1822.] Travels of Dr. Miller in Greece and the Ionian Islands. 
the belief that these islands are under 
martial law.. Woe to the wretch who 
should undertake any thing against 
which there should even be no probibi- 
tion, if it oppose the interest of British 
commerce! It must be considered of 
What deep importance this is in so 
small a maritime state, which subsists 
only by trade and navigation. 
With the cruelty of barbarians they 
fall upon the Ionian ships and boats, 
which are prohibited from seeking shel- 
ter against the inclemencies of the 
weather in any bay of the islands, if 
they do not purchase permission at a 
high price.—[ We translate literally.] 
The courts of justice, which ought to 
be independent, are only unrestrained 
where the interest of government is 
not at stake. But, whenever this is 
concerned, they must, like all the 
other branches of the executive and 
adminis‘ration, serve as the hand-maid 
of British interest, to which every 
thing must yield.—[ Let us hope that Dr. 
Miller saw with foreign prejudices. | 
The Ionian senate being entirely de- 
pendent on the government, the. latter 
has all places at its disposal. Most of 
these are given to foreigners, but never 
to Ionians, of whom it is known that 
they .think for themselves, and have 
spirit and energy enough to have a will 
of their own.—[ We consider it necessary 
io re-state that we translate literally. | 
The most remarkable proceeding of 
government is that respecting the coin- 
age. All the good silver and copper- 
coin in the islands was bought up and 
sent to England. For this good coin 
the finely coined oboli have been re- 
turned, but are said to contain 3 less in 
copper than their nominal value in 
silyer, compared to the Turkish paras, 
the Neapolitan grane, and the Roman 
bajocco.* _Silver-coin has not been 
given to them at all; it has only been 
promised. ‘This is very troublesome 
and injurious to the Ionians in their 
transactions with the continent.—[ Here 
Dr. M. insinuates that this was the very 
* The following story is current in Corfu, 
for the truth of which, however, I cannot 
warrant. In the budget of 1819, mention 
was first made among the receipts of 60,000 
Spanish piastres or talleri, which had been 
paid by the islands for the money sent 
from England; then this sum appeared 
among the expenses, as money given by 
England to the islands, and ultimately 
these 60,000 piastres appeared in the shape 
of a debt of the Ionian islands for the mo- 
ney sent from England! 
ors 
43.1 
design of the government, but this must 
be a calumny. | 
It was not till the present session of 
the British parliament that the defects 
and faults of the Lonian government 
were extensively and _perspicuously 
laid open by Mr. Hume. A ministerial 
member of the lower house attempted 
to refute him, but without success, 
Almost at the same time Signor Mar- 
tilengo, and several respectable Zan- 
tiots, addressed themselves in a re- 
spectful petition to the King of Eng- 
land: they represented their manifold 
grievances against the local govern- 
ment, and prayed for redress. For 
this, Martilengo and all those who had 
signed with him were immediately ar- 
rested as traitors and sent to jail in 
Corfu, where they still are; Martilengo 
only was afterwards released, to avoid 
disturbances in Zante. I do not be- 
lieve that the king and his ministers 
can know any thing of these proceed- 
ings.—[This supposition is creditable to 
the liberality of Dr. M; and we trust 
it will be found that the whole has been 
the act of some underling of power.] 
Thus the poor Lonian republicans 
were denied what every British sub- 
ject may do in their parliament, and 
their attempt was punished by the pro- 
consular government. 
English residents are established in 
the islands of Santa Maura, Thiaki, 
Kefalonia, Zante, and Kerigo. They 
naturally act in the sense of the go- 
vernment on which they depend. 
There, in their capacity of chief civil 
and military magistrates, they are 
looked upon in the light of little sove- 
reigns, and the royal Odysseus could 
hardly have had such authority on 
Thiaki as the British resident, although 
only a captain, 
‘The Greeks accuse this resident of 
oppressions and arbitrary seizures, 
These reproaches I consider as the 
result of the people’s discontent; since 
such vile conduct is not in the charac- 
ter of the English, 
They also greatly blame the conduct 
of the government, with regard to the 
revolutionized Greeks. Certainly, the 
government has tried. to prevent, sup- 
press, and punish, every real partici- 
pation of the Ionian. Greeks in the 
affairs of the neighbouring continent; 
and the numerous ordonnances that 
have been issued .on, this subject are 
before the public. 
But this conduct of the government 
cannot justly be blamed, if we rightly 
consider. 
