with regard to the succession of the young Queen, would for various reasons, besides our proximity to Portugal, make England the principal in the war, and Brazil an inadequate sharer.  It would be difficult to contend that there was anything in ancient treaties, or any part of our stipulations, which strengthened the claim on England to advance the interests of Donna Maria by arms, or to force upon a reluctant people a Sovereign they were not willing to accept.  The right hon. gentleman had said that at Vienna it had been intimated to Don Miguel, by the Courts of Austria and England, that if he did not accept the regency on the conditions upon which it was offered to him, he should be detained at Vienna until instructions could be received from Don Pedro.  He (Mr. Peel) did not recollect that any such intimation had been conveyed to Don Miguel.  He had no recollection as to any intention of forcibly detaining him; and he could assert that England was no party to any such forcible detention.  England was merely present by her ambassador.  It was, no doubt, an indignity to England that Don Miguel did not fulfil his stipulations, which had been entered into in the presence of her ambassador.  But the question was, whether it was just or politic to make this a ground of war?  He deplored, as much as the right hon. gentleman, Don Miguel’s non-observance of those stipulations, and his want of faith; but he only contended that there was no ground for the interference of England by force, still less for adopting a principle of interference which might lead to serious consequences.

Another subject to which the right hon. gentleman had referred was the blockade of Terceira; and, without entering into all the particulars of that blockade, he should be able to justify the course pursued by Government.  The right hon. gentleman had lamented that England had respected a blockade established by a de facto Government.  He would merely adduce—­as a proof that there was no partiality to Portugal in recognizing the blockade—­the fact that when Don Pedro disunited the Portuguese Empire, and declared Brazil independent, in defiance of his father, he established a blockade.  England, upon that occasion, pursued the same course as she had now done.  Without pronouncing upon the legality of the Government, she respected this act.  So, in the present case, without pronouncing on the legality of Don Miguel’s government, finding a blockade established, we had respected it, as we had done in Greece and in South America when a blockade was established by a competent force.  Then the right hon. gentleman had contended that there was a want of courtesy in not admitting the claims of the respective Ministers of Portugal and Brazil.  Now, there were three individuals in this country who had taken part in some diplomatic relations—­the Marquis Palmella, the Marquis Barbacena, and Count Itabayana.  But when the Marquis Palmella was applied to respecting the affairs of Portugal, he declared his functions