434 SPA 
on for the place of removal, and that the time of departure 
should, at the latest, be to-morrow at noon. 
. After some discussion this motion was also agreed to. 
A message from one of the ministers intimated that his 
Majesty had appointed five o’clock that evening for receiv¬ 
ing the deputation. Soon after the deputation went 
forth. 
On its return from the palace, the following statement was 
made by the President, Don Cavetano Valdes:—“ The 
deputation of the Cortes having waited on his Majesty, 
represented to him that the Cortes had resolved on their 
removal to-morrow, as, according to the accounts which 
had been received, if the enemy made a few forced marches, 
the removal could not be accomplished, and that it was 
therefore fit that his Majesty and the Cortes should proceed 
to the Isle of Cadiz. 
“ His Majesty answered, that his conscience and the 
interests of his subjects did not permit him to leave this 
city; that as a private individual, he did not think his 
removal inconvenient; but that as a King, his conscience 
did not permit him to accede to it. 
“ The deputation represented to his Majesty that his 
conscience was safe, since, though as a man he might err, 
as a constitutional King he was subject to no responsibility; 
that he should hearken to the advice of his counsellors, and 
the representatives of the people, on whom lay the burthen 
of the responsibility for the salvation of the country. 
“ His Majesty signified that he had given his answer. 
“ The mission of the deputation being completed, they 
now stated to the Cortes, that his Majesty did not think the 
removal convenient.” 
Senor Galiano, after a short speech, submitted the fol¬ 
lowing proposition :—“ I pray the Cortes, that in considera¬ 
tion of the refusal of his Majesty to place his Royal person 
and family in safety from the invasion of the enemy, it be 
declared that the provisional case has occurred for regarding 
his Majesty in the situation of moral impediment, contem¬ 
plated by article 187 of the Constitution ; and that a pro¬ 
visional Regency be appointed, which, solely for the case 
of the removal, shall possess the faculties of executive 
power.” 
The motion was opposed by Senores Vega-Infanzon and 
Romero; and supported by Arguelles and Oliver. It was 
finally adopted. 
On the motion of Senor Infante, a commission was 
appointed to nominate the individuals who should compose 
the Regency. This commission consisted of Senores Ar¬ 
guelles, Gomez, Becerra, Cuadra, Alava, Escovedo, In¬ 
fante, Isturiz, Salvato, and Fores Calderon. 
This commission reported that the Regency should consist 
of three members, and recommended for that purpose the 
following persons, viz.:—Don Cavetano Valdes, deputy of 
the Cortes, to be the president, Don Gabriel de Ciscar, 
councillor of state; Don Gaspar de Vigodet, councillor of 
state. 
This recommendation was adopted, and the above indivi¬ 
duals were formally installed and sworn as regents. 
On the following day all was confusion and agitation 
at Seville. The king was no longer able to resist the re¬ 
moval, but it was not till late in the evening that the pre¬ 
parations for his departure could be completed; he set out 
about seven o’clock, and slept that night at Utrera. None 
of the foreign ministers either accompanied or followed 
him, with the exception of the Saxon envoy, who felt it 
necessary to watch over the safety of the queen. Sir 
William A’Court sent a note to the government stating, that 
he was accredited to the king and not to a Regency, and 
that he could not therefore proceed to Cadiz, without fur¬ 
ther instructions. The ministers answered by a declaration, 
that his Majesty would be under restraint during his journey 
only, and that he would resume his functions in Cadiz. Sir 
William, however, repeated his former resolution, and 
proceeded to Gibraltar, where he proposed to await the 
arrival of an answer from England. 
The king left Seville with an escort of six or seven thou- 
I N. 
sand men, under the command of General Zayas. No 
sooner had the troops evacuated the city, than it became a 
prey to the most violent disorders. Bands of the populace 
scoured the street, amid cries of “ the King for ever," 
“ the Inquisition for ever," and the confusion hourly 
increased, till it became difficult for the members of the 
Cortes and of the Council to make their way out of the 
place; all the emblems of constitutional authority were 
directly destroyed, a new municipality was formed, and a 
deputation seut, conveying their homage to the Regency at 
Madrid, together with a message to the French generals, 
begging them to hasten their march upon Seville. The triumph 
of royalism, however, received a serious check, by the sudden 
arrival (June 16) of a constitutional division, under the 
command of Lopez Banos, who forced his way into the 
city in spite of the resistance of the populace, re-established 
the constitutional authorities, and levied a considerable con¬ 
tribution on the inhabitants. After a stay of about eight- 
ana-forty hours, Lopez left the place, retreating in "the 
direction of Portugal, and the French force, under Count 
Bourmont, arrived three days after. 
When the news of what had taken place at Seville reached 
Madrid, the Regency expressed its indignation by issuing a 
decree (June 23), which ordered, that a criminal prosecu¬ 
tion should be instituted against all the members of the 
Cortes who had taken part in the proceedings of the 11th, 
as haviug incurred the penalties of the crime of high treason. 
This was not, however, the worst consequence of these 
transactions. Morillo, who commanded in Gallicia and 
Asturias, had for some time past been an object of suspicion 
and distrust to the more zealous portion of his officers and 
troops. The event at Seville gave him, in some degree, a 
pretext for avowing his defection. At Lugo, on the 26th 
of June, he issued a proclamation, in which he declared he 
had come to a resolution, in concert with the chiefs and 
officers of the second and third divisions and with all the 
civil, military, and ecclesiastical authorities of the place, 
not to recognize the Regency which had been appointed by 
the Cortes, without the case foreseen by the Constitution 
having arrived. 
A provisional Junta was constituted by him, ad interim, 
and a suspension of hostilities agreed to wdlh the French. 
Quiroga, however, who commanded in Gallicia, openly 
protested against these proceedings; and invited Morillo’s 
troops to hasten to range themselves under a standard that 
was yet faithful to the cause of liberty; an invitation that 
appears to have influenced a considerable defection of the 
soldiery under Morillo. Quiroga threw himself into Co¬ 
runna, which was garrisoned by about five hundred regular 
troops, and fifteen hundred militia and volunteers. Among 
these last may be mentioned Sir Robert Wilson, who had 
arrived from England, in the month of May. 
Soon after the French army came in sight of Corunna, 
they immediately attacked the advanced posts of the 
Spaniards, upon the heights which command the town; a 
hot conflict ensued, which lasted five hours, and in the 
course of which Sir Robert Wilson was severely wounded 
in the thigh. The Spaniards afterwards retired within the 
works, when they were summoned by the French general, 
with the offer of terms of honourable capitulation. Quiroga, 
however, indignantly rejected the proposition, and after 
arranging the means for the defence of the place, he pro¬ 
ceeded himself to Cadiz. 
In Catalonia, the progress made by the French was slow 
and painful. The gallant Mina employed to resist them all 
the resources of genius and activity. After a month of 
marching and counter-marching, Moncey still found himself 
at his head-quarters at Gerona ; but of the details of the oper¬ 
ations on either side, we find it difficult to give any clear or 
precise account. It would seem, that upon quitting his 
position on the Fluvia, Mina had divided his force into two 
parts; the first of which, under Milans, fell back upon 
Hostalrich, with the view of covering Barcelona, while he 
himself marched with the other into Upper Catalonia. 
D'Erolles, with the royalist’s force, pursued him up the 
Ter 
