Rassegna storica del Risorgimento

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Nick Carter
Harding, however, made no attempt to disguise his anger witb die Whig government from Azeglio.24) Harding claimed the Whig leadership wanted to disguise its reluctance to intervene acùVely in the Cagliari affair by plac-ing the blame on the Law Officers. The Foreign Office had deliberately phrased its quesrions relating to the Cagliari in sudi a way that he had been given no choice but to mie against Piedmont According to Azeglio, Il a avoué en avoir fait l'observation a Mr Hammond au Foreign Office en lui disant à propos des Ingénieurs que si ici on voulait les faire pendre on prenait le chemin le plus sur. Harding though, as Azeglio recognised, was not an entirely reliable witoess. Harding had been appointed Queen's Ad-vocate a posirion which was unaffected by changes of government during a Tory administration. Given that such appointments were politically motivateci, it was hardly surprising that he displayed scant affection for the Whigs. When Azeglio asked whether, in the event of Piedmont requesting English intervention, Harding could advise the Whig government at least to give its moral support to the line taken by Piedmont, while expressing its regret that English law prevented any direct participation, Harding stated that this was a diplomatic matter, and entirely the responsibility of the For­eign Office. Harding, however, suggested that if Piedmont did request Eng­lish intervention then its best chance of success lay in presenting a formai Note to the Whig government
putting to one side the material aspects of the case, and instead ad-dressing the question entirely from the international point of view of an offended flag;
denying the legality of the Neapolitan actions and protesting against the bases of the Neapolitan accusations;
insisting on the right of the Piedmontese legai system to judge the innocence of the crew of the Cagliari;
concluding not by demanding English intervention but by appealing either to English opinion or to that of the other civilised maritime nations.
Harding also recommended that the Piedmontese government assem-ble ali the available documentary evidence and secure the services of a top English lawyer. Do ali this, Harding told Azeglio, Et je crois que le Min-istère se trouvera très embarrassé à vous répondre. The only alternative, he added, was to forget the whole incident, et de tàcher au contraire d'étouffer
Azcglif) wrotc to Cavour: Il m'a pam assez vcxé du róle dont il reste chargc de bouc cmissairc des rcprochcs qu'on peut adrcsscr au Gouvemcment. li. d'Azeglio to Ca­vour, 15 February 1858, ròr, p. 187.