Coleridge's Laws

Front matter

Barry Hough and Howard Davis With an Introduction by Michael John Kooy

Coleridge’s Laws A Study of Coleridge in Malta

Translations by Lydia Davis

Contents

Illustrations ix Abbreviations xi Foreword xii Preface xiv Introduction (by Michael John Kooy) xvi 1. The Battle of Self 1 2. Coleridge’s Malta 50 2.1. Maltese Social Political and Economic Context 51 2.2. The Maltese Economy 58 2.3. British Model of Government on Malta: the “Continuation” Strategy 65 2.4. Maltese Institutions 69 2.5. The Public Reputation of the British Administration 1802-1806 98 3. The Constitutional Position of the Civil Commissioner 107 3.1. Colonial Policy and the Civil Commissioner 108 3.2. Legal Restraints on Power 127 3.3. Political Constraints 135 3.4. Conclusion 140 4. Coleridge’s Proclamations and Public Notices 143 4.1. Coleridge’s role: the “Most illustrious Lord, the Public Secretary” 143 4.2. The Nature of Bandi and Avvisi 151 5. Thematic Analysis of the Proclamations and Public Notices 164 5.1. Reconstruction 166 5.2. Distribution of Prize 173 5.3. Taxation 186 5.4. Public Order and Crime 199 5.4.1. The Anti-Semitic disturbances 208 5.4.2. Immigration and the Detection of Crime 230

5.5. Corruption 239 viii Coleridge’s Laws

5.6. Consumer Protection 243 5.6.1. The Regulation of Spirits in the Bando of 22 March 1805 244 5.6.2. The Avviso 12 June 1805 257

Foreword

“T have the public Memorials to write & worse than all constant matters of Arbitration”!

Coleridge’s Bandi (Proclamations) and Avvisi (Public Notices)* appear to be of a minor, regulatory character dealing with such matters as licensing, cartwheels, mooring ropes, foreigners and excise duties. In fact, these legal and administrative texts reveal how Coleridge used and controlled government information to advance the dominant strategic purpose of British rule. They were intended not only to alter behaviour, but also to influence public opinion and secure the legitimacy of British rule.

As we Shall discover, the British in Malta were explicitly directed by the British imperial government to achieve popularity with the Maltese and to ensure the stability of the islands as a British possession. A series of policies and decisions, whether ill-advised in conception or operation, some resulting from the incompetence of administrators, or the deliberate hoodwinking of the British by the Maltese, led to a temporary, but profound, decline in British popularity. Confidence in the British and, in particular, in the Civil Commissioner, Sir Alexander Ball, whose autocratic constitutional authority made him the embodiment of British purposes and values, was at a dangerously low ebb by the spring of 1805. Coleridge was compelled, not least in the laws and public notices, to mount a propaganda offensive to “re-engage” with the Maltese public. He had to portray a selfless, benign administration that, according to Coleridge’s narrative, prioritised Maltese interests, and acted merely to ensure the well-being of the local population.

In fact, Malta, at that time, exposed the difficulties administrators faced when confronted with the inherent conflict of interest in the colonial project. In many instances, British imperial goals were not invariably

1 ToMrsS.T. Coleridge, 21 July 1805 in Collected Letters of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, ed. E.L. Griggs, 6 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956-71), 2, 1169-70. Hereafter referred to as CL.

2 “Bando” and “avviso” in the singular.

Forward xiii congruent with Maltese interests. The de-stabilising tensions, springing from this divided colonial relationship, had to be managed because, as the British knew, a disaffected Maltese population could be capable of violent insurrection. They had responded to a call to arms as recently as 1798 to evict the unpopular French occupiers from their islands. A decline in popular support threatened continued British possession. In securing the long-term strategic goals of British rule, Coleridge was required to assume a weighty burden of responsibility. The evidence of depression, stress, overwork and addiction shown in his Notebooks attest to his struggle to fulfil the demanding expectations of him in his public office as well as overcoming the well-known problems in his private life.