The Sun.
London, England, 1838-12-19 00:00:00

Zhe ‘_-ItAX+

WITH WHICH
THE " TRUE SUN " IS NOW
INCORPORATED.

LONDON :
WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 19, IS3B

The Speed, of the King of the FRENCH at the open-
ing of the Chambers on Monday, which will be found
in another part of The Sun, will not satisfy the cu-
riosity of such as expected to find in it an announce-
ment of the adoption of some definite measure for
the pacification of the Peninsula. In a speech ad-
dressed to an assembly of French legislators, by a
French Constitutional Sovereign, the birth of a babe
is dwelt upon at greater length than the miseries of
a nation on the confines, and in strict alliance with
France, worn out with a civil war, for the effectual
suppression ofwhich—in co-operation with England and
Portugal—France stands solemnly pledged in the face
of all Europe. But what is peculiarly barefaced in
the brief paragraph in which the condition of Spain
is noticed, is the impudent pretension of France to the
merit of having conferred gratuitous favours upon the
Spanish Government I The success of former preten-
sions to the credit of having fulfilled the stipulations of the
Quadruple Treaty, has emboldened the KING to claim
for himself the honour of having generously exceeded
them. At the opening of the Chambers, on the 28th
of December, 1835, his MAJESTY thus alluded to
the then state of Spain, and the extent of his efforts
to tranquilize it :—" My Government has continued
to take, upon our frontier next Spain, the measures best
calculated to fulfil faithfully the clauses of the treaty of
the 28th of April, 1834. / ojer up ardent prayers for
the internal pacification of the Peninsula, and for the
consolidation of the throne of Queen ISABELLA II."
In commenting upon this paragraph a few days subse-
quent to its delivery, we ventured to doubt the efficacy
of prayer only on the part of King Lours PHILIPPE
to drive Don CARLOS out of the Basques. Neverthe-
less, as there was no article in the Quadruple Treaty
which exacted prayer, we were led to regard the
gratuitous piety of the King of the FRENCH, as an
earnest of his more than friendly solicitude for the
pacification of the Peninsula. This was rather con-
firmed by the vagueness of the allusion to the
measures taken on the Spanish frontier, and which
after all were only assumed to be " best calculated"
to fulfil the stipulations of the treaty. The success
which shortly after attended the arms of France in
Africa, encouraged the KING to favour the Chambers
with his Royal interpretation of the Treaty,
although then aware that it was directly at variance
with that of three of the four Plenipotentiaries by
whom it was signed. Accordingly, on the 27th of
December, 1836, in his Speech from the Throne, he
thus addressed the Chambers :—" The Peninsula is
still disturbed by fatal dissensions. Serious events
have shaken the institutions of Madrid, and Spain
has been incessantly desolated by civil war.
Still, closely united with the King of GREAT BRI-
TAIN, I continue to cause the Treaty of the Quadru-
ple Alliance, to be executed with religious fidelity,
and in conformity to the spirit in which it has been
dictated. I entertain the most sincere desire for the
consolidation of the Throne of ISABELLA 11., and I
trust that the Constitutional Monarchy will triumph
over the perils with which it is threatened. But I ap-
plaud myself for having preserved France from sacri-
fices, the extent of which cannot be appreciated, and
from the incalculable consequences of any armed inter-
vention in the internal affairs of the Peninsula. France
reserves the blood of her children for her own cause, and
when she is reduced to the painful necessity of sum-
moning them to shed that blood in her defence, it is
only under our own glorious colours that the soldiers
of France march to battle." The disbanding of the
French Auxiliary Legion followed; and thus not only
was intervention refused, but the hopes of the Spa-
nish patriots from the military prowess of a force then
fully organized, were doomed to the bitterest disap-
pointment. "Worse still—the Carlists were distinctly
told that the Quadruple Treaty, as the King of the
FRENCH understood, and was resolved to execute it,
no more concerned them than it did the man in the
moon. This gave a blow to the QUEEN'S cause in
Spain, from the effects of which it has not yet re-
covered. On the 18th Dec. 1837, the King opened
the last Session of the Chambers. His Speech was
more moderate, but not A jot more sincere in the ex-
pression of sympathy for the sufferings of unhappy
Spain than the one which preceded it. " Civil war,"
said he, "is still desolating the Peninsula. The
Queen Regent supports with courage and perse-
verance the rights of her august daughter Queen
ISABELLA 11. I continue to execute faithfully the sti-
pulations of the treaty of the Quadruple Alliance, and I
hope that a cause which has all our sympathies will
ultimately succeed." In the cold expression of hope
for the success of the constitutional cause in Spain, we
read the fatal effects of the French abandonment of the
Quadruple Treaty upon that very cause. In fact the
paragraph might be understood as a Royal preparation
of the Chambers fora subsequent message announcing
the discomfiture and eight of the two QUEENS,
and the solemn recognition of Don CARLOS by the
Cortes as King of SPAIN—ra measure of which France
had discovered patriotic motives for signifying her en

tire approval. Well, the QUEEN continues on the
throne, though beset with the same dangers ; and now
the Most Christian KING (for the POPE has at last

condescended to restore that title to the Sovereigns
of France) has the effrontery to claim the con-

sideration not only of a faithful ally, hut of a

benefactor ! His language to the Chambers on
Monday is too explicit to be mistaken :—" Spain
still continues a prey to the same troubles and

the same misfortunes. We continue to execute with

our allies all the clauses of the treaty of the Quadru.

ple Alliance. The Government of the Regent has

never ceased to receive from us, not merely those suc-

tours which treaties oblige us to, but, moreover, all

Me support that the interest of France allows." French
sympathy, then, is bounded by French inte-