The Sun.
London, England, 1868-10-19 00:00:00

THE SPANISH REVOLUTION.

The declaration of the Junta is precisely in accordance
with general anticipation. 'Thee leaders of the Revolution
have determined not to trust to the clumsy and
unsatisfactory decision of a plebiscitum, the form
of government will therefore be decided by
the usual course of a double election. Universal
suffrage will elect the Constituent Cortes, and
this assembly will determine what form of government
the nation shall have, and, if a monarchy, who shall be
the sovereign. There can, of course, be no doubt that the
leaders will exert the greatest influence upon the delibera-
tions of the Cortes ; and their personal inclinations thus
become of the first moment. A telegram from Paris states
that Serrano, Oluzaga, and Topete are all in favour of a
constitutional monarchy. Two of the leading Democrats
have expressed their willingness to accept a monarchy if
erected by the general voice of the people. Serrano and
Topete, on the other hand, have likewise declared that
they would accept a republic if sanctioned in a similar
manner. As the wire-pullers will, however, contribute so
much towards the final decision, it may be concluded that
so far the chances are much in favour of a monarchy.
But who will be the king? Prince Alfred, says the
Standard, is still universally spoken of at Madrid as " the
coming man." The French journals, however, think
differently, and the ablest of them, the &bats, says that
the Spaniards would not have the Duke of Edinburgh,
nor would the English allow the duke to have the
Spaniards. The father of the King of Portugal, Ferdi-
nand, is now most spoken of. It is difficult to discover
what are the special recommendations of this prince for
the task Of reducing Spain to order and guiding it to pros-
perity. His qualities are most of them of the negative
character. But probably his candidature has attained
this prominence because all others have failed.
The Debate says : " He might possibly serve the purpose
of filling up a period of transition as a prelude to the union
with Portugal. He has been, and might again be, a con-
stitutional king. He is 52 years old, a quiet and sensible
man, and very fond of birds. But Spaniards are not
tame birds, and it is easy to understand that some hesita-
tion should be felt before undertaking to rule so unmanage-
able a people."
The funeral of Don Benjamin Vallin, who was killed at
Montero by Colonel Escalera, was a very solemn affair.
The correspondent of the Daily News says : " When the
coffin reached the place of interment, the outer case
was removed, and the face of the deceased was exposed
to view through a glass pane which had been inserted. I
believe that as there was no other evidence as to the iden-
tity of the corpse, this was a formality which was
required by Spanish law before the interment could take
place. But it was not allowed to remain a mere formality.
Upon recognising the features of his friend, the Duke de
la Torre (Serrano) bent down and kissed the cold glass, and
his example was followed by General Prim and other
intimates of the deceased, and by many persons who,
though not acquainted with Vallin during his life, regarded
him as a martyr in the cause of liberty. So great, indeed,
was the crowding to gaze upon the features of the dead,
that by the orders of the Duke de la Torre the outer
case was re-closed, and the funeral ceremonies were pro-
ceeded with." Marshal Serrano afterwards addressed
some conciliatory words to the vast crowd that had
assembled.

General Dulce has shared the honours conferred by the
revolutionary leaders. He has been made a duke. He
was not able to take any active part in the revolution, but
he largely aided the movement by his riches. He recently
married a lady with an immense fortune.
Some of the local juntas are manifesting their indepen-
dence in a very obtrusive manner. The Minister of
Finance has addressed a circular to them all, forbidding
them to replace any official without the sanction of the
Government.