It is therefore His Majesty's positive command, that your Excellency should not protract your stay at Lisbon on any account whatever, nor allow any suggestions or solicitations from any quarter to induce you to delay your return Home. H. E. Sir Charles Stuart, G.C.B. GEORGE CANNING. No. 11.-Sir Charles Stuart to Mr. Sec". Canning.—(Rec. 22d July.) I HAVE this moment received from the Minister of Foreign Affairs the accompanying Note, to which I should have thought it unnecessary to call your attention, if, upon comparing it with the one sent Home by His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires, I had not observed a material difference between the two Copies, in as much as the Note addressed to me expresses the happiness which His Imperial Majesty will derive from the support, in addition to the approbation, of His Britannick Majesty, of the Measures lately adopted by the Court of Brazil for the welfare of the People of Portugal. Mr. Chamberlain having acknowledged the receipt of the Note transmitted to himself, I have not thought it expedient, upon this occasion, to return any answer to the Viscount de Inhambupe. I have the honour to be, &c. The Rt. Hon. George Canning. SIR, CHARLES STUART. (Enclosure.) The Visconde de Inhambupe to Sir C. Stuart. (Translation.) Palace of Rio de Janeiro, 8th May, 1826. His Majesty the Emperor being called upon, definitively, to determine upon the course which it may be most advisable to pursue, with respect to the question of the Succession to the Crown of Portugal, which has devolved upon him by the death of his August Father, the King of Portugal and of the Algarves, and deeming his own retention of the Sovereignty of Portugal, the Algarves, and their Dominions, to be incompatible with the interests of the Empire of Brazil, as well as of those Kingdoms, has been pleased, with a view to promote the welfare thereof, to abdicate and cede the indisputable and inalienable rights, which he has to the Crown of the Portuguese Monarchy, and to the Sovereignty of the said Kingdoms, to the person of his most cherished, esteemed, and well-beloved Daughter, the Lady Princess of the Great Parà, Dona Maria da Gloria, that she may, as reigning Queen thereof, govern them, independent of this Empire, and according to the Constitution which His Imperial Majesty was pleased to give, decree, and command to be sworn to, by his Letter of Law, of the 29th of April of this Year. And His Imperial Majesty has, moreover, been pleased to declare, that His August Daughter, the reigning Queen of Portugal, shall not leave the Empire of Brazil until it shall have been officially reported to him, that the Constitution has been sworn to, according to his orders, and that the Espousals of the Marriage, which it is the intention of the same Lord should take place between her and his much-beloved and esteemed Brother, the most Serene Infant, Dom Miguel, shall have been actually celebrated; the said abdication and cession to be null and void, in default of the fulfilment of either of these two conditions. His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, has been also pleased, as King of Portugal, to grant, by his Royal Decree of the 27th April, an Amnesty to all Portuguese, who may be in confinement under prosecution, in exile, or sued for political opinions; and He has been further pleased, by His Decree of the preceding day, to confirm and to continue the Regency established by His August Father, until the moment of the installation of the Regency decreed by the Constitutional Charter of the Portuguese Monarchy. This I have the honour to communicate, for the information of your Excellency, and of your Government, requesting you to be persuaded that the Emperor, my August Master, will be most happy, if these arrangements should meet with the approbation and support of His Britannick Majesty, who has given so many proofs of the interest which He takes in the glory and prosperity of the August House of Braganza. The Undersigned, &c. H. E. Sir C. Stuart, G.C.B. VISCONDE DE INHAMBUPE. No. 12.-Sir Charles Stuart to Mr. Sec". Canning.-(Received 9th Aug.) Upon delivering to Her Royal Highness the Infanta the several Publick Acts, which had been entrusted to my care by Her Brother the Emperor, I told her that, as Portuguese Plenipotentiary, I could not refuse to take charge of Papers completing the separation of the two Countries, for which purpose I had left Europe; but that, since they also regulated the internal Government of Portugal, I must wait until I learnt the sentiments of my Government, before I could express an opinion upon that part of their contents. In the course of several interviews, to which I was admitted during my stay at Caldas, Her Royal Highness was pleased to observe, that nothing could be more natural than my desire not to commit my Government, by any participation in Measures, upon which they had not explained their views, but that I was so well acquainted with the Affairs of Portugal, that this consideration would induce her not to withhold her confidence upon any subject connected with the execution of the Emperor's Orders. She, therefore, began to state to me, in great detail, the unhappy position in which she was placed, and the embarrassments to which she was exposed, by the divisions among the Regency, and the Ministry, respecting the adoption of a Constitutional Form of Government. Her Royal Highness added, that she would return immediately to Lisbon, where she should take care that His Imperial Majesty's Orders, which she was certain would be enthusiastically received by the whole Nation, should be carried into effect. I told Her Royal Highness that it appeared, from what I had been enabled to find out during the few hours I was in Lisbon, that the alleged illegality of the different Acts received from Rio de Janeiro was the ground upon which her Opponents were determined to make their stand; that I could therefore only recommend her to meet this charge, by concerting a legal mode of putting them into execution, the moment that the Government should return to the Capital, which we agreed should not be delayed beyond the following day. The publick mind was, in the mean time, greatly agitated by imperfect versions of what had passed, and the intrigues of the various Factions were rendered evident, by the hope of the revival of the Constitution of 1820, on the one side, and by successive attempts to corrupt the Troops on the other; while the efforts of the Infanta for the maintenance of order were paralysed, by the hesitation of her Colleagues to adopt the Measures which she recommended, and by the determination of the principal Ministers to choose that moment for tendering their resignation. Under these circumstances, the Infanta has determined to strengthen herself, by filling up the Situation of every Minister who gives in his resignation in writing, and she will insure the tranquillity of the Town, by the nomination of a new Commandant of the Province, and by the arrest of those Persons who were active in exciting the late movement of the Troops. Her Royal Highness has also written to the Infant Dom Miguel, urging him to take no step until he should have received the Letter addressed to him by the Emperor; and She will wait until the Charter shall have been legally carried into effect, and the necessary unity of action established, which shall place in her hands the power of choosing her own Advisers. I have confined my language to the tenor of the above-mentioned Proclamation, which has already produced a very beneficial effect, by checking the exultation of the Liberals, and conciliating the good will of the moderate Royalists; and the favourable change which is rapidly taking place in the public opinion, leaves little doubt upon my mind, that the principal Opponents of the new System will be found in the ranks of the former Party. The Rt. Hon. George Canning. CHARLES STUART. (Enclosure.)—Proclamation of the Infanta Regent of Portugal, announcing the New Constitutional Charter.-12th July, 1826. PORTUGUESE! (Translation.) THE Regency of the Kingdom is about to relieve you from anxiety, and to fix your attention upon Decrees which interest you, generally, and which His Most Faithful Majesty, Dom Pedro the Fourth, has deigned to issue from his Court at Rio Janeiro. With these Decrees will be also published the Constitutional Charter of the Portuguese Monarchy, which the same Sovereign has deigned to decree, and which, according to his intentions, must be sworn to by the three Orders of the State, in order that it may govern the Kingdom of Portugal and its Dependencies. In the mean time, the Regency informs you, that this Charter differs essentially from the Constitution produced by infatuation in 1822, and which contained principles incompatible with each other, and condemned by experience. The character of the Constitutional Charter which His Most Faithful Majesty gives you, is quite another thing. It is not a forced concession; it is a voluntary and spontaneous gift of the legitimate power of His Majesty, and matured by his profound and Royal wisdom. This Charter tends to terminate the contest between two extreme principles which have agitated the Universe. It summonses all Portuguese to reconciliation, by the same means which have served to reconcile other People; by it are maintained, in all their vigour, the Religion of our Fathers, decorum, and the rights and dignity of the Monarchy; all the Orders of the State are respected, and all are alike interested in uniting their efforts, to surround and strengthen the Throne, to contribute to the common good, and to secure the preservation and amelioration of the Country, to which they owe their existence, and of the Society of which they form a part; the ancient Institutions are adapted and accommodated to our Age, as far as the lapse of seven Centuries will permit; and, finally, this Charter has prototypes among other Nations who are esteemed among the most civilized and the most happy. It is our duty to await tranquilly the execution of this Charter, and of the preparatory Acts which it prescribes. If any among you should, by words or actions, aggravate resentments, excite hatred, or inspire vengeance, and interpose between the provisions of the Law and its execution, he will be considered as a disturber of public order, and as an enemy of the Sovereign and of his Country; and he will be punished with the utmost rigour of the Law. The Regency flatters itself, that the Portuguese People, both from their natural character and for their common interest, will recognise, on this occasion, both what is their most important duty, and the way in which they may become principally useful. Given at the Palace of Ajuda, this 12th of July, 1826. No. 13.-Sir William à Court to Mr. Sec". Canning.—(Rec. 7th Aug.) (Extract.) Lisbon, 29th July, 1826. YOUR important Despatch of the 17th Instant, with its several Enclosures, reached me on Wednesday last. I made known, without loss of time, to Her Royal Highness the Infanta, the great interest displayed in favour of this Country by His Majesty's Government, and your active endeavours to give a right direction to the policy of Europe upon the present occasion. The execution of the Emperor's Orders is gradually proceeding, and perhaps as rapidly as could be expected, considering the efforts made to retard it. The swearing to the Constitution commences on Monday next. WILLIAM à COURT. The Right Hon. George Canning. No. 14.—Sir William à Court to Mr. Sec3, Canning.—(Rec. 19th Aug.) (Extract.) Lisbon, 4th August, 1826. YOUR Despatch, forwarded by the Extra Packet, reached me about an hour after the Lyra had sailed with my last Letters. In obedience to your Instructions, Sir Charles Stuart is making his preparations for departure, and will sail the beginning of next week. It is impossible to say that there has been no interference on his part in the Affairs of this Country. There has been interference-a very direct and active interference-but in no other character than in that which he possesses of Portuguese Plenipotentiary. This distinction has always been most carefully marked on his side, and it has received additional force from the line which I myself adopted. The difference in the parts which we were called upon to play has never been mistaken, either by this Government or by my Colleagues; and you may be assured, Sir, whatever may be said of the Portuguese Plenipotentiary, the British Ambassador is responsible for nothing. I think, indeed, I may safely assert, that the British Government has never been committed, either by Sir Charles Stuart or myself. I shall, nevertheless, bear in mind the concluding paragraph of your Letter, and, by a discreet use of the explanations and declarations contained in your several Despatches, endeavour to do away with every impression of the sort, should I find any such entertained. The Right Hon. George Canning. WILLIAM à COURT. Communications from Sir Henry Wellesley, respecting the No. 15.-Sir Henry Wellesley to the Earl of Dudley.—(Rec. 14th Nov.) |