The National Register. — London, England, 1808-05-08 00:00:00

trir rOrl .TIO • • In short then, it appears to us, that the the Spanish peo ple have been instigated to this riot, by no scheme of foreign intrigue originating with the Prince of •Peace, by no fear of foreign influence operating upon their minds, but by that angry spirit which so frequently actuates the mob of a country to rise for the overthrow of great men personally obnoxious, and of domestic measures poli tically disagreeable. If we consider the Spanish Insurrec tion merely iu this light, we shall find nothing irreconcile able in the various accounts that have reached us. The degradation of Godoy, and the favourable disposition manifested by the new king to the French, though they seem strange and contradictory events according to the hypotheses of those who refer every thing to foreign causes, will appear perfectly consistent on the admission of a domestic inducement. However, we beg to be under s►ood, that although we are not inclined fully to coincide with those who attribute every thing to French intrigue, or with those who attribute every thing to the fear of French power ; yet we do not by any means proceed to the length of denying that such causes may have operated : and we offer our own view of the case, not as a decision upon the question, but merely as a probable conjecture. But whatever may be the real causes of this Insurrec tion, and however difficult it may be found exactly to declare any of the results which it will produce, we thick it by no means equally difficult to point out some of the desired effects which it will not produce. It will not produce any material advantage either to the Conti nent in general, or to England in particular. If the dis position of Spain were friendly to this country, of which we see no sort of token, yet her power is totally inade quate to our service; much more then must it be inade quate to the restoration of that tranquillity, which seems to be attainable only by the overthrow of Bonaparte's do mination. The armies of the French are on the frontiers, nay, they are in the very territories of Spain : the Spanish troops are at a distance from home, employed in Germany for the service of French allies. Under all these circnmstances, what may we gather from the late events in Spain ? Not a hope for the countries of Europe, but a lesson for their Rulers and Philosophers. `inain which was once a State proudly pre-eminent among the Nations of the civilized world : Spain, which once was equal to the French Empire in military greatness, as she was allied to them by her rot al blood ; Spain, which was once the mistress of the seas, and tivj rival of England her self—Spain, that gallant country, the early abode of all that was glorious in feeling, in courage, and in wisdom—the seat of Chivalry, the flower of nurope—is fallen for ever from her high estate ; the pride of her national character, the strength of her armies, the power of her fleets, the here ditary dignity of her Bourbons, all, all, exist but as sha dows, the ghosts of agrandeur departed ! Such must ever be the fate of those countries, whose r:::::triess rises from accidental causes, and whose power is irlt. Lite overgrown might of a few ; while the nations that , :n.ch individual alike an interest in the safety of Ole whole, and by equal laws and encouragements call forth and retard at every period of their history, a con stant saccess'on of talent and virtue, may reasonably hope ter—stand firm against the tide of ages, although, as it fares with .England at the present moment, the world should rise in arms against them I :il' ::L&r Adm— MAY 8. REVIEW OF POLITICAL DECLAINIEIts, No. XIX. THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. In the thirteenth Number of our Paper we presented out Readers with a letter from a person of fashion io London to 1113 friend, a 3•oung+gentleman of family, who resides in the countr : and we made a promise of inserting, from time to time, such of his epistles on similar subjects as we could procure, vv;tll the assurance of authenticity. We now give a letter on the Hoed of Commons. DEAR R—, You wish to hear something of the House of Commons : ex pecting, doubtless, a great deal of panegyric on a body which has boasted so many illustrious men, and of which you will yourself he probably a member before you take your father's place in the Upper House. I dare say you think that an in stitution, on which the interests of the people so materially de pend, and which, indeed, is the great distinction that marks the superiority of the British Constitution over every other. is conducted in such a manner as to imisress the mind with a feeling of veneration at once for the majesty of the people, for the worth of their representatives, and for the wisdom of our ances tors who framed such a branch of the Legislature. My dear R. you are quite wrong if you fancy any such thing. You see, in deed, the Speaker looking very grave, and even wise : fur who would not look wise with a wig at which the frisears of the time of King Charles the Second would have started in amaze ment ? And below you see some clerks, quietly sitting at a table in front of the Speaker's chair : but other abject of dig nity there is none, unless by chance the Master of the Rolls he at his place, who always sits in his wig and gown. The rest of the Members amuse themselves as they please, till the very moment of entering the House, * so that when they appear in their places, their boots and round hats give an inexpressible air of graceful negligence and ease to the naturally formal cha pel of St. Stephen. They even sit with their hats on their heads; despising those old-fashioned forms which our ancestors denominated by the name of good breeding. For as the Mem bers of this House for the most part are men who keep the best company, and as no good company now-a-days would tolerate what was once called good breeding, many gentlemen, out of mere compliment to the fashionable women of their acquaint ance, have thrown off such formal customs, and introduce the manners of the ladies *ho lead the ton into the councils of the men who direct the nation. By an easy transition, the enemir; of old breeding have become the enemies of old morality: and unless the House of Commons at largo shall make some rule to check the innovations of some of its Members, or unless their Constituents shall laugh them out of their stable jackets, we shall hope to see modern manners and modern morals at last understood as well on the benches of the House of Commons, ay even on Newmarket heath, or at the fives-court for sparring.. The Members employ themselves in different ways according to their peculiar tastes. Some go up stairs into the long gal leries that are put up on each side like those of a church, and are lulled to sleep by the sonorous soporifics of the vast drisato : not a few, removed to a c nivenient distance, enjoy all the plh.a sures of friendly conversation; and in common with the strangers who come only as visitors, determine to make themselves happy, notwithstanding the frequent hints which the Speaker throws out in many expressive little phrases, such as, Order in the Muse —Order at the Bar!—Order under the Gallery!—From the in attention with which many gentlemen receive these hints, even while some Cabinet Minister is speaking, I have sometimes been tempted to conceive, that they had the presumption to fancy their own conversation as beneficial to the country as the Teri n of the Right Hun. Geelecoan or Noble Lord who might be .....