Representative British Orations Volume 4 (of 4): With Introductions and Explanatory Notes
History
Representative British Orations Volume 4 (of 4): With Introductions and Explanatory Notes
Speeches, addresses, etc., English
Now come to Spain. It is perfectly true that the Right Honorable
Baronet was not in office when the Additional Articles of
1835--additional to the Treaty of 1834--were concluded. But what was
the Treaty of 1834--the Quadruple Treaty? It was a treaty to expel from
the peninsula not Don Miguel only, but Don Carlos also, who was then
at the head of the troops in Portugal; and, therefore, so far as the
spirit and provisions of that Treaty of 1834 went, the Right Honorable
Baronet cannot ride off by saying that it confined itself entirely to
Portugal, and did not extend to interference with Spain. Don Carlos was
at the time in Portugal, at the head of the troops, with the purpose
of getting back into Spain; and, had Don Miguel been successful in
Portugal, there is no doubt that Don Carlos would have availed himself
of the circumstance to enforce his claims upon Spain. Don Carlos having
been expelled from the Peninsula under the Treaty of 1834, came to
London for a time, and then returned to Spain. Hostilities were resumed
in Spain; and the Additional Articles of 1835 were then concluded, for
the purpose of giving to the Queen of Spain assistance, to enable her
to retain the Crown, and to expel Don Carlos from Spain.[18]
This was a case exactly similar to that of Portugal in the preceding
year. We had no particular interest, in the abstract, in determining
whether the Sovereign of Spain should be an infant princess, as
Isabella then was, or a full-grown prince; the mere abstract question
between Isabella and Carlos was one in regard to which we had nothing
to stake, and which the then Government of England would probably
not have thought it proper or useful to interfere with. Questions of
succession to a Crown have, indeed, at all times been matters with
which foreign Powers have concerned themselves; but it has only been
when some distant interest has made it worth their while to do so. But
in Spain, as in Portugal, the question was between arbitrary rule and
constitutional and parliamentary government, and in relation to Spain,
as well as to Portugal, we thought that the interests of England in
every point of view, commercial and political, would be benefited by
the establishment of constitutional government.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account