THE STATE OF THE CONTINENT. [From the Times, December 27.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume V, Issue 394, 12 May 1849, Page 4

THE STATE OF THE CONTINENT. [From the Times, December 27.]

Naples, December 17. —The Pope remains at Gaeta, and will continue to reside there until he receives an answer to the letter which he addressed to all the European Governments, explaining his actual position, and demanding their assistance to replace him in the chair of St. Peter. I know not whether our Government have been included in the number of the courts so addressed, but I presume it has not, as the diplomatic relations between St. James's and ihe Quirinal were not completed before the late unhappy events. lam informed that the four Catholic courts who have a vote at Rome were addressed in one form, and the others in a different manner, but the substance of the communication to all was the same, and in short words we may say that his Holiness, not knowing how to get back his abandoned sceptre, prays of them to do it for him. I understand that so long ago as the month of May last, the Catholic Diplomacy foresaw the coming events at Rome, and requited instructions from their respective courts as to their conduct in case the sacred Pontiff should be compelled to leave. The answer invariably was, to " follow him wherever he goes :" and so strictly were those orders acted on, that I know one of the ministers who left Rome with only 50 francs in his pocket, and who went to Civita Vecchia, in ignorance of the true course of the flight, and believing that it could only be made in that direction. I have no doubt that the good old Pope suffered himself to be led, without any reflection on his. part, 1 y those who had an interest in carrying him out of the country, as I have already explained to you ; but he did so more from weakness of character than from personal fear, as 1 know his composure never abandoned him for a moment, and that he appeared to desire the death of a Christian martyr. 1 regret he left the Quirinal and crossed the frontier, as in the present state of Europe I do not clearly see how his case, so far as a practical remedy can be applied, differs from that of Charles X. or of Louis Philippe. He, like them, fled from a revolution, and how can the great Powers, who could not interfere in their behalf, now interfere between him and his insurgent subjects ? It is argued that a marked difference prevails in the cases, and that though, as a temporal Prince, the great Powers may not interfere, as the bead of their church, the Catholic Sovereigns are bound to see him justified. But is not this the exact point to which the Italian liberals are driving, and must not a separation of the temporal from the spiritual powers result from that course of action being adopted ? Can France, which exists in virtue of the opposite principle, compel the Romans to yield by armed force ; or will any Italian government, where the representative system is established, violate it by an invasion of the Papal States ? The only chance for the restoration of the Roman Sovereign, in my opinion, exists in the weakness of the Provisional Government, and the hope that the people, in the name of their holy pastor, will arise and put them down. But I i fear that evenjhen the chances are not favourable, as themasses are patient, indifferent and inactive : and it is only the revolutionary crew who labour " with a will" io their unholy vocation. I see letters Irom the capital and Bologna, but very little comfort is to be extracted from either place, and I apprehend the question of the Papacy must be delerred until the actual crisis in Italy be determined, or hung upon tbe same file wiih that of Lombardy or Tuscany. Every hour new combinations arise, and fresh difficulties occur. Those who aim at erecting a republic in the North of Italy will not lose such an opportunity of uniting their adherents in Piedmont,

Lombardy, Tuscany, and the Papal States ; and do we not see that the ambition of Charles Albert is already excited by the prospect of a new prey — he being, as he ever has been, the cat's paw of more mischievous heads. Russia, I learn, has spoken to France plainly on the subject, and if my information be not for once deceptive, the Emperor has announced bis intention of taking an active part in the affairs of Western Europe, should a single French soldier be sent to Italy. I have taken infinite pains to make myself acquainted with the intention and plans of the Pope, and of the diplomacy which surrounds him, but all resolves itself into the fact, that he awaits the ansv/ers of the great Powers before any further decis'.on be taken, and that he will console himself and the faithful by celebrating high mass at Gaeta on Christmas Day. How far his views may be altered by an interview he has at this moment granted to Mr. Temple and Admiral Parker, time must determine, but both have gone down to see His Holiness, whether on official business or on a visit of ceremony, I cannot say. I be- i lieve Mr. Temple is of opinion that the Pope should not have left the Quirinal, and as Lord Napier sees a great deal of M. Stcrbini and M. Mamiani at Rome, it is possible — though I must not say probable — that we are making an attempt at conciliation. I kn/>w nothing of M. Sterbini, hut I had the pleasure of knowing Count Mamiani at the head-quarters of Charles Albert. A more gentlemanly and apparently firm-minded person f never met with, and I am very much deceived if his heart be not in the right placet «nd if he is not truly desirous of the Pontiffs return as a constitutional monarch. Rome is very tranquil, and the Provisional Government have the ball at their feet, but their position is most uncertain, as all the nobility have deserted the city, and I fear that they will soon have the alternative of abandoning the field altogether, or of taking the desperate step of voting the Papal chair vacant, and of proclaiming a Republic. In the mean time the Pope is exercising his Papal duties at Gaeta, and I see a long list of ecclesiastical matters decided on in the Consistory held the other day. I imagine he would be glad to perform these functions in his own territory at Beneventum, but the jealousy of the foreign Diplomacy will not allow him to leave the coast, and even the King of Naples advises that he should not, lest it might be said that he (the King) was coercing the free action of the Pontiff. A great mistake was made the other day in not admitting the delegates sent from Rome to invite his return, and I see the Provisional Government have profited by the fact to establish a Junta to govern in his name during his abser cc, but whose functions are to cease on his return. Where they are to get money is a question more difficult to be resolved, and I find the bankers are so sensitive on the subject, that more than one house has written to its correspondents here declining to receive remittances in bills on Rome, lest they should be obliged to take in payment the current legal paper of tbe Junta. The information I gave in my last letter relative to the altered position of Russiau diplomacy at this Court can now be confirmed, and I believe M. Creptowich has had an interview with the King, in which he strongly expressed the Emperor's sympathies, accompanied by the advice that he should not yield to any interference with the free exercise of his prerogative. I hear that this communication has been made known in all frankness to the Ministers of France and England, and I can already perceive its effect on the attitude of these diplomatists. I stated in my last despatch that General Filangeri, to whom the management of the Sicilian question has been entrusted, treated it a la militaire, and that he contented himself with requiring an answer to his question, " whether or not they would undertake to coerce the Palermitan Provisional Government, as they had virtually coerced the King before he subscribed to all orany of the conditions imposed on him." The tactique proved a complete poser to tbe allies, as when they verbally answered they could not, be naturally rejoined, " then what is the use of our accepting your ultimatum V I have no doubt that the ultimatum of a Sicilian army would ! have been persisted in if the Russian envoy had continued the same course of advising the King to accept, but the arrival of three couriers from St. Petersburgh, and the announcement of the Emperor's policy, altered the bearings of the case, and I now see that Mr. Temple and M . de Rayneval are in their turn resorting to their intrenchments. lam told that one or both have intimated an intention of retiring from what they call " the friend 'y attitude they have hitherto observed towards the King." and that he is now at full liberty to pursue whatever course he pleases towards the Sicilians, whilst they have equal liberty of action reserved for their respective Governments. One of them has been known in private to assert that he never interfered with the Royal prerogative ; that force, though spoken of, w«s nerer used ; and that his Ma-

jesty had himself confirmed the benevolent character of their views by acceding to their " influence," and not to their comraaods,, in the suspension of further operations at Me«r sina. If, we are to believe this special pleads ing, all the notes written by the Admirals and the Ministers must be considered as waste paper, and. their reindnstrances befor* the bombardment, and their advice after it, amounted to nothing more than that friendly counsel which one Government gives another, and which the King embraced because it *as his will, and pleasure, and interest to do so. You will recollect that I wrote you from Messina that the adroit substitution by Captain Robb, of the Gladiator^ of the word " influence," for that of " force," was a safeguard for our diplomacy ; and I already find that in verbal argument, if not in writing, this sub. stitution is already referred to. " Our acts," the gentleman alluded to says, " were not official, but officious, and we defy the King's Government to produce a single note where we interfered with its free action. We admit we counselled his Majesty in the manner to our minds most useful to his interests, and we are still convinced that he ought to accede to all that the Sicilians demand ; but did he not himself take the initiative by calling for the assistance of Lord Minto, and is not all that has been said and done but a consequence and a continuation of the negotiation then undertaken at his request V In this we can see the inkling of the case that is to be presented to the House of Commons, and if I be not quite out in my calculations, our Minister is now more occupied in covering a retreat from the false position taken in his absence than with any plans of coercing the King. Naples is perfectly quiet ; it is, as I see you have justly remarked, the only place in Italy where there is complete security for person and property, and where the engagements of the Government are honourably fulfilled. The public officers, the army, and navy, are paid up to the day, and one of the latgest contractors, an English merchant, assures me that he is never left one moment in arrear. The people seem to enjoy the advantages of their position, and so little do they think of constitutional rights that I have not heard a single person complain of the prorogation of the Chambers. The country is governed by the Code Napoleon, and if the execution of justice were purified, I believe Naples would Ibe the happiest spot in Europe. The wheels ! of State revolve with the utmost regularity, as much from the good disposition of the populace as from the practical excellence of the system. May Heaven, I add, continue to ! protect Naples and its visitors from the horrors of the Italian propaganda; The Gazette of Rome of the 16th instant, announces that the Ministry had ordered legal proceeJings to be taken against the assassin of Count Rossi. The Coniemp oraneo of Rome, of the same j date, contains the following : — " Why is not the Constituent Assembly already convoked ? ; It is impossible that matters can remain as I they are. Rome cannot expect to arrive at any degree of grandeur unless it has a liberal Pope or a Republic, The Provisional Government and the ' Constituent* must lead us to the Republic. The situation may thus be summed up :: — * The Roman people have only to wish for independence, and liberty, and, in a few days, it will have a papacy at the head of democracy, or democracy without papacy."* According to the same journal, Count Spaur, Minister of Bavaria, who accompanied the Pope in his flight, had presented to his Holiness, at Gaeta, letters from the Emperor of Austria, accrediting him as Austrian Minister to the Holy See. " We publish the following intelligence/ says the Nationale of the 18th instant, which we have received from our private correspondent in Rome, without, however, vouching for its correctness :: — { I have been assured, he says, *by persons entitled to credit, that the Pope intends to reside pro tempore at Civita Veochia, under the protection of an Anglo-French fleet, and that he will there proclaim the following Ministry: — Cardinal Antonellia, President of the Council ; M. Montanari, Minister of the Interior and Police ; Able Romini, of Public Instruction ; the Marquis Bevilacqua, of Finance ; the Marquis Ricci, of Commerce ; and General Zucchi, of War. It is said that the diplomatic body was greatly divided in opinion relative to the future residence of the Pope, and that the above project, suggested by the British Minister, had at last obtained the majority of suffrages."