The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-09-05 00:00:00

THE BRITISH PRESS.

(The Deputies tie requested to state from whom these
were taken up, and tbr what.)
Passed to the debit of Government. as paid to Mons.
Willi', the sum of 4.11001. " pour Peonage," at
the conclusion of the Loan.—(The Deputies are re-
quested to produce his receipt, to oblige him to return
this sum. Mews. Ricardo are ready to glee gads.
factory reasons to prove to him that he had no pre-
tensions fur this claim.)
Lost by the bankruptcy of Mr. Marroordato . 2,700
Expenses for one year of the Deputies, an equal sum
i having been passed in the accounts ocshe loan of
lri'll, for their expenses in the precedin‘year - 5,100
Further expenses of the Deputies, since the month of
i February - - - 1,200
Sundry payments and txpenses - . 7(10
For the purchase of cannon which remain In England 20,000
Cash remitted to the Creek Government . . 182,400
For the account of Government - - - 33.700
For different sums for ems, ammunition, am - 57,100
Transmitted to ('nrfu. to be transmitted to Napoli - 13.300
Ditto for Missolooghi - - - - 3,300

Total .C 1,137,850
According to the account of Messrs. Orlando and lat.
riottis, there would remain dispouble in their bands,
in favour of Government, the sum of 12.950
Thus making a total of . 1,160.600
This account is signed 0. SPAGNIMIAICAL
When this document was received by the Greek Committee, Mr.
Spagniolaiki entreated them to interfere. The Committee, however.
had no power to imerfere, but It was thought they might endeavour
to obtain an explanation of the accounts from the Greek Deputies.
At his urgent request. therefore, a Committee was formed, com-
posed of Mr. Hume, Mr. Hobhouse, Col. le Stanhope, Mr. She-
ridan, and himself. The Deputies were applied to, but they
refused to ackrowledge the authority of the Committee. 111 r.
lornottis answered the application. hut Mr. Orlando did not. (The
lion. Gentleman then read the billowing letter, addressed by the
Committee to the Deputies, in reply to their refusal :
" 6, Albany, 3d May 1826.
" Gentlemen,—We have received the letter you have addressed
to Mr. Bowing, timed the let inst., announcing the receipt of the
Resolution of the Greek Committee, and refusing to recognise the
authority of the Sub-Committee to examine the accounts of the
appropriation of the Greek Loan.
We beg leave to call to your recollection that the Greek Com-
mittee has not intruded its interference on this occasion. Mr.
Spagniolaiki, ore of your own hotly. has entreated the assistance of
the Committee, in order to obtain that examination of the accounts,
which we should home you would deem desirable on your own ac-
count, as well as for the interest of your country, and those of your
country's creditors. We cannot, individually, report on them,
and can have no possible motive for going into details, but to serve
the great cause of your country. But, as the Greek Committee
was mainly instrumental in creating for your Government that re.
putation which enabled it to raise such large sums of money in
England—and as it puts no small charge of responsibility towards
those who advanced those sums--and as we think you are not only
responsible to your own Government, bin to the British public, for(
the proper appropriation of the loans with which you have been In-
trusted fur the purpose of advancing the independence of Greece—
we hope you will consent to elucidate any items in the accounts
which may require explanations, and to apply such balances as
may remain to the prompt, the efficient, and real service of your
cite:tory.
" We must assure -oe,
y with all sincerity, that no considerations
of personal hostility r ratty intrigue influence us on this occasion.
(hher motives than to serve your country we have none ; and we
earnestly desire your cordial co-operation. in order to prevent con-
sequences which cannot but be disastrous.
`• We must be permitted to observe, that it appears, by the ac-
count presented by Mr. Spagniolaiki. that a very considerable sum
still remains unaccounted for, and which ought immediately to be
properly .rnured, and applied to the service of Greece ; and at the
same time to add, that there are very many items which most ur.
gently demand investigation.
" We have the honour to be, gentlemen, your obedient servants,
(Signed) " .1. C. Ifonnouse,
" LEYCESTER STANHOPE.
" C. R. SHERIDAN,
" J. BOWRINO.
" :Messrs. Orlando and leiriottis, &c. Sec."
He should not have read this correspondence, but that accusations
had been thrown out against the Greek Committee. He wished to
avoid exciting a spirit of crimination or recrimination ; but he felt
it wax due to that body with whom he bad acted, and who had de-
voted themselves for two or three years with infinite zeal and talent
to the cause of Greece, that the public Flionhl know that that body
did all they were able to do in order to prevent those occurrences
which ultimately took place. He would now leave these things in
their hands. They would not, however, understand him as guaran-
teeing .he correctness of these accounts. Proceeding, however, as
they did from such et source, they most be entitled to. and must
receive, a great portion of the public attention. The Meeting would,
under the circumstances of the case, conic to such a decision as they
should think proper.
The Com RMAN begged, in addition to what had been stated
by Mr. Bowring, to observe, that this account was sent by the
Greek Deputies to the Greek Government, and therefore the meet.
Mg might consider it as an authentic paper. Ile thought they
would all agree with him, that if, instead of the humble individual
who hail now the honour of addressing them, they had De-
mosthenes himself in the chair, he could not have spoken in lan-
guage more eloquent than that which was stated in that account.
It was upon that they were to found all their proceedings. When
in Greece, he found that the Greek people had a notion that money
would do every thing for them. Money was their idol, which they
thought would work miracles. Ile endeavoured to remove this
false impression. Ile begged of them rather to depend on their
wisdom, on their sinews, and on their iron, than to depend on their
gold. lie had predicted those misfortunes which had since taken
place. Ile told them, on the other hand, if they placed their money
with some xtrong-minded and iron-fisted Englishman. instead of
their money being wasted, it would be applied to useful purposes,
to the safety of Greece, and the dividends of the Bondholders
would he secured. Ile always held this language to the Committee,
because he, for one. would not be Instrumental to the depriving them
of their just interest, especially after the noble manner they came for-
ward to aid this sacred cause. To the Greek Committee be said that
the Greek Government could not be intrusted with the money,
and for this plain reason, that if they had had the wisest men
their cabinet, if they had the wisest part of his Majesty's present
administration to direct their affairs, it was Impossible for them to
dispose of the money in a proper manner. If it was an island
government, it would be under the influence of pirates; if it was
a military government, it would be under the influence of what he
would call robbers; and let it have fallen under what government
it might, it was impossible they could either do justice to the bond.
holders or to their own interests. In fact, lie told them, that unleu
they pursued that course which lie had mentioned, no dividend
could ever be paid. He could not help observing that these con.
tractors seemed to act as if they considered it doubtful whether the
dividends would not be paid by the Turks. The bondholders, how.
ever, must depend solely upon success in war. By nothing less
than success in war could they ever receive their dividends. The
first error in his opinion was theirs. It was in the shareholders,
because they should have had inserted as an article in the contract,
an obligation on the contractor to intrust the money in safe hands.
But that was not a part of their stipulation, therefore he thought
they were wrong in subscribing the money till that was provided
for. The second great error was on the part of Mr. Ricardo, who
considered himself as acting merely in the chatac'er of a banker.
This was all very proper where loans were contracted with regular
governments. In such cases, no doubt, th:it was the course to be
pursued, nor could he doubt that 111 r. Ricardo, the brother of the
most distinguished patriot of that name, acted upon the most ern-
scientious principles ; but he must say, that to act upon those prin-
ciples with such a government as that of Greece, was perfect non-
sense, and could not but lead to the destruction of Greece,
and consequently the annihilation of the dividends. As to the De.
puties. he should say nothing of those miserable men. He was
sure the bondholders had too much wisdom to suppose those men
were fit to be intrusted with their money. What they had done
was no more than he expected of the,. But this was not the first
time lie declared his opinions upon that subject. Those opinions
hail been recorded by him over and over again in print. With
respect to the three Counsellors, Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Ellice,
and Mr.Hetbhouse, they adopted a very wise measure, that of having
a naval afinament, and that of placing at its head the moat. skilful,
and most prudent, and most chivalrous chief that this country, per-
haps, had ever produced. (Loud cheerio But he wished to know
who was responsible for keeping the Greek fleet rotting in the river—
thorn ships rotting in America—who was responsible for all this?
Was Mr. Ricardo responsible for it? %Were the Greek Deputies
responsible for it ? Were those three Gentlemen, whose names he
had just mentioned, responsible for it ? Was nobody responsible?
In a cabinet of seven or eight gentlemen, were they all incapable
of taking a responsibility upon them 2 Was this their wisdom ?
Muth had been heard of the wisdom of Government, but certainly
he had never seen much of it. In those governments under which
he had lived, he had generally been opposed to them, but lie must
say he never knew, never heard of one so totally deficient in any-
thing like mind, as had been demonstrated in the throwintlaway
of these loans. But this was bile. lie had only been speaking of
the past to acquire wisdom for their future conduct. What W3S
their remedy? (Cheers.)
was this—one, or three, His opinion was, that their remedy
or five, or seven individuals should be
formed into a Committee for the purpose of investigating the
Greek accounts and the Greek affairs, and then reporting their
opinion to another General Meeting. That, lie thought, ought
to be the first measure. But in this, as in every thing else
in Government, all depended upon the men they should select.
Select good men, and they would have an able report ; select
bail, lie should have said incapable men, and they would have
an inefficient and a bad report. But he had taken it out of
their power to do any thing of that sort, by having caused
to be read the statement:which Mr. Spagniolaicki had furnished.
That, then, should be their first object. Then there should be a
General Meeting after reading this Report, for the purpose of select-
ing three or five individuals for carrying warlike measures into
effect to send the ships out of the river, to put their American
frigates immediately under weigh, and also, if they had the means,
to endeavour to send succour to those fortresses which were still is
he would predict,
the hands of the Greeks, and that for reasons most cogent; foe'
that under no circumstances, with the loss of
those fortresses, would the Greeks continue to be recognised as a
nation. The moment the Greeks should lose Napo di Romania,
Athens, and
Hydra, those great citadels of Greet it, that moment
they would no lunger be considered as a Governmei t the Powers