;VV.'^{"V;'iV.'!ense re- sponsibility which rests upon them. They cannot suffer the destiny of a nation to depend upon an accident, upon a casu- 29 alty ; they cannot disregard the claims of the weaker sex, of unprotected old age, nor even the calamitous circumstance of a desolating plague which gives to this discussion a more grave and serious aspect I " Not only has this rebellious Prince forfeited his eventual right to the succession to the crown, but also his sons, their heirs and all his descendants. Let them experience the la- mentable fate which their parents have brought down upon them ; for it is they, not we, who have removed them from the throne, in wishing to place them on it, by trampling on the nation and on the laws. " Otherwise what would be the prospect of the nation if by misfortune one of them should happen to inherit the throne? Let us admit it without hesitation; it would be most alarming and dangerous, and such as fortunately does not often fall to the lot of Monarchies; but if England had not forever expelled the Stuarts from her soil, if she had not deprived them of their rights to the crown, and even of the hope of ever recov- ering them, what would have been her fate ? " By good fortune ours is a different case, and we can de- liver Spain from grievous evils and dangers by only depriving one line of their legal aptitude to inherit the crown. Against the conservative principle of society all eventual rights to the succession avail nothing; it is indispensable to annul in a pub- lic and solemn manner the rights which Don Carlos and his heirs might allege. " This is the only means to disarm parties, to secure the liberties of the nation, to settle its future destiny. What would otherwise be the prospect of the most meritorious Spaniards, of those who now defend with so much glory the throne of our Queen Dona Isabel IL? — incarceration and ignominy would be their recompense; their services would be punished as so many crimes; and their very wounds would serve as proofs to condemn them to the scaffold. " Prince Don Carlos by unfurling the standard of rebellion has authorized the nation to look to its own safety. And this 30 is one of the reasons which must influence the Cortes, and first this illustrious body; this is another reason, I repeat, to deprive Prince Don Carlos and his sons of the last ray of hope. This measure is just, it is necessary : the ambition of a rebellious Prince must not endanger a State. It is not sufficient that Don Carlos cannot succeed to the crown, agreeably to the fundamental laws sworn to by the nation, but it is indispensable that his offspring also should be effectually excluded. What pledges, what security, would there be for our laws, for our institutions, under their government ? We have just recover- ed them ; shall we now expose them to destruction ? " No ; it is not to be feared : your decision will be worthy of your dignity, of your oath?, of the example of your fore- fathers. The Duke de Rivas : — " On seeing me take the floor against the report of the Committee, I trust that none of those that hear me will suppose that I am about to attack the main point of this question. I also flatter myself that my hon- orable colleagues, the members of the Committee, will appre- hend no very vigorous opposition on my part, since there is nothing against which to direct it, after the sound and lu- minous principles embodied in their report. My intention is simply to offer some slight remarks, both on the report of the (/ommittee, and on the communication of the Government which has given rise to it ; and I may say that I have risen, not with a view to any opposition, but to consider the man- ner in which this momentous question has been presented to the deliberation of this body. "This grave and all important subject presents three points of view entirely different from each other: — 1st. It may be considered as a litigation between two opposite parties, lay- ing claim to an inheritance, and resting their pretentions on the existing laws. I2d. As a criminal cause on which there must be a verdict followed by a sentence, and the infliction of a penalty previously determined by law. 3d. As a great political question, as a most extraordinary case in which the 31 nation must deprive of all its rights a branch of its dynasty, because it is in open opposition to the public interest. " The latter is the only aspect under which we ought to ex- amine this difficult question : the other two come within the cognizance of civil and criminal courts, and as a representa- tive, deliberative and legislative body, we could not examine them without exceeding our legitimate powers. Therefore to connect this question with the written law, is to give it a certain air of process, which is in no manner suitable to this body ; it is to destroy it and render null our decisions. " We are not judges, we are legislators ; it is not our pro- vince to pronounce sentence, but to enact laws ; those who are called upon to pronounce judgements must do it in ac- cordance with laws previously established; those who make laws cannot be guided by another law, but only by the first of all laws, the national interest and the public convenience. Resting on these principles, which are the same which the Committee has adopted, I would have wished that in its report, at the same time that it wisely omits all citations of law, it should also have curtailed somewhat its reference to precedents, and that it should have dwelt more upon the dangers that threaten the security of the State and the peace and tranquillity of these kingdoms, if Don Carlos and all his descendants be not excluded from the succession to the crown. I believe that the Committee has adopted this course solely to make more apparent to the nation and to this body that which they may expect from a Prince who has pursued such a line of conduct. *'I will cheerfully pay a tribute of praise and also of the most sincere thanks to the Government of Her Majesty, for the promptitude, the good faith, the candour, the courage, the intrepidity with which they have presented to the Cortes this most vital question : I will also give my approbation to the manner in which they sustain it; I will likewise approve the quotations of laws which are so properly insertod in their ex- position; that is to say, I will support them if they are intended 32 to prove that the conduct of the Government towards this Prince, since the demise of the King, his brother, has been legal and free from all censure ; but I will disapprove these same ci- tations, if it be meant to give them to us as a standard for our decision, or as a base of the new law which is required of us. T consider the communication of the Government deficient in as much as it does not present to us the bill for this law already framed ; for, from this it would seem to follow that we are only called upon for an opinion, and that this com- munication is a mere consultation ; this, I fear, will render our debate vague and undetermined, and the Govern- ment being compelled subsequently to return to us this bill, supported by a resolution of this body to give it validity, we will have to begin a new discussion on this subject — which, although important, is very simple — and it will be exposed to new delays. I would therefore venture to request the honor- able members of the Committee to insert such a bill at the end of their report, since it has not been done by the Govern- ment in this form. It would also have been proper that the Government, on presenting their bill on the exclusion to the crown, should have accompanied it, in order to fix the future destiny of the monarchy, by another law of succession, specifying in a clear and conclusive manner the lines which are to succeed by reason of the exclusion of Don Carlos, as, by adopting such a course, we might perhaps preserve our posterity from such another testament as that of Charles II. and from other bloody wars of succession. "Having made these slight observations relative to the re- port of the Committee, and on the communication of the Government, I will now enter into the merits of the question, and sustain with all my efforts what is proposed by the Government and supported by the Committee : although I yerily believe, gentlemen, that no great effort will be requir- ed, as piiblic utility, which ought to be the sole guide of the decisions of thig body, loudly dictates what our resolution must be. 33 " I do not wish to consider this unfortunate Prince, nor would I wish him to be considered by this body, as a sub- ject in disobedience to his King, as a vassal in rebellion against his Sovereign, as an ambitious man stirring up va- grants and malefactors, and plunging his unhappy country into all the horrors of a civil war; but 1 will simply con- sider him as the ally of Don Miguel; as the representative of the Holy Alliance ; as the chief of a party most adverse to the prosperity of this ill-fated nation; of a party which, as it has been justly observed by the honorable Secretary who has preceded me, not only wishes to establish in Spain the reign of ignorance, of monopoly, of fanaticism, and of the inquisition, but also to extend the same over all Europe, throwing her back to the dark epoch of the tenth century ; of a party which is striving to found a barbarous throne, and a sacrilegious and savage priesthood, surrounded by rivers of blood and mountains of human bodies, on the grave of modern civilization. "Where is then the Spaniard, loving his country, know- ing and deploring the evils which for so many years have been defacing and destroying her fair soil, who can for an instant doubt the necessity of excluding this wretched Prince, whom the civilized world looks down upon with loath- ing, and who is only sustained by that party that would fain build its own fortunes on universal misery and the ruins of their country? " To dwell as long as I might on this subject, would be to abuse too much the attention of this body. The question under consideration is a most grave one, and involves two impor- tant points : first, The exclusion of the Infante Don Carlos from the crown ; secondly, The exclusion of his posterity from all right to the Spanish throne. As to the first, I imagine that no doubt exists, and I also am of opinion that as little can exist in relation to the second. The Secretary has sufficiently demonstrated it by a series of arguments, of which I shall have to avail myself, as none could be found more to ■ 34 the point : however as there may be some persons over timid, and others who, noi being fully acquainted with this ques- tion, do not foresee the fatal results of the rejection of this measure, it is proper clearly to point them out. " The greatest part of those who arc here assembled have children — have heirs ; but a question of so much importance, of so much transcendency, is not subject to common rules, and in its discussion all natural aflections must be silenced, and calm reason should be our only guide. " Sensibility and compassion are natural to noble souls and generous hearts. — But in the present case latet unguis in her- ha, and the indulgence of these sentiments might be fatal to our children, and forge for our descendants chains of disasters and calamities. *' An event so extraordinary as that which is at present occupying our attention, is not however new ; it has already occurred in Spain and in other countries, and has been de- cided upon ; consequently it has its established rule which is as follows : — That Roijal families, in all that regards the suc- cession, cantwt, i?i any manner, he considered as private families in relation to the succession of private inheritances. This is a principle of eternal truth, which the Government and the Committee have brought forward, and it is a principle which we must keep in view in our decision : for it is evident that if a son of mine, whether stupid or intelligent, ignorant or clever, should inherit a farm, a house, or an olive grove, no evil can result to society, nor is it thereby placed in any danger ; but the case is very different when the supreme power is exercised on principles contrary to the interest of the nation. The heirs imbibe the opinions of their parents, they acquire a portion of their habits and customs ; and who can doubt that this will be the case with the children of Don Carlos ? If they should happen one day to occupy the throne of Spain, would they not consider it as a heinous offence, as a most horrid crime, that their fa- ther had been disinherited ? Let it not be said that misfor- 35 tunes and the lapse of years can soften the temper of Princes : history and recent experience clearly prove the contrary. "Let it not be forgotten, gentlemen, that the glory and prosperity of the State, affirmed by our re-established laws, will in future depend upon the fragile existence of two inno- cent girls; and it is our duty to provide conclusively for the future, and not to risk the existence of the monarchy, as might be the case should we, from a mistaken compassion, adopt a precipitate decision. VV^e should one day be respon- sible for having, through our culpable want of foresight, ren- dered of no avail the wisdom and magnanimity with which our Queen Regent has re-established the ancient rights and privileges of our country, the efforts which all good Spaniards are now making to heal her wounds, and the torrents of blood which our gallant army is at this moment shedding on^ the rough mountains of Navarre, in defence of our legitimate rights and of our liberty. " Besides wevvould place the nation in a most difficult po- sition, if by a misfortune, which although improbable, is still possible. Heaven should take from us these two tender pledges, without our having come to a proper decision, since the sons of Don Carlos might possibly then reach the throne. In that case we would put the nation in the hard dilemma, either to repel a legitimate King to preserve its lib- erty, or to renounce its liberty to surrender itself, not to the mercy, but to the vengance of a Prince educated by persons whom we all know, and whose names I will forbear to pro- nounce in this august Hall, lest I might thereby profane if. This is not all ; unless all hopes be taken from Don Carlos and his descendants we cannot put an end to the civil war; nor could we to a certain extent criminate the defenders and par- tisans of the presumptive heirs to the crown. That the crown is not an entail, nor the nation any man's patrimony, is a truth so self evident that it would be an insult to the good sense of this body to pretend to demonstrate it. The Committee has established it triumphantly, and it de- 3G duces from it the power possessed by the nation to deprive of the throne an entire branch of its dynasty, wiien public convenience so requires it. This power has often been exerci- sed in Spain and the Committee prove it by examples from our history. " It might also have mentioned the Cortes of Segovia of 1272, who gave the crow n to Don Sancho the Brave during the life of his father, Don Alfonso the Wise, and also in pre- judice of the Infantes de la Cerda; and not only were the latter excluded, but also all their posterity. Mariana in relating this important event makes use of this remark :— > * Whether they acted agreeably to right is not known nor * is it necessary to examine it ; it is however certain that the * consideration of the general w^elfare and of the tranquillity * of the kingdom then prevailed.' — Remarkable words which ought not to be forgotten during the course of the present discussion. "The famous compromise of Caspe in the year 1411, might also have been cited, in which nine deputies from Aragon, Catalonia, and Valentia, united in order to determine to whom belonged the crown of Aragon, and decided in favour of Don Fernando, rejecting the Count of Urgel and all his pos- terity. The speech or sermon of St. Vincent Ferrer at the closing of the session, and on which he grounded his opinion and his vote, is well worthy of our attention ; it contains the following among other matter : — "We must elect as King, " him who will offer the best security for the happiness of the " people, and show the greatest attachment to the rights and " priveleges of the kingdom ;" a maxim so applicable to the present instance that it seems to be the only one that should guide our decision. " But if such examples be rejected on account of their refer- ring to semi-barbarous ages, I will bring forward others from modern times and taken from the records of the two greatest nations of Europe, which we most always keep in view^ if we wish to pursue the right path to our political regeneration. 37 h\ England in 1688, in that period which tiic Enghsn ^.ui their glorious revolution, James II. with all his j)osterity was expelled from the throne, and the Prince of Orange was pro- clamed in his stead. From that time dated her great prospe- rity, that information which we all admire in that classic land of judicious liberty, of patriotism, and of every species of public and private virtue. " In modern France we have seen a similar event : scarcely four years have elapsed since she drove from the throne Charles X., the Duke of Angouleme, the Duke of Bordeaux, and all their descendants, because they were the enemies of her national laws, and could not cease to be so ; and in their places, and to sustain and improve those laws, she sea;. .1 on the throne the branch of Orleans, hdI on account, bin in spite of their being members of the oonrliOi; family, as it was wisely observed by a celebrated jurisf, ; 'ery distinguished representative of that favoured nation. " It being then most clearly demonstrated that the Cas- tillians in very remote times, the Aragonese at a less dis- tant period, the English in modern times, and the French in our own days, M'hen placed in similar circumstances with ours, have uniformly removed their bad Princes and their posterity from the throne for the preservation of the public tranquillity, what doubt can there exist in relation to our own course ? " It is undoubtedly most painful, gentlemen, painful to me and to all those who hear me, that a Spanish Prince should have placed us in this terrible situation : a decen- dant of the great Henry IV. of France, a grandchild of the good Charles III., the son of the honest and mild Charles IV., it is indeed most painful that he has placed us in the necessity of adopting against him such a severe measure. But it has become indispensable, in order to protect the le- gitimate throne, and insure the liberty, the laws, and the repose of our posterity, that we should raise a brazen wall between the throne of Spain and Don Carlos and his posterity." 38 " Mr. Garcia Herreros observed tliat the Committee had purposely omitted citing the written law or resting its report thereon, in as much as that had already been done by the Government in its exj)osition made for the purpose of inform- ing the Cortes on this subject, and showing them that this was the course which the nation had always pursued in like cases ; that if the Committee had presented its report in this shape, it was in order that the grounds on which it rested might be apparent on the face of the rej)ort itself, and that it had been inevitable for the Committee so to present it, under the cir- cumstances of the case; he concluded by saying that the motives on which the Committee had rested its argument were those of public utility. Count Torreno.—-'' It was my intention not to have occu- pied the floor in support of the bill, such as it has been pre- sented by the Government, because I thought that on a sub- ject in which all good Spaniards agree, and in which the Government itself is as nmch interested as the nation, no difference of opinion could exist, nor could the question be viewed but in one light. But after the observations which have just been made by his Excellency the Duke de Rivas, I am compelled to say a few w^ords to explain the motives w hich have induced the Government to present this bill to the Cortes in the manner that it has been done. " Two faults have been noticed by the illustrious member in this bill : the first was, that it did not exclude in a clear and precise manner the posterity of Don Carlos from all right to the crown — and the second, that it did not determine the line or branch of the dynasty which was to occupy the throne if, by some misfortune, we should be deprived of the daughters of King Feidinand VII. "As to the first, it seems to me ihat the bill could not be more explicit: it says, ' that the Infante Don Carlos Maria * Isidro de Borbon y Borbon, and all his line, shall be excluded ' from the right to succeed to the crown of Spain.' The Government thought that nothing more could be said, — and 39 how could any thing more be added, when it includes not only the Prince as the head of the family, but also all his discen- tlants ? *' As to the other omission adverted to, of not having ex- pressed the branch that ought to succeed to the crown in the absence of the august daughters of Ferdinand VII — the Go- vernment have absolutely abstained from mentioning the sub- ject, because they considered it imprudent and unnecessary. It would be imprudent, because there is not a Spaniard who is not acquainted with the laws of succession to the crown of Spain since their re-establishment by the Cortes of 1789, and their ^succeeding confirmation by the general vote of the nation, whenever it has been able to express it through its re- presentatives. It was unnecessary to insert it>jn the bill, be- cause it is perfectly evident, that according to those laws, and in the failure of the two daughters of King Ferdinand VII, the nearest line would be called to the throne, passing over that of Don Carlos, as it will have been excluded by all the powers of the State. Why then bring forward questions in relation to the succession, when every body knows what course would be pursued in case of such a fatal occurrence ? Since I now occupy this floor, I cannot but add that this most delicate question, which the Government has offered to the decision of the illustrious body that I am now addressing, has been determined on, not only by the Government itself but also by the Committee, resting principally on the justice of the cause, on public utility, and on political necessity, in the same manner as it has been decided in Spain on similar pre- vious occasions. In all instances females have succeded in the failure of males, and we see constant examples of Princes ex- cluded from the throne for an abuse of power, from the mon- archy of the Goths to our own days. — This principle, estab- lished in those remote times, and successively confirmed by custom, is enrolled in the law of the Partida. *" But such is the force of custom that, when in the time of Philip V. they succeeded, by dint of intrigues and address, of 40 winch the Miirqiiis dc 8. Felipe speaks at length, in repealing that law and in substituting in its stead the Royal Act, or new rule of succession, many difficulties were encountered. The Cortes would not at first admit it, nor theConcil of Castille, and the first example was given by the Council of State, through the management and influence of Dr. Luis Curiel. "The law o(Partida being re-established in 1789, without the slightest opposition, it was equally recognised by the Cortes of 1810; and although the latter contained deputies from Pro- vinces so distant and so disinct from each other as at that time composed the Spanish Monarchy, this law, if I recol- lect right, was passed without a dissenting vote; consequently, at every epoch that the nation has been able freely to mani fest its opinion, it has acknowledged the right of succession of females in the absence of males — and the latter have been excluded whenever they have been considered as injurious to the general welfare. "I cannot forbear to relate what happened to Suintila, although of the first Gothic dynasty. Being already expelled from the throne, his disgrace was confirmed by the fourth council of Toledo, composed not exclusively of prelates and priests, but also of the Lords and nobility of the kingdom, and not only was Suintila excluded from the throne but like- wise his'son Rechimiro, and his brother Agilano, and the rea- son given was public utility and his misgovernment. " In the same manner the Infantes de la Cerda in the time of Alonso the Wise, were entirely excluded from the succes- sion of the Kingdom. This was declared in an assembly which was held in Toledo, and where Don Lope de Haro spoke first, and was followed by the Infante Don Manuel whose remarkable discourse on that occasion has been preserved in the chronicle of King Don Alonso. The Cortes of Segovia affirmed and validated the judgement of the Junto of Toledo, acknowledging Sancho the Brave as the heir to the crown. The laws of Spain so conclusive on this head, as well as the decisions of its Cortes, have been quoted both by the Govern- 41 ment and by the Committee, as it has been observed by Mr Garcia Herreros; not that they were indipensable to a decision in the present case, but merely to show that what is proposed now is what has always been practiced in Spain. It is not however correct as affirmed by an Honorable member that the English disposessed the whole dynasty of the Stuarts: James II. and his son were alone excluded. The House of Corr-mons was the first to decree the expulsion of James II. and his descendant ; the House of Lords only decreed that of James II., without wishing to extend it to his son. In con- sequence of this the two Houses had such conferences as are usual in such cases in that country, and the exclusion of the line of James II. was finally concurred in by the Lords, taking as their only ground a regard to public interest ; be- cause the son of James 11. inheriting ideas, \\ould also imbibe iiis hatred against the State, and his accession to the throne would prove a public calamity. "In more modern times, in our own days, a similar event has taken place in Russia, the nation probably most adverse to certain principles. — It happened in that country but a few years since, that the grand Duke Constantine renounced the crown of his own accord, it being evident that this renun- ciation extended to any descendants that he might have, in as much as his brother and his leniage were called to occupy the throne. " This question must moreover be viewed as one of political necessit)^; it is not simply a question of dynasty but a ques- tion of civilization. If Don Carlos should reign in Spain, she would very soon retrograde to the ages of barbarism. For who would then grasp the reins of power? the two worst and most dangerous classes of society ; namely : the low and uninformed clergy, and needy adventurers ; the two classes who feel the least interest in the real welfare of the nation: the enlightened, the powerful have all, with very rare ex- ceptions, pronounced themselves for our Queen Dona Isabel 11. If this be doubted let us cast our eyes around this House, 42 and we shall here see the most distinguished men of Spain in arms, in letters, and in rank; and who can doubt the fate that would fall upon these classes, upon such illustrious indi- viduals, if the party of Don Carlos should come into power in Spain. "And if motives of justice, of public utility, of politi- cal necessity, which have been brought forward, should not in themselves suffice, or be considered of adequate importance, we would add another motive, springing from a noble senti- ment, the sentiment of gratitude, a cord that always vibrates in a Spanish bosom ; for to the name of Isabel II., to the gene- rous concessions of her august Mother Dona Maria Cristina de Borbon, Queen Regent, are we indebted for our being here assembled, and for the solid foundation which has just been laid for the noble edifice of our national prosperity.'' Mr. Cano Manuel. — " My heart is rejoiced to behold this body assembled in this august hall, at the summons of our illustrious Queen Regent, who has caused our ancient laws to sound in unison with the hopes of her people. In the ses- sion in which we are this day engaged, the Government and the Committee have presented the question in its true light — by frankly exhibiting the ill-advisd Prince, both in his character of a subject, and, subsequently to the death of his brother, in his self-assumed character of King. I do not, as the Government has done, consider this subject under a poli- tical aspect, and I have not therefore expressly risen to oppose the report of the Committee, for I concur in its views, but only to make a few obervations : — *' It is undeniable that under the first point of view the un- fortunate Prince, as a subject of his King, has been guilty of the conduct exposed by t'je Committee and by the Govern- ment ; it appears that the plan was not a personal one, but be- longed to the party ; so it is said by the Government in one of the paragraphs of its exposition" (he then read it) " and the Committee, either of its own accord, or founding itself on documents which it mav have had in view, and to which it 43 refers, adopts the same opinion, as it expresses it in the second paragraph of its report;" (which he read.) " The Committee states that these are the facts on which it grounds its report and that although it would have wished to have consulted other documents, these no longer existed ; for, through a fatality which seems to preside over our destiny, those pa- pers, which contained the most conclusive proofs of the plan of conspiracy, had fallen into improper hands. The Committee here pronounces a positive judgment ; for when it speaks of plans to accomplish this criminal purpose it also, states that overt attempts have been made against the rights of succession. It is said that persons were charged with their execution, and that others had in different ways become accomplices : and all this is presented to the consi- deration of this body, in order that it may take cognizance of the crime. " I could wish that the Committee would inform us whether, in the absence of the documents which have been lost, it pos- sesses sufficient grounds on which to aver such positive facts ; and whether it must then be understood that to this body has been submitted for its examination, not only the conduct of the ill advised Prince, since the death of his brother, but whether we must also take cognizance of the acts which preceded that event : these acts are stated by the Govern- ment, and by the Committee, to have been in the course of accomplishment since the year 1824, and to have been di- rected not only to secure his right of succession to the throne, but also, as has been said by Ilis Excellency the Secretary' of State, to plot and contrive against the actual occupant cf the throne. It consequently seems to me that all here assembled will find themselves embarassed in forming an opinion by reason of their want of acquaintance with the facts relative to the conduct of the Prince. " I would be pleased to learn if the Committee has had be- fore it any documents, when it speaks of these facts in a posi- tive manner, and if it knows what are the documents which have been abstracted. 44 " In regard to the political part of the question, I see a disobedient and rebellious subject ; I find him in a foreign country, without knowing whether he removed to it by vir- tue of a permission, or as an exile; he receives an order to proceed to the Papal domiiiions and he disregards it ; posi- tive fM'ders are communicated to him to acknowledge Her Majesty the Queen, and swear allegiance to her as heiress to the crown, and he protests, saying that it would be incom- patible with his conscience, without considering that it is no excuse to act in accordance with an il!-regulated conscience, whilst he disobeys that which his duty as a subject imperi- ously prescribes. The death of his brother was foHovi'ed by the great political crime; the desertion of his country, his apostacy, his declaring himself the enemy of the nation, exercising open acts of sovereignty and tearing asunder the connection between the nation and his Sovereign ; he then excites a civil war and attempts to violate one of our fundamental laws by which Dona Isabel IL is recognised as the legitimate successor of her father, thereby endeavoring to dissolve the bonds of society by every means in his power. " The laws of the Partida which have been quoted, and which cannot be sufficiently extolled, if we consider the epoch in which they were published, have treated in an extensive and minute manner upon the maxims of general safety, and upon the most perfect public law. — The Law 2nd, title 19th, of the same code speaks of the rights of the Spanish people and of the King. I will not quote it that I may not unnecessarily fatigue the attention of this body, but it first requires that the King shall pro- tect the people from themselves, from die King himself and from foreigners ; and the people must protect the King against the people, against himself and against foreigners. The mode in which this protection must be effected is explained in the most definite inanner, pointing out the only means which can save the nation and saying that, if it be not car- ried into effect, its ruin must sooner or later become inevi- table. 45 " Our present difficulties spring from a cause whose origin is perfectly well known. It has been said that when a nation like ours regulates the succession to the throne, those who are called to that succession become possessed of a riglit. — This expression, which ought to be repudiated, is the root of all po litical dissensions ; because, if this rigJit does exist, there must also exist a corresponding obligation to be fulfilled by the peo- ple; and therefore it is that certain men have assured the Prince that in virtue of that law^ he had a right to the throne. Every body knows the difference between the perpetration of a com- mon crime and that of a political crime. In the first there is consciousness and will : a man considers it to be an evil act to steal, yet his will leads him to it, and, after the crime has been proven, society, with a view to its own interest, protects itself against the perpetrator. But the same is not the case with regard to political crimes : the pi'otection of the King is entrusted to the nation, and if she be attacked there is a connexion between the understanding and the will, because there are men who counsel the Prince that by vir- tue of a law he has a right to be King, and this reciprocal as- sent of the understanding and the will being susperadded to the feelings of self-love — feelings which so often blind man- kind — is abundantly sufficient to lead the Prince to regard with great complacency a category of this class. Hence the origin of this blunder. There exists no right, but simply a legal aptitude which does not amount to a right until a nation, impelled by the same motives which have obliged it to determine the laws of succession, agrees to recognise the immediate successor. From that time he becomes possessed of a right and is connected with the nation ; for, although he does not yet reign, his person is already looked upon with positive respect, and as in a manner inviolable. " I have never been of opinion that such a right did exist, and His Excellency the Secretary of State has used the word eligibility as the only thing that could be claimed. Expe- rience should make us cautious, and I would commit an 46 offence against this body were I to contradict what has been said by the Secretary in relation to the state of the nation in the time of Charles 11. It was in an enfeebled state, and on the pfoint of falling a victim to a partition which was anx- iously desired by two great powers. That Monarch, an Austrian in his heart, and a Bourbon merely from political motives, saw himself pressed by the French and Austrian embassadors, in a manner that when the former thought him- self on the point of extorting a declaration in favour of his master, the other objected that thewill of the Cortes had not been consulted, and when the Austrian thought him- self on the point of obtaining his end the same difficulty was opposed by the other. I need not observe that every body was called upon for an opinion except the nation. Theologians wereconsulted, the court of Rome was consulted, and the succession to the crown was looked upon as a mere family concern. So it was viewed by Philip V. and by the Marquis de S. Felipe, although the latter, notwithstanding that he was a Philipist at heart, could not help exposing in his commentaries the work of iniquity which was then done by abandoning the immemorial custom established for similar cases. What right had Philip V. to destroy this custom, even though he had himself reached the throne through a vi- olation of this same lav/ 1 "In the exposition of the Government, mention is made of the law of emails. I do not intend to fatigue the attention of this body, but an entail and a crown are two very different things. The crown is a trust, and a very serious trust, a trust which must not be acted upon except in pursuance of the nation's will ; and therefore to view it as a personal patri- mony is a manifest contradiction, and such a position is not tenable. But allow me the following observation : the pos- sessor of an entail has no other trust but to take care of the property and keep it entire for his successors ; but the trust of a King is of a much more important and serious nature. The laws have regulated the succession of paternal inheritances, 47 but it is impossible to identify these laws with rules which regulate the succession to the crown. " Upon these principles ! think that the Prince has by his conduct incurred the penalty imposed by the law. But I would wish that the words jyvMic convenience might be struck from the reasons given for disinheriting the Prince ; for the nation may enforce its rights without assigning this reason. Tiie revolted provinces might also give their public convenience as their reason. The nation throws itself upon its own rights whenever it sees its compact dissolved and its fundamental laws violently assailed. " The principle being acknowledged that a Prince can be excluded, if it be not thought proper that he should reign, although he may have a right to the crown, I will now an- swer an observation which has been made respecting the punishment which is inflicted on the children ; and I will for this purpose make use of the laws of the Partidas which regulate the succession." (He then read them.) " Here the House will see the renovation of the compact between the throne and the nation. By this law the nation, in con- junction with the King, must decide the question whether a Prince possesses a right, and whether he shall reign or not, whilst, instead of aiding the Spaniards in protecting their King, he is the cause of their shedding each others blood in a civil war which he has excited. I am of opinion that we must be guided by this law in adopting a political mea- sure. In this law I see the firmest foundation for our deter- mination in this case ; but I think that common laws ought never to be applied to him who is innocent; for how can he be made to share the penalty ? In the present case it is a very great misfortune that the sons of the Prince should suf- fer: but as great and virtuous actions are recompensed by adequate rewards, so, in order to guard against great crimes, it is necessary that they should be visited with serious and awful consequences. It is a philosophical truth that when- ever the danger and severity of the penalty does not more 48 than counterbalance the advantages to be expected from a crime, the law becomes inefficient. Thus we every day wit- ness that a young unmarried man who is insulted takes im- mediate satisfaction by appealing to such means as he thinks adequate to avenge the offence, but if a married man is insul- ted he thinks of his children and forgets his revenge. "I cannot but approve the report of the Committee, when I shall have been satisfied as to the objections which I have made; but the subject under discussion has appeared to me of too delicate a nature not to require the greatest pos- sible clearness and precision. This is a legislative mea- sure which is intended not only for the present time but for ever; and when the acts of this House shall be registered, and a collection of facts and documents shall be invoked to show that attempts have been made against the succession, it is desirable that an accurate idea may be formed of the disadvantageous position of the Government and of the diffi- culties of this House, both having united to heal the wounds of the nation, to restore to their homes thousands of victims of the last nine years, and to terminate the cruel civil war in which we are so unhappily placed. " I cannot conclude without adverting to the necessity of precision in the manner of expressing opinions: these are very delicate subjects, as it has been said by the Government, and the throne may be shaken even when we intend to strengthen it. When the British nation drove James II. from the throne, it was well known that he had conspired against her liberty, and that the compact between the nation and the King was therefore disolved ; but as danger was ap- prehended from making such a declaration, it was declared that he had renounced the crown. With a view to this I re- peat that we ought to be cautious in the use of terms, and decide in accordance to the report of the Committee. Mr. Garcia Herreros: — " The Committee has not perfect- ly understood the idea of the Honourable Member who has just taken his seat, respecting the documents which would 49 prove the crime of Don Carlos, and therefore it would wish that he should explain." Mr. Cano Manuel : — '* The Committee has spoken of docu- ments abstracted or concealed, and it asserts the proposition that from them would result the proof to which it alludes." Mr. Garcia Herreros : — " This is not exact ; the Commit- tee has averred nothing; it was the Government in its mes- sage who made the assertion, as may be seen by its perusal." (he then read) " Let the Honourable Member, besides, bear in mind what His Excellency the Secretary said a short time since, and he will there find an answer much more ex- plicit than it would be in the power of the Committee to give. It was to that epoch and to the abstraction of documents that the Secretary alluded when he said that the Government committed a political suicide. — And it was so in fact, for by that act it deprived itself of the documents which proved the criminal attempts made in Catalonia, Guadalaxara, and other places; documenis which no one has ever seen since. His Excellency has also said that the nation had been scandalized at the conduct of the Government at the time, and that was more than the Committee could have said. The Committee believed, and the result has confirmed that belief, that in the discussion before this body the subject would be much more fully investigated than it was in its power to do it, and on that account it has observed a kind of prudent reserve in order to leave a larger field for the de- bate ; moreover we are all persuaded thai those documents would contain minute details of the conspiracy against the King and the nation, formed as far back as nine years ago. As to who are the persons who have concealed or extracted them, and whether they are in or out of the kingdom, we have not been informed by the Government, nor is it known." Mr. Cano Manuel : — "I am fully satisfied, and I am happy to say that the discussion has cleared up this important point by showing to the nation, that for more than nine years the evils which she now feels have been preying upon her, 50 and that the Government of that time placed itself, of its own accord, in a most disadvantageous position." The President directed that the question should be asked whether any Honourable Member wished to occupy the floor, and no one having risen, His Excellency the Secreta- ry Marquis de Guadalcazar requested of the House that to the proposition of the Government which had been ap- proved by the Committee should be added the proposition of the Council, that Don Carlos and his descendants should not be permitted to return to Spain. Mr. Garcia Hen^eros stated that the Committee had no objection to its being adopted, and several members sup- ported it. It was then again asked whether any Honourable Mem- ber desired to speak, and no one answering, the discussion was closed agreeably to the 5Gth act of the regulations, which was read. It was moved that the vote on the report of the Committee should be viva voce, and there being a division of opinion as to whether the report should be voted jointly with the addi tion adopted by the Committee, it was finally agreed that they should be voted separately. A discussion arose on the wording of the pending resolu- tion, and the Marquis de Espeja objected to the use of the words eventual rights of the Infante Don Carlos, for he had never had any rights but only hopes, since the right to the crown could only be given by the oath of allegiance to him as Prince of Asturias. Mr. Garcia Herreros replied that this was precisely what was meant by eventual rights, but that he had no objection to its being expressed otherwise. Finally it was agreed that the resolution which was about to be voted should be worded as follows : — " The House of Proceres of the kingdom declares Don Carlos Maria Isidro de Borbon y Borbon and all his descendants excluded for ever from the succession to the crown of Spain." 51 The Marquis de Espeja requested that absent members should be permitted to send in their votes, and it was so de- cided. At this time the session was for a short time suspended, owing to the President leaving the hall, and on his resuming his seat the votes were taken. When this was completed, it appeared that the report of the Committee was adopted by seventy-one votes out of seven- two members present; His Excellency Count de Taboada having abstained from voting, availing himself of the privi- lege which the rules of the House conferred on him. The following were the members present who voted : — Their Excellencies Marquis de Albaida, Marquis de Al- canices, Don Vicente Ramos Garcia, Bishop elect of Almeria, (who sent his vote in writing being prevented by indisposition from attending in person,) Don Juan Alvarez Guerra, Mar- quis de las Amarillas, Don Miguel Ricardo de Alava, Duke de Bailen, Bishop of Barcelona, Don Eusebio Barbaji, Duke de Berwick, (who sent in his vote in writing owing to indispo- sition,) Don Javier de Burgos, Marquis de la Candelaria de Yarayabo, Don Antonio Cano Manuel, Duke de Castro- terreno. Count de Clavijo, Bishop of Cordoba, Don Ramon Gil de la Cuadra, Don Jose de Cafranga, Count de Cervel- lon, Marquis de Espeja, Don Martin Fernandez de Navar- rete, Patriarch of the Indies, Don Manuel Garcia Herreros, Don Tomas Gonzalez Carvajal, (who sent in his vote being indisposed,) Count Gonzalez de Castejon, Bishop Don Pedro Gonzalez Vallejo, Duke de Gor, Marquis de Guadalcazar, Count de Guaqui, Duke de Hijar, Count de Humanes, Bishop of Huesca, Don Justo Maria Ibar Navarro, Don Ramon Lopez Pelegrin, Bishop of Lugo, Marquis de Malpica, Don Antonio Martinez, DukedeMedinaceli, Archbishop of Mexi- co, Marquis de Moncayo, Marquis de Monreal y Santiago, Count de Onate, Don Joaquin Navarro Sangran, Count de Monterron, Duke de Noblejas, Count de Ofalia, Count de Parsent, Don Ignacio de la Pezuela, Count de Pinofiel, Bishop 52 Don Antonio Posadas, Don Jose Maria Puig, Count de Priegue, Count de Punonrostro, Count de Pino Hermoso, Don Manuel Jose Quintana, Duke de Rivas, Count de Salvatierra, Marques de S. Felices, Duke de S. Lorenzo, Marques de S. Martin de Hombreiros, Count de S. Roman, Count de Santa Ana, Marquis de S. Cruz, Marquis de Santa Cruz y S. Esteban, Count de Sastago, Duke de S. Car- los, Count de Teba, Don Mariano Linan, Count de Venadi- to, Duke de Veraguas, Don Caspar Vigodet, Count de Villafuertes, and Marquis of Valmediano. Absent members : — Their Excellencies Count de Atares, Archbishop of Burgos, Marquis de Camarasa, Marquis de Cerralbo, ('ount de Cuba and Bishop of Valladolid. After this the vote was taken on the following amendment, which had been required by several members before the voting commenced : " That Don Carlos and his descendants shall be deprived of the right of returning to the Spanish do- minions." The vote was viva voce, and the amendment was passed by the unanimous votes of all present, except their Excellen- cies Count de Taboada, and Marquis de San Martin de Hombrieros, who abstained from voting, in the exercise of the above mentioned privilege conferred on them by the rules of the House. The vote having been taken, the Duke de Rivas requested that since the proposition made to the House by the Marquis de Espeja had been agreed upon, the Chair should be autho- rized to give official information of it to absent members. This was followed by a slight debate which terminated in deciding that the authorization was not necessary it being a thing understood. This debate being concluded, the President said that due notice would be given for the next meeting, and closed that of the present day.