Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1845-03-20
BY G. A. Il ]. P. CHAPMAN.


employed by the house Of Austria to crush the nger
ing public spirit of Italy. Lope sailed in the Arma
da Ccrvantes wounded at Lepanto.
1t is curious TO consider with how much awe our
ancestors in those times regarded Spaniard. He
was in their apprehension kind of Demon horribly
maleyolen but withal most sagacious and powerful.
'They be verye wyse and poiticke," says an honest
Englishman, in memorial addressed TO Mary, "and
can throwe theyr wysdome refoTme and bridel theyr
owne navres for tyne, and appye theyr conditions
to the manners of those men With whom they meddel
gladlye of friendshIppe whose mischievous manners
man shall never knowe vnt he come vnder the svb-
lection bvt then shall he parfecty parceyve and tee
them which thYnge praye God England never do;
for in destinations vnt they have theyr purposes,
aud afterwards in oppression of tyranne, when they
can obtayne them, they do exceed all other nations
vpon the earhe." This is just such language Ar
minus would have used about the Romans, as In
dian statesmen, of our times, would about the
English. 1t Is the language of man burning with
hatred, but cowed by those whom he hates and pain
fully sensible of their superiority not only IN power,
but in intelligence.
But how art thou fallen from Heaven, oh Lucifer,
son Of the morning How art thou cut wn to the
ground, that didst weaken the nations If we over
leap hundred years. and look at Spain towards the
close of the seventeenth century, what change do
we find The contrast is great that which the
Rome of Gallienus and Honorious presents TO the
Rome of Marius and Cesar. Foreign conquest has
begun 10 eat INTO every part OF the gganllc monarchy
on which the sun never set. Holland was gone, and
Portugal, and Artois, and Roussillon, and Franche
Comte In the East the empire founded by the Dutch,
far surpassed, in wealth and spendor, that which
their old tyrants still retained. In the West Eng
land had seized and still held settlements in the midst
of the Mexican The mere loss of territory was
however of little moment. The reluctant obedience
of distant provinces generally costs than it is
worth.
Empires that branch out widely are often more -four
ishing for little timely pruning. Adrian acted ju
dciousy when he abandoned the conquests of Trajan
England was never rich great, formidable to
foreign princes so absolute mistress of the sea- as
after the loss of her American colonies The Span
ish empire still, In outward appearance, great
and magnificent. The European dominions, subject
to the last feeble Prince of the House of Austria
far more extensive than those of Louis XIV. The
American dependencies of the Castlian crown still
extended to the north of Cancer and to the south of
Capricorn. But within this immense body there was
incurahe decay, utter proStratIon of strength
An ingenious and digent population eminently skill
ed In arts and manufactures, had been driven into
| lie by stupid and remorseless bigots The glory of
the Spanish pencil had departed with Velasquez and
Aurlo. The splendid age of Spanish literature had
closed with Soils and Calderon. During the seven
teenth century many States had formed great military
establishments. But the Spanish army, so formidable
under the command of Alva and FarneSe, had dwin-
died away to few thousand men, ipaid and ill-dis-
ciplined England, Holland and France had great
navies. But the Spanish navy was scarcely equal TO
that mighty force which, in the time of Philip the
Second, had been the terror of the Atlantic and the
Mediterranean. The arsenals were deserted. The
magazines were unprovided. The frontier fortresses
were ungarrsoned The police was utterly INSULT
cent for the protection of the people, Murders were
committed IL the day with perfect impunity. Bra
woes and discarded serving with swords at their
sides, staggered every day through the most public
streets and squares of the capital, disturbing the
peace and setting at defiance the ministers of Justice
The finances in frightful disorder. The people
paid much. The Government received little.
The American vicerpys and the farmers of the rev.
enue became rich, while the merchants broke, while
the peasantry starved, while body servants of the
sovereigns remained unpaid while the soldiers of the
and bated there with crowd of beggars for por-
ringer of broth and morse of bread. Every rcme-
dy which tried aggravated the disease. The cur
rency was aered-and this frantic measure produced
its FILLING effects 1t destroyed all credit and
increased the misery which it intended relieve.
The American gold, to the words of Ortiz was to
the necessities of the State, what drop of water
would be to the lips of man raging with thirst
Heaps Of unopened dispatches accumulated in the Of
fees whilst the ministers were consulting with bed
chamber and Jesuits the means of tripping ND
each other. Every foreign power could plumber and
insult with impunity the heirs of Charles the Fifth
Into such a state had the mighty kingdom of Spain
fallen while of its smallest dependencies coun-
try not so large the province of Estramadura or
Andelusia, situated under inclement sky and pre-
served only by artificial means from the inroads of the
ocean-had become power of the first class, and
treated terms of equality with the courts of Lon
don and Versailles.