it derived, however, fresh vigour from that event; and never, from that epoch to the present hour, has the independent monarchy of Portugal ceased to be nurtured by the friendship of Great Britain. This alliance has never been seriously interrupted; but it has been renewed by repeated sanctions. It has been maintained under difficulties by which the fidelity of other alliances was shaken, and has been vindicated in fields of blood and of glory.

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"It is not at distant periods of history, and in by-gone ages only, thatthe traces of the union between Great Britain and Portugal are to be found. In the last compact of modern Europe, the compact which forms the basis of its present international law-I mean the treaty of Vienna of 1815-this country, with its eyes open to the possible inconveniences of the connection, but with a memory awake to its past benefits solemnly renewed the previously existing obligations of alliance and amity with Portugal. The third article of the treaty concluded at Vienna in 1815, between Great Britain on the one hand, and Portugal on the other, is couched in the following terms:

The Treaty of Alliance concluded at Rio de Janeiro, on the 19th of February, 1810, being founded on circumstances of a temporary nature, which have happily ceased to exist, the said Treaty is hereby declared to be void in all its parts and of no effect; without prejudice however, to the ancient Treaties of alliance, friendship, and guarantee, which have so long and so happily subsisted between the two Crowns, and which are hereby renewed by the High Contracting Parties, and acknowledged to be of full force and effect.' VOL. LXVIII.

What, then, is the force-what is the effect of those ancient treaties? If all the treaties to which this article of the treaty of Vienna refers, had perished by some convulsion of nature, or had, by some extraordinary accident, been consigned to total oblivion, still it would be impossible not to admit, as an incontestable inference from this article of the treaty of Vienna alone, that in a moral point of view, there is incumbent on Great Britain, a decided obligation to act as the effectual defender of Portugal. If I could not show the letter of a single antecedent stipulation, I should still contend that a solemn admission, only ten years old, of the existence at that time of Treaties of Alliance, Friendship, and Guarantee,' held Great Britain to the discharge of the obligations which that very description implies. But fortunately there is no such difficulty in specifying the nature of those obligations. The preceding treaties are so numerous, and their general result is so uniform, that it may be sufficient to select only two of them to show the nature of all.

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"The treaty of 1661, which was concluded at the time of the marriage of Charles the 2nd with the Infanta of Portugal, after reciting the marriage, and making over to Great Britain, in conse quence of that marriage, first, a considerable sum of money, and secondly, several important places; runs thus: In consideration of all which grants, so much to the benefit of the King of Great Britain, and his subjects in general, and of the delivery of those important places to his said Majesty, and his heirs for ever, &c. the King of Great Britain does profess and declare, with the consent and advice of his council, that he will

take the interest of 'Portugal and all its dominions to heart, defend ing the same with his utmost power, by sea and land, even as England itself:'-and it then proceeds to specify the succours to be sent, and the manner of sending them.

"The treaty of 1703 was a tripartite engagement between the States-general of Holland, England, and Portugal. The second article of that treaty sets forth, that if ever it shall happen that the Kings of Spain and France, either the present or the future, that both of them together, or either of them separately, shall make war, or give occasion to sus pect that they intend to make war, upon the kingdom of Portugal, either on the continent of Europe, or on its dominions beyond seas; her majesty the queen of Great Britain, and the lords the Statesgeneral, shall use their friendly offices with the said kings, or either of them, in order to persuade them to observe the terms of peace towards Portugal, and not to make war upon it. The third article declares, that, in the event of these good offices not proving successful, but altogether ineffectual, so that war should be made by the aforesaid kings, or by either of them, upon Portugal, the above mentioned powers of Great Britain and Holland, shall make war with all their force, upon the foresaid kings or king who shall carry hostile arms into Portugal: and towards that war which shall be carried on in Europe, they shall supply 12,000 men, whom they shall arm and pay, as well when in quarters as in action; and the said High Allies shall be obliged to keep that number of men complete,

by recruiting it from time to time at their own expense.'

"It is not, however, on specific articles alone it is not so much, perhaps, on either of these ancient treaties taken separately as it is on the spirit and understanding of the whole body of treaties, of which the essence is concentrated and preserved in the treaty of Vienna, that we acknowledge in Portugal a right to look to Great Britain as her ally and defender. This being the state, morally and politically, of our obligations towards Portugal, it is obvious that when Portugal, in apprehension of the coming storm, called on Great Britain for assistance, the only hesitation on our part could be→→ not whether that assistance was due, supposing the occasion for demanding it to arise-but simply, whether that occasionin other words, whether the casus fœderis had arisen.

"In our opinion it had. Bands of Portuguese rebels, armed, equipped, and trained, in Spain, had crossed the Spanish frontier, carrying terror and devastation into their own country, and proclaiming sometimes the brother of the reigning sovereign of Portugal, sometimes a Spanish princess, and sometimes even Ferdinand of Spain, as the rightful occupant of the Portuguese throne. These rebels crossed the frontier, not at one point only, but at several points: for it is remarkable, that the aggression, on which the original application to Great Britain for succour was founded, is not the aggression with reference to which that application has been complied with. The attack announced by the French newspapers was on the north of Portugal, in the province of Tras-os-Montes; an official ac

count of which has been received by his majesty's government only this day. But on Friday an account was received of an invasion in the south of Portugal, and of the capture of Villa Viciosa, a town lying on the road from the southern frontier to Lisbon. This new fact established even more satisfac torily than a mere confirmation of the attack first complained of would have done, the systematic nature of the aggression from Spain against Portugal. One hostile irruption might have been made by some single corps escaping from their quarters,by some body of stragglers, who might have evaded the vigilance of Spanish authorities; and one such accidental and unconnected act of violence might not have been conclusive evidence of cognizance and design on the part of those authorities. But when a series of attacks are made along the whole line of a frontier, it is difficult to deny that such multiplied instances of hostility are evidence of concerted aggression.

"If a single company of Spanish soldiers had crossed the frontier in hostile array, there could not be a doubt as to the character of that invasion. Shall bodies of men, armed, clothed, and regimented by Spain, carry fire and sword into the bosom of her unoffending neighbour, and shall it be pretended that no attack, no invasion has taken place, because, forsooth, these outrages are committed against Portugal by men to whom Portugal had given birth and nurture? What petty quibbling would it be, to say that an invasion of Portugal from Spain was not a Spanish invasion, because Spain did not employ her own troops, but hired mercenaries to effect her purpose? And what difference is it, except as aggrava

tion, that the mercenaries in this instance were natives of Portugal ?

"The vote for which I call, is a vote for the defence of Portugal, not a vote for war against Spain. Unjustifiable as I shall show the conduct of Spain to have been-contrary to the law of nations, and of good neighbourhood, of God and of man, still I do not mean to preclude a locus pœnitentiæ, a possibility of redress and reparation. It is our duty to fly to the defence of Portugal, be the assailant who he may. In thus fulfilling the stipulations of ancient treaties, of the existence and obligation of which all the world are aware, we, according to the universally admitted construction of the law of nations, neither make war upon that assailant, nor give to that assailant, much less to any other power, just cause of war against ourselves.

"In some quarters, it has been imputed to his majesty's ministers, that an extraordinary delay intervened between the taking of the determination to give assistance to Portugal, and the carrying of that determination into effect, But how stands the fact? On Sunday, the 3rd of this month, we received from the Portuguese ambassador a direct and formal demand of assistance against a hostile aggression from Spain. Our answer was that although rumours had reached us through France, his majesty's government had not that accurate information that official and precise intelligence of factson which they could properly found an application to parliament. It was only on last Friday night that this precise information arrived. On Saturday his majesty's confidential servants came to a decision. On Sunday that de

the sanction of his Monday it was comboth Houses of Parthis day, Sirat the I have the honour of addressing you the troops are on their march for embarkation.

"As to the merits of the new 2 constitution of Portugal, I have neither the intention, nor the right, to offer any opinion. Personally, I may have formed one; but as an English minister, all I have to say is May God prosper this attempt at the establishment of constitutional liberty in Portugal! and may that nation be found as fit to enjoy and to scherish its new-born privileges, as Jat has often proved itself capable of discharging its duties amongst the

nations of the world!'

I am neither the champion nor the critic of the Portuguese convstitution. But it is admitted on all hands to have proceeded from a legitimate source and to us, as Englishmen, it is recommended by the ready acceptance which it has met with from all orders of the Portuguese people. To that constitution it is impossible that Englishmen should not wish well. But it would not be for us to force it on the people of Portugal, if they were unwilling to receive itor if any schism should exist amongst the Portuguese themselves, as to its fitness and congeniality to the wants and wishes of the nation. It is no business of ours to fight its battles. We go to Portugal in the discharge of a sacred obligation, contracted under ancient and modern treaties. When there, nothing shall be done by us to enforce the establishment of the constitution but we must take care that nothing shall be done by others to prevent it from being

fairly carried into effect. Internally, let: the Portuguese settle their own affairs; but with respect to external force, while Great Britain has an arm to raise, it must be raised against the efforts of any power that should attempt forcibly to control the choice, and fetter the independence, of Portugal. 1

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"Has such been the intention of Spain? Whether the proceedings which have lately been practised or permitted in Spain, were acts of a government exercising the usual power of prudence and foresight, (without which a government is for the good of the people which live under it no government at all), or whether they were the acts of some secret illegitimate power of some furious fanatical faction, over-riding the councils of the ostensible government, defying it in the capital, and disobeying it on the frontiers-I will not stop to inquire. It is indifferent to Portugal, smarting under her wrongs it is indifferent to England, who is called upon to avenge them whether the present state of things be the result of the intrigues of a faction, over which, if the Spanish government has no control, it ought to assume one as soon as possible or of local authorities, over whom it has control, and for whose acts it must, therefore, be held responsible. It matters not, I say, from which of these sources the evil has arisen. In either case, Portugal must be protected; and from England that protection is due.

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"Great desertions took place from the Portuguese army into Spain, and some desertions took place from the Spanish army into Portugal. In the first instance, the Portuguese authorities were taken

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by surprise; but, in every subsequent instance, where they had an opportunity of exercising a discretion, it is but just to say, that they uniformly discouraged the desertions of the Spanish soldiery. There exist between Spain and Portugal specific treaties, stipulating the mutual surrender of deserters. Portugal had, therefore, a right to claim of Spain that every Portuguese deserter should be forthwith sent back. I hardly know whether from its own impulse, or in consequence of our advice, the Portuguese government waved its right under those treaties; very wisely reflecting, that it would be highly inconvenient to be placed by the return of their deserters, in the difficult alternative of either granting a dangerous amnesty, or ordering numerous executions. The Portuguese government, therefore, signified to Spain that it would be entirely satisfied if, instead of surrendering the deserters, Spain would restore their arms, horses, and equipments; and, separating the men from their officers, would remove both from the frontiers into the interior of Spain. Solemn engagements were entered into by the Spanish government to this effect first with Portugal, next with France, and afterwards with England. Those engagements, concluded one day, were violated the next. The deserters, instead of being disarmed and dispersed, were allowed to remain congregated together near the frontiers of Portugal; where they were enrolled, trained, and disciplined, for the expedition which they have since undertaken. It is plain that in these proceedings, there was perfidy somewhere. It rests with the Spanish government to show, that it was not with them-it rests

with the Spanish government to prove, that if its engagements have not been fulfilled if its intentions have been eluded and unexecuted, the fault has not been with the government; and that it is ready to make every reparation in its power.

"I have said that these promises were made to France and to Great Britain, as well as to Portugal. I should do a great injustice to France if I were not to add, that the representations of that government upon this point, with the cabinet of Madrid, have been as urgent, and, alas! as fruitless, as those of Great Britain. Upon the first irruption into the Portuguese territory, the French government testified its displeasure by instantly recalling its ambassador; and it further directed its chargé d'affaires to signify to his Catholic majesty, that Spain was not to look for any support from France against the consequences of this aggression upon Portugal. I am bound, I repeat, in justice to the French government, to state, that it has exerted itself to the utmost, in urging Spain to retrace the steps which she has so unfortunately taken. It is not for me to say whether any more efficient course might have been adopted to give effect to their exhortations: but as to the sincerity and good faith of the exertions made by the government of France, to press Spain to the execution of her engagements, I have not the shadow of a doubt;

and I confidently reckon upon their continuance.

"There are reasons which entirely satisfy my judgment that nothing short of a point of national faith or national honour, would justify at the present moment, any voJuntary approximation to the possi