The Express.
London, England, 1847-06-12 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATVR:

had net been given to DOS AMU/ of what writhed to is
done. ' But would It be imagined by mg ono, e 1 sr fa WI
coestsTir id=weti, that,wheirlsot ha/ Isiben-plaie, a
war be giMeisery4 Nevi that
aglirlateirefintiell berl taken was bassi
tow the itfor bod==takess were
ettaima—the of the ossetitatissol govern-
mat. It wed that the sahty if the mimes
should be treetneff, who, If cottoussiel, Ind beam or
Tiered in the most honourable manner, by a vastly 'sp-
oor force. On the other head, Queen Deana Maria
was now bound to conduct her government strictly on eon-
'Mistime' principles; and she might be,. buried the lams
—if crowned heads could learn—(laughter)—that it was
dangerous to encroach upon constitutional Hen. Her Most
Fatted Majesty was now clearly bound, ia the fees of
Europe, to govern according to the principles laid down in
the agreement. Had her Majesty been driven from her
throne, and compelled to seek an asylum in another country,
the very worst effects might have been anticipated as re•
Farded the muse of constitutional government in neighbour-
ing countries. As the avatar stood, the very beet conclusion at
a civil war had been arrived at—that of eying • complete
victory to neither party, while they bad been glowed to
preserve their pricoiples uncontaminated, and in full fora,
even to the very day in which the contest bad been brevet
to a termination.
Lord W. POWLETT, who was but imperfectly heard, was
underwmod to my, that in his opinion England was justified
in mediating in the affairs of PurtuKal, but that armed
intervention was quite out of the question. If violence had
been attempted against the Queen of Portugal she bad our
fleet for her protection, but further than that he condemned
all interference in the internal affairs of the country. With
these views he must record his vote against the policy of the
genemosent,
Yr. WARBURTON said he objected strongly to any
interference with the internal affairs of • foreign state. Such
interference rendered the interfering state responsible for the
conduct of the government which it maintained, and took from
the people the only chasm they had of a remedy for their
grievances. In fact, it obliged it to undertake the future
duty of carrying on the government. (Hear, hear.) Ile was
not prepared to put out the present government to be re-
placed by one of protectionists on the eve of a general election
—(laughter, and cries of " Mr. Hume ")—but he entirely
mademned their conduct in this matter. (" Hear," and
laughter.
r. BAILLIE felt it his duty to interpose for the main-
tenance of a principle; one which he thought should guide
this country, and that war—non-interfereues in the internal
affairs of a foreign country.
Mr. B. OSBORNE said he had waited for some informa-
tion from which he might gather on what excuse the recent
intervention had taken place. For hi own part, he should
have been satisfi. d ,if some of those "mute, inglorious"
lords of the treuury, who were so often wen and so seldom
heard —(laughter)--had undertaken the defence of the govern-
ment. He should have felt content if they had been permitted
to express some opinion, when he should have been better
able to answer the government grounds of defenee. The
defence of the government had hitherto been entrusted to
his noble friend the member for South Durham and the
hon. member for Pontefract. The hon. member exemplified
in his own person the advantages of intervention, for had it
not been for his appearance at the red box, the house would
hare divided early, and leR the government in a glorious
minority. (A laugh.) The honourable member for
Pontefract had said that in the first instance young
countries required schooling in constitutional government.
What! was the abolition of trial by jury, and the
immuring of persons in prisons without the shadow of
legality, the proper constitutional schooling? (Hear, hear.)
He hardly thought that was an efficient defencwof the policy
of the government. lie admitted that foreign affairs were
generally treated with apathy both in that house and the
country ; but if once that apathy were abandoned, it should
be in the case of an ally with whom, for 400 years, we had
been connected, and whose name would be found on some
of the brightest pages of our history. (Hear, hear.) He
had • reason for apathy in the confidence he had always felt
in the policy of the noble lord the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs. The despatches of the noble lord fully justified that
confidence; and to only regretted that such noble senti-
ments had led to so lame and impotent a conclusion. The
house would remember that in 184.5, when the late govern-
ment was broken up, the noble lord the present Secretary
for the Colonies manifested a disinclination to take office, on
account of the meddling capacity of the noble Secretary for
Foreign Affairs. He confessed he had been astonished at
this objection; but what was his astonithment now to find
that the noble earl, who was frightened at the shadow in
1845, was prepared to embrace the reality in 1818! There
was only one way is which he could account for this;
Burke said that if you only allowed a man to repeat his
story to you every night and morning for a twelvemonth,
he would in the end become your muter. Upon this prin-
ciple only could he account for the fact that the present
roble Secretary for the Colonies was now found clinging to
that cabinet war eh, in 184.5, he denounced and refused to co-
operate with, because of the !Peddling propensities of the
noble lord, the Foreign Secretary. (Hear, and a laugh.)
It might be, and he understood it was urged that this inter-
ference was part of a great scheme /or the pacification of
Portugal. But if it could be proved that, so far from paci-
fying Portugal, this convention would be the means of
spreading the weds of war throughout Europe—if it could
be proved that it was perilous to the very existence of Por-
tugal, as an independent state—and that it was in effect an
encouragement and support of the principle of dea-
lpotic mnnarchy and absolutism—he thought every
representative of a free and liberal constituency
would feel bound to vote against it. (Hear, hear.) It was
somewhat curious that the noble lord should, as appeared by
the despatches, so suddenly on 'the 21st of May, have arrived
at the conclusion to coerce Portugal by force of arms. (Hear.)
They had heard rumours of certain mysterious influences,
but he could scarcely believe that the independent mind and
high spirit of the noble lord could be made subservient to
petty intrigue ; and, judging from the tone pervading his
despatch.* previous to the date he alluded to, he could oily
suppose that he had been forced against his will into the
course he had ultimately adopted by a majority of
the cabinet of which he was • member. He could
not believe, after looking at those eloquent despatches,
that the noble lord would willingly join in a
" Holy Alliance " wherein those states joined to
coerce a fourth, and to support the Queen at all hazards,
throwing over the rights and liberties of the people. (Hear.)
Intervention was a term only known amang modern states-
men, and it would by well to inquire what wee the meaning
attached to it. On the Ist of June, 1829, he found it laid
down by a high authority that—
The principle was, that every intlon bad a right to manage its own
Internal affairs an It pleases, so long as It injures not its neighbours ;
and that owe nation has no right to oontroul by force of arms, the
will of another nation, in the choice of its government or ruler.

This WWI the interpretation of the noble lord, the preseist
Foreign Secretary. (Hear, hear.) He called upon the noble
lord to state why he now violated this principle, and why
the liberties of Europe were to be outraged by the com-
mends which he had sent out to the British forces ? It was
worthy of remark that ail these conventions had been entered
into recently; and, if they had not been so, they would
never have been entered into at all, for to House of Cora.
mons would ever have sanctioned such a ardent had they
been consulted. The only analogy he could find to the con-
duct of the noble lord was in one of the comedies of Moltke
Les Fourberies de Scapin," in which the Sevin having
a spite against another, tells him that the only means of
escaping from two conspirators was to get into a sack, and
while in his hiding-place Semis fiageP.ates and kicks his
unfortunate friend, persuading him all the time that it is
the conspirators who are so treating him. (A laugh.)
In this intervention the junta was the victim sewi
the noble lord was the Scapin—France and Spalu'being
the conspirators. In the whole course of these traumatism
it was somewhat curious to observe how the peculiar IMMO
of Louis Philippe shone forth. Whenever there was sor
dirty work to do, that illustrious individual, like ease
Mephistopheles, was to be found at the elbow of the mile
lord, urging him to do it. (" Hear," and a laugh.) They
had been told that the Queen of Portugal had broken her
oath and trampled upon the charter, in demanding foreign
aid against her own subjects • and on referring to the
charter it could not be doubted that she had done so. Bat'
how different was the course of Mr. Canning in 1826, wham
called upon to interfere, not against the subjects of Portugal,
hut against foreign invasion. Mr. Canning said that before •
British soldier set his foot in Portugal—before a British
soldier left the shores of this country for Portugal, it was
our duty to ascertain that the step about to be taken was
adopted with the full concurrence of the Portuguese legis-
lature, and he added, " it has never been the wish or pre.
tension of the British government to interfere in the internal
concern of the Portuguese nation. Questions of that kind
the Portuguese nation must settle among themselves."
This principle having been laid down, and affirmed by the
British parliament in 1828, was it now to be borne that it
should be thrown &aide, and that without being bound by treaty
or otherwise, we should, interfere to coerce the Portuguese
people, and to aid their government in breaking down their
liberties, and trample upon their charter ? (Hear.) Was
it to be borne, that the noble lord, having no regard for coa-
-1
stitutional liberty, should send a British fleet to capture and
make prisoners the whole army of the junta ? It might be
urged that the consent of the Cortes could not be obtained
to this intervention, inasmuch as they were not sitting. But
whose faedt was it that they were not sittings They were
not sitting, because the Queen had declared that they should
not meet until 1848. But the whole object of the court since
1846, as was clearly proved by the papers, had been foreign
intervention. Saldanha complains that there is a Miguelite
insurrection, and he tells Mr Southern that he
btu received a proclamation of Don Miguel's, calling
on the people to support his claims to the throne.
" Give me your authority," replies Mr. Southern, " Oh,"
rejoins Saldanhs, " I was in suck a passion when I received
it that I tore the document to pieces." (" Hear, hear," and
a laugh.) Mr. Southern did not believe the store of the
Miguelite insurrection, but charged the whole difficulty to
the Cabral administration. Now, what was the Cabral ad-
ministration? Costa Cabral entered political Ile a furious
liberal, but, as was the ease with some patriots in that house,
had since changed to a friend of the court, and a strenuous
advocate of the absolute monarchic principle. (Hear,
hear.) There were some instances of a similar kind
on that side of the house. (" Hear, hear," and a
laugh.) Costa Cabral managed to upset the char-
ter of 1838 by an intrigue because there were articice
in that charter which prevented him from carrying out his
designs. That charter prohibited the king consort from
being in command of the army, and this it was said the
Queen took very much to heart. Cabral was open to court
influence, and got rid of the 1838 charter, substituting for it
the charter of 1828. Having succeeded in thi', his first act
was to appoint his brothel, Jose Cabral, (whom Don Pedro
had decreed incapable cf holding office in the state) minister
of public justice. Then he proceeded to levy taxes without
consulting the cones, to imprison people without trial, and
to change the whole of the officers of the army,
and on ell occasions, and in a'inost every particular, he
broke through the articles of the charter he had himself