The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-31 00:00:00

ALLEGED PROSECUTION OF PROTESTANTS

IN SPAIN.

Mr. BLAKE asked the First Lord of the Treasury
whether he would lay on the table of the hence the papers
relating to the negotiations between her Majesty's Govern-
ment and the Government of the Queen of Spain, respect-
ing the alleged persecution of Protestants ?
Lord PALMERSTON, who appeared rather feeble, said
that he could not lay the papers in question on the table,
for the best reason possible, namely, that no such docu-
ments existed. There was no official communication with.
Government on the subject. The English Minister at Ma-
drid had some conversations with the Spanish Minister on
the subject, but they were of a non-official character, and
were not suitable to be brought before the house. He
could only repeat what he had already stated, that her Ma-
jesty's Minister at Madrid had been instructed, without
insulting the people of Spain, to express to the Spanish,
Minister the feeling of the English nation in regard to
nislonrawent
these unfortunate gentlemen who had been imprisoned for
their religious opinions. (Hear, hear.)
THE MILITIA.
Sir J. FERGUSSON moved that, in
l training
this house, it was not desirable that the
annual
- the opinion of
of the militia should be of iless duration thanalcommission.
mini-
mum period recommended by the
royal commission.
was the least
He contended that 28 days training
and he cited the
and said that
ecamilitia, in order to
that should be allowed for training It
maintain the body in a state of efficiency,
had considered
this consi ered
authority of the itoyal Com
this subject, in support of his argument.
Lord BURLEIGH seconded the, motion,
ereents which had taken place
in consequence of the improv
necessary than
in the rifle, it was morn the s militia
hever that
the term of training of s onld not
edei the Volunteers, and considered
be reduced. He resp
ort but he denied
they were entitled to bupp , , , . that they were
lace the militia, which in times of emergency qualified to rep
s of the line, to which they had long
replenished the rank
He ad
acted as a nurserY
of
invasion verted to the danger
that might arise i the event
not in a state of efficrncy.
Sir a. LuivlS said there was no doubt the militia was a
constitutional force, and would prove of the greatest ad-
vantage .
to the country in the event of an invasion. The
lv d how
question mvo e , ever, was one to be considered by
the house as one of substantial expenditure. In 1860 the
number of regiments of militia was 23, and the expenditure
incurred was £500,190 ; and for 1861 it amounted to
037,000, which had arisen from the increase in the num-
ber of days of drill and training. If the proposition of the
bon. baronet (Sir J. Fergusson) were agreed to, and
the 28 days training and 14 days drill were adopted,

the —estimate would have to be increased to
to £749,549. The Government dealing with the question
in an economic view, and taking into account the efficiency
of the regular troops and the volunteers, had to consider
whether they should reduce the number of the days of
training and drill, or the number of men in the
militia. If they had taken the latter course he was
satisfied they would have incurred more censure than
in the present case, for if they diminished a body of effec-
tual men, it would be difficult to replace them. (Hear.)
After a few words from several hon. members.
The motion of the hon. baronet was negatived without a
division.

THE MERRIMAC AND MONITOR.
Sir F. SMITH called the attention of the Secretary of
State for War to the reports of an engagement between an
American iron-clad frigate in the naval service of the Con-
federate States, called the " Merrimac," and an iron gun-
boat, called the "Monitor," in the naval service of tie
Federal States, havinga shot-proof roof; and to ask whether,
in consequence of the results of that action, it will not be
prudent to suspend the construction of some of the pro-
posed forts at Spithead until the value of such iron-roofed
gunboats for the defence of our ports and roadsteads shall
have been fully considered. Having alluded to the actions
in which these vessels were engaged he contended that we
could not rely on our fortifications to prevent Portsmouth
and other ports being bombarded by similar vessels. He
trusted that Government would not at present go further
with the works in course of construction, and which would
cost the country £200,000. He thought it would be better
under the circumstances if they paid for the forfeiture of
their contracts. Whatever difference of opinion
there might be on other points, there was no
doubt they had been wrong in constructing
forts at Spithead, but they had not gone too far to retraca
their steps. They would not be able to man these forts
even with the assistance of the Volunteers, while
gun boats could be easily manned and would
prove of the more efficient character in the event
of an invasion. He alluded to the Monitor which
after several hours' exposure to a fire from a fort and vessels
had sustained no injury, though some of the balls directed
against her were of the largest calibre.
Mr. LAIRD advocated the adoption of iron-clad vessels
for purposes of war.

[LEFT
SPEARING.]
1.......m........,-_

rSUi oN IN REEC.E.

ivGerseeee .
A letter from Athens, written evidently by a
the following de-
gi n
ts
hu
er reeve
et
ni ot in gn
ATHENS, MARCH 20.
tf raiiel en ar
eos fp
etchtei n
"All the ladies'of Syra have gone into mourning
for the brave men who were slain in the recent
fight ; and some of the leading men, such as the
barristers Galata and Ralli, and the chief mer-
chants of Syra, have declared that the authorities
may imprison them if they like ; but that they will
never give their adhesion to the Royal Government.
It is these manifestations which made the Governor
(monarque) state in his:last despatch that the revo-
lutionary spirit had not yet subsided. I ask you,
then, if the people of Syra have not given a
denial to the Government which has endeavoured
to persuade Europe that the insurrection of
Nauplia is not shared by all Greeks. Only
yesterday, a Conservative, a man of great expe-
rience, said to me, ' The excitement is so great
throughout every part of the country, that if we
only had some man capable of leading us, we should
rise like one man.' This person told me that he
had said this to the King ; but he added -"r here
is a fate hanging over kings and peoples into which
they are inevitably drawn. The voice of the warner
is never listened to until it is too late.' I`o my
question, as to whether he thought it would soon be
over, he replied, ' The most difficult thing will be
to restore confidence between the King and the
people, and I fear we are on the verge of an abyss.
Every arbitrary act widens the breach. It requires
great strength of character to change a system, and
you know, as well as I do, that natures seldom
change.'

" At Chalcis the prisoners have overpowered their
guard and got out of the prisons, to the number of
197. The despatch of the Governor is curious. He
says he is glad of it, as those prisoners were a source
of anxiety to him, and he hopes the island will now
be tranquil.

"It is true that the outworks of Nauplia have
fallen into the hands of the Royalists. Coroneos,
who was wounded and taken prisoner, has arrived
at the Pirtous, where he is closely guarded. As
regards Nauplia, the fortress holds out, and the
town will not surrender unless the Government
grants a general amnesty. Well, this general
amnesty, which the King and the Government
were to proclaim with great joy, after a Cabinet
Council held yesterday is, I hear, not to be granted.
Matters are also made worse by the imprisonment
of any one who dares publicly to express liberal
opinions. Thus the deputy of Hydra, Boudouris,
ex•deputy of Syra, Platis, and four barris-
ters have been thrown into prison. All the
journals, even the Esperance, a Conservative
journal, have been forbidden to write any
comments on the acts of the Government.
The Senate and the Chamber have also been re-
quested to make no allusions to the subject, and
their dissolution is imminent. What a life for the
Queen, to see the streets she drives through fall of
gendarmes and troops, and to see her subjects pass
by in silence without saluting her ! The King
only shows himself once a week, with an escort of
30 gendarmes. This cannot last. A petition from
the body of lawyers of Calamata has been presented
to the King by -their Deputy, Diomedes, which, in
respectful terms, says that the insurrection at
Nauplia is simply a manifestation which proves
that the Greek people wish to be governed con-
stitutionally."

The Paris papers of to-day doubt the authenticity
of the telegraphic announcement of the surrender
of Nauplia. The Journal des Debats of Sunday

says :

" A despatch from Constantinople, which reached
Paris yesterday, announces that Nauplia has sur-
rendered, and that those leaders who have not been
amnestied have taken to flight. We have not, as
yet, received any confirmation of that despatch.
The town of Nauplia is dominated by Fort Pala-
mides, where Lieut. Grivas is strongly entrenched
with 200 determined insurgents. A correspondent
of the Semaphore asserts that the fort could hold
out for a long time against 10,000 men. Grivas is
reported to be a man of determined character, who
would not flinch from any extremity. It is much
doubted that he will accept a conditional or partial
amnesty."