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

should arise on the question of amount, then said M.
d back to the governments,
de Lhuys it should be referred
differ-
ence should be upon principles, reprisals should and reprisals should not be resumed, but if theld
neces-
sarily
tohfe
hisvindicationn
dwuhi
c tc, ha he
twh hoit Ighh fat ol
ls
loot wwn.
oe
uc
leMds srba.
be found
Wyf t)u.osnegd,
iivinen the papers on the table,
stated that he had no cognisance that any convention
would be likely to be concluded in London. Nor was
it likely that he could have had any such knowledge,
and though the French Minister, General Lahitte, had
thought it necessary to read a letter in the Assembly
which had occasioned some dissatisfaction, that Minister
himself now admitted that Mr. Wyse could have had no
knowledge of any such convention, and fully acquitted
him in the matter. But the Noble Lord had said, why
not when the convention was concluded in London, at
once have adopted it, instead and in spite of any treaty
concluded by Mr, Wyse at Athens. He (Lord Lans-
downe) had no hesitation in saying that it would have
been most desirable if that could have been done, but
there was this difficulty. The convention which had
been agreed to at Athens had been already partly exe-
cuted, and besides, it contained a particular clause with
respect to certain new claims, which were not referred
to in the treaty of London. And if that treaty without
explanation or condition, or communication between the
parties had been altogether abrogated, there would have
been an admission in that abrogation of the expediency
or justice of conceding most unfounded claims, which
under no circumstances would it have been possible for
this country to have admitted; but it was the desire of
both sides to come back to the terms of the Convention
of London, so far as they could be made the basis of a
settlement with the Greek Government. It was out of
these circumstances that the difference which had given
rise to the communications which had taken Place during
the lastfewweeks arose,and which had not yet been brought
to a perfect conclusion, but which he had the satisfac-
tion of stating was so nearly brought to a satisfactory con-
clusion that many days, perhaps many hours, would not
elapse before such a conclusion would be come to—
(Hear, hear)—and the good understanding and confi-
dence between this country and France, whatever party
might be in power, be perfectly restored. Whatever
might be the character of the French Government, there
was no character it could assume in which it would not
be the interest of this country to maintain the most
friendly relations with it.—(Loud cheers.) He knew of
nothing—he foresaw nothing—he hoped even there was
nothing in the discussion ot that evening which could
tend in the least to interpose an obstacle to the restora-
tion and perfect resumption of those relations of amity
between the two countries which was so essential to the
peace and happiness of the whole world.—(Cheers.)
He trusted that the delay which had taken place in the
final settlement of the question between Greece and this
country had not been injurious to the best interests of
the former. He could assure the Noble Lord that
the statements of the extent of the pressure
which had been placed upon Greek commerce
had been more exaggerated than Pacifico's
claims, and he would take the opportunity before he sat
down of adding, that far from there being any intention
to press hardly on the Greek people and the Greek Go-
vernment, it was for the express purpose of avoiding
such pressure that, contrary to the usual custom pur-
sued in such cases, and pursued iu the instances to which
he had alluded, of employing force at once, a warning
was given to the Greek Government before any hostile
proceedings were adopted. And though an embargo
was in the end laid upon Greek commerce, it was con-
fined to the enforcing of the indemnity demanded, and
was to stop the moment that indemnity was obtained.
He believed that no serious injury had resulted to Greek
commerce from that embargo, and up to the last mo-
ment the most perfect harmony existed between Admiral
Parker and the Greek people and Government, and be-
tween our force and the persons engaged in commerce in
those seas, and but for the proceedings taken in the
Greek Chamber, there would have been a more speedy
settlement of the questions at issue.. It should be remem-
bered that with regard to some of these claims there was
no independent tribunal before which it could have been
preferred ; and even at the present moment, to show
that the tribunals of the country were not such as could
give a foreigner the most perfect security, especially in
a cause against the Government, it was only necessary
to state that all the Judges might be at any moment
dismissed. He considered this was one of those cases
in which the Government of this country had been
fully justified in having recourse to those proceedings
(unfortunately ending in the employment of force) by
which they had attempted to obtain justice for
the wrongs of their subjects ; and in his con-
science he believed, that not one of those wrongs, dis-
puted in amount as they were, bet undisputed
in principle, would have been redressed, if the
Government had not sent out Admiral Parker and his
fleet to enforce such redress.—(Cheers.) Under these
circumstances he appealed to the Noble Lord and their
Lordships whether they would adopt a resolution which
he again said was an innovation of the law of nations. If
that resolution were adopted in the terms proposed it
would go far to limit the commerce and the industry of
this country in future times, and in so far as a resolution
in the House of Lords, unaccompanied and unsupported
by that of any other assembly in Great Britain, could
change the law, it would restrain the power and cripple
the resources and the energies of the people, and of indi-
viduals residing for the purposes ot commerce, and for
the interests of this country in foreign states, and fetter
the future energies of the British Government in afford-
ing protection to its subjects. He confidently called upon
their Lordships to reject the resolution.—(Cheers.)
The Earl of ABERDEEN said, it was all very well
for Noble Lords to assume the tone of confidence, and
fer the partisans of her Majesty's Government to la-
bour in their def nee ; but he (Lord Aberdeen) main-
tained, that when they were told that a British fleet of a
magnitude, as described by his Noble Friend, equal to
chat of Nelson in the battle of the Nile, appeared in the
waters of Greece, and, after receiving the civilities of ,he
Sovereign, summoned the Greek Minister, presented to
him the British Plenipotentiary, and the British Ad-
miral delivered to him a list of demands which were t,
be conceded in f cur-and-twenty hours, and when that
unfortunate functionary observed that he had only been
in office three weeks, and that he required to ex-
amine into the justice of those claims, he was
told that the question was not whether the
claims were just or unjust, but whether they were
to be acknowledged in four-and-twenty hours, and
that that was the question for his decision—with that
statement it appeared to him (Lord Aberdeen) that the
character of the transaction was sufficiently described,
and he ventured to say that the proceedings of her
Majesty's Government in the waters of Greece, had
throughout the whole of Europe, from one end of it to
the other, called forth a cry of indignation, and that in
this country they had been regarded by every impartial
and reflecting man with regret and disapprobation.—
(Cheers.) When these transactions occurred they ap-
peared to the world in general to be unintelligible.
Nobody could believe that the reasons assigned for these
proceedings were the true and genuine motives by which
the Government was actuated, and he was not surpirsed
that in every country in Europe there were speculations
with regard t) some great design being concealed under
this attack upon Greece. Unfortunately, the people in
this country, who knew a little more of the reckless
mieseasiediinfarteuhlitcyh
ienffabireslieovfintghisthseormt
owteivreescothnadtucwteedr,e had
les difficulty in believing the motives that were as-
andsaw in
exercising
a it
4profoundignedEtihe:rvi thathear hear)—and
feelingne of
pe
l policy
m e
hostilityreand the display of an overwhelming force.—(Cheers.)
They might perceive the animating spirit that in a
great measure prompted this mode of preceding in a
paper to which he meant to direct their attention.
Last autumn a revolt had taken place in the island of
Cephalonia, and Sir Henry Ward. in a speech addressed
to this Senate, had referred to the share which he said
the Greek Government had in stirring up disturbances
ie that island. It was upon the 9th of October that
Sir H. Ward made that speech—that speech in which he
declared " the Greek Government had been privy to the
disturbances that had taken place in Cephalonia." No
sooner had this be en stated than the Greek Government
lost no time in protesting against the truth of any such
accusation; and then in the course of the next month,

he expressed publicly his regret—he did this in apubliC'
address—that his speech should have been so misunder-
stood, for he declared that he never had intended to
make any such accusation against the Greek Govern-
ment. —(" Hoar," from the Marquis of Lansdowne.)
The Noble Marquis, he perceived, cheered at that state-
ment. Ile was very glad to find the Noble Marquis so
cheer it; but what said the Secretary of State to M.
Drouyn de l'Huys, who gave an account of the conver-
sation with the Secretary of State? He mentioned the
Secretary of State as replying to him that the English
Government had other complaints against the Hellenic
Government; for example, that in spite of the contrary
assertions which policy had induced Sir Henry Ward :o
make, it was very certain that the hand of the Greek
Government had been found in the agitation that had
broken out amongst the people of the Cephalonian
islands.—(Hear.)
His Noble Friend had so fully en-
tered into all the claims put forward, one after another,
by her Majesty's Ministers—he had exposed so com-
pletely the doubtful character of some, and the exagge-
rated nature of others, that it was not necessary for him
to enlarge on the same subject. He would have to make
arose before t
but two or three observations upon them. First, as the
time that
Noble Marquis had remarked, the claim of Mr. Finlay
e constitution was established, and at the
when
nheGreece(Lord was under an arbitrary government.
made a claim onh-
Now,
Aberdeen) was in office, Mr. Fin-
laydeg the good offices
of her Majesty's cloven°. by
hrancroaeniljtnhtst claim for compensation,
but tbat Mr. Finlay There could be no doubt
food offices of her Ma-
and therefore a claim u
jesty's Government; but then"
claim upon her Majesty's
dhefGorreaenky
anchnlaim.
Government F never made a
Government,and
heW ofno
Ird
haverri shaal ale
The Greek Government
never denied that he bad an equitable claim to compen-
sation. The only difference was as to the amount of
nagoaginrostunt
hi
claim. At last, the matter had been referred to arbiis
tration. The fact of that having been done was -
not
communicated to that House, and they conse-
quently bad been led to believe that the claim of Mr.
Finlay was denied, and that there was no chance of its
being adjusted et the time that Mr. Wyse made his de-
reand.—(Hear.) As to the case of M. Pacifico, ho
(Lord Aberdeen) did not deny that he had a claim to
had sustained; bat, then, this
gave for losses ho . .
gave him no right to apply for reprisals, nor for this
country so to obtain compensation for him. until he had
endeavoured to obtain it by the ordinary mode of pro.
ceedinee Taking the case to be one that was unques-
tionably just, still to enable the subject to ask for repri-
sals, he must have exhausted all the means which the
laws and the courts of the country in which he was
wronged might have afforded to him.Vattel said with
reference to foreigners t—
" The prince, therefore, ought not to interfer© in the
causes of his subjects in foreign countries, and to grant
them his protection, excepting in cases where justice is
refused, or palpable and evident injustice done, or rules
and forms openly violated, or, finally, an odious distinc-
tion made to the prejudice of his subjects, or of

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