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is an undisturbed and inherent right in every people, to choose for themselves; the Juntas of Spain, that is, all the governments which preceded the Cortes, either individually, or collectively, possessed no legal right of absolute control over the ultramarine provinces, unless by their own will and consent.

To judge, correctly, of the acts of a government, it is necessary to calculate the good which has been produced, and the evils which have been avoided. The Central Junta, left behind it, an exhausted treasury, dispersed armies, disunion and distrust, and most of the provinces, likewise, in the hands of the French. The Regency, on the basis of injustice and terror, declared an intemperate war against one half of the monarchy, which, besides, cutting off the chief resources which would have rendered the patriotic cause of the Peninsula, prosperous, has changed the ultramarine provinces, into a wide, and extended waste, of ruin and desolation. Had the integrity of these two ephemeral governments, been incorruptible; had their views, principles, and actions, been free from selfish and undue passions; had they not nourished, and been biassed by the conflicts of party; had their ends been always upright, and their means pure; had wiles been unknown to them, and their professions always sincere; in short, had they attended, with equal solicitude, to the interests of all parts of the monarchy, and therein administered justice, impartially, and without local prejudices or party feelings, then, might any trivial oversight in their public conduct, have been overlooked, or attributed to the difficulty of the times, in which they had charge of government. Had the ambition which guided their actions, been regulated

by principles, and controled by circumstances; had its object, been the real welfare of the whole country over which they presided, rather than personal aggrandizement and the gratifications of intrigue; they might, in European Spain, at least, have still deserved the name of Patriots; and their actions, and not their intentions, would have been arraigned by the rest of the world. Had their descisions, been guided by sound and impartial counsel; or had the great objects of their public administration, been steadily pursued; had the high stations, in which the members of each government, were placed, been unsought; nay, had patriotism been their guide, and had, even their conduct, been unassuming and divested of arrogance, the illegality of their powers, would, perhaps, never have been made a subject of censure or reproach; they never would have been scoffed at, for their authority being neither founded in law, or accompanied by the public voice; but, they would, rather, have acquired glory and renown, out of the difficulties with which they had to contend, and the great perplexities with which they had to struggle. None of these public virtues and essential qualifications, were, however, found in the Central Junta, or Cadiz Regency; and during the long period of their command, England, in her alliance, was, perhaps, involved, in the greatest of all possible contradictions; viz. that of fighting in one of the noblest causes, that ever animated the bosom of a people; and, in the furtherance of her views, of having to support two of the worst, weakest, most illegal, and degraded governments, that ever usurped power, or insulted the rights and liberties of a nation. Thus is it, that almost every member of these two governments,

has sunk into solitude, or is forgotten; and even the virtuous Jovellanos, from being connected with the Central Junta, appeared to have tarnished his political reputation, and to have obliterated the remembrance of that honourable cause, for which he suffered, under the corrupt Godoy.

England, in her treaty with Spain, was thus destined to contend with the strongest prejudices, which a combination of circumstances, the irritation of passions, and illiberality could produce; and as time has been added to our connection, these difficulties have increased. Yet, this has principally, been owing to a want of early remedies, and to a mean subservience, had to the illegal governments of the Peninsula, rather than to the nation at large. When Lord Wellesley, was received in his official capacity of ambassador, by the Central Junta, he reserved to himself, the right of remonstrating on any point, that might interest the respective sovereigns and nations.* This stipulation, was admitted with apparent satisfaction; and of course, it could not have been considered an imprudent interference, in his successor, using the same privilege. He early discovered and complained of the "poverty and exhausted state of Spain," to which he attributed all the hardships and privations of our armies, and the whole, he says, was aggravated by the debility of government.† At this time, however, the Central Junta still continued in command; and the French had, hitherto, been kept in some degree of check. But, when the hopes of Spain, became confined to the tenure of Cadiz; when the best provinces were in

* Vide Papers published by order of Parliament, March 19, 1810. Letter to Mr. Canning, Seville, August 15, 1809.

possession of the French, and when, at the same time, nothing but a committee of that execrated government had been placed at the head of affairs, were not these evils increased, and did not the necessity of giving strength and resources to European Spain, become more urgently manifest? And could this be done, by an impolitic declaration of war, against that part of the monarchy, which, besides, being out of the reach of the enemy, had always been an essential source of revenue, to the Kings of Spain?

Lord Wellesley, in the same letter, complains "of the erroneous policy of a weak government, operating against the general cause of the Peninsula;" and he himself, often remonstrated on this subject. He asserts, that "the promises of the Central Junta, in the most essential points;" even those which involved the means of enabling the British army, under Sir A. Wellesley, to remain within the Spanish territory, on, which the safety of Spain, then, actually depended, "were only verbal, were merely matters of form, and never carried into execution." All was " procrastination-delay," and at last, he adds, these "proofs of inactivity, served only to increase the suspicions of ignorance, debility, and a want of sincerity, already attached to government." Such was the nature of the government, which, at that time, presided over the destinies of Spain and the Indies; and such was its neglect, under the most imperious circumstances, when pressed by an active and powerful enemy, and when the most vital interests of the nation, were at stake. The members, thereof, were, nevertheless, strongly urged by a British general, and an active ambassador from the court of St. James; and though a

continuation of their supineness, was about to deprive them of the co-operation of British forces, and thus leave them single-handed with the French, disasters, only, served to rouse them from their apathy and torpor. And if this was the situation of the Spanish government, at the period here alluded to, if such was its remissness, negligence, and even ignorance, in matters of most urgent moment; could any thing but blunders, impolicy, and a want of discriminating judgment, be expected with regard to the affairs of Spanish America, situated at such a distance, and crouching, as the members of the European government supposed, under the most abject submission and dependence?

The conduct and nature of the governments of Spain, must have been early known to the British cabinet, since it was fully pourtrayed by an active and intelligent envoy, for their express information. It was evident, they were not guided by an undeviating sense and principle of moral right, and fairness of intention, since, in their public functions, they neglected those means of general welfare and defence, which alone would stand the test of time, and bear the scrutiny of the impartial of every nation. Speaking of the nature of the Central Junta, Lord Wellesley observes, " Its constitution, is not founded in any well understood system of union between the provinces; and much less, in a just and wise distribution of the elements and powers of a government. So far, there does not exist a confederation of the provinces; the executive power, is divided and debilitated in the hands of a Junta, too numerous for any unity in deliberation, and promptitude in execution; and too reduced, for the purpose of representing the body of the Spanish