The Express.
London, England, 1849-04-14 00:00:00

the peasantry by thousands, led on and encouraged
by their priests. Th'e, in)eed, has been one f the re-
markable features of the Sicilian revolutior, that the
priesthood has taken such a decid.d and patriotic
part. Amongst the people bad been distributed
10,000 pikes, six fret long, and with triangular heads.
Trues they had orders to use in preference to any
other weapon, the priest' preaching daily in the
piazzas, and urging the same counsel—to rush upon
the enemy with the pike, regardle.s of anything else
but ererminating them. Speaking of the means of
defence, my informant further told me that, besides a
ltrge force of Frenchmen and people of other nations,
there was a body of Englishmen organised, about 300
in number, who were tolled the 6, Inglese."
Their artillery was well served by a splendid troop;
ammunition and arms abounded ; round the city a
ditch had been dug ten feet deep and 10 feet wide,
with towers at the distance of 100 feet from one ano-

ther, each having six cannon.
A letter from Palermo says—
All here lend their aid, even the ladies carrying out the
earth in smell lbasketa. The army musters 50,000 men under
arms, and is daily on the increase. 26,000 labourers are
daily at work in the trenches, and work hard too, so that is
• week they have thrown up immense works. They are
most enthusiastic and only step working to cry " death and
destruction to the Bourbons.' We (English) are exceed-
ingly well received here, but the French are excessively dis-
liked. We hear it reported that there has been a regular
row on board the Friedland between the admiral and officas
on some question of politic regarding the Sicilians. •
Toe last authority I shall cite is a letter from Cata-
nia, and which is of great importance, as Catania
teems to have always taken a part favourable to en ar-
rangement. Alter stating this fact, my correip.mdent

continues :
Had the King wished to unite the Sicilians, to destroy the
party in favour of • settlement, and to promote a feeling for
hostilities, he could not have proposed a docum. rat which
could better answer his purpose than that now presented to
Sicily. A French steamer arrived hers
.yesterday for
Palermo, having touched at every port in its voyage
round the island, bearing • large number of proclamations
and of the diplomatic correspondence respecting the ulti-
matum. Before the vessel left a large number of copies were
jubliely destroyed by the population, who got up a demon-
stration with tri-coloured flags, parading round the city with
shouts for war. For obvious reasons the means and plan of
defence will not be touched on in this. It may euffice to
say that if the Sicilians are only true to themselves, as it
appears they most likely will be, the conquest of Sicily by
the Neapolitans will neither be so easy or so certain u many
seem to expect.
From Messina little, of course, could be learned as
to the movements of the patriotic party in the neigh-
bourhood. Prince St. Rosalie commanded the troops
near Bareellona, about 18 miles front Messina, and, it
was expected, would commence an attack upon the
outposts, driving them in to Melazzo. This prince re-
ceived the insult of being struck by his Majesty, and
probably will nut fight the worse on that account.
Of the proceedings of the royalists the following are
the only particulars I cap tell you : Filangieri, toge-
ther with some superior'bfficets, bad arrived at Mes-
sina on the 24th ult., by the Stromboli. The naval
force stariozed there were : the Regina and Amelia,
frigates ; Csrlo 111., Archimode, Roberto, Guiscard,
Ercoli, and Sannita, large steamers, a email steamer,
and many gun-boats. From all appearance., it was
conjectured that the first attack would be made upon
Catania. The road thither from Meesina was broken
up, barricaded, or mined and defended by twelve bat-
talions of organised miens. All foreigners in Alt s-1
sina had been caged upon to show cause why they
remained in the city. Two forts only of the insur-
gents remained there, well provisioned, commanding
the city. Orders had been issued for closing the calls
and all public places at two hours of night. On
the 25th, two large belle, sent by his Majesty
to replace thole taken by the Mesainese for casting
cannon, had been consigned to the mother church. On
the same day also 1,500 men were dispatched from
Gaeta to Messina. It is, however, now uoderstood
that Filangieri will endeavour to make his first im-
pression upon Palermo.
Later information from Sicily, by the Duke of Ca-
labria steamer, which came in on the morning of the
3rd, from Meesina, is as follows :—All was quiet in
Messina, yet it was sufficiently evident what was the
real feeling of the people. The city teemed emptied
of the soldiery, who had marched off in the direction
of Catania. On Friday night and Saturday morn-
ing, 30th and 31st of March, six steamers had left
at the same time • but whether with troops or not
my informant, who had just come up from Messina,
could not tell me. The steamers were still visible on
Sunday morning, going in the same direction, from
which it is inferred that either a ruse was being prac-
tised, or that the steamers had been driven back by
heavy weather during the night. Reports were circu-
lating that two villages had been burnt and sacked en
route, and that Catania had surrendered. This how-
ever, must have been impossible at that time. Filangieri
and Pronio were bothwith the forces. There had been'
an action in the direction of Melazzo, in which the
Neapolitans had the worst ; the Sicilians had killed
a person who worked the telegraph, and broken the
communication. By this time some important actions
will have taken place. Palermo, it is clear, then, has
not as yet been attacked, though for two days it has
been industrially circulated that it had surrendered
after four hours fire. At Missina there was three
Neapolitan steamers, the Ferdinando, Capri, and
Ercolano, besides two sailing frigates, the Amalia and
Regina; there were also two Genoese steamers, and
one English (the Rosamond), the Bulldog having been
sent down to Catania. Our consul at Arming had
given notice to all the English residents to be in
readiness to embark if circumstances should render it
necessary. It was no longer permitted to leave or
enter Messina.
Filangieri, on the 28th ult., had published the two
following proclamations at Messina :
Sicilians,—The revolutionary usurpers of power in Pa-
lermo have rejected the liberal concessions which our august
sovereign had empowered the French and English admirals
to take down to Sicily. The ministers plenipotentiary of the
same powers shortly after went also to Palermo to units their
efforts to those of the a'oressid admirals. France and Eng-
lend, through these their representative, convinced that
they could no longer interfere in this affair, have withdrawn
their fleets from the veto's of Sicily. The tyrants of the
beautiful island not deeming such a refusal sufficient, have
chosen to add insults, and use terror, threats, and even as-
sersinations, to prevent honest cit kens not only from accepting
but even from knowing the general and most ample amnesty
and the other concessions which the King our lord, in his in-
exhaustible munificeece, has lavished upon his Sicilian
subjects. It is civil war, then, that is desired by
those odious anarchists. Civil war it is, and nothing
else. For your geed I exhort you, honest and peaceful
citizens, to preserve yourselves from such a scourge, the
greatest of all those which could afflict human society. Re-
main tranquil in your homes,. it is not you whom we under.
take to combat, but rather those devastators of your coun-
try—thou insatiable, ambitions men whe lay their hands
upon it, if they will have the daring to front us with
open bosoms. The peaceful inhabitants of the cities and the
country districts we shall enter with the olive branch of
peace in our hands will find in each soldier a friend, • pio-
tutor of their families, of their nbstance ; but those who
show themselves hostile to us will have no right to com-
plain if they shell fall victims to the civil was which they
tliemselyeshaveprovoliesL—Lientenaat CleneralComaander-
in-Chief, CHARLES FILANGIERI, Prince of 'BATMAN°.
Another proclamation to " Soldiers of the squadron
and of the army destined for the Sicilian expedi-
tion :"
The Sicilians are our brothers. We move from here to libe-
rate them from the horrid yoke which has covered with blood
and ((lief for now 16 menthe this ;put of the royal dominions.
If the peaceable inhabitants of Sicily claim our affeeti mate
protection, equally is it our duty to assure the anarchists
who, in exciting the civil war, cause the ruin of their country,
that calumnies lavished by them upon you have prodneed
no ether effect than that of rendering firmer that intrepidity
of whisk so memorable a proof exists in the occupation of
Messina. Europe now knows if you or your adversaries dis-
ptayed in that war manly courage during action, severe dis-
upline, and wonderful moderation after the victory. I do
not doubt that shortly we shall have fresh proofs that the
land and naval forces of the King have more than ever a
I claim on the admiration of all for their fidelity to their most
beloved sovereign, for their devotion to military honour, for
their discipline, for their valour. Long live the King.—
Lieut.-Gen. Com:in-Chief, C•ato Furrronuss.
Another proclamation to the Meadnese:
His Majesty the King yielding to his indulgent and pater-
nal sentiments rather than to any just resentment against
his rebellious subjects, spontaneously offered suchconcenions
Is best suited the wants of Sicily aced which were least likely
to weaken that permanent security which is due to the
whole population. But in Palermo prevailed a epee's of
egotism. Those who above all turned the misfortunes of the
public to their own advantage—those who have destroyed
Tery:check to their most brutal passions—thou, who have
ireduced to • precarious state the life and substance of all,
have refluell peace to keep at • distance from them that
which they bete, and which yet satisfies the supreme wants
of society—government. Military operations have then be-
come &necessity ; when the hinges of society are shaken,
when social ties are rudely broken, disciplined armies and a
dictatenhip alone suffice to reproduce them. And in this
revolutionary period of Rum e no one can tell whither its
evils would have led without the military force. Civilisation
would perhaps have perished if armies, as history informs
us has happened at other times, had not imposed bounds to
the mat degrading disorders. In Germany :lie most exten-
sive institutions were established ; in France • republic was
established and pol.fical disturbances ought to have ceased.
But no, to confirm quiet and the better and more suitably
to nurture civil regulations, it was necessary to