The Sun. — 1823-11-14 (London, England)

LETTER FROM CADIZ OF 0CT.6.) " The French have from 6 to 8060 men in garrison here and at San Fernando. The manner in which they were received on taking possession of the city does honour to the inhabitants. Not a viva of any description was heard, the houses and shops were shut, and scarce a native was seen in the streets. Attracted by curiosity, myself and a few other Englishmen were in the square of San Antonio, formerly of the Constitucion ; the Lapida was still standing, but no notice was taken of it by the invaders, or of them by the few spectators; the ties of society appeared to be broken—it was the silence of death—and the secluded inhabitants mourned in their houses their irreparable loss. Until the last moment a blind and unaccountable infatuation appeared to have absorbed their faculties—conscious of having committed no crime, they seemed to have forgot the lessons of former years, and expected peace, amnesty, and union from the hands of Ferdinand. In vain many'of us attempted to perauade them of their danger ; they pointed to the King's Manifesto of the 30th ult., and talked with confidence of their country's future happiness, and the preservation of their own commissions, employments, and emoluments. This false security has already been fatal to many who neglected the opportunity of flight or refuge offered them by all the foreigners who had vessels in the Bay ; and now, thrown into the castles of San Sebastian's and Santa Catalina, these generous deluded men lament too late the not having attended to the advice of their friends, in preference to the proclamations of a cruel, false  Monarch. " As time advances, the features of this revolution become more distinct, and the secret springs which propelled the Constitutionalists to self-destruction are gradually discovered.— Never, I can safely affirm, have the French intrigue and gold been so successfully and extensively employed ; even previous to the entrance of the French into Spain, the plot was brought to maturity, and the ready conquest secured. Abisbal, who has been considered as the first instrument of treason, was but a mere tool ; the centre of all these machinations was the court ; in a corps otherwise respectable (the Estado Major), many officers were introduced expressly for the purpose of conducting with facility the secret correspondence. Zarco dal Valle, its chief, was the centre of action ; every thing came to and from him, and with a cunning and perspicuity seldom equalled, he directed at once the operations of his secret emissaries, the French and Constitutionalists. The key once known, the tragic mystery is soon unravelled, and the actions of the minor agents may with facility be traced to their source. An Englishman, too, was more than commonly active and useful in forwarding their nefarious schemes. This man, whose name is well known in London for extensive defalcations on 'Change, and in Paris for numerous deeds of imposition, obliged to fly his own country, became naturalized, and a spy of France ; and at Seville and at Cadiz scattered his employers' money with unbounded  profusion. " From the conversations I have held with the French officers, I em confirmed that, had resistance been made by the kipaniards, the nourborte would'nOt now reign glitter here or in France. " From the came source I have derived an account of the capture of the Castle of Santi Petri, which hitherto had been a mystery to us e. Bribery had the principal part in producing this disaster; the troops had been previously bought, and consented to murde'r their officers on the first occasion. The appioach of the squadron, and distant attack, was but a part of this bloody, dastardly, conspiracy. Monte and Ortega' were known to be brave, firm, and good officers, and had resisted the numerous offers made by the enemy to shake their allegiance. In the heat of action, whilst each in his department was engaged in resisting exterior enemies, whose defeat was easy, and appeared to be certain, their own soldiers, as had been previously agreed upon, mutinied, rushed upon, and murdered every one of their brave Officers in cold blood, then hoisted a shirt as a signal of truce and success, and were met by the French with open arms, and feasted and applauded for the deed which had been done at their instigation." s The French ships did not approach within 1,100 yards of the castle.