The Express.
London, England, 1847-04-26 00:00:00

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

THIS DAY, Four o'Clock.
NEWS FROM PORTUGAL.

By the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Iberia, arrived to-day at Southampton, we have intel-
ligence from Gibraltar to the 13th, Cadiz 16th, Lisbon
21st, Oporto 22nd, and Vigo 23rd inst.
The following is the letter of our Lisbon corres-
pondent:
LISBON, Arnie. 20.
In a hasty postscript to my last of the 15th (per
Nautilus) I errand that the council of state, which had
been summoned to &Vont* and dlkidis upon the
tions offered by the Dein gerweiniefft toDefida7fra:
for the purpose of tormenting the protracted and
ruinous struggle now rig on here, had. unanimously
agreed that they Id be recommended to the
queen for her • and adoption. Owing to the
short notice whi.l I of the decision, I was not able
to enter into par-inlets:ond it may therefore, perhaps, be
advisable to state that her majesty presided in person at the
council wherein the lugged:ions of Lord Palmerston were
thrusted, and that it was with her own royal sanction that
the denim rein-red to was come to. Nevertheless, there
was a certain degree of reserve attendant upon the decision,
whisk teak its rise, es I have already hinted, in the petsonal
sidamense that hare sprung out of the unhappy position of
ratal akin in this country. It appeared to some of
'Maria's ads hen that • general amnesty could not
with safety be greeted, unless there was reserved to her
Msgesty a certain, though somewhat limited, power of tx-
Ilil=itiso far a I segarled individuals who had taken
• t pert in the rebellion which bat had such humi-
liatiag results to h.rself. etteptions to the general
co.a.froti
anutesty were,
_after • diteunon, and much heal-
tattedon hated( set the pineal, reluctantly!
sensted to, seadalostelprial la Men what the result of
this pretreated intervention will be. At present,
however, there less been as tsetateves taken by the
ostensible and responsible Of the Qgeen, who, it
would seem: an sac • to adopt and to act
upon suggestin 041 of which would
be to eerie& long and henry
beim of d.., dents RUM the emoluments of office.
In this rens* the ministers of Donna Maria re-
semble nothing so much as a certain individual immortal-
ised by Prior (who understood diplomacy and its tools
tolerably well)
/le fitted the bolter, then traversed theme;
nat often took leave, but aemo loth to depart—"
With regard to the exceptions whisk it it tinged are
necessary to be made in the general amnesty contemplated,
the two principal winos whose names bare been
mentioned in this sense, are Manuel Passes (brother
of Jose the Vice-President of the Junta) and Count
the Ants. The name alleged for • this exclusion
is, that it is expediebt, for the maintenance of the
royal dignity, that there should be some power re-
"erred to the crown of i remising its prerogative of mercy
and grace, and therefore that a certain margin must be pre-
served to Donna Marie, within which she may hereafter
show her power of portioning and restoring the offenders to
their former dignities, and social privileges. This mounds
very plausible, and in point of fact may be even adnfssible,
but illy the individuals who are thus selected for
paatrhmont are not so guilty as those who, for
their Olen Mean and selfish purposes, have trifled with
the Mgnity citing sovereign, and induced her Majesty
le eat In a ellionsr utterly inconsistent Dither with
bet elita persessal prerogatives and attributes, or with the
Onstinetionalleams of the kingdom over which she was, by
new of her acceptance of those forms, called to rule. The
Tarve the hush though perhaps politic exclusion which
e to
referred to is the voluntary engagement that, as soon
as it can with safety be done. the royal pardon shall be ex-
tended to the Imaished men, and that in the meantime they
shall preserve their rank and pay if they are in the orrice
of the state, and if not, that an adequate allowance shell be
made to them out of the funds of the kingdom in order to
prevent their being in want daring their exile. And this is
the Portuguese amnesty!
The military movements that have occurred since I last
wrote are neither brilliant nor remarkable.
Baron de Fos and his division hare re-entered Lisbon.
This, together with the men brought by the Duke of Cornwall
from Firms, and a contingent of cavalry from Schwa-
lock's force, make the evadable force of the government at
therrta to amount to something more than 2,600 men
of fighting capacity. They talk of increasing this ions
to ,000 men, and then of in search of the enemy, bat
there may happen to be some impedimenta in the way.
Vinhaes is said to be in nomination for the command of this
" Army of the South."
Respecting Oporto all I kaow is bounded by the date of
the 16th, on whisk in a letter was written to me, from
which I make the %Mowing extract. The writer is a man of
high intelligence and the most perfect integrity, utterly un-
expected with either of the two belligerent parties:
"On Sunday lest (April 11), there 'wee • review held
ben : it was the first tine I had • fair opportunity of seeing ,
the troops aseezabled: wally they approved in most excellent
floe.
o. Dbriadas Any,tasantsasemeson.tareedrtt oonintinmang
themselvesd; ona ifr.tinmg
ghat
liklestaelva sad Tres as Routes, preferring to were here
. fee sieng se Oliveira d'Asesnais. From Saldanha's head-
. Ilieeetere several deserters have come in the last few days. It
Wars he is in • very difficult position ; cash is wanting slid
his horses climax has made great havock, besides
himself obliged to seed for (Geller from a very great
so much so, that even from Lisbon straw has been
..: to Aveiro. At Villa Real, Chaves, and Rego, forced
. hare bosh levied by Oral, in the Queen's
I have lbena a gentleman who received a
satin itige thearantastes, that he had been taxed
under sudsyea take a map, and begin
at Chaves, earl • .Jos Villa Pones, thence to
Villa Real, soh tom to tie, yea vet lid test Carol
hasefeest dilleel she the wealthiest
district in the teeth, but that illirtlisot attempted to
enter it. This denotes caulies, as many of the farmers
hold large quantities of MOM value in their houses, but
the character of the distriet gmerally is, in case of an insult,
to turn out to avenge the seatia'
In addition to this iaftgmation, I learn from another
source that Saldanha remains at his former quarters, and
that the Oporto Junta have sent • force across the
river, at Carvoeiro, of about 1,200 men, probably with the
view of holding the duke ia check, and of preventing him
from detaching any more troops to the south.
At the time that the latest intelligence was dispatched
(rem St. Übe's the steamers Minden* and Porto were lying
off the port. It appears some troops were brought thither
by one of them, but it is ascertain whether these came from
Algarve or the Oland of St. Michael, where the 4th Regt. of
Cegadores has lookbeeen in readiness to join the Junta of
Oporto. As oaly t days is required for the voyage thither
and back, it is poem that this supposition may prove cor-
rect, but I only give it now as such, and not as fact.
The Count de Mello recently (on the 18th) came
in contact with • Spanish gentleman attached to
the Lisbon corselets, and whether seriously or
ironically I cannot say—invited him to dine with him in the
capital on the 23rd. It is expected that the force collected I
at St. Übe's, and in that direction, will march upon Salve
Terra or Villa Francs; and cross the Tagus there, in order to
wry out the projested attempt on this city.
There waa an ontheen at Ciatra on Thursday, the 15th
instant, which ten Immediately quelled by a detachment
sent hence. Boma prisoners (poor peasants) have since been
brought in and put into a prison here.
The Specesse.lfie. 41, gives an amusing anecdote of the
official bearing date British consul here, en the occasion of
moving theCemums, 74, up to the Black lloreenuare anche.r-
sge, whin, as it te ponlectly true, is worth mentioning. Is
appears the 'Ambulant notice to Mr. Smith of the intention
of the British govantesent to move the man-of-war up the
river, sod requital him to notify to the public 'at large that
the only intestine wee to protect British ships and
Property. This aides, escorting to the Spectre, was duly
pewee up by the lannal is his own Moe, and nowhere else,
to the following Whet:
" Alike ii liffiNbyillVel,tbai bit ltajeety's shi Canopies
has bees elatiseed off the Terrain de Pepe kg the Pi=
of she greledies to the Ives owl ',sporty of