The National Register. — London, England, 1820-04-09 00:00:00

, II 6 i::' c • • / i c .~- _ ~ ~/ 7^..7 ;~ ---: Aatia No. 1,236.—V0L. XIII.] HORRIBLE MASSACRE AT CADIZ. The following extracts of letters furnish the details of this melancholy event:— "CADIZ, MARCH 14. "011 Friday last I was witness to a scene that far surpasses my power of description, and one scarcely to be paralleled for horror, treachery, and atrocity, in the annals of the French revolution. On the gilt inst. the Captain-General of Andalusia, who, I believe, is also Governor of Cadiz, arrived here from Port St. Mary's, and soon after a meeting of all the naval, military, and civil authorities of the place was convened, at which it was agreed to proceed the same evening to the establish ment of the constitution of 1812. It was then perfectly understood that the Captain-General, in the course he was pursuing, acted on the King's authority; and it has been since proved that the King s signature to the con stitution was actually in his possession. On Thursday night the whole city was illuminated by order of the civil authorities; and on Friday, at twelve o'clock, the people were invited to meet in the square of St. Antonio, to witness the ceremony of laying down the stone of the constitution, at which time not less than 50,000 persons of all ranks were collected in the streets. To the horror of all, without the least notice or provocation, between two and three thousand intoxicated soldiers' were let loose upon them, who began indiscriminately to murder stun, women, and children. To murder, succeeded pillage, with every species of CXCeI3 , and the scene of horror continued, almost without intermission, to a late hour at night. It will be some tune, without doubt, before all the consequences can be known, but we have already obtained returns of 419 persons killed, and up wards of 1000 wounded. Just before the commencement of this tragical proceeding, the American Consul was taking his morning walk in the same place as myself, but he quitted at eleven o'clock to go home and dress, aH the foreign consuls having received a special invita tion to attend the celebration in the square of St. An tonio. Soon afterwards I hard a number of shots fired, which I disregareled at first, taking them for the usual signs of osjoiciag, until a ball passed within a Few feet of the spot where 1 stood, and I perceived a poor fellow fall, wounded, to the ground. In my alarm at this took to my heels, with the intention of gaining my own house as fast as possible, and many others followed my example; but we suddenly encountered a small party of L'o soldiers, or thereabouts. They fired upon us, when all our party, except myself and two others, took flight in a contrary direction. For any own part I stood still, and taking off my hat, called aloud in Spanish, • May the King live for ever, and down with the constitution!' Even this did not prevent a cowardly fellow from run ruing at me with his bayonet, which, however, I fortu nately warded off with my left arm. From that liniment till I got home 1 continued singing out as above, and appealing to every soldier I met. One of the two per sons who followed my example, in going up to the troops instead of running away, was stabbed through the thigh, and his coat and money taken from him. This infamous business can only be attributed to Valdes and Gen. Cartipana, the former Governor of Cadiz, ad interim, the latter commander of the troops at Cadiz. During the whole struggle they have been abusing their power without reason, having at different times, and on mere suspicion, arrested upwards of 40 of the principal merchaot,. It is generally believed that, finding their power gone, and their lives at stake, they urged on the troops, b y bribery and liquor, to coolant the excesses of which I have given but a faint description. Tie King's s.gnattire the constilution has been made public this morn tag in an otiicial manner, but the civil authorities refuse to attend ally meeting till the troops are removed Clam Cam z. Tne . public mind is becoming more tran nnil titan for sem eral days past, but still the troops must be removed front the city before any 1111111 can consider his life as secure. Time fatal cousequetwes of the 10th have inn !ken confined to the natives of Cadiz, but I am told that sa cral foreign Captains lost thc..ir lives in tive confusion. Tin. Captain of the Navagores received wontiti in rue title, and was rubbed of every thing. It is to he hoped tiie d!llerent Consuls will seek satisfaction for the numbers m, iii it countr men killed and and for the ri,l;, ii) %%hiela they have been individually exposed. Bull is never proper!) represented. air Giusti', wbo is bound e be in Cadiz, resides in tile country, and consequently we have nu one to stand op for our A proclamation was published by the Captain-General wt the morning of the day when the work of butchery took place; io fact, many were reasliii.z it at lie tune they received their deaths.— It concluded is f0110%%.$ " ith4ititants ul From this mnlnnit you mistitunonal reptesent,ttion. Krum this moment let ali itr.s cease which are disaoimtved of by the code tvll;elt yoo hate proclaimed. IL Jain peaceable: Lay :Aide every recollection of past Ittureds, and let no other cry he heard among you hut that of •• Long live the Nation!" (Signed) •' MAN LALL FILLIRE." " Cadiz, March tu. "CADIZ, AIARCH 14. " I commenced this letter to you on the 10th—a day %ditch kill form a blot in the annals of Europe—a milittr+ [PincE 94d. 11th ; but instead of communicating it to any one. sent back for answer, that " an oath once taken must be adhered to, and that it was not to be assumed or cast off like a part of dress." I think, therefore, that Seville will remain true to the Constitution. Va Ides, Campanili, and Col. Barrotelo, are said to be instigators of the affair at Cadiv. " P. S. We just hear that tranquillity is restored at Cadiz, and that the Constitution is to be sworn to this day." " Caste, Maack *4, maim Wasiak at mien. " We just learn that dm troops owed in the fate massacre are at this moment hard pressed in their bar racks, (where they had barricaded theniselves,) by the people and the other troops on their side. It is possible that they may remain a long while in this situation, as they are by no means in want of provisions. Wo have reason to believe that the barracks in possession of the besieged troops are those of Santa Helena and San 80. gees, which are situated within the two bulwarks so named in front of the fortification of La Puerta de la Tierre." MADRID, MARCH SO. "1 hare related to you the scene which occurred at Cadiz on the 10th. At the conclusion of that dreadful affair, the troops repaired to the barracks called La Bombs, and from that time till the 14th the inhabitants remained closely confined to their houses. Meantime, notwithstanding this want of communication with each other, the opinion was current throughout Cadiz that sonic dreadful retaliation was meditated on their put. A despatch from General Freyre to General O'Donnell has been received, dated on the 10th, front Cadiz, con cluding with these words :—"lhe inhabitants of this town compelled me yesterday to promise them the con stitution On this day, but I am happy to inform you that I have gloriously disappointed their wishes, with the assistance of my brave troops, who continue faithful to the august person of the King.'" " CADIZ, MARCH 14. "The carnage and plunder on the tomb oonuntnceil in the morning, to the cry of Live the King!' and con tined till i t o'clock on the following day. History fur nishes no instance of an outrage of so violent a nature, as tipt people certainly had not ventured to manifest any external symptoms of joy until they were authorised to do so by their governors. Before to-day none of the doors of the boosts have been opened, and scarcely a person has been seen in the streets. All are elamourona for vengeance. Such is the hatted to the soldiery, that every one who ventures out alone dies, and more than 30 have already shared that fate. The Sandunck Boy has arrived at Bristol, bearing despatches, which were instantly forwarded to London. The Captain reports that he was in Cadiz on the gth ult. when the Spanish General and Admiral proclaimed the constitution, amid the most enthusiastic applause of the inhabitants, the people exclaiming, " rive!. Constitu tion!" The garrison and the fleet the same evening fired a feu-de-,laic. On the ensuing day, the Constituted Au thorities, and the British and other Consuls, were invited by the General to hear the proclamation of the consti tution read, at 12 o'clock, on a platform erected for the purpose in the centre of the Grznd Stare, and an im mense mass of people congregated, in Joyful expectation of this consummation of their libenies. About an hour before the time arrived, a h.i party of Royalist troops, without any possible assignable cause except that of plunder, marched down, and instantly commenced a most destructive fire on the unarmed multitude, killing nearly 500 men and women. Front this period it was instant death to appear in the streets. Several instances of robbery of British individuals by th e soldiers occurred. One Captain of a ship was deprived of a valuable watch and chain, betides a considerabl:y sum of money; and another was glad to escape with its life by the instant surrender of his property. The mithary seemed to have deterinnied on an indis criminate slaughter, for no sooner did an individual ap pear in the streets, however respectable, than he was instantly shot. 1.1. e inhabitants were fired at in the balconies of their windows; and on the 11th, upwards of 5250 more fell victims to the ferocity of the soldiers. The British Consul had retired with has family to Saint Mary's, on the other side of the Bay. The military were in possession of the town when Captain Sqd.re sailed on the 15th ; but the gun-boats were peons% to attack the city hates; and on the 16th he heard a conti nued firing for Ave hours in that quarter. By advises from Mogadore of the Bth of March, it appears that the plague MS still raging in the kingdom of Morocco. In the capital, which Icon. tains a population 100,000 persons, th..i daily number of deaths bad recently been 800 ; but Ow mortality had so far subsided, that they had been reduced to little more than 200 daily. No reliance, however, could be placed on this circum stance as an indication of the it;T:•oaching term'. nation of the disorder, us it had more than (ince di minished in malignity, and again risen to the same fatal height. In Mogadore the dcat:is were sixteen or eighteen daily, in a population of 12,000. hill IN t t 4 ...- p 4 i 44 ,4 4 "Sr eur sing, it oruititution Mai Natoli. SUNDAY, APRIL 9, 1820. day which will never be forgotten —a day horrible and cruel. On the cols Cadiz was quiet and tranquil. At twelve o'clock at noon on that day Gen. Frcyre arrived from Port St. Mary's, and entered Cadiz by the sea-gate. A crowd of people were collected to witness his entry. On his stepping on shore, he galled out in a load voice, which was distinctly heard by nurobers " City of Cadiz, lam conic to establish your constitition." A great en— thusiasm was manifested among the mass of the oeople ; but the step appeared so extraordinary to many, that dis trust could not be wholly banished. l'he General, how ever, at four o'clock, again made his appearance in the square of Si. Antonio, and in person gave notice to the public, that on the following morning, at 10 o'clock, lie would install the stone of the constitution, and that it should be sworn to itninediately afterw ards. The people, not satisfied at this, eagerly called aloud," Now ! now !" General Imre, apparently acted on by this de claration of the public will, drew. front his pocket the book of the constitution, and leaned it, exclaiming, " Now, then, the oath is taken ;" to-morrow the re maining requisite solemnities shall he performed linniediately after a flag was displayed, with the em. blem, " lave the Constinition,anti live Freyre our rege nerator. The General then required from the people an assurance that tin animosity or setigeance should be shown against auy body ; upon which the people called out, that " iii free hearts no malice existed, and that all would be forgiven." At this time I was in a house that commanded the whole scene. Immediately after the gaol and the castle were opened, and all the persons who had been arrested were brought fettle. This bustle con tinued the whole night, during which the city was il. lusninated, but no disorder of any kind took place. The following morning, in the Diana, an order signed by the General was issued, that all the houses should be deco. rated ; and that the municipal authorities should form ' themselves into a procession, in order to assist at the re gular proclamation of the constitution, and that the city ratioold be illuminated for three nifhts us succession.— The stone of the constitution was wiled into the middle of the square of St. Antonio, to peperotien for the 41mummouy. A memage was seat So Isle of Leon, so invite General Quiroga and his to be present on ir the occasion. The whole city, mom% of the 10th exhibited a scene of pleasure and hilarity which nothing could equal. A large party proceeded towards the land gate, equipped with ooldrades of green and red, to welcome the troops from the Isle of Leon. The hour of semi approached; brat—my Vali how can I ex press it I—as the clock struck, thenmOops began firing . upon the unhappy . people, crying aloud, " Live Ferdi nand, and down with the Constitution!" The greatest terror and consternation ensued among the poor sufferers, who, in their confusion. ran and II over each other, o not knowing in what way escape ild with safety be effected. lam credibly informed 4at brandy had been previously administered to the sold' s in large quanti ties, in order to stimulate them to his deed of blood, , and in order to increase their ferocitliend brutality. Gen Freyre himself, I am also assured, itas seen at the head of the troops, giving orders, and aging them on. As soon as the assembled people had nearly all dispersed, the officers disappeared from among the soldiery, who, deprived of all control exercised over them, soon lost all subordination, and the whole city resembled a place given over to the horrors of a military assault. This scene of drunken violence and savage brutality lasted from ten in the morning till eight in tue evening, when the officers again interfered, and by degrees succeeded in conveying the intoxicated troops to their quarters. The dead bodies in the streets exceeded 400, and the woun ded are without number. At the scaffolding which was erecting for the ceremony of proclaiming tile Constitu tion eight carpenters were at work, of whom five were killed. For hours after the termination of this horrid business we were looking at each other, none of us able to conjecture the causes which prodnee.d it, vet no tnan venturing to question his neighbours. The whole business, it is now believed, was a stratagem, for the purpose of deceiving the troops in the Isla, and of decoy ing them to their destruction. Quiroga, it appears, was deceived by the proceedings going on within the city, hut, by some accident, was compelled to deter his entry tili it! o'clock, by which means he had tune to hear of the commencement of this horrible massacre, and guard against the consequences to himself and his troops:" SEVILLE, MARCH 15. " Cadiz is in a dreadful state, and we are not without apprehensions that similar scenes will be exhibited here. Preyore proclaimed the Constitution at Cadiz nu the 9th, and on the following day collected Dearly all the people to witness the conclusion of the ceimony. to which all the foreign Cotisnh. were iasited. the tilitlst of it, wit limit any previons intimation, the totoltemling people were fired Ilion, and charged with the bayonet, Lite sol diers' not eevit sparing the women sod children : 400 killed lav in the street., and 9on were taken to the hos pitals. Vreyere, the iiexttiay, fled to Port St. Nlar)'s, h i s h eai l.. ( p la rter:, whence he issued orders to Ole Gn. cr• tines uf all the towns iu Andalusia, cull'ne int Unt' to abjure the constitittioti. although the oath, by his own order, 11,.d been takcn Ott the 9th. Geocral . o . l)oo.i.ja, oar Governor, recent:it the older of abjuration on the