1820. Aug. 17

Emancipation Spanish

'. 11. Particular interests adverse

' 5. Interests adverse

Retrenchment necessary

As to the three pecuniary interests - the Public Creditor's, the Monarch's and the

Clergy's - to place thse claims at a vast and conspicuous height aboe that of the

Daemon, they have this in common - that retrenchment can not apply to them, without

giving birth to suffering:- to evil in positive shapres. To the demon it may apply

itself - and apply closely - if not withut porducing any such effect, at any rate

without porducing in that shape, any thing like equal effect.

See if this be not the case. Amminition, for example you

have none: @ well then, forbear to provide that quantity, which,

but for the cravings of the demon, you would not have thought of provideing: so

forbearing, yo produce not, in any human breast, any sense of suffering. In like

manner forbear in regard to stores of all sorts; forbear in

regard to men: men for the army,

men for the navy - men for every other branch of the

service, through which the demands of the demon would come.

So much as to the case where retrenchment may be made to a vast amount, yet no

suffering produced.

Now for an example of the case, where unless great caution is used, retrenchment can

not be made but proportioable suffering must be produced.

You have as yet your Council of the Indies. You will want no

council of the Indies when you have no Indies. But, like other men, the Members of

the existing council of the Indies will want subsistence. So will the present

professors of every permanent fund, which to supply the more imperious exigencies of

the state, you extinguish. For all this you will have your rules: rules by which the

great controversy between the present and the future will, somehow or other, be

decided. To touch upon the field calls for those rules, belongs not to the present

purposes. All that at present I need beg you to remember, is - that the demopn can

better bear fasting that any human creature can: the demon of ambition although he

has the demon of slaughter in his belly: and that which with my p[ublic means for the

war I am now waging against the [...?] of [...?], I have King, Clergy, and Public

Creditor and I hope the Soldiery on my side.

@. Cortes. sitting of July 18th 1820. Per Canga Arguelles War

Minister.
Similar Items
  • Title: [1820 Aug. 1 Omitted April 1822]
    Description: 1820 Aug. 1

    Omitted April 1822

    Emancipation Spanish

    See if this no be the case. Ammunition you have none: (a) Well then, forbear to provide that quantity which, but for the

    cravings of the daemon, you would not have thought of providing: so forbearing you

    produce not in any human breast any sense of suffering. So forbear in regard to stores of all sorts: so forbear in regard to men: to men for

    the army, to men for the navy -

    to men for every other brand of the service, to which the demands of the daemon would

    be addressed.

    You have or have not at present as yet you Council of the Indies. You will want no

    Council of the Indies. But, like other men, the members of the supposed quondam

    Council of the Indies will want subsistence. So with the present possessors of every

    permanent fund, which to supply the more imperious expenses of the State you

    extinguish. For all this you will have your rules: rules by which the great

    controversy between the present and the future will some how or other be ended. It

    belongs not to the present purpose to touch upon these rules. All that at present I

    need by you to remember is - the daemon of ambition can better bear fasting than

    human creature can: the daemon of ambition although he has the daemon of slaughter in

    his belly: and that in the war I am waging against these daemons, I have King, Clergy

    and Public Creditor[?] on my side.

    Note (a)

    (a) Cortes Sitting of July 13 th 1820. Per

    Carga Arguelles War MInister.
  • Title: [1820 May 31. Emancipation Spanish]
    Description: 1820 May 31.

    Emancipation Spanish

    '.4. Prelim y Considrat s. continued

    Retrenchment this the easiest

    This retrenchment (will it be said? by way of objection) the retrenchment will be to be made upon the official establishment - upon the army branch of it - upon the navy branch of it - at the expense of the functionaries at present belonging to these departments - and this in a form in which the sense of loss will come home to assignable individuals?

    My answer is this. To the maintainance of the dominion in question, the present establishment is in all its branches plainly inadequate for the purpose in question, an encrease and that a large one would be necessary. Forbear making the encrease. No man can say he is a loser - a sufferer - from a bare[?] forbearance to put money into his pocket - money which is not his due.

    Your army is at present very small - some parts of it if the public prints say true you have actually disbanded. In other parts, to the privates you have given permisson to quit the service.

    As to officers what you can do without giving cause of complaint to any one is - to forbear adding to the number This will go no small way towards prevention of encrease in the expenditure, this will go no small way.

    Hire of transports for conveyance of troops and stores - encrease of expenditure in these accounts you may forbear without giving cause of complaint or sense of suffering to any body.

    To the repair and building of ships of war - the same observation applies and with equal truth: so also to war and sea stores of all kinds

    On land you have now nothing to fear from France, you can never have had any thing to fear from Portugal, you can have nothing to fear from any body.

    Troops you have no need of any now to keep the people under subjection. Your government is not now like ours a military one.

    In National Guard in a [...?] people armed for their own defence and for no other purpose will be your chief dependence Troops of the line, a small body of them will be sufficient to form a school for the National guards, and a nucleus /standard/ to which, in case of war, they may be attached.
  • Title: [1820 July 23 From Emancipation Spanish]
    Description: 1820 July 23

    From Emancipation Spanish Retrenchment

    '. 11. Particualr interests adverse

    Retrenchment principles

    The interests of the King, of the Clergy, of the Public Creditor all concur in

    requiring that thais emancipation should have place. To avoid practical error,

    political surveys must be not merely extensive but all comprehensive. Retrench

    somewhere is indispensable. For a long time receipt has fallen short of expenditure

    exzpenditure has outrun receipt not substraction form but addition to expenditure

    will for some time be among the unaviodable results of the auspicious change.

    Retrenchment somewhere is therfore indispensable. Retrenchment is this quarter may be

    made with less suffering than from any of those other quarters. The greater the

    retrenchemtn made in any one of those quarters the less will need to be the

    retrenchment from those other quarters taken together In this quarter Retrenchment

    may be made with less suffering than is one of those other quarters.

    Follow certain principles not as to financial[?] retrenchment. Judge, my friends how

    far they are or are not true ones.

    The ends in view are - 1. Reduction of suffering to the minimum

    2. Giving the maximum facility to the operation

    1. As to minimizing the suffering

    The suffering will be the less, 1. the less the number of the sufferers; 2. the

    intense the suffering on the part of each. In taking the number of suffers, not the

    immediate /principal/ sufferers above but those /dependents of all clases/ who

    through them are sufferers should be included. Dependents on men of the lowest class

    are wives and children and other dependent blood relations. In the higher classes to

    these are added domestics, servants, and artists of all sorts who subsist by

    ministering ot their pleasures. Were it not for this the King being but one, and the

    provision made for him so enormous stripping off /by restricting/ the whole provision

    attached to that office, the retrenchment might be made with least injury. But he has

    his dependents and they have theirs. The service thus employed /rendered/ being all

    of it useless to the public, as the incumbrances drop off the office with its

    instruments should be extinguished.