THE IONIAN ISLANDS.
VARIOUS comments or strictures on the administration of the Ionian Islands have of late appeared in the newspapers. In itself this is not extraordinary ; the administration of the Septinsular Republic has, ever since it devolved on the British Government,
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been fruitful n matter for critical remark. But it is rather cu- rious that all these -recent 'endures should be based upon one
coalmen assumption of some speedy change about to take piece, either in the mode of administering the islands, or in their rela- tions to Great Britain, Some change, indeed, is highly desirable. The results of
tish rule in the Ionian -Wanda have not hitherto been either pro- fitable or creditable to this country. Great expense has been in- curred, with no better apparent fruits than a large amount of die- content and turbulence. The discontent and turbulence have possibly been in great part a necessary consequence of the relation in which the two states stand to each other. A. protecting is naturally regarded by a, protected state with nearly the same feelings as a guardian in private life is regarded by his ward. The more man or nation needs to be protected, the less is either likely, to be satisfied with the exercise of the protector's authority. The same lack of judg- meat that renders protection necessary engenders discontent, even with beneficial eontroL But after making ample allowance for such unreasonable feelings on the part of the Ionians, there is a large residuum of disaffection only attributable to British misgo- vernment.
The Ionian question is an extremely complicated one. The ne- gotiations by which the islands were placed under the protectorate of Great Britain proceeded on the assumption that the inhabitants were not fit for self-government, and that England was the only state to which all the other European, Powers would willingly in- trust a protective authority over them. The British Government, by assuming the protectorate, undertook to fulfil treaty stipula- tions framed with a view to perpetuate a fair balance of power, and through it peace in Europe ; it also incurred obligations, partly based upon treaty, partly upon natural equity, to respect the rights and interests of the Ionians; and, lastly, it was bound by prior obligations to keep in view the interests of the British nation. In so far as the preservation of peace and the balance of power in Europe is concerned, the arrangement which placed the Ionian Islands under the protection of England may be considered, as having been successful. The benefits it has conferred either on the English or Ionian nation are more questionable. The latter may justly say that the efficiency of the government has been hy no means commensurate with- its expense. Taxation has been heavy ; the finances are in an unsatisfactory condition ; public works are in arrear ; and the state of the law is complained of. As for what concerns the British people, the expenditure on fortifica- tions and garrisons in the Ionian Islands has been great: in time of peace their commercial importance is inconsiderable, -and in time of war they are more likely to be a costly encumbrance than a commanding military. position. All these considerations must be kept in view if a just estimate is to be formed of the changes in our Ionian relations that are understood to be projected. They are of two kinds ; one originating with the head of the Colonial administration, the other with the Lord High -Com- missioner. The former contemplates the cession of the six lesser islands to Greece, and the appropriation by England of Corfu on the same tenure as that by which she already. holds Gibraltar and Malta. The latter contemplates a new organization and distribu- tion of administrative offices, that will, he imagines, put an end to discontent in the islands. The The features of these altera- tions consist in an enlargement of the financial authority of the Legislative Assembly ; the addition of one Greek judge to the -Supreme Court of justice, at present composed of two Greek and two English judges; and the admission of certain Opposition lead- ers to the Senate and other official appointments. The cession of all the islands except Corfu to Greece is a -project the immediate realization of which is impossible. The protectorate of the Ionian Islands was assumed by England with the assent and at the request of the other European Powers; their consent must be obtained before it can be terminated in the manner proposed. The Powers were willing enough to see England burdened with the administration of the islands ; it may be doubted whether they will be equally willing to see her relieved from this burden and en- riched by the acquisition of Corfu in full dominion. Again; Greece
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is only in name an independent state; any treaty between Greece and England without the sanction of the other Great European Powers would be nugatory. This project is visionary : its realiza- tion must of necessity be remote, and even then it promises little good to any of the parties interested. The abandonment of six of the islands by Great Britain would *new the contest for their possession, to put an end to which was the object of the protectdr- ate. To place these islands under the sway of the Greek Govern- ment, as it exists or is likely for a long time to exist, would be to subject them to anarchy, oppression, and extortion. And as for England, Corfu never can be made by any expenditure an impreg- nable citadel like Gibraltar ; nor if it could, would its possession really add to our military strength in the Mediterranean. The project of the Lord High Commissioner is founded on the assumption that the serious grievances of the Ionians are political, and the discontent engendered by them likely to be removed by political concessions. This is a great mistake. The political pub- lic of the Ionian Islands is but a very small fraction of the in- habitants. This Sir Henry Ward ought to know for in his con- templated arrangements he proposes to place the principal leader of the Opposition, whom he seeks to conciliate, in the Senate, simply and solely because all the man's own interest and all the interest of Government added to it cannot procure his election to the Lees- lathe Assembly. Neither he nor any of the loud and busy-IOW/01 politicians have a party, in our English sense of the word; Govern- ment gains no hold on the people by conciliating them. It is by prn-
dent and conciliatory administration, not by political concessions or intrigues, that the Ionians are to be made and kept contented. The rural population of Corfu are in the main well affected. They are less heavily taxed, and law is better administered than was the case under any of their former governments. The troubles in Cefalonia—the most unruly of the islands—are not of a nature to shake the stability of a government. They have their origin in old family feuds, such as long disturbed the tranquillity of the Northern and less civilized portion of our own island. What the Septinsnlar Republic wants is a government administered with a high hand, but in a humane spirit, and in perfect good faith. Ex- tinguishh the debt, keep down the taxes, expend the revenue honestly in useful public works; punish severely all acts of brigandage as such, without attributing to them a political character; make allowance for the ignorance of semi-barbarous clans, leave industry free, and make property and person secure ; and the Ionians, though they may grumble at times, will continue well-affected to British rule. But for free institutions—established by laws only
to be evaded in practice the mass of the people care not; and every agitator, silenced by fair promises or more weighty consi- derations, is only an example tempting others to engage in the same profitable pursuit. But of all the details of Sir Henry Ward's scheme, that which relates to the courts of law is the most absurd. If an admixture of Englishmen on the Ionian bench is required for the ends of justice, the English judges ought to have at least an equal voice in its deliberations with the Greek judges. But this is impossible if the latter are to be to the former in the proportion of three to two ; and if, moreover, the former are to de- pend for their salaries on an annual vote of the Legislative Assem- bly. If • the future constitution of the Supreme Court is to be as it has been proposed, the English judges had better be allowed to retire on pensions at once.
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