pon the people--who, as long as they continued to have
confidence in their rulers, could not be expected (after the early
fervours of their revolution had subsided) much to overstep the measure
of exertion prescribed to them--but solely upon the government. Up to
the time when Sir J.M. died, the Supreme Junta had adopted no one grand
and comprehensive measure for calling out the strength of the
nation;--scarcely any of such ordinary vigour as, in some countries,
would have been adopted to meet local disturbances among the people.
From their jealousy of popular feeling,--they had never taken any steps,
by books or civic assemblies, to make the general enthusiasm in the
cause available by bringing it within the general consciousness; and
thus to create the nation into an organic whole. Sir J.M. was fully
aware of this:--'The Spanish Government,' he says, 'do not seem ever to
have contemplated the possibility of a second attack:' and accordingly,
whenever he is at leisure to make distinctions, he does the people the
justice to say--that the failure was with those who should have 'taken
advantage' of their good will. With the people therefore will for ever
remain the glory of having resisted heroically with means utterly
inadequate; and with the government the whole burthen of the disgrace
that the means were thus inadequate.

But, further,--even though it should still be thought that, in the three
Provinces which Sir J. Moore saw, there may have been some failures with
the people,--it is to be remembered that these were the very three which
had never been the theatre of French outrages; which therefore had
neither such a vivid sense of the evils which they had to fear, nor so
strong an animation in the recollection of past triumphs: we might
accordingly have predicted that, if any provinces should prove slack in
their exertions, it would be these three. So that, after all, (a candid
inquirer into this matter will say) admitting Sir J.M.'s description to
be faithful with respect to what he saw, I can never allow that the
conduct of these three provinces shall be held forth as an exponent of
the general temper and condition of Spain. For that therefore I must
look to other authorities.

Such an inquirer we might then refer to the testimonies of Gen. Leith
and of Capt. Pasley for Biscay and Asturias; of Mr. Vaughan (as cited by
Lord Castlereagh) for the whole East and South; of Lord Cochrane
(himself a most gallant man, and