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    7 Affairs.] THE LEADER. 723

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    ., ~ " ^ ITALIAN LIBERTY . - ¦ ¦ K? v . ...

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    , -Nmrt* Apttv Rn? Tt'tt'wt^Txtatvtia Tt...

    no demonstration on the 29 th January ; Tuscany on February 17 ; Turin , February 18 ; Home March 14 ; and France might perhaps at this hour have still had an Orleans constitutional king-. From the 5 th of February , 1838 ; to the 13 th of April diplomatic _treaties passed between the Sicilian Government and the King ; but on that day Ferdi nand and his dynasty were declared to be de j _> osed from the throne of Sicily , by virtue of the 129 th Art . of the reformed Sicilian Statute of 1812 The Sicilian Government declared that from that time it had nothing in common with the King of Naples and his infamous rule ., The destruction of Messina by the King's artillery restored the relations of sovereign and subject between Ferdinand and the Sicilians , on thei 15 th May , 1848 . The Cham ber of Deputies was again opened . The substance of the oath which the deputies were required to take was as follows : — "I swearto profess and cause to be professed the Catholic , Apostolic , and Roman religion . I swear fidelity to the King of the two Sicilies ; I swear to observe the constitution con- ceded by the Kino- on the 10 th of February . " None of the deputies could take the oath . The first clause was not only destructive of liberty of con- science , but from the obligation it imposed , to cause the Roman Catholic faith to be professed , was , at the same time , odious and absurd . The second clause declared the duty of waging an infamous war against the rights which Sicily had enjoyed for eight centuries . The third clause involved a pre . mature engagement . The Constitution of the 10 th of Februaiy had not been confirmed by the Cham- ber of Deputies , and was , consequently , not yet an accomplished fact- The indignation excited was intense . The deputies , who were already in Naples , amounting to about 100 , met at the Palazzo di Citta the same evening ; the National Guard declared they would defend and guarantee any resolutions which the deputies might make . Un- fortunately , the courage of the deputies failed in this emergency , and their weakness afforded Ferdinand leisure and opportunity again to show _¦^^ _w-b _^ _y _i _^ _-ftryl of _cn-cumstances had previously induced him to pretend . 1 he subsequent misfortunes of Poerio and Pica induce us to throw a veil over the humih- atang position ¦ in which , with Capitelh and Iimbriani , they placed themselves by forming a deputation to wait upon Ferdinand . Had the Chamber been wise enough to adopt the proposition of the courageous , resolute , and honest Guiseppe Napoleone / Ricciardi , Naples would not have suffered as it did ; Ferdinand would have lost his ascendancy over the army ; the war . of Italian in- dependence would not have experienced the defeat of _ttovara , and Napoleon III . would not at this day have his head quarters at Alessandria . Ferdinand was victorious , and in the face of the world declared what he was as an absolute Sovereign , On the 16 th May , Prince Cariati , _Ruggieri and _Bozzelli formed the new ministry . The city of Naples , after having been subjected for twenty-four hours to the will of a brutal soldiery and infuriated popu- / lace , saw its constitutional guarantees vanish one by . one . The Chamber of Deputies was dissolved , the National Guard disarmed and suppressed , the liberty of the press suspended ,, preparatory to its abolition . At the same time Aio * stato of siege was declared , an extraordinary commission was instructed to institute processes against the numer- _ous _citizens who had been _arrested Among these were Gabriele Pepe , Poorio , and Pica ; Naples being reduced to quietude , it was easy for Boinba to suppress the _Calabrese movement : To over- come tno weak , and crush them unexpectedly , to tremble before the strong-such was tfio ordfnary practice of Bomba , _sucfi were his acts in 1848 . The victories of May induced him to recall the army from Lombard / and enabled him to resume the occupation of Sicily . Sicily fell , but only after eighteen months' struggle , not by force of Neapolitan arms , but owing to foreign aid . Sicily fell because it was in vain to strive ajxainst lions—vain to resist the sensuous French . From tins period the guil- _lotino , tho hangman's rope , the punishment . of death by _shootius , tho Ergastolo , transportation , and enforced omigration , have been permanent institu- fions . From May 15 th , 1849 , tp November 30 th , 1854—the period when tho writer was obliged to fly to escape sentence of imprisonment in irons , pronounced _tuiainst him in his * _alienee—194 suf- ' fbred by _Ruillotlno in Sicily , V whom 101 were cxocutocl in Palermo , 221 were shot , 173 at Palermo ,- and 792 were imprisoned with hard

    , -Nmrt* Apttv Rn? Tt'tt'wt^Txtatvtia Tt...

    , labour for terms -varying from twelve to , twenty-five yeats . All the prisons of Sicily were filled / with political criminals condemned , awaiting trial , or confined simply by way of precaution , , Add one third more to these figures and you will have the approximate number of the condemned - and incarcerated in the two Calabrias , _AbruzzL , - , Puglia _* Terra di _Lavoro , and Naples . It is diffi- cult to estimate the number of the exiles , but there .. was not a family who did not weep for one ; many mothers were deprived of their sons , who were guilty of no other crime than patriotism . But it must be confessed that the _teue martyrs of Bomba are not those who Lave been executed—not the condemned , imprisoned or -the exiled , but the un- - fortunate beings who lived under the rule of a man , compared with whom _Nei-o and Caligula were benefactory and tutelary guardians of humanity , Is it possible to ' endure such a system as that of the departed Boinba ? Is it possible , in 1859 , the age of the application of chemistry to the arts , of steam and railroads , after seventy _years'sti-uggle between intellect and brute force , the divine right , the grace of hereditary succession , the pre- servation of a throne intact as it was transmitted by the father to the son , is any longer a law to be respected , a doctrine to be professed ? Is it possi- sible that since the world has seen Dante , Locke , Gibbon , Voltaire , _Koiysseau , Cuvier , Liebnitz , Cabanis , Cousin , Gioberti and Romagnosi , humanity should respect kings as kings , and voluntarily declare itself brutal and not intelligent , material not intellectual , created for man instead of for God ? In the sig ht of the Creator of both , one man is equal to another—one may voluntarily serve another , of course ; but Bomba never had willing : servants , as a king .- Cannon balls and prisons rendered his subjects taciturn and timid , None could weep las death , but all will pray to be preserved from a successor who resembles him . Dr . T . G . Pagano , . _Notaro della Iteal _Gucrra _e Marina ia Slcilia . —

    7 Affairs.] The Leader. 723

    7 Affairs . ] THE LEADER . 723

    ., ~ " ^ Italian Liberty . - ¦ ¦ K? V . ...

    ., _~ " _^ ITALIAN LIBERTY . - ¦ ¦ K ? v . _. I have said enough to illustrate the predominant virtues of the House of Austria . I say « House , " because - under similar despotisms the ruler is answerable for all , and it is baseness to charge upon counsellors what belongs exclusively to hun- self Under a limited monarchy _; the sovereign . it wouldbe most unjust to . saddle with the crimes of his ministers ; under a despotism all belongs to the ruler . So far as reputation extends he must pay the penalty , and most . justly too . Lord Mahnes- bury ' s plea of our Austrian » brotherhood , because Austria is German , is much the same as if Wales Were to be substituted for the British empire in argument—just as much as that belongs to Eng- land , of Germany belongs in proportion to _AustrPa . If it were otherwise , what is Germany to us ? The Germans always canting about brotherhood—we repudiate such brotherliood—and the highborn virtues , and mysticisms they cannot comprehend , talking of freedom in 1848 , and ending by-hugging their _chains . They no * want to aid in enslaving ftaly __ the negro slave _always makes the most cruel driver , Lord De _? by , too , say 3 , that a war begun in Italy , Eng- land cannot \ ookwftU mdifferoncc upon any occupa- tion of the Adriatic or its shores , we presume _^ h _lordsltip means if afty power but Austria liold them - _^ and she may _holdilf Italy for Lord Derby . What cares Englana about the Adriatic , except to wish it 8 shoreS ° may be hold by its native Italians ! We are to waste _thousands of millions of money , and tens of thousands of lives , to assist anew in enslav- illg _mankin _. l , and _bolstering up despotism in _Austria . Had such a speech " dropped from the Chancellor of the- Exchequer , judging from the past , it would not be so unnatural ; but of Lord Derby better things were expected . The shores of the Adriatic are Italian—at least , the shores alluded to—in race , language , manners , arts , glorious traditions , and , shame to the times , hi Austrian chains , Tho German Pandemonium wills it so : and if Lord Derby remain in office wo know what to cxpoc 1 r-ouv " armed neutrality" ripened will have proved a mask to . conceal war- like preparations , and " Austria for over ! " will bo the Court cry . It is hero tho public must be upon its guard . _TrUst not ministers who have so oiton Oftton their own words for place . If war Jbc wol- c . Omc in certain quarters , who knows but they may mako it tho price of continuing in office ! Wo view our wonderful commercial _iucwa » o ,

    ., ~ " ^ Italian Liberty . - ¦ ¦ K? V . ...

    our vast trade , our flourishing pursuits , our unparalleled industry , our legal ameliorations , and increasing comforts , to be exchanged for taxes of enormous weight , and horrible bloodshed , to support Austrian despots or German satraps _^ as aid bestowed _orr the enemies of humanity , for which the minister wlio involves us in" it will deserve the scaffold . The people of this country are not such idiots as to be unable to judge a plain political question of such interest , especially as reading and writing , though 'admitted to be useful , do not appear to be absolutely needful to those who are to settle such an all-important question . Lotus , then , not be victimised by Lord Malmesbury , under pretence of proficiency in the art of diplomacy made easy , without writing and spelling . The dignity of such gentry , too , with their incomprehensible excuses for every comprehensible mischief , in supporting a phantom called the " balance of power , " a manikin worthy the imagination of non-reading officials — a bugaboo to puzzle the multitude ! Will Englishmen permit their rulers to make the pretence for letting loose the sanguinary dogs of war in behalf of such a cause , and the cause of greater brutes still ? Can the English people be thus duped . But perhaps Lord Malmesbury was only in jest ; and " Gentle duluess ever loves a joke . ' 1 . . \ _, _Al _, _-,.,. Moreover , _nximstei _^ and their p lenipotentianes _^ e eccentric people , to whom the welfare ol nations is confided , as I take it , on . tlie hit-or-miss prmeiple . _ Reading , writing , and spelling , may be of small importance in supporting the national _, honour , compared to palavenng and eavesdropping . __ 1 he dignity of the diplomatist is tJie _fu-st point to be consulcreel , and the second is t hat of the Sta te orSovereign _l _^ nfi _rln _^ tabk _^ _chaxr is one too low down at _ijc con _^ ieiice tabte , I shall not .. at Lerc _^ I must be _'« _eaiert : _^ _^> p . _-Jl y , , _mastei- ' _srank . in Europe must be _sust _^ i _^ here , __^ . e ¦ P _^ _S _^^ _^ _'T _^^^ ' _^^^^^^ _^ n _^ _^ k _o _^ _- _- '' _£ _- _£ _? _S _^ _toW _^ of E _^ _g _^ S _& _iSt _\ Q _^ \ llQ _L ortaiTt prologue ' takes weeks to : e _; TiieVfav va _« ck during the _delayj and men _Jg b _^ oiisLds—a ° waste of life these diplomatists had j _4 tto stop . but thus a mOre important continh oc _^ u ' rred . Two or three formal state _niinistei-s , not able to spell or _wi-itc correctly , if of L d Maimesbury ' s U 4 e breed , cause great misclli f touffb tb y 4 bit and chicane to say an infinite deai aoout notion" and with inveterate volubility , - _^ _^ mftUner either of Chesterfield or Billingsg _^ h tlje battle-field all the while ° _\ { _^ _J ftfc . th debate a ridiculous . f » . fc b » ut a ' cbah \ r j .. . , t _. . Our safest and _justebt policy in _^ P _*^™^ is rigid _non-mtervention , _Ihepcople must _b-estn i _^ _^^ _^ _^ _f _^ _t _^ _rY _r _^ inJtiv _^ _ti _^ , _forgotten that when George III _«^ % detei - mined to join Ins O * erman allies _"S _^/ , an _^' that had not provoked them , the _allie _Uanos _veeking from the spoliation o ] ° l _**«> _™ f J _^ _J the Duke _f . B _™ _y . _^" t ut n _^ 1 " _^ o v _unnro ! m the p en _^ ude of Bolence 'md _™ JV _j _" 1 _^ _., vok « _J , the bjg _Mi uunwtey _^^ J _^^^ . _»» d . _&* not f f _™ _^ J _^ % fo " ? her _hiinSto _fcnglaml _^ _ouW be ncutoU . _^ _£ nf _^^ _Sv soon after spent a * U _S _^ _*{^ o * f t _£ l % _™ J _$ _V 7 _« ' _»' s ofwar _tu _sW f thc fa « el . _^« f _^^ _JJgJg nVermont , and reseat a rotten « lyiias 7 ' o _/ H _^ n _« _J _<« r ever a short _tmw _» b « oqucnUy O uJ _"" _"" g _^ made war only upon rovolut , On _WW . _«"«! then , ns Austria _sayw now _^ ptoj _» _^»^ J « I > on popular freedom m belml * of _aJ _^ 1 _* " _^ _J and _kmgsh . p by nglit . divino . lhBt g _^ g « £ _^ sent " attempting to be p _^ e f _^ J _^ J _' 1 _flj _~ Austria , or rather of Austiias soyucyn , manner nearly similar . It is the _fiisliion of Lord J _^' r " v ' " _" "J ¦ " _?* ' ' porters , to _oonsure _tliu _1-rencii J | " » _poj ° _J , 'I i , " fbring in support oi Jiih ally , ana _unoufcu uih * _« « jr the indepeiukwc ol natioiiH . piucn _*™* ' ™' ° " _•" the Emperor of Austria , arc ino » eau ' _^ " - ' , " _ra princes with diives _, anj l men who _| " nl V _^ i _^ —men who holieve tliat _o _^^ J 11 _' 11 _* _" _^ " _' _r 1 8 _* „ wny to the princip le of divine Jiglit , " " . _^" view tho crimes of hucIi a wretth ns the lato King of IS .. pies with indulgence . 111 » _^ notgoou p . oneyto exult dc «] io , ts in Huh wny . J liora me no _»« _° J J" « race _enlitlcj to tlic f llt _f "' J ° _( cl on V _TJ nub . octH . Most ol _^ * _*« " * J _\™?« _t « _Jlirr « _i _«?^ r , _atioxl _^ _S world , unfortunately . It exhausts human pauewoo

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), June 11, 1859, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/sldr_11061859/page/15/