The Sun. — London, England, 1848-06-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY early opportunity should be given of vindicating it, as he hoped it would be vindicated; and that it was also due to the character of the country he represented, and with a view of setting the Spanish Government right respecting their mistake, if mistaken they were. Prepared, as he was, to join the Government in any measure for vindicating the character of the country, he felt assured be would be the better s t ble to pursue that course if, in the out set, he admitted that a grievous error had been com mitted on their part. He should like to know from the &hie Lord whether it was or was not the fact that the whole grounds of the charges brought against their Am bassador were assigned in the papers before them? It was most essential that they should know that ; and he could conceive no grounds for concealment upon the subject. It was impossible that the Noble Lord should not be cognisant of the whole facts, for he had every in dividual before him from whom information could be obtained—the Ambassador himself and the special Envoy from the Court of Madrid, with whom he be lieved the Noble Lord was in communication through the Spanish Ambassador. He knew the story on one side and the other ; he knew what the other accusations were, if other accusations existed than those con tained in the papers. He believed that the dispatch of the Noble Lord was an unhappy and unfortunate piece of diplomacy, but that that could form any justification for the expulsion of their Ambassador was what no man in that House would believe.—(Hear, hear.) Ho might and did lament that any instructions given to their Am bassador—though not exceeded by him, as far as his judgment led him to form a conclusion—should have led to a result so humiliating to them—that the Government of Spain should have rejected the dispatch of the Noble Lord, and ;that they, as a nation, should be insulted. As the Noble Lord had justified the conduct of the Am bassador the latter should receive no blame from him (Mr. Bankes). But having gone to that extent, which in his opinion was far indeed, the Spanish Government went a step further, when they not only returned the Ambassador's dispatch, but rejected also the Ambassa dor, telling him that though he and his nation "might not be offended," yet that he had better not stay there, but take himself off in order to avoid offence. —(Hear, hear.) The House had before them, in the papers presented by the Government, the dispatches which had first passed respecting these matters. Un doubtedly those dispatches were from the first consi dered in that House to present points for grave consi deration. It had seemed to him, and he believed to others, that an interference had been proposed with the affairs of a friendly power which no Government could have borne without resentment ; and, certainly from the first, he had anticipated that something would follow calculated to disturb the friendly relations subsisting between England and Spain—relations which had existed for many years, and which were maintained by many important considerations. True it was that Spain owed to us a debt of gratitude; but it could not but be felt by a generous people that a claim of that sort insisted upon at all times, and under all circumstances, could not be advanced creditably to ourselves nor without offence to a proud, a chivalrous, and gallant nation. He could not but feel, moreover, that if Spain bad derived advantages from us we bad also derived ad vantages from our connexion with Spain. It was in her plains that our gallant arm y fi rst learnt to beat the warriors of Napoleon, and though Spain would nevar forget her obligations, yet the con stant reiteration of them by us might arouse something bordering on a vindictive feeling to supply the place ot . international friendship. He regretted these unhappy dispatches, therefore, on other grounds than the mere dismissal f our Minister. He regretted them, among other things, because he feared they might 13.1 drawn into a precedent. It was for thatreason that he had been most anxious to press forward this debate so early. He wished to guard against these papers being placed in the library of that House without there being an nexed to them an immediate protest—an immediate re monstrance. He wished to guard against the possibi lity of any one saying in future times, " Oh, a great affront has been offered to us, bat there is a precedent for our treating it with silence ; for in 1848. when Lord Palmerston was Foreign Minister, a British Am bassador at the Court of Madrid was contemptuously dismissed. The papers on the subject are all extant —and not one word was said by Parliament or by the country on the subject."--(Hear, hear.) That was what he desired to guard against. And now let him come to the consideration of the documents that were placed before them. In the outset he must complain that the papers presented to Parliament as " papers rela tive to the affairs of Spain" were mere extracts, and very partial ones. What did the House think, for in stance, of such a correspondence as this:— " Mr. Bulwer to Viscount Palmerston—l have jest had an interview with the Duke of Sotomayor, who, having re quested to see me, stated" . (Loud laughter.) Absolutely that was all.—(Renewed laughter.) That was a complete paragraph in a dispatch of our Spanish Ambassador to his Minister, communi cated for the information of the British House of Com mons!—(Cheers.) Almost on the same page with this remarkable State document was another dispatch, in which Lord Palmerston expressed himself highly dis pleased at the decree of the Cortes giving the Government of Spain extraordinary powers. Why, what right had the Noble Lord to ba highly displeased or offended with such matters? These powers were voted by the Spanish Cortes by a majority of 148 to 45 in one house, and of 63 to 83 in the other assembly. He must remark, too, that a great portion of these "papers" was composed of extracts from newspapers. He (Mr. Bankes) did not un dervalue newspapers. He had no doubt that in Spain, as in England, there were papers conducted by men of the highest talent and of the purest character; but as newspapers both in Spain and England were anonymous publications, he must always feel regret when he found them brought forward as authorities upon matters of State.—(Hear, hear.) Only two hours had elapsed since the last series of papers upon this subject had been deli vered to Members of the Legislature, and in this series there were, he must remark, extracts from newspapers, which he thought the Government had scarcely exercised a wise discretion in introducing. One of these was from the Heraldo of May 24, which, after setting forth that fears were entertained in Spain of the anger of England in consequence of these events, proceeded thus: " A singular reflection however arises, viz., the impossibi lity of England taking offence at present, in consequence of the hostile attitude of Ireland, which is wasting her re sources—by the increasing deficit in her treasury—by the suspicions entertained of her throughout Europe—in conse quence of her friendly relations with the court of Vienna— and finally, by the proceedings of the Chartist party, which calculates on the support of the new Parliamentary party, headed by Messrs. Hume and Cobden—(Loud laughter)— who will no doubt take advantage of the difficulties into which the country is thrown, in order to kindle the torch of civil discord throughout the land." (Much laughter and some opposition cheering.) These were the documents the Noble Lord gave to them as part of a great Parliamentary record.—(Hear, hear.) Thus it was that state papers were made up—(Cheers) —and he must say that it did seem to him that these sort of things had been put together with considerable haste in order to occasion a delay—that they had been collected with much toilsome industry in order to gain time.—(Cheers.) He now came to the next important document—the Noble Lord's memorable "confidential" dispatch to Mr. Bulwer of March 16. It would be re collected that it ran thus : " I have to :instruct you to recommend earnestly to the Spanish Government and to the Queen-Mother, if you have an opportunity of doing so, the adoption of a legal and con stitutional course of government in Spain. —(Hear, from the Liberal side.) This was pretty well. The Cortes it would be remembered was sitting at the time, carrying what they thought ;" legal and constitu tional measures" by large majorities. " The recent fall of the King of the French and of his whole family, and the expulsion of his Ministers, ought to teach the Spanish Court and Government how great is the danger of an attempt to govern a country in a manner at va rience with the feelings and opinions of the nation ; and the catastrophe which has happened in France must serve to show that even a large and well-disciplined army becomes an ineffectual defence for the Crown when the course pursued by the Crown is at variance with the general sentiments of the country. It would then be wise for the Queen of Spain in the present critical state of affairs to strengthen the Execu tive Government by enlarging the basis upon which the ad ministration is founded, and by calling to her councils some of those men who possess the confidence of the liberal party." (Much cheering from the Liberal side.) Now it might have been good for Spain and this country if the policy recommended by the Noble Lord had been adopted, but certainly if the Noble Lord wished to defeat such a meagure he could not have adopted a course more cal culated to carry that object.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Bankes) was ready to admit that the feeling of Spain towards us had not been very favourable, and that the acts of the Spanish Government had not been very kindly. We had probably suffered some disappoint ment by the course Spain had chosen to pursue with reference to our free-trade policy. In November last, Mr. Boulwer applied to the Duke de Sotornayor for some alteration of the duties with reference to woollen goods. A correspondence ensued, and the House would recollect that when the matter was brought before Parliament, the Noble Lord stated that he thought we ought to be satis fied, because we were placed by Spain in no worse posi tion than she placed France. To put us in the same position in which she placed France was not in his (Mr. Bankes's) judgment exactly all that ought to satisfy this country; and if the interference of the Noble Lord had been confined to matters of commercial relation, he cer tainly should not have objected. There was not, as he conceived, any better employment of time for Ministers than watching our commercial relations with foreign coun tries; but he did doubt the expediency of interfering with the political affairs of nations, and especially of en deavouring to force upon them certain individuals and parties to act as ministers and governors of the country. —(Cheers.) Why, what should we say if the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, seeing the Chartists in England and the repealers in Ireland in a state of dis content, were to write to us, insisting that it would be better for Great Britain ' if the Government were placed ' upon a wider b as i s, and if Messrs. Cobden and Hume were at once called to the councils of the Sovereign ? (Hear, hear.) What should we say if, having told us that they were to conclude by stating that whether we adopted such measures or not, they would at least have the satisfaction of having given timely warning ? (Cheers.) The Noble Lord might say that Spain was in peculiar relations towards England—h e might insist on the sort of obligatory link which existed—and which he seemed to think bound the Spanish nation to a state of subserviency to us because of benefits re ceived ; but this was not enough. Cases had hap- , pened before where diplomatists as able as the Noble Lord had been concerned, and where a very different tone had been assumed on subjects by no means dissimilar to that under discussion. The Noble Lord, he was sure, would not be offended with a comparison which h e would institute. Holland, at one period of her history, was a state divided by opposite factions. She was under the greatest obligations to us for the preservation of her liberty, and for affording her the means of carrying on het commerce. At such a time, and at a period of great danger to her, we had a vigilant and able ambassador at the Hague, whose dispatches were extant. He alluded to the Noble Lord's ancestor, Sir W. Temple. Writing from the Hague in 1670, that gentleman, after adverting to the state of internal affairs in Holland, said:-- "I have thought fit to say this much that so you may make up your reports of these affairs, and it is our part to seem the least concerned we can in them, the best we can do is to watch the interests of the country, doing as little as we can to interfere with their internal interests. He (Mr. Bankes) wished the Noble Lord had followed the example of his great ancestor, and been satisfied with watching vigilantly and anxiously the domestic interests of Spain—ready to afford aid when required, but knowing that to offer it unasked was only likely to excite ill will.—(Cheers.) But he had another case to cite. Nearly at the same period, in 1678, we had an Ambassador at Madrid, Sir William Godolphin, who had occasion to make remonstrance of a serious nature on the part of his Government. He addressed a letter to Don John of Austria, informing him that " the King his master, had commanded him frequently to complain of the ill conduct of the Spanish Ministers at his Court, which he was directed to say had not been amended by the Minister now present." What was the result of this remonstrance? It met with immediate attention. The Spanish Minister at the Court of St. James's was removed, showing that Spain, at the period of her most palmy greatness, was not above receiving with co urtes y an appeal for the removal of her Ambassador. What reason was there to suppose that her heart was so broken by subsequent misfortune that she should not rise up now in resentment when an experiment was tried upon her patience?—(Cheers.) But ho proceeded with the dispatches. The following was from Viscount Palmerston to Mr. Bulwer:— Sk i "Foreign-office, April 20, 1848. — your dispatch of the 11th instant, with s ,re c a e ni v de dl 1848.—Sir, -- your enclosures, c h l o a s v u e r e the step have to instruct you to state to the Duke of Sotomayor that her Majesty's Government entirelyapprove her instan t , and likewise of your note of the 12th. That Majesty's you took in making your communication of the 7th n of the d th of o Government, however, are not a t all offended, either by the sending back of your commu nic atio of the D uke ef Soto r mayor's note of the 10 th , however they may regret the ex by the angry tone and la n g ua g e April' istence of those feelings in the minds of the Spanish Go vernment, of which the language ot his Exellency's note and the return of yours were proofs. Her Majesty's Go vernment, in making to the Government of Spain the re presentations, and in giving the advice which your commu nication conveyed, were inspired by no sentiment but that of sincere friendship for Spain, and of deep interest in the welfare of Queen Isabella. They felt that in making that communication they were performing a duty, and not taking any undue Ebert): ; and therefore, at all events, it is a satis faction to her Majesty's Government to reflect that although their counsel has been rejected and their communication has been returned, the note has, nevertheless, been read, and the counsel has been tendered, and that whatever calamity may g e c d o o n n t ee contents h of .t at vh t h ee eD3O' only c lky o e u l ot d of s t o o obts p oe r mr e v v aey e , n o t rt ils i a t n . to ti o N i V th i h t e h er happen in Spain her Majesty's Gover nmen t s t an d acqu i tte d o regardf Majesty'snot hta Governmentnh right of her Britannic Majesty to the throne of the United Kingdom had been disputed by a pretender; if civil war had arisen out of such a conflict of claims • if the British Govern ment had only a few assistanceyears ago of Spa in,' sent a special envoy to Madrid to solicit th e in order to placeher Majesty on the th rone; if th a t ass i stance had b een g i ven, both morally by treaty engagements, and physically by mili tary and naval f orces; if the a id t h us a ff or d e d b y * Spain had contributed in so essential a degree to secure the crown to her Majesty, that •i 't might with truth be said that without such aid her Majesty would not now have been Queen of England; if, moreover, there still remained a pretender, who asserted his right and whose pretensions were backed by a large party in the United Kingdom ; and if upon every symptom of danger from that pretender, and that party, the British Government was in the habit of reminding Spain of the treaty engagements which she had entered into ; was also in the habit of asserting that those engagements were still in force, and was continually claiming, the benefit of the alleged existence of those engagements; if all those things existed, and if the Government of Spain had, in a moment of general disturbance in Europe, warned the British Govern ment of dangers by which, in their opinion, the security of her Majesty's throne was menaced—l think I may confi dently affirm that, under such circumstances, any statesmen who might be Ministers of the British Crown, instead of sending back the note in which such representations were conveyed, and instead of replying to it in discourteous terms, would have accepted the communication in the same spirit of friendship in which it was made; and whether they adopted or not the advice which it contained, would at least have considered it a proof of the continued existence of that friendship on the part of Spain, to which in such case would have been owing the circumstance that those British Mi nisters had the honour of being advisers of the Crown, in stead of being proscribed exiles in a foreign land. .You will transmit to the Duke of Sotomayor a copy of this dispatch. (Signed) "PALMERSTON." Now, certainly it was rather strong to tell the Govern ment of Spain that we had been the instrument of put ting the crown of Spain on the head of the Queen, when all we had purported to do was to lend our aid in confir mation of the claims of the person whom we considered justly entitled to that crown. Altogether, he could not but think that, whatever blame attached to the subse quent conduct of the Spanish Government towards Sir Henry Bulwer—and he quite agreed in censuring that conduct as highly arbitrary and improper—there had been in the tone observed by the Noble Lord much that would naturally irritate and wound the feelings of the Spanish Government and nation, and he therefore trusted that in the explanation which the Noble Lord would, he presumed, that night offer, the Noble Lord would admit what he surely mast feel, that he had been injudicious, at all events in the manner and time of his interposition. Most undoubtedly the British nation, while ever pre pared to vindicate its honour, would not hesitate to ex press its regret, if any hasty expressions on the part of its Government had wounded the generous sensibilities of a high-souled and friendly people.—(Hear, hear.) Such an expression of regret on the part of the Noble Lord would at once tend to smooth away the unfortu nate asperities which had arisen. It should not be for gotten that the Noble Lord and his Noble Colleague •at the head of affairs were members of that same Govern ment of Lord Grey whose grand profession of faith was economy, reform, and non-interference with foreign states. Viscount PALMERSTON —Peace, retrenchment, and reform. Mr. BANKES—These were the same things in other words; peace was non-intervention, and non-intervention peace. This profession of faith had reference to the contrary policy of former Governments— of one or more of which, very possibly, the Noble Viscount had himself formed part.—(A. laugh.) And the Noble Viscount would have done well had he adhered to it in the present matter. Among the papers delivered to Members that morning, there was one in particular, fiom Sir H. Bul wer, which he would beg to quote. And here let him observe that he had throughout considered Sir Henry Bulwer's conduct required no vindication.—(Hear.) That functionary had on no apparent occasion exceeded or fallen short of his instructions, but had; it would seem, exactly carried out the views of the Noble Vis count. There were various points to which he (Mr. Bankes) desired to direct the Noble Viscount's reply :- Ist. Whether any other cause or causes than those al ready made known had been assigned by the Spanish Go vernment for dismissing Sir H. Buiwer? 2d, As to the degree of approbation, whether more or less complete, which the British Government gave to Sir H.Bulwer's pro ceedings? Next, as to the precise nature and extent of the hold which the British Government assumed to have upon the Crown and Government of Spain; for instance, whether the Noble Viscount really assumed that we had placed Donna Isabella on the throne, not from any claim of right on her part, but because of the peculiar prin ciples which she and her adherents professed, in con tradistinction to those advocated by other pretenders to the throne? In the note of Sir 11. Buiwer to the Duke of Sotousayor, dated April 16th, we find this pas sage:— " There are cases, indeed, in which mere advice from one Government to another would be a questionable act of pro priety and interference; but where it so happens that the former Government has received particular support from another, and this on account of particular principles; and more especially where it so happens that the former Govern ment may still entertain the hope that if the struggle in which it has once been victorious were to be renewed, it would again receive similar assistance from its late auxiliary ; here exists one of those peculiar cases in which, without any attempt at dictation, a State which has proved an useful ally may say to that State which it has served, " Take care, you are in a moment of danger ; beware that you do not separate yourself from those principles which were the original feature of your cause ; in this manner you may lose the throne you desire to maintain • in this manner you may forfeit the support of your best friends both at home and abroad; let me beseech you, even if your intentions are good, to avoid arraying, if possible, appearances against you." Such were some of the points to which he desired to di rect the Noble Viscount's reply. There was yet another: It appeared very singular that among the papers already produced there were no instructions from the Noble Lord subsequent t o th e 20t h of April. He should wish to know whether there had been any instructions issued posterior to that date? Probably, and it might be at no thetr trusted s two ted countries, i t the Noble period, w h en this matter should be settled, as he be settled bl i e n L a o n r • makingd, in a a y ment to that effect to the House, would feel it necessary to call upon the Hous e f or an opinion as to the whole of Meanwhile, hepr e s e n he tr e s w o l o u u t l i d o u b ee remark, us e thhea had he d e h e et dforwardt had thes e b r p o r u o g e heard from the Noble Lord that its discussion would in no degree embarrass the existing negotiations. Had the Noble Lord given any other intimation, he should of course have delayed the proposition. Should the resolution ho was now about to submit to the House give to the Noble Lord an opportunity for making any explanatory or conciliatory statement, tending to heal the wound which had been inflicted on the honest pride of the Spanish nation, he should rejoice in the part he had taken towards removing the sore feeling which had arisen between the two countries hitherto so friendly. The resolution having been put from the chair, Mr. SHELL said—The Hon. Gentleman on the 10th of May gave notice of a motion , in relation to a para graph in one of Sir H. Bulwer's letter s, for the p ur p ose of information. He has now changed his ground, and proposes for the adoption of the House a resolution of censure on my Noble : Friend. I am very far from saying that this change in his tactics is not deserv ing of commendation. My Noble Friend is clearly re sponsible for all that has been said or done by Sir H. Bulwer, and I therefore think the Hon. Gentleman quite right in saying that by his motion he is conferring an obligation on my Noble Friend ; my Noble Friend is equally indebted to the Honourable Gentleman for his motion and for his speech, for both will serve him. — (Hear, hear.) The true question is—l purposely avoid any prefatory prolixity—the true question is, whether the Noble Lord the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was justified in interfering in the internal affairs of Spain, by the peculiar relations in which we stand to wards that country 2—(Hear, hear.) What are those relations ? It will be necessary to take a retrospect, which I promise you shall be a rapid one. In 1834, the Spanish Government solicited the assistance of England —a special negotiator, the Marquis Miraii)res, was sent to England. That Nobleman has published an ac count of his mission, which I think I see in the hands of the Honourable Member for Pontefract.—(A, laugh.) The Marquis states that Lord Palmerston had very great difficulties to contend against, but his earnestness in the cause of Spain and of Spanish liberty overcame every obstacle that stood in his way, and on the 22d of April, 1834, the preliminary articles of a treaty of quadruple alliance were signed. At that period the Duke of Richmond, Sir James Graham, the Earl of Itipon, and the Nobleman who has recently taken so active a part in the question in another House (Lord Stanley) had not retired from theCabinet.—(Hear, hear.) The Marquis states that the effect of even these preliminary articles was signal and immediate. Don Carlos assented, and it was supposed that the pacifica tion of Spain would be the result of the articles. This anticipation was not carried out. Don Carlos retired into the provinces, and the entire of the Basque popu lation arose for him; the Court of Spain was filled with dismay, and the Marquis Miraflores, instructed by his Government, again waited upon Lord Palmerston, and to use his own language, " implored his aid with adjurations, ardent and unremitted." Lord Palmerston redeemed the pledge he had given, by aid, naval, mill eaiy, and moral, and there cannot be a doubt, but that for the interposition of England, Don Carlos would have been King of Spain.—(Loud cries of "Hear, hear," from Mr. Baillie Cochrane.) The whole population of the Basque provinces, the Church, the monastic orders, the nobility, and the still nobler peasantry of Spain, were all the Carlist party.—(Renewed cheers from the same quarter.) It is said by the Duke of Sotomayor, in very sonorous Castilian, that England interfered from selfish motives. From what selfish motives I cannot conjecture.—(Hear, hear.) The people of this country filled with an ardent love of liberty, which I trust will ever inspire them, gave energetic aid to a nation strug gling for freedom ; but England, as Sir H. Bulwer well pointed out, bad nothing to gain in the matter but the lofty consciousness of having assisted the Spanish people in the assertion of their right to free institutions. These institutions were established, and they remained stable till the fall of Espartero. The late Minister of this country, I well remember, expressed deep regret for that fall, and in his regret Lord Aberdeen fully con curred. I am far from disapproving of the policy of Lord Aberdeen towards Spain. It was Lord Aberdeen who appointed Sir H. Bulwer to the post he lately occu pied, and in this appointment Lord Aberdeen manifested a just and most sound appreciation of the valuable ser vices which Sir H. Bulwer had rendered to his country at Constantinople and in other quarters.—(Hear, hear.) It is said that Lord Aberdeen never interfered in the affairs of Spain. I will show the contrary ; I will show that Lord Aberdeen did interfere in the affairs of Spain, and this in a manner which reflected upon him the greatest honour. Sir H. Bulwer wrote to Lord Aber deen that he had heard from persons of good authority that it was in contemplation to plight the Queen first, and then communicate the fact to the Cortes, when it should be too late to revoke the betrothal. Thereupon Lord Aberdeen at once sent directions to Sir H. Bulwer to call upon General Narvaez without delay, and to say to him that he could not, indeed, believe the report in auestion, but that if any such illicit and discreditable proceedings were intended, the British Government would protest against it as an infringement on the Spa nish Constitution, as exposing the Queen to danger, and as calcuated to spread confusion and peril throughout the country. Here, surely, was a case of interference— (Hear, hear)—and, as such, if Lord Aberdeen was war ranted—and warranted he was—in interfering, Lord Palmerston was called upon .to do so when he saw the Cortes about to be abolished, and every vestige of free dom about to be swept away. In 1846 Lord Aberdeen retired from office, and Lord. Palmerston, upon acceding to it, naturally directed his attention to the affairs of Spain. I have read the remarkable dispatch of July, 1346, to which reference has been made by the greatest journal of this country, which, in relation to it, speaks of the dispatch as having proceeded frona my Noble Friend, when baffled on the great Montpens.er machination. Now, it was not till September that the Spanish marriages took place, and at the time of the dis patch in July there was no sort of quarrel with Spain on that subject. But the Cortes had been rendered a passive instrument in the hands of the Government, the liberty of the press was a nullity, the property and the liberty of the subject were outraged with impunity, and men were daily put to death without a shadow of trial ; the name of freedom had, in a word, become a mockery. Lord Palmerston, struck with this spectacle, did what a British Minister was bound to do under the circumstances—he intimated to the Spanish Government that it was not for the purpose of establishing a grinding tyranny in Spain, that the English Government inter fered to settle the crown of Spain on its present basis. —(Hear, hear.) The circumstances of 1848 are diffe rent, be it remembered, from those of 1846. In 1846 there was no European convulsion ; the authority of Louis Philippe was ostensibly stable. In 1848 occurred those mighty events at whose aspect contemporaries stand appalled, and at which history will look back with amazement. The Noble Lord was warned by Sir H. Bulwer that revolution threatened Spain, that the Carlists were in motion, and that, if they were en couraged to come forward, a disastrous civil war would be the inevitable result, involving the country and its throne in the utmost misfortune and peril. His Noble Friend hereupon transmitted that dispatch which has been so repeatedly referred to. But when this dis patch was given to Sir H. Bulwer, did he at once rush to the palace and deliver it up in the abrupt manner sug gested ? No; he kept it by him for twenty days, re serving it as a last expedient—as a final resource. Mark the dates—the dispatch was received by Sir H. Bulwer on the 21st of March ; on the 23d the Cortes were dis solved ; on the 31st an insurrection took place at Madrid. On these occasions Sir H. Bulwer offered counsel to the Spanish Government in the most amicable spirit ; but, as yet he did not produce the dispatch. His preliminary efforts were of no avail; be went to the Queen-Mother with as littte effect; and, at length, on the 9th of April, Sir H. Bulwer, ending that every other expedient had been exhausted, and thinking that Lord Palmerston's dispatch might produce an effect which his own verbal communications had failed to do, sent in the dispatch, and it is but an act of justice to Sir H. Bulwer that I should here read an extract from one of his letters in vindication of the conduct he had pursued, and which, I submit, perfectly justified that conduct. In the letter dated April 22, 1848, Sir H. Bulwer says : "In this state of circumstances I consulted my instruc tions ; I had already acted upon them by giving friendly and intimate advice without any effect being produced. It began to be very probable that Count Montemolin might show himself, supported by the Liberal party, and with the cry of the Constitution of 1812: this was here canvassed on one side, a Republic on the other. Now, if the Pretender raised his banner, proclaiming constitutional principles, and we were called upon to support Queen Isabella, her Catholic Majesty upholding military government, it would be difficult for us to support the military government against the con stitutional one, or to desert Queen Isabella suddenly, on the ground that we disapproved of the course she had pursued, unless there was some proof that we had so disapproved. My unofficial conversations had no authority. Even if her Ca tholic Majesty fell without exposing us to this difficult and particular question, it might be said, Why did not Mr. Bulwer warn the Spanish Government of the dangerous course they were pursuing? Why did he not do so with all the weight that a formal communication of the views of Great Britain would have afforded ?' It was, my Lord, in view of all these various probabilities that I gave the sanc tion of your Lordship's name, and of my opinion to the ad vice I presumed to offer. It was not, that lam aware of, couched in improper terms; I did not, therefore, expect a voluntary hostile reply, or that the present Government of Spain would involve amongst Queen Isabella's enemies her Majesty's Government, with more than the precipitancy with which it bad included in this category distinguished and loyal Spaniards. The result shows I was mistaken." And the result does show this.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member , hes read paragraphs from the Spanish newspaper, the Herald°. The thread° was edited at ono period by Sartorius, and is still wholly under his influence, or, as the French express it, inspired by Lien. It way, in a word, be considered the organ of the opinions, feelings, and views of the Spanish Govern ment, The lion. Gentleman has read an extract from this paper, whence it appears that the editor and the Government expected a revolution in England, mistek ing a Chartist procession fur a national march—(Llear, hear)—not knowing that in England liberty and order hare entered into mutual guarantees—(Hear, hear) — not knowing that our institutions are built on a rock, and bound together with an imperishable cement— (Hear)—imagining, in short, that our polity was as frail as the weak, loose structures which continental ar chitects are pleased to call constitutions.—(Hear, hear.) Under this impression it was that the Spanish Govern ment thought it could put c sntumely upon my Noble Friend and upon the English nation, forgetting the ser vices conferred by us upon Spain—(Hear)—or rather. perhaps, I may say, resenting the obligations we had conferred upon her.—(Hear, hear.) The Spanish Go vernment thought, under such circumstances, to put an insult upon my Noble Friend; and the llon. Gentleman over the way says that the Government of England has been humiliated. It would be strange, indeed, if the Government of this great and powerful country—a country which had the power to avenge an insult, but could afford to despise one—it would be strange, indeed, if the Government of England could be humiliated by anything that could be done by the Spanish Government, that, in its need, fell down on its knees before us.— (Hear, hear.) But instead of relying on this, I prefer to insist that with truth, with right, with reason, and with honour, humiliation cannot co-exist.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman spoke of the quarrels of individuals and of nations, and said they were the same thing. It is, I admit, with nations as with men, and I will put this case to the Hon. and Learned Gentleman. If a men calling himself his friend had fled to him for aid, if the required assistance had been given, and he had not only raised the suppliant from the earth, but elevated him into prosperity, and become his surety and pledge to others, and, if then, seeing this man rushing on to ruin, he were to interfere to save him, and, instead of gratitude was to meet with contumely, would not the Hon. and Learned Gentleman feel that the insult recoiled. and that the intended insult fell lull upon the degraded ingrate himself and not upon his benefactor ? This point of view applied to the whole of the present transaction. From the first report of Sir 11. Bulwer down to the letter dismissing Sir 11. Bulwer from Spain, on grounds of which the annals of diplomacy afforded no parallel—(Llear, hear)—Sir 11. Bulwer had been assailed with every species of calumny, with every threat, assassination included, and with the declaration that ho was abandoned here. But he is not abandoned here.—(Cheers.) Ile is not abandoned by Parliament, he is not abandoned by the Government, he is not aban doned by my Noble Friend at the head of the department in which Sir H, Bulwer has so ably served, and who, I am well assured, will rather throw his office to the winds than desert the man who has so devotedly, under his direction, served our common country. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman asked whether any other charges have been made against Sir H. Bulwer ? I know not what further allegations may be adduced by the Spanish Government, but I know that calumnies of the vilest sort have been put in circulation against him. derived from the vile source of inquisitorial esnionage. One example will suffice: it was said, when Fulgosio was put to death, that Mr. Bulwer paid for his death in gold. Calumnies such as these will be treat( d by the people of this , country simply with dirgust and scorn.— (Hear and cheers.) This is not the first time that my Noble Friend has been made the object of fierce and calumnious attack. Many a time have I heard him assailed in this House with vehement vituperation ; but my Noble Friend has ever, when ar raigned before the great tribunal, where the public men of England are tried by the gentlemen of England, has ever vindicated himself with triumph from each attack, and has proved himself the conscientious, as he is the able, champion of liberty all over the world. — (Hear, hear.) He will, I am sure, do so now.—(Hear, hear.) My Noble Friend, like the rest of us, has his faults ; but these are not times in which such faults as his are to be made subjects of party strife—(Hear, hear) —the tremendous•crisis of European affairs will not admit of our making experiments heedlesaly upon public men.—(Hear, hear.) My Noble Friend has his faults ; but among these faults his enemies will not reckon the want of sagacity to discern danger, or the want of firm tranquil courage, and of indomitable con stancy to encounter it. Viscount MAHON assured the House that be en tered upon the present discussion with the sincerest respect for the Noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs, on account of his eminence and undoubted ability, his long experience in public affairs, and the high post he now filled. Nor was he insensible to the inconvenience of sa ying anything that might tend to increase the dill culty of our position with regard to a foreign power—a foreign power, and lately a friendly power.—(Hear.) But this question having been once brought before the House, he would(venture to state the opinion which he had formed respecting the transaction. In the first place he would concede to the Right Hon. Gentleman that the Noble Secretary had a right, under all circum stances, to tender some advice to Spain. He thought that, after the sacrifices which we had made for that country, and after the assistance we had given her in the civil strife connected with Don Carlos, we cer tainly were not to be considered as precluded from offering suitable advice to the Spanish Govern ment. But then came the question—in what terms, and to what effect, that advice was conveyed ? And when he looked to the dispatch of the Noble Foreign Secretary, of the 16th March, he was compelled to own that he could not concur either in the scope of the advice ha gales or the terms in which it was given.— (Hear, hear.) In the dispatch of the 16th of March, the Noble Lord not only stated his advice as to the course of policy which should be pursued in Spain, but he went on to recommend a change of administration, and advised that the Queen of Spain should call to her counsels some of those men who possessed the confidence of the Liberal party. Now, ho (Lord Mahon) could not but think that it was stepping somewhat beyond the proper and the usual line in such cases to give advice, not simply with respect to the measures to be pursued, but as to the men to be employed. Let them look at what might happen in this country. He believed that it was not unusual for men of weight and station, who stood in friendly relations to any Government, from time to time, if they saw occasion, to go to the head of that Government, and state their views with regard to the course which the Government might be following; and if such counsels were given in an amicable spirit they were generally received in an amicable spirit. But the case would assume a totally different aspect if the friends of the Government were to say, " We advise you to change the Administration; we advise the Queen to call other men to her counsels;" and he could not help thinking that by so doing the friendly line he supposed to exist would thus be overstepped. So the Noble Lord, in the dispatch alluded to, had given advice not only as to measures, but also as to the men to he em ployed; and, looking at the terms of that dispatch, he must say that in them also he saw some ground for re gret. Such a dispatch as that ought to have been worded with the utmost circumspection, and with every imagin able care, lest a single word should fell from him which was calculated to wound the sensitive jettiousy of the Spanish nation.—(Hear.) But let the House see how short—how unaccompanied by any argument—was this dispatch, and how peremptory in its tone. It began— " I have to instruct you to recommend earnestly to the Spanish Government, and to the Queen Mother, if you have an opportunity of doing so, the adoption of a legal and constitutional course of Government in Spain.' Why, surely, if his (Lord Mahon's) pre ceding observations had any foundation at all, the Noble Lord ought to have prefaced those instruc tions with some reasons or explanations, and not to have this decisively given his instructions to Sir Henry Bulwer to interfere in the affairs of a foreign power. The dispatch of the 16th March having been communicated by Sir Henry to the Spanish Govern ment, the Noble Lord, on the 19th of April, sent another dispatch to him, approving the language he had held to Queen Christina; and again another dispatch on the 20th, instructing him to state to the Duke of Sotomayor that her Majesty's Government entirely approved of the step which he (Sir H. Bulwer) had taken in making his communication of the 7th instant, and likewise of his note of the 12th. Now he confessed that lie did not see how the Noble Lord was to be entirely defended in re ference to these dispatches. If the first dispatch was intended for communication to the Spanish Government, it tended to weaken the claim, which we fully possessed, of giving advice; but if it was only intended for the private information of the Ambassador, and was marked, as such, " confidential," then he asked why the Noble Lord sanctioned the step of communicating it to the Government of Spain? Did he or did lie not intend that that dispatch should be laid before the Spanish Government, and if he did so intend, why did he express it in a tone which he must admit was calcu lated to give offence? If, on the contrary, it was not in tended, then he asked how the Noble Lord could recon• cile to his sense of duty to sanction a step which was clearly an error in judgment? He admitted that the dispatches of the 16th of March and of the 20th of April m i g h t b e justified it' taken separately, but how they were to be justified both together he hoped to hear from the Noble Lord in the course of the evening. Consistently with his respect for the Noble Lord, he must observe that there was another, and that the most important point, still behind, and that was with regard to the rela tions in which we stood to the Spanish Government. Upon this point the correspondence was most inconclu sive; but the Noble Lord had promised further papers when the negotiations were complete, and he could not but think that the Hon. Member for Dorsetshire would have exercised a sounder discretion had he postponed his motion until those papers were produced.—(Cheers.) At present they were discussing the question in the dark; but this state of obscurity was not to be perpetual, for the Noble Lord had promised that it should be removed. Doubtless, while negotiations were ac tually pending with a foreign power, the Noble Lord might be perfectly j ust ifi e d i n w ithholding the dispatches until those negotiations were com pleted; and as far as his judgment was concerned he thought they ought not to have entered upon the dis cussion at all at a time when the most important part of the case, and that not touching parties or individuals, but the national honour of England, was not before them. In this state of the case, therefore, seeing that they possessed no information with respect to the grounds on which the Spanish Government had acted in their dismissal of Sir Henry Bulwer, it would not become him to pronounce an opinion on that part of the subject. This, however, he would say, that so far as the papers on the table were concerned, he saw no justification whatever for the Spanish' Government in dismissing the ambassador of that very power which had befriended them as the Goverment of this country had done.— (Ch e ers.) They ought not to have forgotten that we had stepped forward to assist them with our blood, our treasure, and our moral influence; and that the assist ance we had given them would require very strong pro vocation indeed on our part before we could justify so great an outrage as had been offered to us. But in those papers there was 110 such justification, nor even the shadow of such a justification.—(Cheers.) He did not presume to say what else the Spanish Government might have to bring forward. On that point, if it were necessary, they would be able to express an opinion hereafter. Nor did he mean to deny that in one respect the Noble Lord's dispatches were fairly open to some degree of blame; but what he contended for was, that the outrage far exceeded the provocation—that it bore no proportion to the provocation, and that as far as he could see there never was an act of so much importance undertaken upon grounds which appeared to be so slight and inconclusive.—(Loud cheers.) True we had done such acts ourselves, for Count Gyllenberg, the Swedish doing with it, the Minister, was sent out of t his c oun try , in 1716, but we inasmuch Pretender. as he It the Spanish Go vernment could show a similar cause i g la av d e b t e h e e n strongest deteced in e a correspondenceons f s r then he was sure t hat this House would not p reclude itself from admitting it as a j ustification; but at p resent no such justification had been shown. And if it should turn out that no such justification existed, he was cer tain that no party differences within the House, or party feelings of any kind, would prevent them from concur ring in any course which the vindication of our national honour might seem to require.—(Cheers.) This was what he had to say o n that p art of the subject; though he deeply regretted t hat it should have been stirred at a time when they could speak only in " ifs" and " buts," because the most important documents were not before them. It remained now to be considered (Lord Mahon) would lion. Member for Dorsetshire. ) would say, at once, that he could not concur in it. That whether the House wou ld concur in the vote proposed by He vote was a vote of censure; it ex p ressed regret, but regret from this House was nothing more nor less than a vote of censure. And let Hon. Gentlemen remember what would be the conseque nce of carrying in this House a resolution like that which the Hon. Gentleman had pro posed, express ive of the deep regret with which the Government.—(Hear, hear, an d laughter.) flu admitted the humiliation, but he was not y et prepared to sa y House observed the humil iatin g p osition of the En g lish whether that humiliation was incurred by the fault of unjust suspicions of the Spanish G ou o r v d e i r p ri l m om en a t c . L, o ( r a b e y ar t , b h e ear.) The conduct of the Noble Lord was partially open to animadversion; but that animadversion should be f ollowed b y the immediate retirement of the Noble Lord from the councils of the to say glees', and the possible retirem ent of all those Noble Lords and Ri g ht Hon. Gentlemen who now com p osed the Governm e nt of her Majesty , was what he could not coincide in; and he must observe that, until they had fuller information respecting the whole case, he could not but think that the House of Commons would not consult the true interests of the country, or show a proper feeling of dignity, if, upon impe rfect inf ormation , it came to any such decision.—(Cheers.) Lord J. RUSSELL—Mr. Speaker—The Noble Lord who has just sat down has spoken so fairly on this ques tion—(Cheers)—has expressed his doubts where he has doubts, his approbation where he approves, and his re luctance to agree with a vote of censure, in terms so be kcoming a Member of this House, that I cannot refrain , from at once rising to endeavour to satisfy the Noble Lord with regard to those points upon which he is as yet uninformed. The Noble Lord is willing to admit, and I think the majority of this House must be willing to admit, that, evsn putting aside the peculiar relations which subsist between this country and Spain, it is com petent for the Government of one country to give advice to the Government of another; and that it may even feel at times bound to give that advice with respect to its in ternal affairs.—(Hear, hear.) Provided that advice is conveyed in friendly terms, and that it has a friendly object, there are few Members in this House who will deny that there may be occasions on which such advice may be given. —(Hear, hear.) Without referring to the innumerable examples which may be found where such advice has been given by persons of the highest authority on all matters of international relations, I will mention one case that I happened to be reading, I think, not more than two or three days ago, with re spect to the late events in Naples. A person of high authority sent for three of the Foreign Ministers, and informed them that tranquillity was restored in the Cabinet; whereupon one of them took upon himself to speak on behalf of his colleagues, the two ether Foreign Ministers, and said that their opinion was that the time had come when clemency ought to be shown by the So • vereign and the Government. Who was the Minister who tendered, unasked, this advice to. the Government of Naples? It was the representative of her Most Ca tholic Majesty the Queen of Spain.—(Loud cheers and laughter.) Subsequent discussion occurred with one of the Ministers of the King of Naples, in which the nature of the Constitution and the propriety of dissolving the Chambers were laid before those Foreign Ministers. Various opinions were given, the Spanish Minister giving one opinion, the English Minister giving another but it never occurred to the Minister of the King of Naples to say, " Any advice upon the internal affairs of this kingdom is an unjustifiable int rference, and I call upon you to refrain from such interference, unless you wish me to give advice with respect to the mode of conducting the Governments of England and of Spain."—(Hear, hear.) But, Sir, there were, as the Noble Lord admits, peculiar reasons why England should have seine title to give its advice to the Go vernment of the Queen of Spain.—(Hear.) Her in terests had been deeply concerned when the Marquis of Miraflores came here to pray, to beg, to supplicate for assistance. Our assistance had been given too readily —our assistance had been too effectual—for us not to think that if an occasion arose when the throne of the Queen of Spain should be in danger, our sympathy might be exhibited, and our friendly counsels might be tendered without fear of arousing the national suscep tibility. Sir, the events of the present year have been extraordinary. My Right Hon. Friend the Master of the Mint (Mr. Sheil). who went through this case in a manner so masterly that I can add but little to what he addressed to the House, referred most aptly to a dis patch of my Noble Friend in 1846, in which my Noble Friend observed to the Ambassador—" Such are the sen timents of the British Government, and you will inform those with whom you have intercourse that you will act in accordance with those sentiments: but you will not obtrude any advice with respect to the internal affairs of Spain." But, as I have said, the events of this year have been most extraordinary, and there was no country hardly which could be considered to be safe from those convulsions which have overset thrones—have destroyed constitutions—have placed towns at the mercy of mobs, and have threatened to convulse the whole of Europe. It was impossible, considering the relations between this country and Spain, that the state of Spain should not seriously and painfully attract the attention of the British Government. My Noble Friend read a dispatch of the 16th March, and the Noble Lord opposite asks a perfectly justifiable question—viz., whether that dispatch was written with a view to being communicated to the Spanish Government, or whether it was enly intended for the information of Sir 11. Bulwer? The answer which I shall give will be given in relating the events as they occurred. My Noble Friend read that dispatch. It is in those terms in which a dis patch is couched that is communicated in a note to a foreign Government. It was in a dispatch written in that ferin 1 , 9i41e'l is intended for the informa tion of the Minister; but at the same time it was for the in!ermatiou and guidance of a Minister who had been chosen tar his eminent abilities—who was tho roughly acquainted with the state of Spain, and in whom the Government of this country most wisely re posed confidence. Sir H. Bulwer, in the first place, under stood that dispatch as it was meant—as being for his guidance. But there occurred a state of things which filled him with alarm as to the security of the throne of Spain. He has described the circumstances in a dispatch dated the 22d of April. In that dispatch he relates that extraordinary powers were obtained by the Spanish Government—that the Cortes were prorogued—but that no sooner were they prorogued than almost every officer of note in the Progresista party was arrested or ban ished, and some of the most distinguished deputies were seized and imprisoned, with the apparent intent to de port them, and all this without the parties thus treated being told of their offence or submitted to any sort of trial. Now, on this part of the case I must say what I believe the opinion of Sir H. Bulwer to have been, for 1 have seen it frequently stated in dispatches and letters of his, viz., that the best policy for the Queen of Spain to pursue would be to unite, if possible, in her councils the most eminent of those who support her title as opposed to the title of Don Carlos; and that, whether they were called Moderadoes or Progresistas, it was her interest to see her throne surrounded by both those parties, and to make of those parties, united as it were, a rampart against the attempts of those who support the pretensions of another prince. Whether that were a just opinion or not I have no occasion to argue. I only say that was the opinion formed by Sir H. Bulwer, not from any regard for one party or the other—not from any wish to take part in the internal politics of Spain, but from a wish to see the Throne of Spain strengthened, and the title of the present Queen confirmed and esta blished by the whole nation. With this opinion, then, the House can well conceive that Sir H. Bulwer saw with alarm that not only was an extraordinary law passed suspending all the guarantees of public liberty, hut that the most eminent men who had held Progre sista opinions in the Cortes—men who were distinguished writers—men of attainments and of character, were seized and imprisoned without a trial, and threatened with the loss of their liberty wherever they went. Such being the case, Sir H. Bulwer was afraid that the par tisans of Don Carlos or of a republic might make a successful insurrection. " In this state of circumstances," he says, "I consulted my instructions. I had already acted upon them by giving friendly and intimate advice, without any effect having been produced." That shows he rightly understood the instructions authorizing him to use friendly and intimate advice without immediately producing the note in which he was authorized to do so. But it occurred to him that if he went no further no record would remain of that advice which had passed in conversation ; and it seemed to him that for the sake of the British Government, that it might appear we had left no warning untried which could have been ten dered, that we tad not allowed recklessly the throne of the Queen of Spain to be subverted, and that at all events we should be justified in case the throne were placed in peril,—in those circumstances ho wrote the note to the Duke de Sotomayor, enclosing the dispatch of my Noble Friend. These are the circumstances that account, first, for the dispatch being written in terms which, I think, were un thought of and were more abrupt than those in which my Noble Friend would have written if he were sending a note intended to be laid before the Spanish Govern. ment ; but they also account for the conduct of Sir. H. Bulwer in afterwards delivering that note to the Spanish Government. What course were we to take, then ? It was not at first intended that the note should be laid be fore the Spanish Government, but then Sir H. Bulwer acted upon his discretion, and we have to consider whether he had properly acted upon that discretion. It was our opinion that he had so acted properly upon his discretion, and that he deserved our support and ap probstion. I think it would have been a bad course, in deed, if, looking to the conduct and career of Sir 11. Bul war at Madrid, who had been there for years, and who was well acquainted with that country, if we had taken advantage of a technical point, and said, ",You were not instructed to give that note, and therefore your conduct must be disavowed." We should have very much lowered the Government had we so acted, and we consider we were right in taking upon ourselves the responsibility, or rather let us say, the greater part of the responsibility, for the Hon. Member for Dorsetshire is right in saying that if there is cause for censure, the censure must rest on the Go vernment at home, and not on the agent.—(Hear.) We therefore, do take the greater share of that responsibi lity, and we stand here to be acquitted of all blame, or to be censured, if it should please the House to censure our conduct in this proceeding. But, at all events, not denying or seeking to evade the responsibility which properly rests upon us, my Noble Friend's subsequent dispatches to Sir Henry Bulwer have been censured on another ground ; and it has been said that after such an affront had been offered him as that of sending back his dispatch, he ought to have fallen into a pas sion, and in pompous terms, and by some acts of an extreme nature, he ought to have resented the indig nity put upon him. I think my Noble Friend took a much better and a wiser course in explaining that his motives were friendly, and that if the Spanish Ministers were angry, we should not be offended with them. I recollect a story which Lord Holland told me, of a din ner at which he was invited ; and when he arrived, he found there Lord Archibald Hamilton and a gentleman who was not known to him. Lord Archibald came up to him and said that the gentleman had been saying such things to him that he must either laugh at him or knock him down; upon which, said Lord Holland, I advised my friend to laugh, and not to think of knocking down. So I think, is the case with my Nobl e F r i en d (L or d Palmer ston), the question is not one which involves a grave na tional quarrel. Then there has been another species of criticism passed upon the language used in the notes ad dressed to the Minister of Spain by Sir H. Bulwer. It has been said that we ought not to remind Spain of the obligations she is under to this country. Now, I differ in opinion with those who think thus. I do not think that it the Spanish Government had really consulted the in terests of their mistress they would have returned such as. answer as that of the Duke of Sotomayor to Sir H. Bulwer. They ought to have been too mindful of their Qcteen'siaterests to indulge in suc h sarcasms as were vented in their reply to Sir Henry Bulwer's note of April 7. But as they had chosen to do so, they fairly drew upon themselves the retort that the Queen of England had received no such obligation as had been bestowed upon the Queen of Spain. The Honourable Member for Dorsetshire has chosen to bring forward his motion, and he thinks it both wise and becoming to do so whilst negotiations are yet pending on the very sub ject under discussion. He professes only to ask for in formation, and doing so, he proposes to the House to agree to a vote of censure on our conduct. I endea voured to justify the discretion of the Honourable Mem ber; for whilst it was not proper for us to ask him to put off his motion, I cannot agree with him in his asset- i tion that it was highly proper to bring such a resole- Gun forward whilst the matters involved in it were yet being discussed ; end if the iiouse of Commons adopts that resolution the effect cannot but be to weaken —I will not say the present Governicetit—bu'; her Ma• jest) 's representatives wherever tl ry reay ba stationed. —(hear, hear.) As to our rclatiees with Spain hey are alike peculiar and delicate ; but whilst the existing state of them demands that we preserve the honour of England, we must also act with the grestest forbearance Perhaps, if the forces of the two kingdoms were more equal, it would be more difficult than it now is to ob serve that forbearance. But, knowing the power of England and that of Spain, we are not only justified in so acting, but we are absolutely hound to ellow the utmost forbearance and consideration tor the latter country. I trust we shall be able to take care that no stain remains on the honour of England whilst we endeavour to pre serve the friendly relations which exist between the two countries. If, as I confess lam unable, I cannot find any reasonable excuse for the violence which has been committed, yet I must consider that there is the Queen of Spain, whose throne demands the utmost support we can give it, and whose country requires all our best and most friendly efforts. There is the Spanish nation, as gallant and highly endowed a people ns any in Europe ; and whilst I think fiat the Queen of Spain has unfortu nately, placed the affairs of tne nation in hands wanting in discretion, wanting in temper, and wanting in de meanour to a faithful, a warm, and a generous ally ; and whilst, moreover, I think that the Spenish nation pos sesses only very imperfect organs in the Dukes of Va lencia and Sotomayor, yet at the same time, Sir, I think that in all we do, in all we say, and in all we write on this subject, we ought never to forget that whilst those persons whom I have named are only the temporary re presentatives of Spain, the interests of the Queen of that nation, and also the character of that high-spirited and noble race of men, demand to be regarded by us with the utmost degree of consideration. Mr. DISRAELI—Sir, it would be difficult, in fol lowing the debate as it has hitherto proceeded, for any one who had not been previously acquainted with the public affairs which have occurred between this country and Spain, easily to anticipate what had actually hap pened. Is it possible to imagine that a gross outrage has been committed, a gross public outrage, under cir cumstances of unparalleled flagrancy, and upon an in dividual who, both from the position which be occupied, and the public estimation which he had acquired, was one in whose career, conduct, and treatment, this coun try had naturally a great interest?—(Hear, hear.) Would any one have imagined a foreign country had dismissed the representative of the Queen of Great Bri tain almost ignominiously from her capital—that he had arrived here hurried and in haste—that the circum stances which led to that outrage had only transpired originally to the English House of Commons through foreign newspapers—that it was with the utmost diffi culty that any public notice of these events could be obtained in that House, the chosen temple of the na tional rights and the national honour ; and that when at last, upon au occasion most constitutional and most legi timate, some notice is taken of it, the Prime Minister should tell us that negotiations are going on.—(Hear.) Why, Sir, that is the great fault we find with the Minis ters and the present state of offairs. I want to know, after this outrage has been committed, why full and complete satisfaction has not long before this been ob tained ? That is the primary condition which we ought to notice—that is the primary condition which we ought to demand to be fulfilled before we even enter into the question of the policy of the Government or the conduct of the Minister. I see no reason why the representa tive of her Majesty was dismissed with shame and dis honour from the capital of Spain, but the Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs at Madrid most courteously and politely informed Sir H. Buie er of the reason. He was abused by the English press, disowned in the English Parliament—they could not answer for his safety, they sent him his passports, and as he stepped into his carriage, the Under-Secretary of State was ready to assure him of the very high consideration of the Spanish Government.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) But yet negotiations are going on. Why. Sir, a reason has been given for the dismissal of Sir H. Bulwer front Madrid. Do you think it satisfactory? for that is the real ques tion before the Beeise.—(llear, hear.) Is the message of the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs sit Madrid, or the dispatch of the Duke of Sotomayor, an ample satisfaction to you for the unprecedented outrage? Why, we are told that a distinguished gentleman left Madrid twenty-four hours before the English Minister, in order, in detail, to satisfy the Court of St. James's of the expediency and extreme necessity for the unprece dented step which the Spanish Government had taken. According to every principle of public law—according to all the practices of nations in their mutual and reci procal conduct—that could not have been a justification for the step which the Spanish Government had taken. They officially announced grounds. Those grounds were utterly unsatisfactory; and there the question, as far as its strict merits are concerned, might rest. I can readily understand why the British Government can feel that a country like Great Britain can afford to be generous, even to the verge of contemptuousness—all that I can understand and allow; and if it had reached the ear of our Foreign Minister that, notwithstanding the formal politeness of the dispatch of the Spanish Minister—not withstanding the civil message of the Under-Secretary of State—notwithstanding those circumstances, still there were accusations in detail which could be proved with facility against a man occupying so high and re sponsible a position as her Majesty's Minister Plenipo tentiary at Madrid—thenlcan easily understand that the Noble Lord, waving all the ceremony of office, and urging notwithstanding that you should have communicated with us through the accredited organ of the country, the Spanish Minister here, before you inflicted upon us an insult in the face of Europe and the world, yet we are powerful enough to endure the insult if it can be explained and apologised for.—(Hear.) But Sir, where is that organ whom they have sent to England? Where is that extraordinary Minister Plenipotentiary who comes over the day after the insult to vindicate the outrage? Has he ever applied to the Noble Lord ? The Noble Lord said, " A man has applied to me; he was not accredited to me, and I refused to see him; I informed him, how ever, that he might communicate to me through the Spanish Minister, but that any communication must be in writing." I think even in that respect the Noble Lord did too much. What business had he to agree to receive any communication, even in writing, from a per son who was not accredited?—(Hear, hear.) I want to know who this gentleman is, this Mr. Mirasol—(A laugh)—is he still in London? He may meet in the House of Commons an impartial tribunal, if not at the Foreign-office, if he have any accusation to make, either orally or by written statement, against Sir H. Bulwer. Who is he? What is he? Why is he here? Why is his name bruited about? Why is his anomalous authority quoted on this occasion ? The time has come when we ought to know who this person is, and whether be or any one else is ready to vindi cate the gross and unparalleled outrage which has been committed; and before we can enter into the question of policy, that great question ought first to be resolved. If that Minister had been accredited to the Noble Lord, and had made his communication, it would, I doubt not, by this time have been upon the table of the House. If, taking advantage of the permission granted him by the Noble Lord, he had communicated in writing to the Spanish Minister—if he could have written anything worth listening to—if he could have composed anything which the Spanish Minister, without a blushing front, could have offered to the Noble Lord, it would have been upon the table of this House now, and ought to have been ten days ago.—(Hear, hear.) Why did he come here? To tell the truth? He might have done it in twenty-four hours; and if he had tra velled a little faster, he might have been here twenty feur hours before the arrival of the British Minister, so that by the time Sit: 11. Bulwer arrived at the Clarendon or Mivart's, the Noble Lord might have been acquainted with all the charges against him. But, after all the delay that has taken place, I have a right to infer that the Spanish Government have no accusation whatever against Sir H. Bulwer; and except the exclusion of Sir H. Bulwer from Madrid, I can conceive no outrage greater than that they should send a person over here circu lating those rumours, ready to substantiate statements which were never written, and which from his character can never be received. I say that that gross outrage was the first thing that ought to be noticed, and I think that the Government was to blame for entering into negotiations upon that outrage. Before they negotiated upon any point the honour of the country ought to have been vindicated. If' the Noble Lord had not chosen to have sent M. Isturitz his passports the same day that Sir H. Bulwer arrived here, which I think would have been a fair return, he might have shown at least some use for the new Alien Act, and have sent away the Count de Mirasol.—(Hear, hear, and a laugh.) It is of the greatest importance, in the first place, tracing the matter from the outrage, taking into considera tion the total want of cause for the outrage, dis missing from our minds all views of Spanish policy, keeping our eyes upon the great fact of the gross outrage which has been inflicted upon this country—then, I say, we should remember how impor tant it is, and how it is' the first duty of the House of Commons in the consideration of public transactions abroad to be most jealous of the honour and most careful of the character of the public Ministers acting in foreign countries in behalf of Great Britain .—(Hear,. hear.) The diplomatist is really the most forlorn of animals. Very few of them ever find their way to this t h House; and, however injured tiniuirneidstebryinthpeaMriii:misteenrt,: ilfo wever misrepresented by the would be fatal to any one to pro i t ie e a st r. a ) gai A nst i th oa e p c e o g n o d a rt is of his h.e political chief.—(Hear, easiest s mor e e ti c s character a t r o a cte r selecti n than o transactions,engaged d n n trs scapegoat sactti the business under discussion, in a foreign scene, withof a letter, wahic w distant toi cannot e, familiar;acqua in td a c nd the nixanansst:rernsg se d duly m au ay the b r e i authorised, or o n r o : the presentation e o s o e n n s t i a a t e i r o e n d of a duly t letter authorised, e s : L e y o e n e i r t at f i r n o g m the fa t w a l h i c i h a a m r e a l c i t t r ry of o e t n h s e n r C e. a b I e d n o and not make that observation (which is a most general one) with reference to present circumstances. lam willing to believe that her Majesty's Ministers are nut going to desert one of the ablest servants of the Crown— (, Hear, hear.) I say this notwithstanding the observa tion of the Noble Lord, who tells us that he and his colleagues are prepared to take their share of responsi bility, and afterwards amplifying and enriching his phraseology, assuring us that her Majesty's Ministers in the present case aro even prepared to rake the greater part of the responsibility. I can tell the Noble Lord that Ministers must take the responsibility, and the whole re sponsibility, and not this portion. Lord J. RUSSELL—I said that. _ Mr. DISRAELI—I am delighted to understand that the Noble Lord said that which is totally different from what my ears led me to credit. lam perfectly ready to accept the expression of the Noble Lord in that sense; but let me remind the House, lam rising to defend f:7ir Bulwer because in the Crou`e " w f h t : e hu tl il e i b e: ti si t rre es e l l ! am . glad to see, eue,vithstanding the doubtful esPbret sion s%hich is eitistactorily explainee, ire has not b e attacked by Ministers in the House of Ccenelon 6 ' he has been personally :attacked and insulted by el Government of Spain.—( hear.) In a question liksep present, before we enter into the C 3113 01 to this memorable transaction, we at 1 ° 1 "' have good grounds—and I maintain we have nes e ', en e spective of party—the House of Commons s hould ° the y mine to uphold any English e.limster a broad , wi le ot ir believe had done his duty .—( hear, hear.) Th e eos man in question, who is called before our considFrso to-night is one who in a discussion, so pain ful as llrilef be under any circumstances to his feelings, 2°2%411 as it would be to the passions of many, is one we not to be afraid to meet an English Parlianente Right Hon. Gentleman the Master of the Ni l " le quently described his character. I cann ot describeboloi language so finished and glowing; but this 1 ele re ees to say, that it has been my fortune to be in el°, r oil one country when that gentleman was engaged transactions of State, and I believe ther e is DO bas 1 13 ! d olt ployed in foreign service by her Maje st y who le better service to the Crown, or who has shown T..°,l° gacity, more penetration, and, notwithstannwaast• extraordinary circumstance, I will sal , Ile, conciliatory temper than that ;patio:oar:co or man has succeeded more under circurests:soBo great difficulty, and great political un'eaoflo; He manifestly succeeded at Consterropsa and as for 1840, the many events that have e ,, l ;lled e within the last few months, permit even what is ' O OO O private Member of Parliament to speak on th e , toil e; in a way which otherwise he would not be entieiol94o, but I say that the conduct of Sir IL Bulw er and the information he obtained, and 101100' founded on the best personal knowledge and extensive acquaintance by a public man--thle tion he gave was of the most signal service to te, 010 0 of England and the fortunes of this country. ;01 aware that the labours of that gentleman Wer e pois ii t i ge oP causes which prevented war at that time. I ment to the Court of Madrid answered the ei e e eminent achievements of 1840. Who Pre ° o of Not the Noble Lord who was most consciee merits, and most anxious to acknowledge th e° Mg, the archives of the Foreign-office, it wa s the ..,i r e g ete t his eminent services, that induced Lord Abeiiiee,tcrid succeeded the Noble Lord, when he entered ee c oli"" on Sir H. Bulwer as the man best g o et' both by his natural talents and his re, perience, to fill the most difficult ib i l i e s - bil co il o i li to siblo office in the diplomacy of That alone forms a prima facie case of his egl s a conduct which the House will not forget; h e i u e jetils b e entering into the peculiar policy of the 14° `: f o rges,, S oi far as Sir H. Bulwer is concerned, let us ne"„ e d to ire he acted under Lind Aberdeen, who is sePP - r d 1 113 U ursued a different policy from the Noble Le % I sis', Right . Hon. Gentleman (Sir R. Peel) for thre. o e 0,i%! considerable interval; and I have DO heSi t4 l P, l O , ing, although I have not what the Botastr .° llo l° ,o called the inspiration of Lord Aberdeen; t here : ilia thority of as great a nature, and I say that dria of the Right Hon. Gentleman when at 1 ,.. ems P o Lord Aberdeen, would at least prove that or o id anxious to be a party to a factious polieliep td, could only attain to office or maintai n bins Per by pandering to the prurient feelings of the e d tb e Under Lord Aberdeen, Sir H . Balwer obeles structions, and developed and perform ed that tact, that delicateness, and force e. te tel",* which were intrusted to him b o th by th e " el present Secretary of State for e ; d m 0 .1 0 I feel it my duty to express us e , arne st opinion upon this subject, becat l6 l o4 el et decision the House may come to 'z' n n alar: s sso occasion, whatever opinion may be most P e r ee e as majorities are concerned in this Houseicerthe 01 , 0 0 called foreign policy and councils, it i 9 °` a silo: o re importance that we should show to ll r( l e tlf, A er ibil , party quarrels do not prevent us from Pe r „e i s d ciating the conduct of public men. ll ic isue lt eii s ; let us conceive what must be the position e i a d,e;er enduring such an outrage, arriving in E i _eg„lng r ec t i l o ll4, i on n fo g hpi i ns n bf E ci o e ry l ev a c. n co d t n iiii e tti a ro r y ; n y oe a fnb fi ti i so r t ss n et i ra g vn h ide t e , bs a y, n , i ) t hri o : ,f. l t , st p wa y li t s vsi to say, think what must be the ((leng e e hie' 0' 0 , dual ; but that may be too sentimentee the; 11 h must be the interests of these Ministers; uernecl°- suffer at this period, when the world is gevece !sod O, bto opinions—when it is the opinion of the Pevnglan moral conduct and great public spirit of f toss 10 i s p t a u e b i r l s i i fi c c a e l power—think t e n r n necessarymuch, howh t w your system yhnitifien:lioneolei eottito much cost, and which, depend urn , it 'peoc, eo e, army than troops or police to mainto l h e lo ot% le; that opinion must have suffered when se e : 0 t e i r d s' committed on such a man—when su ch e W e e - r elapsed since his arrival in this countreagioo bit° c e‘ai o ntlt u nei n dni n t uk r pt y tti shouldioaswn made tathbdseet behaviourhi in vpsei opinion manneri on expressed nnfutthf nek t ve h em. ga i o r :: et e ce P tio i e f it 1 1 ,.; °to ie e s t constitutional by a Member of the OPP, foi r otee, House, in a Committee of Supply, to briII:JOGS/015 great public grievance (and lam a t a loSsenat el what is a public grievance, if this is re igtef li d ge, f , grievance). It is an insult to your Ser e — 0 Zer e e ' o i to yourselves, and an insult to the patio'', ste e eoe te ask you, how that opinion, on which 1 0 %; i i ! te 0 ,1 ; must suffer, when we are forced to cab e -6 sze ).. the Parliament of England to this circutOsont tl01:01 coolly told by the head of the Goverentef or 0,1,11°, tiations are going on. Going on for evit e nts_e! u sts r i fresh insults? Who is left that rep 06" - oll* 0 matter can be explained? The more 1 011 , i b i o b •S!' • more certain you are of receiving fr i l e - e f e e tefe lP ef form that opinion from the documents r e - eeo io ' trie obligingly placed before us. Sir IL 1 3 u` n w fi " 0 11 3, dispatch, and makes certain friendly rea t "„e: 'Pe e p ' 0 ; Spanish Government. This is a great offet h.. .. - "diop s iitivo Minister of Foreign Affairs retorts ie "wee „eet e i tinguished by some acerbity, not l o on 4) ability. The representative of the m oil df s ') ° ,7 t o another place, takes the earliest opPer":l ( lle'eiecj the conduct taken by Sir 11. Bulwer'Oe That is the whole cause of the miserahle plf gd 1111 ;e afterwards occurred.---(Hear, hear) , pn, e rier regret that a Nobleman so distinguished esi;od pfd bdowne,is lightenedt nnnsovineiemwipnsnetlnhittaietf political lr he at his affka lvcssiui,opwilneddagti‘ebi , 0 os i bul. rg oec e poo, c o o I li e ' , to I f have been the means of inflicting suc h e , pees r e d, British Minister. But suppose it had In n 11 seine President of the Council. Had it " n i t tics Minister, had he been in a position a"-°to and who might have been suppose , . peel d Mo o d' influenced with respect to the No ble e d fidero r f. ings not so humble as no doubt influences 0 0 00 0 downe, the circumstance might have bltbeilt 1 0 the result would not have been so nel' ° 7- - e :e io 'ere have witnessed a public man, second to , 0 i 0 ; s ae none in public character, come forezar'e eminent as the House of Lords, and deg a s.s oo o v oi hesitated at terwards to accomplish conduct of a British Minister, who s houl d ;s r e° to ieiest:es i cb persons who dared to hint dislike before , on trae d ee l po we now have discussed? We are told it el b i e f. n e e h e e of the Noble Lord that did all this MO r d e' d , Noble Lord mean it? Did the Noble . D e te d tite s esil di p he was writing? Was he, in such ag l i te e eerY li t esles with every capital in excitement, anu e opt of so`' revolt, he forgot to mention in th e t h e 00. , dispatch was to be shown. Here is thB disp el IP fi V e Noble Lord, to which I will advert f el- leir cl Ao I Noble 'a "" It was not the dispatch of the „mister 01:01, did this; it was the speech of a el'"" wrist ht sober{ plish the foul iss aye poi 0 place.have b e A e ni easilydi B pat ehes, arranged. for they A ai l iti or oo . l been removed diplomatist of perfect temper, for his great characteris t 5, cannot be taken from Sir 11. Bulwer , here is ' Ito Lord Lansdowne had not been made. Ji -3 3 fitreb isil ' 0 . 5 patch, so characterised, of the 16th o ' loo %, }Cfe 1I headed " Confidential." It is not ve r y ,„ o f the elaborate :—" The recent fall of the o f h le ee eree and ot his whole family, and the exen ie ,„d Oe f f erti g d ters, ought to teach the Spanish Court t o g° o o how great is the danger of an atten 3 P e feeP e ell country in a manner at variance with tu ile' e pe e l opinions of the nation ; and the catastreP t he d ocw o happened in France must serve to o°4'o e a b 1 large and well disciplined army beco mes orse e see' / defence for the Crown, when the:courseintioeo,ooo' p Crown is at variance with the general 7; 0 0' 0 000# country." It is like reading a passag e . e i e ° ol oo e_ V e st (A laugh.) Nothing can be more rute_ elee 11 0 ;4 man of such experience as the Noble re°'"i'a ways had the good fortune of bil e fret; of of Commons, which prevents Pe e r lett ° , h e stilted, should write it. Th e ., ar poo e e, an excellent letter for its e whe 40 1 0 letter was written for a count* ? ieste e pel l oi like grand sentences.—(Much laught er inee P r o CIA patch been in the same style, it m l g ht y0rd i ..4,0 01 this disagreeable occurrence. The Noble h c oil m od to the dramatic, but the style is b i g be; r ,PO laugh.) It is utterly impossible that t t l fa e eei c 11 0 , the 16th of March could have been mea nt 0 001 0 than Sotomayor or General Narvaes heeltiallf not', confidential dispatch, and it was confiae° 000 j oc],' o , nicated. Sir H. Bulwer was twenty ( 11 1? 0 ,ting h oo:Y was told to seize an occasion of corn 1 h oof tents, especially to the Queen-Mother, 5 kn o til e r fidence, from what I have observed al; durin H. Bulwer, that the talent he exhibiteu 0 0,0 0 / twenty days in finding and availing hir e ; e olf L ea te d tunities was most distinguished. He Pr sine thi e 's atts o dea be fer f . ) nicaied in French, not being able to style of the Noble Lord. The Queen, es, boat' tree an especial ear to his implied Inene ee en oog b del qs ened by phraseology, until he repeated taret itf. s eee. that he was in earnest. He had bee din g h o rs , sinuating to the Queen -Mother, and u tl eet eoll s bll7 4 produced no effect, they thought they t r b e e e ir eye rt A , Noble Lord wrote in this way— Gived co this ellores9 can—do every thing you can CO pro repo se n ot r o f last the English Envoy, finding theY__ e conslecieeil was oblig o ee co i n ce frec o ore' dente to courset e ohi his in insinuations , i e o he was authorised to make this repry rsattroa, 01 7 0 . s to take t ele u s ....oo. o VO ist r id he had gone home after all this . coo__ se es/ _ e te o ,e ten a formal letter—the undersigned h rir_oee ore eltee' ` alp Int see if the letter would have m a , ce , 10 ,0 tion. It was still Sir 11. Bulwer Klee woul d us e Y d failed he / jo As sentations, and if they ha inform the Duke of Sotcrnayor that Ile „ P o ti e teen ri vctQ discretion, and shown the lettfr.e.t. n_ n l g oo f l ei f e : the exhibition of conduct, 041 great j os pei_ e b 0 0. 4 0 1; pursued by a man, w h o to bov i odeede, responsible to his Government for n _ ne; happy talent for his profession, shou ld I" V° io dlr ` 3° t he t hs ci P i. t r ° 0 1) 0 0 and it was to be regretted fedi. i s vO 10004 0 it. I say that enough to show a t tisfaction for an English Envoy at in the House of Lords, that the ea rl er fgl re who is employed in a difficult transaeciv',