Star.
London, England, 1821-03-21 00:00:00

fused, and be now came to the House to ask relief.
He ought also to state, that a passport was offered
to him to go to France; but he feared to accept it,
as, had he gone to France, he would probably bre: e
been detained there, and have been worse off than
in this country. Under all these circumstances, he
now applied to the House to be enabled to return to
his regenerated country, Naples.
Lord CASTLEREAGH, as the Petition did not
pray for money, but only general relief, hoped the
forms of the House would allow of its being received.
He would, however, state the general answer which
he had to the Petition ; but which did not lay strictly
in his department, as its claims *ere of a military
nature—(Near, hear).—ln 1817, he preferred a claim
in Lord Bathurst's Office for 0,500 for services reu
dered to the British Government, in 1809. This ex-
cited surprise, and he was asked how it happened
Wit this claiM had been allowed to lay dormant so
long, and that it was not at the time submitted t 6
the Conimander of the Army, and liquidated at the
'time? No satisfactory answer was made, and the
claim Was disthissed by Lord Bathurst. If he was
ohliged, he should go into the case, which he did
not think was very creditable to Captain Romeo. It
was extraordinary that the demand should be made
at the end of nine years. One charge was of £1,400
to the General-in-Chief's mistress !—( Hear, hear).—
That was surely an extraordinary demand, made at
the end of nine years. It was not denied that some
services had been performed by Captain Robe°, and
he got a pension of £5O a-year, which was after-
wards commuted for £3OO. Lord Bathurst made a
reference to the Foreign Office, and information was
sought from Sir WilliaM A'Court. The answer was
unfavourable to Captain Romeo, and stated that the
conduct of the Neapolitan Government had no re•
ference to Captain Romeo's connection with the Bri
tish Government. It was also stated, lie had sold
the effects he said he had lost—(.' Tear, hear).—ln-
quiries were made, and all the answers were un-
favourable to Captain Romeo. He then applied for
a pasiportl, which was readily granted by the British
Government. /lad he been an Englilinnan, he
(Lord Castlereagh) would have hesitated to grant a
passport. A passage was offered him to Malta, free
of expense, and thence he was to be conveyed* to
Italy. An English passport would have' been i ge-
neral sanction of his conduct.
In answer to a question from Lord W. BENTINCR,
Lord CASTLEREAGH said, that he understood that
Captain Romeo had escaped from prison.
Lord W. BENTINCK said, the services of Cap-
tain Romeo had been considerable, and had drawn
down on him the vengeance of the Neapolitan Go.
vernment—(Hear, hear).—The King of Naples had
not only taken frOm Ole Sicilians what they bad ob-
tained from the British Government, but also all
their ancient rights. In fact, the Constitution had
been put an end to—(Hear,). ear, hear).
Lord CASTLEREAGH said, no step had been
taken at the Congress of Vienna to affect the interior
of the kingdom of Naples. His joint exertions, and
those of the Noble Lord, had been unable to carry
on the Constitution, which came completely to a
stand, and the Parliament threw itself upon the King.
It appeared that many additional privileges had been
given to the Sicilians, and no complaint of their in-
fringement had ever been made from Sicily, collec•
tively or individually. Had the Noble Lord thought
the £5O pension insufficient, he might have made a
representation to Lord Bathurst, by whom it would
have been treated with the utmost attention.
Sir J. AI ACKINTOSH said, that no real contra-
diction had been given to the statement or the Noble
Lord (Bentinck). But the Noble Lord (Castlereagh)
had forgot the Secret Treaty between Austria and
Naples, by which the King of Naples was bound to
govern his kingdom on the model of the Austrian
Government of her Italian States. It appeared that
Austria secretly undermined the Constitution sanc-
tioned by the English Government. Such was the
honesty 'and good faith of the Allies. But it was re-
markable, that the Noble Lord should apply for in-
formation to the Neapolitan Government, that was
hostile to Captain Romeo, and not to the British Of-
ficers, to whom his services were known. The Noble
Lord, on this authority of a translation, or rather a
mistranslation, had raised a laugh at an unfortunate
individual.
Lord CASTLEREAGH said, he had not con-

suited the Neapolitan Government, as to the services
of Captain Romeo ; but as to what had been the
reason of the conduct of that Government towards
Captain Romeo. It was a question that Government
alone could answer. None of the transactions in Si-
cily arose from the Congress at Vienna.
Lord W. BENTINCK quoted a document on the
subject of the conduct of the King of Naples towards
bis subjects; and which document bore—that the
conduct of the King arose from the stipulations With
the Cabinet of Vienna.
Lord CASTLEREAGH said, that he had never
heard of the document in question, and he believed it
tame from the same school with a late pretended Pro-
slamation of the King of Naples to his subjects.
Lord A. HAMILTON would afford every faci-
lity to Captain Romeo to obtain indemnification for
his losses.
Lord CASTLEREAGH said, that all such claims
as that of Captain Romeo should have been investi-
gated on the spot, and not at the distance of nine
"'ears, and in this country.
Mr. ABERCROMBIE thought the statement of
the Noble Lord (Castlereagh) confirmed what had
been said from his (Mr. Abercrombie's) side of the
Muse. The conduct of the King of Naples was
stated to have arisen from a Secret Treaty between
Austria and Naples.
Lord CASTLEREAGH stated, that there was no,
connection between the Congress at Vienna and the
Treaty between Austria and Naples.
Mr. HUME bad seen the letter by which Captain
Romeo was ordered to be carried to Egypt; so that
he had never escaped from prison. The fact as to
the prison was, that Captain Romeo had been taken
in arms, and had been condemned to be shot by a
Military Commission. The £l4OO had been given
as The ransom of his life. He had collected a great
number of Cavalry, and had been a partizan for a
slumber of years. Captain Romeo had three iertifi-
cates from three General Officers under whom he had
served.—The Petition was then brought up.
Lord CASTLEREAGH said; that the services badi