LES MISSIONS D'ADRIEN D'EPINAY
LES MISSIONS D'ADRIEN D'EPINAY
LES MISSIONS D'ADRIEN D'EPINAY
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eached me, although I have received numerous despatches from you long since his arrival. It is, however,<br />
possible that directions respecting him may be contained in one of the two numbered despatches which,<br />
on the 23rd instant, I reported to be missing.<br />
But my doubts, as to your having sanctioned the return of this person, rest on still stronger grounds:<br />
I mean the very nature of the case.<br />
If he had been sent out of this Island merely on account of political conduct, his being permitted to<br />
return would not indeed have surprised me; from the general wish manifested by His Majesty's<br />
Government to bury in oblivion all past errors of that nature: but the case is far otherwise.<br />
Long before my arrival here, Pierretti had been looked upon as a person of a most violent and<br />
dangerous character; and, as such, he had been, more than once, directed by my predecessor to quit the<br />
colony. All the particulars on that head; as well as his subsequent behaviour; and his repeated attempts to<br />
set at defiance the order of the local authorities, are contained in my despatch of the 8th August 1833.<br />
With these facts upon record, it is difficult to conceive that you can have discovered any sufficient<br />
reason for dissenting from the opinion which Mr Stanley expressed upon this case, in the following terms:<br />
« It is only necessary for me to say that I entirely approve of the course » which you pursued: that I<br />
see no reason to doubt the propriety of the steps « taken by the Supreme Court » in reference to the purely<br />
legal points submitted « to their consideration: and that I do not consider Pierretti to be a person in «<br />
whose favour it is incumbent upon His Majesty's advisers to recommend any « deviation from the strict<br />
execution of the law ».<br />
Upon the whole, I cannot bring myself to believe that you gave any unconditional authority to Mr<br />
Pierretti's return to the Island; but as, on the other hand, I cannot suppose Mr A. d'Epinay's statement to be<br />
entirely void of foundation; and as I may possibly still receive sorne instructions from you with respect to<br />
Mr Pierretti; I consider it proper to allow a reasonable time for that purpose. It has accordingly been<br />
intimated to him that he is permitted to reside here, under the security of Mr A. d'Epinay, for the space of<br />
three months from this date; but that, if, by the expiration of this period, I shall not have received any<br />
directions from you to permit his longer residence, he must be prepared to depart.<br />
It is proper, here, to observe that the guarantee offered by Mr d'Epinay is only that Mr Pierretti shall<br />
not meddle in politics ; but, in the event of his obtaining your permission for permanent residence, he<br />
must be required to find adequate security that he will not disturb the public peace.<br />
The return of this individual, however, brought about what is already regarded by many as a<br />
triumph over legitimate authority: and I will frankly add that, if he should obtain his final object, I shall<br />
be placed in a most perplexing situation, if, unhappily, on any future occasion, a due regard for the public<br />
peace and safety should call for a similar exercise of the executive authority.<br />
Adverting to the accompanying correspondence, I beg leave just to call your attention to a<br />
paragraph (which I have marked with a pen) in the Procureur General's letter of the 12th instant; it implies<br />
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