The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-26 00:00:00

DINNER TO MR. COBDEN, AT

MADRID.

On the 14th instant a grand banquet was given in
honour of Mr. Cobden, at Madrid, by the members of
the " Spanish Commercial Association." The guests
assembled at half-past six, among whom were D. Alvaro
Flores Estrada, the Spanish economist ; the Duke of
Sotomayer, Spanish Ambassador to the English Court ;
and numerous other persons of distinction. Counts Santa.
Olalla, Gonzala, and Moren y Pena Aguyac were pre-
vented from attending by different causes. The chair
was taken by S. Alvara, having on his right Mr. Cob-
den, Duke de Sotomayer acting as vice-president. The
health of Mr. Cobden was proposed by the President,
after a short and emphatic speech, in which h. e alluded
to the services rendered by Mr. Cobden to his country.
Mr. Cobden then rose and spoke in English, as that lan-
guage was familiar to nearly all present. We give his
speech at length
Gentlemen, it is with the deepest gratitude that I ac-
cept this manifestation of your sympathy ; I accept it
as a proof of your approbation of the principles of free
trade, and of the means resorted to by the leaders of the
League in England. We stood up, gentlemen, as the
advocates of free trade, not in a party spirit, but in the
common interest of all ; and we obtained our end solely
by moral means, which deserve, I hope, the praise of
the honourable men of every country. From the very
beginning of the struggle we never entertained the
slightest idea of having recourse to physical force ; we
placed our confidence in the strength of reason and ar-
gument. Our only weapon was the pen, our loudest
artillery the voice of our orators. We did not make
proselytes by force, but by conviction. For seven years
a fierce struggle was kept up amongst twenty-seven
millions of people, without shedding a single drop of
blood. The battle was long and fierce ; but once
gained, the victory is eternal. All present are no
doubt well aware of the precise object we had in view in
our struggle for free trade. We had, gentlemen, a great
principle in view. We demanded for every Englishman
the right of exchanging the produce of his labour for
that of every quarter of the globe. We demanded the
suppression of all protective duties. We said to our
Government, you must not concede protection to this or
to that branch of industry to the detriment of another.
Equal justice to all classes is the great principle pro-
claimed by us. We demand for England the right of
buying Spanish corn and wool on the same terms as
similar productions in England ; we propose for the
sugars of Cuba the same right enjoyed by those of
Jamaica. We demand for the agriculturists the right
of buying articles of Spanish manufacture which they
may stand in need of, on the same footing as if they
- were British produce. What we advocated has become
the dominating policy of the people of Great Britain.
Gentlemen, the cause of free trade is not confined
to one country alone, it is the cause of humanity
and civilisation all over the globe. And where may I
hope to meet with greater sympathy than in this illustri •
ous capital of the Iberian Peninsula ? To no country
does free trade offer greater advantages than to Spain ;
to no country has nature been so prodigal in her gifts.
Spain produces what other lands must acquire by labour
and by industry. Commerce is the exchange of articles
of equivalent value, and the nation that exports is, like-
wise, in the necessity of importing. There are indivi-
duals in every country who say, "We must produce
within our frontiers all that we stand in need of, and we
will be then independent of the stranger." If Providence
bad meant such to be the case, it would have framed the
earth on a far different plan, and given equal advan-
tages of soil and clime to every nation. My country,
for instance, would have been gifted with the vine
and the olive, and other blessings denied to us, and
other countries would possess iron and coal mines which
so largely compensate with us the absence of other na-
tural productions. But no, Providence has in its wisdom
assigned peculiar productions to each land, so that
nations in acquiring the comforts of life might learn to
live united with each other in the bonds of harmony and
of peace. lam confident, gentlemen, that, before long,
this great nation will have emancipated its commerce
from the restrictions which, but a short time since,
weighed upon the commerce of my own country. An-
other page of your history will be filled, like the immor-
tal page which records that three centuries ago a great
man left your shores to discover a new hemisphere. You
must not accuse me of detracting from the glory of that
great man, when I say that in my opinion the establish-
ment of tree trade will confer greater benefits on your
country than the discovery of America. The genius
of Columbus prxured to your country a large continent
exclusively inhabited by savage tribes ; free trade will
open to your enterprise a civilised world, and every
nation will press forward to offer you the various pro-
ductions of thir industry in exchange for those of your
favoured and productive soil. I conclude, gentlemen,
said Mr. Cobden, in good Castilliaa, "by drinking to the
universal adoption of free trade, the surest guarantees of
the peace of nations."
The meeting was then adressed by several Spanish
merchants and nobles, advocating the general principles
of free trade, and especially the liberty of discussion; at
the conclusion the meeting expressed its gratification at
the presence of its illustrious guest.

A ROYAL BULL FIGHT.

MADRID, OCT. 17.—The Gazette of this morning says
not a word about the amnesty. En revanche, how-
ever, the Grand Bull-fight came off yesterday, and no
doubt the nation will be content.
The Queen, accompanied by her husband and the
rest of the Royal family, entered her balcony at a
quarter to three o'clock, in the Casa de Panadicia of
the Plaza Mayor, or Great Square, and seated herself
under a magnificent canopy of crimson velvet embroi-
dered in gold.
Two o'clock had been the hour named by her
Majesty for the spectacle to commence. At half-
past two a company of halberdiers, dressed in ancient
costume, made their appearance ; and, to the sound
of clarions and drums, took their places in the space
in front of, and immediately under, the balcony set
apart for the royal personages. The position occu-
pied by these domestic guardians of the Royal person,
might, no doubt, be one of high honour, but it was by no
means one to be envied, nor was it without its danger.
Placed outside the barrier which separated the spectators
from the arena, they were exposed to an encounter with
the furious animals whose tortures were to afford amuse-
ment to the young Queen and her sister ; and as eti-
quette prevented them from turning their backs on their
royal mistress, their danger was still the greater. As
the code of royal etiquette is not, however, so cruel as to
be unredeemed by some traits of tenderness, the halber-
diers enjoyed the enviable privilege of being permitted,
in extreme cases, to turn round for a moment when they
felt the bull's horns at their back, and defend their lives
with the lance of their halberds—the only weapon al-
lowed them,
The Queen's appearance in the balcony was the signal
for a burst of martial music, which continued until she
and those immediately about her had taken their seats.
The Princes, Spanish and French, were dressed en
bourgeois—black dress coats; and on their breasts flashed
diamond stars. The Queens and Infanta were simply
habited, and with few ornaments. They wore light
bonnets a la Francaise, and held in their hands small
parasols to protect them from the sun, which had just
begun to shine from an almost unclouded sky.
In a short time afterwards some stir was noticed
amidst the crowd collected near the arch through which
there is a passage to the Calle Toledo. Places were
gradually made by the attendants, and then entered four
very handsome carriages, each drawn by six horses,
covered over with the richest and most massive, though
not to an English eye the most tasteful, caparisons.
From their lofty crests nodded high plumes of different
colours, designating the noble houses to which they be-
longed. They were the state-carriages of four grandees
—namely, the Count of Altamira, the Duke of Abrantes,
the Duke of Medina Celi, and the Duke of Osuna. The
horses were of the pure Andalusian breed, and were
certainly beautiful creatures.
These exhibitions aro, from an ancient period, held in
the Plaza Mayor, the grand square of the capital ;
whereas the ordinary bull fights take place in the loca-
lity constructed expressly for the purpose, the Plats de
Toros. The caballeros are brought to the ground in the
state carriages of their respective padrinos, with a long
train of domestics, habited in ancient costume, and
wearing the colours of the houses they belong to. They
are then and there conducted in front of the Sovereign,
to whom they are presented in due form. They then
mount on borseback, and the spectacle begins.
The caballeros of yesterday; were—R. Roman Fernan-
dez, of the Guard of lialberdiers • padrino, the Count of
Altamira ; he wore a costume of? the time of Austrian
dynasty, his colours, sky-blue and white ; the padrino
wore a court dress ; D. Antonio Romero ; padrino, the
Duke of Abrantes, costume of the same period, colour,
green ; padrino, the maestrante uniform ; D. Frederico
Varela y Ulloa, padrino the Duke of Medina Celi, cos-
tume blue and white ; padrino the maestrante uniform ;
D. Jose Cabanas ; padrino, the Duke of Osuna, costume
red and yellow ; padrino the uniform of a colonel of
cavalry. The caballero of the Duke of Abrantes is a
Lieutenant of the Regiment of Maria Christina ; and
that of the Duke of Osuna an officer of the Ilalberdiers.
After the carriages came, led by grooms dressed in
the richest livery, twenty eight horses, at the rate of
seven for each carriage. The harness of the horses was
of the most gorgeous description. A complete band of
toreros (bull-fighters), engaged to protect the caballeros
en plaza, accompanied each carriage on foot. All this
train made the circuit of the square, the angles of which
had been rounded off for the occasion with temporary
structures, until they came in front of the royal balcony,
when each caballero and his padrino descended, and
made a profound obeisance to her Majesty. They again
entered the carriages, and having once more made the
circuit of the place, they disappeared in a direction dif-
ferent from that they entered.
About half-an-hour then elapsed ; after which a
new spectacle made its appearance in the same place
where the carriages had entered. Seven Kings-at-
Arms, with their pages and esquires sustaining
the shields cf the house of each grandee, entered,
escorting each caballero en plaza, and followed by
the respective bands of toreros. They again placed
themselves in front of the royal balcony, and bowed
low. The caballeros, with the exception of one who
was flung from his horse the moment he mounted,
saluted her Majesty on horseback.' The toreros knelt,
and bent their foreheads
tothe ground. In addition to
musicians,
the above, a number ofdressed in grand cos-
tume, followed the cavaliers, andwith their martial
strains seemed to animate their courage.
or bull-fighters, armed with lanpicadors,
ces, and on horses, fol-
lowed also.
The key of the stall where the bull is kept ready for
the combat is in possession of whoever the authority
may be that presides. On this occasion the care
key was entrusted to the Queen. It is flung from thee
bakony with much grave ceremony. At the moment
the Queen delivered the key, a multitude of pigeons,
their necks adorned with gay coloured ribbons, suddenly
roe frOni pia corner of the place ; and their eight