§ MR. ADAMSsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to introduce any measure enabling them to grant compensation to British merchants whose property at Uleaborg, in the Gulf of Bothnia, was destroyed on the 2nd of June, 1854, by the boats of a squadron under the command of Admiral Plumridge.
§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTONsaid, that the proceedings in this matter must be regulated by the principle which he had stated to be an international principle when a question arose some time ago as to the losses sustained by British subjects at Greytown. He then stated the principle of international law to be that persons who were domiciled in a foreign country must abide by the fate of that country in peace and war, and that therefore no demand 1046 could properly be made upon the American Government for losses sustained by British subjects in Greytown in consequence of hostilities which took place between the United States and Granada. The same principle applied to the case to which the hon. Gentleman now referred. There were certain British subjects, and probably the subjects of other States, who were domiciled or had property in the Russian territory. Those persons must take the chance of the protection of the Russian Empire; and if by any circumstance the place where their property was situated became the scene of hostile operations no claim could possibly be set up by those persons, whatever country they might belong to, against the Government whose forces carried on the hostilities by which they had been made to suffer.