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SHORT DISCUSSION

OF THE

SPANISH QUESTION.

ORIGINAL.

LONDON.

THE following Tract was written the first few days after the arrival of the decision of the Congress of Verona, which suddenly roused the feelings and excited the indignation of every man in this country, while reading the revolting document, by his fire-side.

The principles and pretensions of the Continental Sovereigns, and the mode by which they gave discretionary power to the Ultra Ministers of France to draw on the resources of their dominions for means of desolating the territory of our faithful allies, were alike calculated to excite a spirit capable of deranging their projects. Following accounts, however, allayed the agitation, by the hope that all hostile views were laid aside; and these sheets were thrown by, as no longer required for any useful purpose.

But as it now appears that a plan is on the carpet, for suspending intercourse with Spain, and thus declaring her beyond the pale of public law, it may not be unadvisable to call the attention of the British public to the consideration of the question altogether, and to direct their reflections to a few leading points, from whence they may pursue more lengthened trains of thought than newspapers have space to give expression to.-There is but one check to a coalition of the Sovereigns of the Holy Alliance against whatever may excite their animadversion—and that is, the public opinion of Great Britain; against which, when well awakened, neither Kings nor Ministers can long pursue an aggressive system.

But it must not be forgotten, that that opinion owes its weight to the steadiness and consistency of its movements: were it to be readily excited, it would quickly re-act and lose its efficacy. There is no intention of agitating or inflaming the public against those Powers in alliance with this country; it is only intended to call their minds with earnestness to a subject of paramount importance, which affects the honor, independence, and prosperity, the security of their most valued allies, and the tranquillity of Europe both now and for the future.

The views of Government and of the Opposition are united on this question, and the public voice is only wanting to give the remonstrances of our Ambassadors their proper weight in those quarters where they appear to have been hitherto disregarded.

SHORT DISCUSSION,

&c. &c.

PHILIP II. of Spain possessed the kingdoms, of Spain and Portugal, the whole dominions of the house of Burgundy, the Milanese, the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, the whole of the new world then discovered, the settlements on the coast of Africa and in India established by the Portuguese, the islands in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic. His army, by its discipline and steadiness, acquired a distinction under the name of the Spanish Infantry, which still is dwelt on in every estimate of the military capabilities of Spain; his generals were worthy of a comparison with the most distinguished Captains of the present age; and the regular supply of gold and silver from his American dominions at a time when other nations had little means of procuring them, bestowed power of conducting distant operations and combined military movements, not possessed by any other State. At home he ruled with an authority unlimited and unquestioned; his foreign relations were undisturbed by the pretensions of any rival potentate; the character of a tyrant bestowed by Nature, rendered available for the subjection of others, all the means of tyranny at his disposal; and to sum up all, he carried the cross on his banner, and declared himself the Champion of the Catholic Church.

Whatever the material weapons of man could effect against the progress of an opinion, would have been effected by Philip II. It is well known how long he combated his revolted subjects of the Netherlands with all his means, and how baffled all his efforts were for their reduction. Nevertheless, his father was enabled to suppress an extended and organized rebellion in the heart of Spain, while he was surrounded with difficulties, and in a remote country.

In entering on the consideration of the present subject, it will be particularly useful to reflect upon the two historical facts just mentioned, the victory ultimately gained by the insurgents of the Netherlands, in spite of every difficulty, and the suppression of the Holy Junta in Spain, about the same period. To a contemporary politician it might have appeared that the one must fail, and the other might succeed, because he could not have perceived the essential difference of the causes of those movements. But historical experience enables us to know that political convulsions which owe their origin to conflicting interests, may be subdued by arms, however formidable in their aspect: for parties fight each other, each rests secure in the affections of his followers, as they are only maintaining their own cause; it is a simple question of force. But in the contest between brute strength and mental energy, in which it is attempted to restrain the mind of man, after it has fully recognised its objects and its powers, an estimate according to the rules of war and politics is as fallacious as it would be to compare the elephant and his rider by their weight. In such a war it is impossible to calculate the effect of armed multitudes, because there is perpetual danger that the individual will which ultimately guides them, will escape control.

In reviewing the different opinions which have agitated the public at different periods, with this distinction constantly present to the mind, we shall be enabled to account for the various success which has attended the propagators and maintainers of them. Some florished for an age, and perished of themselves; others, by the aid of influence and power, were kept alive for periods long or short, and died by general neglect when such support no longer was afforded;-some lived by party spirit; some by the bigotry and fanaticism of their professors :-but those new views and modes of thinking which naturally arose from the progress of the human faculties, and the desire of improvement implanted by Providence in the minds of men of every age and nation, have never been subdued. They have been suppressed and smothered, like the early doctrines of Christianity, only to break forth again with a power beyond control. What length of time did the Patricians struggle against such an opinion in Rome, and how often did they apparently extinguish it! What contests, frequently successful, between the feudal lords and their revolting vassals! How many wars, with different results, against the opinions of the reformers in religion! But we now know that the opposition to those opinions only caused a gratuitous addition to the miseries of humanity, and that their triumph was secure, however long the contest may have been continued. But the conclusion will be very different with