Star.
London, England, 1830-02-27 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.

S. it —I aui again induced to addle„ y-, on tl.l Po:.
tuguese question, with a view of correcting some a; ;ors
which the speeches of Ministers, during the recent de-
bates, are calculated t produce on the public mini, as
also several misstatements, which ought not to pas 4 un
noticed.

Beginning my first Fetter with the speech of Mr. PEI:i.
in answer to Lord PA LOU:RSV/N. 1. must beg leave to
contradict the assertion, that " all Portuguese lawyers
have decided that the crown of Portugal belongs to Don
Mto Date" Not one, Mr. Editor, of the smallest to-
spectability amongst that large body ever did decide as
tle:s stated by the Home Secretary, or supported the
Vs.:Tee/4 right to the throne: on the contrary, nearly
the whole of the legal profession, especially those at all
reavirkable far their learning or talents, are in dungeouo
or exile for having opposed the usurpation. As a proof
or this, I need only mention the names of those distie-
guished men now in London, such as Goriest:to, Ro -
Cita. FERREIRA BORGIA, CARA' A Lilt), SARNEY Ili,
MA LA Dll A ES, JOAO BERRA RDA, NiA is BASCO:TA,
11r.LLO, FASSOS, MEDINA, and fifty others. Besiles
those eminent men, numbers scarcely less distinzr,uisl.ed
for their patriotism and hatred of the tyrant a-it scstte:ed
in France, Belgium, Terceira, and the Brazils, led a,
many Mutt up in the prisons of Portugal, not to inentiJu
those who have been sacrificed on the scaffold or se
cretly assassinated, as the illustrious GaiiviTo and hit
fellow-sufferers. I an; enabled farther to state, that ire
a single lawyer of respectability or consideration was :li:
pointed to take his set in the Mock Assembly cunvened
by alto DEL to sanctum the usurpation. Indeed the
despot and his abettors well know, that not one it.
those professional men now in Lisbon, would act to up
position to the laws, or approve a priucip!e which mss'
disgrace them in the eyes of their country. The fore
going statement will, it is hoped, convince the British
public, that so far from the Portuguese Liwyers giving
any support to MID ur L, they have, by their deeds and
writings abroad, and those in Portugal, by their silence,
amply proved their detestation of that person. Should
Mr. Peet. include in the number of Portuguese lawyer:.
the notorious W—, anthorof a letter to the Marquis of
LAN snow s L in favour of the Charter, and now the
champion of Don 11116 V EL, or Captain J— and the.
Editors of three journals in the pay of Ass cc A, he would
even then be at a loss to fill the list with six names et'
such soi disant lawyers to support his gratuitous asse:
tion with regard to the Portuguese lawyers.
The next argument of Mr. PE cc is, that Don Mie I Et.
reigns with the general consent of the nation, an opinion
which seems to prevail among his colleagues. Previous
to making such a positive statement, it would have been
as well to convince the people of England: first, that MI-
GUEL is an undisputed sovereign; second, that his sway
is exercised quietly and without opposition. With regard
to his undisputed rights, we should recommend the
perusal of the numerous pamphlets that have appeared in
this coantry, and in which this subject is fully elucidated.
It is enough to observe en passant, that the supporters
of Don MIGUEL'S rights derive the strength of their
arguments from the Cortes of Lamego, in which it wee
resolved that, " The kingdom should never appertain to,
nor should any succeed to it but a Portuguese : making
it therefore a rule that the eldest daughter of the King
should only marry a Portuguese, and depriving the Prin-
cess who marries a foreigner, of ever becoming Queen."
For the sake of argument, what does this stipulation
prove in the case of Don PED go's succession ? All the dif-
ficulty consists in the right to consider, as a foreign Prince,
one who is born a Portuguese, only because lie possesses
other estates and domains, or wears the crown of a dif-
ferent country. This principle has not, and never can be
proved by all the counsellors and publicists of the whole
civilized world. The conclusion drawn from it by MI-
o DEL's minions is therefore erroneous, and of no weight.
Whoever looks into the history of Portugal will find, that
it does not present a single instance of the Constitution
of Lamego, considering as a foreigner, the Portugneee
prince who might possess estates or sovereignty in an-
other country, but only such as were born out of Portu-
gal, and in whose veins no Portuguese blood flowed.
When the intrigues of the clergy, encouraged by the
court of Rome, succeeded in dethroning the unfortunate
Don &swim, Pope Innocent IV. ordained in the leo
gademencian Council, that the Portuguese should choose
another King, provided he was born in Portugal, a,
required by tho laws of that kingdom. And upon
whom did this election fall ? Upon the Infant
Don ALroxso, brother to the king; the Infant being
at that time sovereign Count of Boulogne, by marriage
with the Countess MATILDA, and as such, a subject of
the king of France, to whom he had sworn allegiance
and fealty, as a feudal lord of the crown. Moreover, he
was not even compelled to relinquish that sovereignty :
for in his oath ho styles himself Count of Boulogne—
" Ego Alphonsus, Comes Bolonice, mains aura! Iris -
',write, Alplumsi Regis Portugalere Promitto r t Jure.-
If Don ALFONSO, in his quality of foreign eovereigit,
was not deprived of the crown, when the core4;tation of
Lamego was in fail force, how can it be denied that the
fundamental laws of Portugal only deem a feet 4 it prince
one in whose veins no Portuguese blood does
II shall not trespass any farther on )our et.! ions to •
day, but resume the subject in a second le,t‘:

1 a:n,

Feb. 23.