The National Register. — London, England, 1815-01-08 00:00:00

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[FROM A CORRE%P.)NDFR r• 1 geance ; Lut severe as it i s , we h ave no d ou b t b ut t h at. i t i s ssr .1 lit ir L - l less so than would hav e b een t h at o f t h e C ortes ,. peri l- The number of lamentations over the fall of this Body 1 I eularly if the philosophical p ar t y h a d preva il e d, ari d h a d . title . woud lead an ordinary indi viduallo think th a t it's career had - . s been one of honour, usefulne ss a nd intelligence. On theessed his power, and be e n i n p l sce w i t h ou t an enemy i n contrary, during their whole e x i s t e nce, th e ir proceedings were their territory. They were , we repeat , a ll atheistical all their conversation was of a sce pti ca l t en d ency , an d t h e G o d marked with ferocity to their o wn fellow citizens, infidelity iii their eneagements with th e i r a lli es , an d, i n short, of their idolatry was Voltair e . O ne o f th e i r di sc i p l es es k e d a gentleman the best and cheape s t wa y t o o bt a i n t h e writ by the most utter incapacity in the e xerci s e of their duties •• as legislators, as well as the Most ridiculous prejudice tu gs o f th at author , and if it was a matter of case. The in dividual, to . whom the a ppli cat i on was ma d e , rep li e d, t h a t and bigony that would ha v e dis grace d th e - darkest ages.' they would be cheaply bought in London. The idea of . being It is true the people of England never heard of any - their spoken of so lightly struck the enquirer with such sort of conduct. This the Cortes took care to prevent; tonishmesit. At the close of the conversation the as fur,gentle- place by that sort of understanding which we fear too often takes man st...vested that as it was but. fair to read both sides of between our purveyors of political information, and - s':' certain great people, every a c t o f a t roc ity was care f u lly con-, the question, he would ad v i se ,th e enqu i rer , w h o was we ll , versed in the English lan g ua ge , t o or d er P a l e y' s N a t ura l cealed. Indeed, in this way the Cortes spewed much more Theoloey to be sent with Voltaire. Natural l'hoilogy ! ex- • ncereerethan their successor, who has not thought of having ,1 s• • claimed the individual, absurd! Nature can have no God 1 lecourse to the satne means. For our readers will seen recol- •• ' This anecdote, which is authentic, will ser ve t o s he w w h a t leet that let the Governme n t oraroops of Spain or Portugal il act as they would, the public pap e rs t oo k little or no n o ti ce o would have been the fate of Sp a i n h a d s h e f a ll e n wholly ! : under the Government of such p eo pl e . Whereas, on the of them : and Ministers more than once expunged fr om • ! e the dispatches in the Gazette, Lord W e llin g t o u' s censure on ; other hand, the laity and no bility were i nca p a ble o f an y k : . . : ' • the Portuguese troops, althou g h th e ve ry same c e n sure a p- useful effort. ! reared in the Lisbon (qfficial) Gazette. • It may be urged that Ferdinand is more violent, more bigot , and more tyrannical. But the truth of this fact is denied. i - - Hence, we cannot shed one tear over the grave of the Corks; we cannot behold in their disrersion anything more I However, whether the charge be true or false, the argument I .. used before, namely, that one tyrant is preferable to oee. than a benefit t o so ci e ty, so . far as one tyrant (not, however, 1 that we by any means affix this character to the King of ; hundred, will bear in full force. He may at last do richt.— ' • Spit)) is better than one hundred. Ferdinand mayteraneile, : the Cortes never , could. 1 • xperience will give wisdom to but it will not be long, at le:ist if the people are indisposed to 1 one man, but no experience will enlighten a popular body; his Gover n m en t, b e f ore hi s t y ranny s h a ll b e 'ter ininated.s at least, there is no instance on record of such an event. It is of an exalted nature compared with that exercised I But, ai•e the charges against the Cortes fosinded ? %Vero by the C o rks ; and, however heterodox the opinion may seem they bigotted ? were they ferocious ? did they prove by their 0 we have no doubt but that eventually the cbange will be much ; conduct, that it was' impracticable for them to render erry for the beet. I service to the community ? The C . l ortes.were composed . principally of priests and phi- . As to the first we would quote their conduct on the :orb lase'/ter. The first were either very bigotted to their re- 1 ject of the Inquisition. Could any service have beet tle . l'gion or very lax in their opinions, but were by far the most 1 rived from their exist/nee, that odious institution would useful and practical body of men. Indeed so much so, that' hav e been abolished by acclamation ; but no—debate upors the story is told of Lord Wellington's always feeling a Spa- debate ensued, and, even so late as the spring of 1912, it yea: • riards head, to see whether iris crown had been shaved, and . 1 attempted to lie used as the means of prosecuting Meeks I, o. it is said, depending most upon the clerical order. The phi- I a ridiculous (and, it is not depict', a blasphemous) pruchic:i•J i . . lasophes were headed by ArguelleseQuintana (though net in I of an irreligious tendency. • • .the Cortes) Mexi a , an d s om e ot h ers- Th e y were b r i m f u l of 1 As to the ferocity exhibited by this berly, e•e have ors.st the philosophy 4 ''• regulat e d by of the French school; all their ideas were I •to recur to their condact, to the conduct of all of thein„ a. French maxims; and all their estimates of na- whether they belonged to the clas es of Nobility. Clergy, tional greatness formed by what theyuluierstood of the cha- I-4ity,.. or .Philosopheis, on the subject .of their Spaniel .. ~ racter and attainments of that nation. On England, they American brethren; for all of them were unanimbussfor rt..! - . , 21 wass looked with contempt, and visaed her pt•tli , l i* ' ",• ans•e ssf ;be "maid sys!.em of eppeestion sander 44'! r a ss. - s ' "st'• kill. NV. Ci. (.. LA Hi, ..‘'S -• • •••:. • • -k . .•••• - •$;1• ° •-t.,-; '..V . . • . . . . • . . ' 7 , - -. '".i'.4 Z l ; 4 , ... .. - . s'e.-4::‘, ''.(: • s• - s „ -4 • S; - •_eli . - n. . ..,./... , ... .7. 7 • . . . . . . . .., ' • • . ••.‘ .." - ' 4 ' - • - • . • ,- . •• .....!.• _ . _ ~ ' - - • ' ' .. . ... . •.. .'fr....• i:. - ;-7..••••' :: !...e, .....;.. .. . lOAM.•-• ' .." --.-._.---- . . •