We fully concur with our contemporary of the Richmond
Whig, in the satisfaction expressed by the confirmation of the reported re-possession of
St. Domingo by
Spain, hoping that this may prove the prelude to the rescue of the whole
island of Hayti from the clutches of barbarism.
The recuperating energies of
Spain are beginning to attract the attention of
Europe.
Her works of internal improvement have been of late immense, and her military power is on the advance.
The
Whig mentions that the army of
Spain consists of forty-seven regiments of infantry and sixteen of cavalry, having a total of something less than 132,000 men. Her naval force is weaker.
She has but four ships-of-the-line, five frigates, six corvettes, and twenty steamers, none of the last being of the force of frigates.
There are, however, besides these, a great number of small vessels, so that the navy sums up no less than 174 vessels of all grades, carrying 1,453 guns.
In
Cuba,
Spain has constantly, besides the ‘"civil guard,"’ an army of over 21,000 men, which are not counted in the estimates of the
Spanish army.
She also maintains there a separate navy of twenty-five vessels, carrying 219 guns, and manned by 3,000 men.
Porto Rico, another of her dependencies, has an army of ten thousand men more, besides a numerous militia.--Her finances are also in a more flourishing state than they have been for years, and her soldiers, both on land and sea, have been greatly improved in discipline and equipments under the more recent ministries.
For these reasons, among others,
Louis Napoleon has been urging the restoration of the peninsula to the rank of a first-rate power.
We concur with the
Whig in the hope that the
Montgomery Government will speedily establish diplomatic relations with
Spain and
Brazil, a course rendered mutually desirable by sympathy of feeling and community of interest.
