The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-01 00:00:00

1 0
~` ~~~tflt

LONDON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1848

The pamphlet of Don VICENTE DE PBREDA on
the affairs of Spain, to which we made allusion in
The Sun of yesterday, is a most remarkable produc-
tion, and proves how those politicians err who, in
speculating on the future destinies of Spain, leave
out of their calculation the effect of that Espanolismo,
which is the peculiar characteristic of Spaniards.
The author, be it remembered, is a Progresista, and,
after going at considerable length into the history
and present state of parties in Spain, he comes
to the conclusion " that a Spanish Prince
alone can assure the independence of the country,
and that he alone, by uniting all Spaniards, can
form a truly national " party." To form a na-
tional party, he argues that it is necessary
to calm down all those animosities which have hitherto
divided the sons of a common country, and to have a
leader in whom all can trust, but whose success
will not afford a triumph to any one of the existing
parties over any other. That this leaner should be
a Spanish Prince is obvious, as a Spanish Prince—
and a Spanish Prince alone—can save Spain from
becoming a province ; and he at last comes to the
conclusion that the Count DB MONTEMOLIN is the
only Prince who unites in his own person all the
requisites for the head of the Spanish nation. He is
a Prince of the Blood, of great talents, great courage,
and undoubted integrity—he is no biget, no
absolutist, but would, so argues Don VICENTE DE
PEREDA, govern as a friend of justice and legal liberty,
in which case one of the first acts of his reign
would be to assemble the Cortes according to the
ancient laws of the kingdom (which would give a
much larger constituency than Spain at present
enjoys), and leave to them to form a constitution in
accordance with the wants and wishes of the age—a
constitution which should be a reality, and not a
miserable mockery, like the present one, under the
cover of which innumerable illegalities are daily per-
petrated. Such a course of conduct would ensure for
him the support of the Progresistas, and of all but
the Afrancessado portion of the Moderados, while the
Carlists would hail him as their legitimate sovereign.
This, says Don VICENTE DE PEREDA, would
be a restoration, not a reaction. The revolu-
tion against ESPARTERO was a true reaction,
which has ended in the suppression of all con-
stitutional rights. The restoration of legitimacy
would be the re-establishment of order, founded on
the laws of the ancient constitutional monarchy, for
the purpose of ensuring by them the secure and pro-
gressive march of improvement, which is the only
practicable method of securing liberty. The author
then proceeds to argue that the state of Spain is,
in fact, analogous to the state of England at the
death of CROMWELL ; and that, as in the case of
England, so in that of Spain, a restoration
must sooner or lett r follow. These senti-
ments, coming from a Progresista, are most
remarkable, as showing the deep-rooted disgust and
antipathy of the Spaniards for French interference.
Before the Alontpensier marriage, any one who had
hinted at a union between Progresistas and Carlists
would have been considered as only fit to become an
inmate of a lunatic asylum. Now, not only is such
an union probable, but it may be almost considered
as un fait accompli. In the Eco del Cumercio,
there have appeared recently a series of articles, the
object of which is to show that on the death
of Queen ISABELLA the war for the Crown
will be between the Count of MONTEMOLIN
and the Spaniards on one side, and the Duc de MONT..
PRIMER and the French on the other. It is, therefore,
extremely probable that the result of all the intrigues
of Louis PRILIPPE will be to secure a crown
for his prisoner instead of his son, and to