The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-02 00:00:00

ITALY.

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The question of the corn supplies is exciting much
attention at Turin.' The reports from the provinces
attest the sufferings of the population, from the
scarcity induced by the succession of bad harvests,
and from the unusually prolonged severity of the
winter. On the other hand, the easier classes have
come forward very liberally to the assistance of
their poorer brethren, and charitable committees
of various kinds have sprung up in all parts of the
country; and hitherto their managers have baffled
the attempts of both the extreme parties to convert
the scarcity into an engine against the constitu-
tional Government.
The bill abolishing all duties on corn, which
passed the Chamber of Deputies, is now under the
consideration of the Senate, and there is no doubt
of its principle being adopted by it. Professor
Scialoia, the well-known political economist, has
just published an excellent pamphlet intended to
popularise the question of free trade, and to prove
that absolute dearth is not to be apprehended in
this country, and that the actual sufferings un-
doubtedly experienced by the population are not
to be attributed to the Government, but would, in
fact, be much more severe but for the free-trade
measures already taken. If these sufferings have
been temporarily increased by the inclemency of
the winter, there is every prospect of their being
alleviated, if not removed, by a good harvest,
which may almost be considered as secured by the
long-continued snow.
As the chances of war increase, the state of pub-
lie feeling in Lombardy becomes naturally more
excited, and the police more sensitive. The most
simple actions are viewed by the latter as political
demonstrations. But a few days ago a crowd was
admiring the beauty of the young moon at the
Porta Vercellina. Now, as our readers may be
aware, the moon assumes at certain periods the
form of a crescent ; the crescent is the Ottoman
symbol ; what, then, more clear than that the
collection of an admiring crowd was a demonstra-
tion of sympathy for the Porte, or more natural
than that several of the gazers ould be arrested,
as they were ?
The Roman papers are full of the illumination
of the Eternal City by gas, and quote it as a proof
of the progress of civilisation under the Papal Go-
vernment ; but they forgot to mention that this
very tardy improvement has been only effected in
spite of this said Government, at the bidding of
General Allouveau de Montreal, the French com-
mander, who declared that the safety of his troops
required that the streets of Rome should be so
lighted.
We read in the Parlamento- , of the 29th ult.,
that a great concentration of Austrian troops is
going on in the Romagna, particularly at Bologna,
Ancona, and Ferrara.

SPAIN.
The Clamor Publico of the 29th says that the
government was thinking of permitting the impor-
tation of paper for newspapers and books, as the
paper manufactories at present in Spain are so few
that the paper makers impose on the public a bad
material at a high price. The government was
about to send a commission to Galicia to inquire
into the distress of that province, and to propose
remedies for it.
The Gazette announces that General Sir Robert
Gardiner, Governor of Gibraltar, has given 1001.
sterling to the principality of San Roque, for dis-
tribution amongst the labouring population of the
neighbourhood. The Queen has ordered that
thanks shall be presented in her name to the go-
vernor for his generous gift, and at the same time
it shall be mentioned in the official journal.
The Duke of Parma had left Madrid for Barce-
lona, on his return to Italy.
The Queen was, on the evening of the 29th, to
preside at a Council of Ministers. The choice of a
new minister for grace and justice had not yet
been made.
General Francisco Armero was to leave on the
evening of the 29th for Leon, the residence as-
signed him by the Government. Gen. Marquis
del Duero was to embark at Cadiz for the Canary
Islands, where he has been ordered to reside. Gen.
Infante and General Jose de la Concha have left
Barcelona for the Balearic islands ; and General
Manuel de la Concha is still at Cordova.
It was rumoured that the two Generals de la
Concha had sent their commissions to the Govern-
ment, and had demanded to be struck out of the
army list. There was talk of some changes in the
personnel of the Governors of Provinces.
A decree organising the municipal guard on the
plan of that of Paris and Lisbon was expected.
Increasing danger menaces, if not monarchical
institutions in that country, at least the authority
of the lady who is the present unpopular occupant
of the throne. Every account, private as well as
public, only confirms the anticipation that some
important events are imminent in that country,
and the approach of the peril, which had been for
a long time looming in the distance, is now clearly
observable to all. The stupid audacity with which
the Ministers to whom the destinies of that country
are now intrusted attempt to crush all opposition
to the misdeeds of the Government, and all cen-
sure of the profligacy of the Court shows to what
degradation this people, noble with all their defects,
will submit. Generals and statesmen, to whose
valour in the field the Princess who rules the
country which the. first Isabella rendered famous
by her talents and her virtues owes the crown she
wears, are driven into exile, according to the
strict letter of military law, no doubt, and therefore
legally; but, in reality, because their presence in the
Legislative Chamber disturbed the luxurious re-
pose of a wretched favourite, or checked the wan-
tonness which has long thrown off all restraint—
which no longer pays the poor tribute of hypocrisy
to virtue, and forgets even the prudence of the
maxim, si non caste, caute tamen. The people,
and not the lower classes exclusively, are becoming,
not disgusted, for that they have long been, but
impatient and irritated under ' the debasing
yoke of an effete favourite, who has not even
the poor virtue of generosity to diminish
the hatred with which he is regarded ; and
they execrate alike the unworthy minion as they
do the Ministry who hold office by the ignominious
tenure of his protection. Symptoms of the great
discontent of the Spanish people appear each
day in spite of the exertions of the Government.
The question of a union between the two Crowns
of the Peninsula has become the great question of
the day in Madrid, and in other principal towns,
among the multitude. The union of Spain and
Portugal under a Prince of the house of Braganza,
with the title of Emperor, and the two countries
assuming some corporate name in order to avoid
giving offence or wounding the just susceptibilities
of the Portuguese people, to whom the idea of ab-
sorption is justly repugnant, is seriously contem-
plated in Spain. The more enlightened members
of the Opposition, thoroughly appreciating the
difficulties of an immediate union of the two coun-
tries, and convinced that England would oppose it,
desire for the present a Portuguese Prince—that
is, that the present King should be King of Spain,
previously abdicating the Crown of Portugal in
favour of his brother. These things are no longer
whispered in secret, or hinted at in particular cir-
cles or coteries; they are debated openly, and the
idea is so deeply rooted, that its realisation is re-
garded merely as a question of time.
The truth is, that the Spanish people desire to
get rid of the Bourbons. They earnestly desire
to prevent French influence from being re-esta-
blished, and therefore are anxious that Eng-
land should give its aid in securing to them a
Prince of the House of Braganza. They are aware
of the unwillingness of England to give any cause
of offence to France, whose co-operation is so
useful in the present state of European politics, and
they regret the loss of her antagonism in Spanish
affairs ; and the " Liberals" imagine that there is
a prospect of England allowing Spain to become
thus a mere French province.
At the present moment none of the members of
the Opposition who have taken any decided part in
public affairs venture to pass the night at their
homes. They are obliged to change their residence
frequently, and find shelter in the houses of their
friends. The excitement and uneasiness that now
exist in Madrid, not merely among the lower, but
among the upper and educated classes, have at no
former period been greater. The lower classes of
the capital are still, as they have been for years,
almost all Esparteristas. The rural population to
a considerable extent are Carlists. These do not
trouble themselves much about political parties at
present, but they seem to be unanimous in their
preference of a male to a female Sovereign.
It is to be feared that the habits which have been
already noticed are not the only ones that disgrace
the Spanish Court. Another species of excitement
is by the people believed to exist, and other irregu-
larities are publicly spoken of.
The Duke and Duchess of Montpensier, notwith-
standing their affability and the immense good they
do in Seville, where, personally, they are popular,
and deserve to be, do not appear to have gained a
Party in that place. The Andalusia= have their