The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-05 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PAR

LIAME-NT

ROUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool-
sack at five o'cclock.
Lord CLANCARTY presented a great number of
petitions against the admission-of Jews into Parliament;
also a number of petitions against the Maynooth grant;
also praying fot the supervision of convents.
The Duke of ARGYLL presented a petition from the
Isle of Skye against the religious bests imposed on pro-
fessers at Scotch Universities.
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from Den-
bigh praying for the extension of county courts' juris-
diction ; also from Portsmouth aria- Portsea praying for
Parliamentary papers.
FOREIGN REFUGEES.
Lord LYNDHURST—I rise to occupy for a few
moments the attention of noble lords' opposite upon a
subject in which I presume they feel a -deep interest. It
is matter of public notoriety that great irritation pre-
vails in the capital of the Austrian dominions, and
'throughout the whole of that country, against the people
and Government of England. So far has it been carried
that I understand the Austrian Govetnment have thought
it right to appoint a police force to protect the residence
and persOn of our ambassador from insult and attack.
Although from recent circumstances that irritation has
been greatly increased—l allude to those painful and
deplorable events that have lately occurred—yet the
irritation owes its origin,
no doubt, to the asylum
which we have afforded to foreign refugees, and the
manner in which they have been slowed to abuse the
protection which has been afforded to them by this coun-
try. _Their conduct in this respect, as everybody feels,
has been most scandalous ; and anAll:ion has gone
abroad, and I believe the opinion is ined by those

-
adapted for thd-purpitenurigilnirffirinrtleT
really the case, it would be incumbent on the Govern-
ment of this country to consider whether it would not
be proper to introduce some law on that subject ; but
I do not think so ill of the commolaw of this country
as to suppose that it passes by offices of this descrip-
tion without providing the meansiof punishing them.
My lords, I feel it to be my duty to state my opinion on
this subject, which I do with great deference in the pre-
sence of noble and learned lords who will correct me if I
am erroneous in what I state. I will first put the case
of British subjects. If a number iof British subjects
were to combine and to conspire togither to excite revolt
amongst the inhabitants of a friendly state, of a state
united in alliance with us, and in pursuance of that con-
spiracy were to issue manifestoes and proclamations for
the purpose of carrying that object into effect ; above
all, if they were to subscribe money for the purpose
of purchasing arms to give effect to that intended
enterprise, I conceive, and I state it with confidence,
that such persons would be guilty of a misdemeanour,
and would be liable to severe punishment by the
laws of this country, inasmuch as their conduct tends
to embroil the two countries, to lead to remon-
strance
and expostulation, and might ultimately lead to
war. I think my noble and learned friends who are
assembled here, and who perform so important a part in
the deliberations of this house,Lwill not dissent from the
opinion which I have expressed. Now, as to foreigners.
Foreigners residing in this country, so long as they re-
side here under the protection of this country, are con-
sidered in the light of British subjects, or rather as the
subjects of her Majesty, and are liable to the criminal
law in the same manner, to the same extent, and under
the same ~conditions, as the subjects of this country.
And in a case of this kind, where persons come here as
refugees from a foreign state in consequence of political
acts which they have committed, they are bound upon
every principle of gratitude to conduct themselves with
propriety, and I say these circumstances tend greatly to
aggravate their offence, and no one can doubt that they
are liable to severe punishment. I will put it in another
shape. The offence of endeavouring to excite revolt
amongst the inhabitants of a neighbouring state is an
offence against the law of nations, and no writer states
otherwise. But the law of nations, according to the
decision of one of our greatest judges, is part of the law
of England. I need say no more as to the nature of
the offence attributed to these individuals,tand their

liability to punishment for offences of this description.
But there isk a question connected with this subject of
considerable difficulty, and that relates to the evidence
by which a party can be convicted. Here I admit that
there is great difficulty—very serious difficulty. It is
not sufficient that things should be notorious to all the
world ; you must have such evidence in support of a
particular charge as will be admissable before our tri
bunals. For instance, proclamations have been dispersed
throughout Lombardy—proclamations purporting to be
issued from London. It would not be sufficientlto pro-
duce these documents in a court of justice ; they would
be no evidence in support of a charge ; you must bring
home the offence to the individual; you must show that
those proclamations were issued his instructions,
and that they were issued from Eng nd ; and not only
that they were issued from England;:but that they were
issued in consequence of some act committed by the
person charged, authorising their issue. Now in illus-
tration of this, let me refer to a case
.which occurred

within the last few days. A proclamation was found in
great numbers—l believe in the city of Milan in Lom-
bardy—purporting to be signed by Kossuth. Accord-
ing to that document, you would infer that it had been

issued in England ; and as that person has resided
For a considerable time in this country, and is now

resident here, it might be supposed by those
who were not acquainted with our laws, that
that would be sufficient to fix the act upon Kossuth.
But what turns out to be the case ? Why, that this
document was written two or three years ago, not in
this country, but in the Turkish dominions ; it was sent
by Kossuth to Mazzini, and was handed by him to other
persons, who altered one or two passages in it, and then
printed and published it in the name of Kossuth. That

Would be no-evidence in this country that Kossuth had
been guilty of any offence, or had issued any such pro-
clamation. I must remind foreigners—persons not ac-
quainted with the laws of our country—that we have a
rule, which is not, I believe, acted upon in other coun-
tries, that when a party is charged with an offence, you
cannot interrogate him as to that offence. It is an

inflexible rule of English law, and even if the safety of
the sovereign were at stake, you would not violate that
law. (Hear, hear.) These are difficulties which inter-

fere with the bringing home charges of this description,
where they are conducted with prudence and caution,
against persons supposed to be guilty of them. I men-
tion this, therefore, as an excuse for the time being ler
not bringing those parties to justice. I cannot under-
take to say that there is sufficient evidence against those
parties, but I will say that I think the Government
ought to use great vigilance and great activity for the
purpose of endeavouring to obtain evidence in order to
convict parties guilty of those offences, and to restrain
the commission of them for the future. I think, with
all submission to noble lords opposite, that that is an
imperative duty upon the Government for the time
being. It appears, at least to foreigners, where no such
vigilance and no such activity has been exercised by the
Government, that they have been supine with respect to
proceedings of this kind ; and the notion, however
utterly unfounded it may be, becomes prevalent, that
we are indifferent to such proceedings, and that we do
not view them with displeasure. Nothing can be more
unfounded than imputations of this description • how-
ever, honourable men will join in the opinion which I
have expressed. (Hear, hear.) There is one point
more to which with all submission I will call the
attention of noble lords opposite. It is this. It is
not sufficient for the Government to say to a foreign
State, "Our courts are open to you ; obtain evidence
of a crime having been commited, bring that offence
into a court of justice, and justice will be done
you." I say that is not a sufficient course for the
Government to pursue. It is in my opinion, in cases
of this kind, where foreign States ate concerned, where
an offence is committed not only against foreign States,
but against our own Government—it is, in my opiuiou,
Um duty of our own Government to take the initiative
—(hear, hear)—to institute prosecutions in its own
name, and to obtain evidence of the transactions com-
plained of better than can be obtained by a foreign
State, the more particularly as they have better means
of obtaining evidence. (Hear, hear.) I have thought
it my duty to make these observations preliminary to
the question which lam about to ask—a question of
great importance, and in which I have felt a deep in-
terest. I wish, therefore, to ask the noble earl opposite
(the Earl of Aberdeen), whether any communications
have passed between this country and the Government
Austria, or any other European States, with respect to
respect to the asylum afforded to foreign emigrants in
this country, and the acts committed by the persons to
whom I have referred ? (Hear, hear.)
The Earl of ABERDEEN—My lords, in answer to
the question which my noble and learned friend has put
to me, I have to state that, although communications
have taken place respecting foreign refugees in this
country, no demand has been made either by the Go-
vernment of Austria, or by any other State of Europe.
Ido not deny—l readily admit with my noble and
learned friend, that a considerable degree of excitement
and irritation has prevailed, and does prevail, upon this
subject, not only at Vienna, but in other parts of
Europe ; and I also must say, not only on' the part of
the Governments of Europe,. but the feeling is shared
by the people of those countries. My lords, I must
confess that, connecting as they do certain atrocious
and sanguinary acts of recent occurrence with the re-
sidence of those refugees in this country, the feeling is,
perhaps, not unnatural, but they connect, them as I be-
lieve very erroneously, and therefore I think and hope
that the feeling will subside and be set at rest before
long. My lords, I think it is right to say that it is not
the intention of her Majesty's Government to propose
any new law fitorinthennatdooputrioinnteonf
tPinanrlifaomr
i 8 gurficient to enable us to discharge those duties to
e nt
this isu reason,
stohni,
because we hope and believe that the law of this country
this
subject,