The Sun.
London, England, 1822-05-15 00:00:00

gn
LICENSING OF PURER HOUSE&

Mr.:H. G. BENNET, In thing to rective for-leave to bring
in a Bill to alter and amend the present thode Of licensing public
houses, observed that lie:Would not occupy -the attention-of the
House longer than was necessary to enable him to state concisely
the nature of the measures which he wished to introduce, which
would be best effected by showing the points of difference be-
tween it and the law as it- at present stood. Under the present
system an individual who solicited a license was obliged to give
in a certificate of character. • It might naturally be supposed
that this certificate would be derived from the place where he
was best known—namely, where be had last resided. No such
thing ; it was required to come from the place to which he was
going. He (Mr. Bennet) would alter this practice. and provide
that the certificate should be signed by some individual living
in the parish in which the-publican had last resided, and that
it should state particularly who he was, and what business he
had formerly pursued. The next point which his Bill touched
upon was that of recognizahces. Under the present law, a
publican was required to enter into recognizances for his pro-
per behaviour; but this was merely a matter of form, no real
securities being ever given. His Bill would provide that sub-
stantial securities should be !given. It was an evil of the
isting system thatit presented no intermediate degrees of pu-
nishment for the improper conduct of publicans, between ab-.
solute- ruin by the deprivation of licenses, and the infliction
of -slight fines. He proposed to remedy this by giving
gistrates the power to proportion the,fures- to the offences; and,
in an instance of very gross Misconduct, to send the case
before a-jury. If the Jury should return a verdict against
the offender, the Magistrates would then estreat his recog-
nizances, shut up his houke, and declare him incapable pf
----31-dm -opening a public-house. By theliroVisions of his Fffil
it would be required that a Magistrate who abrogated-or refused
to grant a license should state his reasons for his conduct. The
Hon. Member proceeded to inveigh against the existing system.
To the disgrace of the Legislature, and still more of the Ma-
gistracy, the majority of the 1; 1)1:die-houses throughout the
country were in the hands of brewers, who drenched the,people
with their bad-beer, or compelled them to take to spirits as a
substitute. From curiosity, he (Mr. H. G. Bennet) had tasted
some of the abominable stuff to which he alluded. Seeing one
name to all the public-houses in a neighbourhood, lie had been
desirous to assay the :potion which the people were condemned
to swallow. The only remedy which he saw for the evil was,
to increase the facility of obtaining licenses for public-houses ;
and the plan thich he should-suggest for that purpose was this
—he would enable every man holding a house of 201. a year
to demand as a right (upon entering into fit securities), the
power of opening a* public-house ; leaving power to the M-
agistrates, on the next licensing day, to -shirt up the house if
they saw reason toll° so. The Hon.- Member concluded by
moving, that leave be given-to bring,i-a-a Bill to amend the
present mode of licensing public-houses.
Mr. CALVERT professed himself ready to give every as-
sistance to the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury, although he
doubted that his- plan would be open' to objection. He be-
lieved that from one end cf the country to the other, there was
not only a great deal of bad beer sold, but a great deal of
short measure. The Hon. Gentleman sat down by objecting
to the use of earthen pots, which professed to hold a quart each,
but which-in reality did not contain more than a piht and a
half. He thouht that some strict regulation as to measure
would be beneficial. -
Sir I. COFFIN bore witness, from his own experience, to
the fact of the bad measure.
Mr. COLBORNE suggested the propriety of granting li-
censes- to sell table beer only. An excellent beer, he under-
stood, could be brewed for two-pence halfpenny a' quart ; but
the law restricted table beer at present to three-halfpence. Ile
believed that the experiment which he proposedhad been tried
successfully, thoughillegally, in a country village. The pea-
santry had bought the beer almost universally, and .the Magi-
strates had regretted that they were compelled to put down the
practice,

Mr. GRENFELL, without risking any decided opinion
upon the subject, thought that the House iits indebted to the
,exertions of Mr: Bennet.—Leave was then given to bring in
the Bill.
Mr. COKE presented a Petition from the town of Maiden-
head, against the existing mode of licensing public-houses.
Mr. CALVEItT said a few words, but we could not catch
their meaning.
Mr. CHARLES DUNDAS defended the conduct of the
Magistrates generally.
Mr. FYSHE PALMER bore testimony to the meritorious
services of the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury.
EMBASSY TO THE SWISS CANTONS.
Mr. WARRE postponed his motion upon the Embassy to
the Swiss Cantons until Thursday next. If the motion of the
Hon. Member for Ipswich with tespect to the third class of the
Civil List were earned, its operation would include the appoint..
went against which his (Mr. Warred) motion was directed.—
If the Hon. Member's motion, however, should not receive
the sanction of the House, he (Mr. Warre) would bring his
own measure on on Thursday.
IRISH MAIL-COACHES.
'Sir N. COLTHURST presented a Petition from the Mer-
chants and Bankers of Cork against the present regulations as
to the transport of letters between that city and Dublin. The
Hon. Member stated that the Petition was most numerously
and respectably signed. Ills wish was that it should be refer-
red to a Committee. "

Mr. SPRING RICE understood that the mail-coach con..
tract between Limerick and Dublin, either had been completed;
or was on the point of being completed, upon terms very dis-
advantageous to the public, and highly injurious to the mer-
cantile interest. He wished that some explanation on the sub-
ject should be given to the House.
AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.
The LORD ADVOCATE presented a Petition from the
county of Kincardine, complaining of the depressed state of
agricultural produce.
BANK CHARTER.
Mr. GRENFELL, seeing the Chancellor of the Exchequer
in his place, desired to give a notice and to put a question. His
notice was that he should resist the proposed measure with re-
spect to the Bank Charter; his question was, when would that
measure, in a tangible shape, come before the House ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied, that
both the House arid the lion. (lentleman must be aware :that,
besides the negotiation for the renewal of the Bank Charier,

PRICE- SiVENPANCE::

'another negotiation, important to :financial 'operations,
was
goingon in the city. As one of the'rneasures might possibry
affect the other, the House would .see the propriety of taking
no step with respect to the Bank Charier until the other point
was disposed of. , . ..
Mr. MABERLY objected to the large profits =Nigel by
the Bank. A renewal of their Charter upon the old scald ought
to be resisted.
Mr. PEARSE thought it would be better to postpone 'dis-
cussion until the question came before the House.. .
-.-
Mr. DAVENPORT presented a Petition from the most dii-
tressed part of the most distressed county in England. '4l:e
Petition (which by some accident was not read, but which'sailts
understood to come from the county of Sussex) prayed kV-a
--
reduction of the duties upon hops, and for the repeal Of stain'
regulations as to the mode of packinfl them.
The CHANCE'LLOR of the EXCHEQUER avoided.giVa*
ing any opinion as to the propriety of reducing the Duties on
Hops. Whntever general reductions might be hereafter .er-
fected, it was impossible for Government to pledge itself as to
any particular tax. With respect to the packin regulatiens
complained of, he had no objection to their repeal, provided it-
would not be attended with mischievous consequences: • •
Mr. CALVERT thought that the repeal of those regulations
would be mischievous.e•
After a few words from MiILUSHINGTON, the, Petition
wstaxacchaalseand ordered to be printed.
lONIAN ISLANDS:--
Mr. HUME rose, and said-that the task he had uridertakenf
was not one pleasingao himself. If he were anxious' to con-
sult his own ease he would not have interfered --with "the
question ; but he considered that the interests of 200,000: inn
habitants of the lonian Islands, and the • character 'of -.4110
British nation, from the protection it had undertaken-to offer
them, was at stake. It was- from these motives that. ha esia
gaged in a task unpleasant- to his feelings—but one on' which
his opinions were most decided. It was not the first, aloe'
the third time that he had tailed the attention -Of the Hodge,
to the subject; last year he had laid before it the situation
of those Islands, in a very detailed manner. He said-- that he
would, in justice to himself -and to the cause of humanity- in
these islands, have to trespass on the time of the House 'at
present, but he would endeavour to compress, the subject* of
briefly as possible. He was anxious to state that he hadano
personal feelings to gratify evil-rat the individual whom -he
found it his duty to arraign. He. did not know him ; he had
not any transactions witli him ; it was solely on public
grounds he attacked his conduct. He (Mr. Huine) ' sad
spent -a considerable time' in the lonian Islands, and had at=
tached himself to the inhabitants. • He would therefere abe
blameablo• if he did not give his attention to their present
deplorable state. At that time Corfu was held by Francsses
he passed through all the others; he found the name-of-Eng-
land hailed as the harbinger .of peace ; its
eproteetien was..
supposed by the inhabitants to bring to them the saine'.4-
berty -they had heard England herself enjoyed. :They les
garded this country: with feelings of: devotion and affectiori,
which we had ill repaid. These islands belonged to the' Gos
vernment of Venice in the year 1797 ; they follow-NI the for-
tunes of that •,tate, 'and in 1801 they became subject -to
Russia. By a secret article of the treaty of Tilsit they were
next conveyed from Russia to France, in which situation they
remained until 1810. At the treaty of Paris they were de-
clared
free and iadependent, and placed under the special
guarantee and protection of Great Britain. There Was an
article in the treaty which stated that. the Government then •
existing in the lonian jslands should remain till there was time
to form a constitutional government. This treaty was agreed
to on the 2d of 'May, 1818, and was signed on the 11th ,of
July following by his Britannic • Majesty. He would view
the question under two heads first, as regarded the expenses
which Great Britain incurred in consequence of the possession
of these Islands'; and, aecondly, as to the treatment which
these Islands had a right to expect from Great Britain. Ira
could refer to a speech of the Noble Marquis on the subject --
of the treaty of Paris, in which he explained the jealousy of
the Russian Ge eernmetrr as to these Islands, and also said
that they expressed a wish to place themselves under the protee-
tion of England, in the expectation of receiving a constitution'
framed on the same principles as that of this country.. A
-Noble Earl' expressed a similar opinion in his place in the.
House of Lords. But if these Islands were to be placed stn-.
der the protection of England, it ought not to be at the ex-:
pence of any additional burden to this country. However, he
would be able to show that, if the resources of- these Islands
were properly managed, they would be quite sufficient to de:,
fray all the expences necessary for their administration. it
was expressed, in the Constitutional Charter, as agreed 'upon•
at the treaty of Paris, that the government of the Milian'
Islands should be carried on in proportion to the revenues de-
rived from them, 'except when the garrisdnexseeded 3;00o
men; then the Islands should not be subject to the. expence of
maintaining them. By this article, then, Great Britain was
obliged to defray' the exoence of keeping a garrison of 3,000
men in these Islands, when their own revenues would be suffi-•
cient to defray it, if they were frugally managed. In 1816,
after the conclusion of the treaty, Sir Thomas Maitland was
appointed to succeed General Campbell. Sir Thomas Mait-
land went to his new government, and returned in about
two months, for the purpose of consulting on the new Consti-
tution to be given to these Islands. Ile then -went bade with
a constitution framed according to the agreement contained in
the Treaty of Paris. By the 12th article of the second chapter
of that treaty, all the expences of quartering the troops of his
Britannic Majesty, and all the expences of supporting 3,000
men, were to be defrayed out of the treasury of the United
States; but, instead of that, this country 'had still a very large
annual suns to pay towards the expences of this Government..
Now, when the people of England were suffering so much
front distress-when economy was so much to be desired in the
expences of Government, for the purpose of alleviating the
evils arising from a lavish expenditure- at such a moment,-
ought it to be tolerated that the lonian Islands should entail an
expence. on this country ? He had no hesitation in saying that
the Noble Marquis ham' neglected his duty in not taking care
that the States should pay all the expences of their own govern-
Mena According to the Returns which he had moved for, it
appeared that this country paid towards the Government of
the United States of the lonian Islands in the year ending
the 24th December, 1817, 145,2031., exclusive of the transports
which were kept there for three years. Now, he believed that
only two were employed in conveying troops : in 1818, the An*
which was paid for the same purpose was 120,0001. Inahemids
die of the present Session he moved for a continuation of these
returns, but they were not laid on the table. He supposed those
in the ffices connected with this department would be able to
account to the House ; but so faf from the expences being di-
minished since, he had every reason to believe they were in-
creased. The troons on the 23d February lest amounted to
3900, exclusive of ale artillery and commissariat. Since the
treaty of Paris, now seven years, the government of the Islands
cost this country 1,000,0001. This was an intolerable bur-
then to England under its present circumstances, but he
would show it was a lavish expenditure, asal that there was
no occasion for it,. as the revenue of the Islands was amply,
sufficient to defray all expenses, if they were properly adminis-
tered. According to a return odd on the table, last year, it
appeared that the revenue of the Islands amounted to 391,000
dollars, or 87,0001., which, added to the 145,0001. made the
expenses for one year 232,0001. The revenue of the States.
themselves would have been quite sufficient, were it not for
the number of appointments made by Sir Thomas Maitland,
and-the enormous salary he had himself. He had 5,0001. a
year as' Governor of .3.lalta, 3,5091. as High Commissioner,'
1,0001. a year as a pension, and 1,0001. a year as Colonel of 'a
--
regiment. Thus Sir Thomas ;Maitland had 10,5001. a yeas;
without including the perquisites attached to these offices,
which would bring it nearly to 15,0001. a year. At all events;
13,0001. a year of thsepublic money was wasted. Then he had
a secretary and assist secretary, at salaries of 3,0001. a year,
sack.- There were several other offices which had salaries.froan
2001. to 2501. a year, attached to them. The Members of the'
Council of Justice had 20001. a year, and besides these, there.
was an agent to the Islands, residing in London, Sir Alexanes
der Wood, who had 5001. a year: What thii agent, resident.
in London, had to do, he could not conceive. The whole sum
annually paid to these different officers amounted to 11,7671.
Then the Chief Officer in the Island of Corfu had 1,0001.
Sir Thomas Adain had a :situation,. for which be had 1,0001.
a year. There were four officers attached to the government
in this Islturl, who- had 3831. a year, half-pay; and there.
were six suLainspectore, with salaries of 1811.,each ; besides
these there was a Chief Inspector who :had a large salary, a
though he had not one day's difty -to do during the year. •
There were also ten Staff Officers, among whoMowas IVlajer ,
Thomas Fane, :Member of that Hotiae: 'Major Stuart and
Captain J. L. White, too, were promoted,' to -ppstS which*
had considerable salaries attached to. the", thoirgh no duty..
was to be done. ' These appOintments *ere nladt foi the
purpose of patronage, and shetildthese expensed. be toles_

ated when this country was called on to pay the balance ?
There was a long list of 350 individuals who were remunerated
for performing the dude* iff Magistrates, and this, he supposed,
was done only to sanction the enormous sums paid to other
individuals. When he was at the lonian Islandeno salary was
paid to the Magistrates, and- sit far from 'expecting any, he
knew they considered it an honour tie hare the office of .Magis-
teete conferred on them. It was said thei,took bribes—that
Te denied, and he believed assertion at one sidehtvas just as
good as it was at another. The President of:the Council, when
they were under the dominion of Russia, had a salary of 1,515
dollets, Which was quite suffiient, when the expences of living
we're. taken into consideration. Every thing was then very
cheap, and one could live for one-fourth or one-fifth the sum it
would' cost him hi this country; and such was the simplicity in
which the inhabitants lived, that they possessed every domestic
comfort at a moderate expense ; but Sir Thomas Maitland in-
mailed the salary to 6,222 dollars. The Senators received now
3,111 dollars. The, whole upper department, which, during
the Russian dominion, cost but 12,271 dollars, now cost
26,117 dollars. -The thirty-nine Members of the Senate re-
ceived 19,500 dollars, though there were only a few days on
which they had to perform any duty, and they were thus paid
a permanent salary, instead of paying them according to the
duty they peformed. Instead of 98,000 dollars, which was the
expenditure of the Islands during the Russian Government, it
now amounted to 221,000 dollars, being an increase of 27,0001.
There were one or two items more, to which he wished to call
the attention of the House. Those who were intrusted with the
.administration of justice in the island of Malta filled so many
other offices, that he thought it quite impossible that justice
could be administered' as it ought to be in that island. n the
Army Estimates, charges—and he could not conceive why
such charges should be brought under the Army Estimates—
appeared for passage-money incurred for conveying Sir Tho-
mas Maitland to different places. For one year, 1819, these
charges amounted to 7741. He ought otherwise to have
been employed ; what had he to do at Venice and Ancona,
if he meant to discharge conscientiously the duties of his
office ? and if his health did not permit him, he ought to
'have resigned his office, and 'left it to some other individual
'who could attend and perform its duties. The merchants of
_Malta had petitioned this House, and complained of Sir T.
Maitland having neglected his duty, and he (Mr. Hunie)
regretted that the Petition was not more attended to. The
passage money paid for Sir T. for four years amounted to
5.2901., and exclusive of this the salaries attached to his other
offices amounted to 10,5001. a-year. Would the House
tolerate such a profusion of the public money ? he was sure it
-would not, and he hoped to have its concurrence in the mo-
tion which he should soon hove the honour of submitting.—
He begged now to call the attention of the House to the
treatment these islanders received, in which the character
-of Great Britain was deeply involved, and in which he was
sorry to say it suffered much. There were many English-
Tien there, where he (Mr. Hume) was, who could hear tes-
timony how much the English character was once respected ;
and he believed there were many Englishmen there since they
received that Constitution, from which they expected so
much happiness, who could equally bear testimony how
• Much that character was now detested and abhorred;
,and he
believed they were now only anxious to seize the moment
when they could free themselves from the thraldom of Eng-
land. Never was there a country which, under the semblance
of liberty, suffered so much oppression. In November, 1816,
there was great rejoining at Corfu on the arrival of Sir T.
Maitland, in expectation of the promised freedom ; but his
--very first act soon undeceived them, by the appointment
of a men of very doubtful character to the Presidency of
-the Senate. Some attempts were then made 'to make the
Senators accede to certain regulations, but four'of them, in
consequence of their opposition, were dismissed for inert
and corrupt practices (this was the literal translation of the
Italian worth), without a single charge being proved_ against
them, and that dismissal was sanctioned by the Council.—
This proceeding struck the public mind with terror, and
, gave the inhabitants to understand that they were to consult
e the will of an individual. On the 17th of January, 1818,
• -a most extraordinary circumstance took place. The drums
. were beat, the garrison was immediately under arms, as if the
-island was on the point of being attacked. The frigates on
-the stations were ordered to moor, so as to be in readiness; and
all this, done under the pretence of a conspiracy, was really
done for the purpose of preventing the inhabitants from expres-
sing their opinions. It was rather singular that two months
before this pretended conspiracy was got up, it was talked °fat
the Government-house in Malta, which circumstance clearly
proved ttatit was got up for the purpose of striking all with
',consternation. Several of the most distinguished persons were
arrested—Priests, Noblemen, and Lawyers; but not finding
this ansiver their purpose, they were set at liberty, only with a
caution that their conduct would be watched. On a complaint
made by one of those individuals thus treated, Lord Bathurst
- wrote a letter to him, expressing his regret that he should be
placed in -such a situation. The effect of this plot was, that
from that day no individual thought himself at liberty to express
Lis sentiments freely. Addresses from the different Islands then
followed, praising the Government of Sir T. Maitland. In
Corfu it was intended to erect a triumphal arch in honour of
him. In Cephalonia, there was ta be a statue of him in bronze.
In Zantee, he was to have been honoured with a bust of large
size, by Canova. At Santa Maura also, a triumphal arch was to
-have been erected to him. These addresses were got up, and these
honours were proposed by interested sycophants. ihe Grand
etCross of the t?rder of St. Michael could explain how far loyalty
-:could be purchased for a particular purpose. If ever there
were any means worse than another for procuring influence,
they were these of conferring honours. He compared these
. addresses, and he could say, that the greater proportion of
- -those addressing were such as were rewarded ; and he never
saw an Englishman or Italian, who travelled in these Islands,
-who did not agree with him. The whole patronage was
- thrown into the hands of Sir T. Maitland, since he had the
power of nominating and dismissing every individual from
- office. He said before, that the Scotch Borough system was
nothing to it. They were a self-elected few, who treated the
.opinions of others with contempt; but according to the sys-
•tem in these Isles, while they professed to treat public opinion
with respect, they really treated it with palpable contempt.
•In effect, the Lord High Commissioner hid the appointment
...of the majoriv of the Legislative Body. There was an inJ.
Stance where a Member had been returned, although against
'.the expressed voices of the electors ; for in that case the ne-
gative vote was construed into an affirmative, and a Mem-
ber returned. In this way was the Legislative Body assembled
to whose acceptance the Constitution was offered. Sir
Thomas Maitland's first step after their Meeting was to
elake the Members take an oath not to disclose any thing of
ewhat had happened at elections, or what was about to happen
:in the Assembly. Having thus cleared the way, he then
etreeented the Constitution to their acceptance. This was
only three days after they first met; and without any deli-
beration, this important Constitution—this llfaina Charta of
the lonian islands, was accepted. There was no debate—no
',discussion upon it—for one Member who stood up to make
,an observation barely escaped being put under arrest. So
soon as the sth of May following, a Deputation was sent to
England to obtain the Royal Assent, and thus was this im-
portant instrument foisted upon the people of the lanian
islands. After this, would the House wonder that the Con-
stitution was so full of contradictions and inconsistencies ?
But it was said there was a part of the Legislative Assem-
bly which the Lord High Commissioner could not influence.
This was not the fact—there was no part of it over which his
influence was not felt ; and it was a fact beyond contradiction
that Sir Thomas Maitland had the whole controul over every
.department of Government and every act of legislation in
this , colony. It was incumbent on the British people, for
their own character. sake, not to mention the safety of, the
islands, to put an end to this state of things, and to
remove that obloquy which attached to the British name
- for its treatment of these islands—and still more es-
pecially of Parg-a--(Hear, hear, hear?)—throughout every
Court in Europe.. The only answer to all this was the disturb-
ances which took
~place sonic time ago. But could these dis-
turbances, even it they were of a more serious nature, justify
the cruelties which had been resorted to, to suppress them ? He
asked was it necessary to hang tip two Greek priests in their
canonicals, inorder to deter the inhabitants of Santa Altura
from entering again upon insurrectionary courses ? He asked
,was it necessary to drive the inhabitants to madness and des-
pair by the open insults which had been put upon their church,
and the gross injustice exercised towards the holders of church
lands, by a resumption-of these lands by the Government, al-
though they had been, some of them, for upwards of a cen-
tury in the hands of their late owners ? The Hon. Member
then alluded to the Act of Parliament, by which Colonel
_Robinson, an officer of Marines, was declared Head of the
Cburch of the -Jordan Islands. It was true lie was not called
Head of the Church, but he was intrusted with such extensive
powers over the Church property, the appointment of priests,
abbots, and abbesses, that lie was, in effect, supreme Head
of the Church there; and from his decision too there re-
mained no appeal to the Legislative Body. or the Council.
.One case only he would cite, to show the injustice and rigour
-with which the haters of Church property were treated.—
A person named Italia being cited, was adjudged to lose
his property. It had belonged to his family
.for more than
century, and he remonstrated. A Commission of four
Judges was appointed to hear the appeal, and two gave
judgment for the appellant. The Court was tf• ided, and in
the derwier resort, the Lord High Commissioner was re-
ferred to. What was the decision, and on what grounds
,was it made? Against the appellant, on this ground;
e that in 1443 the Doge of Venice made a law by which it
,was prohibited to alienate the property of the Church.—
,'But here was property obtained from the Church near a hun-
-- sired years Igo, therefeze it was alienetedi and therefore it

ought to be resumed.—(Hear !)—lt was by such acts as those
that the people of Santa Maura were driven to insurrection ;
for what people would net be put out of patience by such
means ? e The people, it was true, did commit some excesses,
which he PIT. deplored; but did that justify the uncon.
stitutional treatment with which Martenengo, who was taken
up-on suspicion, was exposed to ? Martenefigo was not only
t. Md upon a frivolous charge, but was tried in an illegalman-
ner, hefore a tribunal which the Constitution did not recog-
niie. He was however tried, and sentenced to what ?—to 12
years' clfee confinement in Santa Maitre ! The sentence was
begun to be put in execution, when the Government at home,
rightly ashamed of these excesses, interfered—remitted the sen-
tence, and limited the punishment of Martenengo to three or
four years banishment to Venice. These repeated acts of in-
justice, lie contended, were sufficient to drive the inhabitants
into open revolution, and to stimulate the most indolent. But
as if this was not enough, another act, though not of the same
nature with 'regard to individual rigour, yet more dangerous
as it was aninfringement on the Constitution, followed upon
its footsteps. That act was this :--By the seventh chapter
of the Constitution, all corporate bodies, and all individuals,
were allowed to petition the protecting King as to the exist-
ence of any grievance. Taking advantage of this privilege,
the inhabitants of Santa Marina met in order to state their
grievances, and a petition, addressed to the King through the Se-
cretary of State, signed by 32 of the most respectable inhabi-
tants, with Dr. Rossi at their head, was agreed upon. Whether
the petition was ever forwarded or not, he (Mr. H.) would not
now say ; but, however, the consequence was, that in de-
' fiance of the Constitution, all the persons who had signed
the petition were arrested, for having signed what the Se-
nate termed, " a rebellious" petition. Dr. Rossi being a se-
' nator, had some intimation of what was intended, and he
alone escaped to Venice. He (Mr. II.) intended to lay before
the House a copy of .this petition, that they might see how far
the Senate was warranted in calling it rebellious. Having
stated these facts; it only remained for him to say a word
for himself. It might be said that the materials were defec-
tive, or that the' facts were not correct ; but it was natural
they should be so. There was no coming at tiny informa-
tion from the lonian Islands, and, in candour, Government
ought not to upbraid him (Mr. II.) with not possessing that
information which they, by their measures and unnecessary
precautions, tendered impossible.—(Hear !)—Dr. Rossi came
from Venice to this country to state his own and his coun-
trymen's grievances; but how; was he received ? After ad-
dressing a Memorial to the- Colonial Office, in which be
offered to verity every statement therein made, he received
a letter on the 17th July, in answer, in which it was said
that the whole matter had been referred to Sir Thomas
Maitland—to his' enemy—to the veryeman. who oppressed
him !—(llear, hear !)—But the case of the petitioners did not
stop here ; for some others of the inhabitants, feeling the hard-
ship and injustice• of the conduct shewn towards Dr. Rossi
and the others, met together, and, to the number of fifty, sign-
ed a similar petition. A similar fate awaited them—they were
either put under arrest, •or obliged, for their safety, to exile
themselves to Veriice, or wherever they could find shelter.—
Rossi also returned thither, feeling that he could find neither
redress for his own wrongs, nor justice for his countrymen
from that Court which used to be the protector of the oppressed
—the Court of Great Britain—(Hear.)—Under such circum-
stances, was it to be wondered that he addressed his country.
men in the language of wild despair; that he told them that
there was no redress for their wrongs but in the sword ? He
was warranted in saying there was no hope of redress from the
Court of Great Britain. But after these experiments, what
W was the state in which the lonian ands now were ? " Peace
and tranquillity," said the Lord High Commissioner in his
speech to the Senate. If it was peace, it was that peace which
Burke said arose from a depopulated country—that stillness of
death, where there was no living being to trespass upon it.—
The worst act of all had been to disarm the Turks, because it
was an insult upon them. Amongst the Turks, every man goes
armed but a slave, and to be without arms is a badge of slavery.
—Sir Thos. Maitland then took the most direct method of
driving them into insurrection, when by proclamation he de-
prived them of their arms, and then placed the country under
martial law. And then the direct countenance given to the
Greeks was another means of making the inhabitants of
the lonian Islands disaffected to the English Government.—
The Noble Lord said, that it was the interest of this coon.
try to maintain a strict neutrality, and in this lie (Mr. H.)
entirely agreed with him. Indeed, 'he thought that great
part of the evils of this country arose from our interfering too
much in the affairs of the Continent. But in the case of the Turks
and Greeks, he contended this neutrality was violated by a direct
support given to the cause of the former. The Hon. "• ]ember
then proceeded to state particular occ'sions in which this par-
tiality was expressed in a manner whien left it no longer doubt-
ful to which side this country leandd. He then adverted to the
speech delivered by the Lord High Comnussioner to the Legis-
lative Assembly, which appeared to him to be a tissue of con-
tradictions. It was industriously circulated through this
country, and from its whole tenour it was clear that it was
intended less for the ear of the Assembly, than for the eyes
of the people of Great Britain. One circumstance made
this plain. Santa Maura is separated from the Continent by
a narrow strait. This the Lord High Commissioner stated
in his speech, but what occasion had he to tell the people
of Santa Al'aura of the peculiar locality of their island ? It
was clear, therefore, that he was addressing himself to the
people of England. Sir Thomas Maitland issued a Procla-
mation, prohibiting the people of Santa Maura froyn leaving
the island clandestinely, in order to join th.,:r brethren, the
_Greeks, who were in arms. But in his speech to the Senate
he assigned as a reason for martial law, that the people left the
island armed in clans in the noon day. Suph were the incon-
sistencies and caprices of his conduct. Some merchants of this
country had sent powder and ammunition to the lonian Isles,
but Sir Thomas Maitland had issued a Proclamation prohibit-
ing any of that ammunition to be carried to either the Greeks
or Turkl. The latter had never got any from the lonian Islee,
but the Greeks did, and therefore it was against them that the
Proclamation was levelled. The conduct of the High Commis-
sioner towards the Greek Clergy was without example: because
the Bishops had agreed that solemn prayers should be offered
up for the success of their brethren in-Greece, he had them de-
ported to another island. Was it too much, when prayers
were offered up in Protestant Churches for the success of the
Greeks against the Turks, that the Greek Church should do
the same for their brethren in arms ? The High Commissioner,
however, deemed it abhorrent to his nature that prayers should
be offered for those fighting against the Turks; forbad it by a
Proclamation, and had the Bishops punished. That conduct
was unbecoming the High Commissioner, and it was the duty
of Government to institute an inquiry into the business. He
was, however, satisfied that inquiry would be in vain, unless his
recall was moved for at the same time. Until that was done,
no one in the lonian Islands would dare to open his mouth
against him. if an inquiry had been instituted on his motion,
last Session, much of the evil which since occurred would have
been prevented. He had only to add, that if he expressed his
feelings etrongly on that subject, it was without intending any
offence to any individual. The Honourable Member concluded
by moving the following Resolutions :--
" Ist, That it appears by documents upon the table of this
House, that the lonian Islands were, by a Treaty signed at
Paris on the sth November, 1815, between the Courts of Vi-
enna, St. Petersburgh, London, and Berlin, declared to be
a single, free, and independent State,' and were placed under
the immediate and exclusive protection of the King of Great
Britain ; and that, by Art. 6 of the said Treaty, his Britannic
Majesty consents that ,a particular convention with the Govern-
ment of the said United States shall settle, according to the State
revenues, all matters relative to the maintenance of the fortresses
now existing, as well as to the support and pay of the British
garrisons, and to the number of men who are to compose them
in time of peace. The said Convention shall also establish
the relations which are to take place between the armed force
and the lonian Government.' That, by Article 12 of the 2d
Section of the 7th Chapter efthe Constitutional Charter of the
United States of the lonian Islands, agreed to by the Legisla-
tive Assembly on the 2d of May,' 181 i, and sanctioned by his
Majesty the 'King of Great Britain, it is settled, that all ex-
pense of quartering the regular troops of his Majesty,' the pro-
tecting Sovereign, and generally speaking, all military ex-
pense of every kind to be incurred by the States (as far as re-
lates to the three thousand men above named) shall. be paidout
of the general treasury of the same.'
" 2d. That it appears by returns on the Table of this House
(vide Parliamentary Paper, No. 87, of 1820), that the expendi-
ture of Great Britain for the Military Establishments in the
lonian Islands amounted to the sum of 145,0231. in the year
1217; and to 120,0451. in 1818, exclusive of the expence for
transports, relief of ttpops, passage money, and other charges
which had not been laid before the House.
" 3. That it is expedient, in the present state of the finances
of the United Kingdom, that the military expense incurred
for the lonian Islands shall be paid from the revenues of those
Islands, and regulated agreeably to the stipulations of the
Treaty of Paris, sth November, 1815, and the Convention of
the United lonian States, agreed to on the 2d May, 1817, and
sanctioned by his Majesty. -'
" 4th. That an Humble Address be presented to his Majesty,
that he would be graciously pleased to direct an Inquiry into
the state of the Government of the lonian Islands; the causes
of the general disaffection, and of the numerous arrests and
banishments which have taken place there; and for what
reasons the inhabitants were disatmed, and martial law pro-
claimed."
Mr. WILMOT said he had listened with great attention to
the Honourable Member, and lie could assure the House that
until the last 20 minutes the speech of the Hon. Member was
nearly verbatim the same speech which he had delivered on this
subject in the last' Session. As the proposition made by the
.11on. Membeelast year had been negatived by a majority of 97

to 20, he felt it unnecessary to enter at any great length into
the consideration. of arguments which had been so satisfactorily
answered--(Hear; from the Opposition Benches !)-4le had on
a former occasion stated that he differed from the Hon. Member
in the construction which he put on an article in the Treaty of
Paris. • One of the Hon. Member's Resolutions declared that,
'by the existing. convention, the lonian Government was called
upon to pay the whole experiees of the British troops. He con-
tended that the spirit of the article had been perfectly followed,
and that the islanders had supported the military establishment
in proportion to the means which they possessed. The Hon.
Member complained that some returns had not been made,
which would have made his -motion more perfect; but as the
expences incurred by the British Government were confined to
the military establishment, and every part of the civil expences
was defrayed by the lonian. Islands, the papers which had been
withheld could not have afforded him much additional infor-
mation. The maximum of the garrison had been fixed by the
tertns of the Convention at 3,ooomen; it was stipulated in the 12th
Article, that the experices should be paid out of 'the general
Treasury. The spirit of - the Convention had been complied
with, and it was a mere question of fact, whether the lonians
had contributed a fair proportion, according to their compe-
tency, towards the support of the garrison. The Honourable
Member had adverted to the progressive transfer of these
Islands from one Government to another ; but he surely
could . not venture to assert that they possessed a greater
share of practical liberty under the Venetian Government
than they enjoyed at present.- Nor did they enjoy a greater
degree of liberty under the French dominion, or when they be-
came a Septinsular republic under the guarantee of Russia. The
Russian authorities expressly, declared that a free constitution
was totally unfit for so turbulent and discontented a people.—
'When these.lslands came under the - protection of the British
Government in - 1806, Sir T. Maitland found that nothing
hut the mere forms of a free. Constitution had been left
them by the Frencli Government. There was no foundation,
therefore, for the asertion, that they enjoyed less liberty than
they did formerly; on the contrary, their freedom and general
prosperity had increased since they came under the protection
of the British Government. With regard to the expences of
the civil government of the islands, he would challenge the
Hon. Meniber to prove that a single additional tax had been
imposed by this Government, except the tax on the exportation
of oil, and that was a commutation for eleven other taxes infi-
nitely more grievous and oppressive which had been remitted.
The Honourable Member bad stated, that the expences of
the civil government amounted to 98,000 dollars in 1815,
and to 221,000 dollars in 1819, without calculating for the
difference of 117 per cent., the profit obtained by the class
of persons who farmed the revenue in the former period,
which would make the total of the first sum 213,000 dol-
lars, and only 12,000 dollars less than the amount in 1819.
The discontent which had been stated to prevail universally
among the inhabitants, was, in fact, confined to a particular
class. The Honourable Member had accused the High
Commissioner of inveighing against the principle of per-
forming duties without salaries. lie (Mr. W.) could not
help thinking that the system of granting salaries for services
performed, was more likely to benefit the character and conduct
of the Government, thin that of leaving the remuneration of
public servants to uncertain contingencies. The Hon. Mem-
ber had said, that the Constitutional Charter had been surrep-
titiously got up, and that the people had no participation in it.
The Constitutional Charter of b ranee, which was considered the
polar star of the liberties of that country, was an analogous case.
Did the Hon. Member suppose that that Charter had in the
first instance obtained the universal consent of the people ?
The Charter of the lonian Islands had been prepared with
deliberate attention to the circumstances of the people, and
gave them a reasonable share of practical freedom ; though
it certainly did not extend to them as much liberty as was
enjoyed by the people of this country. He did not mean
to say that such a degree of liberty might not hereafter be
conceded, but the-people were at present unfit for it. There
was no pretence for asserting that the Charter had been surrep-
tiously got up, for it had been laid upon the table of that
E. :tee, and no objection had been made to it. The Honour-
able Member had dwelt much upon the extravagant testi-
monies of adulation whicit had been paid to the High Com-
missioner, and among other instances of this kind he had enter-
tained the House with an account of a statue or bust of Sir T.
Maitland, executed by Canova. - Now, in point of fact, no
statue had been erected in honour of the High Commissioner,
nor had any bust been executed by Canova. There was as
little ground for asserting that the orders of St. Michael and
St. John had been improperly distributed. 'With regard
to the mode of election, it had never been more pure than it
was at the present period; and the double list was so grateful
to the people, that they had actually presented an Address of
Thanks to the Russian Government for its introduction.
Under the Russian Government, the votes were given by bal-
lot, and afterwards privately cast up by the Government Officers;
whereas, they were now cast up in the presence of the people.
The next question to which he would advert was that of the
Church Establishment ; and respecting it he would say, that
notwithstanding the complaints that had been made and the
clamour that had been raised, that Establishment had been
received by the people as a boon and a blessing. The pea-
santry had shown every dispoSition to have it enforced. With
regard Co the case of Alessandro Battalia, he must say,
that if' there was, on the part of any one in this country, a
disposition to think that his case was a harsh one, he
(Mr. W.) could assure the House that there was no such
feeling existing now on the part of Battelle himself. The
Honourable Member, after apologising to the House for
going into details, proceeded to read extracts of a letter from
Battalia to T. Maitland, dated from Corfu, March 23. In this
letter the writer stated that he received the directions of Sir
T. Maitland with gratitude—that he felt esteem arid gratitude
for Sir Thomas,—that, at the moment of writing, he felt that
delightful feeling in its fullest extent,—and that he wished for
long life and happiness to Sir ThOmas.—(a laugh.)—He (Mr.
W.) did not understand the meaning of that laugh. He felt
confident that he had met the case in question with a satis-
factory answer, and he called for other instances, other-
wise he felebound to deny and repel the charge of cruel usage
which had been attempted to be made out. The. fact was,
therefore, that the land, though for the space of one hundred
years in the hands of the private proprietors, had been ori-
ginally taken from the church ; and the whole of the act
complained against was merely the reserving of this from the
hands of the private proprietors for the church. In the
course of this business it had been thought most advisable to
refer it to the Lord Commissioner, who had acted in what ap-
peared to bethe most proper manner,
,notwithstanding the un-
just colouring which it had been attempted to give to the
measure. He could say, however, that it had not proved un.:
satisfactory to the majority of the Islanders themselves. He
was aware that the office of Lord Commissioner had been
very much atta4.ed, on the ground of some transactions con-
nected with the general police of the islands. Tile Lord
Commissioner had, as chief of that police, the power of sum-
mary trial in cases of treason, but lie had assigned the
parties over to the proper tribunals. The Honourable Mem-
ber had alluded to the petition of Flamburiari and. Rossi, but
lie had not read the whole of that petition ; and he (Mr. W.)
would say that the petition was illegal, in as far as it had
not been sent to the Lord Commissioner. [Mr. Hume asked
whether the Hon. Gentleman had read the petition ; and upon
receiving, as was understood, an answer in the affirmative, he
handed the petition to Mr. Wilmot.]-31r. Wilmot could
allude to such passages of the petition, as were necessary for
his purpose, without the formal reading of the petition.— He
would say, that that petition was disgraceful, inasmuch as it
imputed to the Government the intention of imposing a des-
potism upon the islands. It was disrespectfid to the Lord Com-
missioner, it was disrespectful to the Government, to say that
they would be parties to the enslaving of the- country. The pe-
tition was not to be sent to the King, it was not to be sent to
the Lord Commissioner, it had been prepared for another and a
very different purpose. The object and the tendency of it were trea-
sonable. Ile was sure that the petition—that, at any rate, the
case upon which that petition pretended to be founded, did not
bear what the Hon. Member had alleged. It proceeded upon
an attempt to establish an analogy between this country and that;
-but for this there was no foundation, and there was no ground
for connecting it with an attack upon the character of Sir T. Mait-
land. The Hon. Member had alluded to what had taken place
in these Islands during the 'time which had elapsed since he
last brought forward his motion. There were two circum-
stances of which the Hon. Member had complained—the esta-
blishment of martial law, and the disarming of the people.
With regard to the first, he would tell the Hon. Member that
martial law had been the general plan in those Islands previous
to the Administration of Sir T. Maitland. With regard to the
disarming, he would ask why, if the people of the Island 4 were
hostile to that measure, they could have been disarmed by fifty
men, and that, too, without any resistance. Under the mar-
tial law no punishment had taken place, except one whipping,
and that but to the extent of fifty lashes. The disarming, too,
became necessary, because the islanders, instead of preserving
that neutrality. which had been wished, had gone over by
thousands to join the Greeks againt the Turks. The charge
against Mr. P. Green, the 13ritish Consul at Patras, had
not been substantiated by any collateral circumstances' and
it was repelled bey an extract which he would. read from
the Monitelur. With respect to the transaction at Zante,
in which it had been said that the troops had fired upon a
Greek vessel, which stranded, lie could assure the House
that the troops, even after having received very improper
usage, had fired, but not at the people ; and that their fire had
been met by a discharge of fire arms, by which some of the sol-
diers had been hurt. They ought to consider the state of feel-
ing in those countries; they ought to see that strong measures
were necessary; and if they compained of the disarming of the
peasantry, they ought to reflect that that had been followed by
the more efficient .protection
,of the military. He was not

surprised at the sympathy which existed for the Greeks,— •
No man, who had proper-feelings of libertyt could refrain
from wishing ultimate success to thi Greeks against the Turks.
—( Hear, hear ! from the Opposition.)—Nothmg had tendedso
much to diminish, to lower, and to dilate that feeling, as
the atrocities which had been committed by the Greeks ; and
when these were considered, it was not to be wondered at, al-
though the Lord Commissioner should disavow them. One
case had been mentioned, that of five men who had suffered at
Cerigo ; but these men had confessed their guilt,—thev had been
connected with a banditti. That the islands were flourishing
under Sir T. Maitland was quite obvious; and they would
soon be in a condition for receiving a gfeater accession of li-
berty. The Honourable Member had to complain that,
in one quarter, he meant the public press—(Hear, hear,
hear ! from the Alinisterial Benches),—there had been the
strongest disposition to prejudge this question. From the month
of January down to so recent a period as yesterday, their co-
lumns had teemed with deliberate falsities and calumnious
mistatements. To one thing he would ,in particular allude.
It had been alleged that the Government could take pos..
session of any man's property. Now the fact was, that
merely an ad valorem duty had been imposed in those Islands,
the same as in England and America; by this duty the officers
had the power of detaining goods upon suspicion of fraudulent
entry, providechhey paid 1151. for each 1001. entered. With
regard again to the monopoly of grain on the part of Govern-
ment, that monopoly had been suspended ; and the price at
Corfu had been below Cephalonia, and below Zante. Ile
thought the conduct of Sir Thomas Maitland could not be
placed in a more favourable light, his neutrality could not be
more clearly shorn, than by the circumstance that both parties
complained of him. The Hon. Meniber then concluded with
observing that the motion being wholly unnecessary, he should
meet the two first Resolutions with the previous question, and
the two last with a direct negative.
The question being put by the SPEAKER,
Mr. WILLIAMS (of the Bar) entered into a vindication of
the statements and arguments put forward by his Hon. Friend
(Mr. Hume), and denied that the body of his statement.
had been touched upon, much less answered by the Hon. Gen-
ilem'an. Ile then referred to the 11th and 12th Articles of the
Charter, to show that it was there stipulated that the ex-
pense of the Military Establishment of the Islands was to
be maintained out of the treasury of the island. The com-
plaint therefore was, such being the terms of the Char-
ter, that a vast pressure should have been laid not on the
islanders, but on the people of Great Britain. The Honourable
Gentleman had triumphantly called for proofs. Why, the whole
ground of the complaint was, that the islanders could not make
their grievances known in this country. It was strange that
the Honourable Gentleman should argue with so little attention
to the import of his Honourable Friend's statement. He
would ask, did it not stand undisputed that the Charter
of these islanders conferred upon them a title to freedom ?
and was it not undisputed that they had been subjected
to Martial Law, and disgraced by being deprived of arms ?
—And why all this ? Because they, a portion of the an-
cient
Greeks, should rise up against the most disgraceful
of tyrannies ; that they should endeavour to assist their brethren
in their virtuous struggle for their ancient liberty. They had
reason to lament their alliance with this country ; for the state.
ment of the Hon. Gentleman went to this—that for the justi-
fiable motive of assisting their brethren, they were exposed to
martial law, under the domination, to use •the ' proper phrase,
of England. Was there nothing novel in all this ? Did the
lion. Gentleman pretend that this was the treatment which the
people of the lonian Islands were accustomed to ? Was it true,
indeed, that they aspired after no higher a destiny than that of
living under martial. law ?—Was it true that they felt no shame
to have their arms torn from their hands ? But he would not
pursue the Hon. Gentleman farther—
G 6 Pudet hsec opprobria nobis,
Aut did potuisse, aut non potuisse refelli."
The people of the lonian Islands were now kept down from
giving assistance to their Greek brethren by Englishmen, who
so long boasted of their liberty.—(Hear, hear !)—The Hon.
and Learned Gentleman concluded by declaring that he would
give his decided and hearty support to the motion of his Hon.
Friend.
There were now loud and incessant calls for the question,
and the House was cleared of strangers.—A division after-
wards took place, when the numbers were— .
For Mr. Hume's motion - - 67
Against it - - - . 152
Majority - —B5
FOREIGN CORN IMPORTATION BILL.

Oa the motion of Lord LONDONDERRY, this Bill was
read a first time, and ordered to be printed. The second read-
ing of it was fixed for this day week.
The other Orders of the Day being dispbsed of, the House
adjourned at ELEVEN O'CLOCK.