The Sun.
London, England, 1830-02-19 00:00:00

w:sest Statesmen had held necessary to the welfare 01 this
country, hail been torn asunder. Thus circumsnmred,
it fitting that Parliament shou'd show indifferen•e to the
important events passing before its eyes ? If it consented
merely to look on with apathy, notwithstanding what ha l
been said on a former night by the Noble Duke regarding
the inexhaustible wealth and resources •f this country, and
her capability of meeting a new war should it arise, people
would be found on the Continent malicious enough to attri-
bute our forbearance to other causes than indifference.
With regard to our existing relations with Portugal, lie
would not now fatigue the House by reference to the
many great authorities, who concurred with Lord Chatham,
that it was essential to our interests to maintain a good
understanding : he would appeal only to that event which
had been too much lost eight of in the course of dub:ac—
he meant the manner in which the Ministry of this coun-
try had windy interfered, in order, for its own sake, to
produce a separation between Portugal and the Brazils.
. To effect this object, not only had Sir C. Stuart been sent
to Lisbon, hut the Government of Great Britain hail
otherwise interposed, and had not allowed the inhabitants
of Portugal anti the Brazils to settle the question for them-
selves. When the separation was settled we became in-
terested in the terms of that separation, and without med-
dling with the Constitution, we declared to Portugal that
we bad a strong interest in the accomplishment of the ar-
rangement ; and indirectly and directly too we encouraged
those who through all history, from generation to genera-
tion, had been known as the British party in Partugal,
to declare for the Queen and for that species of Go-
vernment which I)on Pedro had annexed as the conditio❑
of hi, abdication. It was because Great Britain attached
value to that Constitution that she became a party to the
arrangements at Vienna, by which Don Miguel was re-
lieved from the just sentence under which he was
then suffering, on condition of giving it his support.
Ile was not disposed to enter into the general affairs of
Portugal ; hut as to the particular transaction at Terceira
he must make a few observations, because be agreed with
his Noble Friend (Lord Goderich,) that the honour and
character of the country were implicated. In the first
place he must declare that the conduct of Great Britain
was not conformable to any recognised law of nations;
and when the Nob'e Secretary of State made a solitary
quotation from a solitary author upon the point, he did
not seem aware that not a single word of it applied to an
attack upon the subjects of a friendly power upon the open
seas, on their way to one of the possessions of that friendly
power. If Don Miguel had been the very reverse of his
real character—if he hail been faitifid instead of treacher-
ous, and mild instead of cruel—and if this country lied
been anxious, on account of his many virtues, to show
him all acts of friendship, he should have contended
that Great Britain could have been justified in thus
pursuing his interests across the Atlantic. Ile had
the acknowledgment of the Noble Duke himself on this
point. The Noble Duke had well and strongly said in
that House, that when application was made to Govern-
ment for a guarantee for the ships in which the Portuguese
troops were going to cross the Atlantic, the answer was,
that no such guarantee could be given, fur that his Ma-
jesty was not King of the Atlantic. Why, then, his 31a-
jesty not being King of the Atlantic, slid his ships of war
attack these loyal Portuguese troops, proceeding:to;the spot
to which their Sovereign hail ordered them to proceed ;
proceeding to a spot in which uninterrupted loyalty had
prevailed ? No civil war nor any appearance of civil war
had occurred in Terceira. Of that fact he had the best
possible information. He held in his hand a letter from
a distinguished General Officer in that Island, who declared
that during the whole time that he had been there the
Government if the Queen had been universally acknow-
ledged in Terceira. Yet that was the place which it was
pretended by his Majesty's Government the loyal Portu-
guese troops from this country were proceeding to attack !
The Noble Secretary, therefore, was not justified in attri-
buting to any disloyal fouling at Terceira the interference
of his Majesty's Government, an interference from which
the French Government, though much lets bound
both by feelings of honour and considerations of interest,
had abstained. There could not be a doubt that under the
existing circumstances of Europe, the interest of Portugal
ought to be dearer to this country than ever. The Noble
Secretary of State did not appear to have adverted to the
different situation in which we were placed with respect
to the Continent by the events of the last two years. In
that period we had seen the whole power of Turkey,
" our ancient Ally," reduced. If we calculate on creating
any counterbalance to our loss of influence on the Conti-

neat by that occurrence, it could only be by creating an
independent power in Greece. In the meantime the inte-
rests of Portugal ought to be considered as identified with

our own. We had permitted France to obtain a prepon-
derating influence in Spain. ff it was our interest—aa no
one could doubt that it was our interest—to exclude the other
Continental Powers from the Peninsula, it was more than
ever our interest to maintain our ascendancy in Portugal.
That ascendancy must depend on the feelings of gratitude
and confidence entertained on that part of the Peninsula by
those who had looked, who still looked, and who, he
hoped, ever would look to England for friendly co-opera-
tion and assistance. He trusted, therefore, that if by any
" untoward event," by any inevitable misfortune, the con-
sequences of which might, he hoped, still be averted—
that if. from causes which were no longer in our power of
controul, although they had once been so, we were to be
brought:to a step humiliating3to our Sovereign and in-
jurious to Portugal, and be compelled to acknowledge a
Prince who had shown hisitself faithless to the one, and a
curse to the other, we should at least escape from the
utter and disgraceful sacrifice of our honour, by stipulating
for the security of the lives and property of these unfortu-
nate individuals, who had been induced by a succession of
appearances on our part to embark their fortunes in a cause
which had, unhappily, proved unsuccessful; and who, in
adhering to that cause, conceived that they were adhering
to their British connexion. Ile would vote for his Noble
Friend's motian, because it would enable the House to be-
come possessed of the circumstances which had driven the
country into the painful situation in which it was at pre-
sent placed.

The Duke of WELLINGTON spoke to the following
effect :—Although, my Lords, the difference of opinion
which has been manifested among the Noble Lords oppe..
site might render it unnecessary for me to trespass on year
Lordships' attention, yet I am desirous to address a few
words to your Lordships, and more particularly with re-
spect to Terceira. The Noble 'Viscount tegan his speech
by stating that we were bound to the Constitution which
had been granted to Portugal by Don Pedro. My Noble
Friend near me, however, as well as the Noble Viscount
on the upper bench, and the Noble Marquis who has just
spoken, have clearly proved that this country had nothing
whatever to say to that Constitution.' My Lords, if Mr.
Canning is to be believed on his repeated assertion, the
Noble Viscount has no ground for contending that this
country bad any thing to say to that Constitution. Mr.
Canning distinctly showed that Sir Charles Stuart, at the
time'when that Constitution was granted, was acting as the
Minister of Portugal, and as the Minister of Portugal
alone ; and that as Minister of Portugal he urged the Mi-
nisters of the Continental Powers to be tranquil, and to
give their support at Lisbon to the Constitution, on the
ground of the non-interference of this country in the grant
of that Constitution. So that, my Lords, it is impossible
that its this transaction this country can he said to have
interfered, or to have had any participatiom The Noble
Marquis who has just spoken, as well as the Noble Vis-
count on the upper bench, appears to misunderstand the
transaction in which Sir Charles Stuart was engaged at
Brazil, and which led to the grant of this Constitution.
Sir Charles Stuart was employed in the first instance as
the mediator of a treaty of peace between the Emperor of
Brazil and his father, King John of Portsgal. He did
mediate that treaty. Ile was at the same time Minister
Plenipotentiary of one of the belligerents, King John of
Portugal. Sir Charles Stuart did mediate the treaty of
peace ; the treaty was sigred, and it was not only signed
but ratified. lie was not only Minister from the King of
England to Portugal, but he went to the Emperor of
Brazil as the Minister of the mediating power. If, my
Lords, I wanted any proof besides Mr. Canning's word
that we had nothing to say to this Constitution, I should
find it in an examination of dates. King John died on the
10th of March. This event was known in Brazil on the 23d
of April. Between the 26th of April and 6th of May the
affair of the Constitution was concluded by Don Pedro
himself (for it appears that Sir C. Stuart had no infer-
ference in it); and it ended by Don Pedro's abdicating the
Crown of Portugal, and making it over to Donna Maria.
But lie did not abdicate before. The object of Don John
was to secure to his son Don Pedro the succession to the
Crown of Portugal. It is true that his son was not al-
luded to in the articles of the treaty; but in the ratification
of it Don John calls him his suceessor to the throne of
Portugal. In no way was it considered a British object.
It so happened, that after the Constitution was framed,
Don Pedro found that he could not maintain both Ge-
vernmeuts ; he, therefore, abdicated the Crown of Por-
tugal, and granted it to his daughter. These dates and
circumstances show that this country could have nothing
to do with the grant of the Constitution to Portugal.
The letters of Mr. Canning of the 12th and 16th of July
certainly contain a qualified recommendation to the Go-
vernment of Portugal to adopt the Constitution. But
those letters also state that if the Portuguese Government
did not choose to adopt that Constitution, this country
would still do every thing to contribute to the peace and
'welfare. of -Portugal. At the same time, Mr, Cau •
Ding

took all tie pains wiiieb man coula take—for the number
of letters which he wrote on the subject, and copies of
which are in the Foreign Office, is ineoneeiiral le—to con-
vince the various Powers of Europe that the Conetiotion
was the grant of the Sovereign, end that we had nothing
whatever to do with it. The Noble Viscount goes on,
and preteen's that there was something resulting from the
transactions at Vienna, which ought to have induced us to
take up this subject. My Lords, there was nothing in
the transactions at Vienna to lead to such a conchtsien.
We hail nothing whatever to say to the appointment of
Don Miguel as Regent of Portugal. Don Pedro first di-
rected Don Miguel to go to Brazil, which Don Miguel re-
fined to do. Without at all consulting us, Don Pedro ap-
pointed Don Miguel Regent of Portugal; and our Mi-
nister, at the Conference of Vienna, requested (without
having been instructed to do so) that he might be ;eit in
communication with Don Miguel in order to induce him
to visit England and carry with him into Portugal the au-
thority of the English Government. I say, therefore,
that the transactions at Vienna, or the previous transac-
tions at Brazil, bad no manner of connection with the
Constitution. Don Miguel certainly made Ui the deposi-
taries of his determination to carry the Constitution into
effect. So far he had undoubtedly committed a gross in-
dignity. But we bad not made any conditions with him,
and Lai therefore no claim upon hint on the subject.
The Noble Viscount has talked of the total abandonment
of what he called the English party in Portugal. Now,
my Lords, if there is any men who has a right to assert
that he knows more of Portugal than another, it is myself;
and I know of ne English party in that country. I know
a few Pertugnese who joined the French army on their in-
vasion of Portugal; but I know of no English party.- I
believe that, with the slight exception I have alluded to,
the whole Poi tuguese station is in favour of an alliance
with this country ; and, with that exception, that there is
not a man in Portugal who is not aware of the benefit
which Portugal derives from her connection with us. 'My
Lords, no man regret. more th Ido that those who have
supported the Constitution in Portugal have suffered for
do.n so ; but those who state that we were partirs
to the grant of that Constitution—who assert that
our sending troops to Portugal in 1826 and 1827
was a proof that we intended to support that Consti-
tution—and that the speeches of Ministers in Pailiameet,
or the speeches from the Throne, tended to show that we
were determined to support the Constitution and fore it
upon the people, have fallen into a mistake which I ahuost
rail criminal. A Noble Earl blames his Majesty's Go-
vernment because our army remained in Portugal after
the cessation of the necessity which had caused them to be
sent there—after the cessation of any apprehension of
foreign contest. It is true they did so remain. But I he-1
litre the authority by which they were permitted to re-
main acted rightly, and from the best metives. Our Go-
vernment was intreated by those who were at the head of
affairs in Portugal to allow the English troops to remain
until the arrival of the Regent. This application was
made in August or September, at which time it was be-
lieved that the Regent would be in Portugal in November;
so that to refuse the request to remain until the Regent
arrived, would have been unfair and unkind, and hostile
to the spirit of conciliation. The vessels which carried
and escorted Don Miguel to Portugal from England were
destined to bring the English army back; ant in those
vessels (with the exception of a small body detained by the
Ambassador) the army actual:y embarked in the end af
March. The Noble Earl says, that our army ought to
have prevented the earliest of those acts of which Don
_ _

Miguel was guilty, and of which the Noble Earl com-
plained. My Lords, the Officer in command of that army
was repeatedly directed, not only by those who sent out
that army, but by their successors, to keep clear of inter-
fering with the internal affairs of Portugal, except in as
far as the protection of the Royal Family might render
interference necessary. The Noble Viscount says cur Am-
bassador ought to have been recalled from Lisbon.
But I beg your Lordships to recollext the great ser-
: vice which that Ambassador rendered to this country and
tolairope, by preserving a complete unanimity in the
corps diplomatique at Lisbon, from the commencement to
the last moment. It must be also recollected that Don
Miguel's first acts were not so flagrant as those which fol-
lowed. If the Right Hon Gentleman who represented
his Majesty at the Court of Lisbon at that time had with-
drawn on the first word, the example would have been
followed by the Ambassadors of France, of Austria, and of
the other Powers; and there might have arisen a division
among the Sovereigns of Europe of the most injurious
character. In my opinion that Right Hon. Gentleman's
conduct was most meritorious. He proceeded step by
step, carrying with bins en every occasion the approbation
and concurrence of his colleagues ; and thus gave to the
representatives of the Sovereigns of Europe, headed by
himself, that character of union and vigour .whjch they
ought always to exhibit. My Lords, I have done the
English Ambassador only justice in describing his con-
duct; but I must also do my Noble Frieud near me, and
a Noble Lord on the other side of the House, the justice to
say that their directions were in exact conformity to the
principles en which he acted. I come now, my Lords, to
consider the subject of Terceira. But before Ido so, I
must beg to remind your Lordships of the situation in
which we stood after our Ambassador had withdrawn
from Portugal. We had still a Consul-General at Lis-
bon. We had still a treaty with Portugal ; and still en-
joyed all the commercial relations which existed under
that treaty ; and of course were bound to observe the
strictest neutrality, in the first place in the civil war
in Portugal, and in the next place in the war which
was likely to occur between Donna Maria and Don Miguel.

I say, my Lords, that we were bound to do so from, tlie

practice of preceding years. For many years—for above
one hundred and twenty years, and particularly of late
years, we hive avoided mixing ourselves with the internal
affairs of that kingdom. Since the year 1820, frequent
applications have been made to this country to interfere
with the internal concerns of Portugal. We received ap-
plications from the King of Portugal (applications which,
under the treaties that existed, were ,most difficult to
avoid)—for the purpose of enabling him to get the better
of the rebellion in the Brazils, which was then headed
by his eldest son and heir. We received applications from
the Republicans, who were at one time in possession of
Lisbon, to guarantee their Constitution, and to preserve
them from foreign attack ; but all of them were refused.
I say, therefore, that according to established practices,
we have invariably avoided all interference ; and with
respect to the disputes between the Emperor of Brazil
and the King of Portugal, we particularly stated
that between the two branches of the House of Bra-
gauze we would not interfere. Under such circum-
stances, we were particularly bound to be neutral iu these
contests, and when we found that a body of men bad as-
sembled in this country—men in garrison at Plymouth, on
the footing of troops, what were we to do ? The first that
I heard of them—the first application that reached me con-
cerning them, was from the Marquis of Barbacena, pro-
posing that they should lee sent to Terceira under the con-
♦oy of a detachment of his Majesty's fleet. My Noble
Friend has complained, that in my answer I misrepresented
this applications of the Marquis. All that I can say is,
that throughout this correspondence I never mentioned
suck a word as Terceira. On the contrary, I always
considered the Azores as a whole, and that fact I take to
be a complete answer to most of the observations of my
Noble Friend, as well as the Noble Marquis.;. and, my
Lords, I think that I should not have performed my duty
to this country (remembering that it was to be neutral
throughout), if I bad allowed a body of troops to assemble
here for the purpose of being carried to the Azores, there
to carry on a war against the Sovereign de facto of that
place. We had nothing to say to their going thither from
France, or the Netherlands, or any other country; but
from this country it was impossible that we could permit
it. But my Noble Friend says that in a subsequent part
of his correspondence, any Noble Friend, the Secretary for
Foreign Affairs, considers the Azores as a part of Africa,
while I consider them as a part of Europe. I can assure
your Lorilehips that on this punt I did not for a moment
stop to consider whether they belonged to Europe or to
Africa. What I did was to consider how I might best
prevent any breach of neutrality, and as to where the
Azores were situated I did not care. Then Vie Noble
Secretary for Foreign Affairs is supposed to have given
permission for the export of arms to the Azores in Africa;
but my quotation from that letter was to state the subter-
fuge which bad been resorted to in saying that the men
were unarmed, when, in fact, there they would find
arms. This was the subterfuge which I exposed—a sub-
terfuge indecent for a Minister Plenipotentiary to have
practised on the Noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs.—
There has been a great difference of opinion as to what was
the law of nations ; but I took a high opinion on the sub-
ject, and wss assured that it was no breach of the law to
prevent the art ival of those troops at Terceira. But it has
been said that at least notice ought to have been
given to the Captain and seamen of the ships.—
I, however, have every reason to believe that the
Captain and the seamen were not exactly ignorant
of what was going on. They took out bills of lading
to go to Brazil, but it happened that with the men that
they had on board they were not nearly provisioned suffi-
ciently to teach that Empire. I admit, however, that
this is no excuse for the Government, if we ought to have
given notice. But what really happened? As soon as
they appeared off the Azores they did receive notice
they were told that they roust not go in. And what fol-
lowed ?—Did they giro up the Attempt? No they