The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-17 00:00:00

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of a real patriotism, and fierce with the very recollection
of its desecrated hearths. She must meet even more than
that Germany. She must meet Russia, at this moment
not so powerful from her armies as from her moderation,
her wisdom, and her justice.—(hear, hear.) And hole
is France to send out those armies ? flow is she to
throw herself in immediate hostility with Germarly an
with Russia? Why, every secondary power in Europe
Would be prepared, under such circumstances, to meet
the traditionary outlaw of nations—('lsar, hear)—en
gaged in quarrel without law, justice, or necessity.--
(Hear, hear.) How is France to act in this frantic
manner? What is her position at this moment to enable
her to send out those mighty hosts to conquer t .e
" whole world in arms?" She has 50,000 men guarding
her metropolis. She has achieved a freedom upon paper,e)r'
and it is secured in her streets by her artillery.—(Hear,
hear.) She has 50,000 men encamped at Lyons. She'
bag an army of occupation in every great city;, Where,unde
to
under thy:
Plausible name of " extraordinary garrisons.
conquer
Italy are those two invading hosts that are
Italy and Germany, to prevent whose appearance the
Noble Lord is going to enter into mock mediations
artificial alliances, factitious understanding;
rs,ah and mediations,
ocr incur
artificial
therights of our allies ? Why, SI •if Trance
her army—rather, if France withdraws her domestic
legions—to invade the world, the whoihtleoefrehsetrso
townt t
l)t
po-
pulation will rise to advocate the
" model republic" which, perhapsi.lher_ll(lLa
Minis-
ters are going to establish in 11.1 an. h jaeustihtser'.)inisft
France increases her armies she increases her taxes, ttahxee
they are already enormous andexcessive
of her provincial population will march excessive,
n Paris, it;
order to prevent the continuance of a system which is as
absurd as it is iniquitous. Nor is this all. If France
removes the armies she now possesses, she will have the
whole of her urban population in revolt. If she increases
those armies, the whole of her provincial popula-
tion will rise against the oppression of the Govern-
ment. Torn by domestic factions, with an empty ex-
chequer, with a paralyzed credit, and a people without
enthusiasm, why are you to suppose that France is
going to conquer the world?—and why, to prevent that,
-are you going to sacrifice your allies? Sir, the system
of mock mediation is the system which this country
ought not to encourage. The course which the Noble
Lord has to pursue, if he wishes to secure the peace of
the world, and the greatness of his country, is one
which I believe the Noble Lord is quite competent to
fulfil, and he has the abilities, the knowledge, and the
courage which qualify him to do it. It is not an ad-
herence to the system of policy which he has pursued
before, and which ended only in mortification to himself,
and in the destruction of his then ally ; for I believe
that the throne of France would never have fallen, had
it not been for those forced occasions of mutual co-ope-
ration which led eventually to mutual distrust and 'dis-
comfiture. The Noble Lord, I say, has one course only
before him ; it is a proper one, and the only one which
an English Minister should adopt. Let the Noble Lord
merely tell the world that, under his counsels, England
Will maintain the principles of national law ; that
England will observe the stipulations of existing treaties;
that she will not authorise by her sanction any outrage
of the rights of nations ; that she will not counsel any
of her allies to yield their legitimate interests, in order
to gratify the morbid vanity of an ill-regulated society.
Then the Noble Lord will take a position which will
gain for him the confidence of statesmen, the sympathy
of sovereigns, and the hope and trust of suffering nations.
But if the Noble Lord takes a contrary course—and I
am most unwilling to believe he will take that course—
it will be a course, I will not say, fatal to his Govern-
ment, because that will not be so great a consideration '
with the House as it may be in the minds of his imme-
diate supporters—(A laugh)—though I should be un-
willing to see that Government disturbed—but it will be
a course fatal to his reputation and injurious to his
country; and these are considerations which, I am sure,
roust influence him. Sir, it is useless to attempt to act
in the management of these affairs with the Jacobin
Party. I call them the Jacobin:party, although I was
called to account by the Hon. Member for Montrose,
who said that that name had passed away, and he gave
us another. name to describe the party, and which has
often been used to describe their system. Sir,
I recognise the same features as of yore—l
observe the same character of system. It has
the same leaven in it, and I therefore use the same
name,
It
is
a system which commences with fra-
ternity, and and with assassination. It is a system
which begins by preaching universal charity, and con-
cludes by achieving general spoliation. Sir, I ell not
Care who the individual may be, whether it be M. Ledru
Rollie, or whether it be the person who shakes hands
with X Ledru Rollin.—(Laughter.) I cannot recognise
people of that kind as the French nation, or as those
Persons with whom I would wish my country to be in
alliance and cordial understanding. I, Sir, am persuaded
that if the Noble Lord pursues this system, it is one that
Will, very rapidly, make this country of the same opinion
InYself. The Noble Lord may even now act in a
Manner that will add to his power, and add even to the
greatness and the reputation of this country. He may,
in this craven age, assert the principles of public justice
will in manner which becomes a British Minister ; and he
findlhen that no bandits, whatever may be their
in i
Position, will cross any mountains or invade any towns
Whentheye
know that England is prepared to uphold the
.ptirp
of public law, For, Sir, in public as much as
1 that Private matters, I have seen enough, and I am sure
even, TT
fro,„, Leonourable Gentleman now present must,
hinT
taajest
tPhells°,nal experience, have seen enough to convince
tioLnoorfc;
majesty the long run nothing cm withstand the
the law, the force of truth, and the inspira-
honour•—(Che,rs.)
PALMERSTON.—I certainly do not rise to
complain, as the Honourable Gentleman who has
Just sat down seemed to expect that I should, that
this 'louse has, during the present session of Parlia-
'tient, exhibited any undue desire to impede the march
of her Majesty's Ministers in regard to the conduct of
the foreign relations of the country by pressing too
hardly upon them for disclosures of the course which
they mean to pursue, or calling prematurely for ex-
Planations as to the course which they may have pur-
Sued during the session. I acknowledge, with thank-
-1
f (11/less, on my own part, and on the part of the Go-
vernment, the discreet—l must say the judicious—
forbearance which this House has shown in those mat-
(liear, hear.) Members of this House have,
rightly no doubt, considered that the public interest is
frequently best consulted by allowing to the Govern-
ment of the day the free exercise of their own discretion
as to delicate and important transactions with respect
to foreign countries, reserving to themselves hereafter
the function of calling to a strict account, as of right
they are entitled, and as in duty they are bound to do,
t los eo
rwcheonsseu
rcold(ui conduct mayr: appear to deserve investiga-
tionl
therefore am far from coca-
Plaining either of the course which has been pursued
on former occasions or of the course which on the
,epresent occasion the Hon. Gentleman has thought fit to
a 4 • lam perfectly ready to admit, that at the close
of a session during which events of the utmost im-
portance have convulsed Europe from one end to the
other, it is a perfectly legitimate exercise of the rights
and a legitimate performance of the duties of a Member
of this House to express his opinions as the Hon.
Gentleman has done, at a moment when, probably,
the termination of our labours may not be far distant.
:—.(Hear, hear.) Sir, I think the Hon. Gentleman
has juded rightly in appending the observations which
he has made, in regard to the policy of this country
with respect to Italy, not on the vote pertaining to the
particular office held by my Noble Friend the Lord Privy
al, but to that office which is responsible for the gene-
ral conduct of the foreign relations of the country—the
Office, namely, which I have the honour to fill.—(Hear,
hear.) The Honourable Gentleman seems to be better
informed, I think, than he chooses to allow the House
to infer from his speech, as to the grounds upon which
the mission of my Noble Friend the Earl of Minto took
place. These grounds were, in some degree, those which
the Honourable Gentleman has stated. The facts were
these :--Towards the end of the summer, it is well
known, in consequence of the altered policy of the then
newly-elected head of the Roman Government, prin.
ciples of reform and of administrative and constitu-
tional improvements were spreading fast over the whole
surface of Italy. Difficulties were experienced be-
tween the Governments and the people in regard to
the march which those events and those improvements
should take. There was no part of Italy in which those
diffieuties were more strongly and more urgently felt
than in the city of Rome. A communication was made
to me, certainly not (as we understood) publicly, but
from a most authentic source, conveying to her Ma-
jesty's Government the anxious desire of the Govern-
ment of Rome, first that an accredited and official agent
Might be sent from this Government to the Government
of Rome for the purpose of aiding that Government in
the difficult and novel task, which was partly imposed
Upon itself and partly pressed upon it by the population;
that, iii short, we should send them somebody who, re-
presenting the Government of England, might give
them :friendly counsel and advice in matters in which
they might wish to consult him. It was said that
there might be legal difficulties in complying with
that request ; but that if there were such
and if those difficulties could not then be removed,
We should be (conferring a great obligation on the Go-
vernment of Rome if some individual could go there
Who, possessing the entire confidence of her Majesty's
Government, and pointed out by his attainments and ex-
perience as a person informed upon ;matters of policy,
might be referred to upon occasions on which itshould be
wished to consult him ; and that if such a person could
combine with those qualifications considerable diplomatic
experience, the Government of Rome would be delighted
to receive such an individual in his private capacity, and
without any official authority. My Noble Friend, Lord
Alinto, was at that time upon objects of his own, intend-
ing to pass a short time in Italy ; and I thought that I
could not better comply with the request which had been
blade—that I could not better fulfil those intentions with
Which the request had been addressed to us, than by ad-
'Wag her Majesty to authorise the Earl of Minto to
Proceed to Rome in that unofficial capacity, without any
diplomatic character, but simply as a member of her
Majesty's Government, possessing, as the Hon. Gentle-
r_nati has said, the entire confidence of her Majesty's
tiovernment, acting as the eye, the ear, the mind
of the Government, capable, from his knowledge of
the intentions of the Government, to act upon a
!rdden, on any emergency that might present itself'. I
thought I could not render a better service to those par
ties who might wish for our counsel and assistance than
i
urgii g my Noble Friend to proceed, as be did, upon
that mission. A similar wish appeared to be enter-
tained by other Governments of Italy to procure my
Noble Friend's assistance; he was, therefore, instructed
re, -
Ctake Turin and Florence on his way to Rome. To the
ourts of Turin and Florence my Noble Friend carried
letters,u accrediting him upon a special mission, if he found
Jon his arrival that it was the wish of those Govern-
ments so to receive him; to Rome, of course, he car-
ried 11°
official character, The honourable Gentle-