The Sun.
London, England, 1836-02-06 00:00:00

raised for hint here—how, with all these, it happens that
Don Carlos still retrains in the modest retirement of the

mountains of Biscay, is really more than I am able to under-
stand.—( Cheers.) I certainly do share the hope expressed
in the Speech from the Throne, that hostilities in Spain will
soon be terminated, and that they will terminate in the firm
estabrAshment of the Government of the Queen.—(Hear.)
The Hon. Member's hopes lie in a different direction,and,thaes
be justly states, it will remain for events to show which of
two hopes are best founded. In the meanwhile I can assurethe
Gaon. Member and the House, that the Government will
con-
tinue to make every effort in their power to realize
which they entertain.—( Hear, hear-) The Hon the hopes
Member,*
on the other hand, will, no doubt. continue those oratorical
ebrts by whict he hopes to gain the House over to support
his views.—( Hear, hear.) Which is most likely to be suc-
cessful, events will also
Pr°ve.-1 really
hear.) There is,
however, one point upon which 'wish to be very
clearly understood, especially us other er gentlemen have
al-
luded to it as well as the Hon. Member for Sandwich.
If
there be any man who can believe that Government views
'with unequal horror and disgust the atrocities which have
been committed on 'eoth sides in Spain—if there be any
one who thinks that we regard with less disgust the atro-
cities committed by the partisans of the Queen than those
committed by the followers of Don Carlos—he does us an
atrocious injustice.—( Hear, hear.) And the Honourable
Member for Sandwich is very much mistaken if he thinks
that the interference of the British Government has been
confined to one side of the question.---( Hear.) If the Hon.
Member has such an impression on his mind, , I assure him he
is greatly ignorant of what has taken place.—( Hear, hear.)
'We have felt it to be our duty in cases in which we have had
reason to believe that these proceedings have been taken on
the part of the Queen's troops, to declare-our indignation and
disgust at them, and to express a hope not only that punish-
ment would be inflicted upon those who were guilty of them,
but that active.and decisive steps would be taken to prevent a
recurrence of them.—( Hear, hear.) There was one parti-
cular case which took place some months ago, in which it was
understood that some prisoners were executed by the Queen's
troops. A remonstrance was immediately made on the• part
of Great Britain, to which the reply of the Queen's Govern-
ment was, that the account was utterly unfounded, and that
no such occurrence as had been represented had taken place.
—(Hear.) Now with respect to the correspondence to which
the Hon. Member adverted, I must certainly admit that I
• wrote the letter to which he referred. He says I addressed
the letter to the newspapers. That is not the fact.
Mr. G. PRICE—I beg the Noble Lerd's pardon. I merely
said that I had read the letter in the newspaper. I did not
say that the Noble Lord addressed it to the newspaper.
Lord PALMERSTON—WeII, then, I will only say that
so far from wishing to deny the letter, I fairly tell the Hon.
Member that I felt great satisfaction in having the opportu-
nity afforded to me of writing it.—(Cheers.) I think that
the application of the Bishop of Leon addressed to me, came
ill from him, and at an ill time. I do not wish to speak harshly
of those in whose opinions, sentiments, or feelings, Ido not
concur ; it is a practice I do not follow.—(Hear.) I will say
nothing, therefore, of the Bishop of Leon, which shall at all
contradict what the Honourable Member for Sandwich has
said in his praise. It happened, however, that but a short pe-
riod before the letter of the Bishop was addressed to me, the
-English Government had sent a special mission to the head-
quarters of Don Carlos, for the purpose of endeavouring to
prevail on him to disavow and retract the bloody edict by which
it was declared that all foreigners taken in arms in the service
of the Queen, should be immediately and barbarously mur-
dered. Don Carlos refused to do so.—( Hear.) With his
own lips he refused to retract or to disavow that atrocious
dict.—( Hear, hear.) The officer dispatched by the Bri-
tish Government returned with a positive refusal from the
lips of Don Carlos.—(Hear, hear.) I say, then, with such,
an answer, recently received from Don Carlos, to have a
letter of fulsome praises towards England, 'reminding us
of the services which England hatl rendered to Spain—
( Hear, hear)---of the English blood. shed for the cause and in
the service of Spain—to have a long letter of that sort
written by a person who, whether at present the confidential
adviser or agent of Don Carlos or not, was certainly a per-
son much in his councils and confidence whilst he was in this
country—l say, that to a letter of that kind, written under
such circumstances, it did not appear to me that any other
answer was requisite than that which I gave to it.—( Hear,
hear.) But let not the House imagine that because I did
not accede to the request of the Bishop of Leon-, that on that
account I took no step in favour of the prisorers. I had. in
fict interceded a month before. The Bishop's letter was
dated on the 10th October. On the Ist of September I
sent out instructions to the proper persons to endeavour, if
possible, to obtain the release of the twenty-seven prisoners.
—( Hear, hear.) Therefore, however well-informed the Hon.
Member for Sandwich may be aspen other points, the Heine
will see that he has been wholly misled upon this.—( Hear,
bear.) And if the "Hon. Member will only take the trouble
to inform himself cn both sides of the question, perhaps his
anticipations as to the result of the contest in Spain- might
be materially altered.—(Hear, hear.) I say that it is most
untrue that the British Government have shown any indiffe-
rence to the bloody practice which la'as prevailed on both
'sides during the war in Spain, ar.d. that the Hon. Gentle-
man is entirely mistaken, it' he supposes we have looked
with partiality to the atrocities committed on one side, or
not endeavoured by all the means in our power to induce
the combatants to conduct their warfare more according to
the usages of civilized nations.—(blear, hear.) I believe I
have now touched upon all the points to which the Hon. Mem-
ber adverted. I ant not aware that there is any other to which
his ohs ervations apply. 'I will only add, that there is nothing
in Speech from the Throne which induces me to regret,
as 'the Hon. Member stated he was persuaded I must do, any
es.peessions which fell from me during the last session, in con
se,'ence of some remarks which he then made. The Hen.
Member reminded me of having said, on that occasion, that
the imputations which he threw out against the Government of
the Queen of Spain were, in my opinion, an abuse of the pri-
vilege of Parliament. I remember that the Hon. Member
on that occasion insinuated, though lie did not state, that the
officers of the Queen had sent prisoners on board ship, uncles
the pretence of sending them from one port to another, but in
fact, for the purpose of drowning them at sea. It was to that
insinuation that my observations applied. I certainly didithink
sand I retain the same opinion still, that it is not a becoming
Tusk; of the privilege of the House—not a becoming use of
that liberty of speech which is the unquestionable right of
every member of this House, to throw out insinuations of
that kind against the officers or instruments of a foreign
natioa, unless. the party who makes the charge is in pos-
session of such facts as will prove, beyond dispute, the
authenticity of what he is stating.—( Heat, bear.) The
Hon. Member will see the distinction between what has
since happened, and the circumstances to which he then
alluded. The massacre at Barcelona was a thing of a totally
different description. The authorities acting under the Queer.
were, I think, grossly criminal for their neglect. I think
their apathy was blameable and culpable in the highest de-
gree; but I am sure the Hon. Member wiil see a wide dif-
ference between that case and the one which was supposed
to have taken place, but which nothing that had since conic
to light has proved to be true.—(Wear, hear.)
Lord MA HON rose, not for the purpose of taking arty
part in the debate ; another opportunity would, he trusted,
be given to him to express his opinion on the subject ; but
lie rose to put n, question to the Noble Lord the Secretary
for Foreign Affairs. The Noble Lord had stated, and he
tt Lord Mahon) begged to say that he had heard that state-
ment with unmixed pleasure, that he had shown such zeal
in the cause of humanity as not to confine his application
:in favour of the prisoners on one side only, but had, on the
first day Of September last, interposed on behalf of the pri-
soners taken by the Queen of Spain; The question he
wished to put to the Noble Lord was this—What was the
result of that application ; add were the lives of those un-
happy beings safe ?
Lord PA LMER,STON.—The Noble Lord will well re-
member that the lives of those prisoners never were in danger.
They were taken when the Noble Lord himself was in office
on board of an English sloop, which was captured on the coast
of Spain ; and by the interposition of the then Government
of this country, the lives of those persons were saved ; but
they were kept prisoners It was in consequence of the con-
vention negotiated by Lord Eliot that a question was raised
respecting their detention. Being taken before the convention
was entered into, they were not strictly entitled to the benefit
of the exchange of prisoners under it. The only question on
which any discussion had been raised by the present Govern-
ment was, not whether the lives of those prisoners should he
saved, because their lives had already been guaranteed to the
preceding Governmeni; but whether they should be set at
liberty by an exchange of an equal number of Christino officers
who had been taken prisoners by the troops of Don Carlos. It
was to that point alone that the application of the Ist of Sep.
tember was directed. That application was not successful.
It was stated in reply that these prisoners were not strictly en-
titled to the benefit of the convention, and that from peculiar
circumstances it was not considered for the interests of the
Queen of Spain to send them back to the army of Don Carlos.
But I believe that every measure has been taken, not only on
the one hand for the security of those officers from escapes but
on the other for the prevention of any outrage towards them
on the part of the Queen of Spain.
Lord MAHON again expressed the extreme gratification
he had received from hearing of the application which his
Majesty's Government had made in the cause of humanity, and
in so praiseworthy a manner.
Mr. PETER BO RTHIVICK bad heard with equal sur-
prise and delight the speech of the Noble Lord (Palmerston).
The whole country would be pleased to ascertain that among
thotie measures of the Government of the Queen of Spain,
which the House had pronounced to be prudent and vigorous,
the acts of General Mina were not included. In not opposing
thei•Aach. ess, he protested against being understood as a par_
t san either of Don Carlos or the Queen of Spain. He pleaded
for non-intervention.
The Report was then agreed to, and on the motion of
The CHANCELLOR. of the EXCHEQUER was ordered
obe presented to his Majesty by the whole House to-morrow
(this day) at one o'clock.
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT.
Mr. LENNARD, in the absence of the Noble Lord, the
Secretary at War, postponed his motion respecting corporal
punishments in the army and navy till Thursday the 25th inst. ;
and gave notice that on that day he should move for a return
of the number of inquests that had been held on soldiers and
marines who had died after suffering corporal punishment.
Mr. GROVE PRICE gave notice of a motion for a return
of the number of officers and men now serving in the cause of
the Queen of Spain, who were in the receipt of pay from the
British Government.
THE KING OF BELGIUM. ,

Mr. ROBINSON asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer
whether any money had been received into his Majesty's Ex-
chequer in consequence of the arrangements that had been made
with the King.of Belgium respecting the pension of 50,0004 a