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BOOK XIII. were incorporated with the nation, and all payments, both real and personal, which owed their CHAP. V. origin to a jurisdictional title, were abolished, with the exception of such as proceeded from free contract, in the exercise of right of property; abolishing also the privileges called exclusive, privative, or prohibitive, such as those of the chase, fishing, ovens, and mills: that, in this state of things, representations had been made to him by various grandees of Spain, and titulars of Castile, jurisdictional lords of townships in Arragon, Valencia, and other provinces, complaining of the robberies suffered by them under pretence of the said decree, in the enjoyment of the rights and payments reserved to them; demanding restitution, and some of them praying the nullity of the decree; that the said memorials had been referred to the council of state, and the law-officers of the crown, in consequence of whose recommendation and advice, his majes ty orders that the said jurisdictional lords be immediately replaced in the enjoyment of all the rights, emoluments, &c. belonging to their territorial and manorial seignory, and of all the other rights which they enjoyed prior to August 6, 1811, and which do not derive their origin from jurisdiction and exclusive privileges: without prejudice to what he may hereafter resolve, as to the nullity, continuance, or revocation of the said decree of the cortes, abolishing seignories. If the immediate operation of this ordinance was in many respects to render strict justice according to existing laws, the hope manifestly held out, of a future revocation of the popular decree of the cortes, was a bait offered to the nobility of the kingdom, to secure their attachment to the renewed order of things.

Another instance of the prevalent policy in the Spanish government, of reverting to old institutions, was given by re-investing the council of the Mesta in its former function, by which the flocks of Merino sheep will be permitted, as formerly, to traverse all Spain, notwithstanding the injury thence accruing to agriculture, which has been demonstrated by various enlightened writers.

On October 14, being the king's birth-day, he attended the theatre at Madrid, to the great satisfaction of the heroic inhabitants of the capital. The dramatic piece selected for the occasion is entitled "Giles with the Green Breeches," which certainly does not indicate any thing very elevated. On the same day his majesty published an amnesty in favor of all persons detained in prison, or fugitives from the kingdom, on account of any other crimes than those recited in a copious list, including high-treason, divine and human, resistance to justice, peculation in the finances, and other defaults, which would exclude from the benefit all the subjects of the late arrests. In the mean time these arrests were still going on, and

included several distinguished general officers; while frequent changes in the ministry denoted the unsettled state of public affairs, and the im becility of the monarch. One of these instances of despotic violence was displayed on November 7, when the king in person repaired to M. de Macanaz, minister of justice and of the interior, and putting seals upon all his papers, ordered him to go to prison. Nothing could more decisively exhibit the weakness and petty policy of the king or his ministry, than the importance given to a pamphlet by M. Amoros, entitled "Representation to Ferdinand VII." The supreme council being ordered to take measures for seizing all the copies of this work, circulars were sent to all the tribunals, civil and criminal, and to the prelates and clergy, enjoining them to carry into effect his majesty's wishes concerning it. In consequence, the work was very generally read, and many copies of it were preserved in manuscript. Conformably to this exercise of the sovereign authority, the government made a collection of all the papers which recorded the operations of the cortes, especially the liberal journals entitled "l'Albesa," " el Redactor," "el Conciso," "el Universal," &c. and caused them to be conveyed in two carriages to a square in Madrid, where they were committed to the flames with all the formalities formerly practised at an auto da fé,

A more important matter, however, had long been under the consideration of the Spanish ministry, which was, the fitting out of an expedi tion, which we shall have occasion to notice hereafter, for the reduction of the revolted provinces in South America. Various obstacles occurred to this undertaking, arising from the exhausted state of the finances, and the public dis orders; but late in the year the preparations appear to have been nearly completed, and the fol lowing account was given of its intended conduct and destination. The expedition, under the command of General Morilla, was to sail from Cadiz in three divisions, convoyed by a ship of the line, two frigates, and a brig, and the island of St. Catharine was appointed for the general rendezvous. From thence the troops were to embark for Rio Grande, and having proceeded up that river in small vessels as far as it is navigable, they were to march over land, and undertake the siege of Maldonado, a place one hundred miles to the east of Montevideo, in which the naval force was to co-operate.

In December the sentence upon the state prisoners was made public at Madrid. Twenty-one persons were condemned to the gallies for two, six, or eight years, or to strong castles for longer or shorter periods; among these were comprised priests, military men, civil officers, literary persons, and especially the journalists under the cortes, who supported their system. Two jour

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BOOK XIII. laying aside, in the name of his house, the electoral title, to declare by the present note, which CHAP. VI. the undersigned has orders to deliver to his highness Prince Metternich, that he erects his provinces forming the country of Hanover into a kingdom; and that he shall benceforward assume, for bis sovereign, the title of King of Hanover." No doubt, before this declaration was made, the concurrence of the powers, to whose ministers this note was addressed, had been fully ascertained; and an account, which was soon afterwards received from Vienna, mentioned, that all the plenipotentiaries recognised the new dignity of the British sovereign. The prince-regent afterwards issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of Hanover, informing them of this change, and its motives. One of the necessary consequences of this change in the title of the English monarch will be, that the Hanoverian possessions must now be unalterably annexed to the crown of Great Britain; whereas, before, while they were an electorate, as they could not descend to females, they would, in the event of the Princess Charlotte of Wales coming to the throne of Great Britain, have passed to the Duke of York, and thus been separated from England.

'Independently, however, of the consideration how far the interests of Britain were likely to be affected by this change, it must be confessed that the people of Hanover will be gainers by it; for there, as well as in several other parts of Europe, the events which produced, as well as those which contributed to destroy, the French revolution, seemed to have convinced rulers, that their interest, as well as their duty, lies in benefitting and enlightening their people, and in making them feel their weight in the conduct of public affairs. A proclamation from the prince-regent was published at Hanover, in October, in which, after adverting to the difficulties that had occurred in forming an uniform plan of taxation and finance, from the separation of the states of the different provinces, it is decreed, that henceforth all the general affairs of the country which may be brought under discussion with the states, conformably with the subsisting constitution, shall be submitted to an assembly of the states of all the provinces, which shall adopt a general resolution on such subjects. To effect this purpose, it is further decreed, that for the present the states of all the provinces composing the electorate shall form themselves, by means of representatives, into a general diet, to assemble at Hanover, on the 15th of December, furnished with full powers on the part of their constituents.

On the day appointed, the diet was opened with a solemnity proper for the occasion; and the Duke of Cambridge, provided with full authority from the prince-regent, repaired in state to the place of assembly, and addressed the representa

tives in a speech. After complimenting the Hanoverians upon their firm and loyal attachment to their sovereign, and upon the share which they had, under "the greatest of commanders," in destroying the tyranny of Bonaparte, and restoring independence and tranquillity to Europe; he informed them that the prince-regent, one of the race of the Guelphs, who had always been dis tinguished for justice and mildness, and which had produced many fathers of their country, none who had abused the strength of its subjects,had given to the German sovereigns, who were to form the confederation, the first example of calling an assembly, in which the voice of the people might declare itself with freedom, but with order, to point out to the prince the means of promoting his object, which is the good of the country. The first step towards this important object was made by the union of the states of all the different parts of the country, to which are given the rights of granting mouey, and other points of legislation. One of their principal objects of deliberation would regard the means of repaying those who, in confidence in good faith, lent the public their property to supply the public wants. The princeregent, for his part, considered the good faith, which the sovereigns of Hanover had never vio lated, as so sacred, that he declared his disposition to contribute even from the revenues of his domains, that their claims might be fulfilled. The next object was to place Hanover in the most secure condition against any future attack which might be made upon it. Britain, to which Hanover had already, in common with the rest of Europe, been so much indebted, had generously replaced the necessary warlike stores carried off by the enemy, and this "enabled the men, who could bring nothing but their good-will, to join the list of combatants." He concluded by informing them, that it would be their business to consider of the changes in the administration of justice, which the present times rendered necessary or advisable, and to deliberate on useful institutions for the good of the country. What the regent intended would be communicated to them by his counsellors; while he would lend an atten. tive ear on other subjects. The list of full powers, which had been presented and approved, and the necessary regulation for the order of the states of the kingdom, would be communicated to them: according to these, they were to begin by choos ing a president. "But first, let us, with united devotion, implore the blessings of the Most High on the sacred work of the first assembly of the states of the kingdom of Hanover." At the end of this speech, his royal-highness repaired in procession with the whole assembly to the church of the palace, where the hymn Nun danket alle Gott, "Now thank all God," was sung, being particu larly chosen," because the venerable father of

the royal house, and of the country, his majesty, George the Third, with his strong sense of piety, set a particular value upon it.”

The deputies, after returning to their hall, made choice of Count Schulenburg Wolfsburg for their president, who, on the following day, addressed his royal-highness to the following effect. He began by stating the obligations which the inhabitants of Hanover were under to the princeregent for calling the deputies together, and to the British nation for the decided, persevering, and glorious part which she had taken in the contest, which had terminated in the triumph of peace and order. He next assured his royal-highness, that in all their deliberations and proceedings they would use their utmost endeavours to second his good intentions for the prosperity of Hanover; and, he concluded by stating, that they considered the presence of his royal-highness as a pledge of the gracious regard of their beloved sovereign and the prince-regent. The conclusion of the reply of the Duke of Cambridge to this address deserves to be quoted: " Assembled deputies of the kingdom, the whole country has its eyes on you. From you it looks for deliberations on the new measures which the prince-regent has to take in concert with you. You will weigh the relations of all classes, and maintain them in just equilibrium, having in view the good of the whole, which is founded on the good of the single parts. Never forget that the regent feels himself intimately connected with his subjects. If the difficult_times require great sacrifices in the increase of the revenues, consider that the sovereign demands nothing for himself; that we ask only what the country requires. If some privileges must be sacrificed to form a better internal order, remember that the prince-regent gives up rights which others consider as an essential part of the royal dignity, by assembling you here-to be to him, here, what the parliament is, in the sister kingdom, Great Britain, the high council of the nation."

It was not in Hanover only that the example was given of the adoption of a representative government in Germany. In the month of October, Frederick Augustus, Duke of Nassau, and Frederick William, Sovereign Prince of Nassau, issued a constitutional charter, founded upon the most liberal principles. It assured the free exercise of religious worship, suppressed covéers, gave admission to the first offices of the state without any preference of rank or birth, established an independent magistracy, and renounced the right of arbitrarily discharging the públic functionaries. It appointed a states-general of the duchy, composed of two separate houses, that of nobles and that of deputies, the formation of which, and their powers and privileges, with the whole act of legislation, were almost exactly co

pied from the British parliament. Although this BOOK XIII. was an experiment on a small scale, it was regarded as paving the way to important results.

The leading powers of Germany were too much engaged with the weighty concerns of the congress at Vienna this year, to occupy themselves considerably with arrangements in their own dominions. But as affairs were in an unsettled state, it was thought necessary to keep up a powerful military force: and Prussia in particular paid considerable attention to this point. In the month of September, an ordinance was published at Berlin, by which all the old laws for the completing of the military establishment were abolished, and a number of articles were decreed for the regulation of the armed force of the country, under the three heads of the permanent army, the landwehr of the first and second requisition, and the landsturm. It declared, that every individual, born a Prussian subject, and having completed his twentieth year, was bound to defend his country. In order to obviate the complaint made against the French conscription, that it deranged all the plans for the education of youth, it was here provided that the age for entering the military service should be twenty years complete; though youths of seventeen offering themselves should be accepted, if qualified by their physical powers.

By the treaty of Paris, it was declared, in general terms, that all the powers engaged on both sides in the late war, should send plenipotentiaries to Vienna, for the purpose of regulating in a general congress the arrangements necessary for completing the enactments of that treaty. Accordingly, in the months of August and September, most of the ministers of the different powers were assembled at Vienna, and were followed by the Kings of Bavaria, Wirtemberg, aud Denmark, and the petty princes of Germany. On the 25th of September, the Emperor of Russia and King of Prussia made their solemn entry into the Austrian capital. They were met at some distance by the Emperor of Austria, ac companied by all the archdukes, and followed by his generals and courtiers in all the pomp of mi'litary and courtly parade. The preparations made for the accommodation and entertainment of the sovereigns were in the highest style of costly grandeur; and the intelligence from Vienna, during the remainder of the year, chiefly consisted in relations of the festivities and splendour attending the presence of so many crowned heads.

It was hoped that, at the congress of Vienna, where monarchs were to see and judge for themselves, more regard than usual would be paid to the dictates of moderation and justice; and this hope was strengthened by a reflection on the personal characters and experience of those mo

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