The Sun. — London, England, 1822-05-15 00:00:00

ated when this country was called on to pay the balance ? There was a long list of 350 individuals who were remunerated for performing the dude* iff Magistrates, and this, he supposed, was done only to sanction the enormous sums paid to other individuals. When he was at the lonian Islandeno salary was paid to the Magistrates, and- sit far from 'expecting any, he knew they considered it an honour tie hare the office of .Magis teete conferred on them. It was said thei,took bribes—that Te denied, and he believed assertion at one sidehtvas just as good as it was at another. The President of:the Council, when they were under the dominion of Russia, had a salary of 1,515 dollets, Which was quite suffiient, when the expences of living we're. taken into consideration. Every thing was then very cheap, and one could live for one-fourth or one-fi ft h the sum it would' cost him hi this country; and such was the simplicity in which the inhabitants lived, that they possessed every domestic comfort at a moderate expense ; but Sir Thomas Maitland in mailed the salary to 6,222 dollars. The Senators received now 3,111 dollars. The, whole upper department, which, during the Russian dominion, cost but 12,271 dollars, now cost 26,117 dollars. -The thirty-nine Members of the Senate re ceived 19,500 dollars, though there were only a few days on which they had to perform any duty, and they were thus paid a permanent salary, instead of paying them according to the duty they peformed. Instead of 98,000 dollars, which was the expenditure of the Islands during the Russian Government, it now amounted to 221,000 dollars, being an increase of 27,0001. There were one or two items more, to which he wished to call the attention of the House. Those who were intrusted with the .administration of justice in the island of Malta filled so many other offices, that he thought it quite impossible that ju stice could be administered' as it ought to be in that island. n the Army Estimates, charges—and he could not conceive why such charges should be brought under the Army Estimates— appeared for passage-money incurred for conveying Sir Tho mas Maitland to different places. For one year, 1819, these charges amounted to 7741. He ought otherwise to have been employed ; what had he to do at Venice and Ancona, if he meant to discharge conscientiously the duties of his office ? and if his health did not permit him, he ought to 'have resigned his o ffi ce, and 'left it to some o ther individual 'who could attend and perform its duties. The merchants of _Malta had petitioned this House, and complained of Sir T. Maitland having neglected his duty, and he (Mr. Hunie) regretted that the Petition was not more attended to. The passage money paid for Sir T. for four years amounted to 5.2901., and exclusive of this the salaries attached to his other offices amounted to 10,5001. a-year. Would the House tolerate such a profusion of the public money ? he was sure it -would not, and he hoped to have its concurrence in the mo tion which he should soon hove the honour of submitting.— He begged now to call the attention of the House to the treatment these islanders received, in which the character -of Great Britain was deeply involved, and in which he was sorry to say it suffered much. There were many English- Tien there, where he (Mr. Hume) was, who could hear tes timony how much the English character was once respected ; and he believed there were many Englishmen there since they received that Constitution, from which they expected so much happiness, who could equally bear testimony how • Much that character was now detested and abhorred; ,and he believed they were now only anxious to seize the moment when they could free themselves from the thraldom of Eng land. Never was there a country which, under the semblance of liberty, suffered so much oppression. In November, 1816, there was great rejoining at Corfu on the arrival of Sir T. Maitland, in expectation of the promised freedom ; but his - - very first act soon undeceived them, by the appointment of a men of very doubtful character to the Presidency of -the Senate. Some attempts were then made 'to make the Senators accede to certain regulations, but four'of them, in consequence of their opposition, were dismissed for inert and corrupt practices (this was the literal translation of the Italian worth), without a single charge being proved_ against them, and that dismissal was sanctioned by the Council.— This proceeding struck the public mind with terror, and , gave the inhabitants to understand that they were to consult e the will of an individual. On the 17th of January, 1818, • -a most extraordinary circumstance took place. The drums . were beat, the garrison was immediately under arms, as if the -island was on the point of being attacked. The frigates on -the stations were ordered to moor, so as to be in readiness; and all this, done under the pretence of a conspiracy, was really done for the purpose of preventing the inhabitants from expres sing their opinions. It was rather singular that two months before this pretended conspiracy was got up, it was talked °fat the Government-house in Malta, which circumstance clearly proved ttatit was got up for the purpose of striking all with ' , consternation. Several of the most distinguished persons were arrested—Priests, Noblemen, and Lawyers; but not finding this ansiver their purpose, they were set at liberty, only with a caution that their conduct would be watched. On a complaint made by one of those individuals thus treated, Lord Bathurst - wrote a letter to him, expressing his regret that he should be placed in -such a situation. The effect of this plot was, that from that day no individual thought himself at liberty to express Lis sentiments freely. Addresses from the different Islands then followed, praising the Government of Sir T. Maitland. In Corfu it was intended to erect a triumphal arch in honour of him. In Cephalonia, there was ta be a statue of him in bronze. In Zantee, he was to have been honoured with a bust of large size, by Canova. At Santa Maura also, a triumphal arch was to -have been erected to him. These addresses were got up, and these honours were proposed by interested sycophants. ihe Grand etCross of the t?rder of St. Michael could explain how far loyalty -:could be purchased for a particular purpose. If ever there were any means worse than another for procuring influence, they were these of conferring honours. He compared these . addresses, and he could say, that the greater proportion of - -those addressing were such as were rewarded ; and he never saw an Englishman or Italian, who travelled in these Islands, -who did not agree with him. The whole patronage was - thrown into the hands of Sir T. Maitland, since he had the power of nominating and dismissing every individual from - office. He said before, that the Scotch Borough system was nothing to it. They were a self-elected few, who treated the .opinions of others with contempt; but according to the sys •tem in these Isles, while they professed to treat public opinion with respect, they really treated it with palpable contempt. •In effect, the Lord High Commissioner hid the appointment ...of the majoriv of the Legislative Body. There was an inJ. Stance where a Member had been returned, although against '.the expressed voices of the electors ; for in that case the ne gative vote was construed into an affirmative, and a Mem ber returned. In this way was the Legislative Body assembled to whose acceptance the Constitution was offered. Sir Thomas Maitland's first step after their Meeting was to elake the Members take an oath not to disclose any thing of ewhat had happened at elections, or what was about to happen :in the Assembly. Having thus cleared the way, he then etreeented the Constitution to their acceptance. This was only three days after they first met; and without any deli beration, this important Constitution—this llfaina Charta of the lonian islands, was accepted. There was no debate—no ' , discussion upon it—for one Member who stood up to make ,an observation barely escaped being put under arrest. So soon as the sth of May following, a Deputation was sent to England to obtain the Royal Assent, and thus was this im portant instrument foisted upon the people of the lanian islands. After this, would the House wonder that the Con stitution was so full of contradictions and inconsistencies ? But it was said there was a part of the Legislative Assem bly which the Lord High Commissioner could not influence. This was not the fact—there was no part of it over which his influence was not felt ; and it was a fact beyond contradiction that Sir Thomas Maitland had the whole controul over every .department of Government and every act of legislation in this , colony. It was incumbent on the British people, for their own character. sake, not to mention the safety of, the islands, to put an end to this state of things, and to remove that obloquy which attached to the British name - for its treatment of these islands—and still more es pecially of Parg - a--(Hear, hear, hear?) —throughout every Court in Europe.. The only answer to all this was the disturb ances which took ~p lace sonic time ago. But could these dis turbances, even it they were of a more serious nature, justify the cruelties which had been resorted to, to suppress them ? He asked was it necessary to hang tip two Greek priests in their canonicals, inorder to deter the inhabitants of Santa Altura from entering again upon insurrectionary courses ? He asked , was it necessary to drive the inhabitants to madness and des pair by the open insults which had been put upon their church, and the gross injustice exercised towards the holders of church lands, by a resumption-of these lands by the Government, al though they had been, some of them, for upwards of a cen tury in the hands of their late owners ? The Hon. Member then alluded to the Act of Parliament, by which Colonel _Robinson, an officer of Marines, was declared Head of the Cburch of the -Jordan Islands. It was true lie was not called Head of the Church, but he was intrusted with such extensive powers over the Church property, the appointment of priests, abbots, and abbesses, that lie was, in effect, supreme Head of the Church there; and from his decision too there re mained no appeal to the Legislative Body . or the Council. .One case only he would cite, to show the injustice and rigour -with which the haters of Church property were treated.— A person named Italia being cited, was adjudged to lose his property. It had belonged to his family . for more than century, and he remonstrated. A Commission of four Judges was appointed to hear the appeal, and two gave judgment for the appellant. The Court was tf• ided, and in the derwier resort, the Lord High Commissioner was re ferred to. What was the decision, and on what grounds ,was it made? Against the appellant, on this ground; e that in 1443 the Doge of Venice made a law by which it ,was prohibited to alienate the property of the Church.— ,'But here was property obtained from the Church near a hun -- sired years Igo, therefeze it was alienetedi and therefore it ought to be resumed.—(Hear !)—lt was by such acts as those that the people of Santa Maura were driven to insurrection ; for what people would net be put out of patience by such means ? e The people, it was true, did commit some excesses, which he PIT. deplored; but did that justify the uncon. stitutional treatment with which Martenengo, who was taken up-on suspicion, was exposed to ? Martenefigo was not only t. Md upon a frivolous charge, but was tried in an illegalman ner, hefore a tribunal which the Constitution did not recog niie. He was however tried, and sentenced to what ?—to 12 years' clfee confinement in Santa Maitre ! The sentence was begun to be put in execution, when the Government at home, rightly ashamed of these excesses, interfered—remitted the sen tence, and limited the punishment of Martenengo to three or four years banishment to Venice. These repeated acts of in justice, lie contended, were sufficient to drive the inhabitants into open revolution, and to stimulate the most indolent. But as if this was not enough, another act, though not of the same nature with 'regard to individual rigour, yet more dangerous as it was aninfringement on the Constitution, followed upon its footsteps. That act was this :--By the seventh chapter of the Constitution, all corporate bodies, and all individuals, were allowed to petition the protecting King as to the exist ence of any grievance. Taking advantage of this privilege, the inhabitants of Santa Marina met in order to state their grievances, and a petition, addressed to the King through the Se cretary of State, signed by 32 of the most respectable inhabi tants, with Dr. Rossi at their head, was agreed upon. Whether the petition was ever forwarded or not, he (Mr. H.) would not now say ; but, however, the consequence was, that in de ' fiance of the Constitution, all the persons who had signed the petition were arrested, for having signed what the Se nate termed, " a rebellious" petition. Dr. Rossi being a se ' nator, had some intimation of what was intended, and he alone escaped to Venice. He (Mr. II.) intended to lay before the House a copy of .this petition, that they might see how far the Senate was warranted in calling it rebellious. Having stated these facts; it only remained for him to say a word for himself. It might be said that the materials were defec tive, or that the' facts were not correct ; but it was natural they should be so. There was no coming at tiny informa tion from the lonian Islands, and, in candour, Government ought not to upbraid him (Mr. II.) with not possessing that information which they, by their measures and unnecessary precautions, tendered impossible.—(Hear !)—Dr. Rossi came from Venice to this country to state his own and his coun trymen's grievances; but how; was he received ? After ad dressing a Memorial to the- Colonial Office, in which be offered to verity every statement therein made, he received a letter on the 17th July, in answer, in which it was said that the whole matter had been referred to Sir Thomas Maitland—to his' enemy—to the very e man. who oppressed him !—(llear, hear !)—But the case of the petitioners did not stop here ; for some others of the inhabitants, feeling the hard ship and injustice • of the conduct shewn towards Dr. Rossi and the others, met together, and, to the number of fifty, sign ed a similar petition. A similar fate awaited them—they were either put under arrest, •or obliged, for their safety, to exile themselves to Veriice, or wherever they could find shelter.— Rossi also returned thither, feeling that he could find neither redress for his own wrongs, nor justice for his countrymen from that Court which used to be the protector of the oppressed —the Court of Great Britain—(Hear.)—Under such circum stances, was it to be wondered that he addressed his country. men in the language of wild despair; that he told them that there was no redress for their wrongs but in the sword ? He was warranted in saying there was no hope of redress from the Court of Great Britain. But after these experiments, what W was the state in which the lonian ands now were ? " Peace and tranquillity," said the Lord High Commissioner in his speech to the Senate. If it was peace, it was that peace which Burke said arose from a depopulated country—that stillness of death, where there was no living being to trespass upon it.— The worst act of all had been to disarm the Turks, because it was an insult upon them. Amongst the Turks, every man goes armed but a slave, and to be without arms is a badge of slavery. —Sir Thos. Maitland then took the most direct method of driving them into insurrection, when by proclamation he de prived them of their arms, and then placed the country under martial law. And then the direct countenance given to the Greeks was another means of making the inhabitants of the lonian Islands disaffected to the English Government.— The Noble Lord said, that it was the interest of this coon. try to maintain a strict neutrality, and in this lie (Mr. H.) entirely agreed with him. Indeed, 'he thought that great part of the evils of this country arose from our interfering too much in the affairs of the Continent. But in the case of the Turks and Greeks, he contended this neutrality was violated by a direct support given to the cause of the former. The Hon. "• ]ember then proceeded to state particular occ'sions in which this par tiality was expressed in a manner whien left it no longer doubt ful to which side this country leandd. He then adverted to the speech delivered by the Lord High Comnussioner to the Legis lative Assembly, which appeared to him to be a tissue of con tradictions. It was industriously circulated through this country, and from its whole tenour it was clear that it was intended less for the ear of the Assembly, than for the eyes of the people of Great Britain. One circumstance made this plain. Santa Maura is separated from the Continent by a narrow strait. This the Lord High Commissioner stated in his speech, but what occasion had he to tell the people of Santa Al'aura of the peculiar locality of their island ? It was clear, therefore, that he was addressing himself to the people of England. Sir Thomas Maitland issued a Procla mation, prohibiting the people of Santa Maura froyn leaving the island clandestinely, in order to join th.,:r brethren, the _Greeks, who were in arms. But in his speech to the Senate he assigned as a reason for martial law, that the people left the island armed in clans in the noon day. Suph were the incon sistencies and caprices of his conduct. Some merchants of this country had sent powder and ammunition to the lonian Isles, but Sir Thomas Maitland had issued a Proclamation prohibit ing any of that ammunition to be carried to either the Greeks or Turkl. The latter had never got any from the lonian Islee, but the Greeks did, and therefore it was against them that the Proclamation was levelled. The conduct of the High Commis sioner towards the Greek Clergy was without example: because the Bishops had agreed that solemn prayers should be offered up for the success of their brethren in-Greece, he had them de ported to another island. Was it too much, when prayers were offered up in Protestant Churches for the success of the Greeks against the Turks, that the Greek Church should do the same for their brethren in arms ? The High Commissioner, however, deemed it abhorrent to his nature that prayers should be offered for those fighting against the Turks; forbad it by a Proclamation, and had the Bishops punished. That conduct was unbecoming the High Commissioner, and it was the duty of Government to institute an inquiry into the business. He was, however, satisfied that inquiry would be in vain, unless his recall was moved for at the same time. Until that was done, no one in the lonian Islands would dare to open his mouth against him. if an inquiry had been instituted on his motion, last Session, much of the evil which since occurred would have been prevented. He had only to add, that if he expressed his feelings etrongly on that subject, it was without intending any offence to any individual. The Honourable Member concluded by moving the following Resolutions :-- " Ist, That it appears by documents upon the table of this House, that the lonian Islands were, by a Treaty signed at Paris on the sth November, 1815, between the Courts of Vi enna, St. Petersburgh, London, and Berlin, declared to be a single, free, and independent State,' and were placed under the immediate and exclusive protection of the King of Great Britain ; and that, by Art. 6 of the said Treaty, his Britannic Majesty consents that ,a particular convention with the Govern ment of the said United States shall settle, according to the State revenues, all matters relative to the maintenance of the fortresses now existing, as well as to the support and pay of the British garrisons, and to the number of men who are to compose them in time of peace. The said Convention shall also establish the relations which are to take place between the armed force and the lonian Government.' That, by Article 12 of the 2d Section of the 7th Chapter efthe Constitutional Charter of the United States of the lonian Islands, agreed to by the Legisla tive Assembly on the 2d of May,' 181 i, and sanctioned by his Majesty the 'King of Great Britain, it is settled, that all ex pense of quartering the regular troops of his Majesty,' the pro tecting Sovereign, and generally speaking, all military ex pense of every kind to be incurred by the States (as far as re lates to the three thousand men above named) shall. be paidout of the general treasury of the same.' " 2d. That it appears by returns on the Table of this House (vide Parliamentary Paper, No. 87, of 1820), that the expendi ture of Great Britain for the Military Establishments in the lonian Islands amounted to the sum of 145,0231. in the year 1217; and to 120,0451. in 1818, exclusive of the expence for transports, relief of ttpops, passage money, and other charges which had not been laid before the House. " 3. That it is expedient, in the present state of the finances of the United Kingdom, that the military expense incurred for the lonian Islands shall be paid from the revenues of those Islands, and regulated agreeably to the stipulations of the Treaty of Paris, sth November, 1815, and the Convention of the United lonian States, agreed to on the 2d May, 1817, and sanctioned by his Majesty. -' " 4th. That an Humble Address be presented to his Majesty, that he would be graciously pleased to direct an Inquiry into the state of the Government of the lonian Islands; the causes of the general disaffection, and of the numerous arrests and banishments which have taken place there; and for what reasons the inhabitants were disatmed, and martial law pro claimed." Mr. WILMOT said he had listened with great attention to the Honourable Member, and lie could assure the House that until the last 20 minutes the speech of the Hon. Member was nearly verbatim the same speech which he had delivered on this subject in the last' Session. As the proposition made by the .11on. Membeelast year had been negatived by a majority of 97 to 20, he felt it unnecessary to enter at any great length into the consideration. of arguments which had been so satisfactorily answered--(Hear; from the Opposition Benches !)-4le had on a former occasion stated that he differed from the Hon. Member in the construction which he put on an article in the Treaty of Paris. • One of the Hon. Member's Resolutions declared that, 'by the existing . convention, the lonian Government was called upon to pay the whole experiees of the British troops. He con tended that the spirit of the article had been perfectly followed, and that the islanders had supported the military establishment in proportion to the means which they possessed. The Hon. Member complained that some returns had not been made, which would have made his - motion more perfect; but as the expences incurred by the British Government were confined to the military establishment, and every part of the civil expences was defrayed by the lonian. Islands, the papers which had been withheld could not have afforded him much additional infor mation. The maximum of the garrison had been fixed by the tertns of the Convention at 3,ooomen; it was stipulated in the 1 2 th Article, that the experices should be paid out of 'the general Treasury. The spirit of - the Convention had been complied with, and it was a mere question of fact, whether the lonians had contributed a fair proportion, according to their compe tency, towards the support of the garrison. The Honourable Member had adverted to the progressive transfer of these Islands from one Government to another ; but he surely could . not venture to assert that they possessed a greater share of practical liberty under the Venetian Government than they enjoyed at present.- Nor did they enjoy a greater degree of liberty under the French dominion, or when they be came a Septinsular republic under the guarantee of Russia. The Russian authorities expressly , declared that a free constitution was totally unfit for so turbulent and discontented a people.— 'When these.lslands came under the - protection of the British Government in - 1806, Sir T. Maitland found that nothing hut the mere forms of a free. Constitution had been left them by the Frencli Government. There was no foundation, therefore, for the asertion, that they enjoyed less liberty than they did formerly; on the contrary, their freedom and general prosperity had increased since they came under the protection of the British Government. With regard to the expences of the civil government of the islands, he would challenge the Hon. Meniber to prove that a single additional tax had been imposed by this Government, except the tax on the exportation of oil, and that was a commutation for eleven other taxes infi nitely more grievous and oppressive which had been remitted. The Honourable Member bad stated, that the expences of the civil government amounted to 98,000 dollars in 1815, and to 221,000 dollars in 1819, without calculating for the difference of 117 per cent., the profit obtained by the class of persons who farmed the revenue in the former period, which would make the total of the first sum 213,000 dol lars, and only 12,000 dollars less than the amount in 1819. The discontent which had been stated to prevail universally among the inhabitants, was, in fact, confined to a particular class. The Honourable Member had accused the High Commissioner of inveighing against the principle of per forming duties without salaries. lie (Mr. W.) could not help thinking that the system of granting salaries for services performed, was more likely to benefit the character and conduct of the Government, thin that of leaving the remuneration of public servants to uncertain contingencies. The Hon. Mem ber had said, that the Constitutional Charter had been surrep titiously got up, and that the people had no participation in it. The Constitutional Charter of b ranee, which was considered the polar star of the liberties of that country, was an analogous case. Did the Hon. Member suppose that that Charter had in the first instance obtained the universal consent of the people ? The Charter of the lonian Islands had been prepared with deliberate attention to the circumstances of the people, and gave them a reasonable share of practical freedom ; though it certainly did not extend to them as much liberty as was enjoyed by the people of this country. He did not mean to say that such a degree of liberty might not hereafter be conceded, but the - people were at present unfit for it. There was no pretence for asserting that the Charter had been surrep tiously got up, for it had been laid upon the table of that E. :tee, and no objection had been made to it. The Honour able Member had dwelt much upon the extravagant testi monies of adulation whicit had been paid to the High Com missioner, and among other instances of this kind he had enter tained the House with an account of a statue or bust of Sir T. Maitland, executed by Canova. - Now, in point of fact, no statue had been erected in honour of the High Commissioner, nor had any bust been executed by Canova. There was as little ground for asserting that the orders of St. Michael and St. John had been improperly distributed. 'With regard to the mode of election, it had never been more pure than it was at the present period; and the double list was so grateful to the people, that they had actually presented an Address of Thanks to the Russian Government for its introduction. Under the Russian Government, the votes were given by bal lot, and afterwards privately cast up by the Government Officers; whereas, they were now cast up in the presence of the people. The next question to which he would advert was that of the Church Establishment ; and respecting it he would say, that notwithstanding the complaints that had been made and the clamour that had been raised, that Establishment had been received by the people as a boon and a blessing. The pea santry had shown every dispoSition to have it enforced. With regard Co the case of Alessandro Battalia, he must say, that if' there was, on the part of any one in this country, a disposition to think that his case was a harsh one, he (Mr. W.) could assure the House that there was no such feeling existing now on the part of Battelle himself. The Honourable Member, after apologising to the House for going into details, proceeded to read extracts of a letter from Battalia to T. Maitland, dated from Corfu, March 23. In this letter the writer stated that he received the directions of Sir T. Maitland with gratitude—that he felt esteem arid gratitude for Sir Thomas,—that, at the moment of writing, he felt that delightful feeling in its fullest extent,—and that he wished for long life and happiness to Sir ThOmas.—(a laugh.)—He (Mr. W.) did not understand the meaning of that laugh. He felt confident that he had met the case in question with a satis factory answer, and he called for other instances, other wise he felebound to deny and repel the charge of cruel usage which had been attempted to be made out. The. fact was, therefore, that the land, though for the space of one hundred years in the hands of the private proprietors, had been ori ginally taken from the church ; and the whole of the act complained against was merely the reserving of this from the hands of the private proprietors for the church. In the course of this business it had been thought most advisable to refer it to the Lord Commissioner, who had acted in what ap peared to bethe most proper manner, ,notwithstanding the un just colouring which it had been attempted to give to the measure. He could say, however, that it had not proved un.: satisfactory to the majority of the Islanders themselves. He was aware that the office of Lord Commissioner had been very much atta4.ed, on the ground of some transactions con nected with the general police of the islands. Tile Lord Commissioner had, as chief of that police, the power of sum mary trial in cases of treason, but lie had assigned the parties over to the proper tribunals. The Honourable Mem ber had alluded to the petition of Flamburiari and. Rossi, but lie had not read the whole of that petition ; and he (Mr. W.) would say that the petition was illegal, in as far as it had not been sent to the Lord Commissioner. [Mr. Hume asked whether the Hon. Gentleman had read the petition ; and upon receiving, as was understood, an answer in the affirmative, he handed the petition to Mr. Wilmot.]-31r. Wilmot could allude to such passages of the petition, as were necessary for his purpose, without the formal reading of the petition.— He would say, that that petition was disgraceful, inasmuch as it imputed to the Government the intention of imposing a des potism upon the islands. It was disrespectfid to the Lord Com missioner, it was disrespectful to the Government, to say that they would be parties to the enslaving of the- country. The pe tition was not to be sent to the King, it was not to be sent to the Lord Commissioner, it had been prepared for another and a very different purpose. The object and the tendency of it were trea sonable. Ile was sure that the petition—that, at any rate, the case upon which that petition pretended to be founded, did not bear what the Hon. Member had alleged. It proceeded upon an attempt to establish an analogy between this country and that; - but for this there was no foundation, and there was no ground for connecting it with an attack upon the character of Sir T. Mait land. The Hon. Member had alluded to what had taken place in these Islands during the 'time which had elapsed since he last brought forward his motion. There were two circum stances of which the Hon. Member had complained—the esta blishment of martial law, and the disarming of the people. With regard to the first, he would tell the Hon. Member that martial law had been the general plan in those Islands previous to the Administration of Sir T. Maitland. With regard to the disarming, he would ask why, if the people of the Island 4 were hostile to that measure, they could have been disarmed by fifty men, and that, too, without any resistance. Under the mar tial law no punishment had taken place, except one whipping, and that but to the extent of fifty lashes. The disarming, too, became necessary, because the islanders, instead of preserving that neutrality . which had been wished, had gone over by thousands to join the Greeks againt the Turks. The charge against Mr. P. Green, the 13ritish Consul at Patras, had not been substantiated by any collateral circumstances ' and it was repelled b e y an extract which he would. read from the Monitelur. With respect to the transaction at Zante, in which it had been said that the troops had fired upon a Greek vessel, which stranded, lie could assure the House that the troops, even after having received very improper usage, had fired, but not at the people ; and that their fire had been met by a discharge of fire arms, by which some of the sol diers had been hurt. They ought to consider the state of feel ing in those countries; they ought to see that strong measures were necessary; and if they compained of the disarming of the peasantry, they ought to reflect that that had been followed by the more efficient .protection ,of the military. He was not surprised at the sympathy which existed for the Greeks,— • No man, who had proper-feelings of liberty t could refrain from wishing ultimate success to thi Greeks against the Turks. —( Hear, hear ! from the Opposition.)—Nothmg had tendedso much to diminish, to lower, and to dilate that feeling, as the atrocities which had been committed by the Greeks ; and when these were considered, it was not to be wondered at, al though the Lord Commissioner should disavow them. One case had been mentioned, that of five men who had suffered at Cerigo ; but these men had confessed their guilt,—thev had been connected with a banditti. That the islands were flourishing under Sir T. Maitland was quite obvious; and they would soon be in a condition for receiving a gfeater accession of li berty. The Honourable Member had to complain that, in one quarter, he meant the public press—(Hear, hear, hear ! from the Alinisterial Benches),—there had been the strongest disposition to prejudge this question. From the month of January down to so recent a period as yesterday, their co lumns had teemed with deliberate falsities and calumnious mistatements. To one thing he would ,in particular allude. It had been alleged that the Government could take pos.. session of any man's property. Now the fact was, that merely an ad valorem duty had been imposed in those Islands, the same as in England and America; by this duty the officers had the power of detaining goods upon suspicion of fraudulent entry, providechhey paid 1151. for each 1001. entered. With regard again to the monopoly of grain on the part of Govern ment, that monopoly had been suspended ; and the price at Corfu had been below Cephalonia, and below Zante. Ile thought the conduct of Sir Thomas Maitland could not be placed in a more favourable light, his neutrality could not be more clearly shorn, than by the circumstance that both parties complained of him. The Hon. Meniber then concluded with observing that the motion being wholly unnecessary, he should meet the two first Resolutions with the previous question, and the two last with a direct negative. The question being put by the SPEAKER, Mr. WILLIAMS (of the Bar) entered into a vindication of the statements and arguments put forward by his Hon. Friend (Mr. Hume), and denied that the body of his statement. had been touched upon, much less answered by the Hon. Gen ilem'an. Ile then referred to the 11th and 12th Articles of the Charter, to show that it was there stipulated that the ex pense of the Military Establishment of the Islands was to be maintained out of the treasury of the island. The com plaint therefore was, such being the terms of the Char ter, that a vast pressure should have been laid not on the islanders, but on the people of Great Britain. The Honourable Gentleman had triumphantly called for proofs. Why, the whole ground of the complaint was, that the islanders could not make their grievances known in this country. It was strange that the Honourable Gentleman should argue with so little attention to the import of his Honourable Friend's statement. He would ask, did it not stand undisputed that the Charter of these islanders conferred upon them a title to freedom ? and was it not undisputed that they had been subjected to Martial Law, and disgraced by being deprived of arms ? —And why all this ? Because they, a portion of the an cient Greeks, should rise up against the most disgraceful of tyrannies ; that they should endeavour to assist their brethren in their virtuous struggle for their ancient liberty. They had reason to lament their alliance with this country ; for the state. ment of the Hon. Gentleman went to this—that for the justi fiable motive of assisting their brethren, they were exposed to martial law, under the domination, to use •the ' proper phrase, of England. Was there nothing novel in all this ? Did the lion. Gentleman pretend that this was the treatment which the people of the lonian Islands were accustomed to ? Was it true, indeed, that they aspired after no higher a destiny than that of living under martial. law ?—Was it true that they felt no shame to have their arms torn from their hands ? But he would not pursue the Hon. Gentleman farther— G 6 Pudet hsec opprobria nobis, Aut did potuisse, aut non potuisse refelli." The people of the lonian Islands were now kept down from giving assistance to their Greek brethren by Englishmen, who so long boasted of their liberty.—(Hear, hear !)—The Hon. and Learned Gentleman concluded by declaring that he would give his decided and hearty support to the motion of his Hon. Friend. There were now loud and incessant calls for the question, and the House was cleared of strangers.—A division after wards took place, when the numbers were— . For Mr. Hume's motion - - 67 Against it - - - . 152 Majority - —B5 FOREIGN CORN IMPORTATION BILL. Oa the motion of Lord LONDONDERRY, this Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be printed. The second read ing of it was fixed for this day week. The other Orders of the Day being dispbsed of, the House adjourned at ELEVEN O'CLOCK. AIR. ROBINSON'S BILL. To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled, The humble Petition of the undersigned MERCHANTS and TRADERS of London, Sheweth, That your Petitioners have seen, with considerable alarm, that a,Bill has been brought into Parliament, entitled, " A Bill to regulate the Trade between His Majesty's Possessions in America and the West Indies, and other parts of the world," by which it is proposed to throw open the British Colonies to a direct trade with the ports of Europe, and to surrender into the hands of his Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council the power of suspending or relaxing the provisions of the Acts of Navigation, in as far as the trade with the British Colonies is concerned, as to them, at any time, may seem meet. Your Petitioners revere the wisdom of their ancestors, who, in the establishing of a commerciarcode, regulating the inter course between the Mother Country and the British Colonies, confined the same to a direct communication by British ships ; and, although your Petitioners are aware of the distress under which the Planters of the several Colonies do at this moment labour, which they sincerely deplore, they cannot admit that it is attributable to the intercourse with the Mother Country being preserved and maintained as by law established ; neither are they desirous of offering any objection to such relaxation be tween the Colonies and America as to your Honourable House, in its wisdom, may seem meet. But your Petitioners do not hesitate to record their deliberate conviction, that a departure from the ancient established colonial law, by permitting a direct trade between the Colonies and ports in Europe, north of Cape Finisterre, will be productive of ruinous consequences to many of the mortgagees of estates in the West India Colonies, and be attended with incalculable injury to the manufacturing and trading interests of the United Kingdom, as such relaxa tion will not only enable the Planter to send his produce to foreign parts, beyond the reach or controul of the mortgagee, ' but also permit a direct supply of merchandize from the ports of Europe to the Colonies, which must otherwise be principally drawn from the ports of the United Kingdom. That your Petitioners are aware that it is proposed, that To reign goods so imported into the Colonies shall pay duties equal to those which may be shipped through or from this country ; but your Petitioners consider, that such amount of duties would be levied in the Colonies to the injury of the revenue of the United Kingdom, which is at present chargeable with a portion of the maintenance of the same, and further deprive the IS/other Country of the advantages she at present enjoys, in the ware housing system, ;amount of charges on, transit, labour, rates, rents, commission, &c. both outwards and homewards. That your Petitioners look, also, with much alarm, to the ruinous consequences to which the Sugar Refineries of this Country—a most valuable branch of manufacture—will be sub jected, if the projected measure should be carried into effect, as the manufacturers of that British staple commodity, depri ved, as they will be, of the usual supplies of the raw material, will no longer be in a condition to furnish the Merchants tra ding to the Continent with refined Sugars, which are still ship ped in considerable quantities from this Country, to the Euro pean markets, at such prices as will enable them to compete with foreign manufacturers. That your Petitioners, not less, alive to the alarming innova tion, neither called for by circumstances; no; reconcilable with the proper jealousy with which an adherence to our Colonial policy has been regarded, cannot but express their decided con viction of the impolicy of transferring from the Legislature during a period of peace, to the Privy Council, as it proposed by the Bill now before your Honourable House, a power of suspending or relaxing the provisions of our Acts of Naviga tion, a power which your Petitioners are humbly of opinion ought not to be surrendered by Parliament t in whose delibera tive judgment your Petitioners have always justly reposed, and are contented to abide. Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray, that so much of the said Act as contains a provision for opening the Trade be tween the Colonies and the Ports of Europe, north of Cape Finis terre, and for delegating to the Privy Council the power of sus pending or relaxing the Acts of Navigation, may not pass into a Law. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Midis 14° die Mail ) 182. LOCKHART'S ESTATE BILL Read a second time, WILD'S NATURALIZATION BILL and committed. KER'S ESTATE BILL TANNlNG—Petition of John Burridge and William Cluer, re' lative to an improved process of Tonging ; to be printed. EDINBURGH POLICE BILL (No. I.ft.eport further consi dered ; Bill re-committed to former Committee ; leave to sit to-morrow, and to report on Friday. ROADS—Royston, Lincoln Heath, Bridgewater, andlDartford and Northfieet--read a third time, and passed. Cork and Skibbereen—read a first time. Reading—Lords amendments agreed to. I N cu.() s URE—Din ton ( Wilts) 1 Read a third time , BRIDEWELL—Lanark. and Glasgow f and passed. TUFFNELL'S ESTATE BlLL—Read a first time. GREENWICH CHURCH BlLL—Further time granted f°l . making the Report till Wednesday, May 22. SALT TAx—Petition of the Mayor of Haverfordwest, for the repeal thereof; to be printed. LEATHER TAX—Petition of the Mayor of Haverfordwest ; also of the Farmers, Tanners, and others, of Cockermou th, Whitehaven, and Workington, for the repeal thereof; to be printed. IMPROVEMENTBILL—Camden Town—Further time grante d for making the Report till Friday). NAVIGATION BlLL—Petition of Shipowners of Dundee, AGAINST, to be printed. TOBACCO DuTiEs--Petition from Bristol, for a reduction thereof ; to be printed. ' AGRICULTITRAL DisTnEss:—Petition from the Hundreds of lunstead S. Happing—to lip on the table, and to be printed- Coln; LAws—Petitions of Owners and Occupiers of Land in the County of Rutland, against lowering the importation prices—to lie on the table, and to be printed. PUBLIC HousEs—Petition from Maidenhead, respecting the mode of granting Licenses; to lie on the table, and to be printed. MESSAGE FROM THE LORDS—That they have agreed to Bishop's Castle, Mold, Plymouth and Stonehouse Roads Bills, Scarborough Pier Bill, and Warrington Gas Lit Bill, without amendment : Bognor Market Bill, with amend ments. DISTILLATION (SCOTLAND—Petition complaining, of the restrictions on the exportation of Scottish Spirits, from Kam' cardine—to be printed. BOGNOR MARKET BlLL—Lords amendments agreed to. HoP-PLANTERS—Petition from Battle, Catsfield, and other parishes, for relief ; to lie on the table, and to be printed. CORN IMPORTATION BILL—" to amend the Laws relating to the Importation of Corn," presented, and read a Ist time, to be read a second time on Tuesday, and to be printed. NOTICES OF MOTIONS for THIS DAY. A 1. Mr. Lennard—Select Committee on Expences of the Thir'' Class of the Civil List. 2. Sir John Newport,—Bill to authorize occupying Tenants it , Ireland to tender in part payment of Rent Receipts O r Grand Jury and Parochial Assessments. 3. Mr. Chancellor of ithe Exchequer,—Bill to extend to Grea t Britain the powers of the Commissioners of Inquiry in to Revenue (Ireland). ORDERS OF THE DAY for THIS DAY. 1. King's Bench Business Repeal Bill—Committee. 2. Warehousing Bill—Committee. 3. Roman Catholic Peers Bill—Further consideration of Re port. 4. Vagrant Laws Amendment Bill—Further consideration °f. Report. 5. Supply—Committee. 6. Ways and Means—Committee. 7. Prison Laws Consolidation Bill—Committee. 8. Malt Duties Repeal (Ireland) Bill—Third Reading. 9. Stamp Duties on Legacies Acts—Committee thereupon. 'V For J. S. on Irish Importations, see the Fourth Page" PRICE OF STOCKS 3 per Cent. Red. THIS DAY AT ONE O . CLOCK. 3 per Cent. Cons. , 2 3 7 9 i 7 239 I I r n i l s p h . 3 5 p p e e r r C c e e n n t t s s .. ........................... Bank Stock 788 it India Stock ................. --- 3,4 per Cent. BB4 India Bonds 51s- 564' 90 69 -1 per Cent. { Old 94 1. 13 South Sea Stock. ......... „s, New — Excheq. Bills .............. .3 ou 5 per Cent. Navy Ann.... 1014 2 dis. 5 per Cents. 1797 Ban k f Bank Long Ann. . 19ii Cons.foor Cons. r A c c o u Ac. n t . t . 2 . . 3 , - 8 • ! jr.--1114 HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TO-MORR O SV Morning, 0 minutes after 9. 1 Evening, 24 minutes after THE S ---- T? SOLEM QUIS DICERE FALSUM AUDE,,- LONDON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1822• TREASURY CHAMBERS, MAY e The FIRST LORD of the TREASURY; th CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, the GOVeIOI. and Deputy Governor of the Bank, with *. a t HARRISON, were attending at the Treas ur y one o'clock this day, when it was asked W ° or three times if there were any bidtle.rs for the Contract respecting the Superannuation- and Half-pay Allowances ; but no one,apPeE irillg to answer the question, it was intimated that the , South Sea Company having declined to bid, t he no bidders appearing then at the Treasury , meeting was adjourned sine die.—But from what that has 'transpired, there can be no doubt bu t the business in question will be immediately °C. complished, to the satisfaction of the public, in another way. " 111111 ."" -- SOUTU SEA Comparly.'—The amount s t 11 ); scribed at the South Sea House for the porillse of contracting with the Treasury to pal t " t superannuations and pensions was 1,300, 0 0 01.1 four o'clock, at the closing of the books f or les' terday. We have received the Paris Papers o f Shod n i' which contain a variety of articles from Odessa/ Constantinople, and Germany, relative to the affairs of Turkey, but none of them decisive ° the question of peace or war. The Constitu:l tionnel contains an interesting letter, (In te l April 3, on board the Leonidas, a Greek ves s° from NICOLAS APOSTOLE, its Commander, one ° the Notables of the Isle of Psara, giving a n ac' la nd, count of the operations of the Gree ks by a which have already appeared in our columns,an detailing the particulars of the la te naval en. gh gagements between the Greeks and Turks,wha terminated in the total defeat of the latter, on the flight of the remainder of their wady° t° i