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    THE SOCIETY OF THE FRIENDS OF ITALY. The...

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    Continental Notes. Thb Decree "On The Re...

    or tfsap ^ obafcion ara ^ Legislative Body . The proclamationis of the President , adtourning , proroguing , or dissolving ' the Legislative Body are ¦ 't 0 '¦ : l ^ ^ e . ad ^ ¦ in ; . piiibUc \¦ 8 i [«^ g ,. ; all other Business being siispended , and the members are immediately afterwards to sep ^ v & pe . ^ trict rides are laid down , for maintaining the ; authority of the President of the Legislative BodyQv 6 t the members , and the decree concludes withan " attiele promising both the Senate and the Xiegislative Bod ^ y the services of a miUtaiy craard , who will render their respective Presidents due military honours when proceeding to their sittings .

    M . Henon , the Socialist candidate , has been finally elected at Lyons . The correspondent of the Daily Nevis reports a recent visit of Lord Cowley , accompanied by the Belgian Minister , to M . Turgot , the Mir nister of Foreign Affairs in France . '¦ "' The object of this diplomatic interview seems to have been twofold . In the firsti place , explanations were-demanded with regard to the attitude and intentions of France towards Belgium ^ and , secondly , with regard to the reported design of effecting a change in the government , as it was saif that preparations were making ) not only for holding a vast review ; but actually for proclaiming the empire on the . 5 tE of May , anniversary of the Emperor ' s death . On the first , point the answers of Count Turgot

    were considered satisfactory ., The Minister of Foreign Affairs repeated once- toofe ' the same assurances of a pacific policy , which the government of Louis Napoleon ha & jgjjg t ceased to avow sinceTithe coup dfStat of December . " -Sfvi the other subject of demand ; C ^ unt Turgot was more reserved . He said that France was the only proper judge of what government suited her best ; that the President had reserved to himself the right of appealing to the nation on questions touching changes in the form of government ; and that experience had proved that such appeals would be answered by the universal assent of France . That tribunal was the only one to which the Prince was responsible on such matters , and the government could not admit the pretensions of any foreign power to meddle with such questions . Such is the outline given of the result of this conference . " ,

    The King of Wurtemberg , a couple of years ago , referring in his speech to the plan of raising the King Of Prussia to a sort of protectorship over German states , used expressions so offensive that Prussia at once broke off all diplomatic relations ; Now , at length , an ambassador from Wurtemberg , M . von Linden ,, has arrived at JJerlin . .. This tends to remove some appre- ^ hension , entertained by Prussia , that Wurfcemberg , which is more under Austrian influence than even Bavaria , might assume a hostile position at the Zollverein ' s conference . , The semi-official Oest . Correspondent has a very indignant article on the non-invitation of Austria to the approaching Customs Congress at Berlin . It gftres its readers to understand that a demand for admission

    will be presented in one of the first sittings . The chambers have just been opened in Wurtemberg Nassau , and Oldenburg . The chief business in all these assemblies is to revise the constitutions , with a view to cancelling all clauses that guarantee popularrights , or enable the popular will in any way to influence affairs of state . The governments of the three states named have strong majorities , as everywhere else in Germany . A letter from Constantinople , from a well-informed party , writing on the 3 rd inst ., says that Austria was reported to have demanded from the Porte a cession of territory , as indemnification for injury sustained through the assistance given , to the Hungarians during the late war . —Daily News .

    There was an extremely agitated sitting of the Chamber of Deputies at Turin on the 18 th inst . Interpellations on the measures taken by Government to suppress the late insurrection in the Island of Sardinia , were addressed to Ministers ) , and defended by them as perfectly constitutional , and in accordance with the precedent of Genoa in 1849 . A hostile revolution pro * posed by the Opposition was rejected by a large majority . " On Tuesday aftornoon , " says the Roman correspondent ot the Daily Mews , in a letter dated the- 12 th inst ., " his ¦ Holiness was indulorincr in n . drivn hnvond the eifcv walls .

    and had loft the precincts of the Vatican by tho Porta Angelica , when , tempted by the beauty of tho day , he ordered his cortege to halt , and alighted to walk , followed i > y hi fl major domo and two dismounted noble guards . In two vicinity of the MUvjan Bridgo , close to tho osteria winch tempts tho Romans so frequently to saunter out ana imbibo a flask of Orvioto wine , a person in the garb of a priest observed tho papal equipage , and waa suddenly Bowed with an irroeietiblo impulse to approach tho person or His sovoroiffn ; wbiok he did in so ranid and unoornmonioufl ft

    numnor that Pio Nono wds alarmed ; and the noble guarda consid ered , it to be their duty to collar tho intruder , and , provont hw ootuall y throwing himaolf at tho feet of tho Pope , JJritatoa by this opposition , the prioat insisted in a loud voice upon being allowed to carry out his intention , and procpodod to giw utterance to moat unorthodox assertions ¦ rospoatuur thp ; oquality of prioate , and of tho human wwo « vp IfW * ** ' ^ . dwg up his diatribe by shouting at tho top « , T &^ g * to tho reluotant ears of the rotareating Pope , wax iy > was Boiry to boo tho Vicar of Christ surrounded by buou a herd of knaves and scoundrels . Imagine tho effect

    produced by these awful and fearless denunciations . When , his Holiness had got out of his unceremonious visitor's immediate neighbourhood , he gave orders that he should be released fro ^ the jeripe of his captors , but strictly kept in sight , by two gendarmes , and his dwelling ¦ and avocations ascertained , in order that a report of the whole affair might be drawn up for Cardinal Antpnelli's perusal . This was done , and the iinasked and unwelcome adviser of bis jloliness turned ou £ to be a Dalmatian of known eccentric habits , who' had probably felt more eccentric than ever on the day in question , from / the discussion of a couple of flasks of the before-mentioned Orvieto wine , in the potation of which he was disturbed by Pio Nono ' s arrival . His subsequent attack on the Pope ' s advisers may therefore be tn veritas tins

    explained on the principle , wno . ^ jiowever , may be , he is npw paying the penalty of nb temerity by a penitentiary sojourn in prison . It is said that not very long since a plan was submitted by the French , to the Roman government for establishing a commercial league of southern Italy in connexion with France . As nothing fuAher has transp ired on the subject , it is to be presumea that it has been abandoned . Austrian and French influence rule the Whole peninsula . The railway of central Italy owes its birth entirely to Austrian counsels , and will place Modena , Parma , and Tuscany in immediate connexion , with , the Imperial States of Upper Italy . "Electric telegraphs have been established between all these countries , and political circumstanc es make them dependent on the protectorate of Austria . AtFlorence , the Constituzionale has been suspended for

    a month , for containing a correspondence from . Naples , m Which some of the acts of that government are censured . It is a matter of astonisbment that that journal is not confiscated for its very name ,, which is in itself an anomaly under the present state of Tuscan government . At Genoaj a curious scene occurred at one of the chureh . es , which exemplifies the feeling of the population . A friar in preaching _ alluded , amongst other matters , to the r ights of the HoiyPontiff on earth , and to the ignominious treatment he had experienced in being opposed in these matters . The audience , Who cdnsideredTtms language as a denouncement of the acts of the Piedmontese government with regard to the Siccardi Laws and the Church differences with Borne , / immediately burst out into exclamations of disapproval , and by then : hisses obliged the preacher to terminate Ms lecture .

    Ar00502

    The Society Of The Friends Of Italy. The...

    THE SOCIETY OF THE FRIENDS OF ITALY . The Hall of the Freemason ' Tavern is well known to Londoners . It has been the scene of many gatherings for public ^ purposes , and is famous in the annals of pubUc-agitaiion . * It - is'a noble oblong room ; lofty / and well-proportioned . Portraits of royal and noble Grand Masters of the world-wide Order of Freemasons cover the walls ; behind the seat appropriated to the chairman is a statue of the Duke of Sussex ; and the ceiling , blue and gold , glitters with stars and masonic emblems . Since theRevolution of 18 * 8 new and strange gatherings have occasionally met there—the friends of the continental refugees ; and on Wednesday the Friends of Italy held their second meeting , which they call a Conversazione , to listen to a lecture from Mr . George Dawson , M . A . ; and to explanatory statements respecting Italy from M . Mazaini . The room was well filled , and there were many foreigners among the audience .

    Professor Newman took the chair , and intimated that the course of proceeding would , first , be the delivery of a lecture , and next a colloquial discussion ; M . Mazzini having expressed his willingness to answer all questions that might be put to him upon points rising but of the lecture . Mr . G . Dawson ( as the lecturer on the occasion ) then came forward , and was received with loud cheers . His address , which was lengthy , was marked by his

    usual ingenious discursiveness and artistic quaintness . He commenced by a defence of human weaknesses and human superstitions . " Tho world , ho thought , was becoming too cold-bloodedly onlightoned ; and he longed for a re-action to a faith in some of those emotions which Manchester decided to bo follies . One of tho so-called follies now being denouncod , but which bo desired to bo encoura g ed , waa " nationality , " and anothor was " race . " Ho believed in tho cravings of nations after nationalities , and ho could not deny tho antipathies and incongruities of " rncesl" Cosmopolitanism waa a good thing ; Dut to real cosmopolitanism nationality was necossarv . Vienna treaties compollod fcho marriages of

    thoBC whom God had forbidden man to put together ; ana until those false alliances wero divorced , and different peoples had drawn themselves off into it might bo sulky isolations , there could bo no shaking of hands across natural frontiers of rivers , mountains , and languages . Tho Italians , of one soil , one language , and one blood , had hopes of nationality ; and ho , for ono , admired thorn for tho hope . Ho saw nothing unreal in Italian nationality , and nothing delusive in Italian unity . No doubt this all meant an Italian republic , but ho would not shrink from tho phraso . conloBs

    In ordinary English sooiety it waa almost bettor to * to atheism than to a toleration for repubUcaninm . But Italy could bo nothing but a ropublio . It was ft diamal experiment—that of aeleoting a king ; and generally a doad failure . Besides , all tho glories and traditions of Italy wero ropublican ; all hor disgraces and disasters sprung from her monarchies . Ho bad a great rospoot for fcho Gorman people ; but it appeared ' to him that an Austrian blue eyo in Italy looked as ugly arid unnatural aa tho engrafting of a tropical fruit on a gooaoborry bush . Thoro waa a llfcnosfl intlunganot to be overlooked . An ICngliahman looked graooful enough in his own country , but not , provorlittlly ,

    out of England . He saw no failings , in what were called the extravagancies of Italian politics . Periods of passion could be interpreted onl y in a passionate langfuiage that would read bombastic in tamer eras . It was just the same with nations aa with individuals . Who dare go back to his love letters , or who did go back and not confess that he had once been an arrant ass ? England had had her passionate epochs ; which were also / let it be remembered , her most powerful epochs , and had done extravagant deeds , and outspoken extravagant thoughts . In the extravagance was the greatness ; and so with Italy—he had hopes of her because the great questions of Italians had found their utterance in a language suitable because wild and strange .

    The sympathies of Englishmen with such questions , cravings after freedom , were natural ; and , to his mind , England had a duty to perform in aiding Ital y * He utterly and heartily despised the snifflingnon-interventiondbctrines that were currents He could not understand why that should be a policy with a nation which would be regarded as a meanness as a rule for the conduct of an individual ; If he , living at Wo . 1 , were informed that at No . 2 a bully was thrashing the family , he would , not be thought well of to send word that he was doing pretty comfortable at No . 1 . That was the non-intervention policy . Italy was getting bullied ; and our foreign policy was to announce that we were doing a good stroke of trade , and hoped

    everybody would go and do likewise . If such a policy was Christianity lie would prefer infidelity . He was not for war j but he was for righteousness as well as for peace . There was cowardice in England now , and England knew it . The news of the day told them that a Belgian attorneygeneral had quoted Lord John Russell and Lord Derby against the freedom of the press in the course of a pro ceeding against somebody for saying something not plea-Bant to Louis Napoleon . Why had Lord Derby and Lord J . Russell attacked the English press ? Confessedly because they quaked lest the press should vex the fellow over the water . Was this British ? If it was , he blushed for it . We had lost the pluck of standing by principles , and

    leaving consequences to take care of themselves . But then , after all , he was for the non-intervention theory . By all means . But let there be no propaganda , or let there be two propagandas . Let Russia stop , or let England go on . Let despotism refrain , or loose democracy to balance it . Meanwhile , until honester theories came round , the duty of Englishmen , not seeking a monopoly of liberty , Was to aid foreign liberals in England . There was a nasty talk turning up every now and then about foreign refugees . Well , let the government try ' it on . No government would ever be permitted to touch one of them . ( The meeting

    here cheered most enthusiastically . ) The Italian question was an English question too . Who helped to make" ~ Italy free , helped to make conscience free throughout the world . In time , this would be understood ; and a society like this would work miracles in moulding public opinion . It was quite possible to recreate John Bull—to put size into his voice , muscle into his arm , colour into his cheek , and human sympathies , weaknesses , and superstitions back into bis heart ; and When be was himself again'they would hear something of the honour , the morality , the Christianity , and even the expediency of ¦ ' intervention , ' , what would be the same thing , real and impartial non-intervention . "

    The Cbcaiemait then said that M . Mazzini would reply to any interrogatories that might be addressed to him . He ( the chairman ) would take advantage of the position he occupied to put a first question . He wished to know , and the answer would be most important , how Italians , in the event of future successful revolutions , proposed to deal with the papacy ? It was a problem , the solution of which was not very clear ; for in England it was concluded that Italians had too much respect for the religious attributes of the papacy to exterminate altogether the system of Roman Catholicism .

    M . Mazzini ( who was very warmly greeted on rising , and who offered his apologies for his imperfect mastery of the English language—apologies which his complete command of our tongue rendered unnecessary ) said" The question is a momentous ono ; I don't know whether , in putting tho question , Mr . Newman is suggesting ; that tho papacy is still a strong power in Italy , and that wo would havo many difficulties to conquer in tho enterprise of dealing with tho papacy . I said plainly , when I spoko to you last , that tho papacy was a corpse . I repeat it—the papacy is a corpse . Observe , I am not speaking merely individual opinion ; I am stating tho national consciousness of a fact . Long before 1840 , when tho papacy was obliged to run away , no man hold up a fingor to recal

    it—so long ago as 1881 there was agenoral insurrectionary movement in tho Konmn States . That movement was managed by a man of what is wrongly in Ital y called tho moderate party : wrongly called because , rightly understood , wo aro all moderate men ; and in this case tho modorato party meant mon who would reach an aim wiftkout fighting for it . Tho movement I refer to was triumphant in a wook ' e time . It ran through tho Roman Statos and reached Eomo itself . Tho moderate party , not at all directing tho revolution , was obliged to manage tho rovolution ; and it issued a docroo , a flinglo dooroo , tho wholo history of tho rflrolution of 1831 . And that dooroo was

    ono Abolishing tho temporal power of tho Popo , and sonloneing tho papacy to ft limitation to its strictly spiritual sphere That ) deoroo found not a singlo opponont throughout tho Roman States . There wore men , then , who said that this wna an experiment which had never boon tried , that it was rash , and that this novelty would provoke a counter revolution from tho people , Yot not a single hjind was rained to resist tho dooroe . You know tho roauliff * that revolution was put down as usual by & foreign , the Austrian , intervention . But tho fact remained , and had boon rocordod : that if an insurrectionary power could bocomo powerful enough , and could escape

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 27, 1852, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_27031852/page/5/