The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-01-31 00:00:00

laws. Besides these, the tribune of the Ambassadors,
which I hare already described, and that of the military
officers, which is opposite to it, presented double rows
cf spectators, all intensely anxious to hear the debate
which was coming on. Sir William A'llourt was not'
present, but Messrs. Ward, Elliot. Jackson, O'Gorman,
contacted with the embassy, General Sir Phillip Roche,
Mr. Cock, Mr. Tapper, and I other English Gen-
tian**. appeared in the tribune, and as on Thursday, I
freguatly observed that it was a principal object of
• ,
atteoffon with the deputies. . 1
At length, after the oval preliminary of reading and
appeovfng thi Aet of the previous Session, Senor Ga-
Baud entered the rostrum en the left baud of this chair,
and reed the Message, at the conclusion of which the
epecsators in the, galleries showed their approbation, by
• clapping their 'hands. I confess that this Interference
of the Onpulation offended my ideas of legislative de-
• 'coma, whew I reflected 'little undo it. If they are al
• lowed to signify approval, I apprehend- they will not
hesitate, when the occasion arise. to express 'dissent
also, arid, in this cue, What 'becomes of the freedom of
debate? Bat I mutt also observe, that it formed no
unpleasing sight to see leech a number of respectable
'people as filled the galleries, rising raw above row, and
•Sketeding, perhaps, the number of, five or six thousand
`persist, all Waal to the highest tone of enthusiasm, aid
:anintaitid by 'twain(' on this solemn occasion. There
was wham after all, a tittle of theatrical show in this
•tithibitiop7-at least, to an Englishman it appeared so ;
'but there eras no man, from whatever country pe came,
'who could batik upon this Hall of Deputies and crowd
of pilopidaee, without being affected with sublime seam-
tions. Senor Galianol when he entered the rostrum,
median effort to give his attitude and manner as much
dignity as possible. Ile is short of sUture, but he seemed
as if he would willingly elevate it to suit the majesty of
his office. ft was, indeed, an enviable situation, thus
to be made the organ of the sentiments of the Chiles to
the ging on such an important matter. He reed the
Message in a pompous manner, but it was not a manner
'assumed at tills moment—it it his usual character-
istic. • '
TO debate, as you know, was commenced by Senor
fiaatteira. 'this-is the you wet deputy in-the Cortes,
'and he hedilthertp.flistingnished himself rather as a
poet thesis:l:4oW** Such of his minor poems ea I bare
trail, appear hie Ulm the offspring of a warm heart
and a feeble imitgiiiation. But it must else lie said of
•Linfthat upon this occasion he spoke with very consider-
able emery, if not with eloquence, Who that had a
• soul to feet and ups to give utterance to thought, would
'not lie eloquent when he saw his country attacked by
swot) scandalous antes as those of the northern despots?
Conga, who 'followed Saavedra, is a man pretty far
advaneedi a Years, but the winter of age. that has partly
silvered his hair, his not yet penetrated to • his mind.
The flow of his ideas, the rapidity of his Unsure, and
the animation of his gesture ire smiling. Fluency,
-however, is not always eloquence; nor vivacity emphasis.
Ifis Speech made i moderate figure. compared with
those which followed, especially that of his cousin
AocuoinArgueiles. But It was nice or twice applaud-
ed by the galleries, end was a degree above that of Se-
nor pen Joaqiiio-Foiser.; This gentleman spoke with
energy, but from an unfolinnate peculiarity of manner,
he appeared to tie eitherhalf asleep, or, as an Irishman
would say, "half was dyer," when he spoke. This
solely arose front the nasal sound of his voice, and a die-
rsltioo to eliplsis words.
Wiests Aunt* Argerlies rose, Ms back was turned
to the Authaseador's tribune, and in consequence it'
ettickwir, whtlieut seeing his fare, that he must be like
Kr. Brougham. His figure is very mach like that of
the Learned Gentleman, and when he turned his face to
the Chair. I observed the likeness strengthened, with
the exception that he has not that particular feature
which dietinguisbes the member for Winchelsea. But
the genetal countenance it like, though not the voice
of oftener. Arguelks is deemed the most eloquent
speaker in the Cortes. • His oratory is full of strong
reasoning and croo fled with facts ; it is convincing, and
scisetimfa irresistible. from the sudden diversion which
he makes from pOwerfal logic to the seat of those feel-
ings which govern the resolutions of men. He seemed
to hold a sceptre over the minds of his auditors, and to
swam in them such sentiments as lie wished to inspire.
While lie-spoke, every one of the Deputies seemed en-
tranced by his eloquence, and when be concluded there
less a general look up to the English tribune, to see'what
effect it produced there. He spoke for an hour and ten
Animates, and when lie first rose, during his speech, and
after he sat down, be was cheered by the populace, and
even by the Deputies, in the most lively and affectionate
manner. •
' Hitherto Arguelles and Galiano have been rivals, but
on this occasion, to prove that a foreign invasion quells
all dohaestio quarrels, ' one followed the other in the
debate. Ostia-no spoke from the second bench, from a
Place equivalent to that of Grey Bennet in the House of
-ftennous. We had therefore a good view of him from
the tribunal. He is a young man, and, as I have already,
observed. a little affected and pompous in his delivery.—
Hewas the editor of a provincial journal at the time of
the det Isratlon of tbe army of the Isla in favour of the
Constitittion. His style of speaking is more poetical
than that of Arguelles, and calculated more to %vie the
ear than to convince the understanding.' He is fond of
leap periods and sounding expressions, and very fee.
quently pours nut sentences io continuation, at each of
which the audieece Is inclined to exclaim " beantifol 1"
His gesture is also particularly forcible, picturesque, and
taried, and altogether he is such a man as a public
assembly would put forward to make a bolvday speech.
fie acquitted himself with grace, and the English
gentlemen near me seemed enchanted with his manner.
Several other Deputies bad demanded the • right of
spealtin,,-, but the majority wisely. I think, determined
That the question was sufficiently discussed, and it was
disposed of.
When the Cortes rose, the' crowd In the galleries
rushed down to the Deputies' door, and waited until
Gallen* and Arguelles came oat; when they seised on
them by main force and carried them off in triumpiron
their slum Mere. They weae obliged to exert all their
rimiest@ to pet permission to descend again, and they
catered Senor Oliver's (the President) carriage. The
popidace followed the carriage to the' Presider is house,
singing all the way patriotic songs, and shorting Vice
la etinetftwtion. In the teeming binds of music paraded
rise streets by torch light, and the night passed away in
*feet tranquillity.
Monday, Jan. 12.
• Nobody was surprised by the formal demand made
oa Friday by the Ministers of Russia,• Prussia, and
Austria for their passports. It was a thing naturally
to be expected from the tenor of their Notes, hut people
here -were not alto tether prepared for the peculiar In-
solence shown io the Note in which the Russian Minis-
ter requires passports for himself and the officers of
the legation. You must have observed tbat in this
Note, De Bulgari (the Russian Minister) uses no
distinction when he speaks of San Miguel. He pointed-
ly calls him " et Senor San Aligned," whenever he has
occasion to mention the name, and never adds, as the
ether Ministers sk, " Secretario del Deseocho," lac.
this is an ungentlemanlike mode
To Say the least ofi t,
Of disputing; and taking the style of his note and its
inflammatory contents into. teosideration, I see some
Destlicatioa for the anger of those who complain that
islgari was not arrested. The document is, in fall,
an of treason against the Constitution. San Miguel's
it•
antler, on the other hand, Is equally vulgar. I know
Aire are those who think that a vulgar attack must be
repelled by vulgar weapons. A noble mind, however,

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