THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 429 



might prove, he again re-abrogated the law ; and, by his famous decree 

 of the 30th March 1830, declared his daughter, the Infanta Maria- 

 Isabella-Christina, his successor. 



We have given these historical details in order to shew on what 

 grounds rest the claims of the Queen. But should a struggle for the 

 succession eventually take place, the prestige in favour of royalty, so 

 strong among every class of the Spanish people, will vanish. Men will 

 be actuated by interest and calculation, and will expect in return as 

 much they give. From this earthquake of political elements, freedom 

 may again raise her head ; for it is. on the Constitutional party that the 

 hopes of the young queen must rest. Some liberal measures, therefore 

 such as a general amnesty, and the convocation of the ancient Cortes 

 may secure her the crown, and raise Spain from that political degra- 

 dation to which it has so long been reduced, by the union of a supersti- 

 tious court and a sanguinary priesthood. It is to be wished that the 

 dowager-queen may, in the hour of need, find honest and upright coun- 

 sellors, men who have at heart the real interests of their country, to 

 direct her amid the shoals by which she is surrounded ; otherwise, the 

 assistance and support of the Constitutional party may be alienated, 

 nay, arrayed in favour of a third pretender to the crown. The ex-king 

 Joseph Napoleon, now in this country, who, after a long exile from the 

 theatre of political events, may, by the chapter of accidents, again be 

 called upon to enact a leading and distinguished part in the great 

 European drama. 



On the other hand, Don Carlos, with the c( Loi Salique" in his hand, 

 may boldly claim the throne to the exclusion of his niece. He may 

 advance, what his adherents have long ago done for him, that Ferdi- 

 nand, absolute in every thing that regarded the administration of the 

 kingdom, had no power to alter its fundamental laws without the con- 

 sent of the Cortes de los tres Estadas. Whether Don Carlos ever pro- 

 tested against this act of his brother, we know not; but Charles X. 

 formally did so, as the head of the house of Bourbon ; and likewise the 

 present King of the French, Louis-Philippe. 



The queen having again declared herself enceinte, the issue of her 

 accouchement must be awaited, ere events can assume a definitive direc- 

 tion. In the mean time it must be recollected (leaving out of the ques- 

 tion the direct personal interest of Don Carlos, that will of course 

 powerfully influence his conduct), as a chef -de-parti, he has scarcely a will 

 of his own. He heads the ultra- Apostolical party, formidable not so 

 much by their numbers, as by their union and determination, and who, 

 now that the period for consummating their darling projects has arrived, 

 will act with the energy and decision that so strongly characterizes 

 them. On the other hand, the young queen will be naturally supported 

 by the ministers of the existing government, and all the members com- 

 posing the actual machine of government ; though, in the only political 

 body existing in Spain the Council of Castille the majority of votes, 

 we fear, will be in favour of her uncle. Latterly the authority of Ferdi- 

 nand rested solely on the habits of long-trained obedience, reverence for 

 ancient usages, and, above all, a veneration for the kingly authority. 

 His immediate party (the Fernandos) scarcely extended beyond the 

 precincts of the court, and was composed of the moderate Liberals and 

 Apostolicals the juste- milieu party of Spain. 



