The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-31 00:00:00

awning PATIA:

LONDON, MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 1848.

Like all very clever people, his Majesty King
LOUIS PHILIPPE occasionally overreaches himself, and
that he has done so in the affair of the Spanish mar-
riages is becoming every day more and more evident.
The indignation of all true Spaniards of every party has
been aroused by the contumelious manner in which,
since he succeeded in obtaining the hand of the
INFANTA for his son, the .:,CING of the FRENCH has
treated their nation, susceietble in a peculiar degree
to anything approaching to insult or contempt.
It was with feelings of the bitterest humiliation and
indignation that Spaniards of every party heard the
French Minister declare that in order to preserve to
France the security of her southern frontier, it was
necessary to retain the succession to the Crown of
Spain in the Bourbon family ; and that therefore he
had, while recognising the rights of the Queen of
SPAIN, felt it his duty to insist upon her choosing her
husband either from amongst the descendants of
Pamir V., or, at all events, from among the Princes
of the Bourbon family. \Ve have an example of the
feelings which such an assertion of supremacy could
not fail to excite in the hearts of all Spaniards in the
observations of Don VICENTE DE PEREDA, an illustrious
Progresista, in his recently published pamphlet, enti-
tled "La Nacion y los Partidos 6 sea la necesidad de
formar el partido Nacional," a work worthy the pe-
rusal of every one who desires to form a correct
opinion as to the present state of affairs in
Spain. " Surely," exclaims Don VICENTE DE
PAREDA, " nothing can exceed the rashness (he might
have said impertinence) of this open avowal, on the
part of the French Minister, that he had imposed his
veto to prevent the contracting of matrimony by the
Queen of SPAIN, in conformity with her own wishes
and the interests of her people, and had dared to limit
her rights, and those of her nation, according to the
wishes and interests of France." These open avowals
on the part of the French Government of an intention
to keep Spain in dependence on France, and to sacrifice
in every instance Spanish interests to French interests
have aroused a feeling of nationality in Spain, which
will not be easily appeased. Men of all parties see
the necessity of burying their former differences in
oblivion, in order to form a great national party
strong enough and firm enough to govern the coun-
try for national purposes only—to secure Spain for
the Spaniards. Senor ESCOSURA was only giving
utterance to the opinion of the universal Spanish
nation, when, in the debate on the Address in the
Chamber of Deputies, on the 24th of November last,
he said that "he had for a long time entertained the
profound conviction that neither of the two parties
into which the Liberal body was divided, with their
numerous cliques and subdivisions, each having its
hatreds, its traditions, and its prejudices, could pro-
vide for the wants and happiness of the country.
He had always been of opinion that in each of these
divisions there were men of probity, of talent, of
knowledge, and of honour, whose duty it was to free
themselves from the traditions and history of
the past, who should group themselves together
so as to form a centre, around which honest
men from each of the other parties might
rally, and which, under the name of national, or any
other title, might really:govern the country." Such
we believe to be the wish of every inhabitant of
Spain, to whatever party he may belong, except in-
deed the miserable monopolising minority of Afran-
cesado pensioners of the Tuileries, who, under the
inspiration of CHRISTINA, are endeavouring to sacri-
fice Spain on the altar of their own selfishness
by selling her to France. To these, however, we give
not the name of Spaniards ; they have about them
none of the true spirit of Espanolisino—none of
that spirit which actuated the Palafex, and the
Mina, and the Castanos, and which, after a glorious
struggle of five years, expelled the French
intruding KING from Spain, albeit he was backed
by the armies of NAPOLEON, and had among the
Spaniards themselves a party ten times more power-
ful, whether as regards talent or numbers, than the
Afrancesado rump, which at present would fain rule
paramount in Madrid. The events which are daily
occurring in Spain, the continued ill-health of the
QUEEN, the undisguised attempts that are making to
carry out the wicked and unnatural policy of which
CHRISTINA is the minister—all tend to open the eyes
of Spaniards to the deplorable situation of their
country, and to impress upon them the necessity
of oblivion and union—oblivion of past differences,
union for the future to preserve themselves as a nation.
That there are great, but not insuperable difficulties,
in the way of forming a national party in Spain, we
admit. Those difficulties, however, we believe will be
overcome by the spirit of Espana/Bmo, by which all
true Spaniards have ever been actuated, and then, to
quote the words of Don VINCENTE DE PAREDA, " there
will be no fear that the enemies of Spain will triumph
so easily as they imagine. The nation is invincible,
and against a French KING all will be Spaniards."

The Bank returns for the week ending the 22d
January, which appeared in The Sun of Saturday,
together with the previous returns during the past
quarter, afford a strong illustration of the course
pursued by the directors during the crisis—of the
manner in which our trade and commerce was im-
peded by the difficulties interposed in the way of
obt4inizlg mertey even on the most legitimate securi-