New-York tribune., 1907-09-09
THEIR MEMORIES CLEARED OF REPRoAcH.

.urTR MEMORIES CLEARED OF REPROACH
History is often relentless and cruel TO the repu-
.s.jon Of statesmen who have been gathered TO tel'
.s.he-s Sometimes. however. il shows itself IN
r-or. kindly light and repairs injustices 10 whlch
.h,v have been subjected. For more than half
century the fourth Lord Aberdeen and Sir James
Graham have lahored under the reproach OF having
a, 1Sss communicates to the Neapolitan government
she news that some Italian revolutionarfes. under
a., leadership OF the brothers Bandera, friends ano
associates Of Nazzini were planning in Corfu DE-
scent on the coast Of Caabria- the warning having
the result the Neapolitan authorities were pre-
ssre5 for the rising. captured the Bandiera nfo'ii
.-s and ptr them to death. II was not SO rltlCh
,bA warning for which Lord Aberdeen ana 0ll
lanes Graham were blamed For friendly govern
-,erfs are in the habit Of communicating 10 oi0
another warnings of this kind when the occasion
arises What they were reproached FOR was Ohe
manner BY which they were said 10 have ootalneo
.b. information which they had impaired to the
NespoItan authorities-namely. by opening al 'ile
general postofice in London, letters addressed CS
The Bandieras from Corfu 10 MazzinL VINO WAS
r,.ns a. the time IN England Mazztnis CORE
.non5ence was opened at the London general post-
o-oe under warrant issued by the Secretary OF
state for the Home Department Sir James Ir@-
hs-, At the instance of Lord Aberdeen VINO was
Minister Of Foreign Affairs The warrant was
issued on March l. 1874. and was cancelled on me
follozins June 3. The death of these two broth
.n Italy as that Of martyrs TO the cause of Italian
unity has always laid at the door Of Sir James
Graham ard OF Lord Aberdeen, who in consequence
thereof were ferceiy denounced in Parliament IN
ere press and IN the annals Of the time. In fact
each book published until now concerning mat por
zion Of the Victorian era mentions the matter as
constituting blot on their respective careers
And now. after the lapse Of half century.
comes incontrovertihle evidence collected by Lord
Aberdeen's son Arthur. Lord stanmore proving
that m
brothers TO Mszzni ever intercepted al the
London General Postofice. that neither Of the two
statesmen nor any one connected with the English
eovernrnent ever gave any warning TO the Neapo!i-
tan authorities concerning the contemplated Ban
disra coup OF the of Calabris and that moth
ing was known OF the latter by the English minis
ters and officials Until after IL had occurred That
letters addressed TO Mazzni were opened under
government warrant at the London General Post
Office cannot be denied. but no letters from the
Band.erss or from Corfu whence they and their
followers started their III fsted expedition IN
deed. the Neapolitan government and likewise old
Prince Netternich then Chancellor OF the Austrian
Empire. bitterly complained 20 the British ENJOYS
st Naples and Vienna Of having received warn
ing the English government in advance about
the affair. These reproaches among the ar
chives OF the Department Of Foreign Affairs IN Lon
don and ii Is amazing that they should have re-
rnsined buried there for al these fifty years until
resurrected by Lord Stsnmore in connection with
his successful efforts 70 clear the name Of his
father. lord Aberdeen and OF the latter's col
league, Sir James Graham. OF the odiur under
which they rested until now in the BendieTa
brothers affair.
This practice Of opening letters is which
every European government may be said 10 employ
whenever Il appears necessary the safety OF the
state. Each government has its so-calied Black
Cabinet where suspicious correspondence is tam
pered with and forwarded 10 fits destination only
after its contents have been noted. OF course. no
government admits this. Many Of them have. IN
fact denied the existence Of any Black Cabinet in
their respective capitals. Yet every now and again
things crop Up which constitute not merely
demonstration Of the activity Of the Black Cabinet
in question. but also something very much akin to
reluctant acknowledgment thereof by the au-
tho-ities Perhaps the best proof that Black Cabi-
Tets exist is be found in she fact that all i'm
rorTsnt government dispatches between European
governments and their embassies and legations
abroad are conveyed by means OF special messen-
gers. owing 70 the lack Of confidence in the mails.