The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-18 00:00:00

THE AFFAIRS OF ITALY.

In addition to the Blue-book from which we have
siready given such copious extracts, a white, or

unbound, Parliamentary paper of 100 pages was

issued yesterday, purporting to contain "further
correspondence respecting the affairs of Italy."
Now, as it happens that some of these documents
are of startling importance, we lose not a moment
in laying the most striking of them before our
readers, not omitting any salient point educible
from the mass of the papers, viewed, as the diplo-

matists say, en bloc.
There is a large number of despatches from our
Consuls in Italy, reporting to the Foreign-office, as
early as February last, the disturbed state of Massa
and Carrara, and the intrigues of a committee resi-
dent in Turin with many " respectable people" in
the latter part of the duchy, the object being to
prepare the people for the arrival of Sardinian
troops. The Duke of Modena, at this time was
known to be " much vexed," but he asked (Mr.
Cozen' Walton thinks " justly") " what he could do?'
The sequel of this agitation is now matter of
history. Mr. Scarlett reports from Florence (the
21st of April) that during the whole month of Feb_
ruary there was no " remarkable symptom" in
Tuscany of political excitement, the people being
then engrossed with "the pleasures and follies" of

the Carnival, and more intent on pelting one
another with sugarplums than practising the arts of
war. The pamphlet published in Paris soon after
was the spark that ingnited the powder, and
finally induced the destruction of the Government of
the Grand Duke. The Liberal party, generally, in
Tuscany, had never forgiven this Prince, now in
exile, for suppressing the constitution, which he had
sworn to maintain, and for having allowed the
Austrian occupation in 1849. Mr. Scarlett, whose
leaning to the Grand Ducal Government is appa-
rent, could not help believing one opinion which
the French Minister often announced—viz., that the

possession of Lombardyis, or rather was, in reality,
a source of weakness to Austria; but his only idea
of alteration was the substitution for the yoke of the
Hapsburgs of an Austrian Archduke, to be "King
of Lombardy and Venice."
The sudden retreat of the Grand Duke, and the

surrender of his person to Austrian keeping, are re-
garded by Mr. Scarlett as a grievous , political
blunder, calculated, by violating the principle of
neutrality, to endanger the "future interests" of
the dynasty. Nay, Mr. Scarlett even " protested"
against the Duke's ignominious flight, and refused
to sanction the step by his presence at his High-
ness's departure.
It appears that the Government of the Grand
Duke of Tuscany met a proposal of Count Cavour
for an alliance, offensive and defensive, between
Sardinia and Tuscany, in order that the two coun-
tries might make common cause in the war against
Austria, with NN hat might have been expected—
"an immediate refusal." Mr. Scarlett (30th of
April)ldoes not give the date of this strange epi-
sode in the history of the Italian war.
The following despatches refer to the refusal of
our Government to recognise the new Provisional
Government of Tuscany :
" No. 24.
(Translation.)
" THE MARQUIS D'AZEGLIO TO THE EARL OF MAL-
MESBURY.—(Received May 10.)
" 23, Park-lane, London, May 9.
"M. le Comte,—The Government of the King
having been informed by its Minister at Florence
that a vessel belonging to the Royal British navy
had entered and left Leghorn without saluting
the national flag, expresses to me its opinion,
which it wishes to preserve, that this act has taken
place without the knowledge and, especially, the
assent of the Government of her Majesty the Queen.
" I should in consequence be much obliged to
kour Excellency if you would, with your wonted
indness, put me in a position to give an answer on
this sublect, and to furnish the Government of the
King with the information which it desires.
" I take, &c.,

" t E. D'AZEGLIO."

No. 25.

" TIM EARL OF MALMESBURY TO TIIE MARQUIS
D'AZEGLIO.
" Foreign-office, May 10.
" M. le Marquis, —I have received your letter of
yesterday, in which you say that your Government
having heard that one of her Majesty's ships of war
had entered and left the port of Leghorn without
saluting the national flag, was desirous of suppos-
ing that this circumstance occurred without the
knowledge, and, above all, without the approval of
her Majesty's Government ; and you request to be
enabled to return an answer to your Government
on the subject.
" In reply to your letter, I must assume that it
does not bear an official form. Were it otherwise,
it would be my duty to answer you by asking in
what public character you put the question to her
Majesty's Government ?
" With this understanding I have no objection
to state that, in reply to a question addressed to
me by Mr. Scarlett, her Majesty's ship Conqueror,
lying at Leghorn for the protection of British sub-
jects, was directed by her Majesty's Government
not to salute the flag of the Provisional Govern.
ment of Tuscany, which is the one to which I sup-
pose you allude.
" Her Majesty's Ministers are, as yet, entirely
ignorant of the position and nature of that
Government.—l am, &c.,

" MALMESBURY."

" No. 43.

" THE EARL OF MALMESBURY TO SIR I. HUDSON

" Foreign-office, May 20, 1859.
" Sir,—The Marquis d'Azeglio called at this
office on the Bth inst., and requested, as he stated,
by order of his Government, Mr. Fitzgerald to in-
form him why her Majesty's ship Conqueror, lying
at Lghorn, did not salute the national flag.
Mr. Fitzgerald, in reply, asked M. d'Azeglio
in what character he made the inquiry, and what
was the flag which he characterised as national.'

" The Marquis d'Azeglio did not assume to bear
any other character than that of Sardinian Minis-
ter ; and Mr. Fitzgerald understood that by the
term national flag,' he intended to designate the
flag of Sardinia, which it was said had been placed
on all the public buildings when the revolution
broke out.

" Mr. Fitzgerald observed that the captain of
the Conqueror was acting under instructions from
home ; but he added that the fact of the Marquis
d'Azeglio asking an explanation on such a matter
was much too serious, and the question itself too
important, to be treated of otherwise than in
writing.
" The Marquis d'Azeglio having urged that it
Government
had been the practice of the BritishG
to recognise de facto Governments, i‘ir.
said that the doing so must depend on circum-
stances. Her Majesty's Government could not shut
their eyes to events which accompanied the esta-
blishment of a new Government, and questions con-
nected with European treaties might have to be
considered- 'and if her Majesty's Government were
precipitately and without due deliberation to recog-
nise any Government that might be established
in any foreign country, they might possibly have
to recognise half-a-dozen different and succes-
sive Gevernments in as many days. Where-
foife Mr. Fitzgerald repeated his request that the
Marquis would apply officially and in writing for
the explanation that he sought, so that her Ma-
jesty's Government might clearly understand the
ground on which the application was made.
" In consequence of what passed on this occasion,
the Marquis d'Azeglio addressed to me on the 9th
inst., the note, of which I enclose a copy, and I re-
turned to him the answer, of which I also enclose a
copy ; and he subsequently called upon me, and
repeated his desire to receive an explanation.
" I though it better at oncq to treat the Sardinian.
Minister's application as bearing an unofficial cha-
racter, although, even in that mitigated form, it was
scarcely less ill-judged than if it had been of a
strictly official nature ; but while he admitted that
it did not bear the latter construction, he neverthe-
less continued to press the point.
"I then asked him by what authority he spoke
in the name of the Tuscan Government ; and I in-
formed him that, although they knew, from various
sources ; that the Grand Duke had been expelled
fromh ad Florence, and that a Provisional Government
thereupon been established, her Majesty's Go-
vernment had received no official intimation of the
fact.

" The Marquis dt
A
referred tozeglio quoted precedents, and
thepi
principle generally acted upon in
in
this country
in regardplic the recognition of de facto
Governments,
his assertion that the
captain of the Conqueror should at once have ac-
knowledged the Tuscan ion. I observed to
him that, although 1 admitted°this
country
such was the
coou9try acted, and
general principle On which
which we had carried out in re successive
de facto Governments in France and other
a questionr States, yet
the application of it must alwaysbe
ha of
dis-
cretion, and must depend upon the circustances of
each case. If her Majesty's Government
and without waiting for further informationt eonce'
nisedthe revolutionary Government set up in Parma
n-
simultaneously with the establishment of th,