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

principle was to be conceded. However, he should have
no objection to postpone the motion till Monday next.
The motion was accordingly withdrawn.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 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 Hon. MENBER 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 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 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 he had give* 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-
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 smallaum-
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
1826, when there was a triparte treaty, and when
they were bound to furnish troops for Portugal.
During the tune 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 Ie rd Bathurst concurred entirely in this view.
Thus was passed an interference very unnercessarily. 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 bad not invaded Portugal; France had not—
there had been no invasion. He was aware that civil
war had continued in that country for anumber of months,
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
the negotiations of this country with :Portugal,
He 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 did not most entirely
concur. He found the Noble Lord continually, on every
application, repulsing theidea 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. lie 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, slid 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 sap, " It is expected now (says Saldanha)
that the Queen's proclamation will keep the country in
a state of general tran4uillity, 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
uotation. 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 out 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.
But the Miguelites had now united with the national
party. These violations had been carried 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, 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
capable of containing erne-half of the number—who was
who had been heaped together in a prison not properly
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 police, although they were
quietly returning to
their homes without arms in their hands. If Lion.
Members who had not read those papers would follow
that article m
him, he would be enabled to make it clear to them, that
every liberty and privilege of a free country and
removing
people had been violated. In the 19th article of the
there
violation of were
i independent
dismissinge them.
of
judge and juries as well in civil as criminal cases,
viog
these judges from place to place and and
judicialthere h code
ad bce been a
He might say that such catalogues e
cruelties had
been heaped upon each individual, that it would tire the
House were he to do more than,allude to there. The p
tection which was set forth on this on wasconstituti not
granted. The liberty of the press had been putd not
granted. The liberty of the press had been put down
down,
and no newspaper was allowed to be printed except
those
under the sanction of the Government; and it was rather
curious that the Noble Lord should have
inserted in
these papers a number of extracts from the Government
papers, as if Members of Parliament had not the sense to
judge of what an article in a common newspaper was.
These prisoners were carried off without conviction,
without charge, and without trial, and locked with
up
felons 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 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 of letters was declared
inviolable, yet Mr. Hume had seen many individuals whose
letters bad been opened, and yet they were called upon
to interfere and prevent the people, who had been driven
to desperation, from obtaining their: just and undeniable
rights. The Queen had established herself dictatress,
and 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 1838, 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 had been levied without law,
and what was most disgraceful, they had sent over
Spanish bonds, similar to those which 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 question. 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—Peace.
Mr.
would
ll l
read e aecet betweenef
Earl Grey,
rforeigny,
and
leave countries.
Hesentiments rnn
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—(immense 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 ; bat 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 nag 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 et 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 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. Bulwer, 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 had
also quote the opinion of a public officer, Mr. Sotheron,
who, writing so late al 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. He should not, he feared, discharge his duty
if he made any exception of the Noble Lord the Member
ler Tiverton (Lord Palmerston)—(Hear, hear, and
laughter)—because he intended to read several of his
letters, and thus, as it were, to make him speak of 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 Lull 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
to the humanity of the Government.—(Hear, hear.) The
Hon. Member then read, at some length, a paper from
,the Foreign-office, dated April 5, with reference to the
state of things then existing in Portugal, and to the
construction of the treaty of 1834. He did not:think it
necessary to refer to the proceedings of the
Portuguese Government at any greater length.
Many acts of not only interfere:rice, but of viola-
Lion of the treaty, had been committed by the
Government in support of Donna Maria. None of
which were in any way justifiable or even called for. He
thought that he had made out a case of gross violation
of a treaty, and an improper interference in the affairs
of another country. If Russia, Prussia, and Austria
were to send troops to France and interfere in their in-
ternal arrangements, could the English say anything to
it? If they were desirous of interference, why did they
not prevent Mexico from being overrun by America? By
what tenure did the Queen of England hold her power ?
Might not another Power come over and interfere with

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 most 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
of intervention. Had the insurgents been allowed to
proceed unchecked, there c aild 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 b, 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. Ile
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 scat.
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 fact 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 Crown 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
negociatcd 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 away 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. Ile
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. POULET 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 eflbrts 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 wits accustomed to go on
crutches would never be able to use his limbs perfectly.
Mr. 11. BAILLIE said that he 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
the Noble Lord opposite ; for as long ago as 1841 he
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 this
people of this country while Miguel waste Pee 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, I)on 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 not 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 be hoped
that the House would recognise the principle now fully
acted upon by the people of this country, namely, that
intervention with foreign countries was generally unjust
find always impolitic.

A considerable time having elapsed before any Hon.
Member's offering to address the House, and loud calls
for Lord Palmerston having been made in vain,
Mr. B. OSBORNE rose and said, that he had tried to
have had the experience of any of the Members of
the Government who might have chosen to ad-
dress the House on this subject, but having
been unsuccessful in this endeavour, (although he cer-
tainly expected that some of the Lords of the Treasury,
who were as mute as they were distinguished, would have
been put forward,) he was forced to content himself
with the explanation given by the two Hon. Members
who had spoken on the side of the Government. Had
the Hon. Member for Pontefract not appeared to the
rescue ; had he not illustrated in his own person the
advantages of intervention, the " red box" would have
been in considerable danger, for a division would pro-
bably have been in danger, and the Ministers would
evidently be in a minority. He considered that the
Hon. Member for Pontefract had drawn on his poeti-
cal invention—(Laughter)—when he said that a young
country required schooling in constitutional government.
There was only one way by which they could explain
this. If they only allowed one person to tell his story
continually from morning till night every day for a
twelvemonth, that person would in the end become their
master. On no other principle could he account for the
otherwise unaccountable conduct of the Noble Lord the
Secretary for the Colonies, clinging to a Cabinet which
he refused to become a Member of in 1845 because of
the meddling capacities of the present Secretary for
Foreign Affairs. It might be said that this inter-
vention was a great scheme for the improve-
ment of Portugal, but if it could be shown
that this intervention, so far from pacifying Portugal,
was laying the seeds of a general European war, en-
dangering the existence of Portugal, and upholding
anarchy and despotic principles ; he maintained that
every Member of that House who preferred liberal
principles was called upon to support the motion of the
Hon. Gentleman, the Member for Montrose. What
induced the Noble Lord, on the 25th of May, to arrive at
the conclusion ? He was unable to account for it by the
ordinary rules of reasoning. There certainly were at the
time whispers about mysterious influences, but no import-
ance was attached to them, and he could not believe
that the Noble Lord, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs,
suffered himself to be influenced by them. The only
conclusion, therefore, he could bring himself to arrive at
after an attentive perusal of these papers was, that the
Noble Lord was averse to the whole proceeding. The
Noble Lord must have been out-voted in the Cabinet.
Now it was necessary in coming to this debate that they
should have a definite meaning of the word " intervention."
He believed he was right in saying that the term was
modern, and he could not, he thought, put the subject
on a better footing than by reading the definition of the
word " intervention," given by a statesman of
great influence and experience. Here was the
definition. The term " intervention" he defined to
be, " the principle that every nation has the right of
managing its own internal affairs, and regulating its in-
ternal policy so long as it does not injure its neighbour;
and no nation has the right to control by force of arms
the appointment of its Govenments or rulers." That
was the definition of the Noble Lord the present Secre-
tary for Foreign Affairs on June the Ist, 1829; and,
therefore, he felt bound to ask the Noble Lord who
ought not, he thought, to retain his seat with such
pertinacious obstinacy, why, if in June 1829 he held
this principle to be sacred, how was it that he now
violated it in his own person, and outraged the liberties
of Europe by his own proceedings?—(Hear, hear.) It
was well to remark that all this intervention had been
done secretly, and the greatest fuss had been made in
that House about the production of the papers relating
to it.—(Hear, hear.) Why, at the very moment when
the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Montrose was
pressing the Government for them, the protocol was
actually published in Paris.—(Hear, hear.) In reading
these papers, and examining all these transactions, he
was most forcibly struck with the astute conduct of Louis
Philippe. That great genius did not appear in these
transactions to the extent of the part he had taken in
them. Whenever there was any dirty work to be done,
Louis Philippe, like a second. Mephistophiles,
urged on the Noble Lord, who was as the head
of the Foreign Department, and the time would come
when he would reap all the advantage of the interven-
tion, while the Noble Lord would have to bear the whole
odium of the proceeding.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon.
Member for Montrose had told them that the Queen of
Portugal sacrificed her Crown, and broke her oath when
she sought for the intervention of a foreign power. The
Noble Lord readily responded to the call, but how dif-
ferent was the course pursued by Mr. Canning in 1826,
when the intervention of this country was sought then.
by Portugal. That great statesman would not allow it
single British soldier to embark until the concurrence of
the Portuguese Legislature had been obtained to the
proceeding. In 1847, however, the Noble Lord sets
aside all charters and treaties, and only looking to an
absolute monarchy, paying no regard to constitutional
liberty, he did not wait to ask a single question, but
actually put the army in possession of the Jnnta, before
the Cortes had taken any consideration of the subject.—
(Hear, hear.) It was not very difficult to discover from
the contents of the blue book, the real object of the
Court of Portugal since October 1846. Its whole object
had been foreign intervention. That was distinctly to be
traced from the very beginning of the counter-revelutios
and the military " move " executed under the auspices
of the Court itself.—(Hear, hear.) They had heard a
great deal which did not appear in the blue book ; but
are Hon. Gentlemen really aware of what Costa Cabral's
administration was ? Costa Cabral. like many others„
commenced his career as a furious Liberal, but the mo-
ment he got into power he became the patron of abso-
lute monarchy. They had some instances of this,
though on a humbler scale, on that side of the House.
They had some Gentlemen who had been very loud in
opposition, but became very quiet in office. Now, by the
intrigues of Cabral the charter of 1826 was got rid of,
because there were articles in that charter which pre-
vented him from carrying out his designs, and substi-
tuted in its stead the charter of 1833. Not content
with that, however, his first act, under this new char-
ter, was to appoint his brother Jose Cabral to be Mi-
nister of Public Duties. lie then took to levying taxes
without the consent of the Cortes—he imprisoned
people without trial—and, at last, he took a policy,
which on all occasions, and at all times, had pro-
voked the resistance of the people.—(hear, hear.)
He began by levying two taxes, one upon
salt, and the other upon burials, a tax of 10s. was levied
upon the frieuds of every person who was buried, and
this gave rise to the insurrections in the provinces. The
minister was then dismissed, and the Duke Palmella.
was sent for, who was induced to accept office, but on.
the 6th of October he was desired to sign his own dis-
missal. At first he hesitated doing so, but he was told.
he must consider himself a prisoner, and after
having being confined one night in the palace,
he signed the decree of his own dismissal. The dis-
missal was brought about by the King Consort, who had
taken the army under his control ; and when the com-
manding officers would not bend to his will, he substi-
tuted creatures of his own in their place. He offered
Das Antes, a Marquasa if he would take part in the
counter-revolution, but that distinguished man refused
the bribe, and he (Mr. Osborne) was sure
had the Honourable Member for Pontefract
been as celebrated for war as he was for
verse, he would have followed the same course.—(llear,
and laughter.) When Cabral was disposed of—to use a.
common English phrase—he was kicked up stairs. The
Queen made him courtier, and sent him to Madrid,
where he had concocted the whole of this scheme of
foreign intervention, which had brought eternal disgrace
upon the British name.—(Hear.) At that moment Cabrai.
ruled Portugal ; at that moment he ruled this country,
and he (Mr. Osborne) believed that, however well-in-
tentioned the Noble Lord at the head of the Foreign
Department might be in his interference, the Noble
Lord, in this instance, had been caught napping. The.
Noble Lord, in fact, was nothing more than a child
in the leading strings of Costa Cabral and Louis Philippe..
Although she was waited upon by the wives and daugh-
ters of those who had suffered in her royal father's
cause, she sent these prisoners to a convict ship, and
from thence to a penal colony. What was the conduct
of Mr.*Southern? he remonstrated with the Government,
although without any orders from his own Government;
but what did they do? they lied to him.—(Hear, hear.)
Yes, there should be speaking out. They said that they
would send those prisoners of Torres Vedras to Madeira.
and was this now the Government whom they were
about to bolster up? Could any one believe that the
Queen, starting with the prestige of royalty, and a good
and disciplined army, that she should be driven into e
coraer, relying for her protection upon the British fleet
in the Tagus, unless the voice of the people was unani-
mously raised to hurl her from her throne, he must say
that the appointment of the gallant officer, Colonel
Wylde, was most injudicious. They said that they only
appointed him in order to give a military opinion, but
it was a very curious circumstance that throughout the
whole of the discussion and the reports not one of those
military opinions was hazarded. He did not suit the
views, however, of the Noble Lord, and his commis•
sion was recalled in consequence, as it was alleged of
his having spoken disparagingly of the Marquis lie Sall
danha's troops, let them remember that. This was only
the statement of the Marquis, for Colonel Wylde denichi
having given any offence to the Marshal Saldanha, al-
though he found him forging his name. He would
quote several passages to prove that Colonel Wylde was
sent in any character but that of a military One; he
was rather sent as a mediator, and if he came from the
Foreign-office, he would leave it to the House, it waa
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LHoeefnwtthoaesfthe bounds of his authority, when ha
threatened the Marquis Sa Da Bandiera, that if he
should be successful, he should have to meet the British
troops. What right, he should like to know, had he to take
the name of the Queen and the people of England in vain?
he protested against such conduct, he protested against
it being even tacitly approved of by the Minister, as
there was no appearance that he had been reproved for
it. It appeared that the Queen had broken through
every oath, and it was impossible to rely upon what het
Ministers would say. But as soon as Sir Hamilton,
Seymour appeared, the whole scene changed. All the
dispatches assumed the character of rose-water. The
Queen went out and attended the wounded. He wee
sent out in order to make a case for the Court. The
Noble Lord was very much mistaken if he
thought that M. Guizot or Louis Philippe would be
caught in a blue-book—(Laughter)—and he certainly
thought that he could not make out his case, through
them. Now he considered that it was necessary, in such
a crisis as the present, to speak out the whole truth, and,
in his opinion, Sir Hamilton Seymour exceeded his no-
thority, for they were only bound to guarantee the life
of the Queen, and not her throne; but he had gni.
ranteed the throne, and in this he overstepped the
boundaries of his duty. Every one knelt