The Sun.
London, England, 1808-09-23 00:00:00

CONVENT/ON IN PORTUGAL.

.._ The whole of cotnpa3 is so genetaily
pro. ed by the Public, that there would be s.tite
gratification in discovering the invalidi;) of out; e: c t 3
of its s;iptikitions ; for all are its s tmc de-
gree offensive, the greater, because they are itijuri-
ous to our interests and honour, the less, b,-rouse
-they requite something irreconcileable to a com-
mendable pride. The ankle which permits 1i
French army ,to dispose of their " immoveable" pr or.
perty, being unjust towards our ally, is therefore d*
hohourable to ourselves. We have some hope, that
it may be shewu,to Ise invalid.
The .Commanlers of the British army,- though
PlenipotentiarieS as to all contra is merely military,
had no political powers—they wet e notAmbas-sadois

appointed to negotiate treaties interfering with the
political tightS,or demands of any State whatsoever.
Now the immoveanle property of the French in:
Poi tugal can only be such estates as'BUONAPARTS
may have declared confiscated, in consequencTot
pretension that the Royal Family of that country
may
,be proscribed, and their rights exercised
L had not happened that he. had disposed ut
the Crown, but he had .promised to du so ; he lead
summoned Portuguese• Deputies to Paris, to, be tbd
receivers. of anew Constitution, and he I;ad, in the
mean time, exercised by his own power all, and
more than all, the-Royal rights. By the aut:horily;
of one of these he had created his General Daiwa
A brantes, an ancient territorial title, accompanied no
doubt with the estate and town of that name lying
upon the Tagus. JUNOT theretore tnis esPN
not as booty won in battle, not as any military ac'

quisition whatSwver, not even by any unlitary
urination, of in any military mode. A fiece of paper
signed by BLIONAPARTE at Paris tra4stets it to hui3.
He receives it from an authority pretending to ei e.c
. cise a political right, a right which BUWZAPARre
would have acknowledged io exit in the ,lawily
Braganza, before he proscribed them. The traos-
. adion• is purely political. To stipulate that it shidl•
ihtiure and remain in effect is, therefore, a politicA
ad. • It• is pretending to prolong, by alit restored
authority of the country, that which the
.13stieper 140-1
done by his pretended authority. it is assuming to
do. what Sir N. DALRYMPLE could not be entitled to
do, if even, instead of being a meie military Com-
► mander, he had been a political Plempotuntiary Irmo
England—what none could do but -some person
erosing the authority of the resto.ed Pi ince 4)f Por-
tugal.
It this be tine, if-General DALRYMPLE, hl ft-cog"
nizing' the right to sell this, or any other estate s
granted, has gone beyond the limits-of the charader
with which JONor knew him to be invested, it
would be a waste of words to expatiate upon tle
invalidity of this clause of the Convention. A bar-
gain is not void li).,cause it is a bad one for either
party, but it is' void it either party was withoat
right to baraiti at ail. lie that treats with an agog
upon matters in which tie knows no agency wo
granted, merely takes the•chance of the negligence/
or 'subsequent inctination-of the principal, and hit 4
nothing to complain of when the latter taticels the
treaty. Gen. DALRYMPLE, in extending his near
military authority to political transaCtion s, did whai
•

JUNOT knew could not stand upon drat authority.
The clause may therefore be annulled ; and his Slte
jesty, we hope, will be advised to cancel it, as
for the sake of expressing the feeling he is belie
to have upon the whole subje-,t, as for that of she"':
ing a wise and honourable delicacy towards thoy,'-!
an old ally.
Although, unfortunately, these colsidentions 21:6
applicable only to one condition, far interior in jar;
portatice to others, the question is not utiworilly
attention. If the term •‘‘ immoveable propurtyy
include,. as surely- it must, the estate of Abranio
and if the clause be permitted to remain in force., zbei
purchaser of that estate, whom the Prince ReSoil
allay viy'cli consider as the tuere receiver stolc:.*
property, would be encouraged tu confront the Pliticc;
upon his return, and to tell hini,.that he holes by ll},
tenure of a Convention signed by a British Geneor,
The Prince, we may suic, would not aspect 5-IcA
a title; but shall we, it we fairly [nay prevent it,
we leave it to him to undo what an Engiinli
ought not to have done ?