Lord Broughamsaid, that seeing the noble Duke in his place, he wished to put to him a question on a matter well deserving of his most serious consideration; he meant the present state of our foreign relations. Two most important events had recently occurred:—the first was the decease of the Emperor of Austria; the second, the removal of a fleet of six or eight sail of the line from Malta to the Dardanelles. From these two events, but more especially from the latter, a presumption had arisen that the state of affairs had become rather critical—that especially it was so in the Dardanelles, and this had arisen from some misunderstanding, with the Court of St. Petersburgh. It was doubly important, therefore, that at this moment Great Britain should be represented there, as, indeed, Great Britain ought always to be represented, by some person well fitted for the discharge of most important duties—some person of extended experience, of great talents, of tried discrimination. There had been for some time a vacancy in the appointment, and it was expedient that some measure should be taken to fill it up. He did not complain of the delay that had taken place, but he thought that it ought 733 not to continue much longer. With regard to the change of the Sovereign in Austria he could not avoid expressing his hope that his Majesty's Government would seize upon the opportunity offered by the change of the reigning sovereign there, and enforce what he knew their predecessors had tried to enforce, the humane, and in his conscience, he believed, the sound, prudent, and politic course as regarded the individual interest of the Austrian Government imposed upon the Government of his Imperial Majesty, to mitigate the rigours, if not to terminate the sufferings, that for the whole of the last seventeen years had been inflicted upon some of the ablest, most accomplished, virtuous, and enlightened individuals, the ornaments of the nobility of a part of his Imperial Majesty's empire. He repeated, that prudence and policy at once dictated the termination of the imprisonment of these unhappy individuals. He hoped that an occasion would be taken of forcing this subject on the attention of the Austrian Government in a manner that became the character, the policy, and the wisdom of this country, for he was convinced, that it was the most true and the best means of removing one of the greatest dangers that beset the Imperial Government in the most critical part of the Austrian dominions. He trusted that an act of grace would terminate the sufferings of these illustrious men. He should say no more, for he wished to speak kindly and respectfully of the Austrian Government, from whose good will and good sense he looked for the success of the measure he was now suggesting.
§ The Duke of Wellingtonwas convinced that the noble and learned Lord did not expect him to answer the question that had been put. This was only the first day after the notice of the death of his Imperial Majesty, and it was impossible therefore, that he could come down to the House and say on what subject his Majesty's Government might think it necessary to enter into negotiations with that of Austria. The noble and learned Lord had spoken about the moving of the fleet, and presumed, from its removal from Malta to the Dardanelles, that there must be some grave matter of discussion between this country and the court of St. Petersburgh. He begged leave distinctly to say that such was not the case—he had no reason to believe that there was any 734 such, or that any such might arise. Further, he should state that a noble Lord had been placed in the situation of his Majesty's Ambassador at the court of St. Petersburgh, and that he would go thither whenever the season permitted him to travel.
Lord Broughamhad not gone on the presumption mentioned by the noble Duke; he had only referred to suspicions and rumours; he was informed that there was a continuance of amicable, and, indeed, friendly and cordial relations between the two courts, but it was impossible not to be alarmed at the bare supposition of the negative of all this. He had not put a question on the other subject, but had merely made a suggestion that he hoped might lead to a renewal of the endeavours to produce a just, humane, and prudent policy.