The Sun.
London, England, 1806-08-28 00:00:00

le'l4s4seAlphOnsUl ilen-C.eeded- in all his de.
ekcept .Te'eleles, by his ,l,rether John, King
of -Navarre: •lii I 47,e• the .Cro.y3.' devolved to hiS
son Ferditaed, who I,e-united -.Naples to the king. 7
doms of Sicily and Amgen in 1506. •Ne was -sue.;
ceed in 1516 by the Emperor Charles-V. in Whom
the Crowns of• Cestile and .Arragon _were finally
united. '.ln 1554 Charles assigned his detninions to'
his son Philip; the'lasband of Mary Queen. of:Eng.-
land. From this perirgl the. Crown of Sicily was
worn by the Kings of Spain, till the death of Charles
11. whose spoils became an obj,& of contemion.—
At the Peace of Utrecht Sicily was, ceded by Philip
V. of Spain. to Vi&or _Ai-had:ens, Duke of Savoy;
j.
who, in 1713, was croWned
.at Palertim " King of
Sicily." `, ,
But-in 1.7 fp tlw'..new Sovereign was.disturbed in
the posiiOn Of Sicily by the attempts of Philip to
recover. the Island. ri:he'..projet'ts 'of the King of
Spain welt frustrated 'by .the'forces of England and
Germany and the naval superie!ity. of., Britain was
conspicuously displayed in a memorable: 'defeat of
the Spanish Fleet. In the folloWing year, the Duke
of Savoy was compelled by' the .Emperor Charles
VI. 'to relinquish this Island, and receive Sardinia as
an equivalent. After various attempts by.the Spa..
niards to recover, Sicily from the House of Anstna,.
the design was resumed with success in 1734, and,
Don Carlos was crowned at Palermo '' King of the
Two Sicilies !" When lie suceeeded to the Cro‘,Vn
'of Spain, he transferred to his son
.Ferdinand the
Sicilian Diadem, which has since continued in the
possession of that family, but not ennexed to the'
Spanish Monarchy. • , • • • •
The brave inhabitants of Sicily Nave thus been en,
gaged in many successful struggles for freedoth ran&
-
independence- From their antient history we learn,
that they maintained their -liberty till, they were,
forced to yield- to the irrFsistible weight of the Rae'
Man PoWer. When Sicily was separated' from the
Empire of home, it continued an, independent king-
dom, with little interruption, till the 15th centuty.
In modern times, though Sicily has become united
with Naples, the circumstance of its history, and
the name which is imposed on the united kingdom,
will justify its claim of being always the paramount
State. The desire arid the pretensions of France to
incorporate Sicily with the usurped kingdom of
Naples, will excite the strongest indignatiba, and
provoke the most desperate struggle. The. French
name has long been an object of aversion to the
Sicilians, and they must be regarded by Franco
with distrust and jealousy. The. resistance which
they are enabled to oppose to the -effOrts of
the enemy, and the powerful aid which they
receive from 'Great;Biitaiti, will inflame the hatred
of the French, who; in the event of conquest,
might be swayed by the influence 6f revenge. In•
the impending contest the courage of the Sicilians
must be animated by the strongest motives—their
attachment to their Sovereign, the love of their
Country, their independence, their liberty and their
dread of the vengeance of the enemy. They may
justly exclaim, with their forefathers, who deprecated
the return of Marcellus, to' whom Sicily had been
allotted in his Fourth Consulate, "Vbrui .2Etna lg-
nibus wit mergi Freto, satius Insulce esse pain
velut dedi posae ininzico."
But While the resources of the arms of Britain
are employed in the defence of Sicily, while a Bri-
tish "Fleet, commanded by an enterprising leader,
menaces the shores of Italy, the threats and pre-
parations of the enemy will meet a bold defiance.—
.The Ustirper, 'foiled in his attempts, and distrustful
of his subjeas, will be compelled to relinquish -his
projeEts of ,attack, and: dri.ven to consult safety.
The faith and justice due to ,an ally •will ensure the
•i prote&ion and aid of Britain to the Sicilian Mo--.
narche The expediency Of maintaining the, inde-
pendence of Sicily, and of securing it from the
grasp of the enemy is obyidus, and highly important
in a commercial and Military view. As a conye-
. nient Entrepot for the trade of England with -Italy,
with the Levant, and other markets of the Mediter-
ranean, Sicily can 'levet' be-o'erlooked by a commer-
-1 cial nation.
_ _

The great fertility-of the soil, which is capable
of almost incredible increase, will supply the wants
of Malta, which would 'otherwise be burdensome
though still a necessary
spossession. Without the
assistance of Sicily, Xliiita toust be immediately
supplied by this Country with every necessary for
its support That Island might derive occasional
aid from the coast of Barbary ; but could neyer rely
on that source for the permanent means of subsist-
ence. The command of the Italian market,- the la-
cilitation of commercial intercourse in :the Mediter-
ranean, will be ensured to the British merchant
by the independence of Sicily, and its alliance with
this country. •
Under present circumstances, the dependence of.
'that island on France would almost totally exclude.
us from the trade of the South of Europe. As a mir ••
litary station, Sicily is equally important. From '
that post the enemy may be awed and kept in check,
or advantaeously attacked in Italy. The move-
Ments of the enemy may be closely watched, and
any future attempt ott Egypt readily dis Covered and
promptly repelled. It will afford shelter and sup.--
„plies to .our -Fleets in the Mediterranean ; and will
fUrniSh necessaries and
,refreshments after a voyage'
to troops returning from an Expedition, or destined
to engage in some enterprize.
By ,Sicily, in times of hostility, we shall obtain fa-:
'cilities for coudnaing military operations, and for
annoying the enemy. In times of war and peace
our commerce will be etTeElually scented, By pre-
venting the dependence of this Island, on France,
we shall also depriveAhe enemy of advantages which
might peibaps be employed with still greater success
against ourselves. -
,
- In every view WO are impressed with a conviaion
of the necessity and expediency of maintaining the
independence of Sicily, and of continuing in firm
alliance *with that cquntry., The confidence which:
Ferdinand haS reposed in the justice, the honour,
and the power of his Ally, will not ha deceived Or
disappointed.. Th 4 British Throne will exhibit a
bright example of generosity and good faith; and the
'magnanimity .of the Sovereign will be seconded by
the policy of the Government,. and the wishes of
the people. . • . • •
_ _

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