The Sun.
London, England, 1850-02-01 00:00:00

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Great 11:ifain to Siely, Luc, that (
claimed a right of ircorferit,g en
his Sicilian sphjvctS, sboald the former attentr. in-
troduce any mcdifiewions in tie,
without the consent of the .Parliainent-, and
the reservation of this right of intethrenee on
the part of Great Britain bee,ines still more char
from the tenor of the note of Lord CASTEL- RE.IGH to
Mr. AVottaT, r f the 6th cf September, 1816 (Lords
Papers p. 5). In speaking of the interference of the
ParricE REGENT of Great Britian in the affairs ( f
Sicily, Lord CASTLEREAGH says—
" You may apprise the N.,,politan Minister that the
Prime Begetit would consider such in'erference nup,sed
on him as a duty, if (a hich h per:An:des hims(-If, s. for
the assurances he 11,1 s received f..om his Sicilian M jest; ,
c';.n never happen) those individuals who acted wiih the
British authorities.duziog the late difficult times in Si
cily, should be expostd eiti.e: to unkindness or pers. ct-
Lion on account of such couilue.
His Royal Highness would f( el himself (pally
compeller', bowels): reluctat Vy, to inte) f re, if he had
the mortification t) observe any attempt made to reduce
the privileges of the Sicilian, nation in such a degree as
might expose the British Government to the Rim:Loh of
having contributed to a change of system in Sicily,
which had, in the end, impaired the freedom and happi-
ness of its inhabitants, as compared with what they f (r-
-merly enjoyed."
These conditions were communicated to the Nea-
politan Minister, the Marquis of CIRCELLO, and the
following is his reply (Lords' Papers, p. 8, No. 5) :
"THE MARQUIS OF CIRCELLO TO 'WILLIAM
A'CJURT, ESQ.
"Naples, Dsc. 6, 1816.
" The Marquis Circello has taken into his ma' ure con-
sideration
the ve.-bal declaration which his Excellency,
Mr. A'Court, his Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraor-
dinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, has made to him.
"It was stated in this declaration, as nearly as the
Marquis Circello can remember, that his Royal High-
ness the Prince Regen', from motives of friendship to
his ally, the King of the Two Sicilies, wished that
these changes should be wisely and prudently effectuated;
that as to his own conduct, his Royal Highness the
Prince Regent would abstain from all interference in the
internal affairs of a foreign and independe..t state, pro-
vided his own honour and the good faith of his Govern-
ment did not otherwise require it ; and this would be in
the two f Vowing cases : —First, if the Sicilianr, who,
luring the last few years, Lai acted in conce't with the •
Brit'sn authorities, we.e exposed to a reaction ; and,
secondly, if the condition of Sicily should be rendered
worse then it was in former times.
" The Marquis Circello having submitted, as was his
duty, this declaration to his Majesty the King, his
master, must assure Mr. A'Cout t, that his Majesty
acknowledges in this declaration a new proof of the
particular regard and friendship cf his august ally; and
he desires that Mr. A'Court will express his most lively
grivitude to his Royal Highness."
Can the authenticity of the, documents be denied ?
It would, we think, require more than even a
Bourbon power of mendacity to attempt such denial. 11
their authenticity is admitted, then we have the gua-
rantee contained in the memorandum of 1814, in which
England declares herself the pro ectress and supporter
of the alterations introduced in 'o the cons; itution in
1812, and declares that as a condition of any modifi-
cation to be hereafter introduced into the constitu-
tion, she exacts that such modification should be made
by the Parliament itseV. We have the declara-
tion by Lord CASTLEREAGH, of 6th September, 1816,
that the PRINCE REGENT would feel compelled to in-
terfere if he should observe any attempt made to re-
duce the privileges of the Sicilian nation in such a
degree as might expose the British Government to
the reproach of having contributed to a change
of system in Sicily, which had in the
end impaired the freedom and happiness of
its inhabitants, as compared with ',what they
formerly enjoyed, and we have the acceptance, on
6th December, by the Marquis of CIRCELLO, on the
part of the Neapolitan Government, of the light of
interference on the part of Great Britain, as reserved
in the note of Lord CASTLEREAGH. It is admitted
on all - hands that the Constitution of 1812
had been modified without the consent of
the Sicilian Parliament. There can be no doubt but
that the effect of that modification has been to render
" the condition of Sicily worse than it was in former
times." The case provided for in the note of the
Marquis of CIRCELLO has arisen, and the right
of England to interfere is incontrovertible.
Equally incontrovertible is it that the Sicilians have a
right to call for such interference, and that England
is bound in vindication of her own honour and to
save herself from reproach, to interfere, by arms if
necessary, to secure to the Sicilians the restoration of
their constitutional form of government.