Letters received yesterda...
The Times, 1824-06-10T00:00:00

Letters receivedl yesterday from Paris give a deplorable description of the state of Spain. It is said that a large party of fanatics in that unhappykingdom are disposed to renounce their ideas of legitimacy, that they may gratify their thirst for vengeance, and are eager to proclaim Don CARLOS as King, that they may get rid of his tyrannical btut treacherous brother FERDINAND. lVhether this be true or not, the following representation from the Council of Castile (of the authenticity of which there is little doubt) shows the (tiscontent which pervades the ruling party, and the cruel extremities at which it aims. A de- cree has been published under the name of an amnesty, which is in fact a list of proscription; and scarcely has it issued from the royal press, when the King's Chief Deli- berative Council meets to complain of his too great indul- gence, and to call for fresh victimsi - The following is the letter ef our Paris Correspondent:- " PARIS, JuxaE 7. The following is all the intelligence from Spain which I have been able to colect. You will find in it the complete address of tbe Supreme Councilof Castilc, an well as infoTmation respecting the Apostolic Junta :_ " The Apostolic Junta continues its mianceuvres with thegreatest ardour in several parts of the kingdom. Its agents have proclaimed Charles V. (that is, Don Carlos, the brother of the King), in Ga- licia, Arragon, and Catalonia. Thefollowing-are the memberswho compose the Apostolic Junta at ;Uadrid-namely, General Mlata Florida, the son of the member of the Urgel Regency; the Captain- General Corbajal, the Kiing's I,ieutenant in the garrison of 31adrid; General Besieres,GrimareAt Capasse,Royo,alias Lotcho; Aymerick, inspector of Infantry, Chanvo, Alerino, the Trappist, Miosson, Co- lonel Cantero, and all the great officers of the Household of the In- fant Don Carlos; the Archbishop of Zamora, the Archbishop of Toledo, and Father Martinez, friar of the convent of La illerced, where the Junta regularly meets. Senor Etenard, one of the richest men in Spain, is Secretary; and Victor Saez, the late illinister and Confessor of the King, is President. They count upon the assist- anee of Senors Palomera, Antrugnaro, Davila, Campo, Romaro, and Father Sivilo." The following is the entire address of the Coandl of Castile, of which a part has already been published in some of the Paris journals:_ " Sire,-The Council which has hitherto directed youratten- tion only to the particular facts which have occurred at Oviedo, but which could not remain ignorant of those which have happened in other places, nor neglect to fix its regard on the distrust which has generally seized upon Spaniards who are devoted to your MIajesty, and decided to defend you and your decrees, woald fail in one of its nmostsacred'duties, if, passing by the present occasion from cordi- doritidnkof a ib-ss policy, It coneeiad froni your Ma3jesty sts bushed proofs aid Well-founded fears, that a torrent of calamities must tinundate Spain, ullass voar 3lje "-dictates prompt and effii- cacious measures to 're establishltconfidence. * : - e are not nowi Sire, as in 18i4-.a -perioda, when ignoniD oftheextensr.on and the object oftie different S'cts united under the generat specious tide. of Liberals, the indivirludai fideity of -tliose wHo areproudrof being.your Majestyj.subjects v as engaged'or compromised to: the kist degree against-those`sects we know by reason and -experience what a.te the' ideas 'ida jIsns of' that tace Which our ageChas produced,v which ncither.retrogrades nor stopE; and whose members, labouringin their dark lodges, are painted in a thousand shapes, presenting tben-selves, as feeble sheep, while they are within devouring wolves. The people already know them, because it has heardetheir doctrines, and had to suffer three years of calamities under these cannibals. " And how is it possible, Sire, that while so great a number of thcse rmen figure now as they figured formerlv, when they are scen obtaining the most important places, and displacing in the management of your Mfajesty's service the mostpureand devoted subjects, whose fidelity they check-how is it possible, we ask, that the nation can have confidemice, and rot fear a third revolution ? SWould this triumph be more striking than that which they now ob- tain, in enjoying, not only impunity for their crimes, but remaining in possession of public employments and the confidence of your Mla, jesty? "It is true tbat some of them, less fortunate, are in duingeons, and are sufiering the consequences of judgmepts called for by public opinion: but what fear can these judgments inspire, wwhile so little importance has been attached to the regiuters and documents found in their lodges and secret associations-wbile, in spite of the almost infinite number of this sect in Spain, we are still without any cther law for their punishment than the penalties enacted in the decree of Ferdinand VI., on the 2d of July, 1751 ? But- further, these men who committed so many wrongs against your 1laiesty and the usa tion, not satisfied with the manner in which they are treated and !o14,ated,have dared more than once to take some oaths with an arro- garco which is peculiar to them, and have insulted those who, full of zeal foT yoqr lajesty, make a pride of having ideas different from theirs. " They cease not to give indications of their hopes of a new triumnph, and already they begin to celebrate that triumph over the rains of the volunteer corps, which they think reduced to nothing in consequence of the regulation to which they have been subjected. And truly they have some grounds for forming such ideas, for the union of high qualities which are required for admission into this corps, as weU as for those wlho already conmpoe it-the fortune and property which they must enjoy-the great umnber of duties which are imposed upon them, and above aU the limit placed to their num- ber-all these measures appear to be designed for the destruction of this corps, or at any rate for its reduction to a force totally insuf. ficient. " Things being in this state, on what force can your Majesty re- ly for making head against the Constitutionalists, and repressing, if need be, malcontents and sworn enemies? Is this force, the remains of the Constitutional army, dispersed over the whole of the Penin- suha, and still preserving its arms to the last extremity ? Is it coim- posed of those columns who now enter Spain, and who preferred being made prisoners of war to the swearing of fidelity to your Ma- jesty? WViU it be comnposed of the militia and the other instruments of ruin to your l\lajesty,-to our couatry, to your subjects, and all their dearest rights ? Al, Sire, forget not the past, and do not believe, as has been attempted to persuade your Alajesty, that cer- tain men will no longer be what they were in 1820. They wvere, in 1820, what they were in 1814, and what they will always be. AlU these reasons which experience has brought within the reach of men the least clear-sighted, will decide good Spaniards who love the altar and the throne, to unite in defence of their rights by taking the title of Royalist Volunteers; for this is the only force in which your MUajesty can now rely, both from their senti- ients of honour, and the manner in which they have been compro- niised. It is expedient, then, instead of taking an opposite course, to labour for the organization and increase of this corps, as far as this is compatible wvith the object and the conduct of individuals, without omitEing any of the means proper for this purpose, and in making use of all the reports furRished to the Government whose interests should not suffer any injury. "W hat wonder is there that the people should become distrustful wbhen the calculation of evils being within the reach of every body, no one can penetrate the mysterious secret of advantages ? This ge- neral opinion being taken in a contrary sense, is of such an irresist- ible force, as was seen in the last struggle for independence, that it would be rash to act aga'nst it. " Althoumrh it woald be of great interest for your Najesty, to leave you to proced in your natural sense, there will not be wanting those who will think in a different manner ,but, Sire, should this sentiment triumph over that of so many zealous prelates, of so many corpora- tions, of so many individuals who openly afrirm the contmrary, but above all, over the profound conviction of reason ? Your Majesty is surrounded with enemies full of sagacity, constant, united, and working on well-concerted plans. Your M.Jajesty has no other force to oppose to them but the majority of the naticn concentrated in the corps of Royalist Volunteers. Is it, then, proper to destrov them, and to remain at the mercy of the enemy ? The Council would never finish its represesentation if it fully developed what it has to say; but its wish is not to afflict the heart of your Majesty by expressions little flattering toyoursituation, while it believes that what it h.as pointed out is sufficient to warrant a hope that the w, isdom of your Mwlajesty will apply the remXedy which the nation de- sires to the evils which it suffers, and to those still greater evils wvhich are concealed in its bosom. " The Council has spoken to your MIajestv with the greatest frankness, because such is its duty; but still more, because its fate being identified with that of your Majesty and your rights, malevo. lence cannot suspect its intentions. " May Heaven enlighten your Majesty, by inspiring you with such wisdom in your deterviinations, that you may render the me- mory of your reign eternal in the prosperity of i our people and the gratitude of your subjects. Such are tle wimsb6s which the Council submits to the sovereign resolution of your Majesty."