The Sun.
London, England, 1808-08-11 00:00:00

T war, which was afterwar& confirmed with
11.,isbia, and which" might yet perhaps have saved
Europe, if the unlon' of the Governments %%licit di-
E itift it had been as close as it should have been, still
retarded he execution of the views of the Emperor
of the French with regard to the Court of Portugal,
and it was only by concluding the Peace of Tilsit,
that the Conn of thelluillieries, in a dictatorial tone,
finch as mi;ht becomp Charlemagne addressing-.the
Pre des, Whtse Sovereign he was, caused the strange
'donian,l to be made to the Court of Portugal, through
the nie&urii of the French Charge d'Affaires, and
by the Si-,anish Ambassadors,
I. To shih up the ports of Portugal against England.
z. To.dcrain all Englishmen who resided in Portugal.
3. To confiscate all English property.

In case of retusal, the alternative-for the Court of
'Portugal was to expose itself to an immediate war
with France and Spain S because the French Charge
d'Affaires and the Ambassadors of Spain had orders
to depart 'the Ist of September, about three weeks
atter • the said proposal was made, in case that the
Court of Portugal shonld not comply. with all the
pre tensions of the two Courts.. The good faith of
the French Governtnent is no less remarkable with
regard to the celerity with which, after having made
tha: declaration, and without waiting for the answer
of the'Court of Portugal, it ordered - all Portuguese
merchant ship§ to be detained, which were in the
ports of France, and by that measu'e actually began
hostilities without any previous declaration of war,
atii thus carried to a far greater length all the proceed-
ing4' which formed its continued topic of reproach
against England, which after such a conduit, will be
initly valued.

The Court ti Portugal Might then well have
adopted the known .maxim of the Romans, and
been convinced, that disgraceful conditions frequent-
ly saved, those who refuse them, and brought destruc-
tion over those by whom they were proposed; but
on the are side it could not believe that the Court of
t!itt Thuiileries made in.earnest proposals which com-
n,i, ted both its honour and its dignity, and on :the
other side it hoped to ward off the storm, desirous of
sparing the Wood of its people; and .placing
plicit confidence in the friendship .of his 'Britanni,c
Majest), its old and faithful Ally, it endeavoured to
render ,the pretensions of the French Government
mote moderate, by acceding to the shutting up of
the ports, and refusing the other two-articles as
contrary to the principles of the ptiblie law, and
to the treaties which subsisted between the two
Natieos ; and his. Royal Highness the Prince Re-
gent of Portugal had no hesitation to declare, that
those articles wounded equally his religion and the
principles of morality, from which he,• never devi-
ates, and which are perhaps the cause of the un-
• Ahaken fidelity which he has experienced. on the part
of his subjects.
. The Court of Portug.al then began to adopt mea-
' surel for securing its retreat to that part of the Por-
tuguese dominions which is not exposed to any in-.
vasion, the Conseqtiences which of might create
alarm. For that -purpose it ordered all Ships of War
fit to keep at sea, to be fitted out,, and al3O directed
all the 'English to leave its dominions, and sell their
preperty, with 'an intention to shot the ports against
England, in order thus to ,avoid an effusion of the
blood of its, subjects, which would probably have
proved useless, and to endeavour to comply with
the views of the Emperor of the French, in case he
should not allow himself to be softened down by
th;o justice with which the Court of Portugal as-
serted the rights Of it's independence along with those
which resulted' from the Treaty of Neutrality con-
eluded 16 1.1504. The Court of the Thuilleries was
'unwilling to agree to any conciliatory measures, hay-
,not only demanded the shutting up the ports,
but the imprisonment of all British subjects, the CPII-
- of their property, acid a derelitlion of the
project of a retreat to Arneric3. His. Royal High-
. ;less the Prince Regent of Portugal, who kneW, on
the one hand, that his Britannic Majesty, his true
and old Ally, was informed of all the transaelions
which were going on, would consent to the-shuithig
up of the pits, in order to save Portugal from the
invasion of the French, and. who was convinced on
the of her "side, t hat there was no longer any English-
etiao in.Pdriteol who was not naturalized, and that
all English:property had been sold, and even its'.
uwount exported, adopted the resolution to shut up
the ports against England, and even to comply with
the rest of the demands and pretensions of France,
declaring, however, at. the same time, that shou4d
the French troops enter Portugal, his Royal Highness
a; firmly resol ye& to remove tile seat of Government
to Brazil,
,which formed the most lirrportant, and
best defended part of his dominions. His Royal
Highness then ordered the whole of the army to
Move to- the coast and sea ports, supposing tf.at
i'ratice had obtained all she demanded, she would
have nothing else to ask ; he . confided in that good
faith which ought to be considered the fundamental •
.erinciple in every Government which has ceased
to be reeolutionary, and felt conscious, that hav-
ing done- every thing. in 'his power to secure the
traitquillity-of his people, and avoid the useless
orue-on of }boil; he had titiltilicd all the duties of a
virtulius •Ptince, adored by his subjects, and who
to the Supreme Being alone has to account fOr his

The Freud.] Government then observed a line of
conduct towards hiss Royal 'Fhghnes, and his domi-
nions, which .would be- tinprecedeantd in history,
were not the invasion of Switzmland by France, at
the tithe of th::. Executive Dire'ziory, of a similar de-
scription. General Junot, without any previous
declaration, ..vit hoot the consent of his Royal High-
lit'Js the Plinte Regent of Portugantered the
knildom with the vanguard of his army, assuring
the pool !e in the country, that he was-marching
_through li to succour his Royal Highness against an
i,ivasion, and the English and that he entered P0r-
n:...1.1 the General of a friendly and allied Power.
ire I.eceived on his journey convincing proofs of the
:aith of the Portuguese G,vernment, for he
T,d t i,e pe: feu eaiine.s which prevailed with
reg.:rd to Prance, 'and that all the Portuguese troops
tip t:ie coast. His Royal Highness the
P uce ot Portugal, surprised in such ail extraortli-
manner, might have_ rallied round him the body
of zroopc wlii,dtwelre-at a small distance front him,
caused' the English Fleet to enter the pert nt Lisbon,
and tties'eut tO pieces the small and miserable corns
whiLh Gvnerat' Junot was advancing:
tPrII4-ri: V which would be•
bad
st Gat.lui t, whom his conduCt in Venice and:
Lisbon but too well tnadc known, relied on the feel