1824.] Political Affairs in May 



\icted ; and another 139, against 48 

 only of whom bills had been found ! He 

 tiiereibie moved for new returns, speci- 

 fying the names of all the ma>ristrates. 

 Tliis was opposed by Mr. Peel ; and, 

 such was the iuiluence of (he magistracy 

 in the House, that his motion was lost 

 by 81 to 8! 



SPAIN. 



A law of amnesty or oblivion has at 

 length been published in Madrid ; and 

 it is an earnest, that Ferdinand will not 

 murder the whole of his subjects, but 

 will punish all the leaders of the revolu- 

 tion, all the members of the Cortes who 

 vote<i the decheance of the King at 

 Seville, and many others. What, how- 

 ever, is most remarkable in this decree, 

 is that in thecnnchiding address, written 

 in the original by Ferdinand's own 

 hand, the great argument in (avonr of 

 internal peace, which he addresses to 

 the Spaniards, is the hope of being able 

 to stretch forth their arms to " their 

 separate brethren in America, who are 

 now (he says,) the victims of revolu- 

 tionary anarchy, and of the ambition of 

 demagogues." 



The letters from Madrid of the 26th, 

 speak of a levy of 56,000 men, part 

 of whom are to be employed in attempt- 

 ing the re-conquest of the American 

 possessions ; but, as money is wanting, 

 it is said that an application will be 

 made to the Philippine Company, which 

 lias money in its coflers. 



The king has returned to the palace 

 at Aranjuez, highly contented with his 

 good monks of Toledo, who presented 

 liim with gold and jewels to the amount 

 of three millions of reals, besides de- 

 fraying the expenses of the whole court 

 during the visit. In return, his majesty 

 has given them tiie presentation to four- 

 teen v.-icant canonsliips, and lo the 

 inhabitants the privilege for their sons 

 to enter as Gardes du Corps, or in the 

 regiments of Spanish Guards, without 

 the necessary proofs of nobility. 



PORTUGAL. 



The Infant Don Miguel, dissatisfied 

 with his father's ministry, has appealed 

 to the army to assist him in his designs; 

 and the following proclamation develops 

 Lis views : — 



Soldiers,— If the day of the 27th of 

 May, 18!23, broke upon us with a memo- 

 rable lustre, the day of the 30tli of April, 

 182-1, will be no less memorable. Both of 

 them v\'ill ocenpy adihtin^iiiiihcd place in 

 the \mn<M of Lusitnniaii history. In the 

 former I left the cupitul to overthrow a 



461 



di.'organizing faction, — preserving the 

 throne of onr exalted king, the royal fa- 

 mily, and tlic whole nation ; giving besides 

 an example of virtuous attachment to the 

 sacred religion we profess, — the true sup- 

 port of royalty and justice. In the present 

 I shall accomplish the tiiiimph of the great 

 work which was then begun ; giving it a 

 secure establishment, and exterminating 

 at once the pestilential sect of freemasons, 

 which, in the silence of its treason, pro- 

 jected the destruction and total extinction 

 of the reigning house of Braganza. Sol- 

 diers I it was for this reason I called 

 yon to arms ; fully convinced of the firm- 

 ness of your character, of your loyalty, 

 and of your decided love for the cause of 

 the king. Soldiers! be worthy of me, and 

 Don Miguel, your connnander-in-chief, 

 will be worthy of you. Long live our lord 

 the king! Long live the Roman Catholic 

 religion! Long live her most faithful ma- 

 jesty ! Long live the royal family ! Long 

 live the brave Portugiiese army ! Long 

 live the nation! Die, all infamous free- 

 masons! 

 Palace of Bempnsta, April 30, 1824. 

 This procJaination was repeated ort 

 the following day in the journals, with 

 another proclamation addressed to the 

 jieoplc, and a letter to the king. Nearly 

 2000 troops of the garrison assembled 

 on the 30th of April, at the Roscio : 

 the Infant Don Miguel was at their 

 head. The greater part of the minis.- 

 tcrs, several military chiefs, and other 

 persons, were arrested by the orders of 

 the Infant. In the mean time, the 

 (jueen arrived at Lisbon. At the request 

 of the French ambassador, the corps 

 diplomatique repaired to the king. Pass- 

 ing the Koscio, the palace was guarded 

 by troops, the commander of which re- 

 fused to allow any person to see the 

 king, unless he was the bearer of an order 

 from the Infant. The French ambassa- 

 dor declared that Europe acknowledged 

 only the king: his firmness succeeded, 

 and an aid-de-camp of the prince in- 

 troduced the corps diplomatique to ih© 

 king. The king declared that what 

 was going on was unknown to him, and 

 was not done by hisordeis; and that 

 his son was about to arrive. In fact, 

 Don Miguel soon arrived, knelt down, 

 kissed his father's hand, and declared to 

 the ambassadors and ministers, that a 

 conspiracy against the life of his father, 

 and against his own, had been disco- 

 vered ; that he had been obliged to take 

 thcmeasuics he had taken to prevent it; 

 that, if the corps diplomatique had been 

 stopped for an instant, it was because 

 he Icarcd some mischievous persons 



might 



