The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-08 00:00:00

ROME AND II ALY.

A letter from Turin, dated Oct. 5, says :—The
Italian papers publish a letter from Count Cavotii,
written to one of the leading statesmen in Tuscany
(probably Baron Ricasoli) at the time when the an-
nexation of Central Italy to Piedmont was an
achievement still beset with difficulties, and when
the settlement of Italian matters in general, and of
the Roman question in particular, suggested to the
great European Powers a line of conduct which
might perhaps be very profitably followed under
present circumstances :

" Turin, Feb. 1, 1860.

" I consider it my pressing duty to lay before you the
four propositions made by England to France, which were
officially communicated to mo yesterday. With a view to
come to an arrangement of Italian affairs the following
terms should be come to

" 1. France and Austria should not interfere by forco in
the internal affairs of the Peninsula, unless they were
asked so to do by the unanimous consent of the five great
Powers of Europe.
"2. By virtue of this agreement the Emperor of the
French would come to opportune arrangements with the
Pope so as to withdraw the French troops from Rome. The
time and order of this withdrawal should be so contrived as
to give the Papal Government the chance of garrisoning
Rome with the troops of his holiness, and adopting such
precautions as might avert the dangers of disorder and
anarchy. England thinks that by such means and by pro-
per provisions the safety of his holiness will be entirely gua-
ranteed. Convenient measures shall also be taken for the
removal of the French troops from the North of Italy
within a reasonable time.
" 3. The internal Government of Venetia shall not be
made the subject of negotiation among the European
Powers.

"4. Great Britain and France will invite the King of
Sardinia to engage to send no troops into Central Italy be-
fore the various States and provinces which compose it have
solemnly expressed their vote as to their future destinies by
the organ of their national assemblies to be purposely
elected. In the event of such a vote resulting favourably to
annexation to Piedmont, Great Britain and France will no
longer object to the march of the Sardinian troops into the
abovementioned States and provinces. There are the pro-
posals of England, and they have been in their general
principle accepted by France. The Emperor of the French
only made a reserve on the article respecting Venetia, as he
intends to uphold and defend the cause of that province by
his good offices. It is the Emperor's wish, however, that
his intentions as to these proposals should not be made
public before he had sent to Vienna his suitable explana-
tions, and before he had time to invite the Courts of Berlin
and St. Petersburg to accede to them, so that the new
, settlement of Italian affairs should be effected with the
sanction of the two great northern Powers. France also
warmly recommends that during these last and definitive
negotiations no act should be accomplished or even under-.
taken which may in any way alter the present state of
things. The only condition of the annexation is a new vote
of the population, not consulted by universal suffrage, but
by the means of new asssemblies to be elected in that form
which will be deemed most expedient. As to their convo-
cation, the King's Government has made some opening at
Paris and London, of which I will in due time communi-
cate the results. It is not without deep emotion of my soul
that I forward these tidings to you, for they seem to me to
prove that the annexation may by this time be looked upon
as an accomplished fact, and that the aim of all our hopes
and wishes is well-nigh attained.
"Receive, &c., "C. CAVOUR."
This letter would always have great interest in
the eyes of all readers, merely as an historical docu-
ment and out of regard for the writer. Like other
posthumous publications of Cavour, it is calculated
to enhance the merits of that man, whose name
seems to gain upon public opinion at every step
the living generation takes from his grave.
But the letter has, besides, great intrinsic im-
portance, as it lays open some of the first trans-
actions of the great Western Powers, some of
the first steps taken towards the solution of the
Roman question. The Emperor Napoleon had put
forward that word " Non-Intervention" at Villa-
franca, and England took good care, so far as it
was in her power, that it should be no empty, un-
meaning phrase. The occupation of Rome by a
French garrison was as much a breach of that
principle as the presence of Austrian troops at
Parma, Bologna, or Florence would have been. It
was as just that the Pope should reign by his own
unaided strength at Rome as that the Bourbon
should keep his seat by the same means at Naples.
The French Emperor had his own logic driven
home to him, and would not draw back. He
affectedwithdraw t o f consentrom
Rome,; e declared
thought himself
breteoaodgoy to
yet do something if he could only manageoii
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of which, if consulted, unexpected
to
be raised. He
which had no right to meddleinw
English scheme might chance
to either of the
had not taken the trouble to appealrosolved upon war in
Northern Powers whend he resolved
the Austrian empire
Lombardy, and wrenched
now it was England who
its richest province;
sought his auxiliaries in
the interests of Italian
of European innovation. Not-
withstandingthe natural enemies
the English •
motion
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whole scheme nothing remained
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unfulfilled but the French evacuation of Rome . ,