The Sun.
London, England, 1838-05-14 00:00:00

consideration was, had these persons fought under the standard o'
despotism, or for the principles of constitutional liberty?—(Cheers.)
llc-
trusted that every one present would leave the room a warm advocate for
their claims, and a zealous co-operator with them in their demands for
justice.—(Cheers.)
Mr. HENDERSON said the very able manner in which th
Chairman had explained the object of the meeting rendered
it unnecessary for him to make a single observation on that point.
This meeting had not been got up for party purposes—to embarrass
the present Government, or aid the opposite party in their aspire_
tions for power,—but to enlist the sympathies of the country in tin,
cause, by " a plain unvarnished tale" of suffering and injustice.-
-(Cheers.) The resolution he had to move was as follows :
" That the officers and men of the British Auxiliary Legion having
engaged in the service of her Catholic Majesty at the express desire
()Phis late Majesty, William the Fourth, by the advice of his Council,
and having fulfilled their term of service, are entitled to the payment ot
their arrears; and that as British subjects, who have been oppressed and
defrauded by a foreign power, they are entitled to the support of the
British Government.'' It was true that, on the face of the Order in
Council, there was no direct obligation on the British Govern
meat to settle their claims, but it was evident that the British
Government had not fulfilled its duty, in not stipu_
lating proper conditions, and seeing that they were observed,
for the security of their countrymen, who had no other protection in
enlisting under the Spanish Government. The letter of the law might
be against them, but its spirit was in their favour. The British Go-
vernment was under a moral obligation either to see the Legion
paid, or to pay them themselves.—(Loud cheering.) He was
not connected with the Legion, and had come forward merely
as an Englishman anxious to see justice done to his countrymen ;
and as a tax-payer and a supporter of the Government, he said that they
ought to pay, and he could see no difficulties in which they would in.
volve themselves by doing so, and performing an act of justice.—(Loud
cheers.) No man could tell him that he had forsaken his principles in
(Cheers.)etanding folrtwinaridghtasbetehxepecadtedvocathteat oif,e tsfilleosueld ueinitfoerrtuinntaotea
hmisetncy
of the correspondence on this subject ; it was, not, however, his intention
to do so, as he should approach it with regret, because it would only be
a repetition of the contumely and insult which these men had received
both at home and abroad.—(Cheers.) He hoped the people of England
had not been such careless observers of the cruelties practised on these
unfortunate men as to require a repetition of them from him.—(Cheers.)
His whole heart was in the cause, and if he had not advocated it with
that energy which might be expected, he trusted it would be attributed
to a family affliction he had met with, and not to any want of feeling to_
wards the subject.—(Cheers. )
Colonel Ssuw seconded the resolution. He had been for the last
nine months the Chairman of the Committee of Officers, in order to
obtain the just rights of the British Legion. The first letter he had
written to Lord Palmerston remained for two months unanswered, and
the letter that was received from him was of such a nature, that they
had determined to call the present meeting, being well assured it was
the only means of obtaining their rights.
Dr. LAMBERT then came forward to make a few observations.
Although the Chairman had entered into a detail of the wrongs the Le-
gion had received, they fell far short of the cruelties that had taken place.
His observations would be very short, but he would intersperse them
with two or three anecdotes which had occurred in the legion. When
the legion was disbanded, General Fitzgerald was about to pass through
the gates of the town, when the Spanish guard refused to allow him to
do so; they had not the common decency to pay their respects to a man
who had fought the battles of their own country.—(Hear, bear.) 'With
regard to the manner in which the gentlemen belonging to the press
who went to Spain for the purpose of communicating to the papers of
this country, the hardships and privations which the legion were suffer-
ing, he must say the representatives of the press had every reason to be
dissatisfied with the treatment which they had received. The correspon-
dent of the Morningilerald, Mr. O'Dwyer,having been accosted in a rather
peculiar manner in the streets by the military secretary, applied to the
Lieutenant-General for protection. The reply of the latter was, You
Gentlemen of the press are exceedingly particular—you don't mind
trifling with our feelings, and still when the slightest demonstration of
is made towards you, you immediately come for protection." It
was clear that the only object of the gentlemen connected with the piers
in Spain was to communicate facs, and whatever was the political opinion
expressed in the papers to which they w,:re attached they all were ready
to sympathise with the surerings which the Legions were enduring.
Mr. M`Leon had always taken a deep interest in the cause ot the
Legion. He thought they had been a very ill-used set of men, and that
it was monstrous they should be compelled to remain longer in such a
distressed condition.—(Hear, hear.) The British Government bad not
acted in a manly and straightforward manner on this question. They
had done eveything to induce these unfortunate men to leave their native
shores and enlist under foreign banners—e" to fight," as it was said, " the
battle of freedom," and had afterwards neglected to enforce their just
claims.—(Hear.) It was always found that those entrapped men to en.
gage in war, left them in the lurch.—(Hear, hear.) It was beyond all
question the duty of those who had been the means of sending the Legion
to Spain, to endeavour to obtain for them the liquidation of the just
claims.—(Cheers.) He begged to move "That the Spanish Govern-
ment, having failed to satisfy their claims, and having grossly violated
repeated promises of payment, it is the duty of the British Government
to enf _tree the fulfilment of those engagements, under which they autho-
rised the raising of the auxiliary force."—(Cheers.)
Colonel Hums rose to second the motion, and, as so much had been
said on the subject, he would not detain them further than by saying,
that every word which had fallen from the Gallant Chairman was true.
He was one of those British Officers who had been induced to leave his
own regiment, in order to take out one from Ireland. He arrived in
Spain before General Evans, and the treatment his men met with was
shameful, and they would have been starved had it not been for the
assistance of Lord John thy, who rendered them the very best service.
When General Evans arrived, he mentioned the fret to him, and they
were better treated for a short time, but upon all occasions they were
used with brutality and ingra.itude.

Colonel Traosresors then came forward amid much cheering. He felt
no diffidence in addressing the meeting on the present occasion, except
that which arose from a wish that they had a more able advocate. It
perhaps might not be known to many present, that he came within the
list of those who belonged to the Legion; but being in the House of
Commons, he thought he could do more good to the cause there than in
Spain; but his sin was among those who were wounded on the sth of
May —(Cheers.) His best services were at the disposal of the meeting,
and he had only to regret that his assistance should be so small. He
could conceive the desirableness of keeping this question distinct from
politics if they could.—(Great cheering.) He believed that most of the
men who went out in the expedition to Spain went there from the purest
motives, and with hopes of coming back again to meet the reward of
their country's approbation, and what must be the feelings of a Ministry
who allowed them to leave the shores of England for such a purpose--
to suffer them to be treated in the manner in which they had been ?
Had the Government taken any moderate precautions to insure their
suceess ? Was there any reason why they should not have said to the
Spanish Government, if you arc to have ton or fifteen thousand English,
men to assist you, remember wherever they go a detachment of the 13ri.
tish Goverament toes with them—there is power with the British Govern-
ment by one strokeof the pen to do justice to them all. Were the Govern-
ment not b sund to have done that, or to have foreseen their own inability,
and vacate the places they could not hold.—(Cheers.) Did they take
the ordinary means P Was there ever an instance of a Tory leateenis_
tration, sending forth ten thousand men, cut off from all connection
with thee Government, and left to the chance of what a nation less
civilized than their own should choose to inflict upon them.—(Cheers,)
Perhaps Government might say, they never made a bargain. They
however left these men 10 assume that the British Government
would by an honest, open, and bold one.—(Cheers, and hear, hear.)
There was no precedent of a Government sending out an armed force,
—the Government of a country so glorious as England—so letting
down the honour of their 'maitre, as the present Government had
done.—(Hear, hear.) He (Colonel Thompson) would never have en-
couragel his countrymen to enlist in the Spanish cause, had he known
that over and above the common evils of a soldiers life, they were to be
neglected and deserted, and that to a cause in sthich the national reputation
was at stake, the Government should have furnished not even a decent
support, thus causing so miserable a page in England's history to be en-
graven on herannals and so ;h a burning shame upon her. nationalcharacter.
Let them give the Ministry one more chance, and then see if they had
the spirit, which he doubted, to speak strongly and energetically to a
Foreign Power; then if they did so forgive them all their faults. He
trusted he gave such proof as was in his power of the sincerity of his
support to the object he had in view.—(Cheers.)
Capt. 11LerrnEws, M.P., was rejoiced that an accidental meeting with
a friend had afforded him an opportunity of countenancing the object of the
meeting, which was a just oae. He held very different polities from
the Gallant Colonel who spoke last—he trusted that their being then
present was a favourableomen, and that both parties In the State would
support their claims. Whole the Ministry of England should have
supported they had degraded.—(Cheers.) He should feel the greatest
pleasure in supporting in his place in the House of Commons any
motion that had for its object to press upon her Majesty's
Ministers the absolute necessity of enforcing the claims of the
Legion, and although he differed with them in the original policy of the
undertaking, yet he cordially supported the demands of the Legion for
their just right.—(Cheers.) Though they had no claim upon the Trea-
sury oftbeir country, they might rely upon the British feeling in the
House of Commons.—(Cheers.) They might depend upon it, if the
Government chose to enforce it, the money would be forthcoming.
The second resolution was then put to the meeting, and declared by
the Chairman to be carried uuanimously.
Mr. HINE, of Lambeth, then came forward to propose the third roan
lution He need not remind the meeting that the day was getting
late, and the subject exhausted. It was so plain that it required
little to show the justice of it.—(Cheers.) He was sure the meeting had
made up their minds on the matter, and he thought that through the
press the public would have but one voice and one heart on the
matter. If private justice was a matter of importance, how
much more important was the justice of a nation.—(Hear, hear.)
If the character of a nation became forfeited from a want
of doing justice to the helpless and friendless, he for one should look
upon that nation with detestation, and hold them unfit to enter into
any public engagement. He could not believe for a moment that the
British Government would really forsake them—(Cheers)—when the
claims were fairly placed before them. When this was done, he could
not believe they would fail to make such a representation to the Spa.
nish Government as would ensure the settlement of their just and ne-
cessary claims. the statement which had been made respecting he
Spanish people, and the political knowledge which we had of that
nation, must inspire every one with pity. It was merelyt lie
result of a system of long ages of priestcraft which produced ignorance,
and ignorance always produced slavery. He hated war in every form,
but must say that it was a great deal better than slavery. He respected
those men who drew their swords in defence of liberty, and he believed
the officers and men of the lotion, in a majority of cases were inspired by
this feeling. He wished to ask where was General Evans ? He was in.
formed that he hod refused to answer the letters of the gentlemen feral-
ing this Committee, demanding a settlement of these claims, and that
he skulked away from Spain at a time when he should have seen his last
man on shipboard. He supposed he came home to save his
sinking country. That country, however, must be far gone, indeed,
which could be saved by such a: [The conclusion of the sen-
tence was not heard, amidst the laughter which prevailed at this
portion of the speaker's remarks.] He (Mr. Hine) did not impugn
the military conduct of the Gallant General—(Cheers)—but he thought
the Gallant Genera lwould have acted better, and earned greater coedit,
had he seen all his men embarked, and their claims settled.— (Cheers.)
But, doubtless, the Gallant General was now better gmployed, and,
having gained a title, was preparing his coronation robes.—(Laughter.)
He (Mr. Hine) did not believe a single Government of Europe was sin-
cerely desirous for the downfall of Don Carlos, and the triumph of
liberty in Spain--(Hear, hear)—not evea the Governments of France
aid England.—(Hear, hear.) He now moved "That it was a grass act
of injustice and ingratitude on the part of the Spanish Cortes to the
British Legion in negociating a recent loan to limit its appropriation to
the payment of the subjects of the Queen of Spain, and that the British
Governmentport
oonuogfh
thatt
fund to have
to
the interfered
payment
of
i nan
the L
effeegeitoin7(Cheers.)
manner to
s cure
Captain GARDNER agreed in all that bad been said, and cordially se-
conded the motion.
ea
Captain MARTIN said it had been a system if swindling altogether—
offices had been engaged in the city—and a mock commission amointed
merely for the purpose of deluding the public. At first he had thought
there was some truth in the statements made so confidently by General
Evans, and confirmed by the Ministers, that all pensions and allowances
for maims had been paid, but he found that it was totally untrue.
T e Gallant Captain then read a letter he had received frcm
stating that the demands that were due shsuld be paid, and a!so a letter
he had written to the Spanish Ambassador, enforcing the rights of the
Legion. After alluding to some interviews which he had with the
Spanish Ambassador on the subject of these claims, the speaker concluded
by remarking that he thought the Spanish Government ought to be
forced to settle those claims--(Cheers ) Indeed they ought to have
been compelled to do this lone ago.—(Hear.) He had several letters
in his pocket which he thought it unnecessary to read ; he could not
however, help expressing his satisfaction in thinking they would do all