The National Register. — London, England, 1822-01-21 00:00:00

20 ~~ R ~"'"•~ew COHBENEuA 1.1 ( •E 1110 M :.•1'.11.V. BILBOA, JAN. 3.-1 have the satisfu•tion of in forming you, that the banditti who hovered about this town, and who hoped to have an opportunity for plundering it on Christmas-day, are entirely dis persed. It was in vain that they took a position on a hill, from which they made signals and fired mus ketry, either for the purpose ot• seducing or alarming the inhabitants of this place; for during the whole time every thing remained tranquil. The following circumstance mainly contributed to their dispersion: —The curata Guazala had engaged a person named Lends, who had obtained the temporary command of the Regimentary Militia, in a criminal correspond ence. The curate despatched an emissary to his correspondent with a letter, but in consequence of this messenger being in a state of intoxication when he reached the city, the whole plot was discovered. The emissary and the commandant were immediately arrested. The letter contained a request that the commandant would hold himself ready with all the men at his disposal, and that he would post at the gates of the city men in whom he could place con fidence, in order to fiteilitate the entrance of the banditti into the city. The immoral conduct of the curate of Guarda, who carries about with him a number of prostitutes, has Yost him the favour ut•some of the Serviles, nho might otherwise have been disposed to encourage his proceedings. Two days ago he robbed an agent belonging to a neighbouting village, and took from him 3,000 reels, with which he had been intrusted to make several purchases. For a long time past the enemies of constitutional liberty had, by all the means in their power, how ever vile they might be, endeavoured to organize some plan in the provinces bordering upon France. Bayonne seems to have been the fiiens from whence the genius of evil spread its pestilential breath.— Several refugees in that town were planning bow civil war might be brought about in these tranquil districts, and • it is to be lamented that the French Government could permit conspiracies to be hatched against a government and a nation with whom it is in peaceful relations. About - the middle of Dec. some discontented hands were else rvtd in Arragen,but quickly sub dued by the firmness of General Alava anti the troops : about that time, also, several small towns and villages in Navarra manifested the same dis content ; many young men left their homes and farmed themselves into strong bands. The dis affected or seduced have met with the fate they de serveal, for they have been completely dispersed, and they returned home cursing those who, under the cloak of a religion which they insult, had worked up their minds to bloodshcd and violence. Navarra is quite tranquil now. There can be no doubt but that the plan had ra mifications in Biscay ; and what must scandalize every man that wishes well to his country is, that priests have been the chief instigators and directors of these plans. Bilboa most fortunately possesses a holy of vo lunteers composed of the select and most sound part of its population. In April last this very corps contributed to put a stop to the insurrection in the province of Alava. It was therefore natural to suppose that these -.)lunteers (who have armed and clothed themselves at their own expcnce) were looked upon with jealousy and hatred by those men, unworthy of the !ratite ot• Spaniards, who aimed at plunging this province into the most criminal ex cesses. The insurrection in Navarra was afterwards known, and on the 25th of December, in conse quence of circulars sent by a priest to some villages, many men turned out, and armed themselves in the neighbourhood ofCerverio, four leagues from Bilboa Ti.is latter (Gun bad then only b 1 soldiers of the egulors, .50 of whom, together with 50 volunteers of iniantry alai 12 of cavalry, immediately set out 14 some of the refractory districts, which they soon brought to a sense of duty. However, thy same priest, called Guesala (formerly a guerilla chief of tin reputation, (scoured other villages, and, aided by ether priests and friars, held out to the peasants as a lore the plunder of Bilboa, which town being considered rich, could nut but be a point of aurae two to a set of wretches whose minds were wrap ped lip in ideas of pillage and violence. Accordingly, on the morning of the 29th of Dee. Bilboa was beset on all sh!es by these bands of mis creants, accompanied by others who attended tattering the spotli. It 'oust he ree.,ll,:cted 11 14 1 surrounded by high mountains. It wic. limn that the spirit and intrepidity of the v iltn.tvers were him w eualiy formed into tl.t pantie, ti„ w beget& to leave the town in Newell w tl.e rely i., anti Ili, st. latter, intinntluted ly the br..eery of tio• eintneteen, shun commenced ilyitig trt a I et:iion„h they were mute au nu,. a:AI had betel than the &dam pet,- r te. in ad quartere toe tebt•ia wer4 defeated with aad they ilitle,tl ea aI. uwArda.., Wu. h 1. 0 4 44 4" 4146 " 71.11 - S 4 mak _ THE NATIONAL REGISTER natural to such wretches : fur, amongst many other instance's, there was a friar at the top of a hill, with 40 armed men, whom he had seduced from their homes. These men, though attacked by only nine Bilboa volunteers, who had to ascend the steep ' dace, fled after tiring akw shots. The nine vo lunteers pursued them for Imlf a league, killing tour, wounding several, e and dispersing the whole set. The same was tip result on all sides, and thus the whole insurrection was quelled: the small co lumn of volunteers and troops that had gone to Ccverio returned the same day. The Chief of the disaffected bands is wandering about the mountains, accompanied only by a fi w men. Sonic of the other leaders have demanded pardon, and all their followers have returned to their homes, repenting their folly, imploring par. don, and cursing those who had misled them. The whole province is pacified, and as exemplary pu nishment will be inflicted on some of the leaders, it is not expected that the peace of these districts will be again disturbed.] ro the body of Bilboa volunteers, and only 80 soldiers, is due the pacification of those parts of the province that rose up. It must, however be added, that several districts of Biscay took no part in the insurrection. Thus in a few days have been wholly defeated and umhme, the infernal plans of those who, ac customed to be slaves, wished to prepare the way, by partial insurrections to sonic extended plans directed towards constitutional liberty. What really must fill with indignation the breasts of all honest men, is that clergymen, whose duty, as coin inanded by our Saviour, is to preach the Gospel and good morals, should have been the firebrands of re bellion and bloodshed. It is the priests who took the lead, arc rt markable for their bad morals, cha racter, and ignorance. One of the means of statue. tion was the offer of the plunder of !WWI, for which they had prepared themselves with hatchets, bags, Am.; and their intention was to have seized on every thing including British and all other Imeign property. Thank Ged, all their plans have been destroyed, and every one has returned to his duty. A column of troops of the line is since artived, and scours the country, in order to take ep any miscreants if found. The tranquillity of Bilboa was never disturbed. Pi.um•rtt.ns or t'PAIN, JAN. 4.—Since the night of the ultimo, the mays of the line have seen nothing of the insurgents, except at Artajuna, where a few musket shots were exchanged on the evening of the 27th; but the banditti speedily fled. They are completely discouraged in consequence of the flight to France of sonie of their leaders, who, it is said, are to be tried before the Court of Assize at Pau, for having violated the Fiench sanatory laws About 30 mcu belonging to l'ampeluna, who had ken seduced to the banditti, had Liked advantage of the amnesty, and returned home. There has been for some time in Madrid a rumour of a tUrmation of an Upper Chamber in the Cartes, in imitation of the French and English legislatures. One of the journals of that city speaks of this plan in the fUllowing terms:— " To what are we indebted for liberty in Spain? To the people. To that people who triumphed at Aranjues and at Madrid on the 2d of May; Sa ragossa, at Valencia, at Seville, and throughout all Spain. The people, in tine, were their own deli. verers; and to them it is solely owing that Spain did not bend to the French yoke, and that Ferdi nand recovered his crown? What mean then these reports of the establish ment of an Upper Chamber, whit:h spread alarm among the lovers of the constitution, and give plea sure to the friends of despulisn.? The Spanish nation is fauly repreatzted, and what more can be wanted?" . 1 he Journalist then miters into an examination of the composition of Chamber of Peers, and demon strates that such an institution in Spain would an nihilate liberty and the constitution. It is asses ted that the Nlatquis ut Campo Verde is appointed Commandant General of Seville, with the unilendantling that as 50011 as be is installed he shall give up the command to Don Salvador Sebastien. These schemes are however useless, for it is certain that the people of Seville will nut part with General Velascip, and the Politieal Chief Eacovedu. Dec. 19.—Upon entering the city ten days ago, first after the (*Minn was raised, it was most affecting to see those few who were entering at the Slane fink', embraced by their friends and ac quaintance, woo had not seen them fiur tour months, as it they had come from a liar distant country, utter an abaeuce of many years. The streets lonely, the public walls toveriat with mourners, the ringing of bills, the passiog of religious prota:ssions, and mime,. rims outer intlieat 1111 l s, sal press, d upon tits mind the recuifretion ut the recent sufferings of this fine city. 'Tie number a f the dead is given in by the Junta at beta tett 9 and 10,000; but it in the general opiuiou, anal hour what I mentioned, ill 'intuited, that the mortality, especially at the eounnenceuitnt of the =2t,„t...,*! ,.: A' '~-~r-~~i~ epidemic, was represented by the municipal autho rities as much lower than its actual amount, which it is believed approached in all to very nearly twenty thousand. We have bud here quite a conelive of physicians. Besides the resident practitioners, .% are numerous, we have had five commissioner:: front the French Government; one from the French Se cretary at War ; one (Mr. Lassia) the author of a respectable work against contagion, on his own ac count, or on account of the French Academy; tour commissioners from Carthagena, sent by the Spanish Government; one front Madrid (Mr. Leymerie) at tached to the French or American legating there and two volunteers from London (Drs. Maclean and O'Halloran.) The two latter gentlemen were called in to visit one of the physicians of Barcelona, a very promising young man of the name of Duran, who hail been attended by all his colleagues of the city, had been despaired of, and, as is customary in such canes, had received the sacrament and extreme unction. He is now in an advanced state of con valescence. These two gentlemen had been received by the constituted authorities, and continue to be treated with the most marked distinction. They have been directed by superior orders, to be supplied with every infin•n n rtinn they may require. Dr. Maclean carne here from Madrid, by the immediate orders of the Drug of Spain. He ie uliderstood to be prep: ing a history upon epitlemy. His works upon epidemic disease have been laid before the superior Junta of Health of the metropolis; and the Cortes are said to have suspended the consideratiim of the laws of health, in consequence of the impres sion which they have made, until more ample in fortmition shall have been obtained. It is expected that the report which he is preparing for the Cortes, concerning the fever of Barcelona, and epidemic diseases in general, will be unusually circumstantial. Dr. O'Halloran is also preparing a report upon the subject. He has distinguished himself much by his dissections. About a week ago died of the prevail ing malady, a priest, who, atter having resided for some time in the country, visited Barcelona, and, as he nus a good deal known, his death Las occasioned many of the fugitives to suspend their intention of returning fir some weeks longer. The communica tion is, however, entirely free, and both contagionists and non-contagionists consider the city a perfectly sate residence, at any rate until the next autumn. But not so the French Government, it seems; for it is said they have no intention of raising their cordon of troops until the summer, a report which confirms a great proportion of the people of Spain in the sus picion that the French cordons continue to be, as they believed them originally, a political stratagem, directed more against the contagion of Spanish prin ciples, than of the fever of Barcelona. By the Prince Regent packet from the Leeward Islands, letters dated the '2lst of December were received on Friday last from St. Thomas's. On the Spanish Main nothing of any moment had occurred, nor had there been any interruption of tranquillity in those places occupied by the Independents. It has been mentioned in the American papers, that a Spanish squadron blockaded the ports of the Main along the whole range of coast ; but it appears if that is really the case, to be extremely deficient in vigilance, as trailers were in the IL:bit of passing from St. Thomas's to Laguayra, and other places within that limit, without the least molestation, and the merchants of the island de not seem even to be aware of thoblockade. ‘Ve learn by letters from St. Domingo, received at St. Thomas's, that the Spanish part of that island is making efforts for its indepene dence, which had every prospect of being successful. The Independents, it is said, have become masters of the city of St. Domingo, the capital of the island : and the surroutuling country has united with theta in asserting their freedom. We arc further in timmed, by letters of the 16th of November front Port-au-Prince, also received by the Leeward Islands' mail, that • similar spirit had manifested itself at Monte Christ°, where the Patriots hail gained the ascendancy. Many fugitives from Monte Christo, attached to the Royalist cause, had arrived at Port au-Prince, where they were permitted to laud by President Buyer, and treated with kindness and hospitality. Some letters assert that the President, encouraged by the dist.nion that reigns in the Spa nish possessions, is colleeting troops with the view of conquering and annexing them to his own tali writs : but this does not rest on very good tinnula dam. Much complaint is made in the mercantile letters from St. Thomas's, of a singular piece of negligence either on the part of the master of the Prince Regent packet, or the agents of the Post offioe, by which the merchants of that island have been prevented receiving their English letters.-- Whether the bag tin' St. Thomas's was left behind at Felmouth or at Barbadocs, is not clearle ascer taitied; but it is certain that time packet arrived ut the former island without it. We need not advert to the übvious inconvenience this would occasion to merchants, especially those who were exoecting remittances ; but we trust this culpable iteghcence will be uuticed as it should be in the proper quarter. N. . . -