The Express.
London, England, 1847-05-25 00:00:00

• PORTUGAL,
The Peninsular and Oriental Company's! steamer
Iberia, Captain John Bowen, brings news So the fol-
iating datam: Gibraltar, May 16th ; Catlin, 17th,
Lisbon, 19th; Oporto, 20th; and Vigo, 21st. From
the latter place we learn that the fortified town of
Vamp. in the Minim, held by a body of the queen's
troops, about 580 in number, had been invested by a
tame wider the command of Baron d'Almargem.
This force numbered about 400 men, with six 42-
ponders, artillery of siege. With these the forces of
the Junta commenced bombarding the town, on the
19th, it havin4 then but eight days' provision. A
body of troops had left Oporto on the 18th, to rein-
force Baron d'Almargem. The bombardment still
continued on the 21st, and was distinctly heard out-
side the town of Vigo.
For the Lisbon and remaining news we refer to
oar correspondent's letter.
LISBON, MAY 19, Faun p.n.
On Monday, the 17th instant, notification of the
termivatiin of the armistice was sent to Count Vichaes, by
Viscount de sa, and at the same time the latter communi-
rated the circumstance to the British minister here, his letter
being conveyed by Lieut. Butler, of H.M.S. Phcenix, which
ham been stationed eluting the last three weeks at St. Übea.
As soon as Sir H. Seymour_ received the notification he
deepetched a note to Viscount de SA, enjoining him not to
commence hostilities until he had received a communication
which would be conveyed to him by H.M.S. Sidon, and ac-
cordingly early in the morning of Tuesday, May 18, this
vessel left the Tagus for St. Übe., where she arrived about
one o'clock p.m. The Viscount de Si had so far conformed
to the ri quest mule by Sir H. Seymour, as to abstain from
commencing hostilities, but the steam of two of the vessels
(Mindell, and Porto) was up, and they were preparing to
start fur Oporto when the Sidon arrived.
The proximate cause of the sudden and somewhat unex-
pected termination of the armistice is stated broadly and
openly to be the bed faith observed by Vishnu, who, ever
since the suspension has been in force, has been daily and
nightly strengthening his tuition, and erecting batteries
and redoubts, whilst battering cannon and ammunition have
b..en sent over from Lisbon to his army, all of which are un-
deniable breaches of the mutual agreement entered into
between him and Sit not to pursue any works in progress
during the armistice. Not being disposed to take this state-
ment entirely at the credit of those who informed me, I
made inquiries in various impartial and disinterested quar-
ters, and I have every reason to believe that the imputation
upon Vinhae, is quite correct, and that he hoe erected several
redoubts during the interval of the suspension.
What the result of this fresh act of interference on the
part of our squadron betweea the two armies in presence
will be, it is impossible to say. Certain it is, that if the
rilicy of Englund is a non-intervention policy, these several
and repeated acts savour strongly of a desire to overawe and
to intimidate the popular, and, as it would appear to be, the
national, forces, and to throw the whole force of regal, minis-
, tsrial, diplomatic, and even parliamentary, sanction and
?realism into the scale where Donna Maria 's crown
I hew lies Winced against the people's rights and
dos con.fitution of Portugal. The Sidon returned early
this morning from St. Übes, bringing letters from
the Viscount de Si to Sir H. Seymour. When
she left the bay, the steamers Mindello and Porto were still
there. Mr. Salter was to take the command of this little
squadron, if so it can be termed. The object is view in
cording it to Oporto is, I believe, to bring some more troops
te reinforce Viscount de Sa's army. Col. Wylde returned
hest night from Oporto, bringing the ultimatum of the Sep-
tambr.sM with him. By the Jackal war steamer, which
let Oporto for England on the 10th inst., the terms and con-
ditions upon which the Junta arc willing to accede to the
le off-red by Donna Maria, at the instigation of
3.Pland, will have been conveyed to our minister. They
do not differ in the slightest degree from those which
stated in my former letter on this subject to be the sine
qua non of the Septembrist party, but as they have
been formulated and somewhat amplified, it may, perhaps,
be interesting if I repeat them again in detail, in order that
the reasonableness of the junta's ultimatum may be fairly
judged of.
The additional articles are nine in number, viz.: 1. That
the Miguelite officers who have joined the national cause be
confirmed in their military grades.-2. That the debts in-
curred by the junta be guaranteed, on accounts being fur-
nished to the Cortes.-3. That the election, (of the
Cortes) be direct.-4. That all military and civil
ranks and honours granted by the junta be con.
firmed.-6. Vett the military forces, under the mm
mend of the junta, shall be maintained on foot, occupy-
ing Lisbon and Oporto until the Corte, shall assemble.-6.
That the military commandants throughout the provinces
shall not be drawn from those employed under the ministry
of the 6th October (the revolution of the palace).--7. That
the king shall resign the command of the army, and re-
nounce it for the future, his holding that office being con-
trary to the constitutional charter.—S. That the queen shall
nominate officers of her royal household according to the will
of the ministry.-9. That the junta on these several con-
ditions being fulfilled, will then dissolve.
I have already in my preceding communication abstained
from offering any comments on these terms, inasmuch as
their reasonableness or exigence is a subject not within my
province. But as it is important towards thorough comms
hension of the present state of affairs that some elucidation
should be offered of the manner in which the negotiation
was carried on between Colonel Wylde and the commission-
ers of the junta, inasmuch as its suXele or failure depended
in a great measure upon the confidence in our agent's good
faith and impartiality which the junta and its partisans felt.
Towards this object it is necessary to advert to the past,
and to hold in recollection the falsification of Colonel Wylde's
sentiments, of which Saldanha was confessedly guilty in the
month of November last ; and which avowed and notorious
falsification was never publicly refuted. The Junta natu-
rally conceived a mistrust of an agent who would permit his
acme to be used in the manner that Saldenha ventured to
put forward that of Prince Albert's aide-de-camp, and this
mistrust was very materially increased when the imputations
cast upon Col. Wylibt's proceedings at St. Übe's by Viscount
de Si became known at Oporto. It was concluded
there that the British commissioner, who could BO far
forget his position as to hold out tne threats which the
siseount states him to have done, must in some way or other
have compromised his character for impartiality, and as such,
' must be treated with in the most rigorous and distrustful
manner. Nor was this feeling diminished in the slightest
degree by the publication of the colonel's correspondence
with Vitamin, which corroborated in all its main features
the *mustiest made by Si, in his letter of May 3, and
copies of which I transmitte i in my last. Toe sentiment.
excited by this correspondence in the minds of the popular
chichi may be gathered from the following letter of the
Viscount de Si, which I find printed in the Spectre of
yesterday.
TO Tan ERROR Or TRZ "mom."
Pia, —A parer has been profusely diatrlbuled throughout Lisbon
which the edevoies of the nstimal muse to be a faithful
traagstice of a letter written by COL WTNs se tne ootnnender of
the forces of the Lisbon government on the south Ala of the Vogue,
and the (Adria (Gazette) dues not hesitate as pgalish kr a how-
went. giving it the utmost credit, in en artists of the lath Yining
Notwitbossultng the falsity of this suAscietd trigulotfre. the Dias*
mains seedless. as Use strength of It, wash albeit he sash • passer
the verde, gems as well as my own bower, Wet 1 ewilt set to
delay any Webber the refutation of tide snook; the which,
by tbs absesse at °Jowl Wyk* I ass awe alio as pre-
sent any hear haft him asyteg the mirk et the Wow
eorrvspondsins. Those saw Wee yelWa wW piettederly domed a
prompt denial. He seateh, firs, gm it was I who tegrehwel the ess-
pe.ioll of hostilities. La sager la grass the Mgr of ON awnsdom.
t eudiees to quote a letter *gag the lot hut, agirawial by as le tbe
mid colonel, a cagy ot whisk I amen. :Fawns elleetalY.
as Wept:wed is memo Ur meaty. tha tble ft will be eeadtat
fur me to stale lbw bogwyte wltidi 1 la Wend Wylie. ant
to the two saaNwfwimes who cewe beet lialrblWny Ma&

erganesert; request sae to suspend Istddies, was that Weltevw
=Om windmates/ might tear amongst foreign nauons, In
it lauded entirety the idea of pardon —a word that could
an certainly be applied so a whole nation, which had risen in order
to tuna the istreetiens of the Mutilation attempted by the coun-
seling oldie esown, and which had dons nothing more than make
nee of ile ladefeedble right, end drt Is no for r pasta or &manly
was euncerned, the was only mffeable to the peens' who had
adesapted to
subvertsu the feadearm.. tal bier of the kiagdotm—l beg you
to Mont this your meet number. (Slimed) Oa ea 8a1m...
At. Übes, May IS, 1117.
Extent trout a letter to Colonel Wylde from the Viscount
de Si, dated May 1, St. Übe's:
I have received, by Captain Weleverty, the oval indtetlon which
yon sent me to ma,e n y Ore, and to suspend hostilities. An kern as I
received it I gave orders to are no more ; but it no necessary to state
to you that the objets of my sortie hate been accomplished, and that
the bed, ry oonstructed by the enemy hr been destroyed. I have also
even under. that the Are le to be ressoad wherever the enemy dull
adeione towed. our positions. With respect to the cenatiOn of head-
lines, I have already shown my desire to dominate die struggle none.
ably in my rep, to Mr. Bultrer's letter, having ceased during
the apace of two days to make any attack. hot the enemy
during that time constructed a battery opposite to this town, and, as
je,,,,,e,opke of the forma, I ordered it to be detrupe., which has
been door. The seasons which I stated yesterday to you prevent me
Irmo enterine into a convention, but I are willing to Attain from
settee inottities, provided the enemy does so, and that be amts nut
attempt to ree..nstruCt the battery I have destroyed, or begin any
others; or I nay, march aide ional fence. loosen too town. In order
that the boaddiesoease likewne at 0r,., it es neeemery that the mo-
ttoes ships abstain from all seta on the offensive.
Whoever reads tins coo reepoudencis will at once see the
grounds which the junta and the popular party had for
the mistrust with which they regarded Colonel Wylde, and,
as the Viscount de Si Ism thrown • doubt over the authen-
ticity of the correspundeoce which I sent in my last, I ttink
it necessary to state, that with the exceptiou of one word,
" amnesty," substituted for " armistice," the letters are true
copies of those which passed between Vinttats and Col.
Wylde.
Haying now laid the main facts before you, it may be
necessary to advert to the state of pu,lic opinion here, with
regard to an armed intervention bring offered on the part of
England and Spain. There is no doubt that such a termina-
tion of this domestic and purely national struggle has been
most anxiously desired from the very beginning, lint the
qui scion e by whom has it bean thawed? If my own obser-
ration be not nit tether illusive, I must reply, by the
court, the d7;oletire, the placonten, and, in short,
by that fraction of the Pottugucse nation who are
dependent in some way or other upon the favour of the
reigning dynasty. The vast mass of toe people utterly abhor
the idea of a foreign power stepping in to decide the question
of domestic institutions, elections, and constitutional govern-
ment; nor tan 1 bring my mind to a belief tort England, or
her parliament, could sauctMn any step so utterly subversive
of her p -t policy as the armed intervention so much desired,
the eli et of which would be to place Portugal again in lead-
ing aril p. and to saddle our already overburt h. ned treasury
with the expense of maintaining 8,000 or 10,000 men hero
for an indefinite period, the withdrawal of a hum at any
moment would be the signal for an outbreak ten times more
significant and universal than that wttich is now about to be
quenched by such inatrumentality as that which I have above
described.
These are considerations which affect net a patty but