The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-23 00:00:00

THE ITALIAN PARLIAMENT.

TURIN, DEC, 19.
An unexpected discussion arose ycsterda• in the.
Chamber of Deputies, which ought to b© highly in-
terestingto English readers, as illustrative of a diffi•

cult point of constitutional law as understood in this
;country. Various newspapers had for some time past ,=-.
lout forth some dark hints, conveying an imputation
of flagrantly dishonest practices against a high func-
tionary
connected with the Ministry of Public
Works. The name of the offender was not given ;
but public opinion, putting together a variety of
rumours circulating about the cafes in ominous
whispers, settled upon the Commendatore Pietro
Boschi, the Secretary-General, or, as he would be
:called in England, Under-Secretary of State, for
the above-named department of the public adminis
tration. Boschi accepted the challenge of that sinis-
ter report, and, in a letter addressed to the Gazetta .
, (lel Popolo, declared his intention to bring an action
o.egainst his calumniators, so as to have a fair oppor- .
tunity to vindicate his conduct.
Yesterday, however, a letter signed by him was
read in the Chamber by the Vice-President..
'Tecchio, in the chair, in which Boschi, a deputy.
informed his colleagues that he had instructed the
public prosecutor (Procurator° del Re, or Minister()
/`sPubblico) of the Criminal Court to proceed against
himself, Boschi, and institute an inquiry into his
dealings at the office of Public Works, that his
guilt or innocence might be legally proved before
the Court. lie asked, therefore, for the leave of
the Chamber to be allowed to appear before the
Court in the capacity of a prisoner at the bar.
Now, the 45th article of the Statuto, or Constitu-
-1
tional bill of Rights, of 1848 is thus worded :
" No deputy can, except in the case of flagrante delitlo

(or of being taken in the act of an offence against the law),
be arrested during the Session, or br.ught into cowl
(tradotto in giudizio) in criminal matters, witheut the pre-
Ivious consent of the Chamber,"

The House was rather taken aback by Boschi',,
application, and the incident gave rise to the utter-
ance of an endless variety of opinions. On the
whole, however, the subject was discussed with
admirable temper and calm judgment, and the
conclusion was, in the estimation of most men
highly creditable to the sense and moderation of
the assembly. Some of the deputies, foremost
among them Macchi and Alassari, took the most
merciful view of the matter, thought that the
Chamber should afford every facility to their tra-
duced colleague to clear himself, contended that the
whole Parliament was interested in upholding the
honour of one of its members, that the deputies
were to look upon Boschi as a fallen man, lying
helpless on the ground, inasmuch as his very pri-
vilege deprived him of the means of righting him
self, and that no time should be lost in deprivini.
him, at his own request, of this inconvenient privi-
lege by granting his request without hesitation.

Others, among whom were Crispi, Piroli, Leardi.
Lanza, and full 15 orators besides, thought that the
Chamber was not called upon by Boschi to sit in
judgment upon him, and that it was not the keeper

of the honour of any of its members ; that this was
a mere question of form, and the question resolved
itself simply into the interpretation of the 45th
article of the Statute. It was for the judicial power,
they argued, to determine whether, on the suit of
Boschi, they deemed they had sufficient ground to
proceed criminally against him or not, as in the for-
mer case the application for the consent of the

'Chamber for a criminal prosecution against ono of
its deputies would be made by the competent autho
rity, and the House would then come to such a re
solution as might seem just and expedient. Should
he judicial authorities/upon a preliminary inquir3
find that there was no ground for a regular prose
cution, as, indeed, the vagueness of the charge would
naturally lead many people to expect, the vote of
the Chamber, thus extra judicially solicited, might

be interpreted as a moral decision in favour of Boschi
—a decision which, in its total ignorance of the cir-
cumstances of the case, the Chamber had not the
least plausible means to come to.
The question, nevertheless, seemed of so serious

nature that Piroli and others moved that the subject
should be dropped for the moment, and that tht
Rouse should take time for deliberation till to-mor
row's sitting. The opinion that the affair sho'ild at

once be settled prevailed, however, and an order of
the day was voted by a large majority to the follow-
ing effect:—
"The Chamber, considering that the 45th article of 1h(
Statute is not applicable to the case of the Deputy Boschi,

and considering that the just and praiseworthy motives of
the said deputy Boschi in the present state of the matter
meet with no obstacle in the enactment of the above said
trade, proceeds with the order of the day.
This resolution met the views of most members.
It did not grant to the Deputy Boschi ithe con-
sent he applied for, and, in so far, the exigencies of
legality were fully complied with. At the same
time, the House expressed an opinion favourable to
the endeavours of this deputy to exculpate himself.
And gave a sufficient assurance that leave for the
prosecution would not be withheld when the appli-
cation was made in due form and by the competent
authority.