The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-06-23 00:00:00

questions bearing upon the interest and the tranquillity
of nations.
The boast was as silly as it was untrue. Lord PAL-
MERSTON did not bring under consideration the murder-
ous attack of his French allies upon the subjects of the
King of Holland in the citadel of Antwerp. He did not
present the electors of Hampshire with returns of the
killed and wounded, or of the loss of property sustained
in that wanton and unjust crusade. He did not bring
into the foreground the series of murders perpetrated in
Portugal with his connivance. He did not count the
bones of those who perished in a foreign land the vic-
tims of stockjobbing and non-interference. Far less did
he confess the serious injury which the trade of England
sustained by the adrnission.of French produce and manu-
factures into the Tagus.
The history of these unfortunate proceedings, so dis-
graceful to British honour, will be written hereafter, and
will raise a blush of shame and a burst of indignation
when Lord PAI.MERSTON sleeps in a worthless grave.
But for the present higher matters, in which the noble
lord is also deeply concerned, engage our attention. We
allude to the semi-barbarous war against Spain—not
openly declared, but openly encouraged by Lord PAL-
MERSTON and the present government. it is an hostile
aggression, concocted, like the other, for stock-jobbing
purposes, supported covertly by English money, which
our deluded countrymen will hereafter be called upon to
pay ; and the mode of conducting it is glaringly of a
fraudulent nature—off nature so fraudulent that it must
and will rouse the indignation of all the monarchies of
Europe, and lead to a general war. Lord PALMERSTON,
in short, has overshot his mark. For a long period he
has played a double game, in which professions ill under-
stood, and scarcely tangible, have saved him from the
consequences of European combustion. Emboldened
by past successes—flattered by hoped for but unexpected
results—seeing how ,misrepresentation acted upon delu-
sion, and how the other states of Europe were imposed
upon by the name and fame of England (now trampled
in the dust) Lord PALMERSTON has incautiously flung
aside disguise, and has substituted for low hypocrisy the
bokler-imposition-of polity and duty. No longer do we
hear of the word " non-interference." That is erased
from the whig vocabulary. Russia, Austria, Prussia, and
Holland have not yet interfered in the contest now wag-
ing in Spain. England and France have openly inter-
fered, and beforeimany days the British cabinet will be
told that the suspension of the enlistment act in favour
of the de facto Queen ISABELLA is neither more nor less
than a declaration of war against Spain.
Such we assume to be the case—how do we prove it ?
First, the suspension is not general. It is a suspension
in favour of those who as naval and military officers
choose to take up arms in favour of the reigning queen
and against the pretensions of Don CARLos. We care-
fully exclude from this part of the argument all assump-
tions as to who is the rightful claimant. The lady
Donna ISABELLA may or may not be an usurper. Don
CARLOS may or may not be a rebel. These questions
have nothing to do with the argument, inasmuch as Eng-
land is not bound and has no right whatever to interfere
with the domestic concerns of the Spanish people. The
simple question is, has. England interfered ? This
question must be answered in the affirmative. How?
She has suspended the foreign enlistment act—she per-
mits her naval and military officers to enter the service
of the Queen of Spain without detriment to their claims
for half-pay or as retired and superannuated officers. She
disbands two or three regiments of infantry, reducing
poor men to pauperism unless they enter into the Spanish
service. She has a large naval force on the coasts of
Spain intercepting all supplies to Don CARLos. She has
already advanced some two Or, three hundred thousand
pounds in firearms and munitions of war. In fine, in
the most active, expensive, and most unequivocal man-
ner, she has taken the side of one of the combatants.
Her alleged reasons for this dastardly and dishonest
interference are that she has entered into a treaty with
France, Portugal, and Sweden, in order to assert the
rights of Donna ISABELLA. This may be true. But
what right has England to enter into any such treaty ?
Holland is 'as much concerned as England, and yet she
has entered into no such treaty. Russia, Austria, and
Prussia are equally concerned, but they are no parties
to it; they have not even been consulted.
How these last-named powers will act in this emer
gency it is not for us to say. That_ they will feel indig
nant at the conduct of the British government is excee

ingly probable. That they may resent such unjust
interference is also within the scope of probability. • And
why ? It must be clear to them that in matters which
do not concern the trade or the interests of England
the British government are recklessly disposed to favour
the liberal and democratic principle all over Europe.
They have nothing to do with the quadrupartite treaty.

. a J
They cannot ackno►vledge it—they do not recognise it.
If it be their policy to favour the claims of Don CARLOS,
they will do so, be the consequences what they may.
And we beg leave to tell Lord PALMERSTON they have
good and just reasons for interfering. Russia covets

nothing so much as a war with England. Austria,
under its new sovereign, longs for a war.with Lou►s

PHILIPPE in favour of HENRY V. Holland, writhing
under burning indignities, is prepared to make any sa
entices to punish the powers who have robbed and

despoiled her.

Here then we have a world in arms against whig-
ridden England—against red-tape statesmen—against
apostates who make war not only against their early
principles, but against the doctrines and politics which
gave them distinction when they were starvelings in the
ranks of the tories.

But in war success converts treason into loyally ; and
if an English army should succeed in placing ISABELLA
firmly on the throne, and dispersing the numerous par-
tizans of Don CARLOS, then the British cabinet will
avert the fearful reckoning which must otherwise await
them. Butisupposing the reverse to happen—that Ge-

neral EvANs' armament is destroyed, and Don CARLOS

invested with the crown—what then ? Who is to pay
!or the upset coach ? The stock-jobber will of course

lose his money. So much the better. Certain lawyers
and money-lenders, gun-makers and slop-sellers, will
feel themselves in an extremely unpleasant situation.
Better and better. But who is to refund to the British

government the money they have already spent or may
spend in this unwarrantable and unnatural contest? Lord

MELBOURNE says he trusts to the honour of the Spanish

government Honour of a broomstick ! Does Lord
MELBOURNE think that in case Don CARLOS succeeds he
will be so mad as to tax his people to pay debts con-

tracted b), persons who were his mortal enemies—to pay
the stoekjobbing• and swindling rogues of London ?
Not a bit of it. The British goveinment will have to

bear the loss.

But what will the British people say to this ? They
are not parties to the war. They have not been con-
sulted, even through their representatives in parliament;

and not being consulted—not having sanctioned the war
—not having voted the subsidy, it would be unreason-
able to call upon them to pay the money. Gentlemen
of the House of Commons, you must look to it. You

well know that Mr. SPRING RICE can hardly make the
two ends of the year meet. He has a herd of needy com-
.

missioners to pay who are dunning him incessantly. The
twenty millions to the West Indies is not yet voted and
has to be provided for. These small items, taken in

conjunction with the expense of the Sparish war, must
either lead to fresh taxes—or—the fund.

We beg leave to call attention to an important docu-
ment which will be found in our advertising columns.
We allude to a petition from the merchants, shipowners,
and other inhabitants of Liverpool fo the House of
Commons, praying that no " material alteration" may
take place in the present fixed duties on Baltic and colo-
nial timber.

A select committee of the House is now sitting for the
purpose of considering the policy of changing the present
duties and placing the. Baltic timber trade in a more
favourable position, at the expense and to the serious
injury of the British colonist and the British shipowner.
We are delighted to observe that the petition is signed
by men of every shade of politics; for this simple fact