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ples, and conformably to the present political situation of these countries and Europe.

4. A sincere disposition on the part of his Catholic majesty to accede to all measures which, in the course of the negotiations, may be proposed to him by his High Allies, and which shall be consistent with the support of his rights and dignity.

We are afterwards informed that his Majesty has made a number of new promotions in the courts of Mexico, Quito, Guatimala, and other parts of South America.

The following official articles, in the form of Royal Decrees, were issued at Madrid on Sept. 17th.

"Having judged it expedient to remove D. Joseph Garcia Leon y Pizarro from his office of my Secretary of State and Dispatches, I appoint as his successor, per interim, the Marquis de Caza Irujot, my Honorary Counsellor of State. By these presents it is made known, in order that it may be communicated to all whom it

may concern."

I have removed D. Joseph Vasquez Figueroa from his office of Secretary of State and the Marine, and by virtue hereof appoint it to be filled by Lieutenant-General D. Hidalgo de Cisneros, Capt. General of the department of Cadiz."

"In consideration of the bad state of the health of D. Martin de Garay, and that he may be enabled to recover it, I have removed him from his office of Secretary of State and of the Finances, of Spain and the Indies. I appoint, as his successor, per

interim, D. Joseph Imaz, my Counsellor of Finances, and first Director-General of Rentes." Signed by the King's hand, at the Palace, Sept. 14. 1818.

PORTUGAL.

Portugal appeared to treat with great neglect the possessions which it retained in Europe; and the return of its Sovereign to this country seemed to be a circumstance very little within expectation. The territory of Montevideo continued to remain attached to the Portuguese dominion.

The King of Portugal has published a Royal alvara, or law, dated Rio Janeiro, May 6, 1818, to enforce the articles of the late convention with the British Government for the abolition of the slave-trade, north of the Equator. It fixes the penalties to which those traders are liable who engage in the prohibited traffic, and makes the necessary regulations for the protection and support of those slaves who in consequence of these penalties shall be declared free. The following are some of its provisions :

Art. 1. All persons, of whatsoever quality or condition, who shall proceed to fit out or prepare vessels for the traffic in slaves, in any part of the coast of Africa lying north of the Equator, shall incur the penalty of the loss of the slaves, who shall be declared free, with a destination hereinafterwards mentioned. The vessels engaged in the traffic shall be confiscated, with all their tackle and appurtenances, together with the cargo, of whatever it consist, which shall be on board on ac

count

count of the owners or freighters of such vessel, and the owners of such slaves. The officers of such vessel, to wit, the captain or master, the pilot and supercargo, shall be banished for five years to Mosambique, and each shall pay a fine equivalent to the pay or other interests which he was to gain by the adventure. Policies of insurance cannot be made on such vessels, or their cargoes; and if they are made, the assurers who shall knowingly make them shall be condemned in triple the amount of the stipulated premium.

2. The same penalty of the loss of the slaves shall attach to persons of whatever rank or condition who shall import slaves into Brazil in foreign vessels.

3. Declares that one half of the confiscated property shall be given to the informer, and the other brought into the royal treasury. If there is no informer, the whole produce of the cargo, and the whole sum of the fine, shall go to the royal treasury.

4. Regulates the mode of proceeding in cases where information is given, fixes the authorities before whom the prosecution is to be brought, and appoints the manner in which the sentence is to be executed.

5. The slaves consigned to the royal treasury, and all those declared free by the above article (as it would be unjust to abandon them without support), shall be delivered up to the judge of the district before whom the condemnation shall take place (whose powers shall be enlarged with that jurisdiction), to serve as freed men for 14 years, in any public

or

service of the navy, the fortresses, agriculture, or public offices, as may be thought most convenient, being for that purpose enrolled in the respective stations; or shall be hired out to individuals of known property and probity, who shall be bound to support, clothe, and instruct them, teaching them some handicraft labour that may be agreed upon, during the stipulated period; the terms and the conditions of which shall be renewed as often as necessary, till the 14 years are expired; the time of servitude may be shortened by two or more years, according as the good conduct of these persons may entitle them to the enjoyment of full freedom. In case these freed men are destined for the public service, the officer who shall have authority in the respective station to which they are assigned, shall nominate a person capable of fixing their term, who shall be responsible for their education and treatment. They shall have as curator a person of known probity, who shall be nominated every three years by the judge, and approved of by the judicial council or governor and captaingeneral of the province. To him it shall belong to provide every thing which may contribute to their well-being, to rectify abuses that may affect them, to procure them release after their proper term of service, and enforce generally for their benefit the observance of the laws 'prescribed for the protection of orphans, in as far as those laws are applicable to them, to the end that whatever is ordered concerning them may be strictly executed. [M 2]

6. In

6. In the ports to the south of the Equator, where the traffic in slaves is still permitted, the regulations passed in the law of the 24th of November, 1813, shall be observed with the following modifications:-The distinction between vessels which shall exceed or shall not exceed 201 tons, shall be abolished, and the number of slaves shall be regulated according to the tonnage of the vessel, in the proportion of 5 to every 2 tons. It shall be allowed to the persons who own or freight slave-vessels, to use indiscriminately iron or copper kettles, provided the latter every voyage

be tinned anew. If surgeons do not sail on board such vessels, on account of the impossibility of procuring them, the owners shall be obliged to carry with them black sangradores, experienced in the treatment of the diseases with which the slaves are commonly afflicted.

7. Till the commerce in slaves is changed by new regulations, the importation of slaves into Brazil, from any ports where the traffic is not prohibited, is permitted.

The usual order is subjoined to all the authorities to observe and enforce this law.

CHAPTER

CHAPTER XV.

Restoration of France to its territory.-Sweden enters upon its new dominion-German affairs still unsettled.-Speech of the united sovereign of Holland and Flanders.

THE

HE great powers who had subdued and taken possession of France, consisting of Austria, Russia, Great Britain, and Prussia, after retaining that country in their hands during three years, now confiding in the security which such a period conferred upon a regular and well ordered government, thought it high time to loosen their shackles. Accordingly, in November 1818, having personally met at Aix-laChapelle, with the exception of the prince regent of England, the other sovereigns joined solemnly in liberating France from dependence of every kind upon a foreign dominion, and immediately withdrew their troops from the whole of the French territories. There is every reason to suppose that the consent among these different powers was full and entire; and that the resolution of putting it into effect had been predetermined for a considerable time before it had been generally made known. The relief which it brought to the country, overburdened as it was with a load of debt, was extremely desireable; and although the burden for a time pressed heavily upon the nation, there was no ground for doubting that

it would be able to meet all its difficulties. It is sufficient here to notice in a general way the circumstances as they took place: under our Chronicle will be found a more particular account of the whole transaction.

in

In the rest of Europe affairs had reverted to their ordinary course, and the vast fabric of French power had been completely subverted; it was Sweden alone that a new dynasty arose which, in the person of a Frenchman of obscure origin, fixed upon its throne a successor to its former monarchs. After a kind of interim filled up by the brother of a preceding king, of the name of Charles XIII, his death without progeny on the fifth of February 1818, brought to the full view of the crown a sovereign, who under the name of Charles John, immediately succeeded to his rank and title. He was recognized by the other kings of Europe; and there is at present no cause to doubt that their concurrence will support him in the arduous destiny which he has undertaken. It was SO long ago as the year 1810, that he was unanimously chosen to be the successor of the late king; and though the course of events

threw

threw considerable difficulties in the way of this determination, yet the final result seems to have been in his favour. In the same Chronicle will be found a reference to various transactions by which the durability of his regal authority appears to have been placed on a firm footing.

The congress of sovereigns at Aix-la-Chapelle, seems to have been strictly confined to the affairs of France as far as they acted conjunctly; and to have laid no plans in common for the general government. Each in other respects pursued his own objects; and there is no more reason for conceiving that they shaped their counsels alike, than that they followed any other resembling system of human conduct. Hence nothing appears to have been settled in the great mass of German affairs by the events of the last year, but all is still left to be decided in proportion as free government or arbitrary sway shall gain the ascendancy. Speculation may indeed incline on either side; but unless the fate of mankind takes some preponderate determination, it will not be easy to pronounce whether good or evil will be the final result. This may suffice for the present to such a consideration of the state of Germany as its condition may suggest; respecting which it will perhaps appear, that the subsequent articles of the Chronicle, selected with tolerable care, may afford all that is required for a transient view of a matter which will as yet scarcely bear a fuller discussion.

The sovereign of the United States of Holland and Flanders,

at his session in Brussels in October, gave upon the whole a pleasing relation of the progress made by that country towards a state of settled tranquillity. The following is a transcript of the speech made by his majesty on the occasion.

Opening of the Session of the States-General, at Brussels, on the 19th of October.

At noon, the members of both Chambers assembled in the hall of the Second Chamber, and appointed a commission of 12 members, to introduce his Majesty.

His Majesty having arrived in state, and taken his seat on the throne, with the Prince of Orange on his right, and Prince Frederick of the Netherlands on his left, delivered the following speech in the Dutch language:—

“High and Mighty Lords;— During the course of this year, my house has received new marks of Divine protection, by the birth of another child to my well-beloved eldest son, the Prince of Orange. On this occasion the inhabitants of the Netherlands have given unequivocal proofs, that they regard this event as another guarantee of happiness for their descendants. They may be convinced, that I and my sons will always regard as the dearest of our duties, to animate our successors with the same love which we entertain for our subjects, and the solicitude with which we regard their interests.

"I have the satisfaction to communicate to you, High and Mighty Lords, that at the moment in which you are about to

commence

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