The Sun.
London, England, 1833-01-16 00:00:00

PORTUGAL.

ACOAS SANTAS; DEC. 29.
I have received your letter dated the 24th inst., com-
plaining of the conduct of some picquets on the south side
of the Douro, i❑ the neighbourhood of the Convent of
Santo Antonio ; and although I was persuaded that my
often-repeated orders, not to give offence to the vessels of
his Britannic Majesty, and their boats, could not have been
culpably nor intentionally transgressed, and if any inconve-
nience had arisen to your vessels, by fire of musketry or
otherwise, it must have been caused by some unavoidable
circumstance, and by no means purposely; yet, to enable
me to reply most satisfactorily, I ordered the General com-
manding on the left bank of the Douro to inform the of
every particular which may have induced you to form
the complaint, and I have now the honour to en-
close you a copy of his statement, together with an extract
of the daily report of the third division, which has re-
ference to the subject in question.
In transmitting this ample explanation of the General,
I have only to add, that the Government of his most
faithful Majesty, having given the most positive orders
that the persons, properties, and vessels of his Britannic
Majesty should be respected, it is not, however, possible to
be responsible for any accidents that may happen whilst
your vessels remain in their present position, and when
the enemy chooses to direct his attacks under cover of, and
close to your anchorage, which attacks must, at all times,
he forcibly repelled by the Portuguese troops, and in this
case it appears to me that your complaint would have '
more foundation if made against the aggressors, instead
of the aggressed. You are well acquainted that the rebels
in making their attacks, choose their own ground, and
they therefore purposely select the nearest to the anchorage
of his Britannic Majesty's vessels, for no other object than
to promote explanations and misunderstandings between
the British naval officers and the commanders of the troops
of his most faithful Majesty.
To show the good faith of my Government, and the
frankness, in conformity to my instructions, by which I
have ever been guided, and shall continue to be so, under
any way, prevent the contingency of the variation of a
ball injuring your vessels and boats, provided, however,
that such measure cannot interfere with the troops under
my command, in the performance of their duty, and re-
pelling the attacks and attempts of the rebels (when they
make them in the direction of your anchorage), nor be
detrimental to the service of my Sovereign, my country,
and what I owe to myself as a Portuguese General.
With these sentiments, 1 have the honour to be, &c.
( Signed) Visconde de SANTA MARTHA
To Lieutenant W. N. Glascock.

VILLA NOVA, DEC. 26, 1832.
I have had the honour of receiving the Adjutant-General's
communication, dated yesterday, together with a copy of
one which the senior effacer of his Britannic Majesty's
vessels anchored in the Douro, addressed to your Excel-
lency on the 24th instant, desiring I should reply to its
contents, inasmuch as they refer to me, I have, therefore,
to inform your Excellency that your orders respecting the
care which at all times ought to be taken not to give
offence to the subjects and the squadron of his Britannic
Majesty, have not only been inserted in the orders of the
division, for their complete observance, but the command-
ing officers of brigades and regiments have frequently
been desired to attend at my head-quarters to hear my ex•
planations and recommendations, that every thing in their
power should be done to prevent their picquets from firing
upon any British vessel of w ar or merchantman, or giving
them any offence whatever; and I dare venture to certify
to your Excellency, that these my instructions have been
punctually obeyed, as might be expected by a division in
so high a state of discipline and organization as is the 3d,
under my command.
On the 23d, when the Commander of the British
naval forces in the Douro preferred his complaint of the
irregular proceeding, as he terms it, of some of the pie-
quets of this division stationed near the convent of Santo
Antonio, I had a report of the circumstance, which your
Excellency will see by the one of that day already sent
you, that the rebels were embarked in a large boat and
proceeding towards C'avaco, followed by two others, all
completely filled with them, against whom the officer,
then on duty with the 2sl brigade, ordered his men to open
a brisk fire, which obliged them to retreat to the right
bank, and on this occasion it might appear that the fire
was directed against one of the English vessels, as the
rebels sheltered themselves near it; but certainly it cannot
be positively affirmed that the firing was purposely made
against that vessel, On the 24th, your Excellency will
also perceive by the report, that the rebels were again em-
barked in large boats, in the very same place, close to the
British anchorage, for the purpose of attacking and plun-
dering the wine stores of Cavaco, and they were repulsed
in the same manner by the fire of the picquets.
I cannot reply according to my own sentiments, to the
Commander of the British naval forces, when lie com-
plains of " a continuation of those provocations ;" and
when he has been informed by one of his own officers,
who had often come to my head-quarters, of the orders of
sour Excellency, which have been explained to him in the
English language by Colonel Pigott, who distinctly as-
sured him of my wish to comply with every reasonable
demand as far as lay in my power. This naval officer

has always been much respected wheneve► he has corn P
on shore with his party, to conduct on hoard the beef and
other fresh provisions for the squadron, and has been
assisted i❑ doing so by soldiers of the division, who are
stationed as sentinels to protect the British stores, and
many Englishmen who reside beyond our advanced posts.
It is impossible that, in a skirmish, when neutrals place
themselves between the combatan's, to avoid injury attend-
ing the former.

I abstain from making any reflections, but I cannot
help observing, that to remedy these inconveniences, the
best mode will be, for the Commander of the British na-
val forces, to hold himself responsible that the rebels do
not make aggressions on the side of the river near to his
anchorage, because in any other manner I cannot but be
compromised, so long as similar aggressions are tolerated.
I have the honour to be, &c.
(Signed) JOZE ANTONIO DE AZEVEDO LEMON,
Brigadier General commanding 3d Division.
To Viscount de Santa Martha, &c. &c.

FRENCH PAPERS.

(From the Journal des Debuts.)

PARIS, JAN. 13.—The Cabinet of the Hague appears
determined to persist in the mischievous course into which
it has been thrown by the interest of the Dynasty. The
national interests are now sacrificed to some longing after
a Belgian restoration or a general war, although France
has demonstrated by her acts that she will not have a
Belgian restoration, and Europe has proved incontestably,
by its quietness, that it wishes to preserve peace. This
begins to exceed the ordinary limits of human delusion.
What, however, will be the result? Belgium, admitted
into the rank of the European family, and delivered from
the neighbourhood of a fortress bristling with cannon, will
preserve provisionally all the guarantees which the revolu-
tion of 1830 has left in its hands ; and if by chance
another caprice should again send Dutch troops into
Belgium, France will take care to render that attempt the
final one. At present all the advantages are on the side
of Belgium. The postponement of the payment of the
debt, possession of territory, every thing in the status quo
is favourable to Belgium, with the exception of the navi-
gation of the Scheldt: and as that is as much an European
as a Belgic question—as England and Germany are not
likely to allow the King of Holland to annihilate, by a mots
proprio, the treaty of Vienna concerning the navigation of
rivers, Belgium is, perhaps, that country of Europe
which is the least interested in the giving in of the King of
Holland. The nation which will suffer most from his
obstinacy is Holland itself. As long as he could calculate
on a general war, and as long as he had reason to believe
that the two conflicting principles of European society
would meet on the field of battle, we must admire, he
being the champion of the principle defeated at Paris and
at Brussels in 1830, the firmness and consistency of his
policy. It was a sight not even deficient in grandeur to
see the people pressing unanimously round the House of
Nassau, taking their hatred against Belgium for enthu-
siasm, but resolved to defend to the last extremity the
rights of the old Netherlands. The King can never have
been deceived as to the nature and strength of this national
impulse, and we deplore, in the interest of Holland, an
obstinacy which knowingly places itself in opposition to
the wishes, legally expressed, of the people. Holland
does not love Belgium. The ill assorted union is broken
for ever. The King has not ceased to regret Brussels as
a capital,—a regret which does not deserve the sacrifice
and devotedness of Ainstirdam and the Hague.

(From the Gazette de France.)
PARIS, JAN. 15.—1 n Germany, deliberative Assem-
blies meet and discuss without public notice. An alliance
is spoken of between the Courts of the North, with which
the German Confederation has not yet co-operated, because
Baden, Wirtumburg, and other members of the Confede-
ration have not yet declared in favour of this alliance, for
fear of injuring their trade. " England (says the Ham-
burg Correspondent) in particular causes uneasiness,
because i❑ case of war she could immediately annihilate
all the trade of Germany ; even in declaring herself neu-
tral, might allow a host of French privateers to interrupt,
in the most vexatious manner for the Germans, and in
the easiest manner for themselves, the whole maritime
trade of Germany, left without defence, while France
would be mistress of the sea in despite of Austria and ,1
Russia."