The National Register. — London, England, 1814-08-28 00:00:00

r •••• • • - THE NATIONAL REGISTER. our Ming, Constitution, aim tato. PUBLISULD AT NO. 11, NEWCASTI4C-STItEET, STRAND. N, 343. POLITICAL 1)1.522U151T10N. 1 Ali 9 UST 9.,8, ISI4. SUNDAY, undertake to prove that revolution which depri they poses the docurn PRICE gd. If the one could give or the other take away, the right of transfer must continue, and the fee simple of Spain, like the title to an estate, may be willed to, or disposed of, at the Plea sure of the possessor—the entailment is, hoWever, with the people, and the, power they have a, right to assume is otily conditional upon the office they have created. It has more: over particularly •been proved in . thi• transactions of the Cortes, that the crown of Spain is'elective. • In case these parties come to open - hostilities, it will be curious to investigate the character of 'their 'respective VA lowers. The literates, or liberal party; dnring the war, were the friends of Ferdinand, infusing into and cheilshlo, in the people that spirit of resistance which led to their final triumph. In gratitude for. this exemplary - assistance, the' filsCact of their favourite was to• 'destroy the constitution 'they had funded, and to incarcetatesome of their niiistableleriders.. They are of course no longer friendly to the succession of Ferdinand. • He has-then - only to look to the serriTes, or ser vile party, and these indeed seem to be the associates of his, tyrannical designs. To their flattery and his confidence we .owe the re-establishment of the Inquisition and the favoriti , m .• of bigotry. Great part of this man's life is spent amongst the .black . lettered legends of fanatics and ascetic monks, and . • in visiting convents and nunneries ; so that It may be said Qf him, as of one of the Phillips, that he is better fit to carry the keys of a convent than to wield the sceptre of a kingdom. Indeed he appears to think that the safety of his Throne de • pends upon the restoration of all those obnoxious establish ments, which a wise and .liberal policy had induced the Cortes to destroy . The coniequences are . inevitable, and Ferdinand must ultimatelylaeconte the victim of this infer nal agency. • The parties upon whom the father .r,).q son rely for sup port, agree in'ihe intended reStoratfori, though they widel• differ in principle. The first are those whom. Ferdinand 1).4 outlawed and stripped of their property, and may be tertne!! fasifinos. since they consist of who accepted of employ: ',Dent under the late Usurpers these are of the first families. men of great capacity in . the science of Government. At their bead we may name Azanza and O'Farrel, Ex- Minister's ; besides an enterprising body of political adherents —abow 10,000, and who are now resident in France. There ine, t parracide was intended to follow ►h: is'ed Charles of his Throne, and tl:a: lents and vouchers to substantiate ti - ic • .e; 4 . 4 . SPAIN. The afrrirs of Spain approach a melancholy crisis, and the want of an external enemy seems to have set loose all the deadly passion% that prey upon a nation's welfare. The ter mination of fi,reign warfare seems to be the signal for the commencement of civil strife, and the resolution of Charles the Fourth to attempt the recovery of his Throne, must in volve that onhappy country in new difficulties and in new dangers. This attempt, however, must be attended with much personal risk, and requires a degree of exertion and conduct, the reverse of the pacific and indolent disposition of the King. But what the King is deficient in, his wife, Maria Louisa, will supply, and we may expect from the in• triguing disposition of the woman, an energy and ambition sufficiently powerful to disturb the present settlement of Spain. The Queen is of a masculine and intrepid charac ter, priard and 2opiring, and a deadly enemy to her son Fer dinand, of whose popularity she was always jealous, and as she is at the bottom of the present movements subversive of hie authority, it may be worth while to ascertain the grounds and probability of success upon which the restoration of her husband is founded. It is almost useless to enquire by what right Ferdinand the seventh ascended the Throne during the life time of his father. The nation has not consented, and the act which might have legalisNl the assumption of the sovereign•autho. city he has destroyed. Is it by virtue of his father's abdica tion ? It must be remembered that during the revolution of AranjHez, excited and effected in favour of Ferdinand,. ostensibly through the misconduct of Godly, then Prime Mi nister, Charles is said to have abdicated, but we have no one document that can legalise his abdication. The step was dictated by fear alone, and . effected by intimida tion. Cavallero and the Dukes del Infantado 'and San Carlos, made the King believe that %itch a measure was necessary to the safe►y of his life. These were the public iends and secret abettors of Ferdinand, and were amongst the number of those who sought the retention of their rank and power in the degradation of thi!ir sovereign. But the na tion can alone judge of the legality of the act—and; if the abdication of Charles be final, the foimal resignation of his kingdom to Buonaparte is equally binding upon his successor, Vol. VI. A. CCCILIII. (` ••• I i