The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-07 00:00:00

" strangled," when they say it means " suffocated.' Mr.
Vereker, in writing to Earl Russell, March 20, says :
the report of the examination of the bodies on the
Coast, among other allegations not creditable to the local
tesidents, it is stated by those appointed to examine the
body of one of the unfortunate persons from the wreck that
he was strangled. Such statements may account for the un-
willingness of the authorities to give the required informa-
tion and possibly for the limited nature of the inquiry in-
stituted, as there seams to exist a fear that under a more
searching investigation disclosure might be made which
would throw discredit on the country."
And he adds—

" If this is so (I put the :niggestion forward only hypo-
thetically), it shows on the part of the local authorities either
a culpable sympathy with evildoers or a wl4s.it of moral cou-
rage which is highly reprehensible."
If you follow this correspondence all through, you will find
the same tone pervading it. Again, when speaking of the
inquiry which the President of the Province is to make into
the circumstances of the wreck, he says, in a despatch dated
April 24 ;

" Its necessity is alleged by his Excellency the President
to arise from wy having reported to her Majesty's Govern
m• nt that the crew of the bark had been assassinated, and
the delegate in his despatch invites me to be present, as it
lure to sustain my suspicions : thus the inquiry comes to
bear the character of an attempt to disprove those alleged
statements, which, as your lordship is aware, were never
uttered, for though I have endeavoured most faithfully to
report the facts, I ha7e with equal caution avoided hitherto
drawing any conclusion. Beside, the inhabitants of the
Albasdao have now been long aware of the projected in-
quiry, and have had at least ten days to conceal the last
open proofs of their guilt."
But, immediately after, he adds—
" As my name has been prominently brought forward in
connection with this case by the Brazilian press and other-
wise, I feel it suitable at this time, and after mature consi-
deration of the various bearings of the case, to declare my
opinion that the deaths of some of those who composed the
crew of the Prince of Wales cannot, in face of the facts and
circumstances and position of the bodies, be accounted for
in any reasonable manner, excepting on the supposition that
they were the resub, of assassination.''

So that in the very same despatch he states in one place
that he refrained from drawing any conclusion, and in
another that there was no reasonable way of accounting for
all the circumstances but upon the supposition of assassina-
tion. (Hear.) Now, I take his unconsciousness of the infir-
mity under which he was labouring to be a strong proof
that the infirmity was of a very grave description, and this
brings me to a matter which should be alluded to with great
delicacy; but the facts and the causes remain. lam not
going to speak of the causes—they are not such as have been
volunteered by my hon. friend (Mr. Layard) ; but at all
events we find that in the summer of last year Mr. Vereker
was seized with agrave mental alienation, and the symptoms
of the malady were simply an exaggeration of that morbid
tone which has pervaded the whole of his correspondence.
(Hear.) He was seized with delirious impressions that he
was himself going to be assassinated. He goes to Rio Ja-
neiro, makes an appeal to Mr. Christie, his superior, and
the latter is obliged to say to the Marquis of Abrantes that
the whole is a mental delusion. (Hear.) I say, therefore,
that in any court of justice Mr. Consul Vereker would be
considered incompetent as.the sole witness to decide this
case. (Hear.) For bear in mind that Mr.Vereker's evidence
is the only evidence to show that the inferior officials had
neglected their duty or been in any way compromised in
this affair. For I wish to draw attention particularly to this
fact, we have the best testimony as to the conduct of the I
higher officials. (Hear.) Now, these are the persons
from whom we should derive our impressions. (Hear.)
hear.) Take, for instance, the highest personage in the
State. I have it from the best authorities—persons who
have been long resident in the country—that the present
Emperor is a man of the highest order of attainments, one
in fact who, if a potentate of Europe, would take a foremost
rank among the Monarchs of the Old World. (Hear, hear.)
You find that Mr. Christie speaks highly of the character of
the principal judge, and also of the President of the pro-
viace of Rio Grande, and even Mr. Vereker is obliged to
admit that from the authorities at Rio Grande he received
nothing but the most prompt and generous attention.
(Hear, hear.) lam not going through all that jumble of
details which is contained in this book, as to whether more
or less property was stolen. lam perfectly satisfied that
some of the wreck shared the fate it would share in any
country, and as the district borders upon a neighbouring
State, the guilty persons made their escape, and could
not be brought to justice. I can even believe it pos-
sible that some of these unhappy men were mur-
dered when they came ashore; but all that would
not constitute a ground of claim against the Brazilian Go-
vernment unless smile complicity on their part could be
shown. (Hear, hear.) it would be a tremendous evil in the
international relations of this World if a foreign State, having
one of its citizens living abroad who had suffered wrong,
should claim to be judge as to whether that citizen had been
treated properly or not, should assume to itseg the functions
of judge and fury, and insist on having justice done accord-
ing to its own tests. (Hear.) There is one simple but invari-
able rule in matters of this kind, that in any foreign country,
except China or Turkey, to which last countries you claim
0 carry your own laws, you must be content that your
countrymen should receive the same treatment which the
citizens of that country receive. (Hear, hear.) You eanuot
claim more, and you have a right to receive that. Can any-
body doubt that the Brazilian Government behaved with
the same good faith in their desire to bring the guilty to
justice as it t,.e vessel belonged to one of their own citizens ?
What charge, then, does Mr. Vereker, as a matter of fact,

bring against that judge Soares ? I suppose Soares is a gen-
tleman, as he was appointed a magistrate. (Laughter.) I
was sorry, therefore, to hear my hon. and learned friend
(Mr. Collier) speak of him as a brigand with his retainers.
(Hear, hear.) Now, what is proved against him ? That
two Bibles were found in his house. (Laughter.) Does
anybody suppose that in a Portuguese Catholic community
any value was attached to an English edition of the Pro-
testant Bible, or that these two volumes of the sacred Scrip •
tures were taken as plunder ? Let us suppose that a Brazil-
ian vessel was cast ashore on the coast of Cornwall—a dis-
trict rather famous in connexion with shipwrecks—and that
a cross or a rosary of no intrinsic value was found in the
house of a magistrate near that place ; would it be taken as
a proof of wreck and robbery ? Well, then, must we sup-
pose that the robbery which took place must have been
with the connivance of the highest authorities in Brazil ?
But there is one point which I wish to bring out, which
will have some weight with the noble bold at the head of
the Government. That noble lord is celebrated for his
anxiety to protect the interests of Englishmen living
abroad. Well, there is a body of English merchants living
at Brazil, men of high respectability ; and what would be
the testimony of those men with respect to the conduct of
the Brazilian Government? I will venture to say that the
community of Englishmen in Brazil are treated with as
much consideration and respect and as much fostering pa-
tronage and protection as it is possible for any country to
show to foreigners residing wi thin its boundary ; and what
is the opinion of that community of British merchants in
Brazil on this very transaction ? I say, on the authority
of men connected with the Brazilian trade—and I beg the
noble lord at the head of the Government to bear this in
mind—that the merchants at Rio and in Brazil generally
are unanimous in disapproving the course taken by the
English Government. (Hear, hear.) What I have just
stated has been cheered by the hon. gentleman who brought
forward the present motion, himself largely connected with
the trade of that country. Igo further, and say that the
feeling of the British merchants there on this question
arises mainly from the fact that they do not believe the
evidence of Consul Vereker to be sufficient to prove that
the Brazilian Government have sought to do any injury or
to evade their responsibility to English merchants , and
they bear testimony to the desire of the Brazilian Govern-
ment to cultivate the most friendly relations with England
and the English residents in Brazil. (Hear, hear.)
What is to become of the maritime States of a weaker
order if the principle is established that where a
shipwreck occurs the country where it happens shall
be held responsible ? As the Brazilian authorities said
in one of their despatches, the coast where this ship-
wreck occurred would become a favourite resort for a cer-
tain class of mariners if the country is to be made respon-
sible for all shipwrecks there. We have lately had an ex-
posure showing that a new kind of industry has been
established in the world. It is a sinister kind of industry,
for making a profit by wrecking ships ; and if the
Brazilian Government are obliged to submit to the
demand made on this occasion, then I say that the
coast of Rio Grande will be a favourite resort of
mariners of that odious description. Before I sit down
I will say one word as to, perhaps, the only practical benefit
to be derived from this unfortunate business. I want to
draw public attention to the evils which arose from the
secret diplomacy in this matter. Here is a correspondence
carried on for 18 months upon a purely commercial question
of the very smallest magnitude. Vast interests in Brazil
have been jeopardised, and yet we have been kept in coin •
pleto ignorance of all these transactions. (Hear, hear.) We
have lately had a movement among a number of Chain •
hers of Commerce, calling on the Foreign-office to put
itself in greater communication with them in reference
to commercial arrangements with other countries ; and I
think that they might take a hint from what has occurred
on this simple matter. I have read these despatches
with a greater distaste for diplomacy than I ever felt be-
fore. They exhibit such an amount of verbal criticism
and special pleading, and the correspondence is altogether
of such an order that I was really ashamed when I perused
it. I wish to make a suggestion with regard to all such
correspondence as this, having simply no other than a com-
mercial interest. Ido not speak of diplomacy in Europe,
having reference to State affairs, the balance of power, and
old treaties, with respect to which, in deference to third
parties, it is thought proper to keep the diplomacy secret ;
but 1 am referring to correspondence simply on a commer-
cial question; and I think that it would be a very
prudent course for that correspondence to be published be-
fore the proceedings are brought to a close. (Hear, hear.)
I venture to say that if this correspondence had been pub-
lished from the beginning, if it had been laid on the table
of the house at the commencement of the last session, and we
had known what was going on in Brazil, the body of Eng-
lish merchants there, whose opinion would have been fari
more effectual to preserve peace than your diplomacy,woud ,
if you had let in the wholesome light of publicity, have put
put
as
an end to that empoisoned style of diplomacy which
going on for so many months, and which has hatched all
this mischief. (Hear.) What has been the result of the
course of proceeding adopted ? Why, without even 24 hours
notice, the British merchants in Brazil found their country