The enquirer — Richmond, Va., 1810-06-08 00:00:00, page 2

I now repeat. 1 did think that some of these !
expressions would be not only unapplicable, 1
but ill deserved, if they were directed to the !
{>roceedings of a houR«r©t‘ common?, which j
iad more consulted the conscientious dis* j
charge of its duties, than the idle affectation '
of supporting dignity by the exercise of a se
vere controul agvoiist the people. But how
was it possible, that I could think there ex.
isted in the present instance the regard
which such an assembly should feel for its
chuvucter ? was it possible for tiny unpre
judiced man to think thus of that house,
which upon the decision of the late enquiry
into the expedition * to Walcheren, could
bring itself to vote that the policy of such
expedition was proper, and that the reten
tion ot it alter the destruction of so many
thousands of gallant then, was not alone
wholly free from blame, but was actually
justifiable. ( Hear ! hear !) When I re_
viewed such a decision, and was engaged in
Considering its exercise and privileges in the
present case, did 1 not think justly, when I
stated that the house of commons would best
consult its dignity by conscientiously dis
charging its duties to the country rather than
by an attempt to testrain by strong acts of
assumed privilege the popular communica
tion upon its actions ? There are privileges
which that house most necessarily ought to
possess, for the full and free performance of
its trust; amongst these the power of com - j
mitmeut ought iw some cases to be allowed,
but such power should in all others be limit
ed and defined. I do not think it right that
that bouse should be vested with an author
ity of committing for offences affecting its
privileges, where such offences are not pun
ishable by the law of the land. But where
the l»w can take cognizance of such offen
ces, I do hold it as unconstitutional that the
trial and punishment of them should betaken
from those courts of competent jurisdiction,
where the process is calculated to correct
guilt and to protect innocence, (Hear !
hear t J by the mere stretch of arbitrary
power. I hold that it is impossible for anv
tribunal to decide justly upon the presumed
criminality of the accused, where the party
who accuses has a power to pronounce judg
ment, where there is no oath administered
either to the court or witnesses, and where
to the individual arraigned, the power and
opportunity ofbeing heard in his defence is
dented. (Hear ! hear ! J Such a stretch
ot power was not only in defiance of the pos~
itive enactments of our law, but was hostile
to those fundamental principles which are
the bads ot all contracts by whiph communi
ties arc bound. But in the present case there
was a most unconstitutional aggravation. I
nliude to the calling out a military force to
support the serjeant at avnas in breaking in
to the house of sir Francis Barden.. Why
V/ere the military so unnecessarily paraded
through the streets? Why was the house of
my honorable colleague so. beset? It could
be for no other purpose, but intimidation.
As for any violence that could justify such a
preceding, I having been an eye witness,
can positively state there was not any im_
proper conduct, more than must be expect
ed lrom a crowd of people upon any ordinary
occasion. But 1 most particularly object to
the manner in whiqh that warrant was exe
cuted. Such execution in my belief was a
violation of the rights of the individual, and
of the dignity of the house of commons. It
forced the house of the hon. baronet in a
manner the most extraordinary, and called
to the erercise of its own authority the as
sistance of a.military force. It had been sta
ted by the systematic opposers of ministers in
parliament, that they were culpable in not
calling in the military force lor the execu
tion of that warrant at a much earlier peri
od. That remissness constitutes in my opi
nion, as far as it goes, tne claim of minis
ters to our thanks.-Be it then their praise,
that for two clays they respected the consti
tutional rights of the people, while it must
be in the recollection ot the country for ever,
that their opposers. the champions of pub
lie freedom, would not, if they had pow
er, respect them even fur an hour, f Hear l
hear l )
The condemnation of ministers upon this
point is, that they had not persevered in
their original resolution, that upon the third
day they resorted to that which was mo&
truly illegal. Their worthy representative,
(sir Francis Bui detl) had always made the
most strenuous exertions to detect corrupti
on, whatever it might conceal itself. That
great tr easure of which he had been the pow
erful advocate, a parliamentary reform, was
in his opinion so absolutely necessary, that
he felt convinced that if it was not speedily
obtained, and the unnecessary expenccs of
the war retrenched, this country must fall
like othc r nations, before that power which
has now subjugated Europe. lie had often
heard that this country was perfectly safe
from attacks by the superiority of its naval
lo*ce. lie would declare to God, that he
v/a^ not of that opinion lie was well in„
formed that we had not now in our dock yards
timber enough lor the common repairs of
our navy. In Hlytnouth there wan not a
euji/ilyjor inf re than siotr weeks ; and he un"
dcrslooit (lure was not sufficient to build
one half of a seventy four gun shi/i ! Now,
when it was considered, tn.it we were cut
off from all supplies from the continent of Eu
rope, that our supplies from Canada & No
va Scotia depended on no further tenure than
tiie precarious wisdom of our councils, lie
thought that even our navy was in an alarm
ing situation, from the want of tin* nmans to
n pair or build ships, lie then suited, lrom
the papers presented to the house, that the
number of British seamen employed in our
trade to Europe v/as 16 COO, whereas the fo
il ign seamen amounted to 29 100. The
English ships employed in the trade amount
ed to 2000, while the foreign ships exceeded
4'’G0. After some further observations, he
concluded, by giving his opinion, that a
parliamentary reform was absolutely ne
cessary ; and that it the people were but
unanimous, they muut obtain it. (H/i
fllausc.)
iMr If (truif next presented himself to the
meeting. und he wm received v. ith h ud and
repeated acclamation*. lie began by ob
fiet'vui;', iliat it was almost iinnccesriry for
Jiisn tr say,(hat be agreed lit the scntimcntii
expressed by bis noble irieml, and heartily
concurred hi the truth ami propriety of the
resolutions they had just acceded to. Tie
i°tr‘ *1 with them in all their feelings to
w.wtls their honest and incorrupt repi csenta
tive, sir Kran,* is Burdett, and avow ed that
lit esteemed it the glory of his lifC'to be en j
ablcd to call that honorable ftren hik timed. i
( si ft ft iu r. )
He had rend v.ith all the attention that
wn duetto it. tin: letter ndd>es..cd by sir
J'rnntihto bis eon*'unent-,, upon >bi rna
• uesf deliberation, he ctndti h <,k upon it in
/ o ft’l er tight than (bat t,i an able and fair
• dtcusstnn upon a great com. it dionai tjut »
iioii ; it appealed to him to be hi.y thu g
rather than a libel. In that letter there was 1
oiie expression thnt hiul bren much insisted
upon in the course of the discussion upon it,
as most offensive and libellous—it was that
passage in which the speaker’s warrant was
described as a thing sui generis ; now, in
order to shew that this assertion was not al
together so unfounded as had been pretend
ed, and as nothing had as yet been said upon
that part of the subject, except in the reso
lutions, he would take the liberty oftrespas
sing upon their attention for a few moments;
while Jhe proceeded to trace the progress of
the warrant from the time of its being issu
ed by the speaker to that of its being carri
ed into effect. It appeared then that the
speaker after having drawn up his war
rant, presented it to the seijeant, who pro_
ceeded to execute it, bnt on his arrival at
the house of sir Francis, he stumbles upon
the unforeseen obstacle of a closed hall door.
(a laugh) How was this formidable barrier
to be disposed of ?
•The Serjeant looked at his warrant and
then at the door, and could make nothing
of either ; lie found himself at a loss, nei
ther, more nor less than what they called
fiuzzled, and as, in sucli cases, sage advice
is desirable, he turns away from the hall
door and proceeds to consult the speaker ;
and what does the Speaker? Why, he re
fers to the warrant, and, after due delibe
ration, finds himself just as much fiuzzled
as the Serjeant had been ; (a laugh,) but
there was to be another fiuzzlc—the speak
er having advised the sevjeant to consult
the magistrates, away goes the serjeant to
the Bow street officers, but they under
stood too well the nature of a legal warrant
to be able to make any thing of an instru
ment with which they were so wholly uirac"
quainted, and so the Bow street officers be
ing as much fiuzzled as either the seijeant
or the speaker himself, refused to give any
advice at all upon the subject ; (a"laugh,)
they understood the laws of the land", but
they did not pretend to the knowledge oJF the
speaker’s warrant, llut there was to be yet
another puzzle, (a laugh,) and it was fated
that this all-potent and undisputed Instru
ment of power that had puzzled the ser
vant, the speaker and the Bow street ma_
gistrates, was to puzzle no less than a cabi_
net council.—(laughter )—The serjeant in
his distress, turiu Irom Bow street to the
grave collected .wisdom of the government,
| where all the first men of the state, the
learned, the mighty and the wise, were as
sembled together in council, the lord nigh
chancellor, himself, and to crown all, the
unheard of talents of the rvise man of
the cast. W’ithall this accession of wis
dom, what did this great council of state,
in order to solve the puzzle? Why, they
resolved upon calling in the attorney _eene^
ral to help them. As soon as the cabinet
council had resolved themselves puzzled,
the chancellor of the exchequer himself,
a lawyer, advises the serjeant to ask ad
vice of the attorney-general—just as all the
others had, after grave deliberations, ad
vised him to take advice of some-body else.
Well then, the unfortunate paper, after
travelling so far to no purpose, now that it
was beiore the attorney-general, might he
thought to be in sight of land-according
ly the attorney general bears down upon it
with the whole weight of his legal know
ltdge, and after studying, and deliberating
and resolving, this great law officer gives it
as his opinion and advice, that the serjeant
should lay a state of the case before him,
the attorney general.-(Laughter.)
So much for this plain and explicit piece of
paper, so paramount, intelligible and indis
putable, though it puzzled the serjeant who
was to execute it, the Speaker who issued
it, the civil authority who was to enforce it,
and the attorney general that was to explain
it.-CApplauses.)-But after puzzling
so many, there remained one party yet to be
puzzled, and that was a British jury. It,
perhaps, remained for a British Jury to
show, if not what it was, for that might be
impossible, what it was not_(Applaus
es.)-And yet, though it had puzzled the
knowledge and the wisdom of the state, it
was a libel to call it “ a thing sui generis.
In the name of common sense, what was it?
Me would not quarrel about words, but was
it, or was it not, a thing that nobody could
understand ? If it was usage, why had it
been stated upon all hands, that there was
no precedent for breaking open outer doors
»o enforce it ? And if it was a law, why
were all the great lawyers at such a stand?
Why should it prove such a stumbling.block
to a government of lawyers ? He would now
beg leave to trouble them with one or two
observations on the case not yet reverted to.
When the case of Mr. Gale Jones was first
before the House of Commons, how high
and pompous r. «,s the language of certain
gentlemen, upon the privileges of Parlia
ment—privileges, and nothing but privileg
es, great, because undefined, its obscurity
was pleaded as proof of its authority. The
House was the judge of its own privileges,
and no other power whatever had a right to
judge, to illustrate, or to circumscribe them
—the House alone could best know and de
cide upon their own privileges. Rut how
was this high tone lowered in the subsequent
case of bir Francis Burden Then those
mighty privileges, of which the House alone
cculd judge, shifted their ground, and in.,
alead of resting upon the undefined tliscre-1
tion or the House itself, a question sj»id to
involve them all, is ai.xiously referred to
l the decision of the Bow street magistrates_
1 (l.uughler und a/ifilausc*.)—Without say
ing more upon the subject of that paper, he
would take that opportunity of avowing to
his fellow-citizens present, that he had, from
the first, affirmed from his place in the
House of Commons, that that House had
no right to commit in cases of libel. It
had no right to obtrude with its privilege to
provide a remedy where the law of the
land had provided one already.-(11 cur l)
What was the lannn.ige of Littleton ?_ f
he meant the great Littleton.-(A \
LAUGH,) ■■ ■— — Lord Littleton had laid!
it down, that the dominion of law was
dominion of liberty—but the dominion of pri
vileg.s, indefinite in its meaning, and arbi.
trary in i.s exercise, was the worst of ty
rannies, in wlmtc-r hands it might he plac
ed : was that which might affect, In its con.
sequence, their liberties to be put out of dis
Mission, because it was not to be understood ?
Were the liberties of Englishmen to depend I
on a imstery, or fluctuate between »hc vn_
i-Kiii* interpretations (he invaders of those
liberties thought proper to put upon that
mystery ? But he must say one word more
upon the conduct off one of the two parties
that divided that House-When the House
of their representative was broken open, and
he lorn by a military force from the bosom
of his family and conveyed to the Tower,
and when he. in a subsequent letter to the
speaker, firmly aohered to the declaration
of these opinions he had all along professed,
JiLu tuna forth that party, whether In tier j
known by the name of the whig*, the ta
lent* or the out», (laughter,) they would
call them which they pleased*—but in that
moment did thnse staunch whigs come fo_
ward and pronounce that to be the time for
rallying round the government——that go.,
vernment which, for soloftg a time, and so
recently those very men had been loading
with keen and ceaseless vituperation ; that
government which they had denounced as
incapable and oorrupt, jts divided among
themselves and distrusted by the country,ns
the authors of the Scheldt expedition——of
all our disasters and disgraces, that very
government, the same whigs rally roond
when they go out at the head of un-army
against-; in their gratitude-for this one
net, was forgotten all the crimes of that
administration—the Copenhagen robbery ;
the Scheldt expedition ; ail was forgotten
in their common triumph over the man who
bad the firmness to withstand the torrent of
ihei- joint corruption-afifilatfre.J
Let, then, their enemies enjoy their triumph ;
they had dragged their honest representative
from the sanctuary of his own house, and in
doing so, they flattered themselves tha' they
hail dragged him from the hearts of his con.
stiluenrs.—^Lourf crrV* <>fno ! no ! never!
never !)—Such was their expedition, but
how miserably had they been disappointed;
it was no1 in the limits of the vaunted pri
vilege; of th.it il vise, to erase from their
heart'- the mertiory of their representative’s
services lie concbtd d vri:!i exhortirg
the electors to nvnhl every thing that could
afford a h’ancta to the;r enemies, to tu.,
lutuiiiate their consultnim.'l off-ru in fn
vor ot a reittrm, xs tumultuous . ad disor
derly.—( lAftilam^tt.)
The high bailiff then retired, when M '<-srs.
Power, Jennings, See. were calied w. b; the
electors; the latter gentleman came for
ward, and in a short address, cult gis-.-d the
conduct and principles of Sir Francis Bur
dett, atid b-a-e testimony to the peaceable
disposition of the electors of Westminster,
who had carried on a popular election with
out the slightest breach of their future firm
ness, good sense and moderation. 1 he meet
ing then peaceably dispersed.
outft'^Hmenca.
[ Translated for the 1'; re man’s Journal.]
SPAIN.
The Royal Island cf Leon, Feb. 14.
This day was published the following Ma
nifesto and Decree:
THE COUNCIL OF REGENCY
OF S P si IN Uf THE INDIES,
TO THE
HISPANO-AMERICANS.
No sooner had the Regency received
from the government which has just ceased,
the authority with which it was vested, diau
it directed its thoughts to your immense and
valuable part of the Monarchy. To commu
nicate to you this change; to explain the
motives which have accelerated it; to an_
nounce the hope which it promises; ar.d to
manifest the principles by which the Ue_
gency is actuated for the happiness and glo
ry of your Regions, have been the objects of
its first care at this memorable crisis, and
now it is about to accomplish them with
the frankness and sincerity, which never
more than at present, should characterise
the Spanish spirit in both world*.
An uninterupted concatenation of misfor.
tunes had disconcerted all our operations
ever since the battle of Talavera. . The
sanguine hopes which might have been en
tertained from that celebrated day, dissi
pated like smoke. Shortly afterwards the
flourishing army of La Mancha was beaten
at Almonacid. Gerona still made a gallant
defence ; but each day proclaimed the im
possibility of affording her the succours, to
which sa necessarily and justly entitled is
that heroic energy which, in future ages,
will grant to her defenders the first place
in the sanguinary annals of military prowess.
Notwithstanding the prodigies of vain, the
army of Castile had been defeated in the
battle of Alvade Tormes and Tamames, and
with this reverse was completed the prece
ding catastrophe of the action at Ocano, the
most disastrous and fatal of all that we have
experienced.
Without fortune there is neither credit
nor favorv. The nation already began to
doubt whether the body intrusted with its
destiny were capable of saving it. All the
springs of government had lust their elastic
city and force. Its measures were either
uncertain, protracted, or baoly carried into
execution. The ambition of certain indivi.
duals, and that of public bodies, had risen
to an extraordinary degree, and with their
authority, displayed itself more or less in
their discordance.
The most moderate of the people declar
ed that a government composed of so many
members, all different in dispositions, in
principles, in interest; all attending at the
same time, to all the affairs both important
and unimportant, could not think with sys
tem, deliberate wiih secrecy, concur with
unanimity, nor execute with promptitude.
Few in number for great legislative discus
sions, too numerous for Executive power,
they afford all the inconveniences of a collec
tive authority, icss on account oi their poli
tical knowledge and coni prehension,-'than by
reason of the extraordinary and fortuitous
concurrence of the events attending our sin
gular revolution.
The public voice then declared that the
government should he reduced to more sim
ple elements. The Supreme Junta itself,
pursuadcri of this truth, proclaimed this
change together with the Convocation of the i
approaching Extraordinary Cortes, whose
immediate session it *va» to appoint and ccle
brate with the solemnity due to that august
Convention.
The government which the Cortes might
establish and the resources and measures
that necessarily should devolve from their
deliberations, were to renovate confidence,
anti with it to insure our hopes of success.
The occurrences have counteracted this
ordcrof afftirs. The French conceiving the
salutary effects of such a change, concern,
trated the various branches of their army
at the defiles of Sierra Morena. These
were defended by the residue of our forces,
defeated at Ocatia, and not yet recovered
from that unfortunate affair. The enemy
broke through our weakest post, and the
others weie shortly afterwards carried,not
withstanding the resistance made by our
divisions, who wtr^ deserving of better sue
cess, i he barrier winch the year before
impeded the French from invading Andalu
sia, being now carried, they disembogued
and hastened towards Seville,
Discontent then manifested itself in cla
mots and compi lin's. The perverse, pro.
fi:;ng by the awful slate of those pusillaot
mons spirits agitated with terror, began to
influence the public mind, to weaken its ar*
dor; to foment wickedness, and to give
scope to licentiousness.
The Junta alrcady.accomplished the plan
which it had premedilattd of removing to
the Island of Leon, where the Cortes were
convoked; but in the way thither, the tlig_
*nity of its members, and the respect due to
their character, were more than once exposed
to insults and to peril. Although they even
tually assembled at the Island, and continu
ed their sessions, yet their authority, alrea
dy become feeble in their hands, could not
produce tranquility amongst the people, nor
revive their courage, nor assail the imminent
and impetuous danger. The Junta then
terminated the exercise of its power by the
only act which could prevent the- ruin and
dissolution of the state. It established, by
its royal decree of the 29th of January, of
this present year, the Council of Regency,
and committed to it the deposit of sove
reignty, which it lawfully held, and in the
actual circumstauces, could lawfully trans
fer.
Such nre the causes of the revolution that
has just taken place in the Spanish govern
ment—a revolution effected without* blood
shed, without violence, without con piracies,
without intrigues; produced by the very
exigence of the affairs themselves, sought
tor by the good, and capable of regenerating
the country, if all Spaniards of both hemis
pheres hasten with energy to the generous
enterpriae.
The result of the operations within these
few first days, is a presage of future srtcccss.
x ne enemy, confiding in the state of inacii.
vitv and neglect in which they expected to
find both the Island and City of Cadiz, and
fascinated with tiie luxuriancy of the prey,
flew with rapidity to devour it. The march
of the army of Estremudura, untie, ti:. com
niand of the general Duke dc Alberquerque,
has disconcerted their designs; and in spue
of their diligence and perseverance, our va
liant warriors now cover these important
positions, which are secure against every
attack. Confidence is restored in the pro
vinces, new armies are iurming,and are led
by the best generals. Thus the French, who
thought to paralize the nerve of war.by oc
cupying Andalusia, sec their hopes frustra
ted, ami in their rear, in their front, in their
flanks, nr.y under their very feet, they find
the martial spirit revive, and extend itself
| with more ardor and enthusiasm than ever.
| Hispano-Americans! Your brethren of
Europe possess too much magnanimity and
fortitude to faint under the. weight of the re
verses sent them by Providence. When,
without army, without sto:\>s, without re
sources. we waged war, we well knew to
what we exposed ourselves—we clearly be„
held the prospect before us; it did not ter
rify then ; neither does it now terrify us:
and if at that clay, duty', honor and venge
ance left us no other alternative than war,
neither does there now remain any other al
ternative than war, fur all those Spaniards
who hearken to the voice of vengeance, ho
nor -and obligation.
Our nation depended on the means cf de
fence afforded by the geographical position
of the Peninsula—it depended on the inex
haustible, resources of the virtue and con
stancy of its children ; it depended on the
unshaken loyalty of the Spaniards for their !
King, on the interminable rancour kindled j
by the French, on the sentiments of Ante. ]
i rican fraternity and patriotism, equal to our 1
own in zeal and in Royalty . In none of these '
hopes have we been disappointed; with I
them, we shall be lortifiexl during the con . I
tinuance of the tempest. Oh ! Americans. I
our victory is certain ' To the despot of ,
France it is nut given, however he may
presume on the immeuseness of his power, i
't,o extirpate a nation which, front the west- i
cru boundaries of Fairope, ex ends acrosss '
the ocean, over the new continent, even to j
the very confines of Asia.-Degraded
and dishonored, bound hands and feet, she ‘
was sold and delivered up at discretion by \
perfidious men. But thanks to our own !
magnanimous and sublime resolution ; thanks
to your loyal and generous attachment, lie j
con'd not conquer us-at first, nor shall he
ever conquer us. llis armed satellites may I
enter a city, may occupy a province, may
l ii wa.it* a territniy ; but our licartsare
Spabish nil in spite of his arms, his
vii i >ru-.s, ii.so: . r.e and his rage, the name
.and tu'.liority of Ferdinand the VII. will;
be it-',', c.ttd and obeyed throughout the,
most opulent and remote regions of the |
woild. It will likewise be blesseu, because i
with this name, the epoch *oi' the regenera
tion and felicity of the empire, will be re
corded lor luture generations, in both he- !
mispheres.
Among tlie first cares or tne regency, a
principal place is occupied for the celebra
tion of the extraordinary Cortes announced
to the Spaniards, and to he assembled on
the first day of March next. On this con.,
vention, the good citizens have founded then
hopes of redemption and future happiness ;
and if the- events of war should cause the
protraction of this measure ’till a mnrecoii
venient and score period, tins \try deiay
will afford to the new government anoppor*
Utility of placing, at the next national Con
gress, the complete representation of the
vast empire, with whose destiny it is eu_
trusted.
From the commencement of the revolu
tion, the country lias declared those distant
regions as an integral and essential part of
the Spanish inonaichy. As such, they are
entitled to all the rights and immunities of
the mother country. According to this prin
ciple ot eternal justice and equity, the »a
tives of America are called upon to take
part in the representative government which
had just ceased-by equal authority, they
hold and share in the representation at the
national cortes, and can send their deputies
according to the decree annexed to this
inanilestn.
From this moment, Ilispano-i' mcricans,
you see yourselves raised to the dignity of
freemen ; you are no long.r the same that
you were before, bowed down beneath the
yol.e, so much the more galling, as you
were more distant from the centre of pow
er ; you were regarded with indifference,
oppressed by extoriion and sacrificed by ig
norance. Let this be impressed upon your
minds, that hereafter you can say, when
writing, or pronouncing the names of your
representatives, who are to attend at this
national congress: “Our destinies no lon
ger depend upon the caprice of ministers*
of vice- roys, nor of gove: nors, but solely up
on you.”
it is necessary that in this act, the most
solemn, the most important of your civil
existence, each elector should say to him
sell —M This man I now send to lie associat
ed with representatives of the mother Coun
tiy, and to frustrate the destructive machi
nations of Bonaparte-*—-U is this man who
must expose and remedy aM the abu all
the extortions, all the evils produced :ii there
countries by the despotism and tyranny of
the agents of the agents of the ofri govern
nu-nt. It is he who must contribute, by
just ami salutary laws, to the formation of
one well regulated monarchy, out of so ma
ny vast and remote regions ; in fine, it is he
who must determine the burdens 1 am to
bear, the privileges I am to enjoy, the wars
I am to wage and the peace, in Avuich I am
to repose.”
Such, O! Hispano Americans, is the con
fidence you are about to repose in your re
presentatives! The country, this regency
which addresses you in her name, are con
fident that your representatives will prove
worthy of the important functions that they
are about to exercise. Send them, there
fore, with the promptitude required by the
exigency of the public affairs. Let them
come to contribute with their zeal and their
knowledge, to the re-establishment and re*
formation of the monarchy! Let them de
vise with us the best plan for the felicity ic
social-improvement of those immense terri
tories, by a co operation in a work of such
magnitude and importance, they will acquire
a glory, to which, were it not for the actual
revolution, neither Spain nor America could
have ever aspiied.
Done at the Royal Island of Leon, Febru
ary 14, 1810.
XAVIER DE CASTANOS. President.
FRANCISCO DE SAAVEDRA,
ANTONIO DKESCANO,
MIGUEL DE LARD1ZABAI Y URISE,
ROYAL DECREE
Our 1'ing and Sovereign Don Ferdinand
y II. and in /tin totjul natnc the Coun
cil of Urgency of Sfuun ami die Indie i r
Considering the great and urgent necessi
ty for tlie attendance of the deputies from
tiic Spanish clocr.inh ns in America and A
sia, who are lawfully to represent the will a?
their constituents at the extraordinary Cor
tes to be assembled, as soon as the events of
war will permit, and on which are to depend?
the restoration and happiness of the whole
monarchy, decrees as follows :
There shall come to bear a part in the
national representation in the extraordinary*
cortes ot the Kingdom, deputies from the
vice royalties of .Yew S/iain, Peru, Santa.
Feand Buenos Ayres, and from the captain
general ships of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Santi»
Domingo, Guatemala, from the interior pro
vinces, from Venezuela, Chili, and the Phi
lippine Islands.
There shall be a deputy for every capital
city of those different provinces.
They shall be eketed by the corporation
of each capital city, first by selecting thrers
persons natives oi the province, arid distin
guished by probity,talents and information,
andfieelroai every blemish. The three
are afterward* to cast lots, anti he who first
comes one, sha'i be deputy.
Any disputes arising from this election,
shall be decided peremptorily and without
delay by the viceroy or capta>n**gene**
ral of ths province in concei t with the audi
ence*.
Alter the election, the deputy shall re
ceive testimonials thereof from the corpora
tion by whom he was appointed. He is af
j tertvards to be supplied both by the corpo
ration and all those who may be concerned,
[ with, the instructions respecting the objects of
| general or particular in crest which be is to
| promote at the cortes.
I As soon as the deputy has received his
I commission and instructions, he thall imme.
I d ately proceed upon his way for Europe by
the shortest route, and debark, at- tire Island
I of Majorca, where all the other tfepresenta
| lives Irotn America are to wait the time ior
! the convention of the cortcs.
1 The elective corporations are to deter.,
mine the amount for defraying the expences
tobe allowed to each deputy during his voy
age, <kc. lhit us nothing contributes so much
to render a representative respectable, us
moderation and temperance, united with de
corum, his allowance, from the time of his
[ landing in Majorca till the close of cortes,
shall be six hard dollars per day, which is
the quota appointed to each member from
the provinces of Spain.
In the Cortes shall afterwards b« estab
lished the permanent form for the election of
the deputies of those dominions, by which
they arc to be regulated in the time tocome,
supplying and modifying as may be most pro
per, since the circumstances of the present
time will not allow any further ir-aMires
respecting the same in this decree You
will pay due regard to the same, and have it
comnmnica’.ed to those whom it may concern,
for the full accomplishment thereof,
XAVIER DE CASTANOS, President,
FRANCISCO DE SAAVEDRA,
ANTONIO DE ESCANO,
MIGUEL DELARDIZABALY URIBE.
Royal Island of Leon, Feb. 14, 1810.
To lhe Marquis dv llonuazan.
TRANSLATION-.
Frciu the Gazette / Caracas, of April 27, 1810.
S-dus poixili suprema lex t. sto
Our ex! rnal deft hoc slid security could not
be satisfactorily established, while the province**
composing the department of Venezula united^
under the ancient system, did not lorm with the
ci.jiit,1 <i contcvleration that would ensure respec
ttbiliiy to the cause which we have undertaken ;
and with this view the Provincial government
have chosen from among the natives, those cha
racter;. best qualified by their knowledge, attach
ment to the common cause and influence with
the people, to discharge the public duties as
signed to them, tinder the auspices of reciprocal
beneficence and utility ; and by this means, we
may promise ourselves that, happy result of whirls
it is susceptible. In addition to the necessary
instructions the government has addressed th2
different provinces, through the means of their
Commissioners, the following.
PROCLAM A TION.
Inhabitants of the United Provinces of Venr
zola ! The Spanish nation, after of bJocJ
dy war and the mo3t violent struggle to defend
its liberty and independence, is now on the eve
of falling under the tyrannical yoke of its con
querors. The passes of the Sierra Morena
which defended the residence of the National
sovereignty having been forced by the enemy,
they have descended like an impetuous torrent
on Andalusia and the other southern province*
of.Spain, and are actually harrassing the rear of
those few honest and worthy Patriots who pre
cipitately flew for shelter under the walls of Ca
diz.
The Supreme Central Junta which possessed
the national authority, has been dissolved and
dispersed, in consequence of so much turbulence
ami precipitation ; and finally bv that sail catas
trophe, the sovereignty of the nation, legally con
stituted for the general preservation of the state,
has been thus destroyed. Under these embar
rassing circumstances, the inhabitants of Cadiz,
have organised a new system of government un
der the denomination of“ Regency,” Which
can have no other object than the temporary de
fence of those few Spaniards wi»o had succeed