The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-26 00:00:00

viting us to give our opinion on certain questions connected
with the affairs of Italy. We answered that dispatch through
Lord Ponsonby. Those dispatches and the answers were
laid before Parliament. Afterwards we received a dispatch,
said to contain some important denials of a design which was
imputed to Austria with respect to the affairs of Italy, that
ought to have been also laid on the table of the House. In
the first place, it was a denial, , but there were transactions
going on which came to our knowledge, which led us
not to attach to those denials the credit to which, per-
haps, they were entitled.—(Cheers.) But there were
overt acts—as the occupation of Ferrara, and the in-
timation to Tuscany that any changes, even of the Na-
tional Guard, would be resented and made the pretext of
a military occupation of the territory—and other things going
on, which led us not to attach much value to the dispatch
containing those denials.—(Loud cheers.) But if the Aus-
trian Government felt in any way aggrieved, where was
Count Colloredo? And if he was asleep on his post were the
eyes of Prince Metternich also shut?—(Cheers.) What
would have been easier than for Count Colloredo to have
called upon me and insisted that I shouli bring that dispatch
before Parliament?—(Cheers.) But he did not, and no com-
plaint was made from February, when the dispatch was
received, to August when it was moved for in the House of
Lords.—(Cheers.) With regard to our policy with respect
to Vienna, I utterly deny the charge that we have ever advo •
cated, supported, or encouraged revolutions.—(Loud cheers.)
It has.been the fate of all men who have advocated tempe-
rate reforms and constitutional improvement to be run at
as the champions of revolution.—(Loud cries of " dear,
hear.") That is the easiest way of putting them down.
It is the received formula—it is the established doctrine of
Governments. " Never mind," say they, " the real revolu-
tionists ; we can 'deal with them. The dangerous man is
your moderate reformer, and the only way to get rid of him
is to set the world at him by calling him a revolutionist."—
(Loud cheers.). There are revolutionists of two kinds in
this world—those violent, hot-headed, unthinking men who
fly to arms and overthrow existing Governments, reckless of
consequences, Without regard to the misery they create, who
inundate their'eountry with blood, and draw down upon the
innocent the moat direful calamities. Those are revolution-
ists of_ one sott.—(Loud cheers.) But there is another kind
—thoee blind-minded men who, animated by antiquated pre-
judices, and goaded by groundless apprehensions, dam up the
current of 'human improvement, until the restless elements of
accumulated discontent bear down all opposing barriers, and
overthrow and. level, ttia the, earth those very institutions
which a timely appliCatiOn'of renoyating modification would
have left whole, strong,. and enduring.—(Load and long-
contiqued Cheering.) .Such revolutionists , are those who
call us revolutionists.—(Cheers.) It was not to make
revolUtions that Lord Mato went to Italy—went at the
requeat of the Governmenta of Austria and Naples to offer
our mediation betaveen tliceparties at issue.—(Loud cheers.)
I come, now to 'the war in .I.mill:tardy. It is said that we
ought. to have' preverited"the movement of the Sardinians into
Lombardy. • Those blue hooks, if you will read them, will
show that we applied every argument likely to have force
with the Sardinian Government to prevent them from taking
up arms against Austria,and it was not until after the revo-
tion broke out that 'the Austrians were expelled from Lom-
bardy in a way which could only have been the resalt of a
panic. It was after that, when the King of Sardinia was
invited by the people of Lombardy, and when they were al-
most entirely freed from the Austrian troops, that he went
to their assistance. Ido not mean to say that his conduct
was right, but at the same time there may be feelings and
circumstances which will at least explain the conduct no
one can justify, and Which we must condem. - (Cheers.)
He was appealed to by his own countrymen, and ha
might feel that if he resisted that impulse it might be
sufficient to overthrow his own throne. That was not
a circumstance which justified him in acting so un-
justifiably towards a neighbouring state; but it ought
not to be 'left out of the consideration of the case.
Well, Sir, the Austrian Government sent to us to ask our
mediation between them and the people of Lombardy, and
in the course of the communications which took place it
was at first opposed, as the basis Of an arrangement,
that Austria should relinquish• all right and title to Lom-
bardy. We thought at the time that had not been ac-
cepted, and we suggested that she should relinquish the
Milanese territory also, and , our opinion was borne
out by facts, for when they declined entering into
the negotiation the Austrian Government sent an
agent: to the Milanese, confirming their offer to the re•
linquishment of Lombardy, and the proposal was
rejected by the Milanese. The Austrian Government
was most anxious to bring about some such arrangement by
which they would be. only called upon to relinquish Lom-
bardy. But our. opinions proved the soundest, and they
were eventually approved, not only by Austrian statesmen,
but by all the• leading men in Germany. It was admitted
that en arrangement upon the bases we proposed would have
been conducive as much to the interests of Austria as to the
other parties concerned.—(Cheers.) But it is said that Lord
Minto made these revolutions. Why, by the admissions of
the Honourable' Member ( Mr. Anstey ), whose intercourse
with Italy and whose high authority in foreign matters enti-
tle his word to the greatest attention, Lord Minto was in-
vited by the Pope himself. Lord Minto went at the express
desire of the Pope, intimated not only by the nuncio at Paris,
but in higher and more private communications. It was not
a little curious that. the wish expressed by the Roman Go-
vernment would seem to point to Lord Minto as the person
they had in their eye at the time. We were told that the
Pope was desirous of improving the administrative institu-
tions of his country, but that he found great difficulty, both
internally and externally, in carrying out his views, and
that he would be glad to have the advice of some person
—a capable person— and the support also of the represen-
tative of England. It was well known that the state of
the law did not admit of our sending a Minister, but we
were told that it would be very acceptable if we sent a
confidential agent—some person in the confidence of the
Governtnent—a man of ranks man conversant with the
institutions of this country, and especially a man who might
add diplomatic experience. If a form of words had been
framed to describe Lord Mints, it could not have been done
more correctly.—(Cheers.) Lord Minto went; but Lord
Minto did not go so far as to advise a constitution. He
knew that the foundatiou of representative government must
be laid before the superstructure could be built; and at
Turin, at Florence, and at Ronie he advised nothing last ad-
ministrative reforms, which, as far as they were adopted,
had borne fruit.—(Cheers.) But when Lord Minto was at
Rome there happened to break out a civil war between Na-
ples and Sicily. Beth parties had applied to Lord Napier,
their own Charge d'Affaires there. The Sicilians founded
their application on the former connexion between England
and Sicily, and Naples upon the well-known friendly dis-
positions of England towards their country. Lord Napier
did not accept the office. He said he would not go to Sicily
to make proposals, unless he was permitted to offer such
terms as he knew would be accepted. The Neapolitan Go-
vernmont did not give him that authority, but, knowing that
Lord Minto was at Rome, they expressed an ardent desire
that he should come to Naples. I had previously instructed
Lord Minto that he might go on to Naples in
the event of the Neapolitan Government manifesting
an anxiety that he should do so.— (Hear, hear. )
Finding that they did entertain such a desire, and that
their anxiety in that respect had been expressed, not only
through Lord Napier, but subsequently in a more
official and more positive manner, by meaasa of
a Government courier, who was dispatched for the express
purpose of requesting his presence at Naples, Lord Mint()
consented to repair thither with all convenient expedition.
The object he had in view, and the mission he was invited
to fulfil, was that of exereising bis good offices between the
Sicilian and the Neapolitan Governments. The reply which
he gave to those who solicited him to undertake the task
was this—" I will go and go with pleasure if I can be of any
use to you; but I know'aomething of Sicily, and remember
I forewarn you that, unless such and such terms are agreed
to, my good offices will be of no avail."—(Hear, hear.)
There was nothing that it was in the power of a man so cir-
cumstanced and so actuated, to attempt that Lord Minto left
unattempted. From five or six o'clock on the
evening of his arrival, till one or two o'clock on
the following morning, he was closeted in council with
the King and his billet discussing the terms of the
arrangements to be proposed to the Sicilians (Hear,
hear)—and that, forsooth, was an uncalled-for interference
—(Cheers, and laughter)—and we are to be told that Lord
Minto's object in going to Naples was not to do a service to
the :King, but rather to inflict a treacherous wrong by
secretly encouraging the 'Sicilians to separate themselves
from the Caown of Naples.—(Cheers and laughter.) What
hapaiened? He expected that the terms which he was
authorised to propose should not be made known at
Palermo before, his arrival. He not unnaturally attached
considerable • importance to his being the first person to ex-
plain those terms.- (Hear, hear.) He did not wish them
to be made public before his arrival lest they might be
run down and condemned, and made the subject Of unfair
conimentary before he was in a position to vindicate
them, and to explain the reasons why they had been pro-
posed, and why they ought to be accepted.--(Hear, hear.)
Bur} the Neapolitan Government had sent privately before-
hand to their friends in Sicily an intimation of the conditions
which 'Lead Minto was about to.: submit. They had been
already: canvassed, examined, diaeussed, and condemned by
both parties. Tuis Lora Minto discovered, and with it the
f act that the news of the French revolution had reached
Sicily.—tilear, heel...) The effect of that intelligence
on the mina; of the Siciliang was Manifested by this, that,
wheretie they would have cheerfully acquiesced a few hours
preViously in saytfair iirengements
,that the Neapolitan
Go vcrumetit
desirea _to offer, they now desired to bp
an independentui esatarte,helera.!efwed to listen to any terms
Whatsoever,
When Lord Minto, just as he
was about to land, heard that such
.was their intention, he
said, ,‘ so-r came liereaulnandtilatie
„part of
,the Sing of
Sicily, and unless on my
am received by men
who avow themselves to be sulteeeslveleph.o
back 'to
the Two,
Sicilies I will riot land at all,
Naples. '
I gu
—Meer, hear.) The people, actuated, b feelings of defe-
rence and respect towards. hint; acid not "relishing the idea
that he should return to Naples, offered 'to discuss
the. matters at issue in a fair spirit, -and undertook that it'
it could be arranged to their own satisfactioiaand with
security to their liberty, they would continue to be loyal
subjects of the King of Naples.; and this, we are to be told,
was a revolution of our desigtang ! The Sicilians unfortu-
nately refused to accept the advantageous termswh
that moment the King of Naples was willing to grant
The intelligence of the French revolution had turned 'their
heads, and they refused to listen to any terms; but surely it
cannot be said that that was any fault of ours.—(Hear,
heir.) lt is brought as a charge against us that we made
known to'the Courts of Sardinia and Sicily that, in the event
of the Duke of Genoa being crowned King of Sicily, and being
in actual possession of his throne, we would acknowledge
him as a rightful sovereign; but I cannot see what there is
in that accusation.—( Hear, bear.) At that time it was the
general opinion, not (Atte English Government only, but of
the Neapolitan Government itself, that there was no chance
of 'the King of Naples recovering possession of Siciliy. In
this state 'of things there was no reasonable ground to expect
that the King of Naples would be able to win over the Si-
cilians by kindness, or to subdue them by force. Events
have proved that we, and all others who held that opinion,
were mistaken; "but certain it is that the opinion was of
general prevalence, and there appeared to be but one of
two courses open—either for the Sicilians to declare them-
selves a republic, or 'o maintain themselves as a monarchy,
and to select some Italian prince to be their sovereign.—
( Hear, hear.) If all that we were anxious for had been the
advantage of the King of Naples himself it would, no doubt,
have been for his benefit that the latter alternative were
realised, but we did not exert ourselves to bring reund
either result. Our good offices were never fully and
fairly accepted, but doubts and difficulties arose which
prevented their leading to any practical result. How
unfair, then, is it, iu the face of these circumstances, to
represent that our object wee to incite the population to
revolution, and then to abandon the victims of our
treachery. Why, Sir, we took a course which, of all
others, was the best calculated to prevent revolution •
and the whole object, purpose, and motive ef cur inter-'
posit:on from the that was to put a atop to revolution,
acid to render it
e tble by reconciling antagonistic
and conflicting Parties.—(Hear, hear.) In pursuing this
course we have adopted.a line of conduct which
appears'
to me not to deserve condemnation, but rather to
becoming merit to be characterised as be •the dignity
(c ag and
honour of this great empire_
heers. ) With regard to
the question which arose with respect to Turkey, Ido not
think that we ,haVe left oureelrea open to censure for the
course' we aVe
pursued in consenting to the_ appeal that was
made to us by the Sultan.—(Hear, hear.) An appeal was