The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-21 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY

between Austria and Sardinia was accepted. The success
of thatmediation,
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--sces. u
s would arise, he had always heartily desired, but he
s“,.
- that when two parties in private life were
struggling in a Cu.la of law, and one of them had gained the
cause, had got a verdict, and judgment was entered up, he
mtheoduiga ‘
on
edict
as,
would agree that the Whole matter in dispute should be re- 1
ferred to mediation, the CAM being over. Therefore, though
fie bad great confidence in his Noble Friend opposite, yet he
at the time told him he had but little hope from the negotia-
tions that were going on, because the matter was over. And
he also said that Austria was prepared to fight, but he hoped
it would not be necessary. He little knew the Sardinian
councils, however, when be hoped so. Charles Albert broke
the armistice, rushed headlong into the Austrian dominions,
was defeated, abdicated the Crown, and was now living in
retirement in Lisbon. He was much to be blamed for the
farmer parts of.his conduct, but he was also much to be
pitied for the latest, because he was driven on by the worst
possible councillors and advisers, the ultra-Liberals and Red
Republican party of Paris, Turin, and Genoa, and he
paid the penalty. Negotiations were begun, and still con-
tinued, and if common fame spoke true, with less chance
of leading to a pacification now than there was four months
ago. There were some natures sanguine almost to excess,
whom no failure could cure of very extravagant hopes, and
who. grasping at all possible means, even while sinking
catching at every straw, took comfort at every trifling
change; and because everything was not as it was twenty-
four hours before, thought they were saved. Now, looking
at what was taking place in Hungary, Transylvania, and
Croatia, he believed there was some in Turin who had
hopes that by allowing these negotiations to drag on, Austria
might be foiled in her plans of aggrandizement, as they
fancisd, although nothing was further from the thoughts
of Austria than any views of aggrandizement. The
Noble and Learned Lord then briefly alluded to the cor-
respondence between the British Government and the
Courts of Austria and S .rdinia, in which the former was
threatened with war, in case of any attack on Sardinia,
while the latter was merely advised to refrain from invading
the Austrian dominions. He then proceeded to the French
intervention in Rome, and asked, in the words of his motion,
whether we had received the full explanation which we had
a right to expect of a movement which put in jeopardy the
existing distribution of power in Europe. He found in the
heart of the Peninsula, in the centre, and in its capital, not a
Roman, nor an Austrian, nor an Italian army, but a great
French army, something like forty or fifty thousand men,
and one hundred and twenty pieces of cannon. In the first
instance a small expedition went from Marseilles to Civita
Vecchia, and some explanation was given of that, more or
less satisfactory, but still an explanation. But could any
person imagine that that expedition would stop there ? Nor
did it, for it was speedily reinforced, and marched into Rome.
Then arose naturally the question, of what they intended to
do at Rome? what was to be done with the Eternal
City when the French had taken possession of it?
He did not know what questions had been put by the
Government of this country to the French Government, or
what answers had been given to them, but certainly the
latter could not have been allowed to march from forty to
fifty thousand men to Rome without giving some explana-
tion as to their intention. As to the conduct of the French
army before the walls of Rome, he begged to express his en-
tire admiration.—(Hear, hear.) Whether or not it was con-
sistent with the opinions of the French Republic to have sent
them there—whether or not it was in conformity with the
views expressed by the different statesmen of France since
the 24th of February, 1848, when the French revolution took
place—an event, unhappily for the people of Rome, for the
peace of Europe, and, above all, unhappily for the welfare of
France herself—whether or not, he said, it was consistent
with the opinions expressed by the statesmen of France
since that event, to send an army to Rome to crush
the Roman Republic, formed after the model of France—
(Cries of "Hear, hear")—he would not stop to inquire.
Suffice it for him that they were invited by the Pope, as
he says himself in his allocution, to go there, not, however,
severally and alone, but in conjunction with Austria,
Spain, and Naples—(Hear, hear)—and the severest criti-
cism he should pass upon the French expedition to the
Roman states was, that in going as they did, alone, it looked
very much like stealing a march on the other powers, and
getting a footing established in Rome before them. That I
now being done, all his unfavourable impression as to the
French occupation of Rome had vanished, and he now had
much satisfaction in stating that no Government, no com-
manders, could have acted more admirably than the French
army had done before Rome. They might have bombarded
the city, but well did the French commander, and well did
the French soldiers know, that if such were done, the
destruction of property would be immense, and that the
sacrifice of the lives of innocent parties would be equally
extensive. They felt also, both commander and soldiers
felt that they had not been sent there to operate against
the Roman people, but against those who tyrannised over
that people.— ( Hear, hear.) It was the Mazzinis and the
Garribaldis—no doubt a man of great military talents, a
man of great bravery, but a professed conspirator, whose
life had been spent in originating conspiracies—he it was,
and Mazzini—a man not of the same:consequence, but more
distinguished than most men in his, way—and the several
thousand followers who flocked to their standard—revolu-
tionists from all parts of the world—that the French army
was sent, and not against the people of Rome. That being
the case, much caution was required on the part of General
Oudinot to carry on the contest so as not to inflict upon the
Roman people the chastisement intended for their oppressors,
as well as spare those monuments of art with which Rome so
much abounds from spoliation and destruction. What they
were to do now that they had got possession of Rome was a
different question. Their difficulties, he conceived, instead
of being over, were hardly begun, and that was one of the
reasons which would induce him to suggest to his Noble
Friends opposite, the propriety of instituting a general con-
gress for having those difficulties discussed and overcome.
The course of these observations now led him to refer to
Austria. There was no doubt but that the intention of
Austria was to restore the Pope to the possession of his
. .

full spiritual and temporal functions. Now, his opinion
was, that it would not do to say, that the Pope ought to
be restored to his spiritual, but not to his temporal func.
tions. That was a somewhat superficial view of the case,
for he did not believe it possible that the Pope could exer-
cise his spiritual functions either among his own people, or
as regarded the Roman Catholic Church throughout the
world, in a proper manner should he be deprived of his tem.
poral authority. From the earlies times it had been found
that as the temporal authority of the Pope increased
his spiritual powers did so in the same manner,
but independent of that, was it possible`to suppose that un-
less the Pope had sufficient to keep him independent of
other powers, those powers would not exert an influence
over their spiritual head, and by some means or other re.-
duce him to dependence upon either one or the other of
them ? He had stated at the outset that he should last of all
call attention to that part of the subject having reference to
the relations of this country with the southern parts of Italy ;
and he had set out by reading an extract from a dispatch
from the Government of this country to that of Naples, dated
December 16, 1847, and which expressed an earnest desire to
draw closer the bonds of friendship which existed between
our old ally of Naples and this country. But on the 10th of
January following there broke out a rebellion in Sicily, and
then a change came over the spirit of the dream. There was
no longer the same desire to draw closer the bonds of friend-
ship which existed between Naples and this country;
but, on the contrary, there commenced an exhibi-
tion of diplomacy which he most sincerely regretted
should ever have taken place. He could not ima-
gine a more speculative and extraordinary spirit than
that which ran through almost the whole of the diplomatic
correspondence whicn had taken place since then between
this country and the Neapolitan Government. A consider-
able portion of that correspondence seemed to have been
carried onl by vice-admirals and the captains of the ships of
stransos
otonrm as
edtheiyntogot
the line. But what was a singular ,fact attaching to all
there, that no matter what instructions they set out with,
o
someinto thseorwtatoerfs oafnSimicially they became
tcam(e)
behold—political sailors, diplomatic vice-admirals,
speculative captains—leaners toward rebellion,and
sympa-
thisers with outrages, and
suggestors of expeditions against
the established Government of that country, between which
and this it was so soon before wished to draw
bonds of friendship closer. He regretted the senthcee
from Naples at the time of Mr., Temple, who was
the representative cf this Court at that Court, and he
trusted that it was ill health alone that excused his
absence, but the Noble Lord who assumed office in his
stead acted as if he had been seated in the Foreign-office
himself—giving orders, suggesting terms of mediation with
the greatest self-importance; but, certainly, in such a man-
ner as was anything but creditable to this country. Even
Sir William Parker, the Admiral on the station—certainly
a most able and ingenious officer—fell into the same error.
In one of his dispatche., writing as to the rebellion in

Sicily, he says, " I gave general orders to captains o'
ships to afford protection to individuals of either side
who were flying." It was well known what side they did
protect, and he went on to say, that he should await
anxiously at Naples until he saw what effect the rebellion
in Sicily woull have there. But what had he to do with
the effect the rebellion would produce at Naples? What
had the Admiral of a fleet to do wiih such matters?
But, further on, he went on to explain, that
should the rebellion extend itself, it might lead to the
Neapolitans rising in insurrection.. Then came Captain
Codrington, no doubt an able and gallant officer, but who,
in his dispatches from the scene of disorder, became so
speculative as to discuss the result of the elections which
were about to take place in Calabria, and the probability of
their being hostile to the Government, as well as the pos-
sibility of the Calabrians rising in rebellion. In, respect to
those documents, he had to state that, in the blue book laid
on the table, all the correspondence was not produced—the
documents produced were culled from the Foreign-office,
and he had a right to say that if there was so much to find
fault with in what was produced, there would be more
faults to find had the whole been laid on the table. He
then came to the visit of the Earl of Minto to Naples.
The Noble Earl went there at the invitation of Lord Na-
pier. They were repealers in that country, and they wanted
a native independent Parliament, as the Irish people did
at College-green; and he totally disagreed with his Noble
Friend when he stated that the Sicilians suffered under a
tyranny of 30 years' duration. He should say, in reply to
that, that when the Duke of Genoa was chosen King by the
Neapolitans, on the 24th April, all were agreed that he should
be their sovereign, and this was totally in opposition to the
belief that the English people wished to have the two
crowns on the head of King Ferdinand; and, should the
Grand Duke of Genoa be offered the crown, he considered
that there should be no hesitation on the part of this country
to oppose such an offer—(Hear)—with which he did not by
any means agree—( Laughter)—for, while he admired the
three orders of the Constitution in this country—that is, the
sovereign power, the aristocracy, and the democracy—he did
not wish to see such a feeling of revolution to prevail among
the Sicilians against their sovereign as was now well
known, and to which the best statesmen of the present day
were strongly opposed.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord
then read several extracts in proof of his arguments,
and contended that the rights of the Neapolitans
were grossly infringed on by the Sicilians and others,
To a person of true British gallantry facts gave the very
reverse of the reason for doing the things which they had
done. They had fleets in those seas, and captains were sent
out, and with sealed orders, to enforce an armistice, not be-
tween two foreign contending nations, but between a legiti-
mate Sovereign, their dear and ancient ally, and his rebel-
lious subjects, whom he had defeated at the cost, as they
said, of 3,000 of their best troops. If those sealed orders, to
be acted upon in the alternative of the armistice not being
e►-zbraced by the Sicilians, were not an intervention—an
armed interference in the affairs of that kingdom, he knew
not what could be called so. But still it was denied that it
was; and what were the facts? From the 11th of Septem-
ber till the 29th of March that armistice was maintained
by force of arms. The Sicilians, their Lordships would
remember, had hired two steam-vessels, the Vectis and the
Bombay, the former of which proceeded to Sicily with
arms and men ; but the second was stopped. He bad
promised not to trouble the House with any papers on this
subject, but he must refer to them very briefly, for the pur-
poses of showing the indignation with which the Sicilians re-
garded their interference. There was but one course to take
in foreign affairs, and that was to abstain altogether from in-
terfering in them to the extent ofsiding forcibly, with either,
party. Let them entertain their own views and make their
own suggestions on the subject, but not inflict them on other
nations. There was gmot.her form of their interference in