the Constitution, in a manner suited to the present state of affairs and the political rank to which this Country has been raised, as well as capable of consolidating the general and individual prosperity; I think fit, and am pleased, to commit to the charge of my much beloved and valued Son, Dom Pedro de Alcantara, Prince Royal of The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, the general Government and entire Administration of the whole Kingdom of Brazil; constituting him Regent and my Lieutenant, in order that he, with so pre-eminent a title, and adhering to the Instructions, which accompany this Decree, under my Signature, may, during my absence, and so long as the Constitution shall not have established any other system, govern this Kingdom with wisdom, and with the love of the People. From the high opinion I entertain of his prudence and other good qualities, I take my departure, with the conviction that, in administering the affairs of Government, in strengthening the public security and tranquillity, in promoting the general prosperity, and in fulfilling my wishes in every respect, he will conduct himself as a good Prince, the friend and father of this People, the recollection of whom is deeply engraven upon my heart, and from whose obedience to the Laws, as well as submission and respect to the Authorities, I hope to obtain a recompence for the great sacrifice I make, in separating myself from my Son, my first born, Heir and Successor to the Throne, whom I leave to them as a pledge of the high estimation in which I hold them.

The Prince will so understand and execute this Decree, and give Orders for its promulgation.

Palace of Boa Vista, 22d April, 1821.

With the Signature of His Majesty.

INSTRUCTIONS for the guidance of the Prince Royal, as Regent of Brazil; annexed to the preceding Decree. (Translation.)

THE Prince Royal of the United Kingdom shall take the title of Prince Regent, and my Lieutenant, in the Provisional Government of the Kingdom of Brazil, with which he is to be charged.

This Government shall consist of the Conde dos Arcos, Minister and Secretary of State for the Interior of the Kingdom of Brazil, and for Foreign Affairs; the Conde da Louza, Dom Diogo de Menezes, Minister and Secretary of State for Finance; the Secretaries of State, ad interim, Camp Marshal, Carlos Frederico de Caula, for the War Department; and Major General of the Fleet, Manoel Antonio Farinha, for the Department of the Marine.

The Prince Royal shall form his decisions, in the Council composed of the 2 Ministers of State, and the 2 Secretaries of State (ad interim) and those decisions shall be registered by the Minister or Secretary of State, to whose Department the responsibility thereof shall belong.

The Prince Royal shall possess every power for the Administration of Justice, Finance, and internal Government; he may pardon Criminals who may have been capitally convicted, and commute punishments. He shall decide on all questions relating to the public Administration.

He shall appoint to all places in the Law, in the Courts of Justice, or in the Department of Finance, which are now or may become vacant, and to all Civil and Military Employments: the Persons named, by virtue of his Decree, shall enter upon the exercise or enjoyment of their places, offices, or employments, immediately after the Payment of the New Duties; although their respective Commissions require my Royal Signature, which is indispensable to Letters and Patents; for the prompt expedition whereof, the Prince shall not only be empowered to sign Alvarás, by virtue of which such Letters shall be granted, but also to concede those dispensations, which, according to custom, are granted to the Possessors of such Letters.

He shall also appoint to all Benefices, whether with or without cure of souls, and to other Ecclesiastical Dignities, with the exception of Bishopricks; but he may propose to me, for the same, such Persons, as he may consider worthy of them.

He shall be empowered to declare War, offensive or defensive, against any Enemy which may attack the Kingdom of Brazil, should the circumstances be so urgent as to make the waiting for my Royal Orders a serious prejudice to my faithful Vassals of this Kingdom; and for the same reason, and under similar circumstances, he may conclude Provisional Treaties, or Truces, with the Enemies of the State.

Finally, The Prince is empowered to confer, as honourable favours, upon such Persons as he shall judge worthy of the distinction, the Badges of the three Military Orders, of Christ, St. Bento de Aviz, and St. Thiago da Espada; he may grant to them the immediate use of the Insignia, and the usual dispensations for their vows.

In the unforeseen and unhappy event of the death of the Prince Royal, (which may God forbid) the Regency of the Kingdom of Brazil shall pass directly to the Princess Royal, his wife and my much loved and valued Daughter-in-Law, who shall govern the Kingdom, aided by a Council of Regency, composed of the Ministers of State, of the President of the Council of State, of the Chief Justice, and of the Secretaries of State (ad interim) for the Departments of War and Marine. The eldest Minister of State shall be President of this Council, and this Regency shall enjoy the same powers and authorities as those enjoyed by the Prince Royal.

Palace of Boa Vista, 22d April, 1821.

With the Signature of His Majesty.

SPEECH of The Conde de Sampayo, on the Installation of the Cortes of Portugal.—Lisbon, 26th January, 1821. (Translation.)

ILLUSTRIOUS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PORTUGUESE NATION,— The happy day is at length arrived, which the Portuguese so anxiously desired, and which is going to crown their ardent wishes and flattering hopes; a day ever glorious and memorable, which will form the most brilliant epoch in the history of the Monarchy, and in the annals of the Reign of our pious and august Monarch, Don Jons VI. and which, presenting to admiring Europe the truly wonderful result of an energetic, but peaceable, effort, will regain for the Portuguese the name and the glory which our preceding misfortunes had obscured, and had almost extinguished.

In your hands, Gentlemen, are now placed the fate of this magnanimous Nation,-the happiness of our beloved and common Country. The zeal and patriotism of the Portuguese are confided to your virtue and wisdom. They will not be deceived in their choice, nor disappointed in their expectations.

The Government, after having at the Holy Altar returned due thanks to the Sovereign Author of all Good, and humbly supplicated Him to be pleased to pour down upon you the spirit of wisdom and prudence, so necessary for the due accomplishment of your arduous and sublime duties, now congratulates you on your happy meeting, and considers itself as fulfilling one of its most important and noble duties, by recommending to your care and solicitude, the interests and the des tiny of an illustrious people, who desire and deserve to be happy.

In the minds and hearts of the Portuguese are engraven two fundamental principles, which they have loudly proclaimed to the whole world, or which the public happiness must repose, and which we all swear to maintain;-obedience and fidelity to King JOHN VI. and his august dynasty, and the pure and sincere profession of the holy religion of our forefathers.

The first insures to us, by the virtues hereditary in the House of Braganza, the blessings of a paternal Government; the second offers us the firmest support of our happiness, in the maxims of a Divine morality, which so perfectly adapts itself to, and is identified with, the necessities and sentiments of man.

It is on these foundations that the majestic edifice of the Portuguese Constitution must be erected, which, whilst the sacred rights of civil liberty, of property, and of the safety of the Citizen, are secured, prescribes with a firm and steady hand, the unalterable line of demark ation, which is to divide law from arbitrary will-power from despotism-liberty from licentiousness-obedience from slavery.

When this great work shall have been profoundly considered, and wisely developed, and executed, with the attention which the interests

and circumstances of the Nation require,-with the energy which its urgent wants demand,-with the prudence and circumspection which belong to the superiority, or (if I may so express myself) the impassable independence of the Legislator;-then the Portuguese, restored to their rights and to their dignity, will resume the place which belongs to them among civilized, free, and independent Nations; under the shelter of peace and domestic felicity, they will see those political Institutions flourish, which render a Nation great and respected. They will form around the august Throne of their Monarch, a firm barrier, equally inaccessible to internal passions, the enemies of social order, and the external attacks of any ambitious and usurping Power; and, nobly proud of the just and precious liberty, which their worthy Representatives have known how to acquire, and to secure to them, they will transmit to posterity the names of the Fathers of their Country, covered with a thousand benedictions, and accompanied by the most affectionate and most glorious recollections.

Such are the happy effects which the Government hopes and anticipates as the result of your wise deliberations, enlightened zeal, consummate prudence, and eminent virtues. It is about to conclude the memorable and difficult functions with which it has been charged, and, esteeming itself happy in having maintained peace and public tranquillity, it embraces this opportunity of again addressing the sincere expression of its praise, and of its thanks, to all the classes of Citizens to whom, under the favour of Providence, so extraordinary and invaluable a blessing is due. May the all-wise Providence grant, that this heroic Nation may attain, and enjoy, for many centuries to come, the felicity which it merits, and which the eminent qualities of its illustrious Representatives so largely promise! May our adored Monarch, conforming to the public wish, and sanctioning by his Royal assent, the work of the national wisdom, come and occupy the Throne of love, loyalty, and gratitude, which is prepared for him in the hearts of his people; and may we all, united in fraternal concord, and reciprocally bound by the sacred ties of love of our Country, rejoice in our happy fate, bless the epoch of our regeneration, and give worthy examples of virtue to our remotest posterity!

DECREE of the Cortes, containing the bases of the Political Constitution of Portugal. Lisbon, 9th March, 1821.

(Translation.)

THE general and extraordinary Cortes of the Portuguese Nation, previously to the establishment of the Political Constitution, recognize and decree for its bases the following principles, which they consider to be the best calculated to secure the personal rights of the Citizen, and

to establish the organization and limits of the political powers of the Government.

SECTION I. Of the Rights of the CITIZEN.

ART. I. The Political Constitution of the Portuguese Nation guarantees the liberty, security, and property of every Citizen.

II. Liberty consists in the power which belongs to every one of doing that which is not prohibited by the Law. The preservation of this liberty depends on the exact observance of the Laws.

III. Personal security consists in the protection which the Government is bound to afford to all Persons, in order that they may be enabled to enjoy their individual rights.

IV. No Individual shall be arrested, except upon the charge of a crime committed.

V. The Cases provided for by the Constitution are, however, excepted; but with respect to them, the Judge shall, within 24 hours, make known to the accused, in writing, the cause of his apprehension.

VI. The Law shall prescribe the punishment to be inflicted, upon the Judge who may have ordered, upon the Person who may have required, and upon the Officers who may have executed, an unlawful imprisonment.

VII. Property is the sacred and inviolable right which every Citizen possesses of disposing of his property, agreeably to his own will, and according to the Law. When, through any circumstance of public and urgent necessity, it shall become necessary that a Citizen be deprived of his property, he shall be indemnified in the manner appointed by the Law.

VIII. The free communication of thought is one of the most precious rights of Man. Every Citizen may, therefore, without being subject to a previous Censorship, manifest his opinions on any matter, he being answerable for the abuse of this liberty, in the cases and form which a Law shall determine.

IX. The Cortes shall immediately pass the said Law, and shall appoint a Special Tribunal to protect the Liberty of the Press, and to repress offences resulting from its abuse.

X. With respect, however, to the abuse which may be made of this liberty, in religious matters, the censure of writings, on dogmatical and moral subjects, shall remain with the Bishops; and the Government shall assist those Bishops in bringing the Delinquents to punishment.

XI. The Law is equal for all; and, therefore, neither privileges of rank, in Civil and Criminal Causes, nor any other than the regular Judges and Tribunals, shall be tolerated. This disposition does not comprehend the Causes which belong to particular Tribunals, in conformity with the Law which shall regulate the same.

XII. No Law, and particularly no penal Law, shall be established without absolute necessity. All punishments shall be proportioned to the offence, and shall be visited upon no other person than the Delinquent.