The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-04 00:00:00

THE NE TV YEAR IN ITALY.

TURIN, JAN. 1.
Old '6l has abdicated, and his hopeful successor
has ascended the throne. The sun went down last
evening in a gorgeous blaze of ruddy light ; it rises
this morning in a white garment, cold, but bright,
and gay as a bridal attire. All is new here—the
month, the year, the morn—all but that same dry,
lustrous, dusty, fine weather; the same without
sameness; every variety of sky—blue, pearly, and
golden ; charming without cloying ; soothing
without lulling; cheering, yet nerving and stirring.
Since last night we have all been numbered,
labelled, and ticketed. The Minister of Agricul-
ture and Commerce (Cordova) had the census of
the population taken simultaneously throughout
the Kingdom of Italy. His fiat went forth that
last night, at the witching hour of midnight
and precisely on the stroke of 12, every subject
of King Victor Emmanuel should draw up a
muster-roll of himself, his wife, his sons and daugh-
ters, his manservant, his maidservant, and the
stranger within his gates. Parliament had voted
for the operation the sum of 600,000 f., and it would
be lucky if the Chambers were not applied to for
additional funds, making up an amount of
3,000,000 f. altogether. The census is not unlikely
to turn out a partial failure, nevertheless; for some
districts in the country, especially in the South,
are still too unsettled, too many of the Neapolitan
households, and even villages, are too illite-
rate, and the prejudices of ignorance and the mali-
cious suggestions of the clergy, who represent this
enumeration as the forerunner of poll-taxes,
conscriptions, and other vexatious measures, have
been too busily at work, to allow the clerks
of the Government to acquit themselves of their
task with success. The Minister, also, thought
too late of his scheme ; the whole matter has been
somewhat hurried and bungled; and as the ques-
tions propounded are rath►er vague and complicate,
and heads of houses are to describe, not the inmates
who slept under their roofs, but those who happened
to be gathered there at a given moment, at an hour
in which social visiting is not quite at an end, the
filling up of the forms is likely to give rise to great
confusion. At any rate, it has been the cause of an
immense deal of excellent fun ; it has thrown a vast
amount of ridicule upon a process which is it-
self no laughing matter, and the serious import of
which the old King of Israel found out to his cost.
Fancy a party of merrymakers assembled to per-
form the burial ceremony over the departing year,
sitting round a bowl of punch, which is laid on the
table precisely as the chimes from every church-
steeple ring out Silvester's-eve and ring in Circum-
cision-day ; fancy the master of the revels stepping
in with pen and ink and the tell-tale paper, going
round for names and surnames, sex, age, religious
persuasion, and ever so many particulars besides,
when most of his guests have a house of their
own, and a similar document at the very time
filling up by the hand of wife, governor, or
landlord, unaware, as the latter are in many in-
stances, whether son, husband, or lodger be or be
not at the time at home and in bed, and sure at
any rate that home and to bed the most truant scape-
grace will return before the morning. I was my-
self with a party of friends last evening, and we had
a member of the Cabinet, and half a dozen legisla-
tors, and two or three worthy Councillors of the Mu-
nicipal Board among us, all men who had something
to do with the framing of the bill, or with its
execution ; yet there were not two of the persons
present, host or hostess, Minister or Minister's
wife, deputy or alderman, who agreed as to the
proper interpretation that should be put on the
decree. Names were taken down and expunged ;
some volunteered, some withheld, in fun or on
principle, the needful information. There was a
vast amount of argument, a long and loud contro-
versy and longer and louder laughter, till every one
took up his head gear and wrapper, and we left our
kind entertainer to solve the doubt as he deemed it
fit, and went each one to our own dwelling, where
we found the same disputes, the same puzzle and
perplexity, distracting our respective domestic
circles.

"General Garibaidi, in a letter published in the
Italian journals," says the Pays, " having made use of
irritating expressions against the Muratists, Prince Murat
has addressed to those papers a protest, declaring that if he
has partisans he does not deserve any reproach, for they
will follow the line of conduct which he has traced out for
himself—never to be an element of discord, and to always
respect the wishes of the people."

AQUATICS—UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE.—An eight-
oared match has been agreed upon between the Universities
of Oxford and Cambridge, which will probably take place
at the end of the second week in April, at Putney, over the
course upon which so many gallant races have been wit-
nessed. The Oxford gentlemen being triumphant last sea-
son, Cambridge are the challengers on the present occasion.
THE NEW STREET FROM WHITECHAP EL TO
STIOREDITCH.—BuiIding operations have been begun on
the abovo new line of street by the contractors who, a
short time ago, purchased the various plots of ground
from the Improvement Commissioners, by whom they were
put up to auction a few days ago, at the Auction Mart. As
there are several owners of the ground, the erection of the
buildings, there is no doubt, will be carried on with great
activity. The houses will be of a uniform character, and
of first-class dimensions, with shops attached to them.

TUE PRICE OF BREAD AT PARIS.—The price of
bread for the first fortnight of January (rays Galiqnani) is
fixed at 45c. the 21b. loaf, best quality, being a decline of
la.; and 38c. for the second, unvaried. The bakers of
Paris, at a meeting held on the 29th ult., decided on giving
to the administration, for the benefit of the poor of the
capital, 265,000 kilogrammes of bread, first quality, instead
of the New-year's gifts they have been in the habit of pre-
denting to their customers.