The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-12 00:00:00

DOM MIGUEL, K(NG OF PORTUGAL.

(Prom the Westminster Gazette.)
A tourist in Western Germany, passing through

leidelberg or Wurzburg, can easily make an

nteresting excursion to a charming wooded valley
hidden deep in the solitude of an old German

forest, where Dom Miguel, King of Portugal,
found a hospitable reception while awaiting the

close of a life full of vicissitudes. At Bischofs-

heim, lately devastated by the Prussians, the
Wiirzburgh and Heidelberg railway meets a lovely
little river, the Tauber, and the traveller on de-
scending the valley of the river (a branch railway
is now in course of construction there) will soon

reach the ancient Cistercian abbey of Bronnbach,
a town in which he will find a comfortable inn.
It is four English miles above Wertheim, where
the Tauber falls into the Main. The abbey came
into the possession of its recent proprietor, Prince
Charles von Liiwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, in
consequence of political changes, and with the
Papal sanction ; he resides himself on the lovely
banks of the Main, at Henbach, near Aschaffen-
burg, and his now widowed sister, who was mar-
ried to Dom Miguel, at the old- abbey of Bronn-
bach.. The abbey is but little changed, and the
interior arrangements that meet the eye of the
stranger remind him more forcibly of the monas-
tery than of the Prince's palace. Here the illus-
trious pair dwelled long together with their many
children, and with but few attendants. They
were distinguished in the eyes of the world only
by their piety, their charity, and their affability
to all. Dom Miguel especially was remarkable for
an almost excessive goodness of heart, at all times
and under all circumstances, and to such a degree
that his political adversaries were quite at a loss
to reconcile his life and character, as manifested
here during a long course of years with the preva-
lent myths of his government in Portugal. They
unreservedly declare that, according to all human
experience, it is quite impossible that such a
public character could ever turn out such a private
character. " Who can believe," say they, " that
this noble, modest, conscientious, and amiable
man who has been living among us for years, and
whose private life and character every one is forced
to honour, should be the sanguinary despot of
Portugal ?" The explanation is simple enough,
and to the unprejudiced inquirer has long
ceased to be an enigma. The works of political
partisans honoured with the title of historical
annals are worthless productions, through which
party prejudice succeeded formerly in England,
and still more in Germany, in confusing and mis-
leading the public opinion of the day. Even now,
when.death has overtaken the aged but still hale
and active prince, while engaged in manly field
sports in the forest of the Spessart,—even at such
a moment, when a sudden death (though, God be
praised, not an unprovided one—for he never let
the highest, the last ends of his life out of view)—
had just released their noble victim from his
earthly banishment, some harsh voices are raised
to re-echo the old cry about the Portuguese tyrant.
But the people here are still too uncorrupt, possess
too much good and honest feeling, not to be
stirred with the deepest indignation, at hearing
such demoniacal outcries of party hate and party
prejudice. Our simple-hearted townsfolk, though
conscious of not being able to see their way
through the mazes of politics, are not less in-
dignant at the impiety, as well as the indelicacy,
at the present moment of such unworthy attacks
on the deceased Prince. " What do we know,"
do they exclaim to one another, " about revolu-
tionary struggles in a foreign country, where one
party has succeeded in driving out the other ?
Those who abuse the laidest have generally the
worst conscience. As soon as the Prussians
drove out the King of Hanover, see how the
Prussian papers were filled with abuse of him.
To us Dom Miguel came as a stranger, robbed of
his kingdom and of his property; where is there
an individual in the country who can accuse him
of ever having in the least injured or offended
him? Who can say that Dora Miguel ever let an
opportunity of doing good pass by unnoticed?
How many have to thank him for benefits
received, although he was far from wealthy ; in
the late devastating war no poor wounded soldier
lay in the neighbourhood of Bronnbach without
receiving from thence help and comfort for soul
and body I"
This is the kind of dirge which our honest towns-
folk and country people sing in honour of the
exiled Sovereign. And I believe that every right-
minded man, whether political adversary or not,
must join in the simple expression of popular
feeling. I am myself no political adversary of
Dora Miguel, but am a friend of unprejudiced
historical inquiry, and I believe that to such of
your readers as have failed to obtain an exact
and strictly historical account of the revolu-
tion, to which Dom Miguel fell a victim, a
few words of explanation will be useful: Those,
to whom this history is not new, will pardon me
for bringing forward facts, with which they are
as well, if not better, acquainted than myself ; they
know how difficult it is in these days for truth to
withstand the flood of falsehood that pours down
upon it on all sides from a thousand sources.
True it was a party struggle to which Dorn
Miguel fell a victim. But we owe it to him above
all to have these parties placed in their true light—
to show that the parties engaged in this struggle
were no other than that of right and of injustice,
of legitimacy and of revolution, of Catholicism and
of freemasonry, of national independence and of
foreign intervention and preponderance.
Dom Miguel, the second son of Dom John
VI., was neither ignorant of nor disputed the ori-
ginal claims of his brother to the throne of Por-
tugal ; he only erred in having, through ignorance
of his own rights, acknowledged the claims of his
brother Dom Pedro when those claims no longer
existed. According to an undisputed law of the
kingdom of Portugal, the elder brother, in the year
1825, forfeited his right of inheritance to the
kingdom of Portugal. Dom Pedro had rebelled
against his father in Brazil, but on the 15th of
October, 1825, concluded a treaty with him, by
virtue of which Brazil ceased to be united with
Portugal, and became an entirely independent
kingdom ; it was agreed upon that after the death
of Dom John VI., Dom Pedro should ascend the
throne of Brazil as Emperor. From this moment
Dom Pedro ceased to have any right of inheritance
in Portugal, by a fundamental law of the country
when a King of Portugal dies leaving sons behind
him, and bequeathing an independent Crown as an
inheritance in the family, the Crown of Portugal
falls to the second son, and he alone, as legitimate
heir to the throne of Portugal, is entitled to claim
an oath of allegiance. In March, 1826,
King
John died. But no one was less acquainted with
what passed in Portugal and Brazil than. Dom
pointment is not to be wondered at, and it was
rendered all the more bitter by the confident
assurance with which they had awaited the suc-
cess of their fine-spun machinations. A prince,
who in service of the revolution is willing to cast
off the holiest obligations, and to tread under foot
the faith of treaties, such a prince may, indeed,
gather around him from all sides a crowd of par-
tizans, praising and exalting him, the i of the
day, because, rising superior to prejudice, he has
discerned his historic mission, and made the true
welfare of the nation, the development of civiliza-
tion and political progrew, the sole rule and guide

unhappy party struggles that distracted Portugal.
lle resided in Vienna, and the dominant party in
Portugal took care that he should be kept in
the hands of people who would never permit
him to learn what they desired to keep concealed
from him. And this advantage the party insidi-
ously made use of to obtain from him a renunci-
ation of his rights to the Crown of Portugal. Ile
fell into the snare laid for him, and solemnly pro-
mised to fulfil what they desired; he acknow-
ledged rights in the existence of which he
undoubtedly believed, although their existence
was illusory, and he failed to guard or claim
rights (his own as well as those of his people) of
whose existence he was not aware. The enemies of

the young and inexperienced prince believed him
to be inextricably entangled in the meshes of the
net they had woven for him with wondrous subtlety,
but the texture of it was not as strong as it was
fine. Ile was required totally to renounce certain
rights, and was to remain ignorant of those rights.
His promises were grounded on a totally false
basis, and yet promises so made were to be held
binding on him ! The partisans of the revolution in
Portugal had carefully prepared their schemes.
The father of Dom Pedro had scarcely breathed
his last when the then dominant revolutionary party
proclaimed that prince King of Portugal. Ile
overthrew the ancient constitution of the country,
and set up a new revolutionary constitution in its
stead. It is true the Portuguese -people rose up

and loudly protested against these changes, but
the revolutionists succeeded, with the assistance
of England, in stifling their efforts to right
themselves ; warned by this opposition, and by
the attachment they now perceived the nation
cherished for their rightful prince, the exiled
Dora Miguel, the party changed their tactics.
Through the influence of England they induced
Dom Pedro to renounce his pretensions to the
Throne of Portugal in favour of his daughter.
Their plan was as follows :—Dom Miguel was to
return home to be betrothed to Donna Maria, and
to be Regent during her minority. What ensued?
On the 22d of February, 1828, the deluded Infant
arrived in Lisbon, and scarcely had he assumed
the Regency when a fresh popular insurrection
broke out, and this time of a strength to overpower
all resistance. The truth, that had been so long
kept back from Dora Miguel, now burst upon
him ; he saw how he had been duped in Vienna ;
how he had acted without • knowing what he was
about, in acknowledging a claim which was
founded only on usurpation ; how he had made
promises which he ought not to make, which
he ought not, could not, keep without violating
the Constitution, without sacrificing the most
sacred rights of the nation. He heard but one
opinion from the mouths of all: the same was
avouched by the bishops of the Church, was
averred by the great nobles of the kingdom, was
confirmed by the first lawyers of the land. In
truth, all Portugal—the great majority, at least,
of the nation—was decidedly in favour of the
righteous cause of their legitimate prince ; the
minority consisted but of a portion of the towns-
people, who, under English influence, had been
corrupted by the machinations of the secret
societies. As soon as Dom Miguel was con-
vinced of his claims, the nation was restored
to its lights. In June of the same year the ancient
Cortez assembled in great numbers, and declared
that, according to the order of succession estab-
lished in Portugal, Dom Miguel was the legitimate
successor of his father.
Thus was law and order restored in Portugal.
Dom Miguel reigned six year as a truly national
prince. He governed as a Catholic prince of a
Catholic people. He restored to the Church the
possessions and the freedom of which the revolution
had robbed her. No wonder, then, that the Church
recognised in him her most faithful, her obedient
son. He displayed on the throne of Portugal the
same qualities which distinguished his character
down to the latest period of his life, when we had
the privilege of becoming personally acquainted
with him. His character was one of unshaken,

undaunted rectitude and of deep religious feeling,

At all times modest and full of moderation, never
provoking discussion, he only now and then revealed
by a word, or an animated and expressive glance,
the feelings with which he watched, from his
distant rural retreat, in the bosom of his peaceful
and happy home, the development of the mighty
events which had agitated the world since his
downfal.
The clearer and the more indisputable the title
of Dom Miguel according to the fundamental laws
of the Portuguese constitution, the louder rose the
clamour of his adversaries about the breach of the
promises made in Vienna. Their bitter disap-
, of his actions. But let a legitimate prince ensnared
in the nets of a revolutionary faction, deceived and
betrayed, succeed at length in freeing himself from
their thraldom, let him, retracting invalid and un
lawful promises as simply inoperative, retrieve as
soon as possible the error he committed in making
them, then, forsooth, against such a prince the
cry of broken faith may rightly be raised and pro-
pagated far and wide. Upon falseness like this
comment is needless.
But there is another view we cannot leave en-
tirely unnoticed. Many a man of rectitude may
exclaim, not without a feeling of uneasiness,
" True it is, Dom Miguel was legitimate King of
Portugal, the promises made at Vienna could not,
ought not, to prevent him from acting as he did in
Lisbon ; yet it was at least a proof of levity that
he allowed himself to be seduced into making such
promises. This reproach will ever weigh heavily
on him." Well, we acknowledge this to be pretty
nearly our own opinion, although we are not per-
fectly informed on the subject, and have reason to
believe that hereafter these transactions in Vienna
will be placed in a clearer light. But, allowing
that this prince had been guilty of an act of
youthful indiscretion, this circumstance could not
have the slightest influence on the question of
right, which is the question now chiefly under con-
sideration. Neither do I believe will the image of
this fine character be dimmed in our memories by
the recollection of these transactions in Vienna.
If a single individual among the many men of
rectitude who may ever become acquainted with
the history of the much-agitated and chequered
life, can say that his own youth was entirely guilt-
less of a similar weakness, then I hope he will not
make the remark without earth thanking
so almost God
for a happiness so great, so uheard of.

THE SEARCH OF PASSENGERS' LUGGAGE.—The
following nwmorial, numerously signed, has been presented
to the Right Hon. B. Disraeli, M.P., Chancellor of the
Exchequer :—" Sir, —We beg to urge upon your considera-
tion the desirability of substituting Custom-house surveil-
lance, through detective or other officers, for the practice
of individual and personal search of baggage at the ports
and in London, in the case of travellers by railway between
London and Paris for the seven months of the Great In-
ternational Exhibition of 1867. The concession suggested
involves the comfort and convenience of several hun-
dred thousands of her Majesty's subjects, and of Americans
and other tra,:ellers from abroad passing through England
on the interesting occadon_offered by the Emperor for the
assembly of people of all nations at Paris. It cannot mate-
rially affect the revenue or prejudice the future practice of
the Custom-house, as the concession is to meet an excep-
tional case, in which the duty of co-operating to make the
Exhibition in every sense a success must be admitted by
her Majesty's Government. It is understood that the Go-
vernment of the Emperor, placed under far greater diffi-
culty than our own from the fact of their much larger
number and heavier scale of customs duties, will mate-
rially modify their system of search during the Exhibition
and aro also ready to discuss the whole question with you
on the principal of reciprocal action ; and we cannot doubt
that you, on equally enlightened views, will sympathise
with our object, and be led to deal with any technical or
departmental difficulties which-may present tb.emselves."

ing. A man-named Curran, a shipmaster, was the
first witness examined. His evidence was of the
same character as that of the previous witnesses,
quite exculpating the people and condemnatory of
the soldiers. Ile stated that when the voters and
their military escort came up, he saw Major Womb-
well, who was in command of the Lancers, attack
two men, on whom he used hissword freely, but the
witness could not say whether be used the edge,
back, or flat of it. The men tried to force them-
selves between the rails of au enclosure in order to
escape from him, but did not succeed. Before that
assault there was no attack, either on Major Womb-
well, the voters, or the soldiers.
Mr. Cornelius Redtnond, proprietor of the lifizter-
ford News, was next examined. lie dcseribcd the
entry of the voters, who, he said, passed quietly
through the crowd on the bridge, who left them
ample space, and only shouted as they passed. The
noise, he said, was rather a buzz than a shout.
There was no attempt to take the voters from the
escort. After they had passed the crowd closed in
again, and then the Lancers turned round and
plunged their horses among the people, stooping
forward, and holding their lances in their hands.
The people ran away, and the Lancers rushed after
them "as if they were going into battle." The
crowd was much smaller and quieter than he had
ever seen at any election, and the witness had seen
many contested ones within the last 20 years. In
his opinion, the management of affairs should have
been left to the police, of whom there were quite
enough to preserve order without the military, And
who " understand the people better" than sol _tiers
do. " The Lancers," said the witness, " looked
fierce and determined. I never saw men took so
fierce as they did when charging."
Dr. Anthony, who attended .O'Brien immedi-
ately after the receipt of his fatal intdries, described
the nature of them. There was a circumscribed
swelling on the left side of the hack of the head,
over the occipital hone. On pressing that portion
of the head he appeared to wince, as if he felt. I
infer from that that there must have been some ex-
ternal violence used to cause the injury. There was
no abrasion of the skin at all ; it was only puffed,
and it must have been caused by some round, hard
instrument. The butt end of a lance would do it.

Were there any other marks upon him ?—A very
slight abrasion or excoriation over one of the eye-
brows. That might be caused by a fall on the

ground.
Would the injuries that you saw on that man be
sufficient to account for his death ?—I did not see
sufficient external appearances to lead to the con-
clusion. Concussion may be caused without any
external appearance at all.
Do you believe that this man's death was caused
by the blow on the head?—l do. I did not hold a
post-mortem examination. Between fifteen and
eighteen people had wounds dressed in my estab-
lishment during the day cf the election. I only
dressed four or five of them myself. The injuries
that I dressed appeared to me to be lanes wounds,
piercing the hat and scalp, and stopped at the
skull. In two or three instances the wounds,
which were from a sharp-pointed instrument,
pierced the hat and the scalp, and stopped at the
skull. Those were instances of old people. The
wounds did not go farther than the skull, fortu-
nately for them. They were all old people whose
wounds I dressed, with the exception of one young
man that got a blow inside my own door from the
end of a lance. I did not see him get the wound,
but I came up at the time, and he showed me the
wound. It was on the side of the neck. He told
me that he received the wound when he ran into
my hall for shelter. Two of those people whose
wounds I dressed had their hats pierced, and
another had a scalp wound about 23 in. long. Dr.
Anthony stated that the concussion of the brain
might have been produced either by the man falling
on his head when knocked down by the horse, or
by a thrust with the butt of a lance. Some con-
troversy arose as to whether a lance-butt could
inflict such injuries as the doctor described, and the
jury desiring to examine the weapon for themselves,
it was arranged that a lance should be sent for to
Cork, where the regiment is stationed.
Another witness named Connery stated that he
was struck and knocked down by two lancers, each
of whom cut him about the eyebrow. He sported
a small bit of sticking-plaster on his forehead, but
on examination, even with the aid of a candle, not
the slightest abrasion could be discovered. He saw
" girls and childs" shaking their hands at the
soldiers, and saying, " Down with the Tories !"
The evidence of the next witness contrasted
in many particulars with the unvaried tale
of military brutality and popular passiveness
so often repeated. He was a very intelligent
man, named John Martin, and was highly
complimented by the agents on both sides, and
by the coroner, for the candid and straightforward
manner in which he gave his testimony. On the
day of the election he was working as a carpenter
at the new bank, where he had a view of the scene
from one of the windows. There were about 500
people in the vicinity of the bridge, and when the
voters approached the advanced guard of the lancers
rode forward to drive the people back, and then
stones were thrown at them. The lancers then rode
among the crowd at a gallop, striking the people,
some using the lances crosswise, and others the
butt-ends. They drove the people into a timber-
yard, and then stones were thrown thickly for
about a minute, but before they first essayed to
drive back the people there was not a stone thrown.
He calculated that at least 100 stones were thrown.
(This statement caused great sensation in the
court.) The stones were chiefly the size of those
broken on the road, but many of them were three
times the size of a macadam paving-stone. After
the lancers charged the stone-throwing continued
for a short time. The persons within the timber-
yard threw stones at them until the police got in
and drove them out to the strand. As the yard
was being cleared the lancers broke the gate and
got in, but even then the stone-throwing did not
completely cease. About 20— what appeared to
witness the last volley—were hurled afterwards.
Four witnesses were examined yesterday. Dr.
Hunt believed that the concussion which killed
O'Brien was not caused by a lance. Mr. Greene,
resident magistrate, Monaghan, deposed that stones
were showered like hail, and that the troops
acted with forbearance. Similar evidence was
given by Mr. Maguire, magistrate. A labourer
thato
swore that the deceased threw a stone at the
lancers immediately before he wasp knockedngary
an down.
It wn.
a
It was reported yesterday
man named Maguire, another of those injured
had died. The Waterford Mail says that the con-
duct of the stipendiary magistrates and the military
during the late election riots is likely to be investi-
gated by a special commission.

Ironmasters' Quarterly Meeting.
--I,

BIRMINGHAM, Thursday Evening.

The great meeting of the ironmasters of this district was
held here to-day ; the floor of the Town-hall was crowded,
and the trade in every department, including those who are
connected with it in other iron producing districts, was
well represented. There NiaS not much business doing, for
the reason that nobody knows what course to take, while a
difficulty with the men is threatening, so that the impor-
tant business of quarter-day was almost reduced to no-
thingness on that account. There was, however, suffi-
cient inquiry ou the part of home customers and others to
load to the conclusion that if the men accept the terms
offered to them a moderate amount of business may be
done. So far as relates to this day's meeting, however, it
was characterised by extreme quietude, but with much de-
sultory talk in reference to the future.
The transactions in pig-iron wore on a limited scale: it
is at all times difficult to quote the price of that article, re-
gard being had to accuracy, because of the exceptional
circumstances under which it is sold, and especially so at
this moment ; but wo place the ordinary all-mine iron of
South Staffordshire at 678. Gd. to 70s. per ton that is,
from 2s. Gd. to ss. per ton below the price of last quarter-
dziy, and not taking into account cinder pigs, the extreme
range of price of the class of iron now referred to will be
from 675. 6d. to 82s. per ton.
In reference to the threatened strike, it is thought to be
not improbable that, as a preliminary measure, it will be
attempted at some three or four works. If such should be
the case, it will most likely be met on the part of the
by a general lock-out.