19 FEBRUARY 1876, Page 2

A crisis appears to be approaching in the Spanish civil

war. General Martinez Campos has succeeded in getting between the Carlista and France, and if Don Carlos loses a battle near Vera, his escape may be matter of difficulty. Generals Quesada and Loma have also captured Durango and Vergara, and so en- couraging is the aspect of affairs that King Alfonso has set out for the North. It is to be observed also that the Carlists do not deny the reports of their defeats with the vivacity of old, and that rumours are reviving of a convenio, or bargain. It will be noted that in the Royal Speech on the opening of the Cortes on the 15th inst. the King said nothing about in- surgents, but spoke of the "ill-advised Prince who is waging civil war, and is reduced to powerlessness." That looks as if a door of retreat were to be left to Don Carlos.