The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-24 00:00:00

THE JULY FETES AT BRUSSELS.

BRUSSELS, July 22.—The King and royal family
were last evening entertainel at a magnificent
banquet offered by the members of the Senate and
the Legislative Body in a temporary but elegant
structure annexed to the Palais de la Nation. The
banquet was attended not only by the mcmhers of
the two chambers but by all the civil, military,
and ecclesiastical dignitaries of the kingdom. A
grand concert of the lyric societies was given in
the Place des Palais, and afterwards the same
societies, having proceeded with their banners to
the Palais de la Nation, gave a serenade to the
King. The King, surrounded by the princes and
princesses, and by some high State dignitaries,
appeared on the balcony the moment after it
comtnenced, and remained till the close. His
Majesty and the royal family, though all were not
a little fatigued, then visited a fete at Vauxhall
iu the park, and promenaded round the enceinte,
graciously saluting the visitors. The illustrious
party afterwards returned to the palace ; it was
then about half-past eleven. The evening was
beautifully fine, and vast crowds filled the streets
to a late hour, visiting the triumphal arches and
other decorations. In the neighbourhood of the
Palais de la Nation and the Vauxhall the crowd
was so thick tbat it was almost impossible to force
one's way through it ; and the desire to catch a
sight of his Majesty was intense.
The principal event in the programme of this
day's fetes has thus far been a grand review by the
King of the National Guards of the city and the
neighbourhood, and of the regiments composii,g
the garrison, together with some from neighbour-
ing towns, and deputations of all other regiments
of the army. The precise number of men under
arms is not stated; but it was very considerable in-
deed, the lines extending all along the Rue Royale
and along most of the boulevards a vast distance.
An immense crowd assembled to witness the re-
view. The King, accompanied tiy his two sons,
all three in the uniform of Belgian generals, with
the ribbon and star of the grand cross of the Or
der of Leopold, and followed by a numerous and
most brilliant staff, amongst whom .were the Earl
of Westmorland and another English officer, and
several officers of different Gerruan States—passed
right down the lines from one end to the other ;
and as he did so the troops and National Guards
presented arms, the bands played the national air,
and the drums beat aux champs. Having com-
pleted his ride down the lines, the King, Princes,
and the staff proceeded to the royal palace, and
then the filing off of the National Guards and
the troops took place. Both presented a brilliant
appearance, and marched by the King in grand
style ; but unfortunately the rain pelted down
nearly the whole time of the filing off.
"To-night there are to be general illuminations :
and more concerts."

541,14. OF AUTOGRAPHS.—Yesterday Messrs. Christie
and-Co. commenced a sale of valuable autographs.
„Among then were a letter by Henry I. offering
pardon • to a criminal, 41. 14,4. ; a letter. by
Edward 1., 41. ; a letter by Queen Eliz ';
betb, addressed ..Mon frere le roy Cbrestien;
Si. 10s. ; one ,by James 11., King of Scotland, addressed
to the King of France, 10/. ; one by the Prince of Wales
to Louis xir., King of France,
_l6/. ; Charles L's signa-
ture to the or4,rinal treaty o lUxbridge, 41. 4.3. ; and a
collection of letters by George 11. in reference to the
right he claimed over the education of his children, 4/.
14s. 6d.

TEM INSUiIIIECTION IN SPAIN.-

(Prone the Times' Correspondent.)
PARIS, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 6 P.M.
The despatch of yesterday's date from St. Sebas-
tian, transmitted to you this morning by telegraph,
shows the probability that the whol of Spain will
very soon be submissive to the new government. It
is likely enough that General Falcon, finding that
he has no support to expect from Catalonia or the
northern provinces, will come to terms. Letters of
the 18th from Logrono represent that town as hay=
ing the appearande of a. camp, the National Guard
being all under arms, and having been joined by
those of ,Navarrete, Najera, and some other place.
General Gurrea had just arrived there to' take the
command, but we know already that these prepara-
tions had no result, and that troops had entered
Logrono unresisted. When Falcon learnsthis, and
'and that on all hands O'Donnell is in the ascend-
ant, he will probably give in, stipulating, perhaps,
for the restoration of his rank and honours, and
impunity for those who have stood by him in his
preparations for resistance. There are reports of
his troops having abandoned him, but nothing posi-
tive is known from Saragossa; and the telegraph
is still interrupted there, which shows that the
authority of the Madrid Government is not yet re-
cognised in the place. Nothing further is known
of Espartero, whose wife continues at Logrono.
There is no confirmation of the statement that 85
members of the Cortes had assembled at Saragossa.
At Madrid some arrests have been made, including-
that of Senor Madoz. The intelligence to-day re-
ceived from Spain is generally meagre, and of
slight interest.
It has been said that the officers of the army and
navy in Madrid at the time of the conflict, and
who had not presented themselves to the govern-
ment to offer their services, are to be brought to a
court-martial. Among these would be Zabala,
Santa Cruz (Francisco), Lujan, and various other
persons of note. But the statement is not strictly
correct. They have been declared liable to be
brought to a court-martial, but the probabilities are
that nothing will be done to them, beyond leaving
them without employment. Wolves do not eat
one another, and the ups and downs of political
life are so frequent in Spain that it is convenient
and only prudent to show moderation in victory.
The fate of these officers to-day may be that of
O'Donnell's friends to-morrow. In the meantime,
the turn out of employes, which is usually conse-
quent on a bouleversement of this kind, has com-
menced, and the Gazette of the 18th contains nu-
merous depositions and appointments. Embar-
rassed whom to select for Civil Governors of pro-
vinces, the Government has appointed the Mili-
tary Governors to act ad interim,.
The details of the collision that took place in
Madrid between the troops and National Guards
are not very precise. It appears, however, that
the latter fought without leaders, but remained
together, particularly the more democratic sections.
I regret to find it generally admitted that Espar-
tero was far from being equal to his position or to
his duty during the crisis. His popularity has
been indeed fatal to the Liberal party. He has,
it is said, asked for Logrono as his residence.
Two years of representative government in Spain
—years of difficulty and peril, but not totally with-
out honour and patriotism—have perished in a
single day ! The coup d'etat planned in the
Palace, often announced as on the point of realia-
tion, and as often as solemnly denied in the name
and On behalf of the Queen, and by none more
solemnly and emphatically than General O'Donnell
himself, who repeatedly declared in the Cortes that
his head would be the first to fall if the reactionary
party triumphed, has at last been accomplished..
Concocted in the Palace itself, it was easy to give
it the semblance of legality, but no one will he the
dupe of its hypocrisy. On the one hand, Espar-
tero, with the whole of the Ministers, is forced to
quit the Government ; on the other, O'Donnell,
who stood out alone in opposition to all his.col-
leagues, is invested with the confidence of the
Crown, forms a Ministry in the middle of the night,
and takes his new colleagues from an almost imper-_
ceptible minority in the Chamber—a minority that
was only known by its undisguised hostility to the
Constitution which a Constituent Cortes bad just
voted. Military precautions had, as I have already
shown, been taken during the same night to sup-
port the conspirators in the design, and to crush
al resistance. That resistance lasted, however,
under adverse circumstances for nearly two days ;
but the result was what might have been expected
when Madrid was the theatre of the struggle.
A comparison between two such men as O'Don-
nell and Eipartero can hardly be made. Whatever
be his merits or his shortcomings as a political
man, Espartero is still the honest citizen, the paci-
ficator and liberator of his country. Regent ana
Dictator of Spain, he descended from his high place,
quittedlpower, and went in to exile, rather than vio-
late a siegle article of the Constitution to which he
had sworn. His exile was spent in England, where
he learned the practice, as he had before admired
the theory, of representative government ; and his
srearest ambition was to endow his country with
it. Espartero long occupied the highest posts to
which a subject could aspire; yet he is a poor
wan, .and he has not only refused all recompence
which a grateful nation desired to confer upon hid',
,ut he has never touched a real of his salary as
President of the Council.
- The personal courage of O'Donnell is unquestion-
fable, but it is not so much to that ordinary quality
that he owes his brilliant career as to the favour
and protection of Esparteio, who in 1838 appointed
him Chief of his Staff. In 1840 O'Donnell em-
braced the cause of Maria Christina against the
people and the army, and, abandoning his com-
mand, he emigrated with her to France. In 1841
be demanded permission to return to Spain as a
friend to the established Government, and made
the most solemn declarations of harbouring no de-
sign against the public tranquillity. Espartero,
then Regent, would not believe that his old protege
and favourite was again false ; and, ignorant of the
plot formed for his own overthrow between him,
Maria Christina and Louis Philippe, who was al-
ready projecting the Spanish marriages, freely
allowed him to return.
The price promised him, for taking part in the in-
surrection of 1843 against Espartero's Government
was the Governor-Generalship of Cuba. That
promise was fulfilled ; and the world has learnt
from blue-books and debates in Parliament-the
manner in which this grasping satrap exercised
his command, and the immense fortune he and his
wrung from the blood of the miserable race, the
traffic in. which his Government had been long
bound by treaty to put an end to.
On his return to Madrid O'Donnell, in right .of his
rank in the army, became a member of the Senate.
Narvaez, whom he hated, and who Itated him, was
then in power. To his rule none, except a few Pro-
, gresistas, dared to make the slightest opposition.
O'Donnell announced that he was about to reinforce
that Opposition, but be was silenced by the lucrative
appointment of Director-a-eneral of Infantry. It
was the place best suited for his future plans, as he
could organise the army according to his pleasure.
Narvaez soon saw the error he had committed, and
Ire dismissed O'Donnell. Once more be rushed into
the Opposition organised by Generals Concha,
Serrano, &c., who accepted him as their leader.
Maria Christina, as being the most vulnerable, was
the great object of attack. Narvaez left the Minis-
try, and was once more exiled by Maria Christina,
and neither O'Donnell nor the Conchas were called
by her to power. The brave Murillo and Lsrsundi
Ministries passed away, not without leaving traces
of their baleful despotism. Sartorius (known as the
Count San Luis) was named Minister, and the
struggle became more desperate than ever. The
scandals of La Granja are not yet forgotten, and the
SpaniSh people have still fresh in their memory the
debate on the railway concessions, in which
General Concha denounced Maria Ci.r stina and
her accomplices in a tone far surpassing the Corn
mission of Inquiry after the death of Ferdinand ;
and in that denunciaoion the whole of the Senate,
composed as it was of Generals, Grandees, ex-M-,
nisters, leading financiers, &c., joined and voted
against the Administration of the detested Sarto-
rius. It will be well to remember that the Senate
was no democratic or revolutionary body ; it was
essentially the reflex of the Moderado party ; it
was the issue of the constitution accorded by-Nar—
vaez and Maria Christina ; and its members were
exclusively named by the Crown.
We remember the persecution' O'Donnell suffered
from the Sartorius Government ; his concealment
in Madrid ; bis military insurrection ; the combat
of Vicalvaro ; his defeat and retreat in Andalusia ;
his utter failure and impotence, and the famous
Liberal manifesto which dread of apprpaching de-
struction extorted from him, and in which he made
an appeal to the people to rise in defence of their
liberties. He offered them his sword, and flung
himself into the ranks of the Liberal party. O'Don-
nell was defeated and flying when that appeal was
made; it was responded to by Espartero. Then,
indeed, all was changed : city after city, village
after village, from south tonorth, from east to west
rose against the miserable crew who had oppressed,
plundered, and degraded them. Espartero found
the Queen besieged in her Palace in Madrid, and
he saved her from public indignation by the pres-
tige of his name,' his honesty, his popularity.
Espartero carried his generosity and his co fiding
spirit to a point which deserves censure. Never.
meaning bad faith himself, he did not suspect it in
others. He had saved O'Donnell from ruin ; be
now offered him the Portfolio of War. How many
times in the course of two years has not Espartero
covered his unpopular colleague with the buckler
o- his own hones% and his own influence ! The

presence of +'spartero,pcoduced a res I WILL ou the (
scandals of the Court ; and it was by him and bis,
whom Maria Christina and her companions call the
"enemies of the throne," that that throne has for
the last two years been saved again and again.
With the gradual restoration of older the mate'
rial condition of Spain was beginning to improve.
For more than a century—indeed, from the lime
of Ferdinand VI , not even under Charles lII,'
who ruined the nation by the family compact, and
who lost the South American colonies, had the
Spanish Treasury a maravedi until the late admi-
nistration of Espartero. It is not many days since
the Spanish papers announced that the Treasury
had more than 100,000,000 reals in its cowers after
having paid its current obFgations ; and for the
last two months the Government had in Paris
more than the amount necessary for the payment
of the interest on the foreign debt. Foreign capi'
talists had begun to invest large sums in industrial
enterprises in Spain ; confidence was gradually
growing up at home, and would soon extend
abroad ; and when the Government lately wished
to convert 200,0a0,000 reals of the floating debt
into Three par Cent. Consolidated, they found more
than the sum they wanted, and at a highter rate
than what they themselves had fixed. .
There is a difference of opinion as to whether the
French Government connived at the act which has
just been perpetrated in Madrid. I believe that
some who must suffer personally and politically by
the overthrow of the Liberal Government acquit
the E iiperor of participation in it. Bat the same
acquittal ought not, it is said, to be extended to
his representative in Madrid. It is possible, too,
that some acts of indiscretion have been committed
by certain persons belonging to the Court of the
Tuileries—persons whose influence ought naturally
to stand very high. It would be well if an inquiry
were institty ed by the Emperor as to who sent,
without the loss of a moment, to General Narvaez,
and through him to Maria Christina, at not-millet
the telegraphic despatch announcing the rising of_
Saragossa against Oaniuell, and on the receipt of
which Ararvaez instantly set out for the frontier.
The Emperor had better look to it. Public opinion
will make him accountable for the acts of those who
are in constant intercourse with h;m ; and he will
do-well to remember that the revival of the phial
of Louis Philippe in Spain will but increase his
unpoptilarity in both capitals.

PARIS, WEDNESDAY, 6 P.M.
The Spanish revolution is entering that phase
through which all Spanish revolutious inevitably
pass, and which is by far the most agreeable part of
the busineis to the parties concerned. The hour
arrives for the distihution of honours and rewards,
rank and ribands. The bell has rung for the serving
out of what Spaniards call turron. Turron is a sweet
meat composed of nuts and honey, and the term is
playf ally and figurati velyapplied to the recompences
bestow on disinterested patriots and loyal defeue
ders of the Throne. It seems that in Spain people
so seldom do their duty that, when they do, they
are considered to have a right to reward. And the
right is specially urged and recognised on the mor-
row of a political convulsion. This was never
more strongly exemplified than after the revolu-
tion of 1854. The Moderados used to have the
reputation of particular greediness on such 00'
casions, but when the Progresistas, after eleven
years exclusion from power, got the upper handl'
they showed that their appetite, sharpened by long
fasting, was quite as good, and their countenance
quite as unblushing as that of their political
adversaries. Scandalous and disgusting was the
avidity with which they pressed f 1 r rewards for
services real or imaginary. The highest set them
the example. The Vicalvarists—that is to sah
O'Donnell and the officers who revolted with hire,
and who took their name from the paltry skirmish
of Vicalvaro, exalted into a desperate engagement
by tlloae who took part in it—had pledged them'
selves to derive no personal advantage from the
revolution, and Dulce, taxed with having sought
his own gain by the most deliberate treachery to the
-Government lie served, wag particularly energetic in
repudiating all reward. Nevertheless, not one of
• thoseenen hut received advancement and decors-
tioiis, au4 Ditlee, within a month after the triumph
of the reiiilutire, was a Grand Cross and a L
tenant-General, ,gyeryhody W4B rewarded at that
time ; some for assisting the revolution—others
for not opposing it--others, who had done nothing
because they had been patriots' a' long time ago--
many for no other- .reason than because they
were friends of Eapartero or beloved of O'Don-
nell. Men who were never seen so long as fight-
ing was going on, but who afterwards stood behind
neatly-built barricades, making, as the Portuguese
say, " ferocious faces to the enemy," were' constant
haunters of Ministerial ante-chambers until their
services were recognised and required. The whole
of the National Guard of Madrid was decorated at
one fell swoop ; throughout the whole army there
was a step of promotion ; the accoutrement makers
were unable to meet_ tne demand for epaulets.
Accordingly, . we hap already of promotions
and high favours flowing abundantly from the
inexhaustible cornucopia of Royal bounty ; and
more gladly, we may he very sure, are they dis-
pensed than those that issued from the same source
in 1854. Ser-rano, the Queen's early favourite, is
made Field-Marshal. General M tcOrohon' O'D
nell's second at the Ministry of War, is to,be Lieu-
tenant-General. General Armor°, who Wept down
Valladolid, receives similar advancement. Henry
O'Donnell the Marshal's_ brother, a Colonel the
other day, now a Brigadier, is to be Major-General.
High favours are reserved for Ros de Olano, Duke,
Messina, and Cenchi. It seems a sort of fashion in
Spain for politico-military cliques to take their
names from unsuccessful or insignificant battles.
Thus, we formerly had the Ayacuchos, who, in
Espartero's early days of power, were supposed to
monopolise influence and all good things, and nOW
there are the Vicalvarists, who seem walking in
the same path.

OPENING OF THE SAILORS' INSTITUTE, SHADWELL.
—Yesterday, the new luilding for the Sailors' Institute,
Mercer-street, Shadwell (iu connection with the Bri'
tish and Foreign Sailors' Society), was publicly opened
by the Right Hon. W. F. Cowper, M.P., in the pre:
sence of a largo number of clergymen, ladies, and
gentlemen.
A group in marble, representing "Queen Hortense in'
structing Prince Louis Nsnoleon in 1822," has ju,t been
placed in the Museum of Versailles. It is from the chisel
o IT Oh frrnir.“.. nnri w-,s -ceof th- oraaments of the
Universal Exhibition of the Fine Arts.
EMPLOYERS AND EMPLoYED.—Onu of those delightful
meetings, when masters and servants make common
cause together, took place on Tuesday at the Crystal Po'
lace. on which occasion Messrs. W. H. Smith and Son,
the railway news agents, entertained the several bands
employed in their London establishment,
numbering
nearly 180, with a most excellent cold collation, under
the direction of the Messrs. Staples. The arrangements
were all that could be wished. Mr. Smith, jun:, presided,
accompanied by several friends and members of his
family, and after the usual loyal toasts bad been pro"
posed, the health of " the Firm" was given, and received
in such a manher by the bands as must have proved
most gratifying to those who bad shown so much care
for the welfare • f their servants. Mr. Smith, senior,
from ill-health, did nut arrive until nearly four o'clock,
but his appearance on the field, where cricket, quoits,
bat and trap, and. other amusements had been Pr vitcled'
was the signal for such a burst of applause a We °a"
seldom met with, and which indeed seemed gal 4 " for
the moment to overpower him. At seven lea pro-
viled ; after which the company epj,yed iLe 9sautiful
cenery of the grounds, and returned by the last train to
LondorL hitfhly delighted with the enj •yinent they had
experienced, and truly grateful for the liberality of their
employers.

POSTAL CONVENTION WITH MEXICO.—The following
are the most important provisions of the new postal con-
vention between Mexico and the United States. Mails
once a week or oftener are to be conveyed between New
Orleans and the Gulf of Alexico, by the steamers of' the
" United Arnericao and Mexican Steam-ship Mail Com-
p Any." The Mexican Government is to pay a subsidy
to the company of 15,0001. a-year, to be raised by im-
p irt duties on merchandise conveyed by the mail packets.
Half the number of packets are to sail under the Mexi-
ean fi ig, and the other half under the United States flag.
They, are to be a Ispted for war service and the convey-
;thee of troops. Neither Mexico nil. the United States
is to convey its own troops in the packets beyond the
limits of its territory. In case of war between the two
republics the mail service is not to be interrupted. The
packets may convey foreign and national merchandise
into any of the Mexican ports. Ike .ea postage to be
31d. on the A oz, letter. The charge for periodicals is 2d.
each; pamphlets and printed matter Ad. per oz. The
postmasters general of Mexico and the 'United States
have power to establish an united line of mail steamers
on the Pacific. Hitherto the mail communication be-
tween New Orleans and the Mexican Gulf has been tri-
monthly, and the sea postage sd. This convention will
reduce the postage on letters between England and
Mexico via the United States.
I3IPROVE3IENTS ON THE TYNE.—We understand that
it has been dFtertnined by the Piers and Public Works
Committee of the Commissioners of the River Tyne t°,
submit to that board a project for going to ParliaineDv
next session to procure powers to make another new
public dock on that river for the shipment of coal. The.
site projected is the Coble Dean in Shields harbour, ana
if made it will be principally used in shipping steam
coal from the Hartley coal field. The Northumberland
Dock, which is being made by the commissioners for thes
same purpose, is making satisfactory progress, and it is
anticipated will be opened in the spring of 1857. The
works of the Jarrow Docks, which the North-Eastern_
Railway Company is making upon the Durham side of
the Tyne, are advancing most satisfactorily, and when
the whole of those great works are finished it is antici-
pated that facilities will be afforded for the shipment of
above 3;000,000 tons of coal in the year. The
extensive
marine works, the north and south piers at the mouth
of the Tyne, which have been undertiken by the River_
Tyne Improvement Commissioners, are being proceeded
with this summer. The public works now in hand upon
the Tyne, and projected, are estimated at abode
3,000,000/, sterling.

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