On this page
-
Text (2)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
his ministers to profusion . The tax on paper is at least consistent with the obscurantism that holds authority and knowledge uteconcilable . In order to render the expression "it f pubtife opinion ^ on which the Elect of the p ^ Jjple looses , mdre sincere and complete , abolition dp trial by jury ( that inconvenientform of opposition ) is threatened . Resignations and arrestsimake . up . tlfe sum of mews from France . The HTMI « e of Otte ^ ins have ap * pealed : whatever the issue , it will be-fatal to the confiscator .
The latest intelligence from Burmah is meagre , but very unsatisfactory . Our forces were maintaining their ground , but the men had no shelter under which to sleep ! "While conquering the Burmese , they are exposed by the negligence of their own commanders to destruction by the climate . Is this an instance of the efficiency which has been boasted for General Godwin ? Is this
the justification of his appointment by routine , though he had passed the average years of man ? Is he in fault , or what „ commissary is it that deserves hanging ?
Untitled Article
THE WEEK IN PARIIAMENT . Lord John Rxtsseili . gave notice last week that he would , before the House went into Committee of Supply , on Monday , " call the attention of the House to the case of Mr . Mather , and , " he added afterwards , " generally to the present state of public affairs . " The afterthought \ vas , as will be seen , a clog upon the primal thought , and afforded the Chancellor of the Exchequer ground for a telling electioneering reply . But everybody , except the respective " Buncombes" of the rival members , felt that the whole of the interest lay in the single and simple subject first announced . We shall , therefore , divide the debate into two parts , taking first
THE OUTRAGE UPON ME . MATHER . Lord John KttsseUi intimated at the outset his unwillingness to question the foreign policy of the Government ; and alleged as his excuse for doing so now , the spontaneous production of the papers in the Mather case by the Government ; and also that , as the correspondence was on the table , if it were not noticed xiow , it would bo considered too late to notice it next
session . Ho then entered upon tho case , by pointing out the contradictory nature of the story of the outrage , as narrated by Mr . Erskine Mather , and the Florentines , and by the Austrian officers ; stating , however , in a subsequent portion of bis speech , that the " Mathers had been unexceptionable , plain , anoT straightforward in their story . " According to tho latter , it was an " unprovoked and b rutal outrage ; " according to the Austrians , represented on this occasion by Eadetzskij an " accident " . What did Lord Malmesbury do P
" It never seemed to have occurred to tho Government to ask to have tho facts ascertained . While , on the one hand , Mr . Mather and his witnesses concurred in one story , —that this unfortunate young man had boon struck and was staggoring under the blow , and had scarcely recovered himself , when ho received tho cut from tho sword , —the statement is quite as positive , on the other hand , that , in fact , it was the act of this gontloman which provoked tho outrage . " And this was tho more remarkable , as Marshal
Eadotzski , who furnished tho Austrian account of tho affair , relied exclusively upon military evidence , " seemed to sot at naught any tiling like civil testimony , and to conclude that nothing but tho testimony of soloifirs was worth anything . " Then ho thought that her Majesty ' s Ministers ought to say cither that this was a most " unprovoked assault , " or that it was an accidental encounter ; but to his astonishment . Lord Malmosbury took both views ! Writing to tho Tuscan court , ho said : —¦
" Now tho evidence which has thus boon obtained conclusively establishes that a most unprovoked outrage was committed on an unarmed and unoffending British subject by nn officer in command of a military party acting for Tuscan purposes in tho Tuscan dominions . " But when ho wroto to tho Karl of Westmoreland , at Vienna , Lord Malmosbury amroed that it was " caused by a concourse of fortuitous ana unfortunate circumstancos , ' in which , " added Count Buol , " no nationality was concerned . " Thus , what was an " unprovokod outrago , " when tho noblo lord tho Foreign Secretary wroto to Florence , bocamo an " unfortunate aecidont" whon ho wroto to Vienna ;
and hia mind being in that undecided state , it was no wonder that tho Government should have behaved not very consistently with regard to tho reparation thoy should oxiict . Having doliyorod this tolling blow at Lord Malmosbury , Lord John JtuBsoll turned to Lord Granvillo ' s conduot oi tho coso , and declared that ho took a truo viow of it , holding both TuHoan and Austrian GovornmontH rosponsiblo , and demanding umplo repartition for tho injury . " Now , I must Bay , that I think Mr . Mauior placed tho ciiflo in tho hands of Lord Gmnvillo , and of course , also , in tho hands of Lord GranVillo ' s uuccossor , in aB fair n manuw aa ho poeuibly could . Ho took certain objection *
—very re ^ onable |^ jectfo ^ i ? - ^ -tO ! placing the case before a Tuscan court of 1 * % /? but he « tid that he and bis son were entirely in the hfcilu's of the Government , and if the Government deenltti it best , for reasons of state , to take such a course , he wj . ndt object . Now , nothing could be more honourable Ifcaii that position , fils sonjhadsuHfe * 6 d ft tfjeat deal $ lie himself .. had gon 6 through great anxiety at flbrence , wtere ho found hissd * i sufferingseriously from the injury ,, But he claims nothing for himself ; he Bays *** * J ) o you pMBcribe a course , and though it may not be that which I think desirable , I shall bewining to submit ; y < iftU ? course -will " be iny feourse . ' ^ fow , I skyJftb one could SWnd in a better position than Mr . Mather . Lord Malmesbury , however , has contrived that Mr . Mather , who was the
object of the inquiry , and Mr . Scarlett , the person who endeavoured to obtainjustice for him , should be the only persons to suffer . ( Hear , hear . ) He has so contrived matters that , while the Austrian offi cer gets off with some <* eZa £ , Mr . Mather ' s character is injured , and Mr . Scarlett has a very cruel censure passedupon him . ( Hear , hear . )' Lord . John then showed how improperly Lord Malmesbury had acted in asking Mr . Mather to fix the amount of the sum which would atone for the injury done to his son . In doing so he told , a story , inadvertently complimenting Lord Palmerston , to the great delight of the Opposition . " I remember a case in which the noble lord , the member for Tiverton , was called upon to make a demand . A British merchant in South America hSeTbeen imprisoned ; the
noble 10 * 3 ' asked the Queen ' s Advocate what ought to be given to him as compensation . The Queen ' s Advocafe said that twenty pounds a day -was the sum which ought to' be paid . The noble lord wrote immediately to the American government and asked for that sum . The merchant himself thought the sum should be much greater ; but the noble lord , who understood the business of his department —( cheers)—did not say , ' You , a private merchant , should tell me exactly what reparation you requite , ' but he said , X will settle the matter after consulting ^ pereons competent to give me an opinion on the subject . ' Lord Malmesbury had not done anything like this . He had , after much pressing insistance , obtained Mr . Mather's estimate , and had then written to the Tuscan Government that he thought the sum exorbitant ! .
" And this is the way the Secretary of State obtains redress for a cruelly injured man ! ( Cheers . ) He puts him in the situation of a person proceeding for money , and only anxious to obtain a large sum from , the Tuscan Government . He spoke of Mr . Mather as asking an exorbitant sum , and thus the character of Mr , Mather is injured , and injured by that very person who ought to have undertaken his defence , and obtained redress for him ! ( Cheers . ) Lord Malmesbury ought to have written to Florence that Mr . Mather would never have thought of naming a sum as reparation for the injury his son had sustained , and that he would not name a sum until he desired him to do so . But Lord Malmesbury left it to be understood at Florence , as if there were a demand on the part of Mr . Mather of what was most unreasonable and out of the question . ( Hear , hear . )"
He criticised Lord Malmesbury not less severely for not having given definite instructions to Mr . Scarlett . " If Mr . Scarlett had received instructions ho wouldhave asked for what he had been told , and would not have taken a farthing or a word less ; and be it observed all this time that to the Austrian Government tho most conciliatory dispositions are expressed . They are not asked to take any steps on the subject , even after the communications made by the Tuscan Government . I have said that the first demand was properly made to them , but when they said that ' tho Austrian army are boyond our power , wo have signed a convention with them by which no Austrian officer can bo brought to trial for any offence in the Tuscan courts / I think that tho Austrian Government became responsible for the conduct of their military , and to them a proper requirement for reparation may be made . If it comes to this , that an Austrian officer may wantonly cut down a man because ho supposes some insult has been offered to
him , lot that bo declared . But , aa it is , every Englishman who goes to Italy and meets there with Austrian soldiers •—ana , unfortunately , there arc Austrian soldiers in too many of the States of Italy ( cheers)—in tho States of tho Church , the Papal States , and tho Tuscan States—ovory Englishman is exposed to everything that an Austrian officer thinks proper to inflict upon him , and ho ia ih . cn . to bo told that ho is to havo no redress , according to the mode in which tho Government have carried on this affair . Only tho othor day I was told that a non-commissioned officer had boon sovoroly punished in one of the towns of Italy according to tho Austrian codo . Although this case was simple enough , and neither tho Austrian Government nor tho Tuscan Government wore ready to resist any roasonablo domandfl , yot such has been tho mode in which Lord Malmesbury has conducted this transaction , that you havo exposed yourself to the ridicule and contempt on tho part of foroign Governments . "
And ho wound up tho subject with those energetic but party Hontimonta . " All I can say on tho subject ia , that I -will not take tho course which Lord Derby did whon ho saw reason to consuro tho conduct of tho lato Govornmont in regard to tho affairs of Greoco , but I will content myself with protesting against what has beon done in Mr . Mather ' s caso in terms similar to those which his lordship then employed . Lord jDorby said on that occasion s— ' Surely it beoomoa tho British LoiriBlaturo to stop forward and say that tho
Foroign-ofli , ce of England is not J'Jnglanu—that tho highminded , generous fooling , of this groat pooplo is opposed to moafluroB such as havo boon taken b y tho Government of tho country—that wo soparato our actions from theirsour feelings' from thoirs—our viown of justico and good faith from thoii's . ' 1 also take leave to separate my foolingB — my notionB of justice and good faith' —from tho com ™ which tho Govornmont haw pursued in this ooao . ( Hoar , hoar . ) I bog loavo to ontor my protest against conduct which flooms to mo to dogrado this Govornmont ia tho oven of Kuropc—ftgainwt conduct which does not
degrade this Country , 1 bec * usethecountry takes far Wf ana hfe * y $ eW * fchaUfc Goverimient c ^^ S ^^ its , character . . 1 fifUsfc , however , it will be recollectpTti , * in , the present state of the continent of Eurone tin * almost the ontt eoiintr ? in which a free expressionl * % opinibn can ta £ * plAce / It is almost the oruy Sw ? which a free prew and free discussions in the Leeislati can fairly be said to make themselves felt becsti * although the formi 6 f constitutional government exist - * several State * 6 f Europe , those forms are in some cases «« perverted ^ White other countries in which thev are « > perverted , and wherfe . , real Uberty exists , are so small anfl so dependent dto their more powerful neighbours that » o
, bold and loud expression of public opinion can take place in them . If a such addresses as are delivered in our leeia lature , and no ¦ such publications as that which to M immortal honour , the right hon . member for the UniversiW of Oxford issued firom the press last year ( cheers ) , can be made or pu ^ forth , at present , in anv other country of Europe . Under these circumstances , it more especially behoves uis to keep our character junhurfc and our honour untarnished . : It becomes us , if We have occasion to ask for redress from a foreign Goyemment , to proceed mildlv
and with temper ; but , at the same time , to insist on that which we reall y think due to us . ( Hear , hear . ) It -would be an inestimable loss , not to this country alone , but to all the world , if our character as & great and indflpendent nation should be in anv djgreer ilnjiair . e . d . I trust , therefore ,, tiiiit before tTNBTattTiteToTii at the head of the Poreignoffice again writes such despatches as these , ho will consider how great is the charge that has been entrusted fo him , and that he will not lightly commit tha great interests and the high character of this nation by heedless expressions . ( Cheers . )"
Lord STAJtcEY ( the Unttet-Secretary for Foreign Affeirs ) replied on behalf of the Government ; but he made only a lame defence . He explained the discrepancy between the despatches to Florence and those to Vienna , by asserting that there were two ways of looking at the question ; one was itt reference to the "Goyernnient and the country , " and the other to the individual . As regarded the former > the outrage might be termed ^ accidental , " as no insult was intended to England . But that , he contended , did not prevent it being true , in a personal point of view , that the outrage was " brutal and unprovoked . " He declared that to
have demanded reparation from the Austrian Government would have been to acknowledge Austrian rule in Tuscany . After an allusion to the attack oh Haynau , he paid a well deserved compliment to Mr . Mather : — " The noble lord had referred at considerable length to the nature of the reparation awarded td Mr . Mather , and had argued that the transactions of the Britiflh Government had a tendency to damage ihftt gentleman ' s charabter . The Government certainly had no intention to inflict such damage , and if that were the case , he must say the Government ought to take ^ and would take , the earliest opportunity of bearing testimony to the character of Mr . Mather . ( Hear , hear !) Mr . Mather , in tho whole transaction , had suffered much pain , anxiety , and annoy ance , and if under feelings naturally excited he had not at all times done justice to the conduct of the Government , that
was no reason why the Government should not do justice to him . ( Hear , hear . ) He admitted the difficult position in which that gentleman was put by the demand made on him to state his own compensation for the insult j but he thought that there was some misapprehension on Mr . Mather ' s part . Mr . Mather ' s view appeared to be that on Englishman having received a premeditated insult on the part of a foreign Government , upon that Government a fine should be inflicted , he would not say proportionate , for it waa difficult to measure an injury by money , dui sufficient to express the sense of the English Government on tho subject . Ho was willing to believe that that waa Mr . Mather ' s view , and therefore ho did not m thatcwo think the demand of £ 6000 exorbitant or Y ° T nTn ! : Tliif . if tUn nuaatinn wan trimfad US a ¦ DCMOtta ! , and n oi ^
international one , and that compensation equal to mo m jury suffered was to be asked , then he thought tho demand of £ 6000 would be , in that light , utterly unreasonable , boyond what could bo expected . " ( Hear , hear . ; The next speaker was Mr . Osbobnb , who chargea into tho subject in his usual dashing style . He w ™ showed that the Austrians held Tuscany under _ a convention , the main provision of which was that the occupation should not be terminated without the conse ™ of both parties ) equivalent to permanent possession » o Austria . Then entering on the main charge , he poinw out how Lord Malmesbury had insisted that » r . Mather should estimate tho injury inflicted on Ins « h .
"Lord Malmosbury then , in the truo spirit of a P * asked , 'WhatwiU you take for 7 our in JuJftI vci mpen ' Lord Malmesbury thorofpro suggested pecuniary corn ^ aation—a suggestion which was accoptoa Dy *?• thor with pain an 5 reluotanco . ( Hear . ) Jut on Mr . ma naming JE 5000 , for which ho stated his reasony Malmosbury , bohind his back , and without ffiyinff JiiniJ information on tho point , wroto a letter to Mr . P «^ . designating this as an exorbitant domond , wm » " bo , ei , o 1 > O as the sum for which a British _ subject mijn cut down in tho stroote of Florence . _ ( Cheers and » h ^ tor . ) Lord Malinoflbury in one of his do 6 P » ? Snt , but that tho sum named by Mr . Mather was oxormtan , Mr . Scarlett would be able to judge ' what couia w ^ ( Hoar , hoar . ) . If the noble lord Ayr hm ^ LojJ l ^ i t
Bton ) Haa written bucja uoBpuiuu « " «* , *"'« % ,:,. „ of uo distinction ond honour over tho foreign aimir ^ j . country , what would havo been eaid by th ° "X Yfl « fc tionP ([ Hoar , hoar . ) 'A poouniarv componja" ° » ] ott least tangible , ' said Lord m mosbury fa ' ^ Jf' ^ dood ' you must hold urn lcmguago . ' I » rm languag e , n » ,
Untitled Article
574 :. ' ' :. ? & $ ' ¦ ¦ ' $ ^^ . ^ : ^ :,., ; ^ ¦ ' ¦¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ i - ¦ ¦• - S \ "Mjt ' „ ¦• j : 'k ' ^ ilf ^ 1 ' ¦• ' '' " —¦¦¦ ¦ ¦¦¦ ' f " " ' f'drtl ' r ' ' " ' ' ' ' ' v * ' i i . " ~ " —
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), June 19, 1852, page 574, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1940/page/2/
-