New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-09-25

published in 1895, and drawn up BY order OF tue
royal Council Of CASTLE There was, finally the
youtb Of the mi Idle classes, such as the stu
dent, of the University, who had eagerly adopted
the aspirations and principles of the French rev.
olution. and who, for moment, even expected
TO see their country regenersted By the assistance
of France.
ca lony a. the common defense of the couatry
alone was concerned, the two great elements
composipc the national party remained in perfect
union. Their antsgonism did not appear till they
met together in the Cortes, on the battle-ground
of new Constitution there TO be drawn up. The
revolutionary minority, in order to foment the
patriotic spirit of the people, had not hesitated
themselves to appeal to the national prejudices Of
the old popular faith. Favorable TO the immediate
objects of national resistance, as these tactics
might have appeared they could not fail to Prove
fatal to this minority when the time had arrived
for the conservative interests of the old society to
ntrench themselves behind these very prejudices
and popular passions with view Of defending
Themselves against the proper and Interior plans
of the re7olutionists.
When Ferdinand left Madrid upon the sum-
mons of BOnsparte, he had established supreme
Junta of government under the presidency OF the
Infaute Don Antonio But in May this Junta had
already disappeared. There existed then no
central Government and the insurgent towns
! formed Juntas of their own, presided over by
those of the provincial captas. These progin-
cia! Juntas constituted, As it were, so many indie
peudent Governments, each of which set on foot
! An army of its own. The Junta Of Representa-
| tiyes at OviedO declared that the entire so7er-
! eighty had devolved into their hands, proclaimed
war against Bonapsrte, and sent deputies to En-
! gland TO conclude an armistice. The same was
! done afterward by the JUnta of Seville. IL is
curious factsthat by the mere force of circum-
stances these exalted Catholics were driven to an
alliance with England, power which the Span
iards were accustC cd to look upon as the incar-
nation Of the most damnable heresy and little
better than the Grand Turk himself. Attacked
by French Atheism, they were thrown into the
arms of British Professionalism. No wonder that
Ferdinand VII, on his return to Spain. declared,
in a decree reestablishing the Holy Inquisition,
that one of the causes "that had altered the pu-
4" rity Of religion in Spain was the sojourn Of for
eign troops of different sects, sl Of them equally
infected with hatred against the holy Roman
Church"
The provincial Juntas which had so suddenly
sprung into life, altogether independent of each
other conceded certain, but very slight aud I'M
defined degree Of ascendancy to the supreme
Junta Of Seville, that city being regarded as the
capital of Spain while Madrid was in the hands of
the foreigner. Thus a very anarchical kind of
federal Government was established which the
shock of opposite interests, local jeaiOuses and
rival influences, made a rather bad instrument for
bringing unity into the military command, aud to
combine the operations Of a campaign.
The addresses to the people issued by these
several Jun.Gs, while displaying all the heroic
vigor of people suddenly awakened from long
lethargy and reused by an electric shock into a
feverish state of activity, not free from that
pompous exaegeration, that style of mingled buff
foonery and bombast, and that redundant grandil-
oquence which caused Sisimondi to put upon
Spanish literature the epthet of Oriental. They
exhibit no less the childish vanity of the Spanish
character, the members of the Jdntas for instance
assuming the title of Highness and loading them
selves win ghudy UNIFORMS.
There are two circumstances connected with
these Juntas-the one showing the low stand ard
of the people at the time of their rising, while
the other was detrimental 10 the progress of the
revolution. The Juntas were named by gene
raj suffrage; but "the very zeal of the lower
classes, displayed itself in obedience" They
generally elected only their natural superiors,
the provincial nobility and gentry backed by
clergymen and very few notabilities of the mid
die class. no conscious were the people of their
own weakness that they limited their initiative
to forcing the higher classes into resistance
against the invader, without pretending to share
in the direction of that resistance. AT Seville,
for instance, "the first thought of the people
" was that the parochial clergy and the heads of
the Converts should assemble to choose the
members of the Junta." Thus the Juntas were
filled with persons chosen on account of their pre-
yious station, and very far from being revolutionary
leaders. On the other hand, the people when ap.
pointing these authorities did not think either Of
limiting their power or of fixing term TO their
duration. The Juntas of course, thought only of
extending the one and of perpetuatiDg the other.
Thus these first creations of the popular impulse
at the commencement Of the revolution remained
during its " hole course, as so many dykes against
the revolutionary current when threatening to
overflow.
On July 20, lsOs, when Joseph BOnsparte en-.
tered Madrid 1900 French, under Generals
Dupont and Vidal, were forced by Castahos to
lay down their arms at Baylen, and Joseph a few
DAYS after ward had 10 retire from Madrid IN Bur.