268 Report of the Select Committee on 
restitution of that province to the Porte, wrought a wonderful 
and mstantaneous change in the disposition of all ranks and de- 
scriptions of people towards our nation, Universal benevolence 
and good-will appeared to take place of suspicion and aversion. 
Nothing was refused which was asked; and Lord Elgin, avail- 
ing himself of this favourable and unexpected alteration, ob- 
tained, in the summer of 1801, access to the Acropolis for ge- 
neral purposes, with permission to draw, model, and remove ; 
to which was added, a special license to excavate in a particular 
place. Lord Elgin mentions in his evidence, that he was obliged 
to send from Athens to Constantinople for leave to remove a 
house ; at the same time remarking that, in point of fact, all 
permissions issuing from the Porte to any distant provinces, are 
little better than authorities to make the best bar gain that can 
be made with the local magistracies. The applications upon 
this subject passed in verbal conversations; but the warrants 
or fermauns were granted in writing, addressed to the chief au- 
thorities resident at Athens, to whom-they were delivered, and 
in whose hands they remained: so that your committee had no 
opportunity of learning from Lord Elgin himself their exact tenor, 
ov of ascertaining in what terms they noticed, or allowed, the 
displacing or carrying away of these marbles. But Dr. Hunt, 
who accompanied Lord Elgin as chaplain to the embassy, has pre- 
served, and has now in his possession, a translation of the second 
fermaun, which extended the powers of the first ; but as he had 
it not with him in London, to produce before your committee, 
he stated the substance, according to his recollection, which was 
<¢That, in order to show their particular respect to the ambassa- 
dor of Great Britain, the august ally of the Porte, with whom 
they were now and had long been in the strictest alliance, they 
gave to his excellency and to his secretary, and the artists em- 
ployed by him, the most extensive permission to view, draw and 
model the ancient temples of the idols, and the sculptures upon 
them, and to make excavations, and to take away avy stones 
that might appear interesting to them.” He stated further, 
that no remonstratice was at any time made, nor any displeasure 
shown by the Turkish government, either at Constantinople or 
at Athens, against the extensive interpretation which was put 
upon this fermaun; and although the work of taking down and 
remoying was going on for months, and even years, and was 
conducted in the most public manner, numbers of native la- 
bourers, to the amount of some hundreds, being frequently em- 
ployed, not the least obstruction was ever interposed, nor the 
smallest uneasiness shown after the granting of this second fer- 
maun. Among the Greek population and inhabitants of Athens 
jt occasioned no sort of dissatisfaction; but, as Mr, Hamilton, 
an 
