The Sun.
London, England, 1833-06-07 00:00:00

t;ce, he should refuse to give his assent to the proposi-
tions brought forward that night.—(Elear.)
' Lord J. RUSSELL, in explanation, said that he never
denied the right of the Crown to interfere to prevent the
levying of men for foreign service, but only expressed a
doubt of that right being practicable of enforcement in
many instances.
Lord PALMERSTON rose, but owing to some con-
fusion which took place in the gallery, from the crowding
together of strangers, one or two of his beginning sen-
tences were not heard. As soon as order was restored we
understood the Noble Lord to say that it was singular the
Hon. M.-milers who opposed the proposition should object
to the coming to a decision on the question on the ground
of a want of information, since no tenderness or coin
punction had been shoWn in another place when the self-
same question was discussed. To come, however, to the
subject more immediately before the House, he believed
that it was the fact that the personal character of Don
Miguel was the reason which induced the late Government
to order, in the first ins.ance, our ambassador from Lis-
bon, and afterwards to abstain from renewing friendly re-
lations with Portugal. The Right Hon. Baronet had said
that, in 1830, the time had arrived for the renewal of

those relations. But was there not a great difference
between the state of things in that country then
and since ? There was then no civil war, and
the authority of Miguel was recognised. But how
did he acquire that authority ? In the capacity of lieu
tenant to his lawful Sovereign, he illegally assembled the
Cortes, and, in defiance of every principle of honour and
good faith, got himself proclaimed Sovereign. When,
afterwards, the civil war arose, it was in the power of his
Majesty's Government to adopt the cause of Donna Maria
if they had thought fit, for it was an admitted principle
in the law of nations that when a civil war arose i❑ con_
sequence of there being two competitors to a crown, any
foreign nation may espouse cause of either of the parties
it pleased. But they had come very early to a different
decision, not certainly with the view of conciliating the
neutrality of Spirit., for long before the expedition sailed
from the 13r,zils the Government had upon general prin
ciples, and no, to secure a particular object, tirade up their
minds to the course of policy they had pursued. When
shortly afterwards a Spanish army assembled on the fron-
tiers of Portugal, the Government did say to the Court of
Spain, if you interfere in the contest by carrying arms into
Portugal, we will revoke the di vision to which we have
come, and take the part of Donna Mari.i. It was for the
purpose of watching the movements of Spin that Lord
William Russell was subsequently sent out to Portugal.
From the earliest periods of our history British subjects
had been accustomed to take part in foreign quarrels.
He hardly need refer to the expeditions to the Low
Countries in the time of Elizabeth, and to other
armaments from this country in the reigns of James
I. and Charles I. When the • French revolution
broke out there was an Irish brigade in the service
of the King of France, although the Act of George
11. was then in existence. On the proclamation of the

republic the Irish brigade quitted the French service, and
the British Government, instead of inflicting penalties
❑pon them, took them into the British service, and formed
out of them the regiments of Filzjarnes, Conway, and
O'Connell. It would have been nugatory in the present
instance for the Government to have issued a proclama-
tion which they knew from former experience would
have no effect. The greatest difficulty was experienced in
enforcing the provisions of the Foreign Enlistment Act,
because it required proof which it was almost impossible
to obtain, except from the parties themselves against
whom the Act would operate.—(Hear.) The Govern-
ment had not done any thing or omitted to do any thing
inconsistent with the character of neutrality which they
had assumed. They had rigidly adhered to the line of
policy which they had professed their intention to main-
tain, and nothing was stated in the speech flow the throne
which the Right Hon. Baronet alluded to, which had not
been faithfully acted upon by the Government. There
seemed to be a disposition to look at only one side of the
question in this case. The House would bear in mind
that Don Miguel's army was commanded by Sir John
Campbell, and that he received all his military stores
from this country.—(Hear.) It was true that he had
not applied to England for soldiers or sailors, because he
bad all the resources of Pot tugal at his command, and be-
cause he was well aware that an appeal to this country
was not likely to procure him any reinforcements.—( Hear. )
The principle of the present Government was non-inter-
ference in the affairs of other countries, and all that they
required was, that other nations should themselves pursue
the same system of abstinence. Much had been said in
deprecation of the adoption of a course which was likely
to bring about a collision between the two branches of the
Legislature. He admitted that it would be a groat tnisfor-
tune if such an event should occur; hut at the same time
he must say that the affeir had not originated in that
House.—(Hear, hear.) It could not fail to be known to
the promoters of the decision which had taken place else-
where, that it was in opposition to the general feeling, not
only of the House of Commons, but of the country. What-
ever inconvenience, therefore, might arise from a marked
and pronounced separation in opinion between the quarter
in which the decision in question took place and the rest
of the country, would not be attributable to the House of
Commons, who would only perform their duty by ex-
pressing their sentiments upon this important question ;
but to those who, he must say, without cause or reason,
or, as he thought, any obvious utility to be derived from
it to themselves—(Hear, hear) —thought fit to exhibit a
marked difference of opinion between themselves and the
other branch of the Legislature.—(Hear.)
Colonel EVANS said that it was in the p ewer of any
individual to bring the Insurrection Act into operation if
he could make out a case for that purpose. A few months
hack Don Miguel's agents tried to do so and failed.
Therefore there was rositive proof that the law was in-
effectual, as stated by Ministers, and in that respect the
Government stood completely exculpated. The Hon. and
Learned Member for Dublin suggested the propriety of
sending troops to Portugal to settle the question at once,
which excited the indignation of the Right Hon. Baronet
the Member for Tainworth, who denounced the idea as
monstrous, and unfit to be listened to in that assembly.
He begged to ask the Right Hon. Baronet what was the
difference beta een the case of Portugal and that of Greece,
in which we interfered by force of arms? Was there any
principle which prevented us from interfering with respect
to Portugal which would not have also bound us not to
interfere in the case of Belgium ? It might be said that
our interference with regard to Greece was founded upon
the principles of expediency and humanity. Would not
those principles justify our interference in the caseof Por-
tugal?—(Hear.) The Right Hon. Member fur Tamworth
argued that the submission of the people to the domination
of Miguel was paramount to all other considerations, and
perfectly conclusive as to his right to reign : but he seemed
to forget flirt the Government of which he was a member
in 1815 would not acknueviedge the validity of that argu-
ment when the French people declared in favour of Na-
poleon, or, at least, willingly acquiesced in his govern-
ment.—(Hear, hear.) The ground upon which the
Ministers of that day refused to recognise and treat with
Napoleon was, that no reliance was to he placed upon the
fidelity of his engagements, and that he had forfeited all
claim to the confidence of the European Powers. If that
argument were now to be insisted upon, the Right Hun.
Baronet must acknowledge that Don Miguel had forfeited
all claim to be recognised as the Sovereign of Portugal._
(Hear, hear.) Though he could not pretend to argue the
question with the satne powers which the ROA lion.
Baronet possessed, yet he must say that his opposition to
the present motion appeared to rest upon filse grounds ;
but could he prove that the people of Portugal were en -
listhd in Don Miguel's cause ? If in 1688 the Govern-
ment of this country had succeeded in getting into its
possession all the officers and non-commissioned officers of
the army, and all persons of note who were opposed
to it, would the revolution have been accomplished
at all ? He feared not ; and then could it have been
fairly said that the feelings of the people were com-
pletely expressed by their submission to James's Govern-
tnent ? He would trouble the House with a short quo-
tation from a pamphlet written by Lord Perchester, now
the Earl of C trnarvon, who happened to be in Portugal at
the time Dun Miguel accomplished his usurpation. The
pamphlet was an able one, and as it was written by an
eye-witness, who was not strongly imbued with Radical or
Republica❑ notions, it might be received with favour by
the Right Hon. Baronet. The passage was as follows
" The French revolution was, indeed, far more sangui
nary than the Portuguese ; but in proportion to the ex-
tent of population over which its effects were distributed,
it perhaps (lid not inflict a greater amount of misery.
The journals announced the principal changes by which
Don Miguel became possessed of absolute dominion, but
eye-witnesses alone could justly appreciate the heart-
rending scenes that accompanied the progress of a revolu-
tion which overwhelmed half the families of Portugal, and
shook the fabric of society. No less than 20,000 persons
are supposed to have emigrated from that little kingdom, or
to be still concealed within its precincts ; more than ] 5,000
confiscations are known to have taken place, and 10,000
individuals are believed to be still immured in its
dungeons—dungeons damp and swarming with vermin—
dungeons of whose wretchedness a British public could
hardly form a conception. Far happier, indeed, were
those who died by the hands of the executioner, for their
torments were brief; but these unhappy people, torn
loom their homes, chained, crowded together, deprived of
e. holesome food, of air, of exercise, and sometimes even