The Sun.
London, England, 1868-10-02 00:00:00

LOit'DON, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1868.

The Official Gazette of Madrid has published a
proclamation which pronounces the deposition of
Queen ISABELLA, and proclaims the sovereignty of
the people. " Down with the BOURBONS !" are its
concluding words. All things seem tending in the
direction of a form of government the reverse of
monarchical, and for the present, at least, there
seems little chance of the throne being occupied,
many as are the claimants and aspirants to it. The
Marquis de NOVALICHES has died from the effects
of the wound he received at the attack on the Alcolea
bridge, and General COLONGE has been arrested at
Duenas when about to escape to France. lle has
been consigned to the care of the Revolutionary Junta
at Madrid. Fortunately there has been little loss
of life in this affair of the Spanish insurrection, and
perfect order, we are told, now reigns in the capital;
indeed the whole country has given its consent to
the revolution, and it shows how entirely the
change has met the popular wishes that so little
contrariety has been displayed, and so few adverse
attempts made to check it. Even the troops who
were despatched to meet the insurgent bands were
generally only too well disposed to join them. The
Royal forces could scarcely number two victories
over the enemy, and General Novauctus soon
fell a victim to his zeal in the cause, and his en-
deavours to keep up the old regime. The hopes
and expectations of Queen ISABELLA seem to have
rested a great deal on the Basque Provinces ; but
when these were appealed to they were of a con-
trary opinion to what she expected, and .refused
both men and money. They have now, it is said,
declared in favour of the Liberal Government.
Elections are about to be held in Madrid for mem-
bers of the Definitive Government, and great en-
thusiasm is displayed in all directions.
France is resolved to keep quite aloof from med-
dling in Spanish affairs, and the Government
has issued an official article, which an-
nounces that in future the Spanish refugees in
France will be at liberty to go where they please,
as the precautionary measures which have hitherto
been in force against them are rendered useless by
the change of affairs. The official notice also pro-
claims that some French vessels have gone to the
coast of Spain, but only to protect the interests of
French subjects, should occasion demand it, and
the Government will not interfere in the
concerns of the Peninsula. The Moniteur of
yesterday contains an account of the departure of
Queen ISABELLA from Spain, and states that the
Emperor NAPOLEON, as soon as he heard of her
expected arrival,dispatched to the frontier three offi-
cers of the Imperial household, and when the QUEEN
arrived the Emperor and Empress and a nume-
rous suite met her at the station, and accorded her
all possible sympathy. The EMPEROR Las placed the
Castle of Pau at her MAJESTY'S disposal. It is
curious to notice that QUEEN ISABELLA has reigned
for thirty-five years, and that it was on the anni-
versary of her succession to the throne that her
capital became the scene of revolution, and her
fall was rendered certain. Daring this extended
reign the nation has never been flourishing, and
the annals of her reign present but a record of
resistance to existing authorities, more or less
successful as the case may be. Same allow-
ance must be made for the very bad
example which was set to the QUEEN in her early
years, and, the many difficulties which beset her
path, but with all these considerations it cannot be
felt that hers is a character that is deserving of much
regard or respect. From first to last she has de-
spised public opinion and neglected to profit by the
many warnings she received. Taken all in all, she
will not figure very creditably in the pages of his-
tory, for she has displayed none of those great
qualities with which the occupants of thrones have
sometimes redeemed some of their worst errors,
and evinced a willingness to serve the interests of
the people committed to their charge. Perhaps the
best thing that could happen to her has
fallen her, for the Spanish people would not have
stood much more oppression, and if circumstances
had been different at the time of the attack she
might have fallen a victim to the fury of the multi-
tude, or have been subjected to imprisonment, so
that her present fate is not so bad, looked at in a
comparative sense.

Lord CARNARVON'S remarks on prison discipline
are well worthy of attention, and especially the
observations he directs to the execution of criminals
may be looked upon as containing some valuable
hints. The change in the law with respect to the
sentence of the law being carried out inside the
prison walls instead of outside has given rise to
many discussions, and raised up many of the old
prejudices on the subject of capital punishment.
Lord CARNARVON speaks very strongly on the point,
and declares that if he had thought the alteration
in the law would have led to the abolition he
would not have agreed to it, but he gave it
his support, and rejoiced in the measure
as the " passing away of a loathsome and degrad-
ing spectacle." To do away altogether with the
punishment of death would be to deprive the law
of its most extreme preventive against crime, and
to remove from the mind of the criminal the most
deterring influence against the fulfilment of his
evil purposes. With baser and commoner natures,
as the noble President observed, death will often
subdue by its mysterious terrors, and thus exer-
cise a potent influence over the mind of the crimi•
nal in brooding over his deeds. Concerning edu-
cation, Lord CARNARVON said that the public mind
was bent upon its consideration, notwithstand-
ing all the exciting subjects of political con-
troversy now before us. " Primary education "
more especially cills for the fullest attention since
the passing of the Reform Bill, and there is no ex-
aggeration in the expression here made use of,
that " in the interests and for the very safety of so-
ciety we must enlarge the borders of our present
system." Some &asses are not now reached by it,
and there are other classes which are just touched,
and no more. The lowest part of the middle class
seems to require a far more efficacious mode of in-
struction than any which it at present pos-
sesses, for they are paying a great deal
in proportion to their means for what
does not answer their purpose after all.
The agricultural class often remains untaught alto-
,ether, which is a disgrace to all in this age of re-
finement and culture, no less than of progress and