Italy: from the fall of Napoleon I., in 1815, to the death of Victor Emmanuel, in 1878
1 1 ' 3 1822 fnWNIA SftN iMi t 01170 1034 -'*l' ^'M'^-' m'ik < . ^^1,^^ r t i'* i tf » f-r;^ .11 •■ It,., .. . ■ t' •fv- .,, 3 1822 01170 1034 ^^■ :.•■* ''i--: ■^./- '.'•'•'-'' M.' r LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO .J /^I? / of'^ \AS2l%Lfi J^ ITALY 1815—1878. A .A ^^ ^ 4 ^ ITALY: FROM THE FALL OF NAPOLEON L, In 1815, TO THE DEATH OF VICTOR EMMANUEL, la 1878. JOHN WEBB PROBYN, CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited: LONDON, PARIS d- NEW YORK. 1884. [all eights EESERVEn.J PREFACE. The purpose of this volume is to give a concise account of the chief causes and events which have transformed Italy from a divided into a united country. Formerly the Italian Peninsula was separated into a number of petty states whose despotic rulers were maintained almost wholly by the power or influence of foreign sovereigns ; to-day it forms a single constitutional monarchy freed from external dictation and acknowledged by every civilised government. This change is one of the most remarkable of modern times and well deserves to be studied. But it must be acknowledged that a detailed account of this revolution would occupy several volumes if a complete history were given of all the circumstances connected with it, and of the principal men who have borne a part in it. The time, however, has scarcel}' come when such a work can be written, for many details have yet to be made known, or cleared up, which vi PREFACE. will afford further and valuable information with respect to the numerous and varied causes which have trans- formed the Italy of 1815 into the Italy of to-day united under the constitutional rule of the House of Savoy. So, too, as time goes on there wdll be better means of knowing and therefore of estimating the men who had a share in bringing about this remarkable change which has substituted union for disunion, replaced foreign domination by national liberty, and bestowed on Italy a government at once orderly and i'ree. Yet it is desirable that all who are interested in the important events of our time should be able to obtain some connected account of so striking a trans- formation as that which has been effected in Italy between the years 1815 and 1878. It has been with the object of giving such an account that I have written this volume. But no one is more conscious than myself of the many and indeed unavoidable omissions which mark it. Nor can I but feel how far it falls below the subject of which it treats, for during the period which elapsed between the summer of 1859 and the commencement of 1867 I passed the greater part of each year in Italy and among Italians, as well as the memorable autumn and winter of 1870 and the sj)ring of 1871. The personal know- PREFACE. vii ledge I thereby acquired of Italian affairs makes me well aware how inadequate is the manner in which the present volume treats so great a national revolution conducted by leaders who proved themselves capable of" carrying it to a successful issue. Yet 1 trust what I have written may be of" use to those who have not had the same opportunities of studying the course of" events in Italy as I have enjoyed by staying in the country and seeing much of its people, as well as by reading the works of their best authors on the history of the Peninsula during the present century. I trust, too, that Italians, who necessarily know that history better than I can pretend to do, will deem this volume not wholly unworthy of the important subject which it has been my desire to lay truthfully, though briefly, before my readers. J. W. PEOBYN. BOOKS EEAD OR CONSULTED ON THE STATE OF ITALY DURING THE PRESENT CENTURY. " Memoires Documents et Ecrits Divers laisses, par le Priuee de Metter- uicli, Chaueelier do Cour et d'Etat." Publi(§s par sou tils, Le Priuco Richard de Mettemich, 1816—1848. " Stoi-ia di Cento Anui, 1750 — 1850." Cesare Cautu. Firenze. 3 vols. "Storia d'ltalia dal 1815—1851," di Giuseppe La Farina. Torino, 1851. 6 vols. " Lo Stato Romano, 1815—1850." Luigi Carlo Farini. Firenze, 1850. 4 vols. " I casi di Napoli dal 29 Gen. 1848 in poi, Giuseppe Massari, Deputato." Torino, 1849. " I Mici Ricordi," di Massimo d'Azeglio. Firenze, 1867. 2 vols. "Deux Ans de Revolution en Italic, 1848 — 1849," par F. T. Perreus. Paris, 1857. " Daniel Manin," par Henri Martin. Paris, 1859. " Le Comte de Cavour," par Charles Mazade. Paris, 1877. " CEuvre Parlementaire du Comte de Cavour," par I. Artom and A. Blanc. Paris, 1802. " Vita di Giuseppe Garibaldi," Narrata da Jessie W. Mario. Milano, 1882. 2 vols. " Biographic de Joseph Mazzini," par Mnie. E. Ashurst Venturi. Paris, 1881. " Abrege de I'histoire de I'ltalie," par Jules Zeller. Paris, 1865. " Pie IX. et Victor Emmanuel, 1846—1878,'" par Jules Zeller. Paris, 1879. " La Vita ed II Regno, di Vittorio Emauuele II. di Savoia Primo Re d'ltalia," per Giuseppe Massari. MUano, 1878. 2 vols. " Storia d'ltalia dal 1866 al 1880," continuazione della storia, della Idci Italiaua, per PetruceUi deUa Gattina, Deputato al Parlamento, Napoli, 1882. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE Italy under Napoleon I. — Promises of the allied Generals when they wished to overthi'ow Napoleon's rule — Restoration of the royal dynasties of the Peninsula, and destruction of the old republics of Genoa and Venice — The supremacy of Austria substituted for that of the French Empire — Result of this policy — Prince Blctternich's account of the state of Italy in 1817 — M. de Chateaubriand on the condition of Italy — The existence of Secret Societies — Prince Metternich's statement of the view taken of his policy by public opinion 1 CHAPTER II. Revolution of 1820 in Naples — King Ferdinand I. grants a Constitution, and takes his oath to it — Opening of the Neapolitan Parliament in October, 1820 — Dissatisfaction of the Sicilians — Dislike of the Neapolitans to a separate Parliament for Sicily — Divisions in the Island — The Neapolitan Parliament refuses to agree to the wishes of the Sicilians — Austria protests against any changes affecting the Treaties of Vienna — King Ferdinand goes to the Conference of the allied Sovereigns at Laybach — His promises pre%'ious to his departure — Austrian troops march into the Neapolitan kingdom and overthrow the Constitution — Ferdinand returns to Naples, rules despotically, and punishes all who were favourable to free institutions — Revolution in Piedmont, in March, 1821 — Abdication of Victor Emmanuel I. — He appoints Prince Charles Albert regent — He promises a Constitution — Charles Felix repudiates this act, and calls on Prince Charles Albert to submit to him — The prince obeys the King — The Austrians enter Piedmont — Charles Felix comes to Turin — Overthrow of Liberty and triumph of Absolutism . 20 CHAPTER ni. The rule of Austria in the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom — Her influence in the other Italian States — Condition of Tuscany — Death of Ferdinand I. . CONTENTS. PAGE of Naples — He is succeeded by his son Francis I. — Naples under Ms rule — His conflict with the Bey of Tripoli — Death of Francis — Pied- mont under Charles Felix — His defeat of the Bey of Tripoli — Death of Charles FeUx, who is succeeded by his cousin, Charles Albert, in 1830 — The state of Italy as described by M. de Chateaubriand and Prince Mettemich 35 CHAPTER IV. The Carbonari, the Eeformers, the Sanfedesti — Francis IV. Duke of Modena — Modcnese Eevolution, 1830— Death of Pope Pius VIII. — Election of Gregory XVI. — Revolution in Bologna, 1831 — Austria intervenes, puts down the movement in the Papal States, and restores the Duke of Modena and the Duchess of Parma — Execution of Ciro Menotti, Vincenzo Borelli, and the Cavaliere Eicci — The Austrians in Bologna, and the French in Ancona — The Sanfedesti — Joseph Mazzini and " Young Italy," 1831 — Eapid growth of Young Italy — Joseph Garibaldi enrolled among its members — Young Camillo Cavour punished for giving utterance to liberal views in 1831 . . .46 CHAPTER V. Ferdinand II. succeeds in November, 1830, to the throne of Naples — Character of his rule — Piedmont under Charles Albert — The Papal States under Gregory XVI. — Tuscany and the Austrian and Papal Governments — Antagonism of Austria and Piedmont — Massimo d'Azeglio's interview with Charles Albert on the State of Italy — The party of the Eeformers, their \dews and writings — Prince Mettemich's opinions on Italian questions — Death of Pope Gregory XVI., and election of Pope Pius IX 63 CHAPTER VI. Pope Pius IX. adopts a liberal policy — The Scientific Congress at Genoa — Eeforms in the Eoman States — The Papal Government protests against the Austrian occupation of Ferrara — Eeforms of Leopold in Tuscany — Ferdinand II. of Naples opposes aU reforms — Charles Albert's antagonism to Austria — The Agricultural Congress at Casale, and the Letter of Charles Albert — He introduces various reforms in Piedmont — Attitude of the English and of the Austrian Governments towards Italian reforms — Events in Milan and Venice — Increasing- agitation in the Neapolitan dominions — Eefusal of Ferdinand to make- concessions — Early in January, 1848, the Eevolution breaks out in CONTENTS. xiii PAGE Sicily — Ferdinand gives way and is obliged to promise a Constitution on 27th January, 1848 — On the 7th February, Charles Albert promises a Constitution, which is promulgated on the 4th March — The Grand Duke of Tuscany promises a Constitution on the 11th February, 1848 — The Pope forms a Government in which tliree Lajmien hold office — French Eevolution of February 24th, 1848 — The Pope promises a Con- stitution— Eevolution in Vienna, March, 1848 86 CHAPTER YII. Insurrection of Milan — The Austrians retire from the City — Insurrection of Venice, and re- establishment of the Republic — The Dukes of Parma and Modena obliged to quit their States — Sympathy of the Romans and Tuscans with the National movement — Ferdinand of Naples forced to support it against Austria — Events in Naples and Sicily — Ferdinand deserts the National cause — Charles Albert crosses the Ticino and attacks the Austrians — The King, after some successes, is finally defeated by Marshal Radetzky — The Pope declares on the 2Sth April, 1848, that he wiU not join in the war agaiust Austria — The vacil- lation of the Papal Government — Count Pellegrino Rossi becomes the Pope's Minister — The Count assassinated — The Pope quits Rome — Events in Tuscany after the Austrian victories — Montanelli Prime Minister at Florence — Project of an Italian Constituent — Sudden flight of the Grand Duke, who goes to Gaeta — The reaction gains continued success 116 CHAPTER YIII. Negotiations between Piedmont, France, England, and Austria — Charles Albert again attacks Austria — His defeat at No vara and abdication, March, 1849 — Tuscany a Republic — The people desire the return of the Grand Duke as a constitutional ruler— The Austrians invade Tuscany and restore the Grand Duke as an absolute sovereign — Triumph of the reaction in Naples and Sicily — Bombardment of Messina — State of Rome after the Pope's departure — Intervention of France — The Roman Republic proclaimed, February, 1849— General Oudinot's troops re- pulsed by the Romans — Negotiations—Siege and fall of Rome, 3rd July, 1849 — Venice alone continues to resist under the rule of Daniel Manin— Vigorous defence of the City— Its fall— Exile of Manin— The triumph of absolutism throughout Italy I'lQ CHAPTER IX. Condition of Piedmont at the time of Victor Emmanuel's accession in March, ' 1849— Massimo d'Azeglio becomes Prime Minister — Insurrectionary movement in Genoa put down — Negotiations with Austria — Victor Emmanuel issues a proclamation from Moncalieri and dissolves the CONTENTS. Chamber, July, 1849 — The Chamber does not approve the Government policy — Victor Emmanuel issues a second proclamation from Mon- calieri, and dissolves the Chamber in November, 1849 — The Chamber accepts the Government policy, and ratifies the peace with Austria — Complete religious toleration in Piedmont — Attempted negotiations ■with the Papal Government for carrying out ecclesiastical reforms — The Siccardine Laws — Death of Count Santa Rosa, the Minister of Commerce — Count Cavour api^ointed in his place in Novembei-, ISoO — Liberal legislation of Piedmont — Coup d'Etat by Louis Napoleon, 2nd December, 1851 — Menaces of Austria and Prussia against Piedmont — Resignation of Massimo d'Azeglio — Cavour becomes Prime Minister — Revolutionary attempt in Milan, February, 1853 — Success of Cavour's progressive and reforming policy — Crimean War — Sad family losses of Victor Emmanuel — Congress of Paris — Manin and Cavour — The con- dition of Italy condemned by the leading Plenipotentiaries at the Congress — Cavour continues his policy in Piedmont — The Mont Cenis Tunnel begun — Attempt of Felice Orsini to assassinate Napoleon III. , 14th January, 1858 — Cavour's policy and conduct — The Emperor Napoleon's views and his interview with Cavour at Plombieres in July, 1858 — Alliance formed between France and Piedmont . .193 CHAPTER X. Napoleon III.'s observation to the Austrian Ambassador on the 1st January, 1859 — Victor Emmanuel's speech at the opening of the Piedmontese Parliament — Negotiations — Austria sends an ultimatum to Turin— It is rejected — Italian war of 1859 — France and Piedmont victorious — The Allied Sovereigns enter Milan — Death of Ferdinand II. of Naples — Offers of Piedmont to his son Francis II. — Austrian troops concen- trated in Venetia and the Quadrilateral — Fall of the Governments of Florence, Parma, Modena, and Bologna — Deputations from Tuscany, the Roman Legations, Parma, and Slodena, to King Victor Emmanuel — Sudden peace of Villafranca — The Plenipotentiaries at Zurich — Coiu'sc pursued bj^ the peoples of Tuscany, Emilia, and the Roman Legations — Their final union with Piedmont and Lombardy under Victor Emmanuel —The annexation of Savoy and Nice to France — Naples, Sicily, and King Francis II. — The Revolution begins in Sicily — Garibaldi's ex- pedition to the island — His conquest of Sicily and Naples — Agitation in the- Papal pro^vinces — Interventiop of Victor Emmanuel's Govern- ment and troops — Meeting of Victor Emmanuel and Garibaldi — Their entrance into Naples — Fall of Gaeta, and departure of Francis II. for Rome — New elections throughout all Italy and Sicily, excepting Venetia and Rome — Opening of the first Italian Parliament, February, 1860 — Cavour on the questions of Rome and Venice — His varied labours— His death on the 6th June, 1861. 242 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. PAOB Baron Ricasoli becomes Prime Minister — He resigns and is succeeded by Signer Rattazzi — The questions of Rome and Venice — Garibaldi's movement in Sicily — He is arrested at Aspromonte and sent to La Spezzia — Change of the Ministry — Convention of September, 1864 — Papal Policy — The Encyclique and SyUabus — The Schleswig-Holstein question— Austria and Prussia— Italy negotiates with a view of acquiring Venetia — War of 1866 — Custozza and Lissa — Peace made and Venotia ceded to Italy — The French troops are withdrawn from Rome — Gari- baldi attacks the Roman territory — -Retui-n of the French troops and defeat of Garibaldi at Montana — Austi-ia and Hungary united by con- stitutional freedom — Marriage of Prince Humbert to his cousin the Princess Margherita — Negotiations between France, Austria, and Italy — War between France and Prussia — Overthrow of Napoleon III. — Italy occupies Rome — The Powers of Europe acquiesce — Law of the Papal Guarantees — Victor Emmanuel opens the Italian Parliament in Rome on 27th November, 1871 — The King's visit to Vienna and Berlin— The 2oth anniversary of his accession — Visit of the Em- peror Francis Joseph to Venice — Visit of the Emperor William to Milan— Change of the Italian Ministry in 1876— Death of the King . 298 CONCLUSION. Progress of the country in order and liberty — Increase of the electorate — Brigandage reduced — Signer Brioschi on the former want of public instruction — Educational improvement — Commerce, resources, railways, telegraphs, post-offices — Army and Navy — Financial improvement — The past and present state of Italy ....... 3.54 V ITALY. CHAPTER I. Italy under Napoleon I. — Promises of the allied Generals when they wished to overthrow Na^ioleon's rule — Restoration of the royal dynasties of the Penin- sula, and destruction of the old republics of Genoa and Venice. The su- premacy of Austria substituted for that of the French Empire — Result of this policy — Prince Mettomich's account of the state of Italy in 1817 — M. de Chateaubriand on the condition of Italy — The existence of Secret Societies — Prince ilctternich's statement of the view taken of his policy by public opinion. No country in Europe was more completely revolu- tionised by tlie wars and policy of the first Napoleon than Ital}^ AYhen at length he had become possessed of absolute power, all the old governments of the Penin- sula had been overthrown and were replaced by those of his own creation. The greater part of the kingdom of Piedmont and of the States of the Church, the Republic of Grenoa, and the Duchies of Lucca, Parma, and Tus- can}^, were incorporated into the French Empire. Eugene Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepson, was made Viceroy of a kingdom of Italy composed of the republic of Venice, the Trentino, the Milanese possessions of Austria, that portion of Piedmont lying between the rivers Dorea, Balta, and Ticino, together with the Duchy of Modena, and the Papal provinces of Romagna and the Marches. B 2 ITALY. The kingdom of Naples was placed first under the rule of Joseph Bonaparte and then of Murat, the brother-in- law and lieutenant of the French Emperor. JSTapo- leon in fact governed the whole country from the Alps to the Straits of Messina. Very different was the prospect held out to the Italians in the spring of 1796 by General Bonaparte, after his first victories. " People of Italy," said he, "the French arm}^ comes to break your chains; the French people is the friend of every people — come and welcome them. Your property, your customs, your religion shall be respected ; we make war like generous enemies — only against the tyrants who hold you en- slaved." Shortly after, a second proclamation, issued from Milan, said — " Let the people rest assured we are the friends of the people. To re-establish the Capitol, to awaken the Eoman people from centuries of servi- tude ; such will be the fruits of our victory." Doubt- less the result had been the overthrow of the old governments ; but instead of being replaced by national liberty, the Peninsula was only subjected to the rule of imperial France. That rule entailed heavy contributions and constant levies of soldiers to be used for the main- tenance of a French empire, and not for the establish- ment of a free Italy. The press was silenced, public meetings were forbidden, the police were powerful and vexatious. These and other ills were bitterly felt, for they provoked a comparison between the early promises of national freedom, and the actual result of foreign domination. Yet it would be unjust not to enumerate THE NAPOLEONIC RULE. 3 the benefits which flowed from tlie Napoleonic rule. Laws were made more uniform, and their administration was improved. Equal rights were conceded to all classes. Public offices were thrown open to the citizens of every rank. Convents, which had too often degener- ated into centres of sloth and even vice, were abolished. Schools and lyceums were opened, cities were improved, new roads were made, rivers were embanked, bridges erected, and marshes drained. The Italians themselves took an active part in these useful reforms, while their soldiers distinguished themselves in the campaigns of the great general whom they justly considered one of their own nation by family and origin. Still the fact remained that his rule was that of a despot who, in- stead of giving national liberty, had only made their country a province of France. Prince Metternich relates in his memoirs that Napoleon said to him — " Never will I give Italians a liberal system ; I have only granted them the semblance of it." This condition of Italy was duly turned to account by the enemies of Napoleon when they united for his overthrow after his retreat from Russia. On the 10th December, 1813, Count Nugent, one of the Austrian commanders, issued a proclamation from Ravenna to " The Peoples of Italy," in the following terms — " You have groaned long enough beneath the iron yoke of oppression. Our armies have come to free you com- pletely from it. A new order of things opens out to you, destined to reinvigorate and establish your happi- ness. . . . It is for your interest, courageous and B 2 4 ITALY. brave Italians, to battle yourselves for your resur- rection and your well-being. In that you will be pro- tected and helped so as to beat down the obstinate resistance of whoever attacks your welfare. You have all to become an independent nation, you have to manifest your zeal for the public good ; you will be happy if you are faithful to those who love and protect you. Soon your lot will be envied and your position will excite admiration." Then follow promises that the conscription shall be abolished and various taxes suppressed or lessened. The Austrian Greneral Belle- garde also put out the following proclamation on 3rd February, 1814 — " Italians ! of all the nations whom the ambition of Napoleon has bent beneath his yoke, you are the last for whom the hour of deliverance has struck. We have passed the Adige and entered the heart of your country. See in us your liberators who will ask of you only what is indispensable for our operations and sustenance. We have come to protect your legitimate rights, and to re-establish that which force and pride have overthrown. We call you to the common defence. The moment has arrived for Italy, like other nations, to give proof of her strength and courage. It is time that the Alps should again proudly raise their inacces- sible heights and form an insurmountable barrier ; it is time that the roads opened to introduce slavery into your country should be destroyed." In the following month, March, 1814, Greneral Ben- tinck, commanding the English and Sicilian forces, disembarked at Leghorn, and marched towards Genoa, PROCLAMATIONS OF THE ALLIES. 5 bearing a flag* on which was written, " Italian Liberty and Independence." In his proclamation, the English general said — " Portugal, Spain, Sicily, Holland, attest the liberal principles of Great ]3ritain. These nations are free, and rejoice in civil liberty. Shall Italy alone remain beneath the yoke ? Italians can no longer hesitate ; they will know how to become Italian. The soldiers of the Italian kingdom should especially re- member that the great cause of their country reposes in their hands. They should make their rights felt, and become free. Let the forces of all be united, and Italy shall again become that which in happier times she has been." These proclamations of the allied generals awoke feelings of hope throughout Italy. Her people were wearied of the endless wars of Napoleon, accompanied by a conscription which drained the country of its youth, and by taxes which drained it of its wealth. The agricultural classes saw their lands injured by the march of armies, and at the same time impover- ished by the loss of labourers carried off to swell the ranks. The continental blockade, rigorously en- forced, damaged Italian commerce and enterprise. The desire for national independence but grew under the oppressiveness of such a system, and increased with the decline of Napoleon's power. Thus discontent was rife, and change was welcome. Divided though the Italians were in their feelings and wishes, they were, however, ready to welcome any settlement which should give to their country peace, and secure to her free institutions, 6 ITALY. resting upon a national basis ; for tliey were weary of foreign rule and absolutism. A golden opportunity was thus offered to the Powers assembled at Vienna, in whose hands rested, after the overthrow of Napoleon, the future destiny of the Peninsula. Many of its people looked to them with hope, for were not some of them the very Powers whose generals had bidden the " brave and courageous Italians " to battle against the common oppressor for the deliverance of their native land, rousing them with the stirring words, " liberty," " country," " rights,'' and " independence ? " With the Congress of Vienna, then, it rested to make or mar the future of Italy, and with it, in no small degree, the future peace of Europe. The statesmen assembled in the Austrian capital determined to restore the royal dynasties of the Pen- insula, but not the ancient republics of Genoa and Venice. The Neapolitan Bourbons were replaced on the throne of Naples, retaining the island of Sicily in which they had found a refuge under the protection of England's fleet. The country received the name of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Papal authority was restored throughout the former States of the Church. The House of Hapsburg-Lorraine was reinstated in Tuscany. Parma and Modena reappeared as independ- ent duchies. The King of Piedmont had that country and Savoy restored to him, together with the territory of the old republic of Grenoa. The Genoese greatly disliked this proceeding, but in the eyes of the arbitrary statesmen of Europe it served the double purpose of THE FATE OF GENOA AND VENICE. 7 abolishing a republic, and of binding the House of Savoy more closely to arbitrary government, because any demand for greater liberty in the restored kingdom of Piedmont would probably awaken among the Genoet-e a desire for their ancient rights as an independent State. Still the Italian citizens of Genoa had the consolation of feeling that they were, at any rate, united to an Italian people ruled indeed despotically by their sovereign Victor Emmanuel I., who, however, loved and upheld his country's independence. Like all the princes of the House of Savoy he was jealous of foreign in- terference, and, while clinging to despotism, had but little real liking for despotic Austria whose power was becoming supreme in Italy. But though this consola- tion was left to Genoa, none such remained to the sister republic of Venice. It had fallen, partly through its own weakness, but yet more through the unscrupulous acts of its powerful neighbours. Despite the efforts of the old republic to remain neutral in the struggle between Austria and France at the close of the last centur}^ General Bonaparte, who commanded with brilliant success the French armies in Italy, soon found pretexts for attacking Venice, revolutionising its govern- ment, and establishing over it a French protectorate. That protectorate might have been used to reform the institutions of the republic by adapting them to the requirements of the time, and then have been with- drawn, leaving Venice to be freely governed by its own citizens. But Bonaparte preferred to destroy, by the treaty of Campo-Formio in 1797, the old republic, and 8 ITALY. hand it over to Austria. Venice had no power to resist, for the French general had himself deprived her of her arms and fleet. Luigi Manin, the last of the Doges, whose vacillation had contributed not a little to this result, fainted after resigning his high office and taking the oath to the new masters of the Queen of the Adriatic. The destruction of the Venetian republic was accomplished in spite of the instructions addressed by the French Directory to Bonaparte on the 29th September, 1797, in which it spoke of "the shame of abandoning Venice." When the Directory found that the deed was done it at first hesitated to give its assent to the treaty already signed by its general, but finally complied. Thus it was that Venice lost her ancient inde- pendence and became a province of Austria. The statesmen assembled at Vienna in 1815, when they confirmed Austria in the possession of Venice, but followed the policy of the French revolutionary chief and ratified one of his worst deeds. The Italian pro- vinces of Venetia and Lombardy, including the for- tresses of Verona, Peschiera, Legnano, and Mantua, well known as the quadrilateral, were formed into the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom and given to Austria. Her rule was not only despotic but foreign, and even more alien to Italians than the rule of France. The treaties of Vienna did then little in Italy but substitute the supremacy of Austria for that of Bona- parte. Entrenched within the quadrilateral, her will was law to the lesser Italian courts. Piedmont, al- AUSTRIAN DOMINATION SECURED. 9 thougli her government was a pure despotism, resented this overshadowing influence, and thereby awakened the suspicions of Austrian statesmen. The other govern- ments of Italy were favourable to Austria, to whom they looked as a counterpoise to France, and as a sure help in case patriotic feelings or liberal aspirations roused among their subjects dislike of foreign influence or desire for reforms. If the proclamations of General Bonaparte at the opening of his career awoke hopes in Italian hearts only to disappoint them, assuredly the appeals of the allied generals at the close of that career closely resembled those proclamations of the French commander alike in their promises and their results. The first French Eepublic and the old Legitimist Sove- reigns each in their turn allured Italy by high-sounding phrases touching national independence and libert}--, only to bind each their special yoke upon her neck in the hour of victory. Great indeed was the contrast between the procla- mations of Austrian and English generals in 1813 and 1814, calling on the people of Italy to rise against oppression and to become an independent nation when it was desired to drive out the French, and the reply of the Emperor Francis, in 1816, to the Lombardo- Venetian deputies : — " My victorious arms having con- quered Italy, there can be no question either of consti- tution or of independence." Such a policy might rear thrones maintained by external force, but could never lead to the formation of a contented and prosperous nation. Moreover, the Italians were by that very policy 10 ITALY. predisposed to rebel against the foreign settlements forced upon tliem, and were prepared to receive, as into a fruitful soil, the idea of national unity and independ- ence which later on was propagated with a zeal which nothing could abate, and, after many a defeat, at length triumphed with a completeness which has rarely been surpassed. In November, 1817, Prince Metternich laid before the Emperor Francis of Austria the result of inquiries made into the condition of Italy. The Prince says : — " Your Majesty will vouchsafe to remember that in October last year I undertook to lay before your majesty the necessity of becoming acquainted with the action of the Grovernment, and the particular causes of the general dissatisfaction of the Italian States. I took the liberty of getting well-informed men to go to Florence, Modena, Parma, and Rome, and to bring reports to your majesty for this purpose. Your majesty vouchsafed to look favourably on my views, and allowed me to accept from Counts Diego Gruicciardi and Tito Manzi the offer I had invited them to make. These gentlemen have now returned from their travels. Tito Manzi cannot but confess that everything which he saw and heard during his mission in Italy convinced him of the great and general dissatisfaction there prevailing. On closer enquiry into the particular grievances, Manzi described the attitude of the separate States given back to Italy — rulers being set against the people, as well as the latter against the governments. He began with Naples and Sicily, then came to Eome, and from thence ACCOUNT OF ITALY BY METTEBNICU'S AGENTS. 11 to Tuscany, Lucca, Modena, and Parma, concluding with Piedmont." Manzi regretted that Austria did not support the party which would have put Prince Leopold, son of Ferdinand of Naples, on the Neapolitan throne. Manzi had himself held office under Murat. Metternich's com- ment upon this idea of his envoy is as follows : — " The prejudice of the ex-Minister of an illegal Grovernment for these revolutionary notions ought not to cause surprise, and it is quite natural that he should look at Austria's advantage in this matter after the fashion of Napoleon, Murat, &c. But what would have been useful and ser- viceable to them would be prejudicial to a Legitimate Grovernment, whose policy must rest on the indestructible foundation of integrity and justice." Much undoubtedly was to be said in favour of such sentiments, nor were they altogether misplaced in the mouth of Prince Met- ternich. deed. " But it suited," says Metternich, " our interest to enter into the designs of the Neapolitan Court, and thus prevent Sicily from serving as an example to the kingdom of Naples subsequently, and also to prevent the numerous constitutionalists of this kingdom (sup- ported by this example) from seeking to induce the Ministry to give them also a representative form of Grovernment." As Austria supported absolutism in Naples, so she also did in Rome, though wisely mode- rating, in conjunction with Cardinal Consalvi, the more repressive policy which Monsignor Pacca, the head of the policy, would have taken against the dissidents, and especially against the adherents of the last Govern- ment. The report of the condition of Tuscany is described as being unpleasant, but, adds Prince Met- ternich, " I cannot but feel it is quite a true one." Tuscan}^, however, was far more contented than any other part of Italy, being under a much milder and wiser Grovernment, as appeared when the Revolutions broke out in Naples and Piedmont, in 1820 and 1821. Piedmont gave special uneasiness to the Austrian statesman. He observed that the King, Victor Emmanuel I., constantly occupied himself with his army, which was unnecessarily large, and entertained ambitious designs which could only be gratified at the expense of Austria. But the Prince believed "that notwithstanding the widespread and well-founded grounds for dissatisfaction in the Sardinian States and even in Grenoa, which bears the yoke of this power with great impatience, and does not conceal its annoyance, a METTEBNICH'S B^SUMl^ OF THE STATE OF ITALY. 13 revolutionary movement is not to be feared in this country.'' The dissidents, or those who disliked the settlement made for Italy by the treaties of Vienna, were numer- ous ; so much was this the case that Metternich tells his sovereign that " we must not look with indifference on such a mass of individuals who, more or less ad- versaries of the existing order of things, may easily be led to disturb the public peace, especially if it is ever united by the alluring pretext of Italian independence." In the meanwhile, intrigues of various kinds were going on among the little Italian courts, who, though dreading revolution, were not altogether pleased with the overshadowing control of Austria. The " Resume " drawn up by Prince Metternich of the moral condition of all the Italian Governments with the exception of the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom gave the following results : — " That the discontent is universal. That if this discontent were a natural consequence of the sufferings engendered by the last unfavourable years, and of the political changes which have taken place since 1814 and 1815, it must also be ascribed to the bad administra- tion of the Grovernments ; that in Italy, especially in its southern regions, and in Bologna and Grenoa, there is undoubtedly a great ferment in the minds of the popu- lations supported by the different sects, the tendency of which is without doubt dangerous." . . . The want, however, of leaders, of concerted action, and of any foreign power to fan the flame, as the Austrian states- man goes on to declare, encourages him to believe that 14 ITALY. no revolutionary movement would occur. He sa3"s, when speaking of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, that even zealous adherents of the last Grovernment (that of Prince Eugene Beauharnais) admit the administration of the kingdom to be one which gives many essential ad- vantages compared with the other States of Italy. This was true, but the Prince is obliged to add — " It would, however, be a mistake to infer from this that general dissatisfaction was not prevalent in the provinces sub- jected to your majesty." The Prince goes on to pro- jDose certain changes in the proceedings and forms of administration, which he trusts will bring about a change of feeling, and cause public opinion to declare for Austria, so that Italians will regard her rule as the only one which can afford a sure support to public tranquillity. He adds — " If ever this day should come, then the influence of foreigners will cease to be feared, and we shall gain one far more essential with our neigh- bours— the influence given b}^ opinion." But the public opinion of the Lombardo-Venetians was not likely to be gained by an arbitrary system of government, whose mainspring was Austrian police and Austrian soldiers, commanded by Austrian governors in Milan, Verona, and Venice, directed by the Austrian Minister at Vienna. It was possible, for a certain number of years, to compel Italians to bear such a yoke, but it was impossible to compel them to like it even for a day. Nor were the feelings of the Aus- trian Emperor's Italian subjects soothed by such words as his Imperial Majesty addressed to the professors of M. DE CTIATEAUBBIANB ON ITALY. 15 the University of Pavia — " Know, gentlemen, that I do not desire cultured men, nor studious ones, but I wish you to form for me faithful subjects devoted to me and to my house." The independent testimony of contemporary French diplomatists of the Legitimist school, fully confirms the account given by Prince Metternich of the condition of Ital}^; nor did it improve as time went on. Thus, early in April, 1829, M. de Chateaubriand writes — " It is not some poor devils of Carbonari, excited by the manoeuvres of the police and hung without mercy, who will raise isoulevewnf) the country. The most false ideas of the true state of things are given to the Governments. tion." It is needless to add tliat tlie Italians of that period themselves fully corroborate these facts, and point to them as the result produced by the mode in which their country was treated by the Powers who drew up the treaties of 1815. Such then was the state of Italy after the settle- ment made by the Congress of Vienna according to the statements of Prince Metternich, and of those whom he had specially sent to investigate the condition of the country. It was far from fulfilling the assurance of Count Nugent (the Austrian Greneral) in December, 1813, that if the Italians would but join the allied Powers in overthrowing Napoleon and have confidence in their new friends, then the lot of Italy's people would "be envied, and their position excite admiration." Certainly the reports given by Counts Diego Gruicciardi and Tito Manzi did not excite admiration even in the breast of Prince Metternich, nor did they reveal a con- dition of things calculated to excite such a feeling in the minds of independent witnesses like M. de Chateau- briand and others who, like himself, were members, not of the revolutionary, but of the Legitimist school. It is not surprising, then, that in Italy, speaking generall3% the discontent was very widespread. But the Austrian states- man consoled himself with the hope that from the want of known leaders and of concerted action among them- selves, the disaffected, though numerous, would not be so dangerous as might be feared. It is clear, therefore, that the state of the country could not be attributed to the efforts of men of mark, who were rousing the peoj)le THE SECRET SOCIETIES. 17 to rebellion. Prince Metternich, on the contrary, speaks of the " want of known leaders," and says, " a revolu- tionary movement is not to be feared so long as it is not set on fire and maintained by some foreign power." At the same time he admits the generally prevailing discontent, and admits further that it arose, at least in part, from the bad administration of the restored Governments. It should be remembered that those Governments were sustained by Austria, whose supremacy in Italy was one of the chief causes of irritation. It soon appeared, as indeed has ever been the case, that where discontent was general, leaders soon arose who gave voice to the preva- lent feeling of the country. The Carbonari were the most numerous, but by no means the only sect. There were also those who favoured religion and royalty ; some, too, who would have excluded Austrian supremacy and supplanted it by that of the Papacy. The Carbonari desired the inde- pendence of Italy, but they were united rather by hostility to the actual governments, than by any definite idea as to what should take their place. Many members of this sect looked to foreign help, others disliked it; some preferred a federation of States, others a single republic ; some would have accepted a constitutional monarchy, c 18 ITALY. others hated the very idea of it ; all were willing to promote revolution ; some were prepared to use not only violent but criminal means. The then governments of Italy, with the exception of Tuscany, ruled by the kindly Grand Duke Ferdinand and his astute minister Fossombroni, acted after their kind. The panacea for all evils was repression accompanied by arbitrary measures. The revolutionary sects onl}' increased. They comprised generous-hearted men who abhorred the servitude of their country, brave soldiers ready to die for her liberation, priests of good life who believed in the God of the poor and the oppressed, magistrates disgusted by the daily violation of justice, ardent youths roused to fury at the sight of Italy's wrongs and degradation. But there were also to be found amongst them men of turbulent and licentious character, ac- customed to wrong and robbery, men delighting in disorder and violence, men who viewed with pleasure the troubles of their country because affording them an opportunity for gaining their own unworthy ends. Those, however, who disliked the order of things as established in Italy, grew in number and influence. 