desire to deprive it, the means of exhibiting itself, and acting without being discredited by the want of power to do good, and to assist those whom it ought to com

fort.

"Honoured in its misfortunes by the virtues which it has displayed in the midst of persecution, the Church of France needs not great riches in order to be useful and respected; but she has long been oppressed by poverty, contrary even to the interests of the state, which requires that all the parts of which it is composed should enjoy advantages that belong to them, in order that they may be united, and concur equally in the public welfare."

After a detailed statement of the grounds of the royal ordinance, the report concludes as follows:

"Thus, without any new expense, your majesty, by a constant progression, ameliorates the present and fixes the future state of the clergy. Trifling sacrifices for the treasury become great benefits for the church, by strikingly manifesting what public order expects from morality and religion, and what the sovereign wishes to be done, in order to support the clergy honourably in the pious modesty of their wants and wishes. It is in the lower degrees of the clergy, if the sublimity of a vocation every way equally sacred will permit this language to be used, it is among the ecclesiastics placed nearest to the poor, by their situation and their duties, that your majesty causes to be distributed benefits, which, far from detracting from

the dignity of the episcopacy, will furnish the bishops with new means of extending to all the points of their dioceses, that salutary influence by which they participate in the duties of watching over the maintenance of respect for public peace, and the laws of the state."

The concordat still remains in a state of abeyance.

After the summer recess, the chambers were re-opened on November 15th, when the king pronounced the following speech:

Gentlemen,-The first wish of my heart, in appearing again. amongst you, is to acknowledge the blessings which Providence. has been pleased to bestow upon us, and those which it permits us to expect in future.

My family is increased; and I may hope that my remaining wishes may be accomplished. Fresh supports of my house will form new ties between it and my people.

Our friendly relations with the different states of the two worlds, founded on the intimate union of the sovereigns, and on the principle of a mutual independence, continue to form the pledge of a long peace.

By the happy result of my negotiations with the Holy See, our principal churches are no longer deprived of ministers. The presence of the bishops in their dioceses will establish order in all parts of the ecclesiastical administration; they will there propagate the respect due to our holy religion, and to the laws of the state.

We shall preserve untouched the liberties of our church. I shall hear the prayers

of

of the faithful; I shall consult their wants and their resources, before I propose to you the mea sures which the restoration of the worship of our ancestors may still require.

Two years of abundance have repaired, in part, the evils of scar city. Agriculture has made a sensible progress; all branches of industry have taken a new spring; the fine arts continue to adorn and illustrate France. I have collected round me their numerous productions; the same advantage has been given to the useful arts. Public admiration has equally encouraged them.

The liberation of our soil, and more favourable times, have permitted us to employ ourselves in the amelioration of our finances. I have ordered that there shall be laid before you the state of the public charges, as well as that of the means of meeting them; and I have the satisfaction to announce to you, that the foresight of the legislature has not been deceived by pressing and accidental wants. No new debt will be created for the next year. Already, considerable relief has been afforded to those who contribute to the public burthens. The reduction of the most heavy taxes will not be retarded longer than the discharge of the extraordinary debts contracted by the state may require. The laws have been every where executed with facility, and in no part has the public tranquillity been materially disturbed. Under these circumstances, and with a view to remove more effectually the recollection of past evils, I have thought that I might multiply the acts of clemency

and reconciliation. I have placed no other barriers against them than those which are interposed by the national feeling and the dignity of the crown.

Still, in the midst of these elements of public prosperity, I must not conceal from you, that just causes of alarm mingle with our hopes, and demand at this time our most serious attention.

A restlessness, vague, but real, possesses all minds: every one now demands pledges of a per manent state of things. The na tion has but an imperfect taste of the first fruits of legal rule and of peace; it fears to see them snatched from it by the violence of fac tions: it is alarmed at their ar dour for domination: it is terri fied at the open expression of their designs. The fears of all, the wishes of all, point out the necessity of some new guarantee of tranquillity and stability. Pub. lic credit waits for it as the signal to rise; commerce, to extend its speculations. In short, France, in order to be sure of herself, in order to resume among nations the rank which she ought to occupy for her own and their advan tage, has need of having her con stitution placed out of the reach of those shocks which are the more dangerous the oftener they are repeated.

Under this conviction, I have again turned my attention to those ideas which already I had wished to realize; but which ought to be matured by experience, and to be called for by necessity. The founder of the charter, with which are inseparably connected the destinies of my people and of my family, I

felt

felt that if there were any improvement which was required by these great interests, as well as for the maintenance of our liberties, and which would merely modify some of the regulating forms of the charter, in order the better to ensure its power and its operation, it belonged to me to propose such improvement.

The moment is come for strengthening the chamber of deputies, and for withdrawing from it the annual action of parties, by ensuring to it a duration more conformable to the interests of public order and to the external dignity of the state: this will be the completion of my work. More fortunate than other states, it is not from provisional measures, but from the natural development of our institutions that we shall derive our strength.

It is from the devoted zeal,-it is from the energy of the two chambers, it is from their close union with my government, that I would ask the means of saving the public liberty from licentiousness, of establishing the monar

chy, and of giving to all the interests guaranteed by the charter that profound security which we owe them.

We shall at the same time undertake the task of making all our laws harmonize with the constitutional monarchy. You have already adopted several which have this tendency; and I have given directions for the preparation of others which will ensure individual liberty, impartiality of trials, and a regular and faithful administration throughout all departments and districts.

Providence has imposed on me the duty of closing the abyss of revolutions; of bequeathing to my successors, to my country, institutions that are liberal, firmly established, and durable. You are assembled for this sacred purpose. In order to accomplish it, rely, gentlemen, on my unalterable firmness, as I rely on the cooperation of my faithful and loyal peers of France, of my faithful and loyal deputies of the departments.

VOL. LXI.

CHAPTER

leader of the enterprise was hanged, and twelve others were shot. General Elio, the military governor of the province, issued on the occasion a truly ferocious proclamation, in which he warned the inhabitants to feel no pity for the "monsters" whose fate they had witnessed.

In the month of May, a fresh revolution took place in the administration, which within the last five years had changed as many times. One of the ministers was ordered to quit Madrid in an hour, and another was recommended to repair to some town in the kingdom of Grenada until he should receive an appointment in that quarter. Financial difficulties, which each set of councillors in its turn tried to overcome and found insuperable, were believed to be the true cause of these endless vicissitudes in the cabinet of Ferdinand VII.

The sailing of the long intended expedition from Cadiz for the recovery of the revolted provinces of South America, continued to be postponed from time to time, for the equipment of a single squadron was now an effort which exhausted all the resources of this great kingdom,-once by its power and riches the tyrant or the terror of Europe. The Spanish marine, since the fatal alliance formed with France in the year 1796 and the long series of national misfortunes which had resulted from this step, had sunk into the last stage of decay. The navy had been annihilated, the arsenals emptied, and the forests of the kingdom destroyed. In the present emergency, therefore, the government had found it ne

cessary to make application to Russia to furnish vessels for the South American expedition, and a considerable number had arrived at Cadiz. But these ships, which were built only of pine, and had already seen much service, were soon discovered to be in so bad a state that very considerable repairs were requisite to fit them for the voyage. During the delay occasioned by this circumstance, a spirit of mutiny gained upon the soldiers destined for the service, which broke out just as other difficulties had at length been surmounted and the preparations appeared on the point of being completed. Very decided symptoms now made it manifest, that the troops would not allow themselves to be embarked on board bad ships, badly fitted out, and above all, badly commanded, in order to restore the colonies to the domination of a prince whose arbitrary system of government had already disgusted themselves. In the night of the 7th of June, count Abisbal (O'Donnel) the commander in chief, became apprised of the existence of a conspiracy in the first division of the army, which he felt the necessity of strangling in its birth. He quitted Cadiz with dispatch and secresy, and collected the troops in garrison at the Isle of Leon and Puerto. Real, to the number of 4,000. With this force having surrounded the mutinous camp, 7,000 strong, he caused the soldiers to lay down their arms, pronounced the dismissal of the officers, above 120 of whom he took into custody, and dispersed the regiments among the towns of Andalusia. [N2]

The