The Sun. — London, England, 1821-06-08 00:00:00

tenca oft Court of Justice could be obtained contoary to his wishes, yet on this question, about which, according to the Hon. Member, he r,nritt be known to feel great interest, the Judges ssese divided in opinion. It was afterwards re ?erred to Sir Thomas . Maitland, and in the decision which he was compelled to come to there could no imputation be fixed, whe ther that decision was or was not correct in point of law. He denied that the disturb ances at Zante or Santa Maura were occasioned by the decrees of the Government. The lion. Member (Mr. Hume) objected to the arrest of .Martinengo on two grounds ;—first, that it was unauthorised by the law of the States ; and, se condly, that his treatment was deficient in that regard which Sir Thomas Maitland ought to have paid to a Gentleman of his high consideration. The Hon. Member went much at length on both these points ; on the first contending, that as by cne article of the Constitution all those powers • ishich had been enjoyed by the VOnetian Go vernment, under the head of high police, were reserved CO the Lord High Commissioner, the proceedings taken against Martinengo were fully justified.. It should be remembered, that that individual protested against the tribunal ap pointed to try him altogether on different grounds ; namely, -that lie had petitioned the Aing of England, and claimed not to be tried till that answer were received ; but that claim tosuld not possibly be granted without overturn leg the whole criminal jurisprudence of the coun try. The tribunal proceeded on the evidence for the prosecution, and possibly much of the - weight of punishment was to be attributed to the - want of a defence which he had it in his power" to make if lie had chosen, but which, as he re fused, he left the Court the hard task of pro ceeding to judgment on the evidence which had been laid before them. With respect to the-se cond point, the harsh treatment Of Martinengo ; _he was not confined closely, but permitted to take exercise daily, accompanied by a milkary officer. He admitted that he was not permitted! to correspond unrestrainedly with his friends, on account of a disposition he had shown to tamper with the Authorities. Again, it was stated as a hardship, that he should be confined to one ad vocate ; but it was the rule of the Court to allow only one advocate for the prosecution, and there could be no hardship in allowing one only for the prisoner, more particularly , as he was not - Limited to one advocate, though only one could be allowed to plead for him. He instanced `sae indulgent conduct of the Court to an other prisoner, named Pater, who was ar rested with Martinengo, as a proof of the Gisposit ion of the Court to afford every fa cility to them for their defence. lie denied that the island of Santa Maura, where Marti nengo was confined, was particularly unhealthy ; orr. the contrary,, with the exception of Cerigo, it was the most healthy climate of all the lonian Islands. Mr. Goulburn then proceeded to vin dicate Sir. Thomas Maitland from any imputation with respect to the conduct pursued towards Sig n-or Flamburiani. That person had libelled the Legislative Assembly, charging them, in a printed petition to the King, which he published, with venality and corruption, for which he was expel led by that Assembly, who afterwards instituted proceedings against him for perjury. The Hon. Member justified his former statements as to the salary of the Lord High Commissioner ; and defended the monopoly of grain as necessary to preserve the islands from famine. He would not reply to the personal imputations which the Eon. Member had cast upon Sir Thomas Mait land. this character could derive no additional /mitre from any thing which he could state ; all therefore that he should say was, that the whole of the charges against him were totally devoid of foundation. The Hon. Member (Mr. Hume) might perhaps itt.his reply bring forward fresh accusgtions, as he was in the habit of doing, or the accounts published in the daily press to-mor row might contain statements on the one side without the counter-statements of the other side ; but let the Hon. Member's conduct be what it might, he thought he had said enough to convince the House that the complaints against the Gal -but Officer were nothing more than the malig rant spirit of calumny, which attended on all eminent persons, or the consequence of the hatred of those who envied his power or were desirous of partaking of it. Mr. 11. LIENNET wanted an explanation why the Colonial Legislation was not allowed to alter Fier! improve the Constitution of the lonian Islands, as was expressly stipulated by the Treaty .of Paris. The Constitution given to them was randi to the eye, something to the ear, but of ,no practical good to the people. It was like some of those Constitutions which the French Govern ment for 20 years was in the habit of giving •to the nations they over-ran. The Lord High Commissioner gave them a Representation fashion ,ed on - the model of his own beautiful little family pocket Boroughs of . Lauder. and Dunbar. This was on the model of Scotch Representation, not of English. The Lord High Commissioner was the Grand Punchinello, that moved the puppets of the Senate of the whole lonian Islands. The Lord High Commissioner invested a Colonel of Marines to inquire into the Church Property; and (Wei mined to deprive a native of property that had been in his family since the 14th century. M - r. ptiartinengo was put upon his trial, as .being sus , riected of being seditious ; and lie did not be lieve that there was a Court in this country, from tile Court of King's Bench to that of Pied _Pod: dre, that would have put a man on his trial on such a charge. Was it no severity of punishment Io sentence a man of 66 years of age to 12 years imprisonment in a fortress in the centre.of the marshy Island of Santa Maura ? He bad no doubt but that, if it were wanted, evidence might inseproduced to prove the Island of Walcheren the healthiest spot on the face of the earth, though he firmly believed that Santa Maura and the Isle of Walcheren were on a par with respect to healthiness. lie complained of the introduc tion of English and Sicilian persons into power and authority over these Islanders for Govern ment purposes. He would wish to know whether Aaentlernen opposite would like Hanoverians to rule over us rather than Englishmen, Scotchmen, or Irishmen ? was disposed to speak civilly of the Lord High Commissioner; but he wished these Islandert not to he governed by one man, and that man's will being the law. Mr. EVANS acknowledged the promptitude with which the Colonial Office attended to the Petition of Mr. Martinengo, but he must say that no man in England, Scotland, or Ireland, could understand why that gentleman was tried. He condemned the giving power over the supposed Church Lands, as well as the moveables of the Churches, and even the pictures of the Saints, to a Colonel of Marines. lie believed that the power of Sir T. Maitland was absolute, if he had the power off arresting and imprisoning whom he pleased, and of bringing them to trial when he pleased: He thou Tait inquiry necessary, to jus tify the character of Sir 'F. Maitland. Mr. J. P. GRANT said, he was confident the conduct of Sir I'. Maitland. required explanation only; but as the motion went to impute miscon duct to him, he (Mr. G.) could not support it.l The Constitution upon which he acted had been laid upon the table of the House, and had not called for any comment.—(Hear, hear!)—Whe ther it was wise to 'leave the Venetian laws for the Government of these Islands was one thing, but it was another to blame Sir T. Maitland for having acted under them. In the case of Mar tinengo, Sir Thomas had delegated his authority to those persons who would have tried the indi vidual if lie were a public functionary. He after wards mitigated the sentence, by referring it to the consideration of his Majesty. In that Island they were exercising the laws of the Republic and Doge of Venice. and their object was to pro vide a good code of criminal law. The property confiscated was applied to building churches. Persons whose property wat confiscated had a right to complain; but the Ministers of religion and the people had no right to complain. He was as sured that the more Sir T. Maitland's conduct was inquired into, the better it would appear. Mr. BROUGHAM begged to be understood as not wishing to attach any blame to Sir Tho Mas Maitland in any thing that might fall from him ; but he had heard enough of what his fellow subjects in the lonian Islands were suffering,and lie had to thank. God that the same sufferings were not experienced by any other place attach ed to the empire. What particularly struck him was the case of Mr. Martinengo, and the charge that was brought against that individual no one could find out. It was, that he was charged with crimes and offences against the State as principal actor. Here, said the lion. and-Learn ed Gentleman, one would have expected to learn the nature of hisxrime,- but not a word of it was stated. The charge goes on to state that he was principal or accessary in the offence which took place at the island of Zante in the month of July last, or with having neglected to give notice to the Government of the same when it came to his knowledge, and of having scattered discontent and suspicion by seditious means. The offence was carefully wrapped up, although there were alle'gations sufficient. He would then ask, what was the crime ? According to this record every lawyer would answer, None; but the pu. nishment was every thing. Was it to be borne that men should be put on their trial for an in definite offence? It might certainly be the law of Venice, and the gallant officer (Sir T. Mait land) might be vested with the power of the Doge of Venice ; but if it was so, it ought to be known to that House—as they might, by the legitimate power they possessed over the Servants of the Crown, obtain redress for the sufferers. He of fered no charge against Sir Thomas Maitland ; he acted according to the Venetian law, and he believed by his official duty he was bound to do so. He would repeat, his objections were not to the man, but to the system, to the state of the law which prevailed there ; a law inconsistent with justice, and which it was fitting that Parlia ment should abrogate as speedily as possible. Sir R. WusoN was of opinion there were not grounds to censure Sir T. Maitland, but there was ground for inquiry. The people of the lonian Islands were difficult to govern ; but whether their conduct was right or wrong, they were entitled to justice, which the British Go vernment, acting as protectors, ought to admi nister. Mr. MONEY said, much good might arise from inquiry into the-conduct of Public Officers, but charges had been made against Sir T. Maitland so vague that no rational mind could entertain them. When Sir T. Maitland took charge of the lonian Islands, he found a total absence of principle, and in dealing with that evil he fol lowed the example of Lord Cornwallis. The Heads of the Church had been long in the habit of applying the profits of the Church to their own advantage, and it was necessary to enforce the law on that subject. The Hon. Member opposed the motion. The Marquess of LONDONDERRY rose for the purpose of delivering a few remarks in answer to the course of .argument taken by the Hon. and Gentleman, whtYcertainly had narrowed he question, as no part of his argument went to to criminate the Gallant Officer. r lt was impos sible to disguise the fact of the Hon. Member for Aberdeen having brought forward charges which must be considered important ; but it was im possible to place before the House more jus- tification of Sir Thomas Maitland than his Ho nourable Friend had afforded. The Noble Marquess felt that additional observations of his upon that point would only weaken the just description given of the long and honoura ble services of that Gallant Officer, and his efforts to introduce to the lonian Islands a system of economical reform. The Noble Lord could not admit that the lonian Islands were to be considered as Colonies of England, or that the Government could interfere as if they "were Ey- ing under the controul and in obedience to the Government. He was at the same time ready to allow, that while the Government of this coun try was protecting those islands, there was a ',uperintending eye over their welfare and inte rests Which ought not to be withdrawn, and as far as they could go on directing the Lord High Commissioner of the Islands for the advantage of the inhabitants, they ought to go. Government should ) however, exercise - that power with cau- Lion. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman would feel that the question of forming a Government in those Islands was not a question for --thz. , House ; and if Parliament visited them with a Commission, they Mighi/ first to be sa tisfied that all the internal resources had failed to operate, • and that every ordinary exertion had been made in vain by the Authorities of the Islands to procure redress of evils and establish a constitution. That was net the case ; they had heard a constitution 'named and submitted to Parliament by the late Member for Northumberland. The constitution was ob tained, and when it was so established no more was heard of it. Under these circumstances it was too much tiy say their Constitution could - pot reform itself by their own resources. It was considered advisable not to give them a Constitu tion similar to the British Constitution, that being unfit for them. With respect to the indictment against Martinengo, which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had read, it was a little too much to plead upon the defects of an instrument trans lated from modern Greek into Italian, and from Italian into English. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman ought to have looked at the Greek before he commented on the instrument. The Noble Marquess rose, however, principally for the purpose of assuring the Honourable Gentleman that Sir T. Maitland had come home, attended by the Law Officers of th e G overnmen t, or the special purpose of forming a criminal process applicable to the criminal system of the Island. That cir cumstance was proof of the purity of the intentions of the legal advisers of Sir T. Maitland. The Noble Marquess had also the satisfaction of stating that an improved System of Administration had been introduced to the lonian Islands, and the sys tem of injustice had been removed. They.al I knew the difficulty of working new systems, but there was every disposition to take advantage Olexpe- Hence. Sending a Commission into the Island would be marked as a proceeding infinitely beyond what the occasion warranted. Mr. BROUGHAM explained. Mr. LENNARD considered the situation of the inhabitants of the lonian Islands peculiarlfun fortunate. They were entitled to a free Consti tution by the Treaty of Paris, but nothing had been resorted to but the mockery of a Constitution. Sir I. COFFIN said he had known Sir T. Mait land thirty-five years, and a more able and gal lant officer did not exist. He should vote against the motion of the Hon. Member for' Aberdeen. Mr. HUMS replied. He was ready to acknow ledge the justice of all which had been said' re specting the private' character of Sir T . Maitland ; but it was of his public acts that he complained, and he now contended that not one of the charges he had brought forward against him had been refuted.—The House then divided : For the motion Against it - . 97 Majority against the motion Mr. CHETWYND obtained leave to bring in a Bill to facilitate summary proceedings before Justices of the Peace and Police Magistrates ; and also a , Bill to facilitate and render more cer tain the transmission of informations and other documents from Magistrates to the Justices of the Gaol Delivery. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER observed, with reference to the second Bill, that it was not improbable some objections might be made to it after it should be brought in. The Bills were then brought in and read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on Thursday next. The other Orders of the Day were then dis posed of, and the House adjourned at Two O'CLOCK. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Jovis, 7 0 die Anil, 1821. POOR RELIEF BILL.—One Petition in favour of, and another against this Bill. FOREIGN' Smrs.—Petition from Plyinouth complaining of charges on foreign ships. OCCASIONAL VOTERS BILL. 1 Second reading deferred till SALE OF POOR HOUSES BILL. f next Thursday. GAMEKEEPERS BILL.—Put off three months. WOOLLEN TRADE BlLL.—Third reading fixed for next Wed nesday. . - SOUTH SEA TRADE BlLL.—Read a third time and passed. VAGRANTS BlLL..Deferred till Thursday next. ' ' * • For the Continuation of the valuable Article on the Past and Present Circumstances of this Country, &c. &c. see the Fourth Page. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT TWELVF. O'CLOCK. 3 per Cent, Red 76ii Bank Long Ann 19 3 per Cent. Cons. 3} per Cent twgi India Bonds 495. 51s. 4 per Cent 94A it Excheq. Bills 1 pr. par 5 per Cent. Navy Ann.... shut C ms. for Opening 77 HIGH WATER AT LONDO Morning, 42 minutes after 8. IN BRIDGE TO-MORROW. 1 Evening, - 8 minutes after. 9. TIRE SUN. SOLE.II QUIS DICERE FALSUIII LONDON, FRID4Y, JUNE 8, 1821. MINISTERIAL C44.l4GES.—rite Morning Chro nicle of this day does not venture to confirm the Report of Ministerial Resignations which .we contradicted yesterday, upon what we considered as competent authority, but gives the following new version of the same rumour : " It was confidently stated last night, that Mr. CANNING is about to return to the Administration, as First Lord of the Ad miralty, with . the privilege of forming his own Board : and that, to Make room for this arrangement ' Lord MELvii. LE is to be Secretary of State. for the Home Department, Lord SID MOUTII Chancellor of the Duchy of . Lancaster, and Mr. B. BAT HU tesT President of the Bond of Controul." The whole, we presume, has a mere "on dit " foundation, and we believe that few will be in duced to deem The Morning Chronicle the most likely Paper to convey the most authentic intel ligence on the subject in question. We received this morning the Paris Papers of Tuesday. The following are extracts :- 46 PARIS, JUNE s.—Yesterday the King re. ceived gentlemen in the morning, and in the evening his Majesty and Monsieur received ladies.—The Duke de Richelieu transacted busi ness with his Majesty.—lt is said a new project of laW on the liberty of the Press will shortly be presented to the Chambers and will contain a clause revoking the censorship the Journals. " IeitAKFAT, MAY 30.---"'_% ing atil"'ices from Jassy, the army of Prince Ypsilanti has been reinforced by a corps of 8,000 cavalry.— It will be recollected that the Charge d'Affaires of the King of Sardinia to the Helvetic confede racy had demanded the banishment from Swit zerland of the. Piedmontese .revolutionists who had fled to that country. It is affirmed that the allegations of 'Austria, Russia, and Prussia sup ported the application of the Sardinian carge d'Affaires, agreeably to instructions from their respective courts. " NAPLEi, MAY 18.—On the 16th the King gave audience to the general and superior officers 'of the army and navy. The Duke and Duchess of Calabria were present on this occasion.—A de cree of . the Provisional Government, of the 14th of this -month, disbands die 4th battalion of Tirailleurs on account of their bad conduct at Messina in March last. The officers have been ardered to repair to the Isle of Procida, and there await the ultimate decision of his Majesty." rßrNcil FUNDS. June 4, Five per Cents. Bank Stoci- 15'87 f. 50 c. We this day received New-York Papers from the 3d to the 11th ult. The following are ex. tracts [From the Onmercitil Advertiser of the 10th May.] " The National Inielligencer announces" the departure from Washington of the Navy Com missioner, on a visit to the Eastern Navy Yards. The object of this visit is to perfect certain ar rangements to ensure economy in the expenditure of the public money. " MOBILE, Arum 3.—Extract of a Letter from Colonel SANTIAGO, of the Mexican army operating in Texas :- " Port Bolivar, Jan. 10. C 4 I take the opportunity to acquaint you with our arrival at this port, and the commencing of our operations against the Royaliits by taking from them a fortification on the mouth of the river Trinadad, with four 6-pounders, and 160 prisoners and 200 deserters. _Our loss consisted of 12 killed and 18 wounded. 4C We expect some provisions from the United States, and some Officers with 900 men ; as soon as they arrive we shall march agairist St. Antonio. " The French sloop of war PEsperance has arrived in the Delaware, in 41 days, from Ha vre, with. despatches (no doubt from the French Minister.)" " BOSTON, MAY 3.—A vast number of adven turers are bound to the Floridas, to make, or to try to make, their fortunes. Pensacola, it is sup posed, will become the most important harbour on the coast, both for the sale and shipment of American produce : it is more convenient than New Orleans, and one of the most healthy situa tions on the Gulf of Mexico. Commodore Ro- GERS it is supposed will be the Naval Commander on that station, and he will reside at,Pensacola." A letter from New York of the 9th ult. states, that a steam-boat coming from New Orleans had been blown up, and several lives had been lost. The second reading of Mr. W. WILLIAMS'S Bill respecting occasional Votes was last night again postponed,. in consequence of the great length of the debate on Mr. Home's motion on the conduct of Sir THOMAS MAITLAND in the government of the lonian Isles. We regret that these delays should take place, and that the Ses sion is drawing so fast to a close, before the im portant and beneficial regulations contemplated by this Bill are brought under the consideration of the House. Since the Bill was last before Parliament, we observe that it has undergone some alteration, if not amendment, by confining its operation to Freehold Boroughs, and specifi cally excepting what are called, in parliamentary language, Burgage Tenure Boroughs. This al teration, though we do not entirely approve of it, we think justifiable, not only on the ground of its relieving the Bill from the objections which were urged against it in 1819, but of the prac tice, in modern times, of considering the doc trine of occasionality as not applicable to these Boroughs. There is, perhaps, no sound reason to bt. urged in favour of exempting them from the operation of the laws against occasionality,l nor indeed have all Election Committees consi dered them as exempt, for so late as 1791 the Committee on the Horsham case declared, that they " were not of opinion with the Counsel for the " petitioners, that, because ancient burgages could " not be split, the conveyances of them could " not be occasional ; but, as it is very generally be lieved that conveyances of burgage tenements,made even under the most pregnant circumstances of legal fraud, ore good and valid for the purposes of an election, we think Mr. WILLIAms has done wisely in introducing'this exception into his Bill, -„ and thus disarming its opponents of e only ar _ gumentvvhich they were able, on, the ormer oc . vion, to `urge against it. lirtl!istAre - heard, how ever, that a new objectima is to be taken to the Bill; but as this objection is evidently founded on error, we do not apprehend that it will. have any weight with the House, or induce them to reject a Bill, the only object of which is to snaky the law of elections uniform, and to extend to freehold Boroughs a regulation, which has been found extremely beneficial in counties, and towns, and cities, which are counties of themselves.— The objection to which we allude is, that the present Bill will disqualify persons claiming to vote in Boroughs in respect to land tax. We have read the Bill with the greatest attention, and we cannot find that it contains any thing to warrant the supposition of its having this effect, except a clause which is similar in substance to the clause in the 18. Ceo. 2. declaring that no public tax shall be deemed a charge on a freehold estate, ,reducing its annual value within the meaning of the • oath prescribed by that Statute. Th e - clause is certainly in applicable to the cases contemplated by the Bill in question, and therefore it would per haps be better to omit it when the Bill is in tho Committee, in order to obviate any .doubts which might be raised upon it; but surely it can never give rise to an objection that is to be fatal tQ'a measure, which will do more towards satisfying the rational part of the community, and depriv ing the disaffected of their hacknied topics of declamation on the abuses of the 'Constitution', than all the wild and undigested schemes of Reform which are too frequently brought under the consideration of Parliament. IMPORTANT TO PROTESTANTL--It would ap pear that the Roman Catholic Clergy of Ireland are still holding out hopes of the attainment of po litical power by that body at no distant period. We regret this, as we are convinced such hopes can never be realised. Dr. Tao y has addressed a Circular Letter to the Roman Catholic Bishops, recommending them to direct the several Orders of their Clergy to impress upon their respective flocks the necessity of facilitating the account of the population of Ireland, now in progre*s. He says : " The necessity of ascertaining the amount of the population: as a preparatory step towards ensuring the success of any ulte rior measure of practical utility to the count.-y-, is now univer sally recognized. The conciliatory disposition of the Govern ment and the friendly sentiments so openly and unequivocally avowed by it towards us, afford strong assurances that it is now undertaken solely with a view to this its only legitimate object and, therefore that, if properly supported, it may be the happy means of leading to the internal welfare of a people, of whom so large a portion is entrusted to ou a charge."—(Hibernian Jour.) His MAJESI'Y has signified his intention of nouring the Duke of DEVONSHIRE with his come party to dinner on Thursday next, at Devon" shire-house.—His MAJESTY will give a juvenile ball on Wednesday next, at his Palace, Pall mall, to which a great number of the Nobilitf are invited.—Yesterday Viscount SIDMOUTH had an audience of the KING, at his Palace in Pan mall. Her MAJESTY went to Epsom Races on Wed• nesday and yesterday. Her Majesty will go in state to-morrow, .from her house in South Aud ley-street, at three o'clock, to dine with the LORD MAYOR ; and several distinguished per sons who are invited to meet her MAJESTY, will attend at the QUEEN'S house at the same hour, and accompany her MAJESTY to the Mansion house.—Lord HOOD, by command of her MA' JESTY, has issued cards of invitation for a part' on Wednesday next, at Cambrid4e-house. Yesterday morning the Duke and Duchess Of CLARENCE.accompanied by the Duchess of KEs l and the Princess AUGUSTA, !eft town about ten o'clock, for Epsom Races ; after the races, their Royal Highnesses went to Bushy Park to dill ner.—Prince LEOPOLD arrived hi town yester day from Claremont.—Yesterdav, Prince Lt ° ' FOLD dined with Viscount and Viscountess Asp {- BROOK, at their house hi Mansfield-street' Wednesday night, the Princess AUGUSTA and 01 ' 3 Duchess of CLARENCE honoUred with their pre sence the performance 'at the Hanover-squat ° , Rooms, - for the benefit. or the Royal So c i e ty o' Musicians. DEATH OF THE COUNTESS OF MEXBORGTTGIy . " We sincerely. regret to state that the Couote o of MEXBOROUGH died yesterday, aft.nr a le ° , hoUrs illness, a t th e E ar l o f . MExttonovG o ' house, in Piccadilly. The' Countess of Powis, we are happy tosO tfi was- somewhat better yesterday. Count •LAVALETTE arrived on Saturday 8t Paris, but labourin g un d er a severe a t tac k of E , (1„ goat. instantly went to his w if e , to 0 ; ,,- Maison de Sante (Lunatic Asylum) or Dr . LAFoNo, at Chaillot, where the most affectionate care and attention have. been Imo , paid to her. Notwithstanding the distracted state of Gr rtce r t . 'we are glad to hear of th e sa f e ty o f smile " countrymen travelling there is inteiligenof the arrival of B aron L EE an d his s", PONSONBT,and Mr.CIittISTIE, ill a private yad , " i ce at Athens. ELECTION OF A COMMON. CovNcrt.mAlc—The election for the Ward of Alder gate closed yes terday, when Mr. WALTON was declared duly elected, the numbers beinx,— For Mr. WALTON 124; for Mr. DIGGF,NS7II4;--majority 10. PROPHECY.—III the 17th century an astrolo gerpredicted that the year 1822. would be fatal to the Turkish empire ;, that it would suffer grievous calamities,.'and tyliq,ht; perhaps be area itroyed.=—(liamburgh Paper.)