The Sun.
London, England, 1823-05-29 00:00:00

SEVILLE PAPERS.

" ROYAL DECREE.
" Don Ferdinand 7th, by the Grace of God, &c.
" To all whom these presents may concern-:.know that the
Cortes have'decreed as follows :

•• •••• 511
" The Cottes, by virtue of• the powers granted to them by
the Constitution, have decreed :
" Art. 1. The Generals in Chief of the Armies, and in de-
fault thereof, the Commandant Generals of Districts or Pro.

vinees, shall be authorized to form guerilla parties, or free
corps. _

Art. 2. The Commanders of Provinces shall be Inspectors
of the guerilla parties operating within their jurisdiction, and
superintend their regulation and grant commissions, without
which requisites it shall not be lawful fur .hem to demand
supplies from the people.
. Art. i. ho supplies as well as the clothing, and also the
organization into companies, battaliims, or squadrons, are to be
entrusted to the Generalsin-Chiefi or Commandant-Generals
of Districts.

•" Art. 4. The rewards to persons serving in the guerillas
Anil be awarded by. the Government, on the. recommendations
of the Generals-in-Chief.'

" Art. 5. In the Districts or 'Provinces occupied by the ene-
my, all Spaniards are authorized to form guerillas, the Com-
manders thereof being bound to report thereon to the Generals-
in-Chief, and remain subject to their orders; without which
the commissions they may receive shall not be sufficient for'
them to make war against the enemy.—Sevilk,April 26," &c.
The Committee of. Commerce, in the Cortes, having' taken
into consideration the complaints made by the Ministers of
England, the Low Countries, &c. on the tonnage duty demand-
ed in Spanish ports, have reported thereon, that all foreign ves-
sels arriving in ballast ought to be exempt from this duty, when
they, come to take the produce of the country away.
On the 25th, the regulars and militia belonging to the -9th
and 10th districts wero to assemble at Carmona, in conformity
to a circular issued by Gen. Vallacampa. For this purpose he
had addressed circulars to the several Provincial Deputations
corresponding to the said districts, urging each of them to
send one of their own Members there to meet him, in order
to concert measures for the equipment and support of the said
troops.
A few days ago the King visited in this capital (Seville) the
celebrated archives of the Indies. What a source of reflections
such a scene must present to the thoughtful ! We have soine-1
times imagined we heard the voice of Colutnbus,Cortes, and
Pizarro One of the keepers read to the King a leiter from
Cortes, addressed to the King in 1522. In it he spoke of dis-
coveries made by his people in the South Seas, and he requests
the King to listen to the bearer of this news, at the same time
disregarding those who, availing themselves of the distance of
the two countries, counselled him to the detriment of his absent
good servants. It seems to us that lie also complained of the
extraordinary neglect in the communications, and that for a
long time he (Cortes) had heard nothing from Court. What
an old malady is this in Spain !
We had already noticed that Prince Hilt was aping Neap°.
Icon in his bulletins, at least, since he cannot do it on the score
of valour, knowledge, and actions. Those who had never
been in Spain,
_and cannot know our country geographically,
may be deceived by the pompous declamations and ridiculous
names given to great fortresses, supposed to be in open towns,
vihere a single gun is not mounted; but those who know our
country and are told of the fortress of Laredo, must actually
burst into laughter, in like manner as they must, when they
are told that the French have taken the important fortified places
of Vallecas, Gatofe, Carabanchel, &c.
General Zayas had entered Avila with his division, where
lie had an opportunity of seeing the ravages committed by the
Army of the-Faith. _
_ _ _

• It Is now more than a month since the French passed the
Bidossoa, and hitherto nothing has happened that we did not
fbresee; on the contrary, they must have been deceived in
many things they expected to find. Hence, Spain has no rea-
son for regretting her resolution, yet the French by this time
must be anxious when they reflect on the precipitate act in
which they are engaged.
If we had listened to the threats by which they sought to in-
timidate us, or the prophecies of those who encouraged the in-
vasion, by this time they -ought to have been masters of the
capital, and the greater part .of the provinces ought to have
been separated from the legitimate government, and joined
to that the invaders might have thought proper to establish.
All this was to have been the work of a few days ! The march
of the French troops from the Bidassoa to the Manzanares,
ought to have been a triumphal promenade. Thither Deputies
from all the provinces ought to have hastened, humbly to so-
licit the chains and favours of the invaders, and the faction,
which they supposed was dotnineering over Spain, ought to
have fled,,ashamed and dismayed, or accepted the conditions
the conquerors might have wished to impose upon it.
Vet nothing of all this has been realized ! and even those who
considered this transformation necessary, begin to find they were
mistaken. The rebels complain that the French have been too
circumspect, whilst the latter say that the rebels and their chiefs
have deceived them, for the feelings of the people at large are
not such as had been represented to them. • St. Sebastian's and
Pamplona do not surrender ; but rather teach the enemy that
they despise his threats. The national army does not disperse,
but rather strengthens and increases by brave volunteers flock-
in
g to it, and that all are determined to die for the freedom And
independence of their country. The war cannot now be re-
duced to the small circle Louis XVIII. had drawn for it. The
force on which he relied is not sufficient, and our resistance is
Much greater than he foresaw. In one month, Spain has tripled
her physical and moral strength, whilst every day the French
army is losing both.