to the institutions that stability, which are the only certain pledges of the happiness of the people and of the strength of the states. "Peers and Deputies, as soon as the Chambers shall be constituted, I shall have laid before you the acts of abdication of his Majesty King Charles X. By the same act his royal highness Louis An toine de France also renounces his rights. This act was placed in my hands yesterday, the 2nd of August, at eleven o'clock at night. I have this morning ordered it to be deposited in the archives of the Chamber of Peers, and I caused it to be inserted in the official part of the Moniteur." DECREE of the KING of SPAIN, on the APPEARANCE of the REFUGEES on the FRONTIERS, Oct. 1, 1830. "When the deep and cancerous sores, formed upon the political body of the state by the revolutionary calamities of 1820 to 1823, were upon the point of being healed, and my beloved vassals about to reap the advantages of the important ameliorations which have been gradually introduced in every branch of the public administration, that rebellious and incorrigible faction, the sworn enemy of its country, has again appeared, to alarm and revolutionize this kingdom, entering the passes of our frontiers, and forming plans for the invasion of our coasts. Their horrible projects are well known, but all their designs and manœuvres are watched, in order that they may be defeated, and the monarchy preserved from fresh calamities. Let every good man, then, faithful to his king, and a lover of order and peace, confide in my foresight, and in the vigilance of the authorities, and pay strict observance to the laws; with the understanding that those who, on the contrary, blind in the career of crime, inattentive to my sovereign clemency, and whose corrupt hearts are full of turbulent and traitorous designs, shall, whatever be the mask which conceals their guilt, be inexorably dealt with; and by the strict and punctual fulfilment of the following resolutions, the kingdom will be purged of those evil-doers. ART. 1. The resolutions embodied in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th articles of the royal decree of the 17th of August, 1825, against such armed rebels as may be apprehended in any part of the Spanish territory, shall be maintained in full force and vigour, and carried into entire execution by the generals and chiefs of my armed forces. "2. Such persons as render assistance to these rebels, whether in arms, ammunition, provisions, or money, or who favour and advance their criminal purposes, by means of correspondence, counsel, or any other manner, shall be deemed traitors, and condemned to death, conformably to the laws, 1st and 2nd, tit. 2, part. 7. "3. Such members of the corporation and civil power, whose territory may be invaded by any armed rebellious force, and who do not give notice thereof to the civil The articles referred to condemn to death all persons found with arms in their hands for the purpose of causing a change of government. and military governors of the district, allowing them for such communication one hour and a half per league distant from the point invaded, and the chief place of the district, shall be forthwith imprisoned and tried. Should it become evident that this negligence was malicious, and for the purpose of favouring the rebels, they shall be condemned to death; but should it be proved that it was merely from inattention, they shall be fined 1,000 ducats, and sentenced to serve six years in the gallies in Africa. "4. Whoever shall harbour or conceal any rebel in his house, with full knowledge of the circumstance, shall be fined 500 ducats, and sentenced to four years in the gallies. "5. For the mere circumstance of keeping up a correspondence with any of the individuals who emigrated this kingdom in consequence of being implicated in the political crimes of 1820 and 1823, the offender shall be fined 200 ducats, and sentenced to two years' imprisonment; but should such correspondence have a direct tendency to favour their plans against the State, they are to be proceeded against according to the 2nd Article. "6. The superintendant-general of police shall make out, with the greatest despatch, a list of those perverse emigrants who have been sentenced for revolutionary crimes by any tribunal of this kingdom, with a note of his person, appearance, &c., as in distinguishing a manner as possible, which is to be forthwith forwarded to the civil and military authorities at the frontiers and sea-ports, in order that they may be known upon their entrance; and should they be apprehended in any point whatsoever, although unarmed, they shall be condemned to the punishment already imposed upon them-death. "7. The principals, or accomplices, of any plan for the interior of the kingdom, for the objects of rebellion against my sovereign authority, or to excite popular commotion, which may show itself by acts preparatory to their execution, shall be sentenced to death. "8. Such persons as shall by persuasion or counsel countenance any act of insurrection, or disturbance of the public tranquillity, shall be sentenced to serve from six to ten years in the gallies, according to the magnitude of such offence. "9. Any person who, possessing positive knowledge of any plot against the interior and exterior security of the State, and who does not immediately denounce it to the competent authority, shall be proceeded against, and sentenced to from two to eight years' imprisonment, or the gallies, according to the criminality which may appear against him, or the magnitude of the plot. (Signed by the King.) "Palace, Oct. 1. "To D. Francisco Tadeo "Calomarde." MANIFESTO addressed to the SPANISH NATION by GENERAL MINA, on CROSSING the FRONTIER, Oct. 9, 1830. "Spaniards!-The time is now arrived for us to show ourselves to the world with that dignity and nobleness characteristic of our nation. "After having, in 1823, seen the laurels gained in the war of independence sullied, and our rights trampled upon, misfortunes, persecutions, and murders have unceasingly afflicted the Spanish nation. Spaniards have only been governed by caprice-sometimes arbitrarily, and always cruelly. "We bring to recollection these evils only for the purpose of putting an end to them, uniting the sons of so unfortunate a country with a fraternal and indissoluble bond. "Experience has taught some that the leaving the fate of a people to the sole and free will of those who govern gives occasion to outrages without measure, and irreparable acts of injustice; and to others, that the desire of widening excessively privileges and public liberty, brings with it disorder-the first cause, or, at least, pretext for despotism. "France has just set us an example, traced in a former age by England, of the mode of prevent ing the destruction of our liberties-defending them with heroic valour and admirable moderation. Let us imitate in this these distinguished nations. "Let us imitate them also in the institutions by which they are governed; according to which, placing ourselves in harmony with them, and with the other constitutional countries in Europe, we shall establish the two great foundations of the prosperity of States, liberty and order. "The Spanish nation, assembled by means of its representatives, and taught by the lessons of experience, will adopt, doubtless, a free government, in which will be assured no less the rights of all Spaniards than the prerogatives of the Crown. "The nation, with well adapted and just providences, will open the fountains of public wealth, at present so much obstructed; will terminate the disputes with America, yielding to what time and circumstances have rendered indispensable; and, finally, bringing to a close the frightful wasting of the public resources, and the frauds introduced in the national credit, will cause the debt and former contracts to be respected and religiously fulfilled, which, with great scandal, have been disowned and annulled. "To the nation, then, assembled in Cortes, it belongs to discuss and resolve upon matters so important. My present proposition confines itself now only to animating the Spaniards, to the end that they may all agree in seeking so sacred an object, and in accelerating the coming of so happy a day. Numerous others, my comrades, all with one accord, and parting from the same centre, will operate on divers points of the Peninsula; and unanimous, we shall welcome in a most friendly manner those who join our banners, or co-operate in the sacred cause of liberty, forgetting former proceedings and all party distinctions. For those only who oppose us, or who fail us for the future, we shall establish prompt and severe justice. "Our device is, "Oblivion of the past; union, liberty, and order, for the future." Given at the Camp of Honour and Assembly of the Spaniards, this 9th of October, 1830. "FRANCISCO ESPOZ Y MINA." SPEECH of the KING of the NETHERLANDS at the OPENING of the EXTRAORDINARY SESSION of the STATES GENERAL, Sept. 13, 1830. "High and Mighty Lords; The extraordinary session of your high mightinesses, which I open to-day, has been rendered absolutely necessary by the pressure of lamentable events. "In peace and friendship with all the nations of our quarter of the globe, the Netherlands lately saw the war in its colonial possessions happily ended. The kingdom flourished through order, commerce, and industry. I was studying the means of alleviating the burthens of the people, and gradually to introduce such ameliorations in the internal administration as experience recommend ed, when suddenly tumults broke out at Brussels, and then in some other places of the kingdom, marked by scenes of pillage and conflagration, the description of which must be afflicting to my heart, to the national feeling, and to humanity. "In expectation of the co-operation of your high mightinesses, whose convocation was my first care, all the measures have been promptly taken which depended upon me in order to check the progress of the evil, to protect the well-disposed against the evilminded, and avert from the Netherlands the horrors of civil war. "To search into the nature and origin of the events, and to fathom with your high mightinesses the object and the consequences of them, is at this moment less necessary for the interest of the country, than to inquire into the means by which tranquillity and order, the government and the law, may be not only re-established for the moment, but rather be permanently consolidated. "Meantime, amidst the strife of opinions, the violence of passions, and the existence of different motives and objects, it is a most difficult task to combine my cares for the welfare of all my subjects with the duties which I owe to them all, and which I have sworn to before them all. I have, therefore, called upon your wisdom, patience, and firmness, that I may be able, strengthened by the concurrence of the representatives of the people, to determine with them what is proper to be done, under these lamentable circumstances, for the welfare of the Netherlands. "In many quarters it is thought that the welfare of the state would be promoted by a revisal of the Fundamental Law, and even by a separation between countries which are united by treaties and by the Fundamental Law; but such a question can only be discussed in the manner which is prescribed by the same Fundamental Law, to the observance of which we are all bound by a solemn oath. "I require on this subject the opinions of your assembly, given with that frankness and calmness which its great importance so especially requires; while I, on my side, wishing above all things the happiness of the Netherlanders, whose interests are confided to me by Divine Providence, am perfectly ready to co-operate with your assembly in the measures which may tend to promote it. "This extraordinary meeting is also intended to inform your high mightinesses, that the interest of the kingdom, in the midst of all that has taken place, absolutely requires that the militia shall remain embodied beyond the time fixed by the Fundamental Law. "The provisions for the public expenditure which will arise from this, and from many other consequences of the insurrection, may be made for the present from the credit already opened, but the further regulations must be a subject for your deliberations in the approaching ordinary session. "Your high mightinesses, I depend on your fidelity and patriotism. Mindful of the storms of revolutions which have passed over my head, I shall as little forget the courage, the affection, and the fidelity which shook off the yoke, consolidated the existence of the nation, and placed the sceptre in my hands, as the valour which, in the field of battle, supported the throne, and secured the independence of our country. Fully prepared to meet reasonable wishes, I shall never yield to partyspirit, nor consent to measures which would sacrifice the prosperity of the nation to passion or violence. "To reconcile as much as possible all interests, is the wish of my heart." DECREES of the PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT of BELGIUM for the FORMATION of a NATIONAL CONGRESS, Oct. 1830. |