The Sun.
London, England, 1808-08-20 00:00:00

•
'SKETCH OF S

LED TO THE CHANGE: OF DI Iti SPAIN.

[FR.OI4 THE TRENCH.]

. . .
The folloWing article.has been very inclu§triongly
circulated by the French through Oat .Spain, in the
shape of a Pamphlet, but it may be considered as a
land of Apologetical Alanifotoiissned by Bt;ON.A-
PARTE, to reconcile the people of Spain to the change
which helms endeavoured to effe& in their dynasty.
We much doubt whether at any time the Spaniards
would have been inclined. to give Much credit to his
professions of regard for them, but after the massacre
at Madrid, in May last, after the pilfering expedi-
tion of JosEPH to that capital, and•the dreadful atro-
cities committed by the French at Cordova, Rio
Seco, and in other parts of Spain, he will, we are
convinced, fail as completely in , his attempts to de-
ceive the inhabitants of that Kingdom by his pro-
mises, as he has hitherto done,tointimidate them
by his arms. , .

• •
" The events which have taken . place in Spain
during the last two months, Jiave led to such j•na-
portant changes in the condition of that monarchy,
that it is necessary to 'present a faithful relation. of
them, in order to shew :the dangets with which the
kingdom );vas threatened, and the salutary measures
which haVe preserved it from ruin.
Ou the tgth of... March; 1808, a Monarch, 60
years of age, was compelled to abdicate his throne,,ia
the midst of a popular.insurrthion, in order to save
the lives of hintself.and,consort. Hil friends were
persecuted, .his first Minister delivered over to the
fury of the seditious, and the Prince, his. son, occu-
pied a throne which could not, be vacated without the
free and. repeated. -manifestation of the Sovereign's
will.—[Query, What freedoM was there in his 're-
signationof it to Buonaparte
" .Endeavours had long been made to raise a tu-
mult. The discovery made in the Month of 0610-
ber, of arrenterprize against the throne, had not in-
timidated the conspirators : they remarked, . that the
hatred and envy of the Prince of Peace continued to
increase, :and that the Royal authority was no "longer
able to enforce its own orders, and guide the
public opinion. Bodies of Spanish troops, put in
motion in every part, without concert. and with-
out apparent obje4t, ceased to protea the coasts.
The people were alarmed ; a change of system was
talked of; divisions prevailed- around the throne'
and the Royal Family ; Sand the object of these op-
posite pretensions was, to contend -by anticipation
for the 'spoils of the Royal authority. A, French
army was then employed. in the Expedition of Por-
tugal ; and other corps, destined to act in concert
With it and maintain the comniunication. with
France, were in Spab:•
" The seditious, who feared that order and public
safety might be restored, hastened to execute their
projea. They caused alartuing reports to be-circu-
lated: they asserted, that the Royal Family were
about to set out from Ari.r.ues tor Seville ; that their
treasures and troops had preceded them, and that
their flight was to be the, signal for civil war.. The
populace was inflamed by promises aria intoxicating
liquors. They arose on the 18th of March,
,at Aran-
juez. The King was abandoned by a part of his fa-
mily, and the rebels were in his palace. This day af-
forded memorable instances of reverse of fortune and
ingratitude; the greater part of the body-guard,
whom the. Prince of Peace had long commanded, en-
tered his Palace, and joined in the pillage with the
populace. On the next day, this Prince, who lay hid
amid the ruins of his house, was delivered up by one
of his own body-guard, of whom he implored a drop
of water, after remaining 36 hours without food, and
the man was covered with insults and vaunds,
before whose feet his assailants had lain prostrate.
His degradation was less an at of personal revenge
_than an attempt to degrade. the authority of the
King. The presence of the Monarch could not save
the favourite from blows and insult, and himself was
constrained to abdicate, in order to spare the insur-
gents greater crimes. This insurrthion spread to Ma-
drid, and the Prince of Asturias, mistaking the cry of
a mob for popular favour, thought he might clothe
.
himself in the spoils which had been torn from.his
august father.
But, at the very moment when he demanded
allegiance from the Subjetis of Charles IV. that un-
fortunate MOnarch, a prisoner at Aranjuez, Cud ex-
pthing to be sent an exile to Badajoz, protested
against the abdication, and solicited aid from the
Emperor of the French, in whtise hands he placed
his fate and that of the Queen and the Prince of the
Peace.
The Royal and paternal authority is sacred.
Respe& for Kings is the first safeguard for the tran-
quillity of nations. The Emperor saw, in the ex-
altation of the Prince of Asturias, nothing but a
source of calamities to Spain, and an incitement to'
other insurrections. He felt for the misfortunes of
Charles IV. Ought Spain to imitate Turkey in the
.deposition of her Monarchs? or imitate the French
revolution ? What safety could Sovereigns enjoy, if
a right to dethrone them existed whenever their own
family were weary of t heir government ? Nevertheless",
the Emperor was desirous to examine more cldsely
the events which had taken place, and their causes.
He repaired to Bayonne, where the Deputations from
the Kingdom arrived. The Infante Don Carlos
was already there. The Prince of Asturias left Ma-
drid on the Loth. of April, and went to Bayonne,
leaving the Government OF the Kingdom and the
Presidency of the Supreme Junta in the hands of Don
Antonio, brother of King Charles, who had hitherto
live& apart from public affairs.
" Charles IV. having transmitted a new protesta7
tion to Don Antonio against his compulsory abdica-
tion,repaired with the Queen to Bayonne. He arrived
on the 3oth of April, and was received with cor-
diality by the Emperor. He imparted to him his
misfortunes, the greatest of which was that he had
to accuse a son.
" The Prince of the Peace was already arrived ;
all parties were present ; the truth would now ap-
pear. The Emperor waited for this, in order to fix
his opinion. He had previously, written to the
Prince of Asturias, that he would, without difficulty,
admit of the abdication of King Charles, should it
.appear that it had been voluntary ; but he was con-
vinced, from his interviews with the King, the
Princes, the Nobles who were attached to the cala-
mities of the- father, or the hopes of his successor,
of the violence and insult committed upon King
Charles. This Monarch, still cloathed with paler-
tul authority, addressed bitter complaints to his.son,