The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-04-05 00:00:00

PRICE SEVEN PEN( E.

rorineol against on tick Article. The great majoefty of
this devoted tribe continued however to adhere to the
religion of their fathers, and, conseqnentle, their ex-
pulsion from the kingdom was resolved al.on. The
principal instigator of this measure was Thomas de
Torquernada, First Grand Inquisitor General of Spain.
Torptemada was eminently podia-el for such a station; .
he was arrogant and inflexible; his cool and methodical
cruelty was surpassed by none of his successors; his
hums ledge of bossiness., his activity in the dispatch of
it, and, above all, his fierce bigotry, secured to bins an
uncontrolled influence over the minds of his sovereigns.
In his visits to the different provincial Inquisitions, he
affected a sort of regal stale; be used to travel escorted
by fifty fianiliars, armed and mounted, and two hundred
foot. His arrival was always the signal of desolation.
Llorente has dedicated a long chapter to a minute calcu-
lation of the number of vietnim lie sacrificed during his
Inquisitorial reign of eighteen years. The result is,that
ten liontmitl.l persons perished in the flames at Seville
mote ; at Toledo, upwards of six thousand ; and a mewls
greater seimber were condemned to perpetual imprison-
ment, netifiseation of property, &c. 'I here were then
thirteen Inquisitors in Spain, and if all were eirally
in-
du-trioo', neetwoli lig to our author's computation, Mel?
'loan four hundred thousand persona were punished ley
the Holy ;!!flee during that short space of tome.
h.lien the Jews were informed of their intended! ban:s!i-
'tient, they had recourse to their usual mode of averting
denizen
Ferdinand and Isabella were then waging war against
the kingdoms of Grenada, and the unfortunate Iraelites
very properly thought, that the offer of thirty thousand
ducats might obtain for them leave to remain in the
kingdom wider certion restrictions. This proposition
was on the point of bring acceded to—but Tonowanda.
on hearing this intelligence, took a crucifix in his anus.
and repairing forthwith to the royal residence, addressed
his sovereigns with a high tone of indignation :* " Jig-
this," said lie, "fleet sold his masserfiir thirty pieces—
your Highnesses are noir going, to sell him a sceurid
time fur thirty thorn:ad. there, added he, laying down
his crucifix, " take him, hasten end sell him." Their
Highnesses bowed down before the Inquisitor, and the
sentence of banishment was pronounced. This mea-
sure, with the subsequent emigration of the Moreseots, .
deprived Spain of Heady two millions of inlishitants.
But these proceedings were far from meeting with ge-
neral approbation; Ferdinand having assembled the
tortes of the kingdom of Arragon in 1510, the deputies
made energetical remonstrances against the shitses of
the Holy Office the King eluded giving a positive an-
swer. In a subsequent fleeting in 1512, they voted a
series of resolutions, tending to restrain and modify the
power of the Inquisition. 'these formed the basis of a
convention between the King anti his subjects ;_but a
few months after lie solicited and obtained from the
Pope a dispensation of the oath he had taken before the
Cortes to observe its rtipulations. Some time aftartessedak
on the accosekso of Charles V. the CortN of Castile, and
those of Catalonia, were not more successful in a similar
effuse!, and the power of the Inquisition was then firmly
secured.
One of the most valuable parts of this work is the
complete disclosure it makes of the Inquisitorial cods
and mode of proceeding. Llorente has corrected in
many instances the errors of his predecessors, and bas
made considerable additions to the facie already known.
But what will he more generally read with interest, are
those points connected with ioooportant historical recol-
lections. (Inc author has given us elaborate disqui-
sitions tin the circumstances which attended and followed
the last menu of Charles V.—on the death of Hon
Carlos—on the trial of Antonio Perez, first Secretary i,t
State of Philip ll. and on the expulsion of the Mores-
core. That Charles V., after his abdication. haul i onki lied
some of the Lotheran tenets, hots been mentioned by
several writers. It has been also affirmed, that Philip
had consente I that pro: to-flings 'should be ins:kilted
against the memory of his father by the las:Casio!' ;
who, for that purpose, haul seized his will. LI-antrum
gives
ns a detail of those reports that were thou in
cir-
culation ; Fra Paolo hints at them, anti l'huanos seems
inclined to give then; some degree of belief. A fortnitoes
concurrence of eireimistanees, says Llorente, probably
caused this accusation. liartlielenti tarranza, Arch-
bishop of Toledo. who assisted Charles in his last mo-
ments, was arrest,, shortly alto r, and tried for heresy
by the Inquisition. Constantine Ponce, and Augnstine
Canalise his two favootrite preachers, were both de-
livered over to the Beeline arm. His confessor, John
de Regis, was confined within the walls of the Hay
Office, and obliged to abjure certain proposi4olis
lie had maintained. Llorente treat. this act-omit
as an idle tale, but lie is not altre:rs succesefel
in his refutation of it. He seems to ley great stress
on the displeasure Charles is said to have 'hewn to Car-
rams in his last moments, from having been informed
that the Prelate was strongly suspected of 'orrery. 'I
he plates on the moillooritv of Sendurel, whose history of
the Rini/erne is nothing hut a confirmed panegyric, and
who felt anxious that the imputation of heresy shom:d
nut he fixed on the memory- of his hero. Carupana,valose
authority is infinitely preferable, is his history of Philip
11. distinctly say., that Carranza remained with him ti:l
he breathed his last, and that he was thanked by Charles
for the consolation he had afforded him. In support of
his system, Llorente adds, that having anxiously sought
in the archives of the Inquisition ftwrapers relative to
proceedings against the memory of Philip's father, he
road not discover that any had ever been in existerce.
Agaiest this negative proof it may be objected, thet, ice
the trial of Carraozs and the others, the instilling of lie-
retiral opinions into the mind of the Emperor 1% as 0411
of the points of acensetioto.

Our litit:te do not allow its to follow our author in his
historic dowtte ; and urtnithstanding his ingenuity, lie
has nut absolutely converted us. The tragical death of
lion Carlos has berm inch a favourite subject with his-
torians who deal in romance, and with romance writers
who deal in history, that a very erroneous view of this
subject has been adopted by many. Many authors ut
high respectability have also advanced a lions which
cannot stand the test of investigation. In most Maio-
riea, we read that his love for his mother-in-law, Elisa-
beth of France, and his inordinate ambition, brought
down upon bitn the vengeance of his father;—that he
was confined, tried by the Inquisition, sentence! to
death, and that poison was adttstnistatite hint. Wat-
tle., in his history of Philip 11. sate. "'that after at
months imprisonment, Philip camterl the Intpisirino we
Madrid to pass !sentence against his son ; and, unit'
lover of that sentence. ordered poomn to he given td
him." This uremia' difcrs rioatty froth the tone given
by Liorence. We shall abridge his statuttent,-fer
prolixity prevents us giving the whole of ir. IST Pr-
trot article in the preliminaries et peace between Pram•
and Cpaia in MP, the estenteat *artier, of Mai 11,1 Mo
said Elisabeth, daughter .4' the Friiith atistiirch. true
'agreed alma. The math *I ,ttts'en sol Eugiansi,