of anarchy in Spain. The Infante Don Antonio still presided in the Supreme Junta I but after the departure of that Prince I who repaired to Bayonne, the Junta, in order to ac ! quire more strength and authority, conferred the Prel sidentship on the Grand Duke of Berg, on the very day when King Charles noMinated that Prince Lieu tenant General of the kingdom. " This co-operation of measures and testimonies of confidence, were a new pledge of the maintenance of public order. The Supreme Junta, and she Royal `Council of Castile, the first authorities of the king ' dom, thanked King Charles for the nomination of 11 his Lieutenant General, and testified their affection, their respect, and their adherence td his will. They congratulated themselves on again obeying his orders. They manifested to the Emperor their gratitude and' 1 confidence. Seeing harmony restored between the I Prince of Asturias and his august father, the Spa t niards could no longer hesitate in their fidelity. They saw in this Prince only the son of their King, and authority was restored to its lawful hands. 3 " But this authority , had suffered too much from 1 the attacks it had endured, When King Charlet heard of the second insurrection on the 2d of May, 1 he said to his son, a See the deplorable consequences 1 of the councils which have misled you, and the as sistance which is to be expected from the multititde." IThe father and sort were equally afflicted at the pro , gress which anarchy had made since the insurrection at Aranjuez, when it obtained such deplorable suc cess against the King. To what new miseries would not the people of Spain he reseised, if in so short an interval they had witnessed such licentiousness and ihorrors, the degradation of Royal authority, and • the standard of civil war raised by the populace of the capitall . I 41 Oppressed by ipfirmities and sorrow, the King saw, that to restore . Spain a more powerful arm was necessary. His sole concern new was, to secure the interests-of the Spanish Monarchy , its religion, inde pendence, and the irate , of its provinces. Charles IV. had governed his subleits . with equity. He had, ,under difficult circunissancei,,maintained the dignity ; of his Crown, tranquillity in the interior, and the safety of his kingdom—but When hi perceived that his diminished authority and power were no longer ladequate to so great a labour, and that he could still less intrust it to the Prince of Asturias, who during a tumultuous Government of forty days, commencing and ending in a revolt, had brought the kingdom on the brink of ruin—it was then that this Monarch re. solved to retire with his family into Prance, and wish ing to give his subjects a last proof of his paternal al. fection, he renounced, on the .sth of May, his crown and his tights-in favour of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, and notified his act 6f renunciation to i the Supreme Council of Castile, on the Bth. ' " The Prince of Asturias, informed of the dangers which surrounded his kingdom, followed the example 'of the King his father. On the 10th of May, he solemnly ceded all his rights to the Throne. A se cond act of renunciation, addressed on the 12th, to i the Supreme Junta, by this Prince and the Infantes Don Carlos and Don Antonio,releases the Spaniards, from all their obligations towards them, exhorts them to be in repose, and await . their felicity from • the benevolent disposition arid power of the Emperor.. " These hopes will he 141filkd. The Emperor is. full of esteem for the noble character of the Spanish nation. He desires the felicity and glory of so beau . tiful a kingdom. No province s hall be dismembered. The Monarchy shall be independent; the tenets of its. religion, and the splendour of its .throne, shall be maintained. , a The Dynasty which reigned in Spain• is about to be replaced by a new Dynasty, and spain hails these great changes with confidence. She reads her future destiny in the prosperity to which France has risen- under the reign of the Emperor. Tranquillity is assured in the capital ; and in the provinces, the inhabitants and the French troops live in friendship. " All the public Bodies, both civil and military,, have presented themselves to the L' utenant-deneral of the Kingdom ; and the arrival ,the new Sove reign, whom the Emperor fair ' r is *spec-, Led with impatience." .... 7.0... • "A ili b. . .. 1 , : .'' • - .. 4, FROM THE EPANISHVAPEgie " , ; -; . 142 1 r .:;: , *. • OVIEDO‘AUGUSIiI. .• • sii i/E 0 Idiers of Astdrias, th h novices .in the tit' ar are extremely eager to' ght, and to come 9 . ontact with the inviniibles.of Marengo, Austerlitz and Jena. The signal valour with which a fsw of caikeiteti-in-the Fola de Garden, have put . t o . "fl th irt ?- twciiilities of French dragoons, has deserved the - recommendation of Signior Valesteros, through .his Excelliney the Captain General - iii trie - gilpreme Junta. That Supreme Tribunal has of course taken measures to . reward those valiant warriors according 'tO the merit of each individuany,aad to publish in icrOaceitt the following dispatch r . OWE ow THE OFFICAL LETTER OF SIGNIOR VALEXTEIROX, . .OF THE DATE , p , I: : I Tyyl 81 ) TO THE MOST L. 6 .CELLENT SIGNIOX DON vrweiork lIARLA ACCORDO. .. ~ .. . ~ -.. MOLT EXCIELLCAT LORD! ' 41:41DDIDAUSIDIRD , to your Excellency, as I had offered to make *blowutoy ! I tbo,osBcubra of what has occurred , tome, in the liiiist de Oerdon, between the enemy and a detachment under the command of the Sub-Lieutenant of the Rord Carpi of Artillery, Don Matthias Carrascon, consisting of a Serjeant, a Corporal,ansl .14 Volunteer's of.Asturiis, in the evenlngof the •11611: Inst. The tenor of my letter willbe eonformable to the official com munication made to met?: tpe following effect: tl The party being at dinner in the street, eight French dragoons entered the place without the sentinel having beelt:dileps jive notice of their approach, be having advanced too far on account of the circumstance of the enemy having been at a distance of alee leagues on the precoding,day. Thus the dragoons Were at once , upon the little troop, word in band. There was no doubt that they were surprised, but the confusion lasted but a moment; starting up immediately on Carrascon's Crying to arms, they made one discharge, and then chargea with the bayonet; upon which the enemy fell back and retired precipitately, our men pursuing them as far as Robla, when they received si reinforcement of fresh cavalry, bat our brave fellows persevered .in their attack till they drove the enemy - liaise ibis:l*i sik4ixesnountains, hav ing one killed and four wouoaell. Tire t hatiOlightly wounded. In tbi, action, though small. * arixottit, acts ief. Taker hare been performed deserving of your Esicelleney's highest csositieration. There is no doubt that the brave fellows concerned will acquit themselves in the same brilliant Manner on occasions of greater importance. I recommend, therefore, that the Supreme Junta should bestow appropriate rewards on each individual, and publish their names in the Onette,to give effect to so good an example. FERROL, JULY 28. . .By authentic letters from England, received at Corium on the 22d, and dated the. sth of the present month, we learn, that in that kingdom a very ex tensive subscription has ,set on foot in favour of the widows and orphans of our brave companions. who die in the holy war in Which we are engaged. 0, generous England - I our heaits; full of grßtittide, inspire our lips with endless songs in your honour andj ' praise. Desolate . widows, deserisd „orphans,. com 4 ' fort yourselves. If a cruel death has clepnved.you of your dear husbands and beloved fathers.the virtuous islanders hold out to you a succouring hand.' If de= ' prived of your sweet supports you dread•the wretch edness from which their hands protected you ; the gold collected by beneficence comes to comfort your distresses. Hour treacherous friends sack our towns, and -kill our brothers, those who were for a time-compelled to, be our enemies, hasten to cure our wounds. Spaniards, let us all swear eternal'frienclship and , alliance with England—an alliance foUnded -in jus tice, generosity, and gratitude. Eternal glory and praise be to the noble patriots who die in so just a cause. Eternal glory and praise to England, which so worthily sustains that cause. " To conquer or die," be that our device. Marsoal Bessieres intended to have cut off the com munication between the provinces of Castile and As turias, and with that view, designed to occupy Tora as well as Zamora ; but being informed of the tra s lactions in Andalusia, and recilled . by expresses /ram his Court, he fell back and evacuated Leon, and ' marched, as report says, towards Madrid The Junta of Asturias, upon a representation of the city of Oviedo, and a strong statement by the Procurator-General, came to a resolution in its sitting of August 2, to abolish the existing system of police, as being contrary to civil liberty, to the laws-of the kingdom, and to the authority of the justices of the principality. 165 99 100 60 .-... I 177 13 . 1 193. 154 1111 . 41.116•Iil Cadiz . 47 67• ••••••+ 63 ,„ I . 97 ••= • iss i:::. I . 196 Si .-- 37 -- M, iOB 88 15 * • 67 176 150.1 11{, 55 iss• 108 • .32 • ,S 4 114, I. i ~~ 38 89 • • . 110 4( 16 49, S 6 155 102 pa. 111 106:- Tli? ;:* •Mt.gi I*." • • • ~ I~ ~ M•. ~' Granada • 14 . 110 01111,1••• Cordova 2t) 14 94 6. sfs 44 . 144 BS .68 50 136 .1•.: - • ! • ~~' 1011 34 • 34 149 - 7; t .° 9 ,97‘ , - .47,441 I Leon He 55 16 • .40 ` ~ U 112 Se .11•1111=11, • SS 14A. is 44 az ',..1.- ••• PRIVATE LETTERS. 41 CADIZ, JULY •t " It will have afforded you gratification to see all the Provinces simultaneously united in the cause which they have espoused of resisting the French. The Public Spirit has operated on the inha bitan'a with such force, that they have taken up arms in emula. doll, and enlisted in the defence of the ginrious cause. The re have been a few solitary instances of treason and perfidfSinsong 1 the Chiefs, these, however, have, not at all interrupted its pro gress—they speedily fell victims to the public vengeance. Th s 1 Soianos, Truzillos, Filangiers, ilorsas,Alabas, and others, have all been immolated by the exasperated people. At the .present day Spain has already $OO,OOO men in arms, who, without any other Suallfication than that of bravery, have given battles 'and gained • • victories in every direction. Spiid does net bemoan those victims sacrificed to its national honour, though many have fallen, espe• daily in the commencement of the conflict. The scents of Nu. mantis and Sagnntum have been renewed at Takntia, Saragossa, and Barcelona, but with better success. 'lhere are yet many a Vitiates and Sertorius found in thesi auspicious times, and we hear nothing here of robberies, massacres, and disorders, the usna: attendants of anarchy in other countries,Happy nation, which even in the lower'ordirs of its inhabitants knows to uphold and command respect to its acce4ometl point of honour ! GOD, the author and protector of justice, is our guide. Thus then are the Reach Eagles trampled in the dust, and of the Conquerors of Jena, Austerlitz, and Friedland, scarcely any thing will shortly rehabs bat the reminiscence. Nothing obstructs our stages to Madrid, aid tiler armies LIST sworn that they will fly and shut up the passes of the Pyrenees, as the sole guarantees of our liberty and independence. In the end we shall treat about organizing our internal Government, at the bead of which we place our King Ferdinand VII. proclaimed and supported by all the pro vinces composing this kingdom." " CADIZ, JULY 25. " On the 23d, our Allies, the English, embarked for Lisbon, to form a Junction with an army which is said to have arrived is that quarter from England. A detachment of 10,000 men goes iron; our army of Andalusia to attack Junot, in concert with the army of Estremadura, which is considerable. " If we had but a-sufficient number of muskets,we should at this moment have 800,000 men in arms in Spain. We hope that they Will not neglect to send us a supply from England. " CADIZ, JULY 26. " A most important victory has been obtained over ourselves: The Juntas of the different provinces were hitherto indisposed to come to a mutual understanding, and continued to dispute the authority of each other. To 'ma no, the Deputy from Gallicia, has succeeded in establishing harmony, and it is agreed upon that, in Septembei beg,there shall be a General Assembly of the Cortes at Toledo, where - a new Constitution will be promulgated. In the mean time, it is in agitation to appoint a Regent in the person of the worthy MoNttso , who traversed' Spain no less than ten times from one end to the other, and lighted up the flame width is consuming NAPOLEON. " Barcelona, though captured by the Imperial phalanxes who occupied Monsjny, has reduced them to the greatest distress; and the inhabitants of the principality are crowding from all quarters to rescue it from the power of the tyrant. Though badly provi. ded with arms, they abound in courage. They solicited Signior Vavas•to take the command, and eipected his arrival from the Balcarlc islands with 12,000 veteran troops in garrison there, whose breast kToived with eagerness • to assist their fellow-coun trymen ; buf the false polliy of the English Admiral, which how. ever, attaches no blame to' his Government, rends red their offers of service useless, by preventing the passage of our squadron, un der the command of VALDES. " •In•Cawile, the French made themselves masters of various points, in which they committed all kinds of excesses ; but the Inhabitants, far front being intimidated, were exasperated to such • a pitch, that even the women braved death, and defended them. selves with the most determined heroism ; so that the eagles et NAPOLEON wandered about in dismay. BLAKE conunands the Gallicians ; CL'F.S fA, the Castilians and Mountaineers ;—and JONES, the troops of Estramadura. Each kingdotat is a numerou s army, each city a complete division, cult town a regiment, and every inhabitant a hero. Such is the picture which the kingdom at large presents. The force under the command of JONts,con. slicing of 10,000 men, Is to proceed to the assistance of the Pot gues e. " The greatest order prevails in this city, and we have plenty of evert ;ids*" The following Itinerary of the principal great Roads from Madrid to the chief Towns of the Pi . will be found very convenient to all persons reading the Newspapers of clay. Many of the distances al, stated from actual admeasurement, others are taken froth the comptited Leagues of the country, as esti mated for the march of Soldiers or hire of Travelling Horses, some of -which have been corrected from the observations of the late M. Mtenaus, in his Trigonometrical Survey of Spain, in which he was employed, as well as in measuring a Degree of the Meridian in that country, 'son* dine before his death at Valen• cia, in 180.5. But as the country is very Mountainous, and consequently he Roads very crooked, no Geo. metrical Survey of' the distances between the chief Towns, as deduced from Maps, can deserve the least attention ; on the contrary, there are many places wkere the linear distances and the actual length of the Carriage Roads differ at least one-fourth. The nominal or common League of Spain is not less than four English miles, and the distance between Villages' estimated at a League, frequently varies from 3; to 4 English miles. . • Barlakm L.:. 3 . - 1 f'' ....... 139 '.201 •=1=1•• - . : . z_ . r , ~. r *C! . • 159 SS SS P*qp!omi 1.. 3 0, les .144, eantigli , 1,611 .10 . • os i~ 111 ~...... 71. SntOe. • 151- 76 I. Weds . SO 59 Piraigada r: , c: Ail .to 1 ,3I 1 134 _lOOl *lO4 --.0111 •115 1 50 I . 110 111 rs In stesi 4 I 45 I Zarsessa r .., Thisernble reiresents the number of Leagues between all the capital Towns of the*Provinces or King doms, and die Metropolis or Court of Spain,..Madrid. If it is desired to k n o w th e di s t ance between Badajos and Madrid, the angle.of i tlO;,Oluran under the formir, and immediately oppobite the latter, gives 69 Leagues,. or 252 English Miley; if from Badajos to Zaragossa, we find 115 Leagues, or 452 English miles: and so witk.al .the others. ~ . . N. B. The distincei in thii Table ire 'taken ott thi Car an riage Roads,- d not the 'Bridle Roads, which ate shorter, more mo untainous, aktgenerally impassable to any thing but Asses, Mules, SheeP;Cor Black Cattle. • N11;b46,:.: - I 1 144,4. Murc