The Sun.
London, England, 1822-05-17 00:00:00

lONIAN ISLANDS.

.
Sir WILSON- wighet to put a question to the Honour-
able Colonial.„Secretary,,,A.answer to which would probably
save .the House a great deal of trouble on a future occasion.
The Hon—Member fOr 'Montrose, in the late debate, on the
lonian NandS, had stated that a Petition, framed in tonfor
mity with the 7th article of the charter; had been seized in the
, progress of signature, and the parties who had gubscribed to it
arrested. The 1-lon. Secr4tary had contended tharthe Petition
qould not fairly. be called constitutional, but that it was of a
seditious and rebellious character, and that' the Hon:Member'
for Montrose, in reading it, had omitted 'some *objectionable ex
pressions. A eopyofAhat Petition had been placed in his (Sir
R. Wilson's) hands, and he could not help hoping that it was
authentic :-.he wished, therefore, to ask whether the Honoura-
ble Secretary would lay upon the. table a. copy of the original
Petition, with the.statement of, the Magistrate, Signor Rossi.'
He' (Sir It Wilson) also wished to know, whether the indiVi-
ditals arrested were now in prison, and whether such as histi-
, ,
ed
escap might return to their country ? •• • •
Mr. WI MOT'lelt it his duty to object to the production'
of the Petitionomless it were accompanied by various explana-
tory documents... He was understood to add, that on a future
day he would movefor copies of the whole: • Ile was not aware
that any person had. been prevented from returning :to the
.lonian Islands.
Lord J.- RUSSELL inquired if there would be any objec-
tion to 'laying before.the /louse such Proelamations of Sir T.
Maitland as related to the neutrality to be observed in the con-
test between the 'Turks and Greeks. ,

The Marquis of LONDONDERRY said, that some of them
were matters of notoriety, and in that way might be referred to,
if necessary, in debate ; but he should object to the production
of any document that would open the general question of the
negotiations now-going forward between Turkey and Russia.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL added, that he had no_ such inten-
tion, and with the consent of the Marquis of Londonderry, he
moved for copies-of any Proclamations by Sir T. Maitland re-
lative to,the contest at present- subsisting between the Turks
and Greeks.—Orilered. • • •

Mr. MAXWELL said, that he had reason to believe that Sir
I'. Maitland was personally hated and detested in-the lonian
Islands. He should be glad to know if to this, or to any other
cause, was to be attributed the prevailing 'spirit of discontent
there ?

The Marquis-of LONDONDERRY entertained a very dif-
ferent impression regarding the'sentiments of the is4nders to—
wards the: Lord High CornmissiOnee. In his important station
he,had conducted himself in a manner tiuite consistent with his
public character.

Mr. MAXWELL had noticed the subject, becausiwitii
great pain he had heard that because Sir T. Maitland was con-
nected" with the Opposition itwas supposed in the lonian Islands
that justice could not be obtained. He'believed this notion to
be wholly unfounded.
Sir I. COFFIN had never heard that the Lord High Com-
missioner was hated or detested by any body. . . •
Mr. HUME, in reference to the proceedings of Sir T.-Mait-
land relative to the export of artris fiorn. the lonian Islantli,
wished to learn what orders the Government of. this country
had given upon the subject, in order that merchants might be
able to regulate their conduct accordingly ?
Mr. WILMOT repeated what he had stated on a former
day, that merchants would be allowed to complete adventures
undertaken before knowledge was obtained of the proclama-
tion of Sir Thomas Maitland. -

Mr. HUME:observed, that the King in Council .had not
prohibited the export of arms, &c. for the 'Creeks, and he knew
not on what authority Sir . Maitland, took 'upon himself to
do so.

- .
Mr. WILMOT answered, that that was an .exeCutiire act on
the. part of the Lord High Commissioner, which must stafld or.
fag by its own merits.
WEST INDIA INTERCOURSE.- •
Mr. ELLIS begged to be informed, whether the President
of the Board of Trade intended to-morrow .to bring on the dis:.
cussion of the West India and. American .Inteicourse. Bill?

Mr. F. ROBINSON replied in the affirmative: it was his
most anxious wish and intention, and he did not apprehend
that the discussion wouil be long.

AMERICAN BOUNDARIEg.

Mr. HUME asked when the Commissioners on the boun-
daries between the United States and the British North Arnerican Colonies would conclude their duties?
Mr. WILMOT said, that the functions for which the Com.:
missioners wereappointed were not yet completed. The 4thr
and '6th articles under the treaty of Ghent were definitively
settled, and the sth depended upon some matters of science,
which, if stated, many. Hon. Gentlemen 'would not understand;
It shared in their ignorance. It regarded the boundary on the
north-west side of New Brunswick. The Commissioners were,
using every possible, expedition, and their slowness arose from
the extreme difficulty of the undertaking. The 7th article only
now remained to be arranged.

RUSSIAN 'TARIFF.
Mr. SYKES wished to put a question to the Noble Lord as
to whether the Russian Tariff, which had lately been published,
was officially communicated to the Government.
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY did not know to which
copy the Hon. Member alluded; There was one about which
a question was asked him before, when he stated his belief that
it was not correct. A Tariff since that period had been au-
thentically communicated to the Government.
AGRICULTURAL, DISTRESS.
Mr. CU,RTEIS presented a 'Petition from the Select Vestry
and Occupiers of Land in the Parish of Mayfield, complaining
of Agricultural Distress. The lion. Member commented upon
the subject of the Petition, and said that no relief could be ex-
pected from the measures new before the House. There were
two parties in 'that House, and they had both deserted the in-
terests of Agriculture. The Ministers, and those who sup-
perted the Ministers, were ready to sacrifice the_ landed inte-
rests to political economy, manufactures, and commerce; anti
the Opposition would sacrifice them to popularity, with the.
,cry of cheap bread and low prices. He hoped that country
Gentlemen would unite, and form a party to protect their own
interests.

Mr. J. SHELLEY was sorry to be obliged to confirm the
complaints of the Petitioners. He thought there were no other
immediate means of affording 'relief than A 'reduction of the
Salt Tax and the Leather Tax.

Mr. JENKINSON attributed the distress of the Petitioners
to the mat-administration of the Poor Laws. He thought this,
was the grand evil that produced all the difficulties of the coun_
try, and he hoped the House would- meet it openly, for they
must do so sooner or later.

Mr. LOCKHART contended that the system of the Poor
Laws must be revised.. The present distress must have a re-
medy, or the consequences must be dreadful. The existing
suffering was but a spasm of a body just beginning to strew
the incipient symptoms of a disease which must end in its dis-
solution amidst the most agonizing convulsions.
Mr. C. lIUTCHINSON explained some remarks that had
fallen from him upon a former occasion. No man was more
ready than he to sympathise 'with the distress of the English
farmer, and no man would go greater lengths to afford him re-.
lief. But what he deprecated was, the mixing up relief to
England, when the miseries and the sufferings of Ireland was
the question before the House. When the Hon. Member who
presented the Petition talked of the sufferings of England, he
had no conception of those with which Ireland was • afflicted ;
and when he compared them together, he compared two things
that were totally dissimilar. If the Hon. Gentleman's consti-
tuenti suffered what the peasants of the South and West of