ments, the Marquis de Barbacena has adduced certain diplomatic acts, which his Excellency main. tains are to be regarded as possessing the character and validity of treaties, and, as such, giving to the Emperor Don Pedro an indisputable right to call for his Majesty's assistance in conquering the kingdom of Portugal for his daughter. These acts are the result of the conferences at Vienna and in London, in the month of October, 1827, and in the month of January, 1828, before the departure of the Infant Don Miguel for Lisbon. In these conferences, the Marquis de Barbacena contends that both his Majesty, and his Im perial Majesty the Emperor of Austria, virtually entered into some solemn engagement, by which they bound themselves to exact the fulfilment of the promises then made by the Infant. In proportion as this country is scrupulous in the performance of its engagements, care has been taken to render these engagements definite and precise; it has, moreover, long been the practice to ab. stain from giving any guaranty, the execution of which is not within our own power, but which may depend upon the good faith, or upon the inclination of others. The undersigned, therefore, cannot think it necessary to occupy much time in the refutation of an assumption so gratuitous, and so entirely unsupported by the real state of the facts, as that which has been thus put forward by the Marquis de Bar. bacena. His Majesty's ambassador at the Court of Vienna attended the conferences, by the invitation of the Austrian Chancellor of State, and in consequence of the letter addressed to his Majesty, by the Emperor Don Pedro, on the third of July, 1827, in which his Impe. rial Majesty declared, that he had appointed the Infant Don Miguel to be his Lieutenant and Regent of the kingdom of Portugal. Had his Majesty, indeed, overcome the re. luctance of the Emperor Don Pe. dro, and prevailed upon his Imperial Majesty to confer upon his brother the appointment of Regent; and had his Majesty given his guaranty for the conduct of his Royal Highness, and for the performance of his promises, there might have been a claim upon his Majesty to see that the engagements then contracted were carried into execution; but, in truth, the ambassador of his Majesty entered into no engagement of this description, neither did he take part in any negotiation leading to such a pledge; and although the King had reason to complain of the Infant Don Miguel, for having failed to perform engagements made in the presence of his ambassador, this cause of complaint was founded upon the indignity thus offered to his Majesty himself, and not upon the injury done to the Emperor Don Pedro. It is true, that in the conferences of Vienna, and, subsequently, in London, his Majesty's ambassador, and the plenipotentiary of his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Austria, did give an assurance that their respective sovereigns would jointly exert their good offices to prevail upon the Emperor Don Pedro to complete his act of abdica. tion of the throne of Portugal, as well as to send his daughter to Europe, and by a definitive treaty, to regulate the order of succession in the two branches of the house of Braganza. The Marquis de Bar bacena complains that the Emperor, his master, was urged to act in this manner; and more than insinuates that he did so contrary to his own interests, and in compliance with the solicitations of England and Austria. But what is the fact? Undoubtedly the King did advise his Imperial Majesty to complete the act of abdication of the kingdom of Portugal, and thus to perform an obligation which his Imperial Majesty himself, as far back as the month of May, 1826, had solemnly contracted before the world. His Majesty further advised the Emperor to send his daughter to Europe, in accordance with the declaration of his Imperial Majesty made at the same period. These measures were well calcu. lated to conciliate and to tranquil. lize the Portuguese nation, by removing the just suspicions of the people, and convincing them that it was not intended to govern them as a colony of Brazil. It is unfor. tunate that the measures thus advised were not carried into execution previous to the arrival of the Infant at Lisbon. Had this been the case, much of what has since happened, and which is most to be deplored, would probably have been prevented. But the assurance given to Don Miguel, and entered upon the protocol of the conference, to offer to the Emperor Don Pedro this advice, does not render his Majesty the guaranty of the performance of those promises contained in the letters of Don Miguel, which were laid before the conference, and annexed to the protocol. Neither does the advice tendered to the Emperor upon the propriety of the execution of these important acts, respecting which his Imperial Majesty had long before spontaneously pledged his royal word, confer any right what. ever of claiming from his Majesty those succours which are necessary for the conquest of Portugal. The tone of expostulation and complaint which pervades the note of the Marquis de Barbacena, and the impression which it is intended to convey, that the present state of Portugal is in great measure to be attributed to the deference paid by the Emperor Don Pedro to the counsels of his allies, render it necessary to take a short review of some events connected with this subject, to the end that Great Britain may be as effectually relieved from the moral responsibility which it is attempted to impose upon her, as from the weight of more formal obligations. The late King, John VI., died on the 10th of March, 1826; the intelligence of his death arrived in England on the 23d of March, and in Brazil on the 26th of April. The Emperor Don Pedro immediately assumed to himself the government of Portugal, as King, in virtue of his right of succession as the eldest son of his father. He published a general amnesty, and framed the Constitution, in the preamble to which the three orders of the state were called upon to swear fidelity to it forthwith, and in which it was declared, that the kingdom of Portugal should thenceforward be governed according to the conditions laid down in that instrument. The Emperor, at the same time, made over the succession of the crown to his daughter, as Queen; appointed his sister, Donna Isabella Maria, regent of the kingdom; and, in order that no doubt whatever might remain of his intentions, his Imperial Majesty explicitly de clared, in his speech to the Legis. lative Assembly of Brazil, on the sixth of May, that "he had abdi. cated and ceded all the indisputa. ble and irrefragible rights which he had possessed to the crown of the Portuguese monarchy to his daughter the Princess Donna Maria de Gloria, Queen of Portugal." His Imperial Majesty despatched Sir Charles Stuart from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, as the bearer of these instruments on the 11th of May, thus concluding the whole of this important transaction in four. teen days. It is obvious, from the observation of these dates, that no person possessing any authority from his Majesty, with the excep. tion of Sir Charles Stuart, could have interfered, even by advice, in the adoption of these measures; and it is not pretended that such advice was ever received from his Excellency. The avowed object of the measures of April and May, 1826, was to separate, finally, the kingdoms of Portugal and Brazil,an event equally desired by both parts of the monarchy. This object was accomplished by the proInulgation of the charter, as ef. fectually and as solemnly as it could be by an instrument executed by the sovereign himself. In the proclamation addressed to the Portuguese nation, and dated the 2d of May, 1826, his Imperial Majesty declared that his abdication should become complete as soon as the constitution had been sworn to, and the marriage concluded between the Infant Don Miguel and the Queen Donna Maria. The constitution was sworn to, as his Imperial Majesty had directed, upon its re. ception in Portugal, and the affiance of marriage was completed at Vienna, on the 29th of October, 1826. The undersigned may now be permitted to ask, whether the promises of the abdication, and of the transmission of the Infant Queen to Portugal, were fulfilled. Did not his Imperial Majesty continue to interfere in all the measures of detail of the Portuguese govern. ment? Did he not create peers? promote officers in the army and navy? interfere in the selection and nomination of ministers, and in all the interior arrangements of the kingdom? The Portuguese nation was disappointed in its hope and expectation of a final separation from Brazil; and the disap. pointment of this hope and expecta tion was still further confirmed by the detention of their young Queen at Rio de Janeiro. In the mean time, the dissatisfaction and discontent produced by the constitution transmitted from Brazil were daily increasing, and at last broke out into acts of violence, and of open rebellion. In this state of things, his Imperial Majesty, having first ordered his brother, the Infant Don Miguel, to repair from Vienna to Rio de Janeiro, and having sent a ship of the line to Brest, for the purpose of conveying him thither, suddenly countermanded these orders, and, unsolicited by his Majesty, appointed his Royal Highness to be his Lieutenant in Portugal, and Regent of the kingdom. This decision, the undersigned is ready to admit, may have been justly de. manded by the distracted condition of the country, and, in point of fact, was subsequently recommended by his Majesty. But he must, at the same time, beg to observe to the Marquis de Barbacena, that from what he has now had the honour to state, it clearly appears that the abdication of the crown-the composition and grant of the constitutional charter-the promise to send the Queen Donna Maria to Portugal-the unfortunate delay in the execution of that promise, as well as the little respect paid to the pledge virtually given by the abdication, not to interfere from Brazil in the internal government of Portugal; and, finally, that the nomi. nation of the Infant Don Miguel as Regent, were all acts spontaneously emanating from the Emperor Don Pedro himself, which did not originate with the King, his master, and for the effects of which his Majesty cannot be held responsible. The undersigned will not conclude without further expressing his regret, that the counsels of Great Britain, when offered, should have been received with so little confi. dence and alacrity. These coun sels have never been adopted by his Imperial Majesty, until the course of events had rendered the choice of any alternative impracti cable; nor until, from this reluctance and delay, they had, in a great measure, been deprived of their beneficial influence. In truth, it may be affirmed, that so far from Great Britain having been instru. mental in the production of the evils which have recently afflicted Portugal, they are mainly to be attributed to the want of a frank, consistent, and direct course of policy on the part of the Brazilian government itself. The undersigned, &c. (Signed) ABERDEEN. The Marquis de Barbacena, &c. OFFICIAL ARTICLE. SPAIN. The King, our sovereign, has been pleased to direct to the Secre. tary of State and despatch the following decree :— The promulgation of a representative system of government in Portugal might have been expected to disturb public tranquillity in its neighbouring country, which, scarcely liberated from revolution, was not, perhaps, generally animated by the most perfect loyalty. But, though a few persons in Spain have, indeed, dared secretly to encourage the hope of seeing the ancient form of government changed, the general opinion has been so loudly declared against alteration, that no one has ventured to disre gard it. This new proof of the fidelity of my vassals calls on me to disclose to them my sentiments and declare my wish to preserve their religion and laws, which have always rendered the Spanish name glorious; and the subversion of which always leads, as experience has taught, to demoralization and anarchy. Let the circumstances of other countries be what they may, we will govern ourselves by our own; and I, as the father of my people, will give more attention to the hum. ble voice of the immense majority of my vassals, who are faithful and useful to their country, than to the vociferations of an insignificant and turbulent band, whose only desire is to renew scenes, the memory of which I do not now wish to recall. Having published a royal decree on the 19th April, 1825, in which, being convinced that our ancient legislation was the most proper to maintain in force our sacred religion, and our mutual rights of paternal sovereignty and filial vassalage, so well suited to our habits and education, I was pleased to assure my subjects, that no change should ever take place in the legal form of my government, nor any Chambers, or similar institutions, under whatever denomination, be permitted to be established; it now only remains for me to inform all the vassals of my dominions, that I will act towards them accord. ing to their deserts, putting in execution the laws against those who break them, and protecting those who observe them. Desirous of seeing all Spaniards united in opinion and will, I am determined to dispense protection to all who obey the laws, and to be inflexible to all who audaciously attempt to dictate new laws to the country. Wherefore, I have resolved that the said decree shall again be transmitted to all the authorities of the kingdom; charging, at the same time, the magistrates with rightful administration of justice, which is the surest guarantee of the happiness of the people, and the best recompense of their fidelity. "You are to hold this as intended, and to take the necessary steps for publishing and carrying the same into effect." Signed at the Palace, the 15th of August, 1826.-Directed to the Duke del Infantado. TARIFF OF AMERICAN COMMERCE. The King, our Lord, considering that the encouragement afforded to the commerce of America, by the admission of foreign flags, granted by the Royal Order of the 9th of February, 1827, has not been sufficient to promote this trade in the various branches of industry and navigation concerned in it, and that it is still necessary to remove the inconveniences to which, in their present state, the commercial relations of that country are subject, from the existing duties and restrictions, was pleased to assign the execution of this important task to the Board of duties; and after the propositions, presented by them, had been examined by trusty and intelligent persons, his majesty has thought proper to approve and order the observance, for the present, of the following tariff, instructions, and regulations. Provisional Tariff of Duties, to be levied on goods imported from, or ex ported to, America: Quantity, Weight, Value in or Measure. Rs. Vn. quintal 3500 Nat.Flag For. Flag Indigo, Sugar proceeding from, or purchased in a foreign market, although the produce of Spanish America, to be considered as a foreign production, and inadmissible. |