Mr. Stuart to sir John Moore, Madrid, Oct. 18, 1808.
“Lord William Bentinck, as well as myself, have made repeated representations, and I have given in paper after paper to obtain something like promptitude and vigour; but though loaded with fair promises in the commencement, we scarcely quit the members of the junta before their attention is absorbed in petty pursuits and the wrangling which impedes even the simplest arrangements necessary for the interior government of a country.” ... “In short, we are doing what we can, not what we wish; and I assure you we have infamous tools to work with.”
Mr. Stuart to sir John Moore, Seville, Jan. 2, 1809.
“Morla’s treason is abused, but passed over; and the arrival of money from Mexico, which is really the arrival of spoil for the French, seems to have extinguished every sentiment the bad views and the desperate state of things ought to have created.”
Mr. Stuart to sir John Moore, Jan. 10, 1809.
“Castaños, Heredia, Castelar, and Galluzzo, are all here. These unfortunate officers are either prisoners or culprits, waiting the decision of government on their conduct in the late transactions. If the state of affairs should allow the government to continue in existence they will probably wait many months, for no determination is to be expected from people who have in no one instance punished guilt or rewarded merit since they ruled the country. The junta indeed, to say the truth, is at present absolutely null, and although they represent the sovereign authority I have never witnessed the exercise of their power for the public good.”
Mr. Frere to sir John Moore. Las Santos, Dec. 16, 1808.
“The subject of the ships in Cadiz had not escaped me, but I thought it so very dangerous to suggest to the junta any idea except that of living and dying on Spanish ground, that I avoided the mention of any subject that could seem to imply that I entertain any other prospects.”
SECTION VII.—RELATING TO THE PASSIVE STATE OF THE PEOPLE.