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

EDUCATION.

Dr. BOWRING presented a petition from the Catho-
lics of D. ptford against the scheme for the benefit of
education.

Mr. GISBORNE presented a petition •rocn the Roman
Catholics of Staffordshire to the SRITIO effect.

RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.
Colonel SIBTLIORP p9stpon,,d nil Tuesday next the
following motion respecting railway accidents, as he un-
dersti,oft it was the intention ut the Hon. M mher for
Suinierlatid to oppose it :—A return of the sums of
money actual►y paid by each railway company us com-
pensation to the widow and children of persons killed, or
to the individuals who have been injured in travelling by
or while employed on each railway, from 1840 to the
' presei.t period, stating the nature of each accident, and
the amount which hss been
.giv..n in each case.
IRISH RAILWAYS.

Mr. M. J. o'6olstßELT:pri;senced petitions for the
encouragement of railways in Ireland from the guar-
dians of the county of Cork and Kilkenny, and hem 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 ftr
this purpose.

NAVIGATION LAWS.

The HoN. also presentfd a petition from
Limebouse against a repeal of the navigation-laws.
MEXICO.
Dr. BOIVRING said that seeing the Noble Lord at
the head of the Foreign Department in his place, and as
there was no business La fore the House, he wished to ask
whether her Mqjesty's Government intended to take any
measures tor preventing the lamentable state of 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 ensued.
Lord I'ALNIERSION had to state, in reply to the
question ct the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, that
the late Government tendered its good offices between
the two parties, and the present Government hadt
peated the offer in a more formal mannr in
neither case had the parties themselvesavailed
offer. Of course, under these circumstances,
however
e of the
bu
much they might lament this state of things, they could
PRIVATE
not interfere.—(!dear, hear.)

irtt ti tit i t is expedient that the eon-
stitall Committees on Private Bills.
Nuion il
andtrllE practice
in future sessions of Parliament, should be assimilated as
moved
of
nearly as may be to those of committees on Railway
Bills; and that it be an instruction to the Committee for
revision of standing orders. to make provision accordingly.
sir R H. INGLIS. said there were many objections
to the principle of this resolution, and as it was liksly to
give rise•to a good deal of discussion, he hoped his goli.
Friend would postpone it, in order that the more inn-
portant 'potion relating to Portugal might be proceeded
with.

Mr. Mag did not think the !notion ins likely to
give ri;:e o discurhioth be to. wider-m-0a its

wimple was to be conceded. However, he should have
.10 objection top ,atpone the motion till Monday next.
The motion W 43 accordingly withdrmn.
EXCISE.

Dr. BOWRISG moved for a return, for the latest
period to which it can be mile ap, of the establishments
of-the Excise, in the same form and under the same
heads as that prin•ed by the Glmmission• rs of Excise
Inquiry in 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. ME3IBETt begged to move that the amend-
ments be agreed to.
The amendments were accordingly agreed to, and the
inii 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 tor Nottineham, that Mr. Locke,
C.E., had written a letter to the Earl of 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
discovered that such a 1 ;ter was written on the 30th
April, 1846, but it had r,ference to crossing roads, and
not to bridges over waters.
Mr. GISBORNE explained that his informatiothnatwhaes
collected from a paragraph in a public print, and
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 Heusi-, he could. assure
them that he had seldom risen in his place in the. 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-
vereign 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 ?—(Hear.) 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 interterence, 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 fur such a resolution in the year
182 t, when there was a triparte t-eaty, 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 piece on that occasi n? On Friday,
the 9th of the month, the news arrived that
en invaeion 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.
end crt Monday it was resoaed to send a message t
that effect to the House of Commons. A debate took
place on the receipt of the message from the Cabieet ;
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 Lerd Bathurst concurred entirely in this view.
Thus was passed an interference very untiocessarily. It
did prove to be very serviceable to Portugal in the
event, but it ought to be remerked that England
interfered under a treats-, and in order to preserve
good faith which he (Mr. Hume) preferred at a
sacrifice, which could only be telt for a short tune,
but a bad eteample continued in its ill effects.
On this occasion he did think England was setting a bad
example. Mr. Canning, on the oceasien he had referred
to, on the 12th Dec., 1826, deprecated on all occesions
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 ba I 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 ofmonths,
and the contending parties had not been able to errarge
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
Vie negotiations of this country with Portugal,
lie 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 ono dispatch
of Lord Palmerston's in which he dirt 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
be 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 tne
Queen of Portugal should distills; 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
had surprised everybody. sad that the change in the
Government had been effected in the manner of a milt
tary revolution, and he thole} t it had been caused by
the election of the Duke of Palmella being douutiul.
He further sap, "r(ltbiis
a i n will
exp„eted now (says Sahlanha)
rhat the Q'teele 3 plem keep toe country in
a state of general tranquillity. and that the suppres-
sion of all the newspapers, excepting those of the
Government, will aid thi; purpe.e. But still, con-
• sidering the smell military ter: e; of the Gov rmor,
and t!-,e facility with which the soldiery can be gait:. b
over by ..very party, I. eonterapla.e the ice ore sigh gti-iv
enitiety." Now, I most trimbh, the House with another
Quotation. I will net read it, but it is " a list of the
unfortunate betties who are to be removed," as being
odious to that party. Now 1 ask the Rouse
is it prepared to sanction any act of the Ministry
that wilt upheld that Government, whose first act was
the violation If the charter? He would now refer to an
imp ,runt p iper a high gave the stipulations of the
charter, and, with the pertni,-itin of the Foils.. he would
state a few vieletiens of the eh irter w:.ich Pete:alit& h ill
carried out iii Portugal, with perlict satisfaction to tie
whole Court. But he thouir. tit neces,,ar) 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.
But the Miguelites bud now united with the national
party. Theso violations had eeen card• d out to such
an 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, salted, ned by the Crown,
to take the first opportunity of resisting them. He had
seen a person that day who was one of those who wire
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 sif 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 bad 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 politic, although they were quietly returning to
their homes without arms in their hands. If Hon.
Illembrs 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
udipeliesdhed beethi violated. In the 19th article of the
edge and
r code
juries
serue welrie.ord.ered to be indeendent
there had been a vivolraaceteioiocfivtihi
inl cases,
.removing
these judges from atasacrrtiituclema
place and dismissing them.
He might say that such toctalogues of cruelties had
been heaped upon each individual, that it would tire the House were he to du more than?tehiu:lee to
press had there. The pro-
tection which weft set forth ou
andstitution was not
been put down,
granted. The liberty of the
and no newspaper was allowed to be printed except
under the ealiction of the Government;
and
curious
that the Noble Lord should have inserted ii.nr
these papers a number of extracts from the Government
papers, as if 'lettiber. ,>f Parliament had not the sense to
prisoners
Ridge '0 what an article in a common newspaper Was,
heiiiii
were carried off without conviction,
T '
witli ;thert tri.d' end locked up with
ppt char w' ,and w• •
fekus: of the worst description. So much for
the Government which they had undertaken to protect.
He would pass over other matters of minor importance,
The chief of the police had tne entire control and
..w domination in the country; no man could live, wove, or
hail) his being without him. Liberty of the press was
abolished. In article- 25 the secrecy of let: i re was declared
Inviolable, yet Mr. Hume had s' en many butt vi, fuels whose
litters had been opened, and yet they were call, d upon
to interfere and pre5,.....• the people, who had been driv. n
to desperation, from obtaining their just and undeniable
4.4 E-w,, J ,744 d flights. The Q seen had eseablished herself dictatrese,
-'lan old to the working- of every court and
Vit -----:-?"ffirrhei in- the country. Site had also appointed
4,/.7--- ~---___. --. 'r\ qouatort Commteder-in Chii fof the Arm • a pro-.
r
/ - ewdioN 14iich was ageinst the law of the country,' -and
*
. 11044 ale WI Citarttr of 16,36,- thas fuels -of ber's -had
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