The Cortes, meantime, as if they were equally certain that the country would be delivered from its merciless invaders, and that no measures which they could take would accelerate the deliverance, employed themselves with unhappy diligence in forming a new constitution: a small but zealous minority succeeded in dictating this to their reluctant but less active colleagues; and in its details, as little regard was paid to the opinions and feelings of the people, as to the rights of the aristocracy and the fundamental principles of the government. The public were far more interested in a change of the Regency ... for the removal of ♦CHANGE OF REGENCY.♦ Blake after his manifold misfortunes was considered as a gain, even though accompanied with the loss of an army. The new Regency consisted of the Duque del Infantado, at that time ambassador in England; D. Joaquin Mosquera y Figueroa, who was one of the Council of the Indies; D. Juan Maria Villavicencio, a lieutenant-general in the navy; D. Ignacio Rodriguez de Rivas, of the royal council, and the Conde de la Bisbal. A new army was set on foot in Murcia, to supply the place of that which had been carried into captivity with Blake; and the national hopes were raised by successes in other quarters, as brilliant as they were at this time unlooked for. ♦BALLASTEROS RETREATS TO THE LINES OF ST. ROQUE.♦ Ballasteros had been appointed to the command in Andalusia, following a system of war like that of the Guerrillas, which was best suited both to his own talents and the indiscipline and wretched equipment of his troops, he had inflicted more loss upon the enemy than they sustained from any of the regular Spanish armies. In vain did M. Soult boast repeatedly of defeating and putting him to flight; the men who dispersed to-day collected again on the morrow: and while the French were rejoicing for having routed him at one point, they heard that he had re-appeared in force at another, and made himself felt when he was least dreaded. In September he landed at Algeziras to act in aid of the mountaineers of Ronda: a movement was then planned by the enemy for cutting him off, and for getting possession of Tarifa, an important point which they had hitherto neglected, as if in full expectation that no measures for securing it would be thought of by the Spaniards and their allies till it should be too late. After some slaughter of the peasantry and some partial actions, General Godinot advancing with 5000 men from Prado del Rey, found Ballasteros well posted in front of Ximena: he retired to collect a stronger force, and having been joined by two columns under Generals Barroux and Semele advanced again with from 8 to 10,000 men, meaning to march upon St. Roque, occupy the coast, and get possession of Tarifa by a _coup de main_. Ballasteros, who had not half that ♦OCT. 10.♦ number in a state of discipline on which any reliance could be placed, fell back upon the heights of St.