of a civil war and foreign invasion: a complication of evils, the termination of which it is not easy to foresee. The example of military rebellion, thus held out by Spain, has since been followed in Portugal, in Piedmont and in Naples, A few words on the revolutionary spectacle, got up in the latter country, will be sufficient for our purpose, and we select it as the most perfectly dramatic performance of the kind, having, within a very limited space and time, a beginning, middle and end, as is required in such cases. We have heard a great deal in this country of the ardent zeal for liberty displayed by the Neapolitans on that occasion, and of the decided public feeling manifested in favour of the constitution. It is difficult, however, to reconcile this account either with the facts as they occurred, or the subsequent termination of the transaction. Except in the galleries of the theatre, or of the chamber where the deputies assembled, no symptom of enthusiasm was ever apparent. The troops levied from the provinces, (amongst whom were to be found the descendants of the ancient. Samnites,) murmured loudly at being called out to defend their own frontiers; and whilst the Austrians were marching into the kingdom, the citizens of Naples continued, without any kind of interruption, their amusement of pelting each other with sugar plums on the Corso. An army, indeed, of a very flourishing aspect was collected, and marched to stop the progress of the enemy, but it vanished like a guilty thing' upon the fearful summons, not of the Austrian cannon, for we believe those dread engines never came into play, but of the Austrian drum-boys, who preceded the advanced guard of the invaders. And so ended the Neapolitan revolution, which for a few days was an object of as great and general interest as the Spanish revolution now is. The attempt at a revolution in Piedmont was still more contemptible. Count Pecchio-the name of whose work we have prefixed to this Article-appears to have been one of the sufferers by this abortive effort, and to have sought what he considered a certain asylum' in Spain; which we should imagine was (under all the circumstances of the case) like choosing the foot of Mount Vesuvius for a secure retreat from volcanic eruptions; but much as Spain ought to have been flattered by the Count's selection of her as an asylum, he was mortified to find that the cause to which he had devoted himself was not only not a topic of interest in his adopted country, but that the well educated Spanish liberales had never heard a syllable of the Piedmontese revolution, and did not exactly know where Piedmont was situated. 6 Though so many days in Madrid, and the first Italian who has reached it since the disasters of which my country has been lately the theatre, will you believe me, when I say, that not a soul has yet con descended descended to interrogate me on the revolution of Piedmont? If the subject happens to be mentioned in the course of conversation, and any thing is said about Italy, the speakers are sure to confound Piedmont with Naples; although these two countries are seven hundred miles apart!'-Pecchio's Spanish and Portugueze Revolutions, p. 34. This ignorance was of course very mortifying to Signior Pecchio, yet he must allow us to observe, that he himself affords some excuse for the little anxiety shown by the world as to the Piedmontese Revolution, seeing that he, an actor therein, is obliged to have recourse to the Spanish and Portugueze revolutions, for matter on which to employ his pen; and his Letters are so far valuable that they contain abundant proofs, in addition to those which have already been adduced, of the incapacity and ignorance of the leading people in Spain. We abstain from any discussion of the grievances alleged by France against Spain, or any prognostics as to what may be expected from the hostilities now in progress. We will confine ourselves to the expression of a hope, nay of a belief that, out of the unprecedented situation and complicated difficulties in which Spain is placed, there will arise an order of things, which, by ensuring to the monarch due authority, to the church due respect, to the rich their natural weight and consideration, and to the body of the people an adequate representation, may secure the internal prosperity, of Spain, and contribute, both by the fact and the example, to the permanent tranquillity of Europe. We shall conclude with a few words as to the conduct of this country in the negociations connected with this affair. After the very full discussion to which they have been subject for some months past, both in and out of parliament, it would be superfluous to enter into any detail of the judicious course which has been adopted by our government in their foreign negociations; or to express our high admiration of the temperate, though firm line of conduct which has been adopted by them in a conjuncture so full of difficulty and-the proceedings of their opponents oblige us to add-of danger. These proceedings appeared calculated to plunge us into war, and, if that was not the intention, then we have no hesitation in saying, that they were idle and puerile. But in whatever way the charges were meant to operate, a more signal defeat was never inflicted on any party, than that which the opposition suffered, on this question, after a debate of unusual length, and still more unusual result. The speech made by Mr. Canning, on this occasion, is not more remarkable for its eloquence than for the clearness with which it explained all the intricacies of a very complicated. subject, and the ability with which he applied to the individual cases, the great great and eternal principles of national law and public justice. There seldom has been an occasion in which the anxiety of the country for a full justification of a great public measure, involving the national interests and honour, has been so completely satisfied and allayed. Absurd as the motion, which called forth this explanation, was in itself, no question was ever so absurdly managed-materiem superabat opus: and the right thinking part of the world must feel under infinite obligation to the mover of it, for affording so fair an opportunity to our ministers of expounding that neutral policy by which they have at once preserved the peace of England, and probably shortened and circumscribed the hostilities which they could not wholly avert; we perfectly agree with the author of the Crisis, that If England remain strictly and absolutely neutral, the contest that is about to take place will, in all probability, be short, unless it change its grounds. If it do so change, then a fresh case will arise, which will demand fresh consideration; and any project of permanent occupation or conquest (which it cannot be reasonably supposed is the present purpose of France, or her allies) would be an unavoidable cause for direct interference. But as the case stands at present, any departure from 'strict neutrality, in fact, spirit and letter, on the part of Great Britain, will not fail to make the contest more complicated, more sanguinary, and more protracted than, according to every rational expectation, it will otherwise prove.'-Crisis of Spain, pp. 69, 70. It has been, indeed, stated, that the government of this country ought to have held 'language calculated to bring France to her senses,' (such is the phrase,) and to induce her to desist from the meditated attack. We will not repeat Mr. Canning's triumphant arguments against such disreputable conduct, as using strong language without being prepared to support it by the strongest measures, but the advocates for strong language or measures must allow us to remind them, in justice to those who are accused of favouring France, how much has been ventured for the sake of Spain. The British ministers actually staked the peace of the British empire in behalf of Spoin; for if she had consented to any change in her constitution, and the French government had not been satisfied with it, we could hardly have escaped from a rupture with the latter power, had she still persisted in her projects of invasion. But independent of the absurdity of supposing that France would or ought to be induced by strong language to abandon any enterprize in which she may think herself entitled to engage, it would be surely unwise to give any colour to a notion industriously circulated abroad, that England approves of the Spanish Constitution, with all its imperfections; and, by violent language, VOL. XXVIII. NO. LVI. N N to to lead the world to imagine not only that we consider France to be acting absolutely wrong, but that Spain has taken the course which is absolutely right. Such conduct might, indeed, tend greatly to increase the obstinacy of the one party, but could not fail also to exasperate the other. With England for her ally, in the argument, Spain might fairly imagine that she need not change one particle of her constitution; nor concede a single point of the discussion; nothing could be more disastrous to Spain herself, than the exciting of so false a notion. We wish too well to Spain not to wish to see her constitution modified into the elements of a free form of government, suited to the habits and feelings of the people, and capable of progressive expansion as the nation may become more fitted for that state of freedom which is the blessing of our own country, and which Englishmen, at least all true Englishmen, equally know how to appreciate and to enjoy. 137. Books, (New) list of, 265. Britain, neutrality of, towards Spain vindi- Angoulême, (Duchess of) Narrative of a Barton, (Bernard) beautiful poem by, 4, 5. Broek, notice of a singular sect of religion- Buonaparte, frauds of, relative to his birth Arago, (J.) Narrative of a Voyage round remarks on, 329, 330. 314. Antiquities, &c. of Rome, 315-notice of constitution, character of, 548, 549. NN 2 C. Camp- |