The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-12 00:00:00

THE ITALIAN CONFEDERATION.

There are three points of view from which the
proposed scheme of an Italian Confederation may
be regarded, and all three have their strong, though
separate, claims on the attention of an English
statesman. The first thoughts of an Englisli poli-
tician will naturally be directed to its influence on
his own comntry, his second will be employed in
determining its effects on Italy, whilst a third, and
equally interesting train of speculation will arise
on the important changes which an Italian Confe-
deration must introduce into the whole relations of
the European political system. We have already,
in referrieg to Lord Elcho's motion, had occalion to
examine the last of these three top'cs ; the last is
but too likely to become the theme of many a future
criticism and comment ; but the examination will
scarcely be considered as premature which, with
reference to the second—to purely Italirn interests
—to those interests which are about to be discussed
at Zurich-7-we now propose to make.
A politician who had no inconsiderable share in
the negotiations that took place in 1848 for the for-
mation of an Italian confederacy has favoured us
with his views on the Treaty of Villafranca, as con-
trasted with the federal project of eleven years
back. M. Augusto de Gori, who shared the confi-
dence and 'assisted at the deliberations-of Antonio
Itosmini, Pellegrino Rossi' and Francesco Bozzelli,
and in whose possession the manuscript drafts of
their respective proposals still remain, has every
right to demand an attentive hearing. His argu-
ments reproduce the nature convictions of some of
the greatest amongt the past statesmen of Italy on
the very questions about to be discussed with re-
ference to its present settlement and to its future •
destinies.
' If the Confederation resulting from the peace of
Viliafrance is to secure and consolidate Italian in-
dependence, if it is really to foster Italian nationa-
lity, if it is to be in good earnest an Italian Con-
federation, it must comply, if not absolutely, at
least in a far greater degree than is at present
conceivable, with the four following conditions :
The States forming it should be as equally balanced'
in power as possible—these States should be wholly
independent of all foreign subjection—the confe-
derated Princes should be national in character rtmi
sympathies, not fettered by any anti-national bond;
and the confederated States should be, capable of
uniting, in their federal capacity, for all national'
ends ; they ought not to possess such a character
as would naturally and necessarily clash with the
political interests of the general league.
Tried by these tests, in what light must we re-
gard the position assigned by the Villafranca Treaty
to Venice ? It remains attached as a fief to the
Austrian Empire, and yet it is to form part of the
Italian Confederation. As a member of the Con-
federation it must possess an Italian Government
and Italian institutions, and dispose of Italian
troopS. Of a State thus conceived, a State in the
same moment Austrian and Italian, with twelve
two
nilotlionsasyaitihdait.' hitalisf
ot or
indifferent,
de i
ffltalian ,
because Confederation—of
a re
ecompelled
p sucholled afgr
millions of subjects belonging to the Germanic Con
combination,
we
federation,
Ntv he
sh oao ndk,lby belonging
politicalatdo
declarevvery
different
u outset
shse at
States
a;
ti
butte
sis
and
inconsistenciesquite
t h eextentunintelligible.
onf
et
their lesspopulations.insigniThis monstrous contradiction strikes us at the
are apparent when we examine the character of the
cant
The Austrian Empire (or its
synonyme, Venice) is
represented by
Naples 9,117,020
Sardinia .... 8,117,047
Papal States
Tuscany
Modena 604,512
Parma ... 409,835

Inhabitants . 25,751,017
From these numbers it is evident how unequally
balanced in power, because in extent and population,
would be the different States of the Confederation.
There is, first, one of the States, comparatively in-
significant as regards Italy, yet with overwhelming
power and resistless influence from the fact of its
forming part of an Empire with forty millions of
subjects, and an armed force of six hundred thou-
sand men. Then there are two States nearly equal
in power—one in the north and the other in the
south of Italy; and these two States, because the
only two important Italian States, would exhibit
an unceasing antagonism with the view of obtain-
ing influence. There would. be three States in
Central Italy—the three Duchies—which it would
be but charity to regard as the veriest ciphers, now
oscillating between Sardinia and Naples, or mov-
ing like mere puppets, as Austria pulled the
str,ngs ; and lastly, right in the centre of this Con-
federation would exist another State—the Papacy
—which, from the spiritual character of its ruler,
must remain, in every great national crisis, motion-
less and neutral, displaying necessarily a negative
power of resistance to all the other States without
being of the slightest use to any.. Such, and so
curiously balanced, would be the States of the pro-
posed Italian Confederation !
The second condition—that of the independenee
of the States of the Confederation from all foreign
pressure—is not realised from the moment that there
is admitted, as one of the Federal Powers, that very
Empire which is regarded by all Italy as its enemy
and oppressor; and our witty contemporary was
never more successfut in his representations of pass-
ing events than when he sketched a few days ago
a free Italy chained to Venice, and the Emperor
Francis Joseph as the inexorable gaoler. Austria
might well sacrifice her territory as far the Mincio
for the compensatf.ng advantages of her increased
federal authority. Strange to say, Austria has
effected, after her defeat at Solferino, what she
vainly tried to effect after the armistice of Milan
in 1848—her recognition as a member of the.ltalian
Confederation. Her efforts for that purpose were
opposed eleven years ago by Naples and Rome quite
as much as by Sardinia; for all the Italian Powers
equally felt their independence threatened by the
risk of her adding to the influence derived from her