[1472] ‘Para dar salida á los frutos, que regaban los pantanos de Lorca, ejecutóse una bien trazada via al puerto de las Aguilas.’ Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. iv. pp. 115, 116.
[1473] In 1769, Baretti writes, in great surprise, ‘the Biscayans are actually making a noble road, which is to go from Bilbao to Osma.’ Baretti's Journey through England, Portugal, Spain, and France, London, 1770, vol. iv. p. 311.
[1474] ‘Otras diferentes carreteras, construidas de nuevo ó rehabilitadas, multiplicaron las comunicaciones durante los nueve primeros años de estar á cargo de Floridablanca la superintendencia general de caminos, haciéndose de fácil y cómodo tránsito puntos escabrosos como el del Puerto de la Cadena y los que médian entre Astorga y Galicia, y Málaga y Antequera.’ Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., vol. iv. p. 115.
[1475] ‘The reigns of Ferdinand the Sixth and Charles the Third produced the most beneficial changes in this important branch of political economy. New roads were opened, which were carefully levelled, and constructed with solidity. There are at the present time in Spain several superb roads, such as may vie with the finest in Europe; indeed, they have been made with superior judgment, and upon a grander scale.’ Laborde's Spain, edit. London, 1809, vol. iv. p. 427.
[1476] Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain, vol. v. p. 287.
[1477] Ibid. vol. v. pp. 198, 199, 286, 287. Townsend's Spain, vol. i. pp. 212–215. Laborde's Spain, vol. ii. p. 271. This canal, which was intended to establish a free communication between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean, is slightly noticed in Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. iv. pp. 95, 96: a learned and valuable work, but very imperfect as regards Spain. The economical value of this great enterprise, and the extent to which it succeeded, are seriously under-estimated in Ford's Spain, p. 587; a book which, notwithstanding the praise that has been conferred upon it, is carelessly composed, and is sure to mislead readers who have not the means of comparing it with other authorities. M. Rio's History of Charles III. contains some interesting information on the subject; but, unfortunately, I omitted to mark the passages.
[1478] Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain, vol. v. pp. 288, 289, on the authority or Florida Blanca himself.
[1479] Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain, vol. v. p. 199. Townsend's Spain, vol. i. p. 304.
[1480] See Florida Blanca's statement in Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain, vol. v. p. 289. ‘In many other parts similar works have been promoted, for canals of irrigation, and for encouraging agriculture and traffic. The canals of Manzanares and Guadarrama are continued by means of the national bank, which has appropriated one-half of the profits derived from the export of silver to this end.’ … ‘The town of Almuradiel, formed in the middle of the campo nuevo of Andalusia, for the rugged pass of Despeña Perros, is another example of agriculture for the neighbouring places; since, instead of woods and frightful deserts, we have seen in a few years public buildings, houses, plantations, and cultivated lands, producing every species of grain and fruits, which border the road, and banish the danger of robbers and banditti.’ See also Muriel, Gobierno del Rey Don Carlos III., p. 5. ‘Habiendo sido el reinado de Carlos III. una serie continua de mejoras en todos ramos;’ and the striking picture (p. 15), ‘Agricultura, artes mecánicas, comercio, enseñanza, milicia, navegacion, ciencias, letras, legislacion, en una palabra, todo cuanto puede influir en la prosperidad del Estado, todo llamó la atencion de los ministros, y en todo hicieron las mejoras que permitian las circunstancias.’' On the improvements in internal communications, see the same valuable work, pp. 187–192.
[1481] Respecting this step, which as effected in 1754, see Tapia, Civilizacion Española, Madrid, 1840, vol. iv. pp. 81, 82. ‘Fué este tratado utilísimo para la España, pues por él se libertó del pago de enormes sumas que hasta entonces habian pasado á los estados pontificos. En el informe canónico-legal escrito á virtud de real órden en 1746 por el fiscal de la cámara de Castilla Don Blas de Jover, se decia; que según el testimonio del historiador Cabrera, en el espacio de 30 años el solo renglon de las coadjutorías y dispensas habia hecho pasar á Roma de la corona de Castilla millon y medio de ducados romanos. Y añade el mismo Jover que á principios del siglo xviii. subia aun esta contribucion cada año en todos los estados de la monarquia española á 500,000 escudos romanos, que era un tercio poco mas ó menos de lo que Roma percibia de toda la cristiandad.’