The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-18 00:00:00

kr.Alll;

LONDON, TUESDAY. JANUARY 18, 1818

Considerable indignation has been excited in
Greece by the publication of a dispatch addressed by
Lord PALMERSTON, on the 30th of October, 1847, to
Sir E. LyoNs, the Ambassador from her Britannic
MAJESTY to the Court of the Hellenic Sovereign. A
translation of this document has appeared in the
Athenian newspapers, and by a re-translation it has
ultimately returned to the population of the United
Kingdom. Curiously enough, the indignation of the
politicians of Athens has been responded to by that
of the politicians of London. So bitterly, so boldly,
so bluntly has her MAJESTY's Secretary for Foreign
Affairs spoken in reference to the aspersions cast
upon our Government by M. GLARAKIS, that a cry of
rage has resounded from the ministerial offices of
Ring OTHO. An appeal has been made to the other
Powers of the European alliance under the dictation
of
his Minister for Foreign Affairs—the wrath of
those Attic statesmen upon whose[shoulders the gar-
ment of CoLv.yyi has fallen has reverberated among
the ruins of the Acropolis. And to this anti-Anglican
awl decidedly pro. Gallic of wrath some of
journalists the very patriotic
ri 1 sts of London have replied
by yells of sympathy.
According to them, Lord
PALMERSTON has cuni'orn
,ed the dignity of the
Bri ish Legislature by employingort worthy
flanguage which, in
their estimation, is only
a Rumdubber, and
could alone have been inspired o
Billingsgate. by the atmosphere of
Considering the dispatch itself per se—apart from
the intrigues of France and the faithlessness
Greece—We must acknowledge that the of
com-
munication of Lord PALMERSTON does appeart too
lavishly characterised by the pungency of sarcasm
and the acidity of invective. At the first blush it has
a trifle more of irritability and passion than might be
considered as compatible with the effusions of a states-
man. The retorts are so tart, the contradictions are
so abrupt, the advice is so caustic, that we can imagine
M. GLARAKIS wincing under it as he would under a
scourge of scorpions. We can imagine him like the
Polyphemus of GAY, chafing his wrath into delirium,
and filling the air with mingled threats and
lamentations—

" Torture, fury, rage, despair, I
cannot, cannot, cannot bear !,,
And, as Galatea must have gazed upon the agonies of
the Sicilian Cyclops, we are, at the outset, almost dis•
posed to look upon the torments of the Hellenic adminis-
trator. Such, we repeat, is the commiseration naturally
produced in the mind oni.a merely superficial reflection.
Let us call to recollection, however, one or two little
things not altogether unworthy of remembrance—
let us enumerate them first by way of a decent pre-
liminary—and then let us, honestly, candidly, and
conscientiously declare whether we may not deli-
berately arrive at a very different conclusion. First
of all, then, it must never be forgotten that England
was principally instrumental in girding the brows of
°TIM with a diadem, and in establishing upon a solid
basis the constitutional monarchy, which might at
Ws' moment A9urishing in the chief city of Attica.
.

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THE

Then it must be considered that for a very con-
siderable time past the interests of Great Britain have
been sedulously overlooked by the Ministerial ad-
visers of the Grecian Monarch, that British plenipo-
tentiaries have been perpetually rebuffed, that British
MITSMITie—e-s have been contumeliously rejected,
and that as continually, as wilfully, and as per-
versely French interests have been consulted,
French plenipotentiaries flattered, and French re-
presentations obeyed. With all this, moreover,
Greece is heavily indebted to England, and won't
Pay ! England, in short, has not only continued to
be the creditor of Greece, but her Government has
been tricked, insulted, and deceived, at the be-
hest of an ambassador from the Tuileries. If ever
a Minister has been goaded into the composition
of a dispatch such as the one indited on the 30th of
October, in Downing-street, Lord PALMERSTON is
that Minister. Bearing all the foregoing circum-
stances in mind, it is impossible, indeed, not to con-
gratulate ourselves upon the fact that a man as bold
as the Noble Viscount was just at that particular
time in office as Foreign Secretary. COLETTI and
the other creatures of M. GUIZOT had so pertina-
ciously conducted themselves in a spirit of insolent
hostility towards Great Britain, that it became abso-
lutely essential that a different tone should be adopted
in our diplomatic correspondence, and that England
should evince her determination to crush the policy
of a truckling Cabinet by speaking in a voice worthy
of her dignity, her glory, and her strength. Lord
PALMERSTON has done this kby the production of his
proud and resolute dispatch ; he has addressed,
through the medium of Sir E. LYONS, that Hellenic
statesman who has adopted the principles of the dead
COLETTI, in regard to France and England (we
moan, of course, M. GLARAKIS, King OTIIO'S Minister
for Foreign Affairs), and he has addressed him in
terms of such haughtiness, of such emphasis,
and of such withering decision, that his precise
meaning cannot, by any possibility, be misappre-
hended. It may be argued, nevertheless, that ex-
cepting as an expression of sentiments not altogether
different from the emotions of spleen, the com-
munication of Lord PALMERSTON must be re-
garded as utterly profitless. From this opi-
nion we most emphatically dissent. We ask any
dispassionate man, who has not been utterly blind
to the mal-administration of the Greek laws, which
mai- administration has latterly and repeatedly led to
the disturbance of that most interesting,kingdom—we
ask any man who is guided by impartiality, and who
is not deaf to reason and experience, whether any
dispatch can be designated profitless which contains
such wholesome and judicious recommendations as
those contained.in the dispatch of the 30th of October ?
Lord PALMERSTON uttered golden truths, and wrote
with oracular eloquence when he penned the follow-
ing sentences :
" If the Greek Government desires to prevent in-
surrection, to maintain order and tranquillity, to
encourage industry in the kingdom, it is not by arbi-
trary arrests, nor by illegal violence, nor by the ruin
of whole provinces, like that which has recently taken
place in Eubwa, that these results can be obtained.
The maintenance of tranquillity in Greece, the de-
velopment of the prosperity of the country, can only
be secured by totally different means from those
followed of late by the Hellenic Government. The law
of uprightness and impartiality ought to be applied,
the judges ought to be independent of the caprices
and corrupt partiality of the Ministers of the Crown ;
justice ought to be administered promptly and equit-
ably between the citizens, and between the Sovereign
and his subjects ; the taxes ought to be impartially
levied, honestly accounted for ; the public revenue
ought to be faithfully and economically disbursed for
the public service, and for that only ; the press
should not be shackled; the municipal and parlia-
mentary elections should be free, and the Chamber of
Deputies should not be converted into a derisive
legislative assembly, by the exclusion of every man
who is not disposed to blindly follow the injunctions
of the Ministers of the Crown. If the Hellenic
Government would permit the constitution to
be a verity ; if it respected the laws and compelled
others to obey it; if it guaranteed the security
of persons and property, encouraging thereby
industryy, securing to each the fruits of his labour
and profits of his capital; in a word, if it admi-
nistered the affairs of Greece in a way which the
►rinisters of a constitutional king ought to fulfil their
high and important functions, free from all external
influences, and looking exclusively to the good of the
country, it would very soon find that it would have
no occasion to repress internal insurrections, and to
pursue in other countries, by diplomatic reclamations,
Greek fugitives who have sought an asylum against
the oppression and injustice which they suffered in
their own."

In speaking thus it must be remembered that her
MAJESTY'S Chief Secretary for Foreign Affairs was
speaking as the representative of that England which
was principally instrumental in establishing the na-
tionality of the Greeks. Our Government has main-
tained silence thus long from a generous anxiety to
behold a noble policy adopted at Athens after the
decease of COLETTI. Their hopes have been de-
ceived. Greek statesmen are still the willing tools
of the French Cabinet, and the insidious enemies of
Great Britain. It is out of a just indignation at this
circumstance that Lord PALMERSTON has drawn his
words of bitterness; and in so doing he has, to our
thinking, acted as becomes his position and his re-
putation.

A proper understanding as to the extent and prin-
ciples of the license of counsel is of paramount
importance to the community, and acting on this
opinion we have endeavoured to present the question
fairly to the public. We yesterday stated our views
as to the duties of an advocate, and we noticed some
arguments that had been too hastily put forward by
a portion of the press upon this momentous and in-
teresting subject. We propose now to pursue our
investigation still further, and to Fee whether any
weight can be attached to the opinions expressed
by some of those who prominently dissent from our
views.

A Contemporary, which arrogates to itself a peculiar
authority on the question, lays down the following
as the " true rule of professional conduct :"
" Counsel is at liberty to reason as much as he will
upon the law and
.facts, and to influence, as
far as he can, the reason of the tribunal
that he addresses, but he is not at liberty to mislead
it, whether it be judge or jury, upon facts, no
matter how the facts come to his knowledge—
whether upon the evidence, or whether by pri-
vate communication. Assuming that the real
facts are in his knowledge, he is, we say, not
at liberty to mislead the tribunal that he ad-
dresses upon the facts," and this is stated to be
the "true rule" to guide counsel for the future!
What does this mean ? How can a counsel mislead
any tribunal upon "facts " which are not legally
before them? If by " facts" the evidence is
intended, doubtless counsel should not (as we have
already stated) mislead upon, or misstate that evi-
dence ; but if by " facts " counsel's private information
or belief is meant, how can he mislead about those
things of which the Court and jury are utterly ig-
norant ?

Again, says our Contemporary, "If counsel de-
fending a prisoner knows from a confidential com-
munication made to him by his client, that that client
is guilty, we conceive that, though by the rules of
the profession he is not called upon in any, the
remotest degree, to divulge such knowledge, on
the other hand, he ought not to endeavour to induce
the Court to receive as true any evidence, which
being inconsistent with the evidence of which he has
private knowledge, he must know to be untrue." We
cannot quite understand this. We had always sup-
posed that the evidence was something produced in
open court, and accessible to all parties ; but here we
are told " the evidence of which he (the advocate for
the defence) has private knowledge." This we confess
to be wholly beyond our comprehension ! ! We suppose
it to mean that if a counsel believes his client to be
guilty, he must not in defending him urge upon the
consideration of the Court any evidence tending to
prove his innocence. If we are correct in this
interpretation, we must say it appears to us '
to be neither professional nor constitutional, but equally
opposed to the spirit of the law and to the principle
s
Furthercanbe on tienoprofeshsaivoen
atlhreulfeolwlohwicihn
ofriandevroecaicsya.nd
upon counsel
misrepresentations,
to disgrace
ffie
nci un lgt
ftorosmaybiletgiflisucnord himselfer tboysam,v:ekaing miscreantdown-
right
a n littleo t
jaufstteirfi,ed
in
nt irseasdi
wasogun"sealnd
from the evidence that M'CABE was guilty." Now
let us for a moment suppose (merely for the sake o
the argument, for the fact was otherwise) that Mr.
SEICAL01;11 not only believed in Itzw's guilt, but also