The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-23 00:00:00

factory to the great trading interests of this coun-
try. To me it will be not only a pleasure but a
great benefit if the gentlemen who aro- here from
different parts of the country will favour me with
writing to me their views ; 1: shall be most happy
to receive them, and I here engage myself to con-
sider and attend to them, and. I hope the result
of my labours will prove that your demands have
been responded to by her .Majesty's Goycrntnent.
I should be glad, too, if you-would favour me with'
suggestions for a system of bankruptcy suited to
our colonies and dependencies, some of Which—
China, for instance—are wholly destitute of any-
thin.. of the kind.
Mr. HASTINGS remarked that a bill such as the
learned gentlenian bad sketched. to them, would
meet the views and secure the support of the com-
mercial community, who did not regard Sir Richard
Bethell as a lawyer (Sir R. Bethel!, " Thank you,"
—great laughter)--they regarded him as a great
and philosophical statesman.
The deputation then withdrew.

Ml?. GRIFFITH, M.P., OR lIIE ITALIAN
QUESTION.

(From the Devizes Gazette.)

Pursuant to a notice in our last, a fully attended
meeting assembled at the appointed hour of. 8 p.m
in the Assembly-room of the Town Hall, Devizes,
last Tuesday, to hear from Mr. Darby Griffith a nar-
rative of his recent visit to Italy,and his views at large,
founded thereupon, relative to open diplomatic
questions. Judging from the appearance of the
unusually crowded gathering we should infer that
the ladies of Devizes feel a warm interest in the
subject, as they mustered very strong—occupying
nearly all the front and reserved seats ; and the
wonted consideration of the hon. gentleinan, just
returned from his Transalpine travels, IN a s delicately
shown in the exordium of his address, which seemed
well adapted to a mixed company of old and young,
with the latter of whom a historical and clas-
sical retrospective glance, by way of clearing the
ground, was perhaps not less useful than to that
other class of a miscellaneous audience, who, en-
grossed for the most part in business avocations,
find it convenient to be occasionally " posted up" in
such details. Mr. Griffith therefore said truly and
wisely that it neither required apology nor explana-
tion that the people of England take a lively and an
impartial interest in the well being and prosperity of
Italy,—for to every educated person the ben efi t ofour
own intellectual improvement and advancement,
which have been derived from Italy, must suggest a
debt of gratitude to that remarkable country. Our
earliest studies (said the hon. gentleman) are found-
ed upon a familiarity with the history and language
of that potent race, who, having raised themselves
to the very highest degree of political and military
power, not content with the comparatively narrow
limits of that beautiful Peninsula, carried their con-
quest of arms over almost every country of the
globe, and reduced eve's these our elan compara-
tively remote islandq—penitus divisos ab orbe 13 ri-
tannos ; " detached (wrote Virgil) from the other
earth—under imperial sway."
After the decadence and the final break-up of the system
of universal domination possessed by Rome for so many cen-
turies, the reaction of an era of anarchy and darkness over-
spread the world. The fierce tribe. 4 of the North, now un-
restrained, rushed down upon the fair plains and de..ene-
rate populations of Italy, injuring and destroying all of arts
and literature that fell in their way, and reducing the popu-
lation to the lowest condition of subserVience and degrada-
tion. Out of these wild and ferocious tribes the German
empire became gradually consolidated, and retained consi
derable power and influence in Italy. About the
same time the successor of "the Fisherman of Gali-
lee," of the Apostle St. Peter, bethought him that
there appeared no obstacle to his erecting a tempo-
ral dominion, the 'secular power of which might well
be supported and maintained by pretensions of a spirit-
ual character, which ho was now able to persuade Christen-
dom to acknowledge as being infallible and universal; and
between him and the Emperor of Germany there were fre-
quent contests for power, generally terminated for a time by
hollow truces, celebrated by the exhibition of all the gorge
ous magnificence of catholic rites. Aniid theso contentions
many families of native princes rose into importance, and
acquired possessions, the Visconti and Sforza of Milan, the
D'Estes of Ferrara, the Gonzaga of Mantua, the Medici

of Florence, bc:•ides'the Republics of Venice and Genoa.
And though these smaller States wet e seldom on good
terms, but were generally intriguing and fighting against

one another, yet The period of these local government; may
be considered to have been the most flourishing on the whole
for the liberties of Italy during any part of its modern
history, and the comparative freedom meanwhile enjoyed
promoted the cultivation of literature and the arts to an ex-
tent probably never exceeded during any era of the intel-
lectual history of the world. (Cheers.)
This divided condition of Italy did not escape the notice
of a nation so ambitious as France, and therefore from
Charles VIII. and Francis 1., to the Republic and Napo-
leon, every dynasty and government in Franco has been
ready to find some good reason for marching troops into
Italy, and for raising some claim to her territory—in which
she has generally encountered a rival in the prevailing
German Power of the day. This state of things has
essentially eontinued nearly unaltered to the present day.
For many years back Austria has used persevering efforts
to acquire dominion in Daly, and at a more or less greater
interval her great rival France has made convulsive efforts
to oust her from those plains. (Hear, hear.) Thus Napo-
leon conquered all of• Northern Italy from Austria; but on
his fall the whole of her former possessions were given back
to her, together with Venice, of which the Republic had
fallen under Napoleon. Nevertheless much of the early
civilisation of the world was due to Italy; most of the
manufactures of the middle ages were carried on success-
fully there at an early period. You remember that the
best armour was made at Milan ; the description of Mar-
mien by Walter Scott, is no doubt familiar to you—
" Well was he armed from head to heel,
In mail and plate of Milan steel."
And to show what a comely figure lie made-
- " But his strong helm, of mighty cost,
Was all with burnished gold embossed; •
Blue was the charger's broidered rein,
Blue ribbons decked his shining, mane,
The Knightly housing's ample fold
Was velvet blue, and trapped with gold."

(Applause.)
After a famiiiar and ingenious review of some of the na-
tural features and language of Italy—tracing many Eng-
lish proper names and common phrases amongst ourselves
to Italian derivatives—pointing out the similarity of Lom-
bardy in its products and some other picturesque features
to the Gallia Cisalpina of Virgil, 1800 years ago, Mr. G.
glanced at the literature of Italy, ancient and modern.
That this beauteous land, he added, which the Appenines
divide, and the sea and the Alps surround, F ossessing na-
tural barriers so clearly defined, and united by uniformity
of language, should never have been able to secure a na-
tional and independent existence—an achievement which
some baneful external influence, jealous of its prosperity
and interested in its degradation, has been so 'Often exerted

to prevent—tempts one to exclaim with B3ron—
" Italia, oh italia !—thou who hast
The fatal gift of beauty, which became
A funeral dower of present woes, and past ;
On thy sweet brow is sorrow ploughed by shame,
And annals graved in characters of flame.
bh, God, that thou wert in thy nakedness
Less lovely; or more powerful, and could'st claim
The might to awe the Robbers back, who press
To shed thy blood, and drink the tears of thy distress.'
(Warm applause.)
In treating (at Freater length—though lucidly_
and in a clear familiar style—than we have room to
report) of the present questions rellting to Italy,
Mr. Griffith among other remarks, obserVed that--
In order properly to understand its successive positions—
unfortunately so Much involved— it was necessary to place
our minds in the situation in which events stood at its first
commencement. For the sake of brevity (said the hon.
gentleman) we will make our beginning with what occurred
on the Ist Jan. of this year, when the Emperor of the
French, at the diplomatic reception on New 'Year's Day,
said to Baron Hubner, the Austrian Ambassador, that " ho
regretted that his relations with Austria were not so cordial
as heretofore," which was of course taken as a serious inti-
mation of alienation, and which produced a strong effect on
the publid mind of Europe.
Now when this warning note was sounded, what was the
intention of Austria ? She was in possession, by treaties
of 1815, of Venetia and Lombardy, to which, it was ac-
knowledged on all hands, that she had an indefeasible title,
not open to be impugned by any authority' in Europe
This being so, what was the complaint made against her ?
Why it was, that beyond her rights by treaty as' above
mentioned, she had insisted on extending her influence over
States that ought to have been independent, nay, over the
whole of Italy, and particularly in protecting the rulers of
those States against any movement on the part of their
subjects which might have been excited by bad gov,rn-
inent or despotic measures, in which they might have in-
dulged. (Hear, hear.) Treaties were entered into by
Austria I with Parma, Medena,'. and Tuscany, em-
powering the former to march troops. into these territo-
ries whenever invited by their unpopular rulers. The for-
tress of Piacenza, which was in Parma, close to the flank
of the Piedmontese territory, was occupied and enlarged
by Austria, contrary to every, public law that regulates
the conduct of nations ; and in every way the demea-
nour of Austria was that of a power holding unlimited
sway over the minor States of Italy, and surrounding
and threatening the independence of Sardinia in a most
offensive and dangerous manner. (Hear, hear.) But ,in
all this you will observe, offensive as it undoubtedly was on
the part of Austria, the demands that could properly be
made by diplomacy were very limited. Austria could only
be asked, with due observance of treaty and national
rights, to discontinue her system of interference with the
affairs of the smaller. States of Italy, to introduce some re-
forms in the internal condition of her own States, such as
should prevent turbulent demonstrations of discontent, and
to confine her influence and operations within her own ter-
ritory, guaranteed to her by treaty. Accordingly, when
the British Foreign Minister found himself called upon to
take some notice of the threatening state of events between
France and Austria, his hands were entirely tied in the
sense of recognising the property rights of Austria, and he
could only adopt that tone of conciliation and mitigation of
the existing evils which did not empower him to hold out
any definite And effective alternative in case of his repre-
sentations failing to produce any effect—he was in fact
confined to endeavouring to persuade, instead of attempt-
ing to command. That this was the view taken by all
political leaders, however differing in party views, may be
' proved by the remarks of Lord Palmerston on the first day
• of the meeting of Parliament in January last, in which you