it was necessary because this arbitrary government was ruining the state by the defects of its administration. Unfortunately the want of any institution, even of an imperfect one, which might have furnished the means of enlightening the government by peaceable measures, made it every day more to be feared that the Parliamentary system could only be established in Piedmont, through the aid of a revolution; and however legitimate such a revolution might be, many persons who were impatient under their arbitrary yoke, yet shrunk from the thought of lacerating the heart of their prince, and agitated themselves between the chagrin of not being able to undeceive him, and their reluctance to constrain him by revolutionary movements. They might have remained long in this harassing and painful suspense, if the most imminent political considerations had not decided the question at once, and plainly laid down the line of conduct which they ought to pursue, in order to acquit themselves at the same time. of their duties towards the throne, and towards their country. The manner in which the allied powers had disposed of Italy at the congress of Vienna, far from augmenting the real strength of the house of Savoy, had deprived it of all preponderance in the affairs of Italy, and consequently of its place in the system of Europe. Before the French revolution, the King of Sardinia was the principal power in the Peninsula, both by the position and the population of his domi nions. The house of Austria possessed in it only the duchies of Milan and Mantua, almost separated by two rich Venetian provinces, Brescia and Bergamo. Since the congress of Vienna which sanctioned the annihilation of the republic of Venice, one of the most perfidious acts of Buonaparte's policy, the empire of Austria has most alarmingly extended itself in Italy, by the possession of Lombardy, that rich and populous district, siezing its hereditary property on every point of its long northern frontier. Add to this, Parma and Placentia, placed under the authority of an Austrian general, the gaoler of an unfortunate princess, Modena and Tuscany given up to Austrian princes, and Ferrara guarded by an Austrian garrison, which leaves the states of the church at the mercy of the Emperor; surely for any one, after considering this, to say that the king of Sardinia is enabled by the mere acquisition of Genoa to counterbalance the power of Austria in Italy, would be to add insult to our other injuries. Genoa moreover does not augment the strength of the house of Savoy so much as some may imagine. The city requires a larger Piedmontese garrison than the number of inhabitants in the duchy can furnish; the conscription is forced to spare such of the population as are destined for the sea. The Genoese nobility, depressed, discontented, and, with very few exceptions, not soothed by ribbands, and

chamberlains' keys, will for a long time be a dangerous element in the state. The middling ranks, well-informed, and liberal in their ideas, cannot accommodate their spirits to an absolute government, any more than the mountaineers can forget the times when the lands paid scarcely any thing. Genoa can only become a source of prosperity to the monarchy, by a liberal constitution, the only possible tie between two people, held in habitual disunion by the remembrance of long and unfortunate feuds. Every thinking person in Europe saw that, after the division by the congress at Vienna, the house of Savoy could no longer be considered with reference to what she had been, but what she must become, in endeavoring by force to oppose the will of Italy. Her very being could only be a transient one. Pressed between two great powers, the King of Sardinia saw himself compelled to choose whether he would become the vassal of Austria, or contend for the crown of Italy. The remembrance of the warlike deeds of so many of the Princes of Savoy, of the fortitude of Emmanuel Philibert in misfortune, the undaunted resolution of Victor Amadeus, and the firmness of Charles Emmanuel III., excited an expectation that this house would fulfil its destiny, on the first occasion that should occur. The Lombards were discontented with their subjugation to the Emperor of Austria, the measures he observed towards them were of so dubious a nature as showed that they would be changed or thrown aside, as soon. as the motives which dictated them should cease; and even whilst they lasted, the deserted state of Venice, and the thousands who were in want of bread, the remnant of a brave army humbled and neglected, the commercial welfare of the country sacrificed for the interests of Austrian industry, all made the unhappiness of a foreign sway bitterly felt.

In Piedmont a grand revolution had already taken place in the public mind. Emmanuel Philibert in removing his seat of Government to Turin, and Charles Emmanuel II. by his conduct, had long shown that their house and kingdom were no longer French; but it was not till the reign of Victor Emmanuel that the Piedmontese became fully convinced of this truth. A race of young people who had imbibed the sentiments of Victor Alfieri, and a host of brave men, from the ranks of Napoleon's armies, concurred to give this impulse to opinion, and it was strengthened by that hatred of the Austrian name, which is instinctive both in the Piedmontese and Genoese, coeval with their existence, and which will end only with it. A hatred which the Austrians themselves have taken care to nourish, every time they have appeared among us, by the insolence of their deportment, their extortions, and the hardships they impose upon the people.

the Piedmontese revolution, may be regarded as its forerunner. It moreover exposed to view the struggle of the two parties at the head of affairs, and showed which was the strongest; though the King was a stranger to it, from his benevolence.

The students of Turin had created much disturbance at the theatre of Angennes: it was but the turbulence of youth, which it would have been easy to restrain. On the night of the 11th January some of them decked themselves in red caps-an article of dress not uncommon in the provinces adjoining Lombardy, and having no sort of connexion with the events of 1793. The police take the alarm, and the young simpletons are arrested; their comrades surround them, and try to set them at liberty; but the police proves strongest, and they are carried off.

The matter should have rested here: there was nothing to be done but to enforce the existing laws. The University enjoyed privileges, of which, however, only a part of the students could avail themselves: yet several of those who had been taken up, were legally entitled to them. The police thought fit to give éclat to an incident, which was not of a nature to demand it. Absolute governments have all a kind of fondness for punishing without trial, or before trial, and they think they discover in a prison the secret of most things. On the 12th the students arrested the over-night were conducted to two different state-prisons, at a distance from the capital, and a point was made of passing them through Turin with the parade of a numerous escort. Their comrades become incensed; they claim their privileges, and the respect due to their tutelary laws. The Professors endeavour to appease them; but they could not deny the justice or legality of their complaints. In the afternoon the piazzas of the Rue du Pô are seen filled with students. A detachment of Carbineers keeps within the College its numerous pensioners, all young people under 25 years, who might otherwise have given a serious turn to the affair. A second detachment appears in the Rue du Pô, and is saluted with hootings. The Carbineers pass without taking the least notice. This conduct on the part of the public force deceived these hasty young men, who fancied that the government feared them. They take possession of the University, unpave the great Court, intrench themselves in the gateway with benches, and declare they will not separate till they have obtained the liberty of their comrades. Count Balba, the home minister, who was also head of the University, endeavoured to recall the students to reason. He went amongst them; they applauded, but demanded justice of him. He used the language of a fond though strict father; but they insisted on the liberation of the students: the tone of this demand became alarming. Count Balba promised nothing, neither

did any thing that fell from him announce the intention of employing force; and it is certain that these young men had no idea that their complaints would be answered by the sabre; they were even told they should have an answer in two hours. A quarter of an hour had elapsed, and the answer was brought by four companies of grenadiers.

The principle of severity got the better. But it will be seen presently, whether the authors of this determination had no other motive than to restore order, or whether they were desirous of intimidating public opinion by a cruel lesson. It is but justice to say that Count Balba was in no way to blame. He had recourse only to mild measures, and would have been placed in an unpleasant predicament by the event, if his reputation for probity had not placed him even beyond the reach of suspicion.

I must observe, that the number of these students did not exceed 200 or 300: they had, it is true, arrived at the highest degree of presumption (exaltation). They walked about under the piazzas like madmen, exclaiming: "We demand our comrades, and we will have them, cost us what it may." They wrung their hands, embraced each other, swearing to live and die together; but, amidst all this folly, no cry of revolt was set up amongst them. The word Constitution was never named by them. They were mere children, aggravated by injustice.

The grenadiers arrive at seven o'clock at night; they were commanded by the Chevalier Ignace Thaon de Revel, Count of Pratolongo, governor of Turin. Several officers belonging to different regiments, and some of the body-guard, followed the Governor by an impulse that might have been termed zeal, if the conduct of the greater part of them had not stamped it with a very different character. Count Castelborgo, commandant of the province, began to harangue the students, who thereupon threw several stones at the grenadiers. I confess this circumstance: but it is also true, that there was scarcely time for these young people to hear the warning to retire: for there were persons present who reflected with pain on the bloody scene which was about to take place, whilst others regarded as a mere form the words spoken by the Governor to the grenadiers on quitting their barracks: " Remember that they are but children." Besides, the Governor was there; and it behoved him to prove that these expressions came from the heart of this we shall be able to judge. The doors are broke open, and the unarmed students dispersed by the bayonet. Some stones thrown from the galleries terminate a resistance, which could not but prove fruitless. Nothing would have been easier at this time than to stop the effusion of blood, and bring every thing back to order; but this was not the object of a certain party.

our judgment of the prosperity of a state, from a few beneficial establishments in the metropolis. It is to the provinces, to places further removed from the centre of government, that I would appeal as to the execution of the laws. I have no fear of being belied by these witnesses, the fittest persons to consult, unless indeed we would judge of the merits of a government by a few roads and public edifices, or by the luxury of the higher classes, whose unhappiness is never very great, even under arbitrary sway, unless they suffer from the distresses of their fellow-citizens, or stoop to disgraceful expedients to lighten the burden of slavery.

Moreover, if the government of Ferdinand I. refrained from tyrannic violence, the King found himself fully requited in the nature of the Neapolitan revolution. Those enthusiastic spirits showed that they had even forgotten the noble blood shed in Naples in 1799, as a happy omen on the return of this same Prince, which was hailed with benedictions in 1820, because he appeared to lend himself willingly to the wishes of the nation. One would have said that the Neapolitan people were greeting, in the person of their King, the lawgiver and the founder of their liberties. Mistaken people! Too dear has it cost you to put away distrust and invidious resolutions!-To be just and moderate in a time of revolution is doubtless commendable; but in the paths of justice and moderation we must preserve a firm step. Moderation is not weakness, nor pusillanimous complaisance. There was indeed too much ne. glect and credulity in the resolutions of the Neapolitan Parliament, when it did not resist the departure of Ferdinand for Laybach: nor was this merely an excess of confidence. To be plain, the Parliament did not feel what the national dignity required, when it allowed the King to present himself at the Congress in the attitude of a suppliant. Nor did he then think to appear there in the character of a perjurer.

I have yet a graver fault to find with the Neapolitans; which is, that they did not perceive their situation, but foolishly imagined they should disarm their implacable enemy by a defensive attitude. It was evident to all that the Sovereigns assembled at Laybach would not let slip the opportunity of beating down at Naples the principle of military revolutions, which they must still spare in the Spanish Peninsula. It was also pretty clear that the Emperor of Austria would never permit that five millions of Italians should be governed by a free constitution. This would in a few years bring on a revolution in Italy, which must soon have wrested Lombardy from his dominion. It became necessary, therefore, at whatever cost, to crush Naples, and even run the risk of an Italian revolution, which at this time would be both premature and feeble. Could he be sure too, on any other occasion, of the support of the