The Sun.
London, England, 1812-11-17 00:00:00

SPAIN.

(Cor.'.inued from our Yager nf.. Saturday.)

We resu:oe our account of this country, as gi-=
Pen by REHFUES.

Were tra yellers to lie.ar this in mind, they would
be less surpris'el at the inconvenience atteidant
on a journey through. Spain. llowever .ind.tfcrent
is the accomafo:hition at their inns, the 'public
owe it; such as it is,. to particidally to
SaVoyards.; Th:xindcfatigahle rate hly:i Splin, as
welt as the south of .I.l,iu'one, un:!er a-kin:l. of con-
tribution,-and may be tonal in the capleity of
inn-keepers in most, of the large towns. When
speaking. of bad:inns, hovever, we ought to hen.
in mind that 1114Cil less enCOUrageille..t vett
from traVel.l.ers in -other coun•ries tii7ln iii OUj OWO.
Spaniard looks upon ajwaney from hocie as a
very ser;ouS alfair, and 'never undertakes it but
from necessity.

Not.ing can he worse-coutrived than the Spa-
nish taxes. Exorbitant duties on fo; artiJes
afford strong temptations to smunling, and the
extent otcOast renders the ptevention of it. irn-
practicable. The expense incurred b'y Govern-
ment in keeping up custo.mAouse officers is enor-
Mous ; and it will hardly he credited, that this
pernicious system is applied not oniy to Ole fron-
tiers of the kingdom, but to the borders of differ-
ent prdvinces, the duties in which vary, as if tber/
were distinct. sovereignties. "

The poverty that prevails throughout Spain VirS
ascribed by thecabinet of Philip IV. tt) the excort
ation of the precious metals : and edicts; which we
belieVe are still unrepealed, were' issued, • attach=
log penalties to the transmission of gold or silrer
to foreign countries.
As to manufactures, very little advanta.gelias
yet been taken'of physical resources.. Silk is ex-
ported in the raw state, 1-..ri1l has begun to be ma-
nufactured only at Valencia and BarCelona. 'Wool,
i in the same predicament, notwithstandin. the
interference of Government, which.imposed a.du-
ty on its exportation, and conferred prlvileges nu.
the home manufacturers. The culture of hemp
and flax haslikewise been patronised by Go:-ern-
mem 7 but the Spaniards are acquainted with no
finer inanufaCturethan that of cables and sails: A
kind of linen cloth is made in the north : but 'con-
siderable difficulty occurred, at the time' of M.
Relifties' jburney, in buying shirts for a few regi-
ments of 'Frenchmen.
Iron is found in abundance, and of good -qua-
lity, inßiscaTand Arragon. The export trade of
the raw material is considerable, while the home
manufacture is inadequate to the wants of the
country.
Tobacco was in Spain, as in France, 'an object
of Government monopoly,: it was made solely at
Seville, and thence distributed through the king-
dom. The profit on it being high, and the con-
sumption of •it through Spain being large, the
gain of Government in this way was computed at
a million sterling; a sum probably not overrated,
since the old Government of France made one
million two hundred thousand pounds by 'the same
means.

Police.-,—The Inquisition, so much the abhor-

rence of the Pfutestant world, has in recent ages
partaken more of a civil than ayelig,ious char:►c-j ,
ter its functions have been those of a Board of
Police, and its vigilance has been directed, 41171011 g
other objects, towards ,the press. it is curious to
see to what a length its strictness in this respect
is 'carried. Literature was subjected to an alma-
al revision, ,aud its productions were divided into
`tree classes :-
1. Books which might be read on obtaining

.eave,

2. Books requiring to he previously purified.
3.. Books totally probibitea.
Under the last class are to be found works that
are apparentl). very innocent, such as Pope's
Nl‘Torks, Blair's Rhetotic, Locae on • the Human
Understanding, &Lc. Native writerslvere obliged
to transmit their manuscript to " a Judge of the
Press, " and were forced to pay him for getting it
;Tad, whether it was approved or not. The charge
amounted, on an octavo volume, to 231. With
regard to doubtful or contested points, a-kind of
disputation usually took place between .the. cen-
sors awl the author, in the presence of the Judge;
and if the author appeared to be in the wrong,
the copy of his labours was retained by Govern-
ment, and added to a heap of luckless manuscripts
which were buried in the public depositories.
Foreign books Were subjected to scrutiny on im
portation, and confiscated without mercy, if ob-
noxious in their contents. Twenty-five ,Judges
were employed in this hopeful jurisdiction, and.
each Judge lead his censors at con)m.ind. Period
cal papers were licensed by Royal authority; and
two hundred ducats were annually paid by the
Editor to the censors who were appointed to watch
him. These different provisions were executed
with rigour; books became unavoidably exorbi-
tant in price ; and altogether 'the most serious
obstacles were thrown in the 'way ofciiititslag in-
formation..

The vigilance shewn towards the press forms an,
unfavourable contrast to the relaxation of police
in other matters. In the-streets of Madrid fi dead
mule is allowed to lie a. whole day, during the brat
of sin-timer; and the unhealthy and revolting
practice of 'burying corpses in churches is still
continued in Spain.
As to danger from fire, it is a eonnhon saying'
that, when it onee bursts out at Madrid, " is'
likely to last for four days." A part of this
tal is built of wood, and.2,l. Relkfues was prestnt
at the breaking out of a fire at ten o'clock in the:
forenoon, which, though no wind stirring,
was not subdued till the next day; nor would it
then have been extinguished without the exertion'
of the French soldiers. The Spaniards looked on.
very coolly, and took no farther trouble than
bringing fOrwards a small
,pump which
_was sup.
plied with water in pails, and 'left at intervals
unworked. Towards evening, a second pump,
also a small one, was brought nn ; and these
efforts constituted all the labours of the Spaniards;
(To be continued.)

Mr. MUNDENT cothmenced an enagement last
night at the Hull Theatre, in the parts of Old
Dornton, in the-Road to Ruin, and Crack, in the
Turnpike Gate.