There is a kind of squabb...
The Times, 1824-07-08T00:00:00

There is a kind of squabble among the retainers of Go- vernment on the subject of the demand made by the Por- tuguese for the assistance of a British force to appease the feuds of tllat country; and it seems from this squabble as if the question of interfering in the internal concerns of another country by arms were seriously entcrtained in the British Cabinet. Weknow not whetlherMinisters areso besot- ted as to think of such an interposition; but if not, they owe the sinister reputation which is spriiging up against them on the subject, to those who would be thought their friends. Why did we ever declain against the aggressions of the French Republicans at the beginning of their revolution, when they tendered freedom to all mankind that wished to break their chains; why did we stigmatize the ambitious interference of BUONAPARTE in the concerns of ether states; why have we since reprobated the equally unprincipled in- vasion aid occupationi of Piedmont, Naples, and of Spain, if we are free to pursue the same course ourselves with re. spect to Portugal? But we, it seems, in this case are only to afford our aid in support of the principles of freedom, and of popular rights. Were pretexts of this kind want- ing, we ask, to the first Frenel revolutienists? Were pre- tenees of a similar nature wanting to BUONAPARTE ? or, since his time, have they been wanting to the Cabiniets of Austria and of France ? The truth is, the foreigner in all cases interferes in support of those principles, the preva- lence of which he thirlks rmost beneficial to himself, and therefore, no one who interferes (that is, by force and arms), be his pretended motive wvhat it may, bas a right t I reprobate the interferenceof others. Our armed interposi tion in the affairs of Portugal would be as unjust as the armcd interposition of France in the affairs of Spain; and would be for ever quoted against us on the Continent as a.parallel iniquity. No Englishman could ever afterwards hold up his head, and describe the detestable invasion of Naples and of Slpain in the terms which. those acts merit, because the reply would be ready--" Thus didst thou" in the affair of Portugal. But then, it mnay be asked, are popular rights and pub- lie freedom to be trampled down in the country of our ancient ally ? WVe are as great friends of constitutional freedom aind popular rights, as those who clamour for them most loudly. But by whom are they likely to be tram- pled . down in Portugal, if no foreign iuiterference takes placc? Why, by Portuguese themselves. Are not, then, the Portuguese who are the friends of freedom, as brave and as virtuous in its support, as those who are its enemies are fierce in its overthrow ? (What an acknow- ledgment !) If they are equally brave, they have our exam- ple and our good wishes, but will not need our aid: if they are not, we can, in truth, render them no service ; for the world ought to have had experience enough to know by this time, that liberty cannot be given to a people., like gold br land to an individual. If we were to conquer liberty, and. I to obtain by our arms a free constitution for that party of which we fear the fall in Portugal,. they would not know how to -use one or administer the other. They would im- mediately on our qulitting the country (or before, if we did not restrain them) pervert both to purposes of vengeance- to what is now called re-action-to a system of bloodshed, iic4i our souls would abhor. - It will be observed, that our reasoning proceeds upon the hypothesis that there is to be no foreign iuterference on the other side; for in that case the question would change its tliarac I a 61 ' pon such a sfiWU affairs, should sttCS a state GCcuarA MY. CANNING lias already decided when speaiking of thei South Ame6rican- gtateE. Btlt fqr ther, it?is sitd that thet roops-to be sent out are Hanoveriai! tipoh-this point we cannot.help'remarking, that; if:either Hfahiover or England has been and is burden- ed with the maintenance of a soldiery co great, that it can at any time afford 'to send out an invading or pacifying army to a foreign nation, to the amount re- quired by this expedition; then Hanover or Ragland, whichever the country may be, isiqiaoad hoc very little better treated by its Government than would Portugil itself be treated by that p.ahty which it is the objecf of the *expedition to destroy. The coJintry vhich suppQrts so redundant a soldiery in peace-in ful peace-is oppressed, needlessly oppressed. And which that country may be, or upon which the burden may ultimately fall, is but too clear; for, suppose Hanover to be ungarnished of her troops for this wild and wicked Portuguese project; and the King of PRussIA were to renew his claims, to the German dominions of the Sovereign of this country; then Hanover, we should hear, "' lvas as dear to us as "C Hampshire." But herein is the mischief of large standing armies-that the worlkmen being ready, and their weapons in their hands, the malignant genius of nations is always carving out for them work to be executed. We have no right to have an army on foot, neither has Hanover a right to have an armiy on foot-if the words of our gracious SOVEaEIGx respecting the pacific intentions of other nations are to be trusted-capable of detaching a force upon so needless an e d pedion as tbit to Portugal.