The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-14 00:00:00

RE-OPENING OF

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ROOMS,
High Holborn, MONDAY, August 13.—The Proprietor
begs to announce the completion of the alterations, aecora-
tions, &c., of the above popular and splendidly-appointed
Ball Room, which, during the recess, has undergone a com-
plete renovation; is embellished in the most elaborate and
elegant manner—including a new and beautifully-painted
Ceiling—and is alsofurnished in a novel and costly style ; and
is now RE-OPENED for the Season. The justly-celebrated
Band, conducted by 111 r. W. M. Packer, will perform a new
selection from Wallace's " Mari tanai'l Jullien's Last Waltz,
&c. Doors open at eight o'clock and close at 12 punctually.
Admission, Is.

_-- -
TILE REVOLU2'ION IN SIVILY.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)

AUGUST 1.
This forenoori the armistice concluded by Medici
was to end or.to be prolonged. Gen. Clary wished
for an interview with Gszibaldi himself, which was
consented to, and held in the Casa Fiorentino, where
the first interview between Clary and Medici had
been held. This interview was held in the greatest
secrecy, the only point made public being the
evacuation of Syracuse and Agosta. But this is
only the least important part of the transaction,
for you must know we have come to this point that
we care but little about a couple of fortresses with

200 guns between them, or even the total evacua-
tion of Sicily. We fly at higher game ; and yet
this unheard-of success does by no means blind
Garibaldi, who even at this moment is ready to
listen to any arrangement, provided the great aim
which he has placed before him be secured. In the
interview of to-day Garibaldi laid down for the
first time the conditions under which he would con-
sent to stop in his career of victory. A prolonga-
tion of the armistice for five days was agreed upon,
and General Clary leaves this evening for Naples
to carry there the conditions. He is to be back on
the evening of the sth inst.
As for the conditions, their aim is to unite the
north and south of Italy for all practical purposes,
without actually driving away the Bourbons. It is
one of those enthusiastic ideas which only Garibaldi
can conceive, and which I am afraid mankind are
too'perverse to carry out. The question is neither
more nor less than of a kingly brotherhood, the
assimilation of their two kingdoms, one policy and
one army. Of course in this union Victor Em-
manuel, as the eldest of the two in the path of
Italian independence and freedom, is to have the
command of the whole army and the lead in the
Italian policy to be pursued ; Naples, in one word,
to follow, and to be assimilated to Italy, retaining,
however, its reigning family. As a first step in
this assimilation an exchange of troops—ltalian
troops to Naples and the Neapolitans to the north,
to undergo a healthy transformation, and thus be-
come national troops. The navy idern. The Con-
stitution adapted to that in force in Upper Italy.
The Custom-house line between the two portions of
Italy abolished.
These are the chief points of the conditions laid
down by Garibaldi, and if they are accepted and
carried into effect the power for evil of the Bour-
bons of Naples is broken. In the meantime the
preparations are going on as if no result was ex-
pected from these negotiations ; indeed, the condi-
tions are hard enough for us to be prepared for a
refusal. Yet, with most of the provinces of the
continent ready to revolt, with the capital on the
brink of a revolution, with a portion of the army
not to be trusted, it is not probable that the pro-
posals will be altogether refused. They will pos-
sibly be taken advantage of to try direct negotia-
tions with Piedmont, which have been unsuccessful
until now.
You will remember that when the Neapolitans
evacuated the town they consigned the Bank of
Messina to the Committee. This bank is altogether
a private institution, being above all used as a bank
of discount, and, as such, it has been of great ser-
vice to the commerce of the place. According to
its charter, it has, however, the power of advancing
money to the Government on the revenues.
This afternoon the Governor of the Bank called
on Garibaldi, and informed him that the bank of
discount had about 250,000 ducats, or about
50,0001., at disposal. This was most welcome
news, for money is going much faster than it is
coming in, and were it not for Garibaldi's name,
which commands credit, the thing would have come
to a stop. Arming, dressing, accoutring, and feed-
ing an army in a country without industry, where
almost all articles have to be imported, providing
materiel for artillery, buying and hiring steamers
for transport, absorb large sums. Besides this, it
is impossible, under the circumstances, to superin-
tend so closely the expenditure as not to leave a
considerable margin for waste, negligence and fraud.
Certain administrative traditions have been incul-
cated by the Bourbon rule, and, change as you
may the personnel, they cannot be got rid of in
a day.
In consideration of this financial difficulty an
order of the day was signed by Garibaldi at Melazzo,
reducing both the soldiers' and officers' pay. The
first, who hitherto received their rations and one
taxi, are to have their rations and four bajoechi, or
about 2d. a day ; the officers to have their rations
like the soldiers and 2f. pay, without distinction of
rank, on account, the rest being paid when the war
is over. You will see from this that those who come
here are by no means leading the life of Sudan°,
palus, and it is but justice to say that those who
come from Upper Italy bear privations without
murmuring. Patriotism has a meaning for them.
For the Sicilian volunteers as a body this was rather
a strong measure, many of them having come for
the money rather than from patriotism. I am, of
course, speaking of the mass, for there are not a few
of the better classes who swell the ranks, and these
are as good as any other Italians.
In times of war and political crisis such as that
through which Sicily has been passing for the
last three months, you cannot expect that the reve-
nues should come in very regularly. Besides this,
many of the taxes imposed by the late Government
were so odious and vexatious that they could not
very well be kept up, and, unfortunately, these were
just the most productive ones ; for instance, the mill
tax, according to which every grain of corn used
for the food of the people had to pay about 25 per
cent. But even the collection of the taxes which
were retained offers difficulties. The most import-
ant of these is the land-tax (fondiaria), which is
paid every four months. The idea of freedom is, in
the eyes of the lower classes all over the world,
equivalent to not paying anything. In Sicily some
of the higher classes seem equally disposed to take
this view, it seems. The greater part of the soil
being in the hands of great proprietors, and in
mortmain, the slowness in the payment of the land-
tax cannot but suggest this idea.
From all this you will see that the first great con-
dition in making war—namely, money—has its due
value in national warfare as in any other. There
are plenty of resources in the country, but they re-
quire time and different circumstances to be deve-
loped. Until this can be done our sympathisers
ought to exert themselves.

EVENING.
General Clary has left for Naples. The story is,
that besides his mission as negotiator, which he as-
sumed at the last moment, he has received a formal
call to
Naples to exculpate himself from the accu-
sations brought against him by Colonel Bosco.
The latter is said to attribute to him the disas-
ter of Melazzo, declaring that it had been agreed
beforehand that reinforcements should be sent after
the first column, and that these reinforcements were
not sent. We know, by the indiscretion of the
Semaphore, that Clary's excuse was that he was him-
self threatened by the column coming from Catania.

AUGUST 2.
I this morning accompanied Garibaldi in his
usual morning visit to the Faro. Whatever be the
season, Garibaldi gets up at dawn, and it is these
early hours of the morning
which he calls his own,
when he likes to indulge in his day-dreams, or
spend the time in confidential conversation. When
at home or in the camp he likes to saunter about,
leaving no spot in the neighbourhood unexplored,
and having, above all, a tendency to ascend all
high hills or towers from which you have the most
extensive view in the neighbourhood.. It was in
these early morning walks, near the village of
Quarto, in the mountains about Genoa, that he
worked out his idea of a descent upon Sicily, and
on the heights of the Pizzo di Fico that he decided
on the bold blow at Palermo. The tower of the