The Express.
London, England, 1866-04-03 00:00:00

MIZZEN' AND THE ITALIAN P.

M. &den? the Naples correspondent of the Paris
Temps, writing to that paper on the 27th ult., says :

Under date London, March 2, twenty days before the
vote of the Chamber, Mancini sent to a friend at Palermo
his surrender of the met to which he had just been elected
at Messina. This letter contains two essential parte—a
criticism of the sentence banging over the head of Messini,
and the reasons which prevent him from taking his seat in
parliament :—" Citizens of Messina,—With a thoroughly
Sicilian &mama of will (he writes) you have entered a
generous protest against the iniquitous and absurd *anteing,
which condemns see to death, for having attempted, in
advent* of others, the work of the unity of the country ;
iniquitous because it condemns is me what theeondemning
monarchy aceepte as its fundamental principle and
the basis of its power ; absurd because this con-
demnation remains though the Sardinian king-
dom has ceased to exist." Mancini next declares that
whether admitted or not by the Chamber, he can in ao
osse accept the seat offered him, because he is a republican.
" Thirty years ago I swore fidelity to Italy, united and
republican. I kept silent respecting the sewed part of my
fidelity, upon seeing the whole country differ in
opinion and wish to make a trial in • different direc.
tion. I did not renounce my vow. I seconded,
as far as I deemed right, and to the extent
of my power, whatever would tend to solve the first half
of the problem (that is the united Italy), but without
ever changing as others did (Crisp[, he.) into an absolute
principle (adhesion to the monarchy) what could only be
for us all a temporary basis of experiment. I carried
abnegation so far as even to point out to the monarchy
the glorious and relatively easy paths that it might follow
in order to arrive at unity ; but I never retracted
my early vow ; I contracted no fresh engagement
which could hamper it. I did not abdicate the liberty of
mind and spirit before a hypothesis. And now that, for
me at least, the experiment has been tried and without
fruit; now that the monarchy, in open violation of the
plebiscites, accepts by Florence, as metropolis, on the one
hand, • convention which sanctions the existence in Italy
of two temporal sovereignties, and on the other hand
disorpnises an army which with sacrifices that have
ruined the finances, had been organised for the
purpose of emancipating Venice, I could not, and you
would not wish me, to be false to my former vow
by swearing fidelity to the monarchy and • constitution
anterior to the national life of Italy, of which it is not
and cannot be the formulary. More than ever convinced
therefore, that the institution by which the country is
governed is incapable of making Italy united, free, pm-
' perms, and great, as you and I understand it, I should,
in taking the oath, give an example of political immorality
to my fellow-countrymen, and be eternally oppressed by
• remorse.—Jostru Mauna."
This letter, as before mentioned, is dated London,
March 2. It reached Mazzini's friend at Palermo
on the 10th. That friend, Signor Bagnasco, declares
,1 that Mazzini requested him to publish it at once,
but that after consulting with various persons he
resolved to await the decision of parliament. Three
days after the vote of that body, viz., on the 23rd
, March, the letter appeared in the Preoursore of
, Palermo.