The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-15 00:00:00

THE SPANISH MARRIAGES.

We have received from Paris copies of the docu-
Manta respecting the marriages of the Queen of Spain
'sith Don Francisco d'Assis and the Infanta with the
Luke de Montpensier, presented to the Chamber of De-
puties by M. Guisot on Tuesday last.
The following are translations of the most important
4isPatches ;
LORD PALMERSTON TO LORI) NORMANBY.
Foreign-office, September 22, 1846.
Lord,—l have had several communications with
the Count de Jarnac, and a conversation of some length
Monsieur Dumon, on the subject of the intended
Marriages which have been annonced for the Queen of
Spain and for her sister the Infanta ; and in these com •
alunications and conversations I have explained folly
without disguise the sentiments entertained by the '
British Government upon the Queen's marriage, and the
s
rang objection felt by them to the proposed marriage
rthe Infanta, and I have now to instruct your Excel-
feneS. to bring those opinions and objections in a more
°rind manner under the consideration of the Govern-
ment of France.
IsabellaAti first wit rseet o the mrriage of the Queen
v• er Majh esty'
sp s
Government have good reason
to belt
ee, and it appears, indeed, by the avo al of the
tench Government, that this marriage was brougt
cs,ipout by French influence at Madrid. Her Majesty's.
orertenent rejoice to think that the British (severe-
inset wqs no party to that arrangement.
miler Majesty's Government might indeed remark that
b stores then taken at Madrid, by France singly, to
the
r:ter
to
npit.):al which that Government states itself to have
her Majesty's Government, that the two Go-
t, b should act in unison in regard to the advice
th e gistes to the Court of Madrid upon the subject of
Itnatrriqge of Queen Isabella; because it appears that
the time when the French Charge d'Affaires in bon-
:11 was :skin g the opinion of the British Government
e. this matter, in order, as he stated, that if the two
,trerain felts could come to an agreement about it, they
Quid es se es • the mcarti tion. the French
Am s e same reciem r
.n.
zt u4,3,1d0r at Madrid NV'4S already in pthsession i
b triletiv as from his awn Government to endeavour to
en r, :about the Queen's marriage with one particular
did ate ; and that consequently the question about
rk 'eh the French Chargd d'Affaires was offering to de-
itereras ,
„ n London had already decided by the in-
s cfc"ons which had been sent to the French Ambas-
,Olat Madrid.
f•Ar't le true, indeed, that no proposal on this subject was
by the
or distinctly made to her Majesty's Government
It's (S'evernment of France ; but what passed was
arly r.s follows:
thrt (lay after I had sent off my dispatch (No. 6) of
tltesiti";t'a of July, to Mr. Bulwer, I showed a copy of
,;di:; to the Count de Jarnac, as an explan-
aof the views which her Majesty's Government,. in
tne sho t d .
r time uring which they Clad been in office,
y
„ has taken of the question of the Queen Isabella's' marage, and of the existing state of things in Spain ; and
-
ctve him the -dispatch'to take home with him, that he
might
confidentially send a copy of it to his Government.
Court Jarnac made several remarks on the dispatch,
tied b.
a,„ eueed both to that part which related to the
1,-rriage of the Queen of Spain, and to that part which
dated to the political condition of Spain.
thullon the latter part, he expressed apprehension that
°beer vation made upon the system of rule which
1,48„ of late years prevailed in Spain might, if made
sewn in that country, produce bad and inconvenient
sesseet ; but, it is to be presumed that the French Go-
so"a eat did not share those apprehensions, because a
elitY, of that dispatch, though it had been communi-
hy74, sconfidence to the French Government, was sent
tevNQea,to M. Bresson, and was by him made known to
ai persons at Madrid.
obseeut upon the first part of my dispatch, Count Jarnac
Leo rietd, that it seemed to him to put forward the Prince
tit oP°ld of Saxe Coburg as a candidate for the hand of
trel:rteell of Spain, while it excluded Count Trapani
bas Cle list. That this was inconsistent with what had I,
;ht between the French Government and the late
while Ministry, between whom it had been agreed that I
aljtb!: on the one hand, the French Government should
alv the Duke of Montpensier, or any son of the
„1?? the French, from the list of candidates, the
the I;.t Government, on the other hand, should withdraw
l'hflisrsirteo of Coburg, and that some descendant of
gesee v • should be recommended as consort for the
/8
8114., of f3pain.
any 4.:1, that I found no tree() in the Foreign-office of
Tb!'ll •sgreement.
What I understood to have been the ground taken •
Queen Majesty's late Government was, that unless the
to whist)! Spain were likely to marry a French Prince,
ereuncr the British Government would, upon political
1444' have an unquestionable right to object, the
with J.? of the Queen of Spain was a Spanish question,
fere no foreign Government was entitled to inter-
°l" is
alight fall upon to control Queena
Bourbo Isahellan'e
or upon choice, whether
ines any other
isete That the British Government would make no •
ISsibt.e therefore, to her selecting a descendant of
hem!) although it did not join in endeavouring to
Pole of ajlY such restriction upon her; that Prince Leo-
'lt' Se ''''axe Coburg was not a candidate put forwardhe
eported by the British Government, and that, on
i'veigb,titrtlrY, the British Government thought for many
tter :3, reasons that a Spanish Prince would be a
1'44 ttu sband for the Queen, and that among Spanish
herseoetisi Pon Enrique seemed to be the best suited to be
a . 'ort.
Bultver that these views had been made known to Mr.
-truas ' by my predecessor in office, and that Count
4 referee ould see that, in the beginning of my dispatch,
beend to and adopted the instructions which had
essutti v en on these points by her Majesty's late Govern-
litew =Chat, consequently, it was impossible that Mr.
Ills D! ithould suppose that the mere circumstance of
the of Coburg being mentioned by me as one of
by hi nd idates for the Queen's hand, was to be construed
teed 4 a s an intimation that the British Government in-
that, t 0 support or to recommend that Prince. But
Irsuillo:reover, my private communication to Mr. Bulwer
11„,Pr event the possibility of any such mistake.
rehtir denied that there is any such parity between the
tesi°ll of the Prince of Coburg to the Royal Family of
the and the relation of the Duke of Montpensier to
for '''°Yel Family of France, as would afford any ground
as bawl a bargain as that which Count Jarnac claimed
•TLlvtrifs been made.
th„ o I Juke of Montpensier is a Frenchman, and son of
„s
g• of the French ; the Prince of Coburg is not an
iss-6"811 man, and is only cousin to the Queen of Eng-
ti tile his brother is married to a daughter, and his
te a son, ef the King of the French. That his
,elttexi on with the Royal Family of France is therefore
England
as close as his connexion with the Royal Family of
d, if not more so ; and that it is impossible, in
any poent of view, to look upon him as an English can-
didate„ or to make his withdrawal by England a condi-
tion of the withdrawal of the Duke of Montpensier by

That if indeed the question had been as to Prince
George ,pf Cambridge, there might have been some parity
establish ed between him and the Duke of Montpensicr.
tit I sa id that in point of fact I had always understood
t_nntlt when about three years ago, and before the Prince
'vt_renobur g was talked
dofaansd candidate, the French Go-
ahad laid down for its own
_raeni; had pFopose
guidance the principle that the choice of the Queen of
wain al aould be confined toa descendant of Philip V.,
,07_ Zilch Government itself had pointed out that by
tuirr°2 g: it excluded an
.y son of th_e. King of the French;
th'irTer efore the decision of the King of the French that
the of Montpensier should not be a candidate for
riati dof the Queen of Spain was not part of any bar-
r,„,4 about the Prince of Coburg, who had not at that
c;"then mentioned as a candidate, but was the result
which the King of the French spontaneously
;Inertain,td of what was due by France to the faith of
due transactions of the Treaty of Utrecht, and to the just
ue attached by other States to the maintenance of the
fiance of power in Europe.
tnAA saia, moreover, that in using the word " candidate "
Qe,sig nate Prince Leopold as one of con Princes who
Deen publicly talked of as a possible ort for the
of Spain, I employed that word in its ordinary
r; colloquial sense ; and that it did not imply that the
vor:iice of Coburg was put forward by the British Go-
a
tc,74llent, or even that the Prince had himself taken any
ta,,Ps the matter. But, at the same time, I distinctly
Cki):to 1111 Jauntier, and. I afterwards repeated the same
al times on other occasions, that the
°Dijon of niLOY7dveJohn Russell, of myself, and those of
opinion of
who had had time to give their attention
Spanish -affairs, was the same as that which had been
tutertained b y her Majesty's late Government—namely,
bCt„stS h Prince would be the most prudent choice
panicto Quee-a of Spain, and that Don Enrique seemed
40,_ the Spanish Prince who was the fittest for the
position of being Queen Isabella's consort.
orlls impossible, therefore, that either Count Jarnac
When French Minister could, from the first moment,
q0e...11 any Communication took place between the two
tc'ertraent:L on these matters, have had any doubt as
witwt.hat the opinions of the British Government were
of suprttinegar d to the best choice to be made by the Queen
0,..„.1h!) Count de Jarnac stated upon that and upon other
anions that it would afford the French Government
kilre if her Majesty's Government should instruct
key,Lalwer to give effect to those opinions by recom-
of g a Prince who should fulfil the French condition
time he
a descendant of Philip V., while at the same
Possfrssed the qualification of being a Spanish
jc, to which we appeared to attach importance.
Etriti;,4tid, also, on a subsequent occasion, that if the
boin," Government should determine to recommend
won-1,1,_ Nue, he was sure that the French Government
the-,;"bue Willing to unite in giving that advice ; but
obiLZ°Ped that if it should turn out that at Madrid the
liii—tafta to that Prince were insurmountable, the
choice Government would not afterwards oppose the
ce of Don Francisco.
.d
kid that her Majesty's Government did not con-
to 1,"Ba tluonselves to have any right to make an opposition
which Francisco in such a case, although, for, reasons
%tin' iutd explained to him, they could not take uport.
Prinres the responsibility of recommending that
It se.,
%kin -Yost however, that about the time when these
FUnications with a view to an united course between
rt'e two Governments were passing in London, the
tiontiOl Ambassador at Madrid, in pursuance of instruc-
-1.02 which must have been sent to him some time 1:a -
ert,!! Was co-operating in the: employment of moral co-
owttoo. to compel the Queen of Spain to accept a Prince
bie,was not the candidate whom the British Govern
as willing to concur with the Government of
ire in recommending.
thater.,eieetys Government are quite ready to admit
th,. Ta re was no engagement on this matter between
the Governments, and that each was at liberty to
eto the Spanish Court such advice about the marriage
Queen as it raight:think fit. But her Majesty's Go-
eat d 9 apt ezactly see why such anxiety should

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