The Sun.
London, England, 1834-08-25 00:00:00

SPANISH PAPERS.

SPEECH OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL ON PRESENTING
THE DRAUGHT OF THE CRIMINAL CODE, AUG. 12.
The Minister of Grace and Justice being prevented by the
necessity of preserving sanatory precautions from presenting
to the Estate the project of a criminal code, has selected me as
the instrument for the performance of that honourable duty.
At the meeting of the general Cortes of the kingdom, her
Majesty desired that they should commence their important
functions by the consideration of the most grave and urgent
subjects. The question which, both in itself and under exist-
ing circumstances, is, if I may use the expression, the capital
one, and of the highest political importance, is the decision
which should be come to with respect to that disaffected Prince,
who has attempted, but in vain, to usurp the crown of our august
Queen Donna Isabel 11.
Her Majesty the Queen Regent, perfectly convinced of the
great importance of deciding this question without delay, in-
timated, as early as the day of the opening of the Cortes, that
it would be the first to occupy their attention, and it has, in
fact, been already submitted to the other estates.
The Government of her Majesty, that they might proceed
with order and avoid impediment to the public service, found
it necessary to appeal to this estate to obtain the means indis-
pensably requisite to meet the necessities of the State—neces-
sities aggravated by the circumstances of the present time, but
which, nevertheless, proceed from causes more or less remote.
Accordingly, the first financial project, which will in due
course be followed by the remaining projects, has already been
submitted to this estate ; nevertheless, there are other grave
subjects to submit to the deliberation of the Cortes, and among
certainly not the least important, perhaps the most urgent, is
the regulation in an easy and expeditious manner of the due
administration of justice. At present, whether it be the„ re-
sult of a want of regulation and classification of the existing
laws, or of the inapplicability of some of them in the present
state of civilization, or of the absence of all rule for the judges
to follow, it cannot be denied that this branch of public admi-
nistration is corrupted by vicious errors, theeorre,ction of which
has become fitting—nay, is urgently required, as well for the
prompt punishment of offenders, as for the preservation of the
independence of the judicial authority.
The fact is, that in this matter a sort of torpidity exists, so
that the Government, with all their desire for the faithful exe-
cution of the laws, and the prompt, due, and impartial admi-
nistration of justice, find their hands tied, when attempting to
overcome the obstacles which present themselves. On this ac-
count they have lost no time in submitting to the Estate this
project of a criminal code, framed by a commission, or to speak
more correctly, by two commissions, composed of magistrates,
whose profound knowledge and great experience on the sub-
lectentitle their suggestions to respect. The project embraces
not only the penal code, but also the code of procedure, being
that part of the criminal code which has reference to the prac-
tical application of punishments to offences, or, in other words,
to the mode of conducting the trials, so that the provisions
contained in the penal code may be carried into effect. Con-
sequently, this project of a criminal code is composed of two
parts-1, the penal code, or the classification of offences, an
the punishments corresponding to them ; 2, the code of proce-
dure, or the forms of process, necessary to effect the applica-
tion of the punishment ordained for the offence committed.
This project, framed, as I have already said, by distin-
guished Magistrates of great experience, offers remarkable
advantages, one of which, of the highest importance, is that of
presenting, collected in- a single body, all the existing laws.
The effect of this will be to relieve the judges from the ne-
cessity of consulting the laws of the Partidas, and other legal
authorities, for the purpose of finding precedents, often contra-
dictory, generally very difficult to be understood, and even
when intelligible, never exempt from what is essentially an
evil—.that of being scattered through numerous volumes. It
will also have the effect of removing all Spaniards from the
painful situation in which they are placed by not knowing how
far an offence extends, and what punishment is applicable to it
by the provisions of the law. This alone would be, I repeat, a
great advantage; but the project presents many other and
more considerable advantages. Among these may be men-
tioned the proposed regulation with regard to the punish-
ment of death. .Though neither our habits, the state of so-
ciety, nor the circumstances in which the nation is at present
placed, permit the total removal of capital punishment from
our code, care has been taken to restrain it within much
narrower limits than formerly; and it will be seen that de-
grading punishments transmitted from the father to the child
(which constitute one of the absurdities we inherit from bar-
barous ages) are erased ; and, likewise, that confiscations,
which, without profiting the treasury, fall upon the innocent,
are limited to certain cases. Other advantages, it will also be
observed, are suggested, such as the experience, observation,
and intelligence of the age point out, which filtrating (if we
may be allowed to say so) through the most deep-rooted pre-
judices, go on producing slow but evident improvements in
all the codes of Europe.
Still it must not be supposed that the Ministry concur in
all the details contained in the code, or adopt as their own
all and every one of its provisions. But they thought right,
on account of its importance and urgency, to present it
without delay, in order that a basis so necessary for the re-
pose o? society may be settled. The Government then re-
serve to themselves the liberty of declaring their opinions in
the course of the debates, which may take place on the sub-
ject, and of the various discussions to which the articles of the
project may give rise. It will then be seen how far the
Government concur in, or dissent from, the opinion of the
magistrates, by whom the project has been drawn up.
Recapitulating, then, what I have already said, I repeat
that the project contains, besides the penal code, the code of
procedure ; and that when, after hearing the opinion of the
. committee of the Estate, to whom the project will be referred,
the matter comes to be discussed, the Government, animated
by the best feelings, will cheerfully join in the debate, with
the full assurance that the discussions will disclose how far we
can reconcile individual liberty with social security, and
how far that individual liberty can be reconciled with the pu-
nishment of offences which threatens to destroy the foundation
of society itself. The Government, anticipating the wishes of
the Estate, have directed the project to be printed, and on the
day after to-morrow it will be distributed to the Procuradores.
I now have to request the secretaries of the Estate to read the
project, which I have the honour to present, in fulfilment of
Her Majesty's commands.

However laudable the desire to effect economy in all the

branches of the Administration, nothing else than lamentable
confusion will be the result, if each of our Procuradores should
force into the discussion his own particular project, so that in
the rapidity of a.debate without plan and without unity, the
most luminous ideas which might be thrown out on a subject
that so nearly interests us may be lost sight of. Amendments
and additions crowded one upon the other may afford some pre-
text to the Ministry to declare that it is wished to render their
measures impracticable, and as such is not the wish of the na-
tion, nor that of the Cortes who represent the nation, it is pos-
sible a prejudice may be awakened against propositions for the
adoption of economical reforms. Among the present Procu-
radores are to be found men well informed on the subject, and
who will be able to steer clear of this inconvenience by care-
fully inquiring (and the subject is the most delicate which
could be presented to their deliberation) what measures of
economy are practicable, what part of the estimates may be
approved of, what expenses may be curtailed or altogether
avoided without prejudice to the defence of the legitimate
throne and of our liberties, and what are the resources on which
they may calculate for meeting the necessary demands.
The labours of the committee charged with the examination
of the project of the Finance Minister will be submitted to the
Procuradores, impressed with the regularly anticipated opinion.
Thus they will have a well-grounded basis to proceed on in
the discussion. A subject o such high importance ought to
demand the especial attention of the estate, penetrated as it
must be with the conviction that its first duty is to ameliorate
the lamentable condition of our Treasury.
One of the Secretaries of State has spoken of the necessity
we are under of imitating foreigners in the conduct of certain
branches of the Administration. We trust that this imitation
may not also be extended to the discussion of the estimates in

question, in the manner in which other questions are occa-
sionally discussed in the French Chambers, with all the com-
mon-place arguments of speculative economy, which form the
foundation of great practical errors.
In the present state of modern nations, the administration
of the public revenue is the principal wheel of the state ma-
chine. It indicates the condition of the funds destined for the
support of the land and marine forces ; it dictates to national
policy the language corresponding to the growth of its power,
and embracing, in fine, all the interests of the people by means
of a just selection of imposts, favours industry, animates labour,
and by the economical distribution of outlays, renders the tri-
bute which is exacted from the citizen a fresh source of pros-
perity to him.
When we consider the shameful defalcation of the public
resources, which indeed is the great evil pressing on us, the
vigilance of the Procuradores will never be excessive while it
is directed against the existence of those abuses for personal
emolument, which the remissness of Ministers may allow to in-
sinuate themselves into the series of necessary measures.
The advantageous employment of funds, which the Former
Administration offered to the cupidity of foreign contractors,
that immense variety of imposts which continual necessities
have tended to create, and which has reduced the majority of
the contributors to a state of complete ruin, are points equally
demanding the attention of the Procuradores, in whose ears
are still resounding the lamentations of those unfortunate com-
munities they have lately quitted. Yes, we repeat, the people
are unfortunate, though there are not wanting persons in office
and courtiers, who call this assertion the affected philanthropy
and common-place sentiment of the periodical press ; the
people are unhappy because they no longer perceive the re-
spectable origin ef contributions, and instead of viewing them
as the result of the just co-operation of all the members of
society for its preservation and defence, they see in them
nothing but the effect of a thirst for gold in the higher autho-
rities, and in the officers of the revenue the cruel oppressors
of the people. Such is the result of an absurd Administra-
tion, prolonged through so many years. Such are the effects
of those ruinous loans which, accelerating the bankruptcy of
the nation, enrich only some half dozen of individuals.
In the favoured land we inhabit agriculture is undoubtedly
the primary source of public wealth. If, then, we wish for
positive ameliorations—ameliorations which shall identify the
people with the political regeneration of the country—they
rouct- for c,:rta:n, he effected by diminishing the weight of
those imposts and 1-ur(1:,lls which press on Ine poorest class of
labourers, and which, depriving them not unfrequently of even
the utensils for their labour, condemn many men to poverty
and misery who have exhausted themselves to support the
charges of the state. Nothing is more insupportable to the

LONDON,
MONDAY EVENING, AUGLTST 25, 1834.

The Spanish Papers contain no news of" any im-
portance, with the exception of the speech of the
President of the Council, on presenting to the Cham-
bers a draught of the projected scheme for reforming,
or rather fixing, the criminal law. The Government
of Spain has wisely resolved, that in order to establish
a public opinion which will check the career of injustice
in the proVinces, and infuse into the mind of the popu-
lact a respect for the legislature and the laws, the way
to begin is by determining and declaring the punish-
ments to which the commission of crime shall undoubt-
edly subject the perpetrators. We, who have long
contended for the adoption of a similar principle in
this country, cannot but rejoice at this most laudable
determination on the part of the Spanish Cabinet.
When the object contended for is the happiness of the
people, we can, however, without the littleness of na-
tional jealousy, record with pleasure the numbers who.,
formerly lagging in the rear, now outstrip us in the race.
We see Spain, sunk as she was for centuries in the dark
gulph of the darkest superstition, now rise buoyant
and elastic, shake from her mighty limbs the filth and
rusty fetters which defiled them, and with a giant
bound burst in the face of Europe, the first in the
march of good government and the ripening promise
of intellectual improvement. Let it not be supposed
that although England has suffered less from the ad-

ministration of bad laws than Spain, yet that the

laws themselves are in more need of revision in one
country than the other. By no means ; the Magis-
trate, under the 'shelter of the common law of England,
as the judicial precedents are pompously termed, is just
as potent for evil—just as efficient for petty wrong__

just as well screened from merited legal retribution
as the most powerful Alcade in the two Spains. The
Judges may do as they please here, as well as the
Alcades do there, for all the impediments which the
laws throw in their way. If we suffer less from the
possible abuse, we have to thank a spirited press, and
an enlightened, and therefore powerful public opinion
forit. Let any one who doubts this, turn to the report of
the speech, read it carefully, and then reflect fora moment
on the real state of the law in this country. The Pre-
sident, in enumerating the abuses of the laws of Spain
which this scheme is proposed to correct, says that the
laws are not classified, that the punishment of crimes
is not known to offenders until after trial, whereas they
should be known before the commission of the evil

deed ; that the judgments are drawn from conflicting
precedents, and that much time is lost on the part of
the judges in wading through old law-books, the re-
cords of which are not applicable to the present
advanced state of society. Now, all this is precisely
a s porrea when referred to the common law of Eng-
land, as to that of Spain. if the matter in dispute
between two litigants be the filling up of an old well,
or the inclosing a footpath, the Judges cannot open