The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-03-05 00:00:00

DECLARATION OF TUE SICIL J4NS.

From the close of the year 1816, Sicily beheld
with no less astonishment than indignation, that in de-
fiance of her fundamental laws, the kingdom had been
reduced to the debased state of a province of Naples,
and deprived of the constitution to which the heredita-
ry Prince, when V icar-General, bad sworn in 1512,
with the approbation of the King, and which his Ma-
jesty himself, in the Parliament assembled by him at
Palermo, in July ISII, had ratified and sworn to
maintain. The Sicili ins demanded their rights, in
the presence of all Europe, and throng), the mediation
of (heat Britain; but, not only were they not heard,
but even oppressed by new taxes arbitrarily imposed,
contrary to all the laws of the kingdom, both
ancient and modern. They subsequently saw their
privileges trampled on, the forms of the civil adminis-
tration changed, with the rain of all the commanesefthe
kingdom ; the structure of the Magistracy overturned,
employments confided to careless, corrupt, or
norant persons, with the destitution of those who had
previously served with honor, and had merited the!
approbation of their country, to make room for young.'
inexperienced, and obscure persons, devoid goth of ,
talent and merit. They saw established among these,
the Conscription, which, till that moment had never
been practised, but was universally detested in Sicily ;
the Island, in short, was at last drained of its circulat-
ing medium, while all classes of the State were re-
duced to misery and degradation. The petitions of
the Sicilians were neglected, and the reports of the Si.,
cilian Uovernment, explaining to the Neapolitan Mi.'
aistry the inability of the Sicilians to bear such heavy I
insrdens, were deemed garbled, partial and suspected.
Thus 'Rested, the Sicilians, who were restrained by
force, and suffering all the evils of oppression. waited
for the favourable moment, to which the violation of
eating given to nations ever leads, in order to opposes)
to se many acts of injustice, that resistance which
rightfully belongs to every oppressed people.
That opportunity presented itself in last July.
when, the social compact being broken, in consequence'
*of the Revelation at Naples. the form of OorernMent
•as henceforward changed ; the City of Palermo thew
claimed the privileges of all Sicily, and the indepea-
dence of that kingdom from Naples. Lieatenatt.,
General Naaelli, after having inconsiderately given.
arms to the populace, ordered the troops to act against
them. The people fought with courage ea the 17thl
of July. and osompletely defeated the whole of the
military force. From that time many diseriets sod
towns spited themselves to the city of Palermo► to
maintaia, by force. their rights and the indepeosieset,
of Sicily. Prom thence the flame of civil war was
lighted np throsghost the whole island, mei the G►

SNIAN.

',eminent of Naples was obliged to despatch an army
to Sicily, and carry on a regular warfare, to reduce
the City of Palermo, and those which were combined
with it. The Ilereditary• Prince, Virtu. General, in
conjunction with the provisional Government in Na•
ples, mollified the command of that army to Lieut.
Gen. Florestanu Pepe, and with the advice of the said
junto, gave him instructions and powers to treat for
and conclude a convention with Palermo and the
other districts which adhered to the party of the
metropolis in asserting the rights of the people.
General Pepe appeared in the vicinity of Palermo
on the ;2nd of Septetiaber with his whole army,
and not having succeeded either by intrigue or sur-
prise, in entering the city, prepared to blockade and
bombard it. On the 25th of the same month, the
army of General Pcpc was attacked by the populace
of Palermo, who, though without a militates leader,
soon reduced the two columns of the army to a state
of the utmost danger, it being besides almost totally
destitute of ammunition and provisions. Finding him-
self in this situation, General Pepe ic.oit Major time
eiulli to request an armistice, which he obtained ; the
negoriatiou was carried on, and on the sth of Octuber,l
convention concluded, and signed by General Pepe
and Prince Paterno, on behalf of the city of Paleruni,
on board the British cutter, Racer.
In consequence of this, the city of Palermo eon-
.Ading in the inviolability of the treaty, and in the sin-
cerity of the General who had signed it, opened its
gates to the army, delivered up the forts, restored
arms :and prisoners, and in every respect resumed its
tranquillity. Palermo expected the execution of the
tinkles of the treaty by the government and the (le-
tterel who had been authorised to negociate it ; but
lo its bitter disappointment learnt that the Parliament
of Naples on the 14th of October, declared the said
convention essentially null and void, and that the ex-
ecutive power un the 15th of the same month had or-
dered the aforesaid declaration to be observed and ful-
filled in its full extent.
Let us now examine the motive which induced the
Parliament to annul the convention ; if it had the
riglit to do so, and in sea case, what should have
been the conduct of the government towards the city
of Palermo ? There can be no doubt that General
Pepe, as commander of the army despatched into Si-
cily, possessed powers to conclude a capitnlation with
Palermo ; the articles of the treaty concluded are ob-
viously within the limits of the powers granted to that
General ; thus, there being no defect either in the
form of the treaty, or from excess or deficiency of the
powers, it follows, that the contracting parties, that
is, the Government of Naples and the city of Palermo
should be obliged, each for its part, to execute it
fully. It is an acknowlodged maxim in public It w,
that the convention made by the General of an army,
in virtue and within the limits of the instructions
given to him by his Sovereign, is obligatory ou such
Sovereign.
To escape from the dilemma, anti avoid the stigma
of having perfidiously broken this treaty, endea-
vours are made to find a screen in sophistry and sub-
terfuge. It is said, Ist, that the convention is con-
trary to the established principles of the Constitution,
in article 17:1, Nos. 3,4, 5, as it tends to cause divisions
in the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Second, that it is
even contrary to political treaties ; and Wily, op-
posed to the wishes of a very great portion of Sicily,
manifested by the returns of their Members to the Par-
liament.
Let us examine the said Nos. 3,4, and 5, and see, if
between them and the treaty in question, there he ally
analogy! In No. 3, it is enacted that "the kiiig shall
net depots to an9ther the royal arthoritiy, nor any of
Al. preregatiees, Nor abdicate the throne to his im-
mediate awn-visor, 'cahoot the consent of the Cortes."
Now, in none of the articles of the convention was
there any allusion to the transmission to another of
the Royal jurisdiction, nor of abdicating the tbrollas
therefore this 3d article has tin bearing on the rase.
There is no mention in the convention of obliging
the King to grant subsidies to any foreigo power s
how, therefore, can it be said that this convention is
contrary to No. 4, of the article (power! where 1‘ Is
said that "the King shall not mid° take t give a sat
eidy to ans./or. i. a porer
Much less is there any connexion between the con-
vention and No. sof the said article. It is decreed in
this article, " Mat the King canna retie tour
Me notional property, without She consent of the
Corte. ; which means that the King shall not have the
right to transfer the Kingdom, or the Royal jurisdic-
tion to anothiv ; to cede and to alienate so much in a
legal sense, according to the principle of public law,
means be alirtoe duipti.rimin tree rgyi•rre.
Now, from the were reading of the articles of the-
convention, it may be seen clearly, that there it no
question is it of ceding or granting the kingdom of
to any other Foreign power, as occurred in the
treaty of Bretigny, in which Charles the Wipe bound
himself to cede to the English some cities in Frani* ;,
or that made by Francis I. who ceded Horgan:ly to the
Emperor Charles V., but only to assemble, (south are
the words of the tad article of the cm/seamier') eke
whole of the Sicilians in order, that, through their N.
p toilets legally convoked, they might express this
national icUlfOr the anion or separation of the Perim
meats of the kbegdoui. it is useless to assertiliat the
convention tends to promote divielonsin the Kingdolei
of the Two Sicilies, as division pre-supposes an naiad
which has not existed. Sicily, from the founds.
lion of the Sicilian Monarchy, has been, us she
now is, a distinct Kingdom, and separate from all others;
and as in various times she has been subject to the
dominion of the Fouporers of Germany, the Kings of
Atropin, those of Spain and Naples, still she has
always preserved her prerogative of being a separate
kingdom, governed by her own political constitution
and her fundamental laws, which her sovereign.,
en succeeding to the throne, as in the ease of the
resent King Ferdinand, regularly swore to maintain. I
lite Sicilians, a people possessing an insular character
nod habits; and time Neapolitans, a cootheental potpies.
fern; two different nations, whose territories are pdfrodr).
cally separated by nature; these are united ander the
"sae prince. whose kingdom, properly speaking, is
as yak,* of sateen societies objected to sere
aide, as are rortegal sad Breda, Sardinia and Pied-
;nest, Sweden and Norway, mistier. the same klieg ;
times, the treaty has not divided, vier heads to inside.
Sicily from Napier bet seeks to yam the votes of all
the Skilless, to socertaln if they desire to be united
poditically to the Novelises% se remaining lender the
same kings to have vi separate andomi repeeeentation,