towns in the island having sent in their auhe-
1
HISTORY OF EUROPE.
Sept. 25.
1820.]
sion to General Pcpe, and the regular troops in
the garrisons, which .still held out for the royal
cause, having joined their forces to his, the
junta of Palermo became convinced that the
contest was hopeless, and were disposed to lend
an ear to an accommodation. To facilitate and
enforce it, Pepe moved forward on the
25th of September to the very gates of
the city. lie then renewed his propositions ;
but the violent party^ in the city had now re-
gained tlie ascendancj^, and dispossessed their
own junta; the Hag of truce was fired on, and
the people seemed prepared for a desperate re-
si.stance. But it was seeming only. On the
next day the Neapolitan forces succeed-
^P ■• ■eJ in penetrating into the city by the
royal park, and the Neapolitan flotilla in the
roads drew near, and prepared to second Pepe
9- ^y ^ general bombardment. The most
"'' â– '" furious republicans, now convinced
that further resistance was hopeless, and could
end only in the destruction of themselves and
their city, listened to terms of accommoda-
tion. Pepe humanely acceded to their oifer of
submission, and, to save the city from the
horrors of an assault, withdrew his troops from
the posts they had won within its walls. The
populace, seeing the troops withdraw, ascribed
it to fear, and recommenced hostilities ; but the
retribution was immediate and terrible. On
the 27 ill the bombardment commenced, and
with the most dreadful etfect. The town was
soon on fire in several places, and the infuriated
mob, passing from one extreme to another, ere
long craved peace in the most abject terms.
I colietta, A capitulation was concluded on the
ii. 383, 3s7; 5th, and General Pepe was put in
A.nn-^Hist. possession of the forts. The Nea-
505 • Ann. poUtan constitution was proclaimed,
Reg. l»-20. a new junta named, and the Prince of
241, 242. Palermo appointed to its head.^
Hitherto every thing had succeeded to a wish
JJ5 with the Neapolitans, but they soon
Renewal of found that great difficulties remained
hostihties. behind. The question of separation
was not yet decided ; the second article of the
capitulation liad provided that that difficult
matter should be decided by a majority of votes
in the Sicilian parliaiaent legally convoked.
This article, as well it niigiit, was extremely ill
„ . ,^ received at Najjlcs ; the capitulation
Oct. 15. II 1 * 1 â– 1 ' i 1
was annulled, as having been entered
into by General Pepe without any authority to
leave the question of separation unsettled. lie
was dismissed from his command, which â– \vas
conferred on General Colietta. He was soon
reinforced by six thousand trooj)s from Calabria
with the aid of which he reduced Palermo
to entire subjection, disarmed the inhabitants
and imposed on the city a I,cavy military
contribution, wiiich had a surprising eff'ect in
cooling their revolutionary ardor. Hostilities
immediately ceased through the wliolo i.sland,
' An. Hist. an
JJL^"*' '*"**'• '•''"t tlioy had gained little by
506; Ann. fl,„;« i r i , ,, •'
Reg. 1820, 1 change of masters, and that
242; Col-' their revolutionary rulers at Naples
•«"•*•*'■were more difficult to deal with than
' â– theirformcrfeebletnonarchhadbeen.'
By the Spanish ("onstitution, now adojited as
that of Naples, there was to be one deputy for
every thirty tliousand inhabitants, which gave
231
seventy-four deputies for Naples, and twenty-
four for Sicily ; the inhabitants of
the former being 5,052,000, of the Meeting of
latter 1,681,000. The electors were tlie Neapo-
anxiously adjured in a proclamation litan par-
te choose wise and patriotic repre- 'jJ.?J,Keri
sentatives — a vain recommendation
in a country recently convulsed by the passions
and torn by the desires of a revolution. The
deputies were such as in these circumstances usu-
ally acquire an ascendency — violent democrats,
village attorneys, revolutionary leaders of the
army, a few professors and literary men, and
some renegade priests. The report of the Min-
ister of Foreign Affairs announced that all the
great powers had refused to recognize the revo-
lutionary changes at Naples ; that of the Min-
ister of the Interior signalized the numerous
abuses which had prevailed in the internal ad-
ministration of the kingdom, and which it was
proposed to remedy, and recommended the sale
meet the deficiencies of the exchequer; that of
the Minister at War, the measures which were
in progress for providing for its external de-
fense. This consisted in a regular army of
52,000 men, movable, national guards 219,000
strong, and an immovable one of 400,000 men.
But these forces existed on paper only, notwith-
standing all the efforts of the Carbonari ;^ the
recruiting went on extremely slow; i coUetta,
disorder and corruption pervaded iii. 399,
every branch of the public adminis- ^l*;' • ^}}^-
tration ; and, distrustful of all the 5^5 507'-
vaunted means of national defense, Ann. Reg.
all eyes were already turned to the ^^^^' 242-
congress of the allied powers at Troppau, where
it was evident the real destiny of the revolution
would be determined.
The Roman States were too near, and too
closely connected with the Neapoli- jj-
tan, not to participate in their pas- insurrec-
sions, and in some degree share their '>"" of
destinies. Disturbances aecordint'ly '','f,,?* '??'
took place at an early period in the civita
pontifical dominions; but they began Vecchia.
in a very peculiar class, whose efforts ^'^l"" '^â–
for liberation proved of as little value as their
assistance was discreditable to the lil)eral cause.
On the night of the 4th September a revolt
broke out in the great depot of galley-slaves at
Civita Vecchia, Avhere si.\teen hundred convicts
of the worst description were confined. At
seven in the evening a low murmur was heard
in tlie principal depot, and immediately a gen-
eral insurrection commenced. The irons were
broken, and by slicer strength and the weight
of numbers the barri(>rs were burst through,
and the infuriated multitude rushed with fright-
ful cries into the outer parts of the inclosure.
The troops arrived, and the galley-slaves imme-
diately invited them to fraternize with them,
callintr out " Long live the republic ! Join witli
us, aixl to-morrow wc shall establish a re])ub-
lie ill Civita \'('cehia, and all will be rigid."
But the troops w(M'o not coiivinc(Ml tliat all
would be right with the aid of such allies; they
did their duty: several vollej-s fired at point-
blank distance spread terror among their ranks,
and at length, at seven next iiiorniiig, tlie insur-
rection was stipprassed, though not without con-
siderable bloodshed. This outbreak was con-
11 ISTDK Y OF EUROPE.
[CiiAr. VII.
nocte<,l witli a much inoi o (■diisiilornhle oon,«jiir-
iicv ill Koiiu' aiul Hoiu'Vciiluiii, wliiili, althmiirli
> .\n. R.-R. ^''l'r»"«-'**^'J '» '•'>• ^^■"I'itiil bv tlio vigi-
It'jti, 243; laiice of the police, suceeeiled in tlic
loiutia. II. hitter town, iind for a time severed it
3\n>, 40t». f,.^„„ ,j,j, lo^.^.leJiinstieal States.'
A more serious insurieetion soon after ensued
jm in I'lKiiMoxT, whieli, from its close
OoininVnce- vieiiiity to I'"raiieo, the long service
iiKiit oiilie of its troops witli the armies of that
'.^\'''\'i""' power, and the martial spirit of its
ii'iont'! inhabitants, has always been more
January 11, swift to share in the revolutionary
l'^"'il- spirit, and more sturdy in maiutnin-
ii.g it, than any other of the Italian states. Like
> [lain and Portugal, the desire for free and reprc-
teiitative institutions had there come to animate
the breasts of the officers in the army, and nearly
the wholeof the educated and intelligent classes
of the people. The Carbonari numbered not
only the whole of the ardent and enthusiastic,
but by far the greater part of the intelligence
and patriotism in the state. Unhappil}', their
information and experience were not equal to
their vigor and spirit, and by at once embracing
the t?panish Constitution they entangled them-
selves in all the evils and difficulties with which
that absurd and perilous system was environed.
On the 11th January some young stu-
dents appeared at the theatre of Anden-
nes, in the district of Kovarrais, wearing the red
cap of liberty, and by the violence of their eon-
duct occasioned a tumult, which was only sup-
pressed next day by four companies of
Jan. 1-. j^jjg guards from Turin, which were
marched from that capital under the command of
its govenor. But though suppressed on this occa-
sion, the revolutionary spirit was far from being
extinct, and it soon broke out under more serious
circumstances, and in a far more influential class.
In the end of February, on the representation of
the Austrian minister that they were engaged in
a conspiracy to chase the Imperialists from Italy,
several noblemen, leaders of the liberal cause,
were arrested in Piedmont, and conducted to
the citadel of Finistrelles. This was the signal
for a general movement, which it appears was
embraced by the highest officers in the army,
and principal nobles in the state, to whose con-
spiracy for the establishment of a constitutional
government the Prince of Carignan, the heir-ap-
= I.e Revo- parentto the throne, was no stranger.^
lution Pied- lie at first engaged to co-operate in
montain ^j^gij. designs, but soon after, despair-
par le . . °ii iij
ComteSan- mg of success, he drew back, and coun-
tone de seled the abandonment, or at least
r""'^ postponement, of the undertaking.
24; Ann.' "^^ ^^^^ conspirators were too far
Ilisi. iv. advanced to recede, and the advance
335, 336. of the Austrians toward Naples con-
vinced them that not a moment was to be lost
if the}' were ever to strike a blow for the inde-
pendence of Italj'.
On the morning of the 4th March symptoms
119. of revolt appeared in some regiments
stationed on and near Verulli, but
the consjiirators fiailed in their ob-
ject then, from the majority of the
troops holding out for the royal cause.
But on the 10th the constitution of
Spain was openly proclaimed at Alessandria, by
Count Parma and Colonel Regis, who permitted
Revolt in
Alessan-
dria and
Turin.
March 10
and 11.
such of tile troops as were opposed to the niove-
mont to return to their homes, whicii a great
number of them, including nearly all the mount-
aineers from Savoy, accordingly did. ^Vith the
aid of sucii as remained, however, and a body
of ardent students, the leaders got j>ossessioii
of the citadel of that imjiortant fortress, and
immediately hoisted the Italian tricolor flag —
green, red, and lilue. No sooner was the in-
telligence of this important success received in
Turin than the whole Carbonari and conspira-
tors were in motion. Cries of " \'iva il Re!"
and "Viva la Costituzionel" were heard on all
sides from a motley crowd of soldiers and stu-
dents who surrounded the royal troops, who
were not permitted to act against thcni, and
probably would not have done so if ordered.
Fmboldened by this inaction, and hearing every
hour of some fresh insurrection of the troops in
the vicinit}', the conspirators, on the ^i-^^^.]^ yi
following day, ventured on still more
decisive measures, which proved entirely suc-
cessful. Captain Lesio, setting out early from
Turin, raised the regiment of light horse at
Pignerol, who moved toward the heights of
Carmagnuola, shouting "Death to the Aux-
trians !" '^ Their arrival at Turin, , ,„ tt„,
. . , , . • . 11- ' ■An- 'list,
joined to the alarming intelhgenee iv. 358;
received of similar insurrections in Ann. Reg.
other quarters, decided the govei-nor ''^"'^'' 'â– ^''''â–
of the capital, the Chevalier di Varas, to evacu-
ate the town â– with the few troops which still
adhered to the royal cause. This was imme-
diately done ; the citadel and forts were taken
possession of by the liberals, and the Spanish
Constitution proclaimed amidst the combined
shouts of the military and people.
On receiving intelligence of this alarming and
successful insurrection, the king, who
was at the chateau of Monte-Calveri, The king
in the neighborhood, hastened to yields, and
Turin, and a cabinet council was accepts the
hurriedly assembled to consider what {^j^",**'""'
should be done in the circumstances.
At first it was intended bj^ the monarch to put
himself at the head of the guards and march
upon Alessandria, which was regarded as the
head-quarters of the insurrection ; and a pro-
clamation was issued denying the statements
which had been spread abroad that Austria
had demanded the disbanding of the Pied-
montese troops and the occupation of llie fort-
resses. But the accounts which rapidly arrived
from all quarters of the general defection of the
troops, rendered this a hopeless undertaking.
The guards themselves were not to be relit d
on. Crowds, which there was no means of
dispersing, collected on all sides, exclaiming,
"Yiva la Costituzionel" The militar}' sent
against them joined in the shouts, or remained
passive spectators of the tumult. In this ex-
tremity a fresh council was held of the king's
ministers, and it was there proposed to proclaim
the constitution of France as a sort of mtzzo-
termine between monarchy and a republic
But matters had gone too far to ad- ^
mitnow of such a compromise.^ While uj^, [^
the council was sitting in the palace, 33S, 340;
and a vast crowd, with the military Ann. Reg.
in their front, filled the great square 23^.' ''
a
the citadel, which announced that it had fallen
1S21.]
into the hands of the conspirators; and soon
the tricolor flag, hoisted on the ramparts, amidst
loud cheers from all parts of the city, announced
that the triumph of the insurgents was complete.
Upon receiving this stunning intelligence,
the king dispatched the Prince of
Resi^na- Carignan to the citadel to ascertain
i.on of the the objects and demands of the con-
king, and spirators. He found an immense
oRh^"'*' crowd on the glacis, shouting " Viva
Prince of il Re — Viva la Costituzione di Spag-
Carignan na!" and the troops in dense masses
andme"'' ^^ ^^® ramparts responding to the
Spanish cries. The Prince was received by
Constita- the garrison with the honors of war,
M°" h P ^^^ every demonstration of respect;
but the demand was universal for the
Spanish Constitution. " Our hearts," said they,
" are faithful to tlie king, but we must extricate
him from his fatal councils: war with Austria,
and the constitution of Spain — that is what the
situation of the country and the people re-
quire." With this answer the prince returned
to the palace, where a long conference took
place between the princes of the royal family
and the cabinet. It was animated in the ex-
treme, and continued through the wliole night.
The king was firm ; resolved not to be unfaith-
ful to his engagements with his allies or the
cause of royalty', he took the resolution to
abdicate in favor of the next heir, who was
less implicated in the one, and might feel less
reluctant to forego the rights of the other.
This determination was immediately acted
upon. Early on the morning of the 13th, the
royal family, under a large escort, set out from
Turin for Mice, and a proclamation was issued
by the Prince of Carignan, declaring that he
had been appointed regent of the realm. The
1 hpyoIu. change of government was immedi-
tion Pied- ately notified to the foreign minis-
montain, ters, the regent installed in full sov-
A*' 'â– 'ii . ereigntv, and the constitution of
Ann. Hist. ..•-,• i ■j , • ,
iv. 341, Spam proclamied amidst universal ac-
343, Ann. clamation, without the vast majority
m/ 239^^' l^"*^^^''"? what they had adopted or
' â– were shouting about.'
Such was the Kevolutioii of 1820, in the
Spanish and Italian peninsulas, and
General wliich more or less extended its in-
character fluence over all Europe. Commenc-
of the rev- ing witli military treason, it ended
ontt''0^ with robber}-, massacre, and tlie in-
surrection of galley-slaves. Notiiing
durable or beneficial was to be expected from
such a commencement, "non tali auxilio nee
defensoribus istis." It was charactci'ized, ac-
cordingly, throughout, by impassioned concep-
tion and ephemeral existence : violent cliange,
disregard of former usage, inattention to na-
tional character, oblivion of the ^«>/fr«/ national
interests. Designed and carried into execution
by an active and energetic, but limited and
special class of the people, it exhibited, in all
the countries where it was establisiied, tlie well-
known features of class legi.slation ; and by the
cstablisliment of class representation of tlie very
worst kind — universal suffrage — it insured at
no distant period its own downfall. It will
appear in the sequel how sudden and violent
the reaction was, how (piickly the newly-raised
fabric yielded to the aroused indignation of
HISTORY OF EUROPE.
233
mankind, and how galling, and he.'ivy, and last-
ing were tlie chains of servitude which, from
the failure of this ill-judged attempt at libera-
tion, were imposed upon the people.
In truth, all revolutions which, hke that of
Spain, and its imitations in Portugal, ,„,
IS'aples, Sicily, and Piedmont, are what
brought about by a single and limit- caused theit
ed class of society, involve in tliem- speedyovei-
selves the principles of their own
speedy destruction. They may be propped rp
for a time by the aid of foreign powers polii-
ically interested in the establishment of sucli
institutions ; but even with such external aid
they can not long endure ; without it, they at
once full to the ground. The reason is, that
the constitution which they establish, being
founded on the principle of opposition to all
tiiat has preceded it, the growth of centuries,
is soon found to be wholly unsuited to the
national disposition and necessities ; and hav-
ing been brought about by the efforts of a
single class, it is calculated only for its inter-
ests, and proves destructive to those of all the
other classes. There was no need of the bay-
onets of Austria or France to overturn the
revolutions of the two peninsulas. Left to
themselves, they would speedily have perished
from their experienced unsuitableness to the
circumstances of the countries. The only rev-
olutions which ever have or ever can terminate
in durable institutions, are those which, brought
about, like that of Great Britain in 1CS8, by
an unbearable tyranny which has for a time
united all classes for its overthrow, are limited
to the change requisite to guard against the
recurrence of that tyranny, avoid the fatal evil
of class legislation, the invariable result of class
revolution, and make no further change in the
institutions or government of the state, the
growth of centuries, and the creation of the
national wants, than is necessary to secure
their unimpaired continuance.
What, it is often asked, are Ihe military to
do when called on by the government 124.
to act against insurgents demanding What
a change in the national institutions? s''o.ul'' 'he
Are they to imbrue their hands in ^^^ ^y^ ^^^
the blood of their fellow-citizens, cir.-um-
guilty of no other offense but that «tancfs?
of striving to obtain the first of human bless-
ings, that of civil libui'ty ? The answer is, " Cer-
tainly," if they would secure its acquisition for
tiiemsclves and their children. Freedom has
been often won by tiie gradual pressure of j)a-
cific classes on the government; it never yet
was secured by tiie violent insurrection of
armed men. To be durable, it niunt be gradu-
ally established : its builders must be tiie pacific
citizens, not the armed soldiers: it never yet
was won by the sudden revolt of the militaiy.
The only etfeet of tiie success of such an insur-
rection IS an increase in the strength ami means
of o]>j)ressioii in the ruling power — t Ik; substi-
tution of tlie vigor of military for liic h'eblencss
of monarchical, or tiie infatuation of i)riestly
government. Hiego and Pcpe were tiie real
murderers of freedom in the Spanisii and Italian
peninsulas, for they overtui-ned the national
constitution to establish military rule, and
blasted tiie cause of liberty by the excesses
wliieh came to be commitled in its name.
234
IIISTOUY or EUUOPE.
[CUAP. VIII.
CHAPTER YIII.
RUSSIA AND rOLAXn, FROM THE PEACE OF 1815 TO TUE ACCESSION OF NICHOLAS Df 1825.
Great as have heon the chnnpcs, mnrvclous
I the events, of reeent times, in all
Vast growth eoiintries, the most wonderful have
and cxti'iit oeeurretl in ditferent and distant
or Russia, p.ji-ts of tlie world, where tliev ex-
and Uriiish ceed every thing not only witness-
India in re- ed by contemporaries, but recorded
cent times, ^^y iiigjory of former periods. Wo
are too near them to measure their propor-
tions with the eye; future times, which hear
of them at a distance with the car, or are wit-
nesses, after the lapse of ages, of their effects,
will more correctly estimate their relative
magnitude and importance. The simultaneous
growth of the Russian power in Europe and
Asia, of the United States in America, and of
the Riitish empire in India and Australia, stand
forth pre-eminent in this age of wonders. Great
changes in human affairs — the overthrow of
aged, the ri^e of youthful empires — the realiza-
tion of the dreams of the Crusaders — the dwin-
dling away of the Mohammedan faith, the
boundless extension of the Christian — the res-
toration of a European and civilized empire on
the shores of the Euxine — vast transplantations
of mankind to the East and the West — the roll-
ing back of the tide of civilization to the land
of its birth — the peopling of a new world with
the race of Japhet — are obviously connected
with, or the direct consequence of, these events.
The effects they have produced will always be
regarded as a decisive turning-point in the an-
nals of mankind; not less memorable than the
overthrow of the Roman Empire — not less pro-
lific of consequences than the Reformation in
Europe, and the discovery of America. iS'or
liave the gifts of Providence been wanting to
aid in the mighty movement, and carry it out
in accordance with the welfare and happiness
of mankind. If to the age of Columbus it gave
the compass and the art of printing, to that
succeeding Napoleon it gave steam navigation,
railway communication, and the electric tele-
graph ; and if the activity of the former period
was stimulated by the grant to man of the silver
mines of Potosi and Mexico, tlie enterprize of
the latter was still more powerfully aroused by
the discovery of the gold-laden fields of Califor-
nia and Australia.
Vast and powerful as the Russian empire was
when its children, in emulation of
Increase of thoseofXumantium, applied the torch
Russia by to the palaces of Moscow, or carried
the treaties their victorious arms to the heights
1815.^* ^"^ of Montmartre and the banks of the
Seine, it had not then attained half
the influence and importance which it has since
acquired. The victory of Alexander doubled his
power — the overthrow of Napoleon halved his
enemies. Independent of the immense increase
of influence and importance, which necessari-
ly and immediately resulted from the destruc-
tion of the vast ariuaLuent which 1,'apoleon had
marshaled for its destruction, and the proud
pre-eminence conceded to it in the diplomatic
negotiations of Vienna, the jdiysical resources
and territorial extent of Russia had been enor-
mously augmented during, and by the results
of, the struggle. It was hard to say whether
it had prospered most from victory or defeat.
The carnage of Eylau, the overthrow of Tilsit,
led only to the incorporation of Finland w-ith
its vast dominions, the acquisition of a con-
siderable territory from its ally Prussia, the
consolidation of its power in the Caucasus and
Georgia, and the iucorporsition of ^Vallaehia
and Moldavia, and extension of its southern
frontier to the Danube. And although, during
the first agonies of the French invasion, these
valuable provinces Tvere in part abandoned,
and the Pruth was fixed on as the boundary
in the mean time of the empire, yet it was at
the time evident, what the event has since
abundantly proved, that this unwonted retire-
ment of the Russian eagle was for a time only;