SPAIN. 



743 



amid the cries of " Viva Carlos VH. I" " Death 

 to the Liberals!" in the provinces of Navarre, 

 Guipuzcoa, Teruel, Leon, Huesca, and several 

 others. The number of the Carlist bands 

 which were in the field about the close of April 

 was estimated at over 15,000. In the Basque 

 provinces and Navarre, the great stronghold 

 of the party, General Diaz de Kada, who for- 

 merly held that rank under Isabella II., was 

 appointed commander-in-chief. On assuming 

 command he issued the following proclamation : 



The King, our august master, did me the honor 

 to write this to me on the 14th of April : u My dear 

 Bada ? the supreme hour has arrived. All Spaniards 

 of spirit are calling for their legitimate King, and 

 the King hastens to respond to their appeal. I, 

 therefore, order that the general rising of Spain 

 shall commence on the 21st, to the cry of 'Away 

 with the foreigner long live Spain ! ' I shall be 

 among the first at the post of honor. Those who 

 follow me will deserve well of their King and their 

 country ; those who fight against me will alone be 

 responsible for the blood that may be shed." My 

 reply to his Majesty was a promise of fidelity and 

 immediate obedience to his orders. Up to this time 

 you have given many proofs of obedience and disci- 

 pline, have suffered in silence, and have always sti- 

 fled the indignation which you felt for the illegalities 

 which were" being committed, the acts of tyranny, 

 the persecutions of the satellites of a princely adven- 

 turer, who, to the disgrace and humiliation of Spain, 

 has not scrupled to occupy the throne of Saint Fer- 

 dinand by usurping the most legitimate rights, and 

 by trampling upon the most sacred principles. The 

 King had directed you to wait, and you obeyed. To- 

 day he says to you, " To arms ! " and you rush to the 

 standard of "God, the country, the King," for his 

 will accords with the warmest impulses of your own 

 hearts. To arms, then, brave and heroic Navarrese 

 and inhabitants of the Basque provinces ! and very 

 soon we shall gain a victory which will for ever secure 

 your venerated privileges (fueros), the peace, happi- 

 ness, and true freedom of our country. Hurrah for 

 religion ? for Spain, for Charles VII. ! Down with 

 the foreigner ! 



The Commandant-General, 



EUSTAQUIO DIAZ DE EADA. 



On April 24th the new Cortes were opened 

 by the King in person. In the speech from 

 the throne, his Majesty stated that cordial re- 

 lations existed with all foreign powers, and 

 that Venezuela had offered the most satisfac- 

 tory explanations respecting the incident with 

 the Spanish representative in that state. The 

 policy of Spain toward the American repub- 

 lics was one of peace, mutual respect, and 

 that generous and reciprocal interest which 

 unites all civilized nations. The King hoped 

 an agreement between Italy and the Holy See, 

 which be strongly and sincerely desired, would 

 shortly be effected. His Majesty intended ren- v 

 dering practical and fruitful the sacred rights es- 

 tablished by the Constitution, and announced 

 measures for army reform and for the fulfil- 

 ment of the promises of reform in the colo- 

 nies, while avoiding all that might imperil the 

 integrity of the territory, or give arms to the 

 enemies of the Spanish name and race. 



Relative to the Carlist rising, the King said : 



A party denying the legitimacy of modern right, 



and which is a stubborn enemy of the institutions 



established by the Spanish nation, after having been 



beaten in the elections, has risen in arms in some 

 provinces. The Government has taken the most 

 efficacious measures promptly to crush the insurrec- 

 tion, and, taught by experience the futility of clem- 

 ency, will be inexorable in its punishment of the 

 constant enemies of liberty and disturbers of the 

 public peace. If ordinary measures are not sufficient, 

 my Government will demand your sanction for other* 

 necessary to firmly reestablish the reign of the law. 



The King expressed a hope for a prompt ter- 

 mination of the insurrection, praised the dis- 

 cipline and services of the army and the civic 

 guard, and concluded by stating that he would 

 seek in the deliberations of the Cortes a guide 

 for his conduct and a way to identify his feel- 

 ings with those of the Spanish people. He said: 



I will never impose myself on the Spanish people ; 

 but neither will I allow myself to be accused of de- 

 serting the post which I occupy by its will, nor of 

 forgetting the duties which the Constitution places 

 upon me, and which I shall fulfil with the loyalty and 

 constancy which I owe to the honor of my name. 



On April 25th Sefior Rios Rosas was elected 

 President of the Cortes by 1 68 votes. Eighty- 

 four blank voting tickets were given in. For the 

 office of Vice-President the ministerial candi- 

 dates were elected by a large majority. 



Public attention was for some time wholly ab- 

 sorbed by the progress of the Carlist insurrec- 

 tion, which spread to more than twenty of the 

 forty-nine provinces into which Spain is di- 

 vided. Don Carlos himself appeared in the field. 

 The Government appointed Marshal Serrano 

 commander-in-chief of the troops sent against 

 the Carlist bands in the insurgent provinces. 

 A severe encounter occurred on May 5th at 

 Oroquieta, in Navarre, in which the Carlists 

 were completely defeated. The troops charged 

 the insurgents with the bayonet more than 

 once, drove them from the village, and took 

 by assault the houses to which they fled for 

 shelter, and where they attempted to barri- 

 cade themselves. The Carlist force had halted 

 at Oroquieta for refreshment, but though it. 

 was known that Moriones, a very energetic 

 officer, was in pursuit of them, it seems that 

 insufficient precautions were taken against sur- 

 prise. The surprise was complete. Moriones, 

 with a column of about 2,000 men and a 

 mountain battery, fell upon the insurgents al- 

 most before they knew where they were. The 

 loss of the Carlists was over TOO men killed, 

 wounded, and prisoners. It is reported they 

 were near 4,000, and that there were in addi- 

 tion, perhaps, 1,500 men who, however, did not 

 come up in time to help them. After the com- 

 bat Don Carlos rode off with an escort, and 

 soon after recrossed the frontier of France. 

 On May 10th the managing committee of the 

 federal republicans issued a manifesto bear- 

 ing the signatures of Sefiors Pi Margall, Caste- 

 lar, Figueras, and other leading republicans. 

 The manifesto repudiates any alliance or sym- 

 pathy with the Carlists, and says that, be- 

 yond what local circumstances may counsel, 

 the republicans can neither protect the cause 

 of Don Carlos nor fight under the flag of Kifig 

 Amadeus. The manifesto also accuses the 



