Greece in 1823 and 1824; being a series of letters and other documents on the Greek Revolution, written during a visit to that country. To which is added the Life of Mustapha Ali

Front matter

MUSTATPHA AM PuUis7ud,0ctT20.kIS24bjS7i,erwoad- &Cf GREECE, IN 1823 and 1824; BEING A SERIES OF LETTERS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS, ON THE GREEK REVOLUTION, WRITTEN DURING A VISIT TO THAT COUNTRY. BY THE HONOURABLE COLONEL LEICESTER STANHOPE. LUSTRATED WITH SEVERAL CURIOUS FAC SIMILES TO WHICH IS ADDED, THE LIFE OF MUSTAPHA ALI. LONDON : PRINTED FOR SHERWOOD, JONES, AND CO. PATERNOSTER ROW. 1824. JUECJJNT, PltlNTIR, I N 0 R A M -CO U RT, P tSCU D RCH-ST R EET. TO THE GREEK COMMITTEE, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE EDITOR.

Preface

. (BY THE EDITOR.) Amidst the various struggles for liberty which have recently agitated the South of Europe, none has excited so strong and permanent an interest as that of the people of Greece. Doomed for ages to endure the iron yoke of a barbarous nation, alien from their feelings alike in origin, in habits, and in religion, the tyranny under which they groaned was rendered yet more in supportable by the galling recollection that their fathers had been free ; and that at a time when all the other in habitants of the globe were in a state of slavery, Greece alone stood pre-eminent in the enjoyment of those republican institutions, which have continued to excite a

PREFACE.

. VI higher degree of admiration, in proportion as the mind of man has become more enlightened, and, consequently, more capable of appreciating their merits. The name of Greece is calculated to awaken and revive in every bosom feelings of the most pleasurable and improving kind. With our earliest years we are taught to admire the energy and pathos of her poets ; and, as we advance towards manhood, the genius of her historians, no less than the heroic actions which they have commemorated, become the favourite theme of our study. In the yet higher concerns of man, the culture of the mind and the administration of the state, the writers of Ancient Greece rise still higher, and approach, in many points, to that sublime system of ethics which characterizes the religion professed by their descendants.

That such a Nation, descended from the warriors, the poets, the historians, and the philosophers, who present to us the noblest types of their respective classes, should have sunk so low in the scale of moral energy as to have become the unmurmuring slaves of a race of uncivilized infidels, was a phenomenon too remarkable to be over looked, and too humiliating not to be universally de plored. From the school-boy to the statesman, all who had imbibed the slightest taste for literature, joined in the lamentation, and could only account for this apparent deviation from the usual course of things by the sup-

PREFACE.

. VII position that the modern Greek had degenerated from the talents and magnanimity of his forefathers ; that the owl of Minerva had dwindled into a beetle, and that the sword of Achilles had been again exchanged for the needle and distaff of the effeminate attendant on the court of Lycomedes. In this state of apparent moral degradation, the vir tues of the Greek people did but slumber, their mental and physical powers were not annihilated, and the for tunate moment at length arrived which enabled them to prove to the admiring world that they yet inherited a portion of those sublime energies which had ennobled their renowned progenitors. Roused from the apathy of their long-borne suffering, they at once burst asunder the massy chains with which their tyrants had loaded them, and, strong in the majesty of regenerated freedom, Greece once more lifted up her head.

Her infidel op pressors fled before her newly-awakened and irresistible energies, and in the course of a single campaign, the surface of Greece was almost entirely freed from the locusts who had so long devastated her plains. The tranquillity which they had purchased was not, however, of long duration ; with the ensuing spring the oppres sor returned, determined to inflict a tenfold vengeance upon those who had dared to emancipate themselves from his barbarous yoke ; but he came but to be de-

PREFACE.

. seated, and was driven back, though not without leaving behind him traces of his remorseless track, in the desolation and ruin which every where marked his course. Again and again have these attacks been repeated, and always with the same result ; still, however, the obsti nate cupidity of their former masters strives to repos sess itself of the fertile regions which have been wrested from their sway, and still are the Greeks compelled to defend their lives and liberties from those barbarous ag gressors who yearly devastate their possessions. Such, in brief, is the history ofthe Greek Revolution; the warfare which it has produced has hitherto been entirely of a defensive nature on the part of the Greeks. Offensive operations have not yet been attempted by them, although absolutely necessary, in order to secure a defensible frontier, which shall serve as a barrier against future encroachments and attacks.

Various circumstances have combined to prevent such operations from being carried into effect ; one of the most important of which has been the want of union among the Leaders. This, how much soever it is to be regretted, and it has indeed been deeply lamented by every friend of Greece, may yet be regarded as a consequence almost necessarily resulting from the unsettled state of a nation just emerging from slavery into independence. At such a crisis there will always be found many men of nearly

PREFACE.

. IX equal consequence, among whom jealousies will naturally arise, which are readily fomented by artful and in terested intriguers into subjects of hatred and discord. It is happy for Greece that this unhealthy spirit has almost exhausted itself, and that a cordial union among the Chiefs appears to have taken place to such an extent, that the government may at length reckon on possessing that controlling power, without which its utmost exertions must ultimately prove of no avail. Dreadful as is War under all circumstances, and especially when the op pressed is armed against the oppressor, to avenge the accumulated wrongs and miseries of centuries, it is, perhaps, favourable to the formation of a settled govern ment for the future, that the transition from slavery to freedom should not be too immediate, inasmuch as a struggle of some continuance gives the people a fuller insight into the characters and motives of their Leaders, and enables them to make choice of the most deserving.

Another principal cause which may be mentioned, as confining the Greeks to defensive operations, has been the want of money, a want which they have on several occasions most severely felt. This difficulty has now, however, like the former, been removed, by the negotiation in England of a loan on account of the Greek Government, which is in course of payment, and which will enable it to overcome many of the obstacles which X

PREFACE.

. have hitherto embarrassed its naval and military equipments. Other causes which have induced this defensive line of policy might also be enumerated, particularly the wish on the part of the Greeks to demonstrate to the Sovereigns of Europe, that their exertions were directed solely to the recovery of their own independence, and by no means intended to disturb the tranquillity of their neighbours. By this cautious course the Holy Alliance have hitherto been deprived of that ever ready pretext of which they might otherwise have availed themselves, to inferfere in her internal affairs, and _thus to entail upon Greece, as the reward of her noble struggles, nothing but a change of tyrants, acting on the principles of her former oppressors, and differing from them only in name. The reward, however, of her glorious efforts will, it is confidently anticipated, be very different from this disastrous result.

During the momentous struggle in which she has been engaged, the public mind has been continually directed to subjects on which, under their former rulers, they dared not even think. The praises of liberty have been sounded in their ears, and the love of it has sunk too deeply in their hearts to be soon obliterated. It is principally in this point of view that the efforts of those distinguished foreigners who have exerted themselves in behalf of Greece have been

PREFACE.

. XI most beneficial to her, and it is here that the Greek Committee of London justly bears away the palm of merit. The wide range and bold tone of political discussion, which have long prevailed in England, are universally acknowledged as the primary cause of the blessings which she possesses as one of the freest Nations of the Earth, and her sons, proud of the liberty which they enjoy, and deeply imbued with the warmest zeal for the source from which it was derived, have been constantly active in promoting the extension of its sway even to the remotest corners of the globe. Regenerated Greece presented to their view an ample and fertile field for the cultivation of its advantages, and the establishment of free presses and free discussion was looked forward to as the most effectual means of securing her national in dependence, as well as the personal freedom and secu rity of her children.

It was at this period that Colonel Leicester Stan hope, whose exertions in behalf of the press in India are too well known to need repetition here, offered his services to the Greek Committee to pro ceed to Greece in the character of their agent. His offer was received by the Committee with the highest satisfaction ; that honourable body, which comprises among its members no inconsiderable portion of the rank and talent of England, anticipated, from the exertions

PREFACE.

. of such a man, the fulfilment of their most ardent wishes. That their expectations were not disappointed by the result, is proved by the warm resolution of thanks which they voted to him on his return from his honourable mis sion. The following pages consist, principally, of the details given by him to the Committee as to the steps which he was daily taking in furtherance of their generous designs, and will, doubtless, be found pecu liarly interesting to every friend of the Greek Cause, the advancement of which forms the chief object of their publication. Of the talents of Colonel Stanhope, of his devotion to the cause of freedom, and of his persevering zeal, as well in India as in Greece, in furtherance of the esta blishment of a free press, the great palladium of the liberty of the human race, the Editor feels that it would not become him to speak in the terms which would spon taneously flow from him on such an occasion.

Under personal obligations, which he is now, as at all times, anxious most gratefully to acknowledge, to that tried and active promoter of " the greatest good of the greatest number," the praise which he might offer would naturally become suspected. From this he will, therefore, abstain ; but he has held it a bare act of justice to put on record, among the documents which compose the Appendix to this volume, some portions of the opinions of the vene-

PREFACE.

. XIII rabie Bentham, and of others, well qualified to judge on the subject, and to offer a disinterested and unbiassed opinion. The testimonials of the distinguished merits of Colonel Stanhope, which he has there preserved, are, indeed, almost unnecessary to the reader of the follow ing pages, each of which bears ample evidence of a mind perseveringly and ardently devoted to the moral improvement of mankind, and through that to the in crease of freedom and of happiness. Note from Col. Stanhope to the Editor, regarding the Publication of this Volume. London, 1st Sept. 1824. Dear Sir, Many persons have recommended me, and you have undertaken, to publish my Correspondence concerning Greece. I accept their counsel and your kind offer. I must, however, state that most of these letters were written on the spur of the occasion, from huts and caves, or in the open air, and frequently in the midst of difficulties, mutiny, and a crowd of people.

They are not even of an official character, but were addressed to my friend Bowring, for the information of the Greek Committee. I leave you my Correspondence, and must bid you a hasty farewell, as I am just starting for the Continent. Believe me very truly yours, Leicester Stanhope. To Mr. Richard Ryan, &T. &C. A SERIES OF LETTERS, &C &!C. &c.

Letter I. To

J. BOWRING, ESQ. Stable-Yard, St. James's, 14th September, 1823. My dear Bowring, Having understood that Captain Blaquiere's pursuits will detain him for some time in England, I venture to offer my services to the Committee, as his substitute, till his affairs shall enable him to proceed to Greece. In every thing except zeal I am conscious of my inferiority to Captain Blaquiere, and nothing but a conviction that his useful exertions are for the present •unavailable would induce me to come forward with an offer to fill his place. Should my services be accepted, I shall consider my- AND 1824. self the servant of the Committee just as much as if I was paid for the performance of the duty. In my way to Tripolizza, I should propose to confer with the Swiss and German Committees, and to esta blish an efficient system of co-operation, without shack ling our efforts.

On my arrival in Greece I might be usefully employed under Lord Byron in conferring with the government on thedisposal of the services of those officers whom the Committee have sent thither ; in making arrangements for the formation of the laboratory-establishment, and in selecting proper persons to work in that depart ment ; in recommending the introduction of discipline in the Greek armies, and in pointing out the means of effecting that object ; in endeavouring to improve the discipline of their irregular troops, by instructing them in the use of their arms, in the attack and defence of places, and in the construction of field-works. It would, also, be matter of vast importance to promote a general system of useful education, in which the use of arms should not be neglected. The printing and lithographic presses should be pro perly disposed of, not to the government, but to the public ; and intelligent and honest men should be stimu lated to express and publish their thoughts freely. I am, Sec. Leicester Stanhope. [Vide Appendix, Nos. 1, 2, 3.] AND 1824. 3

Letter II. To The Same

Redstadt, 6th October, 1823. Dear Bowring, On my arrival at Darmstadt, on the 4th instant, I called on the two Messrs. Hoffman. Both, unfortunately, were absent. I next addressed myself to the President, Monsieur Hoepfner. This Gentleman complained much of the conduct of the Greek government towards the German corps : the Capitani, he said, were jealous of them ; they had been left inactive and destitute of all succour. The German and Swiss Com mittees had, in consequence, come to a resolution to order the legion home, unless the Greek government would supply them with the means of subsistence. In reply to these remarks, I observed that the Greek chiefs, though too aspiring, were wisely jealous of the interference of foreigners ; that so far from wishing to curb this spirit, it should be fostered, as calculated to root in the public mind a hatred of foreign dominion, whether exercised by Turk or Tartar ; and that the only reason for employing foreign troops was some case of emergency, or for the purpose of communicating and spreading knowledge in the various branches of the art of war.

Upon this principle, and to this end, all our succours should be employed. As to the policy of sending the troops back to Germany, that measure should only be warranted by a want of funds, which, under the present prospect of obtaining a loan, could not be anticipated ; and that under even the most unfavourable B AND 1824. circumstances, there was reason to hope that a number of those Germans might be employed in the laboratory. It may be well here to remark that, according to Mr. Hœpfner's estimate, a soldier may be subsisted in Greece at the rate of one guinea per month, and for t-£14 may be sent back to Germany, I then put various questions to Mr. H. and solicited a written answer to the following, viz. — 1st. Whether any aid to a Greek loan could be ob tained in Germany, and how that measure could be fur thered I 2d. What measures were adviseable with respect to the German corps in Greece ? 3d. Whether it would be desirable to establish a joint committee in Greece, consisting of one English, one German, and one Swiss member ? 4th.

By what means he thought a safe communication could be established between Greece and Germa ny? and 5th. In what manner the feeling in Germany could be excited in favour of the Greeks, so as to baffle the efforts of the Turks, to avert the power of Russia, and to confound the wily arts of the holy league 1 To these questions I received the following answers. [Vide Appendix, No. 4.] As far as these points are connected with my duties, they shall be scrupulously attended to. I furnished the Darmstadt Committee with all Cap tain Blaquiere's able reports, which they have agreed to publish in the papers. I also gave them a list of the Consuls of the Levant Company, which they promised to publish, aud to animadvert on their ungenerous con- AND 1824. 5 duct. The Darmstadt Committee are desirous of giving publicity to Mr. Canning's schoolboy Essay on the Rise and Fall of the Greeks.

They will add to it such a commentary as they may deem useful to the cause. Co lonel De Lounay has had a conference with the Darmstadt Committee : they think well of him. He is now at Zurich, where I expect to meet him in a few days. Not wishing to check my progress, I have resolved not to go to Stutgard. The North and South German and Swiss Committees are in such close alliance that by conferring with those of Darmstadt and Zurich, all my business may be accomplished. I trust that you and the Committee will approve of my determination. I am yours, L. S.

Letter III. To The Same

Bern, 10th October, 1823. Dear Bowring, From Darmstadt I travelled with a Prussian officer of hussars. Much of our conversation was about the Landwehr, as I thought that parts of the system might be applicable to the Greek constitutional force. I was happy to learn from this hussar that flogging had been entirely abolished in the Prussian army. I was, however, shocked to reflect that, while we imitated the Prussians so closely in our tactics, our discipline, and even in our dress, we should differ from them only in AND 1824. this most barbarous custom ; and that those valiant soldiers who had never lost a field in the peninsula should still be subjected to the worst and severest code of any perhaps in Europe. I reached Zurich on the 8th of October, and imme diately called on M. Hirzel, of the Greek Committee : I found him honest and enlightened.

I put a number of questions to him for the consideration of the Com mittee, similar to those previously proposed at Darm stadt. On the same night the Committee assembled. Mark well the character of the meeting. President, Monsieur Hirzel, Secretar der Justiz und Polizey. Members, Professor Fœst, Oberschreiber am obergericht und Mitglied des Geheimen Raths, Major Fœst, Monsieur Hess, Pfarrer an der Waisenkirche, Professor Hollinger, Dr. Hans Locker, &c. The questions were put by the President. He then called upon me to explain the ob ject of each measure, and afterwards on each member in rotation to give his opinion. The measures having been approved, I was next desired to state what the London Committee had done and what they had in contemplation. I told them that the London Committee consisted of some of the most eminent scholars, members of par liament, soldiers, merchants, and virtuous men in Eng land.

I mentioned the names of Bentham, Erskine, Mackintosh, Hume, Hobhouse, and the Russells. I said that the grand object of the Committee was to give freedom and knowledge to Greece. To this end they had given publicity to their sentiments, as also to the sufferings and heroic actions of the Greeks, which they AND 1824. 7 conceived calculated to excite the public mind of Europe in their favour, and even to check the impious intentions of tyranny and ambition. In this they had, perhaps, partly succeeded. At all events, more favour able measures had lately been pursued by the British government. They had observed the law of nations in the blockade, and had afforded an island as an asy lum to the Greeks. With respect to pecuniary contri butions in their favour, I stated that Colonel Gordon had expended nearly £20,000 ; that Lord Byron had devoted to their cause his genius and his purse ; that the Quakers, with their usual liberality, had gathered above £'8,000 ; and that the subscription, set on foot by the Greek Committee, was still in progress.

The grand object of the Committee, however, was to impress on the public mind the stability and security of the Greek government, and to procure her an efficient loan. Already £100,000 had been offered, and there was reason to hope that a larger sum would be obtained, on high but not unreasonable terms. This loan would enable the Greek government to establish a disciplined military and naval force. To communicate knowledge to the Greeks was an object the Committee had near at heart. From this source spring order, morality, freedom, and power. The venerable Bentham, with a spirit of philanthropy as fervent, and a mind as vast as ever, had employed his days and his nights in contemplating and writing on the constitution of Greece, and in framing for her a body of rational laws, the most useful of human offerings.

The mighty power of the press of England had been AND 1824. exerted in favour of Greece. The Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews had both ably advocated the cause. The latter had especially recommended the Committee to furnish the Greeks with the means of acquiring knowledge. The Committee had sent out lithographic and other presses to Greece, and hoped soon to hear of their having been instrumental in the diffusion of know ledge. The Committee and the Quakers both contem plated sending out schoolmasters. Two Greek youths were educating by the Foreign School Society, and three schools on the Laucasterian principle were said to have been established in Greece. Mr. Bentham had also directed me to send home two intelligent Greek boys, for the purpose of their being first instructed, and then employed as teachers for the diffusion of useful education.

The Committee contemplated sending to Greece many elementary works on education, on the sciences, on agriculture, and on the art of war. Feel ing strongly that Greece could not long maintain herself without military discipline, they had been, above all things, anxious to promote that object. They had, for this purpose, sent out to Greece officers of engineers, of artillery, of infantry, and cavalry ; also, a most able fire-master, and several mechanics for the manufacture of all the materials of war — cannon, mortars, carriages, arms, Congreve-rockets, Schrapnel-shells, gunpowder, &c. This explanation of the conduct of the London Com mittee seemed to satisfy the meeting. [Vide Appendix, No. 5.] In my next letter I shall speak of the policy of AND 1824. 9 establishing the military system of Switzerland in Greece ; also of my interviews with Monsieur Fellen berg and the Count Capo DTstria.

I have discovered a most efficient instructor in the person of Professor Hahele. He is said to be a man of moral character, and highly liberal. He is well in formed in the ancient and modern languages, as also in the sciences, and pursues the system of Pestalozzi. I have written to him at Chur, and have desired him to communicate to you and me his opinions as to the most efficient means of introducing instruction into Greece, and also as to the terms on which he would be willing to proceed thither. Yours, L.S.

Letter IV. To The Same

Geneva, 13th October, 1823. Dear Bowring, I travelled from Zurich to Bern with two very intelligent persons. The one, Professor Leppe, who had been an assistant under Mr. Fellen berg, and has established an academy, on his principle, at Lenzburg ; the other, a Colonel of the Swiss staff, who owns the castle where lived the tyrant Gessler. Monsieur Leppe confirmed all I have said in favour of Professor Hahele ; he gave me letters to Messrs. Fel lenberg and Pestalozzi. The Colonel afforded me some information about the military system of Switzerland. AND 1824. He calculated the whole expense of the army, consisting of 60,000 men, from twenty to thirty years of age, at about £60,000 per annum. He told me that the military-schools, the staff, the artillery, the engineers, the infantry, and sharp-shooters, were all well informed in their duties, and that the cavalry was the only defec tive arm.

Every branch of the service is assembled and exercised for about one month in the year, and the whole body is ready to march at one day's notice. It is evident that a militia of this description cannot be equal on their first taking the field to a more exercised army. The Swiss, however, like the Greeks, having a strong country, can act on the defensive till they be come perfectly aguerried. The Colonel gave me a list of all the books that apply especially to the system. These I shall procure and present them to the Greek senate. In addition to this system, I think the Committee would do well to send out by Parry the American ordi nance. I have great satisfaction in acquainting you that all the Greeks and Philhellenes, to the amount of one hundred and sixty, who had sought refuge in Germany and Switzerland, have been sent to the Morea.

Of this number eighty have been disciplined. Many well-informed persons have assured me that, on the Greek loan being properly announced, the deben tures to a considerable amount would be purchased in Germany and Holland. Upon this subject you should address Messrs. Hopfner and Co. I beg leave to suggest to the Committee the probable advantage of soliciting the society in India to subscribe to the Greek cause and to the loan. Mr. Campbell and AND 1824. 11 Mr. Buckingham, Dr. Gilchrist and Colonel Young, could further this object on being applied to ; the two last might be added to our Committee. Be pleased to state to Mr. Bentham that I put a copy of his works into the hands of Monsieur Hirzel, who will place them in the public library at Zurich, where they will be read by the friends of freedom.

I had an interview with Monsieur Fellenberg, at Hofwill. He takes a strong interest in the cause of Greece. The Count Capo D'lstria had been for some time with Monsieur F. and had left him on the day of my arrival. He was desirous of soliciting the Count to return ; but, on my telling him I was pressed for time, he said it mattered not, he would give me a letter to the Count at Lausanne. I then expressed my fear that Capo D'lstria was under obligations to Russia, and that he might wish to place Greece under the protection of that power, — protection that would entail dependence. " No," said Monsieur Fellenberg ; " he is a Greek." He then asked whether we had no selfish — no English interest in view ? I assured him that we wished to see Greece, her people, her soil, her com merce, and her press, free as their thoughts.

Monsieur F. said, if Capo D'lstria had heard you express that sentiment he would have embraced you. He told me that Capo DTstria's object was to preserve the Greek character, to which he attributed her success. To this end he proposed to establish an academy in Switzerland, exclusively for the youth of Greece. I said that the progress should be onward, not backward. Monsieur F. informed me that the Count was now educating a number of Greek boys in France and Switzerland in AND 1824. the military art, in ancient languages, in architecture, sculpture, painting, in short, in all the sciences. I reached Bern on the 10th instant : Sir Thomas Mait land was there, on his way to the Ionian Isles. On my ar rival at Lausanne, on the 12th, I found that the Count Capo D'lstria was living at the same inn.

I sent him my letters, and he received me with great kindness. He commenced his discourse by a diplomatical and his torical sketch of the modern history of Greece. He then spoke of the course pursued by Russia and England, glossing over the conduct of the former. He said that Lord Londonderry's desire was to render Greece as in significant and harmless as possible, and to make her people like the spiritless natives of Hindoostan ; that he had recommended him to pursue an enlightened and liberal course towards the Ionian Islands ; but that he (Lord L.) had not a mind to look deep into things, nor a soul to act nobly. He then began to hint at the selfish and commercial views of England. I replied that we had no fears for Greece on the side of Turkey, that what we feared was internal commotion excited by the military chiefs.

We feared, too, Russia ; — her invasion, even her protection, we feared. The Count resumed by observing that the Committee had done, and might still do, great good, but that we must not attempt to Anglicanise Greece. I replied that we rather wished to Americanize her. The Count thought our end should be to enlighten Greece and to act upon utilitarian prin ciples. Yes, said I, Count, but do you think that the Sainte Alliance will allow Greece to establish a virtuous republic. His Excellency spoke as well as could be expected ; he beat about the bush and then said that it AND 1824. 13 was not in the nature of things that monarchs should encourage republics ; he added, that, if England acted nobly and sided with Greece, no power could succeed against her. Here I remarked that, though I had a favourable opinion of Mr. Canning's feeling towards Greece, I could trust to the honesty of no government; my only confidence lay in the free and martial spirit of Greece ; if she could but enjoy two years of pure liberty, the enemy that invaded her would either waste to death in the attempt, or else, by a reaction, be herself revo lutionized.