Rassegna storica del Risorgimento

Ungimid, Piedmont, and the Cagliari affair 149
d'Azeglio, the Piedmontese minister to London, reported to Cavour that Clarendon was again considering an armed demonstration at Naples by the Royal Navy if his demands were not met6)
Clarendon's belligerence, however, was tempered by Palmerston, the English Prime Minister. From the beginning, Palmerston had shown a re-luctance to get involved in the Cagliari affair. Once the Neapolitan gov-ernment had given permission to Barbar to see the imprisoned engineers (23 November) Palmerston was quick to play down any differences with Naples. To the House of Commons on 4 December, Palmerston stated: As far as things now stand, I do not feel that we have any complaint against the Neapolitan Government.7) Palmerston's cautious attitude also reflected English legai opinion. Sir John Harding, the Queen's Advocate, judged that the Neapolitan government had actually been within its rights to refuse Barbar access to Watt and Park.8) Clarendon was thus obliged to adopt a less aggressive stance in his dealings with Naples, although he remained determined to press Naples for the Britons' release.
Clarendon's case appeared to be strengthened when, in mid-December, he received news that depositions of released crew members 9 of the Cagliari indicated that Watt and Park had acted under compulsion when the vessel was seized by Pisacane. This undermined the Neapolitan argument that Watt and Park had been party to the conspiracy.10) More sig-nificantly, it seemed likely that the Cagliari'* captare, contrary to earlier Neapolitan claims, had in actual fact taken place in intemational waters, be-yond Neapolitan maritarne jurisdiction. In Piedmont, legai opinion appeared ready to condemn the seizure as unlawfuL11)
It was with this information that Clarendon approached the three senior Law Officers of the Crown (Harding, Henry Keatàng, the Solicitor-General, and Richard BetheH, the Attomey-General) on 17 December in an attempt to gain legai backing for his new argument that the Neapolitan proceedings against Watt and Park were unlawful since the Cagliari was ille-gally captured outside of Neapolitan waters. The Law Officers, though, concluded that England had no right to demand the release of the accused since it appeared that the captain of the Cagliari had voluntarily surrendered
*) E. d'Azeglio to Cavour, 16 November 1857, Archivio di Stato, Torino (ASI), Let­tere Miniatri Gran Bretagna (1856-57), box 125.
7> HEARDER, op. cit, p. 227.
Q Harding to Clarendon, 6 November and 9 December 1857, Correspondence respectìng the Cagliari*, pp. 30-31,47.
Eleven of the crew of the Cagliari were released from prison on 28 Octobcr 1857.
i) For the Neapolitan charges against Watt and Park see: HEARDER, op. àtt pp. 227-228.
il) Hudson to Clarendon, 12 December and 14 December 1857, Correspondence re­spectìng the u Cagli ari, pp. 57, 60-61.