The Express.
London, England, 1852-12-30 00:00:00

SOCIETY OF TILE FRIENDS OF ITALY.

The second converrazione of the season in :con.
notion with this society was held last evening at the Music
Hall, Store-street. One of the advertised "lions," Mr.
Douglas Jerrold, was not present, from cause. over which,
as usual, the abseentee had no control, and his non attend-
ance gave great dissatisfaction to the one or two hundred
persona collected on this occasion. 31. 31.1xsini wax, how-
ever, in his accustomed place on the platform, where he is
always so heartily welcomed. Mr. Pr.Tkit Atritru
TLYLOK, the energetic and enthusiastic president of Om
society, was in the chair; and he was surrounded by the
average number of ladies sympathising in the
cause of the Italian people, but by few, r than
usual of those intellectual, generally young, men
who are the motive power of this society, and to noose ex-
ertions in sustaining an interest in Italian politics, H.
Mauini and his friends are more deeply indebted than they
are at present perhaps ready to acknowledge.
In his opening remarks, the CII IKMA N, &Mtn! ing upon
the thin attendance, justified the appeal of the society to
the town in this holiday week on the ground that as •
skeleton supplied a useful moral at a least, the cypress of
Italy might be placed, with sad appropriateness, among the
holly of England. The very object of the associa-
tion was to force on attention the fact that the most
selfish and direct interest of England was in promoting
freedom abroad—that the cause of liberal Italy was essen-
tially the cause of protestant and free England ; and in
times of festivity, as well as at other times, this society
would not shrink from calling upon English liberals not to
forget in their own prosperity tho claims which the Italian
liberals had upon their aid. He reiterated his frequently
expressed opinion that the society was essentially practical,
and he believed that the public opinion which it was creat-
ing and would create would have an early effect upon
the system of foreign policy Lord John Russell would now
have the opportunity of carrying out. I
Mr. LA W ItENCE (a barrister) proposed the first resolution
(declaratory of the title which their struggle for liberty
gave the Italians upon the sympathy of free nations) in a
speech of telling generalities, enumeratory of the chief
incidents of the struggle in 1848, and expressive of the most
vehement opinions, which were warmly cheered, against
the Austrian and Neapolitan governments, the Pope, and
Louis Napoleon, for aiding the Pope in suppressing the
liberties of the gallant people of !Lorne. Referring to the
new chances of a liberal foreign policy, he said he could
only feel alarm at the return to official power of L'ird Aber-
deen, who was " implicated" in the martyrdom of the
brothers Bandiera, and of Sir James Graham, who was
chiefly known to the liberals of Continental Eu-
rope as the man who had lent himself to des-
besm, in opening the letters of M. Musini. :What,
asked, did such persons as Molesworth, Cockburn,
Robert Lowe, or Bernal Osborne in compacy with
Lord Aberdeen or Sir James Graham ?
Mr. DAVID M•tisON the new professor in the London
university) seconded Mr. Lawrence's resolution 1 here
were two reasons why he felt and asked for sympathy with
the Italian struggle. In the first place, horrors, shooting.,
hangings, and garrotting. were being perpetrated in Italy
by despotism upon the people, against which Cluistian
humanity ought to rise in arms ; and in the next place, it
was his firm conviction that the ltome, which had succes•
sive, led and governed the world in arms and in arts,
woad be the centre, for the third time—of a new civilisa-
tion, the civilisation of European liberty. (Cheers.) He be.
lieved in Italy—he believed that Italy, united, would be
one of the greatest of modern peoples ; and those who
supposed that their Italian unity and independence was a
chimera, he referred to the opinion expressed at St. Helena
by the Emperor Napoleon—specifying that he meant the
great and not the little one. lie saw no obstacle that
should forbid dam to be sanguine ; he considered that the
day was not distant when they would see Mancini, now sit-
ting so quietly on that platform, trampling upon the tem-
porality of the papacy. (Loud cheers.) And when that
day came he trusted that official England :would not
be permitted by ,Englishmen to back a French
army in backing the Pope against Mazzini. lie believed a
great change of opinion on this subject had taken place in
England within the last year. England had recovered from
its shock and surprise and was thinking accurately, at last;
and he rested his hopes of what was to be dour upon the
influences now arising and tending to bring England and
the United States together in an assault upon Europe and
despotism. (Cheers.)
The first resolution having been disposed of,
Mr. Justus STANSPELD (aa hon. secretary to the society),
addressed the meeting; proposing a resolution of thanks to
Mr. T. Duncombe for the notice he had placed on the paper of
the House of Commons of his iuteution to ask the house to
address her Majesty, praying her Majesty's good offices in
putting an end to the occupation of the Raman states by
' the troops of France and Austria. This notice, Mr.
Stansfeld explained, was founded upon • petition agreed
to at the last meeting of the society of the }tined' of Italy,
and sent to Mr. Dunoombe for presentation ; and as there
, was no doubt the member for Finsbury would press his
notice, it was very desirable that he should be aided as far
las possible by being put in possession of many more
petitions to the same effect. Mr. Stansfeld proceeded to
detail the points of the petition already presented (and which
was the composition of M. Mauini himself, adopted by the
council), and then entered on • logical snd eloquent protest
against the doctrine of nonintervention, so long as that
doctrine was nut unnecessarily adopted by the great powers.
In conclusion he suggested, as • reason for the extraordinary
"combination" of the new ministry, that our prominent
public men were aware of the approach of events which
would need the cessation of party warfare and the union of
al sides to save the nation ; and, if that were so, he thought
they ought to anticipate the danger, and commence by a
bold foreign policy, which should be consistent with the
principle on which the government was based, and which
would gather to onr aid the struggling nationalities of the
continent.
o(C:es-') Mr. Rr seconded the resolution in a speech which
produced much applause. The resolution was, of course,
carried, and, for so small a meeting, with enthusiasm.
The proceedings shortly after were brought to a close:
Mr. Mazda*, contrary to expectation, not addressing the
meeting ; having, in fact, finally expressed an indisposition
M speak in public at this period, when deeds were being
dens in Italy which were breaking his heart The follow-
ing letter to Mr. Taylor from M. Mauini may explain his
sentiments :

" Wednesday Evening.
" Dear Friend,—l come on duty ; not a single meeting
of your society must take place without my signifying by
my presence how grateful we Italians are to you all for
your noble efforts. But I know that I shall not be able
to speak a single word ; I feel unwell, absolutely unequal
to the teak, and most likely doomed to leave before the
meeting is over. Our friends will speak for me better
than I could do. They will, I trust, remind the meeting
that the last time I stood on your platform, I had to speak
of the men who had been shot by dozens a short time
before in Binigaglia and Ancona. One month has elapsed;
and Ave noble heads have fallen on an Austrian scaffold at
Mantua ; five of our best men, after having endured for
months and months indiscribable moral and physical tor-
ture, have been dragged, pale, emaciated, yet hold and
defying, to the place of execution, and killed. They were
from Mantua and Venice ; &jurist, an artist, a civil officer,
a landed proprietor, and a working man ; all shades of the
Italian Society represented in the awful scene ; a solemn
symbol of the compact of struggle and martyrdom
banding in a single thought all the Italian party.
And two hundred of their companions are in the prisons of
Mantua threatened by a similar fate. A rumour is current
that twelve are already condemned. Fifteen patriots have
been sentenced to death by the military committees of the
Roman *tales • and in Tuseaay, Ouarducci and others have
been imprisoned on account of an Italian Bible found in
their houses. Such a state of things cannot lut—must not
last. Let those who believe in the justice of our cause be
more active than ever ; urge upon them the necessity of
carrying out in an energetic way England's peaceful agi-
tation for Italian freedom. You will succeed if you persist.
I trust for this to the undeniable justice of the cause—to
that practical logical sense of your countrymen, and to the
noble instincts, unchecked by peace crotchets or others, of
your working classes.—Ever yours faithfully,
Jossra Maoris'...

EMIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA.—On Christmas Eve.
the John Knox, and the Digby, emigration ships, were
prepared to sail from the Mersey for Australia, but have
sines been detained by adverse winds. The British Queen
loft the depot at Birkenhead on Friday morning with about
260 registered passengers ; 45 of thou were Scotch agricul-
turists from the Isle of Skye, the residue being English ar-
tisans and agricultural labourer,, all of a very respectable
class. The depot was a scene of activity on the same day,
as the Fortune was being prepared for her departure OR
Tuesday. She will take 229 passengers. A great number
of children are going out by this vessel ; and, from their
clean appearance, healthy looks, and good apparel, would
seem to belong to parents removed above the lowest of the
industrial clause. The Panama was to sail on Monday
with about the same number of passengers. She will, of
course, be detained until the wind is favourable.—Lirer-
PO6l PaPer•
Tint PROVINCIAL LETTER CAItRIERS.—A WIT.*
spondent says that this hardworking body of men aro
about to bring the subject of the lewness of their salaries in
• formal manner before parliament. Deputations from
these letter carriers have had interviews with several mem-
bers of parliament, who have promised to take their casein
hand. It should always be remembered that it was the govern-
ment who attempted to impose an oppressive house-tax on
the poorest kind of householders that prohibited poetinen
from soliciting Christmas boxes, and that refused them
compensation after depriving them of an important meant
of support.

Vbe Court.

WINDSOR, Dlr. 29.
al dinner party yesterday consisted of the
Kent, thy Drum* of Leiningen, the Prisons
lloheolote, the lad, is welting to the Dachas
I th•• hafUllelS de Speth
it)e private toad was in attendance is the
and performed the following NW.
t r curd Itmess,"
t."Errire.sts,"

Hirai".
n mot Prater, 'Minted by the Marchioness of
lion. Charles Grey. Coined &urine, aid
n.! iltelaulph, left Windsor this morning by a
.4 U.r Limit Westcra itaderoy, and proceeded
um Velem.
,t, ranted the Duchess of Gloucester, and un-
it sitic et 20 minutia before two o'clock.

a Aber.lees gave the first eabiast dinner to his
re.terday ',smog, at his residuary is Argyll-

at Rumen transacted business yesterday. ffis
f State tor Foreign Affairs, et the korrignOStv.
r et Newcastle attended yesterday, for the Int
e CoknialSee, end hlr. Frederick Peel at-
'isiler.Secntary of State kw the Colonies, in the
Earl to Desert.

smile attracted as Lord rnoideat, yesterday, at
'easel Otiee, Whitehall.
. . _ .

Ilea. .E. (Medawar attended at the official
c eke cheneellor of the Exchequer, in Downuig-
,nlay, for the tint time.
Slo:e,wortli attended at the Office of Works
114,1ainics, io Whitehall-place, yesterday, for the
t. Henry Fitzroy transacted business, as Under
I thane, at the Horne Office. yesterday, in the
%Valiant Jollide.

APPOMTNI EN TS.

,owing appointments have, we understand,
an to those already announced :
tieseral—Mr. Bethel!.
west, Scot.and—Mr. J. Alancrieff.
the Iteaeur)—Lord Alfred Ilene, and NU.

be Admiralty—Admiral Bakeley.
Jet ‘,l the llotheehoid—Lord Dnunlastrig.
OnlEshav—Ms.

IE NEW ELECTIONS.

./IiGE GREY AND THE REPIUIERN-
TATION OF IIORPETIL
NORPETH, WIDNZSDAT.
1 surprise was occasioned in this town, yea-
sin., when the mail brought the intelligence that
had been moved for the borough, in the House
a on the preceding day, in lieu of Capt. Howard,
mated his seat. This circumstance gave rite to •
conjectures. some imagining that the gallant
I been nominated to the commend of • ship, or
nor poet under the new government, and others,
I consented to relinquish the representation in
the Administration of Lord Aberdeen might 'A-
in parliament for some one of the eminent per-
aloud to high office under it. Mr. Cardwell,
!, the President of the Board of Trade. The
is solved by a circumstance which transpired in
of the day. In the first place, Capt. Howard
ddress to the electors, dated Eaton place, Loa-
ICI2, in which he stated that " some domestic
ild not admit henceforth of hie spending so
in London as would be suitable for their repre-
It became, therefore, his duty to acquaint them
I taken the requisite means to vacate his seat in
." Simultaneously with this address a handbill
netting the friends of Sir George Grey to as.
Townie to be held in the evening at the Black
it became a current rumour that the vacancy
relentation bad been created with the view to
mikes of that right hon. baronet in parliament
of the new administration. That report was
proved to be true, for at the meeting referred to
▪ s local agent of Sir George, stated that the
gentleman bad consented to his being put in no-
s a candidate for the borough, and would this
✓oot himself among them to canvass the sloe-
learned gentleman also read the followiag ad.
h Sir George Grey had issued to the 'opal-
men,—My former political connection with you
in the last parliament for the northern division
therland, and the zealous support which in two
aunty elections I have received from the labs-
lorpeth and Bedlington, induce me to hope that
t with • f ble reception in offering myself
ate to 811 the va:sacy in your representation,
he retirement of Captain Howard from paths-
, public conduct has long been known to you,
sting your suffrages I do so in the fall belief
inciples on which I have hitherto acted, and on
still prepared to act, an time by which you
your representative should be guided. It is
y for me now to avow, as I lately felt it mw
a, my continued adherence to the principle
cent commercial legislation of which I was
supporter daring the time when it en-
the strenuous opposition of • large party
tent. The question in costumer'', hay-
submitted at the last general election to the
the country, has been happily set at rest by the
'turnout declaration of the new House of Com-
post of the policy of unrestricted competition or
opposition to what was termed a system of
II through your favour I shall again haw' •
House of Coissaoas, I shall give • woad Pip
administration which has jest bees formal, ia
muse and Acheloos ezteadea of • !pillory whisk
'may admitted to have feadased es largely to
rem sad welfare of the of this country. I
thing', aid in the of seassurso calms.
prove and strengthen oar 'muftis; lastitutloms.
vs the pleasure of wend*, ea yea persommily
lay, and I shall feel gresigsd sad bosioureil by
our coalidean said support.
the honour to be, mama, your obedient sad
✓ast. " O. Our.
!o, Dec. 28, 1862."
ttee was embodied for serving the return
t boa. hareaet.