SPEECH of the King of Portugal, read to the Cortes by His Majesty's Command, on the occasion of his taking the Oath to the Bases of the Constitution.-Lisbon, 4th July, 1821. (Translation.)

GENTLEMEN, Deputies of the Cortes of these Kingdoms,

If it be natural for every good Man to feel particular joy on revisiting his dear native land after a short absence, what must not be the delight of a Prince, who, after a prolonged absence of more than 13 years, finds himself restored to the seat of His August Ancestors, and received with sentiments corresponding with the paternal affection of his heart, at once by the whole Nation, in the person of its worthy Representatives, happily assembled together, and united by their love of King and Country, in this August Congress.

Yes, Gentlemen, I am persuaded that nothing but a pure love for your King, a disinterested anxiety for the public welfare, and the unanimous wish of the Nation, has conducted you hither, to form a Congress upon which the eyes of Portugal, of Europe, and of the whole World, are fixed, expecting the happy regeneration of a People, destined by their valour, no less than by their virtues, to occupy one of the most distinguished places in the page of history.

On his receiving the auspicious news, that, in the Capital of the Monarchy were about to be assembled, Citizens conspicuous by their learning and personal qualities, designated by the public opinion, and freely chosen, in order to save their Country from the imminent shipwreck which threatened it, on an ocean of evils, accumulated during the long series of years since the establishment of our primitive Constitution ;—it was equally impossible for your King any longer to delay his return to the original cradle of the Monarchy, and that a Portuguese Monarch should, for the first time, cease to desire to unite himself to the Representatives of the Nation, for the purpose of concerting with them the means of relieving its necessities, and of securing its prosperity.

Were it possible that the idea of proscribing Monarchy should enter the minds of Portuguese, your King would find no other example in the sentiments of his Predecessors, than that of abandoning the Nation, without thoughts of culpable vengeance, though with the most lively grief, to the decrees of Providence: but the Portuguese, and with pleasing satisfaction I proclaim it to the World, have not for an instant forgotten that they are Portuguese, whose device has ever been "Valour and Loyalty."

Protesting, in the Act of convocation of the Cortes, that the edifice of the new Constitution which they were about to rear, should rest on the immoveable basis of the hereditary monarchy's continuing in the House of Braganza, and reiterating the oaths of fidelity sworn to me by the whole Nation, on my accession to the Throne of my August Ancestors,-the People sanctioned the fundamental principle of all

Constitutional Monarchies, which is, that, as the exercise of the Sovereignty consists in the exercise of the Legislative Power, it cannot reside separately in any one of the integral parts of the Government, but only in the union of the Monarch and the Deputies, chosen by the People as you have been, in order to form together the Supreme Council of the Nation, to which Council our Ancestors have given the name of Cortes,--and to which, collectively, appertains the ordinary exercise of the Legislative Power; in such manner, that, should a Monarch ever assume to himself the exercise of that power, independently of the Chamber of Deputies, the Government would be considered as degenerated into a despotism; as, on the other hand, it would pass into the no less degenerate state of ochlocracy, should the Chamber of Deputies assume to exercise alone the Legislative Power.

Penetrated with these incontestible principles of the Constitutional right of Nations, no sooner was I made acquainted that the People of this Kingdom of Portugal had elected the Deputies destined to represent them in the Cortes, than I resolved to set out without delay, in order to occupy in that Assembly the eminent post to which, by the recognised principle of succession, it had pleased God to call me.

It not being compatible, however, with the general good of the Monarchy to transfer the seat of Government from Brazil to Europe, without first making such dispositions as might secure the union of the 2 Countries and the regular march of affairs, until the establishment of the future Constitution; I proceeded to take the Measures which appeared to me the most conducive to that end, and of which I ordered my Ministers and Secretaries of State to lay before you a circumstantial account. I then proceeded, without loss of time, to unite myself with the Representatives of the People, in order to commence, with mutual accord, being animated with equal patriotism, the important work which must emanate from this August Assembly, wholly coinposed of Individuals selected by the spontaneous and free will of the Nation; all the Members whereof have, previously and individually, sworn to accomplish and execute the Acts which are to proceed from an Authority, whose legitimate powers can be contested neither by the Natives, who have conceded the same, nor by Foreigners who are incompetent to pronounce upon such a subject.

You are already informed, by means of the Communication which I ordered to be made to you, through my Minister and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, that the first step which I took in the career of the Constitutional Government, (which form of Government I thought it incumbent on me to embrace for the general good of the People,) was to take, myself, and to order to be taken by the Members of my Royal Family, and by the Army and People of the Ultramarine Provinces, the same oath of adherence to the general will of the Nation, legitimately expressed by these Cortes, and to which I determined to send

Deputies, chosen according to the form and manner adopted in this Kingdom. In a short time we shall see Representatives from all those Provinces arrive, in order to join this August Assembly; and, in accordance with their oath, associate with us, in the name of their Constituents, in that great work, which is destined to bind still more closely, the ties of perpetual union amongst all those who glory in possessing and meriting the name of Portuguese, in the 4 quarters of the Globe.

As the organ of my unalterable sentiments, and of the sincere wishes that I have ever formed, during the whole course of my government, for the prosperity of the Monarchy, my Ministers of State will explain to you the several objects of which we shall have to treat, and upon which I, having no other view but the good of the Nation, think it necessary that you should observe and reflect, in order that we may conclude, with the least possible delay, the most important task that we have undertaken.

PROCLAMATION of the Governor and Captain-General to the Inhabitants of Buenos Ayres, respecting the designs of the Portuguese (Brazilian) Government upon Monte Video.-27th March, 1821. (Translation.)

THE Enemies of the public felicity, the declared Enemies of the Independence of the Country, persist in their dark designs: as obstinate as ungrateful to the land of their nativity, they have recourse to the vilest expedients, in order to gratify their revenge and malignity, even at the sacrifice of their Country: with them there is no medium between the destruction of liberty, and the triumph of their iniquity.

The public is aware that, some months ago, there was formed in Monte Video, in union with certain revolutionary and vicious spirits, who have been fostered amongst us, (but who have found an obstruction to every design they formed, because the Country deserted them) a Plan for annexing these Provinces to the tottering Empire of Brazil. It is also known that, in the year 1820, if the same plan was not realized, it was not for want of every exertion being used by their leaders, nor from having left untouched any means, even the plunging the Country into hitherto unknown troubles, in order to effect it.

To accomplish that plan, they overturned the Central Authority which was regularly constituted; they persecuted and disfranchised the leading characters in the Nation; and reduced to the lowest ebb the National Credit; they annihilated the Armies; they destroyed the treasures and armament which the Directory had preserved; they caused the invasion and destruction of our fields, the burning of our property, the assassination of Fathers and Children, and of the honourable and peace

able Land-holders; they sanctioned pillage even in our Capital; they encouraged the inclinations even of the lowest order of the people,-in consequence where of, robbery, murder, disorder, and personal outrages were multiplied; the middling class of Society was insulted; and every honest Man was compelled to secrete himself, where he could not be discovered by them. The streets of Buenos Ayres were filled with victims and their executioners; they caused the suspension of our external commerce; speculators trembled; the Merchants trading to the Interior, were obliged to direct their whole care to their personal security, after having sent the fruits of their labour to the remotest corners of the Earth; they hired for this service, Men, taken from the coffee-houses, and cellars, which served as receptacles for their plunder; they invested with the highest rank and employments, vagabonds, and criminals,-the lowest dregs of Society; they fomented discord, and introduced it into the Villages and streets, and even into the bosom of families: they encouraged factions; cherished vengeance; multiplied disgusts, and involved the City in a thousand difficulties;—such was the first part of their plan. One Government succeeded to another,―no one was permanent: the Authorities disagreed, and varied their system daily, till at last they placed the City in a condition which could not, and without any Person in it who could, inspire confidence. This was the grand object of their endeavours; but what a lesson did not the people of Buenos Ayres afford to the World?-They bewailed her misfortunes, lamented her deplorable situation, where all was fear and apprehension. In the mean time, the Traitors of their Country hoped that, in such a desperate state of things, the people would seek the assistance of their would-be protectors, and demand their annexation to the Brazilian Empire. The People of Buenos Ayres gave a tremendous cry, and frightened them from her Territory and her coasts.

Sarratea, with his Adherents, then escaped to the Entre Rios, where he sought refuge of Governor Ramirez, who had been one of the principal instruments of this great design; Alvear returned to Monte Video, to set in movement the plan of the Portuguese Combination; several others followed him. Carrera proceeded to the Pampas, to continue the work of devastation, to make converts, and to be ready at any future period to co-operate in any concerted plans, which Sarratea might form with Ramirez, and Alvear with the Portuguese. The desired opportunity

appeared at length to have arrived.

In the beginning of this month, an Adjutant of Governor Ramirez, Don N. Urdinarrain, arrived at Monte Video, with Dispatches for General Lecor, and Don Carlos Alvear; in consequence of which the Three met at the General's house, where the Letters were opened, and the execution of a plan was agreed upon, as a substitute for that which had miscarried in 1820;—which was, that Aguiar, who would remain in command after Ramirez had crossed the Parana, should deliver, as

agreed upon, the Province of Entre Rios to the Portuguese;-that Ramirez, availing himself of the occasion, should declare that the sale of it had been settled at Buenos Ayres, against which Province War should be declared, for having sold the Country to the Portuguese Nation.

The plan of execution having been decided, a person of the name of Pereda, who serves as a confidential Courier between Ramirez and the Portuguese, arrived at Monte Video with Dispatches from him; stating that he had 1,000 Men ready to fight against Buenos Ayres, that the rest of the force was only to magnify appearances, (the former being sufficient by reason of the party he had in his favour here,) and concluding with the recommendation that all possible dispatch should be used in the execution of the preconcerted plan. Don Carlos Alvear, who had been created a Brigadier of the Portuguese Armies, took his departure, in consequence, publickly, from a coffee-house in Monte Video, at half past seven A. M. of the 17th instant, in company with Don Ladislao Martinez, 3 Country Negroes, and a Portuguese Officer, Adjutant of General Saldana, all well armed, and their knapsacks well provided: they were to be joined by Don Nicolas Vedia, who was waiting for them at the estate of his father-in-law, known by the name of Perez, and afterwards to embark at the Port of Bacas for the Entre Rios. They were to call on their way, at Colonia, to communicate the orders they had received. On their arrival at Ramirez's head quarters, he was to cross the Parana with his Troops, and 300 Portuguese that have joined him from the forces stationed on the coast of the Uruguay; in the mean time Alvear, conformably to the agreement with the General, was to take possession of the Territory, and hold it as incorporated with the Crown of Brazil. Such is a sketch of the plan newly conceived, between the Portuguese General Alvear, and Ramirez, Sarratea, and other members of the Monte Video Lodge. The Government of Buenos Ayres having, some days since, discovered part of this plan, immediately communicated it to the Governments of Santa Fé, Cordova, and Mendoza, as the points most likely to feel its effects, and, consequently, the most anxious to repel it with firmness; it also commissioned the Deputation of this Province to acquaint the others of the suspicions of this Government relative to a neighbouring Nation. In consequence of its vigilance and care, the Government is enabled to lay before the public, as a reality, that which it had hitherto believed to exist only in appearance,-that is to say, the existence of a wish to renew the projects of the year 1820, and to place the Country, if not in the same unexampled calamities, at least under a disgraceful and oppressive yoke.

The Government is about to make an immediate Communication of these facts to the Provinces,-to demand satisfaction of the Portuguese General, as well as of Governor Ramirez,-to proclaim to the inhabitants that it will employ all the means which Buenos Ayres has entrusted to its charge, to preserve the integrity of the Territory in general, to se