The Express.
London, England, 1859-03-24 00:00:00

cot BUOL AND PIEDMONT.

The fuhuvring is the concluding portion of Signor
Parini, let!yr to lord John Russell ; the earlier part
is referred to in our leading article columns:
'• Having thus illustrated that part of Coast Bnol's
despatch w hich stems to me most worthy of the
&Motion of diplomatists, as it refers to the maxims
of public law. I will make a few remarks upon the
long ehnpter in which the Count goes on preach-
ing against Piedmont in the style of a gazetteer.
.• R. winding us of the iDTlllion of Piedmont inlll2l,
and deploring that Count Cavour should have
brosght medera theories into vogue, the Emperoe'e
min.-ter intimates, with an ingenuousness which is
rare among diplomatists, of what kind are the err-
vices which the Court of Vienna in its generosity
would still lie incleued to do for us.
Kshit,iting auger and displeasure that the Sar-
dinian government should speak in the name of Italy,
Count If abuses England and France, which
ettgnised iu the plenipotentiaries of Victor Emmanuel
the right to speak of Italy in en European Congress.
" Vietui Emmanuel is an Italian king of a state
which is .qual in size with that which the Emperor
of Aosta' possesses so ill in Italy. The Emperor of
Austria not tieing enabled to speak or to operate in
Italy otherwise than in his capacity of King of the
Lombardo-Venetian territory, he has no greater au-
thority than that of the King of Sardinia. Victor
Emmanuel sits upon a throne which is bright
with the g'ory of eight centuries, and he reigns
with (lie ins:lindens over a contented people.
The Emperor of Austria has no throne and
no roecrantent in Italy he has had an encampment
there but for 44 years pest. The Italian Ktng of
Sardinia has sealed with his soldiers' blood in the
Crimea his ancient right to speak in the came of the
indepe edemee and liberty of Italy; nor can this ins-
prescriptible right of his be contested by. the
Asetrien Ki, g of the Lombardo-Venetian territory.
The arrogates and the pretensions of the Holy
Roman Empire are quite beside the question; and
the incorimeation of the Lombardo-Venetian king-
dom with the Austrian empire Is foreign to the
question of right.
" While ha disputes to Count Omar the right of
speeking of Italy, Count fool arrogates to himself
that of speaking in the name of all the Italian sove-
reigns, suiting 'that the Ming= which Count
Ca, our ascribes to himself is loudly disclaimed by all
the other Italian monarchs.' If all the other Italian
monsio•hs hate really given the minister of Austria
a commit-.on to protest, let hint show the conven-
tion, and w.: shall have a fresh proof of their vas-
solar. But perhaps this is • boast of his, sins none
of the sovereigns has made loud protads-
tiou, and I would lay a wager that noes of
them dots now make any. The envoy of the Grand
Duke of Tuscany is here, and makes no sign; the
envoy of the King of Naples is here, and when King
Victor Emmanuel speaks of the sufferings of Italy,
be doss rot stir--vines nothing comes from Naples
bat exclanistices of joy'
" The Auitrian minister complains of our 'licen-
tious reel: But why does he not complain of the
English prom, which has so many times uttered so
mach vituperation of Austria, of her ministers, of
the mar-hs.., of the Emperor, and of his mother?
The liberty of writing for the press is a constitu-
tional right of ours, and only the jag's, not the
soinistvre, eon deal with the excesses of its licence.
11... i. vile, would clear himself from the accu-
sation tai having demanded that the rieelmonteee
govern:nent should make alterations in the intake-
twos of the state. confirms the accusation by confirm-
ing that lie nos demanded guarantees for themes.'
And then c,tifeseing that he afterwards brob of
diplomatic r ietiont because the Piedniontese govern-
ment woe not compliant, he shows all the world how
Auetrii wanted, be a solemn demonstration of her
ors. h. to do violence to the free government
of ea independent state. The court of Vienna
perhaps hoped that the Piedmont.** ministers would
hare given .t the charge to re-establish by degrees
en ord.. r and a quiet of its own sort in Piedmont.
For,if we are to believe him, the cause of all the
wow of its:y consists in this, our liberty; and Count
Boot is so tits in this persuasion, and so sincere in
wapreasing it, that he invites the powers to ' dry
up the fountain of the evil'—that is, to do roughly
wart Angulo wield have wished to do more gently.
" Tae Mien of the danger, therefore, my Lord, as
some days age I bad the honour to tell you, is ha
the liberty whist, having, thank God, taken root in
l'admont. cannot be supported by Austria. It is
these:ear, fronting testimony of the Austrian CAI-
e-t its..f, that the question of our liberty is identified
with the Italian question, and that the perils to
peace prueeed from the in. incible repugnance of the
Austrian .:stem to the liberal and national system of
Piedmont.
" Count 800 l says, as it were pleasantly, that,' for
half a century put, Italy has been abandoned to
every sort of political experiment. and that the most
*ppm!, systems were in turn put in practice.' But
either he does not speak his mind, or he would per-
vert history to a fab'e, seeing that for forty-five
yes past no other lasting experiment has been tried
inltaly then that of the Austrian system. A real ex-
periment of liberty has not been tried except in Pied-
mont for the last ten years. The court of Vienna has
laver el.enged its system. lam mistaken ; it has
pertly et.onged it; it has put on a clerical attire.
For the rest, if the Austrian molester wishes to
abide by the experiment of the most: to sys-
tems' tried is the last ten years, we willingly take
his a* his word, and rely fully ohs the judgment of
the FAIT opinion of England. We ask whether
the k'n,rdons of Sardinia is store quiet and orderly.
or those of the Two Sicilies and the Papal States?
We a.k which are the best satisfied, the Lombards
and Venetian', the Parmesans, the Modenese, or the
Madwomen.?

:tut, retort' the controrenial minister, the other
Italian peoples are not quiet, because the Pi.. dmontne
do not keep quiet ; it is necessary to ' dry up the
sown' of the complaints and uneasiness. Thanks
be to him for this sincerity, which will, I am certain,
my Lin!, tern to his advantage in the public opinion
or your country'

"It ii trts that the minister, finding himself a little
emberreseed with respect to England, in condemning
on principle free institution., brings forward again
the widest:es that 'certain institutions do not
appear eorizeniel to the genies, the traditions.
and the social condition of the Italians.'
The Count perhaps does not know that all
the Itzlian traditions are those of liberty, and that
the social condition of the Italians is mach more
suited .iherty and civil equali'y than theta( many
other peoples. When Austria had never allowed
the ex net anent of free institutions to be tried in
Italy •he might possibly with a good face have
sought to find as excuse for her tyranny in the dis-
position of the Italian peoples, in the situation of the
tates, or in the temperature of the climate; but this
doetr.ce of old almanacs cannot obtain credit in
Europe since the excellent experiment of Pied-
montsre liberty has been tried. I read that the
cane' been witnewi that 'certain institutions work
admirably well where they have been developed
and matured for ages.' But he really does not
perceive that whilst he aims at flattering England,
he ie offending common sense; for if it be certain
that free institutions become admirable by enduring
for centuries, it follows that they should be allowed
to live, and not be strangled at their birth. The
centuries in which elsewhere they had their develop-
ment and maturity surely had • beginning; and if I
England. for instance, at the beginning of her ex-
perience, had met in the path of liberty an Austria,
which desired and was able to' dry up the source
of:the evil,' at the prevent day the minister of the
Emperor Francis Joseph would not have hesitated to
pronounce that free institutions are not adapted
either to the genius, or to the traditions, or to the
social nonditimi of the English people. It need not
be remarked that the English people did not acquire
them, lute not maintained them, and has not de-
veloped them without difficulties and troubles.
le it iodise, my lord, that, disaniseing the C 11601211
historical and political theories of the Austrian mini-
ster, I should dwell a little on the accusations he
brirge against the Piedmont/se government, saying
that it provokes war.
" The King, on opening parliament, said that a he
respected treaties, but was not iaseasible to the
griefs of the Italians: This is a greet fault; he
has offended Austria by speaking the truth ; he hos