The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-12 00:00:00

PERIODICAL LITERATURE.

A correspondent of the Athenceum communicates some
interesting statistics of the press of Italy. " A Turin
paper," he says, " entitled 11 Mondo Illustrato, enume-
rates the journals published in each state of Italy in the
years 1836 and 1845, together with the population ;
thus showing the advance which this branch of litera-
ture has made within the last nine years, and the pro-
portion of the population for each journal. The table
is as follows Population
1836. 1845. to each
Journal.
Province of Lombardy
Province of Venice 9 15 135,000
Sardinia
Duchy of Modena, Modena, Lucca 11 13 74,000
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Pope's Dominions ' 20 32 80,000
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 52 61 122,000

171 205 702,000
Taking this table as being some indication of the degree
of mental progress in Italy, it will appear that the Pope's
states have made a greater advance than any other por-
tion of the peninsula, *whilst the Venetian states have
made a retrograde movement—the first part of this state-
ment being, perhaps, almost contrary to expectation.
But then we must not forget that the Pope's states em-
brace Bologna—almost the most enlightened and inde-
pendent spirited portion of Italy. The Lombard pro-
vinces, though they have made but a slight progress
within the last nine years, are supplied with journals
better, it seems, in relation to the population, than any
other portion of Italy; and, indeed, any one coming from
the south, and remaining some little time at Milan, will
perceive that he is amongst a people wider awake, and
more under the invigorating influences of northern civili-
sation. The worst supplied are the Sardinian states—
then the Venetian—then the Neapolitan. Now, the first
and last of these are completely under the dominion of
the Jesuits ; and so severe is the censure of the press,
especially in the kindom of the Two Sicilies, that it is
difficult to get anything sanctioned for printing or publi-
cation. What wonder is it, then, that a literary famine
should be the consequence ? Besides those above men-
tioned, seventeen journals in the Italian language were
published in 1836 in Lugano, Magliaso, Paris, Roveredo,
Trieste, and Zara ; whilst, in 1845, others were pub-
lished in Malta-Fiume, Constantinople, Corfu, and Mon-
tevideo. Having thus disposed of Italy, the writer in II
Mondo Illustrato proceeds to give a statement of similar
particulars with respect to the other states of Europe,
and thus silently institutes a comparison between them
and the Peninsula. Thus, adopting the same arrange-
ment as in the other table, he gives the number of jour-
nals in the first column, and the relative population for
each journal in the second.

Journals. Population
Austria, including the Lombardo-
Venetian kingdom
German Confederation, Austrian

159 198,000

and Prussian Depencies included 1,836 18,000
France

Belgium
Great Britain
Russia
Numerically considered, then, France, Belgium, and
the German provinces rare better supplied than Great
Britain with periodicals, whilst Russia and the Austrian
provinces are the worst supplied. This is, however, no
proof that the periodical literature is less diffused in this
country than in the others, with which it is compared
above. Some of the foreign journals have but a very
limited circulation; for instance, a particular journal at
Bolagna has only 500 subscribers—and it is cited
as a proof of the encouragement of periodical literature.
Yet a political journal in London has its 20,000 pur-
chasers and upwards, and readers it is impossible to say
how many.

RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS.
LIVERPOOL, JANUARY 11.

STOCK EXCHANGE.—The business done in railway stock
here to-day has been limited ; the market was dull, and
prices generally lower. The sales are—Birkenhead, Lanca-
shire, and Cheshire, 14 3s. 9d. p. ex int.—Birmingham and
Dudley, 634 p.— Birmingham and Oxford, 11 p.—Boston,
Stamford, and Birmingham, 214 p.—Buckinghamshire, Bp.
—Caledonian, lq p.—Ditto, Clydesdale Junction, 15 p.—
Edinburgh and Northern, New 251. Shares, 2 p.—Glasgow
and Dumfries, 11. 13s. 9d. p.—Great Northern (Nos. 1 to
108,000), 13s. 9d. p. ex int —Ditto (No. 108,001 and up-
wards), % p. ex int.—Huddersfield and Manchester, 414 p.—
Ditto Extension, 1% p.—Leeds and Dewsbury, Halves, 53/4
p.—Leeds and Thirsk, 11,4 dis. ex int.—Ditto, New, p.
ex int.—Ditto, Preference, 1/. Bs. 9d. p.—Leicester and
Bedford, % dis.—London and North-Western, 198%—Ditto,
Quarters, (G. J.), 22 p.—Ditto, New Quarters, 1314 p.—
London and York, 1 p. —Ditto, Direct Northern, A p.
Manchester and Leeds Extension, 1% p.—Manchester, Bol-
ton, and Bury Extension, I/. lls. 3d. p.—Manchester and
Southampton, ls. 3d. p.—Ditto, One• eighth Shares, % dis.—
Ditto (late Sheffield and Lincoln), 16s. 3d. dis.—Midland
Stock, 40/. Shares, 814 p.—Ditto, New, 434 p.—North Staf-
fordshire, 4 p.—Sheffield, Rotherham, and Doncaster, 3% p.
Shrewsbury and Hereford, 14 dis.—Shrewsbury and Chester
(late N.W.M.), 5 p.—Ditto, New, 2% p.—Shrewsbury and
Chester, New, Is. 3d. p.—Shrewsbury and Birmingham,
(B), p.—South-Eastern, No. 4, Thirds, lls. 3d. p.—
South Staffordshire Junction, 11. 6s. 3d. p.—West Riding
Union, 214 p.—York and North Midland, Preference, 11 p.
—Northern of France (Constituted), 514 p.