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

' protest y No !—tut tiley l'oPowea their contge Until at
last, by a superior force, they were obliged to turn about.
Now, let me ask your Lordships, if a notice at sea is not
an good as one at port? if not, we are certainly to
blame ; but I put it to your Lordship, that they had
ample notice before a shot was fired, and that in spite of
that notice, they persisted in continuing their course. In
the whole course of these transaction', I meat say that
the Government has proceeded with the utmost caution in
every particular. To prevent a Ereach of neutrality, we
heerfered to remove the men front Plymeuth. This dee,
not appear from the papers, but at a conversation, at
which my noble Friend (the Secretary for Foreign eV.-
fairs) was present, I intreated them to send these men
away from Plymouth, and a 114 Of towns was made out
on their own statement of the number of persone at Ply-
mouth, they being told that we would give them every
assistance in our power. But their object was subse-
quently avowed—that they were kept together at Ply-
mouth for the purpose of keeping the Portuguese Go-
vernment in terror. Surely then it was impossible for
us to countenance them. The Noble Viscount him-
self admits that we could not permit them to continue
here; indeed, how cee.ld it, when at the moment
this concentration W3S going on, we received intel-
ligence that they were levying other troops at Lu-
beck, at Hamburg, at Bremen, and even in Fian-
dere—though this, on subsequent inquiry, did not
turn out to be exactly the case ? -Nor was this all. Let me
ask your Lordships, was it decent or proper to send an offi-
cer to Plymouth, expressly to take command of the depot
there ? What is the meaning of a depot ? Does it mean
merely a number of individuals, or a body of troops? My
Lord, it is evident that they were troops, and I cannot but
feel sorry for the attempt that was made to deceive ns. I
am aware that it was in the power of Government to adopt
a legal mode of dispersing these men; but we could not
have adopted that merle, without raising much more noise,
much more objection, and much more opposition than the
course we did pursue. We therefore followed the track
we did, for the purpose of showing that body of men-
for the purpose of showing the world—and for the
purpose of showing Portugal and Brazil that we were
determined to preserve our neutrality. But let us sup-
pose that Don Miguel had sent to us to say that there was
a body of men stationed at Plymouth, for the purpose
of invading his dominions on the first opportunity that
presented itself, what were we to here done? Was I
to say " No! No such men are here! No such thing !"
Or was Ito say " True, they are here, but I won't dis-
perse them ; I won't prevent their invading your domi-
nions?" Why, my Lords, if so, what was to become of
our neutrality ? Were we to go to war for the purpose
of protecting those very people who had thus insulted his
Alsj,sty and the honour of the country? I must say that
my Noble Friend does not appear to have considered the
difficulty of the ease, or of the peculiar position in which
we are plac,d. Since that time, however, these people
have found their way to Terceira ; and I sincerely Lope
that this country may not feel the inconvenience of that
occupation of the Azores. But, my Lords, if the other
countries of Europe had done their duty as we did ours,
there would have been a better chance of the preservation •
of its peace, as fur as may result from the recent transac-
tions between Portugal and Brazil, than there is at the
present moment. Not that I Lave any apprehension of
there being a war on this account, though I must say that
the situetions of things at Terceira is not what it ought to
be, or what it would have been, had the other countries of
Europe done their duty. I have already told your Lord-
*hips that I shall object to any other Papers on this sub-
ject being produced. The case stands precisely as it (lid
when this question was last before the House ; and I sin-
cerely hope that your Lordships will not insist on the fur-
ther production of Papers till Government shall advise his
Maj-•sty to lay them before Pal liament.
Viscount MELBOURNE replied. lie had beard with
satisfaction from the Noble Lord that he would not agree
to any arrangement which did net provide an amnesty. If
the Noble Lord could succeed in obtaining that amnesty,
he would effect—not indeed a care for all the evil which
had been inflicted, hut at least all the palliation that was
left. At that late hour he would not go further into de-
tail ; but there was one point on which the Noble Duke
was mistaken, and which he was desirous of setting right.
The Noble Duke had stated that he (Lord Melbourne) had
expressed himself apprehensive that the English party
would be lost in Portugal. What he bad said was, that
Portugal itself would be lost to England, and that both
parties in that country would avoid supporting ns. But
whatever arguments, or whatever opinions might be urged,
it would he remembered that his Motion was only for fur-
ther information, and he thought that sufficient ground
had been made out for that.
Their Lordships then divided—

For the Motion 9l
Against it

Majority. against the Uotion —.--31
Adjourned at Ekren o'clock.

HOUSE OP COMMONS-(LAST NIGHT.)

Mr. BROUGHAIif took the oaths and his seat as
Member for the Borough of Knaresborough.

Mr. MACAULEY took the oaths andiiis seat as Mein
Ler for the Borough of Caine.