Star.
London, England, 1829-12-12 00:00:00

STATE OF PARTIES IN SPAIN.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.
No. I.

SlR,.—Whilst, from the peculiar and exclusive sources
.of foreign correspondence which you evidently possess,
you have been enabled to lay before your readers, the
most comprehensive and faithful details of the actual po-
sitiou of continental and trans-atlantic affairs, for many
inonths past ;—and the important and Fighly interesting
series of LETTERS upon the STATE of MEXICO, which
I am happy to see commenced in your excellent paper--'
coming, as their matter and their manner alike indicate,
from the pen of some individual whose observations are
the result of long political experience,—cannot fail, in
their progress, to develop the most material facts con-
nected with the present condition and the ultimate objects
of SPAIN, as well as with the internal resources, the coin
inercial interests, and the political capabilities, of the
MEXICAN REPUBLIC; allow me, as a SPANIARD, to',
request you will favour me by giving contemporaneous',
publicity, through your columns, to a temperate and dis- '
passionate view of the internal STATE OF PARTIES IN,
' Sr s IN. Now that the termination of the war in the',
East has left Eu ROPE in tranquillity, to contemplate with',
astonishment the triumphs of RussiA,—and , with',
infinitely more surprise, the advantages which her',
policy has reaped from those triumphs ; and at a
period when no other sounds of war are heard
through all the world, save those occasioned by the
Spanish invasion of MEXICO ;—it is natural that
public attention should again be called towards SPAIN,—
a country which must now be considered as on the eve
of a crisis arising from the marriage of the King. In ab-
solute Governments, the marriage of the reigning Prince 1
is always an eventful circumstance ; because it almost
invariably happens, that the motives and impulses which
influence his decisions are thereby changed ; and, in so
much, the relative strength and condition of opposing
parties in the State are altered. Situated as SPAIN now
is, every reflecting man inquires what benefit she is to
derive from such a crisis? Without replying directly to
this question, it may be sufficient to present to the world
some data for the due consideration of the subject.
Those who are even slightly conversant with the
affairs of SPAIN, are aware that the destinies of that
country are influenced by TWO parties.—The one, called
Moderate—or Fernandine--consists principally of the
civil and military employis, and some of the Ecclesi-
astics i—the members of this party stand upon the basis
of the " Uti possidetis," and their great object is to
keep affairs in their present condition,—admitting only
of such incidental changes as may be deemed expedient
for the preservation of the whole, with which even the
permitted changes must harmonise as completely as re-
pairs made in a Gothic edifice, with the principles
and appearance of the original structure. The other party
is denominated Apostolical—or Cartista,--beemms
the Infant Don CARLOS is at the head of it—or, at least,
because its Members would uphold their own importance
by having it supposed that he is their political leader
and they consist, principally, of the ecclesiastics, and of
all those who either have rendered, or pretend to have'
rendered, great services to the cause of " mitotAbsoluti
without receiving, as they imagine, rewards adequate
their services. The object of this party, is the restoration
of the affairs of the kingdom, to the state in which they
were before the reign of CHARLES 111. And for the
furtherance of this purpose, they are leagued with all the
Apostolicals of foreign countries—especially with those of
FRANCE; and the Jesuits are the very soul of this party.
But the politician would form a very erroneous notion of
the two parties, who supposed them to be decidedly di-
vided :—there are many of them who, like the blended
colours in painting, change imperceptibly and almost in-
stantaneously ; and to these it is difficult to assign a dis-
iinct place in either of the State-factions. But if the po-
litical obeerver might thus be deceived by the indecision
of some of their characters; neither would his opinion be
well founded, who could be led to believe that all these
men are furious and ignorant partisans :—there are, in
both parties, and especially in that distinguished as the
moderate party, many men who must not be regarded
with indifference. They have past their youths at
the Universities, and in Military Colleges, and in
the Army ; and they have subsequently had consider-
able experience in the affairs, or the intrigues, of
State, either in official stations at Court, or in in-
ferior employments ; and, by dint of application and the
exercise of their abilities, they have sprung to the places
they now hold—which, as it has been the study of their
past lives to attain, so it is now their study to keep;
and they seem not less successful in the latter, than in the
former effort. By attentively considering the elements
of each of these parties, we shall discover the source of
their strength, and the sphere of their respective action.
The moderate Party is not qualified for enterprise, or for
energetic operations; their capability consists in main-
taining the fences—weak as they are—which, as oppor-
tunity allowed, their ancestors raised against the arbi-
trary power of Kings. The Apostolical Party, on the
contrary, is active, enterprising, restless;—incessantly at-
tacking those feeble barriers ; and,—as they calculate
upon the natural propensity of Monarchs to rise above
the laws,—the Apostolicals are seldom unsuccessful in
their assaults. The KING, placed between the two
parties—like the needle of the compass,—attracted, on
the one hand, by Ma own passions, and on the other by
regard to his own preservation, will not incline to the
latter, but when impending danger deters him from the
former. Here, we shall find the clue, by which we may
hope to unravel all the events that have taken in
SPAIN, since the return of FERDINAND to MADRID
in 1823. The Apostolicals loaf
no time, at that epoch,
in attacking the Moderate Ministry appointed at the
suggestion of MARTINGALE, seconded by the DUBS
d'Arr GOULEME ; and they succeeded so far as
to plunge GENERAL CRUZ, Milliliter of War, into
a dungeon ; whilst they compelled O'FALis Mi-
nister for Foreign Affairs, to seek an asylum' in
FRANCE. But their triumph could not be complete.
They required in the department of Foreign Affairs a
man capable of entertaining the members of the Diplo-
matic Body ; and they pointed out M. ZEA BEitmunEz,
as the least obnoxious person ; and further suited to their
views as an adept in the plans of Restoration, with which
° it was supposed he had been rendered familiar by his
~.' long residence in RUSSIA, whose Court is the acknow-
I- lodged abettor of retrogradation, in every kingdom but
its own. But M. Zes BERMUDEZ having passed through
PARIS and Low DON, on his way to MADRID, received,
no doubt, in both these places, such hints for his political
guidance, as unfitted him for the wishes and views of the
Apostolicals, or even of the Moderates. The commence-
ment of his official career was ominous ; and at every step
he blurred his reputation with blots that be will find it
very difficult indeed, if not utterly impossible, to efface.
But we must give him credit for sagacity, and an enter-
prising spirit ; and, fairly considering the times and cir-
cumstances in which, and under which, be laboured, his
success was prodigious ; he discredited and subdued the
Vohostarios Tealitas—he wrested the direction of the Po-
llee from the ruffian GoszsLEx, and Wired himself;
he bToke open the dungeon door, andcave to

i

liberty ; he banished from the Court the notorious
Don ANTONIO UGANTE, who, from the condition
of a broker, sprang up to a station higher tl.an all
the Ministers :—he abolished the Military Committee
—a species of Provosts' Tribnual—which with out either
laws or forms, pronounced judgment upon per,cms of all
ranks and conditions ; —and he constituted a fit:?il Con-
sultiva, or Board of Council, for the purpose of proposini
to the Ministers projects of reforms and improvements
is
every branch of the Administration. Encouraged h th,>
success of these measures, he ventured upon a still more I
decisive effort—one which, indeed, was indispens thly
essential to the commencement of a new order of things
in Spain. He undertook to supersede thcl Miaiitcr of
War, ATMERICK,R rank Apostolical, and with hint some
of the Captains-General of Provinces; and replace them
by men of his own principles and spirit ; but this measure
failed from the very cause that should' have rendered it
effectual, and encountered besides the personal hostility
of an individual of the Camarilla. The principal offices
of Minister of War and Captain-General of Castilla la
Neuva were bestowed on persons who, so far from co-
operating with ZEA BERMUDEZ, obeyed the factions
most interested in defeating his plans. From that hour
ZEA BettmunEZ could no longer maintain his position:
his fall was neither difficult nor regretted—for he was
not supported by any of the influential parties of the In-
terior.—We have dwelt so long upon the political ctueer
of this Gentleman, because he appears like the link which
connects the Government of Spain with that of England.
The Apostolicals, having gained such a triumph, lost
no time in improving it ; and they forthwith appointed to
the Ministry the Dyke DEL I N rstiTano, whom they
called " the Noble Duke," in affected imitation of the
Duke of WELLINGTON. Never did a Grandee of Spain
more freely offer himself as a candidate for places of
every description, and never did a Grandee evince such
an utter incapability and unfitness for all. He had been
successively General in Chief, Ambassador, President of
the Regency, President of the Council of Castillo, a
Courtly intriguer, and the leader of conspiracies ; but in
each and all of these capacities he has acquired nothing
but dishonour ; rendering affairs complicated and inex-
plicable, defeating every plot in which he was engaged,
and causing every project to fail. Such was the man to
whom the Apostolicals, in the hour of triumph, confided
the pursuit of their victory. His first act was to insti-
tute a Council of State, superior to the Ministry ; super-
seding former Counsellors, and appointing to their sta-
tions rank Apostolicals: to that Council few of the
moderate party were admitted. In order to retrieve the
time they had lost, they immediately set about promoting
all those measures most favourable to their own interests.
They laid upon the Council Table Beports upon the Re-
establishment of the Inquistion ; upon the augmentation
of, and the best method of collecting, Tythes ; upon the
means of exempting the Friars from taxes and contribu-
tions of every kind ; upon the restoration of the direction
senoriales (feudal privileges of the Grandees) ; upon
the extinction of the standing army, and entrusting
all the military duty to the Voluntaries realitas !
upon creating at Court representative bodies of the
Clergy and of the Grandees and, in short, upon many
provisions of a similar nature. Elated by their success
in the overthrow of ZEA BERMUDA, they were not con-
tent with trampling on the people, but even encroached
upon the Royal Authority : and it was curious to see the
artful FERDINAND, after having delivered himself over
to the Apostolicals, defending himself against their pro-
jects, with no aid but that which his own cunning (le-
rived from the secret insinuations of CASTANOS and a
few others. But this struggle could not be of long
duration ; for the Apostolicals, working upon the passions
of the monarch, possessed in their ascendancy an engine
too powerful for all his sunning, and for all his sense,
however clear and sound it might be, fascinated as he
was by the allurements of arbitrary power. At this
juncture, the arrival of the CHARTER granted to POR-
TUGAL, put an end to these political absurdities, and
brought with it a new era for SPAIN.
With your permission, Mr. Editor, this subject shall
be resumed on Monday, by

HOPE.

PROM THE FRENCH OF CERUTTT.

In Hon alone all men rejoice ;
By lion are all alike enchanted ;
Without ei.tinction, favour, choice.
Her smiles impartially are granted :--
In Hors the only Barterer see
Th it ever nulled on PUVERTT.

THE ARMY.

-.-
Rover. MILITAST CALLUM, DSC. 10.
The Lilt-yearly inspection and examination of the Corps or,
Gentlemen Cadets of the Academy at Sandhurst, commenced this
day. In consequence of the great number of young men pre-
seined for examination at the close of this year, two entire days
were occupied in examining the Junior Department, of whom up-
wards of liqy passed with more or tea applause. and some with the
most distinguished satisfaction of the Commissioners.
The following Members constituted the Board of Examiners :••••
The Right Hon. Sir Henry Hai dinge, Secretary at War; General
the lion. Sir Felwar.l Paget, K. G.C. Governor of the Institution ;
Lieut.-Gen. Sir Herb.rt Taylor, Adjutant- General ; Lieut.-Geo.
Sir J. Willoughby Gordon, Quartermaster-General ; Lieut.-Gm I
the Right Hon Sir George Murray, K.G.C. SecretarGey f
neral tor the Co-1
knits; Major-Gen. Nlactlunald. Deputy Adjutant o the
Forces ; Col. Sir George Scovell, K C LI. 1a utenant-Goveroor of
the College ; Capt. Garvock. Adjutant-G. urn Ai - Department.
Dec. I t.—Tor Ilearil re assembled, for the emmitrition of the
following Officers of the Senior Cor.ad
Donlon, Ilt, via. slajr John.
st me, halt-pay ; Capt. W. Eyre, att.. ; It. C. urd,
2d Dragoons; Lieu:. Henry itirgos, liAt-pay ; and E. K. Young,
111th Foot.
Tilt 66TH (111RIESIllitt) lIIIIGIMS24T COOT.
Lieut.-Gen. Sir W. Anson K.O B. front the Grenadier Guards,
will be appointed Colonel of the 66th Rev. of Foot, vice General
Nicoll., deceased.
The following regimental appointments will shortly appear In the
Gasette, viz .
Licut -Gen. Lord R. E. H. Somerset. K.C.B. and M.P. kola
the 17th Lancers, to be Colonel of the Ist (Royal) Dragoons, Vice.
Gen. Thomas Garth, deceased
blajor•Gen. Sir John Efley, K.C. B. from the Royal Regiment Oil
Horse Guards,to be Colonel of the 17th Regiment of Light De&
goons (Lancers,) vice Lord Edward Somerset, K.C. B. appointed
to the Ist (Royal) Dragoons.
A General Cuu:t Martial is to assemble here in a few days, for
the trial of a staff-serjeant, from the Leeds recruiting dirrict. and
some soldiers of the Third Dragoon Guards. Major Streathfiof eld,
of the 87th or Royal Irish Fusileers, is to be the Presifient the
Court, and Mr. Jellicoe, the paymaster of this district, Deputy
Judge Advocate.—Coventry Observer.
LI MERU:K. Dec 9.
Colonel Trench, M.P. Site e-keeper-General fur the United King-
dom, vis'ted Castlebw on Friday la-t, and minutely inspected the
regimental books of the 15th depot. lie afterwards ebbed the
new barrack., which are in rapid progress towards c .mpletion, and
exressed his approbatio of e yk of workinanshi and design
ofp the several buildings,n three th
ofst which will be completed by the
end of next month.
The non-commissioned office}, and privates of the King" Dra-
goon Guards, stationed in Loneford, have presented to the 11ev.
C. 11. Minchin, their officiating chaplain, a valuable gold snuff-
box, bearing a suitable inscription on the lid, as a token of their
respect and gr-titude for his kind attention to the elck and regi-
mental school. The Rev. Gentleniaii. in a letter to Lieutenant-
Colonel Teesdale, acknowledges the present, and requests him to
express to the donors how highly he appreciates this memorial of
their affectionate regard.
Yesterday the detachment of the 70th regiment, commanded by
Major Treddennick, marched from Cashel to Templemore.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

MAIL Asatvso Tuts Day.—Dublin I—Waterford I—Flanders 1.
The following vessels have arrived off Portland :—The Coin-
merce, Drummer, from New York ' • Jamaica, Cowman, from Rio
Jantirn; and Thomas, Peek, from Trieste.
Dam., Mc. I.—Wind &S.W.—Arrived from the Riverived and
, and
remains, the Caroline, ---, for New South Wales. Arr
sailed for the River, the W.nderer and Sylvia transports, fur

Quebec.
Posesstowni, Dye. 11.— Wind S.S.W.—Arrieed the Centurion,
Bemper,ftons Quebec. and Aurora, Jackson, front Alesandria.—
Off the port, the Sophia, 14' Intosh, from Jamaica.
PLYMOUTH, Dec. 9.—Wind N.N.E.
FALMOUTH, Dec. 10.—Wind vaiable.

THOMAS LLOYD, E-q. M. P. for Limerick, is indis-
posed at his seat, Beechmount.
Lord and Lady Milton and Family have left Went-
worth House for Milton Abbey, in this county, at which
place they will spend the winter.
We understand that meetings for the repeal of the
malt and beer duties, will shortly be holden at Lewes,
Arundel, and Chichester. In Lincolnshire many district
assemblies have taken place.
The Marquis of ANGLESEA arrived in Worcester on
Monday evening, on his route to Croome, the seat of the
Earl of COVENTRY, The Mayor of the City and the
High Alderman were invited to dine at the Noble Earl's
on that day to meet the Marquis. Tuesday morning, the
Marquis of A NGLESEA, Viscount. DEERHURST and
other members of the Croome family, partook of the
pleasures of the chase, the Worcester fox hounds
throwing off at Croome. Thursday, at one o'clock, the
freedom of the city will be presented to the Marquis in
the Council Chamber at the Guildhall.
At a public sale of dairy stock, last week, at Puriton,
near Bridgewater, ten cows in calf averaged no more than
61. a bead !
Mr. BULL, the Superintendent of the New Police in
the Mary-la-bonne district, has resigned his office.
As St. Thomas's Day approaches, some of the civic
body, who have figured on the stage of late, begin to ex-
claim, " Farewell, a long farewell, to civic turtle!"
The Worcester Journal says—" Petitions to the
House of Commons are at this time preparing in several
towns and villages in this and the neighbouring counties,
praying the repeal of the Malt and Beer duties, the Im-
position of a well regulated Tax upon Property, and also
a Tax upon Absentees."
Lately, at Berlin, an ingenious mechanic was poor—
re-
vented by the police from putting over his d
" Wooden-legmaker to his Majesty, the Princes, and