The Sun.
London, England, 1822-12-24 00:00:00

DECEMBER 14.

We are gratified in being able to assure our readers, that
they may regard as official the information which we gave in
our paper of 'Wednesday last, respecting the project of alliance:
between the two nations of the Peninsula, which are destined
by nature to form one single family, and to be united both in
their political and commercial interests.

Our Lisbon correspondent, whais in every respect worthy of
our confidence, informs us, in addition to what he had before
stated, that the Portuguese Ministry, observing the progressive
increase of the French army • of the Pyreneess had considered
the conduct of that (government as an example worthy of imi-
tation in an inverse sense, and that though they did not think
that those forces were destined to effect an invasion into the
Peninsula, they had, notwithstanding, hastened to enter into
the generous and patriotic views of Senhor Freyre de Andrade,
Portuguese Ambassador at Madrid, at the same time disre-
garding every difficulty which might have obstructed the pro-
gress of so important a negotiation.

, Our correspondent says, that the bases of the treaty were
finally agreed upon between the two Ministers, and that there
is no.doubt, from the zeal, patriotism, and activity of Senor S.
Miguel, that the formality of its signature will speedily be
accomplished. If this formality be not yet executed, the only
cause of its delay must consist in the discussion of an inci.
dental question, respecting a material and purely regulative
object ; but this affair is of too little importance to retard for
any considerable time the conclusion of a treaty, anxiously,
desired by every lover of the liberty, the glory, and the hide.'
pezdeuce of the two nations of the Peninsula.

PORTUGAL.

LISBON, DEC. 4.
MEETING O 1 THE ORDINARY •CORTES.

On the Ist instant the Ordinary Cortes as-
sembled, and opened their first session. The
business ,commenced by the deputation, which
had been directed to inform the King that the
Cortes were installed, reporting that they had
fulfilled their mission. Senhor Trigoso stated
that lie had addressed to his Majesty the follow-
ing Speech :
" Senhor—As soon as the Cortes were, conformably tc arti-
cle 79 of the Constitution, installed, they appointed a deputa-
tion to inform your Majesty thereof, and to inquire whether I

:onrenxtt.o
maintain,
your Majesty is to be personally present at the opening of the
st:sesisoann,c wtuhaircyh
ois f fitxheedeoforrteths et
hlesyt ofh al::
just
cuasntb
se
dis‘c4haFrii
meats of love and respect for the person of your Majesty, with
ethoftfiltiolle)isreradu'etrisesofbtyheanCoanctstsiotnctoionnfoani Lnaabwl,ewtioricthhewsienthtiin.
the Deputies will experience a real pleasure in commencing the
which they cannot fail to be penetrated both as Portuguese, and
as representatives of the Portuguese nation.
" The deputation, faithful interpreters of these truly noble
sentiments, are persuaded that your Majesty will have for the
present Cortes the same favour and esteem which you enter-
, tained toward the Constituent Cortes, and that your Majesty
will keep the promise which you made in this place, when you
said,—' Whenever the Constitution permits, it will always be
particularly agreeable to me to be in the midst of the national
representation.' "
His Majesty replied as follows :
" You have informed me, Senhores, that the Cortes are in-
stalled. You may assure them that your message affords me
the highest satisfaction, inasmuch as I take a sincere and con-
sistent interest in seeing the work of the political regeneration of
the Monarchy consolidated by regulating laws, and because I
entertain the well-founded hope that the labours of the ordinary
Cortes will demonstrate the wisdom of the elections, and make
a complete return for the confidence of the nation."
A letter from the Ministers was afterwards read, which stated
" That his Majesty had resolved to be present at the opening
of the Cones, and had given the necessary orders for fulfilling
that intention to the officers of his palace ; but that his Ma-
jesty felt himself seriously indisposed by the same disorder
under which he had laboured for some days past, and therefore
could not enjoy the satisfaction of personally participating in
that august and solemn proceeding:"
A short time after the President announced that the Minis-
ters of State were in attendance to act in the name of his
Majesty.
The Ministers were then introduced into the hall of the
Cortes with the proper formalities, after which they took their
seats on the lower platform to the left of the President.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs rose and read the following
communication addressed to him by his Majesty, and entirely
written by his royal hand :
. "As the Session of the Cortes is to open to-morrow, and I
fear it will be impossible for me to be present, I wish you, when
my speech is read, to state to the Congress my regret at not be-
ing able to fulfil my anxious desire to co-operate personally in
therceremony of that national festival.
• (Signed.) " TIIE KING DON JOHN Vl.''
The Minister then stated to the Congress, that notwithstand-
ing his Majesty had written the above letter yesterday, he had
this day caused.himself to be removed from the Quinta de Al-
feite to the 'Palace de Bemposta, with the design of making an
effort to attend the Cortes, but that his iudisposition had in-
creased, and the Physicians opposed his leaving the Palace.
The following Speeeh of his Majesty was then read :
" Senhores,—Your assembling in this august Hall on a day
celebrated by the liberty and independeace of the Nation, is a
motive for me to congratulate you on the confidence with which
your fellow-citizens have distinguished you, at the same time
that I recommend to your consideration the subjects of great
importance with which you will have to be occupied.
" The Constituent Cortes, by settling the conditions of the

social compact, "have fixed•the rights of citizenship and the li-
mits of civil freedom. •l:n forming the Constitution to which we
have sworn, they planned and commenced a magnificent work,

the completion of which is by the law and the choice of the na-
tion entrusted to your hands. SO much the more difficult, there-
fore, mustrit be for you to fulfil the duties which you have taken
upon yourselves, if your labours are to correspond with the con-
fidence of your fellow-citizens.
" Yes, Seethores ! great intelligence and much firmness are
wanting for the completion of the details of those regulating
laws, on the wisdom of which depends the triumph of the Con-
stitution over the rebellion of a constantly refractory egotism.—
Fortlinately, the Portuguese people in general love the Consti-
tution, because .they are sensible of the necessity of reform.—
Pacific and subinissive to reason and the law, this heroic people
is daily acquiring new titles to the distinguished place which it
becomes them to occupy among civilized nations.
" The exact administration of justice engaged the attention
of the constituent Cortes, because that is the most sacred ob-
ject of the laws, and the most important for mankind. This
subject also demands your wise deliberation. It is necessary
that the great work which has been begun should be completed,
in order that the Government may make known the effects of
the salutary reform which the country desires.
" The adjustment of the revenue, and the establishment of
public credit, claim your special attention. The most mild
and adequate means for this purpose would be the establishing
of an equilibrium between the public income and expenditure,
by reducing the latter according to the rules of a rigid eco-
nomy. This reduction, and the reform in the mode of collec-
tion and management, must depend on the wisdom of your
deliberation.

" The paternal love which I devote to the Portuguese has
directed my solicitude and particular attention to the important
objects of public security, subsistence and education. If the
numerical force of individuols, being in strict proportion with
the means of subsistence and the preservation of the public
safety, constitutes the basis of the power and greatness of a na-
don, the firmness and stability of the social edifice depend es-
sentially on the reform of those customs which derive their origin
from a religious respect for the laws.
" The well-directed liberty of the press, and the distinctions
which the constitution confers on virtue and talents, doubtless
augment the hope of the moral and political regeneration of
the Portuguese people, with the progress of civilization. But
the efforts of the Government for the encouragement of arts and
sciences will be insufficient, without the support of legislative
authority—a support which your knowledge and patriotism
assure me will not be wanting, as you must be convinced
that a people cannot be free without being virtuous awl
civilized.
" The regulating laws of the municipal and administrative
bodies, on which, in a great measure, depend the execution
of the constitution, and the vivifying principles of regeneration,
are more than all others necessary for preventing those doubts
which frequently arise in consequence of the powers which be-
long to each of the constituted authorities not being precisely
fixed. It was certainly necessary to destroy the ancient insti-
tutions, but the necessity for those which are to be advan-
tageously substituted for them is still more urgent.
" 1 am convinced of the wisdom and the zeal of the Legis-
lative Body for the improvement of the different branch-es of
the public administration. My co-operative efforts will al-
ways be devoted to the welfare of the nation, because I can-
not imagine my existence prosperous unaccompanied by the
dignity, virtue, and felicity which ought to constitute the ha-'I
bitual and permanent state of the Portuguese nation.
" THE KING DON JOHN VI."
The President, addressing the Ministers, made the following
reply :

."-Senhores—The paternal and generous sentiments com-
municated by his Majesty to this Congress through the me.
dium of his Ministers, cannot fail to excite in all our hearts
the most ardent love for the sacred person of so great a So-
vereign, more particularly when we reflect that these are the
sentiments which are considered due to the opening of this
Session : a memorable epoch, in which the nation and the
throne reciprocally lend to each other the firmest support,
and in which the rights of the throne are secured and con-
solidated by the interest which the nation takes in their con.
servation.

" Senhores, there is a kind of glory which is never eclipsed.
Conquests are not worth as much as they cost. The fruit of
many victories is often lost in a moment. The greatness of
empires is usually not well combined with their duration.--
Treaties may be abrogated by snbsequeut treaties; but the
love of mankind, and eternal admiration, perpetuate the ex-
amples of those Kings, who, according to the wishes of the
nations intrusted td their administration, found, or re-establish
society on the triple basis of religion, laws, and customs. The
works of such extraordihary men are of long duration, and
their spirit is transmitted with their glory to the most remote
posterity. This glory, Senhores, will always belong to our
King, Don Joam VI., as his deeds and his words assure us._
One year of his reign is more abundant in glorious events than
many ages of other dynasties.
" Little more than a year has passed since his Majesty,

daring the waves of the Atlantic, appeared in the cradle of the
monarchy ; whither he came to be the Counsellor of an op-
pressed people, and the support of a nation which desired to

be free.
" A few days ago, his Majesty accepted and swore to main.
tain the ftindamental law of the State, which secured to us li-
berty, and freed us from oppression ; and in the solemn act of
that oath, his Mojesty not only united to him all minds by
gaining all hearts, but at once laid the. eternal foundation of the
throne, and consolidated in the firmest manner the basis of
public liberty.
" Filially, this day, in which the constitution orders this
happy and solemn meeting of the hereditary representative, and
the elected representatives of the Portuguese nation, if the in-
disposition of his Majesty has deprived us of his respectable
presence, we are not, at least by the discourse which he has ad-
dressed to us through the medium of his Ministers, left without
the knowledge of his ardent wish for national prosperity, and
his sincere promises to co-operate efficaciously in whatever this
legislature may do for the benefit of the people who have de.
legated to it their, powers. 'Who, on being assured of this
frank and sincere co-operation, can apprehend any thing for
the future, after contemplating the past ? Let us, Senhores,
examine and compare what has been done with what remains to
be done. '
" Senhores, the rights and the duties of man are declared ;
the sovereignty of the nation is recognized, its exercise is dele-
gated, but with restrictions ; abuses are guarded against ; the
liberty of opinion is made an established principle ; the right of
petition is one of the first laws of the state ; we have conse-
qnently established all the bases of public order. What is
wanting, Senhores, is to apply to society the regular impulse of
the just and the useful ; because the just and the useful will
henceforth be the only means of securing public opinion and
esteem, which will always reprobate those acts which have not
this solid foundation. What is wanted is to conduct, by the
assistance of good laws, the vessel of the state, and to give the
Government sufficient power and energy for procuring the rigid
execution of, and the most unlimited obedience to, the laws.
In this manner, the two first public authorities, the legis-
lative and the executive powers, will always be united for one
object; and respecting each other, in order that they may each
be respected—and recognizing each other as separate, but not
as enemies, they will hold out an example to inferior atithori,
ties, and to all citizens in general. Thus we all hope, and thus
there is reason to hope; for the succes which has hitherto
crowned the labours of the constituent Cortes and the Govern-
' meat is a presage that the same result will attend what yet re-
' mains to be done. The road is indeed long, and the difficulties
many ' • but what obstacles can daunt the hearts of Portuguese
when the object they have in view is public felicity ? Many of
the-representatives who now surround the throne have witnessed
the effects which the new system has produced in the provinces,
and will therefore be able to suggest the means best calculated
to give to the administrative system that force, activity, and
life, without which there can be no Government.
" Convinced, most of all, of the necessity of equalizing the
incomes and outgoings of the public treasury, we shall make
reforms and economical reductions without prejudice to the
subsistence of those who 'depend upon that department. Ar-
rangements for a just assessment and punctual collection of the
taxes shall be made. Regulations shall be introduced into all
the branches of administration in order to enable us to extin-
guish the public debt, and to pay all persons in public em-
ployment with punctuality.
" It will be our next endeavour to bring all the laws, civil
and criminal, into accordance with the Con3titution. We
'have to simplify the forms of process by rendering the means
of obtaining justice more expeditious. It is necessary to ex-
terminate the hydra of forensic chicanery by establishing with
prudence and wisdom the division between judges of fact and
judges of law.
" We have to animate commerce and manufactures, which
so powerfully influence the prosperity of agriculture and the
wealth of nations. It ought: to be our object to take care that
the trade of Portugal be not limited to the productions of its
own soil and industry, and -to make it embrace the produc-
tions of the whole globe. This object merits our particular
attention. •
" It is necessary to render the responsibility of the Ministers
and other inferior agents of public authority effectual.
"It isindispensable that public spirit should be formed by the
means of a national education.; and it is most urgent to suc-
cour indigence, and to give employment to the poor, that men-
dicity may be prevented,
" The army and navy require better regulations ; and it is
necessary to provide for the decent subsistence of that part
of the Clergy who labour most in the administering spiritual
aliment.
" This is, Senhores, in substance the outline of the regulat-
ing laws, which the Constitution points out, and to which you
will have to direct your attention.
" We have nothing to fear for external security ; for the na-
tions of Europe, already wearied by destructive discords, and
emancipated from the delusion of false ideas of grandeur, ap-
pear to. be sensible of the necessity of union, and of meeting
each other with a fraternal embrace. Ah ! unhappy is that
nation which founds its prosperity on the ruin of others !
" Such are the happy auspices under which the labours of our
first legislative assembly commence. Let us renew our vows,
and devote our united efforts to support political liberty—to
defend religion and the Constitution to which we have sworn,
and to maintain the King and his illustrious descendants on the
throne which the same Constitution has secured to them. Im-
pressed with these sentiments, let us still hope that the hand
which Math hitherto conducted us from miracle to miracle will
not abandon us, and that the precious life of his Majesty, so
necessary to us, will be preserved."
LISBON, DEC. 7.
In the sitting of the Cortes of the 4th, a report was made on
a dispatch from the Minister of the Home Department, in
which. the Congress was informed that the Queen, having re-
fused to take the oath to the Constitution of the Monarchy, the
King had resolved on carrying into execution the decree of the
Cortes, ordaining that whoever shall refuse to swear to the
Constitution shall, quit the kingdom, and renounce the rights of
a Portuguese citizen. But that the Queen having represented
that her delicate health would not permit her to travel without
endangering her life, and the physicians of her household having
consulted together, and unanimously declared that her life would
actually be endangered if she were compelled in her present state
to undertake a journey either by sea or by land ;—his Majesty
issued a decree, commanding the Queen to retire to the Quinta
de Ramallneo with the necessary attendants, but refusing her
request to be allowed to take along with her the Infantits her
daughters; adding, that this retirement in the Quinta de Ra-
malhao should continue until the state of her health might per-
mit her to travel beyond the kingdom.
This dispatch was accompanied with an exact account of
all that had been done in this business, together with the
orders which had been giveni, the opinions of the Council of
State, the votes of the Ministers, the propositions made by the
King to the Queen, her objections, and the declaration of the
Faculty, &c.
The President proposed that the Cortes should consider of
the manner in which these papers should be disposed of.
Senhor Javier Monteiro moved, that they be printed for
the information of the whole nation, and that the original be
referred to a Special Committee. This motion was carried.
In the sitting of the following day, (the sth,) Senhor Pato
Moriz read the following motion : It being indispensable
that the law should be carried into effect. as well with regard to
the ex-Queen of Portugal, as any other person who may refuse
to swear to the Political Constitution of the monarchy ; and its
execution having been delayed by the report of ten physicians,
stating that her life would be endangered by the severity of the
weather if she should travel in the present state of her health ;
I propose that the Government be required to order, that the
same ten physicians do continue to attend the ex-Portuguese
citizen, during her residence in the Quinta de Ratrolhao,
and accompany her up to the period of her quitting the
Portuguese territories. This proposition remained over for a
second reading.