The Sun.
London, England, 1850-02-04 00:00:00

There were some paragraphs in the Speech of a very
ambiguous charw.ter. They were informed in the
cours of the autumn differences had arisen between the
Turkish and the Imperial Goveremerste. That ap-
peared to him to be a complete statement. Explana-
tions had taken place between the Turkish and Impe-
rial Government, which fortunately removed that danger
the statement was complete, and the danger was passed.
But would the Noble Lord explain how it was that the
mediation of England and France was asked, is order to
effect that which was already completed? The only way
by which he could account for that obscurity in the Speech
was that the three firsf paragraphs had been accidentally
transposed by the printer.—(Laughter.) There was
also another point. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
the other night congratulated the House upon the re-
vival of commerce, which had been occasioned by the
termination of the blockade in the north of Europe. The
House would recollect the circumstances which led to
that blockade, and that he (Mr. Disraeli) had two years
ago called the attention of the House to circumstances
from which he anticipated that blockade. The Noble
Lord on tl at occasion gave the douse those sanguine and
satisfactory assuraru es in which he de alt so liberally,
tt at no inconvenience would result from such a blockade,
even if it did occur, of which there was no probability.
Nevertheless, in due time the blockade did take place in
the Baltic, which Rai extremely vexatious to our com-
merce. Now he (Mr. Disraeli) should like to know
whether the Danish question was even now settled.
There was one remark which he could not help making,
and he trusted that the Noble Lord would not hesitate
to enter into a few details for the satisfaction of
himself and the House. The House had heard
with considerable pleasure that most of these
arrangements had been made. But he should recollect
that the present Government had particularly earned fur
itself the crecit a being a free-trade Government—
(Hear, hear)—and yet it was remarkable that this very
free-trade Government had instituted more blockades
than any other Government whatever.—(Cheers and
counter cheers.) They had heard that very day only
of another blockade having been established, and he did
trust that the Noble Lord would, without waiting for
the official papery, which were frequently so long in
making their appearance favour the House with some
de tails respecting this most unhappy misunderstanding.
—(Hear, hear.) He trusted, also, that the Noble Lord
would also favour them with some statement showing
that the best dispositions still existed between this
country and Denmark, and Austria.—(Hear, hear.) He
also trusted that the Noble Lord would give some
explanation of the obscure passages which oe •
curred in her Majesty Speech, but especially
he asked respecting Greece, because he understood that
some semi-official account had been published to-day
with which it was necessary that the House should be-
come acquainted.—(Heat. heat.) He understood that
the cause of the quarrel was the deprivation of a British
subject of some land. Undoubtedly the deprivation of a
British subject was, under ordinary circumstances,
a sufficient cause f war; but there had teen so
little sympathy for the possessors of land by the
Legislature, or even in her Majesty's Speech, that he
did not think that to be a sufficient cause of war,—
(Derisive laughter)—but be was glad to see that at
least one Member of the Government had sufficiently
adopted the territorial spirit to take such a matter in
hand.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. ROEBUCK said that before the Noble Lord an-
swered the question, he begged to observe that the real
cause i f quarrel arose out of the desire of the British
Government to obtain possession of an island
which was unjustly detained from this country
Now the Governments of France and Russia were part
and parcel of the guarantee of the integrity of the terri-
tory of Greece, and any question touching Grecian terri-
tory was one in which these Governments had a right to
interfere. Now he wished to know whither the
Noble Lord had considered the risk of a
hostile intervention by these Governments if
Greece refused to satisfy these demands, or whether
he bad an understanding with these Governments be-
fore he had gone thus far. But ',amine from this ques-
tion and going to Spain, the best news that he could hear
would be that no understanding had been come to with
that Court; for really their country had got on so well,
when it had no representative at the court of Spain, and
so ill when it had one that re ally he should be very sorry
to hear that the court of Spain had sent an ambassador
to St. James's:, or St. James's had sent one to Spain.
From this particular instance he thought they
might draw a very general theory that the
sooner they curt ailed their expensive diplomatic
relations the be tter it would be for the country.—(blear,
hear.) He hoped that the Hon. Gentlemen opposite,
who had proclaimed themselves as about to be the strict-
est economists, would lend them their assistance in effect-
ing this object.
Mr. ANSTEY said they were now called upon to
re-echo the paragraph in the Royal Speech, in
which her Majesty congratulated them upon the
successful termination el the negotiations made for
the settlement of the dispute between the Porte and
Russia. He congratulated the Ministers upon the
noble position which they took in the solution of those
difficulties ; but he, thought if the interference had
been better timed, they would have been more
efficacious. There was, however, one question which
intimately concerned a passage in the Speech, and to
which no reference had - been made. He meant the
settlement of the affairs of the principality of Moldavia
and Wallachia. They acted as mediator between the
Porte and Russia last year, arid conditions were at length
agreed to, that the Russian troops were to be limited to
10,000. Now it was asserted, and he believed correctly, not
only that not a single Russian soldier had been withdrawn
but that the number had teen materially increased, and
the Turkish Government had consequently not ceased to
arm its people on that frontier, in anticipation (amounts
almost to a certainty) that as soon as the Balkan pass
was open, the differences which had arisen with respect
to the protection afforded to the Hungarian
refugees, would become the pretext for an
aggressive aar upon the part of Russia.
The question he wished to ask was whether Ministers
were in possession of such satisfactory information on
the subject of the occupation of the principalities of the
Danube as to justify them in calling upon the House to
congratulate her Majesty at being at peace and amity
with all foreign relations, and whether, in the event
of any new treaty being entered into with Russia or
in maintaining any correspondence with Russia on the
subject of existing treaties, Government would take care
to exact securities for their due performance.
Lord PALMERSTON, in his reply to the questions
which had been put to him, would take the one relating
to Greece first. In the first place, he would state the
grievances which had given rise to the interference and
tor which redress had been fruitlessly asked of the
Greek Government. A Mr. Finley had long been esta-
blished in Greece. Some of this gentleman's lands had
been forcably taken possession of, for the purpose of
forming part of the palace of King Otbo, and
supported by the British Minister, Mr. Fin-
ley bad repeatedly made reprosentations to de
Government of Greece with the view of endeavouring
to obtain payment for the lands which have been taken
from him, but up to the present time payment had
never been made. The other case aas that of a person
named Pacifikas, a Portuguese Jew, whose house was
violently broken into in mid day, during the period of a
revolt, by a body of soldiers, many of whom were in
the service of the King, and for which act of spoliation
o redress had ever been afforded. There were other
instances of a similar nature, where British sub-
jects residing in the lonian Islands bad been plun-
dered on different occasions, without subse-
quently obtaining any redress; while the last
grievance related to the possession of two small
islands which were named in the treaty establishing the
kingdom ef,Greece, and which had ever since been con-
sidered by all parties to the treaty, including the Sove-
reign of Greece himself, as part of the lonian Sta ae
He was not enabled to state that those diplomatic rela -
tions had been withdrawn; communications, not official,
had taken place, but he did not feel called upon to state
their purport. With regard to our relations
with Austria, the feelings between her Majesty's
Government and Austria were of the most friendly
nature; and the British Government had con-
tinued an officer to the Court of Vienna although
no corresponding officer from Austria bad been con-
tinued in this country. It was well known that dif-
ferences of opinion bad existed during the last
two years between the Government of this coun-
try and the Government df Austria upon ques-
tions of great interest. bUt those differences of
opinion had not led to any interruption of the
friendly relations between this country and Austria.
With respect to the Danish blockade, he had
certainly never held out any such hope as that
the blockade would be withdrawsin a few days,
though he had referred to piaiminary arrangements
being male for its removal more thin race
Her Majesty's Government had done all initosnplyowaearto
put an end to their blockade : win as possible, but this
was a question of such great magnitude, not
re-
garded the int-rests involved in it, but also us
regarded the powers who had interfered in it. Russia,
Germany and Sweden, as well as England, had all
interfered, feeling it to be a matter in which, to some
extent, their interests were bound up. And it was a
question, also, to the settlement of which more feelings
of unanimity were required to be brought than any he
knew. He could not say that much progress had
been made to the final settlement of the
question.—(Hear, hear.) Prussia had been the
primary negotiator, not as Prussia, but as the
negotiator for the whole of Germany, and it was ne-
cessary that the power which had been given to
Prussia should be again ratified at the Congress
at Frankfort. That had been done, and he was
glad to hear that negotiations had been resumed at
Berlin ; and he thought they had been entered into
with a desire to bring about a final settle-
ment. There were two difficulties in the question
one relating to the successsion to the Danish crown, and
the other as to what should be the constitution of
Prussian Schleswig ; but he hoped that both
the questions would be satisfactoril settled. The
House should also remember that the British Go-
vernment were only mediators, and had no power what-
ever to interfere for the settlement of those disputes with
anything like authority.—(Hear.) Now, with respect to
the notice of the relations between the Turkish empire
and the Imperial Government, in her Majesty's Speech,
the second paragraph, bad stated that every ex-
ertion had been made by her Majesty's Government
to induce friendly relations between those Powers.
and the third had stated that those exertions had been
successful. It was impossible to place these paragraphs
side by aide, nor was it possible to insert much in two
paragraphs. With respect to the disposition
evinced by the Russian Government towards
Turkey, he had himself received acknowledgments,
which he believed to be perfectly cordial, and that not
the slightest hostility was entertained by Russia to-
wards the Turkish Empire. The Hon. and Learned
Member at the bottom of the House (Mr. Anstey)
had truly stated that the number of Russian troops in
the principalities which that liQuourable and Learned