The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-12-15 00:00:00

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1866.

BOMB.

Byron, in hie magnificent poem of "Child.
Harold," ways :

While stands the Coliseum Rome shall stand;
When falls the Coliseum Rome shall hill,
And when Home falls, the world.
Rome was once the mistress of the world; and
for centuries the seven-billed city has been the
seat of the most powerful ecclesiastical jurisdic-
tion the world has ever witnessed. We scarcely
say too much when we assert that the eyes of
the world are new directed towards Rome, for a
mighty change is there transpiring, and indeed
will have bees consummated More these lines
are read. By midnight, on the 12th instant, ac-
cording to the terms of the Convention which
bas been so much spoken of, the French army
of occupation will have entirely abandoned
Rome, and it may be added, will have left the
Pope to his fate. The Emperor of the French
and Victor Emmanuel, however, engage to pro-
tect his Holiness from the violence of revolu-
tionary politicians, and the partisans of Mazzini
and Garibaldi will have a terribly difficult task
before them if they attempt forcibly to carry
out their policy of Rome for the capital of
free and United Italy. And yet we feel assured,
without any prophetic pretensions, that to this
completion must it come at lost; and we really
rootlet see why it should not. A very large pro-
portion of the Italian people are now, us they
always have been, in favour of Rome fir the
capital ; it wat over and over again declared in
Parliament, while it sat at Turin, that Ralllo was
the ancieuteapital, and the rightful modern capi-
tal. What may be the individual and personal
opinion of the King of Italy on this subject it
would be hard to decide, as there eau be no doubt
he has throughout acted more or less at the
dictation of the Tuileries. The Emperor Na-
poleon is known to be entirely opposed to the
removal of the seat of Government to Itsine ;
numerous official documents which have emana-
ted from the French Foreign Office have stated
or assumed that Florence is the rightful capital,
and the very terms of convention which is now
being carried out are all accordant with the same
idea. To us, at a distance from the stirring
events which have been passing, and which are
yet passing in Italy, it may not seem of much
moment what city may be regarded as the capi-
tal, but it would be wrong to shut our eyes to
the fact that events for many years past have
been tending to the realisation of the prevailing
in the Italian yeuiusula, a free and United Italy,
with RAMO for its capital. The French evacu-
ation of Rome is undoubtedly a great step in
the sante direction, and we may well therefore
watch with anxiety for the next step, and tho
next. Anil meanwhile, zealous Catholics on the
one baud, and staanch Protestants on the other,
are anxiously watching current events with re•
garii to their effect on the spiritual jurisdiction
of the Pope. We refrain from pursuing the
subject from this point of view, but it is undeni-
able that from whatever aspect we regard the
City of Seven Hills, there is enough to arouse
the most apathetic politican, or the mere nomi-
nal Christian.