The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-19 00:00:00

THE INSURRECTION IN LOMBARDY.

Mr. BLACKETT asked Lord J. Russell, whether her
Majesty's Government would have any objection, in the
interest of the Government and House of Austria, and that
of the general peace of Europe, to use their friendly offices
with the Court of Vienna, in the hope of procuring some
mitigation of the severe penal measures being enforced
against Austria subjects in Lombardy?
Lord J. RUSSELL—With respect to the measures to
which the hon. gentleman has called my attention, I think
his question has reference to three subjects. The first is
with regard to capital punishments resorted to in Lom-
bardy, in the cases of persons believed to have been en-
gaged in a conspiracy. Upon that subject, I have nothing
whatever to say, nor has any representation been made, or
is intended to be made, by her Majesty's Government.
With respect to the second question, the expulsion of cer-
tain persons—a great number of persons—belonging to one
of the cantons in Switzerland from Lombardy, it certainly
seems a very hard measure, and I know not what has been
the justification of it. It has of course caused considerable
excitement in Switzerland, and very great distress to those
poor persons who have been the objects of it. I know not,
however, that it is a subject on which her Majesty's Go-
vernment ought to interfere in any way. With regard to
the third point, it is one on which the Sardinian Govern-
ment has communicated with her Majesty's Government,
and upon which I trust there will be some measures taken
by the Austrian Government which will make their pro-
ceedings more consonant to the general law of justice than
at present appears to be the case. (Hear, hear.) The facts
so far as I know them, and as they have been stated to her
Majesty's Government by the Government of Sardinia, are
these. After the insurrection in Lombardy, and the war
that took place in 1848, there were a number of persons
belonging to Lombardy who were permitted by the Aus-
trian Government to have letters which freed them from their
subjection to Austria—letters of denaturalisation—and
they were allowed to settle in Piedmont, where they ob-
tained letters of naturalisation. There was a decree in
1851 with respect to another class of persons, who were
stated to have, left Lombardy, and whose property must
have been liable to be seized ; but the Austrian Govern-
ment decreed that their property should not be liable to
sequestration, and they were put in as favourable a con-
dition as those persons who were allowed to leave the coun-
try and be denaturalised in 1848. When the attempt was
made at Milan, very lately, to overpower the Austrian gar-
rison there, and by means which excited a general abhor-
rence—to kill the soldiers who were in possession of the
fortified posts—it appears the people to whom I have
alluded, and who were settled at Piedmont, expressed
general indignation at the attempt thus made, which
merely resulted in useless bloodshed, and could not
but be injurious to the quiet and tranquillity of the
people of Lombardy. The Austrian Governor of Milan
put forth a new decree, in which it was stated that this
insurrection was the act of a very few individuals, and
that the population generally were averse to the conduct
of those individuals ; but soon afterwards there appeared a
decree, signed by Marshal Radetzky, which placed under
sequestration the property of a large class of persons—
namely, those who had left Lombardy with the consent of
the Austrian Government, and those who came under the
decree of 1851. The Sardinian Government very naturally
looked on that decree as a very unjust and iniquitous one ;
they said that it sequestrated the property of men who
were Sardinian subjects, they considered it was contrary
to the treaty between Austria and Sardinia, and they made
strong representations at Vienna on the subject. They
also made similar representations to her Majesty's Govern-
ment on the subject, and they asked her Majesty's Govern-
ment to support them. Her Majesty's Government have
acceded to their request—(hear, hear)—and Lord Claren-
don has written to her Majesty's minister at Vienna, to
express the sense which this Government cannot but en-
tertain with regard to conduct for which I do not know
that there is any precedent, and which appears to have no
justification. (Cheers.) I must say, however, that we
have heard very lately that the intention of the Austrian
Government is not to continue the sequestration, as was at
first intended, to the cases of all those persons, but to make
inquiry whether or not any, and what number of them,
had any part in the insurrection at Milan. It is their in-
tention to take off this sequestration, except from the pro-
perty of those who, on information received, in some way
or other assisted and supported that insurrection. Of
course, if that measure be thus modified, it will boar a dif-
ferent character, and the 'Austrian Government will pro-
ceed in due course of law to show that their suspicions and
acts with regard to individuals are justified. I can only
say, therefore, that I trust that this measure, which ap-
pears to be an act towards Sardinia of a most unfriendly
nature, and unjust towards individuals, will not be perse-
vered in in the shape in which it was first proposed.