The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-09 00:00:00

much more intelligible than many others which I find in
the blue-book—(a laugh)—
" We are about to address direct to the Cabinet of Turin
a summons to reduce their army to a peace footing, and to
disband the free corps, or Italian volunteers. If this step
should produce no effect, there would be nothing left for us
but to lay upon the Cabinet of Turin the whole responsibi.-
lity of the consequences which its refusal will entail, and to
declare that their persistence in an openly aggressive atti-
tude gives us back entire liberty of action by freeing us
from the pacific promises which we had previously made to
the British Government." _

Yet with that paper in his possession the right hon. gentle-
man, on the 18th of April, declared that the conduct of
Austria was marked by dignified conciliation, and that he
saw no reason why the peace of Europe should not be pre- I
served. (Hear, hear.) I daresay that may be consistent
with the great anxiety of the right hon. gentleman for a
discussion upon the Italian question, and consistent also
with his views of a strict and impartial neutrality ; but I do
not think my noble friend the member for Haddingtonshire
will subscribe to such doctrines, and I am certain the house
will agree with me, that a Minister who could use these
words under these circumstances was not a Minister whose
conduct was governed by a strict and impartial neutrality.
(Hear, hear.) But the real desire of my noble friend seems
to be to prevent her Majesty's Government from taking
part in any congress or conference that may definitely
regulate the settlement of the Italian question, lest our
agency should there be exercised in a sense too favourable
to Italy, or so favourable to Italy as to be unfavourable to
Austria, or as to make an enemy of Austria. Let the house
consider for a moment what is meant by this imputed hos-
tility to Austria. I do not suppose there is any statesman
in this country, or any member of this house, or any single
man in England, who has at any time made public affairs
the object of impartial study, who can be actuated by so
senseless a motive as that of hostility to Austria. (Hear,
hear.) To disclaim that motive on the part of the Govern-
ment is needless and disparaging, because I cannot admit
that the slightest ground has ever been given for imputing
to them any idea so monstrous and absurd. England has
an immense interest in the maintenance of the European
equilibrium, and that which disorganises any one of the
great countries of Europe is necessarily menacing to the
general peace and to the interests of England. It is our
duty and interest to desire to see• Austria strong, flourish-
ing, and happy. (Hear, hear.) But it does not follow
that we are not to have our own opinion upon the cir-
cumstances under which Austria is likely most usefully to
discharge the duties of her great position in Europe, and
is likely most effectually to promote her own separate,
particular, and individual interests. (Hear, hear, hear.)
This Italian question is one of which the roots lie deeply
embedded in the past. It has not grown up to-day or yes-
terday. My noble friend says Austria has not been the
aggressor in this war. He says we must look to the Sardi
&than marriage and the Sardinian treaty, though I know I
not what treaty he means. He says no reinforcements were I
sent into Italy until after the speech of the King of Sardi-
nia, but this book contains sufficient evidence that reinforce-
ments were sent before that time. The statement positively
made by Count Cavour—suspicious you may say, as coming
from that source, but supported by all the collateral evi-
dence we can procure—is this :—The words addressed to
M. Hubner at Paris were uttered on the Ist of January ;
the speech of the King was on the 10th of January, but on
the 3d of January the Austrian reinforcements were ordered
to march, and therefore my noble friend is incorrect when
he says that Austria sent no reinforcements into Italy until
after the King's speech. [Lord Elcho—Concurrently with
it.] Concurrently P Well, but that must mean after the
speech, for nobody could have divined it until after it was
delivered. But I have been diverted from what I was about
to say. My noble friend seems to think that we have only
to consider this as a quarrel of the present and to-day,--
that the blame lies here or there accordingly. No, sir
To understand this quarrel you must go back, at any rate,
for the last five-and-forty years, and then you will find the
true lights whieh will show you its nature and origin. I
don't speak of it now as a matter of praise or blame, but
simply as a matter of fact. It m ty have been only an un-
happy necessity of her position, but this, at any rate, is true
—that for 45 long years, wherever liberty reared its head in
Italy, wherever there was the slightest attempt to procure
even the hundredth part of those franchises which as Eng-
lishmen we hold so dear, there the iron hand of Austria has
interposed, and has re established in all their rigour the
abuses of the actually existing Governments. (Cheers.)
Well, if that be so, consider the position of Sardinia. Sar-
dinia succeeded in obtaining for herself the blessings of a free
constitution. You may rely upon it that the moment she did
so—quite irrespective of the will of her Sovereign and her
statesmen, but by the everlasting law of things which no
man can counteract—she became of necessity a standing
danger to Austria. (Hear, hear.) It was not merely that
in Sardinia there existed a free State, and on the other side
of the border a despotic Government. Although such a
neighbourhood may not be without risks, I am not the man
to assert that it is not perfectly compatible with peace and
good relations. That, however, was not the case. It was
the exterior policy of Austria in Italy ; it was her influence
and agency which pervaded every Court and province of
Italy, and was felt there just as decisively and absolutely,
perhaps even more so, than in Venice and Milan. What
was the consequence of this peculiar system ? It was com-
monly, and perhaps not untruly said, that the Austrian
provinces were better governed than other parts of Italy.
I say there was some truth in this. It was necessary for the
credit of Austria/as a great empire that her administrative
system in Italy among a people so intelligent as the inhabi-
tants of Lombardy and Venice should be raised to a state
of considerable excellence. But while she maintained that
administrative superiority in her own provinces as compared
with the States of the Church and with Naples, she at the
same time enforced the iron yoke upon the States of the
Church and upon Naples without having the power to pro-
cure for them the partial compensation of those adminis-
trative improvements which she herself was so careful to
adopt. (Hear, hear.) The position of Austria and Sar-
dinia, then, does not depend upon the will of the Sovereigns
and statesmen of the present day ; it lies deep in the bad
organization of Italy, and its proper source is to be found
in the propagandism of Sardinia. Sardinia, by the very law
of nature, becomes the very centre of hope and aspiration to
every Italian who dares hope for freedom ; and her propa-
gandism is rendered formidable by that Austrian system
which pervades the Peninsula, confronting with its soldiery
every man who strives to better the political system of
Italy, denying him all hope of freedom, and dooming him
to the perpetuity of the political servitude in which he
lives. (Cheers.) If this be so, the question wllether the
Sardinian marriage was contracted in view of a crisis which
it was seen must, sooner or later, develope itself, shrinks
into small diniensions. On the side of Austria, as well as
of Sardinia, I admit that you have now for many years in
Italy laboured under a complication of political evils so
grievous and, I may almost say, so desperate, that they
seemed, in the judgment of many reflecting men, absolutely
to defy solution except through the terrible alternative of
war. I do not think, therefore; that it is my duty to blame
the conduct of Austria so severely in this crisis as it has
been blamed by others of very high authority. I admit that
Austria has had to contend with the greatest difficulty—
nay, more, I admit that it may have been practically impos-
sible for her to escape from that Channel of evil tradition
which her former statesmen have handed down to those of
the present day. But if the case be so serious, I think my
noble friend need not have been so severe in his condemna-
tion of Sardinia with reference to this outbreak. What are
my noble friend's ideas of neutrality ? He has used every
possible effort to assist and inform his mind. He has been
to the redoubted and almost inaccessible pages of Johnson,
and to Vattel on the Law of Nations, in order to show that
neutrality means total indifference. That is a very rigid doc-
trine;
wbhui te
hw henhe h ma
aye
unfoobrleee
df nor id
vcomes taegiani
ut ear pt
there et
Gt hoev de r
no c
--
omwenn tc
asl ae mw
itboundh avery
etr
yo scaoyn
v thateni
ehn et
aa pt
ipt appears to( A
. applylauaiht n
.) Nhis
doubt he means to exhibit the'speech ho has made to-night
as a specimen of a just and impartial neutrality, but when
neutraliwtyascompati-
blecomewith atebeelmiaenif tihnaetfuSrtarhdeinir waeanfinddhis
not Austria
ag-
gressor ; that the Sardinian marriage and treaty were settled
in anticipation of war; that there was a foregone conclusion
on the part of Sardinia to bring about the war; and that it
was nothing but a blunder and an accident which put Austria
in the position of an assailant. (Opposition cheers.) These
are pregnant opinions, but according to my noble friend they
are compatible with a strict neutrality. Well, then, let
him only give to others the same space and elbow-rooir that
he asserts for himself, and I will venture to say that the
strict and impartial neutrality of the Government can be
made out to a demonstration. This strict and impartial
neutrality, it seems, is not after all incompatible with
opinions and with desires respecting the matter at issue.
(Hear, hear.) It is quite clear that the definitions of John-
son and of Vattel won't admit the license claimed by my
noble friend ; but if they do, all I can sayis, that we do not
need any more. (Hear.) It is our duty, and especially is it
the duty of my noble friends, the Foreign Secretary and
the Prime Minister in this crisis to form their opinions as
to what is best for the welfare of Italy, of Austria, and of
Europe. Is it not a perfectly conceivable opinion that Aus-
tria would be stronger if out of Italy than she would be in
it? (Hear, hear.) You may differ from that opinion, though
I am not quite certain that my noble friend (Lord Elcho)
does ; but at any rate it is an opinion which may be honestly
entertained. I knew, without the least pretension to speak
with authority on the subject, I am most strongly of that
opinion. (Hear, hear.) I feel convinced that Austria never
• will have a peaceful supremacy in Italy. My belief is—l
wish I may be convinced to the contrary by the future—
my fear and apprehensions. are, that she will not be able to
escape from the system of extraneous action in Italy which
up to this time has been her bane, and the bane of that unfor-
tunate country. (Hear, hear.) ' Unless she can escape from
it, I say that notwithstanding the Quadrilateral, notwith-
standing the stone and the mortar, notwithstanding all the
cannon and the guns, her rule over human hearts and human
minds in that portion of Italy which she retains must con-
tinue to be a bane not less to her than to her subjects ; and
those who wish well to Austria may consistently wish that
she were placed within limits where she might exercise a
natural and a beneficial supremacy. (Cheers.) What are
the charges against thepresent Government with respect to
its future neutrality? My noble friend (Lord Palmerston)
quoted a precedent of neutrality so apposite I cannot help
recalling it to the memory of the house ; it is the conduct of
Mr. Canning in 1825. Mr. Canning was neutral in the
matter of the French invasion of Spain, because he did not
deem it a cause in which it was advisable England should
take up arms. He was neutral in that sense, and he was im-
partial in his neutrality. The impartiality of his neutrality
would have been violated if he had offered suggestions in
the spirit of party ; the impartiality of his neutrality would
have been violated had he interposed by any underhand
means. But retaining his liberty of opinion, he denounced
ea
on dhdisapproved
rtaht epFl
areeen,
dch i
in
iveaastieodli t h. et. cShPaari sit t e rBoYf doing
so he, in the first place, vindicated the charscter of Eng-
land ; and, in the second, he interposed by that denuncia-
tion a serious impediment to 'the repetition of such dan•
gerous experiments. (Hear, hear.) That is the neutrality
on which her Majesty's Government has acted. Its limit
is that we should refrain, not from entertaining our own
opinion, but from giving effect to it either by manifestations
in this house, or by diplomatic action, otherwise than the
public law of Europe may permit, or opportunities shall be
fairly opened. The noble lord I hope will be disabused as
to certain seven points having been succeeded by certain
three points, of which the first I have heard is from my
noble friend himself. I cannot admit that the neutrality of
her Majesty's Government has beon compromised by any
conduct with respect to any of these conditions. Surely it
would have been a great responsibility on the part of her
Majesty's Government to have refused to make known to
one of the belliYerent Powers any terms, though they might
have been suclias the other party could not possibly grant,
unless we knew we were discharging a hostile office. B er
Majesty's Government was most anxious not to be mis-
understood with regard to those terms ; it in no respect
prejudiced our liberty of action; the Government made it
expressly known that the terms were not their terms. There
is not the least reason to suppose that their action was mis-
understood, or that they were understood, directly or indi-
rectly, to have subscribed to the conditions as constituting
an arrangement by which the war ought to be brought to an
end. Has my noble friend nothing else on which to support
his motion?—because it is one that requires much proof and
support to induce the House of Commons to travel so far out
of its usualpath. My noble friend has ransacked Hansardand
searching through former debates, has quoted a passage
from a speech of mine in 1850. I take it as a great compli-
ment. It is delightful to find that one's words live in recol-

lwe ca tsi obne
iaufgt e
dr
esuoe mwa t
hy
rye egaa
rr sd. t
el
tshpeo
kk ignd
erme ference;of scd tyo,
the circumstances then existing. No doubt I unwhdl
thoughtl
was right at the time. My recollection is not so distinct.
eart
do not remember my words so well as the noble lord does :
f
but it is a different question whether, in an
ticipatiod en
the
something that has not been done, you should p e g
British Government to a certain course of action.
3a thing
noble
friend don done?
eNh ;
to theanticipate Governmenthasthefu
tu donere.
i such
nothing.
oi no7de•oo.
end of the session near at hand, the noble lord wants
within,
°1)111
wiilhatvheetesedsestio what
ann d
.prebmy ablynowbliellfrbieendediu(Lgo, rwdhPeiailtmheeruste
ear,
alornd laughter.)
liasuegnhgtaegr
.e)d inil
ea
noblevery
corre-
spondence oiir
of the late Government), what is this ? (C
some-
times true policy. Why (strikingrd the says
blue-book'rannl2ienrt.er non-intervention
tetjah:en,hielsel
Here is speculation, and persuasion, and admonition,positive
even a little spice of menace! There is no
tghlinspow correspondencederin tes e
greatly;pages,
hb
eu but
says
ee
hnaodb et lord commends
published
fewvaerwould not have been given. I don't think
weeks before, the vote which overthrew the Go-
nmentthat
is quite certain. I think we may speak of that in
tential mood and the preter-pluperfect sense-41au the
sense--(laughter)—
abb see
er
n.
(somethingaughttehra.)t mTihgehtu,ebcloeulludrd, would, or
he
who voted in favour of the motion who, if this u.
okrusehwosuladruh_eamvee:
book had been published, would have voted blue
againstt
But I know a man who voted favourably to the late. Go-
vernment on that occasion who could not have
given
vote if this blue-book had then been published.lC thatt
and cries of " Name 1") I will name my
noble lord names the gentleman who, he says,
w the
have given his vote the other way. (Cheers.) In
meantime, I request him to be satisfied with the assur-
ance.. that person I allude to is a bona fide individuald.
existing in flesh and blood, and not an airy phanto
mars whenotla
But the question whether we are to go into a congress.
whether we are prepared to admit this, or reject that,
very
utheeasrefuqutuerseti. questions
haree
qiunetahtieenfuitauuree,tawnhdetnhoetr ewveenahi no
should
enter
into a congress or conference, or act by diplomatic
corre-
spondence, which is much the same, but whether, in total
.!
ignorance of the future, and the state of things it may
func-
tions otfhtehile oEuxseecuotfivCe oGmoinvoennsamwl
Government?
ake(Honeairt, hselefatrh.)e frsqt
possible the noble lord can think that at this moment Eng-
land is prepared to record its unconditional determination
not to meddle with the affairs of Italy in this crisis of her,
fortunes ? In this country we are much disposed to look at
precedents, and to walk in the way of those who have gone
before us, and to have good reasons shown before we depart
from it. Has this country in former times been
accustomed to make the affairs of Italy foreign
to its intervention and sympathy ? Is not all our history
full of proofs to the contrary? (Hear, hear.) Hardly 1'
serious question has ever been raised in Italy in which
England has not interfered; and even where the principles
involved were such that you could not interfere directly
I re; u have chosen an agent to maour policy.
member the course taken by the intain
noble lord at the head or
the Government in 1831 (Lord Grey. The question then,
did not affect the whole of the Italian peninsula, but onlY
the States of the Church. The great Powers of Europe
then united in recommending the Government of the Foe
to adopt and facilitate measures of reform. Does the noble
lord think that England ought to have abstained from act_
ing with those European Powers, though the Pope did not
see fit to adopt their suggestione ? When Austria, Prussise
and France made an appeal to the Papal Government,
er S
a
was the representative of England to hold aloof ? W
we to refuse to act with despotic Powers for such an object r
Take another precedent from the year 1856—the Congress
of Paris. At that congress no objection was made to
the principle of interference on the part of England
with the affairs of Italy. But (striking the bluebook)
here is the great and crowning precedent the
rich result of the labours of the late Administra-
tion. (Cheers.) Here is a standing witness crying aloud
against the principle advocated by the noble lord—the prim"
ciple of absolute and unconditional refusal to interfere in
the affairs of Italy, which is contrary to the uniform course
of the history of this country. The real question, no doubt,
is not whether it is desirable that England should enter int°
European negotiations—for all these are but expedients for
the removal, or, if not for the removal, at all events' for the
mitigation of the great and overpowering ills that afflict
mankind. Nor is it an idle passion to figure in either a
congress or a conference that would ever lead an English
statesman to consent to be a party to such transactions.
The hon. and learned gentleman behind me, indeed, has
opened a peculiar chapter in this discussion. He raises
two objections to our going into a congress ; one being that
we should enter it without authority, inasmuch as we were
not one of the belligerent Powers. That would be a veil'
strong objection if we could enter it under any circutu:
stances as the only power which was not a belligerent. But
the case would be entirely changed if an appeal were made
to all tae neutral Powers as a body, and that in the name
of Europe England should, as one of those Powers, take
part in a conference or congress in the hope and with the.
object of effecting good. (Hear, hear.) The authority o_,l.
England as a non-belligerent might be slight; but as a par':
of the collective authority of Europe it would be most valu-
able. But the hon. and learned gentleman goes on to argils
that there exists on the part of English statesmen an indo-
lence and incapacity which ought to lead us to eschew
taking part in a congress as far as possible. That, indeed,
is an argument with which it is difficult to deal. I, for
one, have no interest in the matter, inasmuch as no combine-.
ti on of circumstances is likely to place me in the position of
the representative of England in such an assembly. I alto
nevertheless, extremely sorry to learn that the English
nation, which has been so lavishly endowed and gifted in
other respects by Providence, cannot furnish a man
capable of holding his own at a congress or a eon"
ference with the representatives of the other Powers
of Europe. The conviction that such is the ease
must necessarily be a source of deep regret in en
assembly where so many persons are at all times found pre-
pared to take part in the discussionof foreign affairs. (Cheer°
and laughter,) The presence of such men, at all events, leads
us to hope that England will not remain long without en
adequate and sufficient organ to give , expression to her
views. (Renewed laughter.) The hon. and learned gentle-
man has,. however, I must admit, urged these objections to
n ourenteng into a congress calmly, and has, upon the whole,
arrived at asatisfactory conclusion, inasmuch as he states it
to be his belief that although he deems the objections he
has advanced to be of a veryserious nature, yet he does not
look upon them as being insurmountable. It no doubt oc-
curred to the mind of the hon. and learned gentleman that
what we have to consider, after all, is not the abstract ques-
tion of whether diplomatic negotiations or conferences ars
desirable or not, but whether there is a clear prospect or
reasonable hope that the social position of a large portion,.
of our fellow men would be benefited by the adoption et
such a course. (Hear.) That is the real question for our
consideration, and it is in order that we may have free
scope to arrive at such a decision with respect to it as We
may deem most advantageous that her Majesty's Govern-
ment entreat the House of Commons to leave their hands
unshackled in the matter. (Hear, hear.) The hon. and
learned gentleman, casting an eye over the States of Italy,
saw that many questions were raised by the peace which it
failed to settle. What does the declaration made at Villa'
franca, for instance, that certain Sovereigns should return
to their territories, mean ? It has received no authoritative
construction, and I do not understand what it necessarily
conveys beyond this—that the parties subscribing the
terms of peace are perfectly willing that those Sovereigns
should return to their territories, other circumstances
mitting. (Hear, hear.) If it means that they are to ou
restored by force—which interpretation,' be assured, the
Emperor of the French does not mean to put upon. 1t
—then there is another reason furnished why the hands
of her Majesty's Government should not be tied n?'
and why they should not be prevented from, protest-
ing with all the energy which the Government of s,
free State can command against a doctrine that wonit'.
treat the inhabitants of the territories in question as the Pre-
perty of so many ducal houses who might dispose of than'
their families, their fortunes, and those of their posterity S,,
they pleased, without any regard to that independent Will
and judgment which,
)ds
daed wtmoshchy:membhumaner
hmnkndsnbapieeltrespect
goocwfnsutuoserttwibeings,otshspohet
unthi
trcswoheuhdsueeb ealjboplletl
Dundalk
peculiar
tetheh(u ymoi
ehswir(eaari
(Laughter
No
eaethßopmourter entitledooxpusiwhtousviedynetpoevs
bre
e:if.
of
tatnahtohndee( dderCeree
uhlet
Romane
aaewriearlershnns
o
iwoetNll °lifts
hoattew
ileohxydrmeeiot ntrhuhoclgbel
sdsstuoiee
ei into
1.
say on this interesting topic when my hon. and • learns"
triend assures us that the whole mass of the people under
he rule of the Pope, with the exception of a few linos,'
country agitators, are deeply devoted to his paternal autho-
rity, and when one bears in mind at the same time that
for that the fact is so nobody will dispute, though perhsP'
it is of a nature which does notadmit of explanation—when'
ever the foreign force which is maintained there disaePea-
from the estates of the Church, the throne of the Pope '4l--
appears along with it. (Renewed laughter.) But to spes'jt
seriously, I must say, in reference to the Pope—quite err,
from all sectarian differences--as a personage occupying',
eminent station and possessing distinguished authorityal
the head of a great body of Christian believers, that my wil'"
would be to look upon him with all the respect which isdl
to those united titles. I, however, lament, as cordially as
could lament if I had the nearest interest in all that eon;
terns him, when I see a Sovereign who makes pretensi°ll
to represent in a peculiar sense the majesty of Heaven rr
duced to become a mendicant at foreign Courts—a rne!,„,„-
cant, too, not for the purpose merely of obtaining the fue'f";
of subsistence, but with the object of procuring milits',A
armaments whereby to carry the ravages of fire and svis,„
over the fair provinces which he governs, and
rivet chains on the necks of men every one ed.
whom it is his direct personal interest to defer
(Loud cheers.) That is a policy which is unmoor'
of a civilised nation. (Hear, hear.) But I sha,o
dwell no longer on the subject. I have to apolose to I',o
house for having detained them so long. To sum up ta%
argument of my noble friend who brought forward tw„„
motion in a few words, he says he reduces the whole sreco'
tion at issue to this dilemma—" Either you have conflaellor
in the Emperor of the French or you have not. In neit°
alternative ought you to enter into a conference." NV:a
at once admit that if we placed no confidence in the
peror of the French, I could, to a great extent, understano
the justice of the view to which my noble friend has 'ivy(
expression. I can very well understand, for instance, 51°„'
if unhappily England and France should prove to be esse„3l
tially at variance with respect to Italian affairs, it avcZ,,a
become a grave question of policy and prudence whet
we should enter into a congress with no more hope
prospect than that of dragging out day after day wearis,;°",h
awn e discussionsdaloughtlia n ct ue.be
Ih
meteahanet representativesahuoxwiueuv anxious
however,
tbbye
neouolfnt
eearaupniosawueenfrdeewiernstethaunrrvldel:oo;
force of the other branch of the dilemma to which nay 0,0
friend has directed our attention. He says—. If you hats confidence in the Emperor of the French then there 40`s
no necessity for your taking part in a congress, inasnane','‘e as
he wig do all that you require." That is nay noble frien-.,0
argument. lamat a loss to know whether he could 10
useddEimffi peueirltteyrs, go
seriously,
thegoinsnl Frenchyt.oenMteyrntohibeale friend in effect says.--." Tat
contendcuirne
ldfeoe
rrufcoitbrhic.
eeuemet
other
of
rn
mer circumstances r
pean Powers, there to ag.,
11r ec
the realisation of which is dear to you in your he',.rtss
.)
therefore give him no assistance whatever. (Chlibe
Yes, that is the argument of my noble friend, and 'l' its
house adopts this resolution it will be recording it to blot,
deliberate determination—whatever may be the disPosl.ngs
of France to give effect to the fair and temperate longli to
of the Italian States for constitutional freedom, all olf
grant them institutions more liberal even than she he,,,r to
possesses at this moment--that we ought steadiJoire
refuse to assist France in the endeavour, and :trio,
her to struggle with the difficulties of her Pteor,
and, if needs be, sink under their pressure. ('',-oble
hear,) That is the recommendation of any l'ao-
friend, although—and I gladly admit it—it is not are 1,.
mendation which is borne out by the whole of his sPee bit;
It is, nevertheless, the advice which is embodied in hi
resolution, and I earnestly entreat the house, whether ro-
means of a direct negative, or by following the course P to
posed by the hon. and learned gentleman behind °Vol-
dispose satisfactorily and finally of this motion this e
ing. (Loud cheers.) f °1
Mr. S. FITZGERALD said this was a question 0 to
importance to England, to Italy, and to Europe. If fot>
beginning of the present session the Government had