Alexandria Gazette & Advertiser

SPAIN.

The Gibraltar papers to the 25th of August received at New York, contain the speech of the King of Spain, on closing the session of the Cortes of 1823, and the reply of that body. They are of too great length to be inserted entire. That of the King leaves us to lament only that it does not express his real sentiments; while that of the Cortes is as patriotic, as spirited, and as dignified, as the documents they used to publish while comparatively in peace and security at Madrid.

The King's Address begins with these words:

"Gentlemen Deputies—On this solemn day, in which the present Cortes are closed, my heart is necessarily affected by sensations of different kinds, though still they accord with the circumstances in which the nation is placed.

"Invaded, as our territory is, by the most unheard of treachery, on the part of a perfidious enemy, who owe their existence chiefly to this magnanimous nation, the world beholds violated in her the rights of all countries, & all the principles the most sacred among men. Pretended defects in our political institutions: supposed errors in our internal administrations, a feigned wish to restore tranquility, the disturbance of which is the work of those alone who exaggerate it; affected concern for the dignity of a Monarch who wishes not to be one but for the happiness of his subjects—such were the pretexts of an aggression which will be the scandal of posterity, and the blackest spot of the nineteenth century. But hypocrisy, emboldened by her ephemeral progress, soon threw off the mask, and discovering all the horrors of her views, no longer allows even the most duped to doubt, that the only reform she aims at is, to deprive the Nation of all independence, of all liberty, and of all hope; and that the dignity which she pretends to restore to my crown, consists only in dishonoring me, in exposing my Royal Person and Family, and in undermining the foundation of my throne, to raise herself on its ruins."

He then accuses the French of bribery, and of employing all the crimes and passions of men on their side. He speaks of the defection of Albuferas the unfortunate cause of the loss of Madrid: and deplores that their base measures are allowed to prevail, and to descend with such force on his deserving subjects.

"But," he continues, "in the midst of these disasters, Spain preserves her magnanimous resolution, & the Cortes, in the closest union with my government, have ever maintained themselves such as they were in the memorable days of the 9th and 11th of January last. The serenity and wisdom of their deliberations hitherto amidst such bitterness and danger: the confidence which their patriotism inspires, and the hatred itself with which they are honored by the enemies of the country, are so many proofs that they have deserved well of it. Inefatigable in promoting all the branches of public prosperity, they have passed various decrees that contribute to it, as far as circumstances permit."

He then expresses his thanks for the promptitude with which the Cortes have seconded his efforts for the public good states, that tho' he has withdrawn his charge d'affaires from Lisbon, there is no interruption in the ties of amity between the two nations: expresses a firm belief that Divine Providence will yet interpose to restore peace and preserve the liberties of the nation; and concludes in these words:

"My government shall cease to exist before it take any step contrary to that faith by which it is connected with the country, or to what is required by the honor of the nation or the dignity of my crown: and if circumstances shall require it, it will seek in the extraordinary Cortes, a safe harbor for the vessel of state. In such case, I will assemble them, always depending upon their zeal and patriotism, and jointly we will travel the path of glory, until a peace be obtained at once honorable and worthy of Spaniards and of myself"

The Cortes, in reply, reflected severely on the course pursued by France, and declared that the way to protect religion is not to introduce the despotism of the barbarous ages, and that the way to defend the person and throne of the King, is not to expose them both to disrepute by the excesses committed in his name.

The following paragraphs are taken from the close of the Reply of the Cortes—

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

The Cortes, satisfied with the testimony of their conscience, having religiously discharged their duties, and without any reproach arising from their political conduct, are again come to this invincible island, the terror of tyrants and the support of free men, and have assembled anew in this very temple where, in spite of the then arbiter of diadems and thrones, that constitution was formed and sanctioned, in 1812, which is to be the source of our prosperity.

On all occasions, whether prosperous or adverse, Y. M. will never find them retragading in the career of honor and if once more assembled in extraordinary Cortes the good of the country so requiring it, these deputies should have again to exercise the legislative functions, they will repeat in the face of the whole world, what they declared in their sitting of the 9th and 11th of January last, and expressed anew on the 29th of July, with general applause. Y. M. may make yourself easy, in the full confidence and security that you will find them by your side, whenever Y. M. shall apply to them to support the dignity of your Constitutional throne: and that they never can wish for a day of greater joy to them than that on which, removed with Y. M. to the centre of the Monarchy, they may be able to congratulate Y. M. on the attainment of victory, after having driven the enemy beyond the Pyrenees"