tions, without the least benefit to France, or any other people. Spain, your constant ally has contributed you know, by a variety of means, to your triumphs; and yet she has been despoiled of her laws, her monarch, and her greatness, her very religion is threatened; and all this has hitherto been achieved, not by gallantry and valour, but by treachery and fraud, in which you are forced to co-operate; your valiant arms are defiled; you are made to assist in deeds of infamy, inconsistent with your generous character and with the name of the great nation, which you have acquired.-Frenchmen, the Spanish nation, your ally and generous friend, invites you to withdraw from banners, which are destined to enslave all nations, and to enlist under our's, which are raised for the best of causes, to defend our laws and our king, whereof we have been robbed, not by force of arms, but by fraud, treachery, and ingratitude of the deepest dye. We all will die, and you should die with us to wipe off the stain which will otherwise indelibly disgrace your nation. The Spaniards tender you the just reward for such an action; with open arms will they receive you, and fight by your side; and when the war shall be terminated with that success, which they have every reason to expect, land shall be given you, which you may cultivate unmolested, and pass your remaining days amidst a nation, which loves and respects you, and where impartial justice shall incorruptibly protect all your fair enjoyments-Italians, Germans, of all the provinces of that great nation, Polanders, Sw, and ye all who compose the armies called French, will you fight for him, who oppressed and despoiled you of what you held most sacred? For him who has dragged you from your families and homes, robbed you of your property, your wives, your children, your native country, which he has enslaved? and will you fight against a nation, generous like the Spanish, from whom you experienced the kindest reception, which loves you with the tenderest attachment, and which at the zenith of its glory and dominion respected your rights, because it looks upon all as brethren. Will you fight against a nation, which it is intended to subdue and enslave, not by dint of arms, as brave men would do, but under the cloak of alliance and friendship, by fraudulent treachery, detestable and horrid beyond any precedent in history, even among barbarous nations. We hope you will not. Come to

us, and you shall meet with valour, generosity, and true honour. We tender the sanie rewards to you as to the French; and we trust, you and your posterity will enjoy them in happiness and peace.-DON JUAN BAUTISTA ESTELLER, First Secretary.-Dow JUAN BAUTISTA DE PEDRO, Second Secretary.-Seville, May 29, 1808.

VALLADOLID.

NOBLE CASTILIANS!-The common foe of mankind was the traitor who tore from our bosom our amiable Ferdinand VII. and the whole of the royal family. He carries his audacity the length of holding out to us offers of happiness and peace, while he is laying waste our country, pulling down our churches, and slaughtering our brethren. His pride, cherished by a set of villains who are constantly anxious to offer incense on his shrine, and tolerated by numberless victims, who pine in his chains, have caused him to conceive the fantastical idea of proclaiming himself lord and ruler of the whole world. There is no atrocity which he does not commit to attain that end. The respectable name of the great emperor of Russia; the political dissimulation of the German emperor; the timorous condescen sion of the holy father of the church; the opinion of true Frenchmen, exposed more than others to the severity of their iron scep tre; in short, the most sacred laws of himanity have been trampled under foot with the utmost contempt, to pronounce the detestable sentence of the extirpation of the house of Bourbon. Shall all these outrages, all these iniquities, remain unpunished, while Spaniards, and Castilian Spaniards, yet exist? No, it cannot be Your minds glowing with generous ardour for your reli gion and your country, have resolved to re new the heroic scenes, in which Castilian valour shone with immortal lustre, saved the country, and consolidated our religion. The stratagems which hitherto secured vic tories to the tyrant, vanished the moment when Europe saw with her own eyes the artful snares and devices by which he seduc ed the unwary, until he had bent their neck under his yoke. Let us shed the last drop to resist that dominion. Let us all become gal lant soldiers, full of discipline and subordi nation. Let us breathe but obedience and respect for the great man by whom we are governed, one of the best generals of Spain, his excellency Don Gregorio de le Cuerta. To arms, Castilians, to arms; let us die for our country, our religion, and our king, (To be continued)

Printed by Cox and Baylis, Great Queen Street; published by R. Bagshaw, Brydges Street, Corent Garden, where former Numbers may be had: sold also by J. Budd, Crown and Mitre, Pall-Mall.

VOL. XIV. No. 3]

LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 16, 1808.

[PRICE JOL

"The examples in history, wherein subjugation and tyranny have been introduced from abroad, under the "mask of friendship and defence, are infinite: and, the domestic examples of freedom destroyed by sur"rendering the sword to the sovereign, in hopes of being thereby defended, are precisely as many in num."ber as the instatices of that insane policy." MAJOR CARTWRIGHT. Ægis, Vol. I. page 36.

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SUMMARY OF POLITICS. SPANISH REVOLUTION.- -Major Cartwright, from whose work upon national defence my motto is taken, has for a long time most earnestly endeavoured to produce, in the public mind, a conviction, that there can be no sure and safe defence but that which arises from a general arming of the people. His work is very elaborate, and, therefore, I shall not attempt to dip into the detail; but these are the positions it maintains that the whole of the people, capable of bearing arms, ought to have arms put into their hands, and ought, at all times, to be fit to use those arms; that there might be a standing army for foreign service, but that the defence of the country should rest solely upon the people; that a country defended by a standing army is, in fact, a Country enslaved with means furnished by itself Amongst those who are not desirous of keeping the people in a state of virtual slavery, the scheme of Major Cartwright has been objected to only because they doubted of its practicability; only be cause they feared, that, as opposed to standing armies, to regular and well-disciplined troops, under experienced commanders, an armed population would be as chaff before the wind; and such, I confess, was my opinion, though I always approved of put-country against those very armies who have

any national purpose; a people sunk even in their own eyes, and appearing to retain, under their late government, not the desire to be free, and, of course, not the smallest desire to defend their country against an invader. In this state of abject subjection, they quietly see their government introduce a foreign army into their country and even into its metropolis; the commander of that army is, by the act of their own king, constituted the Lieutenant of the kingdom, and they are commandedto obey him upon pain of death; all the passes and out-posts of their country are, beforehand, placed in the hands of the invader; all those, at whose names they have long been accustomed to tremble, go over to that invader, espouse his cause and endorse his proclamations; the people have no sovereign, no constituted authority, no acknowledged chief, no leader, no known point round which to rally, while they are hourly plied with threats of punishment, of towns sacked and inhabitants exterminated, and that, too, by those who have given to the world numerous procfs, that, in this respect, they never fail of being as good as their word. Were there ever disadvantages so great? And, if this people (which God grant!) should succeed in defending their

ting arms into the hands of the people; because, after all is said and done, the country is the people's, and, if they cannot be trusted with its defence, for whose sake, I would ask, is that defence to be undertaken? -But, the events in Spain do really seam to promise a complete practical proof of the soundness of the doctrine of this venerable patriot, who, I should think, must be thereby not a little gratified- -Our eyes are now directed, in the most forcible manner, towards a people, who had been so long oppressed, that they had apparently lost the very notion of freedom; a peopleamongst whom there existed scarcely the forms of rights and immunities; a people who possessed not any ground-work for a general arming; a people completely disarmed, and cut off from all association with one another for

walked over the fortresses of Germany, Italy, and Flanders, and who have hoisted their flag at Vienna, Berlin, and almost at Petersburgh; if this should be the case, who will say, that martello-towers, intrenchments, lines of circumvallation, depôts, barracks, and standing armies are necessary for the internal defence of a country?It has, of late, been said, in answer to those who have expressed their dislike of the new system of an immense standing army and numerous military depots and stations, that the circumstances of

Europe are totally changed." In other words, that, because the French have great standing armies to attack us with, it is necessary for us to have standing armies for our defence; but, this argument will, if the Spanish Patriots succeed, be no longer

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barracks, depots, and a standing army, there is no reasoning at all It argues well that the Spanish Patriots have taken possession of the French fleet themselves. They thereby discover confidence as to their final success; and, though their commander at Cadiz avowedly acts for Ferdinand, that may produce but little mischief Indeed, if the Spaniards restore Ferdinand, their work will not be less a revolution; for, they thereby cast off their old king, and, a new-modeling of their government will necessarily be included. Indeed, it is possible, that they might, in one sense, have a better bargaiu of Ferdinand than of an entire new sovereign; for he would be more dependant upon his people, than a chief of another description might be; for, a new chief might threa ten them with a restoration of the old despotism, and thus, with the aid of the name of pretender, terrify them into submission to a sway even more tyrannical in fact, though not in form, than that from which they had delivered themselves. They will and ought to, do as they please as to this matter; but, I am glad to see, that whatever forinal acts are done, are done in the name of the people. It is the " deputy of the peo

of any force; if they beat the very armies who have beaten all the standing armies and all the most experienced generals in Europe, the question will be settled at once, and there will not, I should think, be a single man in England bold enough to insist, that we stand in need of so fearful a military force in this kingdom, especially if the arming plan of Major Cartwright were adopted, and all the frippery of volunteering were thtown aside.The stand, which the Spanish Patriots have already made, does, indeed, warrant the conclusion here aimed at ; for, we are in a situation quite different from theirs. We have no invading army in the heart of the country; we have no treacherous ministers gone over to the enemy; we have no want of arms and ammunition; we have no want of a settled system of government; every man is in his place; and, above all, there are here no passes open for the inroads. of an invader. Should the Spanish -Patriots fail, therefore, after having made a respectable stand, their want of final success will be no proof of our inability to defend ourselves, under such a system as should, at once, put arms in the people's hands and inspire their Iminds with motives to use them. In this light, considered as affording lessons to ourselves, the deeds of the Patriots in Spain are deeply interesting to every man in this kingdom. And, if it should become the general opinion, that our defence needs not barracks, depots, fortresses, and standing armies, and that opinion should prevail, what a bless ing it will be! That army now costs about twenty millions of pounds sterling a year, raised in taxes upon the people. It employs, in all ways, about three hundred thousand able men. Not more than from 40 to 50 thousand would be necessary for services abroad. What a great relief it would be, if the rest of this vast number of men were to return to labour, and if, at the same time, fifteen millions of pounds sterling a year were saved! Why, the very boards and commissions, appointed to examine into the accounts of our present army, cost the whole amount of no trifling tax. The ramifications of army connection and influence are endless. We do not all wear red coats, but who is there that can say, that he is quite independent of the standing army? If any one will say, that it is good that it should be so that military rule is the best sort of rule; and that all which has been written and said to the contrary is nonsense, such a man is candid, and may be disputed with, but, with the hypocrites, who keep crying out **constitution," and fer do not wish that means of defence a be found other than those of

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ple," who goes to treat with the French admiral; and, in the people's name the several juntas, or councils, all act. A war for Ferdinand, avowedly for him and in his hame, would assuredly fail.Some of the leaders seem very anxious to prevent the people from supposing, that they are engaged in a revolution; and, it is not only possible, but probable, that they may not bave a designto make a revolution; but, they must, or they must submit to Napoleon; for, the energy, the talents, the free discussions, the publications, without which bis power is not to be resisted, will and must produce a complete change of the government. The men, who shall have beaten the armies of France, who shall have driven out the hordes of resolute robbers, armed with muskets, will ne ver again submit to the insolent swarm of tame cheaters, who pillaged under the sanction of what they called the low, who, having the jail and the gibbet under their command, with endless bands of alguazils and corregidors to assist them, not only plundered the people, but made them assist in the act of plundering one another. No: there is but this one choice. Either the people of Spain must be slaves to Napoleon, or they must be free; and, indeed, this is the only choice that they ought to have; if they are not fighting for freedom, what are they fighting for? If they are content with being slaves, what matters it who is their master? Joseph

sway

of a

Napoleon may be scoundrel enough; but, what could be possibly do worse, than sell thirty or forty thousand of the people to go to fight in the north of Europe, as the late detestable government did? How could he disgrace the Spaniards more than they were before disgraced? The junta of Seville, which seems to have taken the lead of all the rest, say that " it became necessary to break the shackles, which prevented "the Spanish people from displaying their

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generous ardour;" but, if the junta believes, that these shackles are to be made whole again, they grossly deceive themselves. The battle is for the freedom of Spain; for the effecting of a revolution; and, we shall see, that, let who will be sovereign, the government will bear little resemblance to what it was before. Were the Buonapariés to be defeated at once, the old bribery and corruption system might be patched up, with some little talk about "a reform of abuses" and a hundred or two of fair promises, made but to be broken; but as the struggle will be long and bloody, if the Patriots succeed, those who have bled in the cause, will take care not to become again the slaves of those who before betrayed them, and of whose baseness they will, at every new danger and difficulty, contract a new degree of hatred. It is curious enough, that, after all the continent of Europe has submitted to the arms of France, stout resistance on the part of the people, should, at last, be met with in the Spaniards. Doctor Duigenan and his friends must be surprized to find that the most catholic" appear to be the only people, who have a incere batred of the French and their experor. They will hardly place their motto,

no-popery," upon the English banners to e unfurled in Spain. Napoleon has eneavoured to persuade the Spaniards, that he as the Pope's sauction for what he has done,

d is doing, with regard to Spain; but, as ill be seen by the documents, the Spanish atriots reject this with scorn, and remind se people, that he has just come from robng the poor Pope. Why should we supse, then, that the Catholics of England or eland would be disposed to side with Naleon? Why are they less worthy of st, in our fleets and armies, than Protests are?If the Catholic religion, the gion of our forefathers, be so damnable ing, why do we assist Catholics in a foa country? This is a weighty point for der conscience, and well worthy of an By investigation; for, though Buonaparté ar enemy at present, it seems that he is ng his best to root cut popery, and is, in

this respect, co-operating with the ministry of England. Napoleon has had to fight against Protestants enough, upon the cor◄ tinent of Europe, and has beaten them all, making their princes scamper before him like sheep. He has found the most Catholic princes still more gentle, if possible; but, the people, he has found resolute to defend their country. This proves, that the mere circumstance of being a Catholic does not make men prone to either slavery or cowardice. The greatest coward, the most notorious coward, the most beaten and despised thing, in the shape of a man, that I ever heard or read of, was a Protestant. There may be a coward as perfect amongst the Catolics; but, for the honour of human nature, I should hope that there never was but one of the sort in the whole world. It is not a man's religion that makes him a coward. It is a certain natural weakness, which no man can help, and for which he is not to be blamed, unless he voluntarily assume the garb of a hero, and put forward pretensions to powers and honours and rewards, in that character. When he does this, he deserves not only public censure but punishment; because be, by his cowardice, exposes the lives and reputation of the soldiers or sailors under his command, tarnishes the renown and hazards the safety of his country, and this is what no man ought to be suffered to do with impunity. It would be rash to say precisely what our ministers ought to do in the way of assistance given to Spain; but, I must confess, that I should like to have heard, before now, of the expedition having actually sailed. What does it do hanging about so long? If it does not land in Spain, there are other places enough. I think it will be lucky if the struggle in Spain be of long duration; but, it depends, perhaps, upon our promptitude at the present moment, whether there shall be any serious struggle at all. The disposition of the Spanish revolutionists has been known long enough for us to have received an account of the reception of our promises of aid; and yet our armaments are still lying in port! It is rumoured, that there have been difficulties about choosing a commander; but, surely, this cannot be the case, seeing how great an abundance of generals we have. I hope the commander, whenever he is ap pointed, will be one that has, at some time or other, in some one instance, faced the enemy, faced the French, I mean, in the field; for, as to facing them over a bottle, that any coward can do. Let our troops have, at their head, a man who has one «ingle the in his life looked the French in the