The National Register. — London, England, 1814-09-04 00:00:00

II THE NATI i NAL REGISTER. 9D ur ttinfr, Constitution, ann Eatag. PUBLISHED AT NO. 11 , NEWCASTLE-STREET ) STRAND• N,. 344. Pill,l7'l _4l. DI.S:2UISI FION. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1514. PRICE 9d. In no one public act of the restored Monarch has the name of Britain been mentioned with sentiments of respect and veneration ; nor has there been made one concession that might amount to any thing like remuneration; and it i; worth inquiry whether we shall ever get any. The Spaniards never liked us from the time we first trod their ground, and now they actually bate us. Much of this is certainly owing to prtjudice, but many untoward acts of our own have tended to contribute to it. When the press was free in Spain, we neglected to wipe many stains from our name which circulated without notice ; we gained not the affections of the people, nor laid the basis of our substantial and lasting interests. The state of Spain naturally suggests the following question. Can Spain and the existing Government ever be rendered the cordial, faithful, and durable ally of England ? Every thing summed up, we should be inclined to answer, ro. If so, does it not behove England to ponder, and f irther enquire, whether, in being now too obsequious and sub servient to Spain, she will not lose all her hold on Spansh America ? Nay, is it not time to calculate, whether she is not now losing the substance for the shadow ? With so great a share of glory and credit on he:. shoulders, it would be unbecoming for England to do any thing that might tarnish her name or wither her laurels; but still she has yet a great, duty to fulfil to Spanish America. The olive branch has been waved over Europe, but in SoutL Columbia war yet rages with unabated fury. Tl.e clic coveries of the great Columbus are deluging in blood, and filled with horrors, exceeding those of the primitive con quests. There agriculture is at a stand, commerce is sus pended, the mines are filled with water, and sc.lrcely lit tle else but massacres, desolation, and vengeance, are to be heard of from the Missicippi to Cape horn. But what is worse, the same odium, even under an aggravated form, exists there, and is left rankling as in Spain. The contemplation of the melancholy situation of Spain, and the bereft and ill-fated condition of Spaii%h has made us turn, with a great degree (Of interest, to a SPANISH AMERICA. The events which, in rapid succession, are occurring in Spain, have, within the last week, excited a great de gree of interest for the miseries and misfortunes of Spa- nish America. In our last, we gave, in anticipation, a short outline of what is likely to happen in the Peninsula, and the news since arrived from thence has tended to con firm many of . our positions. Spain, at this moment, pre e ►ts a melancholy picture of want and dissatisfaction ; which an unpopular government is little suited to remove. Tit . absence of an enemy has, in fact, left Spain a prey to anarchy, intrigue, and machinations : and an empty trea sury has added to the flame of discontent which is wittily, though secretly, enkindling. Spain has be,nr depeved of the best of her resources, those she might have derived from her sister provinces on the other side of the Atlantic, by a train of impolitic acts committed by th! , successive governments which replaced the King's aut l / 4 ority during his absence, acts which his return has by no means made amends for. However, amongst all the lamentable aberrations from principle, which a (sell constituted mind may regret in the political situation of Spain ) perhaps the odium attached to the British name is the most prominent. That all our exertions, sacrifices, and loses, should not have secured to us at least the gratitude and well wishes of our Allies and late companions in arms, is a problem difficult to solve. It is, nevertheless, a fact; nor since th: , ►eturn of Ferdinand, has one cordial demonstration been made to she w that we are better thought of than if we had never lost a life in the salvation of the Peninsula. It is only evident to him who is on the spot, how far this odium extending, and how bitter it is in its appearance. Spain is only temporising with us, for the sake of what she calls her colonies; that is, because she dreads our influence may sever them from her ; but what a feeble link is this to - what might have been expected, after the sacrifices as well I 110.. Z lIJCILtU 143 LU I 111, VT s. Lit u a .• work just published on the unfort‘v:ate ( L.seictioas wi!kh as delicacy of our Government ! We have sacrificed every I have so long existed between European and Americau 'thing for Spain ; nay, she has - absorbed every other con- Spain by which the world h a s been scandalized, ay.,d ;ha sideration ; vye have acted even as if our very existence • depended on her ; and if, afte r a ll, w resources e have got barren •of both have hpon frittered a w.i y , and i* • • thanks, it is the most: but even thes e we r e not cordial. I uro . u.glit into action against the common eueAly . tots Vole VI. No. CCULIK - • 'I c f‘! • • _ . • • •