The Express.
London, England, 1853-01-10 00:00:00

SWITZERLAND.

The Direction of Justice and Police of the Canton
of Berne has replied as follows to the circular from
the Federal Department of Justice and Police, direct-
ing investigations to be made with respect to clan-
destine printing establishments in which numerous
Implies of Victor Hugo's pamphlet, " Napoleon lu I'o-
tit," were supposed to have been produced:
Most honoured gentlemen—ln accordance with demands
expressed in our confidential letter of the 10th December,
the Direction of Justice and Police of the Canton of Berne
immediately obtained all the required information by ap-
plying to all the printers and booksellers of the Canton.
It has the honour to communicate the result to you.
The pamphlet called "Napoleon le Petit," which is
specially referred to, was not printed in the Canton of
Berne. French and German editions of the work
were, however, sent for Morat, Bremen, or Brussels to
some bookseller,, who announced them, and offered them
for sale. It appears, from the statement of the bookseller
Burgdorfer, and of Pauli, one of the editors of the Berner
Zeitwsg, that a German translation appeared at Morat, and
it was sent to the same bookseller by Dr. Pohl, formerly a
refugee residing in that town. It was declined by M.
Bens, bookseller and lithographer at Bienne. This person
received, some time ago, a proposition from Chau: de
Fonds to print 6,000 copies of "Napoleon le Petit," but his
reply was of such a nature that the proposition was not fol-
lowed up. The signature of the letter containing the offer
was, however, illegible, and the address of the reply may
consequently have been inexact. It must now be added
that according to the existing laws neither a pa-
tent nor an authorisation of the police is re-
quired to establish a printing-office in the canton of
Berne ; from which it follows that the expression, " clan-
destine printing•office," has no meaning in law. It must,
besides, be mentioned that, according to the existing laws,
the cantonal authorities cannot officially prosecute •
publication offensive to a foreign government when sold or
even printed in the Canton ; that is a fact of which the fede-
ral authorities cannot be ignorant. The undersigned
direction believes that it has by this communication replied
to your demands. It will consider itself happy if it has
thereby contributed to restrain the bad press within certain
limits. It cannot, however, dissimulate that the object,
which the authorities of the Canton of Berne propose to
themselves, not only with respect to foreign couctries, and
without being excited by them, but also in what concerns
the interior, and by a sentiment of duty is singularly em-
barrassed by the delay in giving a sanction which has been
expected for several months from the Federal authorities ;
so that it would be very difficult for it to second better
designed measures. Nor will it refrain Ifrora say-
ing that it has been profoundly offended at the
manner in which certain newspapers appearing in or out of
the canton, and which are generally considered as semi-
official, or which, in any case, by their frequent communi-
cations, betray their intimate relations with official people,
have presented this affair. They have made it the pretext
for placing the government of Berne in suspicion, as if it
had complacently ordered these measures ; whereas it is
entirely a stranger to this affair, and up to this hour has not
yet received communication of the French note, announced
on the 29th November. In this state of things, you will
not consider strange the declaration by which the under-
signed direction terminates this reply : namely, that for
the future, it is not to it that demands similar to those con-
tained in the letter of the 10th December should be ad-
dressed, for it can only carry out the instructions, and obey
the orders it may receive from the cantonal government.
It seises this occasion, &c.
BUILLEII, Director of Justice and Police.
Berne, 22nd December, 1852.

ITALY .
PIEDMONT.

In the sitting of the 4th, the Chamber of Deputies
of Turin voted the bill for the Genoa and Voltri Rail-
road. The budget of the war department (artillery)
was then brought forward. On the item of 323,3001 r.
for the manufactory of arms being proposed, M. Va-
lerio moved that the sum be increased to 530,000 fr.,
in order to introduce modern improvements in the
construction of muskets. General Lamarmora, Minis-
ter of War, objected to the increase, stating that the
government magazines were stocked with muskets
i in the proportion of three for every soldier, and that
he did not think improvements should be adopted
until experience had demonstrated their excellence.
The original motion was then agreed to. The whole
budget of artillery amounts to 3,203,273 fr.
The King of Sardinia has appointed a military
tutor for his son in the person of General Rossi, a
distinguished officer, universally respected for his
scientific attainments and moderately liberal opinions.

FLORENCE.
DEATH OF THE PRISONER MADIAI.

Oar correspondent. writing from Turin on the
6th inst., confirms the report of the death of the
unfortunate prisoner Madiai in the prison at Flo-
rence. Our correspondent adds : "As there is no
coroner's inquest, nor any efficient guarantee
that foul•play has not been used, the Tus-
can authorities are liable to the worst
suspicions, though, of course, it would be un-
charitable and even unjust to give them much weight,
if free access has been allowed to the unfortunate

man for some time previous to his death ; if not,
many here, and probably many more in England,
will suspect some jesuitical machinations to get
rid of a living witness and victim of the spirit of re-
ligious intolerance in the 19th century.