The Sun.
London, England, 1821-06-08 00:00:00

lONIAN ISLANDS.

M'r. HumE begged to preface the motion- he
was about to m ike, by I eqneking that. any 0h...
servations he might Offer & Conduct of Sir T.
TVlailland, might be considered as applied to the
Lord _High Commiisioner ethe lonian Islands,
and made from ,a sense of public duty, rather
than as applying .to Sir T. Mfitland, of whom he
had no knowledge. Ile re(retted that none of
his Majesty's Ministers were present, because he
thought some of them inculpated in the trans-
action he had to state. -He had himself visited
the lonian 'lslands, and he 'could bear witness
to the high estimation in which the British were
held previously to the_ experience the lonians
had of them under the yoke of the present Lord
High Commissioner. Such was their opinion of
the superiority of being under British Govern-
ment, that the arrival of Sir T. Maitland, in con-
formance with the Treaty of Paris of 1815, was
hailed as the harbinger of peace and universal
happiness. An early act of that officer, however,
no less than the dismissal of five of the Senators,l
because they were not disposed to be subser-
vient tohim, but chose to have an opinion of their
own, served in a great measure to undeceive
them. To give an idea of the caprice and des-
potism which dictated this act, he had only•to
State that one of these Senators, Mr. Flambou-
riari, had since been recommended by Lord
Bathurst to be employed by Sir T. Maitlanden
account of his talents. This order for their dis-
missal, it was to be observed, was because they
were " inept and corrupt." Mr. Flambouriari,
after being thus .recommended and employed
under Government, was again thrown into a dun-
geon, because he had signed a 'petition to the
King of England, stating the real causes of _dis-
satisfaction which the lonians had. Those who
read the addresses to Sir T. Maitland from Tice
lonian Gazette, could not fail to be persuaded
that he was a man of extreme vanity and, fond
of flattery, which idea would be confirmed
by the number of triumphal arches, colossal
.statues, busts, portraits, &c. &c. raised in his
honour in the Island ; and it would be seen
what credit he was entitled to in that
House, when he stated in 'a letter to this
Government, that " he bated pomp and parade,
even to a foible." After being under his go-
vernment a short time, the lonians began to feel
that they should like to have a real Repre-.
sentative Government, as was promised to them,
and appeared to set themselves to work for
that purpose, as on the 18th January, 1817, the
Lord High Commissioner assembled the Officers
of State, including the police, and informed them
that a conspiracy had been formed and was about
to explode. Instant arrests took place in great
numbers, on whiCh the Staff were employed ; but
it was found that there were no grounds against
the major part of those arrested; one Laperiochi
and another being found to he at the, bottom of
the whole. machination. The commission
,ap-
pointed to try the conspirators reported to that ef-
fect, and sentenced Laperiochi to be hanged. .This
sentence however was commuted- to one year's
solitary confinement, and eight years confinement
to the Islands. A few months afterwards, how-
ever, he was found at large. This circumstance,
joined With others, cast a strong suspicion on the
Whole affair. As to the Constitution of the
lonians, it was a complete deception, and vested
the whole power in the hands of the Lord High
Commissioner.• The Legislative Assembly was
composed of 40, in all 29 Representatives,a pre-
sident of the Senate, and the Primary Council of
ten.- This Primary Council was appointed by
Sir T. Maitland, and they nominated the Candi-
dates, so that Sir T. Maitland might be said to
appoint the whole. He knew of nothing worse,
except it was a Scotch Burgh. The-Legislative
assembly passed the Constitution without delibe-
ration. In the course of three days the work
was accomplished, and this glorious Constitution,
which he would prove to be a perfect mockery,
was adopted, and a deputation dispatched to
England to announce the same., and obtain the
sanction of his Majesty. He complained of the
influence exercised by the Lord high Commis-
sioner both in the Senate and in the Legislative
Assembly, and also of the influence exercised
appointing the
through
r yh is
of having
the .
h7Cveornsotirtution was such,
that nothing could be effected without his sanc-
tion, and therefore he held the Lord Commis-.
sioner (who possessed all the power of Roman Pro-
Consul), responsible for all that had eccurrNl, as
he was the alpha and omega of every tiding done in
the lonian Islands. He next touched on a ques-
tion which had been already before the Mouse.
Respecting the facts of that question, he and the
.Gentlemen opposite were completely at issue.
He then went over the circumstances connected
with the insurrection, contending, on the autho-
rity of documents to which• he referred,, that
What bad occurred was the conseqUence of the.
people being driven to desperation by distress,,
anti by the unfeeling- treatment they met with
from the Lord, High CommiSsioner„.to•Whose mea-.
sures he ascribed all the blOodshed which had..
taken place. The : ily,.posts to-which the people
- •

all the facts that had Come to his knowledge. In
One,case, Church Lands had been claimed after
they had been alie-nated seventy: years. Two
Englishmen and two natives were appointed to
inquire into this business. Two were in favour
Of the claims set up ; the other twodiffered.from
them. Sir T. Maitland, as umpire, .gaVe.the cast-
ing, mote, and wrote an elaborate letter of four-
teen -sides, dated April 12, 1820, in which he
declared, that by the laws of Venice, framed in
1410, Church property could not. he alienated,
and consequently the casting, vote was given
favour of the Church. •He noticed the pluralities
enjoyed in the Innian Islands; read over a list of
the various appointments held by Colonel Wil
Ham Robinson, and enumerated, grievances of
which the people-of Santa Maura had to corn-
plain, and which he thought Would have ex-,
cited almost any people to acts.of an insurrec-
tionary character. An individual, of the name
of Antonio Martinengo, he represented ..to.
have been very harshly dealt with, and to have
been imprisoned for a considerable period at
the will of the Governor, in violation of the
Constitution. He begged
_to assure the House
that he • would not have brought forward the
present motion had he not - been satisfied that ,
most arbitrary acts had been committed, acts
more worthy of the Government of Morocco,
than of a Government established under the: pro,-
tection of-the British. Empire. Martinengo wish
ed not to escape being brought -to trial, but he
protested against the right of the Supreme Coun-
cil, before whom he had been brought, to try
him, as they were only authorised to try-public
functionaries. This person, hoWever, tried be-
fore that tribunal, at the adv-anced age of 6'G, .
bad been sentenced to be detained—confined in
some way or other, in one of his Majesty's pos-.
sessions in the Mediterranean, and to' pay all
costs. Ile had heard within these few-days that
the sentence had been modified by Government
into three years' voluntary banishMent, as banish-,
went was called, inflicted on.an individual who
had called for no,modification of his sentence—
who only demanded justice., and who, he was
confident, would never consent to leave, his native
country till he had cleared up his character. He
hoped, if-a. Commission was to be appointed, the
Governmentf ‘p,;'eolu.slodnstallviielo cbayrethtehiartcoitn 'asithcout%lvdo
übl
de
be likely to restore the character which England
had lost in. the islands. There were two indivi-
duals who wished to present a Petition to the
King ; having drawn up the Petition, one of theM
was arrested, and the other, named Rossi, was.
Obliged to fly, and was fortunate enough to effect
his escape. After this it was thought necessary by
some individuals, amounting to 50 in -number, to
make a stand for their rights. • These 50, however,
upon drawing up a Petition to the King, and
presenting into Colonel Ross, were all arrested.
This was.the plot of which the House had heard
a few nights ago to overturn the Government.—•
The Hon. Memher.then complained of the mono-
poly of the sale of bread, of the restraints upon
the Press, and of exactions made upon
.the im-
portation of salt. The Greeks in the different
villages-were continually goaded, and reminded
of the dominion of _England, so as to prevent their
being reconciled to their condition. There was
a system of espionage kePt up, worthy of the
tyranny of Buonaparte, in the police department' -
of the islands. 'lnstead of the taxes which had
been laid upon the lonians, the salaries of the re-
spective. officers- should be- reduced. Colonel
Robinson, independent of his pay, received one
half per cent. upon the whole revenue of -the
island. The revenue was 432,4281. and the per
centage -at the rate he had mentioned would
amount to. 21,000 dollars. The Hon. Member
then said that u hat he had stated was only in the
discharge of his public duty, and he only spoke
of Sir T. Maitland as a public character. He
should be sorry if any thing had fallen from him
that-would hurt the private feelings of that indi-
vidual, because nothing was more remote from
his intention. He hoped, indeed, that if an in-
quiry were instituted.he would be found to come
out of it clear, with .his character relieved from
those imputations- which had been cast upon
After what had fallen from the Hou.Secretary of
State last night relatiye tei the appointment of
Committees for the, purpose of investigating the
condition of our distant possessions, it was useless
to hope that a Committee.would .be granted.—
.should therefore move,
" That an hrunblr; Mt-tress be prcsf.nttl to his Majesty. pray:-
ins; thf,t he will ap.pint C)lllYr.:iSS7;onel's to prooeed to I,he loaip
Islands, to inguire into t'::ytat,2 of the Government then., and
into the co-aenct t el? ; -,•ernor,-.Sit. T. ; vlsn to ill-
icit:ire Into the ca-,l;f:ttof the: disaffection which exists, aral. Of the
nunactons an-ests, that have t,:kcn

Mr. Gor.r.uunN hoped the House would make
allowances for a person in an official situation,
called upon to answer such numerous charges
upon the uncertain notice that had been 4iven.
On these suhjects he found birnsef unable 16
cope with the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Hume), fo'r
this was the third thne he
,had co:pe dow'n arid
Tepeated the same charges, Which he (Mr.Clotils
burn) thought he had answered to the satisfaiir
Lion of the House, to which he had now super-di
added charges against. him, namely, of a dispi-,:;
sition to quibble and conceal facts
,fronrc't
House which had come to his notice. He ha 1.
comtnenced with the `irreaty .of Paris, ,vh:c.ll was
the basis of the Constitution of the lonian ilauds,
and was the instistunent by r.hich the conduct or
the.Go.vernment was to be j,ttlget.l, :andibefore

,
the Hen, Gyotleman had brought for Ward these
, excise-6°ns, It might have been well it he 'had
. read some of the terms of this Treaty. The liOn.
, Gentleman then read a:: extract from the Treaty,
to shew that it 'Nees the intention to establi4l a
Constitution' under the British Government;elion
the principles which had been before estabil-r;loA;
!it !ie-denied it ever was the intention to make
.it'as free as the GOvernment of this counfiy.'—
, .And here he shoiild say, that although he might'
he able. here to see the defects.. of.their ConStrtu-
tion, it by no means followed- that if we trans-
planted our Constitution there it would
diately reMedY these defects. It was with st;ites
as Wiffi-mtn'; iii theirinfancy they required-re-
straint and Coercion, and when they were more
matured, they had;Capp,cit'ies to enjoy and, ap-
preciate the.ii freedom.—(Hear!)—He admitted
that if the MOde of electing the Meiuhers of
,the -.Legislative Body 'here - and there were
compared,, it, was essentially dierent, but that
was no gio7:!i!cl of impatation On 'Sir Th05.361a,;.t-
--lan- 'The aon,-Gen:l6nian .had att.:acted sortie
individUals by ramie, and he. had stated that one
was notorious for his hoStiliy to. BuonaParfe ;
the fair inference 'to be drawn from that was, that
he entertained opinions consonant to the feelings
of Englishmen. He ndviSed the Hon. G-enoe-
man, to compare the mode of election not with
any other country, but with that which they had
under the: Russian Gotermpent, and he 'would
soon see that that which they had under 'ihe
British Government Wes the preferable 'mod'e
and again, the powers of the Lo-rd High Coininis-
'sioner, as compared with those of thePlenipoten-
Cary of the former protectini, Power, laige
thOugh they were, he would. find them siitic to
nothing in the comparison. At all events, 'those
powers Were -defined, which would be allowel
by all.who knew any thing of government,*to be
a principle
.of control most essential to freedom.
The Hon. Member had enlarged On the case of
M. Martinepgo. That person" 'Was sentencuil to
death ; • and. the llon..M'ember found mat{er'of
complaint in his punishment being cothronted to
one year's close confinement, and eight years in
irons. This punishment - was less than the
Honourable • Gentleman opposite desired to see
inflicted on 'persons -Convicted in . this coun-
try of. forgery, and* surely it would mit he
imputed to Sir Thomas Maitland as
that he `had so commuted it. , The lionourable
Member, disclaimed any personal relleetions On
that officer, but 'he had not acted up to his d'e-
claration, for he was not content
.with imPating-
acts to'Sir Thomas Maitland• which took. dace
whilst-he was resident on the Island, but had
charged him aISO with 'transactions °cent-ring-1n
his absence,- and of which. he after Wards diSap-
proved. If there were any blaMe for the firb-
ceedings at Santa Maura, it could not attach to
Sir Thomas Maitland, for he was not
.there-at
the time ; not that he meant to allow there Wits
any ground of blame at all ; the part whieh*Fir
Frederick Adam bore there was tlie only Olie
which a British Officer could have perfOrnieil,
consistently with houeur and humanity. He hoped
Hon. Members who heard hint had read the.l4-
.ter of Sir F. .Adam, which was yeSterday laid
on the table; that alone he was • asSUred,
be a sufficient answer to any suggestion to 'his
prejudice ; though to those 'who kneW him it Wits
unnecessary, as he had too. high a c araCtire
to give ground of suspiehin that he 'wlnid
.lend himself to any false statement; and.besiders,
at the time there was no nnitive for his sendhly,
any but a true account of the trarn•action. Trie
Hon. Member (Mr.- Horne) had charged him
Goulburn) with false staternentS ; but fie
would reaffirm what he had before stated, thtst
the insurrection at Santa Maura was occasioned
by the dread which the militia had Of being sent
to the -West Indies. There Was no desire what-
ever to act a•gainst those poor people, but, on the
e,ontraey, every forbearance .was exercised to-
wards them. They had assembled in force, With
arms in their hands, and though the first, the na-
tural suggestion would be, to rete( force by force,
yet the Military officer had sent to know their
grievances, either real or imaginary. After that
a person attending- an officer of GoVernment ryas
assassinated, and it was not till the day after that
assassination took phrce that an order was issued
at Cwfu to remove the regiment:of militia; and
it was only after the insurgents hail burst into the
toe n, and set fire to one part of it, that the
oflcer began to act against them ; and af-
terwards only foor individuals, who had been the,
ringleaders, were executed, and their property
confiscated. The II on. Gentleman complained
because lie (Mr. Goulburti) had not forniAN
him with a retnr:i of the killed and woOritter,
I ut in a popular disturbarice that w'as ohyletAy
iihnoss.ible. From the best information. (that sof
respectable persons On the spot), he 'cotild'stale
that the total was not snore than 15 or 2.0 perspkts
killed and wol;nded; but thal,' itiformatioi),
thoogb he believeait to be correctehe.cptildsrkt
embody in kforecal return. lie 'had befCre:dv-
nied
,that Sir T.. Maitland -sishetl. to Conliscite ,
the property of the church to the reverztts
of the island, and he du:nied it still:the inten-
tion WaS, to rest ne that frorri tleoe who
had ihipr6perly obt:iineil it, anderestore it to the
church to which it ri.lzhtfolly belonged. Tite
Eon., de:nan had i.efeered to the eaS'e' AtZ.s-
.Sandro BarGtglio, "verve before the Co!frt
there,and.the ques;;.ion enreed on the okra' on
tO. be given to an 0:d Ven:q'an .law.
ale : betwei‘n the Juttges,,.i;iid t voted ;he
two the other : ffere he
lfeesc . to observe the incoiioc:l6lcy: of the Win.
'4,l:ember's statements and infer,ences-: whteiche
.T. Maitland of exec cuing
dominating aod,qraunical ecf•scu-

tenca oft Court of Justice could be obtained
contoary to his wishes, yet on this question,
about which, according to the Hon. Member, he
r,nritt be known to feel great interest, the Judges
ssese divided in opinion. It was afterwards re-
?erred to Sir Thomas. Maitland, and in the
decision which he was compelled to come
to there could no imputation be fixed, whe-
ther that decision was or was not correct
in point of law. He denied that the disturb-
ances at Zante or Santa Maura were occasioned
by the decrees of the Government. The lion.
Member (Mr. Hume) objected to the arrest of
.Martinengo on two grounds ;—first, that it was
unauthorised by the law of the States ; and, se-
condly, that his treatment was deficient in that
regard which Sir Thomas Maitland ought to have
paid to a Gentleman of his high consideration.
The Hon. Member went much at length on both
these points ; on the first contending, that as by
cne article of the Constitution all those powers
• ishich had been enjoyed by the VOnetian Go-
vernment, under the head of high police, were
reserved CO the Lord High Commissioner, the
proceedings taken against Martinengo were fully
justified.. It should be remembered, that that
individual protested against the tribunal ap-
pointed to try him altogether on different
grounds ; namely, -that lie had petitioned the
Aing of England, and claimed not to be tried
till that answer were received ; but that claim
tosuld not possibly be granted without overturn-
leg the whole criminal jurisprudence of the coun-
try. The tribunal proceeded on the evidence
for the prosecution, and possibly much of the
-weight of punishment was to be attributed to the
-want of a defence which he had it in his power"
to make if lie had chosen, but which, as he re-
fused, he left the Court the hard task of pro-
ceeding to judgment on the evidence which had
been laid before them. With respect to the-se-
cond point, the harsh treatment Of Martinengo ;
_he was not confined closely, but permitted to
take exercise daily, accompanied by a milkary
officer. He admitted that he was not permitted!
to correspond unrestrainedly with his friends, on
account of a disposition he had shown to tamper
with the Authorities. Again, it was stated as a
hardship, that he should be confined to one ad-
vocate ; but it was the rule of the Court to allow
only one advocate for the prosecution, and there
could be no hardship in allowing one only for
the prisoner, more particularly, as he was not
-Limited to one advocate, though only one could
be allowed to plead for him. He instanced
`sae indulgent conduct of the Court to an-
other prisoner, named Pater, who was ar-
rested with Martinengo, as a proof of the
Gisposit ion of the Court to afford every fa-
cility to them for their defence. lie denied
that the island of Santa Maura, where Marti-
nengo was confined, was particularly unhealthy ;
orr. the contrary,, with the exception of Cerigo,
it was the most healthy climate of all the lonian
Islands. Mr. Goulburn then proceeded to vin-
dicate Sir. Thomas Maitland from any imputation
with respect to the conduct pursued towards Sig-
n-or Flamburiani. That person had libelled the
Legislative Assembly, charging them, in a printed
petition to the King, which he published, with
venality and corruption, for which he was expel-
led by that Assembly, who afterwards instituted
proceedings against him for perjury. The Hon.
Member justified his former statements as to
the salary of the Lord High Commissioner ;
and defended the monopoly of grain as necessary
to preserve the islands from famine. He would
not reply to the personal imputations which the
Eon. Member had cast upon Sir Thomas Mait-
land. this character could derive no additional
/mitre from any thing which he could state ; all
therefore that he should say was, that the whole
of the charges against him were totally devoid of
foundation. The Hon. Member (Mr. Hume)
might perhaps itt.his reply bring forward fresh
accusgtions, as he was in the habit of doing, or
the accounts published in the daily press to-mor-
row might contain statements on the one side
without the counter-statements of the other side ;
but let the Hon. Member's conduct be what it
might, he thought he had said enough to convince
the House that the complaints against the Gal-
-but Officer were nothing more than the malig-
rant spirit of calumny, which attended on all
eminent persons, or the consequence of the hatred
of those who envied his power or were desirous
of partaking of it.
Mr. 11. LIENNET wanted an explanation why
the Colonial Legislation was not allowed to alter
Fier! improve the Constitution of the lonian
Islands, as was expressly stipulated by the Treaty
.of Paris. The Constitution given to them was
randi to the eye, something to the ear, but of ,no
practical good to the people. It was like some
of those Constitutions which the French Govern-
ment for 20 years was in the habit of giving
•to the nations they over-ran. The Lord High
Commissioner gave them a Representation fashion-
,ed on-the model of his own beautiful little family
pocket Boroughs of. Lauder. and Dunbar. This
was on the model of Scotch Representation, not
of English. The Lord High Commissioner was
the Grand Punchinello, that moved the puppets
of the Senate of the whole lonian Islands. The
Lord High Commissioner invested a Colonel of
Marines to inquire into the Church Property; and
(Wei mined to deprive a native of property that
had been in his family since the 14th century. M-r.
ptiartinengo was put upon his trial, as .being sus-
,
riected of being seditious ; and lie did not be-
lieve that there was a Court in this country, from
tile Court of King's Bench to that of Pied _Pod:
dre, that would have put a man on his trial on
such a charge. Was it no severity of punishment
Io sentence a man of 66 years of age to 12 years
imprisonment in a fortress in the centre.of the
marshy Island of Santa Maura ? He bad no
doubt but that, if it were wanted, evidence might
inseproduced to prove the Island of Walcheren
the healthiest spot on the face of the earth,
though he firmly believed that Santa Maura and
the Isle of Walcheren were on a par with respect
to healthiness. lie complained of the introduc-
tion of English and Sicilian persons into power
and authority over these Islanders for Govern-
ment purposes. He would wish to know whether
Aaentlernen opposite would like Hanoverians to
rule over us rather than Englishmen, Scotchmen,

or Irishmen ? was disposed to speak civilly
of the Lord High Commissioner; but he wished
these Islandert not to he governed by one man,
and that man's will being the law.
Mr. EVANS acknowledged the promptitude
with which the Colonial Office attended to the
Petition of Mr. Martinengo, but he must say that
no man in England, Scotland, or Ireland, could
understand why that gentleman was tried. He
condemned the giving power over the supposed
Church Lands, as well as the moveables of the
Churches, and even the pictures of the Saints, to
a Colonel of Marines. lie believed that the power
of Sir T. Maitland was absolute, if he had the
power off arresting and imprisoning whom he
pleased, and of bringing them to trial when he
pleased: He thou Tait inquiry necessary, to jus-
tify the character of Sir 'F. Maitland.
Mr. J. P. GRANT said, he was confident the
conduct of Sir I'. Maitland. required explanation
only; but as the motion went to impute miscon-
duct to him, he (Mr. G.) could not support it.l
The Constitution upon which he acted had been
laid upon the table of the House, and had not
called for any comment.—(Hear, hear!)—Whe-
ther it was wise to 'leave the Venetian laws for
the Government of these Islands was one thing,
but it was another to blame Sir T. Maitland for
having acted under them. In the case of Mar-
tinengo, Sir Thomas had delegated his authority
to those persons who would have tried the indi-
vidual if lie were a public functionary. He after-
wards mitigated the sentence, by referring it to
the consideration of his Majesty. In that Island
they were exercising the laws of the Republic
and Doge of Venice. and their object was to pro-
vide a good code of criminal law. The property
confiscated was applied to building churches.
Persons whose property wat confiscated had a
right to complain; but the Ministers of religion and
the people had no right to complain. He was as-
sured that the more Sir T. Maitland's conduct
was inquired into, the better it would appear.
Mr. BROUGHAM begged to be understood as
not wishing to attach any blame to Sir Tho Mas
Maitland in any thing that might fall from him ;
but he had heard enough of what his fellow-
subjects in the lonian Islands were suffering,and
lie had to thank. God that the same sufferings
were not experienced by any other place attach-
ed to the empire. What particularly struck him
was the case of Mr. Martinengo, and the charge
that was brought against that individual no one
could find out. It was, that he was charged
with crimes and offences against the State as
principal actor. Here, said the lion. and-Learn-
ed Gentleman, one would have expected to learn
the nature of hisxrime,- but not a word of it was

stated. The charge goes on to state that he was
principal or accessary in the offence which took
place at the island of Zante in the month of July
last, or with having neglected to give notice to
the Government of the same when it came to his
knowledge, and of having scattered discontent
and suspicion by seditious means. The offence
was carefully wrapped up, although there were

alle'gations sufficient. He would then ask, what
was the crime ? According to this record
every lawyer would answer, None; but the pu.

nishment was every thing. Was it to be borne
that men should be put on their trial for an in-
definite offence? It might certainly be the law
of Venice, and the gallant officer (Sir T. Mait-
land) might be vested with the power of the Doge
of Venice ; but if it was so, it ought to be known
to that House—as they might, by the legitimate
power they possessed over the Servants of the
Crown, obtain redress for the sufferers. He of-
fered no charge against Sir Thomas Maitland ;
he acted according to the Venetian law, and he
believed by his official duty he was bound to do
so. He would repeat, his objections were not to
the man, but to the system, to the state of the
law which prevailed there ; a law inconsistent
with justice, and which it was fitting that Parlia-
ment should abrogate as speedily as possible.
Sir R. WusoN was of opinion there were not
grounds to censure Sir T. Maitland, but there
was ground for inquiry. The people of the
lonian Islands were difficult to govern ; but
whether their conduct was right or wrong, they
were entitled to justice, which the British Go-
vernment, acting as protectors, ought to admi-
nister.

Mr. MONEY said, much good might arise from

inquiry into the-conduct of Public Officers, but
charges had been made against Sir T. Maitland
so vague that no rational mind could entertain
them. When Sir T. Maitland took charge of

the lonian Islands, he found a total absence of
principle, and in dealing with that evil he fol-
lowed the example of Lord Cornwallis. The
Heads of the Church had been long in the habit
of applying the profits of the Church to their
own advantage, and it was necessary to enforce
the law on that subject. The Hon. Member
opposed the motion.
The Marquess of LONDONDERRY rose for the
purpose of delivering a few remarks in answer to
the course of .argument taken by the Hon. and
Gentleman, whtYcertainly had narrowed

he question, as no part of his argument went to

to criminate the Gallant Officer. rlt was impos-
sible to disguise the fact of the Hon. Member for
Aberdeen having brought forward charges which
must be considered important ; but it was im-
possible to place before the House more jus-

tification of Sir Thomas Maitland than his Ho-
nourable Friend had afforded. The Noble
Marquess felt that additional observations of
his upon that point would only weaken the
just description given of the long and honoura-
ble services of that Gallant Officer, and his
efforts to introduce to the lonian Islands a
system of economical reform. The Noble Lord
could not admit that the lonian Islands were to
be considered as Colonies of England, or that the
Government could interfere as if they "were Ey-

ing under the controul and in obedience to the
Government. He was at the same time ready
to allow, that while the Government of this coun-
try was protecting those islands, there was a
',uperintending eye over their welfare and inte-
rests Which ought not to be withdrawn, and as
far as they could go on directing the Lord High
Commissioner of the Islands for the advantage of
the inhabitants, they ought to go. Government
should) however, exercise-that power with cau-

Lion. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman would
feel that the question of forming a Government
in those Islands was not a question for --thz.,
House ; and if Parliament visited them with
a Commission, they Mighi/ first to be
sa-
tisfied that all the internal resources had
failed to operate, • and that every ordinary
exertion had been made in vain by the
Authorities of the Islands to procure redress of
evils and establish a constitution. That was net
the case ; they had heard a constitution 'named
and submitted to Parliament by the late Member
for Northumberland. The constitution was ob-
tained, and when it was so established no more
was heard of it. Under these circumstances it
was too much tiy say their Constitution could-pot
reform itself by their own resources. It was
considered advisable not to give them a Constitu-
tion similar to the British Constitution, that being
unfit for them. With respect to the indictment
against Martinengo, which the Hon. and Learned
Gentleman had read, it was a little too much to
plead upon the defects of an instrument trans-
lated from modern Greek into Italian, and from
Italian into English. The Hon. and Learned
Gentleman ought to have looked at the Greek
before he commented on the instrument. The
Noble Marquess rose, however, principally for the
purpose of assuring the Honourable Gentleman
that Sir T. Maitland had come home, attended by
the Law Officers of the Government, or the special
purpose of forming a criminal process applicable
to the criminal system of the Island. That cir-
cumstance was proof of the purity of the intentions-
of the legal advisers of Sir T. Maitland. The
Noble Marquess had also the satisfaction of stating
that an improved System of Administration had
been introduced to the lonian Islands, and the sys-
tem of injustice had been removed. They.al I knew
the difficulty of working new systems, but there
was every disposition to take advantage Olexpe-
Hence. Sending a Commission into the Island
would be marked as a proceeding infinitely
beyond what the occasion warranted.

Mr. BROUGHAM explained.
Mr. LENNARD considered the situation of the
inhabitants of the lonian Islands peculiarlfun-
fortunate. They were entitled to a free Consti-
tution by the Treaty of Paris, but nothing had
been resorted to but the mockery of a Constitution.
Sir I. COFFIN said he had known Sir T. Mait-
land thirty-five years, and a more able and gal-
lant officer did not exist. He should vote against
the motion of the Hon. Member for' Aberdeen.
Mr. HUMS replied. He was ready to acknow-
ledge the justice of all which had been said' re-
specting the private' character of Sir T . Maitland ;
but it was of his public acts that he complained,
and he now contended that not one of the
charges he had brought forward against him had
been refuted.—The House then divided :

For the motion
Against it - . 97
Majority against the motion
Mr. CHETWYND obtained leave to bring in a
Bill to facilitate summary proceedings before
Justices of the Peace and Police Magistrates ;
and also a,Bill to facilitate and render more cer-
tain the transmission of informations and other
documents from Magistrates to the Justices of
the Gaol Delivery.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER observed,
with reference to the second Bill, that it was not
improbable some objections might be made to it
after it should be brought in.
The Bills were then brought in and read a first
time, and ordered to be read a second time on
Thursday next.
The other Orders of the Day were then dis-
posed of, and the House adjourned at Two
O'CLOCK.

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS.
HOUSE OF COMMONS.
Jovis, 70 die Anil, 1821.
POOR RELIEF BILL.—One Petition in favour of, and another
against this Bill.
FOREIGN' Smrs.—Petition from Plyinouth complaining of
charges on foreign ships.
OCCASIONAL VOTERS BILL. 1 Second reading deferred till
SALE OF POOR HOUSES BILL. f next Thursday.
GAMEKEEPERS BILL.—Put off three months.
WOOLLEN TRADE BlLL.—Third reading fixed for next Wed-
nesday.
. -
SOUTH SEA TRADE BlLL.—Read a third time and passed.
VAGRANTS BlLL..Deferred till Thursday next. ' '

* • For the Continuation of the valuable Article on the Past
and Present Circumstances of this Country, &c. &c. see the
Fourth Page.

PRICE OF STOCKS
THIS DAY AT TWELVF. O'CLOCK.
3 per Cent, Red 76ii Bank Long Ann 19
3 per Cent. Cons.
3} per Cent twgi India Bonds 495. 51s.
4 per Cent 94A it Excheq. Bills 1 pr. par
5 per Cent. Navy Ann.... shut C ms. for Opening 77

HIGH WATER AT LONDO
Morning, 42 minutes after 8.

IN BRIDGE TO-MORROW.
1 Evening, - 8 minutes after. 9.

TIRE SUN.

SOLE.II QUIS DICERE FALSUIII

LONDON,
FRID4Y, JUNE 8, 1821.

MINISTERIAL C44.l4GES.—rite Morning Chro-
nicle of this day does not venture to confirm the
Report of Ministerial Resignations which .we
contradicted yesterday, upon what we considered
as competent authority, but gives the following
new version of the same rumour :
" It was confidently stated last night, that Mr. CANNING is
about to return to the Administration, as First Lord of the Ad-
miralty, with
.the privilege of forming his own Board : and
that, to Make room for this arrangement' Lord MELvii. LE is
to be Secretary of State. for the Home Department, Lord SID-
MOUTII Chancellor of the Duchy of. Lancaster, and Mr. B.
BAT HU tesT President of the Bond of Controul."

The whole, we presume, has a mere "on dit "
foundation, and we believe that few will be in-
duced to deem The Morning Chronicle the most
likely Paper to convey the most authentic intel-
ligence on the subject in question.

We received this morning the Paris Papers of
Tuesday. The following are extracts :-
46 PARIS, JUNE s.—Yesterday the King re.
ceived gentlemen in the morning, and in the
evening his Majesty and Monsieur received

ladies.—The Duke de Richelieu transacted busi-
ness with his Majesty.—lt is said a new project
of laW on the liberty of the Press will shortly be
presented to the Chambers and will contain a
clause revoking the censorship the Journals.
" IeitAKFAT, MAY 30.---"'_% ing atil"'ices
from Jassy, the army of Prince Ypsilanti has
been reinforced by a corps of 8,000 cavalry.—
It will be recollected that the Charge d'Affaires
of the King of Sardinia to the Helvetic confede-
racy had demanded the banishment from Swit-
zerland of the. Piedmontese .revolutionists who
had fled to that country. It is affirmed that the
allegations of 'Austria, Russia, and Prussia sup-
ported the application of the Sardinian carge
d'Affaires, agreeably to instructions from their

respective courts.

" NAPLEi, MAY 18.—On the 16th the King
gave audience to the general and superior officers
'of the army and navy. The Duke and Duchess
of Calabria were present on this occasion.—A de-
cree of.the Provisional Government, of the 14th
of this -month, disbands die 4th battalion of
Tirailleurs on account of their bad conduct at
Messina in March last. The officers have been
ardered to repair to the Isle of Procida, and
there await the ultimate decision of his Majesty."