GENERAL HISTORY. 



[153 



culais of which we refer to the 

 Gazette. One observable circum- 

 stance was, that after one of the 

 actions, two German regiments 

 came over to the allies. The ge- 

 neral result was, that the enemy 

 having failed in all their attacks, 

 and incurred great loss, withdrew 

 to their intrenchments. The loss 

 of the British and Portuguese was 

 also considerable, amounting, in 

 all the days, to between 4 and 

 5,000 in killed, wounded, and 

 missing. Of the Spanish were 

 returned only 5 killed and 21 

 wounded. 



From the military transactions 

 on the Peninsula we now turn to 

 the proceedings of the Spanish 

 Cortes, the body on whose wis- 

 dom and firmness it must even- 

 tually depend whether all that 

 Spain has done and suffered, shall 

 be repaid by any solid constitu- 

 tional improvements. Among the 

 difficulties it has had to encounter, 

 one of the most serious has arisen 

 from that bigotry which has for so 

 many ages been characteristic of 

 the Spanish nation, and has en- 

 slaved its clergy to the most ob- 

 noxious maxims of the church of 

 Rome. Although religious tolera- 

 tion could obtain no admission into 

 the new constitution, yet the more 

 liberal members of the Cortes had 

 been able to carry a decree for 

 the abolition of the odious tribunal 

 of the Inquisition, and had passed 

 an injunction for reading the de- 

 cree in the churches at the cele- 

 bration of high mass. This was 

 very galling to the clerical body ; 

 and at a sitting of the Cortes on 

 March 8th, a letter was read, 

 transmitted by order of the Re- 

 gency, which conveyed three me- 

 morials relative to thissubject, from 



the vicar-general of the diocese of 

 Cadiz, the parochial clergy of the 

 city and suburbs, and the chapter 

 of the diocese. That of the vicar- 

 general set forth his reasons for 

 not obeying the order of the Cor- 

 tes, the substance of which was, 

 that it would be matter of scandal 

 to read resolutions purely civil in 

 a sacred place, and in the middle of 

 the sacrifice of the mass, and that 

 it had not been usual to publish 

 laws in that manner. The clergy 

 went so far as to impugn Hie spirit 

 of the decree for abolishing the 

 Inquisition, saying that it contained 

 doctrine contrary to what they had 

 always preached to their parishion- 

 ers. The Regency, in the letter 

 accompanying these memorials, 

 informed the Cortes that they had 

 not chosen to take severe measures 

 on the occasion, for fear of disturb- 

 ing the public tranquillity; and 

 recommended the business to the 

 consideration of the Cortes. 



The first speakers who arose in 

 the assembly warmly condemned 

 the Regency for declining to exer- 

 cise their authority in executing 

 the orders of the Cortes; and Senor 

 Arguelles, after observing that the 

 remarks of the clergy did not me- 

 rit their attention, and that their 

 sole business was, to discuss the 

 conduct of the government in the 

 observance of the laws, said, that 

 the Regency ought to be deposed 

 the moment it does not cause the 

 laws to be executed, which duty it 

 had sworn to perform ; and con- 

 cluded with moving, that the sit- 

 ting be declared permanent till 

 this business was terminated. This 

 motion was carried by a great ma- 

 jority. He then, after declaring 

 that the circumstances were highly 

 critical, and that a contest between 



