At last we can present ou...
The Times, 1824-02-21T00:00:00

At last we ean present our readers witil that decree of .bs,' -A\ D VII., of which so soft a note of preparation s bleen sounded in the Journal des Debufs. The decree, truth, proves to be any thing rather than that vhich its Pr`vious character would have induced simple confiding People to eXpect. It is XOT a decree to open a free com- rlerce with the Spaniards of the trans-At!antic continent. On thecontrary, it is a decree to tell the wvorld that old Spain will prohibit that commerce, so soon as she shall pos- Sess the mneans of prohibiting it effectually; and that she ,only alloNvs it now, because its prevention is beyond her power. *VeT rtjoice very much at this premature disclo- sure. It tells the commercial worldi what it has to expect: it leaves the wvilling or intentional dupes no ground to stand upon, an(i ofter a defence to thieir opponents. It makes it elear to all the world, that Southl America must now be free-must be mistress of her owvn municipal policy and( fo-I reign relations, or that shie nmust be the mere fief of the wise FERD.1S.NP-aSmuch hjsproperty as the petticoat which he is sai(d to have rrTade anll emlbroidlered svith his own han(s. anl( put ;ound tle statue of the Virgin NMARY. The tirst arti 'te of tlhe decree allows the South Ameri- cars aildl 1,exicans to traffic witlh foreigners, but with fo- 'i i onily wlho are in friendship aml alliance with Old whereas they can now traffic with all the world arideven ,under this concession, foreign vessels are only per- Mitted to enter South American ports on the same terms as they enter those of V(ld Spain-that is, on the paymeist of a snucch heavier (ldtv than either now exists, or is likely to be impos,0ed h,v the native Governments of the States thenm- selves. Article 2, one should think, was, in homely language, " a closer,"-that it left nothing more to be saird by articles which might follow. It arrogates to Old Spain the right of regulating the commerce of' the States of the N'ew Wocrld, of prescribing the ports both in the Atlantic and Pacific wvhichl foreigners shall be allowed to enter, of levying customs, port-duties, imposts on import- ation arid f-portation ! RVhilst reading this, one natu- rallv asks, what next ? ElWhy, Article 3 comes like a threat to assa4sinate. at the close of a letter conveyinlg a challenge toa mortal combat ; for, in ad(litioni to all the re- strictions, tariff' , taxes, and vexatious regulations imposed on the commeree of the South American States hy the pre- ceding articles, Franri\'AN-l tells then that be shall con- sider hereafter what privileges andl franchises shall be granted to the Ptninsu!a, at their expense! Article 4 allows, that whieh FEBDI NAND cannot prevent, -namaely, that tiil the tinme for theannihilating change an- nounced in this decree shall arrive, commerce may go on as it does at piesent, being assimilated as much as possible to that -with Old Spain and the isle of Ctuba. This is essentially the decree niow before the British pub- lic, and of which so much boasting had been previously made, as liberal, conciliatory, an(d healing. WVe can hardly conceive hv what confusion of ideas it can have been so descri'red. It is at once hostile to New Spain and to all the world. W1'e should suspect that the French. too confident in the wicked services which they have rendered to a wortlhless man, have relied, ,i priori, I------ -- - vv-- -- ?.f- 4 ,sIcc, OUUI I U.,q -t. to the spirit of the times and( his present situation witlh regard to the severed provinces. In that light, therefore, the forahcoming production has been hastily represented, whilst he, faithfuli to h's natuire, has, by the publislhe(d de- eree. at once deceived his friends, and( shown his dleep- rootcd maligniy to his emancipated subjects. However, there is no man who can rea(l this decree that wvill not per- ceive in it a 0enunciation of war interminable, so long as the author existt, ag2inst the South American States, or an assumnption of unmodifietd tyranny ovcr eveni their natural rights, as wvell as the frcedom of their commerce with other States In that light, w e llail the deeree as advantageous :o the countries whOm it is meanit to destroy. It leaves themn withlouit any hope but in their own courage; and it eal-cs awav all pretence fiom their lttke-wartn friends. By ouir private letters whic,h accompanied the trans- mission of the paper containing the decree respecting the late Spanish Colonies, we leatn that the French linis- t.tr TAT ARt, roused, perhaps, from his inaction by the un- expected decoration of the hille 7ri1iard, and the sight of an intruder onl his domain (il the person of MAR- t FIT11'5), was labourin,g hard to obtain from the Court of Madrid the publicationi of an amnesty. As the French atvernment is nowv taking cicdit to itself for inducing the KixcG to grant that freedom of commerce with America which it was not in his power to withhold; so it is no 0doubt sine(re in its W forts to obtain a little popularity by ex- tcring tro' him. an act of amnesty wvhich will cost him just nothing, anda whi,h, for all purposes of protection to his obnoxioas su'jicts, will be nearly as nugatory. It will, how- ,eier. be a good thing for the security of the French1 troops now in the Peninsn'a, and for the reputation of the French Ministers now on the eve of a general election. 1M. de T.kttARr has,therefcre,recc'ved positive instructions to press the measure w-th all his diplomatic zea1; anil frolu the ea- rs29s wvvhi wlhich he is proceedin-, has inspired the Spa- nich fanatics wvith an idea that they are required to abdi- cate s-me of their privileges of intolerance and vengeance. Hence he has reetised the consent of the more liberal por- tion of the Spanish Cabinet (if the word " liberal" may be so abused) to the publication of a qualificd amnesty, Vt-finds his views opposed by the eamnayil/(, the priests, a'the misg-rided rabble. l. HHERR.DtA, the Prime M.inis- ter, is said to have given his wor(l of honour, that if this conciliatory measure does not speedlily obtain the lI(tG'S consent, he will not remaini in the Cabinet, and the KiN(;'s friends are endeavourinig to counteract him by assembling fanaiical mo'os areundi the Royal Palace, and raising the fe-- rocrious shout of " No amnesty !-Death to thte partisans of Amnesrt !' If this coalition of the KING and the mob do not prevent the publicatioll of the measure, we may easily foresc that it will prevent its execution, and that FER- nlN.ND'S oblivion of wrongs wi'll be as little to be relied on hiis recollectloni of services.