The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-09 00:00:00

S A RI)II lA.

(From a Correspondent of themes.)'
TURIN, APRIL 4.
Neither House of Parliament met yesterday. The

Senate will sit to-day, but only to constitute itself
by the appointment of the President's office. The
President himself is named by the King, who has
in this instance only confirmed in his dignity the
Marquis Alfieri di Sostegno.
The Lower House will also meet to-day, but only
for the " verification of powers," that is, to pro-

nounce on the result of the deputies' inquiry into
each other's election. This preliminary proceeding
began yesterday in the nine Uffizi, or sections of

the house. I understand that most of the elections
have already been duly sifted and found correct, so
that there is reason to hope that this unavoidable
formality will pass off with but little discussion,
and Parliament will be allowed to proceed to real
business. In the year 1857, as the reader will re-
member, this verification of powers took up several
weeks (25 sittings), and made a woeful hole in the
duration of the session ; but at that epoch the
Government was strongly interested -in a very
keen search into the election of certain clerical
members whom they were anxious to unseat.
This year, on the contrary, hardly one of the

' blacks" has been returned, not even the great

leader of the party, Count Solara della Margherita.
The Chamber is as yet all ono colour, like the
world in the first grey morning dawn, before sun-

light has called forth its harmonious variety of hues.
The nation has sent nothing but patriots to Parlia-
ment, and these are but too willing to drive on the
Government faster than it would go. All that
Cavour wants of the Parliament is simply their
sanction to.:—nay, their acquiescence in—the Savoy

treaty, and this will be but tovasily obtained. li
_ _

would be mere tampering with to say that 99,
at least, out of every 100 Italian Liberals not only
fully expected that the emancipation of a consi-
derable part of the Peninsula would lead to the loss
of the Transalpine provinces, but deemed also the
cession, at least, of Savoy, if not of Nice, as desir-
able as it was inevitable. From the first rumour of
the particulars of the Plombieres interview the sub-
ject was familiarly entertained and looked upon as
mere matter of course. The peace of Villafranca,
and the magniloquent professions of Napoleon has
certainly 'given men's thoughts a different turn,
and if since Villafranca the Emperor has behaved
very passively, if not quite hostilely to the Italian
cause, the revival of claims so long and so often
disavowed could hardly fail to create painful sur-
prise and disappointment. However made up the
mind of the Italian might be to the separatrOn of
Savoy, it was not, as I said, equally indifferent to
the sacrifice of Nice, and in either case it was keenly
alive to any violation, be it of the individual rights
of the people or the provinces, be it of the funda-
mental principles of the constitution of any free
State, which forbids the sale or barter of lands, and
still more of men, without the free consent, not
only of the parties concerned, but of the whole na-
tion as in Parliament represented.
The King's Speech announces a treaty already
" stipulated," but conditional both on Parliamen-
tary approbation and on popular suffrage. But
there is not one man sitting in either house who
can for one moment doubt that the contract re-
specting Savoy and Nice is definitive and irrevoc-
able, so far at least as the Govern went and State
of Sardinia are concerned. Any discussion in Par-
liament, or appeal to public vote, would be a mere
mockery. This, as I say, every senator and deputy
knows, and he is fully aware that he must make up
his mind to one of three courses :—first, impugn.

the treaty itself, and move to have it rescinded—
in which case the proposer, even if he were allowed
to go through his resolution, would soon find him-
self in a minority of one; secondly, to hold his
tongue and accept the treaty,—a line of conduct
which would brand the Parliament and every
member in it with abject servility and cowardice ;
or, finally, to enter a protest against the treaty and
abstain from voting,—and this is the only incident
likely to diversify the sameness of the whole of the
dolorous transaction.
There aro orators, I believe, not only among the
, extreme Radicals, men of the stamp of Cattaneo,
Sirtori, and Guerrazzi, but even men of just as
moderate principles and conscientious following
of Cavour's lead, who speak as if they were bent
on giving the King's Minister a piece of their mind.
Equivocation and prevarication *enough there has
been on the part of the. Sardinian Government
throughout this Savoy proceeding. I need not
here recapitulate the particulars of their conduct.
Their only plausible defence lies in the pithy
words, "Needs must where the -- Emperor
drives." Napoleon either actually compelled them
to belie and almost to forswear themselves at every
stage, or so misled them as to involve them in con-
stant, flat, flagrant contradictions and misstate-
ments—a supposition the latter, which, with
Count Cavour's acuteness and fertility of resources,
appears the less probable.
But, when you have even proved that Napoleon
was overbearing and Cavour disingenuous, men be-
gin to ask,what have you gained for Piedmont and
Italy? It was only yesterday a man in authority
very deliberately assured me, "The only friend the
Italians have in France is the, Emperor of the
French." Savoy and Nice, too, are utterly given
up by all the European Powers, the only question
likely to be brought before the Conference now
about to open being that of the neutralised districts
of Faucigny, Chablais, and Genevois, a matter of
international polity in which the national Parlia-
ment may be said to be hardly concerned.
Anything that may be said in the Madama or
Carignano Palaces is, for all practical uses, mere
breath thrown away. But honour must also have
its own path, and the example of the English Par-
liament is a brilliant proof of the extent to which
good men and true should take care " how they
make themselves partakers of iniquity. No doubt
prudent persons reflect how different is the position,
and therefore the responsibility, of an orator of in-
accessible no less than unconquerable England from
that of a speaker in so helpless and defenceless a
State as Piedmont, so helpless in its present transi-
tional and somewhat unsettled condition, so defence-
less in its military and diplomatic position.
Something yet, I am assured on all sides, will be
said ; the honour and dignity of the Parliament
will be saved; but Savoy, which the Italians would

so much more willingly give to Switzerland than
to France—and Nice, which many of them would
die a thousand deaths rather than give to any
foreign Power—must not the less be immolated.
Such are the feelings,with which hon, gentlemen
take their seats in both houses.
The Chamber of Deputies assembled at 1 o'clock,
and, as it was foreseen, was busy with the verification
of powers, s. mere formality, which resulted in a
waste of precious time and was not half gone through.
The house has been beautified, but scarcely im-
proved. The eye is pleased with the red velvet seats,
green velvet tablecloths, and other ornaments, but
room has only been made for the, new members by
opening into the hall some of the old tribunes or
galleries and converting them into niches, the sit-
ters in which will neither see nor hear, be seen nor
be heard. The full-length portrait, of Charles
Albert, which hung behind the Presdent's chair till
last year has been removed, and the effigy of the
present Sovereign has at last taken its place--an
emblem rather of a new kingdom than of a new reign.
Above the King's likeness, however, they have placed
a large bas-relief in white marble, representing
Charles Albert in the act of bestowing the Ratuto,
or Constitutional Charter, upon his people. Among
the conspicuous ornaments newly introduced I no-
ticed all round the vast oval edifice, close under the
vault, the coats of arms of the chief towns of the old
and new dominions of the Royal house. Among
them I saw the white crowned eagle, and read the
name of the city of Nice, and I thought, not without
bitterness, that the same hands which so lately
painted that symbol will so soon have to erase it.
In the account of the results of the various elections
of the kingdom I was peculiarly struck with what
was said about that same poor Nice. The first elec-
tion, on the 25th of March, proved a blank failure,
because the Avenir and other-papers in the French
interest had announced that the annexation of
the country to France was a settled matter, and
the election of members to the Piedmontese Par-

liament was therefore an idle er
ally contradicted
remony. That
announcement was, however, form'
by an official proclamation, layir ig, as it were, the
fate of Nice in the hands of its people by pro-
mising an appeal to the public suffrage, and then,
on the second election day , the 19th, the voters
rushed to the polls in g eat numbers and re-
turned Garibaldi by an alr Jost complete unanimity.
On that day Nice voted • not onlylor the General,
but also for Italy. Gad baldi was in Turin to-day,
and took his scat in the House. His fair or rather
fox coloured (I ulva) hair and complexion, and lion-
like face presented a sl,range contrast to the milder
countenances of the shrug civilians around him. He
professes to have corn e to do stout battle for his
native city in the House, and combat the annexa-
tion scheme by 's ords, ax: he would be too happy to
fight against it by might of arm. 'Would it were only
of any avail !
An unexpected melancholy incident came sud-
denly to interrupt the sitting. General Quaglia,
the temporary President of the Chamber by right of
egg, broke down in a short speech in which he was
putting one of the elections to the vote, and sank
into the arms of some of the bystanders, struck with
a fit of apoplexy et paralysis, by which his life is
even at this present moment endangered. He was
removed to one of the anterooms and bled freely,
but up to this present time (8 o'clock in the evening)
little improvement is apparent. Altogether the sud-
denness of the event and the ensuing dismay and
consternation reminded me forcibly of the pictures

I have seen of the'death of Lord Chatham in the
House of Lords. The sitting was adjourned in-
stantly. General Quaglia is only 72 years old. The
real Doyen of the Deputies, Jocopo Sanvitale, who
is 74, yielded the honour which was duo to him to
the gallant veteran. The priestly party are already
crowing about this accident, in which they fancy
they see the first effect of excommunication, and the
work of" God's finger."
A petition praying for the preservation of Nice as
a member of the new Italian State is circulating at
Genokand has already been covered with thousands
of signatures.
Generals Sonnaz and Menabrea, distinguished
Savoyard officers, have been plied by the Emperor
Napoleon with tho most tempting offers to induce
them to enter the French service, but have firmly
declined to quit their rank in the Sardinian army.
The King's journey to Florence and Central Italy
is variously announced for the 'loth, The 17th, and
the 20th; I believe the latest is the most probably
date.

The Presidency of the Chamber will probably
be conferred by the election of the Deputies upon
Buoncempagni, who filled that office for several
years previous to his mission to Florence.

NAPLES.

(Frowthe Times Correspondent.)

NAPLES, MARCH 3.
If all the reports that one hears about Sicily have
a moiety of truth in them, the state of that island
is such as to awaken grave solicitude. In my last
letter I told you that Prince Castelcicala had arrived
in Naples with his family; and, though he may re-
turn for a time, I believe I may state that the
Prince considers Sicily no longer a safe residence
for his sister and his daughter. It is said, too, that
many of the employes have sent up their families to
Naples for similar reasons. lam not surprised at
these apprehensions or precautions, for the Sicilians,
like the Neapolitans, are bowed down to the ground
by oppression, and, being more united than the
latter, are in a better state to resist, and stories have
long been circulating here that such a resistance is
being organised. Indeed, the history of many
months—nay, years—in that island has been a his-
tory of discontents, struggles, outbreaks, and law-
less acts of vengeance. I have heard from several
independent sources that a packet of arms was
found the other day in front of the palace in
Palermo with an inscription upon it to the following
effect :—" Enough, and more than enough." Of
course all official reports continue to state that the
country enjoys the most profound tranquillity, but
the tranquillity is that of the worm which is writh-
ing under‘the heel of the strong man. More re-
cent reports state that the peasantry about Palermo
had been disarmed, that the sale of saltpetre had
been prohibited, and that gunpowder shops and
magazines had been closed. On these reports you
may depend, but the precautions which are
taken, while they show the apprehensions which
are entertained by the Government, will not de-
feat the object of the people if they resolved
upon any movement. As to gunpowder, the Si-
cilians have abundant materials, and are well ac-
quainted with the mode of making it. Before
1848 the manufacture and the sale of it were not
Government monopolies, and the Sicilians have
not lost the knowledge of an art which is likely to
begome so useful to them. Thus, to go no
further back than the beginning of the reign of
the " inexperienced" Sovereign who rules this coun-
try,have not had one conciliatory act, but a
series
of irritating and oppressive measures, which
have e
goaded the peopls into madness. If we return
to Naples, the report of what daily passes is pre-
cisely the same.
A list, on which I can depend, now lies before me
of 57 persons imprisoned in Santa Maria Apparente
alone on political suspicion. Their names, sur-
names, country, date of arrest, occupation, and
causes of arrest are all appended, so that I am in-
viting your belief to no old wives' story. The olcrat
prisoner among them is 87 years of age, and was
arrested in 1850; nine were arrested in 1856, five
in 1857, and the others at various times later. Not
one of them has been tried. For one year the
tritish and Foreign Ministers have laboured for
their liberation, but instead of producing any change
in their position, the, number has been from t line to
time increased. Eight more persons are to be sent
off in relegation to the island of Capri, I believe, this
week, and in all probability a scene will be enacted
similar to the one I described in my last letter. By
the by, it is currently stated that that disgraceful
act was committed by Ajoskt out of pique towards
Mr. Elliott for having shown him up and destroyed
his expectations by his able and manly correspon-
dence. Indeed, few have any doubt that, had it
not been for the untimely publication of that cor-
respondence, the director Ajossa would by this time
have been gazetted as Minister. The public feeling
against Ajossa is as strong as it can be well imagined,
and the surprise is not less strong that Princes Cas-
saro, Priuce Cinitini, and Signor Gamboa, three
really honest men, should have consented to en-
danger their reputations by virtually sanctioning
the illegalities and ferocities of the Director of
Police.

That there is a schism in the Ministry I have
already informed you, -but that fact by no means
affects its existence, as the duty of a Neapolitan
Minister is only to register and subscribe the orders
"of our Lord the King." Though, therefore, the
members composing the Ministry may represent all
the colours of the political rainbow, still they may
go on opposing and neutralising each other until it
pleases his Majesty to remove them. There was a
very pretty scene occurred in the Council a few days
since. First, there was an angry discussion ; then a
tempest arose, and Signor Rosica, a man who in an
age and a mass of corruption is marked for his
honesty, thus addressed Ajossa :—" God has not given
you talent• for the post which you occupy, and, while
thinking that you do well, you are doing just the
contrary, and increasing daily 'the enemies of the
Government." The attack was made in the pre-
sence of the King, but hitherto has produced no re-
sults, for Ajossa flourishes, and his system is in
vigour.

The Giornale Officiak of last night publishes the
name of Lieutenant-General Winspeare as Minister
of War. Hitherto ho was only gradual° Minister,
with 3,000 ducats annually; now he is full Minister,
with 6,000 ducats a year. Perhaps the reason of
the change ntay be that he is out of bed, for ten
months a year are passed by the head of the Neapo-
litan army in bed. His Majesty very soon will,
according to the custom of the Spanish Bourbons,
walk in procession to several churches on Holy
Thursday to visit the sepulchres. I believe, how-
ever, that arrangements are being made for the
Court to leave Naples for Portici on Wednesday
next, and that the pious duties of the week, such as
'washing the polished feet of 12 men bearing tho