All the proprietors of houses situated in Lisbon and in the district belonging thereto, shall contribute one moiety of the annual rent for which they have let, in case of their being let; and should the proprietors inhabit the said houses themselves, one moiety of the rent, to be determined by valuation. Payment and delivery thereof shall be made in the manner above-mentioned, and under the same penalties. All pro prietors of houses situated in other towns and boroughs of the kingdom are liable to the same contribution, payable in the same form, and under the same penalties -XVII. All proprietors of land, shall pay this year, double the amount of the tithes imposed on them.-XVIII. For all horses, mules, and servants, double the tax shall this year be paid which was laid on them by former regulations, and the amount of the said tax so doubled shall be paid at once.-XIX. All public buildings and establishments, which contribute towards the expenditure of the police, shall this year pay under the said contribution a sum equal to the amount thereof, -XX. The Sheriff shall, under the direction of the Senate, make a proportional reduction of the contribution, on all the companies of mechanics and tradesmen, whether they keep open shops in public places or elsewhere, levying the sum assessed by prompt execution, applying them to the purpose intended, and giving proper receipts to those who have paid their quota of the contribution. The Senate will cause the total amount thereof to be delivered into the chest of the Receiver General of the contributions and the public revenue of Portugal, every eight days until it shall be entirely discharged.-XXI. The Senate of the city of Oporto will cause the amount of the contribution to be levied in the same manner in the city of Oporto and in the district belonging thereto. And the said senate is further charged to compel all magistrates of all other places in the north to do the same, the northern provinces being in this case only subjected to the said senate.-XXII. The board of public welfare is to make, under the inspection of the Royal Exchequer, a similar requisition on such ships as shall be found without the jurisdiction of the senate, cbserving in point of payment and delivery the forms and penalties above mentioned XXII. The General in chief being desirous to indemnify the unfortunate inhabitants of Beira for what they have suffered from the march of the army through that province, orders, that the boroughs and villages situated between the Tejo and the road of Satra

terra, &c. shall be exempted from the payment of the two first thirds of the present contribution, and from the provisions contained in the 21st article. The boroughs and villages situated on the road to Lisbon, shall enjoy the same exemption. Lands belonging to knights commanders, to holders of grants of the crown, and to other persons, pointed out in the 7th article, shall not be included in the disposition of the present article.-XXIV. The Secretary of State of the interior and of the Finances, is charged with the execution of the present Decree, which shall be printed and posted throughout the whole kingdom.

AUSTRIA.

Declaration of the Emperor of Austria against England: dated Vienna, February 18th, 1808.

During the war which was concluded by the peace of Tilsit, his imperial royal and apostolic majesty has continually endeavoured to impress the belligerent powers with the motives which ought to induce them to concur in endeavouring to insure a general peace. The court of Vienna from that time declared its sentiments to the Cabinet of St. James's, and the imperial envoy at London, Prince Stahremberg, received formal and pressing instructions. But as the British ministry, in an answer to these written communications declared that its answer must depend on its allies, the salutary propositions of Austria could not but be considered as disregarded, and soon after the treaty of Tilsit was concluded, by which the interests of the continent were regulated, without the participation ef Great Britain. His imperial royal and apostolic majesty continued, nevertheless, convinced of the utility, and even of the necessity, of a general pacification; and this conviction afforded him new motives for renewing his pressing representations to the court of London.in July, soon after the signing of the peace, the Prince of Stahremberg again received orders to induce the British ministry to enter into a negociation with France, in order that the continental peace might be connected with and confirmed by, a maritime peace; but these propositions were not more successful than the former had been, and the answer of England was evasive. His majesty, however, thought it right to return to a subject of the most material influence on the general system of Europe, as well as the prosperity of the Austrian provinces in particular. Prinde

Stahremberg was, therefore, for the third time, directed, in September, 1807, to make some farther overtures, connected with the former measures of the court of Vienna. But before his majesty's ambassador reported the result of his communication, the Court of London declared its sentiments, with regard to a maritime peace, in so positive a manner, refusing, at the same time, the mediation of Russia, making an attack on Copenhagen, and seizing the Danish fleet, without assigning any satisfactory cause of these violent measures, nay endeavouring to justify those proceedings, their infringements of the unquestionable rights of neutral powers, by official declarations, which so evidently clashed with the principles adopted by other great powers, that it was impossible not to perceive in the course pursued by the British minister, a disposition to remove the possibility of peace to a greater distance, and not to listen to whatever had any tendency to restore the tranquillity of Europe.The impression which this conduct, destructive of all the hopes which his Majesty had fondly conceived, made on him, was as deep as it was painful Without waiting for the farther reports of Prince Stahremberg, orders still more urgent and more positive were sent him, than he had before received. These instructions, bearing date the 30th October, contained, 1st, a recapitulation of all former transactions, and directed him to represent to the Cabinet of St. James's, in the strongest colours, the unavoidable consequences of its conduct, and to insist, in the most earnest manner, on an open declaration of its real sentiments, with regard to peace, and to avail himself of ali possible means to lead it both to sentiments of moderation, fitted for the present situation, and meeting the wishes of Europe.-The dispatches closed with the precise orders-" to apply once more on this subject in an official manner to his Britannic Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs, and to make to him the formal proposal to enter into negociations for a maritime peace, on such principles as answered the interests of all the powers concerned, and as a provisional proof of his pacific disposition, to desist from the measures pursued against Denmark, and retract the declaration which accompanied them. Should the Court of St. James's reject these proposals, or purposely protract giving any answer, Prince Stahremberg was directed to demand his

-His

passports and leave London with every per. son belonging to the embassy.-It was the Emperor's will that the above instructions should be restricted to such points of general interest, as were most likely to move the British cabinet to receive his proposals with attention and kindness; and if his Imperial Majesty ordered no complaints to be inserted of the numerous violations of his right, as a neutral power, violations, with regard to which his Majesty had not been able to ob tain the least redress or compensation, the reasons no doubt, will be obvious, which induced his Majesty to pass by in silence whatever concerned his personal interest.Imperial Majesty's ambassador in London could but execute the positive orders, which he received from Vienna, to their full extent. But being of opinion that he might yet indulge an hope of being able to prevail on the English ministry to shew more pacific sentiments towards France, be resolved to ex press, at first, part only of his orders in a note, which he addressed to Mr. Canning on the 20th November. The Secretary of State answered that note by a mere repetition of the declaration made to Austria since the month of April, 1807.-As all further representations were now evidently ineffectual, a final notification was sent on the 22d December to Prince Stahremberg, which repeated the order of the 30th October, and directed him, before his departure, to give in a note explaining circumstantially the mo tives of the Court of Vienna towards that of

London. These dispatches, however, did not arrive in London till Prince Stahremberg had applied for, and received, his passes, and he no longer could have communication with the Secretary of State, and deliver in the note which had been transmitted to him.This representation, which is confined to the official communications that have passed between the two governments, is sufficient to shew that the Cabinet of St. James's cannot mistake the causes, nor the motives which have induced his Apostolic Majesty to break off the connection, which has hitherto existed between Austria and Great Britain.— The Emperor, nevertheless, wishes to see the moment arrive, when the Court of London, sensible of its true interests, shall, with calmness and justice, judge of, and compare, the situation of England, with that of the other powers, and thereby enable his Majesty to renew with it his former friendly cont nections.

VOL. XIII. No. 13.}

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481]

SUMMARY OF POLITICS.

ORDERS IN COUNCIL.I return once more to this subject for the purpose of answering my correspondent, whose letter will be found immediately below, and who seems very angry at what has been said, in the Register, respecting the American States.-In giving my readers a description of the nature and tendency of the Orders in Council, I stated, in page 336 of this volume, that the late ministers had declared to the neutral powers, that if they submitted to the audacious principle openly proclaimed by France, that England would retaliate, and would have an undoubted right so to do. I added: "the neutrals do submit, for neither "of then make any public remonstrance, "or protest, against the decrees of France." This assertion my correspondent says I make "in the face of the notorious fact, of the "immediate explanation of the French de

cree, given by the French minister of ma"rine, Dacrès, to the American envoy at Paris." That I had no wish to disguise the fact of this explanation is evident, because I mentioned it, in the article referred to, and in the very next page to that whence my correspondent has extracted what he is pleased to regard as a false assertion.----It is true, that the American envoy did address a note to the French minister of marine, representing to him, that the decree, if acted upon, with regard to America, would be a violation of the treaty existing between her and France; but, was this a public remonstrance, or protest, against the decree?" It was a claim of exemption from the effects of its operation, merely upon the ground of a particular previous compact, and not upon that of the decree being founded upon a tyrannical principle, and being a thing to be opposed on grounds independent of all parti

[482 cular convention. And what was the answer of Dacrès? What was the famous explanation, which satisfied the American President, and which, it was wished, should sa◄ tisfy us? Why, the answer was, that the decree would produce no violation of the treaty between France and America; leaving it quite undecided whether the decree would be enforced, or not. The decree remained unrepealed; it contained no exceptions; and, if it was not executed, with regard to America, this exception in the execution was, undoubtedly, owing to a conviction, that to execute it would be injurious to France. The principle, however, remained the same; the insult to England the same; and the acquiescence of America the same; as far as related to England, the relaxation of France has been obtained for the mutual benefit of France and America only. America was a neutral power; but not the only one. She had no right to sacrifice the inte rests of the other neutrals to her own selfish purposes. She made no remonstrance, that has ever come to light, against the principle. of the French decree; she submitted to the principle; she tacitly acknowledged, that France had a right to declare England in a state of blockade, and to place her under an interdict, and merely pleaded for au exemption, as far as she was concerned, upon the ground of her treaty with France. The French minister gave a vague answer; and, it is well worthy of remark, that even this answer never was made public, until the Orders in Council began to make their appearance. The fact obviously enough ap pears to have been this: the decree, the conqueror's decree, issued from Berlin, was intended for general and indiscriminate operation; but, the Americans having succeeded in convincing France, that such operation

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would be finally more, injurious to France than to England, France relented as to the execution of the decree; and the letter of Dacres is to be regarded as a thing contrived between him and the American envoy. But, the letter of the decree remained; the insult remained entire; and the execution took place, wherever it was thought to work more injury to England than to France. Thus France was to issue a general prohibi- | tory decree against the commerce between England and neutral states, which, no one can deny, gave England a right to retaliate by a measure also general; but, France finding that there was one neutral, whom it would be to her interest to exempt from the execution of the decree, she grants such an exemption, and, thereupon that neutral comes and says, "France exempts me, and so mast you." No," say we, "the "decree is general, and general must be the "retaliation. It is the interest of France to "make an exception in your favour; but "such is not the interest of England. There "is no way for you to avoid the effects of our retaliation, other than that of prevailing upon France to repeal her general decree, against the principle of which you "have made no complaint, that we hear of, even in private. You have tacitly approved of that principle; and, as France "has been the sole judge of the exceptions "for herself to make, you must allow us to "exercise a similar judgment." Could any thing be more just, or reasonable?--My correspondent says, that my assertion, relating to the submission of America was made also in the face of the notorious fact, that, "down to the date of our Orders in Coun"cil, no American vessel has been con"demned, and only two captured," in virtue of the French decree. If this fact be true, the statements of Sir William Scott are false, which I do not believe; and I well know, that a ship of ours, which re-captured an American vessel, taken under the Berlin decree, obtained salvage in our court of Admiralty, which might, indeed, be one cause of Dacrès's explanation. Besides, Lord Howick, long ago, informed our minister in America, that "His Majesty had learnt,

that, in some instances, the decree had "been carried into execution." But, I expressly said, in the article, of which this American complains, that it was of no

consequence, whether there had, or had "not, been any instance, wherein the de

cree had been carried into execution," The decree existed, and, if no captures took place in consequence of it, the cause was, not any resistance, on the part of America,

but the inability of France to execute the decree, in that way. In other respects, bowever, she had the power to execute, and, if we are to retaliate, we are not to make the exceptions that suit her; that is to say, to forbear to retaliate there only, where she has not the power of execution, and where only we have that power. Lord Howick calls upon America to resist the pretensions of France, and declares the king's undoubted right of retaliation, unless such resistancetake place. No resistance takes place; a submission to the principle of the decree does takes place; and an attempt is made to evade our retaliation by an underhand correspondence between the American envoy and the French minister of marine, kept a profound secret, as far as I have observed, until our Orders in Council began to make their appearance.--This American tells us, that to refuse to pay implicit credit to the explanation of Dacrès is" to pretend to "know better than the Doctor; for, one "would naturally suppose, that the opinion "of a French minister, on a French decree

(and still more the uninterrupted course of acting thereupon) was of more authority "than the opinion of an English lawyer." So, because it is I who write a letter, saying that I have seen a black horse to-day, another man is to believe, that my words mean, that I have not seen a black horse to-day, merely because I find it convenient to say, that my words have no such meaning. According to this, no written instrument of any sort could possibly carry any fixed and determinate sense. The decree prohibits all trade between England and neutral states; it prohibits all communication between them; it lays England under a commercial interdict; it makes no exceptions; it neither calls for nor admits of explanation. But, because America and France find it to be their interest to make an explanation as to the execution of it, we are to admit of that explanation, upon the principle, that those who have issued the decree must best understand its meaning. When the poor fellow, who went to America in search of liberty, was going to the jail where he expired for having written what was called a libel upon Mr. Jefferson, he found, alas! that his meaning was left to the opinion of others, and that he was not himself to be the interpreter of it.

-As to the uninterrupted course of "acting upon this French minister's opi"nion," that has been before accounted for.' It is to be observed, however, that this American lays no weight upon the circumstance, that other parts of the decree were rigorously executed; such parts as Napoleon could