It would seem that the Spanish Ministry is alarmed at
the aspect of affairs, for it is about to call the Cortes together. A decree las been issued declaring that the electoral period is at hand, and allowing free discussion on everything except the Constitutional Monarchy. It is believed that the Cortes will be asked to supply -money and men for the continuance of the war, and that the King is at last swaying definitively towards a more liberal pOlicy. It is also said that the war against the Carlists will shortly enter on " a more active phase." There is no proof, however, that the Cortes will be freely elected, that they will venture to tax the people, or that they can greatly invigorate the Army. It is more probable that affairs will go on from bad to worse, until the King, wearied out, abdicates, and power falls again to the strongest General, either as Dictator or as Mayor of the Palace to the Princess of the Asturias, who, in the event of an abdication, would succeed to the throne.
