P A R G A. 
436 
treaty of 1815 which confirms, or by which Ihe takes up¬ 
on herfelf, the conditions of 1800; they were perfectly 
foreign to her; they could not have been liftened to for 
a moment; and that treaty was referred to, as we faid 
before, merely as the means of defining the limits of the 
new territory to be placed under her protection. As far, 
therefore, as treaties, or engagements, or promifes, are 
concerned, Great Britain might have withdrawn her 
troops from Parga, and left it open at any time Ihe pleafed 
to the re-occupation of the Ottoman Porte. This would 
have been, in faCl, to deliver over the Parganotes to the 
unlimited fury of Ali Pallia, in whofe territories they are 
fituated, and who was already fufficiently irritated by their 
repeated refufals to furrender themfelves to him. 
To avoid a cataftrophe fo dreadful, the Britifli ambaffa- 
dor was authorized to announce to the Porte, that the 
Britifli garrifon would be withdrawn from Parga fo foon 
as the fultan Ihould give his accefiion to the new fettle- 
ment of the Ionian Blands, which circumftances, arifing 
out of the war with France, had compelled the allied fo- 
vereigns to determine upon ; but not until he had further 
confented to provide a fuitable indemnity for fuch of the 
Parganotes as might refolve, from motives of perfonal fe- 
curity, to remove. But thofe inhabitants of Parga who 
might be difpofed to remain, were equally the objeCts of 
Britifli folicitude. As the treaty was ftill in force between 
Ruflia and the Porte, (which the fpecial conditions thus 
obtained in favour of fuch of the Parganotes as chofe 
to withdraw could not be confidered as abrogating in 
any refpeCt,) it was confidered that the rights to be 
claimed under that treaty, by thofe who fhould flay be- 
bind, ought to be fecured to them by the Ottoman Porte. 
To thofe rights they were clearly and unequivocally enti¬ 
tled, and to all the privileges thereby granted to them; 
audit was competent for Ruflia, at any time, to claim the 
fame for them. The Britifli government, however, not 
Tieing a direCt party to the treaty of 1800, had no fuch 
right of interference; flie might endeavour to prevail on 
the Porte to grant them, without being confidered as 
bound by any obligation to watch over their fulfilment: 
and this ftep fhe appears to have taken. Having fucceed- 
ed Ruflia in the character of proteCtor of the Ionian 
Iflands, and the immediate countenance of a Ruffian force 
being thus loft to the Parganotes, his majefty’s minifter 
at the Congrefs, inftead of being ignorant of the ftate of 
Parga, or forgetful of the Parganotes, as has been jnfinu- 
ated, appears to have taken the deepelt intereft in the fe- 
curity of this little community : this is fully proved by 
the inftruCtions given to the ambaflador at Conftantinople, 
to employ his good offices, in concert with the Ruffian 
minifter, if neceflary, to fecureto thofe who might remain 
all the privileges to which they were folemnly entitled by 
the treaty in queftion. 
As foon as the negociations for giving up Parga were 
concluded at Conftantinople, the fultan appointed Hadji 
Khan Hamed Bey his commiflioner to take poffeffion of 
the place, and at the fame time to deliver his accefiion to 
the treaty relative to the Ionian Iflands. To meet this 
commiflioner, and to arrange matters refpe&ing the valua¬ 
tion of the property, Gen. Maitland nominated Mr. Cart¬ 
wright, (then Britifli conful at Patras, and now conful- 
general at Conftantinople,) as a perfon who, from his ha¬ 
bits of bufinefs and his official fituation, appeared to be 
the belt qualified for the delicate and difficult talk of fleer¬ 
ing between two conflicting and diflatisfied parties. Mr. 
Cartwright proceeded to Ioannina, whence Hamed Bey 
lias written to announce his arrival. To give confidence 
to the Parganotes, on the approach of the commiflioners, 
the commander-in-chief of the Ionian Iflands thought fit 
to reinforce the garrifon to three hundred men. 
The perfons appointed by the general to make the va¬ 
luation on the part of the Parganotes were four gentle¬ 
men of refpe&ability on the ifland of Corfu. With Angu¬ 
lar care, and after long and continued labour, they took 
au accurate fcliedule of the property of every individual 
within the territory, on which they put the fame value 
that a fimilar property would be worth on that ifland. 
They found the number of lioufes and cottages to 
amount to 852 ; and the number of inhabitants, men, wo¬ 
men, and children, to 2700, of which 200 were Alba-? 
nians ; the number of olive-trees was 80,447; of wild 
olives, 9,486 ; of orange and citron trees, 23,082 ; of other 
fruit trees, 13,012; and of Valonia oaks, 5133 befides 
vineyards and cultivable grounds, all of which were 
meafured. The value of this property, which the Par¬ 
ganotes themfelves had ftated at 500,000k was eftimated 
by the Corfu commiflioners at 280,000k but by thofe on 
the part of the fultan at 56,756k only. Here then the 
two parties were at iffue, though not fo much as might 
appear at firft fight; the Corfu commiflioners having fixed 
the value as if the property had been at Corfu, and with¬ 
out any deduction for prompt ca(h-payment; the firft of 
which, it feems, admits of an abatement of one-third 
part by the rule in force even under the Venetian govern¬ 
ment, and the latter of one-fourth. Thefe deductions 
therefore would reduce their valuation to about 140,000k 
Still, however, the difference was fo great between the 
two valuations as to leave little hopes of coming to any 
fpeedy adjuftment; but the perfeverance of fir Thomas 
Maitland finally fucceeded in obtaining for the Parganotes 
150,000k (666,000 dollars,) nearly three times the fum 
eftimated by the officers of the Porte. But here again a 
difficulty occurred. Hamed Bey had provided the pay¬ 
ment in Turkifli piaftres, a miferably debafed coin. Had 
thefe been accepted, this vaft fum carried into the Ionian 
Iflands, would at once have fo depreciated the value, as 
to caufe a very confiderable lofs to the Parganotes, and 
detriment to the money-circulation of the Ionian Repub¬ 
lic. The voluntary liberality of Hamed Bey, however, 
fmoothed this point of difficulty; and at the expenfe of 
33,000 dollars he procured Spanifli and Imperial dollars 
to the whole amount. 
The moment this indemnity was received, the refult 
was publicly proclaimed in fpecific terms ; every inhabi¬ 
tant was explicitly informed of the fum he was to receive, 
of the amount of the valuation originally made of his 
refpeCtive property, and the diminution in confequence 
of the fubfequent arrangements ; and every one was again 
diftinCtly told that it was entirely at his own option ei¬ 
ther to remove or ftay. To prevent any miftake, each 
received a ticket, ftating the amount of his individual 
fliare; and the refult of the whole proceeding was, that, 
inftead of making any objections to the fairnefs of the 
valuation, the Parganotes all expreffed their latisfaCtion 
at what had been done for them, in the ftrongeftand moft 
unequivocal manner. We fhould have added that, on 
the delivery of the tickets, each individual was again in¬ 
formed, that he was ftill perfectly at liberty to remain, or 
to accept what had been confidered as a lair equivalent 
for the property, which he was about to leave. Hamed 
Bey made known by public proclamation the fentiments 
of the Porte on this occafion. “ I engage,” fays he, “ on 
behalf of the Sublime Porte, that ail thofe who, from at¬ 
tachment to their beloved country, may remain behind, 
fnall enjoy liberty of every kind, and every thing which 
regards their religion, without hindrance or molellation, 
together with every fecurity, and the molt profound 
tranquillity, in all that concerns their condition, their ho¬ 
nour, and the reipeft due to each.” They had all, how¬ 
ever, made up their minds to quit the place, except one 
family; and they quitted it accordingly : one of the pri¬ 
mates returned the following day, and was kindly re¬ 
ceived by Hamed Bey, and allb by Ali Pallia, who vifited 
the place three days after its evacuation. 
On the arrival of the Parganotes at Corfu, it was fettled 
with fhe Ionian government, that theylhould be at once, 
by an ad of the legiflature, acknowledged as naturalized 
fubjeCts, and indulged in their anxious wilh “ to follow 
the fate of the Ionian Iflands ;” giving them, at the fame 
time, permiflion to fettle in any of them, without the leaft 
reftriCtion 
