Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1816-06-15
Indemnities Of Portugal, by the Peace O
Paris, Nov. 20, 1915.


Extracted from the Investigator Portu-
guez, for Jan. 1915.
-- Let US now say a little of our
selves, i. e. of the Portuguese Nation. In
truth, if our Portugal must estimate her
value by the indemnity which is given her,
she is the least deserving of all the States
of the Great Confederation. Not merely
| Holland, Sardinia, and Switzerland, are
preferred to her in point of services but
to our still greater confusion, she does not
weigh so much as even Denmark In the in
eo'ruptibIe balance of the Soverelgns; for,
to the latter is allotted two millions and a
half ut francs but to US, the last and low
est in the scale, only two millions! In
| this shape the great pOtentates of Europe,
those judges of the merits of nations in the
universal conflict, declare, that ours have
been nothing or of very small importance :
for our indemnity has been calculated at
the lowest rate. In defence Of this treat
ment, unheard ofin the history of alliances,
we can only be told that the other nations
/ of the second rank were more considered
in the division, because, being contermin-
Gus to France, they required more ample
means to place themselves in a defensive
| attitude against any new attacks which
that country might make upon them. But
we would ask, is Denmark also contermin
Gus with France Ir is not. however, with
the half million more of francs assigned To
her that we are dissatisfied, it is of our DO.
| litical consideration, of our honor, that we
are jealous for surely there is no man who
J would dare to compare the tardy and in.
| significant services of Denmark with the
heroic and brilliant enes of Portugal.
/ Besides this, if the circumstance of Dor.
dering upon France is to have so much
weight, what country is more deserving oil
indemnities than Portugal? In all the
wars into which EurOpehas entered in con.
sequence of the inveterate rivalships be
tween England and France, Spain always
made common cause with the latter, whe
ther during the time of the Bourbons, OF
during the reign of the Bonapartes and
what she has hitherto done for ages, she
will certainly continue to do in future
Our frontier, therefore, may in fact be con
sidered as bordering upon France; and OF
that ground, besides the enormous lOsse.
we have endured, we were entitled to
sufficient sum to form for ourselves a linz
OF defence against the attacks of Spain
which always have been, and always vii
be, those of France. If not, let them tel
us, why we lost Olvenza, and some tim,
afterwards saw, by surprize, our provinces
of the North and South in the power of tn,
Spaniards.
Let us not be told, that by not havin!
made our appearance on the plains of Wa
terlOO, we lost our claim to indemnities.-
In that memorable battle, in which ais,
there were no troops of the greater part o
the nations which have all received large
portion than Portugal, the fate of Europ,
was not decided that was already decides
by the first abdicatiOn of Bonaparte, whel
the Portuguese stood victorious at thu
gates of Toulouse and his second appear
ance in France, which wasin fact an act o
desperation, could no longer cause tn
same alarm, because Napoleon had beer
already dethrOned, not somuch by force o
arms as by weight Of opinion had not thi
been the case, is 1t to be believed that 30
naparte would have abdicated the secon,
time He did not abdiCate after the dis
asters of bis Russian campaign and would
he have abdicated after the defeat OF Wa
terloo, had it not been preceded by tn,
events of FOntaDbleau ? The Portuguese
t however, carried on the great work of Oh,
independence Of Europe until its final ter
minatiOn and if BY some miSchdRce the,
were not at Waterloo, the prodigies which
they performed from the Guadiana and Tn,
Tagus to the Garonne, are not on that &C
count to be forgotten.
i But after such exploits, and the mos