the year of revolutions—lord palmerston's advice to spain—it is rejected by the duke of sotomayor—dismissal of sir h. bulwer—the revolution in germany—condition of prussia—the king's ordinance—he disclaims a desire to become german emperor—the national assembly dispersed by force—a new constitution—the king declines the german crown—the revolution in vienna—flight of metternich and of the emperor—affairs in bohemia—croats and hungarians—jellachich secretly encouraged—revolt of hungary—murder of lamberg—despotic decrees from vienna—the second revolution in vienna—bombardment of vienna—accession of francis joseph—commencement of the war—defeats of the austrians—quarrel between kossuth and g?rgei—russian intervention—collapse of the insurrection—the vengeance of austria—death of count batthyani—lord palmerston's protest—schwartzenberg's reply—the hungarian refugees—the revolution in italy—revolt of venice—milan in arms—retreat of radetzky—enthusiasm of the italians—revolution and counter-revolution in sicily and naples—difficulties of the pope—republic at rome—the war in lombardy—austrian overtures—radetzky's successes—french and british mediation—armistice arranged—resumption of hostilities—battle of novara—abdication of charles albert—terms of peace—surrender of venice, bologna, and other italian cities—foreign intervention in rome—the french expedition—temporary successes of the romans—siege and fall of rome—restoration of the pope—parliamentary debates on italian affairs—lord palmerston's defence of his policy.

the downfall of the french monarchy was the cause, more or less directly, of a series of continental revolutions, but spain was less affected by the flight of the monarch who had exerted so baneful an influence upon its policy and its royal family than might have been anticipated. sir henry lytton bulwer was then british minister at madrid, and lord palmerston was secretary of state for foreign affairs. he evidently expected another revolution in spain, as appears from a remarkable despatch which he addressed to sir henry. its tone was certainly rather dictatorial, and it is not much wonder that it fired the pride of the spanish government. the noble lord wrote as follows:—"sir,—i have to recommend you to advise the spanish government to adopt a legal and constitutional system. the recent downfall of the king of the french and of his family, and the expulsion of his ministers, ought to indicate to the spanish court and government the danger to which they expose themselves in endeavouring to govern a country in a manner opposed to the sentiments and opinions of the nation; and the catastrophe which has just occurred in france is sufficient to show that even a numerous and well-disciplined army offers only an insufficient means of defence to the crown, when the system followed by it is not in harmony with the general system of the country. the queen of spain would act wisely, in the present critical state of affairs, if she were to strengthen her executive government, by widening the basis on which the administration reposes, and in calling to her councils some of the men in whom the liberal party places confidence."

the irritation which this note caused was increased by the fact that before it was communicated by sir henry bulwer to the spanish minister, the duke de sotomayor, a copy of it had got into print in one of the opposition journals. in replying to it the duke reminded our representative that when lord palmerston sent the despatch in question the spanish cortes were sitting, the press was entirely free, and the government had adopted a line of conduct admitted to be full of kindness and conciliation. he asked, therefore, what motive could induce the british minister to make himself the interpreter of the feelings and opinions of a foreign and independent nation in regard to its domestic affairs, and the kind of men that should be admitted to its councils. the spanish cabinet, which had the full confidence of the crown and the cortes and had been acting in conformity with the constitution and the laws, could not see "without the most extreme surprise the extraordinary pretensions of lord palmerston, which led him to interfere in this manner with the internal affairs of spain, and to support himself on inexact and equivocal data, and the qualification and appreciation of which could not, in any case, come within his province." they declined to give any account of their conduct at the instigation of a foreign power, and declared that all the legal parties in spain unanimously rejected such a humiliating pretension. and, he triumphantly asked, "what would lord palmerston say if the spanish government were to interfere in the administrative acts of the british cabinet, and recommend a modification of the régime of the state; or if it were to advise it to adopt more efficacious or more liberal measures to alleviate the frightful condition of[575] ireland? what would he say if the representative of her catholic majesty in london were to qualify so harshly as your excellency has done, the exceptional measures of repression which the english government prepares against the aggression which threatens in the midst of its own states? what would he say if the spanish government were to demand, in the name of humanity, more consideration and more justice on behalf of the unfortunate people of asia? what, in fine, would he say if we were to remind him that the late events on the continent gave a salutary lesson to all governments, without excepting great britain?"

further correspondence on the subject did not heal the wound that had been inflicted on the pride of the spanish government, but rather inflamed it; and on the 19th of may the british ambassador received a peremptory order to quit the kingdom within forty-eight hours. in dismissing him, the duke de sotomayor administered to him a very sharp rebuke. "your conduct," he said, "in the execution of your important mission has been reprobated by public opinion in england, censured by the british press, and condemned in the british parliament. her catholic majesty's government cannot defend it when that of her britannic majesty has not done so." sir henry bulwer accordingly departed, mr. otway, the principal attaché, remaining to transact any necessary business connected with the embassy. diplomatic relations were not renewed for some time, and, it must be admitted, that the insult that had been offered to england was in a great measure provoked.

elsewhere, however, lord palmerston abstained from interference, particularly in germany. the immense phlegmatic mass of the teutonic population—amounting to 43,000,000, spread over 246,000 square miles, and divided into thirty-five sovereign states—was powerfully moved by the shock of the french revolution. those states existed under every form of government, from absolutism to democracy. they were all united into a bund or confederation, the object of which was the maintenance of the independence of germany, and of its several states. the confederation consisted of a diet, composed of the plenipotentiaries of all the states. this diet was no bad emblem of the german mind and character—fruitful in speculation, free in thought, boundless in utterance, but without strength of will or power of action. the freer spirits demanded more liberal forms of government, and on these being refused, the revolution broke out in baden, hesse-cassel, and bavaria. in saxony the monarchy was saved by bending before the storm of revolution: a new administration was appointed, which at once issued a programme of policy so liberal that the people were satisfied. even the king of hanover yielded to the revolutionary pressure, and called to his councils m. hubé, a liberal deputy, who had been imprisoned several years for resisting an unconstitutional act of the crown. on the 20th of march he issued a proclamation, in which he stated that, in compliance with the many representations addressed to him, he had abolished the censorship of the press, granted an amnesty and restoration of rights to all who had been condemned for political offences, and was willing to submit to changes in the constitution, based upon the responsibility of ministers to the country. it was not without necessity that such appeals were addressed to the german people. at frankfort, while the assembly were occupied in framing a brand-new constitution, the republican party in the chamber appealed out of doors to the passions of the multitude, and excited them to such a pitch that barricades were erected, and the red flag planted in the streets. by midnight the struggle was over, and tranquillity everywhere restored through the exertions of the military.

prussia, it might be supposed, would escape the invasion of revolutionary principles in 1848. great hopes had been excited on the accession of frederick william iv. to his father's throne. yet it was evident to close observers of the signs of the times that a spirit of sullen discontent was brooding over the population. there was a feeling that their amiable and accomplished sovereign had disappointed them. he proved to be excessively sensitive to the slightest infringement of his prerogative, and he abhorred the idea of representative bodies, who might oppose constitutional barriers to his own absolute will. hence, there grew up sensibly a mutual feeling of distrust between him and the people, and the natural effect on his part was a change from the leniency and liberality of his earlier years to a more austere temper, while a tedious, inactive, and undecided course of policy wore out the patience of those who expected a more constitutional system. consequently, although the administration of the country was free from any taint of corruption, and was, on the whole, moderate and just, the revolutionary earthquake of 1848 shook the kingdom of prussia to its very foundations.

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frankfort. (from a photograph by frith & co., reigate.)

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after a week's popular tumult in his capital, the king's eyes were opened, and he conceived the idea of putting himself at the head of the popular movement, with a view, no doubt, of directing and controlling it. on the 18th of march he issued an ordinance against convoking a meeting of the diet which had closed its session only a fortnight before. in this document he stated that he demanded that germany should be transformed from a confederation of states to one federal state, with constitutional representation, a general military system after the prussian model, a single federal banner, a common law of settlement for all germany, and the right of all germans to change their abode in every part of the fatherland, with the abolition of all custom-house barriers to commercial intercourse, with uniformity of weights, measures, and coinage, and liberty of the press throughout germany. thereby he placed himself at the head of the united germany movement.

meanwhile difficulties thickened daily about the king. his cabinets resigned in rapid succession; there were no less than five of them between march and october; till at last he got a man of nerve for prime minister, in the person of count von brandenburg. the ministry addressed a document to the king for the purpose of disclaiming on his behalf the desire to become german emperor, stating that his assuming the german colours, and putting himself at the head of the movement for german unity, and proposing to summon a meeting of the sovereigns and states did not justify the interpretation it had received; that it was not his intention to anticipate the unbiassed decision of the sovereign princes and the people of germany by offering to undertake the temporary direction of german affairs. thus the king was obliged to back quietly out of a position which he had rashly assumed. the united diet acted as being itself only a temporary institution, having established the electoral law on the basis of universal suffrage in order to prepare the way for a constituent assembly, by which means the revolutionary spirit penetrated to the very extremities of prussian society.

the first session of the national assembly was opened by the king in person on the 22nd of[577] may, but it did not conduct itself in a manner to recommend universal suffrage, or to make the friends of orderly government enamoured of revolution. eventually it was dispersed by force. the new chambers were opened on the 26th of february by the king in person, count brandenburg having led him to the throne. he stated that circumstances having obliged him to dissolve the national assembly, he had granted to the nation a constitution which by its provisions fulfilled all his promises made in the month of march. this constitution was modelled after that of belgium. the house was to consist of two chambers, both elective—the former by persons paying 24s. a year of direct taxes, and the latter by a process of double election: that is, the deputies were chosen by delegates, who had themselves been elected by universal suffrage, there being one deputy for every 750 inhabitants. all prussians were declared equal in the eye of the law, freedom of the press was established, and all exclusive class privileges were abolished. the judges were made independent of the crown, and no ordinance was to have the force of law without the sanction of the assembly.

louis kossuth.

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the frankfort parliament had spent a year doing nothing but talking. they came, however, to the important resolution of offering the imperial crown of germany to the king of prussia. as soon as the prussian assembly heard this, they adopted an address to the king, earnestly recommending him to accept the proffered dignity. they were deeply interested by seeing the house of hohenzollern called to the direction of the fatherland and they hoped he would take into his strong hands the guidance of the destinies of the german nation. on the 3rd of april, 1849, the king received the frankfort deputation commissioned[578] to present to him the imperial crown. he declined the honour unless the several governments of the german states should approve of the new imperial constitution, and concur in the choice of the assembly. as soon as this reply was made known, the second prussian chamber adopted a motion of "urgency," and prepared an address to the king, entreating him to accept the glorious mission of taking into firm hands the guidance of the destiny of regenerated germany, in order to rescue it from the incalculable dangers that might arise from the conflicting agitations of the time. the address was carried only by a small majority. the king had good reason for refusing the imperial diadem; first, because austria, würtemberg, bavaria, and hanover decidedly objected; and secondly because the king required changes in the frankfort constitution which the parliament refused to make. these facts enabled his majesty to discover that the imperial supremacy was "an unreal dignity, and the constitution only a means gradually, and under legal pretences, to set aside authority, and to introduce the republic." in july the state of siege was terminated in berlin, and the new elections went in favour of the government.

austria, the centre of despotic power on the continent, the model of absolutism, in which the principle of divine right was most deeply rooted, enjoyed peace from 1815, when europe was tranquillised by the holy alliance, down to 1848, when it felt in all its force the tremendous shock of revolution. during that time prince metternich ruled the austrian empire almost autocratically. this celebrated diplomatist was the greatest champion and most powerful protector in europe of legitimacy and ultra-conservatism. the news of the french revolution reached vienna on the 1st of march; and no censorship of the press, no espionage, no sanitary cordon designed to exclude the plague of revolution, could avert its electric influence, or arrest its momentous effects. on the 13th the people rose, defeated the imperial troops, forced metternich to fly, and the emperor to promise constitutional reforms. the emperor and his family, however, soon felt that vienna was too hot for them, and notwithstanding unlimited concessions, ferdinand began to fear that his throne might share the fate of louis philippe's. therefore, he secretly quitted the capital with the imperial family, on the evening of the 17th of may, 1848, alleging the state of his health as a reason for his flight, which took his ministers quite by surprise. he proceeded to innsbruck in tyrol.

the viennese repeatedly sent petitions and deputations imploring him in vain to return; and it was not till the 8th of august that he consented to quit the safe asylum he had chosen. personally he had nothing to apprehend. he was amiable and kind, and wanted both the ability and energy to make himself feared. it was not at vienna alone, or in the austrian province, that the imperial power was paralysed. every limb of the vast empire quivered in the throes of revolution. two days after the outbreak in vienna a great meeting, convoked anonymously, was held at prague, the capital of bohemia, which passed resolutions demanding constitutional government; perfect equality in the two races—german and czech; the union of bohemia, moravia, and silesia, with a common diet to meet alternately at prague and brünn; that judicial proceedings should be public; that there should be a separate and responsible government at prague, with security for personal liberty; free press, and religious equality. a deputation was sent with these demands to vienna. they were all granted; bohemia was recognised as having a distinct nationality; the prince francis joseph, afterwards emperor of austria, having been appointed viceroy. even so slav ambition was unsatisfied, and prague had to be bombarded by the austrian troops.

jellacic, the ban, or governor, of croatia, resolved to hold a slavonic diet at agram on the 5th of june; but it was forbidden as illegal by the austrian government, and the ban was summoned to innsbruck to explain his conduct to the emperor. he disobeyed the summons. the diet was held, and one of its principal acts was to confer upon jellacic the title of ban, which he had held under the now repudiated authority of the emperor. he was consequently denounced as a rebel, and divested of all his titles and offices. the emperor proceeded to restore his authority by force of arms. carlowitz was bombarded, and converted into a heap of ruins; and other cities surrendered to escape a similar fate. it was not, however, from disloyalty to the imperial throne, but from hostility to the ascendency of hungary, that the ban had taken up arms. he therefore went to innsbruck early in july, and having obtained an interview with the emperor, he declared his loyalty to the sovereign, and made known the grievances which his nation endured under the hungarian government. his demands were security and equality of rights with the hungarians, both in the hungarian diet and in[579] the administration. these conditions were profoundly resented by the magyars, who, headed by count batthyány and louis kossuth, had in 1847 extorted a constitution from the emperor. it was the unfortunate antipathy of races, excited by the germanic and pan-slavonic movements, that enabled the emperor to divide and conquer. the archduke stephen in opening the hungarian diet indignantly repelled the insinuation that either the king or any of the royal family could give the slightest encouragement to the ban of croatia in his hostile proceedings against hungary. yet, on the 30th of september following, letters which had been intercepted by the hungarians were published at vienna, completely compromising the emperor, and revealing a disgraceful conspiracy which he appears to have entered into with jellacic, when they met at innsbruck. not only were the barbarous croatians, in their devastating aggression on hungary, encouraged by the emperor while professing to deplore and condemn them, but the imperial government were secretly supplying the ban with money for carrying on the war. early in august the croatian troops laid siege to several of the most important cities in hungary, and laid waste some of the richest districts in that country. in these circumstances the diet voted that a deputation of twenty-five members should proceed at once to vienna, and make an appeal to the national assembly for aid against the croats, who were now rapidly overrunning the country under jellacic, who proclaimed that he was about to rid hungary "from the yoke of an incapable, odious, and rebel government." the deputation went to vienna, and the assembly, by a majority of 186 to 108, resolved to refuse it a hearing. deeply mortified at this insult, the hungarians resolved to break completely with austria. they invested kossuth with full powers as dictator, whereupon the archduke resigned his vice-royalty on the 25th of september, and retired to moravia.

in the midst of the excitement at pesth, count lamberg was appointed commander-in-chief of the imperial army in hungary; and a decree appeared at the same time ordering a suspension of hostilities. the count immediately started for pesth without a military escort. in the meantime kossuth had issued a counter-proclamation, in which the appointment of lamberg was declared to be illegal and null, as it was not countersigned by the hungarian minister, according to the constitution, and all persons obeying him were declared to be guilty of high treason. unknown assassins, translating this language into action, stabbed the count to death in the public street (september 28, 1848). the government of vienna resolved now to crush the hungarian insurrection at any cost. a decree was issued by the emperor, who had lately returned to the capital, dissolving the diet, declaring all its ordinances and acts illegal and void, constituting jellacic commander-in-chief in hungary and transylvania, with unlimited powers, and appointing also a new hungarian ministry. kossuth met this by a counter-proclamation, asserting the entire independence of hungary, and denouncing the ban and the new prime minister as traitors. the power given to jellacic excited the indignation not only of all hungarians, but of the citizens of vienna. they rose the second time, and again forced the emperor to fly, this time to olmütz.

but the triumph of the insurgents was brief. from radetzky, triumphant in italy, from windischgr?tz at prague, and from jellacic in hungary, came assurances that they were making haste to rally round the emperor's flag, and to cause it to wave in triumph over the vanquished revolution. the last with his croats moved up by forced marches, availing himself of the southern railway, and on the 9th of october he was within two hours' march of vienna. on the news of the approach of this formidable enemy, consternation seized the viennese. the reinforcements brought by windischgr?tz swelled the imperial forces at vienna to 70,000 men. in the presence of this host, hanging like an immense thunder-cloud charged with death and ruin over the capital, the citizens relied chiefly upon the hungarian army. but this was held in check by the croatian army; and kossuth, deeming it prudent not to enter into the contest, withdrew his troops within the bounds of hungarian territory. on the 28th, prince windischgr?tz began to bombard the city, and the troops advanced to the assault. the hungarians at last advanced in aid of the insurgents, but were beaten off, and on the night of the 31st of october the city surrendered, and was in possession of the imperial troops.

a new ministry was appointed with prince schwarzenberg at its head, and on the 2nd of december the emperor ferdinand abdicated in favour of his nephew, francis joseph, whose father francis charles, next in succession, renounced his claim to the throne. the retiring emperor stated that the pressure of events, and the immediate want of a comprehensive reformation[580] in the forms of state, convinced him that more youthful powers were necessary to complete the grand work which he had commenced. the real reason was that lord palmerston, who in his private correspondence held the emperor to be "next thing to an idiot," had been constantly advising him to resign his sceptre into firmer hands. the young emperor, in his proclamation, expressed his conviction of the value of free institutions, and said that he entered with confidence on the path of a prosperous reformation of the monarchy.

windischgr?tz was, meanwhile, diligently preparing for the conquest of hungary, with an army which numbered 65,000 men, with 260 guns. the full details of the campaign, however, can hardly be said to belong to english history. it is enough to say here that while g?rgei more than held him in check at the outset of the campaign, bem, a pole, had been conducting the war in the east of hungary with the most brilliant success. he was there encountered by the austrian general puchner, who had been shut up in the town of hermannstadt with 4,000 men and eighteen guns, and bem succeeded in completely cutting off his communications with the main austrian army. in these circumstances, the inhabitants of hermannstadt and kronstadt, on the russian frontier, both menaced with destruction by the hourly increasing forces under bem's command, earnestly implored the intervention of russia. puchner summoned a council of war, which concurred in the prayer for intervention. for this the czar was prepared, and a formal requisition having been made by puchner, general luders, who had received instructions from st. petersburg, ordered two detachments of his troops to cross the frontier, and occupy the two cities above mentioned. nevertheless bem defeated the combined russian and austrian army, and shortly afterwards g?rgei won an important battle at isaszeg.

an unhappy difference in principle of the most fundamental character occurred between kossuth and g?rgei at this time, which brought ruin on the hungarian cause, now on the verge of complete success. kossuth was for complete independence; his rival for the maintenance of the hapsburg monarchy. kossuth, however, had taken his course before consulting g?rgei—a fact that embittered the spirit of the latter. the hungarian assembly, at his suggestion, had voted the independence of hungary (april 19, 1849), with the deposition and banishment for ever of the house of hapsburg lorraine. after this declaration the hungarian forces increased rapidly. the highest hopes still pervaded the nation. they gained several advantages over the enemy, having now in the field 150,000 men. field-marshal welden, the austrian commander-in-chief, dispirited and broken down in health, resigned the command, and was succeeded by the infamous haynau—the "woman-flogger." but the fate of hungary was decided by russian intervention actuated by the fear of the czar lest the movement should spread to poland. hungary would have successfully defended itself against austria; but when the latter's beaten armies were aided by 120,000 muscovites under paskievitch, their most famous general, coming fresh into the field, success was no longer possible, and the cause was utterly hopeless. on the 31st of july, 1849, luders, having effected a junction with puchner, attacked bem, and completely defeated him. on the 13th of august g?rgei was surrounded at vilagos, and surrendered to the russian general rudiger. the war was over with the capitulation of comorn.

paskievitch and the other russian generals pleaded earnestly with the emperor of austria, imploring him to extend his clemency to all the officers and soldiers who had been engaged in the insurrection. but the emperor was deeply mortified at the humiliation of having to call for russian aid against his own rebellious subjects; he was vexed at the horror the hungarians felt about surrendering to his army, as well as jealous of the magnanimity of the muscovites. he therefore answered the russian appeal, that he had sacred duties to perform towards his other subjects, which, as well as the general good of his people, he was obliged to consider. the warmest apologists of austria were forced to condemn the vindictive and cruel policy now adopted. g?rgei was pardoned and offered rank in the russian army, which he declined, and klapka escaped by the terms of his capitulation; but fourteen other hungarian officers of the highest rank were cruelly immolated to austrian vengeance. one lady was ordered to sweep the streets of temesvar, another was stripped and flogged by the soldiery. many eminent magyars were hanged. but of all the atrocities which stained the name of austria, and brought down upon her the execration of the civilised world, none was so base and infamous as the judicial murder of count batthyány. this illustrious man, who had presided over the hungarian ministry, was sentenced to be hanged. having taken leave of his wife, he endeavoured, in the course of the night, to escape the infamy of such a death by opening the veins of his neck with[581] a blunt paper-knife; but the attempt was discovered, and the surgeon stopped the bleeding. next day the noble patriot procured a less ignominious doom—he was shot (october 6, 1849).

assassination of count lamberg. (see p. 579.)

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meanwhile lord palmerston had been constant in his appeals to the austrian court. when the hungarian cause became desperate, he had urged austria to consent to some arrangement which, while maintaining unimpaired the union with the house of hapsburg, would satisfy the national feelings of the hungarians. after the surrender of comorn, he urged the government to "make a generous use of the successes which it had obtained," and to pay "due regard to the ancient constitutional rights of hungary." but he received from prince schwarzenberg, the austrian minister, a scathing reply. "the world," he wrote, "is agitated by a spirit of subversion. england herself is not exempt from this spirit; witness canada, the island of cephalonia, and finally unhappy ireland. but, wherever revolt breaks out within the vast limits of the british empire, the english government always knows how to maintain the authority of the law, were it even at the price of torrents of blood. it is not for us to blame her.... we consider it our duty to refrain from expressing our opinion, persuaded as we are that persons are apt to fall into gross errors in making themselves judges of the often so complicated position of foreign affairs."

for this rebuff, to which he did not even venture an answer, lord palmerston speedily obtained a dexterous revenge. kossuth, bem, dembinski, and some thousands of the hungarian leaders, found refuge at shumla, within the turkish frontier. a joint and imperative demand was made by austria and russia upon the sultan to deliver them up. this demand was enforced by two envoys from each court. the pressure was resisted by the sultan, who refused to yield to a demand which required him to violate his own honour, the national dignity, the dictates of humanity, and the most sacred rights of hospitality. he took this course at the risk of a rupture with russia, and though he was pledged by treaty to refuse to shelter both austrian and russian malcontents. but he was strongly supported by lord palmerston and the french government, who[582] having gained time by the sultan's despatch of a special mission to st. petersburg, ordered the british and french fleets to move up to the dardanelles and smyrna. thereupon the autocratic powers lowered their tone, russia demanding only the expulsion of the poles, austria the internment of some thirty of the refugees. the refugees were removed to kutaya, in asia minor, where they remained till august 22nd, 1851. on the 1st of september in that year kossuth left turkey. on his arrival at marseilles he was refused permission to travel through france; but he was hospitably received at gibraltar and lisbon, and on the 28th of october arrived safely in england, where he was welcomed with unbounded enthusiasm. during these negotiations palmerston had displayed a courage which raised his reputation both at home and abroad.

italy, of all the countries on the continent, was most predisposed for revolution in 1848. in fact, the train had long been laid in that country—rather, a number of trains—designed to blow up the despotisms under which the people had been so grievously oppressed. mazzini, the prince of political conspirators, had been diligently at work, and the carbonari had been actively engaged in organising their associations, and making preparations for action. the hopes of the italian people had been greatly excited by the unexpected liberalism of the new pope, pius ix., who startled the world by the novelty of his reforming policy. already partial concessions had been made by the government, but these proved wholly insufficient. upon the news of the revolution in vienna, venice rose, forced the governor to release her leaders, tommaseo and manin, compelled the austrians to evacuate the city, and established a provisional government. meanwhile in milan all was quiet until the news arrived of the flight of metternich. then the inhabitants became impatient and clamorous, and assembled in large numbers around the government house. in order to disperse them, the soldiers fired blank cartridge. at this moment a fiery youth shouted "viva l'italia!" and then, apparently, gave the preconcerted signal by firing a pistol at the troops. instantly the guards were overpowered, the vice-governor, o'donell, was made prisoner, and the success of the movement was quickly signalised by the floating of the tricolour over the palace. that night (march 18) and the next day (saturday) the people were busily occupied in the erection of barricades. the bells of milan tolled early on sunday morning, summoning the population, not to worship, but to battle. an immense tricolour flag floated from the tower of the cathedral, and under that emblem of revolution the unarmed people, men and women, fought fiercely against marshal radetzky's imperial troops, and in spite of his raking cannon, for five days. it was the most terrific scene of street fighting by an enraged people who had broken their chains that had ever occurred in the history of the world. every stronghold was defended by cannon, and yet one by one they all fell into the hands of the people, till at last the troops remained masters of only the gates of the city. but the walls were scaled by emissaries, who announced to the besieged that pavia and brescia were in open insurrection, and that the archduke, son of the viceroy, had been taken prisoner. the citizens also communicated with the insurgent population outside by means of small balloons, containing proclamations, requesting them to break down the bridges and destroy the roads, to prevent reinforcements coming to the austrians. in vain the austrian cannon thundered from the tosa and romagna gates. the undaunted peasantry pressed forward in increasing numbers, and carried the positions. radetzky was at length compelled to order a retreat. he retired to crema, within the quadrilateral fortresses beyond the mincio. in the meantime a provisional government was appointed at milan, which issued an earnest appeal to all italians to rise in arms. "we have conquered," they said; "we have compelled the enemy to fly." the proclamation also intimated that charles albert of sardinia was hastening to their assistance, "to secure the fruits of the glorious revolution," to fight the last battle of independence and the italian union. on the 25th of march the piedmontese army was ordered across the ticino.

the enthusiasm which now pervaded the whole italian peninsula was unbounded, and broke forth in frantic expressions of joy and triumph. the days of continental despotism seemed numbered at last. everything promised well for the cause of italian freedom and unity. the italian troops stationed at bergamo, cremona, brescia, and rovigo joined the insurgents. the grand duke of tuscany set his troops in motion; the pope blessed the volunteers; even naples sent a contingent. the austrian garrisons had to abandon padua and several other places, while the great fortress of verona was held with difficulty. in the south of italy the cause of despotism seemed to be going down rapidly. deceived by the promises[583] of the king of naples, the people of sicily determined to trust him no longer. in january, 1848, an address to the sicilians was issued from palermo, which stated that prayers, pacific protestations and demonstrations had all been treated by ferdinand with contempt. palermo would receive with transport every sicilian who should come armed to sustain the common cause, and establish reformed institutions, "in conformity with the progress and will of italy and of pius ix." property was to be respected, robbery was to be punished as high treason, and whoever was in want would be supplied at the common charge. the king's birthday was kept by unfurling the banner of revolution, and calling the citizens to arms. the royal troops retired into the barracks, the forts, and the palace, leaving the streets and squares in possession of the insurgents. the determination of the sicilians caused the weak and wavering king, ferdinand ii., to yield; and on the 28th of january a royal decree appeared upon the walls of naples, granting a constitution for the kingdom of the two sicilies. orders were sent the same day to palermo for the withdrawal of the neapolitan troops, and an amnesty for political offences soon was published. the troops remained in the garrison, however, and occasional conflicts took place between them and the citizens till the 2nd of may, when an armistice was agreed to, which lasted to the 2nd of august. in the meantime the elections had taken place under the new constitution, which the king had promulgated; but the neapolitan chamber proceeded to modify it, to which the king objected. the people, led on by the national guard, which had been established, determined to support the assembly. on the 15th of may, therefore, barricades were erected in the streets, the royal palace was occupied by troops, and artillerymen stood by their guns with lighted matches in their hands. the accidental firing of a gun led to a collision with the swiss troops; thereupon, a tremendous battle ensued, lasting for eight hours, in which the royal troops were completely victorious.

the sicilian chambers met on the 13th of april, and voted the deposition of the royal family of naples. it was resolved to elect a new king, and to join the league for the independence of italy. the prince chosen king of sicily was the duke of genoa, second son of charles albert, with the title of albert amadeus i., king of sicily. messina had revolted, and a fleet was sent from naples to reduce it. a bombardment commenced on september 3rd, and was continued night and day. the insurgents bravely defended themselves till their provisions were exhausted, and they were scarcely able to stand to their guns. their ammunition had been all consumed. on the other hand, reinforcements by thousands were poured in from a fleet of neapolitan steamers. the city was now on fire in every quarter. the insurgents were unable to return a single shot. the victorious royalists then began to massacre the inhabitants, who fled in every direction from their murderous assailants, 10,000 of them finding shelter on board french and english vessels while the bourbon standard floated over the smoking ruins of messina. the king promptly withdrew his fleet and contingent of 20,000 men from northern italy.

the pope had been labouring to satisfy his subjects by effecting some mitigation of the ecclesiastical system of government. he had promulgated a plan for the organisation of the executive in nine departments; the chiefs of which were to compose the council of ministers, to consist partly of laymen, with a cardinal as secretary. the populace, however, became gradually more unmanageable. the cardinals were insulted wherever they appeared in the streets. in the new administration, count rossi—formerly ambassador from france—occupied the post of prime minister. he was the object of popular distrust; and it was supposed that by his temporising policy, and the feint of practical reforms, he was merely trying to gain time, and to delude the people—so, at least, thought the revolutionary party. the 15th of november was the day appointed for the opening of the chambers, and on that day he was murdered on the steps of the cancellaria. the mob obtained the upper hand with surprising rapidity. thenceforth the pope took no part in public affairs, and remained a prisoner in his palace, though the government was still carried on in his name. it was not to be expected that the head of the roman catholic church would remain long in that position. but the difficulty was to get out of the city unobserved. however, he escaped in disguise to gaeta. garibaldi, who had returned from south america, and had been serving with the army of charles albert as a guerilla leader, now appeared on the roman stage. he had collected together about 3,000 volunteers and refugees, with whom he arrived in rome at the end of january, 1849. a constituent assembly was convoked, by which the pope was dethroned, and a republic proclaimed, at the head of which was a triumvirate composed of mazzini, armellini, and saffi.

[584]

meanwhile these disturbances elsewhere were having a disastrous effect upon the fortunes of the war in lombardy. at first, indeed, everything pointed to the success of the italian cause. in may peschiera fell, and radetzky, venturing beyond the quadrilateral, was defeated by charles albert at goito. already the italians had rejected the help which lamartine offered them from france, and austria in despair appealed to lord palmerston for the mediation of britain. well would it have been for the italians if terms could have been arranged. lord palmerston, indeed, who had already sent off a private note to the british minister at vienna, advising the austrians to give up their italian possessions at once, now consented to propose an armistice, while asserting that "things had gone too far to admit of any future connection between austria and the italians." but nothing came of the proposal; the sardinians declined to consent to the armistice, which would only be for the benefit of radetzky, who was at this moment somewhat hardly pressed; and the maximum of the concessions offered by the austrian envoy, baron hummelauer, was that lombardy should be freed from its connection with austria while venice should be retained. palmerston considered the surrender insufficient, and the war went on.

giuseppe garibaldi.

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soon it became apparent that the italians were disunited, monarchists against republicans, and milanese against piedmontese. radetzky, meanwhile, had received ample reinforcements, and in june set himself to reduce venetia. fortress after fortress fell, and by the end of the month the province, with the exception of the capital, was once more in austrian hands. then the sturdy[585] old warrior crushed the piedmontese at custozza and drove them pell-mell across the mincio, after a battle which lasted three days. charles albert, unequal to his position, and worn out by the dissensions of his staff, surrendered milan without a struggle, and by august, 1848, the fate of lombardy was sealed. in vain the lombards appealed to france; the cautious cavaignac had there replaced the sentimental lamartine. he offered, indeed, to join with england in mediation, and, with his consent, lord palmerston proposed the terms which had been previously offered by baron hummelauer. the austrians, however, declined to negotiate on that basis, and at last on the 25th of september declared that they would consent to no cession of territory. however, there was a cessation of hostilities.

pius ix. quitting the vatican in disguise. (see p. 583.)

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an armistice was arranged with piedmont, which lasted throughout the autumn and winter. the events at rome and the flight of the pope had meanwhile greatly altered the position of the italian question; and the revolutionary spirit was so strong that charles albert found it impossible to resist the demand of his people for a renewal of hostilities. "i must restore war," he said, "or abdicate the crown and see a republic established." he opened his parliament in person on the 1st of january, 1849, when he delivered a lengthy speech, in which he fully expounded his policy. he invited the nation to co-operate in the great struggle which was impending. in january, the sardinian prime minister, m. gioberti, addressed a protest to the foreign powers, in which he stated that though the suspension of hostilities agreed to on the 5th of august, 1848, was productive of fatal political consequences, sardinia had faithfully observed the agreement, while austria had disregarded her promises, and exhibited nothing but bad faith. she had pursued an iniquitous system of spoliation. under the name of extraordinary war contributions her fleet seized italian vessels navigating the adriatic. she had put to death persons whose safety was guaranteed by the law of nations. she had violated the most sacred compacts in a manner unparalleled in the annals of civilised nations. gioberti, however, who was obnoxious to the republican party, was compelled to resign. on the 24th of february the new ministry[586] issued a programme of its policy, and on the 14th of march m. ratazzi, minister of the interior, announced to the chamber of deputies the expiration of the armistice, declaring that no honourable peace with austria could be expected unless won by arms. war would, of course, have its perils; but between those perils and the shame of an ignominious peace, which would not insure italian independence, the king's government could not hesitate. consequently, he stated that, two days before, a special messenger had been sent to radetzky, announcing the termination of the armistice. he was perhaps justified by the declaration of the austrian envoy to london, count colloredo, that austria would not enter into any sort of conference unless she was assured that no cession of territory would be required. the king, meanwhile, had joined the army as a general officer, commanding the brigade in savoy. the nominal strength of his army at that time was 135,000 men; but the muster-roll on the 20th of march showed only about 84,000 effective troops, including 5,000 cavalry, with 150 guns. radetzky had under his command an army equal in number, but far superior in equipment and discipline. he at once broke charles albert's lines; drove him to retreat upon novara, where he utterly defeated him. abdication only remained for the king, and his son, victor emmanuel, concluded peace on terms dictated by austria. the king of sardinia was to disband ten military corps composed of hungarians, poles, and lombards. twenty thousand austrian troops were to occupy the territory between the po, the ticino, and the sesia, and to form one half of the garrison of alessandria, consisting of 6,000 men, a mixed military committee to provide for the maintenance of the austrian troops. the sardinians were to evacuate the duchies of modena, piacenza, and tuscany. the piedmontese in venice were to return home, and the sardinian fleet, with all the steamers, was to quit the adriatic. in addition to these stipulations, sardinia was to indemnify austria for the whole cost of the war. these terms were accepted with great reluctance by the piedmontese government, and with even more reluctance by the genoese, who revolted, and had to be suppressed by the royal troops.

it remained for austria to put down the revolution in venice. that city had bravely stood a siege for nearly twelve months, when, after wonderful displays of heroism, its defenders were at last compelled to relinquish the unequal contest. this glorious defence was mainly owing to the extraordinary energy and activity of manin, who was at the head of the government. after the capitulation he escaped with general hesse and other leaders of the republican party. manin settled in paris, where he lived in retirement, supporting himself by giving lessons in italian. he died there in 1857. the people of venice honoured his memory by going into mourning on the anniversary of his death, though, by doing so—such is the meanness of malice—even ladies incurred the penalties of fine and imprisonment at the hands of the austrians.

during the months of april and may florence and all the other towns of tuscany recovered from the revolutionary fever, and returned to their allegiance. at bologna the austrians met with a determined resistance. the garrison consisted of 3,000 men, including some hundreds of the swiss guards, who had abandoned the service of the pope. they defied the austrians, stating that the madonna was all for resistance, and was actively engaged in turning aside the rockets of the enemy. but the heavy artillery did its deadly work notwithstanding; and after a short bombardment the white flag was hung out, the city capitulated, and the garrison laid down their arms, but were permitted to march out unmolested. ancona also capitulated on the 10th, and ferrara was occupied without resistance by count thurn. in fact, the counter-revolution was successful all over central italy, except in the papal states, which now became the centre of universal interest. the leaders of the revolutionary party, chased from the other cities of italy, were warmly welcomed at rome, and gladly entered the ranks of its defenders.

the eyes of the world were now turned upon rome. it was not to be expected that the catholic powers would allow the bark of st. peter to go down in the flood of revolution without an effort to save it. spain was the first to interpose for this purpose. its government invited france, austria, bavaria, sardinia, tuscany, and naples to send plenipotentiaries to consult on the best means of reinstating the pope. austria also protested against the new state of things, complaining that the austrian flag, and the arms of the empire on the palace of its ambassador at rome, had been insulted and torn down. on the 8th of february a body of austrian troops, under general haynau, entered ferrara, to avenge the death of three austrian soldiers, and an insult offered to an austrian consul. he required that the latter should be[587] indemnified, that the papal colours should be again displayed, that the murderers of the soldiers should be given up, and that the city should support 10,000 austrian troops. this was a state of things not to be endured by the french republic, and its government determined to interpose and overreach austria, for the purpose of re-establishing french ascendency at rome, even though based upon the ruins of a sister republic. the french republicans, it is well known, cared very little for the pope, but they were ready to make use of him to gratify their own national ambition. their attack on the roman republic would therefore be fittingly described by the language which pius ix. applied to that republic itself, as "hypocritical felony."

it was agreed between the catholic powers that the papal territory should be invaded at the same time by neapolitan, austrian, and french troops. france was determined to have the chief part, and, if possible, all the glory of the enterprise. odillon barrot, president of the council, explained the objects of the french expedition, on the 16th of april. the minister demanded extraordinary credit for the expenses of the expedition. it was promptly voted without any opposition, save some murmurs from the left. an expedition was immediately organised, and an army, 6,000 strong, was embarked at marseilles, with astounding celerity, on the 22nd of april, 1849, under the command of general oudinot. but the romans had no confidence in their professed protectors. on the contrary, they set about making all possible preparations for the defence of the city. in consequence of the hints he had got, however, oudinot sent forward a reconnoitring party, which was saluted with a fire of artillery, certainly not meant as a feu de joie. the french general then ordered an attack upon two gates, the portese and san pancrazio, both on the right bank of the tiber. the romans repelled them at both points with a discharge of grape-shot, and they were compelled to retire with heavy loss; general garibaldi, with his lombard legion, having surrounded a retreating column, and made 200 prisoners. after this mortifying repulse, oudinot retired to palo, near civita vecchia, to await reinforcements, in order to enable him to vindicate the honour of the french arms, which could now be done only by the capture of rome; and the french government were probably not sorry to have this pretext for their unwarrantable course of aggression. in the meantime reinforcements were rapidly sent from toulon. during this period a neapolitan army, 16,000 strong, commanded by the king in person, had entered the states of the church. garibaldi, disregarding the orders of roselli, went forth to meet the invaders, fell upon them with the suddenness of a thunderbolt, won a victory over them, and compelled them to retreat. all negotiations having failed, the french general commenced a regular siege. the city was cannonaded from the 11th to the 21st of june, when garibaldi assured the triumvirs that the defence was no longer possible. so pius ix. was restored by foreign bayonets. shortly after, the pope issued a decree, proprio motu, containing a programme of "liberal institutions," so far as they were compatible with an absolute authority, enjoyed in virtue of divine right. the people were up for a brief period; they were now down, and would be kept down, if possible. they had presumed to think that they were the source of political power; that they could give their representatives the right of making laws and dethroning kings; but they must now learn that their business was to obey, and submit to anything which their superiors might think proper, of their own will and pleasure, to ordain.

the affairs of italy were the subject of warm debates in the british parliament in the session of 1849. lord palmerston was assailed by the conservatives for having countenanced the sicilian insurrection, and for having sent lord minto to italy on a mission of conciliation, which they considered an unwarrantable meddling in the affairs of foreign countries. his assailants, he said, belonged to a school which maintained "the right divine to govern wrong," and they therefore stigmatised the sicilians as rebels. but the sicilians had had a constitution for centuries, and their ancient and indisputable rights were confirmed in 1812. as to lord minto, he interfered at the instance of the king of naples himself. the treaty of vienna recognised the title of the king as king of the two sicilies; "but the recognition of a title was one thing, the overturning of a constitution another."

in the house of lords the earl of aberdeen, foreign secretary in the late government, strongly censured our foreign policy with regard to northern italy. he spoke with delight of the brilliant victories and rare generosity of radetzky, and warmly eulogised the administration of the austrian dominions in italy. lord brougham spoke strongly on the same side with lord aberdeen, indignantly condemning the italian policy of the government. on the 20th of july he moved[588] a set of resolutions on the subject, in which he also praised austria, as being just and moderate, while sardinia was aggressive and faithless. he spoke of "the terrible tyranny established by those firebrands of revolution, mazzini and garibaldi." he considered that an eternal debt of gratitude was due to general oudinot, for conducting the siege in such a manner as to avoid any waste of blood, and to preserve the treasures of art of which that city was the repository. with reference to southern italy he protested against the conduct, not only of our regular diplomatic body, but of "that mongrel sort of monster—half nautical, half political—diplomatic vice-admirals, speculative ship captains, observers of rebellions, and sympathisers therewith;" the officers alluded to being lord napier, sir william parker, and captain codrington. the earl of carlisle, in reply to lord brougham, ably defended the conduct of our diplomatists and officers throughout the sicilian contest, and repelled the sarcasms with which they were assailed. he vindicated the foreign policy of lord palmerston, and called upon the house to reject "the illogical and unmeaning" resolutions of lord brougham. lord minto, also, at length defended the course he had taken. the marquis of lansdowne, while willing to rest the defence of the government upon the able speech of lord carlisle, made some remarks in answer to the charge of partiality brought by the earl of aberdeen against lord minto, after which the house divided, when the resolutions of lord brougham were rejected by a majority of 12.

in the house of commons, on the 21st of july, mr. bernal osborne raised a discussion on the affairs of hungary, and was followed by mr. roebuck, colonel thompson, and lord claud hamilton: the latter denounced the conduct of kossuth as "infamous." this debate is memorable chiefly on account of lord palmerston's great speech on the causes of the revolutions of 1848. in reply to the eulogiums upon the austrian government, the noble lord stated that austria, in the opinion of a great part of the continent, had been identified with obstruction to progress, resistance to improvement, political and social; and it was in that capacity she won the affections of the tories. he regarded the conduct of such men as an example of "antiquated imbecility." he firmly believed that in the war between austria and hungary there were enlisted on the side of hungary the hearts and souls of the whole people of that country. he took the question then being fought for on the plains of hungary to be this, whether that country should maintain its separate nationality as a distinct kingdom with a constitution of its own, or be incorporated in the empire as an austrian province. if hungary succeeded, austria would cease to be a first-rate european power. if hungary were entirely crushed, austria in that battle would have crushed her own right arm. every field that was laid waste was an austrian resource destroyed. every hungarian that perished upon the field was an austrian soldier deducted from the defensive forces of the empire. "it is quite true," continued the noble lord, "that it may be said, 'your opinions are but opinions; and you express them against our opinions, who have at our command large armies to back them—what are opinions against armies?' sir, my answer is, opinions are stronger than armies. i say, then, that it is our duty not to remain passive spectators of events that in their immediate consequences affect other countries, but in their remote and certain consequences are sure to come back with disastrous effect upon ourselves; that so far as the courtesies of international intercourse will permit us to do so, it is our duty—especially when our opinion is asked, as it has been on many occasions on which we have been blamed for giving it—to state our opinions, founded on the experience of this country—an experience that might be, and ought to have been, an example to less fortunate countries. we are not entitled to interpose in any manner that will commit this country to embark in those hostilities. all we can justly do is to take advantage of any opportunities that may present themselves, in which the counsels of friendship and peace may be offered to the contending parties.... sir, to suppose that any government of england can wish to excite revolutionary movements in any part of the world—to suppose that england can have any other wish or desire than to confirm and maintain peace between nations, and tranquillity and harmony between governments and subjects—shows really a degree of ignorance and folly which i never supposed any public man could have been guilty of—which may do very well for a newspaper article, but which it astonishes me to find is made the subject of a speech in parliament." the noble lord sat down amidst much cheering. lord dudley stuart said that he looked upon the speech which had been delivered by mr. osborne, followed up as it had been by mr. roebuck and lord palmerston, as one of the most important events of the session.