The Express.
London, England, 1846-11-26 00:00:00

/

Torm

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

THIS DAY. Four o'clock.
IMPORTANT FROM PORTUGAL.
By the arrival of the Royal Tar we have important
news from Lisbon to the 20th instant.
The insurgents were still in arms. A battle had
taken place at Chaves, in the north of Portugal, be-
tween a portion of the insurgent army. under the
command of Visconde de Sa a. Bandeira, and the
Queen's troops, headed by Baron Casal, and the
result had been a loss of between one and two hun-
dred killed or wounded, besides two regiments (the
13th and 15th), which had deserted to the Baron
Casal. This news was considered very favourable
to the royal cause and the present Lisbon government ;
and it was thought that with the addition of the two
regiments by which he had been joined, the Baron
would immediately march forward and attack Oporto,
where it was expected he would arrive on or about
the 27th.
An express was said to have reached the govern-
ment at Lisbon, to the effect that Das Antes had
attacked the advanced posts of Saldanha. but the
result had not transpired. The Marshal had pre-
viously solicited reinforcements to the extent of 2,000
men; the National battalion had however refused
to march. General Celestine, with his division. had
entered Santarem, and so had the Baron de Almar-
gen, with reinforcements from Oporto.
The British merchants at Lisbon, have sent a strong
memorial to their government, against the decree of
the 14th of November, and a deputation of Portuguese
merchants had waited upon the Minister to induce
him to modify the decree, in order to prevent the evils
it was likely to inflict upon trade and public credit.
The Minister declined to comply, but a decree had
Terstgently appeared, modifying the sth article as
all transactions before the 14th instant. This
has not satisfied the commercial body.
The Oporto blockading squadron was in Vigo
harbour on account of bad weather, and therefore,

merchant vessels had free ingress and egress. Since
the establishment of the blockade very many vessels
(not Brazilian or Portuguese), loaded with grain and
wine, had left the Douro. A great deal of Indian corn
was loading for England.
The following is Crom our own Correspondent :
LISBON, Nov. 20.
In the absence of any additional intelligence from the
two principal head quarters at Castaxo and Santarem, be-
yond that which was contained in my last of the 17th, per
her Majesty's steamer Polyphemus, I have to draw attention
principally to a despatch from Marshal Saldanha, dated,
from the Quinta (Villa) de Boa, the 13th instant, and con-
tained in the Diario of the 18th, which, after detailing in
somewhat inflated language the progress of his march from
Bellas (near Lisbon) to his present station, thus proceeds:
" The forces under my command occupy the same ground
which they did in 1833-4. It offers a remarkable coinci-
dence, that the Loyalists have assumed towards the Anar-
chists—towards those who have menaced the throne of the
Legitimate Heiress of the Alforesas, Sanchos, Josephs, and
the fortunate Manuel, the identical position which they
maintained against the former usurper of the crown.
" I have the greatest satisfaction in assuring your Ma-
jesty that the population of those places which I have
marched through, offer the clearest proofs of the falsity of
the assertions made by the chiefs of the rebellion. The
inhabitants have everywhere presented themselves to me in
a body, giving me the directest proofs of their joy at being
?canard from the power which oppressed them. One and all
tell the same story, namely, that two or three anarchists,
who have nothing to lose, unite with other evil doers,
and compel the inhabitants, young and old, of the
rural villages, either by confiscation or by violence, to take
, arms. It was only this day at Cartaxo the assembled popu-
lation assured me that in the morning two guerillas passed
through the place, having with them a dozen peasants,
bound, who they were conveying off for the purpose of com-
pelling them to take arms. Colonel Wylde, of Her B.
Majesty's service, who has been at my head-quarters since
the 10th of this montn, and who can bear witness to the
truth of what I relate to your Majesty, is convinced
as much as I am, that so far from being a popular and spon-
taneous movement, as the ox-Count -Das Antes seeks to
btu it believed, this rebellion is the most unheard-of and
the mod unfounded that has ever existed, and is solely occa-
sioned by the intrigues of its leaden."
It will be obvious to the most cursory reader of thia-dis-
patch, which is addressed to the King, as Commander-in-
Chief of the forces, that, if there were any truth, or if there
were even the shadow of truth or consistency, in this state-
ment, deliberately made by Saldanha, and as deliberately
published by the government, that the mission of Colonel
Wylde would be completely at en end, in so far as his
endeavours to effect a reconciliation, or rather to promote a
pacification of the angry warfare, between the parties is
concerned. So thoroughly was this impressed on my
mind when I read the dispatch, that I endeavoured
to find whether the document itself did not con-
tain evidence of its total departure from veracity; and
this evidence appeared to offer itself in the date which it
bore, namely, the 13th of November. It happens that
Colonel Wylde did not lc aye the head quarters of Das Antis
until after it was written, consequently the representations
which he is asserted to have offered to Saldanha, respecting
the disposition of the peasantry, and of the town populations
of the districts referred to, must here been made
antecedently to his visit to Das Antes. Now, as the
district traversed by the Colonel, in his journey from
Lisbon to Cartaxo does not exceed a few leagues in
extent it is obvious that he could not have acquired any per-
sonal knowledge of the state of the country beyond those
limits, and from these circumstances I draw the conclusion
that, even supposing the British Commissioner could so far
have belied his antecedents, and have stultified his Govern-
ment, as to have offered any information or even delivered
an opinion on the points in question, to Saldanha, all it was
possible for him to have said could not be applied to a
greater portion of the country than the immediate
route pursued by him; I therefore was satisfied that the
statement was an unfounded one, and even if I had not
been able in some degree to test its truth, I should have had
very little hesitation in so treating it. But upon inquiry I
received a positive assurance from persons perfectly compe-
tent to give an opinion, if not to state authoritatively what
the facts were. to the effect that Marshal Saldanha had
not only wholly deviated from the truth, but han gone
far beyond the bounds which prudence, and a re-
gard for the character assumed by Colonel Wylde,
ought to have confined him to. I should, there-
fore, not be greatly astonished if, in the sequel, it should
turn out that a remonstrance had been already addressed on
this subject to the Queen's Government, either on the part
of Colonel Wylde, who has beentemporarily made the inno-
cent victim of Saldanha's imaginative turn of mind, or else 1
a more serious one from the British Minister here, demon-
strating to the court the injurious effects which are likely ,
to be produced by such an unfair and distorted statement. '
It affords matter of deep regret to those who have the in-
terests and dignity of Donna Maria most at heart, that they
should be compromised in this manner by persons charged
with such important functions as Saldanha is at this
moment. It would seem, however, that the inconceivable
frivolity and flippancy which have on previous occasions
marked this officer's actions still continue to characterise
his proceedings, even under circumstances so grave as those
which surround him.
The lame Ginnie which contains the dispatch above re-
ferred to, offers a sufficient proof of the truth of my obser-
vations respecting the recent decree, enforcing thecurrency
.
ef the Bank of Lisbon notes at par. The sth article of the
duree, whereby a retro-active effect was,_
given to it, is cen-
t:dig; the whole financial and commercial community,
Portuguese as well as British, having protested against so
violent an interference with transactions already completed.
I ate happy, however, in being able to state with reference
In the operation of the decree in private transactions between
t•nsano man at Lisbon, that hitherto no instance has come
to my knowledge in which a bill has been paid in this de-
preciated paper currency.
The readiness with which the Minister of Finance repaired
the blunder committed by him must be accepted as a proof
of his good intentions, and entitled to credit. I may men-
tion, whilst on this subject, that a very strong rumour pre-
vailed on 'Change yesterday, that the Barons Fuljoso mid
iJunqueira were busily engaged in arranging the means of
transmitting the amount necessary to liquidate the dividends
falling due in December. Should this. fortunately turn out
to be true, those individuals of the British community who
profit by this occurrence will, I am convinced, most
cheerfully pay their share of the daily expense.
I believe I mentioned in my last that the Duke of Pal-
-1 tulle bad requested permission to resign his functions as a
Councillor of State. This request the Queen has, with some
prudence, deferred to comply with, and in the interim a
secdsition to attend the Council at its sitting on Wednesday
was duly forwarded to the Duke, who, however, declined
tfte honour. It is impossible to foresee what the ultimate
result of these proceedings may be, but from his Excel-
lency's attachment to the institutions of his country, it may
be argued that he will not refuse to lend his advice and
assistance when the moment appears propitious for so doing.
It was very currently rumoured that his near kinsman, the
Marquis de Fayal, had called upon the Bank of Lisbon to
liquidate the actions, or shares, which he holds, amounting
in the aggregate to nearly 260,000/. If this should prove
correct, the fact may be accepted as a proof of the very
serious dissatisfaction and distrust which exists on the part
of at least one branch of the Duke's family in respect to the
present Government.
The accounts respecting the movements of the armed
bodies in different parts of the kingdom are not only very
scanty but also vague and contradictory. As far as I have
been able to make out the facts, after carefully sifting the
statements of the various parties, they amount to
the following summary: Das Antas and Saldenha
remain in it positions at Santarem and Cartoxa.;
an additional force of four guns and some cavalry it

LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, NOV. 26, 1846. [3d.

expected le reach the former from Oporto within the
next few days ; whilst, on the other hand, Schwalback,
with some excellent cavalry, is on his way from Estremoz to
Vida (Miere a bridge on
oi boats or some arrangement for
the crossing Tuns is be' prepared for him) in order to
join Saldasba, Count Bomfin remains at Evora with a force
of infantry, and his subordinate general, Celestine, is on his
march for Santarem' with a reinforcement of cavalry, of
which arm Das Antas's force is very deficient. Bomfin's
son made a pounce upon Monte tor-o-Mayor, the other
night, rousing the inhabitants ont of their first sleep, and
mulcting such of them as professed loyal principles in the
sum of HO moidores each.
Nothirg certain is known of the result of Baron Caul's
movemeata at the Spanish frontiers near Chaves. It is con-
fidently asserted that he btu surrendered to Sada Bandeira's
force.
A great many arrests have taken place within the last
week at Lisbon. Amongst others placed under restraint is
General Celestine's brother. The city is perfectly tranqnil,
the only symptom of the state of affairs being the early
closing of the shops and coffee-houses.
The 7.,ountese de Thomar, wife of Costa Cabral, arrived
here by the Royal Tar on Wednesday evening, from Cadiz.
The custom-house boat conveyed her to the quay.
In the Boleti!' of the 17th inst. (No. 26), I find the
the following letter, addressed to Marshal Saldanba by Du
Antes, selatave to the proclamation of martial-law by the
decree of November 3. lam assured by persons who saw
the original letter, that this is a true transcript :
" Excellent and Illustrious Sir,—ln the periodical print
entituld the Diario do Coronae, I have read a decree, pub-
lished by order of your Excellency and your colluguee,
bearing date the 3rd of November, in which you have dared
to profane the name of her Majesty, and have attempted to
make the. Portuguese people believe that her Majesty
was 'evade of attaching. her Royal signature to an act
which offers an atrocious violence to the rights of Portuguese
citizens, to the immutable dictates of justice, and to those of
humanity. An act so shameful that, were it not at once re-
pulsed by the universal outcry of a nation armed in its just
defence, would dishonour the Portuguese people, and would
throw them back into periods of the most gross barbarousness.
From the hour that )(rue Excellency repelled the loyal and
sincere endeavours which I made for the purpose of liberat-
ing the Queen and pacifying the kingdom, I resolved never
again to hold any further communication with you. But
this decree compels me to break this resolution, fi)r the pur-
pose of informing your Excellency, that if it should
happen, what I do not anticipate, that in conse-
quence thereof one single drop of Portuguese blood
be shed—if to the utter degradation and execration of
your Excellency, you resort to measures so atrocious, which
I at once abhor and despise, I shell be under the dreadful
necessity of taking the most severe reprisals; and I warn
you that you and your colleagues will be held responsible for
the evils which will result from them, alike before God,
before the Portuguese nation, and in the eyes of the whole
civilised world. " CONDE DAs ANTAR."
" Head-quarters of Santarem, Nov. 10, 1846."
In the same Boletin appears a decree of the Provi-
sional Supreme Junta, elevating the Count Das Anus to the
rde of a Marshal of the Empire, in consideration of the
inexpressible civism and self-devotion, as well as courage,
energy, and firmness, so constantly displayed by him
throughout his brilliant military career."
MOVEMENTS OP HER MAJESTY'S SHIPS.—In the Taps
were lying her Majesty's ships Hibernia, flag of Vice-
Admiral Sir Wm. Parker, Bart., G.C.B. ; Trafalgar, Albion,
Superb, Rodney, Canopus ; Ratler, Phccnix, Cyclops (etrs.);
Nautilus (brig); Colon (Spanish corvette); Cygnc (F:rench
brig). At Gibraltar, on the 17thinst., H.M. steamer irago.
MOVEMENTS OF FOREIGN SNIPS OF WAIL, Nov. 11.—
At Vigo, Spanish frigate, label 11., 50 guns ; Steamer,
G Bare de am, 4 guns; Portuguese steamer, Conde Tejal.
Nov. 17.—At Cadiz, Spanish brig, dozen, 20 guns.

The Lords of the Treasury have directed proceed-
ings to be taken for the legal condemnation of the
ships Glenelg, Monarch, and Neptune. These vessels
were seized by Mr. Forsyth, 'of the Customs, some
days since, for a breach of the Foreign Enlistment
and Equipment Act, in connection with the proposed
expedition of General Fierce.

Letters from the Havannah, received by way of
Antwerp, furnish us with intelligence to the 15th
Oct., five days subsequent to the great hurricane of the
10th. The accounts from the inte►ior, so far as they
had been collected, were satisfactory. The belief was
general that the crops had escaped without sustaining
any very serious mischief.

The gales, which proved so disastrous on the coast
of Ireland. appear to have destroyed the last hope
of saving the Great Britain. The following letter
from Mr. Gabriel, RN., to the Newry Telegraph, de-
tails the perilous position in which the vessel now
lies :

" Dundrum, Sunday.

,
" According to promise I let you finMvhow things are
progressing with the Great Britain. Thursday's work has
finished her. Mr. Bremner has failed, as I anticipated, in
his breakwater, which was entirely washed away; the sea
made a clean breach over her, swept away several skylights
on deck; the ship filled with water to such an extent that
the cabin doors and bulkheads are nearly all wished into the
holds, and about the decks ; the promenade deck was covered
with water; in fact, you might almost say she filled, for
every one on board had to fly to the upper deck, and there
wait till the water ran out of her ; she was afloat, and
thumpinbt h forward and aft, and her head is shifted more
towards Tyrella watch-house again. Mr. Bremner has given
her up, and they at length me going to take the masts nut
of her, together with her engine ! I have not yet examined
her bottom, but intend doing so to-morrow. If all I hear is
correct, I'm afraid she is gone. She was pitching at times
as much as three feet."

--- ---
EXPLOSION OP FIRE-DAMP NEAR PRESTON.-
EIORT LIVES LOST.-A most dreadful explosion of fire-
damp, accompanied with serious loss of life, happened at the
coal-mine of Mr. John Hargreaves, jun., at Buxton Burgh,
on Tuesday morning last. It appears that about five o'clock
on the above morning the men were as usual going to their
work in the mine, the " fireman" having first gone into the
pit. In a few minutes alter the men entered the mine
an explosion took place, when, melancholy to relate, tight
of the work-people lost their lives. Some people attach
blame to the fireman, who, it is said, has sot a proper
knowledge of his duties; whilst he, on his part, states that
the men entered the works before he certified that the pit
was fit for them to enter. The explosion took place the
moment the workmen entered the pit. The following are
the names of the unfortunate a.zfferers :—Thomas Halhwell
and his daughter, Jane Halliwell—left a wife and four chil-
dren; Seth and William Turner, 23 and 26 years ; William
Wilding, aged 16; Mary Booth, aged 12; Jane Moss, aged
2.s—left one child. Injured: James Booth, dangerous;
Thomas Graham, ditto ; Thomas Farrimond, Thomas and
Joseph Farrimond (his two sons), Richard There
were from 30 to 40 other miners in the pit at thaxe time in
other directions, who were considerably alarmed at the
shock of the explosion, and who could not venture for some
time into the neighbourhood of the mine where the bodies
were lying. An inquest will be held on the bodies.