The Sun.
London, England, 1852-05-29 00:00:00

been anxious that the debate should not be prolonged.
He had expressed his opinion as to the conduct of the
debate—he hsd not wished to prolong it, and last
Tuesday ho had medo an appeal to the Noble Lord op-
posite and other Hon. Members on the subject, and had
his advice been followed a division would have been
taken on Tuesday. There' was one duty of a leader of
that House which ought never to be omitted—'he duty
of consulting the feelings of the House on the conduct
of affairs and dobetes.—(Hear.) Re would not allude to
what was fresh in the recollection of the House—he
would only say that taunts, repeated taunts, had been
addressed to her Majesty's Government because they
would not give a day—because Government wou7d not
come forward and assist to obtain a decision for which
the House waited. It was only a few nights ago that
Government were denounced by the Hon. Gentlemen
opposite for not doing that for which they were now de-
nounced for doing.—(Bear,) Government were re-
proached for wishing to proceed with the debate because
inquiry was impossible. Why, the inquiry was not
more imposible now than it was when the Hen. Gen-
tleman opposite was so anxious to have a decision on
the question—were anxious to have, as they said, an
inquiry. They all knew that the vote meant the House
should express an opinion as to the propriety of having
an inquiry into the system pursued at Maynooth ;
and a mockery and a delusion as to the man-
ner when he heard such language as that it was
in which the debate was coeducted. It would, he con-
ceived, be much more a farce and a mockery if the
House did not endeavour to arrive at a vote on the ques-
tion. With regard to the exprotrion of the Hon. and
Learned Member insinuating, and more than insinuating,
that be attempted to use this subject to promote party
interests, he felt perfectly conscious ho was quite inno-
cent of any such intention.—(Hear.) If that charge
had been correct he might have adopted a differont tone;
but he was satisfied no one could accuse him of intro-
ducing into the discussion expressions of acerbity calcu-
lated to wound any one. Ho had, without reserve, ex-
,pressed the ground on which he voted for an inquiry,
'and the came ground had been more ably expressed by
the Bight Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Walpole).
That ground was, consideriug the question had so
occupied the public mind and inflamed public passions,
it was highly expedient and politic to ascertain
if the national objects for which the grant was
made had been fulfilled. They might enter into that
inquiry, he considered, without at all prejudging the
question. As to the question of the Right Hon. Gen-
tlemen (Mr. Goulbouru), relative to a Royal Commis-
sion, that was not a novel suggestion; it had already
been made by the Noble Lord (Lord John Russell). He
had expressed his objeotion, and he would again repeat
it. Au inquiry by a Royal Commission, which could
compel the attendance of no witnesses, would not ho a
satisfactory course to pursue in the present state of the
public mind. No inquiry during the recess would be
satisfactory, unless it was united with those powers
which Government only could confer. What chance
was there of gaining those powers?—(hear, hear.)
If the Hen. Member for North Warwickshire found a
difficulty in currying on the discussion for a Committee
of Inquiry, what chance read her Majesty's Government
of carrying a law to enable the Commission to exercise
powers winch were indispensable? Every one must
feel it was impossible. If Government could not do
that, would it be well to adopt the suggestion of the
Right Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Goulburn)? He
would state the broad grounds why it would be ob-
jectionable. Was there a better chance, if the plan wes
adopted, of making the inquiry effective? And when
they heard of mockery and farces, nothing was more
calculated to disgust the people than to take important
questions from the popular arcs, and to introduce them
hitt) the Cabinet, for the purpose of providing a scheme
of investigation which could not produce arty result.—
(Rear, hear.) This was the important ground on which
Government opposed a Commission of Inquiry. He
would say, iu his own vindic dims, that until he received
expressions of opinion from Gentlemen on both sides of
the House, and belonging to all parties, he was unwil-
ling, in the present state of public business, to give a
day. It had been mentioned that he gave a Govern-
ment day; but it must be recollected, whether Govern-
ment had fixed Friday or Tuesday, the result would be
exactly the same. It was because on the whole, alter the
discussion which had taken place, and after so much pub-
lic feeling had been expressed, and a general under-
standing prevailed that it was necessary and expedient
to give the House of Commons an opportunity of ex•
pressing the opinion whether an inquiry should take place
into the College of Maynooth, that he felt it to be his
duty to take such a course as would facilitate that
object. He had no object but to fulfil his duty, and
the consciousness of having done his duty would sus-
tain him under the attacks to which he bad been ex-
posed.—(Cheers,)
Friday was then agreed to.
THE CASE OF MR. MURRAY.
Lord D. STUART rose and said ho thought the
House and the country had a right to ask for informa-
tion respecting the circumstances which led to the im-
prisonment and the passing of sentence of death on an
English subject. No matter how mean the condition of
any British subject, in such a case he was deserving the
attention of the House; but Mr. Murray, the unfortu-
nate person in question, was most respectably connected,
and his father, grandfather, and many others of his
family, had served in the British army. It appeared
that Mr. Murray, who had been tiavelting in Italy with
his father, entered the service a the Roman Govern-
ment. of the day in 1848, and was employed first in the
army and afterwards in the police, but that, having been
suspected of being implicated in the murder of some
partisans of the Papal Government, be had been arrested
and sent to Rome, where he was tried, acquitted, and set
at liberty. Re afterwards proceeded to Ancona; but the
Pope having been restored to his dominions subsequently,
the unfortunate man was again arrested for the offence
of which it had been rumoured he was guilty, and of
which ho had been acquitted, and was thrown into
prison. There he remained for nearly three years,
and Hon. Members who knew what Italian prisons
were, either from having seen, as he had, those places of
misery and torture, or from having read the eloquent
description of the Right Hon. Member for the University
of Oxford, would have some conception of what he—
their fellow-subject—endured during this lengthened
period, without being brought to trial. There was no
one who could wish that, if guilty of the crime which
rumour bad connected with his name—for he (Lord D.
Stuart) had not yet heard distinctly the charge brought
against him by the Roman Government—Mr. Murray
should escape justice, whether their fellow-countryman
or not; but what interested the House and the country
was, whether he was really guilty or not; whether
he had had the advantage of a fair and open
trial; and whether those who represented this country,
from the head of the Foreign-office down to the Consuls
at Ancona and Rome, bad done their duty in seeking
justice for an English subject. From the statement of
the Noble Lord in another place, and from information
received from other quarters, it appeared to him the un-
fortunate gentleman had not had the advantage
of a fair trial. He had not imputed to Mr. Murray,
as was supposed,
tre Elting him
said was that the Papal Government, by
a political offence; but what he
of advantages to
as guilty of a
which
hicahle
woffooeiltdceo,
thheard dwiseephraivveodbheiemo
hboeveeno
otoir eea twe
within
ns
guiltydo.f ainpolhiteicafilractffepnlcaec,e'hehemuhsatd
tGh e teaamthoelsttoymises,uebdutath'teer
wtahse
oroettotornoloodfedth—enPeiotipleer from
ohoet thetried advantagebythet o
tribunal
an appeal, alat
pal
Ancona,e to
which
andtherhee would
eohuaidd
have been entitled in the ordinary counsel; neither
had he liberty to choose a counsel, but the Papal
Government had appointed him in that capacity
a person whose i duty it was to draw up an
official summary of the cases, and it was very
easy to understand that, in a country like Rome,
where the courts of law were notoriously ill-managed,
and justice did not prevail, the counsel appointed by
Government were not likely to do that justice to a pri-
soner which might be expected in other quarters. He
must say it did not appear to him the Consuls had done
their duty in seeing Mr. Murray had fair play, because
the result of what the Noble Lord said was, that in-
formation had been sent from the Consul at Ancona
to the Consul at Rome of Mr. Murray's arrest, and
that the latter at once did that which was highly
becoming, so far as it went, namely, represented
the case to the Papal Government on behalf of
the unfortunate prisoner; but Mr. Freeborn ne-
vertheless did not send information of what
had occurred till about February in thus year; that was
not till nearly three years after the unfortunate man
had been arrested. Mr. Freeborn was, no doubt, an
active and intelligent and able officer, but his long silence
was altogether surprising, and required explanation.
Whether Mr. Moore, the Consul at Ancona, did not send
Mr. Freeborn information of Mr. Murray's arrest, or,
having done so, the latter had not informed the Govern-
ment at home, he could not say; but in either case it was
a neglect of duty. He was aware of the peculiar state
—anomalous and objectionable as it was—of the rela-
tions between this country and Rome, but the fault of
that lay with the party now in power—it was the act of
the Noble Lord now in Dublin Castle, and there seemed
to be a sort of poetical justice in the present ease. Had
anything been done to insure a proper trial of Mr, Mur-
ray, and to give him the advantage of counsel? Ho
wished to ask a question also with regard to Mr. Ma-
ther, who had been most shamefully treated by Austrian
officers in Tuscany. Earl Granville had intimated to
the father of Mr. Mather that, as soon as the affair was
concluded it was his intention to lay all the correspon-
dence before Parliament. Now that the negotiation was
brought to a close, he wished to ask the Noble Lord
whether there would be any objection to lay the papers
on the table of the House?
Lord STANLEY was astonishegdetaligataitnhseteNhthaoedblpeeleLaorrlyd
should find in the proceeding upon Mr. Murray's
any ground for preferring a char
resent
Government.—(Hear, hear.) He thought
theh Noble Lord
explained on the previous evening,
brought this subject before the
as
the Government heard that the life
I,,eueray lay under ject was in peril, and that ladi . uhoseeta,
atoh
Englisha tas soon
sub-
ject
the British Consuls in
sen-
tence of death, they directlle
of England to procure a r p
Ancona and Rome to use a
previous imprisonment
.t
thee ionffl ut
he
on c
se
eannt do
ore
.t h oTr iht ye
It was true he had been
aoNoble c
ciLuoirtdt
ahl od f
xis pro. k e
Murray.st-h le
imprisoned before on p
itillst
ed ca h
rat
errrgigaat
terli,
hlr butatdrGi
trial,
aslake
era
nun regarded gel
has had
dh. e
ad:Mhhnireos.
" acquittal," that
Republican Government,
thebatynhyo
s
and again arrested
yo.fwa
s knowingleastehdbayt
mMeuarnr
Noble Lord said Mr. Kerrey ought to have been re:-
lamed under the amnesty, but his offence could not be
called a political offence. Political' feeling had certainly
been much mixed up with it, but the specific charge
against Mr. Murray was, that he, holding the situation
of lospeceoh of Police at Ancona, heel connived at the
minder at I ntictneti city. Mr. Free-
born wrote in February of the present year that the ar-
rest of Mr. Murray had taken place, but the case was
not iu his district; and i; did no; appear that Mr. Moore,