He was indeed an evil counsellor now, acting honestly and bravely, but upon an erring judgment. Unhappily there never was a time in which wise counsel was more needed; for if the blind, unreflecting, generous loyalty of the nation had been rightly estimated, so as to call forth a generous but thoughtful feeling in return, it would be rash and presumptuous to say that things might have been settled upon a sure foundation, but certainly much evil might have been averted, much wickedness might have been prevented, and blood, and tears, and misery, might have been spared. General Whittingham, who commanded the cavalry and artillery in Aragon when the King arrived at Zaragoza, and who accompanied him by his express orders to Valencia, was ♦General Whittingham’s advice.♦ asked in that city his opinion whether the King should swear to the constitution or not? He replied, that the constitution was too democratic to be in accord either with the habits and opinions of the Spanish people, or with the laws and customs of the Spanish monarchy; it must be modified therefore in many parts, or there could be no hope of its duration. Yet one of its articles forbade the slightest alteration during the space of eight years; and thus the King, if he swore to it, must either deprive himself of all possibility of amending it during that time, or be guilty of predetermined perjury. He delivered it therefore as his opinion, that the King under these circumstances could not swear to the constitution as it then existed; but, he added, that the Cortes had deserved well both of the King and of the country; that the King, unaccompanied by a single soldier, should in person dissolve the Cortes, should thank them for the service they had rendered the state, and say that it would gratify him to see them re-elected by their constituents as members of the Cortes which he was about to summon.
The British ambassador, Sir Henry Wellesley, had gone to Valencia to meet the King, and the advice which he gave was to the same effect, that he should modify the constitution, but not annul it. This indeed was the opinion which any Englishman who regarded the situation of Spain with a sincere wish for the peace and prosperity and improvement of a great and noble nation would then have formed; for this was the straightforward course which at that golden opportunity it behoved the King to take. But there were few Spaniards who saw this, few who were in a state of sufficient equanimity to see it: inflamed by strong passions, or settled in strong prepossessions which no force of reason, no lessons of experience could shake, a small minority were bent upon violent change, a much more powerful and now more active party were resolved to resist all alteration, even such as was most needed; while the great majority of the people, looking back upon the tranquillity they had enjoyed before the war as to a golden age, desired nothing but to return to their old habits and their old pursuits, and relapse into their former state of happy indifference to all political affairs. The care of the nation they were for leaving to the government, the care of religion to the Holy Office, and the care of their individual consciences to the priest, as implicitly as they relied on Providence for the due return of the seasons; and it was with these, who were the great body of his subjects, that Ferdinand, who would have been just such a subject himself, was in perfect sympathy. It is often seen that circumstances awaken dormant genius, and bring latent qualities into strong action: but no circumstances can raise an ordinary man to the level of extraordinary times, no circumstances can give strength to a weak mind; nor can anything but the special grace of God call forth in the heart a virtue which is not innate in it.
The Cortes at this time repeated their solicitations that the King would proceed to Madrid, and establish the happiness of Spain; but they made a show of military preparations to support their own authority; and they took upon themselves, with singular indiscretion, to regulate the establishment of his household. But every day ♦Memorial of the Serviles.♦ now diminished their numbers as well as their strength; and more than seventy of the members sent a deputation to Valencia to present a memorial, in which they protested against the measures of the Cortes as having been carried by force and intimidation, and professed for themselves, and for the provinces which they represented, fidelity to their ancient laws and institutions. Beyond all doubt they spoke the sense of ♦Stone of the Constitution removed.♦ the provinces. In most of the large towns, the Plaza Mayor, or Great Square, had been new named Plaza de la Constitucion, and a stone with these words engraven on it erected there; at Valencia this was removed one night, and in the morning what is absurdly called a provisional stone of wood, was set up in its place, with the words Real Plaza de Fernando VII.: this was publicly done; and the provisional stone was first borne under Ferdinand’s window with military honours, in a long procession formed by the populace, with officers intermixed, carrying drawn swords, and bearing the royal flag. A stanza, composed[10] and printed for the occasion, was soon affixed to it, denouncing, in a ferocious spirit, vengeance upon any one who should profane it, and upon the liberal party.
The news of Buonaparte’s deposition, and the consequent termination of hostilities, reached Ferdinand during his tarriance at Valencia. Any perplexity which he might have felt (if he could be supposed to have felt any) concerning the treaty of Valençay was thus removed, and there was nothing to withdraw his attention from the immediate object of resuming his absolute authority, and suppressing what he now regarded as a mere revolutionary faction. He was delayed a week by indisposition, which confined him to his apartment. The first thing he did, when he was sufficiently recovered to leave the house, was to visit all the nunneries, that the nuns might not be disappointed in their ardent desire of seeing him; and in these visits part of two days was employed much to the increase of his popularity, this being at the same time an evidence, it was thought, of good-nature, and of devout respect to the superstition of the country. When ♦Breve Relacion de los sucesos en Valencia.♦ these visits were concluded, he attended an evening Te Deum in the cathedral, performed by the light of 20,000 tapers; after which he and the Infantes adored a chalice of legendary reputation which is venerated there. Hitherto there had been no avowal of the course which he intended to pursue; but on this day a declaration appeared, signed ♦Ferdinand’s declaration. May 4.♦ by the King and by Macanaz, as Secretary of State, with special powers for this peculiar occasion. In this memorable paper, Ferdinand, speaking in his own person, began by briefly touching upon his accession to the throne, and his imprisonment, at the commencement of which he had issued, he said, as well as he could, while surrounded by force, a decree addressed to the Council of Castille, or, in defect of it, to any other chancellery or audience that might be at liberty, requiring them to convoke a Cortes which should employ itself solely on the immediate business of taking measures and raising supplies for the defence of the kingdom, and remain permanent for other emergencies. This decree had arrived too late; and when the Cortes of 1810 was assembled, the states of the nobility and clergy were not summoned to it, although the Central Junta had so directed; and the members, after taking the oaths, “whereby,” said he, “they bound themselves to preserve to me, as their sovereign, all my dominions, on the very day of their installation, and for a commencement of their proceedings, despoiled me of the sovereignty which they had just before acknowledged, attributing it nominally to the nation, for the purpose of appropriating it to themselves, and then dictating what laws they pleased. Thus, without authority from province, place, or junta, and without the knowledge of those which were said to be represented by substitute members, they imposed upon the nation the yoke of a new constitution, wherein almost the whole form of the old constitution of the monarchy was changed; and, copying the revolutionary and democratical principles of the French constitution of 1791, they sanctioned ... not the fundamental laws of a moderate monarchy, ... but those of a popular government, with a chief or magistrate, their mere delegated executor, and not a King, although they gave him that name to deceive and seduce the unwary. They carried these laws by means of the threats and violence of those persons with whom the galleries of the Cortes were filled; giving thus the colour of the general will to what was in fact only the work of a faction. With the same want of liberty, the constitution was signed and sworn to; and it was notorious to all what had been the treatment of the respectable Bishop of Orense, and the punishment with which others had been threatened who refused to sign and swear to it.”
He proceeded then to say in what manner revolutionary principles had been diffused in journals, some of which were edited by members of the Cortes; that king, and tyrant, and despot had been used as synonymous terms; that the army and navy and other establishments which used to be called royal, had been re-named national, in order to flatter the people, who, nevertheless, in spite of these arts, retained by their native loyalty the good feelings which always formed their character. “Of all this,” he continued, “since I happily re-entered the kingdom, I have been acquiring faithful information, partly by my own observation, and partly from the public papers, in which, up to this day, representations of my coming and of my character are circulated, so false and infamous in themselves, that even with regard to any other individual they would be heavy offences, worthy of severe exposure and punishment. Such unexpected circumstances have filled my heart with bitterness, which has only been tempered by demonstrations of affection from all those who hoped for my arrival, that my presence might put an end to these evils, and to the oppression in which those were held who preserved the remembrance of my person, and desired the true happiness of their country. True and loyal Spaniards, I promise and vow to you that you shall not be deceived in your noble hopes! Your sovereign wishes to be so for your sake; and in this he places his glory, ... in being the sovereign of an heroic nation, who by immortal deeds have gained the admiration of all, and preserved their liberty and their honour. I abhor and detest despotism: the intelligence and cultivation of the nations of Europe do not suffer it now; neither in Spain have its Kings ever been despots, nor have its good laws and constitution authorized it, though by misfortune there may have been from time to time there, as every where, and in every thing human, abuses which no possible constitution can entirely preclude; and these were not the faults of the constitution, but of individuals, and the effects of melancholy but very rare circumstances which gave occasion to them. Yet to prevent them as far as may be by human foresight, preserving the honour of the royal dignity and its rights (for rights it has) and those which belong to the people, which are equally inviolable, I will consult with the procuradores of Spain and of the Indies, and in a Cortes, legitimately assembled, composed of both, as soon as they can be brought together, (order having been restored, and the good usages in which the nation has lived, and which with its accord the Kings, my august predecessors, have established,) every thing that can conduce to the good of my kingdom shall be firmly and legitimately established, that my subjects may live prosperously and happily under a religion and a government closely united in an indissoluble tie, wherein and wherein alone consists the temporal happiness of a King and a kingdom bearing for excellence the title of Catholic. Immediate preparations shall be made for assembling these Cortes. Liberty and security, individual and royal, shall be firmly secured by means of laws, which, guaranteeing public tranquillity and order, shall leave to all that wholesome liberty, the undisturbed enjoyment of which distinguishes a moderate government from an arbitrary and despotic one. This just liberty all, likewise, shall enjoy to communicate their ideas and thoughts through the press, that is, within those limits which sound reason prescribes to all, that it degenerate not into licentiousness; for the respect which is due to religion and to government, and that which men ought mutually to observe towards each other, can under no civilized government be reasonably permitted to be violated with impunity. All suspicion, also, of any waste of the public revenues shall cease; those which shall be assigned for the expenses required for the honour of my royal person and family, and that of the nation which I have the glory to govern being separated from the revenues, which, with consent of the kingdom, may be assigned for the maintenance of the state in all the branches of its administration. And the laws which shall hereafter serve as a rule of action for my subjects shall be established in concert with the Cortes; so that these bases may serve as an authentic declaration of my royal intentions in the government with which I am about to be charged, and will represent to all, not a despot or a tyrant, but a King and a father of his subjects.”
He went on to say, that having heard complaints from all parts against the constitution, and against the measures of the Cortes, ... considering also the mischiefs which had sprung therefrom, and would increase if he should sanction that constitution with his consent, ... acting, moreover, in conformity to the decided and general demonstration of the wishes of his people, wishes which were just in themselves and well founded, he declared that he would not swear to the Cortes, but that he annulled it, and abrogated all such of its acts as derogated from the rights and prerogatives of his sovereignty established by that constitution and those laws under which the nation had so long lived. And he declared all persons guilty of high treason who should attempt to support them, and to excite discontent and disturbance in his dominions, whether by writing, word, or deed. The administration was to go on under the present system till the old one could be restored; and the political and administrative branches till the future Cortes should have determined upon the permanent order of this part of the government. But from the day on which this his decree should be published and communicated to the President of the Cortes, the sittings of that Cortes should cease; all their papers should be delivered to the officers charged with the execution of this decree, and deposited in the house of the Ayuntamiento of Madrid, and the room in which they were deposited be locked and sealed up; and whoever should obstruct the execution of the decree, should be deemed guilty of high treason, and punished with death. All proceedings pending for any infraction of the constitution were to cease; and all persons imprisoned for such infraction to be set at liberty forthwith. “Such,” the King concluded, “is my will, because the welfare and happiness of the nation require it.”
By another decree of the same date, Ferdinand conferred upon the capital, in testimony of his esteem and gratitude, and in earnest of some more signal favour, the privilege of adding to its appellation of the “right noble, loyal, and imperial town of Madrid,” that of “heroic” also; and upon its Ayuntamiento the title of “excellency.” In this decree, also, he ordered a hundred doubloons to be distributed in each of the parishes of Madrid, on the day when he should make his entrance; and he regretted that circumstances did not allow him to give greater proofs of his natural bounty. ♦Ferdinand sets out for Madrid. May 5.♦ On the following day he departed for Madrid. Such were the multitudes who came from far and near to obtain a sight of their King, that one continued concourse of people lined the whole way from Valencia. Every village devised some means of displaying its loyalty; some by erecting triumphal arches, such as their abilities could afford; others by strewing the road with branches and flowers for miles together. The Cortes, as he approached, could no longer dream of resistance; the decree which abrogated their constitution and put an end to their authority was posted in the streets of Madrid, countersigned by General Eguia, as Captain-General of New Castille, and Political and Military Governor of the Province, now by the King appointed; and deputations from its Audience and its Ayuntamiento went to meet him at Aranjuez, where he halted two days, and where the rejoicing of the inhabitants, and the illuminations which they exhibited, and the confluence of visitors, contrasted strangely with the devastation that the French had committed there; for they had stripped the gardens of every thing which could be carried away, and had destroyed or mutilated the statues and the fountains.
♦He enters Madrid. May 12.♦
Such members of the Cortes as were marked for the King’s displeasure were arrested on the night before his arrival by General Eguia. On the 13th Eguia went out with the grandees in procession, habited in the ancient costume, to meet him. The Majorcan division lined the Prado, from the Puerta de Atocha, at which he entered, and the Calle de Alcala to the Puerta del Sol, ... not to overawe the people (for a corporal and four soldiers might have repressed any discontent that appeared that day), but to increase the pomp and splendour of the festival. In the highest part of the Calle de Alcala, ... and no scene could be better suited to such a pageant, ... a triumphal arch had been erected, as imposing in appearance as if it had been of durable materials. The balconies were hung with silk of various colours, fringed with gold and silver; and Ferdinand made his entrance amid the salute of cannon, and the sound of bells from all the churches, and the shouts and acclamations of an innumerable multitude rising above all. Their invaders had been totally defeated and expelled; their strong places were recovered; their national independence had been gloriously vindicated and established; the tyrant who had deceived, and outraged, and insulted them, had been beaten from his throne; the Intruder whom he had set over them had been hunted out of their land; their King, ... their legitimate, their popular, their beloved King was restored! Greater joy could not have been expressed, greater happiness could not have been felt, if that King had been in all respects deserving of the generous enthusiasm which was that day manifested for his sake.
♦Subsequent conduct of the people and of the government.♦