The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-10 00:00:00

THE SARDINIAN NOTE.

The following is the text of the memorandum
addressed by the Sardinian Government to its re-
presentatives at the Courts of Paris, London,
Berlin, and St. Petersburg :

Turin, Sept. 28.
Monsieur le Ministre,—You are aware of the de-
cisions of the Assemblies of Tuscany, Modena, and
Parma, as well as the answer which the King, our
august master, made to the deputations sent by
those Assemblies.

In presence of such important events as those of
which Central Italy has been the theatre, the
King's Government considers itself called on to ex-
press its views clearly on the present situation, and
to call the most serious attention of the cabinets of
the great Powers to facts which probably are with-
out precedent in history.
When Austria, in the month of April last, sud-
denly putting an end to the diplomatic discussions
which were going on, and breaking the formal pro-
mises given to Europe, invaded Piedmont, all Italy
understood that the question at issue was not an
isolated one, concerning the Sardinian kingdom
alone, but that the fate of arms was to decide on
the national independence and destinies of Italy.
Unfortunately, the governments of Central Italy
had long before separated' their cause from that of
Italy, by uniting themselves, in law and in fact,
with foreigners, who from that moment became
the solo supporters of a system of government
which was discredited, and which excited general
disaffection. The sovereigns of those countries were
not the victims of a revolution, properly so called ;
they themselves made their choice between their
duties as Italian princes and their engagements with
Austria ; they quitted their states without leaving
any government; and two of them even ranged
themselves under the flag of their ally, and shared
his defeats. They have thus dug, with their own
hands, an abyss between themselves and their for-
mer subjects.

Afteimemorable victories the hand of the con-
queror assigned at Villafranca more restricted ter-
titorial limits to Austrian domination in the Italian
Peninsula ; but the definitive regulation of affairs
of Central Italy was destined to remain.in suspense,
since, in signing the preliminaries of peace, it was
not possible to foresee the insurmountable obstacles
which would be raised by the populations to the
return of the princes. His Majesty, on his part,
ordered the recall of the authorities whom he had
sent to Tuscany, Modena, and Parma. By that
measure the populations regained anew the free dis-
posal of themselves, and at the same time removed
from 01 foreign influence.
The honourable men who, in the absence of any
recognised authority, had taken in hand the direc-
tion of public affairs, considered that under such cir-
cumstances it was their duty to appeal to the popu-
lations by means of the election of national assem-
blies. What happened is well known —the assem-
blies unanimously confirmed the -deposition of the
old Governments, and proclaimed annexation to
Piedmont.

In considering what has taken place at Florence,
Modena, and Parma, we are struck by the accord
and spontaneity which marked all the deliberations
of the constituted bodies, and the order which has
constantly prevailed during the unforeseen crisis
which had to be traversed. This order and regu-
larity are easily explained, when we consider that
it was not the advanced parties, nor men excited or
sourad by old grievances and unjust personal suffer-
ings, who placed themselves at the head of the
movement.

All who are most illustrious amongst the nobility,

most notable in commerce, most enlightened in in-
telligence, and most influential among the large
landowners, co-operated in the accomplishment of
an act which was destined to assure to those coun-
tries a state of things more in conformity with their
welfare and with the general interests of Italy.
These resolutions were not the effect of unreflecting
excitement; they were maturely weighed, and
were adopted on considerations of a superior and
permanent order. _
In breaking for over the bonds which connected
them with an odious past calculated to give rise to
the bitterest recriminations the populations of the
Duchies have been especially anxious to shake off
the yoke of foreign domination, to escape from Aus-
trian influence, and to contribute by their union
under the sceptre of the King, our august sovereign,
to the constitution of a kingdom strong enough to
establish the prosperity and repose of Italy on solid
and durable bases.

These populations, impelled by the evil counsels
of despair, and bewildered by their inexperience in
the management of public affairs, might have turned
in a thoughtless moment to chimerical and danger-
ous projects. They might have been led astray by
subversive tendencies to demolish the monarchica
principle, and substitute republicanism in its stead
They might have thought themselves entitled to do
that; but they have not even attempted it ; Central
Italy had given, by her conduct, equally firm and
wise, a formal contradiction to the accusation too

lightly brought against the fickleness of the Ita-
lians and their inability to found a good Govern-
ment. Such an accusation, which has hitherto been
only an injustice, will be henceforth a calumny.
The traditions of ages and long established habits
might suggest and encourage the desire of preserv-
ing their autonomy in states which had hitherto
lived an independent life apart from the rest of the
nation. No; they renounced these very national
leanings and a justifiable historic pride, to be
blended in the common life. Tuscany was the first
to set the example ; the part of Italy which has
most reason to be proud of its pastsdid not hesitate.
There was in Italy a monarchy which had succeeded
in combining order with public liberties; Tuscany,
as well as Modena and Parma, has joined this mo-
narchy unconditionally and without reserve. It
would be impossible to find a more signal proof of
the irresistible power of the sentiment of national
solidarity.
The fact is that all the Italians have learned by
long and painful experience that Italy will never
be free from foreign pressure, nor its independence
real and lasting, until there shall be in the north of
Italy a state large and powerful enough to oppose
the preponderance of external influence.

It is not at the moment while peace is being
negotiated at Zurich by the plenipotentiaries of
Piedmont, France, and Austria, that the King's
government would use less correct language towards
the adversary he has combated on the battle field.
But there are truths which cannot be dissembled,
because they are self-evident ; there are dangers on
which it is impossible to indulge illusions, because
they exist in the nature of things, and are an inevit-
able necessity of the situation.
If the war which has just finished had had for
result the complete cessation of Austrian domina-
tion in the Italian Peninsula, the considerations
which we are about to develop would not be less
well founded, but they would be less powerful on
minds prejudiced in favour of the old governments
of the Duchies. In the present state of things,
there is no one, Monsieur le Ministre, who can re-
fuse to admit that if the power of Austria in Italy
has become more limited in extent, it has lost no-
thing in offensive and encroaching force. She rc7
tains the strong fortresses of Venetia, and, what is
more, Peschiera and Mantua, which belong to Lom-
bardy, and form her natural defence ; that province
is dismantled and exposed to a coup de main.
The King's government do not intend to throw
any doubt on the sincerity of the intentions of Aus-
tria in the settlement of the stipulated cessions, but
circumstances change and interests remain ; oppor-
tunities sometimes encourage, and political regrets
are an inheritance which descends. from generation
to generation. The last war could not raise a barrier
between the states of the King of Sardinia and his
formidable neighbour ; Italy is neither guaranteed
nor secured for the future, for there is no point of
equilibrium between the organised national forces
and Austria entrenched behind the bulwarks of the
Mincio and the Adige. If the peace of Villafranca
does not receive its complement, by respecting the
wishes of the populations delivered by the war, it
will not have re-established that balance of powers
and that proportion of relative forces which existed
in Italy in the last century, and which the Congress
of Vienna did not re-establish.

Northern Italy was then dividedinto several petty
states, weak and without consistence, which could
not keep up military forces of any importance, or
effectually contribute to the defence of Italy. The
States of the King of Sardinia formed the sole ex-
ception. They were not, it is true, very extensive,
but the military education of the people, the skill
and firmness of the princes, and the advantages of
the geographical situation of the country, placed
Piedmont among the powers of second order, and
caused her to be considered as the natural defender
of Italian independence.
Austria then possessed only the Duchies of Milan
and Mantua, which were detached and removed
from the body of her hereditary states. In time of
peace she kept but a very few troops there, and if
war broke out, the distance and the difficulties of
transport gave to the house of Savoy time to pre-
pare her means of defence. Austria was then a
powerful neighbour, but she was not a menacing
one.

This political arrangement was not exempt from
inconvenience, but the division, sanctioned at Paris
and at Vienna in 1814 and 1815, was infinitely
more disastrous for Italy in general, and for Pied-
mont in particular.
The annexation of the States of Genoa—that
union of two populations under the national Go-
vernment—was a benefit for which the Congress of
Vienna deserves thanks, but it was in rio respect
sufficient to counterbalance the enormous aggran-
disement of Austria in Italy. That power not only
acquired a territorial extension twice as large as
the old one, but it united the Italian provinces to the
hereditary states. The republic of Venice isolated,
at the beginning of the century, the Austrian pos-
sessions in Upper Italy ; but the grsnt of the Vene-
tian spoils to Austria destroyed entirely the rela-
tive power of the states from which Piedmont de-
rived her force and Italy her security. ' Half a cen-
tury's experience authorises the Government of
Sardinia to repeat what it declared in 1814 :—ln
the old division we saw the source of the weakness
of Upper Italy; in the new one we see her com-
plete subjection. (1)
A providential occasion now presents itself for
reforming an arrangement which is so prejudicial,
and which—we may say without fear of deceiving
ourselves—is even contrary to the wishes and the
provisions of those who approved it. Tuscany,
Parma, and Modena, united to the States of the
King, would form a political agglomeration which,
though insufficient to resist the power holding
Venetia, would at least possess elements calculated
to conjure the most pressing dangers. Will Europe
oppose a territorial modification which is desired by
an entire nation, and which is at the same time in
conformity with general interests ? And why should
she do so ?

It will not be alleged, Monsieur le Ministre, that
the European equilibrium would be compromised
by the union of those provinces to Sardinia, nor
that the union is calculated to give umbrage to the
great powers; such objections cannot be admitted,
in a serious discussion, and it is not necessary to
dwell on them. On the other hand, it would be
easy to show that the formation of such a state as
that indicated, and the re-establishment of Italian
equilibrium, would remove for a long time the per-
manent causes of rivalry between the adjacent
powers, and would preserve the repose of Europe
by strengthening that of Italy.
Moreover, after what has passed in the Duchies,
the restoration of the old dynasties may fairly be
regarded as a moral impossibility. We ask, how
could these dynasties return to the states which
they have abandoned, unless at the head of Aus-
trian troops ? But that would be to begin afresh
that system of intervention and immixion in the
government of states recognised as-independent—a
system broken up by the late war, and which would
infallibly give rise to the same complications as
before.
Besides, if the restoration were effected by these
means, how would princes be able to govern in
accord with the country ? The fallen sovereigns,
after returning at the head of foreign troops, would
find no support except in Austrian bayonets. A
restoration effected under such auspices, the immo-
derate use of a power unsupported by public
opinion, would have as its inevitable result the
triumph of demagogic doctrines and revolutionary
Passions. Darkness and chaos would again spread
over Italy. Europe has but too often been com-
pelled to witness, in this country, the sad spectacle
of a government doing its utmost to weaken in the
human conscience the respect for monarchical
authority. Let Europe rellmt and decide.

It is with that object that the King's Govern-
ment think it a duty to address the Cabinets.
Taking advantage of the rights conferred upon
him by the general vote of the populations, his
Majesty might have accepted, at least provisionally,
the government of the st-tes of Central Italy. But
he has thought that if, as an Italian Prince, he need
only consult his conscience, as a member of the
European family he had duties of another nature to
fulfil,

It is necessary that Europe should intervene to
solve the difficulties of the situation. The acts
which have taken place in the Romagnas show that

this necessity is now urgent, and that delay would
be dangerous. The considerations which precede
are applicable in great part to these provinces, but
if the collective authority of the powers is to deli-
berate upon the changes that have taken place in
public law of the Duchies, there is still more reason
for them to turn their most serious attention to the
question of the Legations. By the Memorandum
of 1831, and by the declarations of the Congress of
Paris, the poNs ers have contracted duties towards
these unhappy countries ; they are consequently
bound to give satisfaction to their legitimate wishes.
The double quality of the Sovereign Pontiff and
the respect due to the chief of the Roman Catholic
Church counsel us, Monsieur to Ministre, 'not to
insist on the abnormal conditions in which Romagna
is placed ; these conditions are in truth too notorious
for it to be necessary for us to dwell once again on
the consequences they were destined to produce and
really have produced. It is only by means of
foreign occupation that the Holy See has been able
to preserve the government of the Legations. The
last occupation continued for eleven years ; the
exercise of the most essential attributes of sove-
reignty were given up to foreign military authority;
the Sovereign Pontiff only reigned nominally ; and
in point of fact these provinces passed under Aus-
trian domination.

The populations have preserved admirable order
up to this day. But they would consider themselves
abandoned if they were to acquire the certitude that
the old government is to be re-established, and
with it the crying abuses of an administration irre-
concileable with the wants of modern civilisation ;
and then nothing would check the outbreak of
popular passions, and despair would drive the
masses to extreme resolution.

The King's Government has full confidence in the
generous initiative and in the justice of Europe.
The principle invoked by the populations of Central
Italy is consecrated by diplomatic antecedents ; it
was recognised under circumstances less favourable
in Greece, in Belgium, and more recently in the
Danubian principalities; it is the principle which
has modified the constitution of England and
France. Not only does it not disturb in the present
case the balance of power, but it destroys the latent
germ of future discords. It at the same time gives
repose to Italy, the noble country to which Europe
has been twice indebted for the benefits of enlighten-
ment and civilisation.

To violate that right, which has already pene-
trated into international relations, would be to com-
mit a crime against opinion—nay, more, against
the public conscience. In these days governments
as well as individuals know that they must count
with that power when it protests is the name of
the eternal principles of justice.
I beg of you, sir, to read this despatch to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of ---, and accept, &c.,
DABORMIDA.

(1) Vide the memorial presented to Lord Castlereagh in
September, 1814, by Count d'Aglie, the King of Sardinia's
Minister at London.

TRIAL TRIP OF THE GREAT EASTERN

PORTLAND ROADS, 12 NOON, OCT. 8.

In the course of another hour or so from this
time the Great Eastern will have commenced her
second trial trip, and be well on her way under easy
steam for the Scilly Islands. It has required no
ordinary effort on the part of the directors and con-
tractor to get the vessel in a state even to quit this
harbour on her coasting voyage. For anything ap-
proaching a sea cruise she is still unprepared, and
an immense amount of work has still to be done be-
fore the Great Eastern can really try her strength
and speed with the huge waves of the Atlantic.
That this last-named trial will take place, as at
one time stated, on the 20th of October, is now
utterly out of the question. Throughout, I have
always said the voyage to America was certain not
to take place in October at all. From what I
now see, I think , I may venture further and state
at once that it is more than probable the Great
Eastern will not leave England during this win-
ter. This may, and most likely will, disap-
point and chill the enthusiasm on the other side
of the water, but Atherican fervour bears keeping
for a long time, and perhaps the reception of the
" Big Ship" will be all the more striking from the
fact of its arrival being delayed till the spring. At
Holyhead she will remain, it is supposed, till the
end of the present month. What the next step will
be is matter for conjecture, though Southampton
offers such facilities for fitting out the ship com-
pletely that it is almost certain that that will be
the port chosen for her winter quarters.
On Thursday afternoon and yesterday morning
the steam machinery for assisting in working round
the capstan was tested by Mr. Scott Russell. The
result was not satisfactory, and after getting in
one or two fathoms of the cable the machinery
came to a dead stand. The new tackle for steering
(not Mr. Lungley's steering apparatus) was also
tried, and with additional purchases seemed at last
to work well. This morning it has been tested and
retested to the utmost that can be effected while
the vessel is at her moorings. Two men are able
to get the helm over from hard a-port to hard
a-starboard in 28 seconds. What time it will take,
or how many men it will require when the screw
is going full speed and the vessel slipping through
the water at 15 or 16 knots an hour it is hard to
say. The programme of the trial trip is briefly as
follows. During this afternoon and to-night the
vessel under easy steam will keep down the Chanuel,
though in sight of land till all the machinery is in
good working order. To-morrow soon after 10
steam will be shut off from the paddle engines, and
for hours the Great Eastern iwill be driven by
the screw only. During this time the pressure
vacuum, number of revolutions, and amount of
coal consumed will be carefully registered, with the
speed of the ship, both by hand and patent logs.
When as much is known as can be ascertained in a
four hours' run, steam will be shut off in the screw
engines, and the paddle will be tested for the same
time in the same manner. Mr. Blake and Mr.
Langdon, of the firm of Bolton and Watt, go in
sole charge of the screw engines. Mr. Scott Russell
and his assistants are solely in charge of the paddles,
The former gentlemen are confident that they can
easily obtain from 40 to 44 revolutions of the screw
engines while driving the ship alone. The latter is
willing to try going as near to the 14 revolutions of
the paddles as can be accomplished; 12 or 14 revo-
4utions could easily be obtained from the paddle
engines while the paddle wheels themselves are in
their present condition, as Mr. Scott Russell's as-
sistants have reefed the floats no less than 21- feet.
Every engineer will understand at once what the
effect of this will be. Reefing the floats means put-
ting the floats or boards on the wheels that propel
the vessel so much nearer to the centre of the paddle
wheel as virtually to reduce its diameter. By reef-
ing all the floats of the Great Eastern 2 feet, the
diameter of the wheel is now reduced from 53 to 48
feet. At present only four of the floats are in the
water at the same time, and these have so little im-
mersion as to be virtually useless in propelling the
ship. Under these circumstances 12 or even 14 re-
volutions may be got out of the paddle engines
easily, but the gain in the speed of the ship will be
almost nil. It will, however, make a most impor-
tant difference as regards testing the engines for
speed and strength. Both engines are to be tested
to the very utmost at which they can be pushed
with safety, for the directors are determined if a
break down is to occur to have it, ttnd remedy it
before the vessel goes to sea on her regular voyages.
In the present trip it is quite possible that some
portions of the machinery may give under the rigid
tests they will have to pass through, but a break
down now will go far to render one impossible here-
after. If the piston and air-pump rods of the
paddle engines will bear 14 revolutions a minute,
even though the paddles are but slightly immersed,
they will stand anything. So, also, if the screw
engines now are able to bear 44 revolutions with•
out heating a little time of working will soon get
them np to their full speed of 53.
The number of visitors on board during the trial
trip has been limited exclusively to those connected .
with the vessel. Mr. Campbell and Mr. Bold
—the chairman and managing director—aro on
board, with Capt. Robertson, R.N., Surveyor.
General of the Board of Trade, and his assistants,
Mr. Galloway and Mr. Carr. These gentlemen
came down with Capt. Robertson specially to exa-
mine and report upon the fitness of the vessel
during her trip from this port to Holyhead. Mr.
Brereton and Mr. Jacomb go round as the late Mr.
Brunel's representatives, with Professor Proud ;
Mr. Trotman is also on board, with Mr. Talbot and
Mr. Ogilvie. Beyond these none have been admitted.

PLYMOUTH, MONDAY MORNING.
The brigantine Sea Nymph, from Newcastle,
with coal,- for this port, arrived in the Sound yes-
terda,y. Her master, Mr. Day, reports that het as
•ff Salcombe at a quarter before 10 on Saturday
night, and by the aid of his telescope saw a very
large ship going down Channel under steam. He
counted seven or eight masts and funnels, and con-
cludes that she was the Great Eastern.