The Sun.
London, England, 1840-07-31 00:00:00

SPAIN.

BARCELONA, JULY 22.—Yesterday, at half-past six
o'clock, the Queen quitted the Palace, taking the di-
rection of the sea-shore, her Majesty preferring this pro-
menade to that of the Rambla, which, situated in the
middle of the city, offers a central point for those who
seek to disturb the public peace. On her way the
Queen unexpectedly encountered a numerous assem-
blage. composed, for the greater part, of persons of the
lower class, and National Guards out of uniform. They
all carrie*largo bludgeons, but cried out, rcspectfnlly,
Viva leßeina," when her'Mojesty appeared, When,
however, they saw the second carriage, in which
were the Count of Santa Coloma and the Duchess
of Vittoria, they cried out loudly, " Down with Es-
partero !"—Long live the Regent !"—" Long live Gene-
ral Cleonard !" The people replied to this clamour by
vociferations of: another kind, almost in presence of the
Royal carriages. A terrible conflict then took place,
and the National Guard, supported by a picquet of
cavalry, succeeded eventually in putting down the un-
equal combat. However, the excited populace yielded
only to re-assemble in the Rambla, and their numbers
still increasing, they committed such excesses, that very
shortly all the shops were closed. The cafes were emp-
tied, and disorder had almost reached its height, when
Espartcro, informed by one of his aides-de-camp, ar-
rived on the spot. The presence of the General, who
came on foot without any escort, and his brief and
energetic address to the mass of the people, produced
a very salutary effect, and hostilities ceased in that
quarter, but were very shortly recommenced, and with
greater violence, on the Plaza de la Constitucion. On
this spot a most serious conflict took place, and three
men were killed and several wounded and hurt. The
Royal Guard, who moved upon this point, soon caused the
evacuation of the square, but the rioters were not slow
to form again in the Plaza de San Jaime, before the
building where the Ayuntamiento held its sittings, in
the rea4ll4 the cathedral. The leaders were numerous
on this A-point, and distributed muskets amongst their
partisanskihom they organised into a battalion of Na-
tional Guards. The moment had now arrived to act
rrith vigour, for the insurrection began to assume a
serious appearance, and Espartero caused the com-
pany of the guides and the battalion of the Chasseurs of
Luchana to advance, trusting that the warlike aspect
of these troops, victorious wherever they had appeared,
would influence the conduct of the mob. The Ayun-
tamiento then decided to act in concert with the
Duke of Vittoria, and sent to ask what were his
orders. Espartero replied drily, that the Munici-
pality knew what was its duty. He recommended
them to exert all their influence with the people to
reduce them to order, and added that, for his own
part, he knew how to perform his own duty. The
constitutional alcalde then proceeded to arrest the
ringleaders, but was unfortunately assisted by the
moveable National Guard, who were inspired by a bad
feeling towards the people, and being actuated by
party spirit, occasioned further disorders instead of re-
pressing them.
Amongst the chiefs of the moderados who figured
in the ovations presented to the Queen, to the exclu-
sion of the Duke de la Vittoria, was the advocate
Balmas, a Captain in the National Guard. Pursued
by a detachment of the moveable National Guard, who
sought to arrest him without an order from the
alcalde, Balmas discharged two pistols which he car-
ried, and shot two of his pursuers, one of whom was
mortally wounded.
This catastrophe caused the greatest agitation. The
mob then rushed upon the house of Balmas, and laid
se
. .
ige to it In a regular manner. Screened behind the
shutters of his balcony, Balmas fired several shots, and
almost alwhys with effect. But exhausted at last with
fatigue, and having no more ammunition, he came out
before the furious crowd and blew his brains out. No-
thing, however, could interrupt the people's vengeance.
His body was immediately seized by them, dragged
through the streets, and torn to pieces, and the populace
then proceeded to the committal of further excesses, pil-
laged the Cafe de l'Aincan, and ransacked the printing-
office of the Garde Nacional, the political organ of the
,nodcrados. A M. Bose, another captain in the
National Guard, experienced the same fate as Balmas ;
he was killed near the church of St Michael. On
learning these sanguinary executions, Espartero caused
the generale to beat, turned out with all the troops, and
immediately surrounded the most disturbed quarters of
the city. Several arrests were made, and giving him-
self the example of the love of discipline, the General-
in-Chief cut down a disorderly soldier. The mob, see-
ing this, speedily dispersed, and Espartero addressed
the alcalde in an energetic speech, prohibiting any other,
cry for the present than that of " Viva la Reina!
The following proclamation was subsequently pub-
lished :