Malta’s constitutional history and development was tortuous and had a number of setbacks over the years. When the Maltese asked the British to take over the islands after the expulsion of the French in 1800 – a request strengthened by the Declaration of Rights of 1802 – they fully expected an autonomous government with regard to local affairs.

Unfortunately, this wish did not materialise for a large number of years and, in fact, it was not until 1835 that a Council of Government was granted, but in which only a minority of Maltese were to be present. The ‘Royal Instructions’ for the constitution of a Council of Government were promulgated by a proclamation on May 1, 1835.

Although the British had generally accepted the fact that Malta was not a conquered country, on the other hand, they never regarded the peculiar way the Maltese islands were acquired as endowing the Maltese with special rights and privileges. The British decision to retain Malta was based on its valuation as a fortress in the Imperial defence network. For the British, this implied a government unfettered by local obligations and that would be solely responsible to the Secretary of State for the colonies.

A petition by Marquis Nicolò Testaferrata and a group of Maltese patriots was sent to the British government in 1811 demanding the establishment of the old Consiglio Popolare. At this time, Britain was faced with the problem of putting the local government on a permanent footing and so, in 1812, a Royal Commission of Inquiry was sent to Malta. The commissioners were instructed that “it must be a basic principle that the military authority should be free from all restraint in superseding the civil power whenever the security of the island appeared to demand it” even though the Maltese were to be given “as large a share of civil liberty as is consistent with the military circumstances of the island”.

The commissioners reported against the establishment of a Consiglio Popolare but in favour of having complete authority, both civil and military, vested in a governor, together with a recommendation that there could be an advisory council made up of four English and four Maltese members to be appointed by the governor.

This was the type of government in Malta till 1835. Through three successive governorships – General Sir Thomas Maitland (1813-24), Francis Rawdon, Marquess Hastings (1824-26), and Major-General Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby (1827-36) – complete power was exercised by the governors who never constituted the recommended advisory council.

A circa 1847 portrait by John Partridge of George Hamilton Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen (1784-1860), who was the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1834-5) when the Maltese 1835 Constitution was promulgated. Photo: Wikipedia.org

In 1832, a number of Maltese patriots presented two petitions to the British government in which, inter alia, they requested the grant of a National Council of about 30 Maltese to be elected “by means of the free suffrages of native heads of families, proprietors, followers of the liberal professions and arts, and merchants…” which would be, in essence, an autonomous local government. However, due to the islands’ strategic value, the request was unacceptable to the British government.

Governor Ponsonby was against the Maltese proposal but believed that, if a Council of Government were to be granted, the majority of its members should be Maltese since the latter would not be duped by palliatives. Ponsonby believed he personally could ‘manage’ a Maltese majority in such a council. However, the Colonial Office had a different opinion and declared that, if a council was an absolute necessity, it should be composed of a definite majority of official members who would always automatically support the governor. Ponsonby presented no less than three plans which were modified by the Colonial Office until a final draft was finalised on April 1, 1835.

A Government Proclamation on May 1, 1835, brought into being the April ‘Instructions’ and what may be termed the first constitution granted to Malta by the British. By means of this constitution, it became incumbent on the head of government “to consult and advise with the Council”.

The despotism of the governor was still there, cloaked but unimpaired

The council was to consist of seven persons, besides the governor, four of whom were to be persons holding offices in Malta, these being the senior officer in command of the land forces of the islands, the chief justice, the bishop and the chief secretary of the government. The other three were to be unofficial members selected by the governor: two Maltese from among the principal landed proprietors of Malta and one from the British-born principal merchants of the island with a local residence of not less than two years.

All questions placed for the consideration of the council were to be proposed by the governor but any member could apply in writing to have any particular question discussed. The governor could not, even in occasions of importance, act without communicating with the council. This does not mean that the governor could never act on his own initiative but rather that, if such a contingency occurred, the governor had to show and prove that an exigency had really existed and that the measures taken by him were to be brought before the council at the first opportunity.

Bickering on precedence immediately appeared. The bishop complained against his being ranked after the second-in-command, a complaint also raised by the chief justice. The bishop’s claim was accepted, but the chief justice’s was not.

However, the bishop, Mgr Francesco Saverio Caruana (1759-1847), never took his place and eventually resigned his seat because he was unable, being a Catholic pastor, to take the oath imposed on the members of the council stating that they would “never exercise any privilege, to which they were or might be entitled, to disturb or weaken the Protestant religion or the Protestant government in the United Kingdom”. By Letters Patent of October 29, 1838, the bishop was substituted by the auditor-general.

Initially, the inclusion of the chief justice in the council had been negatived by the Colonial Office after his inclusion had been proposed by Ponsonby. It was thought that, when an opinion on legal matters would be needed, the attorney-general would be called in. However, since in Malta there was to be no separation of the Executive, the presence of the chief justice in the council was probably considered essential.

Sir Frederick Hankey (1774-1855) was the local Chief Secretary of Government and duly took his seat on the 1835 Council of Government. Photo: Wikipedia.com

Sir John Stoddard, Malta’s Chief Justice in 1835 when he was accorded a seat on Malta’s first Council of Government.

Bishop Francesco Saverio Caruana: he did not take up his seat in the 1835 Council of Government for religious reasons. Photo: Wikipedia.com

The first unofficial members, chosen by Governor Ponsonby by the Proclamation of October 2, 1835, were: Baron G.M. De Piro (1794-1870) – a landed proprietor; Agostino Portelli – a Maltese merchant; and Nicholas J. Aspinall – a British merchant. Their choice was not very well-received. The local British merchants never accepted Aspinall as their representative, while it was held that there were at least 20 Maltese landed proprietors with property of greater value than De Piro.

Portelli was a merchant who defended the economy of the existing system and so was not likely to represent the grievances of the Maltese. Actually, the unofficial members held office only “during pleasure” and could be suspended for absence or incapacity or “any just cause”. These unofficial members, together with the second-in-command Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Balneavis (1776-1857), Chief Justice Sir John Stoddard (1773-1856) and Chief Secretary Sir Frederick Hankey (1774-1855), were installed on December 29, 1835.

The chief Maltese leader of the time, Camillo Sceberras (1772-1855), on May 20 informed the Secretary of State for the Colonies that the grievances that the Maltese had complained of in the 1832 petitions had not been remedied but, rather, they had been increased with the proclamation of the new council. He therefore recommended once more the petitions to the Secretary of State to be taken in consideration.

Camillo Sceberras, who fought relentlessly for the political rights of the Maltese.

Giorgio Mitrovich: a Maltese patriot who spent time in England lobbying for the political rights of the Maltese where he published a number of pamphlets and enlisted the help of William Ewart, the member of Parliament for Liverpool.

William Ewart, Member of Parliament for Liverpool who was prominent in bringing the Maltese grievances to the attention of Parliament. Photo: National Portrait Gallery, London

Sceberras’s letter was delivered in London by Giorgio Mitrovich (1795-1885), a Maltese patriot who was lobbying for the Maltese cause with the help of several British liberals, notably William Ewart (1798-1869), a member of parliament representing Liverpool. Mitrovich described the proclamation as “most unexpected and extraordinary” and believed the council to be contrary to the aspirations and interests of the Maltese.

Another significant comment was that of a principal British merchant in Malta, Samuel Christian, who had refused nomination to the council (before Aspinall was nominated) because, as it was reported, “he cannot discover in what way the general interests of this island can be promoted by a Council of such limited powers”.

To sum up, although the introduction of this council was a very small step forward in Malta’s constitutional development, its institution was never intended to introduce a new policy for Malta. It is true that the consent of the council was necessary for the promulgation of legislation but the despotism of the governor was still there, cloaked but unimpaired. Henceforth, it was to work through the council.

The 1835 Constitution remained in force till 1849 when a new constitution, with a minority of elected Maltese members, came into being (cf. my article on the subject in The Sunday Times of Malta, May 3, 2020.)

Joseph F. Grima is a retired casual history lecturer and assistant director of Education