The Express.
London, England, 1848-02-24 00:00:00

Sublime Porte which, if ratified, would have remedied those
evil,. But the noble lord interfered, and from that day to
the present the treaty had never been even presented
to the Sultan. He now came to the treaty
which the noble lord had signed. The house was
at the Cirdatiana claimed their independenuon two
grounds—first, that the Porte had not meant to include
them in the treaty of Adrianople; and sitoond,:that if it had,
it had no power to sign away their independence. Hemarged
the noble lord with dereliction of his duty in agng to
that treaty, and violation of his oath as • British cabinet
minister. He bad acceded to the cession of Circuits, after
having himself marked it out on the map s an independent
kingdom. In November, 1835, appeared a publication
called the " Portfolio," which was placed under the control
of Mr. Urquhart at the express desire of the noble lord, and
it also contained the views of the Kiog. A Mr. Westmacott
was appointed nominal editor; but Mr. Urquhart was the
real writer, and he received his indructions directly from
the noble lord. He (Mr. Anstey) then contendedthai the
" Portfolio" might be taken as an exponent of the then views
of the noble lend. Subsequently it became convenient to dis-
claim the oonuesion, but it was too firmly established even
for the noble lord's disclaimer. The hon. member pro-
ceeded to read • long letter from Lord Ponsonby,eulogutie of
the "Portfolio," and declarieg the true policy of England to be
perpetual friendship with Austria and untiguniun,to Russia.
It further contained warm praise id Mr. Urquhart 's zeal end
ability. ;He read this letter beau the noble writer was the
person employed by the Secretary for Foreign Affairs to get
rid of Mr, Urquhart. The noble lord (Punatinby) continued
to write to Mr. Urquhart in the most friendly :winner for
some time, but at last, and suddenly, he wrote coolly, and
suddenly advised Airs to go home. The hon. member pro-
ceeded to examine at considereble length the commercial
trestlespare which had recently been effected w:th Turkey, and
to com them (murk to their disadvantage) with those
which had been prepared by Mr. Urquhart, but had been
counteracted by the noble lord the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs. The noble lord's policy, he contended, hod
destroyed our commerce with Turkey, so well as it had
destroyed the independenceoftheCireamiacui. The hon. mem-
ben Wen referred to theca., of the Vixen, and attributed the
losses sustained in that case to the diplornecy of the noble lord.
He would spare the house the punted recital of the termina-
tion of this case: suffice it to say, that Lord Durham de-
clared there was no blockade existing at the time of the
' seizure, the Russians being it actual occupation. What he
had to charge the noble lord with was—first, a wilful be-
trayal of We rights of British mu rchante, of merchants
whose looses, consequent upon the noble lord's conduct, bad
been to this hour uncompensated. lie charged the noble
lord with having done this in furtherance of Ms designs to
transfer to a foreign power an independent dominion, the
possession of which wee necessary tor the prosecution of the
designs of that power rigs ust Ore at Britain. lie charged
him further with lietiog imposed upon parliament by false
statements, and with having practised the same decep-
tion on his colleagues and his sovereign—in abort,
'he charged the noble lord with the guilt of high
treason. The honourable sent learned member then accused
Lord Ponsonby of having grossly and malignantly
libelled Mr. Urquhart, as was shown by the proceedings in
the Court of King's Bench, in an action brought against the
Morning Chronicle, and afterwards proceeded to charge
Lord Palmerston with hang (always for the purpose of
furthering the designs of Rue-a) appointed improper per-
sons to various offices connected wit!, his department, in-
stancing the cousseship of Belgrade and other consular
offices, as proofs. In 183 J, when the second war was waging
between the l'orte and Men. rust Ali—a war which had been
' brought about by Russian intrigue—lteschisl Paella offered
to place the Dardanelles in tie:possession of the English and
French Wets, with the view en protecting the 'Porto as
against ltussia. This would have been an effectual means
of giving protection to our shy, and preserving the inde-
pendence of the Porte. But le,w was the offer met? By a
Censure cast upon the agent (Mr. Urquhart) to whom it had
been made, for receiving it. And when afterward. France
proposed such a juiut osodeatem the counter propoeition of
the noble lord was, that a squadron of the English and
French ships should be sent to the Dards:lElles to compel
Russia to quit Constantiuople should she persevere in her
intention of gurisoning that place. Teat was, in fact, not
to act until the danger should have actually occurred. It
would appear, therefore, that the noble lord had
resigned himself to the contingency of an occupa-
tion of Turkey be Rustle—and as to the attempt
of an English and French squadron to force the
Dardanelles, the noble lord well knew that Russia, once in
possession, could hold it against ail the fleets of Europe.
Futile as such an arrangement was, the instructions sent out
by the noble lord to Admiral Stopford, proved that he did
not intend to act upon it. The instructions sent by the
French government to their admiral (Lalande) were in per-
fect accordance with the uroterstanoiug which bed been come
to between the two gow rnments. Admiral Lalonde was
directed to force the Dural ingies in conjunction with the
English fleet, should Itossia occupy Constantinople; but the ,1
noble lord, in his directions to Admired Stopforsl, instructed
him to enter the Dardanelles only when invited by the l'orte
through the medium of the aloha/modem of the two powers
to do no. And after all this the nob., lord told parliament
in 1840 that France had refused to co operate with him in
keeping out Russia. Even if it were so, that would be no
justification of the noble told in putting Russia into poises..
sion of the Dardanelles, which he hail done. But it was not
true that "'fence hail refused to act in couecrt with England
as against the designs of Russia upon Turkey. France only
refused to join the noble lord in what he himself afterwards
admitted to be a ridiculous position. The noble lord
had in this matter too been guilty of • gross
breach of confidence towards the French government in
communicating to Russia the privet. views and wishes of that
government, and he was surprised seat statesmen of chaarc-
ter like Peaty, Thiers,l and Guirot, should ever again Led
communication with a miuhwr who had been guilty of such
on act. When this betrayal of tonlidence was first known
in the French chamber, there woo Otte universal about of
execration, idol he was surprised that the opinion then ex-
pressed had never, until now, found an echo in the British
parliament. In the midst ot the nestotiotions between France
and England Boron 11ruuew arrieed on a special mission, to
putt an end, if possible, to the distrust that had existed as
against Russia since 1330, and his propositin was that
England should break with France, and abandon the agree-
az at she had entered into with that power for the preserva-
tion of the independence of the Ottoman empire--that
Russia should be allowed to occupy Adrianople, and that for
this concession England shoned nave all the advantages she
would derive from united action with France. It was some-
what curious that the noble lord, in his answer to this, did
not speak of himself, or of he: Majesty's government, but
of his colleagues, thus cleeriy 'Mowing that he was
in • minority in the matter. Atter much negotiation, it
was arranged with the cabinet of st. Petersburgh—not with
M.Brunow, fur he reins. d to cane de to us the maintenance
of so large a force—that 'tussle should garrison Adrianople,
and that England should he perrnitt, d to have three line of
battle ships in the Dardanelles—the other powers, if they
interfered at all in protecting the Porte, were to confine the
interference to the coat of Syria. Such was the position of
affairs at the end of 1840 ; and but for the wise conduct of
the French government, a general war would probably have
ensued. In 1841, the noble lord, after writing an insulting
despatch to the French minister, went down to Tiverton
and made 'his famous Tiverton spiech, for the purpose of
inflaming the minds of the people of this couutry against
France, and creating animosity between the two countries.
Such was the legacy the noble lord left to his successor in
office. Happily, Lord Aberdeen, by a different course of
policy, succeeded in averting the dangers of war, and re-
storing confidence between ',reface and England. In 1846,
the noble lord returned to power, and scarcely was he rein-
stated when his favourite policy of fomenting dis-
cord with France was resumed. This was in connexion
with the Spanish marriages. An engagement had been
entered into between Lord Aberdeen and M. Guizot, that if
England did not propose • Cobourg, France would not pro-
pose a French prince for the hard of the Queen of Spain,
sad Lord Palmerston was asked on re-entering office whether
he would adhere to that arrangement. Ihe noble lord took
a month to reply, and in the meantime newstiations in
favour of a Cobourg prince were cnrried on at Madrid. The
government of France fearing that the noble lord would act
as be had done on former occasions, and endeavour to over-
reach them, effected a union between the sister of the Queen
of Spain soda French prince. Thus was this unfortunate
marriage brought about, and the noble lord, as usual, had
made the matter a subject of bickering with France, and a
means of exciting ill feeling between the two countries.
Again, is the case of the annexation of Cracow to Austria,
France, being anxious to make a last effort for the indepen-
dence of Cracow, applied to Lord Normanby to know if
England would unite with France in a joint protest against
the annexation. What wee the answer? That the outrage
of which Austria had been guilty was not greater than
that which France herself had been guilty of in
contracting, a marriage between a French prince
and the sister of the Queen of Spain, in violation
of the treaty of Utrecht. Yet, after this, when it was
stated in the house that the noble lord should have protested
against the annexation, he said he was not called upon:to do
so unless conjointly with France. But how was the Spanish
marriage a violation of the treaty of Utrecht ? That treaty
was not In existence at the time, and in a speech made by
the noble lord himself in 1839, in answer to a motion of the
present Lord Harrowby's, he stated that "the treaty of
Utrecht, not having been renewed by the treaty of Vienna,
had expired, the only clause of it which still existed being
that which related to Brazilian and French Guiana, which
had been incorporated in express terms in the treaty of
Vienna." The noble lord then stated the case correctly, be-
cauee it suited his purpose to do so—that purpose being, as
usual, the non-production of papers—but when, with regard
to the Spanish marriages, the noble lord's porpoee was to
establish a ground of discord with France, he took his stand
on the treaty of Utrecht, with the full knowledge that every
word he said was false.
The SPEAKER.—Order Order!
Mr. ANSTEY mid he was making charges against the
noble lord, and, if he used strong expressions, he did so
not by way of invective, but of distinct accusation.
The SPEAKER—To justify the language the hon. and
learned member has used he must not content himself with
a simple motion for papers, but must conclude with a motion
of a much graver character as against the noble lord. (Hear.)
Mr. ANSTEY submitted to the decision of the chair with
all respect. The reason he mails • motion for papers was
because he feared that, if he mule a motion of a graver cha-
racter in the first instance, he might be overthrown on •
point of form. He had consulted precedents, and found that,
if • member made charges without calling for papers, he must
lay his charges in writing upon the table, and it was then for
the house to decide whether it would be in order to great
the documents bearing upon such charges or not. He could
not make out his case without certain papers, which he
could not obtain except by the order of the house, while, on
the other hand, he was in a position to make such a genera
statement as would justify him in calling for the production
of all the documents relating to the subject. There were
Other matters to which he wished to call attention; but as
they involved serious charges, he felt some embarrassment