The Sun.
London, England, 1840-10-26 00:00:00

PORTUGAL.

FALMOUWII, OCT. 24.—The Hope packet, Lieut.
Cresol., arrived yesterday, with the West India mails.
She sailed from Cape Henri, Sept. 9th, and has brought
about 18,0001. on freight.
This afternoon the steamer Manchester arrived
with the Spanish and Portugal mails ; the dates are
Gibraltar, Oct. 15th, Cadiz, 16th, Lisbon, 19th,
Oporto, 20th, and Vigo, '2lst.
LISBON, OCT. 19.—The Queen's health is now so
much improved, that no bulletins have been issued
for some days, and all apprehensions for her safe re-
covery are quite at an end.
The Senate has passed the Bills relative to the fo-
reign dividends, the press, and the elective franchise,
without any essential alteration in either case, from
the.. projects as they passed the Chamber of Deputies.
No further advance has.yet been made in the dis-
mission of the Budget. The subject last under discus-
sion is a new project of law for facilitating the sale of
national property, which it is proposed to put up in the
first place upon the terms on which it has for some time
been purchased, viz., one-third part in cash, one-third in
old paper money, and one-third in Treasury Papers
called " titulos of three operations." The law respect-
ing the dividends being naturally of much interest, I
send you a translation in the state it passed the Senate
aft( r the alterations effected in its passage through the
other Chamber.

" Art. 1. The Government is authorised to pro-
pose, or negotiate with the bondholders of the loans
contracted out of the country, a temporary reduction
in the payment of the interest of their respective ca-
pitals, calculated in harmony with the resources of the
" Art. 2. 'By the convention treated of in the pre-
ceding article, the Government may convert the ex-
isting capitals and their arrears of interest into new
funds, under the conditions it may judge most conve-
nient, without increase of the interest or of the capital.
" Art. 3. In order better to assure the bondholders
the punctual payment of the interest of the converted
capitals, the Government may specially consign, for the
payment of that interest, besides the general mortgages,
" hypothecas," which served as a guarantee fur those
loans, in conformity with the original contracts, what-
ever revenues of the State, or part of them, that may
well assure the realintion of that payment at the periods
of their respectively becoming due.
" Art. 4. It shall be equally stipulated, in the con-
vention referred to, that the payment of the interest
shall be effected precisely at the periods designated ;
but if it may happen from any cause whatever that the
said convention is not realised, the payment of the inte-
rest due for the first half of the present economical year
shall infallibly take place on the first days of December
and January next, calculating in attention to at least
half a dividend of the capitals originally lent.
" Art. 5. Should it happen that the coupons or de-
bentures belonging to the dividend in arrear, due up to
the 31st Alarch and 30th June last, are not compre-
hended in the convention or proposal, the Government
is authorized to negotiate with the possessors of tk.e
aforesaid coupons and debentures any operation that,
being in harmony with the resources of the State, may
facilitate to those creditors the payment of the sums
due to them, it being incumbent on the Government to
present to the Cortes, in the first legislative Session,
the proposals which it may judge necessary for this pur-
pose, in order to be properly discussed and approved.
" Art. 6. All legislation to the contrary is hereby
revoked."

Many complaints have lately arrived here of the de.
fcctive state of police in the provinces. Near Evora,
in Alentejo, where there is a large fair holding at this
time, a gang of mounted guerrillas, about sixty strong,
have taken up their quarters, levying contributions on all
going there ; and these, I hear to-day, have lately been
rein!orced by others from the Algarve. The John
Cooper, a large British ship of 650 tons, which came
in here on the 14th, having been struck by lightning
and dismasted in a hurricane on the 6th instant, when
on her way out from Greenock to Sydney, with ninety-
two passengers, was obliged to submit to five days' qua-
rantine for want of a bill of health. Her Majesty's
brig Trinculo, on this vessel being signalled in distress
off the bar, about ten a.m. on the 13th, went out to sea
immediately, and Captain Coffin offered his services to
tow her in, which I hear were refused ; but she sub-
vquently availed herself of the Portuguse steamer
Vesuvio, which brought her up to Belem, and has re-
ceived 3501. for so doing.
Lord Grosvenor and his Lady and family are here in
his yacht, the Dolphin, but leave today for Cadiz. The
Espoir brig of war is leaving also to-day for the same
destination. The Trinculo brig, British, and Coquette,
corvette, French, remain here.