Ithaca, where they were allowed to remain six months; that they proceeded from thence to Messalongi, where they remained five months; that in going from thence, of their own free will, to the Morea, they fell in with, and were taken by, an Algerine cruizerthe contrivance, no doubt, of Sir Thomas Maitland! But the propagators of the falsehood do not tell us, what however is the fact, that Captain Hamilton, of the Cambrian frigate, on hearing that a Greek family had been carried by the Algerines to Alexandria, made a peremptory demand for their restitution, and obtained it, on the debateable ground that they were on board a vessel bearing the Ionian flag; and the said family, which we are left to suppose had been butchered by the Turks through the inhumanity of a British governor, is now living in Zante, under British protection. Thus every circumstance which has furnished matter for abuse and vituperation, has turned out on examination to be directly the reverse of what has been circulated through Europe; and so far from any disposition to deal harshly or unfairly by the Greeks, the path of humanity has invariably been smoothed in their favour, even at the expense of violating that neutrality which the government professed and wished to observe. The Turkish authorities on the spot, and the Ottoman government at Constantinople, could not be blind to these facts; and made many grievous complaints that the Ionian islands were places of refuge and protection for the persons and property, the wives and children, of their rebellious subjects. Far from blaming Sir Thomas Maitland, or those under him, for what has been done on this score, it appears to us that, considering the difficult situation in which he was placed, he has, on all occasions, acted as fairly and as impartially between the two parties as circumstances would admit-ready to interpose his good offices wherever common humanity required. And the members of the Greek provisional government, sanguine as their hopes at first were that Great Britain would give them actual assistance, have never been bold enough to deny that her neutrality, as far as regarded them, was observed with the utmost fairness. Having stated thus much, let us for a moment inquire what has been the conduct of the two contending parties towards the Ionian government. The Turks in general have manifested the utmost deference towards the British and Ionian flags; whilst, on the part of the Greeks, there is no end to the acts of petty piracy and robbery which our cruizers have been compelled to redress, and which, to the credit of the officers of the navy, they have effected with great temper, and without firing a single shot in anger. We shall mention but two instances which come within our own knowledge, knowledge, of the bad conduct of the Greeks; but they suffice to show the spirit in which they act. In March, 1822, the Greek fleet, being off Santa Maura, landed several armed men, who drove away the shepherds and carried off the flocks of the natives, which was not only an insult and violation of territory, but also of the sanitary laws. The other instance is that of a Turkish brig of war taking shelter in a bay of Zante, after fighting her way through sixteen or seventeen Greek cruizers. The whole of the population of the neighbouring villages had assembled, to witness this engagement, with upwards of a thousand refugees from the Morea; and being all armed, according to custom, they attacked the King's troops, consisting of a small detachment of an officer and twenty men, sent by Colonel Duffy to ensure the observance of the sanitary laws, and to conduct the surviving Turks to the lazaretto. In marching them to this spot, the populace, amounting nearly to 5000, at the instigation of the Moreots, fell upon this little band of British soldiers, who, notwithstanding, fulfilled the duties of humanity by rescuing fifty-seven Turks from the wreck, and conveying them safely to the lazaretto. Yet these Moreots, in return for the hospitality they had received, renewed their attack at night, carried off an unfortunate soldier, and committed the most atrocious barbarities on the dead body. Would it be credited, that this simple transaction has been converted into a large military force sent by Sir Thomas Maitland for the purpose of assisting the Turks against the Greeks? This affair determined Sir Thomas Maitland instantly to carry into execution a measure which, from the first, he had resolved on -that of disarming the population of the Ionian islands. These people had been in the habit of going about armed to the very throat in all the ordinary occupations of life, the consequence of which was that murders were almost daily committed. To get rid of this barbarous custom, and to organize a permanent national militia, it was therefore ordered that all arms should be taken out of the hands of the general mass, and restored to those who really possessed landed property in the islands; and this measure, which neither the Russians nor the French, desirous as they were of carrying it into effect, could ever succeed in, and whose partial attempts always raised commotions, was accomplished in a few days throughout the islands, without the interference of the military, and without the least disturbance, or displeasure. To show that our conduct has been guided solely by the dictates of humanity between the two contending parties, we may mention that Captain Hamilton received 300 Greeks on board his ship at Smyrna, and saved them from being massacred; and, actuated by the same generous and humane motives, rescued the unfortunate Turks who were compelled to surrender the fortress of Napoli di Romania, having received on board his own ship no less than 480 men, women and children, and taken hostages for the remainder sent away in Greek vessels ;* an act no less beneficial to the Greeks themselves than to the immediate objects of his protection, by having prevented them from adding to the indignation and horror excited by their conduct at Tripolizza, Athens and some other places. There is not a doubt, but for his timely arrival, that the whole population would have been butchered; as a vast multitude of Moreots anxious for plunder, and people from Argos thirsting after revenge for relations killed during the siege, were waiting to force their way into the town the moment it became dark. The Turkish pasha exhibited a noble trait of heroism: he refused to quit the place until the last of his people should have left it, and only requested that Captain Hamilton would represent to his master the defence he had made of the fortress; that he and his garrison' had for some time subsisted on the remains of their unfortunate companions, two-thirds of whom had died. This brave man, it afterwards appeared, had refused to sign the capitulation, and remained behind to meet the fate which awaited him, and which could not be doubtful. When, therefore, we hear of the atrocities committed by the Turks at Scio, which are industriously circulated through a thousand channels, we must not suppose that they are the only butchers in this barbarous warfare. It is the universal opinion of our best informed naval officers, who have seen much of both contending parties, that they are nearly alike blameable in this respect, but that, if there be a shade of difference, it is in favour of the Turks. We beg to be understood that, in making these statements, we are influenced by no unfriendly feeling towards the unfortunate Greeks, and that we make them solely for the sake of truth. We are well aware that their prevailing vices are those which characterize slaves in every part of the globe; and the Greeks can only be expected to relinquish them, when they shall have escaped from the galling fetters in which they have been bound for so many centuries. If, as is not impossible, we should eventually be called upon to go a step beyond what we have hitherto done in order to mitigate the severity of a strict neutrality, in favour of these unfortunate people, and in support of those principles of humanity * We can vouch for the truth of this, which we were not aware of when the Article in our last Number,-on the Cause of the Greeks,' was printed off. for for which Great Britain has ever been distinguished among nations, we are confident that no calculations of policy will prevent the Ionian authorities from lending them a helping hand, when it can be done with safety and propriety; and that no endeavours will be wanting to soften, by every fair means, the bitterness of that fate which must inevitably attend them when they can no longer sustain the present contest. It will then be the pleasing duty of the Ionian government not to consider them in the light of belligerents or insurgents, but as mere fellowcreatures, who, whatever their conduct may have been, demand our commiseration and every possible relief that we can afford them. That the government has not been unmindful of this probable issue, nor neglected to provide for it, would appear by their having appropriated the island of Calamos, a dependency of the Seven Islands, as an asylum for the Greeks when pressed by actual danger, on which they are permitted to land at once, without performing the usual quarantine, and where there are actually, at this time, numbers of these unfortunate refugees residing, many of whom will no doubt ultimately become subjects of the Ionian government. If, on the other hand, the Greeks should be fortunate enough to bring the contest to a successful issue, or should be contented with the Morea, the two naval islands of Hydra and Spezzia and some others which they possess, and make their peace, on the condition of holding them in independence, the proximity of the Ionian Islands would afford them constant opportunities of witnessing the happy effects arising out of a sound practical representative government, and teach them to despise the theoretical and delusive doctrines of a set of itinerant constitution-mongers, whose only object is to create confusion in order that they may profit by it. For we shall now show that, in spite of the misgovernment on one hand, and the exertions of the patriots on the other, and of the tyranny and oppression under which the poor Ionians are groaning,' that they consider themselves to be happy, prosperous and free. After so many changes of constitutions and governments, they doubly feel the value of one that is steady in its proceedings and regulations, to which, after a trial of eight years, they are not only perfectly reconciled, but express themselves grateful for the benefits it has conferred on them. These benefits will be more extensively felt and understood when that article in the Constitu→ tional Charter shall be carried into full effect, which provides that the sole recognized language for all official proceedings shall be Greek, and the only other language, in copies and translations, that of the protecting power. By this regulation they will not only only get rid of the barbarous Venetian dialect of the Italian language, but of the necessity of sending their youth to Bologna, Padua, Pavia and other places on the continent for their educa tion, which has hitherto only produced just such fruit as might be expected from grafting Italian vices on Greek cunning. It has been an object of great attention with Sir Thomas Maitland to establish primary schools in all the islands, and a very heavy expense has been incurred on this head. The long projected university, of which Lord Guilford is the Chancellor, is on the eve of being opened. The old palace of Corfu has been repaired and enlarged for this purpose. The first idea, of Ithaca, was abandoned for various reasons, and, among others, because the gentlemen of the other islands refused to send their sons to this inferior spot. The Ionians themselves have great doubts of the success of this new literary institution; but we apprehend it cannot fail, provided the professors are men of acknowledged talent and will do their duty. It is to be hoped that the study of the English language, laws, and history will form a prominent part of the plan of education. Considerable improvement in the morals and habits of the Ionians may reasonably be expected from a more familiar use of the English language, by bringing them more in contact with the British residents; and, what is of the utmost importance to them, by tending to produce a change in the secluded habits of the female part of society. The French in Corfu succeeded in breaking that barbarous chain which bound the females not only to their home, but to their retired apartments. In Zante, too, their manners in this respect are slowly undergoing a change, and the women, who were once closely shut up, feel now inclined, and are permitted by their husbands and fathers, to mix with the English, and go to their entertainments. But the number of the latter is so small, and their means of entertaining generally so limited, (notwithstanding what Mr. Hume says of their enormous salaries) that the progress towards mutual intercourse must be very slow. Little more remains for us but to mention briefly some of the improvements, which have taken place since the Ionian islands came under British protection. We find them, in fact, already summed up in the speech of the President Manzaro, before mentioned, in which he takes a cursory view of the condition of the Ionian islands at various periods, and contrasts their state in the year 1816, with that at the time in which he is speaking. He sets out with Corfu, the seat of government, where every public edifice, he observes, has been repaired and embellished, and many new, useful, and interesting ones been erected; among others, two new markets, offering all the products of the island and of foreign VOL. XXIX. NO. LVII. H |