THE LAST INSURRECTION IN PORTUGAL.

66

BY WILLIAM H. G. KINGSTON, ESQ.

AUTHOR OF THE PRIME MINISTER," 99.66 LUSITANIAN SKETCHES," &c.

SEVEN revolutions in the course of ten years (such on the most moderate computation is the number Portugal has seen since Donna Maria ascended the throne of her ancestors,) shows either that the Portuguese are very fond of change, or that they are very dissatisfied with things as they exist, and that the successive experiments at improvement have proved failures. Portugal is like a fevered patient tumbling and tossing about in his bed in the attempt to seek relief from pain by a change of position, but with each movement finding it rather increased than alleviated. That such will be the result of the last insurrection no one acquainted with the country can for a moment doubt, but it is far more difficult to say under what form the government of the country will be carried on, or whether or not Portugal will continue to exist as an independent state.

I am inclined to think that she will not.

When the Roman empire fell to pieces, the civilised world, if it deserved the name, formed itself into that numerous collection of small states which continued amalgamating and combining gradually, till the present European system was at length constructed, the smaller kingdoms becoming merged in their more influential neighbours, unless they have, by the bravery of their children, and a peculiar geographical position, been able, like Switzerland, to maintain their independence, or unless, like Portugal, they have been protected, through the jealousy of one powerful country from becoming the prey of another.

The death wail of Poland has sounded in the ears of Europe, and she has ceased to be numbered among the nations of the earth. She fell at last a helpless victim into the grasping maws of the surrounding nations, yet her warmest admirers, the sternest haters of her tyrants must acknowledge, that she herself brought down her fate upon her head. Had she, on the contrary, been true to herself, had not intestine broils weakened her powers, she would even now have been one of the chief kingdoms of Europe, perhaps the mistress of those who trample on her ashes. Much in the same condition is Portugal at the present time as was Poland before her fall-though, fortunately for her nationality, her nearest neighbour is in as weak and disorganised a state as herself-she also possesses a convenient harbour on the shores of the Atlantic, a near market for manufactures, and a battle-field which England would regret to lose. Were it not for these qualifications, she would either fall under the dominion of France, or again become incorporated with Spain.

Through the crimes and folly of her leaders, through the ignorance of all classes, has Portugal been brought to her present condition. No one can pity her, there will be no one to mourn her fate when she ceases to exist, for not like Poland, has she had foreign foes to contend with-no patriot Kosciusko has arisen to vindicate her fame, nor when her name is mentioned in the page of history can she boast of a field of Warsaw, glorious though lost; but weakened and distracted by internal dissension, May.-VOL. LXXX. NO. CCCXVII,

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she will again fall into the insignificant condition of a province of Spain, from which she emerged in the glorious days of Alfonso Henriques.

Many Portuguese wish for a union with Spain, and believe it will take place, as the only chance they have of gaining any political power in Europe. True, Spain is in scarcely a better condition than Portugal, but then she possesses greater vitality and energy-her internal resources are immeasurably superior. She is like a giant struggling in convulsions, who may yet overcome the malady and rise with unabated power. Portugal is an emaciated being, with a ruined constitution too weak to revive. It is the policy of England to prevent Portugal becoming a province of Spain, but that we take the wisest means to effect our purpose may be doubted. It is also highly problematical that Portugal would benefit by the change; yet that such is the aim of no inconsiderable portion of the leaders of the last insurrection I am able with tolerable confidence to aver.

In a former paper* I gave a sketch of the various parties struggling for the mastery, and of the causes which produced the present deplorable state of affairs in that portion of the peninsula, summing them up in one word— misrule. I will now detail, for the amusement of my readers, some of the more prominent events which have occurred during the insurrection. As far back as November, 1845, those who mixed in Portuguese society observed ominous threatenings of the coming storm. Many of the old fidalgo families, unwavering adherents of Dom Miguel, who had for some years past resided quietly on their estates without interfering in politics, began to reappear at their town residences, and to express their sentiments openly. Some contented themselves with merely abusing the obnoxious minister Costa Cabral, others spoke with disrespect of the queen, and many went as far as to talk of the necessity of her abdicating, and hinted that Dom Miguel must be restored to the throne. In truth, the despotic and unconstitutional conduct of the minister had created for the queen so many enemies, that even those noble families, who had hitherto been the staunchest supporters of her throne, no longer hesitated to speak of her in terms of the severest censure, for becoming the blind tool of her designing minister. He had, indeed, wofully disappointed the hopes of those who expected to find in him the regenerator of his country. Professing to be a reformer, he was the creator of as many abuses as he abolished, and when he came to levy the taxes absolutely necessary for carrying out the proposed improvements, the whole country was easily roused to arms against him.

The chief of these were, I believe, an inquest, a poll, and a land-tax. These taxes were not in reality more than the people could pay, but they were not equally distributed nor fairly collected, but fell chiefly on the agricultural classes, who had not the cunning to devise means to avoid their payment. These classes would not, however, have taken up arms, had they not been worked upon by others who had their own objects to serve; and, unfortunately, Cabral had so completely exposed himself to censure, that even those who considered that, notwithstanding his failings, he was one of the few men calculated to govern the country, had very little to say in his favour.

The taxes I have mentioned were absolutely necessary for the im

* See "Modern Portugal," in the New Monthly for March.

provement of the country, and a popular and honest minister might have levied them with impunity; but when he was seen growing rapidly wealthy, the people naturally suspected that the money they paid was not applied to its legitimate purposes. The poll-tax, for instance, which has existed for three years, was a very just one. It levied a crusado, or 2s. a-year, on every man capable of work, or required his labour for three days on the public roads in the course of construction. In the interior of the country, however, no roads had as yet been laid out, and the peasantry were thus compelled to go an immense distance to reach those already commenced, or to pay the money, naturally complaining that they could derive no benefit from those roads which did not approach their lands. From the first this has been a fruitful source of dispute, and many serious disturbances have taken place when troops have been sent to assist the tax-gatherers. The inquest-tax was instituted more to serve as a check upon murder than as a source of revenue, for, in the course of a whole year, it realised but a few hundred pounds—yet was it ostensibly the cause of the commencement of the insurrection at Braga. The husband of a certain dame, Maria by name, died. From her occupation of a water-carrier, or because she lived over a fountain, she was commonly called "Maria da Fonte," Mary of the Fountain. She was a stout, double-fisted woman, and moreover of a determined spirit, and she vowed to all her acquaintance that nothing should compel her to pay the fee to the coroner. They applauded her resolution, and promised to support her. Probably some of the enemies of the minister had found in her a fit agent to forward their ends. When, therefore, the coroner came, and after examining into the cause of the husband's death, asked for his fee, Maria da Fonte refused to pay it. On his insisting in his demand, she drove him into the street, where he was killed by the populace, who, headed by the Amazon, repelled the military sent to quell the riot.

The peasantry throughout the country imitated this woman's example, who at once became a heroine, the rebels generally calling themselves the soldiers of Maria da Fonte. An additional reason for the new taxes becoming obnoxious was, that the peasantry being unable to read the papers sent round to them, they were compelled to pay a public notary for explaining to them their meaning. When, also, the lands were measured preparatory to making roads, and for other purposes, the ignorant people were persuaded by the Miguelite fidalgos and priests, as well as by the republican demagogues (both made use of similar means), that Cabral had ordered the operation to be performed as a preliminary to selling the country to England.

Wherever the tax-gatherers appeared, they were insulted and knocked down; and in most of the smaller towns of the Minho and Beira, their papers were taken from them and burnt in the market-places amid the shouts and execrations of the people. Although the government were well aware of these proceedings, the queen was kept in total ignorance of them, while the same policy which had originated the dissatisfaction was still continued. All this time the Republicans and Miguelites were busily at work fomenting the ill-feeling of the people against the Cabralistas. A few of the officers of the army were won over by the revolutionists, but generally the troops remained faithful to their oaths. The people of Lisbon also, if dissatisfied with the government, were kept in check by the military, but in Oporto, various plots were concocted with very little attempt at concealment. By order of the government,

the masked ball, which usually takes place during the carnival, was forbidden; but some of those who have since appeared at the head of the republican party, had formed a plan, in order to exhibit their strength, to parade the streets on horseback, with masks on their faces, in the characters of the "Juif Errant." Heavy rains, however, coming on, put a stop to every thing of the sort, or, as they would have gone armed, if the military had attempted to interfere, there would doubtless have been a disturbance. Something very similar took place when the Mexicans were first struggling to throw off their allegiance to the parent state. At the same time the Jesuit agents of the Miguelite, or Absolute party, were at work in their own way. A society was instituted, which had some time previously existed in Lisbon, called the "Coração de Maria," who held a meeting on the second Sunday in every month, "to pray for the conversion of the impious."

On the 8th of March they met in a church at Oporto, called the "Congregados." A great number of well-known Miguelite families, with numerous ladies, members of the society, were present, while the church was crowded also with people of very different politics. The service was performed quietly, but scarcely had the sermon been commenced by an eloquent preacher, a strenuous supporter of Dom Miguel, than a party of young men (noted Septembristas republicans) who had posted themselves near the pulpit, began to hiss and stamp violently. On this the preacher quietly said, "If any of my audience are not good Catholics they had better leave the church." The answer was a general murmur among the congregation, which, as the priest attempted to proceed, increased to a complete uproar, till the confusion became dreadful. A mob, probably already prepared, collected outside the church, and increased the noise with their cries. Ladies screamed and fainted, and, with the priests, clung to the altars for protection or escaped into the vestry, many were much injured, and the robes of the priests were torn from their backs, though no lives were lost. At last, on the appearance of the municipal guard the disturbance was quelled. The actors in this scene belonged to the two parties who have since pretended to combine, in order to oppose the queen. About this time, in the provinces, men habited in women's clothes, calling themselves the children of Maria da Fonte, in imitation probably of Rebecca's daughters, of whom their leader had read, went about instigating the people to revolt. When small bodies of troops were sent against them the latter were generally driven back with loss. When the men began to rise and arm, the women worked hard to arrange their accoutrements and arms; they encouraged them also by their presence, and distracted the soldiers opposed to them by assembling on the hills, waving their handkerchiefs, and uttering loud cries. At last, Amazon-like, they mixed with the combatants, and in the melée numbers lost their lives. On the 21st of April Josè Cabral, the brother of the minister, and still more obnoxious to the people, arrived at Oporto with 600 men, but his coming tended rather to increase than to quell the disturbances, and the city was surrounded with bands of peasants armed with weapons of their own providing. Early in May many hundreds came into Oporto, and muskets were put into their hands, but when they found that military officers were prepared to drill them, and that they were to act as regular troops, they decamped, carrying off the arms which had been given them. transaction was, no doubt, effected through the treachery of some of the

The

republicans. The next day a band of upwards of 1000 well-armed peasants appeared at one of the northern barriers of Oporto, and when the troops were sent to oppose their entrance several rounds were exchanged between them, and an officer and two soldiers were wounded, and a peasant was killed. While this affair was going forward some men contrived by ladders to reach the alarm bells in the church of the Cedofeita, and the confusion in the city became general. As it was supposed that the barracks of St. Ovidio were threatened, cannon were posted at the top of each street leading to that quarter; after this, for some time, the city remained tranquil. In the country, however, the Miguelites were very active, Dom Fernando, the son of the Marquis of Villa Real, raised a Guerilla of 500 men, and took possession of Amaranti, where many men of rank joined him. On hearing of it Josè Cabral gave notice that he would shoot the first of them he caught, but his reign was soon to end, and the queen at length hearing of these proceedings dismissed the Cabrals, and desired the Duke of Palmella to form a new ministry. He did so from among the ultra liberal party, and pacification was now the order of the day.

On the 30th of May a large Guerilla, assembled at Valongo, about nine miles from Oporto, threatened to attack the city. On this the civil governor, the Visconde de Beire, went out to meet them, and returned, accompanied by the chiefs, who were all dressed in bandit costume, with broad-brimmed hats and feathers, and round jackets, belts, or sashes, with pistols and daggers stuck in them. As on their way to dinner at the governor's house, they passed along the Campo de St. Ovidio, which was full of troops, they were saluted with loud groans and hisses, the officers looking very indignant at seeing their opponents treated with so much consideration. Soon after this those officers who had been employed against the rebels, were superseded and summoned to Lisbon, causing almost a mutiny among the men, who were much attached to them.

Dom Fernando received an office under government, and several young Miguelite nobles who had been taken prisoners among a Guerilla band, in an encounter with the troops at Penafiel, were liberated from Foz Castle, a party of young men assembling to bring them out in triumph. The city was now full of Guerilla bands, who took every occasion to insult the troops. At times, indeed, the military governor, the Visconde de Fonte Nova, had the greatest difficulty in restraining the soldiers from revenging themselves, though as a proof of the admirable discipline he maintained over them while he remained at their head, no outbreak took place.

This state of things continued till the queen, perceiving that her liberal ministry were throwing all the power into the hands of the republicans, suddenly dismissed them, re-established the Charter, and sent the Duke of Terceira to Oporto to take command of the army of the north. On his arrival, he found that a revolution had taken place, the city was in the hands of the professed republicans, a Junta was established, and he was thrown into prison, where he still remains.

At first the old noble was confined in the castle of San João da Foz, where he could enjoy the fresh air of the sea, but the rebels, fearing that he might make his escape, removed him before daybreak one morning to the common felons' prison in Oporto, whence his only prospect is a blank wall. Next to his room is the fever ward! The rebel leaders, to some of whom he is related, hold him as a hostage for their own heads, should they fall into the hands of the queen, and his imprisonment may