Genoa to give up the government to the person commissioned by the King of Sardinia to receive it, and to consider his corps as auxiliary to that sovereign. With respect to this disposition, the following extract from a dispatch of Lord Castlereagh to Colonel Dalrymple, commander of the British troops at Genoa, has been published as by authority"I exceedingly regret, as well as do all the ministers, the not being able to preserve to Genoa a separate existence without the risk of weakening the system adopted for Italy, and consequently exposing its safety; but we are persuaded that by the mode adopted we have provided much more strongly for the future tranquillity of Genoa, and the prosperity of her commerce. The generous dispositions of the king of Sardinia, whose ardent desire it is to fulfil as much as possible the wishes of the Genoese, will be to them the most certain pledge of their being placed under the protection of a paternal and liberal government. I have no doubt, that under these circumstances, the Genoese of every class will receive this decision as a benefit, and will conform with pleasure to arrangements which conciliate their own interests with those of the rest of Europe."

Thus has another state been transferred to a new master without considering its consent as in the least necessary to the validity of such an act; and from these examples, a conclusion may be formed of the nature of that principle, which is to regulate the decisions of that congress which bas so long held all Europe in a state of anxious expectation.

The annexation of all the other districts in the North of Italy to the Austrian dominion appears to have been a further measure equally determined upon in the councils of the allied powers before they assembled in congress. In an arti cle of intelligence from Venice, we are told that the Emperor, by. a note in his own hand-writing, dated May 13th, informed the Grand Chancellor of Bohemia, that the union of all Lombardy, and the Ex-Venetian states, to the Austrian monarchy had been definitively settled; which important news was immediately communicated to the prince of Reusse Plauen, civil and military governor for the Emperor in Italy.

From Milan, the principal seat of the imperial government in Lombardy, accounts have occasionally been transmitted, of disorders which, though perhaps exaggerated, sufficiently denote the existence of discontents in that quarter; and indeed, it is well known, that the principle of political independence has many zealous advocates in those parts of Italy, which from ancient times have been accustomed to local and popular authorities, and have always regarded as an usurpation the yoke of foreign dominion, A proof of the jealousy entertained on this head was given by the publication of a decree, in consequence of orders from the Austrian court to the provisional regency of Milan, rigorously prohi biting all secret societies, such as lodges of free masons, and other associations, whose objects are not precisely known, and whose discipline and proceedings are enveloped in mystery.

The

The final termination of the ancient republic of Venice, so long the mistress of the Adriatic, in a maritime dependency of Austria, may be concluded from the Emperor's reply to an address presented by a Venetian deputation, as published in the Court Gazette of Vienna, August 27th. "When Venice (says his imperial Majesty) in consequence of the political events which shook Europe, was united to my empire, this state preserved, under my government, the same spirit of order which, in former times, had been the basis of its republican constitution. The unhappy situation of the world at that epoch neces sarily impeded the measures and the activity of all governments. These disastrous times are passed. I now find you such as I left you, and no obstacle can interpose to prevent the execution of the plans I have formed for your happiness. Your provinces will always be one of the brightest gems in my crown. They shall recover their ancient prosperity: commerce; re suming its rights, shall be restored to its former channels: the in dustry of a good people shall be supported and encouraged by inild and protecting laws: Venice shall regain her rank among the first cities in the world." How far this Jast prediction can be verified under an arbitrary monarchy, futurity must determine. The last accounts from Venice certainly afford little hope of such a favourable change. They assert that the commerce of the city is almost annihilated, scarcely any vessels now clearing from its port, or from those on the coast of the

Adriatic. But this may in part

be attributed to the present unsettled state of Europe.

Near the close of the year measure was adopted by the Austrian government in Italy, which may be understood as clearly denoting suspicions prevalent with respect to the attachment of the natives. "The decision (says an article from Milan) which has been long expected, and which endeavours were made to avert by very humble representations, has at length appeared. The Italian regiments, in consequence of an order from the Emperor of Austria, must quit their country, and march to do duty in the Austrian provinces. This news was no sooner known to be authentic, than it struck families with alarm, and increased desertion still more.' The article concludes with a proclamation from Baron Suden, the military governor of Brescia, informing all the corps of his brigade of the Emperor's determination to quarter them in Germany, and calling upon the men to observe strict discipline, and to "detest that shameful desertion of which too many of their comrades have been guilty." The places of the Italian regiments sent beyond the Alps were supplied by Austrian troops, which were continually arriving in the provinces of Italy held by the emperor.

Of all the present sharers in the dominion of Italy, the king of Naples, Joachim, is apparently placed in the most critical and uneasy situation. A mere soldier of fortune, with no other title than his sword, he cannot but be regarded by the regular and hereditary sovereigns of Europe as an intruder into their dignity, and a remaining

remaining exception to that principle of return to the ancient order of things which governs the political movements of the time. Closely bordered on one side by a perpetual competitor for his dominions in the King of the Two Sicilies, and on the other by the head of the Catholic religion, from whom he withholds part of the patrimony of the church, and both of whom have powerful supporters, he is obliged to exercise constant vigilance against the attempts of force or policy. In this situation, his sole reliance must be on the attachment of his subjects; and he appears not to have been inattentive to the means of acquiring this advantage afforded him by the notorious defects of the former Neapolitan government. The Council of State and the Court of Cassation having waited on him upon the 8th of May, he made an address to the former, in which he said, "The independence of our country is ensured: I propose to ensure its prosperity also, by a constitution, which shall be at the same time a safeguard to the throne, and to the subject. The bases of it shall be fixed agreeably to the opinions of the most enlightened statesmen of the kingdom." He repeated the same sentiments to the Court of Cassation; adding, doubtless to inspire confidence, "There are no sacrifices, no efforts, which I have not made to ensure the independence of the Neapolitans; it is henceforth guaranteed by the peace of Europe, and by my relations with the sovereigns with whom I am in alliance.' At the same time there was published at Ancona an Order of the Day

constituting, for the present, the banks of the Metauro the separation of the countries occupied by the Neapolitan army, from the dominions of the Pope.

In August it was announced from Rome, that the Neapolitans still keep possession of the marquisate of Ancona, Macerata, and Ferrara; and that the benefits of the revolution in the affairs of Europe are not felt there, the priests being imprisoned, respectable persons ill treated, and their property confiscated. Joachim, indeed, was not one of the sovereigns from whom a restoration of the church to its former splendour was to be expected. In order probably to free himself from objects of suspicion, the king issued a decree relative to strangers, in consequence of which more than a thousand foreigners in employment quitted the country, and 500 petitions for naturalization were presented to the government, which was directed to examine them with the most scrupulous attention. The Neapolitans are said to have been much gratified with this measure. Some partisans of the old government were arrested, who were, doubtless, the persons alluded to in the article from Rome. The official journal of Naples at this time mentioned the arrival of a prince Moliterno at Rome, who, not being able to obtain a passport for Naples, had established himself at that capital, in order to foment intrigues in the Neapolitan kingdom. For this purpose he had associated to himself a few restless spirits, whom he had made the agents of a conspiracy directed against the Marche of Ancona and the Abruzzos.

On October 14, being the king's birth day, he attended the theatre at Madrid, to the great satisfaction of the heroic inhabitants of the capital. The dramatic piece selected for the occasion is entitled "Giles with the Green Breeches," which certainly does not indicate any thing very elevated. On the same day his Majesty published an amnesty in favour of all persons detained in prison, or fugitives from the kingdom, on account of any other crimes than those recited in a copious list, including high treason, divine and human, resistance to justice, peculation in the finances, and other defaults, which would exclude from the benefit all the subjects of the late arrests. In the mean time these arrests were still going on, and included several distinguished general officers; while frequent changes in the ministry denoted the unsettled state of public affairs, and the imbecility of the monarch. One of these instances of despotic violence was displayed on Nov. 7th, when the king in person repaired to M. de Macanaz, minister of justice and of the interior, and putting seals upon all his papers, ordered him to go to prison. Nothing could more decisively exhibit the weakness and petty policy of the king or his ministry, than the importance given to a pamphlet by M. Amoros, entitled "Representation to Ferdinand VII." The Supreme Council being ordered to take measures for seizing all the copies of this work, circulars were sent to all the tribunals, civil and criminal, and to the prelates and clergy, enjoining them to carry into effect his Majesty's wishes concerning it. In consquence, the work was very generally read, and

many copies of it were preserved in manuscript. Conformably to this exercise of the sovereign authority, the government made a collection of all the papers which recorded the operations of the Cortes, especially the liberal journals entitled "l'Albesa," "el Redactor," "el Conciso," "el Universal," &c. and caused them to be conveyed in two carriages to a square in Madrid, where they were committed to the flames with all the formalities formerly practised at an auto da fé.

A more important matter, however, had long been under the consideration of the Spanish ministry, which was, the fitting out of an expedition for the reduction of the revolted provinces in South America. Various obstacles occurred to this undertaking, arising from the exhausted state of the finances, and the public disorders; but late in the year the preparations appear to have been nearly completed, and the following account was given of its intended conduct and destination. The expedition, under the command of General Morillas, was to sail from Cadiz in three divisions, convoyed by a ship of the line, two frigates, and a brig, and the island of St. Catharine was appointed for the general rendezvous. From thence the troops were to embark for Rio Grande, and having proceeded up that river in small vessels as far as it is navigable, they were to march over land, and undertake the siege of Maldonado, a place one hundred miles to the east of Montevideo, in which the naval force was to cooperate.

In December the sentence upon the state prisoners was made public at Madrid. Twenty-one per

sons

sons were condemned to the gallies for two, six, or eight years, or to strong castles for longer or shorter periods: among these were comprized priests, military men, civil officers, literary persons, and especially the journalists under the Cortes, who supported their system. Two journalists, the editors of the "Redactor General," and two professors, were sentenced to the gallies at Carthagena for ten years, under pain of death on leaving the precincts. Fines and confiscations were added in some cases. The king, about the same

time, issued a decree granting an honorary decoration to those whose attachment to his person during his arrest at the Escurial exposed them to imprisonment and exile under the influence of Godoy. A subsequent decree recognized the distinguished merit of Don Pedro Gravina, the Pope's nuncio, and archbishop of Nicea, who signalized himself by his opposition to the Cortes in their abolition of the Inquisition, and underwent banishment in consequence. A canonry of Seville was conferred on him as a reward.

CHAP.