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

T E

No. 1.

THE EARL OF MALMESSUP.Y TO sirt HENRY BIILWER.
Foreign-office, Muy 29. 1852.
Sir,—With regard to the course which her Majesty's
Government now require the Tuscan Government to

pursue in order to bring the vexatious discussion respect.
ing Mr. Mather's case to a close, I have to state to you
that her Majesty's Government expect, first, that the
Duke of Casigliano's note of the 10th of May, coutait-
Lig the objeetioneble expressions in regard to the mo-
tives by which the Grand Duke was mounted in erant-
jog 1,000 trauceeconi to Mr. Erskine Mather, shall' be
withdrawn; Mr. Scarlett's note of the 11th of May in
reply being also as a matter of course cancelled ;
secondly, thet the Tuscan Government shall distinctly
admit the principle that Tuscany is bound, either
through her courts of law or through her Executive Go-
vernment to protect Englishman in Tuscany against the
violence of Austrian soldiers; thirdly, that the Tuscan
Government shall convey to that of her Majesty an
ample expression of regret for the wrong inflicted on
Mr. Erskine Mather, in words equivalent to those
used by Prince Schwaramltrg in his dispatch to Count
Buol of the 12th of March, of which a copy was trans-
mitted to Mr. Searlett in my dispatch of the 9th of
April.
If the Tuscan Government consents to these demand
her Majesty', Government have no wish to press for any
pecuniary compensation to Mr. Mather. That gentle-
man's father, as you will perceive by the enclosed copy
of his letter of the 27th instant, expresses himself in-
point; and her Majesty's Go-
different as regards that
vernment have heretofore insisted upon it as much from
the practical proof which such payment would have
aff)rded of the admission by the Tuscan Government
of its responsibility for the acts of thn Austrian officer,
as from a desire that some substantial atonement should
be made to the sufferer by those acts.
It' the Tuscan Government refuses to accede to those
demands, nothing will remain for you but to make
arrangements for quitting the Grand Ducal Court.
As the Tuscan Government have long been aware of
the nature of the demand of her Majesty's Government,
and of the principle on which her Majesty's Government
insist, they cannot require much time to come to a de-
cision on the question as it now stands. I will not
specify any exact time within which you are to require
to be made acquainted with the decision of the Tuscsu
Government; but it is obvious that the decision should
be taken by the Tuscan Government itself, and not at
the instigation of any foreign Court; and therefore you
will not be justified in allowing a sufficient time to
elapse fora reference to Vienna, before the determina-
tion of the Tuscan Government is made known to you.
If you are unfortunately obliged to quit Florence, you
Will, in npp!ying for passports, notify the time of your
intended departure to the Duke of Casigliano, and ex-
press to him your regret that under the circumstances
of the case you are precluded from taking leave of the
Grand Duke.

You will then proceed, as you may think most ad-
visable, either to Parma or Modena, to which Courts you
are accredited, taking with you the several members of
the mission, and sending, if you find it convenient to do
so, the archives of the mission to her Majesty's Consul at
Leghorn fur safe custody. I am, Sec., _ _

(Signed)

MALMESBURY.

No. 2.

SIR HENRY BIILWER TO THE EARL OF SIALMESBURY.
(RECEIVED JUNE 25.)
Florence, June 18, 1852.
My Lord,—Alter receiving your Lordship's commu-
nications of the 29th of May, relative to the arrange-
inent that had been made by Mr. Scarlett, I had a long
interview with the Duke of Casigliano. The Duke ex-
Pressed himself exceedingly surprised and pained at the
reopening of an affair which, he said, he deemed cloned,
inasmuch as it had been settled on the basis of a note
Which he had received from her Majesty's charge
d'affaires, and that it had been subsequently defended by
Your Lordship in Parliament. He then continued to
Say that the opinion of the council was against any fur-
ther cot cessions.
My fiat duty seemed to me to convince the Duke of
Casigliano that the conduct of her Majesty's Government
had been perfectly straightforward; that Mr. Scarlett
had not only exceeded his instructions, but had unfortu-
nately acted in opposition to them; and that when your
Lordship passed an o,inion upon this affair it was upon
tlie imperfect impression thereof which had been pro-
duced by Mr. Barron's first communication of the 9th;
44d in order to establish such conviction I read to the
Duke passages of your Lordships communication to me
of the 91st, of Mr. Barron's letter of the 9th of May,
and other such papers as seemed to me to bear upon
this Point. I then told the Duke that, after the strong
,lind continued expression of an opinion which her Ma-
3,,e'tY's Government held—viz., that the Government of
e.useany was responsible for all acts done in Tuscany,
lt was impossible for your Lordship to receive any re-
Paration which did not clearly admit this principle. I
then read to the Duke the whole of your Lordship's dis-
tttch of the 29th May, and after I had promised to send
'urn a copy of the samo, and to write to him a note re-
theatig substance of the principal arguments I had
Shown throughout this conversation a very conciliatory
!Vint, but an apparent belief that we had entered upon
to negotiation which it would be very difficult to conduct
haPPy issue.
tvi(thu-37 next care was to furnish the Duke of Casigliano
a
ma Copy ding our Lordship's dispatch of the 29th of
of Z,
.accerto my promise, which I did in a note,
atale I here enclose a copy, and which repeated
almost verbatim the remarks I had previously made in
Conversation.
I deemed it advisable to commence that note by fore-
stalling the arguments which might otherwise be again
used against re-opening the discussion, by frankly ad-
lnitting the facts that had taken place, and which might
'Lave Justified the belief that Mr. Scarlett's settlement
had the sanction of her Majesty's Government, and then
explaining the 'real position in which that affair stood.
I
The rest of my note is addressed to the main object
I. had in view, and which I naturally desired to place
before the Tuscan Government in such a manner as
Would best vindicate our rights, and least shock its
Susceptibilities.
This note, I may venture to say, produced a consider-
able and favourable impression; I deemed it, however,
Well to inform the Tuscan Minister, at the same time,
though not officially, that I should only await his reply
till Wednesday morning.
I will not trouble your Lordship by entering into
further details as to the different meetings and conversa-
tions 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
SUfficiently clearly to place beyond all doubt the position
in 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
language used (though of course I could not dictate
the precise words) should be free from all ambiguity
that might seem intentional.
Tuscan
objections on my part were considered by the
-Unseats Government, and submitted to the Grand Duke;
and the final result was the document as it now stands,
and which I deem it my duty to receive and submit to
Your Lordship.
The difficulties I have had to overcome were:_
1• • The inducing the Tuscan Government
had.
_ enterls
:11" into the discussion of a business which it a
jll°lnaotied to conclude in a particular manner by
dhee.unr
thelseat37'B late chargO d'affaires, and had conclude
manner.
2. The
tiza Inducing of the Tuscan government to recog:
neve:: a:nil, and of no more effect than if they had
the ec:atoti, the aforesaid proposal of Mr. Scarlett, and
prope,ZPondene.e which ensued in consequence of that
3. The •
Inducing the said government to make a satis-
mfaert.°l7c,:ende in an ample expression of regret for
eaust`u'ontin misfortune—an amende, however, which I
justice say it was perfectly willing to ren-
der; ael
4. I had under very disadvantageous circumstances to
procure frO_nlietwh.e.gon.vernment of Tuscany the recognition
of a print;
sent
note
iphacihailwhau4strthek date of the Duke's pre-
indeed declared it could not f!om admitting, and had
All this I have at last done;MIL
tenor of the correspondence and taking the whole
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.contrar It seems to me our policy, on the
Contrary, sustain and encourage its just pride and
independence, 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-
thingly that opinion which we set out by professing, and
us to leave no doubt as to the firmness of our conduct
n n
y important principle which may hereafter be at
lastle„
I have, &c.,
(Signed)

H. L. BIILWEIL

Inclosure 1 in No. 2.
SIB liturtay BULNYER TO THZ DUKE OF CASIGLIANO.
, , 1852.
Sir,—l do myself the honourFlorence of enclosing June
tot your Ex-
c
alreadellenc y y wi
hereth the copy of a dispatch
which I have
and the read to you, relative to the case of Mr. Mather,
manner
by Mr. Scarlett, in which a settlement thereof was made
I am desirous, in the first place, at once and frankly
to admit, that, considering that the proposition on which
that settlement was made came from her Majesty's
8, yOUF Excellency had reason to sup-
chargé d'affaire
Pose that this affair was terminated,
and moreover that
the manner in which that . arrangement was lately de-
to have confirmed your
fended in Parliament was likely
Excellency in this impression.
your xce -
It is, therefore, my desire to explain to E I
I feel myself
leney, in the clearest manner, now that
under the necessity to reeapen this negotiatien that my doing to is by no means in real contradiction With the
above cited. the
_instructions
two facts which I have
Mr. bearlett (paw.
Not only did Lord Malmesbnry
to
which he gave on different occasions
ges from which instrue' ions are referred, to in
rtnihetehhat.
epus:rstly as a.
closed dispatch of the 29th), most uniformly
an indemnity was required for Mr. Mather,
pecially
compensation to that gentleman, but also
as an acknowledgment that the Governma2enotr
9s subjects
of Tuscany"
was responsible for the security of her MajestY .
clearly
within the Tuscan dominions, but his Lordship
and positively expressed this same principle to myself, lu the icatrnctions which I received whe:) I W'" c' ended to repair this iniasuee, as you will perceive by
the subjoined extract :--
" all acts Fordone in Tummy to the prejudice of

H. L. BIILWER.

(Translation.)
M
Florence, June 16, 1852.
wbich M. le Ministre —The note dated the 11th instant,
Y°4l- ExcelLocy addressed to me, enclosiog
copy of the
dispatch which you have received from Lord
AlalmeabMY, telative to the gather affair, which die-

THE CASE OF MR. MAT HER. British subjects, the British Government must hold the
The following is the further correspondence re- Tusciin Government to be solely responsible.
spectieg the assault committed en Mr. Erskirie Mather The violence against Mr. Mettler, which is still un-
at Florence, which was laid on the table of the Retie atoned tor is at present the west important, of those
of Lords yesterday : cases to whiehl have alludee. * * And
her Mejesty's Gevernment feel it their duty to instruct
you not to remit in any manner the principle upon
which their last demands are made."
I flatter myself that after this exposition of the spirit
in which her Majesty's Secretary of State has on all
occasions framed the instructions given by him to the
different agents employed with reference to this affair,
it, will appear to your Excellency sufficiently evident
that only one idea hes prevailed in her Majesty's Go-
vernment concerning it.
But when her Majesty's Secretary of State for Fo-
reign Affairs first received information of the arrange-
ment, that had been effected by Mr. Scarlett, it was in a
portion of a dispatch from Mr. Barron, acting during
the illness of Mr. Scariott, which dispatch was dated the
9th of May; and in order that the impression which
Mr. Barron's communication was calculated to produce
may be fully appreciated by your Excellency, I will
hero transcribe it:—
" I have the honour to acquaint your Lordship, by the
desire of Mr. Stierlett, with the following important
facts. The Stratford and Mather cases may be consi-
dered as settled. Thy: se two questions were the subject
of an interview between Mr. Scarlett and the Duke of
Cisiglieno on the sth icstant. It was then intimated to
Mr. Scarlett by the Tuscan Minister that an indemnity
of 1,000 firentieseoni (or 2221. 45.) would be offered to
Mr. Mather. Mr. Scerlett'e reply was, that that sum
was far inferior to that which ho was instructed to
claim, and that cue condition alone would induce him
to accept it—viz., the immediate release of the Messrs.
Stratford. His Excellency answered, that the Grand
Duke intended to redeem the pledge given by his Mieis-
ters on that head, but that it was yet too soon.
" The matter stood in this position till the 7th, when
the Duke addressed to Mr. Scarlett a confidential letter,
informing him that ' his Imperial and Royal Highness
the Grand Duke, yielding to his noble impulses, and
making use of his Royal prerogative, consents to the
commutation of the Mears. S ratforda' penalty into per-
petual banishment from his states.' Mr. Scarlett has de-
sired me to express to the Tuscan Minister his satisfac-
tion at this arrangement, and to report the same to your
Lordship. The presence at Leghorn of her Majesty's
steam-vessel Growler, Comentrider Stoddart, offers an
opportunity for the immediate removal from Tuscany of
the Messrs. Stratford. I shall immediately communicate
with Commander Se ddart and with the Tuscan Govern-
ment for that purpose.
" With reference to Mr. Mather's claim, Mr. Scarlett
has thought himself justified, efter much consideration,
in accepting the composition &Toted. Although it is not
SO much as could be desired for Mr. Mather, it is as
much as could possibly be obtained by negotiation."
Yohr Excellency will iinmediatel see, on reading the
above (which is the precise copy of Mr. Barron's words),
that the idea which it naturally carried with it was that
the Tuscan Government had proposed to Mr. Scarlett a
pecuniary compensation, and that he had accepted such
compensation, from which, as nothing was said as to the
manner in which such arrangement had been effected, it
was naturally to be inferred that the compensation in
question had been proposed and accepted according to
the principles on which Mr. Scarlett bad been in-
structed to apply for it. The question of amount was
the only one 'eluded to by Mr. Barron as having given
rise to any difficulty, and a reason was assigned for ac-
cepting a less amount than her Majesty's Government
had instructed Mr. Scarlett to accept, that reason being
the liberation of the Messrs. Stratford; a motive which
showed at least an earnest and laudable desire on the part
of Mr. Scarlett to put an end to all difficulties between
her Majesty's Government and that of his Imperial and
Royal Highness.
On these grounds her Majesty's Government were
prepared to accept and nefend, and did accept and de-
fend, Mr. Scarlett 's arrangement, considering that the
Tuscan Government had taus given a proof of their re-
gret at what had occurred, of their desire to atone for
that occurrence, and of their recognition of the principle
that British subjects were, when residing in Tuscany,
under the protection of the Government of Tuscany,
which held itself responsible for their lair treatment.
But when a second dispatch arrived from Mr. Barron,
containing copies of a correspondence that had passed
between our Excellency and her Majesty's chargé
d'affaires, they perceived that the arrangement as
explained by that correspondence, was directly the re-
verse
in principle of that which they had previously
imagined it to be.
Aproposition had come from Mr, Scarlett, and not
from your Excellency, and that proposition commenced
by placing altogether out of discussion the main point
welch her Majesty's Government did insist and always
had insisted upon. It was, therefore, utterly impossible
soy longer to accept or defend an arrangement which
had hitherto been accepted and defended precisely for
reasons which did not apply to it.
The demand which her Majesty's Government has up
to this time made, and whioh it now makes on the Tus-
can Government, for satisfaction with respect to the
ease of Mr. Mather, is founded on the right that every
government has to expect that its subjects will have
impartial justice done to them within the territory of a
friendly state by the government of that state.
The administration of such justice is generally confi-
ded by governments to their legal tribnnals; but when a
government closes such tribunals, it takes upon itself
those functions, as far as foreign nations are concerned,
with which such tribunals were invested.
If, therefore, the Government of Tuscany make a tem-
porary arrangement such as that which it has made, re-
ceiving the aid of Austrian troops on the understanding
that they are not to be subject to Tuscan law, that Go-
verneuent, if any offence is committed against British
subjects by Austrian troops, is bound to administer that
justice towards the aggrieved party which such party
cannot obtain from a court of law.
To suppose anything else is either to suppose that the
subjects or citizens of friendly states are, in such cases
to have no redress at all (a conclusion which is absurd),
or it is to suppose that, for offences committed within his
Imperial and Royal Highness's dominions they are to
seek for satisfaction from a foreign power; which would
be to establish as a fact that there is a foreign power in
Tuscany which other nations are to consider as superior
to the authority of the Grand Duke himself; and that
would of necessity prevent Great Britain from any longer
recognising in the Grand Duke that independent sove-
reignty which it has hitherto fully recognised.
The satisfaction which her Majesty's Government, in
conformity with these opinions, originally sought, was an
award of money to the party injure', because it deemed
that it was more fair to him to seek that sort of repara-
tion which would affect him personally, and which a court
of law would probably have granted to him. But as
Mr. Mather has now declined receiving any pecuniary
compensation, her Majesty's Government feel at liberty
to place their demand in another shape; and I am in-
structed, Mr. Scarletrds note of the 6ih May being, as I
have explained, disavowed, to require that your Ex-
cellency's note of the 10th May should be withdrawn,
and Mr. Searlett's reply thereto cancelled; and further-
more, that the Government of his Imperial and Royal
Highness should convey to that of her Majesty an ample
expression of regret at the violence inflicted upon Mr.
E. Mather, and an assurance that there was nothing in
such violence which is to be considered in the slightest
degree as a manifestation of disrespect towards the
Queen of Great Britain or the British nation; and
finally, that your Exceln ncy, in the name of the Tuscan
Government, should clearly recognise the principle, that
the Government of Tuscany, whose duty it is to protect
British subjects in Tuscany, is responsible for any acts
of violence committed upon such subjects within the
Tuscan territory, whoever the persons committing the
wsaidhen nets s
elf violence may be; and that the executive au-
thoritys bound to make due atonement for the same,
atonement cannot be sought for through the
legal tribunals.
Government of yTusca
daum_oanttear
forfiehrdelgretto me to
Sir, it must alvyadyetrobanci
have to make any
maintained for nsoy'many,
Government,
with
upon the P
Excellency
in
clowniilnytimGate and valued
overnm ent h
leney that
years
eh ssr
upaecyh
teela"°" •
, but such re-
gret in the present instance will greatly diminished
zbeeel
nbyowthfehsctornosoitelfhergamtioeno
frMomajesytoyoier
country men, has in reality
country, and the safety of my c
satisfaction which it deems due to the honour of my
thcalatihmer
interest
required nothing which it is not c
Tuscan Government
and according to the eighty of the
inconveniences learly in the-
to grant ; for though there may be
at-
tached to the responsibility which the Tuscan
Govern-
ment is thus requested unequivocally to assume, and
that those inconveniences may be somewhat increased
by the temporary and peculiar position in which it now
stands with respect to the Austrian force employed at
this time in Tuscany, such inconveniences are nothing in
comparison with the honour and advantage which at-
tach to the frank assumption of all the attributes of that
independence which it is the first pride and interest
of every prince and people to possess and pre-
serve unimpaired; and perhaps your Excellency will
allow me to express a belief that her Majesty's Govern-
ment is only giving a new proof of its sincere amity
towards this state, and of its high respect for the illus-
trious Prince who rules over it, when it shows a jealous
susceptibility as to Tuscany abandoning in any degree
that position which it has hitherto so honourably main-
tained. I flatter myself that this persuasion will have
its due weight with one who can so well appreciate the
position of Tuscany and the relation of Tuscany with
other nations, and that your Excellency will afford me
your friendly and enlightened aid in bringing this nego-
tiation, so long pending, to a happy and suitable termi-
nation.
But I am obliged to announce to your Excellency that
should the Tuscan Government not be ready to grant
the reparation which I have been instructed to require, I
am then ordered to withdraw her Majesty's mission from
the Court of Tuscany; and my instructions furthermore
enjoin me not to continue this negotiation for more than
a very few days.
As the name of her: Majesty's late charge d'affaires
has been so frequently mentioned in this note, I can-
not conclude it without giving myself the satisfac-
tion of stating that which I know your Excellency will
hear with similar satisfaction—viz , that though her
Majesty's Government has found itself under the neces-
sity of disavowing the arrangement made by Mr. Soar-
lett in its name, still is fully recognises the zeal and
ability which this gentleman has displayed en a variety
of other difficult and trying occasions, and attributes
the involuntary error ha here fell into to the effects of
that violent indiepopition under which, at the date of
his letter of the 6th May, he bad already began to suffer.
I avail, Sec.,
(Signed) '