should be solely pointed to that end, viz. to the tranquillity, prosperity, security, and integrity of the monarchy whose throne I quit, to the greatest happiness of my subjects of both hemispheres. Therefore, by a treaty, signed and ratified, I have ceded to my ally and dear friend the emperor of the French, all my rights to Spain and the Indies, having stipulated that the crown of Spain and the Indies is always to remain independent and entire, as it was under my rule; and likewise that our holy religion is not only to be the predominant one in Spain, but the only one to be observed in all the dominions of the monarchy. Of all which you will take due notice, and communicate it to all the councils and tribunals of the kingdom, chiefs of provinces, civil, military, and ecclesiastical, and to all the justices of districts, in order that this last act of my sovereignty may be notorious to all and every one in my dominions of Spain and Indies; and you are all to concur and assist in carrying into effect the dispositions of my dear friend the emperor Napoleon, as they are directed to preserve the peace, friendship, and union between France and Spain, avoiding disorder and popular commotions, the effects of which can only be havoc and destruction of families, and the ruin of all.

Given in Bayonne, in the Imperial Palace of the Government, the 8th of May, 1808.

I, THE KING.

No. 23. His majesty the emperor of the French, king of Italy, and protector of the confederation of the Rhine, and his royal highness prince of Asturias, having differences to regulate, haye appointed for their plenipotentiaries-his

majesty the emperor of the French and king of Italy, the general of division Duroc, grand marshal of the palace; and his royal highness the prince of Asturias, Don Juan d'Escoquitz, counsellor of state to his catholic majesty, and knight grand cross of the order of Charles III.; who, after having exchanged their full powers, have agreed to the following articles :

Art I. His royal highness the prince of Asturias accedes to the cession made by the king Charles, of his rights to the throne of Spain and the Indies, in favour of his majesty the emperor of the French and king of Italy; and renounces as much as may be necessary to the rights accruing to him as prince of Asturias, to the crown of Spain and the Indies.

II. His majesty the emperor of the French and king of Italy grants, in France, to his royal highness the prince of Asturias, the title of royal highness, with all the honours and prerogatives which the princes of his blood enjoyed. The descendants of his royal highness the prince of Asturias shall preserve the title of princes, that of most serene highness, and shall always hold the same rank as the princes dignitaries of the empire.

III. His majesty the emperor of the French and king of Italy cedes and gives, by these presents, in full property to his royal highness the prince of Asturias, and to his descendants, the palaces, and parks, and farms of Navarre, and the woods dependent on them, to the amount of fifty thousand acres, the whole free from incumbrance, and to enjoy in full property from the day of the date of the present treaty.

IV. The said property shall pass

loved brother Joseph Napoleon, the present king of Naples and Sicily, to be king of Spain and India.

We guarantee to the king of Spain the independence and integrity of his states in Europe, as well as in Africa, Asia, and America; charging the lieutenant-general of the kingdom, the ministers, and the council of Castile to cause this proclamation to be expedited, and publicly announced, according to the usual custom, that none may plead ignorance hereof.

Given at our Imperial Palace at
Bayonne, June 6, 1808.
(Signed)

NAPOLEON.
H. B. MARET,
Minister of State.

No. 25.-Answer of the Bishop of
Orense.

Answer returned to the Junta of the government, by Don Pedro de Quevedo y Quintano, Bishop of Orense, upon the occasion of his having been named deputy of the junta, at Bayonne :

Most excellent Sir-An ecclesiastic of Corunna delivered to me, on the evening of Wednesday, the 25th inst. your Excellency's letter of the 19th, by which, amongst other things, I see myself named as a deputy, to attend at the assembly which is to be held at Bayonne, in order to concur in whatever may promote the happiness of the monarchy, in conformity to the wishes of the great emperor of the French, zealous to raise it to the highest degree of prosperity and glory.

Although my abilities are weak, I will yd to no one in my wishes for the true happiness and glory of the nation, and would omit nothing

which was in my power, and which I thought would promote it. But my age of 73 years, an actual indisposition, and others to which I am subject, prevent me from taking so long a journey, within so short a time, that would scarcely be sufficient for performing it, and still less for considering before-hand my duty, and for acquiring the information and instruction which ought to precede it. On this account Ï consider myself as under the necessity of exonerating myself of this charge, which I hereby do; not doubting but his serene highness the Duke of Berg, and the Supreme Junta of government, will consider as just and necessary my supplication that they would admit of so legitimate an excuse, as an exemption.

At the same time, with regard to the good of the nation, and to the intentions of the emperor and king, who desires to be, as it were, the angel of peace, and its protector and tutelary spirit, and who does not forget what he has so often manifested, the great interest which he takes in seeing the people and sovereigns who are his allies increase in power, in riches, and happiness of every kind; I take the liberty of representing to the Supreme Junta of government, and through them to the emperor and king of Italy, that which, previously to treating upon the business for which it appears to be convened, I should say and protest, in the assembly of Bayonne, if I could be present there.

The question is, of remedying evils, repairing injuries, of improving the condition of the nation, and the monarchy; but upon what basis and foundation? Is there any approved

method, any firm authority, recognised by the nation, for doing this? Will she enslave herself, and expect her safety by this measure? And are there not diseases which are aggravated and exasperated by medicines; of which it has been saidtangent vulnera sacra nullæ manus? And does it not appear, that the maladies were of this class which have drawn the attention of his powerful protector, the emperor Napoleon, to his ally, the royal family of Spain? Their evils are so increased, that their health is, as it were, despaired of. They see themselves shut up in the French empire, in a country which had banished them for ever; and, returned to their primitive cradle, they find a tomb, (by a civil death,) there, where their elder branch was cut off by the rage and violence of a mad and sanguinary revolution. And, in this state, what can Spain hope for? Will her cure be more favourable? The means and medicines do not promise it. The abdication of her kings at Bayonne, and of the infantes at Bourdeaux, where it is to be believed that they could not be free, where they beheld themselves surrounded by force and artifice, and deprived of the lights and assistance of their faithful vassals; these abdications, which cannot be conceived, and appear impossible, considering the natural impressions of paternal and filial affection, and the honour and lustre of the whole family, in which all honourable men take so much interest; these abdications, which have become suspected by the whole nation, and upon which depends the whole authority which the emperor and king can justly make use of, require, in order to make them firm and valid, and, at least, for the satisfaction

of the whole Spanish monarchy, to be ratified by the king and infants, who have made them, when free from all restraint and fear. And nothing would be so glorious for the great emperor Napoleon I. who has taken so much interest in them, as to restore to Spain her august monarch and his family, and to provide that, in her own bosom, and in a general cortes of the kingdom, they should act according to their free choice, and that the nation itself, with the independence and sove reignty to which it is competent, should proceed, in consequence, to recongise, for its legitimate king, him whom nature, right, and circumstances, should call to the Spanish throne.

This magnanimous and generous proceeding would be the greatest eulogium of the emperor, and would be more grand and admirable for him than all the victories and laurels which crown him, and distinguish him amongst all the monarchs of the earth. And Spain too would escape the most disastrous lot which threatens her, and might finally recover from all her evils and enjoy a perfect health, and then give thanks to God, and pay the most sincere acknowledgments to its saviour and true protector, then the greatest of the emperors in Europe, the moderate, just, magnanimous, and beneficent Napoleon the Great.

At present Spain cannot but behold him under a very different aspect. She sees, or thinks she sees in him the oppressor of her princes, and of herself. She looks upon herself as enchained and enslaved, when happiness is offered to her. More than is worked by artifice, is done by violence, and by an army which has been admitted as a friend, either

by indiscretion or timidity, or perhaps by a vile treason which serves to give an authority that cannot easily be esteemed legitimate.

Who appointed the serene Duke of Berg lieutenant-governor of the kingdom? Is it not an appointment made at Bayonne by an affectionate king, worthy of all the respect and love of his vassals, but who is in the hands of persons imperious through the ascendance which they have gained over his heart, and the force and power to which he is subjected? And is it not a deceitful illusion to name for lieutenant-general of this kingdom the commander of an army which threatens it, and immediately to abdicate the crown? Did Charles IV. wish to return to the throne merely to take it from his sons? And was it necessary to name a lieutenant, who, by his authority, and by a military force, would impede every effort which might be made to avoid the consummation of a project of this nature? I doubt whether, not only in Spain, but in all Europe, there can be found one sincere person who would not cry out in his heart against such extraordinary, and, to say no more, such suspicious acts.

To conclude the nation sees itself, as it were, without a king, and knows not to whom to adhere. The abdication of its kings, and the appointment of a lieutenant-governor of the kingdom, are acts done in France, and under the eye of an emperor, who has persuaded himself that he shall make Spain happy, in giving her a new dynasty, which is to have its origin in that family, so fortunate, that it is thought incapable of producing princes, who have not the same or greater talents for governing people than the invinci

ble, the victorious, the legislator, the philosopher, the great emperor Napoleon. The supreme junta of government, besides all the objections insinuated above, with its president in arms, and surrounded by an army, must be considered as deprived of its freedom, and the councils and tribunals of the court are in the same situation. What confusion! what a chaos! and what a source of misfortune for Spain! They cannot be provided against by any assembly convoked out of the kingdom, whose members neither possess their freedom, nor if they did, could believe they possessed it-and if to this we add, the tumultuous moments which may be apprehended within the kingdom, the pretensions of foreign princes and states, succours offered or solicited, and troops which may come to combat, in her bosom, the French and their partizans-what desolation, what more lamentable scene can be conceived! The compassion, the love, the interest, which the emperor and king takes in their welfare, may, instead of curing her, cause the greatest disasters.

I beg then, with all respect, that these, in my opinion, just apprehensions, may be laid before the supreme junta of government, and likewise submitted to the great Napoleon. I have hitherto been able to rely upon the rectitude of his heart, as free from ambition, and averse to deceit, and an artificial policy;-and I still hope, that he will recognise, that it cannot be for the good of Spain, to enslave her, and that he will not persist in applying remedies to her, when in fetters, as she is neither mad nor raving.-Let a legitimate authority be first established, and then let us think of the remedies.