Star.
London, England, 1824-10-13 00:00:00

THE lOAIAN ISLANDS.

CORFU, SEPTEMBER S.
The following publication has appeared today
" His Excellency Lieut.-Gen. Sir Frederick Adana, Lord High
Commissioner of his Majesty the King of Great Whale, to
the United States of the lonian Isles.
"The Provisional Government of Greece having pub-
lished and addressed to his Majesty's Consul at Con-
stantinople, and to the other Consuls and Vice-Consuls
of the European Powers in the Alchipelago, a Procla-
mation in which is set focal

• As the Masters of several European vessels have
chartered their ships to the. Turkish Government, for
the trail-port of troops, ammunition, and provisions, in
despite bf the representations of their Consuls, and ih
violation of the principles of neutrality professed by
their respective Sovereigns, during the struggle in
which Greece is now engaged, those ships cannot be re-
garded as neutrals, but shall be looked upon as enemies,
and as such to be attacked. burnt, or destroyed, by the
Greek fleet, or by any Greek vessel that.may meet tkem:
" And his Majesty, in order to maintain litrlfglta of nentraft
during actual hostilities, with vigour and impartiality, and to protect 1
the.commerce as well as the lives of his subjects and of the looian
people, placed under his exclusive protecting, having commanded
the Lord High Commissioner to intimate to the Provisiooal
vernment the propriety of revoking immediately this Proclamation,
which is so ow:wary to the rights of the people, and wail thir
elides of humanity and relations hetwein civilised nations. Add
the Lord High Commissioner having, in consequence, demanded,
•in the name of Iris Majesty, the revocation of the 8114 Proclama-
tion., and the 'Provisional Government having refused to rOmplY
with that demand, and this refusal having been notified in form to
the Commander of the Naval Forces of his Majesty;
" It is made known by these presents, that the saki Commander-
in-Chief, conformable to the instructions given by the Lords Com.'
rnirsionere of the Admiralty, will capture . and destroy all vessels
armed, or containing armed men, equipped with or without the
authority of the Provisional Government of Greece, or recognizing
its authority ; and these instructions are to be in full force until the
said Proclamation, be fully and authentically revoked by the Pro-
visional Government, and that revocation be formally notified to
the Lord I lie: Commissioner. or to the Commander-in-Chief of
his Majesty's Naval Forces.
" This shall be printed in three languages, English, Greek, and
Italian, and published and communicated to the Authorities whom
it concern.—By order of his Excellency,
"J. It USIALL, Secretary to the
Corfu, Sept. 6. Lord High Commissioner." '
In order to put the above measures into execution,
two English frigates, which were in our ports, have
been dispatched to the vicinity of the !storm', and the
Admiral's ship willjnin them at Zante. •

THE EVENING STAR.

LONDON.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER IS, 1804.
THE FUNDS.
• STOCK RXCH A NGE. TWELVE CFCLQCIf.'
Consols opened at 96j i for November, and for Monti 961Aiii
since the arrival of the Express from Pails they have advalkitti.to
96i I, owing to the Reines coming at 103 f.

FOREIGN FUNDS. .
Current Pikes: Nrw Spanish 151 I, 01d 401 /, Russian 961
Mexican 60161, Colombian Scrip 5; 61 disc. Chllian 754, French
Scrip 14/,15, Portuguese 911, Brazil pre. Alliance Shares 101 pre.
P:1 ICE OF STOCKS AT ONE O'CLOCK.
Bank. Stock ex. dir. 233% % .235 'h
$ per Cent. Red. ex. dir. 951 A % W. -
$
per Cents-Cons. 961/8 %
per Cent. ex. div. 1021/8.
3i per Cent. Red.lol % • • '.
4 per Cent. New 108 107% 108% .107.% •
Long Ann, ex. div. 251,4 3A—lndia Booth 93 94
1.3,000 Excheq. 13iUs (24) 53; (114 d.) 51 50.
£5OO ditto 12d.) 53 ; (114 d.) 50 2.
4.300 and E2OO do. (2d.) 51 3 ; (11444 51 3.
Cons. for Acct. 961 %

The retaliatory Proclamation, issued by the LORD
HIGH COMMISSIONIR of the lonian Islands, which we
noticed on Monday, and of which we give a copy, from a
French Paper, in a preceding column, excites Consider-
able discussion among our contemporaries. One of
them, in that tone of confidence which he frequently as-
sumes, says, « No recent proceeding with which we are
acquainted, has excited greater disgust in the country."
Without denying, which we might do, the truth of the
assumption, we will ask this Journalist how he has as-
certained the opinion of the country on a circumstance
of so recent occurrence as only to be partially known in
town on Monday, unless, like our northern friends, be
claims the privilege of second sight? Bet to the goes-
, don Ralf.

• •
• •
It was infaflack as the 6th of karst That we pub
lisbedin the STAR, the Pieclansatiou issued By tl Pro-
vidpetil Government of Greece, threatening td Attack,
burn, and destroy, with their crews, all European vessels
hired out to the Turkish Government for the transport
of troops, ammunition, or provisions. We then re-
marked that the' Proclamation was of alt sanguinary
character; fort to call it merely vigorous would be mis-
applying the term."

We felt persuaded at the time that our Government
would lose no time in remonstrating against this as-
sumed power of the Greeks, as contrary to humanity as
it is to the law of nations. The LORD HIGH COIIHIS•
ISIONRR did remonstrate, and demanded that the Plods•
oration should be revoked ; the Greek Government ob-
stinately refused to comply with that demand, and, as
a necessary consequence, oar Government has issued
instructions to capture and destroy all armed Greek
vessels, until the obnoxious Proclamation is revoked.

We confess that we regret oar Government has been
compelled to resort to such a measure, but the protec_
don of our commerce demanded it, and whatever may
be the consequences, they *ill be owing to the obstinacy
of the Provisional Government of Greece.

There are two points in which this Proclamation is
to be considered. The first is, whether Greece, not re-
cognized as an independent Power, and not actually
emancipated from Turkey, can claim the respect and
privileges of an independent belligerent Power, accord-
ing to the acknowledged laws of nations? We confeu
we have some doubts as to her claim to this privilege;
and it would, we suspect, puzzle our best Jurists to find
anything in VATTEL, PUFFENDORF, or BYNKERSHECK,
in support of it. Were this really the case, any suc-1
cessful revolt, however temporary, might claim thel
same r fight, and we should require a new code to de
termine at what period an unrecognized, or even an
unorganized Government, shoUld be entitled to all the
advantages of one fixed and permanent ?
We are certainly far from admiring the cupidity d
those ship-owners who have hired out their vessels in the
service of the Turks, but we are also far from considering
it an infraction of the law of nations, any more than the
supplying of money (the sinews of war) to the Greeks,
which our capitalists have done, and would at the same
time do to Turkey, did the GRAND SEIGNIOR offer tole-
rable security and a large premium. On this point we
perfectly agree with the following observations ig a
Morning Paper:
" We know," says the Herald," that it is against the
public opinion of England, that our ship-owners should
lend their ships for hire to the Turks—but, suppose they
do it, and that the Greeks take them—is our Govern.
ment to look on quietly, and to do nothing retaliatory?
If they did,*w Whit would our ship-owners say—and
`where woulille2fhe question of England's maritime
superiority P It appears to us, that if we concede this
pOint to the Greeks, we should have to concede it to
Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Buenos Ayres, and other
South American States ; and then the Miriam might
call upon us to do the same thing, so far as France
were concerned—or, indeed, any other colony, shaking

off its allegiance to a hie:ldly Power, might call upon
us not to help such friendly Power ; and upon the same
princip!e, that it was fighting for its independence. If
we c.)ncede this to the Greeks, we may have to give
way in instances of which, at present, we have no con-
ception. Why, the South Americans might as well in-
sist on our money-lenders not negociating a loan with
Ferdinand, and following it up by seizing such ships
of ours as were carrying the proceeds of such loan to
Spain. But what would our money-lenders say to this,
or such part and parcel' of our newspapers as are
dabbling in Foreign Securities ?"

The same writer afterwards observes.—"" But suppose
the Turks had seized Mr. Blaquiere and the ship in
which he took the Loan to the Greeks ; or suppose, on
his return with the cargo of oil and currants (bought,
no doubt, by means of the Loan raised in England), the
Mussulmans had sunk him and the oil and the currants,
and Sir Frederick Adam, or our Government, had
quietly looked on, and on the principle that Mr.
Blaquiere was unlawfully assisting the enemy of
our allies, what would Mr. Blaquiere and the Greek
Committee have thought of such an outrage, of what
they might consider the law of nations, on the part of the
[ Turks ? We rather think that Mr. Blaquiere and
others would, in such a case, have put forth pamphlets
.as lengthy as some that we not long since attempted to
wade through on the India Free Press question."
But admitting, for the sake of argument, that the
Greeks are to be treated as an independent Power,
fully recognized by all nations, and entitled to
the full benefits of international law, does that law
authorize them to issue •sd ferocious a decree as

the Proclamation we have noticed ? Certainly not;
they might capture, and if they have tribunals founded
upon, or acquainted with the law of nations, they might
legally condemn neutral vessels acting as transports to
the enemy; but beyond this, the international law will
not authorize any Power to proceed ; and where such a
right is claimed by a Government that is not known to,
the Courts of Europe, or even in the diplomacy of the
United States, it must be taught to conform itself to
that code of laws which these Powers recognise, and by
which they are guided.

One of our contemporaries attempts to justify the
conduct of the Greeks on account of the ferocity of
the Turkish mode of warfare. We shall not enter into
any inquiry as to the difference between Turkish and
Greek warfare, which is, perhaps, not so great as some
people imagine, but is the belligerent to determine what
is savage and civilised warfare? and if so, is it to ex.
tend its retaliation to neutrals? we presume this will not
be contended for by the warmest advocate of Gretce, or

the most eeptiots Inquisitor es to the conduct of oar
Government.

In conclusion, we repeat our regret that our Govern.
dent has been compelled to resort to the measure it
has adopted : but let the Provisional Government with.
draw its obnoxious Proclamation, and learn to respect
the rights oflother nations, and we are persuaded Greece
will have no cause to complain of the strictness of
our neutrality.

This forenoon we received the Moniteur of Monday,
and the Etoik of yesterday, by Express. The former
contains nothing official, nor indeed any article of tl;e
slightest interest. From the Etoile, we quote the fo:-
lowing intelligence from Gieece, which, it will be seen;
is favourable to its independence.