of January last, and the discussions for removing the Government from Madrid to Seville, should have presented a publick and incontestible proof of the firmness and determination of the Cortes to adhere to their oaths. Nevertheless, the Cortes, being convinced that the Enemy will not desist from his machiavelian project, which has been pursued of late, with great pertinacity, and it being probable that the same will be pressed with increased energy as soon as the Legislature adjourns; they hereby declare, in the most solemn manner, to the Nation, that the present Members have not listened, nor will they listen, to any proposal, from any Foreign Government whatever, having for its object a modification, or alteration of the Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy, sanctioned at Cadiz in 1812; for they cannot fail in the sacred duties expressed in the powers conferred upon them.

The Cortes have resolved, that the Government give the greatest publicity possible to this Declaration, by circulating it in the usual manner, and likewise by ordering it to be read in all the Corps of the Army.

PEDRO JUAN DE ZULUETA, President.

SPEECH of the King of Spain, on closing the Cortes. Cadiz, 5th August, 1823.

GENTLEMEN Deputies,

(Translation.) On this solemn day, in which the present Cortes are closed, my heart is necessarily affected by sensations of different kinds, though they still accord with the circumstances in which the Nation is placed. On the one hand, the evils by which she is oppressed, and, on the other, the valour of those sons who defend her, produce in my mind the natural effects of such opposite causes; and, if the publick calamities and the horrid abuse of my Royal Name, by the Enemies of the State, are to me matter of the deepest affliction, I likewise feel the greatest satisfaction, when I contemplate the virtues by which the Spanish People are acquiring fresh claims to glory, and the conduct by which their worthy Representatives have distinguished themselves during the present Legislature.

Invaded as our Territory is by the most unheard-of treachery on the part of perfidious Enemies, who owe their existence, chiefly, to this magnanimous Nation, the World beholds violated, in Spain, the Rights of all Countries, and all the principles the most sacred amongst men. Pretended defects in our Political Institutions-supposed errors in our Interior Administration-a feigned wish to restore tranquillity, the

disturbance of which is the work of those alone who exaggerate it— affected concern for the dignity of a Monarch, who wishes not to be one, but for the happiness of his Subjects-such are the pretexts for an aggression which will be the scandal of posterity, and the blackest event of the nineteenth century. But hypocrisy, emboldened by her ephemeral progress, soon threw off the mask, and, discovering all the horrors of her views, no longer allows even the most duped to doubt, that the only reform she aims at, is to deprive the Nation of all Independence, of all liberty, and of all hope; and that the dignity, which she pretends to restore to my Crown, consists only in dishonouring me, in exposing my Royal Person and Family, and in undermining the foundations of my Throne, to raise herself on its ruins.

With very little reliance on their Forces, and on their own valour, the invaders have not been able to advance but as cowards, by scattering corrupting gold, by recurring to the vilest shifts to seduce the incautious, and by arming in their aid, treason, fanaticism, ignorance, and all the passions and crimes. In opposition to such Enemies, and in so disadvantageous a struggle, to those who are acquainted with honourable warfare only, the fate of arms has hitherto been adverse. The defection of a General, whom the Government had loaded with honours, has annihilated an Army, disconcerted all our plans, and opened to the Enemy the gates of the Capital, and has compelled it to remove to this spot; and the combined operations being thus frustrated, and our means of defence considerably diminished, misfortune has since succeeded misfortune, and evils have accumulated upon a generous People who least merited them.

But, in the midst of these disasters, Spain preserves her magnanimous resolution, and the Cortes, in the closest union with my Government, have ever maintained themselves such as they were in the memorable days of the 9th and 11th January last. The serenity and wisdom of their deliberations, hitherto, amidst such bitterness and danger, the confidence which their Patriotism inspires, and the hatred itself with which they are honoured by the Enemies of the Country, are so many proofs that they have deserved well of it. Indefatigable in promoting all the branches of publick prosperity, they have issued various Decrees that contribute to it, as far as circumstances permit. The Publick Credit of the Nation, its Finances, Army, and the Interior Government of the Provinces; Agriculture, Commerce, and other branches of Industry, the Administration of Justice, and the establishment of beneficence; have all been the object of the zeal of the Cortes, and all are indebted to them for considerable improvements which time will exhibit to a greater extent, and which I will exert myself to further, as far as depends upon the Executive Power.

Gentlemen-I feel a real satisfaction in expressing my gratitude for these important services; for the care with which you have at

tended to the honour of my Royal Family; and for the liberality with which you have supplied my Government with all the means in your power to meet the excessive expences of the State, with the least pressure upon the Nation: the powers granted to this effect, by the Cortes to the Provincial Deputations, as auxiliary Juntas of the National Defence, have increased our resources, and the patriotism of these Bodies has hitherto made, and, I trust, will continue to make, a use of such authority, extremely beneficial for the support and increase of the Defenders of the Country.

I likewise return thanks to the Cortes for the unlimited confidence which they have reposed in my Government, authorizing it, of its own accord, and, by means of its principal Agents, to adopt some extraordinary measures which the present state of the Nation induced me to propose as indispensable. If it be really indispensable, that, in such critical times, the Executive Power should be sufficiently strong to baffle any machinations, and to secure publick tranquillity, my Government never will lose sight of the respect due to the liberty of the Spaniards, but endeavour to requite a confidence so gratifying, by acting, as hitherto, with the greatest moderation and economy.

The position in which the events of the War have placed my Government, has produced an interruption in the communications with several of the Agents of Foreign Powers; but there is no reason whatever to think that this momentary interruption can disturb the Relations of Friendship and Alliance that subsist between Spain and those Cabinets.

Particular circumstances, which might expose the honour of my Government, have induced me to order, as a provisional measure, that my Chargé d'Affaires should withdraw from Lisbon.

Nevertheless, the ties subsist untouched by which two Nations are united, whose evident interest it is to live together in peace and harmony; and our Commercial Intercourse has continued uninterrupted.

In the Interior, every thing suffers from the fatal effects of a desolating War, and the most beneficent Laws and measures cannot produce favourable results in the midst of such disasters. Divine Providence is pleased to try us in different ways; but, I trust, Gentlemen, that it will ultimately grant a triumphant issue to our just cause. li the treason of some has done for the invaders what they could not expect from their own efforts, the Country has still many heroes left who remind the French Army of the Spaniards of 1813. Governments, who are inimical to Liberty and the light, have conspired against us-if others have forsaken us from a near-sighted policy, all Nations behold their interests connected with ours, and are ardent in their wishes that we may be victorious in this struggle.

Gentlemen Deputies-Retire, for the present, from your laudable labours, and reap, from the esteem of your fellow-citizens, the fruits which you so richly deserve. Endeavour to inculcate on their minds the necessity of their all uniting around my Constitutional Throne, and of discord and unfounded distrust disappearing from amongst us, Let the Constitution be our only motto, National Independence, freedom, and honour, our only wish, and unmoved constancy be ever opposed by us to misfortunes which we have not merited. My Government shall cease to exist, before it take any step contrary to the oaths by which it is connected with the Country, or to what is required by the honour of my People, and the dignity of my Crown; and, if circumstances shall require it, it will seek, in the Extraordinary Cortes, a safe harbour for the Vessel of the State. In such case, I shall again assemble them, always relying upon their zeal and patriotism, and we will travel jointly in the path of glory, until a Peace be obtained at once honourable and worthy of Spaniards and of myself.

FERDINAND.

SPEECH of the King of Spain, on the Opening of the Extraordinary Cortes.-Cadiz, 6th September, 1823.

SENORES DEPUTIES!

(Translation.) ON the solemn day on which the Ordinary Cortes of the present Year closed their Session, I announced to you, that if circumstances should require it, I would seek in the Cortes Extraordinary the port of safety for the vessel of the State. A report which my Government will, by my order, present to you, will show that the vessel of the State is on the point of being wrecked, if the measures of the Congress do not contribute to save it. In pursuance, therefore, of what I then announced-of the critical nature of circumstances, and the arduous state of affairs-I have considered it necessary that the Cortes Extraordinary should assemble, in order that, taking into consideration the said report, they may resolve, with their accustomed zeal and patriotism, on the measures most advantageous for the publick cause. Government will make known to you, will also palpably demonstrate how fruitless have been the efforts made for obtaining an honourable peace; because the Enemy, persisting, contrary to every right, in putting forward his proposition for interference in the affairs of the Kingdom, obstinately refuses to treat, except with me alone, and free, and wishes not so to consider me, unless I go and place myself amidst their bayonets. Inconceivable and ignominious liberty, whose only basis is to be the dishonourable act of delivering myself up at discretion into the hands of the Aggressors !

What my

Provide, then, Senores Deputies, for the necessities of the Country, from which I ought not, and never wish, to separate my fate;

and, convinced as you must be, that the Enemy pays no regard to reason and justice, when unsupported by force, examine promptly the existing evils, and prescribe a remedy for them. FERDINAND.

CORRESPONDENCE respecting the Relations between Spain and Great Britain, and the Mediation of the latter between France and Spain.-June to August, 1823.

(1.)-Señor Pando to Sir William à Court.

(Translation.)

SIR, Cadiz, 16th June, 1823. THE approach of the French Troops to Seville, and the internal intrigues carried on by Agents of the Enemies of Spain, exposed to the greatest danger the liberty and independence of the Nation, the dignity of the Crown, and even the existence of His Catholick Majesty and of his August Family.

To save objects of such great importance, thus endangered, it was necessary to have recourse to an extraordinary, prompt, and vigorous measure: the National Representation did not hesitate to adopt it, in virtue of the faculties vested in it by the Fundamental Law of the Monarchy, and with the happy result which is known to every one.

His Catholick Majesty, placed with his free will in a position inaccessible to the attacks of Foreigners, and to the effects of their hidden plots, freely exercises the high Functions appertaining to his supreme dignity, and occupies himself with the means of freeing the Nation from the afflicting evils which oppress it.

The relations of friendship and of good understanding between Spain and the Power you so well represent, happily subsist unimpaired; and His Catholick Majesty is persuaded that you will continue to reside at his Royal Court as heretofore, certain of daily receiving new proofs of his Royal esteem.

I hope you will continue to address to me the Communications you may have to make to His Majesty's Government, and that you will be assured of the sentiments of high consideration, &c. His Britannick Majesty's Minister.

JOSE MARIA DE PANDO.

(2.)-Sir William à Court to Señor Pando.

Seville, July 11, 1823.

THE Undersigned, His Britannick Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, has the honour to acknowledge the receipt of the Note of His Excellency M. Pando, His Catholick Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs, dated the 16th of June, which Note was not delivered to him until the 4th instant.

The Undersigned will lose no time in bringing this Note to the knowledge of his Government, and in requesting instructions how to

act.

Had M. Pando's Communication been received in due time after