The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-09 00:00:00

etthir
P"rer long in the possession of a political character, and
• _elnebCr Ot)ithilel whomtilolse, he alluded was a gentleman recently a
ent,
and a Member of her Majesty's Governs
rhe would mention his name. The gentlemen to whom
referee was the late Member for Haddington, Mr. Stewart.
I.,tsr example, he would not raise any argument for the re--
h'uction of the consular service on the improper appoint-
Qin which bad occurred for a series of years. He thought he
eft,e'right however, if he found that in a branch of the public
;rs ,''sons had been appointed unworthy of the service, to
• :ekt,l7 tlonse to interfere ; but he found that was unnecessary
otsh'iled if he should in the course of his address refer to some
- •fiemeelPaointments, it would only be in order to illustrate the
'essadoelpmetee, Which he was anxious to establish. If the House
oe,""&nla sincerity on the subject, he was quite ready to place
ands of the House all the papers and documents which
on 'the subject. He begged now to call the attention
Rouse to the case of the new Consul-General of
r. Circumstances occurred towards the end the
r 1841, which rendered it necessary that those who
ziedigreat claims on the Government of the day should im-
' the LatelY be attended to. He did not diute Governmentclim of
Late 4ember for Haddington on the ; and
Ai "vas quite sure that he expressed the opinions of every
Itoerawdber on either side of the House, when he said that they
these. have been gratified to hear that the Honourable Gen-
petenn had obtained a good appointment—if he had been com-
et thi,tj, ilia he wished the House to observe the conduct
fere Viscount in the appointment of Gentlemen to dif-
ie,
in: situations. Because the Noble Lord felt that the principal
sts there were diplomatic, and because he felt that nothing
Bond
Mbe more absurd than to have two Consuls-at Bogota, the
The ember was appointed to the office of Consul-General.
ereg might send out a great Nobleman as Ambassador Extra-
Read"% 7, hut to take a person who had not gone through the
Eel:* bathe diplomatic hierarchy, and to send him out as a
was an extension of power which the Noble Lord
fired net attempt. What, then, did the Noble Lord do It
tres!lecessary to provide, and to provide handsomely, too, for
sw.i.len. 'Member. The Noble Lord then received the Con-
- IN uetteralship of Bogota, at a salary of 1,6001. a-year, with
'••tie aPPointment of a Charge d'Affaires at a salary
" guinea a-day. These appointments made it neces-
eFtto r ecal the Plenipotentiary and the Secretary
Vanajtation, and, of course, as that was done, a Vice-
Was required, and another political partisan was
• tie
led. He would just call the attention of the House to
lic,24ltordinary appeintment ef the Noble Viscount. The
• 14'7 was aware that a few years ego the Republic of Colom-
Ares divided into four districts;—namely, New Grenada,
wiet.keei_ ,arla, Bogota, and C..lombia Proper. Recently, a civil
.14.1,ti'ma broken out in that part of the world, and the tee)
iteithe_s!
Of
of the balance of power between both, and
ate, er them being sanguine enough to anticipate a favour-
civil result to themselves, det rmined to terminate the
' kite War, and submit to the arbitration of the British
,‘t ister the points of difference. So anxious were
tl7o,,Yeeten refer those points to our Minister, that they had
he him in his course, and sent two deputies to lay their
ihefere him. Then was the Consul-General thrown into
balLtit_tl position, in consequence of the present system we
consequence
ne''ing a twofold form of Legation in foreign countries.
ati eallsequence of the Consul-General not speaking Spanish,
th.'b,terpreter was obtained. The House was well aware of
e; eaaracteristics of the Dragoman tribe. They were much
in all countries ; but they were infinitely worse. in
111:441sh America than in any other nation. If any fellow
.PPeued to know how to speak English, he was immediately
441„,,agrd, and thus the interests of the two countries were
ske'r, in the hands of a man who might not have the
eirtest claims to character. He (Mr. D'l. ) had the highest
of‘nority for saying that the Dragoman of the Consul-General
Paritsh Americ2 ought not to be trusted with public affairs.
the would ask the Hon. Member for Manchester if it was for
joe interest of his constituents that civil war should rage in Co-
ontbeuse that was the consequence of not having a ro-
,, Alnctiona there, of having a political partisan instead of. a
• IV:Solar agent? It was a misfortune that he not only occupied
tereiffice unprofitably, but the Consul-General was also Minis-
lenipotentiary, and as such was called upon to fulfil duties
efeftpatible with each other. As he was in the neighbourhood
the
.raja
ot,Eguator, he would call the attention of the House to cer-
the 'et' extraordinary proceedings which had taken place in
aeighbourhood in relation to this subject. There was nu
Vete of South America in which England was so interested as
aI enezuela. It possessed a vast Atlantic coast. The coun-
:La' rich and fertile. Sugar and barley were found
teat "Ig in the same field, and what was most re-
kable, in no State of Spanish America was there
Ziettr,‘"eg a feeling in favour of England as in Venezuela.
u°w had British interests been managed in that country?
Mfr• Canning had established Sir Robert Ker Po-ter as
ocrh
illeGeneral at Caraccas, the capital of that countr, .nd
• 3, ad also fixed a Consul at Puerto Cabello the principal
41aePort. The Noble Viscount had continued these appoint-
. . Sir R.. Ker Porter had obtained leave of absence
h,:"e earsi since, had left Caraccas, and gone to St. Peters-
-641.4
shy and t was not expected that he would return to
°ea,. It might have been imagined that our interests
he°,Vd have been taken care of by the Consul at Puerto Ca-
?,l); but in 1E139 the newspapers had announced the death of
pr. ;but
at Liverpool, that gentleman being her Majesty's
;eonsta.General at Puerto Cabello. Now, w ith a Consul-
"enerai
at St. Pet ersburgh, and a Consul dying at Liver-
-111; he should like to know when British subjects, residing
aVenezuela, were to apply for protection and assistance. In
ber, 1841. the Consul for Puerto Cabello was ap•
4ited; and he found, by the Gazette, that the persen who
ceiv
eed thet appointment was a certain Florence O'Leary.
in was greatly astonished at that appointment, and he ~.ade
• ulaturies on the sue feet, and found that a person of that name
M
• : living at Venezuela, and was a natural born subject of the
Lee, and a ajor-General actually receiving pay. He knew
Ito had very potent Parliamentary interest, hut he did
-t expect that he would be appointed one of her Majesty's
Gansule in the very country of which he was a subject.
aren-'4 might be the consequence of such a state of things ?
• to e , ezuela Was a place where interests of a political nature weree
1,2 determined, and in which diplomatic questions arose. They
• rt the province of New Granada, and it was the subject of
ila,Puiea hounderquestion existing on the subject. It was
• situate near the Oryongoko, and he did not think that a subject
':fVenezuela was the proper person to whom the question
nitld be referred. There were some Hon. Gentlemen, he
who were indifferent upon such subjects. But it was
e.Y fifty yeats ago that they signed an ignorant treaty with
bi'•`"v.her State, which was looked on with the same indiffe-
se.;;nduces but the consequence was that they were obliged to
' 'the a Pecial Envoy of the highest character to America,
Riumpal object of whose mission was to try and arrange
that tre t
be fn Y, and to settle whether ceitain mountains were to
the "linn, or whether certain streams belonged to the river or
t„,:sueieZna•s
tiGreat caution should be used in the selection of
were often called on to exercise the highest
daties. In 1833 the Noble Viscount (Viscount Pal-
' erst°o) was lied to for an appointment for a political par-
tlsann-he a"
• used the word partisan in no reproachful sense, and
be thought partisans had claims on a Government--(Hear,
ear
rwhi ( but then they ouht to be appointed to offices for
they were fitted. The. gentleman_ for whom the application
'fade was an officer in the army, of the name of Hodges ;
th:what Was done for that gentleman ? It was determined
fi;.' he should receive a Consulship. Mr. Bidwell was sent
14,eild as there was no Consulship vacant at the time, a Con-
-Beit IP was created, and Mr. Hodges was seat out as Consul to
tei;'e• When Mr. Hodges went to that country he found at first
sthc. his duties were very slight ; but political elements were
Ott °n to the province, as well as in every province of the old
beano4° empire, which might call for the greatest knowledge
• krPart of a political agent there. Now Mr. Hodges soon
' extremely excited, he threw himself into the heart of po-
-441 intrigues, and in the course of eighteen months he are-
a elC,:93,,auch a confliction of circumstances, that two Ambassa-
. the' e.xtraordinary could not put an end to the embarrassments
laiYthereated. The Prince, whom Mr. Hodges supported, lost
ter,,„,,r.?e, and his own house was burnt. No Consul was af-
Peea,""ees appointed for a year in Servia, and it might be ex-
r. that the Noble Viscount would have profited by his expe-
tee el, and would not have appointed a Consul in such a coon-
. 114740 was not qualified to discharge the duties of the office.
alt R,14 the memorable Gazette of Sept., 1841, the Consulship
lsaatvia was again filled up, and the Consul sent who
10 the ,e,,n recalled some years before, but whose explanation
hos 00bleLorci had, he presumed, been satisfactory. He would
e
he ,ettier into the circumstances respecting Mr. Fonblanque ;
tore",°nid not presume that his explanations were not satisiac- •
be hid mit at all events he was sent to Set via, where he belie ved
NCI/lever arrived. He believed he was trespassing on the
. Net ' (Ile would not, therefore, say any more on the ap-
ta, (He
of the diplomatic Consuls, but he would come to
teepes!cend part of the subject, and show that even in a cons-
east 414 Point of view, the consular was the most ineffective
eekitaeless service that had ever existed, and his principal
t4ll the as before, would be the Noble Viscount. He would
e attention of the House to a country which had been
'ati ;7' noticed, which had exercised great influence, and wast°h
mixed up with foreign politics. that it was impossible
it. p into any iof them with mentionin
pith kie Noble Lord atnvestig one tiation me had his time soout fully occupied Y ZisPain. France, and Belgium, that he did not
beii'e slightest attention to Syria. But when
qtreed reade a sort of settlement of the affairs of Europe, he
114 hiehalt his efforts to extricate himself from the consequences
telidelerrevious policy. The last few years had been a perpetual
'Yria.'°iir to do away with the effect of the fatal invasion of
'Nati' The Noble Lord found he could not settle the Egyptian
le 41,:n without havin recourse to arms, and it was necessary
itse accurateknowledge of the population of the country,
et 'eve
dints , nue, its power of mahatainine fleets and armies, and
- tetastane of commerce. The Noble Lord very properly
atted" a report to be furnished, and it was subsequently
put in possession of every Member of the House.
ebR h,,,'AePort was not prepareu by their Consuls in Egypt.
;Yche ,74 a Coital:- neral in Egypt, a Consul in Cairo at 6001.
t• h,'o'ne at Alexand-ia at bOW . a year, altogether the exPense
eonsular ff. was 2 800/.. a year, yet all of them
Itt,Ted'"r,,S,UPPIY the Noble 'Lord with the information he
et) foe "ne Noble Viscount wished to have clear statistics
iLriaiste-,,,"°t..ry which had been invaded. He wished to as-
-11•17 11;','" was the character of the commerce of Syria,
"el P°rt was furnished to supply the required information.
ett ei_rPort, however, did not emanate from a Consul. The
Alt
'thieh he would refer to was one which was almost
• hae,:"ieeeted in diplomatic annals. The Noble Lord wished
.goren mormation with respect to the island of Candia. A
waft accordingly laid on the table of the House, the
uil,et• enee of which was the most extraordinary that he had
4141 the 17ith in any similar document. " I was not able,"
'Pbut, earned Commissioner, .‘ to visit the island of Cane
eres! • th°lll4 I did not land in Candle, I had the asure
helaterviews with the Pacha of that island in Syria."
in. °'
tretb7urnlhis d as
ask the House if that did not immediately prove
sertion, that the consular establishment was
!,0 Y useless ? It appeared to him to be the most flatter-
'ouleira,Plialent ever paid to a public man that the country
‘,Ccept from him a Report of an island which he had
Ad .
tertii s'"'• That su .11 a Report should be ordered by the
Pabli iltratie .
e sea!, n, printed by Parliament, and paid for by the
ti v'ertia- undenieble testimony that the nation appreciated
laugh,) There was another place very con-
-1 bush iiland where there was more than a Consular
(,;4 thee 2°°,, where there was an Envoy with a salary of. no
also a year, with three Consuls and three Vice-
-7,1,°00.-q.s)::;°e_with large salaries, costing the country nearly
a ° Sienies"r., The places to which he alluded wet e
Then in regulating the treaty of commerce,
fear that „'lse Laic respect to the sulphur monopo,
y. ay-
-I.business El not go on as usual, so it was
T`' thought necessary to send to England for a man
'srlllerfats
1:0 settle the question if possible ; accordingly a
le:tent to
lappointed for that purpose, and that gentle man
sit Ppeated le' ly with the title of her Majesty's Commissioner.
potler); Report was mad bM • M'Greeor (the Commis-
" h D'l e h t e-
agry srael) had made an extract from t a
.r
.ppearect that Mr. INPGregor having arrived
for hi lea (-0 .ettle the sulphur monopoly question it was neces •
,eoictsoirelatt.'en.ttoov.;sit the Island of Sicily to ascertain the precise
to "le metier, in order to enable him to report the
e'ro the
kervp, and a lament.. even though there were British
tittest%trer,
obiri• ,t. 1141 est,blishment at Naples. The Govern-
.tt that arose
to get a Comm4sioner to settle the first
g rite(' ae, d-ro-,e there, and even when such an officer was
tiiillistatitparutu arrived at his destination, he was obliged to visit
• est,ei? mato ,?I's the country to ascertain the facts, to enable p(iiennaroen4 report. Whet then was the use of a con,ular
ite tlttetl, arrived Even when the Commissioner, who was sp-
aieet h tha aPlea, ienornt et tbe dipltict they d not knowa anyw ofc the Letsoma con
• etc vith the di
Itul'iett•
eler.
sere Th„ que'ti°" which was about to be in-
itaa e was n illustration of the manner in
affairs of this country were r arried on. There
saw tt' Peear,. who was obliged to aseertain the fact be-
rime Minister or his Sicilian Majes! sy. He