We would, in the first pl...
The Times, 1824-10-22T00:00:00

WVe would, in the first place, beg leave to solicit atten- tion to the followitto communication, anid shall afterwards submit some remarks ott the subject to which it relates Letters were received yester(lay from Zante, dated the 18iti of September, whvich contirfl the accounit of the visit of Sir FREPURtCK AnDAM to Napoli tle Romnania,the seat of' the Greek Government, and state the object of thiat visit to have been to obtain the retractation or tuodifiedtion of that dlecree directed against English Yes- sels or sailors founil serving in the Turkish fleets. He was supposed to have arrangetl rtatters in a perfectly "arricable tannier, although, since his return to Corfu, inothittg official lad been published on the subject. 'rhe successes of the Greeks over the Egyptian fleet are spoken of a, ceitain if the letters fromu Zante, and it is said that the son of the V'iceroy of E,gypt-liati fallen in the "conlflict."t It appears,theti, that Sir FREnRrcRC ADAM lhas not been quite so well satisfied with his measure of declaiiRg war upon the poor Greeks, as sortie of the thundering politicians of this country have pretended to be, buL that. he locks for Itiglier approbatiotn (if it be only his own) than any which they have the power to bestow. He has acte(d wisely, though he is probably the first belligerent that has ever followed up) his declaration of war, by hastening to the ca- pital of the enemy, in ortler to palliate the effict of his own hostile edict. 'l'o us it appears thit some such measure -we tdo not say this precise ineasure-was necessary: fbr let atiy onte look to the termns of Sir FneRDeRcC's proclama- tion, and he will fin(i that they propose a dilemma, the atnicable side of which could not possibly bh perfcrmied by the Greeks, without a degree of personal accommodation, very unusuai in war, but whiCh has been aftrdedll t]elt by Sir F.EDERICK'S iate visit. T'te proclaination says, that the British fleet slhall " cAt'TrURE AND DESTROY all Greek vessels, arned or containing aryned me n, equippeed with or witltottt the authority of thie Provisional Govern- rnenr,"-a biut'tal tltreat, to be sure,-and shall continue to capture AND dlestroy them, not only till tlhe antecedent Greek proclamation " be fully and( authentically revoked," but "' till that revocation 'e formnally notifiedl to the Lord High C(ommissiuer." Nowv, even supposing the principle of the proclamation to be just, it might have been very well to expect such forma- lities from the regular naval powers of Europe; but how was thepresentGreek ProvisionalGovernment to comply with them ?-to find vessels to convey the revocation to thejr dif- ferent squadrons and single ahips, or other vessels, in case of one failure,to carry the tidings of the revocation tothe Britislh Government; for it behoved them well to be certain that we were fully advertised, when the penalty of our terapo- rary ignorance might be the " capture and destruction" of their whole navy ? All this would have required more than they had power to perform; except we went to their head-quarters, and received " by word of mouthi," as the hotnely phrase is, the assurance of the revocation. And now a word respecting the Greek proclamation, which has provoked this declaration of wvar on the part of Great Britain, through her High Commissioner, against the Greek nation, during.their arduous struggle for indepen_ deuce. Sir FREDERtCK'S proclamation, we see, threatens to CAPTURE AND DESTROY the Greeks. And what (tees the Greek proclamation do ? It threatens " to treat as ,I enamies-to attack, burn, or destroy,"' all Christian neu- trals-of whom, to our shame be it said, there may be some English-detected in the infamous. act of assisting the Turks against the Grecks. For our own parts, we wish ,eyvry veAlPLb.itlIits erew, Eni sli-and athers.gagd in ~tlt (lebeted traffic, sukfbtWbfoi fhSat )owTers, captains, and. crews, only to rise again at tiheday of judgment, to suffer a diff'erent species of punishmentfor their crimnes. But is ther.e we ask, any difference even in the terms used by SirFRED'ERCK, "to capture anddestroy," and those used by the Greeks, " to treat as enemies,to attack, burn, or destroy"? whilst, in point of fact, the English proclamation is unhypothetical, brutal cruelty and violence, andi the Greek document can- admit only of an explanation conformable to public jastice and the law of nation8 . The"Greeks "will treat "as enemies, attack, burn, or destroy," vessels hiretl,to the Turks. Yes, -while theysare enemies-while they. are in the service of enemies-while they resist search," and repel in- quiry by force. Blut it is not to the advantage of the Greek to destroy such vessels, but on the conitrary toiave tliem; for, containing contraband of war, they are condemned by the law of nations; they are his own. And as to the crews, they, he knowsp;will read ily transfer their allegiance, and are tbe very meil- he wants. But we have no such temptation to save the- Greek vessels, they~ are no object to us; our denunciation is " captu.re andl destroy." And whllei such is the threatj we have no motive to spare.