The Sun.
London, England, 1836-07-25 00:00:00

SPANISH AFFAIRS.

(From the Journal des Debats.)
It is with deep regret that we see disappear all the hopes
we had conceived of the opening of the campaign, when the
Queen's troops, keeping the enemy confined to their hauntk
appeared only to be awaiting the fine season to penetrate
into them.
Their cause, which is that of justice and liberty, had our
best -wishes, Our hopes have been disappointed, and instead
of the -success we so ardently hoped for, it is our painful
duty to expose only faults and defeats.
The Carlist forces are overrunning the country, and a
civil war, with its attendant horrors, is propagating itself in a
most dreadful manner; the resources of both country and
Government are becoming exhausted ; the Generals dare
not take any decisive measures, for a deplorable rivalry ex-
i 3ts, which renders impossible any general effort ; the troops
arc not paid, and often their provisions fail them ; the re-
cruits, harassed by these useless fatigues, either go over to
the Carlists, else return to their home ; the volunteers, in-
stead of marching against the enemy, say they are betrayed,
and massacre the governors, priests, and citizens, suspected
of Carlist principles ; in short, the rebellion becomes every
day more alarming, and things only go from bad to worse.
This was certainly not a picture of the war at the be-
ginning of the fine season.
The insurrection of the Biscayan provinces, then shut in
by the Guilinzeoa mountains, and reduced by the blockade
to a state of great want, appeared to be consuming itself
with inanition, until the moment when it should be attacked
by four bodies of the army with simultaneous force and
vigour. A hundred and ten thousand men, comprising the
garrisons forming the blockade circle, from the valley of
Ronuvaux on the frontier of Arragou, to that of Mena on
the Castillian frontier. Fifty thousand men, at least, chosen
from the best troops in the army could have concurred to-.
gether to gain the great result of penetrating into the centre
of the Carlist organization, and to carry there a dangerous
if not fatal blow.
The Spanish army was strengthened by an addition of
from 10 to 15,000 recruits from the English and Algerian
Legions, as well as a division of Portuguese. General
Evans's Legion, after occupying successively St. Sebastian,
and Vittoria, was reinstalled at St. Sebastian, which
strategic point was assigned as the base for their operations,
as it commanded the route to France at the back of the
Carlists. The latter, on the arrival of General Evans, were
ready to set fire to St. Sebastian, which they kept highly
blockaded. The English drove them hence with groat re-
solution, and supported by the firing of three ships of war,
they drove the enemy from the small bay called Port du
Passage. They were defeated in an attack upon the road
to Ernani, the Carlist General-in-Chief was then Count
Casa Eguia, who had placed himself with the greater part
of. his forces at that point. We shall not yet mention the
Fon tarabia affair.
It may be thought that during the first combats in the-
neighbourhood of St. Sebastian, there might have bar:, some
powerful division for the rest of the army, such as Pam-
peluna against Borunda, the line of AP, against Estella,
Vittoria against the chain of Arial:cm pr to.vards Durango.
This was not the caset nc ei'en when General Bernelle
holding tlre-V-alley4 north=east of Pampeluna and the pas-
sages of Arragon, was attacked three different times by con-
siderable forces, no diversion was then made either at Saint
Sebastian, Vittoria, or Arga.
But during the time that General Evans was reduced to
a state of inactivity by the concentration of the Carlist forces
at Ernani, General Cordova was proceeding without ob-
stacle, and by a circuitous route to the crest of Arlaban,
which he took without having much trouble in so doing, or
in overwhelming the enanty'y entrenchments, which were
defended by mall detachments upon, which they fired by
form of hattln,
This was followed by a bulletin, telling the soldiers that
their glory would rise higher than the heights of Arlaban,
and by the general's departure for Madrid. This operation,
easy as it had been, might have been of much use if carried
with albOro resolute hand. The army was but two leagues
from Onate, and remained without defence. By an energetic
movement they could have entered this little town, destroyed
the enemy's magazines, blown up their powder, and nailed
up their cannon. A few hours would have sufficed to do all
this. They dared not risk it, but hastily retired to Vittoria,
to avoid any serious engagement with the Carlists, who
were flocking towards the centre from Ernani ; for in this
war the Queen's generals appear to be only intent upon not
compromising their reputations, by avoiding all combats, the
chances of which were not much in their favour. We know
not whether General Evans omitted to execute a demon-
stration upon Ernani, while Cordova occupied Arlaban.
The correspondence and the papers from the frontiers were
filled with the quarrels of these two journals ; it was said
that the auxiliary general pretended to remain master of
his own movements, and to co-operate without obeying. If
this disagreement was real, nothing could be more fatal.
Unity of command is one of the first conditions of war, and
Napoleon has said, " Ono bad general is better than two
good ones:
General Cordova's political journey to Madrid upon the
entrance of the Isturiz Ministry, was the subject of uni-
versal blame in the army. The military affairs were struck
with a sudden languor, and each General remained upon
the defensive in his respective quarters. Thus were lost
20 days, which the Carlists employed ill preparing for the
organization of two expeditionary bodies, without being at
all troubled, or the army of the Queen even suspecting
their plan, as we shall see. On his return, Gen. Cordova
proceeded to Pampeluna, in the useful intention of at length
occupy ing the valley of the Bastin, and of completing the
blockade. It is to be wished that the Spanish army had
occupied the valley of Bastan long before this time, and
thus prevented the communication on the frontiers between
the Carlists and the smugglers, whose only political thought
is that of gain, and whose fraudulent traffic has never been
able to he stopped. The occupation of this valley would
have put an end to the perpetual exclamations against the
tolerance of the French Government, the injustice of which
exclamations has been often proved, although the Spaniards
never cease to reproduce them, instead of accusing their
own negligence in not better guarding the frontier, wltel
openly brings resources to their enemies.
Cordova was beginning his movement when he received
from Vittoria the unexpected and '':isassreeable tidings that
e beac
th.s Carlist General Gomez; at the of 5,000 men, had
forced the blockade line towards Balmaceda and Villeago,
arid tx as invading the Asturias that Espartero was pursu-
ing him, leaving Vittoria under guard of the Portuguese,
and at the §4410 time that the Carlist forces were surround-
ing Vittoria, and besieging Trevino and Penaurrada at the
south of this town ; that the plan of the campaign was
completely deranged, that the Carlists were overrunning
the cantonments, and the Generals knew not in what way
to act ; and -that if he did not immediately return the
forces he had taken to Bastan, the consequences were in-
conceivable.

Cordova returned on the Ebro to Haro and Miranda ;
the besieged places wort) not taken, but Gomez had not yet
been joined ; butt had continued his march to Oviedo after
b@Atinu two brigades of the reserved army, who barred his
passage at Revilla, and that he was always twenty-four
hours in advance of Espartero, who was himself pursued by
a Carlist column. At the first news of Gomez's march,
the bulletins statod that every measure had been taken to
defeat an attempt on the Asturias. Now, Gomez has been
able to enter the capital of this province, raise a heavy tax,
continue his route to Galicia, across a country cut by large
rivers, which he crossed on bridges, of which no one dis-
puted the passage.
At the very moment that General Cordova was returning
by forced marchdupon the Ebro, General Evans was at-
tempting to signalize himself by a coup de main upon Fon-
tarabia, an old dismantled fortress on the mouth of the
llidzissoit, and the possession of which would have made him
master of the small town of lrun, on the road to France.
'Flie attack was protected by steamers and gun-boats, and
between five thousand and six thousand men were taken
out ; three hundred Carlists defended the dilapidated ram-
parts of the citadel ; it must be taken by assault, and the
old ruins facilitated such a plan. The French side of the
Bidassoa was covered with a crowd of spectators, attracted
by the warlike preparations, and was chiefly composed of
unfortunate Spanish emigrants, whose homes were invaded
by the enemy. The multitude were making vows in favour
of the English, when, to the general disappointment, this
mass of six thousand men retreated without attempting the
assault er anything else, and .pursued by the firing of the
Carlists until the 3 entered St. Sebastian. The frontier
correspondents have not been sparing in their reproaches
to the English division for this shameful retreat. But in
justice to General Evans we must mention the appearance
of several Carlist battalions in the rear of the English,
which might have led him to believe that stronger forces
were coming from Ernani, in order to cut him off from St.
Sebastian. However just may be the blame thrown upon
the soldiers of the auxiliary legion, it can in no manner at-
tack British honour ; and the raisers of recruits in London
are alone to be accused for the little scruple they make in
the choice of their recruits.
Vie learn that in Navarre each General is operating
upon his own account, without any idea of general union
having a chance of success ; the only advantage they have
gained over the Carlists since the opening of the campaign
consists-in having got them about a gun-shot distance from
St. Sebastian.

(Prom the Gazette de France.)
Desertion continues from the ranks sof tha Queen's troops.
On the 10th instant, 160 de;iirters, with their arms and
baggage, presented themselves at the Carlist heal-quarters
liaiinas. On the 16th, seven English lancers and two
Spanish soldiers, also with tlivh' 411/14.4‘14 baggage, came
mer to the Royal quarters; Eleven Englishmen, in the
most deplorable cgmlitieak artiveti at Bayonne on the 18th.
It is 1401104 that oellol4l Bernell° has resigned his com-
mand, General 00111e1 has found twelve guns and consi-
Ora* magazines 9f arms 40 mununition at Oviedo.