Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-03-29
TRANSACTIONS.


The state of the South Of Spain imperlous-
" requires that vigorous measures should be
adopted to encourage respectable people, and
destroy those factious bands who cease not to
excite against the unhappy country all the
horrors of civil war it is therefore become
necessary, in consequence Of this state OF al
fairs, rigidly to enforce the following orders:
In every place where civic guard IS not
organized, and where it is consequently ne
cessary to station Imperial troops to maintain
peace and prevent robbery, the pay of the SAID
troops, during the time they may remain In
such environments, is to be discharged by the
inhabitants, who are moreover bound to main
tam and supply them with the usual articles OF
subsistence.
Whatever may be the nature of any crime
committed in district, the inhabitants shall be
obliged to pay the value of the stolen proper
ty and in addition thereto, an extraordinary
war contribution shall be imposed on them.
III.
All districts that organize a civic guard or
volunteer companies, for the purpose OF pro-
tecting the public establishment, maintaining
tranquility, and depressing robbery, shall be
exempt from this burthcn and penalty.
w.
All the inhabitants of district are respon-
sibIe in mass for the safety aid preservation
OF the public funds, as we'll as the royal trea-
sure should it therefore happen, that the
districts suffer these funds to be carried Oft by
robbers, they shall be immediately amerced
in sum triple the value OF the sum stolen
The same peAaty shall be inflicted on the per-
sons who allow themselves TO be robbed, and
they shall moreover be liable to the rcgula-
tons contained in the first article.
V.
Districts that furnish assistance to the
bands of robbers, whether in men, horses,
beasts of burthen, provisions or forage, or
which suffer them to be carried of, shall be o.
bliged to pay into the royal treasury three
times the value of the articles so supplied,
and shall be brought before tribunal to be
tried by the laws against such persons as give
assistance in any way to robbers, and against
the families of those who attach themselves to
such bands.
No species of Indemnify will be received
for the pains and penalties imposed and con-
tanned in the foregoing articles, unless the in
habitants shall prove that they resisted, and
that they were obliged to Weld to superiority
of force which must in all cases exceed half
the population.
Should it happen that district is surprized
by considerable number of robbers, and that
it's own force is not sufficient to repel them,
the magistrates are en- Joined to adopt all pos
sibe means of making it known to the troops
in the neighboring districts, who, SO soon as
they are apprized of it, are to march to the
assistance of the districts that are attacked
but should there be the least neglect on any
side in this respect, those guilty oil it shall be
punished.
The magistrates of every district are per-
sonally responsible for strangers travelling
therein, and those residing in 1t. 1t is their
duty to arrest all persons travelling therein
without an authentic and genuine passport;
those who shall hot make known their means
of living; persons whose conduct becomes
suspicious from making seditious proposals
exciting the inhabitants to join the insurgents,
distributing proclamations or false intelligence,
contrary to the government of his catholic
majesty the king, Don Joseph Napoleon, or
maintaining an understanding with the rebels.
The persons arrested shall be conducted by
the magistrates to the principal town in the
provincial district, and brought before the res
pective tribunals, by which they shall be i'm
mediately brought to trial.
TX.
There is no other Spanish army than that of
H. c. M. the king, Den Joseph Napoleon
Therefore all assemblages in the provinces,
whatever be their number, or whoever be
their leader, shall be considered only as SO
many gangs of robbers, whose sole object is
plumber and murder. Every one belonging to
these gangs, who is taken with arms in his
hands, shall be Immediately tried by the mill
tarv pivot and shot, and his body exposed on
the high way.
Every individual who shall arrest MUIR
derer or robber, who shall be convicted of be-
ING such, shall receive reward Of loo francs;
which shsll be increased in proportion to the
consequence of the person arrested.
These are the measures which appear to me