Star.
London, England, 1823-08-27 00:00:00

SPAIN.

ROYAL DECREE FOR THE FORFEITURE OF THE
SPANISH ANTI-CONSTITUTIONAL GRANDEES.
CADIZ, JULY 16.
The King has been pleased to issue, through the
Minister of Grace and Justice, the following Decree,
under the date of the 13th of July :
" The address which to the scandal of Europe, has
been published as having been made by various
Spanish Grandees of both sexes, to the Chief of the
enemy's army, impel iously demands my attention,
because, if not the work of fraud and imposture, it is
certainly a signal monument of disloyalty and base-
ness. The singular style in which it is conceived, the.
manifest falsehoods on which it is founded, and above
all, the character of some of the individuals by whom
it is signed, afford grounds for regarding it to be a
forgery. It is, indeed, scarcely possible to conceive
that there should be included among these indivi-
duals, one of the very men who adopted and signed
the Constitution of 1812. How is it possible to ima-
gine that there should also be associated with them,
the man, who, manifesting the most decided adhe-
rence to the system established by the Constitution,
was honoured and favoured, through the confidence
of the nation and of myself, by the highest dignities
and offices in the State ? Such a total disregard of
faith and honour, such shameful inconsistency, and
such b!ack ingratitude, would reflect discredit on the
lowest dregs of the community ; how much more,
then, must it disgrace Noblemen of Castile? It is
ei u ally incredible and absurd,that persons bearing that
exalted rank, and proclaiming their inviolable loy-
alty, should meanly bend the knee before the enemy's
Generalissimo, congratulate him on his ominous suc-
cess, and encourage him to oppress, degrade, and
destroy their nation.
" But, notwithstanding all this, the fact is notorious,
the document has been printed in a semi-official
paper, and copied into others, yet no one has come
forward to contradict it. In its publication and its
effects, this Address is a stain to Spanish loyalty,
an insult to the laws and the Government, a calumny
ira the nation, and an odious and criminal co-opera-
ton with the enemy. Those men are doubtless d.-
ceiving the world and themselves, who represent the
Constitutional system to be the effect of the violence
of a party, who keep both the Nation and the Mo-
:parch in a state of bondage; they are deceiving the
world and themselves, since, being honoured and dis-
' tinsuished by that Constitutional system, either in
their own persons or those of their children or rela-
tives, they assail those-very laws which foster and
protect them; as well as the rest of the citizens.

nally, they deceive the world and themselves, who,
imputing to the Spanish nation odious villainy And
stupidity, consent to this scandalous violation of the
rights of nations, and aid it by their insolent conniv-
ance. Since, by this manifestation of their sentiments,
they would destroy, as far as lies in their power, the
laws and the Government which they have swot n to
obey ; since they applaud and authorize, as far as
they can, the desolation and horror of the foreign in-
vasion and civil war, under which Spain now groans;
and since, to deliver up -their unfortunate country to
a foreign yoke, they offer their co-operation, their
lives, and their property, to an enemy who would rob
her of her freedom and independence, the authors of
this Address, of whatever rank they may be, are com-
prehended in the Decree issued by the Cortes on my
proposition, on the 2d inst. In consequence I have
declared and resolved as follows :
" ART. 1. Those men are unworthy the name of Spaniards,
are traitors to their country and their King, and shall be held
and treated as such, who voluntarily signed the Address to the
Duke d'Angouleme, Commander-in-Chief of the enemy's army,
under date of Madrid, May 18, and which has been published
as having been presented by the Grandees of Spain, and sub-
scribed by Count de Villariezo, Count de la Puebla del Maestro,
the Duke de Castrutorreno, oom de Cervellon, the Marquis
de Villafranca, Count del Montijo, the Marquis. del Aflialda,
Count de I'unonrostro, the Duke de Lelia and Berwick, the
Marquis de Fuente el Sol, Viscount de Gaud, the Marquis de
Ariza, the Duke de Sedavi, the Duke de Villahermosa, the
Alarquis de Ceralbo, the Duke de San Fernando, the Duke de
Medinaceli, the Ex-Duke of Montemar, Count de Miranda, the
Marquis de Mondejar, the Marquis de Miraflores, the Countess
de Mora, the Countess de Cifuentes, the Countess-Duchess de
lienavente, the Duchess de Montellano, the Countess de la Al-
cudia, the Counteas de Salvatlerra, the Marquis de 31us, Count
de Colomera, the Duke de Tamanes, and Marquis de Valparaiso.
" 2. It being understood that the said address was signed vo-
luntarily, all the 31 individuals who seem to have subscribed it,
and who have Rot hitherto denied so doing, since they have given
no proof of not having actually signed It, or taken part in it, or
that they were included in any of the exceptions of Art. 21 of the
Penal Code, shall be brought to trial, when apprehended.
" 3. I hereby declare that the thirty-one individuals above-
mentioned do not form the whole of the Grandees of Spain, nor
even the majority of that class; neither do they possess, nor ever
have possessed, any title or character to represent it. Conse-
quently the above-mentioned addressis, and ought to be consi-
dered merely as the private set of those by whom it was per-
formed; and the character of the Grandees of Spain, who have
at all times been distinguaked for loyalty and patriotism, must
not suffer for the degradation and perjury of a few individuals.
" 4. The 31 persons who signed the said address are hence-
forward deprived of all their titles, honours, decorations, ranks,
employments, offices, emoluments, pensions, incomes, preroga-
tives, and distinctions depending on the supreme civil power of
Spain ; and with respect to those that do not so depend, they
shall not be permitted to exercise any throughout, the kingdom,
nor shall the said individuals be acknowledged to hold any rank
or privilege in Spain.
" 5. The titles, decorations, offices, pensions, personal dis-
tinctions, or honours, which those individuals may have obtained
from me, or my august predecessors, are also henceforward ex-
tinct, as though they had never existed. They will likewise be
suppressed to their heirs during the lives of the above-mentioned
persons; but at their deaths, they shall descend to whomsoever
they may belong, in conformity with the laws, on condition
that the successor or successors do not deserve to forfeit them for
their own offences. With respect to the Ex-Duke of Montemar,
the order contained in my decree of the 11th inst. will be Observed.
0' 6. The property of every kind whatever, belonging to the
31 persons above mentioned, shall be immediately sequestrated,
and after satisfying the lawful claims that may be made upon it,
shall be appropriated to the National Treasury during the life-
time gf the individual, and at their death shall descend to whom-
,soever it may belong according to law; but in the Meanwhile,
their wives, children, and brothers, if they reside in Spain, and
continue faithful to the Constitution, shall receive such provi:
sion as I may think proper to assign to them.
" 7. I however declare, that if any of the 31 individuals
abovementioned, excepting the Ex-Duke de Montemar, should
prove themselves free of the charge specified in Article 2, that
the succeeding Articles, 4,5, and 6, will immediately become
null with respect to them, and their good name will be in no
way prejudiced by this my Royal Decree."
" I charge you to see this Decree executed, and to
order it to be printed, published, and circulated."

THE EVENING STAR.

LONDON.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 1823.
THE FUNDS.