It is stated that Marshal Serrano intends himself to take
the command against the Carlists, and that 20,000 men of the Reserves have been forwarded to the North. As Marshal Serrano is by no means the ablest of Spanish Generals, this would mean that he was unwilling to trust a large army to a competent subordinate, lest, when once victorious, the General should make a pronunciamiento on his own account, but we greatly question its accuracy. Most of these reports are put forward to amuse the public, which accuses the Government of wilfully protracting the war, whereas it is only delaying, in the hope of winning through a "transaction," instead of risking a battle which might involve the fate of all Spain. If the latest story is true, however, this policy cannot be continued long. The Treasury is in such a state, it is said, that the pay of the Civil Service has stopped entirely, and as the interest on the Debt is suspended and the Clerical Budget never paid, the entire resources of the State are devoted to the Army, which is too much occupied in the North to maintain order elsewhere. Even Spain cannot bear such a situation many months.
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