The Press.
London, England, 1855-04-07 00:00:00

Amu, 7, 1855.

obstacle to all real progress. The advantages
which the liberal cause would have obtained
had the Italian States been free from intestine
disturbances and revolts, by the gradual
spread of civilisation and the advance of
general intelligence, have been 'completely
nullified by the fatal agency of the Bette, the
scourge and the disgrace of Italy ; for the
Governments, harassed and irritated by con-
stantly-recurring outbreaks, have had a fair
excuse given to them to defer projected re-
forms to the prevention of present conspira-
cies. "Per rifare Tltulia, bisogna disfare sette"
was prophesied by Ugo Foscolo, seven and thirty
years ago ; but it is only within the last five or
six years that the educated classes of Italy have
admitted the truth of his words. The terrible
reaction which has succeeded to the tempo-
rary successes of '4B-9 has opened the eyes of
thousands to the object of the Bette, which is
to destroy, not to reform, and dispelled for
ever among all true patriots the belief
that the ultra-democrats—the Young Italy—
seek the independence and welfare of their
country in preference to their own elevation
to power and the attainment of their own
private aims. The inevitable result of all this
has been the more firm consolidation at this
moment, particularly in Piedmont, into a
powerful party of all men of moderate views,
men who desire the attainment of good
government and independence, without the
aid of conspiracy, revolution, or secret
societies. But at the same time it is only
just to state that the system of repression and
espionage which Austria adopted towards her
Italian States after the peace, and which
system was too willingly encouraged and too
readily imitated by every petty Government
in the Italian States, was the cause above
every other which gave strength and vitality to
the revolutionary party, which of itself would
have died out, perhaps, had gentler remedies
been adopted for the then "distempered state
"of society." " The operations of these secret
" factions," remarks Mr. Wrightson, " have
" generally been carried on under the direc-
" tion of those who have been driven into exile
" either by their own imprudence and folly or
" tho injustice and impolicy of the Govern-
" ments under which they lived." Such men
speedily obtain the reputation of martyrs, and
the more they are persecuted the greater in-
fluence they acquire ; and it is not to be
wondered at that that influence should be
exerted to foment revolt against the existing
Government of their country. But the sette are
essentially men of narrow views ; it is the
elevation of party, not of principle, that
excites them to action. To their jealous and
destructive influence may at least be traced
one principal cause of the destruction of the
representative systems which were gradually
gaining ground before the fatal days of '4B,
and of the failure of the King of Piedmont's
attempts in 1848.9 to expel the Austrians
and unite the whole of the north of Italy under
one constitutional sceptre. " L'Austria," said
Gualterio, " aequistava in questa setts un no-
" vello alleato ! " and subsequent events sadly
proved the truth of his words.
The position of Italy at this moment is one
of scarcely apparent tranquillity : it is a
country under military occupation, struck
down and degraded ; but the " iron hath en-
" tered into her soul," and the day is looked
forward to by the majority of the educated
classes when a frightful retribution will
be taken for the calamities inflicted now.
Let us hope that more moderate views
will ere long actuate both the oppressor
and oppressed. Let us hope that a wiser and
loftier policy upon the one hand will be met
with a more sober and chastened feeling upon
the other, and that the day is not far distant
when a representative system will be estab-
lished, when the interests of the Government
will be identical with those of the nation, and
sound and practical ideas will have destroyed for
ever the influence of sectarian plots and revo-
lutionary conspiracies.
It is sickening to read of the petty jealousies
which actuated the different Governments of
Italy at a time when representative institu-
tions had a fair chance of taking root. Pio
Nono, who at heart desired the elevation of
Italy, was, in 1848, thwarted in his design
of establishing a Representative Government