, a ~ 
1308.] 
war, and in the midst of a profound peace, 
ought to be of consequence to Europe, if Eu- 
rope ever wishes to see revive the security 
and indep ndence of the pewers which for- 
merly composed a species of republic that ha- 
Jenced itself, and maintained an equilibrium 
| -inall its different parts An appeal to Pro- 
vidence is the consequence of this exposition; 
anda religious prince feels all the importance 
of it, since guilt cannot always remain unpu- 
' nished, and usurpation and violence enfeeble 
-and consume themselves by the continual ef- 
forts they are obliged to employ. 
f- “Tre court of Portugal, though it saw 
| with regret the French revolution begin, and 
| deplored the fate of the vi tuous king with 
_ whom it wes connected by the closest ties of 
blood, did not take any partin the war which 
the conduct of the madmen who then reign- 
ed (by the con'ession even of the present 
_ government) forced all governments to de- 
clere against them; even when it sent suc- 
cours te Spain for the defence of the Py- 
renees, it always endeavoured to preserve the 
_ Most perfect neutrality. 
*€ Fiance received from Portugal, from 
1804 to 1807, all the colonial commodities, 
and first’ materials for her manufactures. 
The alliance of England with Portugal was 
_ useful to France, ‘and in the depression suf- 
fered by the arts and industry, in consequence 
ofa perpetual war by land, and a disastrous 
_ war by s a, ia which she only met with de- 
feats, it was certa nly a great advantage to 
rance, that the commerce of Portugal! should 
uiter no interruption; undoubtedly it was 
| equally useful to both countries. By rava- 
_ Bing Portugal, by subjecting her to excessive 
contributions i in an unheard-of manner, with- 
‘out War or any resistance having been made 
‘on her part, France has not obtained that ad- 
vantage which a commerce useful_to both 
_ fountries would have procured her. The 
court of Portugal might therefore justly, with 
‘every kind of foundation, flatter itself, that 
that of the Thuilleries would respect a neu- 
trality which it had acknowledged by a so- 
Tern treaty, and from which it derived such 
decided advantages, It Was, however, awak- 
ened from its security in the month of Au- 
st, 1806, by a formal declaration of the 
french minister for foreign affairs, M. Tallcy- 
‘rand, to Lord Yarmouth, by which the for- 
mer notified to the latter, that if England did 
_ Hot make a maritime peace, the French go- 
mmment would declare war against Portugal, 
order that country to be occupied by thir- 
_ thousand men. It was not with thirty 
and ren that the invasion of Portugal 
uld be effected ; but the Emperor of the 
ench, who ise the security in which 
gal remained, in consequence of the 
reaty of Neutcality, thought he could take 
+ surprize, and this was sufficient to jus- 
is proceedings, ‘The court of England 
alarmed by the above declaratiof, and 
Fi ONTHLY Mac,, No. 175. 
| its states, invaded. without a declaration of 
| 
Portuguese Mi anifesto. 
169. 
proposed and offered to that.of Portugal all 
kind of succour; but France, which at that — 
period had arranged every thing to crush the 
Prussian court, which then Bone bade defie 
ance to the superior power of the Emperor 
of the French, while a twelvemonth before 
it would not attack, and perhaps compel him 
to receive the law, and save Europe, jointly 
with Russiaand Austria, found-means ta pa- 
cify the court of Portugal, which she then 
chose tospare. The court of Portugal could 
not thenconceive that a similar perfidy would 
be the attribute of a power, whose conduct 
ought to ke:p pace with that integrity and 
those dignified sentiments which suit so well 
an exalted rank. The war, which was after- 
wards continued with Russia, and which might 
yet perhaps have saved Europe, if the union 
of the governments which directed it had been 
as close as it should have been, still re- 
tarded the execution of the views of the Em« 
peror of the French with regard to the court 
of Portugal, and it was only by concluding 
the peace of Tilsit that the court of the Thu- 
illeries, in a dictatorial tone, such as might 
have become Charlemagne addressing the 
princes whose sovereign ‘lord he was, caused 
the strange demand to be made to the court | 
of Portugal, through the medium of the— 
French chargé d’affaires, and the Spanish am- ~ 
bassador.—ist. To shut the ports of Portugal . 
against England. 2d. To detain all English- 
men who reside in Portugal. . 3d. To con= 
fiscate all English property; or, in case of 
refusal, to expose itself to an immediate. war 
with France and Spain; the French chargé 
@ affaires, and the ambassador of Spain, hay- 
ing orders to depart on the ist of September, 
three weeks after the said provosition was 
made, in case the court of Portugal showld 
not comply with ali the pretensions of-the 
two courts. The good faith.of the French 
government is no less remarkable with re— 
gard to the celerity with which, after having 
made that declaration, and without waiting 
for the answer of the court of Portugal, it or- 
dered all the Portuguese merchant ships to be 
detained, which were in the ports of France, 
and by that measure actualy commencing 
hostilities without any previous declaration 
of war, thus carrying to a far greater length 
all the proceedings which formed its continual 
topic e! reproach against England, which 
after such a conduct will be justly valued, 
‘« The cout of Portugal might then well+ 
have adopted the known maxim ofthe Ro- 
mans, and been convinced, that «lisgraceful 
conditions frequently saved those’ who refuse 
them, and brought destruction over those by 
whom they were proposed; but, on the one 
side, it could not believe that ‘the court of 
the Thuilleries made in earnest proposals 
which committed both its honour and its dig- 
nity ; and on the other side, it hoped to ward 
off the storm, desirous of sparing the blood 
of its people, and placing implicit confidence 
in the friendship of his Britannic majesty, its 
Zz old 
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