The Sun.
London, England, 1826-09-16 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF TIIE PUBLIC .10tTRISTAI,S.
We stated to our leaders as short 011ie ago, that furlong
the machinations about to be employed by domestic mat-
contents,
and their foreign allies of the. " legitimate" or
servile school against the representative Constitution
(Portuguese), was .that of circulating incendiary 'attacks,
upon the title of Pedro tattle throne of Portugal ; and of
course to the validity, Ist, of his abdication ; 2d, of hia
constitutional charter. It is now certain that the efforts of
sophistry have been directed with extreme diligence to
alienate the minds of "Portuguese subjects frc:3l the cause
of their country's freedoin. Hopes are entertained by the
runners and partisans of the Queen Dowager, acting like
wise on behalf of the worthy Ferdinand of Spain, that if
an ingeniouS argument can be got up viinst the lawfid-
ness 'of the existing Regency at Lisbon, :the Portuguese
may be indeeed to believe that, in revolting from it, and
overthrowing it, they. fulfil a positive duty to their rightful
Sovereign, Don Miguel, and to the ancient laws- of his do-
minions. Let ua then begin by a re-statement of this:
class of objections to the charter which. Don 'Pedro heri
promulgated—those, we mean, which deny altogether the
Brazilian , Emperor's. title to abditsite, a power which,'
say his adversaries, he did not then 'possess It has been
alleged, that after the act wherein Jahn VI, mid Don
Pedro recognised, the independence of the Brazilian Ern-
pil7e, his imperial, Majesty became no better than a " fo-
reign Ptlnce to the Portuguese nation, and according. to
thes fundamental laws of Portugal, could no longer succeed
to the Crowns not. succeeding, he could not therefore ab-
dicate the succession, nor nominate a 'Sovereign to sue-
eeed him. It is ' imrowstionable that such an argument
never was stirred against the legitimate sovereignty of
Don Pedro, until after he had 'Used his prerogative for the
extension of liberty to his people. Instantly on the death
of the late King, the Portuguese Regency, which he,
King John had appointed, proclaimed his eldest sou and
heir, Don Pedro, lawful Sovereign of Portugal. The
peOple eagerly and generally joined in this recognition—the
Powers of Europe declared their assent with the
accustomed forms—and the Infant Don Miguel was
foremost in =preseuutiug his allegiance and hemage to
Peter IV. It was remarked, at the time of the treaty Of
Brazilian independence being executed, that no provision
was made for the succession to the European branch of
the monarciry. If Pedro's right was not asserted in that
inatreinv,t, neither was it in any sense annulled. The ab
dielitir;ii of Brazil was complete on the part of John, but
1!!!iro did not abdicate Portugal; In the "dekl," more-
over, Which accompanied the ratification of the treaty,
King• John distinctly alluded to his eldest .son, as his nn
tural successor to the throne of his Portuguese dominionii.
Here, then, we have the true construction put upon the
treaty by one .of the parties themselves.-a party not de-
riving nor expecting the smallest benefit front his declara-
tion of the sense which he affixed to it. As for the old
laws of Portugal which have 'been appealed to '(tbese
passed by the Cortes of Lamer, mil confirmed by those
of Lisbon. in 1641), their sole object was to Occlude a fo';-
reign Prince from the throne of Portugal, who might
have caused, or not resisted, the annexation of that
kingdom to Spain. Had Pedro than become a foreign
,Prince with regard to Portugal ? No, inaloubtedly not, until
its should make his' option hetween the once incorporated
crowns, now separated by the act of the 29th of Augusti
Following up by a denial of Pedro's right to abdicate the
Crown of Portugal,.---a right which we feel justified in as
suming that 'we have now established,--.the malcontents
proceed.to charge him with usurping the Ounce of his own
successor. It is clear, howeVer, that Don Pedro could
not, in good faith to the Brazilians, have retained the
double CrOWn. He made his option, as we have said, for
'Brazil. He made it for himself and his eldest son, who
them, in virtue of the. treaty of August, equally die;
qualified whit the parent from ;wending the throne of Por.!
tugul. Whom, then, has Don Pedro chosen for Sovereign
of the latter kingdom? Ile has' folleived inapliaitly tint
existing law, of succession, as well as of nature, and
named the person who was legal heir of Pot»
tugal, if Pedro bad been passive or silent. his
eldest daughter by the laws of Portugal, came next
to her brother, who was excluded, by. his destination to
''the Brazilian Empire. Thus the two crowns diverge for
ever in the hands of the two nearest heirs of Pedro. Had
the latter 'Prinee renounced for himself and 'Ms posterity
the succession of Portugal when he declared the hide-
pendence of Brazil, Don Milord most have succeeded him
in the former kingdom. But having then reserved that
right for himself, it has miturally descended to. the eldest
of- hilt:- oltipring, who was not disqualified by a solemn.
treaty. While Don Pedro had net yet declared himself, but
wet, actually exercising his severeign power over Portal
by preparing and authentiksitingthe set in which he
at. once renounced time sovereignty, and established the
liberty of that ancient realm, it is true tbat the throne of
Brazil might indeed, with some show. of pl,e,usibility, have
been considered vacant, and the .Government in.a state of
abeyance. But in such a, Mt!, it was for the Brazilian
malcontents, not for those of Portugal, to raise an argu-
ment against the validity', of Pedro's acts, and to illustrate
their objection by then electing another Monarch for their
country. But the. Brazilians missed 'their opportunity, the
throne having since been legitiMately filled, and a fair op-
portunity never came to the Portugue,ie whose throne
was never vacant. We have argued this iiiestion of
Pedro's title more gravely' than the adverse yeasonings ap-
pear to deserve, beeause we have SQ111(1 cause to believe
that elsewhere inueli strews has been laid upon them ; but,
in 'air minds, there is no room to doubt—l st, that on
the, death of John VL, Pedro had the right to declare hire-
self King of Portugal ; 2d,, that being competent to reign,
he had a right to abdicate ; 3d, that his eldest son, being
lawful bait to the monarehiwhich his father ennui by right
of choice to govern, Pedro was justified in proclaiming the
next rightful' successor to the Portuguese crown.—We
shall take another opportunity to exauune some objections
which have been raised to the legislative authority, exer-
cised by Don Pedro in his grant of a charter to 'Portu-
gal, as well as to the nature and political tendencies, fo-
reign and domestic, of the constitution which he has
framed.—Ttmes.

It is-the etiquette, we believe, that 'the Attorney-Gene-
ral for the.time being is entitled to the refitsal of any high
office in the law which fano vomit. Upon this principle,
1.4.1: John Copley (0, .ottly to the annoyance, we should
su peet, of. Ins learned Coadjutor) has. taken the Rolls ;
winch may be eni,:i'litt;red' int earnest (should nothing' fall
out betiveen the
hi
flood the lip) of his being hereafter,
a_rno(l tiltsuiut,:7ohaliil,yi,'
i1t,.0
ofvery distant period, raised to the
:Zip 'iof theh liloll4 is that twicrfte ambition,
the
Master-
the between the cup and
the lip, which. NVOtlifyil,:tiBL'li.:}f,lbi')Yoli from aspiring higher. The
salary, we believe, with an excellent
house, the Court ,under the atona:
roYelirof,:int
He patronage, and
with it the means of providing
efourtnailiftlx
able; no peerage necessariir
i. id poverty
upon 011eii descendants, the abour not eery
and innolitailable by
.)::leveirlY.onsider-
great, and the
politi,,,,'-ICAUS
appointment permanent,
Now the Woolsack, though very soft and invitin ,is es.
quite so much a bed of down as this, The eminwniTit
to be sure, are, while they last,- probably more. than treble
the amount. But then such a thing as a change of Ad.
ministration occurs, and a retired Chancellor (as lords
Redesdale and Erskine, and Mr. Ponironby) sinks front
his splendour into a pensioner of 4,000/. tt-year, which, if'
it has brought a peerage' with it, is no very great God-
tiend to a family man. 'These ate our reasons for thinking
the Mastership of the Rolls nue of the best—if not, in
Ina, the,lnost desirable appointment in the law. For °la-
se! vvi, we wish, hat . Sir John Copley had waited for the
Chief Susticeship of the King's Bench. We like law' bet-
ter thau:equity, sr,'
f We should have been glad to see the
highest appointment, as regards the liberties of English-
men, in the hands of the man whose learning and whose
principles . offeethel
Jetit• earnest of its due constitutional
exercise. liiit''atobition is the virtue and the error of
great minds--which it will, prOve. to have been on .this
•
occasion, tune only can show. The Deputy Speakership