The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-24 00:00:00

TEE SPANISH SUCCESSION.

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TRANSLATION.

Spaniards,-0a addressing myself to the Corks
in the month of June last, 'making use of the right
of petition, and demonstrating clearly and plainly
the grounds upon which I considered my rights to
be based, 1 did not obtain a hearing.

The present Assembly, the result of an election
with which every one is acquainted, had to be sub•

missive to the dictates of the Ministers. The Se-

nate, from its composition, more immediately sub-
jected to the will of the person who at present oc-

cupies the Throne, naturally followed the same

course. Thus avoiding all discussion the circula-
tion of my writings was also prevented, by which

means clearly evincing the weakness of a Throne
which dreads discussion, and with special care pre-
vents the circulation of the manifestoes of a Pre-
tender.

In the position I find myself placed at present,
no other alternative remains for me than to appeal
to the Spanish people, being desieSus that they
may know my sentiments, and that they may form
an exact opinion regarding my intentions.
I will not insist on I ho question of right, because
it is painful to speak of a beloved brother, perceiv-
ing him to be subjected to a party which strives to
disavow the progressive spirit of the age. Nor will
I expatiate upon his last act, based, it is said, upon
the dictation of clever counsellors, who unfortu-
nately consulted more their own interests than the
honour of my brother. The question of my rights
is to me inseparable from the sanction of the people
to whom I desire to appeal.
I deplore the terrible struggle which during
many years, and even since the termination of the
civil war, the men of liberal ideas have had to
encounter in order to effect the consolidation of a
constitutional system that tad in reality no other
origin than that derived from the Crown, which
has not accepted freely and loyally representative
institutions. Hence the sad spectacle of those Ad-
ministrations which succeeded one another in
Spain at such short intervals, not chosen after
ascertaining the public opinion, but named in
order to secure the election of parties of a deter-
mined character, and thus to create a majority-
Which would tamely follow them ; hence the gene-
ral disgust, and, as a natural consequence, the
slavery of the Press, and the little respect to per-
sonal liberty, being the last result of an uninter-
rupted series of tumults and pronunciamentos,
sometimes suffocated after precious blood had been
spilled, and occasionally triumphant after gather-
ing but little fruit, to return again to the reac-
tionary system.
In these vain and miserable contentions the
Spanish people lavish their strength, for it is not a
tranquil and pacific struggle of ideas, but a con-
tinual warfare in order to destroy every obstacle
continually created by the same hand, which ought
only to act as judge in the field, leaving the palisade
open, and procuring by all possible means that the
will of the people be known and manifested. This
system is followed at present by all truly consti-
tutional MonarchS, and where it is carried out no
mutinies occur, no risings take place, no shedding
of blood exists; on the contrary, the Monarch and
the people are bound together in close union.
It is natural for him who thus recognizes the ad-
vantages of an entirely liberal system to desire for
his country a sacred respect of individual liberty—
the broadest liberty of the press, which is the
strongest corrective of every kind of abuse; true
equality before the law, and equal privileges to all
parties; entire freedom in elections, the only
method of rendering the representative system a
reality ; and, in the economical branch, the total
abolition of such duties as are most grievous to the
public, such as those on articles of consumption and
the gate duty ; the abolition of the monopoly of
tobacco and salt, by which so many industrial pur-
suits are protected; the most ample system of
amortization, not excepting the property which is
called the Royal Patrimony, because I consider that
the provision accorded by the public is sufficient for
a King, because the prestige and the power of a
Monarch ought not to be based on the ostentation in
which he lives, but rather upon the affection and
the respect of his subjects.
And if all this which I desired for my country be
not sufficient to satisfy the wishes of the people it
would not be I who will put a veto on the national
sovereignty, from which I expect everything.
For this reason I have not hesitated a moment to
make known to you my wishes, entering into de-
tails and reflections; but at a period when univer-
sal suffrage decides the fate of monarchs, he who
aspires to be one, he who well knows the evils which
oppress the Spanish people, he who ardently desires
to contribute to their happiness, ought to proceed
with noble frankness, and to make manifest in the
face of the nation his sentiments and his profound
convictions.
I perfectly comprehend that my frankly liberal
tendencies have occasioned surprise to many, and
profound disgust to some of my father's servants,
who never desired to see me separate myself from
his principles, and create doubt at least in those
who, taking into consideration the name which I
bear, believe it difficult that I could openly break
from the traditions of my family. I respect the
memory of my father, who was entirely united to
the ideas of his time, and which he upheld honour-
ably and with perfect faith, derived from profound
conviction, until he breathed his last ; but it is un-
just in any grade of society to make a son respon
sable for the errors of his father ; it would be a
greater injustice to make me participate in such re-
sponsibility in treating of political opinions which
hitherto I have had no occasion to manifest; and
until experience, the reading of history, and the
practical example of that which I observe every
moment in this classical country of liberty, pro
duced the conviction in me that it is madness to
oppose the progressive spirit of the age, and that
the Divine right has no signification without the
assent and love of the people.
It would be unjust to deny the faculty I possess to
appreciate at its true value the spirit of the age in
which we live, when from my position of an emi-
grant since my infancy I have had frequent oppor-
tunities of coming into close contact with the sad
consequences of absolutism and deceit.
In the year 1848 I witnessed the expulsion, in con-
sequence of the hurricane of revolutionary impulses,
of monarchs who adhered to antiquated ideas, and
who turned a deaf ear to every idea which might
oblige them to accommodate themselves to the Just
aspirations of their subjects ; I have seen them
afterwards return to their thrones, protected by
foreign bayonets and shedding torrents of blood;
but in 1848 I witnessed also the rising of a nation
proclaiming a Republic, and sending its most ardent
defenders to carry an armed propaganda to a neigh-
bouring country, at the head of which they found
a beloved and respected King. In Belgium the
Propagandists were repulsed, and Leopold thereby
received a solemn proof of the affection of his subjects.
I have since seen the downfall, one by one, of
thrones in Italy which had been upheld and sup-
ported by antiquated ideas, the last of which, that
of Naples, the King of which would not evade his
own ruin when so many opportunities were
afforded him to do so, when so many useful and
disinterested counsels were given him. On the
other hand, I have seen a kingdom—a small one
yesterday, but great to-day—governed by a truly
constitutional King, whose high attributes I know,
having been his companion in arms, and served
his orders in the distinguished brigade of Savoy—
a King who is not only the idol of Piedmont, but of
the entire population of Italy, who recognise in him
the champion of its liberty and its independence.
Finally see in this great and hospitable coun-
try a virtuous Queen, a model of a mother of a
family, who commits no offence against the esta-
blished institutions,n or conspires against her Minis-
ters, divesting herself of every influence which does
not appertain to her legitimate and responsible
advisers, who are called to this position by the
national will—a Queen who findaits strongest sup-
port in this liberal system, which is so much
dreaded by the adherents of antiquated ideas,
It is natural that he who has received so many
lessons in the school of misfortune, he who has
been a close observer of so many and such grave
events, he who has been able to compare the results
of the two conflicting systems for the dominion of
the world, should have formed a firm conviction,
and that he aspires to realise, in the country of
his birth, those principles which constitute the pro-
s
and grandeur of other more fortunate
nations. JUAN DE BORBON.
PaitriOnYs .

THE STRIKE OF FEMALES AT ALVA.—This un-
fortunate, and, we may add, foolish strike, still continues,
causing a loss to the working population of the village of
£l,OOO a week, that being about the sum which is usually
paid in weekly wages at this season of the year. We wero
at first disposed to believe that the " fillers " had a show of
justice upon their side, but having made more particular
inquiries into the circumstances, we are compelled to change
our opinion. It was alleged by the females that even work-
ing long hours they could not earn more 6s. a week in sum-
mer, and about 3s. a week in the winter months. So far
from this being the case, however, we find that 7s. 6d. to
Ba. 6d. in summer, and 4s. to N. in winter, is about their
average weekly earnings, and there aro instances of an
average wage. of 7s. 4d. a week being earned all the year
round, even in cases whero, there has been a good deal of
broken time. One employer informs us that, taking bad
hands with good, the females in his employment have, dur-
ing the past six months, earned an average wage of above.
7s. 6d. a week each. Further, it appears that the pyicee
s
paid to fillers in Alva are higher by a farthing a spin
d
than the prices paid in Alloa, and also a farthingi
higher on
grey and white yarns than the prices paid at Til icoultry
l
and Devonside. Many of the weavers, we have reason to
know, already regret the encouragement they gave to the
females to take this step and not a few are betaking them.•
selves to Galashiels, and'others of the border townP)111 quest
of employment,—.lryrth British