§ SIR DE LACY EVANSrose to put two questions to the noble Lord at the head of the Foreign Office, and he hoped, for the sake of humanity, that the noble Lord would be able to answer them satisfactorily. It was well known, upon the most unexceptionable authority, that, in consequence of the refuge which Piedmont had given to the thousands of Italian refugees driven out from other parts of the peninsula for political causes, the Austrian Government had seen fit to interfere, and that the constitution of Piedmont was threatened with danger. He then asked, whether they might expect that the Go- 1948 vernments of France and England would unite, in order to give all the support in their power to the Government of Piedmont, with a view to maintaining its national independence, and the preservation of those institutions now established in that kingdom? The next question that he had to put was with reference to the state of Naples—a far more painful topic. They had it, on the authority of the right hon. Gentleman the Member for the University of Oxford (Mr. Gladstone), that the present practice of the Government of Naples, with regard to persons who were real or supposed political offenders, was such as to be wholly opposed to religion, civilisation, and humanity. They had it on the same high authority, that the constitution, which was spontaneously granted to the people of Naples in 1848, had been violated in every particular; that the King of Naples had imprisoned a majority of the representatives of the people, and that—
§ MR. B. COCHRANErose to order. He asked, if it was permitted by the rules of the House to make attacks on foreign countries, when there was no possibility of making the attack subject of debate?
§ MR. SPEAKERsaid, the hon. and gallant Member was entitled to put a question, but not to enter upon any matter that was likely to lead to a debate.
§ SIR DE LACY EVANSwould not make any further observations, but would confine himself to the question which he had put upon the paper. The question was as follows:—
From a publication entitled to the highest consideration, it appears that there are at present above 20,000 persons confined in the prisons of Naples for alleged political offences; that these prisoners have, with extremely few exceptions, been thus immured in violation of the existing laws of the country, and without the slightest legal trial or public inquiry into their respective cases; that they include a late prime minister and a majority of the late Neapolitan Parliament, as well as a large proportion of the most respectable and intelligent classes of society; that these prisoners are chained two and two together; that these chains are never undone, day or night, for any purpose whatever, and that they are suffering refinements of barbarity and cruelty unknown in any other civilised country. It is, consequently, asked, if the British Minister at the Court of Naples has been instructed to employ his good offices in the cause of humanity, for the diminution of these lamentable severities, and with what result?
§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTONWith reference to the first question put by my 1949 hon. and gallant Friend, I have to say that Her Majesty's Government have attached great importance to the independence of the kingdom of Sardinia, and have looked with great interest and anxiety to the good working of the constitution there established; but nothing has occurred to lead Her Majesty's Government to apprehend that that independence is in danger from any encroachments or assaults from any foreign Power; and the manner in which that constitution has been hitherto worked by the concurrence of the Sardinian people and the Sardinian Sovereign entitles us to entertain the most fervent hope and expectation that it will continue to be—as it at present is—a model worthy of imitation by all the nations of Europe: an example of good government which is not only highly honourable to the people and Sovereign of the country, but which is also calculated to inspire hopes of improvement in other countries where similar institutions have not yet been brought to bear. With regard to the second question, I may say that Her Majesty's Government, in common with all the leading men of this country—who, I presume, have all of them read the pamphlet to which my hon. and gallant Friend has referred—have received with pain a confirmation of those impressions that had been created by various accounts we had received from other quarters of the very unfortunate and calamitous condition of the kingdom of Naples. It has not, however, been deemed a part of the duty of the British Government to make any formal representations to the Government of Naples on a matter that relates entirely to the internal affairs of that country. At the same time, I thought it right, seeing that Mr. Gladstone—whom I may freely name, though not in his capacity of a Member of Parliament—has done himself, as I think, very great honour by the course he pursued at Naples, and by the course he has followed since; for I think that when you see an English Gentleman, who goes to pass a winter at Naples, instead of confining himself to those amusements that abound in that city, instead of diving into volcanoes, and exploring excavated cities—when we see him going to courts of justice, visiting prisons, descending into dungeons, and examining great numbers of the cases of unfortunate victims of illegality and injustice, with a view afterwards to enlist public opinion in the 1950 endeavour to remedy those abuses—I think that is a course that does honour to the person who pursues it; and, concurring in opinion with him that the influence of public opinion in Europe might have some useful effect in setting such matters right, I thought it my duty to send copies of his pamphlet to our Ministers at the various Courts of Europe, directing them to give to each Government copies of the pamphlet, in the hope that, by affording them an opportunity of reading it, they might be led to use their influence for promoting what is the object of my hon. and gallant Friend—a remedy for the evils to which he has referred.