The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1846-12-10
France and Snain.

small share Of interest among the powers 0
Europe, on account Of the effect it may some
time or other be likely to have upon the pc
litical balance which has been so long the OBJ
ject of all parties sedulously to preserve. AL
though more than two centuries have elapsed
since similar event took place, the recollec
ton OF the important consequences to tht
peace of Europe which then flowed from it
has not entirely passed away. A long anC
bloody war, which a hundred years later laiC
the foundation of the decline Of the Bourbon
dynasty, and desolated the fairest portion o.
the continent Of Europe, is historical fact
we'll calculated to awaken the public attention
to the dangers attending disputed success
sion, among crowned heads. As the particu-
lars to which we allude are not generally
understood we have thought it would not be
entirely without interest to our readers to
make out a brief summary of them.
Philip the Third of Spain had three chill
dren, son and heir to his throne, and two
daughters, the eldest of whom, Anna Maria,
was married in 1915 to Louis the 18th, King
OF France; the youngest, Mary Anne, was
united in 1851 to Ferdinand the Sd of Austria.
From these two marriges were descended on
the one hand Louis the 14th the most power
ful Of all the French Kings, and on the other,
Leopold Of Austria, the successor of his faith
er Ferdinand upon the imperial throne. So
long as the regular male line Of succession to
the Spanish monarchy was likely to be kept
up, and there seemed to be every prospect Of
1t at this period, the rights Of these parties,
guarded as they had been by express renun-
Citations of the inheritance, were held of little
account. Philip the Fourth Of Spain had two
sons and several daughters. One Of the lat
ter, Maria Theresa, the eldest married in
7 41,o
second, Margaret Theresa, six years LATER
was married to her other cousin, Leopold,
thus continuing the line of collateral inherit
lance almost even in the two monarchies, with
the single exception that in the French mar
riages,as well in that of Louis the 1 18th as that
OF his father, had been attended with formal
remuneration of the female right to succeed to
the throne of Spain, whilst on the part of the
Austrian branch, that right appears to have
been left open.
Philip the Fourth died, leaving but one
surviving son to take his kingdom, That son
was Charles the Second, wretchedly infrm
human being, of whom little was expected in
Europe but to hear of his speedy demise -
The principal occupation of his lingering de-
cline appears to have been the watching the
movements of the rival sovereigns Of Europe, |
who were busying themselves long before his |
death in negotiating division Of his kingdom
among themselves The extreme repugnance |
to the idea of ACKNOWLEDGMENT, and resent |.
ment against the first arrangement to which |
Louis the 14th made himself party, dictated J
his first WILL by which he left all his vast !
possessions to grand son of Leopold, only
five years old--the prince of Bavaria. But
this child dying, the paramount question once
more was agitated in Europe, what was to be-
come of the Snanish dOminiOnS
There is something melancholy in this view
of human nature, as presented by the histori-
ans OF that period. Here was the poor igno-
rant, halt-dead Spanish monarch, doomed to
see passing around him gigantic system of
intrigue for his kingdom, which he was in no
situation to contend with or resist. On the
one side he was met by the arrogance of the
House of Austria, insisting upon its rights to
the succession, which had never been re-
nounced on the other, he knew of the prep
aration of a great contract to divide his do
minions, which he could not doubt would be
carried into effect after his death, if he could
not succeed in breaking the powerful combi-
nation between Great Britain and France,by
which it had been devised. This last motive
seemed to have determined him to his final
act. He made will annulling the renuncia-
lions respectively made by the two Successive
,
and 18th, and bequeathed his possessions to
the grandson of the latter, the Duke of An.
iou, second son of the Dauphin or heir appa-
rent to the French throne. Neither was his
measure unsuccessful in its object 1t at once
broke the treaty of partition to which Louis
14th had before that time engaged himself,
and raised up in his person the most power
full guarantee then in Europe, for the integri-
ty Of the Spanish dominions.
1t was not however, in the disposition Of
Austria or Of the other great powers, to suffer
this proceeding to 90 on without a contest
A formidable alliance was Immediately enter t
ed into having for its declared purpose the {
restoration of the balance of Europe, unequal
ly depressed by the union of the two crowns S
of France and Spain in one family The con-
sequence was, the celebrated warof the Span {
ish succession; a war which the Duke of {
Marlborough and Prince Eugene made men, {
orable by the great battles Of Malplaquet, !
Blenheim and Families, and which raised the
power of Great Britain over the affairs of
Europe to the height at which it has, with lit
tie intermission, ever since continued. Yet, '
after all, the Treaty of Utrecht was the ter t
mination of the bloody contest, and this con- I
firmed the grandson of the French Sovereign,
under the name of Philip the 9Th, as king of ;
Spain, taking from him however perpetual
pronunciation and disclaimer, for himself and )
his posterity, Of all right whatsoever to inner {
it the French throne. At the same time the
Duke of Orleans, the brother of Louis 18th, t
and ancestor of the present king Of France, !
made formal remuneration of all pretensions
to the Spanish succession. This result took
place exactly ninety eight years after the hap t
pening of the first event which gave rise to it. t
Bangor Wing. t
A DEAD BODY FOUND On Thursday !
morning last, the corpse of decently clad ! !
man was found upon the tow-path of the ca !
nal in this place, about sixty rods below the !
hason. We understand it was recornZed as !