pressed round him. Having reascended the platform, he announced the appointment of a new ministry, which was received with unanimous vivas. Shortly after, the members of the new administration waited on the prince; and M. J. da Costa Quintella, who was named first minister, was hailed as he passed along, with the joyous salutations of the people.

At 9, the prince again appeared on the platform, accompanied by the bishop, and the new ministers, and took the oath of adhesion on the Gospel, in the name of the king. All the ministers followed his example. In the course of the day, the king and queen sanctioned the proceedings by their presence: and, that all might appear to be the work of the royal will, and the royal power, a decree was published, dated three days before these events, by which, his majesty sanctioned the establishment of the Portuguese constitution in the Brazils.

On the 15th of March, a decree was issued, dated the 7th of that month, which announced the king's intention of immediately repairing to Lisbon. The people of Rio de Janeiro, flattered themselves with the hope, that this design would yet be abandoned: but his majesty set sail on the 26th of April, on board a line-ofbattle ship, accompanied by two frigates, with some smaller vessels of war and transports. His suite was numerous; he was also at tended by 900 families of the city, the whole consisting of 4,000 persons. He left the government of Brazil to his royal highness don Pedro, having appointed the Conde dos Arcos, his prime minister.

Towards the end of April, the

bases of the constitution adopted by the Cortes at Lisbon, were generally known in Rio de Janeiro; and the soldiers and people, thinking that the old system should immediately give way to the new one, though still incomplete, assembled on the 5th of June, in the great square of the Rocio, and appointed a deputation to represent their wishes to the prince regent. His royal highness immediately came to them, and in their presence, took the oath to observe the constitutional bases. In compliance with their demands, the Conde dos Arcos, whose influence was believed to have prevented the prince from taking this step sooner, was removed from his post, and sent to Europe: and a Junta was appointed, composed of nine deputies, who were to be subordinate to the Cortes, but to have control over the ministers. At the same time a new ministry was nominated, at the head of which, was don Pedro Alvarez Diniz. The provisional Junta, in a proclamation issued on the 9th of June, declared, that they considered it to be their most sacred duty to assure the intimate and indissoluble union of the kingdoms of Portugal and Brazil.

The Junta of Rio de Janeiro set up pretensions to exercise authority over the whole of the Brazils. These pretensions, however, were resisted. The Junta of Bahia refused to act in subor, dination to them, and this refusal, was, from motives of policy, sanctioned by the Cortes of Lisbon; who thought, no doubt, that it would be more easy to retain a number of small governments, than one great country, in a state of dependence.

These changes had been effected chiefly by the Portuguese soldiery: but, a farther change might now be expected, in which they would not willingly co-operate. Now, that the bands of authority were weakened, why should not the Brazilians seize the opportunity to burst them asunder, and throw aside all dependence on Portugal? Though this great step was not yet taken, there appeared symptoms of a separation of views between the Portuguese troops and the natives. On the 3rd of November, the native Brazilian troops, at Bahia, rose in arms for the purpose of removing from power, three members of the provisional Junta, who were suspected of selling commissions in the militia. The Portuguese soldiery, on the other hand, took part with the government, and so overawed the malcontents, that without any resistance, they suffered three or four of their leaders to be apprehended and sent on board the Don Pedro Portuguese frigate, then in the harbour, in order to be conveyed to Lisbon, and placed at the disposal of the Cortes. The insurgent troops afterwards succeeded, by stratagem, in gaining possession of two of the fortresses at Bahia, and again held out defiance to the Junta.

A more formidable disturbance took place at Pernambuco. Some of the old revolutionists of 1817, repaired to Goyanna, a small village in the interior, and there formed themselves into a provisional government, in the name of the king, denouncing, as illegal, the delegated authority by which the affairs of Pernambuco were administered. A portion of

the peasantry, and all the soldiers of colour, who had been disbanded and disarmed on the king's acceptance of the constitution, joined the conspirators at Goyanna; who now, believing themselves strong enough for an attack on Pernambuco, advanced to Iguarassu, a village about six leagues distant from the city. Thence they sent in their ultimatum to the governor, the principal condition of which was, that his excellency should embark for Lisbon with the European troops. Receiving no answer to this, and being joined by a few more disaffected troops, they moved forward to Olinda, which they attacked, and at the same time directed a portion of their force against a post near the bridge of Affogadas. They were foiled at both points by the Portuguese regiment of Algarve, who put them to flight, killing and wounding great numbers of them. An irregular fight was kept up for some time in the woods, which ended in the dispersion of the insurgents. The attack was subsequently renewed without any advantage to the assailing party, except that of keeping Pernambuco for several days in a state of siege, during which, it's supplies of fresh provisions from the interior were cut off. In this interval, however, there arrived a reinforcement of Portuguese troops from Bahia, which so much abated the hopes of success entertained by the besiegers, that they agreed to accept a mediation, offered by the authorities of Paraiba. After several conferences, terms were agreed on, and all parties retired to their own homes, on the faith of a convention, by which the Junta of Pernambuco and that of

Goyanna referred the decision of their differences to the Cortes at Lisbon. Shortly after this, a great change was produced in the situation of the province, by the arrival of orders from Lisbon for the recal of the governor, the removal of the European troops, and the formation of a provincial government by the votes of the college of electors. On the 26th of October, the governor sailed for Europe; and on the same day the election of the Junta took place. The choice fell as might have been expected, on native Brazilians: among the whole

number chosen, there was only one European.

At Monte Video, the Constitution was adopted by the soldiers on the 20th of March. In July, an assembly of deputies was held, to determine whether the province should unite itself to the Brazils, or should establish an independent government. The former proposition was adopted, and the province declared itself a portion of the Brazils. In consequence of want of pay, which was nearly two years in arrear, the garrison was in a state approaching to open mutiny.

siderable naval force in the bay of Naples. The government made application to the ambassadors of these countries to have a statement of the reasons for the presence of so many ships of war, and received in reply the most unequivocal assurances, that no hostility was intended. Sir Wm. A'Court, in his answer, said, "that he had no hesitation in giving a frank declaration of the intentions of his government; that the British squadron was simply a squadron of observation, the presence of which was sufficiently explained by the critical circumstances of the country, and the necessity of providing for the security of the persons and property of British subjects, under all possible chances; that the British government was determined to maintain a strict neutrality, and to take no part, either directly or indirectly, in the war which seemed to be on the point of breaking out; that it would interfere in no way with the affairs of the country, unless such interference should be rendered indispensable by any personal insult or danger to the royal family; and that, not foreseeing the possibility of such a case, he flattered himself that nothing would alter the peaceful attitude of Great Britain."

In the mean time, Ferdinand had arrived at Laybach. His first letter spoke only of the amusement he found in the chase, and of the superiority of his dogs over those of the emperor Alexander. No strangers were permitted to reside at Laybach during this convocation of crowned heads; and to make their councils more impenetrable, not even even was a secretary permitted to be present

at the conferences of the ministers. The principles, however, which guided these hidden deliberations, were sufficiently known; for, in a state-paper, which appeared at the end of the preceding year, signed by Austria, Russia, and Prussia, there was a formal declaration of irreconcileable hostility to the revolution of Naples. "In order to lead to conciliatory measures," said the allied sovereigns in that document, "the monarchs assembled at Troppau resolved to invite the king of the Two Sicilies to an interview at Laybach; a step, the sole object of which was, to free the will of the king from all external constraint, and to place his majesty in the situation of a mediator between his misled people and the states whose tranquillity was threatened. As the monarchs are resolved not to recognise governments which had been produced by open rebellion, they could not enter into negotiations except with the king alone." France seems to have neither avowed nor denied these principles. But the British go vernment, in a circular, dated the 13th of January, and laid before parliament on the first of February, declared their dissent from the general principles which had been adopted at Troppau and Laybach, as well as their determination not to interfere in the affairs of Naples; adding, at the same time, that other European states, and especially Austria and the Italian powers,might feelthem. selves differently circumstanced; and professing, that it was not the purpose of England to prejudge the question as it might affect them, or to interfere with the course which such states might