HC Deb 27 January 1860 vol 156 cc222-6
MR. DARBY GRIFFITH

said, he rose to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it is true, as stated in a French paper, that 30,000 French troops are expected at Leghorn, and whether he has reason to believe that the French Government has any intention of taking any such step for the purpose of preventing the annexation of the provinces of Central Italy to Sardinia, which their constitutional representatives have voted as their final determination? The statement to which he referred appeared in The Salut Public of Lyons, a French paper of good repute, and it had received corroboration by many circumstances that had occurred. First of all, the other French journals had been desired not to copy the paragraph. This was an exercise of power on the part of the French Government which they were very much in the practice of resorting to, and in his opinion it was extremely significant. It was clear from that fact that the French Government were aware of the existence of the rumour, and that they were desirous of suppressing it. Another significant circumstance was, that a number of English newspapers which contained the statement—The Morning Herald, Daily News, Globe, and others—had been seized and confiscated by the French Government. Again, an ordinance of the Minister of War appeared on the 23rd of January, in the Moniteur de l'Armée, the official organ of the Government on military matters, giving orders which would enable the equipment of the army to be provided immediately upon the occurrence of any emergency. Not less than 100,000 uniforms were to be kept in store, and regimental arrangements were to be made by which 60,000 uniforms would be made in a month. The Moniteur de l' Armée said,— The result during peace will be in reality an excellent investment. Rumours of war and war itself may then arise; it will no longer be necessary to apply for extraordinary credits, and thus uncover one's game, when it is requisite that the greatest secrecy should surround the first preparations. Europe has not beheld without astonishment the rapidity with which the French army passes from the peace to the war footing. It has been decided to apply this principle to the regimental workmen, who will be able in case of need to turn out 80,000 uniforms per month. A letter from the private correspondent of an English paper also stated:— I am able to confirm in every point the important news I sent you yesterday respecting a portion of the Imperial Guard having received its campaign equipment. The regiments at Versailles are ready to march at four hours' notice. The officers are puzzled, but, of course, anticipate Italy. Taken in connection with the rumour in question, these changes were sufficiently significant and were sufficient to justify the first part of his Question. If he were asked what justified the second part of his Question, and the imputation of the intentions there mentioned to the French Government, it might be sufficient in reply to review the proceedings of that Government since the House last met. On the 11th of July the treaty of Villafranca was signed, which contained that sagacious project of a confederation of Italy under the presidency of the Pope. That plan had been brought forward on many occasions, and whether it was even now abandoned might almost seem doubtful. At any rate it was entertained up till a very recent period. But the second, the most important feature of the treaty of Villafranca was, that the two emperors, who had just terminated a sanguinary war, entered into a deliberate engagement to restore the Grand Dukes to their possessions in Italy. This certainly justified Austria in the expectation that their forces were to be employed in obtaining the restoration. On the 22nd of July a question was put to the noble Lord the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in that House as to the intentions of the French Government. The noble Lord gave a satisfactory answer to that question on the part of the French Government. The engagement then given, which was the only cable that had held firm amid all the changes that had taken place, was, that no interference by force of arms in the internal affairs of Italy would receive the sanction of the English Government, or would be attempted by the Emperor of the French. He must in honour declare that the French Government, and particularly the remarkable man at the head of that Government, had faithfully observed that pledge. While, however, there had been no armed interference in Italy, every endeavour had been made to turn the flank of that engagement, so to speak, and to induce the populations of Central Italy to accept some other solution of the difficulty than that which they proclaimed to be their deliberate election. M. Pietri was despatched to Italy, and after him Prince Poniatowski, and deputations were received by the Emperor of the French from the Italian populations. On the 10th of September a remarkable document came out in the Moniteur, to the publisher of which it was sent direct from St. Saviour. The concluding paragraph was as follows;—"But let not Italy be deceived. There is but one Power in Europe that wages war for an idea. That Power is France, and France has accomplished her task." On the 9th of September the Constitutionnel, a semi-official organ of the French Government, scolded The Times for being adverse to the claims of Prince Napoleon, but shortly afterwards the Moniteur rebuked the supposition that the French Government desired to see Prince Napoleon King of Etruria and Central Italy in these words: "To refute these rumours it suffices to remind the public of the acts and words of the Emperor before and after the treaty of Villafranca." On the 28th of September, Lord John Russell made his speech at Aberdeen, in which, if correctly reported, he laid down the proposition, which appeared to him (Mr. Griffith) of rather too broad a character, that subjects had a right to rise against their rulers, and also repeated his pledge that no interference would be permitted in Italy to contravene the wishes of the people of that country. The Constilutionnel of the 6th of October affirmed that "France offered advice, but would not dictate orders." On the 17th of October the treaty of Zurich was signed. A few days afterwards the Emperor of the French said at Bordeaux, that in his opinion "the temporal power of the Pope was not incompatible with the liberties and independence of Italy," an opinion which he had apparently since had occasion very considerably to modify. The Emperor added, "But French troops cannot remain indefinitely at Rome." On the 29th of October appeared the letter from the Emperor of the French to the King of Sardinia, in which a proposition was made whereby the fortresses of Peschiera and Mantua were to be federal fortresses, although he had never heard that Austria had assented to that arrangement. The Emperor went on to say,—"So far as the interests of France are not opposed to it, I shall be happy to serve the cause for which we have combated together." The Emperor thus acknowledged that the cause for which they had combated together might be adverse to the interests of France. On the 10th of November Prince Carignan was elected Regent. That election was peremptorily stopped by an order from Paris, and the Moniteur of the 12th of November set forth that the election of the Prince tended to prejudge the decision of the Congress. On the loth, Buoncompagni was substituted malgre France. On the 29th of November the invitations to the Congress were sent out, which the noble Lord (Lord John Russell) thought it well for his own part not to refuse, He did not entend to question that decision. He was opposed upon principle to a Congress to settle the affairs of Italy, which ought to be allowed to work out her own freedom without being indebted to any other Power. When, however, the noble Lord was told that if he obstinately refused to give the Italians the benefit of his protest against interference the Congress would go on without him, the noble Lord perhaps had no resource but to accept the invitation; and if he had been in the noble Lord's situation he should, no doubt, have done the same thing. On the 13th of December, Rome and Naples gave in their adhesions to the Congress. On the 22nd of December appeared that most remarkable pamphlet, Le Pape et le Congres, bearing all the marks of official inspiration, advocating the separation of the Provinces of the Legation from the Holy See, and enunciating principles very dissimilar to those contained in the Emperor's speech of the 11th of October. Immediately after that Count Cavour was appointed to represent Sardinia in the Congress; and on the 31st of December was published the letter of the Emperor to the Pope, which fully confirmed the supposition that the pamphlet on the Congress had expressed his views. The Pope did not hesitate to denounce the pamphlet as a "signal monument of hypocrisy and an ignoble tissue of contradictions." Count Walewski resigned, and the Congress was postponed. On the 17th of January the Pope refused to cede the Romagna, and on the same day Count Cavour had been reinstalled as the Minister of Sardinia. The policy of that statesman was notoriously at variance with that of the Holy See; all prospect was therefore at an end of establishing an Italian Confederation under the presidency of the Pope. To show the uncertainty that prevailed in the councils of the Emperor, he might mention that only the day before yesterday he had received deputations from the Marches and Umbria, and gave thereby his apparent adhesion to the policy of taking away other Provinces besides the Legations of the Romagna from the Holy See. With these facts before them, he thought that was sufficient justification for anxiety as to the intentions of the French Government, and he was confident the House would see how desirable it was that Italy should be relieved from the uncertainty of the last five or six months, and that the Emperor of the French, if really bent upon conducting himself as the Liberator of Italy, should carry out the principle of non-intervention and at once withdraw his troops from Italy. There would then be an end to the apprehensions which now prevailed that Leghorn was to be occupied by French troops, like Milan and Genoa, and that England, unwilling to resort to war, would find remonstrance ineffectual before the fact of actual possession.