prosperity, well-being, and industry, will consist in the constant, firm, and temperate intervention of the Protecting Power.

In making this declaration, I can assure you, that I shall always feel disposed to attend to any suggestions which you may think proper to offer for my consideration; and that I shall always experience the greatest pleasure in yielding, upon any point, when I am convinced that the same end may eventually be attained, by preferable means: and I am fully satisfied that, when you shall have considered the whole subject, candidly and dispassionately, there will exist no important difference of opinion between us with regard to principles, and that, consequently, we shall be enabled to bring our great and momentous work to such a conclusion, that, although it may not at first satisfy all, every Inhabitant of these States will, ere long, be convinced, that he effectually enjoys, both in person and in property, a greater degree of security and protection, than appears to have existed, at any former period, in the Ionian States.

SPEECH of the Lord High Commissioner of His Britannic Majesty, Sovereign Protector of the Ionian Islands, on the Opening of the Legislative Assembly.—Corfu, the 23rd of April, 1817. (Translation.)

MOST NOBLE GENTLEMEN,

Ir is a source of sincere satisfaction to me, to behold at length assembled in this place, that Legislative Body which is about to commence, without further delay, the execution of the highest duties which can be confided to any Individuals of any Country.

If it is so grateful to my feelings to see an Assembly united for so noble an object, how much greater satisfaction must I experience, when I reflect upon the high rank, conspicuous talents, and distinguished virtues of the Persons by whom I have the happiness to see myself surrounded.

You are called here, Most Noble Gentlemen, in conformity with the provisions of the Treaty of Paris, in order to draw up a Constitutional Charter for these States, which, previously to its final adoption, will have to be submitted for the approbation of my Most Gracious Sovereign, the sole and exclusive Protector of these States.

The functions imposed upon you are of the gravest and most important nature. The future welfare of your interesting Country is placed in your hands, and upon the wisdom of your deliberations chiefly depend the future happiness and prosperity of the whole Popu lation of the United States of the Ionian Islands.

Whilst you have such duties to fulfil, I am fully convinced that, in the discharge of them, you will maintain, collectively, that high character which you have always borne individually, and that the result of your labours will be such, as not only to insure a reason

able and well-considered degree of liberty to your Fellow-Countrymen, but also to obtain from them all those marks of gratitude and attachment, which are so justly due to Persons who have been the means of securing such valuable benefits to their Country.

After the several Proclamations which I have issued upon the subject, it would be superfluous for me to address you, Most Noble Gentlemen, respecting the manner and form in which, pursuant to the IVth Article of the Treaty of Paris, you have been convoked.

But in reminding you that your Body is composed of two Parts, the one consisting of 11 Integral, and the other of 29 Elective Members, and that the former comprize the Most Noble President, and the Most Noble Members, of the Primary Council, which has for some time been assembled here, it becomes my peculiar and grateful duty, in alluding to this Section of your Body, to express, without reserve, my opinion that their entire course of proceeding has reflected the greatest honour upon their wisdom, virtue, and patriotism.

The object of their assembling was to concert with me, previous to the Convocation of the Legislative Assembly, the bases of that Constitution which is about to be submitted to you: they had ample opportunities for reflecting and deliberating upon the subject; they had abundant means of considering and reconsidering every point connected with it; and, lastly, they had full permission from me to express their sentiments in the most frank, candid, and unreserved manner. They have neither been constrained nor induced to adopt any inconsiderate or precipitate measure; and the result of their deliberations has been, that they have come to a unanimous decision in favour of the Project of a Constitutional Charter, which I shall order to be laid before you as soon as possible.

With this object, I have the honour to propose to you, that the said Primary Council do forthwith resolve itself into a Committee of your Body, not only in order that it may present the Constitutional Charter in due form to you, but that the Council itself may afford you every information on all points connected with this great and important subject.

I shall always be most happy to assist you during the course of your labours, in any matter in which my suggestions can be of service to you; and, in the same spirit, I consider myself specially bound to carry into effect that part of the Treaty of Paris, which prescribes that I should direct the proceedings of your Body, and which, in my opinion, renders it indispensable, both out of respect for you, and of duty towards my Sovereign, that I should attend personally during your discussions.

When the occasion requires it, I shall feel it my duty to explain to you, the view which I have always taken of the real meaning of the Treaty of Paris, and the manner in which His Majesty's Government is inclined to treat the whole subject; as well as to describe to you the

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general principles and bases upon which I consider that the Constitution ought to be founded, both for the honour and interest of the Protecting Power, and of those of the Protected States.

But having, Most Noble Gentlemen, thought it proper fully to develope these important points, in my Speech to the Most Noble the Primary Council at its first meeting, and there remaining little for me to add to what I stated upon that occasion, I shall order that Speech to be placed upon your Table, without delay, for your information on this part of the subject.

It only remains for me, in addition thereto, to impress upon you, in the most earnest manner, the expediency of following the wise and patriotic example of that Council; of divesting yourselves of all speculative theories; of adhering to practical results and practical benefits; and, above all, of well considering that, in making general provisions for the happiness of a Country, all partial views and personal interests must be sacrificed to the general good, and to public utility.

I need not dwell upon this part of the subject, before you enter upon your labours; because I am satisfied of the wisdom, moderation, and discretion of your entire Body.

I have drawn up certain regulations for the guidance of your proceedings, and shall direct them to be forthwith submitted to you.

I have ordered the Commission with which I have the honour to be entrusted by my Most Gracious Sovereign to be laid upon your Table.

I have also directed the Treaty of Paris to be presented to you; and I beg to add, that it will be most agreeable to me, Most Noble Gentlemen, to afford you, individually and collectively, every information in my power, and to communicate to you my sentiments frankly upon the subject.

Permit me, Most Noble Gentlemen, to conclude my Speech, by remarking upon the auspicious Day for which you have been convoked, and upon which you have commenced your great and happy work. This Day is held sacred to the memory of St George, the tutelary Saint of England, in the Dominions of His Britannic Majesty, and I am informed that this Day, with the difference only of the style, is also regarded and celebrated as a Festival in these Countries. This is also the Day appointed in the British Dominions to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of His Majesty, the Reigning Monarch of that powerful and prosperous Empire, and of whom I have the honour to be a humble Subject.

May this Day be of happy augury! May the result of your exertions obtain for you, as well as for your Fellow-Countrymen, some portion, if not of that brilliant, at least of that real, prosperity, which is enjoyed by the Subjects of that great and illustrious Prince. This is not only my own heartfelt wish, but I am fully convinced that it is, and ever will be, that of my Most Gracious Sovereign the august Protector of your Country.

SPEECH of the President to the Legislative Assembly of the Ionian Islands, relative to the Project of Constitution prepared by the Primary Council.-Corfu, the 25th of April, (Translation.)

1817.

GENTLEMEN AND VERY DEAR COLLEAGUES !

THE Speech which His Excellency the Lord High Commissioner of His Majesty, our Sovereign Protector, has been pleased to address to the Legislative Assembly, could not do otherwise than inspire sentiments of profound gratitude and respect.

However unjust Posterity may be, it will never venture to contradict us, when we declare before God and our Children, that, from the day on which Providence placed this most excellent Man amongst us, until the present moment, it has been the unceasing object of his thoughts and exertions, to liberate us from that fearful scourge the Plague, to secure the happiness of our Islands in general, to reestablish internal harmony between the different Classes of Society, to promote Religion, Justice, and Commerce, to render property inviolable, to persevere in important public measures, uninfluenced by personal interests, and to diminish the burthens of taxation: the result of his labours being, that the Project of such a Constitutional Charter has been drawn up, as will permanently guarantee to us the liberty and independence which were assured to the States by the Treaty of Paris.

The various provisions of this Charter have a claim to all the respect and attention of the Legislative Assembly of the Ionian States; inasmuch as they have been dictated by the most salutary and disinterested intentions, emanate from a spirit of order, justice, and wisdom, and tend to satisfy the honour, calm the anxiety, and animate the zeal of our Fellow-Countrymen.

In the performance of a duty fraught with such vast and important consequences, the Members of the Primary Council of the United States of the Ionian Islands, have proceeded with the necessary degree of circumspection and deliberation, and, in a matter of such general interest, and amidst relations of such paramount importance, have endeavoured to conduct themselves as became the Representatives of an amiable and intelligent People, whose wisdom is derived from experience, the best source of instruction.

The Propositions of the Lord High Commissioner of The King, our August Sovereign and Protector, are calculated to secure to us our legitimate rights, and to give to them all the extension of which they are susceptible, in accordance with the real spirit and intention of the Treaty of Paris, and with our most essential wants; and the Council cannot refrain from informing this Honourable Assembly that, during the whole period that it has been engaged in the consideration of the [1816-17.]

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Constitutional Charter of these States, it has never had occasion to vindicate the rights of the Nation against encroachment; His Majesty's Lord High Commissioner having shewn himself to be no less tenacious of any infringement of those rights, than any one of the Islanders themselves.

A brief examination of the Constitutional Charter will convince every one that, under the system of permanent and unchangeable liberty therein introduced, the Government of the Islands will enjoy the absolute power of developing all their best resources; that its activity and energy will not be restrained by any illegal influence; and that its Functionaries will be invested with all the requisite authority, to render their respective Offices as useful as they are necessary, and as respectable in themselves as they are independent of every species of capricious and arbitrary control.

In the formation of a Constitution, which requires to be adapted, as much as possible, to existing circumstances, as well as to those to be anticipated, it is obviously extremely difficult to give equal satisfaction to all; and if it were possible to assemble all the Islanders here, for the purpose of deliberating upon the measure, we should soon be convinced how useless it would be to expect unanimity upon such a subject.

The Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Powers, exist naturally in every Government, and our own History furnishes us with abundant proof, that, whenever the Laws have been both interpreted and executed by the same Individual, or Body of Individuals, the slavery of the People has been the consequence of that torrent of corruption which inevitably springs from the union of these powers.

In the Charter that you are called upon to examine, you will perceive, that the experience which counsels, the authority which judges, and the power which executes, are kept entirely distinct from each other: that the powers of the Municipal Body are made as independent as possible of the Government; and that many substantial attributes balance the supreme authority of the Senate, prevent any infringement of the rights of the People, and, at the same time, restrain the Magistracy from concentrating in its own hands the inordinate power of a general and unlimited Administration.

You will observe, that it has been the object of our endeavours to base the Representation of these Islands upon the principle of equality. This does not mean, that every City belonging to the Ionian States is to possess a weight and importance, proportioned to the number of its inhabitants, or to the mass of its property; for a precise equality of representation, unattainable even under a system of Government which is founded on the ordinary principles of nature, must be doubly difficult in a State divided into 7 different Countries, separated from each other by the Sea: but it has been resolved, that the 4 larger Islands shall have the right of sending 4 Members to the Legis