Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1815-04-15

lower orders of tie people had intelli-;
pence enough to decide in favor Of the
8 new constitution, at appeared however
that the patriots were afraid 70 trust them "a
and thew thought best quietly to submit
70 Ferdinand. The result proved them
to be right, for with the exception Of Ca
diz alone, every city in Spain expressed
the most unfeigned JOY for the restoration
Of the king and the re-establishment o.
the old system. So ignorant is the mass
Of the people, 50 long have they been
used to all.the pomp and pageantry q
ROYALTY, so intimately connected are their
manners and customs with despotic GO
vernment, with such an. awe and reye-
renee do they look on the name of king,
that you might as soon expect to see them
committing sacrilege on their affairs, as
daring to commit any outrage on his per-
son. This feeling, added to the respect
which an army of fifty thousand men is
apt to inspire, has completely silenced all
opposition, and the measures of the king
are as quietly enforced as ever was the
DEGREES Of Napoleon in France. Ferdi-
nand has been very decisive in every
thing he has done, and exercises full as
much, if not more power than ever his
friend Napoleondid. Itisamatterof doubt
with me, whether the present state Of
things here is not the best for the interest
Of the nation and the cause of humanity.
think they could not have established
tbeir new constitution except by repeat
ing the horrors Of the French revolution.
and after all fail in their object.
A most heavy contribution has been
levied and paid without any noise, and
the government are now fitting out expe-
ditions to send troops to the various CO.
lonies. There are near 10000 men here.
ready to embark. The dissatisfaction
not long since publicly expressed OF the
kings conduct is now entirely hushed,
and no man dare even whisper to his
friend his opinion, without first looking
behind him to seeno spy is near.
The police is very vigilant, which is.
one of the benefits ofthe new govern
ment, for when | first arrived here, it
was with great danger to your life that
you could walk the streets after dark
But at present all the vagabonds have
been pressed into the service of the go
vernment. A stranger perhaps might
think them pusillanimous and void of sFi-
rit for submitting as they have done, after
having talked so loudly about their rights
and threatening so hard to support tilem..
But on little reflection he would find
that nothing else was to be ex!nsted from
a people possessed Of such .gsjudices as
they have imbibed from tier infancy
Thus whatever you may saar of the tot
tering power of Ferdinsha, you may de-
pend upon it he is f.a.ay seated on his
throne, and may yet make the nation of
considerable weight in Europe, if he will
only regulate properly the internal policy
of the Kingdom. would also observe,
that intimately as the British government
have been connected with this, and still
continue to be, in loaning them money,
nevertheless they are friendly to us and
think will long continue SO. 1t is very
certain that both the government and ma
ticn have an utter hatred and fear OF the
English.