Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1820-09-12
MANLY ELOQUENCE.


Answer of the General Commander in Chief
of the troops ofthe Island of Leon addressed
to the Bishop of Cadiz, in reply to his Pas
toral Letter.
My LoRD-The first duty of men is
TO be just; to respect truth, and not
darken it with sophisms, is the most au-
gust function of pastors whom the God
of truth has appointed on earth in order
to propagate it. The pastoral letter,
which your excellency has deigned to
address to the faithful of your diocese,
does not breathe this language. What
ever may have been your motives, our
duty is to point out to your excellency
the want of sound principles in the dis
courses of pastor of souls, so respecta-
Bile on account of his zeal and virtues.
We shall not be tedious: truth is con-
else, its light shines of itself, and re-
Quires no ornaments to render it amiable.
We shall here rea. of one question only.
Ought nations to be governed by abso
lutte and arbitrary monarchs, without any
other laws than those of caprice, or the
passion of the moment? Or ought they
to be governed by kings who rule &C
cording to laws Justly established by the
people, and presented by respectable
body who may restrain the excuses so
common to power?
The choice is not doubtful; perhaps
the elevated station which your excellen-
cy holds in society will make your un-
derstanding incline to the system of
servitude; but those principles do not
belong to the reasonable part of Europe.
Reason and experience rehrobate ALSO
lutte monarchs the wicked wish for
them because they Cypress mankind !;
the ignorant, because they have no idea
of public law. This truth is so evident
that it appears useless to us to demon
etrate it. The spirit of liberty, the alb
horrence ofinjustice and oppression, are
so natural to man, SO deeply engraved in
our hearts, that serviity can only be the
language Of stupidity, or the most abomi-
nable hypocrisy. Spain understood
these principles, and gave itself a gov
eminent which foreign nations applaud
ed. If any thing can be called lawful,
it was without doubt, the political consti-
tuition of the Spanish monarchy. All
the classes of the state swore to support
1t; the army swore to it, and the people
hailed it with acclamations. If this code
so respectable, was torn up by ingrati-
tude and per6dy, this is no reason that ii
should be buried in oblivion, or that the
loyal Spaniards who cherished it should
be accused. To say thing is bad be.
cause it is forbidden by an absolute
Prince is to deceive; to say that those
who desire.the happiness of their country
are criminals, because they go against
what are called the prerogatives of the
Monarch, is to deceive; to say that the
military who rise to restore to the nation
their salutary government are perjured,
is to trample down all ideas of whatever
is sacred in an oath, or in the object of it
Every citizen ought to swear to devote
h !. self to the glory and happiness Of his
country. There can be no tie to obHgt
him to terhetuate Public evils towards :
Prince who is not the father Of his sub
,jects.-The King cannot be separated
from the nation. When their interest.
are mutually opposed, the oath received
by the former is not binding on the latter