an urgent representation to me in regard to the then existing quarantine, which would have compelled our ships to come here, as there is no lazaretto at the islands, and thus have practically broken up the enterprise. I had repeated conferences with the minister of foreign affairs on the subject, and a lengthy and somewhat animated correspondence, which cannot be communicated with this despatch for the want of time to prepare it. The council of health, which regulates all such matters, is an independent organization, clothed with extraordinary powers, very tenacious of its authority, and sensitive about any form of interference. After much difficulty I was enabled to get the desired modification, which will prove of very material advantage to a large interest. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. JAMES E. HARVEY. [Translation.] COUNCIL OF PUBLIC HEALTH OF THE KINGDOM.-NOTICE. LISBON, December 5, 1866. The council of public health of the kingdom hereby makes known, that New York Philadelphia, and Cincinnati are considered as suspected of cholera, from the 1st of November last, and all other ports of the United States of America are declared clean and free. DON MARCELLIUS CRAVEIRO DA SILVA. The above notice involves a quarantine of five days of observation for the ports "suspected." J. E. H. No. 424.] Mr. Harvey to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I transmit herewith a French translation of the royal speech made to the Cortes, which opened their regular session yesterday. It is mainly and wisely devoted to matters of internal interest. The occasion was taken to emphasize with particular distinctness the liberal tendencies of the government, because of the bad condition of the things in Spain, and the recent visit of its sovereign and royal family, had produced impressions not altogether favorable to the Portuguese ministry for the time being. His Majesty only responded to the popular sentiment in declaring that "liberty is the basis of the government;" for although the country at large may not be educated up to the full appreciation of all the blessings that free institutions confer, there is not a nation in Europe where the principles upon which they rest are more generally cherished, where their progress is more generously welcomed, or one where it would be more difficult to revive the arbitrary ideas which were crushed out forever by costly sacrifices and repeated civil wars. The whole direction of the public mind is toward enlarged and enlightened liberty, The press is as free as in our own country, and no year passes without some essential and significant reform. Popular education is spreading rapidly, old traditions are disappearing, and the King's name is no longer a tower of strength except so far as it may be associated with public and private virtue as the chief of the state, and identified with liberal ideas. The contrast which Portugal presents in these respects to Spain, from which it is only separated by an imaginary geographical line, and to which it would seem to be bound by the natural ties of mountains and rivers common to both, is striking, and, in some points of view, quite extraordinary. The two peoples are as widely different in their natural characteristics as they are radically separated in political tendencies, thus presenting side by side a curious study to the philosophical mind. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. JAMES E. HARVEY. [Translation.] LISBON, Thursday, January 3, 1867. We give to-day the speech delivered yesterday by his Majesty the King Don Louis, at the royal sitting of the opening of the Parliament: Worthy Peers of the Kingdom, and Representatives of the Portuguese nation: I come to inaugurate the new period of your parliamentary labors. To I always feel a great pleasure when, after having accomplished the mandates of the political laws which happily direct the action of the country, I find myself among you. those institutions the nation owes the prosperity that natural alliance of the principles of progress, of liberty, and order, brings to peoples who know how to accept them with firmness and extend them widely. You are called upon, in your character of representatives of the country, to watch over the maintenance and the execution of the constitution, and to take the part which is due to you, in the legislative organization, as one of the great powers of the state. That mission, which is as difficult as it is important, you will accomplish it in appreciating the acts of my government, and in discussing projects of reforms and improvements which the public welfare claims so urgently. War, which towards the close of the last legislative session appeared so imminent, has finally taken place between Italy and Prussia on one side, and Austria and several German states on the other. Portugal has maintained herself in the strictest neutrality which was advised by her national interests, and has during the war preserved good and unalterable friendship with all the powers. These amicable relations have continued since the peace until at present. I have had the satisfaction of receiving in this capital, a few days ago, the visit of her Majesty the Queen of Spain, accompanied by his majesty the King her august consort, his royal highness the Prince of the Asturias, and by her highness the Infanta Dona Isabelle. The presence of these illustrious guests has been very agreeable to my heart. It delighted me to see in the reciprocal manifestations exchanged on that happy occasion the proof of a cordial esteem which exists between the two sovereigns, and of the tendencies which, while drawing closer two peoples, brothers by their historical origins and the glory of their traditions, respect nationalities consolidated by ages, and favors the development of the vast resources lavished by Providence upon the peninsula. My minister of foreign affairs will place before you the settlement of two interesting questions, which were the subjects of a negotiation between Portugal and the Holy See: the prorogation of the extraordinary jurisdiction conferred upon the Archbishop of God, according to the concordat (agreement) upon the rights of the Portuguese crown relative to the dioceses in the east, and on the affair of the missionaries recently sent to Congo. The satisfactory result of these negotiations leads us to hope that, with the same conciliatory spirit, means will be found to avoid other difficulties, so as to obtain a definite and complete restoration of the royal patronage in the dioceses depending from it in Asia and Africa. An important treaty of commerce and navigation has been concluded between my government and that of his majesty the Emperor of the French. That treaty inaugurates the commercial policy which we must adopt, in the sense of a wisely progressive liberty, seeking to open more extended markets for our products, and at the same time facilitating to foreign commerce the advantages of importation in the country. I hope, that, besides these treaties, others of the same nature will yet be submitted to you during the present session. There will also be presented to the Cortes, for their examination, conventions with France relating to the powers and prerogatives of consuls; and between France and Belgium for the reciprocal guarantee of artistic and literary property. The boundary and transit treaties between Portugal and Spain, as well the additions to the boundary treaty to fix the means of execution, have been ratified, as well as other treaties approved during the previous legislative session. At a proper opportunity, projects for improving our foreign service, and the report of the' most important acts concerning international relations, will also be presented to you. Security and public peace have been maintained without alteration in the interior—a happy consequence, not only of the general faith in the advantages resulting from the tranquility of the kingdom, but also of the influence which the public mind exercises more powerfully every day, on the progress and existence of the nation. Civil administration and public instruction among free nations are different in their various branches, but they meet and unite in the general system which must rule them, that is to say, in the spirit of liberty, in the immediate co-operation of the nation, and in the development of all intelligence and aptitude. The general reform upon that subject will be laid before you by my government. Led by the ideas already suggested, it will comprise every branch of the administration and instruction. The obstacles which prevented the immediate enforcement of the law of June 6, 1864, have been overcome. The result has realized the expectations which were anticipated by the government, and met those of the interests which the law sought to protect. A visit to every province has been ordered to the prefects. An inspection and a commission of inquiry for the primary schools. The immediate co-operation of the nation for everything that can generalize education among the people, and develop charity, are important, matters which you will appreciate from the documents which will be presented to you. The final introduction of the mortgage registry has been postponed owing to the difficulty of execution, which always precede every new organization in the public service, principally when it requires a great number of employés. However, my government hopes that the country will soon enjoy the benefits of the law of July 1, 1863. The minister of justice will submit for your examination the project of a code penal, containing reforms upon the prison system, the organization of public administration, the subsidy for the church and clergy, and upon other subjects of an equal and important interest. From the authorizations granted in the laws of July 27, 1855, and June 19, 1866, the government has called into effective service the army reserve, and opened in the treasury department two extraordinary credits for six hundred cantos (millions) reis for the purchase of armaments, equipments and war materials. The reserve was again disbanded by the decree of November 21, of last year. My government will give you an account of the use made of these authorizations, and you will have the opportunity to appreciate the motives which have determined the measures taken by the cabinet. However, I call your attention to the organization of the army, where a reform is necessary. Some special proposals have been offered by the war department tending to the better formation of the army, the facility to develop its strength, and the conciliation of these reforms with the strictest economy and the general interest of the population. The military and disciplinary penal codes and the laws of trials of competence will be presented to you in the shape of projects of laws, which you will take into the consideration exacted by subjects of such high importance. The state of the finances calls upon the most serious attention, and is recommended to your solicitude. My minister of finances will present you with the budget of the receipts and general expenditures of the state. Several projects of laws having for object the maintenance of the public credit, the continuance of the moral and material progress of the country, and the provisions for the expenses of the treasury, will be submitted to your deliberations. I hope that you will examine these grave matters at the light of your patriotism, and I rely entirely upon the enlightened co-operation of the legislative body to bring to a success. ful issue the reforms required by that important branch of the State administration. Relating to the colonies, measures of great importance have been decreed in accordance with the powers granted in the additional act. You will have the occasion to exercise your enlightened judgment. The government has taken up the question of free labor in the Portuguese possessions in Africa, to which the moral, commercial and economical are closely connected in these countries, which I hope will become one of the most considerable sources of public wealth. My government will present before you some proposals to improve the condition of the navy and the colonies; To spread rapidly the network of roads in making them dependent from a general system which would facilitate everywhere the ordinary highway; To continue the development of the communications so as to complete the general network of Portuguese railways; To give legal sanction to the general principles of the constitution for banking and anonymous companies; To develop credit in the localities, to seek to create the easy representation of all banking values, which completes the economical purpose of the law of June 22, 1866; To organize the system of saving banks, (Caisses d'Epargues,), and that of other establishments of popular credit; To give to rural industry all the impulsion and encouragement in the power of the administration; To create resources for the drainage of marshes, and utilize the excellent, but now useless lands, by cultivation. These form the general system of the projects which will be laid before you by the minister of public works. In the political state of a nation whose internal tranquillity is not disturbed, and whose liberty is the basis of the government, administrative improvements and judicious use of the vast resources of the country are the problems the solution of which is interesting and important to the community. I trust them to your devotion to the country. The enlightened initiative of the government, the energy and great importance of its acts, and the strong support of the representatives of the country, are the indispensable conditions to fulfil happily the high mission of governments in this age of movement and progress. The legislative session is opened. No. 426.] Mr. Harvey to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Lisbon, January 26, 1867. SIR: Various causes have drawn my attention recently to a subject of considerable interest to the United States, which, in the midst of angry agitation, has not received the consideration which it really deserves. When the hot passions that now retard complete unity and tranquillity at home shall have subsided, as subside they soon must, the country will bound forward, as it were, with a progress which is destined to astound the world, even accustomed as it is to our extraordinary development. The most terrible civil war recorded in history, and the violent fermentation which naturally succeeded it, were not sufficient to turn aside effectually the march of a prosperity without example. It is therefore easy to suppose what will come to pass when harmony is fully restored, and the nation shall work again with one mighty will, and move with one compacted energy. American enterprise must open up before an immense commerce with the ocean islands, Africa, Brazil, and the Indies. It is not necessary to point out to one who is so familiar with the facts, and who has watched so vigilantly over the interests of his own country, what have been the efforts and the successes of Great Britain, our most serious rival, in planting colonies and securing advantages at nearly every principal point in the world. A practical sagacity has accompanied every step of her universal march, the want of which has rendered us relatively dependent. In the long voyage from the ports of the United States to Africa, Brazil, or the Indies around the cape, there is hardly a single coaling station which is not in the hands of British subjects, and in many cases they are owned or administered by British officials. I had occasion to observe the operation of this system during our civil war, and to know, in a limited degree, the injury which such an organization is capable of inflicting upon a nation to which it may be hostile. Our ships of war and our merchantmen were subjected to constant vexatious and invidious discriminations from this cause at the islands where they were forced to coal, and in several instances which were reported to me, a vindictive purpose of refusing any supply at all was almost manifested. The English have possession of nearly every depot of coal at the Azores, Madeira, Teneriffe and Cape de Verde islands. Recently, an American and Belgian company have established a station at Porto Praya, Cape de Verde, under a concession from this government, which I have done my best to encourage by recommending it to our ships of war, and presenting the subject to the rear-admiral in command of the European squadron. All nations are exposed to the danger of foreign wars, especially at a time when the states of Europe are passing through a most momentous crisis, which, before long, will shake empires and dynasties to their very foundations. If, by any calamity or unfortunate combination of events, the United States should be forced or drift into such a war, we should be seriously straitened for the means of motive power abroad, and then should discover that we were mainly at the mercy of a power which is not specially interested in our success. The world saw what happened when the maritime nations combined to shut the doors against us during the civil war, and when there was not a single port freely open on the whole coast of Europe except that of Lisbon, or at the mid ocean islands, except those of Portugal; an exception which, though immensely valuable during our time of trial, seems to have been but indifferently appreciated since then. The natural protection of commerce, independently of other considerations too important to be slighted, seems to be a sufficient reason why this subject should have a share of attention from our government. It is practicable to organize through the consular corps or otherwise a system which will not leave us altogether in the hands of a jealous rival for the means of traversing distant seas in time of peace, or of vindicating the national honor should that stern duty be imposed in time of war. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. JAMES E. HARVEY. Mr. Harvey to Mr. Seward. No. 427.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I transmit with this despatch the copy of a proposition recently presented to the Chamber of Peers by the Marquis de Sá da Bandeira, one of the most distinguished men of the country, for the immediate extinction of slavery in Portugal and its possessions. Slavery now actually exists in but a limited degree, and would wholly disappear, by the operation of law, on the 29th of April, 1878. The Marquis de Sá, who was the author of the original measure of abolition, has constantly followed it up in the cortes by propositions for sweeping away every vestige of the condition of bondage, which, while conferring no benefit upon the kingdom, has not only remained a blot upon its good name, but has subjected it to misunderstandings and misrepresentations. It is estimated that there are nearly 100,000 slaves in the Portuguese possessions in Africa and the neighboring islands, including the Cape de Verdes. Under the process of gradual emancipation heretofore adopted, the friends of immediate abolition have found themselves embarrassed by the difficulty of compensating the owners of these slaves, owing to the straitened resources of the public treasury. The principle having been accepted, at the beginning, of emancipating by degrees, the public opinion, though quite prepared for the complete extinction of slavery, has held it to be just, in the event of a radical change in that policy, to compensate the owners for the time being. These good dispositions, however, have had to encounter the obstacle of limited means, and consequently slavery has been dragging out its term of existence, while the nation has, in fact, regarded its doom as sealed since 1854. The present plan proposes to overcome the practical difficulty suggested by converting the actual slaves into freedmen, (libertos,) and allowing their owners the benefit of their labor until the 29th of April, 1868. This transition state of freedmen owing service for a limited time is materially different from the condition of slavery, and is protected by legal rights and privileges which are calculated to elevate the black man morally and socially. It is understood that the ministry is favorable to the project of the Marquis de Sá, and therefore it will probably pass into law, though resisted by those who cling to old habits and traditions in an age every step of whose marvellous pro |