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    - 12 T H E LEADE R>. [No. 331, Saturday,

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    A Remonstrance With The Critics. (To The...

    could perfectly co-operate with a National Assembly in France . I wish it to be observed that I have always excepted the monarchical element of our constitution from my strictures on monarchy—of course -without pretending to maintain that it is an essential element in a good government . I am quite sure that no one will take this exception for a politic

    con-On what ground , then , is the E nglish pubhc informed that I have been " living for some years in Paris , in society not of good political repute—that of the Eed Republicans ; " that I have been in the " habit of familiar intercourse with members of the extreme democratic party ; " and so forth ? I have certainly always endeavoured to see the people of whose characters and opinions it might be my lot to speak , to converse with them , and obtain their confidence , instead of adopting vague reports , and picking up the bitter scandal of political opponents . In the case of the French republicans , I have found their private characters to be so pure in comparison

    with the private characters of many of the chief men of other parties , that I have certainly been offended by the tone of violent detraction adopted towards them in the English press ; and have thought it proper to be lenient in judging of their public acts even when I most disagreed with them . The absence of the usual scurrility in my pages seems to have led many unreasoning persons to believe that I am " a Red" myself . But because I refuse to saylying—that a certain party , whose views I do not adopt , is composed of cannibals and spoliators , it is rather hard not only to identify me with them , but to found biographical surmises thereon , and deliver them to the confiding public as information from behind the scenes .

    It is not incumbent on me to describe my social experiences in France and Piedmont . I may be allowed , however , to deny what one journal affirms , namely , that I studied politics during a Three Years' " Hesidence in a Levantine Family ; to affirm that , in Paris I have seen far more of Legitimist and Orleanist society than Republican—Bonapartists I generally avoid , because they are not respectable ;—and that , in fact , my system always has been to consort with persons of opposite opinions to myself . Truth comes out in the collision of minds . There is no greater mistake than droning on in company with people who never differ from you . I believe that , after having satisfied the sentiment , I should have cut the Republicans altogether , had I not found an infinite number of points on which we could dispute . *

    As to Piedmont , although it has been impertinently said that I knew no one there but Valerio , I shall not enumerate the persons with whom I came in contact . I have given my reasons for this discretion in the fourth chapter of my second volume . It is extremely improper to introduce nominally the persons who receive you hospitably in a foreign country—especially when you have to differ from them . AH I shall say , therefore , on this point is , that among my many introductions I had one from the person best fitted in this country to give it to the person best suited in Piedmont to receive it . My other introductions , direct and indirect , with one exception , were to supporters of the Ministry . A friend

    procured me one from a very distinguished Italian to ! Lorenzo Valerio ; but I did not present it at first , and when I did so , thought I was received with coldness and suspicion . It was only when I found that among the Ministerialists I could get no accurate information—that they were only inclined to " cram " me with fulsome praises of Count Cavour , and libels against the private characters of all liberals—that I vas awakened to the necessity of seeing unofficial people . I remember one evening at the Opera , whilst listening to I * a Piccolomini , asking M . in presence of some ladies , wives of senators and deputies , for information about a distinguished orator . He drew me a little aside and whispered the horrid fact

    that that gentleman had " two wives I " " So had the Icing , " replied I , " beforo lie became a widower , " & c . & c . I assure you , air , that if it had not been for eev-eral small facts of this kind , I should have forgotten , in that agreeable society , to use the means I generally employ for ascertaining the truth . I went to Valerio and opened my heart to him . I believe -we understood one another—at any rate I learned to respect and love him . But it is a gross absurdity to try , against my most positive statements , to make liim responsible for the opinions I have put forward in my work . I have never yet adopted any man ' s

    opinions . Valexio and myself differ on many most essential points — and especially on the necessity ot telling the whole truth with reference to Piedmont . Ho repeatedl y rofuaed to enter into details on certain points . because he thought it inopportune to speak i Z L ^ 1 ° thftt ~*» I believed thnt England Bhbuld not be kept in the dark—I was obliged to go o other aources which I do not choose to onumerate . lo Bum up my personal experiences in Piedmont , I was led by introduction among the Ministerialists , by accident among the reactionists , by necessity ns wall as taste among the extreme HbernlB . I saw little or nothing Q f the disci ples of Mft ^ ini , between whom

    and the Constitutional liberals there is a strong opposition which I regret and condemn . As for Mazzini , I will not libel him—though I am far from belonging to his school—and this is a reason why Piedmontese courtiers will always , anathematize me . I was really nauseated at Turin by the silly things I heard said about that great patriot . Ladies crossed themselves at mention of his name . A pistol shot was fired at , or near , a quiet old man , while I was in Turin , by some scoundrel . Immediately it was stated to me that formerly the frightened gentleman had held some political appointment in the Legations ; and that he had been set down for assassination by the agents of Mazzini ! When M . Turr , the Hungarian , was piratically seized by the Austrians , all the Ministerialists I heard speak of the matter , except M . Torelli , a Lombard , began to take away his character , and advise his abandonment because he was an " agent of

    Mazzini . " But it is not surprising that this uncompromising opponent of the dishonest Italian monarchies should be libelled to strangers in Piedmont . All members of the opposition , all members of the mo vement party , are treated in precisely the same way ; and , in fact , nothing is tolerated but abject submission to the designs of the dynasty—tolerated in Ministerial society I mean ; for the laws of the country allow very great latitude to the expression of opinion . I believe that one of my reviewers is the " bastard Piedmontese" whose Mazziniaa doings have been so vigorously exposed by Pinelli in his Military History of Piedmont . I judge so from internal evidence . If I am right there is nothing at all startling to me in the fact that , in order to commit the paper in which he has procured the insertion of his notice , he should deny the existence even of places with which he must be perfectly familiar . One of our most brilliant members of Parliament once astonished the House by pretending to be ignorant of the whereabouts of Bedford-place , in which he lived . It is equally amusing to see , coming from the source to which I allude , a disclaimer of any acquaintance with the gambling-tables of Amphion . I refer the reader to the guide-book of Mortillet , to the letters of M . Conzie des Charmettes , which I have published , and to any traveller in Savoy , for an elucidation of this geographical difficulty . " These are the merest trifles , " says the reviewer . Certainly ; but the importance given to this ludicrous denial of the existence of a place which is as well known in the Sardinian States as Cheltenham is in England , exhibits the animus of my assailant . * I shall not at present , however , show in how many other particulars this reviewer , presuming on the ignorance of Piedmontese affairs in which England has been so cleverly kept , ventures to deny matters which are as clear as noonday . Whilst presumptuously questioning my statements , he admits the most important of them . In reply to my accusations against Charles Albert , he follows the custom of the day , and puts in the plea of imbecility . This already takes us very far from the character implied by the epithet Magnanimous . As to Victor Emmanuel , the " chivalrous young king , " he is now admitted to be " ill-educated" and " dangerous from his want of knowledge and capacity . " This is about my representation of his character , except that I add that there are five or six facts in hia career which do not square with our ideas of honesty . The great questions to be discussed are : Did Victor Emmanuel begin his political life by an attempted anti-constitutional insurrection at Alexandria whilst his father was still reigning ? Did he revenge the failure of the attempt by dismissing Messrs . Tarrena and Rodini & 3 soon as he came to power , and have not these gentlemen been always under a cloud since ? Did he not associate exclusively with the Codini who demoralized the troops at Novarn , and , mi fact , persuaded the men to run away , and leave Charles Albert in the lurch ? Did not Charles Albert quit Piedmont without seeing his son , and die , proclaiming that he had been betrayed ? Did not Victor Emmanuel force the Chamber of Deputies to sanction his submission to Austria by repeated dissolutions ? Was not the proclamation of Moncalieri a distinct threat of a coupdYtat in connivance with Austria , if a majority wore refused to the king ? In real constitutional countries , when the constituencies send up a majority of members of a particular opinion , a ministry is constituted from amongst them . This has never been the case in Piedmont . The character of n ministry has never had anything to do with the situation of parliamentary parties . This is why I say that the Constitutional experiment is not fairly tried . That it ia not , i . s admitted by my most violent critic , when ho sayH : —" Liberty , ns now enjoyed in Piedmont j was originally , and is even now , the spontaneous gift of the king . " Imagine liberty in England having been the spontaneous gift of William III ., and remaining the spontaneous gift of Qucon Victoria ! Spontaneous * I alluilo to tho critioitiin in tlio Daily News , which journal has uinoa oourtoouttly allowed mo to correct in ltn column !) Homo of tho orroi'H into which its occasional contributor hnu fallen . Amphion 1 h tho piano , near Kvian , whoro tho inlu « n ) wutoru and ganibling-houHp arc ( o jjo found .

    gift indeed ! Charles Albert was the very last king in Italy to yield to the thundered popular demand for Reform ; and it was only when the Neapolitan tyrant had granted a constitution that , urged by fear and lured by ambition , lie at length , with much tribulation and reluctance , gave his consent . The writer in the Daily News forgot that he was addressing an English public when he talked of liberty as a gift . We usually call it a concession . I think I have now said sufficient to explain the position 1 have taken up in the discussion of the Piedmoutese question . My great complaint is that internal improvements have been almost entirely postponed in favour of external intrigues . The

    House of Savoy , now as in all times , is looking to aggrandizement , no matter in what quarter . To attain this end it resorts to liberalism as a " dodge " —a point of view implicitly admitted by the critic to whom I principally refer when he tells us that " there never has been a moment in which the king could not have freely and openly" committed a coup d ' e ' tat if he had chosen . Heaven help the count ry where liberty is held on such a tenure as this ! My complaint has no other scope . I say that the constitution in Piedmont is to a great extent a sham , that it is kept up to delude liberal Europe and Italy , that the people have no guarantees for their freedom , that they know this , ' and that this knowledge

    prevents them from manifesting their real opinions at elections . I also say that the liberals of Italy share my discontent , and that if they did not , the Congress of Paris would have been followed by an insurrection and the expulsion of the Austriuns . No one cares to fight in order to exchange the government of Austria for that of Victor Emmanuel so long as he keeps this power of " freely and openly" taking back his " spontaneous gift . " Here is the sore point . In 1848 the Italians would not submit unconditionally to Piedmont . Neither will they in 185 G . This is the secret of the new anti-revolutionary theory preached by Massimo d'Azeglio and his friends . Before 1818 , these gentlemen were always endeavouring to rouse the lacen

    people , because , in their enormous self-comp cy and want of knowledge of human nature , they imagined that what would satisfy them must necessarily satisfy everybody . It was very clearly expressed to them , during the few months when the Italian people could express their ideas , that something more was wanted than they had ever dreamed of . How , therefore , we hear of nothing in Piedmontese high circles but savage- sneers against the secret societies of which Mr . Moncktpu Millies speaks so respectfully ; and against all attempts at progress from below . The fashionable notion at present is , that the population must not speak , but must throw itself humbly at the feet of the Savoyard dynasty . Against this I protest and shall always protest . If Victor Emmanuel desires to become the chief man in

    Italy , let him discard his exclusive , aristocratic ministers ; let him draw the sword at tlie proper moment ; let him gain victories ; let him call together a constituent assembly freely elected , and trust his fate in their hands . The chief fault of the people in all countries is , that they are too enthusiastic in their gratitude ; and I am afraid that many a Republican would be carried away to acclaim a bravo young ; monarch , no matter what his antecedents , who should discard the huckstering ways of his ancestors , and not stipulate the price of his assistance beforehand . I think I should be we . ik enough myself to join the cry . But when I see an attempt made to stifle the popular voice ,

    when I seo true liberals assailed with calumny and ridicule , —above all , when I seo unmistakeable signs that Count Cavour , representing his master , is endeavouring to arrange Italian affairs without consulting Italian feelings , seeking his inspiration at tho Tuileriea instead of in the heart of the people with whose interests ho is entrusted , —when 1 sec English influence utterly set aside , our money accepted and our wishes disregarded , whilst all official minds are prostrate before France , I think it is high time to raise a cry of ulurm . I believe the effect of tho revelations which will no doubt now be provoked , ¦ will probably be to postpone the flagitious attempt which was to have been made to bring about a new partition of Italy . Wo much the

    better . Victor Emmanuel is atill u very young man . Ho will probably live to bo thankful that he was not allowed to throw away liis chance of being lvnig or Podesta of all Italy , in order to obtain curly possession of a few provinces , which would always have been disaffected , and to keep down which he would have been obliged , periodically , to call in the assistance- of Franco or tho new kingdom in the Soul ' - There is no likelihood that English influence will continue to bo null on tho continent ; or that Imperialism is to hnvo a much longer lease of existence . In the meantime , though Italy should of course accept any unforeseen chance of deliverance that may offer , it ia not tho duty of good inou to txcjtO her to spend her blood and her energ ies , I am , air , yours obpdlontly , BAYiiU 8 r . John

    - 12 T H E Leade R>. [No. 331, Saturday,

    - T H E LEADE R > . [ No . 331 , Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 26, 1856, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26071856/page/16/