The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-18 00:00:00

AFFAIRS OF GREECE.

Lord STANLEY rose to move to resolve, that while
this House fully recognizes the right and duty of the
Government to secure to her Majesty's, subjects re-
siding in foreign states the full protection of the laws of
those states, it regrets to find, by the correspondence
recently laid upon the table by her Majesty's command,
that various claims against the Greek Government,
doubtful in point of justice or exaggerated in amount,
have besn enforced by coercive measures directed
against the commerce and people of Greece, and calcu-
lated to endanger the continuance of our friendly rela-
tions with other powers. He knew not whether the
anticipations of the Noble Marquis, as to the settlement
of our differences with France on the subject of
Greece, were realised or not. He sincerely hoped
they were, but at all events no considerations with regard
to that subject would induce him to postpone his motion;
indeed, he doubted whether the last postponement had
not rather tended to continue than to heal those differences.
But, highly as he valued the continuation of a good
understanding with France, ho felt that question had
little to do with this subject, for when first he had heard
of these transactions he had given notice of a motion on
the subject, which he had postponed on the representation
or the Noble Marquis, that the intervention of France
would settle the differences, while it appeared that inter-
vention had aggravated them. He would not go through
all the papers, and inflict upon their Lordship s the reeri-
nese he had suffered from their peruse!. Ile had risen
from that perusal with a feeling of shame for his country,
and not with the feeling of the Swedish Chancellor, of
how little wisdom was necessary to conduct the affairs
of the world, but at the prodigality of folly, which had
been exhibited through these negotiations.—(Hear.)
The conduct of the Government had been unjust,
improper, and calculate] rashly and unnecessarily to dis-
turb that harmony which ought to prevail among all the
powers of Europe. He asked them to determine
whether any of the claims made upon the
weak power of Greece were exaggerated, and
in some cases without foundation, and conveyed
in such a manner as to occasion their refusal; and,
although he would not apologise for the prevarica-
tion of Greece, yet that prevarication found some
excuse in the imperious tone in which those claims
were urged. The language in which claims should be
urged should be more careful and courteous when urging
them on a weak than on a strong power. He called
upon them fully to recognize the duty of the Govern-
ment to secure for her Majesty's subjects residing in fo-
reign states the full protection of the laws in that state;
but he maintained that it was the duty of every foreigner
residing in any fcreign state to obey the municipal laws
of that country. If those laws were corruptly adminis-
tered he had the right to appeal to his country's re-
presentative to see that justice was done to him
as to a citizen of the country; but no foreigner
had a right to repudiate the jurisdiction of ordinary
tribunals, and to ask for the diplomatic intervention of
his own Minister. There might be cases in despotic
countries, or in countries where the laws were
corruptly administered, in which the subject had
the right to demand the protection of his Minister, not
against the law but against those who corrupted the law.
It was necessary to consider the peculiar circumstances
of Greece. It was a kingdom of only 14 years standing,
was a constitutional kingdom of much less standing.
It was also under the joint protection of England,
France, ano Russia, who had guaranteed its independ-
ence, and it was under pecuniary obligations to all
of them, which unfortunately' gave them the right,
the fatal right of intervening in its internal affairs,
an intervention most fatal to the interests of Greece,
when a great part of the population was in a state of
anarchy, and unfortunately the representatives of the
other powers had each been engaged in caballing
to secure the preponderance there of English, the
French, and the other of Russian influence, rather
than in securing the stability of the Greek Government.
Since the time of Coletti french influence had predo-
minated, and Sir Edward Lyons was led to con-
sider the Greek Ministers as French agents, whom
it was his duty to circumvent, rather than as
Ministers of the Greek King, and the consequence
was, that the Government was not inclined to
regard with favour claims urged by Sir Edward Lyons,
and the result was a most irritated arid irritable state of
relations with Greece. That tone of irritation was not
confined to Sir E. Lyons, but was sanctioned and adopted
by the Noble Lord the Secretary for Foreign Affairs ;
and ho would take, us a proof cif that, certain portions
of the correspondence. Of all the persons whose claims
had been enforced, Mr. Finlay appeared to be the only
one of perfectly respectable
.character. There was
among the claimants one Stenio Stommachi, who was
arrested on a charge of burglary; he complained to the
consul that he had been tortured, and the consul had
forwarded tho petition to Sir Edward Lyons, stating
that he had ordered the matter to be inquired into,
but that he had appealed to the monarch
in behalf of this victim of official brutality.
Sir E. Lyons remits this petition to the Foreign Secre-
tary, who instructed him to demand upon this petition,
unsupported by evidence, that the police who had been
guilty of the outrage should be dismissed, and that pe-
cuniary compensation should be made to Stommachi. This
was beforeeinquiry was made,and the evidence was.exceed•