The Express.
London, England, 1854-01-09 00:00:00

ROMAN STATES.

ROME, Dec. 2R.
Yesterday being the festival of John the Baptist,
and therefore the Pope's nameday, General Farina,
the Minister of Arms, General Braschi, and the
silken of the papal troops stationed in the capital,
waited upon hie Holiness, in the Great-hall at tie
Vatican, adjoining Raphael's Stance, to present :her
:11tegratulations and good wishes. As aeon as the
Pope had seated himself upon the throne prepared
foe him, the minister made a speech, tending to show
the difficulty of his own position, and the exertions
he had made to discharge hie duty. The financial
part of his department ho stated to have found in the
utmost confusion, consequent upon the state of the
army in 1818 and 1849,-but he trusted to have
broughtup past accounts satisfactorily, which, together
with the estimates for the ensuing year, when passed
under the revision of the financial council of State,
would be subjected to the approbation of His Holi-
sm. He dwelt complacently upon the improve.
ments he had effected in the clothing, discipline, and
instruction of the troops, and concluded by protesting
his and their unalterable fidelity to the apostolic
government, and attachment and veneration for the
reigning pontiff. His Holiness, who is by no means
wanting in what is familiarly termed the gift of the
gab, replied fluently to the minister's address, by
thanking him and the assembled officers for their
good wishes, and assuring them in return of his
Sovereign benevolence towards them, of which he
had recently given them a proof, as well as of the
entire trust he placed In the whole army, by request.
ing the evacuation of many cities and fortresses in
his dominions, hitherto garrisoned by foreign troops,
and now entrusted to the sole keeping of the Papal
forces. His Holiness was sure that be should not
have to repent of this mark of his confidence,
but that the tranquillity and welfare of the public
would be equally dear to his own as they could be
to f oeign soldiers; and he reminded the officers that
although the blood and lives of honourable soldiers
should be always at the disposition of their govern.
ment, be demanded no blood from them, but merely
their duty, discipline, aod fidelity. After t his discourse,
the minister kissed the Pope's hand, and his example
was followed by the officers as they defiled before
the throne. General Farina begged his Holiness to
admire the appearance of the officers of the chasseur
battalion, organised in imitation of the French Chas-
woes de Vincennes, or. which his Holiness, concur-
ring in eulogising the officers' uniforms, requested the
minister to give orders that they should always wear
it, instead of appearing so frequently about the city,
whilst off duty, in plain clothes.
The exertions now being made to overthrow the
ministers, and their hitherto successful exertions to
keep their places are the most interesting topic of
the day. The chief attacks made upon them are di-
rected against the financial department, and result
from the unavoidable revelations made before the
financial council of state, a monstrum horremlung
which stinks in the nostrils of Cardinal Antonelli and
his whole cabinet. The council suspended its sittings
for some dare lately, in consequence of the Finance
Minister, signor Galli, having kept back a part of
the accounts he was bound to produce ; and Cardinal
Savelli, president of the financial council, bitterly ac-
cused Signor Galli of mismanagement and pecula-
tient', in the council of ministers held twice last
week in the presence of tho Pope himself.
The cardinal especially. complained of the trickeries
by which the substitution of silver for the paper still
in circulation had been eluded, and asked the minis-
ter what be and his emp/o0 had done with all Rothe.
child's silver and gold, since nothing was paid by
him except in paper, and a poor widow, whom he
(the cardinal) could name, going to the Treasury to
receive a bitting monthly pension to which she was
entitled, amounting to three scudi and a half (135.),
not only was refused the silver she ought to have
received, but was insulted into the bargain, by the
employes handing her a fifty seudi note and request-
ing her to give him change. Galli, as most prudent
in such a case, ignored the whole transaction, and
declared that he and his employes had paid away
gold and silver as long as they had any to pay.
These energetic denunciations of the Cardinal
had at any rate the good effect of rousing the Pope
to a painful consciousness of what was going on,
and he forthwith ordered the minister of police to
call together the money-changers, and make them
deposit all the copper money they had hoarded, with
strict injunctions not to buy or sell it in future under
penalty of fifty scudi fine, the closing of their shops,
and five years of the galleys for their own persons.
This to begin with, and to check the growing
murmurs of the poor people. As for the more
serious evil of the unextinguishable (as it
appear., to be) paper currency, his Holi-
ness is said to be as firmly resolved, as is
consistent with his character, to do away with it at
once and for ever—to "strike occe, and strike no
more"—if he can, which is an V many folks think
will be too strong for him. However that may be,
it is certain that he has the measure much at heart,
and on the day before yesterday, whilst going to the
Sixtino Chapel, where the whole court was assembled
and Cardinal Morichioi waiting at the altar to say
mass, the Pope stopped to take Cardinal Marini (who
is president of the commission for the extinction of
the paper money) into an adjoining chamber, where
he had a conversation of some length with him, and
requested his eminence to come to his apartments
together with 'Cardinal Antonelli immediately after
Signor Jacobini, Minister of Commerce, complains
to the Pope that Galli and some of his compeers have
brought in 13,000 barrels of Spanish wine without
his knowledge and without paying duty, but Galli,
when called before the Pope, adroitly insinuates that
Jacobini's indignation only arises from the probability
of his own Gentian° wine falling in the market, and
upholds that the introduction of good foreign wine
in the present scarcity is a real service to the publk.
Thus do our ministers work, and thus is the poor
Pope torn between the contending factions.