The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-17 00:00:00

COUNT CAVOU.R'S SPEECH.

The Speech of Couat Cavour in the Sardinian
Chambers will more than fix the attention of
Europe—it will act as a basis of the Italian cause.
It supplies, like a base of military operations or a
principle in philosophical controversy, a starting-
ground for Italian progress, to which it may ever
after look back, as from time to time it may be
tempted to diverge from the right path, and re-
quire the correction of a master's eye. Great politi-
cal and national movements like that of Italian
unity can have no self-evident axioms by which
they can guide themselves, like the productions of
mechanism ; they depend for their support upon a
well-ascertained estimate of the actual causes and
tendencies in operation in and around a nation, in
a correct outline of political geography, in a know-
ledge of the relative position of countries, and an
accurate sounding of the whole reservoir of Euro-
pean force and feeling. This is the mistake of
Mazzini. He thinks, or has thought, that this
movement could be directed byan axiom—that unity
of blood was the " Open, sesame," which was to
operate as a charm upon every bolt and bar, if you
only said it often enough. But the cause of Italian
unity has now got out of the hands of the men of
ideas into those of statesmen and administrators, who
put it into practical shape. That is what Cavour's
speech aims at ; it puts this axiom into working
order, adapts it to the diplomacy of Europe, and
and steers a course which will take it through the
practical difficulties and obstacles of the surround-
ing chart. It is a political map, constructed upon
the highest principles of science, and, what is more,
it is not a map only in the head of the speaker, but
it is brought out with a clearness that inserts it in
everybody's head, and creates a common understand-
ing. There are some speeches that convert all men
into politicians, and absolutely put heads upon their
shoulders. This is a special advantage in cases of
national movements; it makes a nation act as one
man, as Sardinia is doing at this moment. We see
that the Italian cause is raised one whole level
higher by such an argument and exposition ; that
it is put in a clear light, and that an effective policy
is laid down once for all ; we see in it that kind of
foresight which fulfils itself, and by possessing
everybody with the complete inevitableness of a
certain issue, and the certainty of a particular
march of events, clears the ground for those events
and that issue, and makes the oracle self-executive.
We prefer commenting on the speech to giving
a table of contents, because it is only by reading
the speech itself that we get an idea of those com-
pact masses of statement and decisive points of
view which impart such solidity to it as an outline
of policy. The introductory part, in which he
settles matters with Garibaldi, exhibits con-
summate dexterity, converting the seat of
strength in the Sardinian Chambers, in which the
General comes off so clearly the worse, into a
splendid compliment, and " the greatest homage
that could ever be shown to a citizen." The
charge of the meditated annexation of Sardinia to
France is at once met by a broad distinction be-
tween that case and Savoy,—" for, gentlemen, the
great principle of nationality, the corner-stone of
our political edifice, can never be invoked for a
cession of a portion of our territory." The whole of
the Italian movement takes place upon a principle
which includes Sardinia, and would make the cession
of it an inconsistency and contradiction. The
practical way to prevent it, however, is to annex
Naples, for 22,000,000 of men will have a guarantee
in their very number against either cession or con-
cession, and thus the question is not only answered,
but made an argument for the vote of the Chambers
which is wanted. The interest of the speech, how-
ever, comes to a head on the great subjects of Rome
and Venice, and here Count Cavour does not leave
it in any doubt what is "the Pole Star" of Sardinia
—that Rome is clearly placed in the chart of political
prophecy as " the splendid capital of our Italian
kingdom." The announcement is made with great
oratorical effect, and produces general emotion in
the Chambers. This is, at any rate, open and
straightforward ; the world cannot complain of
disguise, though it will see that, made in this form
by a Sardinian Minister in a Sardinian Parliament,
this is a pregnant announcement and a great key-
note struck. The trumpet has sounded, and one of
those things has been said from which there is no
drawback ; the Rubicon is crossed, and the "Load
Star" of Sardinia directs unhesitatingly to the
Roman Crown. The Venetian question is solved
with equal openness as regards the ultimate issue.
But, together with this full and clear exposition
of the Sardinian design, there goes a running
comment of deference to European politics.
However clearly Rome may figure in the horizon
of the Sardinian vision, "however deep may be
our affection for the illustrious martyr 'Venice,
her time has not yet come. There is a way in
which things must be done ; it is of no:use attempt-
ing to forestall it and reach the goal by a short cut.
n
Europe must be convinced that Italy can over
au emanc
herself. That is the awkward doubt thatg now
stands in the way of a complete Italian pa-
b
an able
i
tion, and that doubt must be removed
and moderate course of administration before
Italian
unity is allowed to absorb Rom
e and Venice. Sar-
dinia throws herself upon the
Europe, in the full confidence
succeeds in governing
ethat if, as the chosen
representative of Italy, she
it, Europe must
give way. Austria cannot govern
Venice in the vicinity of United Italy; an irre-
sistible fatality drives her
even now to measures of
to counter-
act. " I cannot blame him for i of the attraction
coercion and severity ;" she cannot govern on any
other principle, in con sequence
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and more compact Italy becomes the greater will
be the attraction it exercises upon Venice ; for the
moral world is subject to laws analogous to those