The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-23 00:00:00

S U N

A I
ebi
Earl 1 •
0 f Aberdeen) was perfectly ready-not to, 1
its ereductien. Some time or other he pGrteyv:sueru
eeld. Ili her Alajes.y's
eroduee ali he documents explaeatory of the w Cileses-147-it
proceeding connected with the war. Considering w -
had taken place, ho felt it incumbent on him to asove*ReTVlT
their production now, but, as he said before, he was
-eilling.not to press for their being immediately laisl upon
the table, if the Noble Marquis should find it inconve-
nient to submit them to the House.—(Hear, hear.)
The:Marquis of LANSDOWNE, who was very indis-
tinctly heard, said he had heard with great plea.sUret the
conclusion of the speech of the Noble Earl, because the.
immediate production of the papers would kettende4
with some inconvenience. He believed the monetweas
approaching when their production would be inPspen-
sable for the credit of her Majesty's Government and
the satisfaction of the country, He thought the Govern-
ment were fully justified in taking a most ample, full,
and coinprehgnsive view of all ihe negotiations
had precydui the armistice at Turin : nod though lutii4
not prokse to enter into any
subject, lengthened detail upon tti;,t
yet he w, uld tele° the liberty of brig fly adverts
ing to it. The Noble Earl had commenced his speech
by alluding not to any recent negotiations, not to any
papers which he was now desirous of possessing, but to
certain documents which last year were laid upon
the table of . the House, and from these ha
had inferred that a disposition then existed
upon the part of her Majesty's Government unfa-
vourable to the Austrian empire. Now such an infer-
ence was not deducible from the documents in question.
The Noble Earl would remember that at the time they
were laid upon the table a very remarkable state of
things existed upon the Continent; and yet he appeared
to forget and to suppress the fact, so far as he could„ dint
in the interim between the original communications and
those now sought for, there had occurred an extraordi-
nary event,—namely, the revolution et Paris.—(Hear,
hear.) Ho need only appeal to the sound judgment of
the Noble Earl, and to that matured spirit of states-
manship which he was at, all times able to display; and
ask whether there was one relation subsisting in Europe,
or one course of
_conduct between one countryand ano-
ther which by, such an event as She_ one he. referred to
was not liable to be altered and, modified, and which did
not in fact require an ample review to be made after
the occurrence took place to avert the consequences
it ;involved?—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Earl had per
ferred to 'a dispatch which had not been laid upon. the
table, but which he said he had perused.
Lord BROUGHAM said the Noble Marquis was
under a misapprehension. The dispatch had been laid
upon the table; it was produced on a motion submitted
last year.
The Earl of ABERDEEN observed that the Noble
Marquis had laid a dispatch upon the table in the first
instance, which ended with a threat against Austria for
a supposed interference on her part with Sardinia. That
threat might have been deserved. Six months afterwards,
however, Austria sent an answer, in which she not only
denied that she entertained any such intentions, but
stated her readiness to act on the side of Great Britain
in abstaining from interference. He (the Earl of Aber-
deen) contended that it was a suppressio serf not to pro-
duce that communication when the other dispatch was
laid on the table.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE was under the
impression that the communication had been
immediately produced; but, at all events, when the
original dispatch was laid upon the table a very
general apprehension prevailed that Austria was pre-
pared to interfere is the affairs of Sardinia, and it
was an object with her Majesty's Government to remove
that apprehension. In that attempt they succeeded. A
communication was sent to the Austrian Government
which stated fully and explicitly what the views of this
country were as to the formation of independent states,-
and, at this distance of time, looking back to that dis-
patch, he (the Marquis of Lansdowne) saw nothing in
its style or composition to cause the slightest regret.—
(Hear, hear.) But as he had stated before, the late re-
volution in France must not be forgotten in considering
the details of the present question. That revolution dis-
played itself in colours which impressed the world with
alarm, and imposed new duties on France and a new
mode of executing those duties. It also imposed a duty
upon her Majesty's Government, to maintain a good un-
derstanding between this country and France. But the
Noble Earl's reason for not coming to an understanding
with France, or, at least, for not joining with her, was
somewhat singular. He -said—" I admit that France
and you had at the moment, a similar in-
terest in preserving peace, and that you had a right to
believe that the French Government were kindly dis-
posed; but the motives of the two countries were different,
for, had there been a war in Italy, France would, be
obliged to take a different course from you." But as
France was ready to act with England up to the point of
preserving peace, and to forego any designs she might
have in the event of war, why should the Noble Earl
think it injudicious to invite France to join in a media-
tion?—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Earl had a right to
comment on what hohad read, but he was not justified
in commenting upon official and authentic communica-
tions which he had not seen, because they had not
hitherto been laid upon the table; and yet, in adverting
to the conditions involved in the negotiations, he
seemed to think that the terms which were pro-
posed by England to Austria as the foundation of
the mediation, were not such as to satisfy the exigencies
of this country. But where did the Noble Earl find
that we had any exigencies, or where would any
testimony bearing on that point be derived from the
papers
Throughout hereafter e r
wholeto beot t h producede t r
a n t
0—os( enagria
hadrie hear
acted with perfect -fairness, .and what was inVidlinu3ly
called an exigency consisted merely of the, conditions
upon which the mediation was likely to beit effected.
Would the Noble Earl, who had had much to do with
mediations before, and might have much to do with them
again—would he enter into a negotiation upon any other
ground than that which was most likely to bring
both parties to a proper understanding? Because, if a
mediation were undertaken, and neither party ,would
give way, there would be -an end to all;expectation of
compromise. A mediation was founded on a belief that
two parties, from circumstances, had got into a state
in which they could not make peace for themselves,
but in which they were desirous for peace, arid called
in a third party to state the extent of mutual
concessions. If there was any case in which the princi-
ple of mediation was applicable more than in any other,
it was in that of Austria. There had been a sanguinary
alienation then existing, and at the moment when the
honour of that country was supposed to be more or less
compromised in the result of the contest, it was con-
sidered possible that the intervention of two such powers
as France and England would be successful in extricat-
ing the parties fronithe difficulties in. which they were
involved with honour to. themselves. He was happy to
state that the official documents when produced would
dispoie of many of the unathentic dispatches which, like
base coin, had been circulated throughout Europe filling
the columns of the newspapers, and causing much mis-
apprehension to exist with reference to' the parties who
had, in reality, proposed the abandonment of Lom-
bardy.—(Hear, hear.) If hostilities should recommence,
certainly it would not be for want of the best exertion of
France and England to prevent them. Every means
had been ----used by the GOvernments of the two
powers to induce the King of Sardinia to recon-
sider his determination. At the same time he was not
quite prepared-to-employ such very strong language as
the Noble Earl had though it.right to use, in reference
to the course taken by that Power; for he could not but
believe that there were circumstances to afford the Icing
of Sardinia, he would not say a justification, he would
hardly say an excuse, but somethin;-like palliation, by
events which had occurred in the disordered state of the
country, and the demands of his subject's. It was easy
for Noble Lords, or for persons sitting in Downing-
street now to sit down, and, looking over the events of
the past years, apply to them the strict rule of diplomatic
intercourse and international action; but in defence, not
of the Government of Sardinia only, but of all Govern-
ments, he submitted, that when the events arose by
which continental Europe had during the last year been
convulsed—when those Governments saw the clouds
lowering and the stor iii breaking—threatening solia-With
immediate, others with remote, subversion and destruction,
to the course taken at such a time and under such cir-
cumstances those rules in all their severity and all their
strictness were not altogether applicable; he knew not
one of The Governments which had been affected by
those events whose acts would bear that strict test- not
even that of Austria, one of the oldest and sg. gilgacd
ettttea
Europe. He did not think that that'Governme,s_
ow a
upon as it was by the events of last year, could
course of perfect consistency, either
in reference
transactions of
_Europe generallyt or
n _o
He knew that every empire, especially
one so situated,eG erm towi the
y.
was bound to bow t
the feelings of the great mass of
the people; but if,
control,' it was drive_
uose surely some indulgeneesbould
by theut foorfce
iotsf
habitual,even ts i t
prcoopuelrd;
andn
ot
strictly honourable cour,
be extended
.f
to it; and so with regard to a powerful
and strong Government like that of Austria, how much
more should such indulgence be extended to a smaller
•and weaker Government, if, when driven by currents'it
found impossible to stem, it pursued a course which, on
strict principles, could not be justified?—(Heariehear.)
He did Ina mean to justify the conductever- _the
Sardinian Government, but the Government of Aus-
.tria, 'having assented, as it clearly did, to the pro-
posed mediation, had given the strongest-proof of that
assent by negotiating month after month as to the par-
ticular place in which the mediation should take place;
having nevertheless, after appointing a person td,:itton-
duct it on her part, and after her assent had been con-
tinued six months, suddenly refused the necessary
powers to give effect to the mediation, it had given, if,
not a sufficient excuse, at letana palliation for the con-.
duct of *Sardinia in 'entering into that which might bo
long and must be an unfortunate war.—(Hear' ht,v
The Governments of England "rind France would, se' r.ti..
scever the result,- have the satisfaction to rcfl4,
they had done all in their power to prevent the r
lion of hostilities and to avert the evils of; ~,et :r.
utmlipast.
was a gratifying circumstance, and in e,, • Ir. 1
nclusi n he
would observe that it was of the greataet, p ce to
Europe and to the world, and the b eit itl°
securityirt af
or the
restoration of peace, should war ueseetueatelypeace,
have
broken out, and for the future
preservation of
shoulden-
dea
v cr bet
o maintainfo un d
c t!:
top:
edeateohneec.r: (
to ,
strh then,hear.)
He looked forward with oe
time
when, by the joint exertions of the Governments of
those two countries—by their uniting in the same policy,
and making peace their sole object—the general peace of
Europe would be restored and preserved.—(Hear, hear.)
He had only further to assure the Noble Earl and the
House that the papers connected with the negotiations
should, at the proper time, be laid before the Rouse.
Lord BROUGHAM heartily agreed in two of tale
propositions laid down by the Noble Marquis—the
one
the importance to the peace of Europe, and the beet in-
terests of this country, of preserving a good under iltßa,;d..
ing with France (and he gave credit to his Noble
Friends
-opposite for their successful junction with Frar
in the * hn doubtfnl matter of the, Sardinian Eno ice' eve
.tion)—t e