be separated from the men, and because Spain refused we prepared to go to war, and actually sent five thousand men to enforce our demand.  Was it the policy of England to prevent the dismemberment of the Portuguese Empire?  In 1825 we stipulated that Portugal should be separated from Brazil; so that motives of policy as well as neutrality called upon us to discourage these attempts, and above all to prevent this country from being made the arena for the designs of other Powers.  What was to prevent Russia and France from making a similar use of our ports?

He would now leave the House to decide whether the Government of England was not right in preventing its manifest intention being defeated by false clearances and false assurances.  These were the facts of the case, and he was satisfied that the character of England had been vindicated by not allowing its ports to be made subservient to such designs.  These were the principles upon which the Government had acted.  The officer who had been entrusted with the naval expedition to Terceira, had acted with the utmost forbearance.  He gave ample warning; and it was not until a passage was attempted to be forced that he reluctantly fired a shot, which killed one man and wounded another.  Having now given the explanations which the right hon. gentleman required, he came to his motion.  It was impossible not to acknowledge the forbearance of the House with regard to the discussion of foreign affairs—­a forbearance dictated by a sense of the delicacy of interfering with pending negotiations, and pre-judging measures; yet he had no hesitation in saying, that he was perfectly prepared to acquiesce in the motion of the right hon. gentleman, and probably the right hon. gentleman, instead of confining it to a call for certain papers, would allow his motion to stand as it appeared in the notice paper—­’for copies or extracts of communications concerning the relations between this country and Her Most Faithful Majesty the Queen of Portugal’; and he assured him that every paper connected with the Queen of Portugal, which it was consistent with the duty of Ministers to produce, should be most readily given.

At a subsequent period of the debate, Mr. Peel said that the British Government had not recently made any proposition for the completion of the marriage between Don Miguel and Donna Maria, nor had it ever made any such proposition at any time except with the cordial concurrence of the Emperor of Brazil.  The moment the Emperor intimated an objection to the marriage, all communication on the subject on the part of the British Government ceased.  No proposition for the renewal of the proceedings would be made unless with the entire concurrence of the Emperor of Brazil.

SIR ROBERT PEEL JULY 16, 1832 BELGIUM