An incident has occurred at Madeira which • may possibly
hasten its fall. " On the 11th instant," says a letter in the Times of this morning, " an officer of Marines and a midshipman (Lord Grey's ne- phew), both belonging to the Stag, were standing in the street, when four officers of the Lisbon troops passed on horseback. One of them turned his horse round upon the officers of the Stag, who of course were very angry ; and, on remonstrating, the Portuguese officer struck the midshipman a blow with a stick and knocked him down. Another Portuguese officer got off his horse and struck him several times with his fist. The midshipman attempted to draw his sword, but was pre- vented by some soldiers. When the Portuguese officers went away, the two Englishmen went to the British consul to complain. They found their commander Sir Thomas Troubridge there, who immediately went to the Castle along with them. The Governor tried every means to calm the Captain, saying he would have the officers punished ; but I hear that the only satisfaction Sir Thomas will accept is, that they should be dismissed from the service, which the Governor refuses to agree to. Sir Thomas is said to have declared, that if the officers are not severely punished, he will join the blockading squadron."
Don PEDRo has issued a commission to visit and report on the state of the religious houses in the Azores, which are too numerous for the finances of the state, now that it is separated.from Brazil.
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