The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-01-15 00:00:00

THE QUEEN OF PORTUGAL'S SPEECH.
(From the Morning Herald.)
The speech of her Majesty the Queen of Portugal,
in this day's Herald, on the occasion of opening the
ordinary Cortes, will be read with great interest by all
who have watched the march of events in the Penin-
sula, ever since the interference of Great Britain, in
developing the crude but gigantic projects of the ultra-
liberal faction in Spain.
This royal speech conveys a lesson which may be
wafted, with advantage, to constitution-jobbers far be-
yond the mouths of the Tagus. Political purists—(to
whom the associations of ancient story—of chivalrous
devotion and unspotted loyalty—of national good faith
and of " honour," as " the sacred law of kings"—are
but the legendary gossip of that " old almanack" into
which Lord Plunkett once resolved the entire history
of British legislation ;—political purists may now learn,
surely, to blush for their own blunders, or the pre-
sumptuous indiscretion of their favourite disciples.
What ! Has the warfare of " young Spain" against
the old regime, prejudices, laws, institutions, habits
and feelings, the dominion of which she avowed her-
self so much more eager to get rid of, than the inflic-
tion even of Don Carlos himself for her master ;—has
this war terminated, as all must admit, successfully, for
no more honest or pacific end than the concentration
of her power in a flagrant attempt upon the national
rights of her younger sister—Portugal ? Has Portu-
gal expelled from her soil a prince who was her king
de facto, if not de jure ;—has she, cheered on by the
sympathising invocations of this very Spain, backed
by the same foreign aids of money, arms, and men ;
has Portugal remodelled all her ancient institutions,
too, and trodden under foot, with a kindred indiffe-
rence, the once cherished escutcheons of her former
rank among European states, to reap no kindlier fruits
of " agitation" than an insulting menace from Spain,
that, whether the Portuguese nation so will it or not,
the waters of the Douro shall be absolutely patent to
the Spanish flag as • well as to her own ? Is this the
" prisea fides" which states have been said ever to ob-
serve in their reciprocal relations, when they arm, and
fight, and conquer in a common cause ? Why, no
sooner has Spain found a little breathing-time after the
fatigues of her intestine struggle and the contempla-
tion of the overwhelming achievements of Sir Lacy De
Evans in her service,—than she turns upon the unsus-
pecting associate of her campaign against "absolu-
tism" or " legitimacy," (or by what other cabalistic
designation it may be most agreeable to describe
such offensive things as establishments),—she turns
upon " emancipated" Portugal, and deals this insidi-
ous blow at her reviving strength. "You are again
called together," says Donna Maria to her Cortes, by
reason of "an unexpected and most serious political
occurrence." " It is painful to me to have to an-
nounce to you that the government of her Catholic
Majesty has, in reference to the question of the navi-
gation of the Douro, presented an unjust demand, to
which it was not possible for me to accede, and which
has given grounds for serious fears of an intention to
break the alliance and
.friendship which, to their mu-
tual advantage, have subsisted between the two na-
tions." What an astounding evidence that the pre-
tensions of those who have been most active—openly
or secretly—in raising up these new fabrics of consti-
tutional government, the bases of which were to be
laid no less deeply than the principles of public vir-
tue and national generosity and honour could be
planted,—were as hollow, as transient, and as fragile as
their own claims upon the confidence of this genera-
tion, or on the respect of posterity. Whatever the
present government of Portugal and those which have
within these six years preceded it may have done to
wevn from the Portuguese nation that prompt and dis-
interested good feeling this country has manifested to-
wards her for centuries,—any sins of theirs can neither
palliate to the world, nor atone for to her, the unprin-
cipled violence with which Spain announces her inten-
tion of carrying out her design. We infer, indeed,
from sources of private, as well as public information,
that some Lusitanian Poulett Thomson originally blun-
dered on this suicidal proposition, under the ridiculous
delusion that since to open the navigation of the Douro
must be, to a certain extent, an opening for free trade,
therefore it must be eminently advantageous for Por-
tugal. Because, in that event, Spain could carry her
cheaper-grown corn and wines and other produce
through the very heart of the provinces of Tras os
Montes, Entre Minho e Douro, and Beira; therefore he
judged it to be clear that the hardy agricultural popu-
lation of those provinces, who have little or nothing
but wines and agricultural produce to exchange, must
be eminently benefited by the intervention of the Spa-
nish trader. The landed interests of Portugal, how-
ever, are as obstinately wedded to the necessity of
protecting predial interests, and as wilfully blind to the
immense advantages of spreading foreign cheap corn
over their native districts, at the simple price of throw-
ing them out of cultivation in a short period, as that
vast section of the English people, who believe that
Joseph Hume either does not understand the working
of his anti-corn law question sufficiently to be able to
appreciate all the disasters which its adoption would
generate in this empire, or has not as much feeling (if
he do appreciate them) for all the sufferers who would
be his victims as a single ear of wheat could carry !

AWFUL DEATH OF SAM SCOTT THE AMERICAN
DIVER.

(From the Morning Herald of Tuesday)
Yesterday Sam Scott was again to have taken one of his
extraordinary leaps into the river. Waterloo-bridge was the
spot fixed upon for the performance of the feat, and at two
o'clock p.m. the steam-boat pier, both sides of the river,
and every spot commanding a view of the scaffolding which
had been erected on the side of the bridge adjoining Somerset
House, was crowded with spectators. By half-past two
o'clock that part of Waterloo-bridge on which the scaffolding
was erected, and the entire space for a considerable distance
around, was thronged by several hundreds of individuals,
mostly of the lower class ; and to amuse them while a collec-
tion was being made for his benefit, Sam began, as on former
similar occasions, to display his agility, and amongst other
feats entertained the spectators with a mock execution. A
rope, to one end of which was attached a slip knot, was sus-
pended from one of the cross beams, and underneath were
two other beams or cross poles. On the upper one the diver
was seated, and, having fastened the noose properly round
his neck, jerked himself off into the air, intending to make
use of the lower pole to assist him to regain his former posi-
tion after he had remained suspended a short time. Twice
was this feat repeated, and as often did he recover himself,
after hanging in the air for some moments, by the assistance
of the lower pole. A third time was the daring attempt
made, and a third time was be suspended by the neck in the
air. This tinie, however, the rope, from some cause, came
down lower than was intended, and, after hanging for a few
minutes, his face began to assume the appearance denoting
strangulation, and it was evident to most persons that he was
in imminent danger, although many, from his former suc-
cessful manoeuvres, thought that this was only a still more
daring repetition of the exhibition. They were, however,
quickly undeceived, for, after the lapse of a few minutes, the
diver's frame became suddenly agitated by a thrilling motion.
A shudder (which was distinctly seen by the spectators) fol-
lowed, after which the body remained perfectly still. The
most incredulous were now satisfied that all was not right,
and immediate attempts were made to reach the unfortunate
man, but for a long time the attempt to get at him was with-
out success. Heremained hanging full a quarter of an hour,
and was then cut down, but the body remained without the
slightest motion, and he aepeared quite dead. Medical as-
sistance was soon at hand,,and every effort made to restore
him, but without effect. He was then conveyed to Charing-
cross Hospital, when: the body now lies, awaiting the coro-
ner's inqnest. It was rumoured that his neck was broken in
two places.