The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-01 00:00:00

THE CASE OF MR. MATHER.
! The following is the further correspondence re-
IP"ing the assault committed on Mr. Erskine Al ether
it Florence, which was laid on the table of the House
of Lords yEsterday

No. 1.
111 E EARL Cr DIALAIESBITRY TO SIR HENRY BULIVER,
Foreign-office, May. 29, 1852.
Sir regard to the course which her Majesty's‘-i-evernment now require the Tuscan Governmeot to
Persil;, in order to bring the vexati,ds discussion respect-
bl,nß M. Mather's eve to a close, I have to state to you
eat her Majesty's Government expect, first, that the
uke in of Cs.sigliano's note of the 10th of May, contain-
g the objectionable expressions in regard to the mo-
iveis by which the Grand Duke was actuated in grant-
Ing 1,000 trancesconi to Mr. Erskine Mather, shall be
Withdrawn Mr. Scarlett's note of the 11th of May in
PIY being also es a matter of course cancelled ;
Becotlly, that the Tuscan Government shall distinctly
ti,thnit the principle that T m uscany i 3 b ud, either
tough her courts of law or through her Executive Go-
v?rnmtint to protect Englishman iu Tuscany against the
Ileleuce of Austrian soldiers; thirdly, that the Tuscan
Uovernment shall convey to that of her Majesty an
ample expression of regret for the wrong inflicted on
411.• Ecskino Mather, in words equivalent to those
1.:,441 by Prince Schwarz?nbcrg in his dispatch to Count
4401 of the 12th of March, of which a copy was trans-
raided to Mr. Suarlett in my dispatch of the 9th of
4Pril.
I, the_Tuscan Government consents to these dem and
Majesty'; Government have no wish to press for any
i,—ellaiary compensation to Mr. Mather. That gentle:
-",n'3 father, as you will perceive by the enclosed cyoy
his letter of the 27th instant, expresses h:lnaell in-
,Zrent as regards that point; and her Majesty's Go-
the
erhment have heretofore insisted upon it as much from
practical proof which such payment would have
ff'rdecl of the admission by the Tuscan Government
°I its responsibility for th© acts of the Austrian officer,
be
helm a desire that some substantial atonement should
e made to the sufferer by those nets. -
almondeli the Tuscan Government refuses to accede to those
tainds, nothing will remain for you but to make
ds,
for quitting the Grand Ducal Court.
thAa the Tuscan Government have long been aware of
itt4, nature of the demand of her Majesty's Government,
Of the principle on which her Majesty's Government
ei.!st, they cannot require much time to come to a de-
li:ltl on the question as it now stands. I will not
torlY any exact time within which you are to require
Government;s made acquainted with the decision of the Tuscan
L but it is obvious that the decision should
take. L
tile Uy. the Tuscan Government itself, and not at
w, us,tgation of any foreign Court; and therefore you
01:1 not be justified in allowing a sufficient time to
ti:Pse for a reference to Vienna, before the detercaina-
it of the Tuscan Government is made known to you.
Ivi.!Yetz are unfortunately obliged to quit Florence, you
in', hi applying for passports, notify the time of your
ii:eaded departure to the Duke of Casigliano, and ex-
'o,7Bll to him your regret that under the circumstances
6 the ease you are precluded from taking leave of the
"mid Duke.
j4ou will then proceed, as you may think most ad-
-41.,ab1e, either to Parma or Modena, to which Courts you
accredited, taking with you the several members of
Mission, and sending, if you find it convenient to do
1`). the archives of the mission to her Majesty's Consul at
'Churn for safe custody. I am, &c.,
(Signed) MALMESBURY.

No. 2.
tee
HENRY BULWER To THE EARL OF HALNESBURY.
(RECEIVED JUNE 25.)
Florence, June 18, 1852.
4Y Lord,—After receivin your Lordship's commu-
Icati
b,„ ohs oat the 29th of Maxy, relative to the arrange-
-1;4.4 had been made hy Mr. Scarlett, I had a long
Illevrt with the Duke of Casigliano. The Duke ex-
Arets
ed bieLelf exceedingly surprised and pained at the
itchlening of an affair which, he said, he deemed closed,
earLueb as it had been settled on the basis of a note
ieafc'Ql he had received from her Majesty's charge
lotl'r's, and that it had been subsequently defended by
atilr Lordship in Parliament. He then continued to
tilat the opinion of the council was against any fur-
e4concessions
e4'53, first duty seemed to me to convince the Duke of
hticl'gliane that the conduct of her Majesty's Government
bud befli perfectly straightforward; that Mr. Scsriett
ince only exceeded his instructions, but had unfortu-
tc!ed in opposition to them; and that when your
th-etlshiP passed an opinion upon this affair it was upon
duelppertect impression thereof which had
,been pro-.
by Mr. Barren's first communication of the 9fh ,
bani order to establish such conviction I read to the
oc,ze Passages of your Lordships communication to me
ao Passages
of Mr. Barron's letter of the 9th of May,
the other such papers as seemed to me to bear upon
al,l Point. I then told the Duke that, after the strong
jeat continued expression of an opinion which her Ma-
-1,4? a Government held--via., that the Government of
it 24115' was responsible for all acts done in Tuscany,
impossible for your Lordship to receive any re-
on which which did not clearly admit this principle. I
ilread to the Duke the whole of your Lordship's clis-
_cch of the 29th May, and after I had promised to send
p:u...4 copy of the same, and to write to him a note re-
u;',lng the substance of the principal arguments I had
tkeowin canversation, we separated, the Duke having
n throughout this conversation a very conciliatory
it''"lt, but an apparent belief that we had entered upon
tomnappy fghtiation
is whichu it would be very difficult to conduct
se
Wily next cue was to furnish the Duke of Casigliano
ka„: Copy of your Lordship's dispatch of the 29th of
Of according to my
4.4 I herepromise, which I did in a note,
almost which
verbatim enclose a copy, and which repeated
cenversation, m the remarks I had previously made in
.I.deeneed it advisable to commence that note by fore-
nolll_lllg the arguments which might otherwise be again
j. against re-opening the discussion, by frankly ad-
a'itTli!g• the facts that had taken place, and which might
batie justified the belief that Mr. Scarlett'a settlement
the sanction of her Majesty's Government, and then
N)lainig the real position in which that affair stood.
The rest of my note is addressed to the main object
b had in view, and which I naturally desired to place
offset) the Tuscan Government in such a manner as
Would best vindicate our rights, and least shock its
IttLeeptibilities.
This note, I may venture to say, produced a consider-
lele and favourable impression; I deemed it, however,
,Well to inform the Tuscan Minister, at the same time,
,:,41°, ugh not officially, that I should only await his reply
"41 Wednesday morning.
will not trouble your Lordship by entering into
further details as to the different meetings and converse-
-11418 which took place between myself and the Duke in
the interval; but on Wednesday I received a note, which
I Could not consider as altogether unsatisfactory, but
Which, at the same time, did not seem to me expressed
Infficiently clearly to place beyond all doubt the position
'n which Tuscany considered herself placed with respect
to foreign subjects in certain exceptional cases; respect-
ing which cases, as I deemed the main point of my ne-
gotiation to be involved therein, I conceived that the
qngnage used (though of course I could not dictate
the
that pmighe recis
seem i words)ntentional. should be free from all ambiguity
t
These objections on my part were considered by the
Tuscan Government, and submitted to the Grand Duke;
and the final result was the document as it now stands
d which I deem it my ,
duty to receive and Submit to
ari
Your Lordship.
The difficulties I have bad to overcome were:_
1. The inducing the Tuscan Government to enter
anew into the discussion of a business which it had been
tgllntiaoned to conclude in a particular manner by her
irjmeatY's lateanner charge d'affaires, and had concluded in
at
size ague inducing of the Tuscan government to recog7
)1,; null, and of no more effect than if they had
tsic;°: existed, the aforesaid proposal of Mr. Scarlett, and
proposal Pondence which ensued in consequence of that
3.
The inducing the said government to make a satis-
factor
kr. xi' 4litende in an ample expression of regret for
izusiatiher's misfortune—an amende, however, which I
der; and in justice say it was perfectly willing to ren-
t I had under very disadvantageous circumstances to
Procure from the government of Tuscany the recognition
of a principle which up to the date of the Duke's pre-
/teat note it had always shrunk from admitting, and had
indeed declared it could not admit.
All this I have at last done; and taking the whole
~.ttnor of the correspondence which I forward to your
Lordship into consideration, I think it may be accepted
as satisfactory.
I have not deemed it wise to humble or humiliate this
State unnecessarily. It seems to me our policy, on the
lntrarY, to sustain and encourage its just pride and
ependence, to which, indeed, many of our arguments
throughout this affair have been addressed. But, on the
other hand, I have deemed' it wise to uphold unflinch-
ingly that opinion which we set out by professing, and
thus to leave no doubt as to the firmness of our conduct
Kally important principle which may hereafter be at
sttes I have, &c.,
(Signed) H. L. BULWER.

Inclosure 1 in No. 2.
SIR RENRy BULWER TO THE DUKE OP CASIOLIANO.
do Florence, June 11, 1852.
myself the honour of enclosing to your Ex-
cellency herewith the copy of a dispatch which I have
already read to you, relative to the case of Mr. Mather,
and the manner which a settlement thereof was made
by Mr. Scarlett.
I am desirous, in the first place, at once and frankly
to admit, that, colluded -
11K that the proposition on which
that settlement was made came from her Majesty's
charge d'affsires, your Excellency had reason to sup-
pose that this antr was terminated, and moreover that
the manner in which that y
arrangement was lately de-
fended in Parliament was likely to have confirmed your
Excellency in this impression.
It is, therefore, my desire to explain to your Excel-
lency, in the clearest manner, now that. I feel myself
this negotip.ti:,,e,
4ticler the necessity to re-open that my
doing so is by no means in real contradiction With the
two facts which I have above cited.
Not only did Lord Malmesbury in the instructions
Which ho gave on different occasious to Mr. Searlett (p"..
sages from which instruci
ons are referred to in the en-
closed dispatch of the 29th), most uniformly efl,na that
an indemnity was required for Mr. Mather, partly,. as a
compensation to that gentleman, but also more especially
as an acknowledgment that the Government of, Tuscany
Was responsible for the security of her MajestY 5 subjects
Within the Tuscan dominions, but his Lordship clearly.if
and positiwly expressed this same principle to °P." '
in the instrections which I received when I wag c"m7
m and,ll to repair this inisaikn, as you will perceive try
the subjoined extract:—
" For all acts done in Tuscany to the prejudice of