CORTES.

Gentlemen Deputies. On this solemn day, in which the present Cortes are closed, my heart is necessarily affected by sensations of different kinds, though still they accord with the circumstances in which the nation is placed. On the one hand, the evils by which she is oppressed, and, on the other, the valour of those sons who defend her, produce in my mind the natural effects of such opposite causes; and if the public calamities and the horrid abuse of my royal name by the enemies of the state, are to me matter of the deepest affliction, I likewise feel the greatest satisfaction when I contemplate the virtues by which the Spanish people are acquiring fresh claims to glory, and the conduct by which their worthy representatives have distinguished themselves during the present legislature.

Invaded as our territory is, by the most unheard-of treachery on the part of a perfidious enemy, who owe their existence chiefly to this magnanimous nation, the world beholds violated in her the rights of all countries, and all the principles the most sacred among men. Pretended defects in our political institutions supposed er rors in our interior administration, a feigned wish to restore tranquillity, the disturbance of which is the work of those alone who exaggerate it-affected concern for the dignity of a Monarch who wishes not to be one but for the happiness of his subjects such were the pretexts of an aggression which will be the scandal of posterity, and the blackest spot of the nineteenth century. But, hypocrisy, embol

dened by her ephemeral progress, soon threw of the mask, and, discovering all the horror of her views, no longer allows even the most duped to doubt that the only reform she aims at is, to deprive the nation of all independence, of all liberty, and of all hope: and that the dignity which she pretends to restore to my crown, consists only in dishonouring me, in exposing my Royal person and family, and in undermining the foundations of my throne, to raise herself on its ruins.

With very little reliance on their forces, and on their own valour, the invaders have not been able to advance but as cowards, by scattering corrupting gold, by recurring to the vilest shifts to seduce the incautious, and by arming in their aid treason, fanaticism, ignorance, and all the passions and crimes. In opposition to such enemies, and in so disadvantageous a struggle, to those who are acquainted with honourable warfare only, the fate of arms has hitherto been adverse. The defection of a general, whom the country had loaded with honours, annihilated an army, upset all plans, and opened to the enemy the gates of the residence of government, compelling it to remove to this spot; and the combined operations being thus frustrated, and our means of defence so considerably diminished, misfortune has since succeeded misfortune, and evils have accumulated upon a generous people who least merited them.

But in the midst of these disasters, Spain preserves her magnanimous resolution, and the Cortes,

in the closest union, with my government, have ever maintained themselves such as they were in the memorable days of the 9th and 11th of January last. The serenity and wisdom of their deliberations hi therto, amidst such bitterness and danger, the confidence which their patriotism inspires, and the hatred itself with which they are honoured by the enemies of the country, are so many proofs that they have deserved well of it. Indefatigable in promoting all the branches of public prosperity, they have issued various decrees that contribute to it, as far as circumstances permit. The public credit of the nation, her finances, her army, the interior government of the provinces, agriculture, commerce, and other branches of industry, the administration of justice and the establishment of beneficence, have all been the object of the zeal of the Cortes, and all are indebted to them for considerable improvements which time will evince to a greater extent, and which I will exert myself to further, as far as depends upon the executive power.

"Gentlemen,-I feel a real satisfaction in expressing my gratitude for these important services, for the generosity with which you have attended to the honour of my Royal Family, and for the liberality with which you have furnish ed my Government all the means in your power to meet the excessive expenses of the state, with the least pressure upon the nation; the powers granted to this effect, by the Cortes, to the provincial deputations, as auxiliary juntas of the national defence, have increased the resources; and the patriotism of these corporations has hitherto made, and I trust, will continue to make, of such authori VOL. LXV.

ty, a use extremely beneficial for the support and increase of the defenders of the country.

"I likewise return thanks to the Cortes for the unlimited confidence which they have reposed in my government, authorizing it, of its own accord, and by means of its principal agents, to adopt some extraordinary measures which the present state of the nation induced me to propose as indispensable. If it really is indispensable that, in such critical times, the executive power should be sufficiently strong to prevent any machinations, and secure public tranquillity, my government never will, therefore, lose sight of the respect due to the liberty of the Spaniards, but endeavour to requite a confidence so gratifying, by acting, as hitherto, with the greatest moderation and economy.

"The position in which the events of the war have placed my Government, has produced an interruption in the communications with several of the agents of foreign Powers; but there is no reason whatever to think that this momentary interruption can disturb the relations of friendship and alliance that subsist between Spain and those cabinets.

"Particular circumstances which might expose the honour of my government have induced me to order, as a provisional measure, that my chargé d'affaires should withdraw from Lisbon.

"Nevertheless, the ties subsist untouched by which two nations are united, whose evident interest it is to live together in peace and harmony: and the commercial intercourse has continued uninterrupted.

"In the interior, every thing suffers from the fatal effects of a L*

desolating war, and the most beneficent laws and measures cannot produce favourable results in the midst of such disasters. Divine Providence is pleased to try us in all ways but I trust, gentlemen, that at last it will grant a triumphant issue to the justice of our cause. If the treason of some has done for the invaders what they could not expect from their own efforts, the country has still left many heroes who remind the French army of the Spaniards of 1813. If some governments, who are inimical to liberty and light, have conspired against us-if others have forsaken us from a nearsighted policy-all nations behold their interests connected with ours, and are ardent in their wishes that in this struggle we may be vic

torious.

"Gentlemen Deputies, Then rest, for the present, from your laudable labours, and reap, from the esteem of your fellow-citizens, the fruits which you so richly deserve. Endeavour to inculcate on their minds the necessity of their all uniting around my constitutional throne and of discord and unfounded distrust disappearing from amongst us. Let the constitution be our only motto, national independence, freedom and honour our only wish, and unmoved constancy be ever opposed by us to misfortunes which we have not merited. My government shall cease to exist before it take any step contrary to the oaths by which it is connected with the country, or to what is required by the honour of the nation, and the dignity of my crown; and, if circumstances shall require it, it will seek, in the extraordinary Cortes, a safe harbour for the vessel of the state. In such case, I will assem

ble them, always depending upon their zeal and patriotism, and jointly we will travel in the path of glory, until a peace be obtained at once honourable and worthy of Spaniards and of myself."

ANSWER of the PRESIDENT of the CORTES, to the KING'S SPEECH.

"Sire, The Cortes of the Spanish nation, on terminating their ordinary sessions, could wish to congratulate your Majesty and themselves on the tranquil enjoyment of the beneficent institutions by which we are governed. But, in reality, as your Majesty has just observed, treacherous aggression has scattered over this nation all the evils of an atrocious war, in which fanaticism, the vices and ignorance of the aggressors are obstinately struggling against the virtues, the honour, and the illumination of the offended. In such a

situation, the noble resolution of upholding the contest, so as either to vanquish or perish with glory, is worthy of Spanish breasts.

"And what pretexts have they chosen for hostilities that will ever be the scandal of the civilized world? To protect religion, and maintain the prerogatives of your Majesty's throne, through a reform in our constitution. But religion is not protected by the violence of the superstition of the barbarous ages; nor are the throne and person of your Majesty defended by exposing them to universal disrepute, by the excesses which are committed in the abuse of your Majesty's name. Above all, foreign legions, with arms in their hands, do not intend to reform the constitution of any country, but rather endeavour the destruction of its liberty, and the violation of

its most valuable rights: but can these be the active measures, at this moment, of Princes who, but lately, owed to our firmness, and to the exalted state of those principles which they are persecuting, some the restitution, and others the preservation of their thrones, and all the security of that power which they now employ to reward such benefits, at our hands, by injuries and calamities? Such conduct can be sanctioned only by the perfidious ingratitude of those Princes who debased and prostrated themselves before a daring soldier; nor can it be supported and adopted but by degraded Spaniards, who are absolute strangers to honour able sentiments and national independence.

"The contest at last begun, we at first experienced reverses from it, of which some should not surprise us, because they were foreseen, and others have been the results of seduction and deceit, rather than of the power of the aggressors. But these momentary advantages, far from humbling our valour, have given us fresh vigour, and, confiding in the justice of our cause, we await our triumph unmoved.

"The august person of your Majesty and his royal Family being now sheltered within these impenetrable walls, together with the national representation, from them we will repeat the lesson which we gave, some years ago, to the armies the most formidable in the world, by the talents of the chief who directed them, and by the numbers of which they were composed. In a crisis so terrible, the Cortes have done all they had to do, which was, to be faithful to their oath. To this effect, they have put their courage to the sever

est trial, and performed all that necessity required; and, however painful some of their resolutions may have been to them, the sacred duty imposed on them and the fundamental law compelled their adoption.

"The just wish to provide the necessary resources, in order to maintain the independence of the nation, has likewise induced them to grant the aids of men and money which have been called for, as well as the extraordinary powers which circumstances required, and which the patriotic government of your Majesty so well merited; the Cortes having ever been guided by the sole object of saving the country from the abyss in which its enemies wish to plunge it; employing their utmost zeal in so regulating the distribution and the means of execution as, at the same time, and as far as possible, to attend to the relief as well as welfare of their constituents.

"In the arduous position in which the Cortes were placed, almost from the moment of their first assembling, an external war on the one hand, and on the other the lamentable effects of the sordid machinations of the enemies of light, of the painful dereliction of some perverse ministers of religion, and of the stubborn conduct of certain individuals inured to the exercise of despotism, they were scarcely allowed time to attend to other matters. Nevertheless, unwilling to omit any thing intrusted to them, they have endeavoured, by all the means in their power, to open the sources of public wealth, to set aside the impediments which industry laboured under, and to facilitate trade and circulation; careful at the same time, to secure the right administration of justice,

and the safety of the persons and property of Spaniards. If they have not accomplished more, it has been owing to that unfortunate moment when the chiefs of the

European nations conspired against

us.

"It is truly lamentable that this generous nation should not have her friendly intercourse requited by the rest in the way that their common interest requires; but she, not being answerable for an aberration of mind so ill becoming the enlightened age in which we live she must console herself with not having provoked evil, and having ever been disposed to good; and, above all, to distinguish, by real proofs of useful and reciprocal union, those states which were disposed to preserve and appreciate these valuable ties, and not to sacrifice the interests of their subjects to the passion or caprice of their rulers.

"The steady and constitutional conduct of your Majesty's government leads the Cortes to rely most fully that it will continue to advance, thus nobly, in the path of glory, overcoming every obstacle, and steering the vessel of the state safely into harbour, aided by the zeal and resolution of the heroic soldiers of all arms, the praiseworthy constitutional corporations, and, in general, by the noble intrepidity of the Spaniards.

"The Cortes, satisfied with the testimony of their conscience, having religiously discharged their duties, and without any remorse arising from there political conduct, are come again to this invincible island, the terror of tyrants and the support of free men, and have assembled anew in this very temple where, in spite of the then ar

biter of diadems and of thrones, that constitution was formed and sanctioned, in 1812, which is to be the source of our prosperity.

"If in raising on this spot that everlasting monument of heroism and wisdom, and despising the fire and the snares of an enemy crafty and terrible, those who had the good fortune to be deputies, show ed themselves deserving of their mission, the present representatives of the Spanish nation will imitate the exalted example of magnani mity in danger, left them by their predecessors. Resolved never to compound with their own infamy, they will maintain, at all risks, the oath they have taken.

"On all occasions, whether pros perous or adverse, your Majesty will never find them retrograding in the career of honour; and if, once more assembled in extraordinary Cortes, the good of the coun try so requiring it, these deputies should have again to exercise the legislative functions, they will re peat, in the face of the whole world, what they declared in their sittings of the 9th and 11th of January last, and expressed anew on the 29th of July, with general applause.

"Your Majesty may make your self easy, in the full confidence and security that you will find them by your side whenever your Majesty may apply to them support the dignity of tutional throne: and that they never can wish for a day of greater joy to them than that on which, removed with your Majesty to the centre of the monarchy, they may be able to congratulate your jesty on the attainment of victory, after having driven the enemy beyond the Pyrenees."

Ma