The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-14 00:00:00

el bk.,
I titilV

LoITDON. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1847.

The Commons met at Pour
On the motion that the order
the secorid reading of the of the day be read for
way Bill, Edinburgh and Perth Rail-
Mr. T'. DUNCOMBR moved that the Bill be read a
second Grne that day six months.
After a short discussion, the House divided, When
there appeared—
For the second reading ............ 68
Against it
Majority for the second reading... —54
On the motion of Lord Moar.Ern, it was ordered
that no private Bill relating to town improvements or
to public cemeteries be fui ther proceeded with by this
House before the Ist of May next.
Lord JOHN MANNERS gave notice that he should
renew his motion respecting the state of Greece on
that day fortnight.
Mr. .aumE gave notice that on the motion for going
into Committee of Supply on Monday, for voting the
educational grant, he should move for a Select Corn-
mittee to consider the minutes of Council of August 1
and December last, on the subject of education, and
whether the scheme therein proposed would not give
the Grown too much power, and interfere with the
religious opinions of her Majesty's subjects. •
Mr WALPOLE obtained leave to bring in a Bill
(four ,cled on the report of the Committee of last
se"if )n) to amend the law for the Registration of
Vote, xi.

Mr. MUNTZ moved for leave to bring in a Bill to
enable the retail brewers of beer in the Midland
Counties to keep open their houses until twelve
o'clock at night.
Sir G. GREY opposed the motion ; and on a division
the numbers were—
For the motion
Against it
Majority against the motion ..

77

-73

On the motion of Mr. Hums, returns for the
expenses attending the building of the new Houses
of Parliament were ordered to be made.

Mr. CHRISTIE obtained leave to bring in a Bill to
remove certain doubts as to the validity of Quakers'
and Jews' Marriages.

Mr. HUME obtained leave to bring in a Bill for the
taxation of costs of private Bills before the House of
Commons.

The Exchequer Bills Bill passed through Com.
mittee; the report on the Prisons (Ireland) Bil
was brought up, and the House adjourned.

Parliament must hearken to the statement promised
by Lord JOHN MANNERS, in reference to King
OTHO's government, or rather to King OTHO'S
mis-
government. Her MAJESTY'S Minister for Foreign
Affairs must be vigilant as to the movements of
the Greek Cabinet. England must be watchful, or
the Athenian Legislature will become so plunged into
difficulties, as to complicate still more fatally the
already complicated relations of the European prin-
cipalities. Ever since her separation from Turkey
Greece has presented a woeful spectacle of legislative
imbecility. It has been the political shuttlecock of
Russian avarice and French ambition. Between
those states the Hellenic policy has oscillated per-
petually ; it has at one moment yielded to the crea-
tures of the CZAR, and at another has dwindled
into the vassalage of the Citizen King. Recently
the affairs of Greece have been further em-
barrassed by the misunderstanding which has
arisen between its SOVEREIGN and the OT-
TOMAN PORTE, a misunderstanding which osten-
sibly arose from a momentary pique on the part
of OTIIO, but which was indisputably the result of
the jealousies long nourished in his imagination by
the insidious agents of Louis PHILIPPE. The inso-
lent demeanour, which caused such indignation to
MUSSURITS in the ball-room of the Athenian Palace,
has ignited those combustibles which have been
secretly accumulated by France between the
Hellenes and the Mahometans. The flame has
spread, and is still spreading ; it can only be extin-
guished by some extraordinary concession on the
part of the SUBLIME PORTE or the Greek SOVEREIGN.
Both of thoe potentates are averse to concede one
iota ; one is agitated by sentiments of supreme
pride ; the other is incited by the French
diplomatists to remain inflexible in his re-
fusal to retract or apologise. In addition to the troubles
originating in this untimely and inauspicious estrange-
ment, the Government of Greece has considerable
cause for trepidation. Its moral strength is threat-
ened ; its integrity is more than ever doubtful ; its
very exigence seems to depend upon a precarious
division. The Coletti Administration is openly
accused of embezzling the public moneys, of abstract.
ing State documents for the purpose of screening its
character from imputation, and of consummating its
infamy by thriving upon illegal taxation. The
Minister of Finance is directly impeached before the
Senate ; and, considering that his conduct has been
throughout connived at by his colleagues, and that

they still continue to uphold him against these
enormous accusations, it is evident that the whole
Cabinet is treading upon rushes over an abyss.
Were it requisite to substantiate our statement
as to the alarming position of the present
Hellenic Government, we could adduce a very
considerable bulk of corroborative evidence. We
shall, however, content ourselves with a single
quotation from a speech delivered on the 30th ultimo
by one of the deputies in the Legislative Chamber of
Athens. "We are bought, gentlemen, we are bought,"
he exclaimed. " What do other Governments do on
similar occasions? What was the conduct of the f. t-
mous English Minister, PITT, when MELVILLE
was accused ? What did our own Minister, MAYRO-
CORDATO, do, when LONDIDES was accused ? Did he
not go to the KING, and insist on his instantaneous
dismissal, before he could even have time to resign ?
But look at COLETTI--.THERE HE SITS, NEXT TO
THE CONVICTED THIEF', AND INTRODUCES HIM AT
THE KING'S COUNCIL TABLE !" Such is the lan-
guage employed by the Greek Legislators in
speaking of the advisers of his Hellenic MAJESTY !
Such are the vituperations bandied about among the
rulers of degraded Greece Such is the consumma-
tion of French domination on the north-eastern
shores of the Mediterranean. Wherever that ac-
cursed domination penetrates, whether it be into
Iberia or into the Morea, or into Algeria, or into
Otaheite, there come in like manner anarchy and
misery and degradation. This has been proved with
Queen POMARE, with Queen MARIA DA GLORIA,
with Queen ISABELLA 11., and with the followers of
the famous ABD-EL-KADER ; it is here again testified
in the instance of King OTHO and the other Grecian
minions of M. GUIZOT. Unless new blood—blood pure
and uncontaminated—be infused into the Legisla-
ture of Athens ; unless state peculation be repressed;
unless the Greek Cabinet be henceforth characterised
by its independence instead of becoming the obse-
quious pander to the lust of foreign aggrandisement
—the beautiful constitution granted to that country
will be invalid and a mockery. Not only to the
lovers of classic greatness, not merely to the vvor•
shippers of the memories of the Athenian and Lace-
demonian Immortals—the poets, the painters, the
architects, the orators, the dramatists, the
warriors, the legislators, the philosophers—does the
present condition of Greece appeal for sympathy :
it pleads earnestly and eloquently to the abettors of
the cause of progression and of the diffusion of mo-
dern civilisation. The English Ministry, the English
Parliament, cannot remain indifferent under the pre-
sent misfortunes of the Hellenic race. Due consi-
deration must be inevitably extended to the state-
ment forthcoming from the Noble Lord the Member
for Newark.

Public attention has lately been directed more
strongly than heretofore to the state and condition of
our colonies, the laws and regulations by which they
are governed, and the manner in which these laws
and regulations have been enforced and carried into
execution. Hitherto the chief cause of complaint
was, that the system of centralization was too much
acted upon ; that, in fact, everything of any im-
portance was decided on by the Colonial Secretary,
in his office at Downing-street, without that intimate
acquaintance with facts and circumstances that
would enable him to come to a sound conclusion .
that the resident confidential servants of the Crown'
had little discretionsallowed to them as to their con-
duct or policy, but were merely permitted to carry
into effect the directions forwarded to them from the
mother country ; and that the colonists themselves
were, in the great majority of instances, wholly de-
barred from that which is the proudest privilege
of a freeman, the right of self-government, of having
a voice in all things relating to the welfare, prosperity,
or management of the district of which he is an in-
habitant, and with which all his interests are
bound up. Here, if any case of hardship oc-
curs, if laws are found to be burdensome
or oppressive, or if unduly distorted to
the prejudice or injury of an individual, there is a
mode by which a speedy remedy can be obtained,
the public indignation is aroused, the voice of public
opinion
otpirneiooonis heard, many will join while the transaction
stale, or months who would think little of it if the subject was
I. additional energy
justice
is obtained,
had elapsed since the grievance
that opinion is slighted or despised
d
taken place.
into the demand for re-
and means taken to
of a
our
occurrence.
paration, until
prevent the possibility of
colonies affairs
ymatter howur uorrgent the case
In the great ma;jonroit
riunidn.ous the
the grievanc
ma
rae y fabre o
bt hoewr wei sr ey n g
consequences of delay either to classes or
nothing can be done until there has been a cividuals'
nication with the parent State, and even thenninituhe
Fabian policy still prevails, and much unnecessary
time is consumed before a final decision is arrived at.
A letter this day inserted in our columns from a cor-
respondent, who signs himself " Observer," detail; a
case of extraordinary hardship. A gentleman of consi-
derable talent and ability has been driven unjustly from
the profession by which he was earning an honourable
independence for himself and family. Mistakes must,

undoubtedly, occur in every community; we cannot
hope to obtain infallible judges, or that erroneous
! decisions may not frequently be pronounced ; but
there should be a ready mode of correcting these
errors, and rendering justice to the'party aggrieved.
I In the case to which we have alluded every day's
delay inflicted a serious punishment on the party.
lUntil a final adjudication took place, he was debarred
I from exercising his abilities in a legitimate manner,
and obtaining that reward for his exertions to which
his skill and learning entitled him. His cha-
racter was branded and stigmatised ; he was
conscious:how undeservedly, and how little he had
to fear from the closest investigation, the most
stringent inquiry ; and yet no less than five years
have elapsed before he could obtain tardy justice, and
be enabled again to resume the position from which
he was so improperly displaced. These things should
not be suffered to remain in such a state, means
should be taken to bring cheap and speedy justice
within the reach of the humblest British subject, and
the inhabitants of our colonies are as much our
fellow-subjects, and entitled to all the rights
and privileges of free-born Britons as fully
as if they were dwellers in the metropolis.
We believe that there are other cases from
the same eolony, of equal, if not greater,
hardship than those of Sir EARDLEY WILMOT
and Mr. STEPHEN, where the sufferers have pined
under " the hope deferred that maketh sick the
heart," in daily expectation of at length receiving
full reparation for the injuries they have sus-
tained. The present Secretary for the Colo-
nies has devoted the closest attention, and
directed every energy of his powerful mind to
ameliorating the condition and improving the
institutions of our dependencies. We have al-
ready had occasion to speak in terms of
the warmest approval of the charter conferred
on New Zealand under his auspices; we trust he will
exhibit his usual promptitude in expediting the deci-
sions on pending cases, and taking such steps as for
the future will insure more speedy results in cases
where delay is almost fatal to the parties. Much is
looked for at his hands, and we shall indeed be dis-
appointed if these expectations are not fully realised,
and a system adopted for the mutual benefit of the old
country and of her numerous offspring.

Political excitement is at its highest pitch in
Madrid. The crisis is an imminent one. Every true
lover of constitutional liberty must feel anxious that
the recent spirited proceedings of the QUEEN may be
supported by the Government, the Cortes, and the
nation at large in the manner they deserve. From
the enthusiastic reception given to her MAJESTY
whenever she has appeared in public, since the abo-
minable Camarillo have been cashiered, it is evident
that popular sympathy and approbation arc gratefully
bestowed upon the SOVEREIGN. It should be re-
marked, too, that the young QUEEN went wholly un-
guarded to the Plaza de Toros, thereby evincing the
greatest confidence in the loyalty of her subjects,
which, at the same time that it was warmly re-
cognised, was observed to inspire her MAJESTY with
intense satisfaction. From another most important
step which has just been taken, our confidence
is increased that the present Government will
firmly act up to the exigency before them—we allude
to the decision they have come to with re-
spect to the Queen-Mother. Apprised that
this personage had resolved upon returning
forthwith to Madrid, the Minister immediately dis-
patched General CONCHA to meet her en route, and
remonstrate against her persevering in the journey;
and the report is strong and well credited, that
should Queen CHRISTINA not be influenced by the
General's instructions, and attempt to enter Spain,
the Government are authorised to place her under
arrest. No one can doubt the wisdom and propriety
of this important decision arrived at by the Ministers.
The Queen-Mother has been throughout the primum
mobile of all the base cabals and iniquitous conspi-
racies which have so long disgraced the Court of
Madrid, and stopped the growth of liberty in Spain.
In CHRISTINA the Court of Versailles found a will-
ing tool to effectuate all their subtle designs against
the welfare of Spain. Equal in selfishness and in-
ordinate rapacity, governed only by personal, and
wholly indifferent to any lofty or national considera-
tions, Louis PHILIPPE and the Queen-Mother had
no difficulty in striking an infamous bargain,
and, by setting all principle at defiance,
realising it to the full. Had CHRISTINA never
been allowed to return to Madrid, subsequent to the
overthrow of ESFARTERO, the entente cordiale between
England and France might have remained unbroken
to this hour. That her being unexpectedly crossed
on her way to Madrid by General CONCHA will prove
" a heavy blow and great discouragement" to Cult's-
TINA, we may be perfectly certain ; and should she
attempt to cross the frontier, we sincerely trust that
coercive measures will be promptly adopted. "Let
the galled jade wince." Another piece of intelligence
is, that the Duke of VICTORY will be recalled to
Spain. Considering how thoroughly General ESPAR-
TERO understood from the first the character of
Queen CHRISTINA, and how accurately all the dis-
turbances in the Iberian peninsula are traceable to
the deviations from the Constitution, which he un-
compromisingly refused to sanction, his return to
Madrid, restored to all his titles, honours, and rank,
will be a proud triumph indeed ! ESPARTERO is still
regarded with admiration by thousands of his com-
patriots, and his presence amongst them once more
would be hailed with universal delight. It
is impossible to predict at this moment
the degree of strength which the new Ministry will
find in the Cortes. The impression is_ that the Pro-
gressistas will support the Government. They are
anxious for a general amnesty; but, without saying
that the Executive will fully concede this point, it
seems more than probable that the liberal spirit which
they have already recommended the Crown tg exhibit
towards a large number of proscribed politicians, will
secure Senor PACHECO their adherence in the existing
struggle. The union of the Afrancesados and the
ultra-Moderados will constitute a strong body in
opposition. We hope, however, that the latter will
be disappointed in their hopes from NARVAEZ. Much
will depend on the line he may ultimately adopt, and
much, again, upon the actual measures which the
Ministry may submit to the Cortes. The political
affairs of Spain are fraught with the deepest interest.
Most cordially do we desire that the cause of liberty
may come out unscathed from the severe ordeal
through which it is now destined to pass.

We :read in a letter from Constantinople of the
27th Wt.:—

" The dispute between the Turkish and Greek Govern-
ments has made no progress towards an amicable adjust-
ment. It is generally stated here that the Porte persists in
the ultimatum which was transmitted to Greece, and
which M. Colletti has refused to accept without a modi-
fication to which the Turkish Ministry will not consent.
The two French steamers sent out to tow the vessels
freighted with corn for the ports of France have
arrived more than a week. The Titan remains in the
Dardanelles, and the Cuvier has come up to Constanti-
nople fox the service of the Bosphorus. The French
Consul has written to all the other foreign consulates at
ConstanitLople for the names of all ships of their respec-
tive nations engaged to carry corn to France. The
number of these ships is very great. The Greek Consul
alone has sent in a list of thirty-six. On the other hand
the price of bread is daily rising. The Porte has just
transmitted the following note to all the Foreign
Ministers The large purchases of corn made this
year in Turkey for exportation to Europe having caused
a rise in the price, it may be feared that from an excess
of cupidity the inhabitants will dispose of even the corn
which is necessary for their food and for sowing their
lands, goad thus expose themselves in the end to a
dearth. On the other hand, the scarcity which prevails
in the different countries of Europe makes it a duty of
humanity to facilitate exportation. Not to fail in this
duty, and at the same time preserve Turkey from all
the consequences of a scarcity of corn, the Porto sees
no objection to the excess in the hands of the farmers
being sold, or to the performance of all contracts for
sale already made. Only, beyond the excess of quantity
necessary for the wants of the country and the inhabi-
tants, it has been decided that for the present no sale of
corn shall be made. Notice of this decision has been
sent to the Governors of Silistria, Widdin, Yarns,
Rhode uto, Sarohan, Quoniah, Aidin, Trebizonde,
Costamotry-, Smyrna, and Ismith.' Alarming news has
been received and published from Bagdad and Moussol.
The Tigris is nearly dry, and for several months such a
drought has reigned over the country that the produce
of the next harvest has become very doubtful. At
departaluvdrasjaof
ro
noarsri allls
1: is sold, and for two months there have been
tmhe thetw
haveoc oluans ttr ym oa nil
sa ctchoautn t
theof
ttmh
pe staterte
r s of
the ro
of
Exchanges Marseilles dhl easy ew
ill r eme eso uievhe fnaol emn
osince
dtehres
specie already
sustained losses. It is probable
that the Bank of
.or cash."
M.

_adrid papers of the 6th and 7th have arrived.
The Heralelo publishes a letter fronlEo.a.N.a, deny.