The Press. — London, England, 1857-07-04 00:00:00

648 Sortign 6orresponbentr. FLORENCE, June 27. WE reviewed in our las► the income of the Grand Duchy, and the mode of assessing and levying the taxes. We shall now call attention to the expendi ture, its excess over revenue, and to the national deut. The present Grand Duke, Leopold IL, found the duchy, on the death cf his father, Ferdinand HI., in 1824, in a highly prosperous state ; not only was there no debt, but the treasury contained a sum of 30,000,000 lire over and above expenditure. Thirty-three years Lave worked a sad change, and the balance-sheet now shows a public debt of 100,000,000 lire, anti an excess of expenditure over receipts of not less than one-third of the total revenue. (It is true that the bilancio for 1857 now before us states that the inco:nings and outgoings balance each other, hit thin is most untrue, as the works at the port of Leghorn and the draining of the marshes of Bientins are not included, the expenses there being enormous, and without the slightest pro bability of ever proving remunerative.) The dis turbed state of Europe in 1848, and the flight of the Grand Duke from his dominions, produced, no doubt, disastrous effects on the well-being and financial prosperity of the duchy. For the moment trade was paralysed, confidence destroyed, the State machinery stood still, or was worked by inexperienced hands, the tide of strangers with open hands and well stocked purses advanced no more, and all was con fusion, embarrassment, and distrust. The following year, however, saw the Grand Duke recalled volun tarily by bis subjects, order re established, trade reinvigorated, and the flow of travel once again setting towards the shores of Tuscany. Came prosperity also in the train? No; for 12,000 Austrian soldiers accompanied the Grand Duke, and from 1849 until 1853 was the maintenance of this ' force at the charge of Tuscany —an expense so onerous as mainly to have caused the public debt above alluded to, to have doubled the imposts, and to have materially affected the social state and material welfare of every inhabitant of the duchy. It is not our purpose to enter upon the question of the Austrian occupation, or the policy pursued during the eventful seven years 1840 55. Much is matter of history—much more is, and probably ever will remain, enveloped in mystery. Our province is to draw attention to the present—the actual state of things existing. We find expenditure in excess of income, and we find a considerable public debt. The two great requirements of the Government are fur the army and public works. The former, as at present constituted, draws annually between 8,000,000 and 9,000,000 lire; the latter demand 3,04/0,000 more. The pensionati (pensioners), civil and military, and the impieguti (employe:), require in the aggregate a very considerable sum, as will be readily believed when we state that the civil pen sioners alone amount to 1,300. Prior to the year 1851, every Government employk could, cn proving that the state of his health pre cluded his continuing to fulfil the duties of his office, retire on a lite pension equal to his actual pay, and his wife, or immediate relative, would on his death receive for her, or his life, one thud of that amount. Such liberal regulations swelled the list of pensionati to such vast proportions, that the charge became too onerous fur the cuuntiy, and since 1851 it has been enacted that no impiegati can retire on full pension until afte, thirty years' service; in cases of retire ment before such term be duly completed, the pen sion to be regulated according to length of service. Notwithstanding this wise provision, the impiegati and pensionati still devour a large portion of the State resources. Every one in Tuscany, from highest to lowest. seeks to obtain a position as impiegati. The national defects are indolence and itnprovi deuce. Private enterprise is almost unknown. Medicine and the law afford occupation for but a few— independent means suffice for a still more limited number; whilst the mass remain scarcely provided with the necessaries of life—drones to be !ed from the honey contained in the national hive. Some few of these naturally contri bete to increase the store, but they are but as units; whilst the drain steadily continues, *did the pressure upon the active and struggling is yearly more severe. The maintenance of the army amounts, as we have already stated, to a sum of between 8,000,000 and 9.000.000 lire. it is believed that an increase will shortly be made to t:iis sum, large as it IS. The Grand Duke has declined to pay any longer out of his privy purse the Palace Guards ( Anziani), or the Guardia Nobile, a body of very smartly dressed gen tlemen, who take part in all state processions and line the staircases and lobbies of the Palace on occasions of levees and balls. The former corps numbers sixty, ranking as non-commissioned officers, THE PRESS, JULY 4, 1857. latter are all gentlemen, and numbers twenty-nine, their grooms, attendants, dc., making up a total of about sixty. These two corps have been hitherto at the charge of the Grand Duke, whose privy purse amounts to 90,0001. sterling per annum—a liberal sum, when we consider that those he rules do not exceed in number two-thirds of the population of London. The country requiring neither Anziani nor Guard, it has been determined to incorporate them with the regular army, but as both present them selves in the most expensive form—namely, as officers and non-commissioned officers—it is little probable that this transfer of liabilities will be made without additional charges to the burdens borne by the people. The Grand Duke simply relieves him. self of an expensive and useless body of men, and the authorities must make the best of the bargain. General Ferrari, the Commander-in.Cluef of the Tuscan Army, was lately extremely anxious to raise another battalion of the line. Indeed as recruits they have been raised ; but Bahiasseroni. the Prime linister, opposed so warmly the general's project, pointing out the extreme hardship these incessant drafts of men inflict upon the country, mid a population so essentially agricultural, that for the moment the project is dropped, and the recruits have been drafted into the several regiments to replace discharged or invalided men. We must not look, then, for retrenchment as regards the army estimat's. Shall we make up deficiencies by less expenditure on public works? A few hours passed in the streets and environs of Fiorence would lead us to anticipate but small relief there. During the last three years very large Rums have been expended on the public edifices both by the Government and by the Communita. In estimating this outlay, the difficulty we mentioned above meets us, and prevents us from arriving at a trite and reliable conclusion as to its effects on the public interests. The Govern ment have the charge and maintenance of all Government buildings. The Communita care for streets, monuments, and the national edifices. Both Government and Communita have been and are spending profusely ; and both have made and are making heavy debts—which debts must and will in both instances be paid by the people. Heavier taxes on land and property, and increased tassa di jamiglia, must be levied ; and it may fairly be questioned whether the renovated architectural beauties of the Bargello (the Newgate of Florence) can be regarded as in any degree a compensation for decreased comforts, increased miser•, and accu mulating crime in town anti country—a social state which recruits but too plentifully the ranks of those who fill, even to overflowing, the foul cells of the palatial prison. J. W. lortign anb (Colonial .Intelligtntt. INSURRECTION IN ITALY. The Paris telegraph announces that an insur rection has been attempted and suppressed at Leghorn and Naples. The conspiracy is said to have been first discovered at Genoa, where forty persons were arrested : l'swis, July 2. Revolutionary movements took place this morning at Leghorn and Naples. In both places the attempts were put down imme diately. Timm, July 2. The insurrectionary attempt at Leghorn has been put down. The steamer Cagliari, which had left Genoa for Tunis, fell into the hands of the insurgents, who attacked the Island of Pews, belonging to the Ne.tpolttan Govertnnent, and set ut liberty the persons imprisoned there. The insurgents, with the released prisoners, then landed at Sapri. in the loser province. Some Neapolitan frigates captured the steamer Cagliari, and the royal troops punned the insurgent band. The pol.tical prisoners who escaped from the Island of Ponza were about three hundred in number. In conjuitc. lion wil h the insurgents front on board the Cagliari, they Attacked the Neapolitan gendarmerie in the province of Salerno, but were dispersed, and many of them taken. The remainder fled. The British fleet was expected at Spezzia on the 4th instant. FRANCE. The Emperor and EinpriTssWill visit her Majesty Queen Victoria at Osbornelin the month of August. The Imperial guests will extend their visit to Manchester. General Cavaignac, as also M. Emile 011ivier and M. Darimon, will be the Opposition candidates in the third, fourth, and seventh districts of Paris for the second elections, which will be held on Sunday and Monday next. The Government nominees are the same as before MAL Thibaut, Vade, and Lanquetin. Al. and Mme. de Morny have arrived in Paris. The intelligence from Algeria continues to be favourable. Some hard fighting at Beni•Jeni, on the tz4th, resuhed in the defeat of the Kabyle tribe, hough at severe cost,. The new road through Kabylia is opened. aruis“ •a, 111/lit:II 11l 2 find enjoying pay and perquisites in proportion. The I Kabylia is of 6111;a111.111.1.1.1111.111111111111111 RUSSIA. The Emperor and Empress of Russia reached Kiel on Saturday morning last, when they were received by Prince Ferdinand of Denmark. Front Kiel the Imperial party travelled by train to Altona, and arrived at Hamburg, where they passed the night, and next day proceeded to Hanover. Upon the 29th, the Imperial party reached Darmstadt, from whence they proceed to Kissengen. The Grand Duke Michael, who accompanies the Emperor, is the youngest son of the late Emperor Nicholas. He is now on a matrimonial excursion, being engaged to a sister of the Grand Duke of Baden. Their nuptials will take place at Callsruhe in the course of the ensuing month. TURKEY. The Journal de Constantinople, of the 17th ult., contains in its official part the following communica tion : In the evening of the 15th inst., by order of his Ma• jesty the Sultan, Ali Glutlib Pacha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, sent to M. Blondel Van Esselbrock, the Belgian Minister, his passports, the Sublime Porte being unable to continue its relations with his person. The Sublime Porte, at the same time. announced to him that she would resume her former relations with the Royal Legation immediately after his departure. The Sultan had started on a cruise down the Sea of Marmora. Lord Stratford de Redoliffe had sent Mr. Brodie on a mi-sion to the Principalities, whither he departed on the 10th by the steamer Medina. I:NI TED STATES. The New York and other journals up to the 20th inst. bring no political intelligence of much impor tance; their news is chiefly of riot in New Yurk. The immediate occasion of this contest was a dispute between the officers of the State Government on the one hand, and the mayor of the city, Mr. Fernando Wood, on the other ban'', relative to their jurisdic tion over the Police and Street Commissioners' de partmen:s. There were, in fact, two rival establish ments for those services, each trying to impede or destroy the other, and several riots had occurred. A certain uneasiness is telt at Washington, on account of the threatened revolution in Mexico, and the late manifesto of Santa Anna, taken in connec tion with the hostile preparations of Spain. A Washington letter says : There is considerable anxiety here to learn the final result of the Spanish-Mexican question, fur the conviction is general among them that Santa Anna has made some propositions to the Spanish Government which teud to induce it to adopt a harsh course towards Alnico, and which may finally result in a war between the two coun tries. Such an event would change the character of all the pending questions between Europe and America, and might lead to serious complications. With regard to the Mormons, the New Yorkpapers say : Colonel Cummings will receive this week s commission from the President as successor to Brigham Young in the government of the Mormon territory. General Harney is already moving troops across the plains to stypott the governor in taking possession of his new office, should it he necessary, and vindicate the authority of the Federal Government. The Upata gold diggings on the Yuruari, in the neighbourhood of Bolivar, British Guiana, are, it appears, in the British territory, and communka tions have been received by the Governor from Mr. Matheson, the British Consul at Bolivar. There are upwards of 600 people assembled there, and gold it sad to be discovered in abundance at a depth of about five or six feet from the surface. The dis covery of gold will form a new era in the history of British Guiana. CHINA. A letter from Hong Kon g of May 10th states that Sir John Buwring and M. de Bourbonlon, tit. , French Minister, were to leave for Singapore at the begin ning of the summer, to meet Lord Elgin and Baron Gros. No important operations were to be under taken before the arrival of the ambassadors of the two great powers. The Courrier de Paris thinks there is no truth in the report circulated by the Inapendance Beige that the English Government, in consequence of the rebellion in Bengal, has asked France to send more troops to China. A " QUARTERLY " REVIEWER ON THE SPEED OF RAILWAVS.—What. (said the renewer) can be moro palpably absurd and ridiculous than the prospect held out of locomotives travelling twice as fast as stage coaches? We should as soon expect the people of Woolwich to suffer themselves to be fired off upon one of Congreve's ricochet rockets as trust themselves to the mercy of such a machine going at such a rate. We will back oid Father Thames against the Woolwich Railway for an sum. We trust that Parliament will, in all railways it may sanction, limit the speed to eight or nine miles an hour, which we entirely agree with Mr. Sylvester is as great as can be ventured on with safety.—Life of George Stephenson, by S. Smiles,