ever, belonging to his Britannic Majesty, may be admitted at one time into any port belonging to his royal highness the Prince Regent of Portugal. And it is further stipulated that this privilege shall. not be granted to any other nation or state whatever, whether in return for any other equivalent, or in virtue of any subsequent treaty or agreement, it being solely founded upon the principles of the unexampled amity and confidence which have during so many ages subsisted between the crowns of Great Britain and Portugal. And it is further agreed and stipulated, that transports bona fide such, and actually employed on the service of either of the high contracting parties, shall be treated within the ports of the other on the same footing as if they were ships of war. His Britannic Majesty does also agree on his part to permit any number of ships belonging to his royal highness the Prince Regent of Portugal to be admitted at one time into any port of his Britannic Majesty's dominions, and there to receive succour and assistance if necessary, and be otherwise treated as the ships of the most favoured nation; this engagement being also reciprocal between the two bigh contracting parties. 9. The inquisition or tribunal of the holy office not having been hitherto established or recognized in Brazil, his royal highness the Prince Regent of Portugal, guided by an enlightened and liberal policy, takes the opportunity afforded by the present treaty to declare spontaneously in his own name, and in that of his heirs and successors, that the inquisition shall not hereafter be established in the South American dominions of the crown of Portugal. And his Britannic Majesty, in consequence of this declaration on the part of his royal highness the Prince Regent of Portugal, does on his part engage and declare that the fifth article of the treaty of one thousand six hundred and fiftyfour, in virtue of which certain exemptions from the authority of the inquisition are exclusively granted to British subjects, shall be considered as null and having no effect in the South American dominions of the crown of Portugal. And his Britannic Majesty conseats that this abrogation of the fifth article of the treaty of one thousand six hundred and fifty-four, shall also extend to Portugal upon the abolition of the inquisition in that country, by the com mand of his royal highness the Prince Regent, and generally to all other parts of his royal highness's dominions where he may hereafter abolish that tribunal. 10. His royal highness the Prince Regent of Portugal, being fully convinced of the injustice and impolicy of the slave trade, and of the great disadvantages which arise from the necessity of introducing and continually renewing a foreign and factitious population for the purpose of labour and industry within his South American dominions, has resolved to co-operate with his Britannic Majesty in the cause of humanity and justice, by adopting the most efficacious means for bringing about a gradual abolition of the slave trade throughout the whole of his dominions. And actuated by this principle his royal highness the Prince Regent of Fortugal engages that his subjects shall not be permitted to carry on the slave trade on any part of the coast of Africa, not actually belonging to his royal highness's dominions, in which that trade has been disconti nued and abandoned by the powers and states of Europe, which formerly traded there, reserving however to his own subjects the right of purchasing and trading in slaves within the African dominions of the crown of Portugal. It is however to be distinctly understood, that the stipulations of the present article are not to be considered as invalidating or otherwise affecting the rights of the crown of Portugal to the territories of Cabinda and Molembo (which rights have formerly been questioned by the government of France), nor as limiting or restraining the commerce of Ajuda and other ports in Africa (situated upon the coast commonly called in the Portuguese language the Costa da Mina), belonging to or claimed by the crown of Portugal; his royal highness the Prince Regent of Portugal being resolved not to resign or forego his just and legitimate pretensions thereto, nor the rights of his subjects to trade with those places, exactly in the same manner as they have hitherto done. 11. The mutual exchange of ratifications of the present treaty shall take place in the city of London within the space of four months, or sooner if possible, to be computed from the day of the signature thereof. In witness whereof we the undersigned, plenipotentiaries of his Britannic Majesty and of his royal highness the Prince Regent of Portugal, in virtue of our respective full powers, have signed the present treaty with our hands, and have caused the seals of our arms to be set thereto. Done in the city of Rio de Janeiro, on the nineteenth day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ten. (L. S.) STRANGFORD. (L S.) CONDE DE LINHARES. SWEDEN. Orebro, Aug. 21.-The important object for which the Diet was convoked, has this day been happily accomplished by the nomination of a Crown Prince. His Serene Highness the Prince of Ponte Corvo, who has been chosen to fill that exalted situation, was proposed by his Majesty, and unanimously elected; so perfect was the harmony which has prevailed on this occasion, that not more than half an hour was occupied in the deliberations. Immediately after the decision, Count Mor, nor was directed to proceed to Paris to announce the event to the Emperor and the prince. His highness had sent hither his own portrait,with that of his princess and son, accompanied with letters containing assurances of the interest he took in the welfare of this kingdom, and pointing out the means by which he hoped to ameliorate its situation. Among these may be enumerated the repurchase of the estates of Pomerania, which were given to the French officers during the late war; a voluntary loan of $,000,000 of franks, at an interest of four per cent. which interest is to be appropriated to national purposes, and the security and extension of our commerce. "At a period when, after a long session the last diet separated, the fairest prospect of peace opened for Sweden; after a long period of severe misfortunes, lasting tranquillity seemed to have been obtained for this kingdom. Three treaties of peace had secured the dominions which remained at the end of a destructive war, and a generous prince, placed near the throne, promised powerfully to support the constitution formed by the states of the empire, and every thing promised to well-disposed Swedish citizens eertain indemnification for past misfortunes. His royal Majesty fondly shared in the pleasing hope in which his faithful subjects indulged on this head, when one of those unexpected blows, the hopes of men, annihilated ours. The with which Providence at times destroys Crown Prince Charles Augustus was no more, and his death shrouded the future destinies of Sweden in a dreadful gloom. His royal Majesty, with a mind deeply affected by a loss, universally so severely felt, yet mindful of his royal duty, and felt thoroughly convinced, that for contemplated the state of public affairs, the preservation of the independence of the Swedish empire, it became indispensibly necessary to secure, without the least delay, the succession to the throne, which appeared to him the only the empire, by a firin and wise governmeans of preserving the tranquillity of ment, founded on the fundamental laws of the constitution of our country. Deeply impressed with those sentiments, his Majesty perceived with pleasure that the voice of his people, equally aware of the necessity speedily to choose a and unanimously declared in favour of successor to the Swedish throne, loudly the Prince of PONTE CORVO. Brilliant exploits have illustrated his name as a warrior, at the same time that eminent talents mark him one of the most skilful statesmen of our age. Universally admired for the probity of his character and the mildness of his temper, he found opportunities, even in the midst of the misfortunes of war, to shew his attachment to the Swedish nation, by the kind and friendly manner in which he treated the Swedish officers and soldiers whom the chance of war subjected to his powAll these circumstances and considerations could not but fix his Majesty's attention and determine his resolution, when the question was, to propose a successor to the Swedish throne. er. "Yet his royal Majesty has not failed to take on this important question the sense of the states of the empire, and of the secret committee of the council of state: a large majority of the former, and the unanimous opinions of the latter perfectly coincided with his Majesty's sentiments on this point. His royal Majesty thinks, that by confiding the future destinies of Sweden to the Prince of Ponte Corvo, his well earned military fame, while on the one side it secured the independence of the state, will on the other hand render it superfluous for him to engage in fresh wars; that his strong mind, tutored by long experience, will maintain national tranquility and order, and secure to our faithful subjects a long and undisturbed enjoyment of the blessings of peace; and lastly, that his son will remove in future times that uncertainty of succession to the throne which some late lamentable events have rendered still more important to this country. From all these considerations his roy al Majesty feels obliged to propose to the assembled states of the empire, his serene highness John Baptist Julian Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte Corvo, as Crown Prince of Sweden, and his royal Majesty's successor to the Swedish throne. His royal Majesty must, however, expressly add the reservation, that should the said Prince be chosen by the states of the empire, successor to the Swedish throne, he must, pursuant to the fundamental laws of their kingdom, before he arrives on Swedish ground, adopt the tenets of the pure Evangelical Creed, and also sign a similar assurance, as the states of the empire formed for the late Crown Prince. His royal Majesty has now performed the duty prescribed to him by the constitution of the realm, and now expects the resolution of the states. May the choice which they are about to make, secure the glory and prosperity of our beloved country, and thus fulfil the most earnest wish, which his royal Majesty can ever entertain." CHARLES. ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. VIOLATION OF THE PEOPLES' RIGHTS BY THE VERY PERSONS DEPUTED TO GUARD THEM: OR AN INQUIRY INTO THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION. LETTER IX. MR. EDITOR, I shall proceed in my enquiry concerning the English constitution in spite of those verbal inaccuracies which have rendered, I fear, some passages in my former letters obscure, if not unintelligible, and for which perhaps some apology is due. I can only say that the great trouble it requires to search after authorities, and the time it consumes, left me none to attend to the composition of those letters, or even to write them out fair; there may therefore perhaps have been some mistakes in my own writing, added to the typographical errors, which are obvious in those letters, and for which the can did reader will make allowance; but there are persons who think such lapses unpardonable; and to them I have only to say, that my object in writing at all was, and is, utility, and not the exhibition of any literary skill, which I am conscious I do not possess; and that it would give me far greater satisfaction to be the means of confirming the public in an accurate conception of an important franchise, than in bringing forth a letter, the merit of which as a composition, should be thought equal to any of those produced by the pen of JUNIUS himself. I propose to make some further enquiry into the English CONSTITUTION, and I am sorry to say that though the English language does not contain a word of greater importance than this, there is not one in it that has been more abused, or that is less clearly defined.-Surely this ought to be a standard word, respecting which no two men ought to entertain two different opinions. The same interpretation of it ought to be current all over the kingdom, and as well known as a guinea: hut instead of this almost every man has submitted the word to his own coinage; almost every man has stamped the name of the constitution on something of his own manufacture: -at present it seems to resemble the word RELIGION, which is a name attached to certain opinions and practices by one man, and to other practices and opinions by another man; so that as every man has his religion, most men have what may be called their own peculiar interpretation of the English constitution. There are some grand distinctions indeed, as between the Whig and Tory intepretations, and then again some minor ones, in which Whig differs from Whig, and Tory from Tory; nay, one and the same person has been known to give very different definitions of many important constitutional points at different periods of time; especially if it has chanced that, during that time, he has changed his scat in a certain assembly from one side of the house to the other. As to the versions which have been made of it out of doors, they have been so many and so various that it is impossible to describe them. In the course of the preceding letters it has been seen that the Edinburgh Reviewers have thought fit to define bribery and corruption to be the very perfections of the constitution. This license assumed by individuals of all ranks is abominable: no man ought to be allowed to lay down any doctrine as constitutional on his own ipse dixit; such assertions unsupported by authorities are very audacious, and very dangerous. We do not allow any man to coin guineas, neither ought we to allow any man to coin constitutions. We punish those who circulate counterfeit bank notes even when they have not forged them, but only believe them to be forged; but we impute no crime to those who circulate false doctrines respecting our constitution, which they have either fabricated themselves, or known to have been forged by men whose intention was to establish a pure unmitigated despotism in this country. Ought we not to be more careful of our freedom than our guineas or bank notes? Has not Lord Coke called it our best inheritance, and hath he not given an excellent reason for so calling it, because (he says)" without it, we should "have no inheritance that we could "call our own?"-Hath not the house of Commons also declared in 1667 that MAGNA CHARTA was the great preserver of our lives, freedoms, and properties? Must it not then be a far more heinous offence wil fully to misinterpret Magna Charta, or knowingly to circulate a faise and spurious exposition of it, or any part of it, than to forge a bank note or to counterfeit a guinea? Let not the people then adopt any doctrine as constitutional without having proof of its being so: it is not be-" cause it comes to them from a minister of state, or a crown lawyer, or a committee of the house of Commons, that they ought implicitly to believe it. We have an undoubted right to investigate into the truth of all such opinions, and to bring them to the test, to see whether they are conformable to the fundamental laws and institutions of the government or not. This is not only our right but our duty. Shall we be careful to detect counterfeit shillings and half-crowns, and take no care to detect spurious expositions of our constitutional rights? Shall the bad shilling be nailed to the counter, whilst imposition is allowed to circulate, and by insensible degrees to corrupt and bereave us of our franchises?-What comparison is there between a paltry piece of money, and that birthright which is beyond all price, all estimation ? . These are my reasons for submitting to the consideration of the people, the following reflections on an opinion pronounced by a body of their representatives on a grand constitutional point; that opinion I consider as founded in error, and tending to impose upon the public in a matter of the very highest importance: I do not say that it is a wilful intposition, God forbid that would be a very serious imputation: but such wilful impositions have existed in former times, and some of the authors have atoned for them even with their blood. Kings have had judges and ministers who have advanced doctrines hostile to the rights of the people, and have employed even the ministers of God to preach them from the pulpit. Our libraries are still polluted with books containing such opinions; and there are men disposed, from the natural bias of their minds, to receive and to cherish the fatal poison. We can not therefore be too vigilant in detecting dangerous political errors whatever be the cause from whence they may arise. We are told that that nation groans under a state of miserable bondage whose rights have become vague and uncertain. Misera est servitus ubi jus est ragum aut incognitum. Let us guard then against this uncertainty, by applying to our political birthright the same anxious concern that people generally have for their landed inheritance. How very ridiculous would it be for a freeholder to boast of his freehold, without either knowing its boundaries, or the nature of the land which it contained! I am aware that the opinion advanced by the committee of the house of Commons appointed to examine into the affair of Sir Francis Burdett's imprisonment was afterwards sanctioned by the approbation of VOL. VIII. the whole house, and that there are many men who think it very wrong either to question the wisdom of parliament, or the propriety of its decisions. This is one of our modern anticonstitutional doctrines. Our fathers thought differently: instead of blindly following the opinions of their representatives, they were in the habit of sending them instruetions, and if any measure was proposed on which the representative had no knowledge of the sentiments. of his constituents, the usual and proper answer in that case for him to make was that it was "a new 66 66 device, and that he could do no"thing in it without consulting his country." They took care also by frequent elections to exercise a due controul over the delegate, who consequently regulated his conduct by their opinions, as all men who act for the benefit of others ought by right, to do; and let it be remarked that it was never intended our nation should obtain happiness by the fruits of such vicarious wisdom, but by living agreeable to their own desires, under laws of their own choosing. For these reasons I must contend that even if parliaments were as free now as they were formerly, this doctrine of implicit faith in representative wisdom would be contrary to the spirit of our government: what must it then be in an age when ministerial influence over parliament is not only acknowledged, but preached up as a measure findispensibly necessary, by all those who are, mistakenly called, the friends of government ? Those who contend for the necessity of parliamentary influence must, one would think, be conscious of a necessity of another kind; I mean the necessity of renouncing in that case, parliamentary integrity, which it is impossible to reconcile with a system of corruption. On what then would they have us confide ? On the wisdom of parliament I sup СС |