The Express.
London, England, 1864-09-27 00:00:00

THE AGITATION IN TURIN.

(PROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
TURIN, Seer. 24, Ifoturnm.
As I had foreseen at the end of my yesterday's
letter, the news that the King had dismissed the
ministry was enough to restore order, and to change
the threatening attitude of the population of Turin
into a most pacific and orderly one. Tranquillity
being thus thoroughly re-established, I went to
inspect once snore the square which had been the
theatre of that dreadful scene of death. On exa-
mining closely the walls of the palaces, the columns,
and the doors under the porticoes, I was shocked to
think that if the muskets had not been fired rather
high a larger number of victims would have fallen.
The door, for instance, of the house where the
offices of the Sardinian Railway Company are esta-
blished bears the marks of the bullets from top to
bottom. Here and there the same marks are
to be noticed under the doors, arches, or
at the sides of the balconies. At a place
on the left of the square, near the church of
some saint or other, there is a wooden shed, con-
structed for building purposes. This shed is here
and there perforated by bullets, some of which
passed through the front planks and came out at
the back. A poor woman who had sheltered herself
behind the shed was struck on the chest in spite
of the refuge she had thought safe. At the
announcement that General La Marmora had
accepted the difficult task of forming a
new administration, • citizen's committee and
the mayor communicated, by a proclama-
tion printed iu large type, the news to the
population, imploring it to resume its ordinary
affairs, and begging all citizens to retire at eight
o'clock to their dwellings. The last recommenda-
tion was scarcely necessary, because, as I told you
above, the wishes of the people having been satis-
fied by the dismissal of Minghetti'a cabinet, all
causes or pretext for disorder bad ceased. The
papers of this morning have published the nominal
list of the killed and wounded during the two last
days. A sad list, indeed, which shows that only one
man amongst the killed was armed, the majority being
mechanics, old men,!aud boys. Many of the uatues of
the wounded could not be ascertained, because they
were taken to their houses. Those remaining at
the hospitals of St. John and St. Maurice are, on
the whole, progressing well enough. There is
amongst the wounded soldiers a carabineer who
has been fired upon with small bul-
lets, a circumstance which leads one to
infer that be was wounded by some one in front of
the police-office. That the dreadful calamities of
the 21st and 22nd could have been prevented re-
sults from the fact that, except the above recorded,
not oneof the dead or wounded was found with arms
in his possession, and moreover that no barricade
was raised or indeed attempted to be raised by the
population. The calamity, therefore, must be put
to the account of the bad arrangements made by
those whose first duty was that of avoiding blood-
shed.

As always occurs when such deady occurrences
take place, I hear that Minister Peruzzi disclaims
all responsibility for the event of the 22nd, throw-
ing it on the shoulder of General Della Rocca, who
in his turn throws it on the minister, or at least on
the police authority. Be it as it may, public opinion
is more than severe in judging the acts of the late
ministers, holding them responsible for the lives
lost.

Some interestingdetails have cometomy knowledge
about the dismissal of Mingbetti's administration,
which I think may be acceptable to your readers.
At the first tidings of the events of the 22nd, an
aide-de-camp of the King started on horseback for
Sommaviva, his Majesty's country residence. On
hearing the terrible news, Victor Emmanuel's first
movement, I have been told, was that of anger and
despair, for the lives of his fellow citizens are as
dear to him as those of his sons. The aide-de-camp
bad been instructed by some of his comrades whom
he had seen at the cafe to tell the King that the
exasperated population held him responsible for the
blood shed. He was also advised to tell the monarch
that the most injurious reports were spread against
his august person, and that people had gone so far
as to assert that pecuniary interests had not
been foreign to the consent he had given
to the transfer of the capital to Florence,
and the renunciation of Rome. Athough evidently
absurd, the news reported by the devoted aide-
de camp made such an impression upon Victor
Emmanuel that he at once ordered his carriage and
drove to Turin, where, it is stated, the ministers
did not expect him. Once arrived at the royal
palace the King telegraphed to General La Mar-
mora, who was then at Milan, bidding him to
come to Turin without a moment's delay. At the
same time he sent for General Della Rocca and
begged him to speak plainly, because he had not an
exact idea of the situation. The General, with
every mark of respect, confirmed the report of the
aide-de-camp, and told the King that nothing less
than the resignation of Signor Minghetti and of
his colleagues could satisfy the population of
Turin. In times of political agitation hours
pass quickly. General Della Rocca was
still in Victor Emmanuel's room when Ad-