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 42 J- H. Rose see what he said with respect to the building up of a new national fabric in Spain. In the despatch of July 27 already referred to he urged Hunter to discourage in every way the separate action of Asturias, not only because such action on the part of all the provinces would embarrass the British government, but also because it would be productive of disunion in Spain. Both Galicia and Asturias had raised their demands for pecuniary help : Both [deputies] profess, in conversation, to include a provision for the interests of Leon and Old Castile in the demands which they bring forward. But this has not prevented a direct application from Leon; and it is obvious that if the remaining provinces of Spain, from whom no separate or joint application has been made, were to come forward with demands in anything like the proportion of those already received, not only the material means of supplying such demands in specie must be (as they are now nearly) exhausted, but even the credit and re- sources of this country could hardly answer such accumulated demands. He then stated that England could not possibly furnish more than 100,000 muskets, exclusive of those already sent with Sir Arthur Wellesley. In a second draft of the same date Canning informed Hunter that the claims of the junta of Seville to supreme authority in Spain were partly acquiesced in by the deputation from Galicia and As- turias then at London, claims " which their personal rank and qualifi- cations [/. e., those of the deputies of Andalusia], their experience and knowledge of business, are in other respects well calculated to confirm ". He further expressed the hope that the delegations from Galicia and Asturias might be withdrawn — though it was a very deli- cate matter to arrange — so that the junta at Seville might establish a government which would be regarded as the central authority. In order to facilitate the departure of the deputies sent from the north- west of Spain, Canning suggested that the two provinces above named might send in their place military men to confer on questions of defense and succor. But he did not insist on a matter which ob- viously required very cautious treatment. I may here remark that the Seville junta had from the first taken a spirited lead. It re- counted the injuries and insults inflicted by Napoleon and by his troops ; it urged the need of the assembling of the Cortes in order to show the world that Spaniards could reform their own affairs with- out the need of intervention on the part of " the vile French " ; and suggested the forming of juntas in every town and district for the organization of national defense. But, far from assuming direct control of these local efforts, it suggested that each province should at first manage its own affairs, civil and military : but that these