IONIAN ISLANDS. (Hansard, 23 June 1840)

§ Lord C. Fitzroy
In moving "That an humble Address be presented to her Majesty, praying that she will be pleased to direct a Commission to be sent to the Ionian Islands, to inquire into the grievances which at present exist," said, I will not trespass on the attention of the House at any great length. I propose to 63 consider this question on the broad principle of the advantage of the Ionian Islands to this country. I will, in the first place, call the attention of the House to their geographical position. They are situated centrally between three continents—Europe, Asia, and Africa,—and bear strongly on our line of commerce with the Mediterranean. I wish to submit to the attention of the noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs, whether the attachment of these islands to our protection, or the discontents arising from it, must not necessarily weigh with Russia. That power, in all the negotiations which have taken place, has manifested an anxious desire to obtain a footing in those seas; and, in the event of a war, no doubt great advantage would be taken of any misunderstanding which might exist between those islands and this country. I know those islands well; and the continued protection of England is their desire; but what they seek is an honest protection, and not to be subjected to a servile submission. It is for this reason that I advocate their cause. I am not here to rouse them to a sense of their grievances: they know and feel them, and now for the first time, dare to declare them. It is too much the practice to despise small dependencies; and, in this case, it is said, they are only Ionians. On this point, I perfectly concur in the language of the Westminster Review, in October, 1833:— Let not the weakness of the sufferers produce indifference to their just complaints. Is the mismanagement of 190,000 of our fellow subjects a trifle? If it is pleaded that the Ionians are not "lieges" of the king of England, does not the peculiarity of their dependence aggravate, in the eyes of Europe, the disgrace of the misgovernment? Now, Sir, the first arbitrary act that I shall notice, of which the Ionians complain, is the dissolution of their Parliament; because in the difference of opinion that took place between the legislative body and the Senate, on account of the new civil and criminal code, the Lord High Commissioner sided with the Senate. Now, Sir, this disagreement arose upon the different interpretation of the constitution. By the constitution, the laws are ordinary and fundamental: the ordinary laws pass through the Senate and Legislative Assembly, and are ratified by the Lord High Commissioner; the fundamental laws are discussed by the legisla- 64 tive body alone, and pass directly to the Sovereign Protector, for ratification. And this law of the civil and criminal codes, being a fundamental law, should be subjected to this form. Lest any doubt should arise on this subject, I will read to the House Art. 8. sec. 3. chap. 6.:— Whereas, in the preceding article, provision is made for establishing a temporary court of justice, denominated the Supreme Council of Justice of the United States of the Ionian Islands, and for maintaining the same till such time as new codes of civil and criminal law and procedure can be framed and adopter, and which provision operates, for the time being, as a reservation to a future period of the adjusting the final constitution in these states, as far as regards the judicial authority within the same; it is hereby declared, that whenever such civil and criminal codes and procedure shall be framed, or when the three years shall have expired for which the Supreme Council of Justice is established, the Legislative Assembly of these states shall, on a message to be transmitted to that effect by his Excellency the Lord High Commissioner, consider itself to be sitting for the immediate consideration of the said reserved matters of the constitution; and all the enactments then made for the final adjustment of the due courts of law, and of a fitting and civil criminal code and procedure, shall, in the first instance (as in the instance of the constitution itself), be submitted to his Majesty the protecting Sovereign; and, if ratified, they shall then be considered, to all intents and purposes, as forming an integral part of the constitution itself of these stales. It is impossible to read this and not agree with the Legislative Assembly when they objected and refused to discuss the codes with the Senate; and this provision was made, from considering the codes as an integral part of the constitution. Now, the House should be informed, that the Senate is not a high legislative assembly, but an executive power elected by the Assembly; the mode being, after the Legislative Assembly is formed, for the Lord High Commissioner to take five from that body, to form the Senate, supplying the vacant places in the Legislative Assembly by his own nomination. The determination of the Legislative Assembly to stand by their privilege determined the Lord High Commissioner, first, to prorogue them, and, afterwards, to obtain an Order in Council for their dissolution. It was in this interim that the Cavaliere Mustoxides came to England, to explain to the Government, here, the grounds upon which they, the Legislative Assembly, 65 differed with the opinion of the Lord High Commissioner, expressing a wish that the reasons of the Legislative Assembly might be heard. No courtesy was shown to this gentleman, though he was entitled to it in every way, from his high literary character, and his decoration of the order of St. Michael and St. George, conferred by George 4th. After four months waiting in this country, he returned home, and had the further mortification of seeing that the Order in Council was dated six weeks before he left England. The dissolution of the Parliament then took place; and I will inform the House that such an act is not an appeal to the people. The election or selection, takes place in the following manner:—The Lord High Commissioner chooses eleven men out of the forty, as the nucleus of the new Assembly; and for the remaining twenty-nine, he sends double lists of names to each of the islands; and one of these lists the electors must return. Such a mockery of a popular assembly does not exist anywhere else. But the Cavaliere Mustoxides, for having dared to go to England, experienced the spite of the Lord High Commissioner, who, upon pretext that he might have been concerned in the Greek plot against the Government of Greece, made use of his high police power, and seized the Cavaliere Mustoxides's papers, public and private, as well as those of Signor Petrizzopula, Count Roma, and others. The Government of Greece declared that the Cavaliere Mustoxides was in no manner concerned in this plot, which, after all, subjected the persons concerned to be tried for a misdemeanour only; but, under this high police authority, the Cavaliere Mustoxides might have been banished to Cerigo, in the same way that the Lord High Commissioner treated two shoemakers, who, for the crime of having run against a senator in the streets and abused him, were, without trial, under the authority of the high police, banished to the island of Cerigo. Having this power, say the least for it, the Lord High Commissioner placed his victim (Cavaliere Mustoxides) under a cloud, insinuated all that was bad against him, and then refrained from making any public accusation. Having stated these facts, I will not detain the House, but simply move, That an humble Address be presented to her Majesty, praying that she will be graciously pleased to direct a Commission to be sent to 66 the Ionian Islands, to inquire into and report upon all grievances against the Government of those islands that may be laid before it.

§ Lord John Russell
I do not think the motion of the noble Lord would lead to a solution of the difficulties which have existed in the Ionian Islands. The noble Lord says that a difference of opinion prevailed as to whether were of that nature which required the concurrence of the Assembly only, or of the Assembly and the Senate. Upon that question being stated by the Lord High Commissioner to the Secretary of State, the latter thought it right to inform the Lord High Commissioner of the opinion of the Sovereign; and no better course could have been taken than stating the interpretation which the law officers of the Crown put upon the original contract; and that interpretation was, that the Senate must concur with the Assembly in agreeing to such laws. The opinion of the protective Sovereign, however, was considered of little importance; this concurrence did not take place, and the Lord High Commissioner proposed to receive the consent of her Majesty in Council to dissolve the Assembly. After a good deal of correspondence, that assent was given, and the Assembly was dissolved. A new Assembly was called; it has passed the new code; the Senate have concurred with them: and that code is now about to become the law of the Ionian Islands. That question is therefore at an end. I do not conceive how my noble Friend can say that the Assembly of 1839 was the supreme power, and that the Assembly of 1840 is not. If my noble Friend stands on the act of the Assembly, I may quote the opinion of the latter against the opinion of the former. The question with respect to the general Government remains. I do not deny that the present constitution of the Ionian Islands, while it exhibits the form and figure of a free constitution, is not based on those principles which give the people the right of free election, and their representatives, the control of the Government; but as was said by Sir Howard Douglas, the people are exceedingly uninformed and ill-prepared for the exercise of the constitutional powers of a free Government; and if they possessed those powers, they might in all probability, use them in a very improper manner. I do not think the benefit of a free Government ought at once to be 67 imparted to the people of the Ionian Islands. I am convinced that the best mode of governing them is, in the first place, to keep the finances and Government of the Island free from corruption, and in the next place, to give the native population a due share in the advantages of office, and to give them an education which will prepare them for a better form of government. The contrary course can only lead to a state of anarchy. We ought to recollect what has already taken place. It is notorious that an extensive conspiracy was carried on under the eyes of the Greek government, and that those persons who were the loudest in their complaints were not strangers to the existence of that conspiracy; and I have seen papers promulgated by persons acting under the direction of the late Patriarch at Constantinople, the object of which was to destroy British influence and connection, and establish some other government in its place. Happily, the Patriarch was deposed, on the representation of the British ambassador, and that intrigue put an end to. It was the duty of the Lord High Commissioner to guard the island committed to his care against such attempts, and he was perfectly justified in adopting the necessary measures for its security and protection. Upon the whole, I cannot agree to the motion of my noble Friend, which while it can produce no benefit, may tend to weaken the authority of the Government.

§ Mr. Hume
I believe that no country was ever worse used than these islands under Sir Thomas Maitland, who disarmed the whole population. They had the semblance of a free constitution, but they never derived any benefit from it. Corruption was notoriously prevalent, and I believe it was practised chiefly by the Governor. Situations were bestowed on Englishmen, to the exclusion of the natives, and the salaries were increased to an enormous extent. Similar complaints were made with respect to Malta. A Commissioner was sent out, who ascertained that those complaints were well founded, and this House adopted the recommendations contained in the report made on that occasion. I trust the House will now institute an inquiry, and I have not the least doubt that it will be attended with the same result.

§ Sir R. Peel
It appears to me very difficult to lay down any general rule with 68 respect to the policy of sending out Commissioners; because much must necessarily depend on the nature of the inquiries to be instituted. To send out a Commission to determine the great constitutional question of the Ionian Islands, would, in my opinion, be pregnant with the greatest danger, and I, therefore, cordially concur with the noble Lord in resisting the present motion. If the object be to inquire whether the Ionians are fit for employment or not, that is another matter; but as the principle of the employment of the natives is admitted, I cannot see the utility of sending out a commission for that purpose. At this late hour of the night, I do not think it requisite to enter into any defence of Sir Howard Douglas; indeed, this is rendered quite unnecessary by the testimony given by the noble Lord, in his despatches of the correctness of his conduct.

§ Captain Boldero
I think it would be quite useless to send out a commission, because the Government are in possession of all the facts of the case. I believe the state of the population has been materially improved within the last few years. The hon. Member for Kilkenny has complained that Sir Thomas Maitland had disarmed the people. But why did he disarm them? Simply because they rebelled against him. A strong Russian party was perpetuallly intriguing; and if strong measures had not been resorted to, I have no doubt that much blood would have been shed. I trust the noble Lord will consent to withdraw his motion.

§ Lord C. Fitzroy
I believe the discontent which prevails in the Ionian Islands has been caused by mis-government; and that the disaffection of the people to our protection has not arisen from the restlessness of their character; and as to the opinion of the law officers of the Crown on the difference which existed between the legislative body and the Senate, I now boldly declare before the Attorney-general that he never read the constitution of the Ionian states, and that he does not appear to know, that there is a difference between the mode of passing fundamental laws and ordinary laws. If the two last acts of the new Legislative Assembly obtain the approbation of her Majesty, under the advice of a Liberal Government, I shall exceedingly regret it—I mean the one allowing the police to flog prisoners at discretion; the other establishing a censorship for 69 books and newspapers. After the discussion which has taken place, I do not think it necessary to press the motion to a division.