The National Register. — London, England, 1815-10-08 00:00:00

TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER. OCT. S. establishment of all kinds of abuses; from them came the persecution of our Deputies, of so many brave soldiers, of so many worthy Spaniards; from them the disorder of our finances, the neglect and the misery of our soldiers, the public sale of employments; and from them, in short, the debasement of the nation, which, instead of being respected and esteemed, as. itsacrifices deserve, is degraded and despised by all Eurov.Z.. These few, but degenerate Spaniards, six years ago, pros. tituted themselves to the oppressor of their country, aban doned their King, and trampled under foot their most sacred duties. Anxious for wealth and honours, they recognised him who offered or secured them to them, and looked down, with contempt upon those Spaniards, who, at Madrid, and in all the provinces, raised the cry of independence. They made inveterate war upon them in the beginning, and did not join their banners till, despairing of the cause they had embraced, they believed it was a means to retain their sala ries and their employments; faithless to all, they retained their enmity and opposition only to those who, from the beginning had sought to defend the national cause. Al- 1 most all those who surrounded and counselled the King at Valencia, almost all those who surround and guide him now are of this class : they possess the chief offices of the state; and those very persons, who, in 1808, were named by the intrusive government to calm the insurrection in the pro. vinces, compose a part of the tribunals appointed to judge the patriots, that is, many of those who, at that time, nou rished in the provinces the sacred flame of patriotism. Alas! history does not present us any parallel. Against such insults, such crimes as have been committed in this year, the Spaniards would have long since raised a dreadful try, such as they did to defend their independence, had they not, prudent and composed lovers of their country, .preferred, before they exposed it to new convul sions, seeking every method of conciliation, hoping that their king, undeceiving himself, would be the first to change his conduct, to chastise his perverse Counsellors, and pre serve in fact and without stain the opinion of so many good Spaniards, so unjustly persecuted. In vain we have hoped fora whole year; in vain has all Eu rope disapproved the conduct of the Cabinet of Madrid; in vain have several Princes remonstrated against the impolicy of its proceedings, and the injustice of persecuting su many illustrious patriots; in vain have many Spaniards ventured to speak truth to the King ; the first have not been attended to, notwithstanding* the respect due to such respectable allies, and others have been persecuted. To such a degree have they got possession of the person of the King, that they do not permit him to listen to remonstrances of so much weight, that they do not allow him time to reflect on the falsehood of their assertions. They tell him that the Cortes and the Regency sought to remove him from the throne; they try to corrupt public opinion by spreading a perfidious report, that there was a secret plan to spread irreligion and to persecute the clergy; in short they publish all kinds of ea- lumnies, which none but men so perverse as themselves could possibly conceive. A year has passed; the Government has been in their hands; the Deputies, the Members of the Re gency, the persons whom they wish to calumniate, have been surprised in the night, they have been able to discover their secrets, to unfold their machinations, and yet nothing has been found but proofs of their probity and their virtues ; all Spain is convinced of this truth; svhat greater proof can there he than their ow❑ judgements and sentences, and in respect to public and private rights, how illegal and monstrous arc all their proceedings, by which the very laws of the party they pretend to follow arc trodden under Pout, is whist) the ac- fl 4 cused are not permitted to defend themselves personaie, i u which all judgements are summarily decided, many of the judges being at the same time accusers and witnesses, who, forming impeachments, for what they themselves ordered to be executed in the time of the Cortes, have given to the world a new and unheard of example of injustice and atro city. So-many deserving and respectable melt, so many priests, venerable for their virtues and dignities, so many officers of rank, covered with wounds, a n d illustrious by their services, now loaded with chains and thrown into dungeons. serve to satiate the rage of their infamous persecutors, who delight in their misery, and hope to destroy them by tor ments and affliction. And for what ? Spaniards! what ate their crimes? Their having sought to make us happy. If they arc criminals we arc all so: we have given our foil powers, we have acknowledged and approved all that the Cortes have done: their deputies had no object but the pros perity of Spain ; their decrees prove it : the Catholic religion was declared the only religion of the state ; the privileges of its ministers were preserved ; care was taken of the soldier v ; distinctions were given them ; decrees were pased to divide lands among them as soon as peace should be established; institutions f o r invalids were formed, arid notwithstanding the poverty of the state, from its territory being for the most part occupied by the enemy, during the mo , t vf the time, the soldier was much less neglected than he has since been, notwithstanding the peace and the deliverance of the Penin sula. The peasant was relieved from many burdens and Gabellvs which, oppressed hint ; the manufacturer was freed front many ridiculous regulations and privileges ; the mer chant could traffic and make his speculations at liberty, and without those injurioi:s formalities which the fiscal system had introduced; the creditor of the state hoped to see himself. covered for the advances he had made ; in short, all Was ac. quiring a new life, and the nation would have been re compensed for its sufferings and its losses, if the road pointed cut by the Cortes had been followed. But how ditTerent is that which has been taken, and how different also are the re sults. Notwithstanding a years peace and tranquillity, our finances are in a worse state than ever, public credit is null, the brave defender% of the country are naked, without shoes, without pay, despised and persecuted; the labourer with his own gaieties, the manufacturer with his former fetters. and the merchant without circulation ; our American colo nies continually more irritated at seeing their Deputies im prisoned and the promises made to them broken. On the one hand the prison, on the other revenge—every where dis order and injustice. Such isthe situation of unfortunate Spain. Spaniards! either the country must perish, or we must find a remedy for such great and dangerous evils. All Eu rope is interested in seeing our nation well governed ; it is the securest pledge of its tranquillity ; expel ience must havo taught it, that when Spain is governed by feeble hands, it necessarily submits •to any who can impose conditions upon it. All Europe cannot but be pleased to see a govern ment revive in Spain, which ha; so much contributed to the liberty and independence of all States; which has been recognized and treated with by the kings of Pi ussia and Sweden, and the magnanimous Emperor of Russia. Ehgland, our first ally and companion, that nation, rich and happy. in its constitution, which has seen with horror the desttuc tion of the Cortes and the persecution of its Members, will be the first to applaud us, as it was the first to assist us in our insurrection, to acknowledge the Cortes, and to praise the patriotism and the virtues of the people. All will applaud us, if we continue to shew in our con duct that prudence and cfrcutnsitetiou which have always V - 0. ch ial b ~c- :d .'!1