SPAIN 
 
 AND THE 
 
 ME 
 
 11 JAR WITH MOROCCO. 
 
 BY 
 
 0. C. DALHOUSIE BOSS, ESQ. 
 
 A RESIDENT IN SPAIN FOE MANY YEABS. 
 
 General O'Donnell's Speech in the Cortes, explaining the causes of 
 the outbreak of hostilities. 
 
 Great enthusiasm throughout the country. Patriotic offers from 
 all classes. Anecdote of Cuchares the Bull-fighter. 
 
 The question of COUPON s examined and explained. 
 
 Description of the Spanish possessions on the Coast of Morocco. 
 Ceuta, El Penon, Melilla and Alhucema. 
 
 Outrages committed by the Riff Pirates. 
 
 Eeasons for the popularity of the war. Speech of the Marquis of 
 Molins in the Senate. 
 
 Spain's desire to be " respected abroad and united at home." 
 
 Account of O'Donnell's Pronunciamento and the Revolution of 1854. 
 
 Anecdotes of the Revolution. 
 
 Fall of Espartero in 1856. State of parties in Spain. 
 
 " Union- Liberal." 
 
 Present highly prosperous state of the country. Education, rail- 
 ways, commerce, revenue compared with that of other coun- 
 tries, Army and Navy. Desamortizacion. 
 
 Introduction of Christianity and civilization into Africa. 
 
 The war not undertaken at the instigation of France. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JAMES RIDGWAY, PICCADILLY. W. 
 1860. 
 
 Price One Shilling.
 
 SPAIN AND THE WAR WITH MOROCCO. 
 
 On the 22nd of October it was announced to the 
 Spanish Cortes that the Government had determined 
 on declaring" war with Morocco. 
 
 In a plain and lucid speech, Marshal O'Donnell, 
 the President of the Council of Ministers, related to 
 the Congress the immediate causes of the outbreak of 
 hostilities in the following' terms : 
 
 " After the words that I yesterday had the honour 
 of addressing- to the Congress, I think that every 
 g-entleman now present must be prepared to hear, 
 without surprise, the grave information which the 
 Government has to communicate. Not only are 
 our relations with Morocco interrupted, but the 
 Government considers that the time has arrived when 
 it becomes necessary to make an appeal to arms, in 
 order to enforce . . . (here a general explosion 
 of applause and vivas drowned the Minister's voice, 
 making- it for several minutes impossible for him to 
 proceed. He then resumed) ... in order to enforce 
 satisfaction for the insults that have been offered to 
 the Spanish nation, and to secure this country against 
 a repetition of such proceedings as those which I am 
 about to communicate to the Congress : for the 
 Government is of opinion that, besides the written 
 documents which the constitution requires should 
 be presented to the Cortes explanatory of our 
 
 A2 
 
 2066950
 
 Tor declaring 1 \var, it is advisable that a 
 
 D / 
 
 short statement be made describing the whole course 
 of the negoeiations. 
 
 (e Our relations with the Empire of Morocco,, in 
 connection with our possessions in Africa, are of 
 two sorts, the first having- reference to the fortress 
 of Ceuta, the second to the prison establishments of 
 Alhucema, Melilla and El Penon. By our treaties 
 with the Emperor of Morocco, he is not to be held 
 responsible for any attacks that may be made on 
 the three last named places by the half-savage tribes 
 which surround them, and the expression used in 
 these treaties is that Spain herself is authorised to 
 repel every sort of aggression on the part of the 
 Moors with ({ mortars and cannon." 
 
 i( But at Ceuta, in virtue of the treaty of 1845, 
 which fixed the limits of the fortress, and the extent 
 of the neutral ground, a Moroccan officer has been 
 placed in authority on the spot, and provided with 
 a guard of what are there called mows de rey 
 (King's Moors) and to him is intrusted the protection 
 of the garrison of our fortress from any act of out- 
 ward aggression. This position has been main- 
 tained ever since 1845 j our relations with Morocco, 
 with respect to the fortress have been friendly, and 
 we have not had to deplore any serious misunder- 
 standing. But in the month of August last, some 
 Moors, either a portion of those on guard, or some 
 whom the g*uard allowed to approach, invaded our 
 territory and overthrew the stone pillar bearing the
 
 5 
 
 arms of Spain, which formed the limit of the Moorish 
 and Spanish camps. 
 
 " The governor of Ceuta on the following 1 morning" 
 conferred with the officer in command of the Serrallo, 
 who made apologies for the act, and the Governor 
 was content to report the circumstance to our Con- 
 sul at Tangiers and to Her Majesty's government. 
 
 " The same day, however, other hostile acts were 
 committed, and our sentinels on the boundaries be- 
 tween the two camps, were fired upon. Again, a 
 few days later, between five and six hundred Moors 
 attacked the troops forming 1 our garrison, who, 
 thereupon sallied forth, and in defence of our terri- 
 tory drove them back as far as the boundary line ; 
 but our soldiers were then again fired upon, and 
 this constituted a still more serious act of aggression. 
 " When the Government learnt what had passed, 
 instructions were sent to our Consul, and charge 
 d'affaires at Tangiers, desiring him to inform the 
 Sultan's minister, that the Spanish Government 
 could on no account tolerate the insults and aggres- 
 sions which had just .been committed, that we be- 
 lieved, or desired to believe, that they had not been 
 sanctioned by the Sultan, and that accordingly 
 prompt satisfaction was expected. We required 
 that the Spanish arms should be replaced by the 
 Moors, that the Spanish flag should be saluted by 
 the authorities, and that the offending parties should 
 receive punishment before the walls of Ceuta, and 
 in presence of the Moroccan authorities.
 
 " The reply of the Minister of the Sultan was 
 completely satisfactory : he said that he was ready 
 to give us the satisfaction that we demanded, that he 
 would instantly make the necessary arrangements to 
 have the offending- parties arrested, and that he 
 would do this, notwithstanding- his belief that the 
 g-arrison of Ceuta had occasioned the offence to be 
 committed, by coming- out of the fortress in pursuit 
 of the Moors. 
 
 " Such an excuse, the Congress will understand 
 was inadmissible, for it would be contrary to com- 
 mon sense, if the garrison were unable to issue from 
 the fortress within the limits of its own territory, 
 and to maintain such a thing- would be to den}^ that 
 we are the owners of the ground, which has been 
 assigned to us by treaty, and the boundaries of which 
 are marked by stone pillars bearing the arms of 
 Spain. 
 
 " In the instructions which were sent to the ckarye 
 d'affaires of Spain, he was told that reparation 
 must be obtained within a term of ten days, and if 
 refused, that he must withdraw. Just at this mo- 
 ment, however, the Emperor of Morocco died, and 
 his Minister, whilst still assuring us that he was 
 ready to give the satisfaction we required, drew our 
 attention to the state of the kingdom, and the expe- 
 diency of first allowing the new Government to be 
 firmly established, as difficulties are always created 
 in that kingdom by a change of sovereigns. 
 
 "The Spanish Government, which only desired
 
 that justice should be done, and only required pro- 
 per satisfaction for insults that had been offered to 
 our flag-, wishing- to give a fresh proof of its modera- 
 tion, although placing- but little faith in the sincerity 
 of the Moroccans, consented to a further delay of 
 20 days. During- this time, after this term had 
 been fixed, the attacks on the Ceuta g-arrison, far 
 from ceasing-, were repeated on a more formidable 
 scale, and two combats took place between the Moors 
 and the battalions of the chasseurs who had recently 
 arrived at Ceuta, combats in which Spanish blood 
 was shed and several of our men were wounded : 
 such an act of ag-g-ression was of the most grave 
 description, and naturally the reparation required 
 by this country had to be increased in the same pro- 
 portion as the offence had risen in magnitude. 
 
 "The Moroccans again requested a further term 
 of nine days, again acknowledging our right to de- 
 mand satisfaction, and assuring- us of their readiness 
 to comply with it. A third delay was granted, on 
 condition, however, that guarantees for the future 
 should be given us, and in the diplomatic note which 
 was passed on this occasion, besides requiring 
 reparation for the offences that had been given, it 
 was stated that one of the conditions required by us 
 was the cession of a space of ground sufficient in ex- 
 tent to give as it were breathing room and security 
 to the garrison. 
 
 D 
 
 " On the 13th, two days before the expiration of 
 the last term that had been fixed, the Minister of
 
 the Sultan represented to us that he had full powers 
 from the Emperor to bring the question then pend- 
 ing 1 with Spain to a conclusion, that he accepted in 
 principle all that we asked, and that the extension 
 of Ceuta should be conceded as far as the heights 
 required for the security of the fortress and breath- 
 ing room for the garrison of Ceuta. 
 
 " This being the case, the Government, believing 
 that it was really intended to conclude the settlement 
 of the questions then pending, fixed the terms of the 
 arrangement as follows : 
 
 " Satisfaction for the offence : the Pasha of Tan- 
 giers and Tetuan to come before Ceuta, and in his 
 presence the arms of Spain to be replaced on the 
 same spot from whence they were removed. Moor- 
 ish troops to accompany the Pasha and to salute 
 the Spanish flag as a reparation for the insults that 
 had been offered to it ; the persons who had com- 
 mitted the offence and who ought to be known to 
 the Morocco government, to be brought before the 
 fortress of Ceuta in order that they might be pun- 
 ished on the spot where the blood of Spaniards had 
 been shed. We were, moreover, as moderate as 
 possible on the question of boundary. Being' con- 
 vinced that it was necessary to mark certain heights 
 and other points, we proposed to the Sultan that he 
 should name two Commissioners and we on our side 
 would name two engineers in order that the new 
 boundary line should be fixed by mutual agreement, 
 the Sierra de Bullones being taken as the basis
 
 9 
 
 thereof; but as the Sierra is very extensive, it was 
 added that only a portion of it should be included 
 and a proper limit fixed by the Commissioners. 
 
 " Everything- having- been thus settled on such 
 reasonable terms, the CongTess will understand with 
 what astonishment Her Majesty's Government now 
 received a communication from the Minister, in which 
 it was stated, not that we required too much, but 
 that he had not sufficient powers to conclude this 
 negotiation ; that he must consult with the Em- 
 peror who would decide ! What could we answer 
 to this, when every sort of consideration and so 
 much reg-ard to their representations had already 
 been shown by us ? Could it be expected that we 
 should grant a further delay to the Government of 
 Morocco ? No, gentlemen, this was impossible, our 
 dignity, even the honour of our country forbad it, 
 for we had already given proofs of the greatest 
 moderation in consenting' so often to an extension 
 of the term, and also in not taking- advantage of the 
 unsettled state of the Sultan's dominions and this is 
 moreover an answer to those who have supposed 
 that a spirit of conquest and not a just demand for 
 reparation, takes us to Africa. 
 
 " Our charge d'affaires was accordingly informed 
 that in consequence of this communication, in which 
 there were many inaccurate statements, he must 
 immediately break off his diplomatic relations with 
 Morocco, and that the fortune of war should now. 
 decide between us war which is the last argument 
 of Kings and of Nations.
 
 10 
 
 " We come, therefore, full of confidence to declare 
 everything 1 to the Congress, feeling- convinced that 
 the Government has acted throng-bout with the 
 moderation and the temperate spirit which becomes 
 a people which is still a great nation, although the 
 contrary may by some be believed of a people 
 which possesses the means of enforcing- respect, and 
 which is determined ever to hold its honour and its 
 dignity as high as they are held by the proudest of 
 nations. 
 
 " It is not a spirit of conquest which animates us ; 
 no. The God of Battles will bless our arms, and 
 the valour of our troops and of our navy will prove 
 to the Moroccans that Spain is not to be insulted with 
 impunity, and that we are determined to obtain re- 
 paration, even should we have to seek it on their 
 hearth stones. 
 
 (( I repeat it is not a spirit of conquest which takes 
 us to Africa, neither shall European interests suffer 
 in the least degree by our expedition j no ! No 
 thought of the kind enters our minds ; we go thither 
 to redeem our honour, to require guarantees for the 
 future, we go to enforce from the Moroccans an in- 
 demnity for all that we have suffered j in one word, 
 with our arms in our hands, we go to require satis- 
 faction for the insults offered to our flag. No one 
 
 o 
 
 can charge us with ambition, no one can with reason 
 complain of our conduct. We are strong in our 
 right and our motives are irreproachable, the rest is 
 in the hands of the God of Battles I"
 
 11 
 
 This speech was followed by vehement and pro- 
 longed applause from all parts of the House, the 
 cheers from the deputies inside the building* were 
 echoed by an enthusiastic crowd in the streets out- 
 side, and the welcome news that war had been declared 
 flew rapidly to every part of the city. At night the 
 houses were spontaneously illuminated, and a feeling 1 
 of intense satisfaction was evident in the whole popu- 
 lation of Madrid. On this subject all classes and all 
 parties seem to be for the first time unanimous. The 
 speakers in the Congress who followed General 
 O'Donnell were the leaders of different parties most 
 in opposition to the Government, Calvo Asensio, 
 Olozoga, Gonzalez Bravo, yet all spoke in terms of 
 the highest approbation of the war j and the first 
 named, who is the proprietor of the liberal paper the 
 " Iberia" presented a memorial from the represen- 
 tatives of the whole of the Madrid press, eulogising 
 the conduct of the Government, and promising- their 
 unanimous support as long- as the war should last. 
 
 Throughout the whole of Spain the news has had 
 the same effect, and everywhere an enthusiasm reigns 
 which it is difficult to describe. 
 
 Volunteers enrol themselves in all directions, and 
 private subscriptions flow in on a scale that has never 
 before been known. The city of Barcelona offers to 
 supply a battalion of 700 men, a brigade of mules 
 and everything necessary for a hospital ; the princely 
 Duke of Osuna undertakes to raise and equip at his 
 own expense a battalion of 700 men, and to main-
 
 12 
 
 tain them until the conclusion of the war, and many 
 other private individuals have offered to do the same 
 with a smaller number. Manzanedo, a Madrid 
 capitalist, besides equipping- and maintaining- 100 
 men, lends the sum of 20,000 to the treasury 
 without interest for the same period, whilst a bank 
 at Barcelona supplies, on the same terms, the sum of 
 50,000, and the Basque provinces 40,000 and 
 3000 soldiers. 
 
 The Queen herself mag-nanimously proposes that 
 if money be wanted her private lands and her jewels 
 should be sold : " if it be necessary," she is said to 
 have exclaimed at the last Council of Ministers 
 which preceded the declaration of war, " let all the 
 " expenses of my palace be diminished, a simple 
 " ribbon will become me better than diamond neck- 
 e( laces, if my jewels can supply the means of restor- 
 " ing- the fame of my country I" 
 
 Ladies volunteer their services for the hospitals, 
 the clergy unanimously refuse the exemption from 
 the war- tax which was proposed in the law pre- 
 sented to the Cortes, employes give up their pay to 
 the Government for the time that the war may last, 
 and lastly (perhaps this is not the least curious illus- 
 tration of the complete unanimity throug-hout the 
 country) the Spanish papers announce that the cele- 
 Ire matadoryGucharea* has contributed larg-e numbers 
 
 * The answer of this man to an inquiry whether he would give 
 his services gratuitously in a bull-fight to be held at Seville, in aid 
 of the fund for the relief of the wounded, was characteristic. He
 
 13 
 
 of oxen and sheep to aid in the maintenance of the 
 expeditionary army. 
 
 The spectacle of so much patriotism could not fail 
 to kindle some sympathy in England were it not 
 that the object of the war is almost entirely ignored 
 in this country ; it is scarcely known in England 
 that a war between Spain and Morocco has been for 
 a long* time impending 1 , few people understand the 
 cause of quarrel, and with some even an impression 
 prevails that Spain is acting- but as the tool of France, 
 or at any rate that she must soon become so. Perhaps 
 it is this impression which has been one of the chief 
 causes of the unpleasant spirit that has been mani- 
 fested towards Spain on this occasion by a part of 
 the English press ; but there is no doubt also that at 
 the present moment a generally unfriendly feeling 
 exists in this country towards everything Spanish^ 
 occasioned probably in a great measure by the very 
 imperfect knowledge which prevails of the modern 
 history and the present state of the Peninsula, and 
 partly also there can be no doubt, by the sort of 
 mercantile hostility which has existed for the last 
 
 / 
 
 few years between the two countries, in consequence 
 of the unsatisfactory arrangement which was entered 
 into by Spain when attempting to settle the so long 
 pending question of overdue Coupons, 
 
 So much importance has been attached to this 
 
 replied by telegraph from Trujillo : " In such a cause I am ready 
 " to give all that I possess, and to kill all the bulls in Spain, and 
 " have no doubt the owners of bulls will be equally patriotic."
 
 14 
 
 subject in England that the outbreak of a w&r, 
 brought on in a great measure by her chivalrous de- 
 sire once for all to put an end to the troublesome 
 pirates who are the scourge of that part of the Medi- 
 terranean, has only given rise to numberless attacks 
 in the public press on her honesty and financial 
 credit. 
 
 The general impression which exists in this country 
 with reference to the Coupons is, however, in a great 
 measure founded on misconception, and it is but 
 fair to Spain to say that the light in which the ques- 
 tion is regarded by the two countries is quite dis- 
 similar. 
 
 In England she is charged with being a "re- 
 pudiating state/' and no epithet is considered too 
 strong to brand her conduct towards the coupons 
 holders. But in Spain the fact of her having been 
 guilty of repudiation is utterly denied, and nothing 
 is more offensive to a Spaniard than to hear such a 
 charge made against his country. 
 
 The facts of the case may, we believe, be stated 
 in a few words : 
 
 The finances of Spain were brought into an al- 
 most hopeless condition by a seven years' desolating 
 civil war, which followed a reign distinguished by a 
 series of great misfortunes, by the loss of her mag- 
 nificent colonies, and by an iniquitous French 
 invasion to suppress the first Liberal government 
 that her people had endeavoured to establish. 
 
 In 1831, shortly before the outbreak of this civil
 
 15 
 
 war in which Englishmen and Spaniards fought 
 side by side in the cause of liberty some foreign 
 loans had been contracted, upon which the interest 
 was duly paid until 1840, but from that time re- 
 mained unsettled for a period of eleven years, 
 literally because the conflict between the rival parties 
 had exhausted the revenues of the country. With 
 the triumph of Liberal institutions, however, Spain 
 also conquered an amount of material prosperity to 
 which for many years she had been a stranger, and 
 in 1851 she was able again to resume payment on 
 the loans in question. 
 
 She could not pay in full all the arrears of interest 
 that had accumulated, for by that time they ex- 
 ceeded the amount of the original capital. But, 
 it is maintained by her that she did all that she 
 couldj and made an equitable " arrangement " with 
 her creditors, capitalising the amount of interest 
 then unpaid, and g'iving in exchange for the so-much 
 abused coupons, other stock bearing a gradually in- 
 creasing* interest, which has ever since been punc- 
 tually paid. The general public in England 
 apparently knows nothing of the settlement that 
 was made by Spain at that date, for people continue 
 to speak of overdue coupons in the same terms as 
 before, but in reality a very great distinction does 
 exist, and in Spain it is considered that an unfair 
 agitation has been kept up England after the whole 
 question was set at rest more than eight years ago. 
 
 The arrangement alluded to formed one part only
 
 16 
 
 of the law of August 1st, 1851, by winch a com- 
 plete settlement was made on a new basis of all the 
 debts of the state which were then in a very com- 
 plicated condition. 
 
 Upwards of a hundred different descriptions of 
 stock, representing 1 more than 150 millions sterling, 
 were then converted into three classes of paper, 
 called consolidated, deferred, and redeemable debt, 
 and the settlement it involved, providing as it did for 
 the future payment of interest on all the existing 
 loans, satisfied everybody excepting the holders of the 
 overdue coupons. Spain, as I have said before, was not 
 attempting- to pay off all her creditors in full, which 
 the state of her finances would not have allowed, 
 but she resumed payment of the interest on that 
 portion of her public debt, on which the coupons had 
 remained unpaid, on what was considered the most 
 favourable terms that her resources would permit, 
 and in order to apply to the purpose not only the 
 means then at her disposal, but also the increasing 
 resources of the country, the principle was adopted 
 of paying interest by a gradually increasing scale, 
 first at 1 per cent., and eventually (after adding a 
 quarter per cent, every two years), at the end of 18 
 years at the current rate of her consolidated fund, 
 which is 3 per cent. 
 
 With regard to the interest which had accrued 
 during the before mentioned period, when it had re- 
 mained so long unsettled, the Spanish Government 
 proposed that it should be capitalised and exchanged
 
 17 
 
 for the new "deferred stock" at one half of its 
 nominal value. In other words, a covpon, which 
 was worth on the Stock Exchange at that time (see 
 " Times," July 1st, 1851) 6J per cent, of its no- 
 minal value, was to be exchang-ed for an inscription 
 of the new stock worth nominally 50, and saleable 
 at that time for about 20, and now for 33^ of its 
 nominal value.* 
 
 This compromise which she proposed to her cre- 
 ditors, Spain thought equitable, because she gave 
 them in exchange for their coupons something which 
 was worth a good deal more than the market value 
 of their bonds, but the English bondholders were 
 not satisfied because they naturally considered them- 
 selves entitled to a payment in full of all the over- 
 due interest. 
 
 Meetings were accordingly held in the City of 
 London by the holders of the coupons, at which the 
 subject was several times discussed, and it is difficult 
 to say whether it was eventually agreed to accept 
 the proposal or not. The last meeting, previous to 
 the passing of the law, was held on the 3rd July, 
 1851, and resolutions were submitted by the Chair- 
 man which embodied a refusal of the terms, but in the 
 report of the proceedings it is stated that t( These 
 " resolutions were opposed by Mr. Crook and Mr. 
 " Mocatta, the former stating that he considered it 
 
 * Many purely Spanish claims were at the same time recog- 
 nised, and iu exchange for them, a stock called " Redeemable," 
 bearing no interest, was given to the claimants, which is gra- 
 dually being paid off by yearly instalments. 
 
 B
 
 18 
 
 " prudent to accept the proposal under protest, and 
 " the latter intimating- that it was an irregular pro- 
 " ceeding on the part of the Committee to call the 
 " present meeting, when the bondholders possessed 
 " the opportunity of accepting or rejecting the 
 " terms offered as they might individually think fit 
 " under the decree brought forward." Baron L. 
 Bothschild, a member of the Committee, altogether 
 dissented from his colleagues, and te advised the 
 adoption of Bravo Murillo's decree." [Times, July 
 4th, 1851.] 
 
 This meeting, after a stormy discussion, ultimately 
 adopted a resolution, ag'reeing to " refer the whole 
 " matter back to the Committee, to take such steps 
 t( as they might think proper to bring this long 
 " pending question to a satisfactory issue, alike 
 " honourable and creditable to Spain and beneficial 
 " to her creditors." 
 
 A few weeks later the law was passed by the 
 Spanish Cortes, the English bondholders intervened 
 in the conversion, and in exchange for the coupons 
 took inscriptions in the new deferred stock, upon 
 which the interest has been received by them ever 
 since, but they maintain that this settlement was 
 not final, insomuch as they duly protested against 
 its being considered so, and by this means reserved 
 their rights in respect to the liquidation of their 
 claims at the full nominal value of the coupons. It 
 ought, however, to be mentioned as somewhat im- 
 portant, that this protest was not signed in London
 
 19 
 
 until the 3rd of December, more than three months 
 after the law was passed. 
 
 A constant agitation has been kept up ever since. 
 Transactions in any Spanish securities, issued since 
 the date of this law, were prohibited on the Stock 
 Exchanges of London and Amsterdam, thereby 
 causing- an incalculable injury to the mercantile 
 interests of Spain ; and the bondholders, assuming 
 that only one-half of the debt had been liquidated, 
 u issued certificates to represent the parties entitled 
 ({ to the other half, whenever the liquidation thereof 
 " may be made." 
 
 There is only one other point to which we need 
 allude. It has been often stated that the settlement 
 in question was forced upon the bondholders ; but 
 this assertion is contradicted both by the statement 
 of Mr. Mocatta, copied above from the City Article 
 of the Times of July, 1851, and also by the re- 
 cently published document, in which it is distinctly 
 stated by the aforesaid Committee, that " by this 
 " decree the Cortes offered payment of one-half of 
 " the amount of the said arrears in certain bonds, 
 " and cancelled the other half." 
 
 In Spain it is universally believed that this settle- 
 ment of the, to them, very disagreeable coupon 
 question ought, in justice, to be considered final, as 
 it was intended to be. They say that a definite ar- 
 rangement, proposed for acceptance or rejection 
 was assented to by the English creditors, and their 
 acceptance subsequently confirmed by the receipt of 
 
 "B 2
 
 20 
 
 interest on the stock tendered to them in lieu of 
 their claims. They deny in toto the competency of 
 the bondholders, by means of a protest, to reserve a 
 right to some other settlement whilst practically ac- 
 cepting- that which was offered to them. 
 
 Now, it is not our object to examine whether 
 Spain or her foreign creditors are, in point of law, 
 in the right on this question ; but, at any rate, there 
 can be no doubt that the object of the former, in 
 1851, was worthy of a very different treatment from 
 that which it has received. The English bond- 
 holders maintain that the settlement of this question 
 (which would not involve the payment of more than 
 1,000,000) would cause a rise of at least 10 per 
 cent, in the Spanish funds, and that thereby the 
 country would be an immediate gainer to the extent 
 of !5,OOOjOOO, besides the immense advantage 
 which would indirectly accrue to her from the fact 
 that such a measure would re-establish her credit on 
 a level with that of the other first rate powers in 
 Europe ; but if they imagine that Spain can be 
 driven to a settlement of their claim because of its 
 expediency, without her reason being first convinced 
 of its justice, it is much to be feared that they will 
 find themselves mistaken. 
 
 A Minister who took such a view in 1853 was 
 universally supposed to be bribed, and his proposal 
 to modify the law of 1851, on the score of expedi- 
 ency, caused the downfall of the Government to 
 Avhich he belonged.
 
 Again, if any injustice mas committed by the 
 Spanish Government in 1851, it is not known to 
 the nation at large, to whom mercantile or financial 
 questions are, generally speaking, quite unfamiliar ; 
 and it is therefore not only unjust, but useless, to 
 stigmatize the whole people for a fault which, more- 
 over, would not in any case justify the offensive ex- 
 pressions which have been applied to it, as any one 
 who has read the foregoing account will perceive. 
 It might be well to remember the often repeated re- 
 mark of the clever author of the ft Handbook for 
 Spain." The Spaniards may be led by a straw, 
 but they are not to be driven by a rod of iron ; and 
 in 110 country is more to be obtained by the cheap 
 outlay of courtesy in manner and speech u Cortesia 
 " deboca mucho vale y poco cuesta" 
 
 Having now fully explained the nature of the 
 arrangement entered into by Spain with her foreign 
 creditors in 1851, which we think ought to be suffi- 
 cient to modify in some degree the present state of 
 hostility against Spain which exists very generally 
 amongst mercantile men in this country, we will re- 
 turn to the subject of the war. 
 
 Their possessions on the coast of Morocco have 
 always been regarded as of considerable importance 
 by the Sovereigns of Spain, and for many years an 
 hereditary war was kept up with the Moors, who
 
 22 
 
 made incessant attacks on them, especially on Ceuta 
 and El Penon. 
 
 Ceuta was taken from the Moors by John I. 
 King- of Portugal, in 1415, and passed into the hands 
 of the Spaniards on the subjugation of Portugal by 
 Philip II., in 1580. It is a town of about 10 ; 000 
 inhabitants, and contains a cathedral, the bishop of 
 whichis suffragan to the Archbishop of Seville, besides 
 several other large buildings, and a small harbour ; 
 but it is as a military and convict station that it is 
 chiefly important. It is strongly fortified and sur- 
 rounded by a high wall, and is built at the foot of 
 the Monte de Hacho, the ancient Abila, one of the 
 pillars of Hercules, and exactly opposite to Gibral- 
 tar, which is built on the other pillar. 
 
 In 1694 it was besieged by the Sultan Muley Is- 
 mael, to whom large subsidies were granted by 
 Louis XIV. in order to enable him to carry on the 
 war with vigour. It is said that in one attack 
 alone, in 1696, the Moors lost 15,000 men; but 
 although unsuccessful, they did not abandon the en- 
 terprise, and the siege lasted for 24 years longer. 
 It has been since then several times attacked by the 
 Africans, but never with any success. 
 
 Penon de Yelez is a fortified town, standing on a 
 lofty rock, about eighty miles to the east of Ceuta^ 
 and also on the north coast of Morocco. It is 
 built in the form of an amphitheatre, with two prin- 
 cipal streets, and contains several churches, a bomb
 
 23 
 
 proof magazine, store houses, and a state prison. 
 It was founded by Pedro of Navarre, captured by 
 the Moors in 1522, but recovered in 1664 by the 
 Spaniards, who have since retained it. 
 
 Melilla and Alhucema are small seaport towns, 
 with well-fortified penal establishments further to the 
 east. All these places are situated in the midst of 
 the Riffian territory. Penon de Velez and Alhu- 
 cema are actually on the coast of the province of Al 
 Riff; Ceuta and Melilla in the neighbouring pro- 
 vinces of Hasbat and Garet, and, owing to their 
 situation, they have been exposed to the constant 
 attacks of the Riff pirates, from whose depredations 
 the vessels of France and Prussia have also suffered 
 continually. In 18o6 the French Government ob- 
 tained compensation from Morocco for outrages 
 committed by the pirates ; but it was the first in- 
 stance of such redress being peaceably granted, 
 and France had previously taught the Sultan to 
 respect her, by destroying his army at Isly, bom- 
 barding Tangiers, and occupying Mogadore. Prus- 
 sia, on the other hand, allowed a Prince of royal 
 blood to be attacked and ignominiously treated by 
 these Riffians, without apparently thinking it in her 
 power to obtain any redress. 
 
 Vessels belonging to Spain have been frequently 
 attacked ; on more than one occasion her subjects 
 have been captured by the pirates, and it may be 
 remembered that a few years ago accounts were 
 published even in the English papers of the barba-
 
 24 
 
 rous treatment to which some Spaniards were sub- 
 jected during- their captivity ; but although in Spain 
 great indignation was expressed, and the Sultan of 
 Morocco was applied to in order that such outrages 
 might be put a stop to, it has never been possible 
 for Spain to obtain any redress. 
 
 As long ago as 1854 war between the two coun- 
 tries was spoken of, and again about two years 
 later it was looked upon at Madrid as almost in- 
 evitable ; but the Government of Spain was very 
 unwilling to come to so serious a determination. At 
 length, however, the attacks on Ceuta and the pre- 
 varications of the Moroccan Minister have occa- 
 sioned an outbreak of hostilities, as has been already 
 described in General O'Donnell's own words. 
 
 Its great popularity with the Spanish nation, and 
 especially with the liberal party, is due to a variety 
 of circumstances. 
 
 In the first place there is no doubt that it was 
 imagined when the war was first spoken of that it 
 was one which would have been generally approved 
 of by other countries ; the extirpation of the bar- 
 barous hordes of Biff pirates is a subject that had 
 been often proclaimed to be highly desirable by our 
 press as well as by their own ; and, no European 
 interests being involved, it was expected that Spain 
 would be allowed this opportunity of proving to the 
 world that she is not fallen so low as has so often 
 been asserted of late years by some French and 
 English writers.
 
 26 
 
 Again, the feud which for centuries existed be- 
 tween Spaniards and Moors adds considerably to 
 the importance of the war in the eyes of the people, 
 and proud as they justly are of the present efficiency 
 of their army, it was believed by Spaniards that 
 England and France would offer no opposition to 
 a fair fight between Moors and Christians, and be 
 glad to look on and admire their chivalry. 
 
 Least of all was any opposition from England 
 anticipated, and it was even imagined by those who 
 hoped that the war would lead to an acquisition of 
 territory, that England would be far from feeling 
 dissatisfied at seeing a limit put by such means to 
 any further French encroachments on the frontiers 
 of Morocco. With Ceuta and three other fortresses 
 on the northern coast already in her possession, 
 Spain could not well "endanger the free navigation 
 of the straits " by an acquisition of further territory ', 
 but whilst Tangiers remains in the hands of its pre- 
 sent owners, it will always be subject to a sudden 
 seizure by France, who has of late years found it by 
 no means difficult to quarrel with the Sultan, and 
 has not hitherto thought it requisite to consult other 
 European governments when helping herself to a 
 slice of African territory. 
 
 We believe, however, that the Spanish Govern- 
 ment has not at any time contemplated a permanent 
 acquisition of territory, although there have doubt- 
 less been many persons in the country who have 
 expressed such a wish.
 
 Lastly, there is another reason for the war being- 
 popular, and it is by no means the least important. 
 It is believed that if once the public mind could be 
 thoroughly eng-ag'ed with an object of absorbing- in- 
 terest abroad, it would tend greatly to a cessation of 
 the bitter party dissensions at home. The Marquis 
 of Molins, an orator of the opposition and a much 
 esteemed poet, expressed these views in the Senate 
 a few days before the declaration of war : " Senor 
 Sierra, he said, has asked why all this show of force? 
 Wherefore this increase in our army ? "What mean 
 all these preparations for war ? I answer him that 
 our history requires them of us, that they are in- 
 tended to strengthen us abroad and to unite us at 
 home. Can you not see that on the opposite shore 
 to ours, wherever indeed Islamism still exists, in 
 that land where our arms were formerly triumphant 
 and the sword of Cisneros dazzled and conquered, 
 nothing- now remains but empty space, which is fast 
 being 1 occupied by French civilization ? Either we 
 must fill that space, or others will do it instead, and 
 all our history signalises Spain as the country which 
 is destined to drive back the followers of the Pro- 
 phet and to replace them. It is thus only that we 
 can aspire to consideration abroad. Foreign nations 
 will respect us when they see that we possess the 
 power to sustain our national character j they will 
 respect us, for action is power, and power is credit, 
 and credit is wealth. Would you wish for riches 
 and leave injuries unaveng-ed ? Not so indeed ! If
 
 27 
 
 we would be powerful, if we would be respected, it 
 is necessary that as a nation we should show signs 
 of vitality. 
 
 " And this is not all : not only shall we thus ac- 
 quire distinction abroad, but even amongst ourselves 
 we shall at the same timeg'ain in reputation. Such 
 is our character : whenever we have not had foreign 
 
 D 
 
 wars to sustain we have been consumed with inter- 
 nal discord. Let us but have some great object on 
 which all our energy may be concentrated, some- 
 thing- which shall inflame the minds of all parties, 
 and then you will see that the dissensions amongst 
 us will vanish, and we shall become united and 
 great and powerful. 
 
 " Now would you know what is the great object 
 that is capable of inspiring such unanimity ? It is 
 the desire to see the banner of Castile float on the 
 towers of Morocco, and to carry the light of the 
 Gospel into Moorish cities. To those who in such a 
 cause would dare to ask the consent of foreigners I 
 would address one word more: England looks on 
 from Gibraltar, France from Oran, and you are 
 Spaniards. Fight a good fight, and you will con- 
 quer the consent of all ! and perhaps some day it 
 may be written of us in history that to Isabel I. 
 was due the conquest of America, and Isabel II. 
 contributed to the civilization of Africa." 
 
 In order to explain how so much importance 
 should be attached to the war as a means of quell-
 
 28 
 
 ing- internal disputes, it is necessary to refer shortly 
 to the present state of parties in Spain. 
 
 After a succession of ultra Moderado Govern- 
 ments, always unconstitutional and sometimes des- 
 potic in their tendencies, in 1854, the reins of State 
 had devolved upon a ministr}', some of the members 
 of which added the reputation of flag-rant corrupti- 
 bility to the other characteristics of their party, and 
 the indignation which this belief created throughout 
 the country can be easily understood by those who 
 remember that one of the chief causes of the French 
 revolution of 1848 was the discovery of the frauds 
 committed by General Cubieres, the Minister of 
 Public Works, M. Teste, and others. For several 
 years the existence of corruption and malversation 
 in the public offices and establishments of Spain had 
 been loudly proclaimed by the opposition deputies, 
 and now the Senate took upon itself to oppose the 
 Government on a question which proved their belief 
 in those charges ; the question of railway conces- 
 sions having- been the principal cause of these im- 
 putations, a project of law was introduced by the 
 Opposition^ and carried by a considerable majority, 
 prohibiting- the granting of any concessions for the 
 future without a special act of the Legislature. 
 Heretofore this power had been vested in the Min- 
 ister of Public Works, who was the most obnoxious 
 member of the Ministry. The Government of the 
 Count of San Luis thereupon adopted the extraor-
 
 29 
 
 dinary expedient of closing the Cortes, and on some 
 of the principal members of the Senate memorialis- 
 ing 1 the Queen, and requesting' that the Houses of 
 Legislature might be re-opened and the San Luis 
 Ministry replaced by others possessing- the confi- 
 dence of the country, the principal heads of the 
 Opposition were ordered into exile. General O'Don- 
 nell, who was comprehended in this arbitrary man- 
 date, refused to obey it, and remained concealed in 
 Madrid for several months, notwithstanding- the 
 efforts of the police to discover his hiding' place. 
 During- this time he was actively engaged in pro- 
 moting- a general rising- against the Government, 
 and towards the end of June, with the aid of Ge- 
 neral Dulce, at that time Inspector General of 
 Cavalry, he succeeded in gaining- over the greater 
 part of the garrison of Madrid to his cause, and 
 openly proclaimed his determination to turn out the 
 San Luis Ministry. A military pronunciamiento 
 took place on the 28th June ; two or three days 
 later General O'Donnell was attacked at Vicalvaro 
 by the rest of the garrison under General Quesada, 
 and although the result of the battle was doubtful, 
 he found his force too weak to hold his position in 
 the immediate neighbourhood of Madrid, and retired 
 to Aranjuez ; and a few day s later, having- been 
 pursued by the Minister of War, General Blaser, at 
 the head of about 6000 men, he retreated slowly 
 along the main south road until near Seville. 
 
 General O'Donnell, though himself a Moderado,
 
 would not in such a cause make this an obstacle to 
 such a coalition as would benefit the country, and 
 consequently made overtures to the Progresista 
 party, and at Manzanares, a few leagues south of 
 Aranjuez, issued a proclamation in accordance with 
 this new phase of the revolution, declaring his objects 
 to be the re- establishment of the constitution of J 837, 
 the maintenance of the throne of Isabel II., with 
 the banishment of the Queen-Mother, the re-organi- 
 zation of the National Guard, and above all things 
 purity in the Administration. 
 
 All the principal towns in the country then gave in 
 their adhesion to the pronunciamiento, and rose against 
 the Government. A revolution in a progresista 
 sense ensued, promoted by Espartero, and after a 
 few days' severe fighting in Madrid, Espartero and 
 O'Donnell were sent for by the Queen to form a 
 new ministry.* 
 
 * In judging of that class of Spaniards from which the army is 
 recruited, illustrations from the time of the civil war are not fair. 
 Civil wars are always barbarously conducted, even in England. 
 The following anecdotes prove that the lower classes in Spain of 
 the present day are good humoured, high bred, and noble fellows, 
 besides being by nature generous foes. 
 
 The revolution commenced on the night of the 17th of July, 
 with an attack by an armed mob on the houses of the Ministers, 
 and of a few other obnoxious personages. The writer of these 
 pages was standing near the house of the Count of San Luis, 
 whose furniture formed a bonfire in the street, together with the 
 well-known historian and Arabic scholar, Don Pascual Gayangos, 
 when a voice was heard to cry, " From hence we go to Sala- 
 manca's." Immediately we together proceeded to that gentle-
 
 31 
 
 From that moment General O'Donnell laboured 
 to form a party, to which the name was given of 
 the " Union-Liberal," in which it was his endeavour 
 
 man's house in order to warn him of the impending danger, and 
 having heard that he was already in hiding elsewhere, followed 
 him, received from him the keys of some important boxes, and 
 returned in time to enter at the same moment as the mob. Our 
 friend assisted Madame Salamanca to escape, and escorted her to 
 his own house, and we joined three or four gentlemen who were 
 known to us, who having come in with the crowd, were endeavour- 
 ing to dissuade them from sacking the house. In this they were 
 unsuccessful, for in a few minutes a simultaneous attack was made 
 on some large mirrors, and the crash of the falling glass served 
 as a signal to several hundred men who at once commenced hurling 
 magnificent furniture, heaps of plate and splendid paintings into 
 the street below. It seemed useless to withstand the 1 mob any 
 longer, and the few respectable people who were amongst them 
 withdrew. Presently however the writer determined to return, 
 alone in the vague hope of saving something from the fury of the 
 people. The house contained amongst other things a choice col. 
 lection of old paintings, and we hoped that some might yet be 
 rescued from destruction. 
 
 We found that part of the house had not yet been entered by 
 the mob, and stationing ourselves at the door leading to these 
 apartments, we managed to persuade four or five men to back us, 
 and for a long time kept the crowd from entering without much 
 difficulty. The person of an Englishman, " a guest in the country," 
 was sufficient protection against any violence even from a lawless 
 rabble. Soon, however, the rest of the house was gutted, and 
 many hundreds of people, men and women, some wild with drink, 
 and all intensely excited with the mischief they were about, pressed 
 hard upon us, and we prepared to give way, when a voice whispered 
 in our ear, " say this part of the house is yours !" We hesitated, 
 and the brave young fellow relieved us from the necessity of 
 uttering this untruth. " Seuores," he shouted, " here you cannot
 
 32 
 
 to unite all the most moderate members of the dif- 
 ferent parties in the state. Espartero remained 
 President of the Council until July 1856, by which 
 
 pass ; beyond these doors are the apartments of this gentleman, 
 he is a stranger, an Englishman, his person and his property are 
 alike sacred by the laws of hospitality !" All those who heard 
 him acquiesced at once, and they prepared to leave. Presently, 
 however, the screams of the servants inside warned us that a door 
 which we had overlooked had been forced open by another portion 
 of the mob, and, accompanied by our new friend, we hurried to 
 oppose their .entrance. A considerable number of ruffians had 
 already forced their way into some of the rooms, and were en- 
 gaged in rifling drawers and closets ; it seemed a very critical 
 moment, but even with these violent and excited men my friend's 
 argument, coupled with a determined attitude, was irresistible, 
 and they ceased to plunder as soon as they could be induced to 
 believe that an Englishman was the sufferer. 
 
 The mob left the house just in time to avoid bloodshed, for in 
 less than half an hour after their departure a detachment of 
 soldiers arrived, and the writer with his five or six comrades, who 
 still remained in Mr. Salamanca's house, very narrowly escaped 
 being shot as " leaders of the rabble !" 
 
 During the two succeeding days there was fighting in all parts 
 of Madrid, but towards the afternoon of the second day a bugle- 
 man ran through the streets announcing a suspension of hostilities 
 for half an hour. We took advantage of the truce to hasten to 
 the Carrera de San Geronimo, where the fighting had been the 
 hottest. A few hundred soldiers and civil guards who occupied 
 the windows on one side of the street were capitulating, and a dense 
 mass of people was calling on them clamorously from below to 
 surrender unconditionally. The crowd was almost entirely com- 
 posed of men who for the last thirty-six hours had been engaged 
 in deadly combat with the soldiers, and there were many who were 
 exasperated by the loss of comrades who had fallen by their side. 
 The soldiers not unnaturally, therefore, feared to surrender their
 
 33 
 
 time, he had not only exhausted the extraordinary 
 popularity which he had possessed two years before, 
 but he had come to be almost universally regarded as 
 totally devoid of talent as a statesman, and far too 
 weak for his position. A quarrel having- ensued 
 between O'Donnell and one of the ministers named 
 Escosura, the cause of the latter was hotly espoused 
 by Espartero, who inconsiderately pushed matters 
 to such extremes that his continuance at the head of 
 the Government became impossible. When matters 
 were seen to be so serious, the Queen entreated hirn 
 
 arms. " They could not venture," they said, "to proceed through 
 the streets without their side arms." The mob settled the question 
 delightfully. As soon as it was plain to them what the difficulty 
 was, they made a rush into the houses, some by the doors and 
 some clambering through the upper windows, and emerged again 
 after a few moments with the enemy in their hands. Already 
 however every sign of enmity had disappeared, and in order that 
 the civil guards and soldiers should be perfectly safe from any 
 attack in the streets, they were escorted to their barracks by the 
 very men who a few minutes before were opposed to them, and who 
 now overwhelmed them with praises for the gallant resistance they 
 had made. 
 
 A very little while later the people heard with delight that Es- 
 partero had been sent for, and the fighting ceased ; but his arrival 
 having been delayed for a fortnight they in the mean time held 
 their posts at the barricades, and spent an immensity of labour in 
 decorating them with flowers and trees, and with the portraits of 
 the Queen and the two heroes of the Revolution, Espartero and 
 O'Donnell. Chairs were placed under the shade of the trees, and 
 the sound of music and dancing was daily to be heard wherever 
 there was a barricade. 
 
 C
 
 34 
 
 to discard Eseosura, and to reform the Ministry 
 with General O'Donnell, but his waning- influence 
 had made him so jealous of the latter, that nothing- 
 would satisfy him but O'Donnell's dismissal, and on 
 that being- shown to be impossible, he with great 
 precipitation retired from the Ministry. 
 
 What then ensued was extraordinarily misunder- 
 stood by the English public. 
 
 Espartero's supporters were by this time limited 
 to the extreme Liberals and the Republicans, and 
 some of these hot-headed men were determined to 
 resist the establishment of the new Government ; 
 for a few hours the attitude of a small number of 
 deputies made it appear as if their resistance would 
 be countenanced by the revolutionary part of the 
 Cortes, and under these circumstances, the fierce 
 red Republican, Sisto Camara, who commanded a 
 battalion of militia known as the most disorderly 
 in the whole National Guard was easily enabled to 
 cause a collision with the troops, which was followed 
 by several hours of street fig-hting- between the militia 
 and the army. The National Guards dispersed as 
 soon as they had had time for a little reflection, 
 hut Pucheta, the bull-fighter, at the head of a 
 few hundred rabble, kept the military at bay all 
 that afternoon, and for several hours of the next 
 day. 
 
 Espartero was very much blamed for not having- 
 prevented the bloodshed by a simple address to the 
 nation, but it was supposed that he expected to be
 
 35 
 
 forced back to his post of Prime Minister on the 
 shoulders of the people, forgetting 1 , or not compre- 
 hending-, that the two preceding- years had made a 
 complete change in his position. The hopes of the 
 Liberal party in 1854 were centered in him as their 
 acknowledged head, but whatever he might have been 
 at that time, years and illness, added to the responsi- 
 bilities of office, had by 1856, so weakened his 
 faculties that he had brought the country almost to 
 a state of anarchy, and had entirely lost the confi- 
 dence of the most temperate of his supporters. 
 
 Unfortunately the representative of England (the 
 ever to be regretted Lord Howden) was absent from 
 Spain at this time, and the great authority with the 
 public, the Times 1 "own correspondent/' had been 
 withdrawn from Madrid some time before, when 
 Espartero's utter incapacity for governing was not 
 yet suspected, and he was still the idol of the people 
 and the recognised chief of the Liberal party. 
 Accordingly his fall was perhaps not unnaturally 
 misunderstood, and was looked upon as the down- 
 fall of liberty, and triumph of a reactionary party, 
 and the impression created in England by the events 
 I have recorded was exceedingly unfavourable to 
 O'Donnell. It was even at first reported that the 
 Constitution was to be trampled under foot, and 
 that the Cortes had assembled at Saragossa to re- 
 sist the new Government at the head of an indignant 
 
 C5 
 
 people, the Queen was described as false and 
 treacherous, and O'Donnell was supposed to be a 
 
 c 2
 
 36 
 
 merciless foe of the Liberal party, which it was said 
 he was bent only on destroying 1 ! 
 
 It is of no little importance to rectify the mistake 
 that was then committed by the English public, for 
 even the " Annual Register/' from which future 
 historians will doubtless cull much of the information 
 with which to compile the chronicles of Spain, was 
 completely misled, and represents what passed at 
 that time as " the overthrow of constitutional liberty 
 in Spain," adding 1 a rebuke to the Paris Moniteur 
 for taking 1 an entirely different view of what had 
 passed. 
 
 At the same time, we cannot say that it is very 
 surprising- that some mistakes should have been 
 made in England, for even in Spain itself there were 
 many people who mistrusted O'Donnell, and it was 
 not until after an interregnum of a few months, 
 during" which time General Narvaez reigned in 
 his stead, that the party of the " Union-Liberal" 
 (which may be called the Liberal Conservative) 
 determined to give him their decided support. 
 
 General O'Donnell has doubtless had a most diffi- 
 cult part to play, but he deserves the greatest credit 
 for the way in which he has performed it. 
 
 He has succeeded in forming a powerful and 
 highly respected party, out of very discordant ele- 
 ments, and in the face of an opposition from the 
 most important leaders of the old parties of extreme 
 Moderados, Polacos, Bravo Murillistas,&c. (LaLiga) 
 who boast that they monopolise all the chief states-
 
 37 
 
 craft in the kingdom. He is now supported by all 
 the most moderate men, both amongst the Progresis- 
 tas and Moderados; and, although doubtless the 
 most numerous, the former party were so greatly 
 wanting in statesmen of repute, that the coalition is 
 one of incalculable advantage to them. 
 
 Amongst the Liberals a few individuals only, whose 
 personal friendship for Espartero has made it diffi- 
 cult for them to coalesce with the new leader (Olo- 
 zoga, Escosura, Calvo Asensio), still hold aloof on 
 general questions, and have formed a separate party 
 which goes by the name of Los Puros (the Radicals), 
 but on the question of the war, they support General 
 O'Donnell, so that at this moment the desired effect 
 appears to have been already partly produced, and 
 the Liberals are strong and united. 
 
 All O'Donnell's acts have been strictly in confor- 
 mity with constitutional practices, the Administra- 
 tion is purified of its former corruption, and his 
 financial measures have been most successful. 
 
 The advance in wealth and general prosperity 
 which has been made by Spain during the last few 
 years, and especially since 1854, has indeed been 
 extraordinary ; and Europe has been not a little 
 surprised, on the war with Morocco breaking out, to 
 learn, not only that she is now rich and prosperous, 
 but that she has a large army at her disposal, and 
 even a considerable navy also. Her troops, it is 
 found, are armed with Minie rifles, and more than 
 Jialf the artillery is composed of rifled cannons
 
 whilst she has shown that she has the means of 
 transporting 1 an army of 50,000 men to the coast of 
 Africa, with 80 pieces of cannon and a battering- 
 train, besides munitions of war and provisions for an 
 expedition which is equal in numbers to that which 
 England and France first landed in the Crimea. 
 
 Moreover, it appears that the expenses of the war 
 are riot only not to be met by a loan, but the only 
 alteration in the ordinary taxation which the Finance 
 Minister has thought it necessary to demand, is an 
 addition to the tax on real property of 12 per cent 
 of its present amount, and of 10 per cent to the or- 
 dinary octroi duties, and the taxes on trades and 
 on mortgages ; with a deduction from the salaries 
 of Government employes, and all classes whose in- 
 comes are derived from the State, not to exceed 8 per 
 cent on salaries of from 30 to 150 sterling- per 
 annum, or 10 per cent on those exceeding 1 150 per 
 annum. 
 
 The clergy, army and navy, and collectors of the 
 revenue, were exempted by the law from the effects 
 of this tax on incomes, but the clergy and many 
 officers have spontaneously declined the exemption. 
 The remainder of the funds are to be provided by 
 applying- to the purpose whatever amount may be 
 found requisite out of the sum of '20,000,000 which 
 was voted by the Cortes at the commencement of 
 this year for increasing- the military and naval de- 
 fences of the country and for other public works, 
 payable out of the proceeds of the sale of national 
 property.
 
 39 
 
 The fact that Spain is undertaking" an important 
 foreign war without having recourse to a loan is very 
 remarkable. There is indeed no other country in 
 Europe whose revenue has made so marked a pro- 
 gress during- the last ten years as has that of Spain. 
 In 1848 it amounted to about 12,000,000 sterling, 
 in 1854 it was between 14 and 15,000,000, whilst in 
 1858 it exceeded 20,000,000 ! 
 
 The expenses of the Government have not very 
 much increased, and by an examination of the sub- 
 joined table it will be seen that she has now an 
 amount of disposable revenue after paying the in- 
 terest on her debt, which, if compared with her popu- 
 lation, is only exceeded by that of France and of 
 England, whilst the expense of her army and navy 
 has been hitherto comparatively insignificant as 
 compared with theirs. 
 
 France has 27 yVo shillings of disposable revenue 
 
 per head of population. 
 
 England 25 shillings 
 
 Spain 23 
 
 Prussia 19 
 
 
 
 Holland 19 ^ 
 
 llussia 12 ffe 
 
 Austria 10 fa 
 
 The sale of national property, the extension of 
 railways, the improvement in the national education 
 of the people, and many other recent laws which 
 have been the results of the revolution of 1854, are 
 all measures tending to increase this state of pros-
 
 40 
 
 perity. It is remarkable that, whilst at the com- 
 mencement of this century only 1 in 340 were edu- 
 cated, now it is calculated that to every 1 in 1 7 the 
 means of elementary schooling 1 is afforded. Rail- 
 ways are being- constructed in all directions, princi- 
 pally with the aid of French companies, as our own 
 capitalists are virtually excluded by the act of the 
 Stock Exchange, to which we have before alluded ; 
 the greater part of the necessary capital is however 
 found in Spain, as the Government grants very 
 considerable subventions, and the provincial authori- 
 ties are enabled to subscribe largely to them by 
 applying to the purpose the funds now obtainable by 
 the sale of national property. 
 
 In 1855 the law of JDesamortizacion was passed, 
 under which the whole of the land held in mort- 
 main by the State, the Church, and certain other 
 corporations is being sold to individual purchasers j 
 its operation was afterwards suspended, owing to the 
 opposition that it encountered from the clerical 
 party, until the consent of the Pope could be ob- 
 tained to the disposal of the property which was 
 dependant on the Church authorities ; but now it is 
 again in full force with the approbation of all par- 
 ties. By this law the provincial authorities are 
 allowed to invest 80 per cent, of the produce of the 
 sales of their lands in works of public utility ; and 
 the favourable terms which have been established, 
 have induced so great a number of purchasers to 
 present themselves whenever an auction takes place,
 
 41 
 that, on an average, the land has sold for three times 
 
 J D ' 
 
 the amount which it was originally supposed it would 
 fetch ; the payments extend over a term of 14 years, 
 so that their annual produce when brought into cul- 
 tivation in many cases more than pays the purchase 
 money, and it is estimated that by this means a sum 
 of nearly 60,000,000 sterling- will become available 
 for public works in the course of the next 20 years, 
 the greater part of which will be laid out on rail- 
 ways. 
 
 This will be a source of incalculable wealth to 
 Spain, and the fact of such an immense extent of 
 land* hitherto sterile being- thus brought into culti- 
 vation is likely to have nearly an equal degree of 
 influence on the increasing prosperity of this coun- 
 try. 
 
 We subjoin a tabular statement of the vessels of 
 war which have been constructed during the reign 
 of the present Queen, and it will be seen that these 
 vessels alone form a steam flotilla of considerable 
 importance. 
 
 The tonnage of her mercantile navy has more 
 than doubled since 1849, and her commerce increased 
 in a still greater proportion. 
 
 We see then that Spain may not without reason 
 be anxious to occupy more attention, and may con- 
 
 * We know of one such district belonging to a municipal cor- 
 poration, which is upwards of one million acres (1600 square 
 miles) in extent, and yet does not produce a thousand pounds per 
 annum.
 
 sider herself entitled to hold a higher place in the 
 councils of Europe than has of late years been 
 allotted to her ; and it will not appear strange that 
 such an enthusiastic and highly chivalrous people 
 should rejoice at the opportunity being offered to 
 them of proving the advance made by their country 
 by the indirect means of a war, in which their cause 
 is both just and reasonable, and no European inte- 
 rests are imperilled, whilst in this cause their soldiers 
 are at the same time called upon to do combat with 
 mussalmans and barbarians in a country which, if 
 ever enlightened, must become so by the introduc- 
 tion of Christianity and European civilization. 
 
 England justifies to herself her immense Asiatic 
 conquests on no other plea, and surely she need not 
 regard with any jealousy the efforts of a rival in the 
 great cause of African civilization. 
 
 Let it also be borne in mind that in Spain itself there 
 is yet a struggle going on between the party which 
 represents constitutional liberty and that of arbi- 
 trary governments. The first is the cause of Eng- 
 land throughout the world, and in Spain it is at this 
 moment represented by O'Donnell and the army in 
 Africa. To be prosperous, and great, and free, Spain 
 requires only a united Liberal party and a strong 
 Government, and such objects may fairly enlist the 
 sympathies of Englishmen. 
 
 The idea that has in some quarters become preva- 
 lent in England, that the war has been undertaken 
 at the instigation of France, is contrary to the
 
 whole spirit of the people. A few months ago there 
 was no country in Europe more ready to side 
 with England in case of a general war, which was 
 then thought probable, for such is indeed the tradi- 
 tional policy of the liberal party in Spain. It will 
 be wholly our own fault if she is driven to an alli- 
 ance with France. 
 
 Let us therefore conclude with an appeal to that 
 great engine of public opinion the Press of Eng-- 
 land to watch with a more friendly feeling' the 
 aspirations of a people which, though of late years 
 they have fallen a little behind us in wealth and 
 commercial prosperity, is a great nation, an old 
 ally of England, and worthy in very many re- 
 spects of our admiration and esteem.
 
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