The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-05 00:00:00

LONDON, 7 UESDAY, APRIL 5, 1870.

THE recent attempts at insurrection in Italy, futile
as they have proved, undoubtedly bear witness to the
existence of wide-spread and serious discontent. II
is useless to discuss the question whether Mazzini was
at
.the -bottom of these particular outbreaks. It is
sufficient to know that a very powerful Republican
'organisation, of which Mazzini is the chief, has
spread itself throughout the entire peninsula,
that its agitation is incessant, that in ad-
dition to a very large following amongst
the lower orders, it has at length gained a large body
of adherents in the army. The poison of disaffection
has tainted the mass of the nation. And, unfortu-
nately, this revolutionary spirit finds but too much
justification in the deeds and promises of the Govern-
ment. There is no denying the fact that the hopes
which were entertained of a united Italy have
not been realised hitherto. United, or nearly united,
the nation is; but the rearrangement of its political
divisions has done nothing for the happiness of the
people. The country is misruled. These outbreaks
are not, as in Ireland, expressions of discontent with
a Government which strives to reform, but the sign
of thorough want of confidence in a Government which
makes no real attempt at amendment. The expenses
of administration "are excessively great, and the
debt continually increases in time of peace. The
army budget might be greatly reduced, for Italy has
no need for a large military force, unless she proposes
to fight for the possession of Rome—an enterprise of
which there are no signs at present. Still more rea-
sonably might the civil expenditure, the vast sums of
money thrown away upon court favourites and para-
sites, be curtailed. Yet the Ministry does not
attempt to effect either reform upon the requisite
scale. The people are ground down with taxation ;
riots through some of the imposts aro as common as
Irish threatening letters or French duels ; and the
rule of the troops, themselves often discontented,
prevails everywhere. There can be little doubt that
the Italian Executive might, if it would, so reduce,
expenditure as to lighten those crushing burdens,
and avoid a deficit which is never under five millions
and sometimes reaches twelve. Bnt, instead of
winning the goodwill of the people by just retorms,
the Government adds tyranny to taxation. Its
administration of justice is bad, its treatment of the
press is unjust, it frequently interferes with the right
of public meeting, and it neglects educational and
industrial questions.
What is the use of a Government which does the
things it ought not to do, and leaves undone the
things which it ought to do ? What is its claim
upon the loyalty and obedience of the people ? It is
not for outsiders to settle the precise point of mis-
rule at which a nation is justified in having recourse to
strong measures. These outbreaks are doubly deplo-
rable, for they involve the evils of civil war without
any reasonable prospect of securing the reforms to
which a revolution sometimes, though rarely,
gives rise. But we who have ourselves
turned out a King for abusing his
powers, and who havo witnessed, with perfect equa-
nimity, endless changes of government on the
part of oppressed peoples cannot wonder that
after a long and patient trial the Italians
have abandoned hope of their present system
These abortive explosions of dissatisfaction are likely
only to aggravate the prevalent evils, but the blame
rugst be with those who are answerable for the