The Sun.
London, England, 1828-04-17 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLI3 JOURNALS

Nothing more is requisite to show Ole pro
gress which the Portuguese Government has al-
ready made towards despotism, and the
ightfui
lengths to which it is prepared to go, that; to
find, in • a paper written by . its agents.
and published under its sanction, a defence of
the Holy Office, and a recommendation of its re-
establishment. Such a defence and recommen-
dation appear in the Trombeta Fined of the
sth inst., sent us from Lisbon by the last packet.
The article is headed, " The Inquisition, and
begins by complaining that the sect of Constitu-
tionalists (who are assumed as wishing to sacri-
flee to their perverse theories of liberty and
equality Kings and Priests):have never ceased -to
abuse the Holy Office ; that this sacred tribunal
has become for modern philosophers the " rock
of offence ;" that against it have been uniformly
directed- the darts of impiety ; that whatever ob-
jects demagogues included or omitted in the-iv
furious declamations, they never forgot this bul--
Iva+ of the faith, and that in Portugal the De-
mocrats were not for a moment satisfied till they
had abolished its jurisdiction, insulted its mini-
sters, and obliterated its ensigns. It then goes
on to state, that the infernal clubs of Freemason:,,
and lovers of freedom had not only put down the
Holy Office, but were still so perversely opposed
to the interestsvfreligion, that they were employ-
ing every means to prevent its re-establishment.
—Having thus characterized its enemies, and
denounced their objectski the article calls upon
the Portuguese people to undeceive themselves,
and not to deny or disallow the benefits which
had resulted from this calumniated tribunal.
These benefits arc then enumerated in various
sections, called rfflection3 on its necessity and
merits. To its influence, in particular, is ascribed
" the tranquillity and happiness enjoyed by Spain
and Portugal for the last three centuries, above
all the other countries of Europe." A continua-
tion of the article is promiseti for the succeeding
number of the Trombeta, which we have not yet
received. To Englishmen this infittuation would
appear almost incredible : but it must be owned
that the same faction which inters with solemn
pomp in the neighbourhood of the chief convents
the image of the Charter, and which professes to
regard a free government as the most abomi-
nable of heresies, is desirous of establishing,
both over their absolute King and their
enslaved fellow-vassals, the dominion of the
Church. This junta of selfish fanatic.; would
he contemptible under a sensible or liberal
Monarch who understood his own interests,
and was disposed to consult the
.prosperity and
improvement of his people. Its movements
were easily suppressed during the forced abie
sence of Don Miguel ; the mild, though weak
arm of his father was able to restrain its fury ;
and the tardy reluctance with which the army of
any considerable portion of the nation has yielded
to the artful solicitations and deep-laid intrigue 3
of the old Queen, shows how easily a Constitu-
tional Government might have maintained at:-
even balance between the antagonist parties, till
the diffusion of knowledge and the experience
of freedom had thrown a -decided and perma-
nent weight into the scale of the Charter. But
possessing, as it now does, all the powers of the
State in addition to its own, it becomes for the
timeirresistible, and nothing can arrest its pro-
o'rm till its oppressions become intolerable. Tt.
was creditable to the good sense and patriotism of
the late Cortes, that they voted the abolition of
the Holy Office by acclamation, and not after lone,
discussions, as in the Congress of Cadiz. The ex-
istence of such a tribunal was felt, without proof or
argument, to be, every hour of its existence, an
insult to reason, and reproach to a free Govern-
ment. Its power and name, therefore, were im-
mediately suppressed—its arms were defaced—
its dungeons were thrown open, and demolished
—its Ministers (several of whom most forcibly
denounced its principles) were dismissed on
pensions, and a monument was ordered to be
erected in the square where its horrid autos were
celebrated to commemorate its abolition. When
the Cortes were overthrown two years afterwards,
this monument was likewise overthrown, being
pulled.down, stone by stone, by the Monks, who
yoked themselves like beasts ofburden to the work ;
but under the late King nobody talked of re-
storing itsjurisdiction or reconstructing its prisons,
This pious work (if it is yet destined to be per-
formed) was reserved for the constitutional reign
of Don Miguel I.—Times.

The public will do us the favour to observe,
that amidst the varying reports on the affairs of
Eastern Europe, we have strictly persevered in
recommending the same line of policy, and have
published statements now acknowledged to be
correct, evincing the adoption of that policy.
We have said that England has no cause of jea-
lousy against France, and Europe nothing tur
fear from Russia; and had Prussia and Austria
been faithful and firm in recommending submis-
sion to the Porte—had not those two Powers,

on the contrary, insinuated suspicions respecting
the sincerity with which the triple alliance wa,
formed—we have no doubt but that a pacifica-
tion would have taken place long ago. We now,
however, learn from sonic of the best of uur
ilneign correspondents, and we believe the re-
port, that Austria and Prussia have of late very
much altered their tone. The separate war about
to be declared by Russia against the Porte, and
on the other hand the fixed determination of
us to think
France and England to obtain the object of the
tranquillity i'l the
East preserve, or rather to restore . ,
induce
treatycessio
nof o London,
d:
e i
m r
part
have
tchzien,Ni,iunrckesd i tsh
teir,ici that.o liycNov
an;
East of Europe. Some accounts which have
Turks to a .
Itillitactht,hreeaccflhberdtsuos
ftitohten 13
Prussian as well as Aus-
trian Government are now seriously directed
sense of their
to-
wards bringing
real situation. They would have acted mole
wisely, as well as more honestly, if they had
papers
.speak of
adopted thisago. We learn from
the same source, that Baron Miltitz, the Prus-
sian Envoy, has been recalled, though the
course longer'
Kanitz as if he was sent
on a mere special mission, and not as a substi-
wte for the other. This
may be considered a;
t confirmation of the opinion of our corre-
vondents as to the altered disposition of Prussia.
—lbid. the
French

"It is certainly strange (says our euntem-
Porary: the Scotsman)
nearly a million to our population every three
that, while we arc adding
years, corn does not rise as it ought to do, if
!here be any truth in the doctrine of rent. Our
Imports arc trifling; and a run of good seasons
•loe6 not explain the fact ; for neither the last.
,:rop nor the one before was abundant." Ever.
;nan who wishes well to his country must, like
luis Grace the Duke of Wellington, wish to 13ce
!he Nobles of the Land in the possession of
large revenues, no matter how it fare with the
people. It is, therefore, to be viewed as a na-
ional calamity, that the efforts of the Legisla-
ore, which have been more anxiously ili!ected