The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-12 00:00:00

THIRD RENDINGS.

--- -
There were no less than 40 railway Bills standing for
a third reading this evening; but, in consequence, of the
suggestion of Mr. Strutt, they were all postposied till
Monday, in order that clauses might be introduced in
them in accordance with the resolutions passed las t night.
On the suggestion of Mr. W. PATIEN, after a short
discus:sion, it was arranged that the House shotrhd sit on
Monday next at twelve o'clock, for the purpose of con-
sidering the third readings that had been postponed
to-day, in order that the Bill might be taken up. to the
House of Lords the same evening.

Mr. RICE presented a petiticrn from Dover int favour
of the Health of Towns Bill.

EDUCATION.

Dr. BOWRING presented a petition from the Catho-
lics of Deptford against the scheme for the tamefit of
education.

Mr. GISBORNE presented a petition from the Roman
Catholics of Staffordshire to the same effect.
RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.

Colonel SIBTIIORP postponed till Tuesday riext, the
following motion respecting railway accidents, as he un•
derstood it wan the intention of the nun. Men fiber for
Sunderland to oppose it :—A return of the .sums of
money actually paid by each railway company as com-
pensation to the widow and children of persons It Wed, or
to the individuals who have been injured in trawl ding by
or while employed on each railt, ay, from 184 oto the
period,the
touuti
wtsethathin2gs
btheeenngaitvurne
inofeaceahchca accident, and

IRISH RAILWAYS.
Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL presented petitioute; for the
encouragement of railways in Ireland trom tVe guar•
dians of the county of Cork and Kilkenny, and fl Loin the
grand jury of Kerry.
HEALTH OF TOWNS.

Sir W. CLAY presented a petition from the inhabi-
tants of the Tower Hamlets in favour of the Bill for
this purpose.

NAVIGATION. LAWS.
The How. MEMBER also present( :d a petition from
Limehouse against a repeal of the navigation-lams.
MEXICO.
Dr. BOWRING said that seeing the Noble lord at
the head of the Foreign Department in his place , and as
there was no business before the House, he wished to ask
whether her Majesty's GovernMent intended to -.take any
measures for preventing the lamentable state q f things
now existing between the Americans of the United
States and the Mexicans, and to prevent a repetition of
the dreadful effusion of blood which had lately wnsutd.
Lord PALMERSTON had to state, in reply to the
question of the Hon. and Learned Gentiems n, that
the late Government tendered its good offices between
the two parties, and the present Government had n-
pneeiattheedr
ntaheee
hoffer t
hien
priar
tmiesornevfanfiremdalthmemansre,s bonft in
the
offer. Of course, under these circumstances, lowever
much they might lament this state of things, they could
not interfere.—(MeParM. hear.)
VATE BILLS.

Mr. HUME moved that it is expedient that the con-
stitution and practice of all Committees on Prirale Bills,
in future sessions of Parliament, should be assimilated as
nearly as may be to those of Committees on Railway
Bills; and that it be an instruction to the Cummittee for
revision of vtandiniz orders to make provision accordingly.
Sir R. 11. INGLIS said there were many objections
to the principle of this resolution, and as it was likely to
give rise to good deal of discussion, he hoped his Hon.
Friend would postpone it, in order that the more im-
portant motion relating to Portugal might be proceeded
with.

Mr. HUME did not third: the motion was likely to
give rise to a disicussion, because ho untie rstota its

idnciple was to be conceded. However, he should have
.10 objedioa, to postpone the motion till Monday next.
The motion was socordingly withdrawn.
EXCISE.
Dr. BOWRING moved for a return, for the latest
period to which it can be made up, of the establishments
of the Excise, in the same form and under the same
heads as that printed by the Commissioners of Excise
Inquiry ia their Twentieth Report, Appendix 12.
Agreed to.
HOUSE OF COMMONS' TAXATION OF COSTS
BILL.

On the order of the day being read for receiving the
report on this Bill,
An Host. MEMBER, begged to move that the amend-
ments be agreed to.
The amendments were accordingly agreed to, and the
Bill was ordered to be read a third time on Friday next.
CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY BRIDGES.
Sir G. CLERK drew attention to a statement alluded
to by the Hon. Member for Nottingham, that Mr. Locke,
C.E., had written a letter to the Earl f Dalhousie, re-
presenting that railway bridges were constructed of
such dimensions as to render them unsafe for the pur-
poses of public conveyance, and recommending that they
should be made according to certain estimates enclosed
in that letter. This was signed by other parties. He had
diseovered that such a letter was written on the 30th
April, 1846, but it had reference to crossing roads, and
not to bridges over waters.
Mr. GISBORNE explained that his information was
collected from a paragraph in a public print, and that he
had stated so at the time to the House.
THE AFFAIRS OF PORTUGAL.
Mr. HUME said that, in rising to make the motion of
which be had given notice to the House, he could assure
them that he had seldom risen in his place in that House
to do what he considered a duty so unpleasant to him-
self, because he was about to complain of the Government
measures as dangerous in every way to the British con-
stitution—measures which, if he could read them aright,
were likely to lead to consequences most disastrous, not
only to this country, but to the whole civilised world.
He considered it valuable to maintain those principles
upon which the British constitution was founded. They
owed the liberties they possessed to the stipulations
made between the people and the Sovereign, and by
them they were enabled, after a long interval, to settle
among themselves what were the laws under
which the United Kingdom should be ruled. The So-
Tereigh, of this day owed much to these
resolutions of 1688, and had any Sovereign of Europe in
those days ventured to take the part which the British
Government had taken with regard to Portugal, where
would he have been?—(llear.) In short, instead of taking
ten or twelve days, an ordinary member would have col-
lected all the evidence in four-and-twenty hours; the
matter of real importance would go into a very small num-
ber of pages. He considered that they had lost a great deal
of time, and although it might be desirable to know what
effect their proceedings would have, yet the news of the
day showed how fatal had been their interference. It
cast a stain upon the honour of the country. He objected
to the principle of armed interference, and he also objected
to the manner in which it was done. While Parliament
was sitting the Ministers ought to have come down and
asked the consent of the country. He would, therefore,
move, " That, in the judgment of this House, the armed
interference of this Government between political parties
in Portugal is unwarrantable in principle, and likely to
lead to serious and mischievous consequences." And
they had a precedent for such a resolution in the year
182 t, when there was a triparte treaty, and when
they were bound to furnish troops for Portugal.
During the time of Mr. Canning, the Cabinet showed
its respect to the House of Commons, and the import-
ance with which it viewed the subject before it.
What took place on that occasion? On Friday,
the 9th of the month, the news arrived that
an invasion had taken place. On the following day a
Cabinet Council was held, and a resolution was come to
to afford the country that assistance which it sought,
and on Monday it was resolved to send a message to
that effect to the House of Commons. A debate took
place on the receipt of the message from the Cabinet ;
and Mr. Canning on that occasion stated that they were
called upon to interfere in the internal affairs of that
country, and that unless there was a treaty existing be-
tween the two countries to that effect, he should be the
first to refuse it, and the conduct of the Government upon
that occasion did it much credit. In the other
House Lord Bathurst concurred entirely in this view.
Thus was passed an interference very unnecessarily. It
did prove to be very serviceable to Portugal in the
event, but it ought to be remarked that England
interfered under a treaty, and in order to preserve
good faith which he (Mr. Hume) preferred at a
sacrifice, which could only be felt for a short time,
but a bad example continued in its ill effects.
On this occasion he did think England was setting a bad
example. Mr. Canning, on the occasion he had referred
to, on the 12th Dec., 1826, deprecated on all occasions
intermeddling with the internal affairs of any other
Government. But if that interference was wrong then,
what could he say for the interference on this occasion?
Spain had not invaded Portugal; France had not—
there had been no invasion. He was aware that civil
war had continued in that country for a number of m enths,
and the contending parties had not been able to arrange
a settlement. On that subject, however, he could never
enter without recollecting the origin of that war, and
he could not speak of this without complaining of
She negotiations of this country with :Portugal,
Ile did not, in saying this, refer to the Noble Lord in
the Foreign-office, for he had looked over the dispatches
up to the sth April last, and there was not one dispatch
of Lord Palmerston's in which he did not most entirely
concur. He found the Noble Lord continually, on every
application, repulsing the idea of an armed intervention.
Before showing what had led to this result, he thought
he might be allowed to state what had taken place from
the beginning, and what that unfortunate country had
been subjected to. He thought that the violation by the
Queen of Portugal of the charter had roused the people
of that country into resistance. The only demand that
had been made by the English:Government was, that the
Queen of Portugal should dismiss from her councils
those evil councillors who had advised her to depart
from the principles of the charter. He thought that
that charter was established in the reign of John
the Sixth ; it was overturned three or four
times, but it was subsequently restored. It was for
the violation of that charter, that the people were now
in arms, and if they did not resist that infringe-
ment of these liberties, he thought that they
would be hooted by all the liberal and en-
lightened nations of Europe. He would ask whether
such a proceeding should be sanctioned by this
country. Lord Howard de Walden, in his dispatch,
after stating that the changes which had taken place
bad surprised everybody, said that the change in the
Government had been effected in the manner of a mili-
tary revolution, and he thought it had been caused by
the election of the Duke of Palmella being doubtful.
He further says, " It is expected now (says Saldanha)
that the Queen's proclamation will keep the country in
a state of general tranquility, and that the suppres-
sion of all the newspapers, excepting those of the
Government, will aid this purpose. But still, con-
sidering the small military forces of the Government,
and the facility with which the soldiery can be gained
over by every party, I contemplate the future with great
anxiety." Now, I must trouble the House with another
quotation. I will not read it, but it is " a list of the
unfortunate beings who are to be removed," as being
odious to that party. Now I ask the House
is it prepared to sanction any act of the. Ministry
that will uphold that Government, whose first act was
the violation of the charter? He would now refer to an
important paper which gave the stipulations of the
charter, and, with the permission of the House, he would
state a few violations of the charter which Palmella had
carried oat in Portugal, with perfect satisfaction to the
whole Court. But he thought it necessary to state first
that in the whole of these papers it was assumed to be
necessary that they should depress the popular party as
much as possible, and they had brought forward an
absurd allegation that the Miguelites were the party
to be dreaded in this in spite of the state-
ments of the English Minister for Forign Affairs.
Bat the Miguelites had now united with the national
party. These violations had been carried out to such
en extent that the whole country was in disorder. The
Hon. Member then read further extracts, proving the
unconstitutional proceedings of the Court of PortugaL
The people had been prepared by a series of acts of in-
justice from the Government, sanctioned by the Crown,
to take the first opportunity of resisting them. He had
seen a person that day who was one of those who were
among the arrests. He might say, indeed, that the acts
of the Government had been nothing but arrests,
imprisonment, dismissal, and transportation, and all
without the semblance of law, without an appearance of
right—in fact upon no other ground than the simple will
of the Minister of Justice of the day. He had seen a
gentleman that day who was one of 700 political prisoners
who had been heaped together in a prison not properly
capable of containing one-half of the number—who was
one of those who escaped on the 29th of April,
when the disturbances at Lisbon opened all the
prison doors. True it was that he escaped, but
seventy or eighty were butchered in the streets
by the pollee, although they were quietly returning to
their homes without arms in their hands. If lion.
Members who had not read those papers would follow
him, he would be enabled to make it clear to them, that
every liberty and privilege of a free country and
laip,e, had been violated. In the 19th article of the
people l
emucode there were ordered to be independent
judge and juriesa as well in civil as criminal cases, and
there violationhadbeefnroml of that article in removing
these judges
Ile might say that' ascuechto place and dismissing theca.
been heaped upon each atalogues of cruelties had
individual,a that it would tire the
"louse were he to do more t tuade to there. The pro-
tection which was set forth on this constitution was not
granted. The liberty of the
put down,
prinatubededeenxcept those
and no newspaper was allowed to be
it was rather
under the sanction of the Government;
have
Governmentted in
curious that the Noble Lord should
these papers a number of extracts from the
as if Members of Parliament had not the sense to
apers,
was.
judge of what an article in
.a common newspaper
without conviction,
These prisoners were carried off
without charge, and without trial, and locked up with
films of the worst description. So much for
the Government which they bad undertaken to protect.
lie would pass over other matters of minor importance,
The chief of the police had the entire control and
domination in the country; no man could live, move, or
have his being without him. Liberty of the press was
abolished. In article 25 the secrecy dletters was declared
inviolable, yet Mr. Hume had seen many individuals whose
letters had been opened, and yet they were called upon
to interfere and preve:nt the people, who had been driven
OD desperation, from obtaining their just and undeniable
rights. The Queen had established herself dictatress,
said put an end to the working of every court and
tribunal in the country. She had also appointed
her Consort Commander-in-Chief of the Army, a pro-
ceeding which was against the law of the country, and
against the Charter of 15311, that act of her's had

alarmed many individuals who were disposed in her
favour. He would not weary the House with a detail of the
tyrannies committed; taxes bed been levied without law,
and what was most disgraceful, they had sent over
Spanish bonds, similar to those N 4 hiCh had been selling
in the country, and which would lead people to sup-
pose gave the holder a claim upon the Government.
And this was the Government they were called upon to
support. It was of importance for him to adduce autho-
rities to show the real state of the cuestion. He (Mr.
Hume) recollected the time when Lord Grey, and when the
Noble Lord, now at the head of the Government, obtained
office on the express understanding that they would
attend to three important points—that they should be
friendly to reform, advocates of economy, and above all,
that their Government should stand in a position of non-
interference in the affairs of other foreign countries.
Lord J. RUSSELL—Bidhce.
Mr. HUME—Yes; peace between foreign countries.
He would read the sentiments of Earl Grey, and leave
the Noble Lord to speak for himself. He said, if they
wished to be at peace with other countries they must
maintain the principle of non-interference, because
any departure from such a course would in-
evitably lead them into war; and, further, that
every Englishman must rejoice that Louis Philippe had
been placed on the throne of France. Earl Grey made
one of these expressions when they had expelled Charles
XII. ; but he was not guilty of one twentieth part of
the conduct of which the Queen of Portugal had been
guilty.—(Loud cheers.) And if infatuation had ever
possessed any man, it surely had possessed Louis Phi-
lippe—(Hear)—he who owed his crown to the barri-
cades—(lmmense cheering)—he who, but for the Duke
of Wellington, would not have been placed
upon the throne of France, because the
Holy Alliance were against him, and the
Duke of Wellington was the man who acknowledged
the power of the people, for he would not allow any in-
terference of this kind ; and he believed no man was alive
at that moment who took a more determined and popular
part than the Duke of Wellington, because he supported
the claims of Louis Philippe when the revolution took place
to France, and was it not miraculous that the man who
was so careful of his own interests as Louis Philippe
should be a party to a measure of this kind, and his ex-
cuse was, that France and Spain were
going to do something. What had they
done ? Let the House hear, for it appeared
to him that they had done nothing—could any man of
common sense believe that the man of whom Earl Grey
spoke in these eulogistic terms would have so acted ;
and what were the Englishmen doing? But here are
the Portuguese ten times worse in their Government,
and led on in their opposition by the most virtuous men
in the nation. After making inquiries, and satisfying
himself in reference to their character, he repeated that
he believed them the most virtuous men in the nation.
Some of the papers he saw called them " Chartists ;"
where they have got the name he knew not, or what
they mean by it ; but if anything disreputable was in-
tended, he must say that they were men possessed of a
character which commanded the confidence of the people,
and was it not painful to see the flag of England flutter-
ing over the suppression of a movement led on by men
like these. The Noble Lord said peace, Lord Grey
said nothing about that. Lord Grey, in the case of
France, approved the ready recognition of the new Go-
vernment, and applauded the might which had been
allowed to the voice of the people, in a matter of this
kind, and hoped that the ready recognition of the new
Government, would tend to a good understanding be •
tween the two nations, as the foundation of peace.
Lord Grey when in office, being asked a question of the
same kind said, he had but to repeat then what he had
said when out of office. As for peace, he (Mr. Hume)
could not answer for the consequences which would
follow. Perhaps the Government might think that after
taking Conde Das Antes and his two thousand men
prisoners they had obtained their object. They were
further from it than ever. Could they persevere ?
They must keep a British army in Portugal to support
an infamous Government.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.)
Was that the only authority on the subject ? Why, the
Duke of Wellington, in 1833, on this very question,
moved, " that an address be presented to his Majesty,
praying that his Majesty would be graciously pleased to
give such directions as would lead to the English troops
preserving a strict neutrality in the affairs of Portugal."
And then the Noble Duke gave Lord Stowell's definition
of neutrality, namely, that "neutrality meant not giving
succour to either side." Lord Stowell also said, that
" interference should not take place without a notice or
a declaration of war." Had they done that ? No ;
quite the contrary. A paper had certainly been sent; but
why did not Sir George Hamilton find a party to ensure
its arrival in time ? The General who commanded
the troops in Portugal did not believe that
they would run the risk they had done.
They had a firm belief that justice would result from
the interference of England, and that such an act of
injustice would not be perpetrated. And he must say
that a stain had been cast on this country which would
never be removed. Now, lest there should be any
doubt on the subject, he should read a question that
had been asked of Earl Grey. That Noble Lord was
asked, whether they were perfectly safe ? He had not
yet seen the order under which these proceedings were
taking place. But Earl Grey said, we sent Admiral
Parker to the Tagus, with orders to observe the strict-
est neutrality. On the Ist of June, Admiral Parker
was told by the Admiralty that, under all the circum-
stances, he was to observe the strictest neutrality.
" Why was it that England, in 1833, had acted such
a just and honest part, and in 1847 had acted
in a manner directly opposite. He believed that if they
had sent 5,000 men from England, and excluded Spain
altogether, that the Portuguese would have submitted as
to a stronger power; but if Hon. Members had heard,
as he had done, the expressions of animosity that had
been heard on the frontiers of Spain, they would have
some conception of the bitter animosity that existed be-
tween them. Border feuds were nothing to it. An
Honourable Member near him, said that Louis Philippe
was concerned in this. He believed himself that Louis
Philippe was at the bottom of it.—(Laughter.)
Mr. Sotheron, in his letter, had stated that there was, on
the part of the people. every desire to make peace, but
that taxation had been greatly increased, and that rates
were levied to make new roads, while there was not in
all Portugal a road fit for any continued use. External
commerce had been kept away by a system of high
duties, and an inquisitorial system which was carried on
against the masters of merchant vessels. There had
been the abolition of trial by jury, and many other
inflictions upon the people in comple contravention of
the articles 16, 17, and 18, in the treaty of 1842.
By the abolition of the right of trial by jury the sub-
jects of her most faithful Majesty were placed at the
disposal of the executive, and such an executive.—
(Hear.) Mr. Buiwer, in his letter, gave it as his opinion,
that interference was most objectionable, he alluded to
his letter so late as on the 29th of October last, when
hearing that a party of troops were moving down, he
wrote to inquire as to the truth of the report. He would
also quote the opinion of a public officer, Mr. Sotheron,
who, writing so late as the 19th of December last, says,
that interference is objectionable, and that it pro-
duces more evil than good, and that it was
rapidly giving a national colour to the present contest.
He said that no Hon. Member who had read these docu-
ments could fail to be of opinion that they had added to
the cost of the civil war which had broken out, and that
they had increased the difficulties of the country; and
it appeared to him that they would find much more
difficulty in settling the affairs of the country than they
imagined. Ile should not, he feared, discharge his duty
if he made any exemption of the Noble Lord the Member
fcr Tiverton (Lord Palinctraton)—(Hear, hear, and
laughter)—because he intended to read several of his
letters, and thus, as it were, to make him speak for him-
self. (The Hon. Gentleman then read a dispatch, dated
the 29th of November, stating that every opportunity
ought to be taken advantage of to impress the Portu-
guese Government with the desirability of entering into
some amicable arrangement with the discon-
tented parts of the country, for the pur-
pose of putting an end to the insurrec-
tion. It went on to say that the English Go-
vernment saw with regret that a great proportion of
the people of Portugal were in insurrection, and that it
was advisable that steps should be taken when it was
once suppressed from allowing it to break out again).
What was to prevent it from bursting out again?—
(Hear, hear.) It went on to say, that the practical
question then was, whether the Queen could consistently
with her dignity and Crown, consent to an arrange-
ment satisfactory to the nation, and which could put an
end to the insurrection. That was a very wise considera-
tion. The dispatch went on to say, that the fleet should
abstain from taking any other part in this civil war
than that of a friendly power. The Hon. Gentleman
then read the dispatch from Lord Palmerston of the 4th
of January, and a dispatch from Mr. Sotheron on the
10th of January from Lisbon, stating that the
prisons were full of members of :the best families.
Many persons of high rank had already been imprisoned
upon the very slightest grounds. He had probably
failed in stating what he intended to state—the causes
of complaint upon the part of the people. There was one
ground which he had forgotten' namely, that the con-
stitution by which the Queen derived her power from
the people, enacted that the Cortes alone should regulate
and prevent the introduction of foreign land and sea
forces into the country. And yet the British Govern-
ment supported Donna Maria, in violation of that con-
stitution.—(Hear, hear.) There was another act of vio-
lence which he forgot to state. On the 3d of November
the following decree was passed, namely, that all ecclesi-
astics, or laity, or officers arrested with arms in their
hands, should be immediately shot—three of the officers
of the troops arresting them to form a court-martial, to
hear them verbally, and the execution of the sentence to
depend upon the will of the chief commanding officers.
This was in order, as the proclamation stated, to keep
the country as much as possible from the horrors of a
civil war. Many of the officers taken prisoners had been
sent to Africa, to the most unhealthy settlement there,
and sent eut in such a manner as to call forth the re-
monstrances of the captain of the ship which conveyed
them. One captain was superseded, and another ap-
pointed, merely for having, in that case, made an appeal
the Foreign-office, to_ the humanity of the Government.—(Hear, hoar.) The
of things then existing
Hon. Member then read, at some length, a paper from
construction of the treaty of
-office, dated April 5, with reference to the
necessarylB34.Portugal,notandthinktotheMany refertoceve to the proceedings of the
actse of
not
snmeerlit at any greater length.
of the treaty, only interference, but of viola-
tion Government in supportuc:tfifibieleunna Maria. None of
oarseeven called for. He
committed by the
interfereontc.
which were in any way j
interference in
violation
thought that he had made out a c
Prussia,inantdie affairs
anything to
Of a treaty, and an improper
of another country. If Russia,
were to send troops to France and interfere in tltrstirnia-
ternal arrangements, could the English say
it? If they were desirous of interference, why did they
Queen of England hold her power ?
not prevent Mexico from being overrun by America? By
• I
xiwhgatit
unotraltli9idoterber
ower
occo
9y9r Id
interfere

the affairs of Ireland? The principle which the English
Government had laid down appeared to him a most dan-
gerous one, and one which was capable of the mess se-
rious and injurious application. He therefore made the
motion of which he had given notice, although with deep
regret, for he felt that the occasion for such a motion was
one which could not be productive of anything but
danger to this country and injustice to others.—(Hear.)
Mr. OSBORNE seconded the motion.
Lord HARRY VANE then rose, but in consequence
of the confusion prevailing in the House he was for a
short time inaudible. His Hon. Friend had quoted the
dispatches of different agents of the Government in behalf
of the principle which he advocated—that interfe-
rence of the present description was unjustifiable.
He (Lord Harry Vane) admitted that the general
principle ought to be that of non-intervention, but
there were cases of exception, under certain circum-
stances, which clearly made some interference necessary.
The diplomatic agents had, in their representations to
their respective Governments, objected to all interfe-
rence, and it was not, till it was signified that France
and Spain would interfere, that it was considered right
the British Government should assent to the principle
cf intervention. Had the insurgents been allowed to
proceed unchecked, there could be,no doubt that they
would, in a short time, have undermined the throne of
Donna Maria, and, perhaps, seated Don Miguel upon its
ruins. The consequence of this would be, that Spain
would have been obliged to cross the frontier, and at-
tempt to restore the monarchy to its rightful possessor.
This would necessarily have led to the interference of
France ; and from the dispatches of M. Guizot there is
no doubt but measures would be taken by France, in
conjunction with Spain, to put down the pretensions of
the new usurper to the throne. He thought, therefore,
that under those circumstances the British Govern-
ment was called upon to take the steps which
it did, and thereby prevent the evils which would have
inevitably taken place had she remained quiescent. No
doubt the Administration of the Queen of Portugal had
been very arbitrary, and had been guilty of acts which
made it liable to the greatest censure ; but this could not
justify the extreme measures which had been resorted to
by the Junta for the purpose of redressing them. He
admitted the Queen had violated the constitution, and
that if she had attempted to govern through the means
of a fair representation of the people, the scenes which
had occurred would not have taken place. He thought,
however, if the British Government had not interfered,
Portugal would have been overrun by a Spanish
army, and far greater evils than those which
now existed would have been the result.
He answered, if they had not interfered they would have
have been obliged to send an army to put an end to the
far worse state of things which would have resulted in
the event of the interference having been left to Spain.
Now, he did not think that this, which would have been
a matter of necessity on the part of the British Go-
vernment, wonld have met the approval of the Hon.
Member for Maidstone. —(Hear, hear.) He was of
opinion, therefore, that a complete case of justification
was made out. It was impossible that a great nation like
that of England, should not interfere in order to protect
her own interests. Under these circumstances, he
should give his decided opposition to the measure.--
(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord then resumed his seat.
A pause then ensued for some minutes. Loud cries
for Lord Palmerston succeeded, but the Noble Lord did
not respond to the call. A curious scene then occurred.
Mr. B. ESCOTT loudly called " Question, question."
After an interval of some minutes, in which the cries
of " Withdraw " and " Divide " alternated, thus failing
of its object in calling up the Noble Lord,
Mr. B. ESCOTT drew the attention of the House to
the tact that strangers were in the gallery.
The gallery was then cleared, but in a few moments
the press were re-admitted.
Mr. M. MILNES rose to support the policy of the
Government. He contended that it was not only right
but necessary that Great Britain should interfere, and
he trusted that when she did so, it would always be in a
way befitting her dignity. It was not to be expected
that a country such as Portugal would of itself—so
young in all the constitutional principles of Government,
and in the necessary experience, speedily effect those ob-
jects to which reference had been made. In Nov., 1846,
The Palmella Administration was suspended by what
was called the Ultra-Tory party, and which finally
established the Marquis of Saldanha in the Councils of
the Clown of Portugal. If they looked at the course of
events which led to that result, they would discover
nothing but one issue of illegal acts and unconstitutional
proceedings which could not in England be enacted. He
found that Mr. Bulwer, in a conversation with Count
Thomar, advocated the non-introduction of foreign
powers in the affairs of Spain. Count Thomar, however,
took another view of it, and evinced a strong feeling on
the part of the Spanish Government to interfere, and
Mr. Bulwer wrote to Lord Palmerston that it would be
impossible to avoid interference. In the meantime, Sir
H. Seymour used every means which were in his
power to moderate the asperities of the contend-
ing parties. The Honourable Gentleman quoted
another dispatch to that effect. He was sure
that it would be admitted by the Hon. Member that
every effort had been used to end hostilities without
force ; but all failed, every effort was vain, and what
remained? Nothing but an armed intervention remained,
and now it became an important consideration with every
country, and this country, how they would act in case
of an armed intervention. (The Hon. Gentleman then
quoted a dispatch from Baron Munhausen, stating by
authority, that the French King had announced his
good disposition to the Queen's cause, and asking Eng-
land also to interfere.) Now he said they were come to
the crisis when England had to consider whether she
would interfere in the affairs of Portugal, and to what
extent she would do so. Then came the dispatch of the
sth of April, a dispatch which he believed was, under
the circumstances, the best policy. That dispatch set
forth those very principles which had been advocated by
the Hon. Member for Montrose. The Noble Lord set
forth the broad grounds on which he based
his interference. The interference of England was
introduced on principles which in no way discouraged
the expression of the popular opinion, and the result
intended was to restore all to their former position in
the kingdom. Propositions contained in that dispatch
were laid before the Junta, who expressed themselves
highly satisfied with them. Terms at length were of-
fered on the part of the Government, treaties were being
negociated until an ultimatum was offered, supported
by an armed force in case of refusal. The Junta,
at the unhappy moment, was, he believed, over-
awed by various parties and considerations.
This appeared by a dispatch from Colonel Wylde.
What would be the effect of giving sway to the violence
of the impetuous national character? Why, it would
have been most injurious, and he thought that Colonel
Wylde had acted perfectly right. It appeared
from the public journals that the Conde das Antes
was in reality a prisoner in the hands of the
British Government.—(Hear, hear.) Conde das Antes
and the troops under him were conquered, but as
brave men might be by the force of overwhelming
numbers. For Conde das Antes, or any other person,
to suppose that this country should go and make a
formal declaration of war he considered absurd. He
thought on the entire that they had a right to congra-
tulate themselves upon the conclusion at which they had
arrived. He thought the Noble Lord was called upon
to do all he could to secure for Portugal constitutional
liberty. All that could be done by the English Go-
vernment should be done for those brave men in Por-
tugal who were endeavouring to maintain inviolate the
constitutional liberty, and he trusted that the Crown of
Portugal might be taught—if Crowns could be taught
lessons—not to attempt to invade the liberties of the
people.
Lord W. POWLETT said that he thought that Govern-
ment might have interfered to protect the Queen, but
should not have gone further.
Mr. WARBURTON said that the opinion of Sir
Thomas Monroe on the interference of this country in
India was so applicable to the present question, that he
would beg leave to read what he stated in a letter to the
Secretary of the India House, who produced it when
under examination before a Committee of the House.
The Honourable Member here read an extract from
the document in question, which strongly deprecated
the interference of a foreign power in the affairs of
India, as it was calculated to sustain oppression on the
part of the Sovereign, and to suppress all effbrts for
liberty on the part of the people. The Hon. Member
also read extracts from some letters of Mr. John Mills,
who asserted that foreign interference had the effect of
supporting despotism, and engendering a tutilage on
the part of native Princes, who, from a custom of de-
pending upon foreign assistance, would naturally be en-
feebled. As a man that was accustomed to go on
crutches would never be able to use his limbs perfectly.
Mr. H. BAILLIE said that ho did not attach much
importance to the delay of these papers, because he knew
that that habit of delay was an old failing on the part of
tho Noble Lord opposite ; for as long ago as 1841 ho
found that great complaints were made of the delay of
papers in the affairs of Portugal. The question for
them that night, was not the infringement of the charter,
but the right of a foreign power to interfere in the in-
ternal affairs of a foreign country, when that country
was not threatened with aggression by a foreign foe ;
and he should like to ask the Noble Lord if their former
interferences with other countries had redounded to
the credit of the British arms—from interferences
which he could not designate by any other name than
unjust and impolitic interferences ; and however anxious
he might be to ascertain the opinions of the Noble
Lord (Palmerston), he should feel it his duty, in the
absence of that experience, to illustrate his own opinion
by reference to the history of other interferences ; and,
for this purpose, he should not go further back than the
origin of the late disturbances in Portugal. What had
their interference with the affairs of Portugal got for the
people of this country while Miguel wasde taste the King
of Portugal? They had a commercial treaty, which was
liberal to this country, but they chose to interfere in behalf
of Don Pedro, and after a bloody struggle, Don Miguel
was driven out of the country. What had they gained?
Nothing. Their commercial relations with that country
were in a worse state than before. What had their in-
terference with Spain done them? They found Spain
in a state of civil anarchy, and they thought, improperly
thought, that they were called ou to interfere. They
proposed to raise a large body of men in this country
to assist in the warfare of that country ; these
men to be commanded by able British officers.
What was the result ? Late events had shown them,
Spain had truckled to Louis Philippe, and England's
former services were forgotten. And now they were
again prepared to interfere in the affairs of Portugal,
despite their former experience. They were again pre-
pared to embroil themselves in the civil warfare of Con-
tinental Europe.—(Hear, hear.) He trusted that
this course would tnot receive the sanction or ap-
probation of that House ; he trusted that steps
would not be taken which would prevent them reced-
ing with honour, and without loss ; and he hoped
that the House would recognise the principle now fully
acted upon by the people of this country, namely,
that
interven •
cenutrieo woo generally unjust
ontl alwayO