The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-20 00:00:00

THE MILITIA.

The non-commissioned officers and privates of the
Pembrokeshire Artillery Militia have presented to their
commanding officer, Col. Owen, the following address •.
—" We, the non-commissioned officers and privates of
the Royal Pembrokeshire Artillery Militia, having heard
that the Royal Monmouth Regiment of Militia have volun-
teered for any duty which may be required of them, and
are to take the duty at Pembroke Dock, are determined
not to be outdone in loyalty to our Queen, or zeal for
the service generally, and respectfully beg to tender our
services for gairison or any other duty her Majesty may
think proper to command." Capt. Child had offered to
give an additional sum over the bounty to induce men to
volunteer as a company with hint to do duty in any part
of the country, but this generous offer has been declined
with thanks by the Secretary at War.

THE SPANISH INSURRECTION.

The elements of popular disaffection and of mi-
litary revolt are so abundant in Spain that the
only wonder is how the oppression of the Govern-,
ment and the scandals of the Court could be en-
dured so long by a nation once jealous of the liberty
of the people and the honour of the Crown ; in-
deed, the worst symptom in the condition of the
country seemed to be that the nation was inca-
pable of asserting its rights or its power until the
army gave the signal of insurrection. It had,
however, long been foreseen that by some part
of the army this blow must eventually be struck.
The attempt of Brigadier fore at Saragossa in
February last to induce the garrison of that city
to declare against the Government of Sartorius,
and to demand the convocation of. the Cortes,-
was one of those premonitory symptoms the
failure of which' attests the existence of a' deep-
seated hatred of
existing authority, and pre-
pares the way for a more successful repetition of
the attack. The Court, not warned by this oc-
currence, persevered in a course of policy recom-
mended only by men whose talents and whose
character were alike unworthy of the public con-
fidence, and attempted to impose the most unpo-
pular of measures—a forced loan—upon the country.
It was commonly believed that a plan was in pre-
paration for the entire subversion of the consti-
tutional system, and that a coup cretat might any
day be attempted to confer absolute power on the
wretched and profligate rulers, who had already
abused every power vested in them by the law.
Every man in the army or the civil service of the
Crown who had any claim upon the gratitude of the
Queen or the respect of the country had been
which
hlentthley
a numberc change n gwe
r ewe
disgraced and banished ; and oven among those
greaterproach of
who retained military rank or civil power the
vwicaestu
ahnindgfotlillieesapoi
the Court rendered inevitable.
Under such circumstances, it mattered little
whether the first demonstration of the military
insurgents in Madrid was attended with success,
for
it was evident, although the population stood
aloof from General Dulce's pronanciamento, that
the skirmish outside the didnot decide the
gates
fate of the movement, and that General 0, Donnell's
retreat was not so much a disorderly flight from
Queen's the forces as an appeal to the provincial
garrisons and to public opinion throughout the
country. In the fortnightwhich has succeeded
the disturbance at Mad • the
Madrid General Blaser,.
Minister of War, has •
failed to check the insur-
gents in their march •
upon Andalusia • the Regi-
ment of Montesa, which h '
had been summoned to
strengthen the garrison of the capital, deserted
.
its officers a few miles from
Madrid • the Regi-
ments of Navarre '
and Guadalaxara, form-
ing the garrison of Barcelona, declared them-
selves against the Geyer the follow-
ingnment ; and on day two battalions
Bour-
bon, at St. Sebastian, of the Regiment of
followed their example. The
forces which had previously
joined O'Donnell may
be inconsiderable in numbers, but; although the
Minister of War is •
in pursuit at the head
of them . _
of a column of more than 10,000 men, he has failed
in his attempts to disperse them, and the simulta-
neous movement in other parts of Spain, and espe-
cially at Barcelona, confirms that this
insurrection opinion
Gls
insurrection will seriously
vernment of Spain. It imperil the present -
assisted only by the indifference
struggle fora. while,
. of the nation, but,
if it perishes, it will perish without one line in
history to palliate its crimes, or one partisan to
lament its fall.
At present the movement has been so entirely
military, that it is not easy to assign to it any
marked political character or ob•
iect and it is
probable that the opposition - ' Queen s
to the ueen s
Government has in the first
instance rallied
men of very different opinions to the same
standard. Some of the bands which have
taken up arms are said to be Republicans,
and it is probable that the disgust excited
by the Court in the minds of the people
has given the Republican Party greater in-
fluence in Spain at this time than it ever be-
fore possessed. Others are desirous to restore
the Constitution of 1837, and others again are
pursing the common objects of military ambition
in civil war. General Dulce has published a
letter, in which he openly declares
that in his
opinion the Queen has been wanting to her oath,
and that he and his troops have therefore thought
it less treasonable to forsake their Sovereign than
to betray the nation. General O'Donnell, in a
proelamation in which he styles himself the Com-
mander-in-Chief of the Constitutional Army, drops
' ce
all pretence of allegiance to the House of Bourbon,
and declares significantly that he desires the main-
tenance of the Throne, but without the camarilla
which disgraces it. 1:10 also announces that the
provincial juntas about to be formed in the libe-
rated provinces will precede the convocation of the
national Cortes, elected on a liberal basis, to estab-
lish the regeneration of the nation. We know not
whether General O'Donnell has all the necessary
qualifications to play the part of a liberator, or to
direct the affairs of Spain in the midst of another
revolution; but he is a man of wealth, station,
and ability, far removed above the soldiers of for-
tune who have sometimes contended for supreme
power in that unhappY kingdom ; and it is not
improbable that he will ere long be joined by men
of high reputation, who have suffered from the
caprices and avarice of the Court. The conduct
of Narvaez and of Espartero, who are now said
to be reconciled to each other, cannot but be
watched at such a crisis with peculiar interest, and
it is probable that the best chance for the preser-
vation of Queen Isabella's crown would be to throw
herself without reserve on the protection of those
who established the Constitutional Government,
and were long the firmest champions of its cause.
The expulsion of Queen Christina and the whole
Munoz race would of course be their first condition,
but it will require more address than has yet been
shown to prevent the race of Bourbon from fol-
lowing its connexions into exile.
It happens fortunately that there is at present
nothing in these occurrences which either invites
or justifies in the remotest degree the iuterferenoe