The Express.
London, England, 1851-08-06 00:00:00

THE STATE TRIALS AT NAPLES.

The great tragedy at Naples is not yet over, the
curtain dropped but for a short time, and we are to
licitness a new trial by those judges whom the pam-
phlets of Mr. Gladstone introduced to us, and on vic-
tims not has illustrious than Baron Poerio. We
learn by the latest intelligence from Naples that the
late minister of commerce and agriculture, Antonio
Scialoja, is to be tried, or rather, that he is to be
sentenced to the galleys. Perhaps the voice of the
press may reach the shores of the Bay of Naples be-
fore the sentence is passed, perhaps the indignation
of the civilised world may arouse in the
bosom of the King of Naples if not the
feeling of justice, at least the feeling of,
shame; perhaps those lines may serve in some way
to soothe the fate of the unfortunate man on whose
behalf I address myself to the good feelings of your
readers.
I met Mr. Scialoja, a born Neapolitan, at Turin,
where he was professor of political economy. lie
made himself generally beloved by the gentleness of
his temper, and by the moderation of his views. He
was a free-trader and a constitutionalist, and as such
the greatest enemy of violent revolutions. His
."rrattato Elementare di Economia l'olitica" contains
the substance of his lectures, and is a proof',
of the practical turn of his mind. His position
in Turin was a pleasant one in every respect, when
the revolution in ISIS broke out; but mindful of his
native country, he returned to Naples in March,'
ItSitt, though with the intention not to fix himself
on so treacherous a soil. After his arrival there
he had an interview with the King, who by the ad-
vice of his ministry had appointed Seialoja to a high
judicial office. A few days later, on the ith of April,
he was named Minister of Agriculture and Commerce.
An enemy of anarchy not less than of despotism, at a
moment when both these extremes were to be dreaded,
he did all he could to unite the different
parties in one great interest, loftier than all the
others—viz.. the national interest for the independ-
ence of Italy. But the dynastic intrigues, the reli-
gious apprehensions, and the disturbances excited by
the agents of the enemy, destroyed this noble enter-
prise, so little appreciated by the foreign press. The
deplorable events of the ritli of May, 18-IS, in
Naples severely tried ScialVs hopes. lie saw that
the reactionary party would avail itself of the un-

successful atteiniu of a few hundred madmen, who
evidently were under foreign influence, and
• he withdrew front office. Unwilling to use
other arms than those of words and of
persuasion, he resorted to both, writing for the
press, and lecturing on political economy to re-
fute the doctrines of socialism. The government
stopped these lectures. But Scialoja was member of
the parliament ; he had therefore the tribune, and
he denounced from it all those seeds of corruption and
of absolutism which soon were to grow and bring
such bitter fruits in his unfortunate country. Now
who could believe that sixteen months after he
left office he was imprisoned in September, 1849,
under the pretence that he had been implicated in
the disturbances of the 15th of May.
Whoever is familiar a ith the pi iodides of Scialoja
sees in this arrest a proof of the violence of the
reactionary party, and no one knows to what an
extent of cruelty the infuriated tyranny of the King
of Naples may be carried.
A man like Scialoja, who anxiously longed for the
peaceful development of freedom, and who loved na
tional independence even more titan freedom itself,
how could he be a party to the 15th of May—to
this first Now against liberty. and indepen-
dence? How could he participate in this
mad attempt, which served but despotism, and
blighted every hope of progress? But it is
enough to say, that he has now been nearly
two years in prison, and that the Neapolitan
judges were not able to find false witnesses against
him. He often. but in vain, implored the judges
to try him, that he might thus have the opportunity
of defending himself. Now, after a preliminary impri-
sonment of twenty two months, he will be dragged
before the court, not to be judged but to be condemned.
For in countries where justice is not admi-
nistered by jury, and where the judges
can be dismiss'ed from office at the plea-
sure of the King, a judge is nothing more than
a commissioner, a mercenary, a bravo, who, in-
stead oldie stiletto, destroys you by the false inter-
pretation or application of a law in order to please his
master. But Scialoja was minister at the time when
the constitution was in full vigour, and was acknow-
ledged by the K ing himself. The minister should there-
fore base been tried by the House of Peers when im-
peached by the Commons. Instead of this he will
be tried by a corrupted court, by a star-
chamber. But it is yet more strange that
those few hundred men who fought on the 13th of
May in the streets of Naples, and who were taken
prisoners, aims in hand, have all been distuissed
without any punishment, without any law suit.
Absolutism seems in fact desirous to prove grateful
to those very men for the mad enterprise which
was excited by foreign enemies to whom they served
as tools.
Scialoja's future is yet more sinister than
the present ; for foreign countries maintain
the principal non-intervention whenever consti-
tutions are crushed by absolutism, and libe-
rals are sent to prison ; while, in the interest of
despotism, even republican France is ready to in-
terfere. The Neapolitan government is tlerefore
sure that it has nothing to fear by trampling over
every right of humanity. They think that a man-of-
war and two frigates, some ten thousand of bayonets,
and some hundred jailers, are sufficient for carrying
back the nineteenth century to the standard of the
middle age. There arc many of the unfortunate
prisoners at Naples who look to the next crisis
in France for an alteration of their fate, but
their hopes deceive them. Such is the state of
poor Scialoja, the scholar and patriot, the friend
of Bastiat and Say, of Wolowski, and of our Richard
Cobden ; he has no other wish than to be banished
for ever front his native country, and to return to his
adopted country, Piedmont, there to continue his
researches on political economy. But his friends are
unable to rescue hint, and, Uhl, is to share the fate of
poor l'ocrio, he will yet regret his present prison of
Santa Maria Apparentc, which now scents unbear-
able to him. Unable to touch the heart of the King
of Naples, we can do nothing for Scialoja than to
mourn over his fate.—A FRIE—ND OF SCIALOJA

GREAT CONFLAGRATION IN FlNz.BrltT.—Last
night, between the hours of eight and nine o'clock, a fire
broke out on the premises belonging to Messrs. James, I
Wild, and Co., the extensive uplauleterers, cabinet makers,
and feather merchants, situate in Worship-street and the
Curtain-road, ehoreditch. The property in question was
of vast extent, and formed six houses in the last-named
thoroughfare, whilst another turned the angle into
Worship -street, and the whole stretched backwards be-
tween 200 and 300 feet into Glllard's-lields. The engines
of the London Brigade, West of England Company, and
parish, attended with all poceinle expedition, when the fire-
men found the dames ascending some dozen feet above the
surrounding houses. They, therefore, directed the water
from the different engines in such directions as to cut
off the further spread of the fearful clement. During
that time a number of persona were engaged in
removing the furniture, &c., from the show-rooms on
the ground floor. Although the principal stock in those
depots was removed it was much broken. During the pro-
gress of the conflagration a wagre.n filled with beds or
mattresses was drawn out from the gateway, but the con-
tents were blazing away moat furiously, and it was not until
a great part of the freight was destroyed that the tire could
be extinguished. The firemen laboured without the least
intermission until past midnight, when they succeeded in
getting the mastery to some extent over the fire, but it was
then far from being extinguished, although no danger ex•
lied of any further extensiou. The damage done, the fore-
mail of the premises informed our reporter, would amount
to some thousands of pounds, to say nothing of the injury
to the premises. The whole of the extensive premises at
the rear are gutted, and the eutirc length of buildings in
front as far as the ground-flours arc burned out. How the
fire originated is a mystery. The men had left etf work,
and the premiers had not been closed more than 20 minutes,
when the unwelcome discovery was made. It is to be
regretted that the firm was only partially insured.
GLASGOW AND SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY.—
Trate for the week ending Aug. 2 : 4,6861. 9s. bd. ;
aaerespanding week iu last year, 3,6161. Ile.lod.