Procès Verbal, relative to the Exchange of the Ratifications.

The Undersigned, having met for the exchange of the Ratifications of the Convention, relative to the reciprocal delivering up of Deserters and Criminals, concluded and signed at Florence, on the 20th June last, between the Plenipotentiaries of His Imperial and Royal Highness The Grand Duke of Tuscany and His Royal Highness the Duke of Modena, have, after the said Ratifications have been duly read, executed the Exchange, in the usual form.

In faith of which, the Undersigned have signed the present Procès Verbal, and have affixed thereto the Seal of their Arms.

Done at Florence, 4th July, 1818.

(L. S.)

CAVALIER V. FOSSOMBRONI.

(L.S.) IL CONTE A. APPONY.

SPEECH of the Lord High Commissioner of His Britannic Majesty, Sovereign Protector of the Ionian Islands, on Closing the Legislative Assembly.—Corfu, 15th April, 1818.

(Translation.)

MOST ILLUSTRIOUS PRESIDENT, AND MOST NOBLE Members of the LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.

I CANNOT allow you to return to the Islands, to which you respectively belong, and close the present Session, without assuring you that the proceedings of your distinguished Body have afforded me the greatest satisfaction.

I am aware that, in the eyes of those ardent spectators who have formed exaggerated expectations, your labours will appear to have been exceedingly limited, and, consequently, that the progress of the General Government, under the new order of things, will by them be deemed to have been very inconsiderable.

But I frankly avow that these are not my sentiments on the subject, inasmuch as the principal merit due to the Legislative Body appears to me to have been the great caution with which, during the present Session, it has abstained from entering into premature discussions, or engaging in any measure without well weighing its consequences.

The result of a course of conduct so eminently judicious, under the present circumstances, will be, that we shall not have occasion to repent, or to retrace, any of the steps which we have taken during this Session of Parliament.

A profound consideration of this important point induced me to propose the arrangement which has lately been carried into effect, respecting the Civil List for the present year; and I look upon that [1817-18.] 4 K

arrangement not only as wise and prudent in itself, but as calculated to simplify and facilitate the definitive regulation of the Civil List in the ensuing Session of Parliament, and to enable us to proceed upon prac. tical grounds, and upon the only data which, in such cases, can safely be relied upon.

I regret that the new plan for organizing the Courts of Justice has not been carried into execution; but as this is the most difficult and arduous part of public administration, it must be treated with the requisite degree of caution and circumspection.

This is indeed a subject that demands the maturest consideration; and I trust that measures will speedily be adopted for perfecting this essential branch of the Public Service, and for placing the Courts of Justice upon a footing far superior to that on which they have hitherto stood.

I have no doubt that the salutary measure of nominating Magistrates of Judicial Police, and the appointment of Municipal Authorities, will give confidence and security to all, and put an end to those arbitrary acts, which, under the denomination of a useful and necessary Police, disgusted the People by their violence, and estranged their affections from the Government of their Country.

The solicitude you have expressed, with regard to the Education of the Youth of these States, is deserving of the highest commendation; but this is likewise a point which must not be too hastily disposed of, and which requires steady and uniform perseverance, nor will this fail to be devoted to it.

The readiness which you have evinced to provide for the pecuniary exigencies of the present year is highly honorable to you; and the means by which this object has been accomplished will tend to encourage one of the principal productions of these States:-I allude to the prohibitory Duty on Foreign Wines, which, at the same time that it will progressively stimulate the cultivation of the Vine in these Islands, will not only produce a desirable increase in the Public Revenue, but will also have a favorable effect upon our general prosperity.

I cannot omit to congratulate both myself and you, upon the happy consequences which, through the benign interposition of Divine Providence, have resulted from the circumstance, that the Crops of this year (the first under the New Government), have been more abundant than any which these Islands have for a long time witnessed, and the beneficial effects of which have already been so generally experienced.

I have only to add my most earnest hope, that nothing will occur to darken our present bright prospects before I again have the gratification of seeing you assembled, and that you may all receive in the bosom of your families, that respectful attachment of your Fellow Citizens, which, as Legislators, so deservedly awaits you, as the

reward, both of the real services which you have already rendered to these States, and of those which, I feel convinced, your Country will again receive at your hands in the ensuing Session of Parliament.

SPEECH of the Lord High Commissioner of His Britannic Majesty, Sovereign Protector of the Ionian Islands, on Opening the Legislative Assembly.—Corfu, 4th March, 1819.

MOST NOBLE Gentlemen!

(Translation.)

I CANNOT allow you to commence the Second Session of the First Parliament of The United States of the Ionian Islands, or to enter upon the important duties that demand your attention, without submitting to your consideration a few, and only a few, observations on the circumstances which have occurred since the termination of the last Session, as well as on the important points which will form the immediate subject of your deliberations.

We have now had a year's experience of the effect of that Constitutional Charter, by virtue of which you are happily assembled, and I have pleasure in stating that, far from giving us any just and well-founded reason to suppose it inadequate to the objects for which it was framed, this experience justifies me in the conclusion, that that Charter is well adapted to the peculiar situation and circumstances of these Islands;—that it is not defective in any of its fundamental points; —and that a firm adherence to its principles will secure the great objects of its institution, namely, the happiness, welfare, and prosperity, of the Ionian People.

During the whole of this year, your internal tranquillity has sustained no interruption; you have, through the bounty of Providence, enjoyed the advantage of a most abundant season, and have had reason to congratulate yourselves on the auspicious commencement of a commercial intercourse with other Nations, to which must, in a great measure, be ascribed the increased value of the mercantile products of these Islands, and which intercourse it will be one of the main objects of the present Government to promote.

I have no hesitation in declaring, that you have enjoyed a much greater degree of internal tranquillity than has fallen to your share at any former period, and I make this assertion with the greater confi. dence, because I am fully convinced of its truth, and know that I am addressing Persons, who, if it were unfounded, would be able to refute it.

This tranquillity is founded upon the best and surest bases, namely, upon the confidence reposed by the People in the just and honourable intentions of their new Government, and upon their firm conviction, that the Laws are administered upon the principle best calculated to secure the

real object for which all laws are made,—that is to say, the good of the People.

During the whole of the last year, no measure of rigour or coercion was adopted by the Government; the assistance of the armed force was not once required; and, in fact, no single act was committed against the tranquillity of the Country, which might not have happened under a more ancient, a more wise, and a better regulated Government.

I will fully admit that the advantages of an abundant harvest have, in some measure, contributed to produce this result; but it at the same time gives me the greatest satisfaction to observe, that, whilst the Constitution of the Country seems to acquire strength, (which I trust it will daily continue to do,) those violent passions, by which these Countries have in past times unhappily been agitated, are now greatly moderated, and will, I hope, ere long, altogether subside; for it is unnecessary for me to inform the enlightened Auditors I am addressing, that, where passion is the principle of action, no People can enjoy domestic happiness or public security, and that it is no less true, that the safety and welfare of every Individual in the State are indissolubly connected with the maintenance of the Constitution.

Whilst congratulating you upon these topics, I cannot refrain from observing, that the general position of the affairs of Europe presents the strongest grounds for gratification. The wisdom, moderation, and happy termination, of the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, have disappointed the expectations of all the evil disposed in Europe, and not only afford a happy prospect of permanent tranquillity to the World, but are also a pledge of the duration of harmony, and of good correspondence, between all the great Allied Powers.

I regret to say that, amidst these propitious political events and the internal peace and prosperity which have prevailed, a circumstance bas occurred which has caused the deepest affliction to every Individual who has the honor to be under the immediate sway of the Sovereign Protector, and in which I have no doubt all those will participate, who have the advantage of being closely and indissolubly united to the British Crown.

I allude to the ever to be lamented death of the Queen Consort of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, whom it hath pleased the Almighty to call to himself, after a long and most exein. plary life, signalized by the constant and uniform practice of every public and domestic virtue.

Without entering more fully into the general topics to which I have adverted, I shall pass on to those subjects which are far more intimately connected with the objects of your present meeting; because, in the event of your requiring explanations on my part, I shall thereby spare your valuable time and labour, by suggesting to you that course of proceeding which seems to me to be best adapted to your new institutions, and which it will be advisable for you to pursue, during the present Session,-the first real Constitutional Meeting of

Parliament, as the opening Session was deficient in all the established Constitutional forms, and therefore scarcely deserved that name.

You are aware that, during the last Session, it was impossible to regulate all the necessary internal arrangements which were prescribed to us by the Constitutional Charter.

You also know that, during the prorogation of your Assembly, this duty has devolved upon the Most Illustrious Senate, and you will doubtless find, that, in the execution of the same, it has acted with the greatest attention and judgment.

Measures will be progressively adopted for carrying into effect all the provisions of the Constitutional Charter; and all the Resolutions passed by the Most Illustrious Senate, which are of a legislative nature, have already been placed upon your Table, conformably to the directions of the Constitutional Charter.

The Bills consequent upon those Resolutions are now in course of preparation, and, when completed, will be submitted for your consideration and decision; and I recommend you, in the mean time, for the sake of convenience in your proceedings, to leave the Resolutions themselves upon the Table, and to defer the discussions, as to the propriety or inexpediency of them, until the Bills relating to them shall have been presented to you.

I consider this the best course that can be pursued, as, together with the Bills in question, all those modifications, amendments, and alterations, which experience may have shown to be advisable, will be submitted to you.

In conformity with the provisions of the Constitution, the Secretary of State for the General Department will, 6 days after the opening of the Session, place upon your Table the Civil List as at present settled; and I am of opinion, for the reasons already assigned, that the discussion of this important matter ought to be deferred until the alterations, additions, and corrections, which may be considered necessary, shall be submitted to your Most Noble Assembly.

On the same day, agreeably to the Constitutional Charter, the General Treasurer will lay before you an Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of the year, beginning on the 1st February, 1818, and ending on the 1st February, 1819.

This Document will require numerous explanations.

It would by no means have been difficult merely to have placed the Account of the Year upon your Table; but one point connected with it has occasioned us infinite embarrassment, for, notwithstanding the most indefatigable researches on the part of the Government, assisted by zealous Functionaries, well versed in matters of account, it has been impossible to draw up an exact Statement of the Balance of the Old Accounts in each of the Local Treasuries of the Islands, before the commencement of the year 1818.

But in order to have a correct Statement of the Accounts, from the