The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-11 00:00:00

4/Wbeieltini t-

LONDON, WEDNE> JULY 11, 1849.

The necessity of a con.iderable extension of the
elective franchise is at length admitted on every side.
The Premier, in a recent debate, solemnly abjured
the " finality" doctrine which had so :long, we are
happy to say erroneously, been ascribed to him.
Even the most decided Tory will scarcely venture to
assert that all the inhabitants of the United Kingdom
beyond the 1.080,000 electors which form the aggre-
gate of the electoral body should still rein An unre-
presented. 'Whatever views, therefore, may be en-
tertained with respect to the other great questions of
Parliamentary Reform, there is at least no difference
with respect to the propriety of bringing within the
pale of the Constitution many of those who, under
the present system, are most unjstly excluded
from any voice in the enactments of the
laws by which they are governed, or in the disposal
of the national revenues to which they are collectively
and indiviluilly bound to contribute, and who are
thus reduced to the condition of being mere political
cyphers unworthy of exerci-ing the privilege of self-
government, the inherent birthright of every free-

born man.
The justice of the principle that there shall be "no
taxation without rep:esen ta tion" has lung been re-
cogiaisel by all parties. It is to the unequivocal
recognition of that great political axiom that the
power of the House of Commons is chiefly ascribable.
That House has long been the recognized guirdian of
the public purse, and no interference, however
minute, is tolerated with respect to the important
privilege which is so jealously and vigilantly
guarded. That privilege has , been conceded
because thtt /louse is supposed to reprr lent the wants

and wishes of the tax-payilig community--,and its
assent must be recorded before any impost can be •
levied, or before one shilling of the proceeds can be
applied to any purpose whatsoever... theory,
therefore, if not in practice, every individual who in
any degree contributes to the national Exchequer, is
entitled to the franchise; and his exclusion can only
be justified on the ground of some great and over-
whelming state necessity—that it would, in fact, be
dangerous to society to enable him to exercise his
undoubted right.
Although we cannot participate in the fears of
those timid politicians who believe that the British
Constitution would be imperilled by placing the ►
democratic element on the most extended basis,
we would yet be prepared to assent to the satisfaction
of the popular claims by fair and liberal instalments.
We would allow them to learn the needlessness of
their scruples from experience, provided the first step
were speedily taken in the right direction. But it
must be no trivial or illusory concessions, no petty
alteration, that will still leave the glaring and
flagrant injustice subsisting in all its enormity. The
veteran Reformer, JOSEPH HUME, who at one period
stood almost alone in his advocacy of popular rights
in the Commons House of Parliament, has declared
that he will for the present accept Household Suf-
frage, and a large body of Reformers have acceded to
the proposition of their tried and faithful friend—
s large addition would thus be made to the several
constituencies, and, many well-qualified men would
be added to the lists of electors. But the dominant
party still object ; they acknowledge the right, but
they declare that such right cannot be exercised with
safety ; that, in fact, the great body of the people
are not duly qualified for the trust; that they are not
competent to form a sound judgment on public
questions, or, on the qualifications and characters of
public men; that wherever the mists of ignorance are
dispelled, and education generally diffused throughout
the community, the restrictions may be removed,
and the structure of society placed upon the
broadest foundation. Such are the arguments
by which the claims of the less wealthy classes are
opposed; and there is undoubtedly some shadow of rea-
son in the assertion that those who neglect the op-
portunities now placed within the reach of all—who
exhibit such culpable apathy and carelessness in the
improvement of their own minds, who are the volun-
tary slaves of ignorance—should not be entrusted
with political power.
Our esteemed Correspondent, whose letter will be
found in another part of our impre=sion this day,
suggests a mode by which these difficulties may be
overcome. He proposes the adoption of "an educa-
tional test," or as he himself happily terms it,
"to give the vote to a man because he is a
man, not because he has purchased some
earth, or some bricks and mortar." If this proposi-
tion were adopted, if every man capable of reading
and writing, and who understood the primary rules
of common arithmetic, were admitted to the fran-
chise, an extraordinary stimulus would be applied to
learning which is now, unhappily, too much neg-
lected. Then, indeed, the absence of a vote would
be regarded as a shame and a disgrace not to the
Legislature, but to the individual who, by his own
default, was excluded from the privileges belonging
to his i'ellow-men.

Under the present narrow; and illiberal system,
many who are far better qualified by intellectual at-
tainments for the proper discharge of the duties of
a citizen than the great majority of the
electoral body, as at present constituted,
are most unfairly and improperly rejected.
They thus suffer a vicarious punishment for the de-
ficiencies of others. Tnis is neither just nor equit-
able, and cannot be defended on any principle. We
commend the suggestion to the consideration of all
sincere reformers—of liberals not merely in profes-
sion but in practice. There would be but little diffi-
culty in applying the test, and bringing the system
into operation. It would also possess this recom-
mendation, that it would contain within itself the
elements for the future extension of the suffrage as
occasion should arise. It would be perfectly safe, for
a higher qualification could scarcely be suggested,
and it would be satisfactory to the great body of the
working classes, whose discontent and dissatisfaction
at their present condition is fraught with the utmost
danger to the community in general.

The spirit of malicious vindictiveness, of reckle-s
disregard for legality and truth, which has ever cha-
racterised the proceedings of the Bourbon if of
Naples and of their agents, with regard to Sicily
and the Sicilians, has been remerkubly illustrated
during the past week by the prosecution of Prince
GRANATELLI and Signor SCALIA at the Central
Criminal Court. For three days were a Sicilian
nobleman, Prince GRANATELLI ; a member of the
Sicilian Parliament, Signor Um SCALIA ; and an
English seaman, Captain MOODY, compelled to stand
at the bar of the Old Bailey to meet a criminal
charge brought against them by the agents of the
King of NAPLES"— a charge for which there
was no foundation either in law or in fact, and
in support of which several witnesses were called,
of whom we will only say that whilst they are
worthy of the service of the King of NAPLES,
his is the only European service which is
worthy of them. Even had Prince GRANATELLI and
Signor SCALIA been really guilty of the mis
demeanour laid to their charge, there was something
mean, cowardly, and vindictive, and therefore, per-
haps, peculiarly Bourbon-like, in choosing the pre-
sent time, of all others, for prosecuting them ;
but, inasmuch as they had done nothing ille-
gal or wrong, and inasmuch as the agents
of the King of NAPLES in this country must have
been perfectly aware that such was the case, inas-
much as it was evident to every man of common
sense and of ordinary knowledge of law, that the pro-
secution could have but one termination, the ac-
quittal of the defendants, it is clear that the gratifi-
cation of a petty spirit of vindictiveness was the
motive which actuated the Neapolitan authorities in
undertaking it. It appears that in June, 1848
Prince GRANATELLI and Signor SCALIA were accre-
dited to the English Government by the Provisional
Government of Sicily, and were received by Lord
PALMERSTON, if not officiellement, yet officieusement
in that capacity. There was no mystery about their
mission, they were seen by the Prince of _ ASTEL.
CICALA, the Neapolitan Ambassador, waiting in the
ante-room of the Foreign-office ; they were met by
Prince CASTELCICALA at the soirees of Lady PAL -
AtERSTON. At the time of their arrival they were
anxious to purchase two English steamers to
I send out to Sicily (be it remembered the
King of NAPLES had purchased nearly the
whole of his steam fleet in England), and so careful
were they not to infringe the law of England, that
it appears from Sir Frrzaoy KELLY'S statement they
acted, in every step they took, under the beet legal
advice, and before purchasing the steamers, and
before fitting them out, ascertained that neither by
the purchase nor by the manner cf fitting up these
vessels were they violating the English law ; and
they were well alvised ; for although their proceed-
ings were narrowly watched by the Prince of CAS-
TELCICALA and his spies, although the respectable
Colonel AUBREY, now an ornament to the service of
King BOMBA, for a "wretched and mean bribe" of 3001.
consented to become that worst of traitors, a traitor
in uniform—" un militaire qui trahit, un trititre ea
uniforme c'cat la pire espece de tauten—although
REDoNDO, the " sturdy vagabond," whom we re-
commended to the attention of the Mendicity
S was sent as a spy, eventually to be
kicked out as a traitor ; and although Mr. D.
H. WATSON, not content with serving the
Queen of ENGLAND as a Customs officer for
money, must needs also serve King Bomait
" out of pure love and affection," without reward or
the promise of reward as informer—although all these
persons were engaged day after day, and hour after hour,
in watching and tale-bearing, yet they could discover
nothing, and albtit Mr. D. H. WATSON, in the
exuberance of his zeal, seized the Bombay on the
16th of March, and thereby rendered himself liable
to an action for damages, yet after a minute investi-
gation the law-officers of the Crown decided that
there was no cause whatever for detaining the vessel,
and on the 4th of May she was delivered up.
Enraged at being thus foiled in their revenge, mad-
dened by the refusal of the English Government to
permit the metropolitan police to be employed as
spies for the King of , NAPLES, the partisans of
that amiable Monarch concocted the prosecution
which has just teroduatol in the triuraphint tic

quittal of Psi. isce GII ANATELLI, and the signal de-
feat of the ag tilts of King BOMBA. Whether or
not the-matter is -to....end here, whether or not the
prosecutors and witnesses in this cae may not here-
after be themsehi es indicted, some for perjury, some
for subornation of perjury, some for conspiracy, are
matters on is hic h those, whom they sought to make
their victims mu st determine; but we are convinced
that neither Frit ice GRANATELLI nor Signor SCALIA
Will regret the t )ain, the trouble, the annoyance, and
the vexation to, which they have been subjected, when
they consider it .e very important admissions as to the
nature of the 'Government of Sicily which this trial
Ihas been the means of eliciting from the Ministry
of that ICING ' who now, by the admission of his accre-
dited representative in England, stands branch(' in
the face of th e world as an illegal usurper, a tyrant,
an insurgent l tonarch, in a state of permanent in-
surrection agait tat those laws to which alone he owes
throne ; whose rule in Sicily is, consequently
upon his own s howing, the rtfe of brute force alone,
without the spa dow of right, and whose yoke there-
fore may at ally time be thrown off without
any violation of law, or right, or justice,
s whensoever those who groan under it shall
feel themselves sufficiently strong to strike another
blow for freedom. The Prince of CASTELCICALA, the
representative in this country of the King of the
Two SICILIES, was examined upon oath at this trial,
and he was, in the course of his cross-examination,
compelled to admit that the legitimate Government
of Sicily is a Constitutional Government. " Sicily
has two Chambers," says the Prince of CASTELCICALA,
" a Chamber of Peers and a Chamber of Commons."
Where, we ask, were those Chambers from 1816: to
1848—where are they now ? We have all along
contended that the Sicilians have been throughout in
their right, and we have now the admission of the
Prince of CASTELCICALA that such is the case. Lord
PALMERSTON was,therefore,perfectlyjustified in apply.
in the term " Sicilian Government" to the Regency of
RUGGIERo SETTIMO, and notwithstanding the ravings
of , the gentleman who perpetrates Abeerdeenisins
fors a morning paper, he would have been perfectly
justified had he formally recognised the Sicilian
Government, and recsived Peinee GRANATELLI and
Signor SCALIA, not merely officieuseinent but offi-
ciellement. The writer to whom we allude, in his zeal
to uphold the cause of that paragon of Monarchs,
King BoMBA, has ventured to misrepresent the law
of nations, and as that misrepresentation is evidently
a coinage from the Aberdeen mint, and Rill no doubi
be quoted hereafter in Parliament by the co-conspi-
rators of the continental reactionaries, it may be as well
at once to set the question at rest by appealing to an
authority to which even NETTERNICU himself will
not venture to demur. We mean VATTEL. The dis-
ciple of AMIRDE EN says:—" We deny that it has been
the practice of this country, or that it is consistent
with public law, to foment rebellious in foreign States,
by the recognition of such Governments"—(meaning
such Governments as the late Sicilian Government)—
and further on he adds :—" These principles are not
contested." So far from these principles not being
contested, we centend that they have never been
admitted. - With regard to the recognition of such
(governments, the practice of this country has been
the very contrary of that which it is here represented
to have been. Mr. CANNING, by the recognition of
the Governments of the South American Republics,
"called the New World into existence to redress the
balance of the old ;" and even Lord ABERDEEN himself;
in obedience it must be admitted to Russian com-
mands, and with the full permission of his mentor,
MirrrEnracu, ventured to recognise the Government
public law,
oy.regard So m l
aw, uwtcoeh
thefor the
find,c oo
consistency
:isrtee practicefneeryr noo
gff
thistthoi s
vc.poAruaTneTtt rEi
f Greece. w
with
puibt with
that he lays it down as the public law of Europe
that all foreign nations are bound not only to recog-
nise but to aid a people situated as the Sicilian nation
is situated with regard to King FERDINAND.
"If the PRINCE," says VATTEL (Book 1., chap. iv),
"by violating fundamental laws, furnishes to his
people a legitimate cause for resistance ; if his
tyranny by becoming insupportable, rouses the nation
to insurrection, every foreign power has a right to assist
an oppressed people who demand aid and protection.
When a nation takes up arms against a tyrant it is
just and generous to support a brave people de-
fending their liberty. In case of civil war,
therefore, foreign Powers may assist whichsover
of the two parti's appears to them to have justice
on its side. There are monsters wh), under the name
of kings, render themselves the scourge and horror of
humanity, and every man of honour is bound in con-
science to assist in extirpating these ferocious beasts
from the earth." Again, in Buck 3, chap. xvi.,
VATTEL says, "In all these cases the bonds of society
are broken, the state is divided into two portions in-
dependent of each other, and which no longer recog-
nise any common head, and the war between them is
subject to all the rules of international war. They
are bound to observe the ordinary laws of war; in
fact, the personal ally of the depsed king cannot
assist him against the nation, which, in deposing him,
has only used its right—if he undertakes to do so, he
is guilty of a crime against the liberty of the nation."

We trust that this question is now set at rest, and
that we shall have no more twaddling Abvrdeenisms
about " insurgent juntas" " fomtnting rebellion,"
&c. &c. The authority of VATTEL is on such a
point somewhat superior to thst of even "cet excellent
ABERDEEN." That the Sicilians come within the
category contemplated by VAT rEL is fully proved
in a pamphlet recently published by RIDGWAY, en-
" Sicily and England." This pamphlet, written, we
believe, under the immediate superintendence of
Prince GRANAI ELLI, goes fully into the whole ques-
tion, and as every assertion in it is supported by
vouchers, it is an invaluable record for the future
historian.