The Sun.
London, England, 1826-12-26 00:00:00

SPIRIT nF 411 E PU iLIC iotrn,NAL§.

An interesting letter from al. Galiano, a distill-
.
guished and enlightened Spanish patriot, will be found
in our Paper of this day. The writer repels with just
warmth, and on the authority of indisputed facts, nn
ill-considered imputation upon his eountryMen, whkh
Appeared Some days ago in ,a weekly Journal,
which ascribed to all the Spaniards that they were
" to a man the victims of bigotry and superstition,"
&c. &c. Aainst a charge so sweeping and extraor-
dinary M. Galiano contents hiniSelf With arraying:the
history' of the growth of the late Spanish Constitution,
which, from the, Ist of January, 1820, when the cry
of liberty was first heard in a little nook of the Penni,
sula, it struggled through innumerable difficulties, and
by the 9th of March following, (scarcely more thioi
two mouths,) had spread itself-so completely through
the various provinces, and gained such tits ascendancy
over all his foes, that the honest roan Ferdinand VII.
found himself compelled .to swear fidelity to it. This
be it recollected, was exclusively a Spanish constitu-
tion, suggested, received, fostered, and enforced, by
Spaniards ouly,.whhout die slightest hadl, al-
most added, without, o much as sympathy from fo-
reign nations., This constitution held its ground for
three yearst against the known hatred of the King,
'who hr.,. .A sworn to maintain it--against the machine-.
of the Monks and courtiers, and serviles, in
very province—against a military insurrection at
Madrid, paid for by a malversation of the public
money, and encouraged by the same subtle and worth-
less King, with the-princes and minions of his family
—against, in short, the intrigues, the artifices, and in-
' eentives of every abolute Government in Europe. It
was only after an insurrection fomented by money
and:by fanaticism, and diligently organized through.
out the territories bordering on France, had
been followed by an invading, army to the amount
of 100,000 Frenchmen, and by the base treason of
a number of Spanish Generals, placed for the purpose
in
.coreaand of the troops, by Ferdinand and his per-
li'Llous advisers, that the constitution fell under this
confederate, power of deception, bribery, treason,-and
foreign force„ But, it is not in the single quarter of
which M. Galiano has complained, that we are sen-
sible of injury having been offered to the Spanish cha-
racter, and a positive disparagement to the cause of
freedom in Spain, by a manifest depreciation of the
strength and prospects of the constitutional party.'7---
Mr. Canning: himself has, inadvertently no doubt,
countenance to rumours, absolutely, as we are
convinced, unfounded, that 44 a vast majority" of the
people of Spain arc in love with arbitrary power. In
pursuing the natural course of this impression; a se-
' eonclitry mis-statement into which the Right lion.
Clentleinan has been led, is that which assigns to the
French occupying army, the honour of protecting the
Constitutional Spaniards front the vengeance of their
fanatical enemies. Now, in our hearts, we are bound
to say, that we neither regard the Spanish Liberals as
constituting a weak minority of the nation ; nor ctuf
we conceive an error more preposterous than that of
asserting; that the troops of France perfbrm any such
pacific functions as those ascribed to them by the Fo-
reign Secretary for Great Britain, The French troops
occupy five or six points of the Peninsula, with inter-
of hundreds of miles between them. ' -By what
Imwei of übiquity, then, let us ask, could a body of
police men, ,so cooped up in seperate and distinct
prittee.t the lives properties of inhabitants
ispersed through all parts of the country? Again
France has on more than (ale occasion
threatened the Court of Madrid to 'withdraw the
foreign soldiers, if somewhat more of moderation and
wisdom were not exhibited by the Camarillit in its
proceedings, what was the meaning of such a threat—its
plain and unquestionable meaning Wll6 it not this?
" Do as we advise, or we will take away your present pre-
teeters." On the supposition of the Right Honourable
Gentleman, the withdrawal of the French troops would
be, not the retreat of a Power by which the despotism of
Ferdinand was defended, but Of it force by which his hands
were restrained. Then, why, we wilt furthers was not this
menace of the Cabinet of the Tuileries. put la execution
Why were not the troops actually Withdrawn ? Because
Ferdinand and his Minister* Were frightened out of their
lenses, and implored that their military guardians should
not be taken away from them. Had Ferdinand agreed
with those who assume that the. Constiuttiotudists are
feeble, and their enemies powerful, would he have besought
• the French 'Cabinet to postpone a measure Which must
place the friends of freedom at his mercy? . Would he net
more naturally 'have exclaimed, " get out of kingdoM
as fast as your legs can carry, you ; I fear nothing; my own
partisans are so'much stronger than thoSe of a free Con-
stitution, that but for your instrusive presence we should
not leave one of these villainous liegros aliVe." To us, we
confess, the fact is perfeetly clear, that it is not in tender
mercy to the Liberals', but to their tyrannical persecutors,
we find Ferdinand 'so anxious for what any other Sovereign
would feel to be a mortification and disgrace,—the con-
tinuance of a band of foreign troops in the heart of his da,
minions. Had the Mends of a Spanish Constitution been
gainers by the presence of the force Which destroyed it,
that force, Mr; Canning. nmqt,
We think,:on fUrther reflec-
tion, be convinced, would !Ong ego haVe commenced ire
march across the Pyrcnees.--,Thres. •
The death of Buonaparte may be regarded as one
of the greatest mistOrtunea that could have befalleo
this country. But tor that; Spain would not have been
invaded in 1823 by the ,Psucli troops, nor would
England have been called upon at 'this moment to
spend large sums of money in defending Portugal. A
menace from the British Govermnent would have thrown
the French Court and Clergy into consternation, and
made them as eiffmnissive as in 1815, when. the Crown
was placed a second time on the head of Louie XVIII,
The Clergy, -we have no doubt,: are the.eause and
mainspring of all this commotion. Even previous to
Buonaparte s deatktherhegan to show' a little of the
spirit which animates t tem. After that general mis.;
610118 were instituted in France,- Christian burial was
refused or granted, at the will of tlie Perish Priest; the
people were prohibited from enjoying their usual
amusements on holydays,..and every attempt was made
to recover thet_power_which they possessed in die
darkest
_eges. ,;No attempt, however, eats be more
vain. We believe the great body of the people are,
as averse to clerical power and influence as the,
_U..,
tisitwera to the ',pretensions and claims of J-ainee
and his party ; and, if the King should persevere',
iii censidting` their interests and following their plans,:
vie should not wonder if the result were the same.,
The situation of France, for some; years past, has
had a wonderful similarity to that of England'afier the
Reatoration. Charles 11, and Louis -xym., thou -h
secretly: *dot,. to restore Chnrch anA
- -tate tothe
condition in winch they were previous to the Revolu-
tion, had neither the bigotry nor the folly to oppose
,Openly die almost unanimous wishes of their subjects.'
'The brothers, on Coining to the
_throne, for a short
imitated the conduct of their predecissors. Thera
,witeifie,atrongest. prejudice against both previous to.
that time, yet, by their promises anddeclarationss they,
so far gained on the good-will'of the that :M.-
&cuss came from quarters full of duty-4ay, of