the way, they were encountered by about 40 cavalry of the queen's regiment, some regular troops, and the militia of the district; they were still about 450 strong; but seeing no chance of success, they, on the 16th of July, submitted unconditionally to General O'Do noju.

At the same time, there was detected and defeated at Cadiz, a plot, not less dangerous to the government, though less formidable in its means, than those of Cordova and of Madrid-a plot set on foot, not by the adherents of the old despotism, but by the pretended friends of ultra freedom. Not contented with the measures taken by the municipality for the protection of Cadiz, in case the rebellion of the guards had succeeded in leading to national confusion, a club of seditious persons had formed a design to revolutionize Cadiz, to depose the authorities, to take vengeance on their political enemies, and to divide among themselves the public employments of the city. The civil and military authorities, being informed of this plot on the 8th of July, took all the necessary precautions to ensure its defeat, placed the garrison and national militia under arms, and made arrangements for arresting the enemies of the public tranquillity.

Accord

ingly, without the least disturbance or commotion, they apprehended on the same night Don Alphonso Moreno Guerra, Don Ramon Ceruti, Francisco Celis, D. Vicente Lopez, Brigadier Zaldivar, Don Louis Rute, D. N. Morquecho, D. N. Civit, D. N. Cirute, and D. N. Comendia. Some of these had long rendered themselves notorious in the political misfortunes of their country.

Guerra had been a member of the preceding Cortes, in which he had been eminently distinguished by his animosity to every successive ministry.

On the 9th of July, the municipality of Madrid presented an address to the king, relative to the late transactions in that capital, couched in language apparently respectful, but in reality menacing.

"We are still in time, Sire," said they, "but perhaps the opportunity may never again occur, to remedy the evil. The means are simple, and once adopted, the social edifice will be constructed on solid foundations, which neither the present generation, nor that which is to come, will sce shaken. The first of these means is, that your majesty, being at last convinced that the true friends of your life and of your glory are the defenders of the fundamental law which guarantees both, should put yourself in good faith at the head of the patriotic cause, and give public and private proofs of your being identified with it.

Το give the first proof that your majesty has sincerely embraced that cause, nothing is so necessary as to nominate for ministers, in lieu of those who have resigned, men of known ability, notoriously devoted to the system, gifted with an energy and activity sufficient to re-animate our social constitution, which is languishing and enfeebled by the bad faith of some and the indolence and unskilfulness of others. Your court, Sire, or rather domestic establishment, is composed (such is the publie conviction) of permanent conspirators against liberty.

"The retention of any one among them would deprive your majesty of the confidence of your

faithful Spaniards; and never was it more necessary than at present, for the safety of the state and of your majesty, that your majesty should recover that confidence."

Ferdinand was now left at the mercy of the party, which had always been the object of his hatred and suspicion, and which was now more formidable than ever by its recent triumph. Amid the irritation occasioned by the perils from which it had just escaped, there would have been danger in temporising: so that Ferdinand had no assurance of safety, no likelihood of retaining even a shadow of power, except by throwing himself completely into the arms of the ultra-liberal faction. The ministry was dismissed; and, in the beginning of August, a new one was framed, composed of individuals who had all given strong proofs of their zeal for democratical institutions. M. Evaristo San-Miguel, formerly chief of the staff in the Isle of Leon, was nominated minister for foreign affairs;

M.

Gasco, deputy in 1820 and 1821, minister of the interior; M. Vadillo, minister for colonial affairs; general Lopez Banos, minister of war; M. Felipe Benicio-Navarro, minister of grace and justice; M. Dionysio Capaz, minister of marine; and M. Eguia, minister (ad interim) of finances.

The royal household was also new-modelled, under the superintendance of the marquis of Santa Cruz. Those who were suspected of not being vehement constitutionalists were removed from about the person of the king and from all official situations; nor did it in the least avail any of them, that they had, in the late critical times, shown themselves faithful to the existing system. Morillo,

for instance, though he had exerted himself conspicuously, first in endeavouring to bring back the guards to obedience, and afterwards had mainly contributed to the defeat of their bold attack, was deprived of his command. He had been once a royalist: he had received marks of the confidence of his royal master: he therefore was unworthy of the confidence of the nation and the Cortes. Many men of high rank were ordered to quit the capital, and had places of abode assigned to them. to them. The arch-bishop of Saragossa, and the bishops of Malaga and Ceuta, were sentenced to banishment; the duke del Infantado was exiled to the Canaries, and other powerful grandees to Ibiza and Seville. By these and similar acts the new ministry attested their constitutional zeal. But blood is the strong cement of factious union-the sure pledge of faith to confederates - the best nutriment of democratical freedom; and in blood, therefore, the new ministry hastened to dip their hands. During the popular ferment, which had taken place in May 1821, and of which one effect was, the murder of Vinuesa, the distinguished Elio had been brought to trial for his political conduct in 1814, convicted, and condemned to die. The sentence, however, had not been executed: nor was it supposed, that there was any intention of carrying it into effect: for what Elio had done in 1814, he did in obedience to the royal authority as it then existed in Spain; and if he was to fall for obeying the de facto autho rities of the time, thousands might with equal justice be involved in a similar fate. From the time of his condemnation, however, he had

remained a prisoner in the citadel of Valencia. On the 27th of August in the present year, he was brought to a second trial before a council of war; and the offence, with which he was now charged, was that of having been concerned in the revolt of the artillery on the 30th of May preceding [see page 238]. The trial lasted from 9 o'clock on the morning of the 27th, to 5 o'clock on the morning of the following day, and ended, as might have been expected, in the condemnation of the accused. A remarkable circumstance, was, that all the general officers in Valencia, from those of the rank of lieutenant-general to those of the rank of colonel inclusive, declined, under the pretence of sickness, to attend the council, or to assume the military command of the district, which, in consequence of the resignation of the officer who had been in trusted with that charge, was then vacant.* The sentence, being confirmed by the auditor of war, was executed on the 4th of September. Elio died by the infamous punish

According to the Madrid newspapers, the general officers and colonels of the garrison of Valencia, who avoided taking the command of the district after the sentence of the court. on Elio, were sent off to the following places of exile: viz., lieut.-general Perellos, to the Canaries, lieutenantgeneral the count de Calderon, to Ibiza; Brigadiers Ibarra, to Ceuta; Lacerda, to the same place; Marimon, to Bajados; Garcia, to Ibiza, Matalinares, to Manilla; Gaztelu, to Puerto Rico; Valparda, to Vigo; Barrera, to Mahon; Dieto, to the same place; colonel Novella, to Tarifa; colonel Anillo, to Ibiza.

The government also ordered an inquiry into the conduct of Brigadier Pereda, who was in quarters in Va.

lencia.

ment of the garotte, but with the courage of a soldier, and the enthusiasm of a martyr, amid the tears of all who could feel like men, and the exulting shouts of those whose breasts had been so tempered in the flames of a pretended liberty, as to be no longer accessible to any generous emotions. His last words were, forgiveness to his enemies, blessings on his king, prayers for the royal cause, and predictions of its ultimate triumph.

The second trial of Elio was a confession, that it would have been wrong to have acted on the former sentence. What the evidence was of the new crime alleged against him, we cannot say; it was not published, though, if it had been conclusive, the party in power would have been sufficiently eager to have given it circulation. He himself asserted his innocence to the last, and the general opinion was, that he was altogether innocent. Indeed, it is not easy to imagine, how a prisoner under sentence of death could engage in a plot with a band of artillery-men. The firmness, with which every officer of rank avoided taking any share in the proceedings against. him, notwithstanding the dangers and suspicions to which they exposed themselves by such a step, is a clear proof that they regarded the trial as a disgraceful farce, which was to be followed by a horrid tragedy. The whole transaction seems to have been nothing else than a judicial murder; to the atrocity of which, the eyes of the ruling party were for the present blinded by the fury of their political zeal. The ministers gained two advantages by it-they freed themselves from a dangerous enemy; and they gave the domi

nant faction a sure pledge of the sincerity of their professions; but, on the other hand, they impressed en their robes of office a dark stain which no time could efface. Alas! that the pretended votaries of freedom should be thus ready to walk in the paths of tyrants! "Oderint modo metuant," is a maxim, which has meaning and good sense in the mouth of despots, but cannot be acted upon without absurdity by men who profess to be struggling for freedom. True liberty shrinks from blood. The liberty, which is not just-temperate-humane-must be a spurious pretender to the name which she disgraces.

While these events were going on, the provinces towards the French frontier had been in a state of constant war; and the armies of the Faith (the name assumed by those who fought against the Cortes) had acquired such strength, that they were frequently able to keep the field against the constitutionalists. In Navarre, the principal leaders of the insurgents were Eguia, and, under him, Quesada. In April, their bands had more the character of banditti than of armies. In the month of May their forces were increased, and they began to act on an enlarged scale; forming regular corps, and making considerable purchases of arms, clothing, and horses. For these purposes, they were, it was supposed, supplied with treasures from France, through the Spanish refugees at Bayoune. Their operations, however, had no determined object their plan was merely to excite every where commotions; and they were unable to form any system of administration or government, because they never held

permanent possession of any ter ritory in the district. They organized, however, a superior junta at Irati, a place situated in the midst of forests, close to the French frontier, which they fortified with artillery, and which formed a kind of base for their operations. This was the only point which they possessed in Navarre; but it was one on which they set much value, as it contributed to enable them to intercept the public correspondence.

The revolution in Catalonia was commenced in the month of April by the band of a partisan of the name of Misas, which was shortly afterwards joined by that of Mosen Anton Goll. In May it became general, and the four divisions of that district were in a few days the prey of civil discord. From that moment, the forces and proceedings of the insurgents became formidable. The troops of the 7th district lost no time in proceeding to the principal points assailed; and the general, who commanded there, gave orders for the occupation of all the fortified posts, as well as of those which, though unfortified, were of any importance. Many skirmishes ensued, in which the constitutionalists were generally successful. Yet, such was the state of Catalonia at the latter end of May, that the general declared, and with good reason, that he should find it impossible to maintain his ground without prompt aid of every kind. The peasants and the inhabitants of the small inland towns were every where favourable to the royalists. It was only in the large, and especially in the commercial towns, that the Cortes found adherents.

In the month of June, the insurgents acquired fresh strength.

A lay brother of the order of La Trappe distinguished himself as a partisan among them; they invaded new districts, sacked many towrs, and augmented their columns; and though they sustained some repulses, they gained an important advantage by obtaining possession of the forts of Seo de Urgel.

In July, the insurrection continued its progress, though the constitutionalists made great efforts to oppose it at every point. Many skirmishes occurred, in which the local militia of the different towns took a considerable part. But though the constitutionalists obtained some successes, the influence of the taking of Seo de Urgel was sensibly felt; since it enabled the insurgents to maintain a tranquil position in the midst of the plain of Catalonia, and to assume a form of administration and government. They had also another strong post the monastery of San Ramon, which they had fortified with care. Arragon was in the beginning of the year the most tranquil of the provinces bordering on France, but the operations of the royalists in the adjacent districts quickly extended their influence thither. Commotions took place in the months of May and June, and in July there appeared symptoms of a general insurrection-the consequence of the successes of the armies of the faith in Navarre and Catalonia; and of disasters sustained by the constitutionalists at Marella and Seguenza. Before the end of July, the royalists obtained an important advantage by the capture of the fortress of Me quinenza. So sensible were the constitutionalists of the importance of this blow, that they determined to make a strenuous effort for the recovery of Mequinenza in August;

but they were so much occupied with the motions of the Trappist, who first marched from Catalonia into Navarre, and then returned along with Quesada to Catalonia, that they had not time or strength to make the attempt.

To give an aspect of greater solidity to their cause, the royalists resolved to establish a regency at Seo d'Urgel, composed of the marquis of Mata Florida, Creus (bishop of Tarragona), and the baron d'Eroles. The arrival of the marquis was announced by salvoes of artillery; and he received, successively, deputations of the provincial junta and the municipality. On the 14th of August the regency was installed.* The marquis, the bishop of Tarragona, and baron d'Eroles, proceeded to the cathedral, where, after having taken the oath administered by the bishop of Urgel, they assisted at a solemn mass. On the 15th, Ferdinand was proclaimed with the ancient solemnities, amid the acclamations of the people; and on the same day, the regency issued

* The following is an extract from a proclamation of the baron d'Eroles of the same date with that of the regency:

"We likewise wish for a constitution-a fixed law to govern the state; but we do not wish it to serve as a for its ally. After the example of pretext for license, or to take crime their ancestors, the people, legally assembled, shall enact laws adapted to their manners and the times in which we live. The Spanish name shall relive, not the vile slaves of factious cover its ancient glory, and we shall anarchists, but subjects of the laws which we ourselves shall have established. The king, the father of his people, will swear, as formerly, the maintenance of our liberties and privileges, and we shall then have him legally bound by his oath."