The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-05-15 00:00:00

NAPLES.

NAPLES, MAY. 7.
All the ceremonies -connected with the miracle
of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarins
have terminated. It was performed last Saturday,
and the King and all the Royal Family went iu
stet , -s Tuesday morning "to venerate," so says the
ofti,:i,ll journal. " the miraculous relics of our
most glorious patron." Gibbon has the following
foot-note at the 47th p. of the Paris edition :—"
phial of St. Stephen's blood was assuredly liqui-
fied at 'Naples, till it was superseded by
St. Januarius.—Reinart, Hist. Persec. Vandal.,
p. 529. " The reader will, however, easily conceive
that in either case the miracle wotthl be equally
wonderful, and be productive of the same effects to
the city. Illuminations for three nights were
enforced by the police and clergy, and flower pots
ordered by the same authorities to be teken in from
the balconies of the streets through which the King
had to pass. There is an old order of the police to
the effoet, not only rigidly enforced, but I have been
informed of some houses where the police gave
specific directions for that purpose. His Majesty
who came in from Caserta in the morning, aecom
panied by a squadron of cavalry, returned in the
evening, having first received a visit from the ex
King of Bavaria, and returned it.

F The reigning King has mixed much in Neapolitan
• society, and has won golden opinions by his great
affability and condescension. The secret press of
the Neapolitan Government is unusually active, and
the members of the police distribute- its works.
There arc three " Mementos" in circulation : one
specially directed against Lord Palmerston, in most
abusive terms ; another crying up the financial
state, which, says a highly informed friend, is so
full of palpable falsehoods that it must have pro-
ceeded from conspirators against the Government;
the third is creating an immense sensation. It
contains a fierce attack on the Pope for bap-
tising the Imperial Prince of France and forming
a compact with the enemies of his country,
who keep him a prisoner in the Quiruna'.
The French Government.and people are the most
givento lies of any in Europe—enemies of religion ;
the Sovereien of England is the Queen of the
schism of the faith, and the English are insular
barbarians. The Pope is then exhorted to fly
to Gaeta, as the Aventine of the Church. Cavour
is the special object of the writer's in-
dignation. He is the scourge of Italy, who has
sacrificed his country to English Jews, and
borrowed money and religion of barbarous island-
ers. A parallel is then drawn between Ferdinand
11. and Victor Ernanuel. The former has laboured
for the independence of Italy-s-has created a vast
army and a vast, fleet—wishes to see all foreigners
driven from Italy. The latter has sold himself to
the Allies. Victor Emmanuel is then called upon
to bind himself in strict alliance with the Pope—to
visit Naples, which will save him ; and, in the first
attempt of the foreigner to destroy the autonomy
of Naples, to march on Milan ; but the first step is
to drive off Cavour, to take Manin and Mamiani as
councillors. The spirit of the pamphlet is therefore
Ferdinand 11. the Intrepid ; the, Italians against
the world Italy for the Italians is the cry. Such is
the tone of this extraordinary production, of which
it is on!er necessary to say 'hat it is circulated by
authority in a country which by its sovereigns had
been kept in subjection to Austria, and whose
troops, reluctantly sent forth, were almost imme-
diately recalled from the war of independence in
1848. We may regard this as the latest, but mast
superficial ruse of the government of the Two
Sicilies. After a great variety of oscillations, it
seems undecided that political prisoners will not
be sent to the Argentine Confederation. The few
who had accepted the offers conditionally with-
drew their consent, and the utmost that will be
done will be to send off some ordinary
criminals, provided the Republic will accept
them. The treaty, however, which was drawn up
in January makes no provision for receiving
them. The commission appointed in the begin-
ning of the year to introduce ameliorations in the
post has, I am privately informed, suggested the
following : —The use of stamps on letters, leaving
it at the option of the individual to pay; the estab-
lishment of an office in each of the twelve quarters
of Naples; communication with the provinces three
times a-week, instead of twice, and with foreign
countries (by land) six times instead of five. I
regret much to add that the Neapolitan
merchants front whatever cause it may arise
(perhaps from fear, produced by long intimidation),
display a very censuraisle apathy in the cause
of internal and commercial progress. Could they
be brought to speak as a, body with that energy which
the subject demands, it is possible many reforms
might be initiated. A. successful attempt has
been made by divers to get up one of the boilers of
the ill-fated Carlo Ter zo, and it is expeced that,
the other three will be got up without resorting
to an explosion. The bottom of the vessel was
found to have been completely broken up. The
officials are hard at work in studying Morse's tele-
graphic machine, one of which has already arrived,
and it is hoped that in a month we may be
able to communicate with London in 20
minutes. The telegraph line to Reggio is coins
pleted, but not yet open to the public. From
Reggio to MeSsina the lines are not yet laid down.
The government required guarantees for the safety
of the line for a year, which M. de Norman was
unwilling to give, but they will be laid down in a
short time I think. It is rumoured that an offer
has been made to the Government to lay down a
line from Sicily to Malta, which would be of great
European importance, but no reply has been given.
Of railways little is to be said—of the Brindisi
line for the present Ido not speak. Mons. Bayard
is here with the intention of selling his interest in
the Castellamare line. Mons. Tagliacet will be
the probable purchaser.
The line to the Caprano on the Roman frontier
goes on slowly, though men were working on four
points That to Avallino, a military line, progresses
rapidly. In short, there is a vast deal of talk, but
very little done, as might be expected in a country
where miracles are almost of daily occurrence. The
Financial " Memento" makes it a boast that King
Ferdinand has made the country independent of
the foreigner by creating a fabric at Pietrarsa.
Rails are made there for the Government lines at an
expense of 271 the ton : they might be imported
for 131. The Neapolitan military engineers make
fortunes at the expense of the nation.
I regret to say that the medical report of the
English gentleman who was assailed last week is
that he was in extremity last night. He had re-
covered from the blow on the head from a bludgeon
or a knife, but is now suffering from inflames
tion of the bowels, caused probably by Laing
kicked or jumped upon. Since this event
a French gentleman and • his wife have
been stopped on the Strada Maria Teresa,
between six and seven o'clock in the evening.
They were assaulted by two men, ono of
whom presented a knife. Those here who
denounce publicity, who are for making things
pleasant, and painting everything couleur de rose,
say that, after all, worse things occur in London.
There is a vast difference in the cases. In London
we have a population of nearly 3,000,000 of people,
enjoying the very excess of liberty; here we have
not one.eighth of that population, and who
are in a state of slavery. The cases of violence in
London occur, in spite of a well-paid, respectable,
respected, and active body of men, Such cases
occur in Naples in consequence of an ill paid, ill-
selected body, who are ever ready to take a bribe
and close their eyes, and whose mission is less to
protect person and property than to spy upon those
who are obnoxious to government. In London we
have the utmost publicity given to every fact ; in
Naples none. Here we have a Police prefect for
political espionage, but a nullity for everything
else, and while political prisoners are rotting in
prison, condemned or uncondemned, or not even
interrogated, criminals are pardoned and thrown
upon the streets to commemorate the birth
of a Bourbon Prince. Will any one in his senses
ventureto institute a parallel between the protection
enjoyed in London and in Naples? Were even all
the cases of theft and yiolenee that QPOIII in Naples

published they would astonish any man. My latest
report of the health of Mr.Blandford,the gentleman
who was assaulted, is, that he is dying. The Corn
1111F8ary of Police employed to investigate the affair•
reports that 40 men had been arrested at different
quarters, as capable of committing a similar aggres-
sion ; but that, as Mr. Blandford has been unable
to make any deposition, it will be difficult to find
the criminals. Under the circumstances, the autho
rities are doing the best that can beadone. Mr.
Barbar, our active Consul-General, has demanded
of the Prefect of Police that a reward be offered
publicly for the apprehension of the guilty parties,
and a free pardon to any one who will give ev.idenC..
The Centaur has just left Naples on a'iothcr
cruise.

P.S.—At the last moment I have to commun
cate that Mr. Blandford has just died.

RETIREMENT OF THE KING OF SWEDEN.

COPENHAGEN, Wednesday.—The Faedrelondet has pri-
vate letters from Stockholm, which it declares worthy of
credit, announcing that the King of Sweden is seriously
ill, in consequence of the position of state affairs, and that,
by the advice of hig physicians, he has resolved to retire
from the throne, and call the hereditary Crown Prince to
the provisional directorship of public business.