The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-11 00:00:00

CURIOUS BE Tr_EL TIOXS.

The Gpinionc and other Italian papers publish
various letters from Sicilians and Neapolitans of
the highest distinction, which cast a strange light
on the doings of M. Bertani And the clique to which
he belongs. The history of the railway concession
to the firm of Adami and Co. is peculiarly
amusing:—

" Ina, letter to Baron Poet io, M. Filippo Cordova,
now banished from Sicily on account of his annexa-
tionist tendencies; relates that when he was
Attorney-General to the Court of Accounts at
Palermo, under the Pro-Dietatorate of M. Depretis,
a contract was laid before him, signed ' Garibaldi
—Adami,' by which the latter were invested with
the exclusive monopoly of the construction of all the
railways in Sicily, which the Government might
think proper to decree. On the capital to be raised,
the firm was to receive two per cent. commission;
the capital itself to be represented by Sicilian
Government stock, payable to bearer, and the firm
_being left at liberty to negociate it at any possible
figure. On the whole capital expended the firm
was to receive an additional five per cent. M. Cor-
dova shows the absurdity of such a plan, by which
Sicily would first have to pay two per cent. com-
mission on the sale of her stock, while it could be
disposed of readily at a brokerage of one per
thousand; then run all the risks of the enter-
prise without the firm's risking one farthing;
and lastly, pay, at five per cent., 25 millions more
for no service done whatever. This project was
of State
unanimously rejected by a commission coin-
posed of
MM. Michele Amari, Secretary
for Public Works, Cordova, and Perez,
Pro-Dictator Depretis annulled the contract."
M. Cordova goes no further in his letter, but we
know already that the same project was signed the
other day at Naples. How this was done, the
Naples correspondent of the Perseverenza of Milan
explains :
-

Bertani arrived at Naples on the 21st
ult., he applied to M. Scialoja, the Minister of Fi-
nance, requesting him to place SOO,OOO francs at
the disposal of G. B. Garibaldi, of Marseilles, for
the purchase of arms, 'and another million of francs
at his (M. Bertani's) disposal. The Minister re-
plied that, as to the arms, G. B. Garibaldi, of Mar-
seilles, might send them, and draw in the course of
business for the above amount ; and as to the mil-
lion, its necessity not being proved, it had better
be talked over some other day. M. Bertani did
not insist, but on the 26th asked Scialoja for
40,400 fr. to defray office expenses. This enormous
sum was granted to him by the Council of Minis-
ters, believing it to be required for the payment of
the swarm of Dictatorial officials attached to the
secretary. On the 29th Scialoja resigned office ;
and on the same day Bertani wrote to the Director
of Finance for a sum of 88,000 fr ! On the pre-
vious day he had been with Messrs. Adami to the
notary, M. Cacace, and had there, armed with the
Dictator's authorisation, signed the celebrated con-
cession, not only for Naples, but also for Sicily,
although, as above stated, it had been rejected by
the Pro-Dictator of that island."

These facts, and the appointment of Crispi to Ber-
tani's place, greatly irritated the Neapolitans, who
had received the announcement of Bertani's depar-
ture with intense joy. The Turin Gazette pub-
lishes, in its turn, some telegraphic despatches sent
by Bertani to M. Tripoti, commanding the troops
on the Neapolitan frontier, bidding him prevent
the Sardinians from entering without permission
from the Dictator. One of these telegrams runs
thus :

" Organise the defence with your forces. Employ
every revolutionary means. Call out the National
Guard. Do not divide the troops. I hope soon to
send you good decisive news."
In another he says :
"Prevent the annexationist expeditions. Take
the necessary rigorous measures against the agita-
tors who want annexation before the Dictator has
ordered it."

To complete the history of these strange doings,
we must not omit mentioning a letter addressed to
the Opinione by M. del Castillo di Sant' Onofrio,
late Director of the Post-office in Sicily:—
" I would," he says, " have explained the reasons
for my resignation sooner, if the liberty enjoyed
in Sicily under Mordini's misgovernment did not
prevent every free manifestation of opinion. Now,
however, in this happy land of freedom, I may
speak openly. General Garibaldi having lowered
the postage tariff to Piedmont to 40 centimes,
when the communications with Naples were re-
established, I thought I must extend the benefit
of the same tariff to Naples also ; upon which M.
Mordini sent me so strange and violent a Ministe-
rial letter, that it could only come from a person
unaccustomed to civil society. This led to further
correspondence, which ended in my resigning and
being dismissed at the same time. This was the
apparent reason ; but the real one was that I was
a firm annexionist, and a friend of the excellent
M. Depretis, whom I had often recommended to
order the vote of annexation, even without Gari-
baldi's consent. Another reason, perhaps, was that
Mordini became aware that, under my administra-
tion, the secrecy of letters would be inviolable."

M. Depret is, late pro-Dictator of Sicily, has written
to the Opinion° of Turin, denying an imputation
cast upon him by M. Bertani, to the effect that,
while in office, he had retarded the acceptance of
certain bills, to the great detriment of the public
service. After stating that the finances of Sicily

were in a bad condition, he relates the facts as fol-
lows :—Towards the end of August, seven bills of
exchange, drawn by Bertani, were presented to
him for acceptance, to the total amount of
2,168,000 fr. Not having received advice, he or-
dered the first to be paid, which amounted to
325,000 fr., and immediately wrote to the central
office of the society for aiding Garibaldi requiring
explanations, and accounts justifying the expen-
diture of such a sum, the Treasury of Sicily
having already contributed 3,675,000 fr. to-
wards the Garibaldi Fund. In September—
the matter, it seems, having been explained—
he paid in 150,000 fr. more, which sum, according
to advices received, he considered sufficient for the
requirements of the fund. Soon after he accepted
the second bill of exchange to the amount of
351,000 fr., and arranged with the cashier of Al.
Bertani for the payment of the others at somewhat
later periods. It therefore appears that, if the pay-
ments have not been made, the fault does not lie
with M. Depretis, and M. Bertani's accusation falls
Ito the ground: