48 Mr. Young, and [Jan. 
“ The laws of Portugal afford a loop-hole for the escape of the villains, 
which, as a sample of barbarism, is worthy of mention here. 
“ When a culprit commits murder, if the next of kin of the deceased be too 
poor to prosecute the criminal, or corrupt enough to receive a bribe to forego 
prosecution, the culprit may be easily released from the hands of justice: the 
officers, one and all, from the judge to the jailer, being guilty of receiving 
bribes to defeat justice. 
“The unfortunate widow, however, was not to be bribed to commute the 
atrocious murder of her husband. She pursued the prosecution, and the 
ruffians were convicted by law, though protected by the friars, and enabled 
to defy the execution of justice on their heads. On the contrary, these inhuman 
monsters were kept in the convent, under the protection of the priests, for 
three years, during which period, they, with the assistance of the villainous 
monks, who regard their oath as much as they do their Saviour, commenced 
a prosecution against the widow, for defamation of character ! 
“‘ They procured what was called a ‘ justification ;’ and the greater part of 
the friars of the Convent of Alcoboca came forward to swear that the crimi- 
nals, who had already been convicted in’ the ordinary court, were honest, 
honourable men! They swore roundly that they had known the goldsmith, 
the chief murderer, for a number of years, as a worthy man, altogether inca- 
pable of committing an offence. They went so far as to suborn witnesses, 
who swore that the two culprits were, at the period of the murder, residing in 
another district, at some distance from Alcoboca. : 
“The decision of the judge, on the appeal of justification, was given in 
favour of these ruffians, with full authority to commence prosecution against 
the widow for loss of character, and loss of time from their business ; and the 
ultimate issue was the ruin of the unfortunate woman with law expenses. 
“©The lesser criminal of the two who committed this atrocious murder, I 
saw not long before my imprisonment at Leiria. He made no secret of acknow- 
ledging the whole proceedings after his acquittal, though he threw the chief 
burthen of the crime on the goldsmith, who died soon after his infamous libe- 
ration. Could such an atrocious violation of every thing like law or justice 
have taken place, but for the sanctuary afforded these criminals by base and 
perjured friars ! 
““T shall give another instance of the atrocities frequently committed by 
these friars, under the exterior mask of religion. 
“* T have previously stated that there are not less than three convents of 
monks in the immediate environs of Leiria. Many of the ignorant peasantry, 
and even the better orders, of both sexes, are in the practice of coming to one 
or other of these convents, to undergo the farce of confession before the friar 
or monk, in preference to confessing to their parish clergy and exposing their 
private affairs. During the period of Lent, in the year 1825, a farmer came 
to Leiria with his daughter, a fine girl, twelve years of age, to undergo the 
ceremony of confession. This farmer was in tolerable circumstances, and never 
failed to give something, either in the form of corn, oil, puddings, or other 
produce, to the mendicant friars, who are always prowling through the coun- 
try on begging expeditions. 
“* The farmer applied to the Franciscan Convent of Leiria for the perform- 
ance of his spiritual duties, considering that he had some peculiar claim on 
the friars of that convent from his former liberality to their fraternity. 
“ The farmer having some other business to transact in Leiria besides devo- 
tion, the worthy friar very kindly suggested to him that he should dispatch his 
(the farmer’s) transgressions in the first instance ; when he might go about 
his other business in the town, and the young girl’s confession could be gone 
through by his return. The honest farmer took this spiritual advice, and left 
his daughter in the care of the friar till his return. 
“ The holy father, as soon as the farmer had quitted the convent, said to the 
young girl, ‘ Walk into this chapel; I shall confess you here ; and carried 
the girl into the vestry-room of the chapel. 
‘* Soon after, a number of persons (some of whom I could name) who were 
