The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-15 00:00:00

THE RUM, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENINCI; JYJIL;

not, beg your lorlships to mark the nature of
the explanation and the answer which I received.
/It was sail that the Kines of Naples had un-
dertaken a journey to a place some few miles from
his metropolis, and that he bad net been able to send
an answer. Oa a sui.ject so grave and so important,
such a reply was mere trifling, a mockery, and an insult
It was not very unlike the course which had been pur-
sued with regard to an amnesty, to which I directed the
attention of my noble friend the other night. lam
to'd, and my noble friend will let one know if I am
right, that within the last two or three days an answer
has been received from the King of Naples. Am I right
in that statement ? (Lord Clarendon intimated assent.)
I see that my noble friend ;assents. I thank him for
doing so, as that will lead to another question—(" hear,
hear," and laughter)—and that is, is that answer satis-
factory ? (Hear, hear.) lam told that it is extremely
the reverse. lam told, in the first place, that the King
of Naples denies the right of this country to interfere in
the affairs of his kingdom, and not only that, but that he
positively refuses to give any explanation or reply to the
remonstrance addressed to him. I ask my noble friend
if that is in substance the answer to the important
communication made to the King of Naples ? My
noble friend makes no sign. I ask him if he will lay
the papers on the table in the course of the discussion
this evening, so that we may have an opportunity of
seeing the nature of that communication ? There is one
thing that strikes me as singular. There is no country
more open to the power of England than the kingdom
of Naples. If the Government of Naples has set at de-
fiance our remonstrances, what is the interpretation I
am to put on that fact I I tali craw btit one conclusion,
and that is that there is a feeling in Naples that there is
some backwardness and lukewarmness on the part of
France to co-operate with us to attain the objects we
have in view. This, then, is the state to which we are
reduced ; that we threaten a fereign Government, de-
claring that its conduct is infamous and atrocious, and
that we require it to be changed ; they refuse to listen
to our remonstrances, and we sit quietly down and
take no further steps. What, then, has become
of the power and the prestige of England ? (Hear,
hear.) There is another subject to which I wish to
direct the attention of your lordships. I mean the
occupation of a great part of Italy by Austria. That has
continued for seven years, and the country so occupied
is placed in a state of siege and under martial law. I

need not in an assembly of Englishmen dilate on such a
state of things, as a country occupied by foreign military
forces. Of all the instruments of arbitrary power the
most powerful is the exercise of arbitrary iinprisdnment.
In Italy, upon bare suspicion, numbers of persons are
thrown into prison. When we talk of prisons, we, as
Englishmen, have little idea of what an Italian prison is.
We form a notion of a well-regulated, well-ventilated

establishment, visited by magistrates, and placed under
the most careful and responsible superintendence. But in
Italy prisons aro nothing better than loathsome dun-

geons; and it is in these that men of birth and education
are imprisoned, on mere suspicion, as if they were the
worst malefactors. Such is the state ofltaly. Occasionally
to be sure, there is a show of trial; but what species of
trial is adopted ! The trial is conducted by military
tribunals, unaccompanied by any form or rule of law,
and regulated only by the directions of those who con-
duct the proceedings. What is the result! The result is,
lain told, that since the Austrians have been in possession
of the Legations 200 persons have been shot and 2,000
have been sent into exile. There is another country of Italy
which has also attracted much attention—l allude to
Parma. There has been a great increase to the military
force of Austria in that duchy. Piacenza was originally
assigned as the place for the armed occupation of Austria,
but that place has long become much too small to hold
the forces she has sent into that duchy. A contest has
arisen between these invaders and the government of,
that country. The government insisted that accused per-
sons should have their trials before the ordinary tribu-
nals. What say the Austrians? They say that these per-
sons shall be tried by courts-martial, composed of fo-
reigners ; and which party will obtain the verdict it is

impossible to say. Every one who is attached to the prin.
ciplea of freedom and fair dealing, and of justice, must
wish that all such persons should by tried by the ordi-
nary t►i moats. But it is a melancholy fact that before

these transactions occurred the Austrians had seized a
great many of the persons in question, and transferred
them to the dungeons of Austria, there to lie until they
should be tried by military tribunals. While such is the
state of things in Italy it is the duty of the Government
of this country to do all they can to support and assist
those peoples ; and yet, although this contest has been
going on for a long time, it is only a few days ago since
our ambassador at Florence arrived at Parma. Whe-
ther any great advantage will be derived from his pre-
sence I will not pretend to say ; but I can only say that
if it is intendsd that he shall give his support to the
people of the duchy against the Austrians, it is also
rumoured that he is very much under the influence of
Austria. I now come to another part of the subject—
I allude to the kingdom of Sardinia. Every English-
man must feel the greatest possible interest in the
well-being and prosperity of that country. We have be-
come united by a community of institutions and by a
brotherhood in the great struggle in which we have