of this, the Treaty in question does not contain a single word. The above provision was intended to be a family bond of union, notwithstanding the two countries were declared independent and separate from each other.

This fact is fully confirmed by the subsequent Act of Ratification of the Treaty aforesaid, made and signed by His Most Faithful Majesty, at his Palace of Mafra, on the ensuing 15th of November, 1825, in which he solemnly declares as follows; "Being anxious to promote the general prosperity and secure the political existence, and also the future destinies, of the Kingdoms of Portugal and Algarves, as well as of the Kingdom of Brazil, which, with pleasure, I raised to that dignity, pre-eminence, and rank, by Letters-Patent, dated 16th December, 1815, in consequence of which the inhabitants thereof took a new oath of fidelity to me, in the solemn act of my acclamation at the Court of Rio de Janeiro; and wishing at once to remove all obstacles which might impede and be opposed to the said alliance, concord, and felicity, of both Kingdoms, like a watchful Father, anxious for the best establishment of his children, I have thought proper to yield up and convey to my much beloved and highly esteemed Son, Dom Pedro de Alcantara, Heir and Successor to these Kingdoms, all my Rights over the aforesaid country, by creating and acknowleging its independence, under the title of Empire, nevertheless reserving to myself the Title of Emperor of Brazil," &c. His Most Faithful Majesty in the same document further adds, "that he acknowleges in his said son, Dom Pedro de Alcantara, Prince Royal of Portugal and Algarves, the same Title of Emperor of Brazil," &c.

Notwithstanding Dom Pedro's title of Emperor is by the Treaty and subsequent Ratification, thus acknowleged by King John VI, and Brazil declared independent and separate for ever, the father, nevertheless, in the same act avows his son's right to the title of " Prince Royal of Portugal and Algarves," and formally declares him to be the "Heir and Successor" to the same. The wishes and intentions of the parent, therefore, could not have been expressed in a more explicit and decided manner. He was besides aware that it was not in his power to alter the succession, strictly lineal, the same as in the other Kingdoms of the Peninsula; and even if he had wished to commit so glaring a crime against the fundamental laws of the Monarchy, standing as he then did on the verge of the grave, spiritless and broken-hearted, he was not equal to the undertaking. Such an act would have pressed too heavy on his conscience.

However the form of government adopted in Portugal may have changed and gradually declined into a pure despotism, the original character was certainly temperate, and marked by that happy mixture of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, which constitute the boast of the British Constitution. The powers of the sovereign and the rights of the people were well and distinctly defined. In one of the most memorable acts of the Cortes of Lamego, the succession to the throne is thus forcibly established.

"Viva o Senhor Rey Don Affonso, y possua o Reyno; se tiver filhos varoens vivão e tenhão o Reyno, de modo que não seja necessario torna-los a fazer Reys de novo. D'este modo succederão. Por morte do pay, succederá o filho, despues o neto, então o filho do neto, e finalmente os filhos dos filhos, en todos os seculos para sempre."

"Long live our Lord and King, Don Alphonsus, and let him possess the Kingdom; if he has male children, long life to them, and let them have the Kingdom, in such manner, that it may not be necessary to make them Kings afresh. In this manner they shall succeed. Through the death of the father, the son shall succeed; afterwards the grandson, then the son of the grandson, and, finally, the sons of these sons, in all ages and for ever."

Such is, and always has been, the fundamental law of the land, as regards the succession to the throne, from the very dawn of the monarchy, and certainly this is one of the Statutes which the successive Sovereigns had an immediate interest to maintain. On this account, perhaps, it was so particularly respected. The line of succession has never varied; for the usurpation of Philip of Castile cannot be considered as an exception. John II, whom the national historians represent as a model to sovereigns, and a man distinguished for his great patriotism and observance of the laws, did all he could to transmit the crown to Prince George, his natural son, of whom he was passionately fond; yet all his efforts were in vain. The law in this respect was so clear and explicit, that the Portuguese Sovereigns, even the most powerful and absolute, never dared to infringe it, and King John VI certainly was not disposed to set the first example.

The Brazilian Treaty and corresponding Ratification, above mentioned, may, in fact, be considered as the last Will and Testament of the King, and as expressing his sentiments on so important a topic as the succession to the throne; his death occurring on the ensuing 9th of March. Three days previous to his death, that is on the 6th of March, he signed a decree

for the formation of a Regency, intended to govern the kingdom during his illness, composed of the Infanta Isabel Maria and four Counsellors of State, expressly declaring that "this his Imperial and Royal determination should also serve, in case God should be pleased to call him to his holy glory, until the legitimate Heir and Successor to the Crown should have adopted his own measures in this respect."

These, my Lord, are the only acts known and on record in reference to the wishes and sentiments of the late King of Portugal, on a subject so important to the future welfare and tranquillity of the realm, as the succession to the throne. The news of his death first reached Rio de Janeiro by an English packet, bound to Buenos Ayres, and consequently not in an official manner from Portugal, with all the details. The Emperor, Dom Pedro, had, nevertheless, sufficient proof of the melancholy event, and he instantly shut himself up in his closet, refusing all access to any others than his ministers and counsellors, as well to indulge in his grief, as to meditate on the novel situation in which he was placed by the death of his father. In this interval it was, as it were secluded and unadvised, that, with a magnanimity scarcely ever surpassed, he decided on three points, perhaps the most momentous and conflicting that were ever left to the decision of a single man. He decided, first, to keep his faith with the Brazilians and remain among them; secondly, he resolved to give to his European subjects a Constitutional Charter, suited to their habits and wants, and thirdly, he abdicated the throne of Portugal and placed the crown on the head of his daughter. Ten days afterwards, that is, on the 25th of April, and when the Emperor's mind was fully made up as to the line of conduct he intended to pursue, the official advices of his father's death, together with all the accompanying documents and details, were received, and found him fully prepared to act on so trying an emergency.

On the following day, that is, on the 26th of April, with his usual activity and presence of mind, the Emperor, true to the last wishes of his venerable parent, confirmed the Regency in Portugal by him appointed, by virtue of a solemn decree, couched in the following emphatic words: "It being expedient for the welfare of the Portuguese Monarchy, as well as the respect due to the King's acts, that the Regency should continue, as created by the decree of my august Father, King John VI, of glorious memory, dated March the 6th, in the current year, I have hereby thought proper to confirm the said Regency, which shall govern until the installation of the one

which it is my intention to decree, in the Constitutional Charter of the Portuguese Monarchy, which I shall immediately proceed to enact."

This decree, breathing respect and veneration to the memory of the late Sovereign of Portugal, as well as filled with filial love towards the memory of a parent, then no more, was followed by another act in favor of the Portuguese people, which cannot fail to command their gratitude for ever, and endear them to a young prince, born among them, who seems to have been ever alive to the wrongs and grievances they endured, and anxious to redress them. The next day, that is, on the 27th, the Emperor issued the following memorable decree: "Wishing to mark, in Portuguese History, my Reign, by showing what are my principles of humanity, and carrying into practice one of the greatest attributes of Majesty, I have thought proper to grant an Amnesty to all Portuguese now confined, under trial, banished, or persecuted for political opinions, until the date of this my Royal Decree; at the same time pardoning all the simple and aggravated crimes of desertion, as well as all culprits sentenced for three years to the galleys, transportation, or confinement within the Kingdom, or without thereof." &c.

The immense importance of this Decree, although the spirit of beneficence with which it was dictated must be apparent to every one, is not perhaps, my Lord, so easily understood by any Englishman as it is by myself, owing to my intimate acquaintance with the affairs of Portugal, before and subsequent to the overthrow of the Cortes. The prisons had been crowded with victims, and many, accused of no other crime than having been Constitutionalists, at a time when the King himself set the first example, were transported to Angola and other unhealthy places, by no means so eligible as our own Botany Bay. Among them were men of the highest character and integrity of heart. The victims were numerous, not owing to any spirit of persecution evinced by the monarch; but, rather in consequence of the personal enmity and vindictive propensities of the ministers whom he was compelled to employ, and whose lawless acts, unhappily, he had not the courage to resist or control. Many, perhaps the most enlightened and the most implicated, sought an asylum in England; with most of them I was personally acquainted and in frequent intercourse. Several of them had been members of the late Cortes, and some held the first offices of trust under the Constitutional government. I have witnessed among them scenes which would rend the hardest heart; but being now past, it is

unnecessary to repeat them to your Lordship. Suffice it to say, that the Portuguese exiles, for nearly three years and a half residing in this country, never once applied to the British government, or public, for relief. Their own countrymen, established in the City, supplied their most pressing wants, and to their credit I avail myself of this opportunity publicly to record the fact; whilst I feel a pleasure in further adding, that most of the Portuguese exiles exerted themselves, to the utmost, to earn a decent livelihood among us. They conducted themselves with the utmost probity and decorum nay, in the most exemplary manner. Some devoted themselves to the pursuits of commerce; whilst others commenced periodical publications in their own language, anxious to instruct their benighted countrymen. I regularly read them all, and I do not hesitate to say, they displayed talent and patriotism, and were written in the very best sense. Some of these exiles devoted themselves to the study of our own institutions, anxious to see them adopted in their own country, if a favorable opportunity should present itself.

As a common friend to all, it might be invidious to particularise names. I cannot, nevertheless, omit this occasion to allude to a Portuguese Jurisconsult, distinguished by his eloquence and patriotism in the late Cortes, whose whole residence in this country was devoted to a profound study of our criminal and civil law, and in observing its applications and practical results. When the Old Bailey was opened, he was a constant and attentive observer of the trials, fully convinced that the department in the administration of justice most defective in his own country, was that relating to crime. At other times, he attended the civil courts, and I feel proud to say, that so high were his recommendations, so laudable the spirit by which he was actuated, and so distinguished his talents, that Chief Justice Best, when on the Bench, more than once honored him with a seat by his side, and took him on one of the Circuits. This individual, lately restored to his family and country, has evinced his gratitude by submitting to his countrymen, in the shape of a Tract, the result of bis own observations on the Trial by Jury, as applicable to themselves under the new order of things, and I make no doubt, he has many other useful researches to communicate to them for the improvement of their own civil, as well as criminal, jurisprudence.

A clergyman of Oporto, known for his zealous adhesion to the new order of things, in 1820, was banished to Angola, and there resided till the death of King John VI, revered by the