The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-05 00:00:00

THE DEPARTURE OF TM? ENGLISH AND
FRENCH MINISTERS FROM NAPLES.

The departure of the two Ministers is thus de-
scribed by the correspondent of the Times (second
edition), in a letter dated Naples, Oct. 30 :
"At an early hour on Tuesday morning the
Commissary of the Quarter of the Liviera di
Chiaja made his appearance, with, perhaps, 50 of
his men, and dotted them about in the neighbour-
hood of the French Legation. These again were
supported by spies in all directions, and still
more effectually by patrols of gensdarmes placed
within. sight of each other, and extending full two
miles through the Toledo, and down the Foria.
Altogether there could not have been a display of
less than 2,000 men in the employ of the police.
The Government, therefore, made the demonstra-
tion, not the Liberals, and it is a proof of the arbi-
trary system which is practised in Naples, that so
great a force was deemed necessary to suppress all
expressions of respect for the Ministers of two great
nations. Baron Brenier left the Legation at about
10 o'clock in a carriage drawn by six horses, with
an outrider, and followed by a fourgon with his
attendants and his baggage. What is that paltry
little one-horse carriage which follows in the train
of the Minister of Imperial France That hired
carozzella holds a Commissary of Police, and a well-
known spy, whose name I forbear to mention. This
guard never deserts him till he arrives at the Capo
di Chino. It watches to see whether some poor
Neapolitan may address some ultima verba to the
Baron ; and, having seen him safely beyond the
barrier, it returns. I have anticipated a little, in
order not to abandon the ridiculous group in the
carozzella. On arriving at the entrance -of the
Toledo and throughout the city there was the same
display of the civil force : spies, policemen, and
gensdarmes everywhere. Many gentlemen were in
the streets, and many had retired within the shops,
but there was a general raising of the hats as Mons.
Brenier passed, and in the Largo di Mercatello I am
told that flowers were thrown from the windows. In
the afternoon of the same day, at 3 o'clock, the
British Charge d'Affairs, Mr. Petre, accompanied
by Mr. Plunkett and the First Secretary of the
French Legation, left Naples. There was the
same display of force as in the morning, and pretty
nearly the same incidents took place, and so the
curtain falls on the first scene of—what ? Tra-
gedy, comedy, melodrama, or what? Will all this
terminate in the acceptance of some paltry conces-
sions, which, as they are not founded on and con-
firmed by some principle, will be utterly valueless?
Or will the King be morally compelled to return to
legality, peace, and prosperity? Now is the crisis
in the fate of this country and of the whole of
Italy, and, if England and France be sincerely
united, moderate counsels will prevail, and chronic
discontent, disorder, and revolution be avoided.
But of one thing I am hourly more and more con-
vinced—that half-measures, slight concessions, pro-
mises here, will be worse than useless. My reason
for thinking so is this. The man does not rule here
in whom confidence can be placed morally or intel-
lectually.