Des Arc citizen., 1860-08-08
ITALY.

At this moment Italy and Rome receive the attention of the world, and while the one is gaining strength, the other is losing it. The Eternal City" is tottering, and the Vatican echoes but the soft steal,hy tread and cautious whisper of priest and prelate. What thoughts of grandeur gone, and poverty now supreme, arise before us as we look to the pages of the past and dwell on the facts of the present. Italy, the land of the blue skies and snow-clad Alps, of the arts and sciences, music and poetry, is drawing its curtain for joyous morning, as the night hour ofits century's dream is closing. Hope urges the sunny children on, and Determination points tho way where Independence reigns.
 Ofthis fair, yet sorrowful land-sorrow- ful no longer, we hope--let us give some facts that speak her importance more than all the fancy poet or eloquence of states. man.
 The population of Italy is 27,l07, ,139 inhabitants. The population is divided among fifteen States, eight of which. com prising l9, ,9l3 BOA souls, are under Italian Governments; seven, with population of l7,l93, ,743, are under foreign rule, There are in Italy 10 provinces and l0,0l2 communes. The country contains numerous large cities, nineteen of which have over 50,000 inhabitants, and eight others surpass 100000. These latter are Rome, Naples, Palermo, Venice, Flor ence, Milan, Genoa and Turin. Nearly all the inhabitants profess the Roman Catholic religion; the number belonging to other Christian denominations is l6,. 676, and there are Al ,497 Jews. The births largely exceed the deaths, and the increase of population is most remarkable in Sicily and Tuscany, where it would double in seventy-lhree years.
 l Italy alone possesses one-half of all the bishoprics in Europe-256 of the 535. IT The proportion is 90,000 Catholics pei diocese. In the Roman States there is one bishop to every 400 O00 people. The regular and secular clergy of both sexes count, in Italy, ls9,OOO members. They are to the entire population as to l42 Ofall Italy, and probably the entire world Sicily is the country in which priests are most numerous, there being 33 ,266, or one to every 69 inhabitants.
 In Italy there are published nearly 300 newspapers, of which number IF belong to Sardinia, though that State possesses but one-fifth of the population.
 About the middle of the year 1858 Italy possessed ], ,757 kilometres, l,09S miles ol railroads terminated; 2,339 kilometers | q ,462 miles) in progress, and 534 kilo. metres about to be commenced.
 One of the principal industries of the country is the production of silk. In ordi- nary years the value of this commerce amounts to from 200 to 230 millions oi francs. Lombardy alone, which in terri tory only represents a fifteenth part ol Italy, produces one-third of the silk. The revenues of the various Italian States reach yearly the sum of about 600 million francs, or l20 million dollars. The expenses surpass the receipts, by forty million francs, and the united public debts amount to the enormous sum of 2,O00,- 100000 of francs, or in round numbers $4O0, 0,000,000
 Commerce is active, but tho high tariff: of most of the States, and the different lines of customs, which tax and embarrass trade, are great drawbacks to the pros. perity of business and the increase of con. sumption. The mercantile marine o Italy is larger in proportion than that o any other country of Europe with the ex. cepton of England.
 l When united under one conservative wise and constitutional government, al there is no doubt Italy will be ere many summers pass. this beautiful land vii have made rapid stride toward her an cient glory and prosperity.-[N. o. Tru' Delta.