The National Register.
London, England, 1823-01-06 00:00:00

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Waal, while they shared in the booty by places and
pensions, sod were enabled to treble their rent-rolls,
while the starving mechanic was purchasing for his
half-famished children flour at from six to eight
shillings • peck—these men are the first to bellow
about " agricultural distress" at the very moment
that they scut know the present distress (of nor
only the agricultural, but of every other class whose
distresses are equally great, but are borne with more
fortitude than the agriculturists possess)has been pro-
duied by the infernal system, which, for the sake of
placing an impotent King upon the throes of
France, expended eighty four millions of English
bard-earned money in one year ! !—the suffering of
this guilty part of society cannot be too great—we
only lament that the innocent must suffer with
them.
The last despatches from Spain du not give us the
ultimatum of the Cortes upon the impudent demands
of France, but all accounts lead us to believe the
French Court are now deeply impressed with the
danger of their contemplated enterprise, and think
with us that the odds would be against Louis's re-
maining on the Throne if he attempted to interfere
with Ferdinand's Subjects—Hare is thus likely to
be preserved, rather from the fears of the aggressor
than from his rectitude of principle.

Two Lisbon, mails have just arrived, with Papers
to the. 14th of last month. They contain a keg
detail of the proceedings of the Cortes, respecting
the refusal of the Queen of Portugal to take the
Oath to the Constitution. The reason her Majesty
assigns for not taking the oath is, that she had made
a promise never to swear, either for good or evil,
during her life; that she did not adopt this course
through haughtiness, or from hatred to the Cortes,
but merely because she had passed her wor I. This
resolution was followed by a decree of the King, on
the 4th ultimo, stating, that in consequence of the
Queen having refused to take the oath to the Con-
stitution, she had lost all her rights, civil and poli-
tical, belonging to her character of Portuguese Ci-
Osten, or to the dignity of Queen, and that she must
depart from the Portuguese territory forthwith.—
In the Sitting of the Cortes of the 11th, the affair
of her Majesty was again brought forward by M.
Ascursio das Neves, who moved that proceedings
should be instituted, after the manner of the Queen
of England, to know whether the Queen, by refus-
ing to take the oath of adherence to the Constitu-
tion. had violated the law. The motion was referred

to the Special Committee to examine the affair.—
The Cortes are evidently very much impressed with
the necessity of making common cause with the
Spaniards, to secure the independence of the Penin-
sula. On the 6th the project of a decree was
read, for raising the regiments of the line to their
ormer field establishment. The deplorable state of
the Portuguese navy was also brought before the
Cortes by the Minister of Marine, on the 9th. At
present it consists. only of three ships of the line,
eight frigates, nine corvettes, and five brigs, all of
which are old, and will not be fit for service in a few
years. At Rio Janeiro there remained three of the
lire, three frigates, two corvettes, and one brigan-
tine, almost all of them good ships. It was also
ordered, on the motion of Sr. Fonseca Rangel, that
the necessary information should be asked of the
Goverament, in what the Cortes might designate a
constitutional manner, the amount of the force ne-
cessary to be maintained by land and sus, and that
the Minister for Foreign Affairs be ordered to ac-
quaint the Cortes with the state of political relations
with foreign nations.
The. Duke of Sussex was likely to have made a
fatal mistake a few days since at Bognor, by taking
a wrong embrocation that was intended Jim fomenta-
tion: the mistake he discovered immediately, and
bad recourse to swallowing a large quantity of warm
water, which had the effect of bringing the whole
off his stomach, and very soon relieved him from the
prrs dose : he found no other ill effects but tom.
y