The Express.
London, England, 1849-06-16 00:00:00

THE FRENCH EXPEDITION TO ROME.

The Earl of ABLEDLLN add perhapr the noble mar-
quis (Laiatiqwue) would excuse his reminuing him that he
had promidid to Lung down the communisation to the house
from the French government as to the expedition to 'Lime,
and he had not yet dens so.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE replied that after the
conversation which took place a few days ago he had lost no
time in comtuunicating with his noble :fiend at the head of
the foreign department, and the rest of his colleague, upon
the subject ; and he should have documents to lay til.oa the
table of the haute conneved with the matter. At the same
time he mutt my that neither of these documents would be
the communication made by the government of France,
on the subject of the expedition, to her Majesty's ;Noreen-
meat, and to which he had formerly alluded. Re considered
it would be an improper proceedieg on the part of her
Majesty's government, at this moment, and under circuit•
stances he nerd n-A shade to, as affecting the government of
France, t r maks a communication its extols° to the full
extent of what had been communicated by them to the
British government w.ta regard to this expedition, without
a previous communication with the French government,
to which he thought they were en fled, before any ruck
papers conk! be laid helve the house. At the suite time
he bad no d.fllculty in repeating, and with greater emphasis
than before, that which he stated from recAleet,on,
namely, the general purport of the written cstununiea-
tion from the French government, and which
described the object of the expedition to Cavite Voe,chla as
being undertaken for the purpsse of mewing the equilibrium
of nations, the independence of the Italian states, end the
security of the R.inart population, as far se it ctuld be
effected, eitt.er from the yetis of anarchy or the dangers of a
sudden reaction.

The Earl of ABERDEEN did not wish to press for any
papers which her Majtsty's government did not think it
well to prodxce. But whet they wanted to know, and what
the country had a right to knor. was the reason why thirty
thousand Fr itch troops were in Italy and the Roma"
States. Re understood the noble marquis to say that the
expedition bed met with the assent of tins country, thereby
implying that a sufficient explanation had been given to
enable her Majesty's government to understand the object of
the expedition. . .

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE was at a loss to know
when the noble earl had found anything which justified hint
in assuming that her Majesty's government bad g.veu their
" assent " to the French expedition to Rome. Ho prasonted
the noble earl had introducA that worl in consequence at a
statement made by the French republic that a general agree-
ment existed between this country and France on Amiga
policy. A general agreement certainly had ex:ded, and he
thought it was fortunate for both countries that it had
been u ; but as to any specific assent or approbation of
the expedition to Rome having been given, be begged to
say that such had nut hen the case.
The Earl of ABERDEEN said it was not from any speech
of the President of the French Republic that he had con-
laded that her Maj sty's government had given their assent,
bat from the Lehi* marquis's own I:sum:q.t. when he said
that the government had not disapproved of the expedition.
If a question of this imporance was to he viewed as a mat-
ter of iudiff.rence to the government, and that they were
neither to approve nor disapprove of it, it was another thing ;
but when the noble marquis said they did not disapprove of
the ext edition, he thougut he was right in raying that they
had assented to it.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE, now that the noble
earl had said that lie had stated that her Majesty's govern-
ment had gieen their assent, and not the President of the
French republic, begged to say that it was just as true that
the French president tad expressed anything which implied
that the English gavernment had given their assent, as that
he (the Marquis of Lotislowne) bad sail so. Neither the
one nor the other was tree. What he stated was totally diffe-
rent from saying that they had given their assent; it was
that her Majesty's government bad not thought it their deity
to raise any obstacle to the proposed expedition to Civita
Vecchia; and it was sie,:ular that the noble earl should hays
forgotten it, because he commented on the very word.
Lord BROUGHAM thought we ought to abstain from
anythieg at this moment that would be likely to embarrass
the Fr nob government, especially when they considered
that the a alkeng horss of rebellion in Pieria was the Raman
expedition. The French went ostentibly to assist the
Roman., and cartiinly anything more unlike a govern-
ment than Mr. Martini's could not be imagined,
and the object of the French now seemed to be
to relieve the ktcrnan people from his misrule. As to Austria,
Naples, and Sp tin, no explanation wee required. (Hear,
hear.) Everybody tam what Austria m ant; the only
doubt was as to the object of the French. They teed
abandoned the Neapolitans, who, it was said, had fled,
h wring the II ?Id covered with dead. Ho had inquired a. to
the number, and f 'tend that two were killed, and one had
been takes prisoner. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.)
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY regretted that the
questions had bean put by the noble baron (Beaumont.)
He thought it betnir to evehl any discusdan likely to el:a-
buses France.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said that since the con-
versation had commenced ho had procured the papers, and
was now instil. dto lay them on the table. (Hear, hear.)
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said is the first instance
a commanicetion had been made by the French government
that they ware about to send an expedition to eivi•a Vecchia;
but that had no reference to the state of things which now
existed. The French government rover had the idea of at-
tacking Rim, when they at at 6,000 men on the first expedi-
tion. It was quite clear that the original n lion was that
th-y had only to show themselves before the gates of Rome
to he admitted as frienios. But an entire "charge had come
over the spirit of th it dreams."' WneeGeneralOudinotwet;
repulsed in his advance the French goverment Peot an
army of 20,000 or 30,000 men to attack the city. Their pool
tion thereto,e was quite altered, and he should like to kn tw
whether, when their plans were thus changed, the French
government made any communication to her Majesty's go-
Terns( at of their new a dentinis. (Hear, hear.)
The Mainers of LANSDOWNE was not prepared t 3
defold in the least the wide in which a French expedition
had be-n condoeted to which her Maj sty's government were
no perdu. (Hear, hear.) That expedition had been
undert.ken on a principle which implied that a large discre-
tion would be :given to the French commander and the

diplonsatist, and with that the English government had
nothing to do; and with the ulterior proceedings they had
nothing to do. _

The Earl of ABERDEEN (ironi:ally), hw, bear!

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE meant as to the mode of
*Deducting it. The government of which Le was a member
had had no formal communication from the French govern-
meat, beload mere convocation with the French &tubes-
sador, sine* the first communication, to which he had
Went&