THE WAR OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE 1821 TO 1833 BY W.ALISON PHILLIPS 1897

136 THE WAR OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE
London.
It is the surest proof of the genuineness of
the Philhellenic sentiment in England at that time,
that two loans, one of 800,OOOZ. and the other of
2,000,000?., should have been floated without difficulty,
within a few days of each other, only on such
very unsatisfactory security as could be offered by an
insurgent Government constantly at
feud within itself.
Byron himself brought
instalment of 40,000/. ;
out with him the first
and, when he realised the actual
condition of Greece, he felt serious qualms at having
helped to induce people to invest in so doubtful a
speculation. For the time being, indeed, the money
was not handed over to the Greek Government, but
banked at Zante, where, after Byron's death, it
was
detained for a still further period by order of the authorities
of the Ionian Islands.
The question of what
became of it when it was ultimately handed over to
the Greek Government,
or what was the destination
of the subsequent instalments, has some light thrown
upon it by the statement of the Philhellene General
'
Gordon, who says, With perhaps the exception of
Zaimis, the members of the Executive were no better
than public robbers.' l
A considerable sum was, indeed,
saved from the greed of the Greeks by being expended,
more or less wisely,
i
Gordon,
in the national interest
ii. 72.