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Untitled Article
me an exile since twenty-two years , in silent , still deeply Xan ^ t continuity ; from the remnants of the patncian mSchicTemi gration of 1821 to the professional middle , SiTs men of 1831 ; from the young , pure enthusiastic , prSc sp rits of 1833 to the del u ded thousands . of 5 S volunteers in 1848 , to the Roman men of the people in 1549 ; some appealing ^ . ^^ f ^ some withering , in scepticism ,, the suicide ¦ ¦*^* fi * others worn out by poverty and cares ; and telling me , as . ffancied , like ghoits of my country her woes her hope * , and her errand-live , suffer and struggle Such is the political condition of Italy . You have read all Mr . Gladbone ' s revelations concerning Naples . Prevail on the writer to go and sojourn for a certain amount of time , in Sicily , in Romagna , in Tuscany , in Lombardy , on the Venetian lagoons—in that unconquerable mother of great woes and destinies , Rome . I pledge all my being that similar pages will flow from his honestly indignant , though inconsistently conservative pen . The absence of all political liberty , of all personal security , of all guarantees of justice
the systematic corruption of Italian souls tnrougn Jesuits , spies , and ignorance ; the systematic and unavoidable plundering of our financial resources ; the deadly influence of narrow , weak , suspicious despotism , on our industry , on our trade , on our navigating power—all these must be by this time granted facts with you ; my task is higher than a long , sad enumeration of the actual Italian suffering . Are we to be or not to be ? Are we doomed , for the sake of a pope , as the French government said , or of an emperor , as some of your so-called statesmen still say , to be the Parias , the Helots of the nations ; or are we entitled to live amongst you the free , full , uafettered , untrammelled life that God grants ? This is the question—an entirely moral one between you and me . It does matter little that we are more or less physically
tbrtured--that we are pressed more or less heavily by taxation—that we can feed on cheap or high-rated loaves . I speak of our soul ' s breads education and action . "VVe are twenty-five millions of Italians , writing the same language , blessed with the same deep blue skies , roused by the same matinal songs , imbued with the same tendencies , worshipping the same national geniuses—Dante , Colombo , Galileo , Michael Angelo—starting from a glorious common tradition , thrilling at the sight of the oTnetricoloured national flag , and at the blessed mysterious words of' patria , Italy , Rome . We long to love and be loved . We think that we have thoughts to impart to our sister nations—thoughts
to receive from them ; great deeds to achieve through our united efforts ; and fragments , as I said , of the law of God to Unveil and to apply . We want to commune , to progress—to worship no lies , ho idols , no phantoms , but truth , genius , and virtue . And the very configuration of our country , the only truly peninsular in Europe , speaks of unity ; and our national frontiers are the Alps and the sea . Are we not , then , entitled to a national life , to a national compact , to a national flag ? And when the foreign oppressor comes and tells us , " You shall remain dismembered , slaves , speechless , unhonoured , without a name , without a flag , without an acknowledged mission in
Europe , " are we to submit , or to struggle ? That is the question now before you . If you resolve it in the affirmative , you arc bound to help us as far it lies in your power . Could you ever resolve it in the negative , then , indeed , ysou would bo unworthy of the liberty that blesses your shore ^ . Liberty is a principle , or nothing . The great problem to be solved by all those who believe in one God , is , not that man to a certain amount , or under a certain degree of latitude , should be free , but that man , the being created in the image of God , shall be free ; that the very name of slavery shall be cancelled from the face of the earth , from the spoken language of all those who can
whisper a word of lovo . We shall struggle—struggle to the last . Help us if you can ; for , with my hand on my heart , and a serene yet bold look meeting yours , I can tell you ours is a holy struggle , commanded to us by Providence , and meant for good . Yes , we shall struggle ; and when I say this I speak the mind , the unconquerable decision of the millions . Wo are ripe for liberty and independence . Before 1848 and 1849 I would have uttered these words with hesitation ; not now . Thank God , we have proved to all Europo that liberty is with us the watchword of a whole people , and that we could fight and bleed , fall and not despair , for it . Ours is a popular
cause . In March , 1848 , we drove away a powerful organized Austrian army . Botweon the city and the sea not a single foreign soldier was to bo socn ; those who remained had sought a refuge in the fortresses of Mantua , Tieino , and Verona . Our volunteers had reached Tyrol . Who fought those wonderful battles , if not the people P Who are they—the inou who died , during the five days , at the barricades of Milan P The official list has been published by Cattuneo . They belong , most of them , to tho pooplo . 'Who , if not tho people ,, fought in 1849 " at
Bologna , keeping tho Austrian *) during days out of an opqn town , accessible on every side P Wlio , if not the people , kept tho French troops at dollancc in Rome for more than one month P Who , if not the people , endured patiently and uncomplainingly , during eighteen months at Venice , continued fighting , pecuniary sacrifices , bombardment , privation , and cholera morbus P Who , if not the people , fought heroically against Haynau at Brescia , after tho defeat of Novada ? And now , even now , does not tho list of condemnations weekly appearing in the official gazettes of tho Roman StotoP , of Venice , and of Milan , boar
witness to the tendency of our popular classes ] , * V » . » valuable series of documents ¦ W ®^ , gJ& ^ Switzerland , on the national -struggles . pri 848 _ and , 1849 , the Society of the Uriends of Italy will have , I trastvone of these days , to draw the materials of a truth an . which , the feelings of our popular classes will be evinced sfopm facts and ciphers . Meanwhile , let we , record , ^ ere ^ with pride , th ^ in ^ Si from ^ icily tothe Italian ^ robjone single watchword , " Italia , " was tabejheard , pa ^ he lip ^ jof our multitudes ; tjiat , before 18 ^ 8 all attempts from , the Austrian government ; to organize a second , G , ahpa , £ y , a . communistic war of the . peasantry against the -landlords in
Lombardy , proved unsuccessful agaipst the , patriotic tewing ofour agricultural population ; . that such was the predominance : of the natipnal element over all others in the Lombardo-Venetian provinces , thatrthe March injttnbtion was decided upon and realized when liberal concessions from the Emperor concerning ' - the press and the internal administration were giving hopes of a matenaUybetter state of things ; and that now , after almost all the revolutionary generation of 1848 and 1849 has been swept away by the storm , dead , imprisoned , or wandering in foreign lands ,, pur secret—J& > rt , secret ; it , must be-r ^ organization throughout the land ; i ? so powerful , that loan notes ,,, clandestine publications ,, jmd messengers , are de ^ spatched from town , to tow * with , nearly the same degree of security that you . have inyour own . ini ^ rcourse , from London to Dublin and Edinburgh .. . ; Thousands belonging ;
to our popular classes . ar ) Q , ; piyqlve ( qL vW Jbjsmysterious underground propagandismi and thje secret lies unreyealed They can shoot or send to bagnios ; our clandestine pfegs they cannot seize . ., These are telling facts * < Few-Struggling nations can exhibit similar proofs of- a constant unanimous will . - r . < u ,
., , ¦ ¦ . . ¦ .- . - . ¦ ,- : - III .,,- : ¦ < ¦ - > ¦ ;¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ' : > - And now to my third point . What- do , we want , from you ? What can England do for us ? First , you can give . us moral strength : create a strong , compact , -organised public opinion in our favour ; collect facts , information , positive data concerning our wants ,- our rights , bur struggles , ' our sufferings ; and , through pamphlets , lecture * , newspaper articles ] scatter them through , the land . Speak loudly , unceasingly for us . Bo not ¦' allow base ea ~ lumniea to circulate unanswered against ; our national party . Oppose to them our solemn declarations , our programmes jof Pur actsk whenever we have had a fielcl for
action . Let the name of Rome appear inscribed on your flags whenever you meet for popular manifestations . Let no meeting take place for liberal popular objects ! without a voice rising to say , " Remember , Rome , and Italy . Remember that freedom is " a general principle , or a merely selfish impotent concern . Remember that at not a long distance from your glory , a mighty ' nation- front- which your forefathers drew the best part of their life , civilisation , and art , lies groaning under Austrian brutal force and papal soul-corrupting despotism . " Let this Society of the Friends of Italy , to whom we owe our actual meeting , be your nucleus of operation , and , sopn become the .
enlarged field of a continuous relentless propagandism for Italian liberty and independence . Secondly , you pan give us parliamentary official , help . , Through petitioning , through electioneering questions , through personal influence and suggestions , summon your representatives , and , through thcm . ' ypur statesmen , tp . a more complete view of your national life , to a better moral understanding of England ' s part and mission in Europe , Tell them that the life of a nation is twofold—internal and external , national and international ; that between these two there may be harmony , oneness of purpose , to do ' accomplished through different manifestations ; that England ' s vital
principle is religious , political , commercial liberty ; and that it may be represented abroad as within your shores . Tell them that England proclaimed , since 1831 , through her statesmen , nonintervention as the ruling princi p le of her policy in international matter *; that England ^ meant then that the principle should be universally accepted , and that each people was to bo thencefprward free to settle undisturbed and independent their own domestic concerns ; that such a principle , though incomplete and unequal to tho fulfilment of our duties—for vy ( e must always be , rsady to interfere for good—would still have proved sufficient if honestly carried into execution , for
the triumph of right and liberty throughout an Europe , ; but that it has been , and is , grossly , insultingly ,, and systematically violated by the despotic powers , until it has come to this , that though any absolutist emperor , king , or prince could interfere for evil , England should never bo allowed to interfere for good , Tell thorn that , should England have energetically told Ruasin " Ypu shall not crush Hungary , und told Franco , you shall not crush Rome , " Rome and Hungary would now bo free ; that Ronio and Hungary , recollecting the promises of
1831 , were churning such a word from England ; that England's silenco was a shurno and , a sin ; Unit ehauio , aa well ue invasion , is death to ' a , nation ; that from awill far superior , to ull political calculations , every sin is , sooner or later , expiated ; and bid , thorn look to price proud and powerful , now fallen , Fjramco . T « U thlpm that the circle traced by continental scheming despotism is drawing every day closer to your shores ; and thai imperialist resentments , combined with old autocratic jealousy and plans , ought not to bo despised , , Toll them that ,, even if immediate dwngor were not impending , it it the duty of ptatosmoa to look not merely
to the emergencies of the day , but to more ^ atant « % „ not merely to the transient present but to the future « m ^ own country ; that England is Wore and more isolaT herself in Europe ; that whilst no despotic power is actn 1 i or ever can be friendly to England i no people aihon i * those who are unayoidablyf called to organise them « pi § by nations will be , once lib ^ y <» nquered , her frfead «^ ally , unless the seeds of friendly alliance are shown durT the struggle that , systemajtip ; indiffiereflce will Wd t nothing in a npt , far , dwtan |;^ future , when the mai ) S Europe shall have tohe redrawn , but to old political ! J ? nexipns being lojat withouti ,, any nejy bejng found to olri markets lor ^ ngjandfs . industrial , activity being clos J without any new ^ eimj qpen ^ And : : i ; eU them never tl forged tl ^ af , the best ^ nation ^ , defenceMf « r : % glwa areno p laced abroad f ffiat ^ % t , re . 3 ist p , encroachments would be the free emanci pated ] RQine ^ the people . ; and ^ M ^ wng ^ bfrof W ^ a * ^ coioured flag carried ^^ 1 ^ 65 , 40 . MUm and . appealiag from there to If ungajpy $ a& ^ ^ e ^ na , , wo ^| a Wore powerfully diverj fro ^ E ^ of invasion or indirect war ! . than any calling ,, of ; military pr increase of naval forces andiej ^ end ^ ure .,, T ^ dly ; aud , fysi& y , you can g ive material help ; the material l ^ elp ; tiat iEuropean capitalists and Joanmongers are lending , daily to despotic powers ; the material . Jpelp which , like t ^ e ;; bpdy to the soul , is the condition , sink fptd noti ' of every- struggle even morally carried , of every ^^^ proscribed manifestation of thethought , : ; ; ¦ ; ' ,, ' ^\ , r . ,, ¦ . ; . ¦ , :. . .- / . m- - ; > r ^ r < . ; ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ' ¦ ' ¦ ' I have told you what we are ^ and what we want--wliat you cart give . , ' My brief task is ; oyer ^ 'May your own soon begin ;! . Thrpugh gratefulness feat the hospitality I lave foun / d pnypuy ,. scores , through inteoae admiration for miuy , qualities of English mind and heart , througb . sacred individual , afFcctious ,. which I shall never betray , there is not a thought dearef to me ,. after , the . emancipation of my own i $ a ! y , thaii ^ that of , a cqydtal , ftqtive sympaithy , and of a powerful future alliance , , ^ etweeq ypijt \ nation r and , mine . M . Mazzini having resumed his seat ; amidst load reiterated applause , ihe chairman intimated that he , was prepared to answer any questions which , any person present might wish to put to him . There was iio response to this invitation . ; ¦ . T- i ¦ : . .. , ' . . ' ' ¦ ' ¦ ¦ -i ' .- ^ V- - " ! "¦; - ; The company then partqok of refreshments , and shortly afterwards dispersed . . : ., i .
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i LORD GRANVILLE ON THE EIGHT OF : - - > ? ,. -, ,, „ ¦ ? r \ ^ ASYiuum - ' ¦¦ ' " . ' ; ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ~' In 1848 , certain Americans lauded in Ireland , and were , arrested on suspicion of being implicated in the seditious and revolutionaryiplftns of i the , Young Irelanders . Lord Pahnerston , on that occasion , forwarded a very strong remdnstrance to Mr . Bancroft ; then envoy from the United States in London ; on the subject of proceedings <• of the most hostile character towards the British Government" which had then recently taken place in the United States . He cpniplained that " not only had private associations been for ^ ned , but public
meetings held , for the avowed puippso pf encouraging assisting , and organizing rebellion , ^ n trek nd / ' and he denounced with just indignation , the , acts of these " conspirators in , the United , Stotea against the peace of a . country in friendly relations with their own Government . "/ He added ^ > that as the powers of tho President were very limited to ¦ check and discountenance such proceedings , the Americans niuHtiiot take it amiss that Her Majesty ' s Government should resort to measures of precaution and of repression in regard to persons , whatever their nationality might be , who in this posture of affairs sliould come from the United States to this re ^ alra .
Ai parallel case has just arisen . Russia , Austria , Frandey and the Germanic I ? iet sent a remonstrance to Lord Granville couched in nearly similar terms , and " urgently denianding" that " immediate and nofcivo steps" might bo taken by our " Governmejit , to put ft Htop to those intrigues and conspiracies against tho Governments of various European Powers in which fprelgn refugees now in England are assorted to bo engaged , " The reply to this insulting demand was made by the now . Foreign Secretary on tho 13 th of January . Lord Granvillo states tbe English law , which gives full protection to ull porsons resident within tho limits of our Empire , whether natives or -strangers . Ho points out that in tho matters referred to , Roynlist
as well as Republican exiles havo found a refugo among ub ; and that only in bo fUr as refugees break tho law , or como within tho jurisdiction of , special laws liko Alien Acts , enn they bo molested , arroateel , or punishcil " With reference to tho intimation that exceptional incasureB of precaution may be taken against British subjects travelling abroad , Her Majesty ' s Government cannot cdnipjttin if , while insurrection is ragihg , pr its flume is scnrcoly extinguished , foreign Governments ahpuldtnlce precaution * against suspected English travellers . . , " Her MojcHty ' s Goverpmont adhoro to tho pnnjjJP , luid down by Viscount P ( Uraerato » , in hia note of the » U "' of Scutomber , 1848 , to Uio United States' envoy at twa Court , in relation , to . certain oitucna of tho Vnim pw ***"'
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 14, 1852, page 148, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1922/page/8/
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