[clxvii. 251]

1821 Aug. 6.

Rid Yourselves of Ultramaria

Lett. 5. Continued Submission impossible

Equality on surface, inequality at bottom.

For the lodging in your memory the substance of all this various matter, one expression, one phrase, one principle may suffice: Between one country /people/ and another all inequality or injustice, injustice, continued submission to which can never be produced but by equally continued fear. Towards your Ultramarian kinsmen, on the surface of your Code I have beheld equality and freedom: at bottom, inequality, injustice, despotism /tyranny/. I a foreigner, remote from both friend alike to both, have seen all this in theory, have read it in this Code /law/ of yours: they /meantime/ the persons interested, must in so far as it has been endeavoured to be carried into practice have been feeling it in practice.

These causes of discontent developed of aversion to the claims and that aversion unsurmountabledeveloped, follow in the postponed matter a few miscellaneous observations under four heads

1. Better Ultramaria rule Spain. A claim on the part of your Ultramarian kinsmen to rule you, even as your rulers would rule them would be less unreasonable than as that of your rulers thus to rule them.

2. Better conquer Barbary than reconquer Ultramaria. The enterprise would be more feasible, more profitable less mischievous.

In vain would your rulers repeat and say - Well if there is injustice we will put an end to it: if there is inequality, we will remove it. Out of this suppose it possible - out of this suppose it effected not so much as a shadow of justification to you for perseverance in the claim would yet be framed. To you it is all loss /the whole result of it is loss/ in all events: to themselves long before the injustice were put to an end to - the inequality removed, all profit would be removed.