These are my wishes, which I have r not feared to make known to the junta of the government, and to the emperor himself, because I have considered, that if they were not listened to, they would at least be looked upon, (as in reality they are,) as the effect of my love to my country, and to the august family of its kings, and of my duty as a counsellor, the temporal title of which is attached to the episcopacy of Spain—and in addition to this, I consider them as not only useful, but necessary to the true glory and happiness of the illustrious hero, whom Europe admires, whom all venerate, and to whom I have the happiness of offering, on this occasion, my respectful, humble, and obsequious respects.-God grant your Excellency the happy years which I wish you. Orense, May 29, 1808. No. 26.—Declaration of War against the Emperor of France, Napoleon the First. France, under the government of the emperor Napoleon the first, has violated towards Spain the most sacred compacts-has arrested her monarchs-obliged them to a forced and manifestly void abdication and renunciation; has behaved with the same violence towards the Spanish nobles whom he keeps in his power -has declared that he will elect a king of Spain, the most horrible attempt that is recorded in history has sent his troops into Spain, seized her fortresses and her capital, and scattered his troops throughout the country has committed against Spain all sorts of assassinations, robberies, and unheard of cruelties; and this he has done with the most enormous ingratitude to the services which the Spanish nation has rendered France, to the friendship it has shewn her, thus treating it with the most dreadful perfidy, fraud, and treachery, such as was never committed against any nation, or monarch, by the most barbarous or ambitious king or people. He has, in fine, declared, that he will trample down our monarchy, our fundamental laws, and bring about the ruin of our holy catholic religion. The only remedy, therefore, for such grievous ills, which are so manifest to all Europe, is in war, which we declare against him. In the name, therefore, of our king, Ferdinand the seventh, and of all the Spanish nation, we declare war by land and sea against the emperor Napoleon the first, and against France; we are determined to throw off her domination and tyranny, and command all Spaniards to act hostilely against her, to do her all possible damage place an embargo upon all French according to the laws of war, to ships in our ports, and all property, and effects, in whatever part of Spain they may be, whether belonging to the government or to the individuals of that nation. In the same manner we command, that no embarrassment, nor molestation, be done to the English nation, nor its government, nor its ships, property, or ef fects, nor any individual of that nation. We declare that there shall be open and free communication with England, that we have contracted, and will keep an armistice with her, and that we hope to conclude a durable and lasting peace. Moreover we protest, we will not lay down our arms till the emperor Napoleon the first, has restored to Spain our king, Ferdinand the seventh, and the rest of the royal family; has respected the sacred rights of the nation, which he has violated, and her liberty, integrity, and inde pendence. With the same understanding and accordance with the Spanish nation, we command that the present solemn declaration be printed, posted, and circulated, among all the people and provinces of Spain and America, that it may be known in Europe, Africa, and Asia:--Given in the royal palace of Alcazar at Seville, this 6th of June, 1808. By order of the supreme junta of government. MANUEL MARIA AGUILAR, Sec. JUAN BAUTISTA PARDO, Sec. Instruction from the Supreme Junta of the Government, to all Cities and Towns, to be executed with the utmost promptitude. 1. In cities and towns consisting of 2000 or more householders, a junta shall be established, which shall superintend all arrangements, and shall be obeyed by all the inhabitants; and in places of smaller size, the ayuntamientos shall hold the place and perform the functions of the juntas.-2. It is ordered, that with the concurrence of the ayuntamiento, clergy, prelates, priest, nobles, and other persons, so assembled, a junta of six be formed to receive orders from the supreme junta, and correspond therewith, and in every particular act under their authority; and the inhabitants and the corregida are required to obey them in their office, and every thing thereunto appertaining.-3. It shall be the duty of this junta to enlist the inhabitants from the age of 16 to 45, first, such as volunteer their services, and then all the secular inhabitants of the aforesaid age, to form them in companies, to assign them respectable persons for captains, lieu tenants, and ensigns, with full power to name serjeants and corporals, which they will proceed to do with all possible dispatch.-4. They will instruct the towns of their districts, and even those of the neighbouring districts, to submit to the same regulations, enlistments, and appointments, and to advise the junta thereof without delay.-5. For the present, each company shall remain in its district, but the junta is empowered, if it think fit, to call together the enlisted companies in the other towns.-6. The junta will name a confidential person to administer, under its direction, the funds which must meet the expences of the present occasion.-7. These funds shall be raised by orders of the junta to all corporations and rich individuals, and over and above a subscription shall be opened, that all the inhabitants may contribute in proportion to their zeal for their king and country, and the urgent necessity of the cause.-8. To these funds shall be added patriotic loans of money, to be afterward repaid in full; and it is expected from the public spirit of the inhabitants, that there will be no occasion for forced loans, or any other proceeding, which, though it might be violent, would still be justifiable by the necessity of the case. -9. This proclamation (bando) shall be printed and published by this supreme junta, and shall be placarded and circulated in all places.-10. All the magistrates and public functionaries are for the present confirmed in their respective offices., D. J. BAUTISTA ESTELLER, Sec. D. J. B. PARDO, Sec. Seville, 29th May, 1808. No. 27.-Precautions which will be proper to observe throughout the different provinces of Spain, in the necessity to which they have been driven by the French, of resisting the unjust and violent possession which their armies are endeavour ing to take of the kingdom. We cannot doubt a moment of the exertions which the united provinces of Spain would make to obstruct and defeat the malicious designs of the French, and that they will sacrifice even their lives on this occasion, the most important, and even unparalleled in the history of the nation, both in the thing itself, and in the horrible means of ingratitude and perfidy by which the French have undertaken, pursued, and are still endeavouring to effect our slavery:-1. Let the first object be to avoid all general actions, and to convince ourselves of the very great hazards, without any advantage, or even the hope of it, to which they would expose us. The reasons of this resolution are many, and such as any one will discover who has the use of his understanding.-2. A war of partisans is the system which suits us; the embarrassing and wasting the enemy's armies by want of provisions, destroying bridges, throwing up entrenchments in proper situations, and other similar means. The situation of Spain, its many mountains, and the passes which they present, its rivers and torrents, and even the collocation of its provinces, invite us to carry on this species of warfare successfully.-3. It is indispensible that each province should have its general, of known talents, and of such experience as our situation permits, that his heroic loyalty should inspire the utmost confidence, and that evey general sbould have under his larly of artillery and engineers.-command officers of merit, particu 4. As a combined union of plans is the soul of every well concerted enterprize, and that which alone can promise and facilitate a successful issue, it appears indispensible that there should be three generalissimos, who should act in concert with each other-one who should command in the four kingdoms of Andalusia, in Murcia, and Lower Estramadura— another in Galicia, Upper Estramadura, Old and New Castile, and Leon-another in Valencia, Arragon, and Catalonia; a person of the greatest credit being appointed to Navarre, the Biscayan Provinces, Montanus, Asturias, Rinja, and the North of Old Castile, for the purposes which will be mentioned hereafter.-5. Each of these generals and generalissimos will form an army of veterans, troops and peasantry united, and put himself in a situation to undertake enterprises, and to succour the most exposed points, keeping up always frequent communication with the other generalissi mos, in order that all may act by common accord, and assist one another.-6. Madrid and La Mancha require an especial general, to concert and execute the enterprizes which their particular local situation demands-his only object must be to embarrass the enemy's armies, to take away or cut off their provisions, to attack them in flank and rear, and not to leave them a moment of repose. The courage of these inhabitants, is well known, and they will eagerly embrace such enterprises if they are led as they should be. In the succession war the enemy entered twice into the interior of the kingdom, and even as far as its capital, and this was the cause of defeat, their entire ruin, and their utter failure of success.-7. The generalissimos of the North and East will block up the entrances to the provinces under their command, and come to the assistance of any one that may be attacked by the enemy, to prevent as much as possible all pillage, and preserve its inhabitants from the desolation of war; the many mountains and defiles which are on the confines of these provinces being favourable to such projects. 8. The destination of the general of Navarre, Biscay and the rest of this department is the most important of all, in which he will be assisted by the generals of the North and East: with the troops and other succours which he stands in need of. His whole business must be to shut the entrance of Spain against fresh French troops; and to harrass and destroy those that return from Spain to France by this point. The very rugged local situation of these provinces will be of singular advantage in such a design, and these enter prises, if well concerted and carried into execution, will no doubt be successful and the same may be understood of the different points by which the French troops which are in Portugal may come into Spain, or by which French troops may enter through Rolissillon into Catalonia, for there is not much to be apprehended for Arragon. And, even from Portugal, it is not thought that they will escape, on account of the proclamations which have been circulated in that kingdom, and the hatred which they before bore to the French being encreased without measure by the innumerable evils which they have been made to suf fer, and the cruel oppression in which they are held by them.-9. At the same time it would be very proper that the generalissimo should publish and circulate frequent proclamations amongst the people, and rouse their courage and loyalty, shewing them that they have every thing to fear from the horrible perfidy with which the French have dealt with all Spain, and even with their king Ferdinand VII. and that if they rule over us all is lost, kings, monarchy, property, liberty, independence, and religion; and that therefore it is necessary to sacrifice our lives and property in defence of the king, and of the country, and though our lot (which we hope will never come to pass) should destine us to become slaves, let us become so fighting and dying like gallant men, not giving up ourselves basely to the yoke like sheep, as the late infamous government would have done, and fixing upon Spain and her slavery eternal ignominy and disgrace. France has never domineered over us, nor set her foot in our territory. We have many times mastered her, not by deceit, but by force of arms; we have made her kings prisoners, and we have made the nation tremblewe are the same Spaniards; and France, and Europe, and the world shall see, that we are not less gallant, nor less brave than the most glorious of our ancestors.-10. All persons of education in the provinces should be stimulated to frame, print, and publishfrequent short discourses, in order to preserve the public opinion, and the ardour of the nation, confuting at the same time the infa 6 Let mous diaries of Madrid, which the baseness of the late government has permitted, and still permits to be published in Madrid itself, and has caused to be circulated abroad, detecting their falsehoods and continual contradictions. Let them cover with shame the miserable authors of these diaries, and sometimes extend their remarks to those charlatans, the French Gazeteers, and even to their Moniteur: and let them display and publish to Spain, to all Europe, their horrible falsehoods and venal praises; for they afford abundant matter for such a work. all such perverted minds tremble at Spain: and let France know that Spaniards have thoroughly penetrated their designs; and therefore it is that they justly detest and abominate them, and that they will sooner lay down their lives than submit to their iniquitous and barbarous yoke.-11. Care shall be taken to explain to the nation, and to convince them, that when freed, as we trust to be, from this civil war, to which the French have forced us, and when placed in a state of tranquillity, our lord and king, Ferdinand VII., being restored to the throne, under him and by him the cortes will be assembled, abuses reformed, and such laws shall be enacted as the circumstances of the time and experience may dictate for the public good and happiness: -things which we Spaniards know how to do, which we have done as well as other nations, without any necessity that the vile French should come to instruct us, and, according to their custom, under the mask of friendship, and wishes for our happiness, should contrive, for this alone they are contriving, to plunder us, VOL. I. PART I. to violate our women, to assassinate us, to deprive us of our liberty, our laws, and our king, to scoff at and destroy our holy religion, as they have hitherto done, and will always continue to do, so long as the spirit of perfidy and ambition, which oppresses and tyrannises over them shall endure. "JUAN BAUTISTA PARDO, Sec." By order of the Supreme Junta. No. 28.-Speech delivered to the Parliament by the Lords Commissioners, at the Prorogation of the Parliament, on the 4th of July, 1808. "MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, "We have it in command from his Majesty to express to you the great satisfaction which he derives from being enabled, by putting an end to the present session of parlia ment, to terminate the laborious attendance which the public business has required of you.-The measure which you have adopted for the improvement of the military force of the country promises to lay the foundation of a system of internal defence eminently useful, and peculiarly adapted to the exigencies of these times.-The sanction which you have given to those measures of detensive retaliation to which violent attacks of the enemy, upon the commerce and resources of this kingdom compelled his Majesty to resort, has been highly satisfactory to his Majesty.-His Majesty doubts not, that, in the result, the enemy will be convinced of the impolicy of persevering in a system which retorts upon himself, in so much greater proportion, those evils which he endeavours to inflict upon this country. |