HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



229 



his arms, if it be not equally 

 guarded against his arts and ma- 

 chinations ? Be assured that what 

 he cannot obtain he will endea- 

 vour to destroy ; and that what he 

 cannot effect by force he will 

 seek to accomplish by means of an 

 alliance. That pestilent disturber 

 of nations shall never exercise any 

 power at sea while England exists. 

 This ally and friend will protect 

 the Spanish flag in all parts of 

 the world, at sea and at land, pro- 

 vided that we are united among 

 ourselves. The complete union 

 and integrity of the Spanish mo- 

 narchy is not of more importance 

 to that power than it is to us. 

 The province that should wish to 

 separate itself from this great 

 body, would be the enemy of all, 

 and by all abandoned, its own 

 strength and resources would be 

 consumed, and its hopes annihi- 

 lated. The Regency, with pater- 

 nal solicitude, invites you to unite 

 more firmly than ever with the 

 mother country. Connected as we 

 are by blood, religion, and a poli- 

 tical system, it is the interest of 

 both to add to these ties a national 

 representation in the Cortes for 

 the purpose of consolidating the 

 common safety and prosperity of 

 the whole." 



Such were the pretensions, 

 views, and arguments of both 

 sides on this momentous question. 



The inhabitants of Spanish 

 America were also, in a procla- 

 mation issued at Madrid, March 

 22,1810, addressed by king Jo- 

 seph. He called them his dear 

 subjects, and invited them to sub- 

 mit, and partake in the blessings 

 of his just and paternal govern- 

 ment. But if they should not 

 have a a)ind to do this, he coun- 



selled them to have nothing to do 

 with the rebellious and perfidious 

 Junta, who, as well as the Eng- 

 lish, had nothing in view but to 

 deceive and plunder them ; and 

 declare themselves free and inde- 

 pendant of all nations in the 

 world. 



Joseph also sent emissaries for 

 the promotion of his interests, 

 by intrigue, into the Spanish pro- 

 vinces through North America. 

 The council of Regency, aware 

 of these machinations, sent orders 

 to the public authorities in Spa- 

 nish America, not to admit any 

 one from the North American 

 frontier, without the most satisfac- 

 tory passport. A gentleman ar- 

 rived from the Havannah at Liver- 

 pool, August 1, writes to his 

 friend in London as follows : '* In 

 coming round the Moro, we saw 

 ten thousand people surrounding 

 a gallows, on which was suspend- 

 ed one of Joseph Buonaparte's 

 emissaries to Mexico, Don M. R. 

 Alemany Pena, a young man of 

 twenty years of age, belonging to 

 one of the first families in Mexico, 

 who was returning from college 

 in Spain. He had accepted of 

 four or five hundred blank com- 

 missions from Joseph for go- 

 vernors, generals, admirals, and 

 other office-bearers, to be filled 

 up at pleasure." 



In most of the provinces juntas 

 were formed by the leaders of the 

 people for carrying on the govern- 

 ment, according to the views taken 

 by the respective districts of their 

 relations to the mother country. 

 In all the authority of Ferdinand 

 VII. was recognized ; but not in 

 all of these, that of the Regency 

 of Cadiz, or, in other words, Fer- 

 dinand, represented by that coun- 



