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

for he had admitted him to be a very respectable man;
and he (the Marquis of Lansdowne) believed him to be
entitled to honour and respect. The French Government
admitted that there was more or less of right in his claim,
and indeed the Noble Lord had made a similar admission.

Mr. Finlay had purchased a piece of ground; and he ex-
pected more for it than the amount of the purchase; and
had the Noble Lord never heard of eases in this country
in which people claimed more for their land than they
had given for its purchase?—(Hear, hear, and laughter).
In the town of Liverpool how many men had possessed
themselves of property in the suburbs, for which, when
it was subsequently required for local or public purposes,
they asked seven times the amount they had given for
by giving the par-
it? In such cases justihcechwat
shedowneere fairly
ties the the amount
(Hear, bear.) ThetoNwoble Lordysaid he had heard with
soma sort of pride an admission, on the part of Mr.
ray, that he consented to arbitration, and that he
woFin ld obtain justice by that means. But what would
the Noble Lord think when'he was informed, as he now
was, that under the influence of the Government the ar-
bitrators had never been allowed to meet.—(Hear, hear.)
The Noble Lord would no doubt see that a denial of
justice by delay was as bad as a denial of justice alto-
gether, because all the authorities on the subject were
agreed upon that point. They said that if application
were met with a refusal, intentional delay was worse
than a denial, and that in such case interference was
justifiable.—(Hear, hear.) Now, when insult had been
offered to the officers of her Majesty, and a simple
apology was required, that simple apology was for a
long time refused. So in the case of the robbers. When
some compensation was required, the Greek Govern-
ment never answered the letter of application.
They refused to answer or to give any expla-
nation whatever.—(Elear, hear.) With regard to the
case of Pacifico, the Noble Lord said that her Majesty's
Government had adopted his outrageous claim, and that
they had arbitrarily and thoroughly required the Greek
Government to pay it. But what would their Lordships
say when he (the Marquis of Lansdowne) told them that
from the beginning to the end of this transaction I'aci-
fico's claim was no further adopted than as a claim for
discussion; and if it were adopted for discussion how
could it be adopted at the full amount he claimed? The
Government could not take upon themselves to reduce
it, but what they said to the Greek Government was—
that it must be the subject of inquiry. In the first letter
on the subject, Lord Palmerston, writing to the English
ambassador, said :
"If the amount of M. Pacifico's losses shall appear

to be just and reasonable, you will then only present
them to the Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs. See
that he has taken care to make the demand for com-
pensation in general terms that will not prevent the
Greek Government from interfering."
Lord STANLEY—He says in that letter that the
demand was to be " just and reasonable," and then that
be was to present the claim in " general terms."
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE asked whether any
reasonable man, who heard both sides of the question,
could doubt that the British Government, by this letter,
confined itself to a simple prosecution of an inquiry
after a demand was made that was just, fair, and rea-
sonable ? He found again and again in the course of
the correspondence that the expressien used by Mr.
Wyse was that there should be satisfaction made by the
state of what was "fair and reasonable." He would
not trouble their Lordships by referrinc, to the many
passages where this expression was used;e' but on the
25th of March Lord Palmerston gave Mr. Wyse in-
structions, telling him that, with regard to Pacifico'.
claim on the Portuguese Government, "it should be
equivalent to the amount if he had not lost his docu-
.

reents, because that was the measure of his loss."
So that, if Pacifico could only show loss to the
extent of a shilling, he was to recover no more than
la shilling. Whatever the documents were worth, he
was-entitled to demand, and that was all the British
Government bad claimed for him. The Noble Lord said
that Pacifico was a man not to be trusted, and, in
proof' otethis, had referred to a dishonest transaction
alleged to have taken place at Lisbon a great many years
ago, but subsequently to that Pacifico had been twice ap-
pointed Consul by the Portuguese Government; and he(the
Noble Marquis) had too much respect for the Portu-
guese Government to suppose that if a man were guilty
of forgery or other dishonesty they would select him
for Consul.—(Hear, hear.) He bad now endeavoured
to show that the claims were not, as described in the
resolution, of a doubtful or of an exaggerated nature as en-
forced, a hereas nothing had been enforced, but a great
reduction in every possible way bad been made in the
claim. He would not follow the Noble Lord through the
observations he had made with regard to the effect this
transaction had had on other powers. He had the saris
faction to think that with regard to those other powers
—both Russia and France—there was no disposition to
dispute the validity of our claim in principle, with the
exception, perhaps, of a portion of Pacitico's claim.
But Russia had admitted that these were claims
which we had a right to make, and all
she complained of was that they had been
too suddenly enforced, and that they had been
enforced without notice being previously given to the
other powers that it was the intention of the British
Government to enforce them. He had, however, shown
that in all the cases of enforcing claims to which he had
referred, no notice whatever had been given to other
powers ; and he knew nothing in the character, the con- '
dition, or in the relative strength of England, as com-
pared with the other powers of the world, which should
lead to the recognition of the principle—that whereas
all other powers might proceed according to their own
sense of the injustice done to require that justice should
be done t r thee. subjects, that England should, in a case
where her subjects were concerned, after years of pro-
crastination and delay, treat those states which had
refused to do justice, with a degree of indulgence which
would be snewn to them by no other power under si
mile!. circumstances—(Hear, hear)—and which should
induce the House to resolve that the Government was I
not junitied in having recourse to the meesures
they had adopted of requiring that the demands
(i' this country, so far as they were consistent with
justice, should be conceded.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble
Lord had complained of the large naval force that had
been employed in enforcing these demands ; and he
admitted that though there were reasons which the
Government considered sufficient for employing that
force, nevertheless the circumstance of its being em-
ployed bad attracted more attention, and given rise to
• more suspicion (however unjust such suspicion was) than
•the employment of a smaller force would have probably
produced. But. the temptation for having a large force
in those seas was great, not in reference to carrying out
tie principal object in view, but in reference to the cha.
racier and the position of the Greek Government; be-
cause, if that Government were compelled to yield, it
-woute he more honourable that she should be so compelled
by Sir W. Parker in a three-decker than to a frigate or
smaller force. The Noble Lord had said that the course
- which Lan been pursued had disturbed the amicable re-
-. letions previously existing between this country and
Russia; and, as he should be sorry to allow an expression
of the Noble Lord's to lead to any misapprehension in the
public mind of the true state of the case, he must h, g to
say that, with the respect he entertained for the Hussite,
Government, the unfeigned desire by which he was
actuated teat this country should continue to remain on
all subjects on a geed understanding and in relations
of the most perfect amity with that great power, and
deeply regretting the difference of opinion which had
arisen on this one subject—and it had gone no further
than difference of opinion—(Hear, bear)—he must tit-
. terly deny that the dissatisfaction with which Russia
had regarded our proceedings in this case had disturbed
the amity or friendly relations that had heretofore ex-
isted.—(Hear, hear.) So far from it, he distinctly af-
firmed the contrary was the fact.—(Hear, hear.) He
affirmed that on many important subjects in which both
countries telt a common interest, the amity and friendly
feeling of Ressia and Great Britain had never been
greater or moro c )mplete than at the present moment.--
(Hear, hear.) But with respect to some of the more
important questions that now agitated the world and af-
fected the interests of Europe, there was the utmost unity
Of opinion, of sentiment, and of action between Russia
and this country; aral the amity of the two countries
was as perfect as it had ever been at any period of our
history. Tho most intimate, constant, and confi-
dential communications had been all along going on
between those great powers with regard to the impor-
tant affairs of the north of Europe. And now, parti-
culh,rly. at thia moment the Government of this country
availed themselves of the tneTeeestaionsof Russia, in re-
gardimportant questions, to many
tb at confidence, and rel_he Russia reciprocating
g on our advice, following out
eaadr,vhiseienrg.)other powers to follow and ,
suggestions, andui
Wherefore he was justified
adopt them.—
in saying that there had bee no interruption of the
good understanding and amicable relationse between the
us
twoto our ref tions with France. coutries. So far with regard to
RAnd heressi
ah,e amnedant now
the Noble Lord the justice to sa
3', that he had said no-
thing that could in the least degree hinder that cloud
from passing away, wee which had for a moment, and for a
moment only, and purely from an accidental ei •
rcura-
stance, been overshadowing the relations between the
two countries. When the offer was made by France to
it was accepted in the
mediate in the Greek question,
conviction that it was fairly and frankly tendered, for
the purpose of obtaining justice
for us in the fference
with the Greek Government, without our having re-
course to force. M. Gros went to Greece on that un-
derstanding, but after numerous delays it was found that
no result followed, or was likely to follow, his media-
. tion. Under these circumstances M. de Lhuys
wasthe
authorised by his Government to negotiate with _
British Government a convention, the conclusion of
which was a sufficient proof of the sincerity and the spirit
in which the matter was undertaken by the British Go-
' lernment, and of their desire to arrive at a satisfactory
settlement. It was most unfortunate, as he considered
it, that that convention had not reached Athens before
the progress of the negotiations there had arrived at
that position which induced M. Gros to withdraw him-
self altogether from his character of mediator, and until
Mr. Wyse after waiting for a considerable period in the
hope that that event the expectation of which was held
out to him by M. Gros, namely, that he should have
something else to propose, but which he never did pro-
pose, should occur, and Mr. Wyse found himself com-
pelled in following out his instructions to resume that
state not of hostilit) , but of pressure against the Greek Government which he had commenced but sus-
pended. He said he found it necessary to resume, fur
nothing could he more clear to those who had read
the papers, than that the understanding not only
of Athens, but the understanding 13E tween M. de Lhuys,
Lord Palmerston, and General Lahitte, was, that
if the differences between M. Gros and so
•W
should turn upon anything of principle, reprisals should
re-commence. Aud the Noble Lord had unquestionable
evidence on this subject, for M. de Lhuys wrote letters
to the French- Minister of Foreign Affairs, more than
one, in one of which, which he then held in his hand, it
was distinctly stated that the' understanding on which
the negotiations proceeded was, that if there should be
any difference of principle between M. Gros and Mr.
Who, reprisals should recommence. If any difference