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

Mittning

LONDON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1848.

For months past, both in Parliament and in the
Press, the favourers of the policy of reaction—those
who pretend to believe in the honesty of GUIZOT, the
moderation of NARYAEI, and the genius of ABER-
DEEN, :and who make that pretence of such belief an
excuse for factiously endeavouring to instal in power
a Ministry which shall re-enact protection,
and so enable them to keep up rents
—have been attacking Lord PALMERSTON, not
upon the old accusation of his being the Brazillion
of Europe (that specimen of " enormous lying"
having preformed the service for which it was
intended, has been now laid aside), but because so they
were pleased to phrase their accusation, he was
perpetually intermeddling and intervening in mat-
ters in which his intervention was neither sought for
nor desired; and that in all such cases his interven-
tion was managed in so bungling a manner as not only
to prove abortive, but absolutely to damage the cause
which the Noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs had it
most at heart to support, and that thus he made the
name of England contemptible among nations. Such
were the accusations which, at first timidly hinted at
in the organs of M. GrifIEOT and Lord ABERDEEN, at
length assumed a tangible shape in the vehement
attacks of Lord STANLEY and the ponderous inanities
of Mr. BANES. The attack of Lord STANLEY
was too palpably unfair, too transparently fac-
tious, and his Lordship was altogether evidently
too ignorant of the subject (which it was
plain he had " got up" for the occasion, by a
" cram ") :to call for anything like a serious
reply ; while to Mr. BANRES no reply was necessary,
inasmuch as his ponderosities having been levelled at
the deaf ears of a sleeping audience, it would have
been as useless to have made an expose of the foreign
policy of the kingdom to the Corporation of
London when they come before the Cursitor
Baron to count hob-nails, as it would have
been to have replied to the wise utterances of the
Doraetshire sage, to which no one had listened. But
yesterday the Noble Viscount met with an opponent
worthy of him. Mr. DISRAELI, the Canning of the
Protectionist party, in a welt argued, well prepared,
and witty speech, gave to all those petty attacks
which had been made on the foreign policy
of the Noble Viscount " a local habitation
and a name," and certainly dressed up a
bad case better than any man in either
House of Parliament could have dressed it up. If
any man could have entered into the arena with Lord
PALMERSTON in a discussion on foreign affairs, Mr.
DISRAELI is that man ; and when he fails from the
innate weakness of the cause which he has under-
taken to support, what chance can those stand who
are less " cunning of fence" than he ? Feeling that
his adversary was worthy of him, Lord PALMERSTON
last night condescended to give those explanations
which not only completely exculpate him from
every charge brought against him of intermeddling,
but which prove that not only was his intervention
never offered until it was sought for, but that it in-
variably was attended with the happiest effects, and
that to his judicious mediation may be attributed the
preservation of the peace of Europe.
We will take the case of Italy, in the affairs of
which the intervention of Lord PALMERSTON has been
denounced by all Protectionist speakers and writers,
" From slashing Bentley down to piddling Tibbalds;"
from vehement STANLEY down to the unknown
gentleman who " does " the Foreign for the most ob-
scure of the weekly journals, as uncalled for and mis-
chievous meddling. First, as to the charge of the in-
tervention being uncalled for. Let us take the case
of Rome, about which such a great fuss has been
made, both by the pious and the political. Was our
intervention in Rome uncalled for ? Hear Lord
PALMERSTON :

" Towards the end of the year, as it is well known, in
consequence of the altered policy of the head of the
Roman Government, principles of reform began to pre-
vail, and constitutional demonstrations were promulgated
over tho whole surface of the country. Difficulties were
experienced between the Government and people with
regard to those events; there being on the part of the
Government
a desire to retain what the people wanted
to abolish. These difficulties were felt to be nowhere
more pressing than in the city of Rome. A communica-

tion was made to me, from a quarter upon which I could
rely, conveying to the Government of this country that it
was the anxious desire of the Government of Rome that an
official mission should be sent to Rome, to,aid that Govern-
ment, by., its counsel and advice, in settling the disputes be-
tween it and its people."
At all events, our intervention at Rome was not
uncalled for, and as far as Rome is concerned, the
charge falls to the ground. But then Naples—there
was the cheval de bataille of Lord STANLEY. The
mission of Earl MINTO to Naples was a most un-
heard-of piece of intermeddling on the part of the
English Foreign Secretary. The presence of Lord
MINTO was never desired at Naples, according to
Lord STANLEY ; his visit was an impertinent in-
trusion, and his offer of advice a gratuitous insult.
Now, how stand the facts? Listen again to Lord
PALMERSTON :
" When my Noble Friend was at Rome a communication
was made to me by the Neapolitan Minister that the Sove-
reign of Naples would take it as a compliment if my Noble
Friend would proceed from Rome to Naples. My answer to
this communication was, that if he received an invitation
through the Queen's Charge-d'-Afiaires, my Noble Friend
would go. He was not instructed to go there, but his duty
was plain. He was invited, and in consequence thereof
the necessary credentials were sent to him, and also
instructions communicated. During the unfortunate dif-
ferences which broke out between the King of Naples
and his Sicilian subjects both parties asked for the media-
tion and interference of British diplomacy to endeavour
to arrange and settle the dispute. My Noble Friend was
invited to go to Naples. He went there accordingly, and
employed himself with that zeal, diligence, and ability for
which he is remarkable, in endeavouring to bring about a
reconciliation on conditions which would maintain the
crown of the two countries upon the same head."
Here also the intervention was solicited ; but it is
added that it was mischievous : we believe, on the
contrary, that it has prevented much mischief. " I
will not go," says Lord PALMERSTON,

" Into a minute detail of the circumstances which charac-
terised these negotiations, nor advert to more than one event
which tended to render them unsuccessful. But, at the pe-
riod when these negotiations were almost brought to a sa-
tisfactory conclusion, the news of the revolution at Paris
and the events in that country arrived ; and the louse
may imagine the effect the intelligence would have on
the minds of men. These circumstances led to increased
difficulties, which were not met with concession on the one
hand, or light demands upon the other. The result was
that the people of Sicily declined to acknowledge the
King of Naples as their sovereign, and the King declined to
confer the crown of Sicily upon one of his sous, to whom
that crown belonged. They chose a prince accordingly, who,
in their judgment, would be best for the interests of the
country. It was immaterial whether that opinion coincided
with that of her Majesty's Government—the choice was
wade entirely by themselves ; and at that time her Majesty's
Government had signified that they would be ready to ac-
knowledge any sovereign whom the Sicilians might choose
when he was in actual possession of the throne."

If the Sicilians, instead of choosing a constitutional
monarchy, that is, instead of reverting to the go-
vernment guaranteed to them by Great Britain in
1812, had chosen a republican form of govern-
ment, the cowequences would have been disastrous
in the extreme. The Absolutist Powers would
have made of it a casus belli, in which case France
would have been bound to interfere in support of an
oppressed nationality; but, with the precedent of
Greece before them, the Absolutist Powers cannot
make the establishment of an independent con-
stitutional monarchy in Sicily a pretext for dis-
turbing the peace of Europe ; and that Sicily is a
constitutional monarchy instead of a republic we
owe in a great measure to the wise advice of
Lord PALMERSTON. At Turin and at Florence
his intervention was equally asked, his advice was
equally judicious, and by his advice he saved
those countries from the horrors of a re-
volution. Even in the case of Austria and
Lombardy the mediation of England was asked
by Austria before Lord PALMERSTON consented, in
conjunction with France, to undertake the settle•
ment of the Austro-Italian differences. Want
of space prevents us from enlarging on this sub-
ject for the present, but never was there
a more complete refutation given to the un-
founded assertions of an unprincipled faction
than was given yesterday by Lord PAL-
MERSTON to the budget of calumnies with
which the united band of British Protectionists,
led by STANLEY, French Orleanists inspired by
GIIIZOT, and German and Italian serviles commanded
by METTERNICH, have for the last three months been
assiduously endeavouring to poison the minds of the
British people.