The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-27 00:00:00

THE SUN,

such vote was recorded. In the present case, how-
ever, that question does not arise, inasmuch as Mr.
Low tendered his vote exactly ten minutes before
the conclusion of what should have been the first
hour of the polling. All those who value purity of
election are under great obligations to Mr. Low for
having thus protested against a practice which,
if suffered to become a precedent, would
open a door to fraudulent collusions of such
a character as to render every election a
mockery. We trust that Mr. Low will not permit
the matter to rest here, but that he will appeal to
the House of Commons against the illegal conduct
of the returning officer, and victoriously vindicate
the great constitutional principle of which he is now
the champion.

Considerable discussion, some ill-blood, and a large
amount of vituperation have recently been excited by
the course adopted by Mr. MORE O'FERRALL in
reference to the treatment of certain Italian refugees.
As Governor of the Island of Malta—one of the most
important, and perhaps the most efficiently garrisoned,
among the British possessions in the Mediteranean—
it was conceived that his Excellency might have
acted differently, and by so doing have ameliorated
the condition of the unfortunate, while he enhanced
the glory already acquired by England as an empire
of the most eclectic benevolence, and of the most
unbounded hospitality. Cordially, fully, unrestrictedly,
and most unconditionally, do we coincide in the
feelings, and sympathise with the reasoning, which
prompted these general expressions of indignation.
Our sentiments with reference to the fugitives from
the Roman peninsula are, we imagine, by this time
tolerably well known ; therefore we shall not tarry
to descant upon that point of the subject now under
our consideration. What we look to, and what we
would now lay clearly and directly under the obser-
vation of the public, are the simple facts of the case
upon which so many angry comments have been
lavished, and which in some unfortunate instances has
evoked the most abusive personalities. Now, as to
these same facts, they no longer remain matters of
conjecture. They glare upon our recognition with
the distinctness of occurrences officially announced,
that announcement ing, moreover, endorsed by the
signature of the Fiit Minister of the Crown. An
admirable letter emanating from the Honourable Gen-
tleman the representative of Montrose, as Chairman
of a Committee of Members of Parliament formed in
aid of the Italian refugees, demanded from the chief
Ministerial adviser of the SOVEREIGN some explanation
as to the light in which the conduct of the Governor of
Malta was viewed by the Administration. Nobly
was it remarked by Mr. Hume, that " amidst all the
diversities of opinion, in this and in former times, con-
cerning the foreign policy of our country, there is
one rule of conduct which has been invariably ob-
served, and has met with universal and heartfelt
assent, namely—that of extending a generous and
fearless hospitality to political exiles of every class,
from every country, and of every cause." The pre-
sent position of so many distinguished exiles in these
islands affords a striking corroboration to the assertion.
For amongst the refugees in England alone
we could enumerate Princes and Dema-
gogues, Dukes and Prime Ministers, Socialists
and Aristocrats, the claimants of crowns,
and men who have worn the purple and the diadem.
;We could point to great soldiers who have headed
insurrections" in Catalonia, and great statesmen who
have directed the councils of the Tuileries. We could
direct attention to General ESPARTERO, now living in
honourable seclusion on his patrimonial estates, and
to the President BONAPARTE, now presiding over the
democratic institutions of the French Republic,, as
among those who have tasted, in England, the sweets
of liberty amidst the bitterness of expatriation. But
the matter requires not to be thus authenticated. It
is a subject of renown throughout Europe. It is a
jewel brighter than any glittering on the regalia of
VICTORIA.. It is the most resplendent of
the many resplendent glories of old Eng-
land. Consequently it was with peculiar
emphasis that the Member for Montrose demanded,
in the name of the proverbial hospitality of England
to exiles, some definitive explanation from the hand
of the First Lord of the Treasury. Nor was that
noble statesman tardy in responding to a call, such as
must have found ready access to a heart beating with
the blood la filch an illustrious ancestor shed, in the
holy cause of freedom, upon the block and upon the
scaffold. The reply of Lord JOHN I'►USSFLL to the
letter addressed to him by Mr. HOME must for ever
set at rest the matter so long under discussion. It at
once avouches the devotion of the present Government
to those principles of action which have rendered
England the haunt of the refugee and the shelter of
the unfortunate, while it exonerates Mr. MORE
OTERRALL from any of the blame attached to him
by his assailants :
" The Governor of Malta," says the Premier, " was
of opinion that although the refugees from Rome (not
Roman refugees, in great part) might safely be allowed
to proceed to England, he could not be responsible for
their remaining in Malta. They were therefore detained
on board ship for some ten days or a fortnight, with the
exception of the sick, and of the women and children,
who were allowed to land."
Had the observations of the Prime Minister gone
no further than this, the last sentence would have
been a satisfactory and conclusive evidence that his
Excellency the Governor of Malta had in no respect
violated the sacred principles of humanity. But the
Noble Lord proceeds to the effect that, although the
presence of these refugees from the Roman peninsula
might be perfectly consistent with the peace and
security of London, it was very far from being con-
sistent with the peace and good government of the
island of Malta.
" After all," says the Premier in conclusion, "what
has been the hardship inflicted? These persons were
in no danger of their lives while they were on board a
French vessel. They were not detained longer than a
vessel put in quarantine. They took their passages to
England, or to Greece, if they chose. They were pre-
vented from disturbing Malta, and that was all. Lord
Grey has, therefore, with my full concurrence, expressed
his approbation of the course pursued by the Governor
of Malta."
Whatever, therefore, may be thought even by the
bitterest personal antagonist of Mr. MORE O'FEn-
BALL (and, by the way, he is peculiarly favoured
with an abundance of those social musquitoes), it
must be sufficiently manifest after this that his
Excellency has acted with the entire concurrence of
the Government, with the approbation of the Foreign

Secretary, and the approval of the Prime Minister.

It would be sufficient for the distinguished gentle-
man who represents her Britannic MAJESTY in the
centre of the Mediterranean Sea to point to the
deliberate applause bestowed upon him in this
instance by the supreme Government. It is his

good fortune, however, to be enabled to do

snore in testimony of his honour, of his liberality,
of his patriotism, of his integrity, and of his
intelligence. -- He can demand the scrutiny of his
contemporaries upon a career, not only marked by
the tokens of singular ability and uprightness, but
unsullied by a single act unbecoming a liberal

statesman, or (an expression of equivalent mean-
ing) a truly English diplomatist. No doubt Mr. MORE
O'FERRALL was selected in the first instance as a

man representing the Roman Catholics of the
United Kingdom--(and it is honourable to the
Roman Catholics as a body to (have produced such a

representative)—yet is he no sectarian. Of this his

political life, ever since his first election at Kildare, is

an ample testimony. Turning, however, from re.
marks that, with the majority, are pre.

posterously superfluous, it will

be enough

ror us to direct attention to the assistance

afforded at Malta to the passengers on board the

Concordia, some of whom were transferred to pon-
toons, and others (the sick) to the Lazaretto, in

,oken that the Governor of that island was neither

nbuman nor inexorable.

Very shortly, no doubt, England will be afforded
an opportunity of displaying her hospitality not only
to the Italian refugees, but also to the fugitive
Hungarians. How far the country R ill proceed in
accordance with its wonted generosity, it is impos-
sible of course to predict with any degree of
particularity. B,ut of .this we are satisfied, that
it is not exactly arOuch a crisis as the present that
the people of our' will begin to evince any
diminution of their Muaitcence. No, the population
of Britain have not reserved an example of national
niggardliness for the middle of the nineteenth century
—an Epoch when Reaction has assumed such a
haughty and domineering attitude all over the con-
tincnt,i h(n, after the supeib rising of Demo-
cracy in 1848, conspiracy and brute force have tri-