The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-25 00:00:00

The Spanish Cortes is to be opened to-mor-
row, and great, indeed, is the interest which this
event has already excited in the political circles
of Madrid. Senor SURRA Y RULL, the Minister
of Finance, has devoted much of his time to the
study of political economy, and during the brief
period since his taking office has certainly
performed wonders in the way of retrieving
the national credit. The long out-standing
cliims of the British and French Auxiliary
Legions were liquidated in the midst of a domes-
tic insurrection, known to be countenanced by
the French Government, and no efforts have
been left untried to meet the demands of other
classes of public creditors. This able and honest
Minister has arrived at the conclusion that,
without adopting the principles of free trade,
Spain can never arrive at any high degree
of prosperity, and therefore he has armed him-
self with Reports of Committees upon the
subject, which will be early laid before the Cham-
ber of Deputies. He expects to be ably sup-
ported by Senor MARLIAN!, a political economist
of the HUSKISSON school, who, after the most di-
ligent inquiry, has found that what is called the

" protective system" has been the ruin of Spain.
Still we have our fears that the Opposition will
prove too strong for them. If, after the advan-
tages England has derived from commerce
during a period of two centuries, and with
the aid of an unfettered Press to guide
public opinion, there be at thisday in Parliament
a majority of our legislators who pretend to see
national ruin in the free importation of corn, can
we wonder that there should be in King-trodden,
priest-ridden Spain, a majority of the National
Representatives decidedly opposed to any inva-
sion of the privileges claimed by Spanish mono-
polists? Is there anything more natural than that
they should retort upon Senors SURRA Y. RULL
and MARLIANI, the sophistries urged against the
free-trade policy of the MELBOURNE Cabinet by
PEEL and Co.?

And vet nothing would, at this moment, tend
so much to enrich Spain, and to place her once
more in the list of great Powers, as a good
tariff, based as closely as possible upon the
principle of free trade. By concluding a com-
mercial treaty with England, reciprocally based
on that principle, Spain would open to her-
self the best market in the world for her
corn, her wine,
her oil, her wool, and her fruits,
while in return she would receive manufactures
thirty per cent. cheaper than any protective sys-
tem will ever enable her to produce them. Add
to this that England would supply her with that
agricultural skill of which she stands in such
dand which
them hicliapplied to her genial soils
an industrious the most productive in Eu-
rope. Capital, too, •
s neighbouring
wouldnee rende
State would have no difficulty in raising to any
amount in this country.

Spain is eminently an agricultural country,
just as England is a manutheturingone. To
enrich both they have only
exchange of their respective products. Mutually
to strive to excel in producing the sauce
things is to injure both their interests. A
man having four suns does not make them all
• farmers, or tailors, or watchmakers, or weavers.
He puts one upon the loom to weave cloth,
another he apprentices to a tailor to make
garments for his brethren, a third is brought up to
till the ground to grow them all food, and the
fourth is taught to construct watches. Thus,
by a mutual exchange of labour, they are
all clothed, fed, and provided with watches.
Now nations should study the wise economy
of this father of a family. To try to be
independent of each other is to endeavour to
extend and perpetuate beggary and barbarism.
The more nations are dependent one upon an-
other the wealthier, and the happier they must