The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-28 00:00:00

ITALY.

In its sitting of the 23d, the Piedmontese Senate
voted the Budget of 1853. The ordinary expendi-
ture is laid at 127,019,837 f. ; the extraordinary
expenses at 23,907,538 f. ; total, 150,927,376 f. ; to
meet which, the Budget of receipts only shows an
amount of 109,223,934 f. including extraordinary
receipts, leaving the heavy deficit of 41,703,441 f.
It must be remembered, however, that the Pied-
montese Government has a large share in the exe-
cution of railways and other pulic works, which,
through a drain upon its finances at present, will be
ultimately productive of considerable profit. More-
over, it is highly probable that a large portion of
the works projected for 1853, and included in the
Budget, will fall to the share of 1854. In the same
sitting, besides voting several bills of local interest,
the Senate heard the report on the Savoy Railway,
and Count Siccardi's report on the loan of
400,000 f. to the naturalised refugees. This
document is entirely favourable to the bill, and
eulogistic of the firm attitude assumed towards
Austria by the present Government. The
sitting of the Chamber of Deputies was entirely
taken up with the Army-Recruiting Bill, and a
very animated discussion took place on the 98th
article, which describes that pupils of clerical semi-
naries, whether Catholic or belonging to the Pro-
testant communes of Piedmont, shall be exempt
from military service. The Opposition urged that
it was a /privilege contrary to the Constitution,
which declares all citizens equal in the eye of the
law ; that it was odious in its application, inas-
much as it cast the whole load of the defence of the
country upon the laity ; and that it was useless,
there being no lack of candidates for the priest-
hood. It was replied on the Ministerial side that
it would not be expedient to lay obstacles in the
way of recruiting the clergy, and that a similar
exemption was admitted in all countries. It was
afterwards proposed on the part of the committee,
to grant the Crown the power of fixing annually
by a Royal decree to what extent the clergy are to
be held exempt. This compromise was adopted by
both parties, and the article was voted by a large
majority.

The Augsburg Gazette, under date of Rome,
16th, says :

" The Austrian Government has at length succeeded
in introducing some reforms into the Pontifical marine
by causing the adoption of the Austrian code of signals.
This measure has been called for, in order to put an end
to the numerous accidents which occur on the coast of
the Papal States in consequence of the signals not being
understood. The phenomena of turning tables occupies
considerable attention in the Eternal City. The people
are at a loss to conceive whether it is a miracle, or whe-
ther it is only a wonderful affair. A trial was made, a
few days since at the house of Cardinal Antonelli, which
appeared very satisfactory to his Eminence. The lower
orders of the clergy shrug up their shoulders with pity
at the people troubling themselves with such phe-
nomena.'

The Opinione of Turin quotes a letter from
Milan of the 22d, confirming the intelligence
that the refugees are to be distinguished into
three classes, and adding that the delegations
have been instructed, in framing their reports
on the subject, to bear in mind that it is not
within the spirit of the Imperial decree of the 13th
of February, 1853, to strike all refugees indis-
tinctly, but those only who draw pecuniary means
from Lombardy, in order to foment civil discord
there. Moreover, Count Rechberg is not to rest
satisfied with the reports of the delegations,
but is also to collect every possible informa-
tion from other sources. It is also rumoured that
Austria will exact from every refugee whose pro-
perty is under sequestration, a formal declaration
on his word of honour that he took no part, either
directly or indirectly, in the movement of the 6th
of February.

Twenty-three political prisoners have arrived at
Trieste, from the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, by
one of the Austrian Lloyd's steamers, and have
been sent to the fortresses of Laybach, Konig-
graetz, and Josephstadt. They are principally
young men of respectable families.