The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-10-12
WASHINGTON. ID. C..
For the National Era.
OUR MONTHLY LONDON CORRESPONDENCE
THE REVOLUTION IN SPAIN.
No. U.


and simply 70 say, that their task was sur
rounded By difficulties, is to use the feebleness
OF lang7age 10 paint on unparalleled position.
The Regency had to act without the lights Of
experience. The file afforded them no prece-
dent; DO chart laid down the rocks and shall
lows IN that ocean Of politics which ii now be-
came their duty TO navigate. The whole
scheme was new, without one solitary beacon
10 guide to the future. The Regency was re-
sponsible to the Corses, but the Cortes had not
defined its powers. On the very threshold
i was asked, how mark the boundaries
Of the legislative, executive, and judicial au-
thorites4 The consequence was, that the first
.Regency did not last many days after the
meeting Of the Cortes. The Bishop of Orcnse
and the Marquis del Palaocio refused to sub
scribe to the doctrine of the sovereignty Of the
people, which the Cortes lad affirmed. Beth
were taken into custody, and declared to have
forfeited national confidence; but, afterwards
their cases were referred to the judges. A.
this stage, eli was experimental and full of the
CRY, each member Of the Cortes fsncying him.
self an Able Sieyes. The people were coa,-
manded to obey the Csdz DEGREES, while the
country was In possession Of the French, SO
that the command was q nullity. But let them
be not too harshly judged whatever errors
they committed sh0u;d be attributed to their
embarrassing situation.
Res dura, ct regni noyitas me Italia coguot
Lstus sketch some of .heir plans Offering
such comments as a fair and impartial ortiz
cism may seem to warrant Ii was ct first
proposed TO form c mixed Congress Of Spanish
and Spanish American deputies. The Spanish
Americans were invited TO send over their rep
resentaives; and TO this they agreed, with the
exception Of Yeuezuela and Buenos Ayres, who
determined on governing themselves by their
own particular iuntas till the restoration Of
Ferdinand. This new Constitution was not
completed before the 9Th March, 1912, when
l. was published with the ususl formalties,
and It's observance ordained as the fundament
al law of the monarchy. IL was subscribed by
one hundred and eighty-four members, parties
20 Its construction, Of whom one hundred and
thi1ty-three were Spsniards and fifty one South
Americans.
Ia this new Constitution, the only uualifca-
tons fer electors and elected were the age of
twenty-five, the possession of q fair character,
and the position of householder. Neither the
clergy or the nobility, as such, were represent
&c, for there was only one estate one chs mber.
ca house. These were essential deViations from
tho ancient Co=tes. In this representative
system, neither population nor wealth was Ia
ken rs a basis. For instance: Valencia with
1910, 7iO souls, was allowed nineteen deputies,
While Granada including Malaga, and COZ
tanning l,100,640 souls, had only two. The
sncient kingdom Of Navarro, with 27l,2 85
souls. Biscay with 10000, Guipuscoa with
1875 $50, end Alava with S5.139, were rated at
enc eaca; whereas the mountainous Of Ronda
he'd two. Spain, with -four teen millions OF souls
was 90 be entitled 10 one hundred and ffty-four
deputies; while The South American and Asia.io
Provinces, declared integral and equal parts of
-.
more than seventeen millions were represented
by only fifty four deputies. This inequality can
not be JUSTIFIED en- any sound principle Of legis-
lAtion
1.-The Legislature" said the preamble TO the
new Constitution, is composed Ct the general
and extraordinary Cortes Of the Spanish na-
tion, represented by deputies from Spain
America, and Asia the national sovereignty
resides in the Cortes, and the power Of making
laws ALEC resides with them, conformity with
tie King; the population Is 20 be taken as tee
basis o! the NV electoral law, without any de-
hned qualification for eligibility; the Cortes
are to meet every year, and, On closing, 70
leave permanent depatatiOG sitting 20 watch
oger he observance Of the Constitution, report
infractions, ard convene tho Legislature in
extraordinary cases; the King i8 to DO the
head Of the executive ard 10 sanction the
laws"
Is Is obvious, at glance, that The new s7s-
TEN utterly extirpated al ancient usages
Those usages may have been bad and obsolete,
bat every statesmGn, when be begins to reform
the institutions IF sn old monarchy should
bear in nia6, thas tradition has O far more
powerful influence ever the masses Of a popu-
iation than logic. Evidence of this truth viii
be seen as we proceed. The separate political
existence of tae nobility and clergy vac ignor-
ed, AID tAs clergy were omaipOtent with the
peasants, as WIS pr0ycd n the w.r of iode-
pendenoe. Is was indeed courageous to attack
these two orders, but wss it wise The cues
ton mast be answered in the negative, ae TO.
fS-n's TO be durable msSt be gradual for thea
pctjudicc 10 not rudely shocked, but prudently
cOnci.isted.
A mixed Legislature Of Spaniards and Amer
leans was generous attempt at fraternizasion,
bat the materials were CT too homogeneous \
character TO admit OF fusion. This attempt
also sinned against some Of the fret principies
ct human nature. IL is to be presumed that
where large populations are separated by the
ocean, ana inaabit different zones. they should
have Government of their own for If this
presumption 10 denied the argument would
justify universal monarchy, the most frightful
of al m0nopolies. THIS division of our .ubiec,
involves the who,o question of colonial poiioy
towards which We may for a moment diveree
The Egyptians, Gnd after them the Greeks
founded colony, that it might be complete
N ltseL; the Doderns, on the contrary, found,
ca coio1.ess % secure trsnsnsrine empire
hhe 9nc.ents had constantly in view tie vel.
iGre CT the coi0uists the m0derns merely con.
suited the advantage of the mother country
lie the old fables, the horss was considered n
present from Neptune; clearly indicating tina.
1t was brought by sea To the aborigines Of some
island CT part of a continent. and Neptune
was reverenced for gift imported by strsn
gers. the Introduction of the thres great cul
tares the wheat by Ceres the olive by Miner
Va, the vine By Bacchus, points out, under &
NEUROLOGICAL veil, the progress for which the
were indebted to strangers. Greece sprea(
her civilization slong all the coasts of tn,
Mediterranean; and the south of Italy tool
the name Of GiociG Najor, because she sur
passed thu parent country IN opulerce ant
power. For instance: Syracuse eclpsed Cor
jnth, which had founded il, as Marseilles die
Phooaea; but the mother countries, so far from
being jealous of the superiority of their Of
spring, exulted in tho vigor Of their manhood
The colonization of the modeEns has proceeded
On very oppressive principles, aiming at con
quest they have desired their colonies to b
dependent-to subsiss by commerce indeed
but to render thst commerce subser,ient {,
the interests Of the mother country; while in
ternal rule has been conided almost exclu
siyely to functionaries nominated by the hom
Government whose chief object was to realiz
fortune IN the shortest possible time. Wha
has followed? Every old colony has thrown
of the yoke. Mexico and Peru renouncet
allegiance to Spain; Portugal lost Brazil; St
Domingo revoked against France and Amer
lea conquered its independence from England
From these facts we may learn this lesson
so.,tlw