pointed authorities, under pain of five months imprisonment and a fine of fifty ducats for every weapon concealed. The printing and publication of journals, pamphlets, and books, was placed under the most severe restraints. All students were ordered to quit Naples, and such as should be found there after eight days had elapsed, were to be treated as vagabonds. The heads of schools of every kind were to present a list of the names of their pupils, with an exact statement of the religious, moral, and political conduct of each; and the intendants of provinces were to exhort fathers to extirpate from the minds of their children all traces of perverse doctrines. For the punishment of those who had taken an active share in the innovations of the former year, a commission was appointed, consisting of three magistrates, and an Austrian assessor, who were to inquire into the cases of persons under arrest, and either direct them to be liberated, or send them to be tried before the proper judges. Rewards were also offered for the apprehension of some of the keen partisans of the late revolution. These measures were deemed not sufficiently energetic; and therefore, by a fresh ordinance of the 10th of April, the crimes of belonging to the societies of the Carbonari, of attending any of their meetings, or of carrying prohibited arms, were to be punished capitally, and the cognizance of them was transferred to a court martial. The police were particularly active, in enforcing the execution of the ordinance for disarming the people; and for some weeks, the streets of Na ples exhibited from time to time, the spectacle of both men and women, flogged publicly, for having been more or less adherents of the Carbonari. On the 15th of May, Ferdinand returned to his capital amid the acclamations of the whole population. No scenes of cruel vengeance followed. On the 1st of June, a general amnesty was granted to all the sect of the Carbonari; "it being understood," says the decree, that we only exempt them from corporal pains and penalties, and not that we hereby restore them to the enjoy ment of offices and situations." Those who had been thought worthy of punishment, were doomed either to exile or to imprisonment, in different parts of the Austrian dominions. Several of them were sent to Prague. The presence of a considerable Austrian force, secured the tranquillity of the country for the remainder of the year. Sicily had all along been in a state of considerable ferment. The revolutionary government, had never been popular in that island; and even after the reduction of Palermo, it had been found nearly impossible to collect the taxes, and not a little difficult to keep the military in subordination. The Sicilians submitted quietly to Ferdinand; but the spirit of independence was still at work among them; and it was thought prudent towards the end of May to send a force of between four and five thousand Austrians into that island. For the payment of the expenses of this war, and of the army of occupation, a loan was contracted for in April, the yearly interest of which amounted to 450,000 ducats; and in November, a further loan was agreed on, which burthened the country with a fresh annual payment of 432,000 ducats. The interest of the public debt of Naples, at the beginning of the year, was three millions of ducats; at the end of the year, it was, 3,882,000 ducats. The annual cost of the army of occupation would amount, it was supposed, to ten millions of ducats. The revenue for 1821, was estimated at about nineteen millions and a half of ducats, of which Sicily contributed little more than a ninth part. In the preceding year, the chiefs of the Neapolitan revolution had sent colonel Pisa to Turin, to sound the dispositions of that people, to make common cause with the southern Italians. The report which Pisa brought back was, that no aid could be expected from Piedmont. Revolutionary views had, however, made great progress among the officers, and among many young men of high rank; and a plot was formed for the establishment of the Spanish constitution. The prince of Carignano, the nephew of the king, is said to have concurred in it, and to have protested his readiness to shed the last drop of his blood in so glorious a cause. He was afterwards accused of having revealed the secret of the revolutionists to the other party. The probability however, seems to be, that he was not accessary to the plot, and therefore, could not betray the persons engaged in it. His dubious, and vacillating conduct might arise from mere weakness and indecision of cha racter. The Austrian army had ad vanced to the frontiers of Naples, and the Piedmontese conspirators saw that they could no longer delay the execution of their enterprise; they were also convinced, that to accomplish so great a change without a civil war, it was necessary that it should be brought about by the troops. It was therefore agreed, that several colonels or commandants of regiments should march their corps at a fixed time on the capital, where the guards and the regiment of Aosta were in garrison. The former of these corps was commanded by major Montiremolo, a man wedded to old prejudices, and a bitter enemy of revolutions. The latter, was under the orders of colonel Cilavegna, who was undecided as to the party he should embrace, but promised, that he would make no resistance to the proposed innovations. The artillery officers, encouraged by signor Colligno, a friend and confident of the prince of Carignano, were, with few exceptions, inclined to the change. The 6th of March arrived, the last day of the Carnival, and it was determined to display the constitutional standard on the 7th, at day break. The regiment called the king's dragoons, commanded by captain count Lesio, a gallant young man, much beloved by the military, was stationed at Pinerolo. The queen's dragoons, were in Vercelli; this regiment was commanded by major-general Sambugo, who was to be suc ceeded by lieutenant-colonel count Cavaglio, the eldest son of the marquis di St. Marsan, minister for foreign affairs. At Veneria, about three miles distant from Turin, was quartered the Piedmontese cavalry regiment, in which were many officers who were accessary to what was going on. At four o'clock the cavaliere Colligno, in concert with some artillery officers, and other officers of the regiment of Aosta, in the citadel, was to make himself master of that fortress. They were then to draw the artillery out of the arsenal, pass the bridge over the Po, and encamp on the mount of the Capuchins, which commands the city, on the east. This was the point at which all the friends of the constitution, soldiers, and citizens, were to rendezvous. At the foot of this hill, the three regiments mentioned above were to unite, as they arrived from Pinerolo, Vercelli, and Veneria. To this force some companies of light infantry, commanded by captains Bianco and Ferrero were to be joined. Some companies of artillery, and a number of young men not on military service, were destined to arrest count di Revel, the governor of the city, general Vinanzone, commandant of the division of Turin, and major Montiremolo of the guards, in order to prevent the possibility of a sanguinary resistance. At the same time colonels Ansaldi and Reggio, belonging to the garrison of Alessandria, were to seize upon that citadel, and secure the person of count di Voras, the governor. This plan failed. Colligno was unable to make himself master either of the citadel, or of the arsenal. The failure was ascribed, by some, to the want of the cooperation of the prince of Carig nano. The principal confederates met again, and, after due deliberation, determined to attempt the com pletion of their designs, on the 10th of March. Circumstances once more baffled them, and, deeming the undertaking despe rate, they agreed to lay it aside, till fortune should seem more inclined to smile upon them. Their partisans had been more bold, and more successful in Alessandria. On the morning of the 10th, the citadel was occupied, the tri-coloured flag hoisted, and the Spanish constitution proclaimed. This was effected by a part only of the garrison, aided by some of the citizens. A great part of the troops kept altogether aloof from these proceedings. The colonel of the Savoyard regiment of infantry (about 1,500 strong) would take no part in the movement, and gave his troops leave or a command to disperse: the regiment of Genoa was equally wavering and uncertain. The Savoyard regiment, being abandoned by their colonel, did not know what side to take in a question on which they had no information, and, therefore, many of them resolved to take neither, but to retire to their homes. They accordingly set out from Piedmont in considerable numbers for their native mountains, quite bewildered in opinion; and their behaviour in the circumstances in which they were placed was truly wonderful. Though released from military discipline, because there was no competent authority to claim their obedience; though allowed to retire with arms in their hands and without money in their pockets; though compelled almost to beg their subsistence home, through solitary villages, which they might have laid under contribution, they behaved in as orderly and peaceable a manner as if their colonel had marched at their head; declaring that they would return to their standards, whenever they were recalled by any legitimate authority. On the evening of the same day, the intelligence of the events at Alessandria reached Turin, and animated the sinking spirits of the constitutionalists, who, aware that the die was cast, and that no time remained for temporizing, resolved to follow up the enterprize sword in hand. Captain Lesio hastened immediately post to Pinciolo, accompanied by the count of Santa Rosa, and gave orders to the regiment stationed there, to march to Alessandria. Count Cavaglio set out for Vercelli, to take the command of the regiment of general Sambugo, and to pursue the same route to Alessandria; but Sambugo, having received an intimation from the capital, refused to consign it to him. The king and royal family, who were at the Chateau of Moncaliere, a short distance from Turin, immediately returned to the palace; a council was held and a proclamation was issued, intended to allay the general fermentation, by alluding to the state of Alessandria, and contradicting the rumour of foreign interference, which was alleged as the cause of the disorder in that garrison. During the night, the gardes du corps were stationed before the palace; all the infantry and artillery were placed under arms in their several quarters; and every precaution was taken, that could announce alarm for the peace of the city, and the safety of the royal family. On the morning of Sunday, the 11th, the anxiety of the inhabitants was at its height. At an early hour groups of persons, of all ranks and ages, assembled in the squares and streets, eager to learn what was going forward. Such was the state of things when, about 9 in the morning, there arrived unexpectedly from San Salvario, which is not more than a musket shot distant from the capital, a captain Ferrero with a company of his legion, openly declaring for the constitution. About a hundred young men, the greater part students, nearly all armed, hastened to unite with them, crying out with a loud voice, "The constitution of Spain!" On arriving at San Salvario, they reared a tricoloured flag. About noon, two companies of the royal guard, two squadrons of carbineers, with a detachment of the Piedmont dragoons, proceeded to disperse this body, shouting at the same time Viva il Re. They were answered by Viva la Constituzione, from the motley group of students and soldiers, armed with pistols and sticks, who put themselves in a posture of defence. Things remained in this state till about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the troops and constitutionalists continuing still in front of each other, without any actual conflict. At last, the latter, seeing that they were not joined by the citizens or troops, retired from their position, crossed the Po, ascended the heights fronting the city, and on the following day proceeded to Alessandria. The guards and dragoons returned to their station before the royal palace, where they were joined by some companies of artillery and a battalion of the regiment of Aosta. Still every thing remained quiet in the city, and the night of Sunday passed in the greatest tranquillity. On the morning of Monday, the 12th, some of the students and citizens, acting in concert, found means to enter the citadel, where, seconded by the regiment of Aosta, they hoisted the flag of revolution, and proclaimed the constitution. As soon as they entered, they raised the draw-bridge, and announced the event by firing three cannon. An immense crowd flocked to the glacis of the fortress, and saw the unexpected spectacle of the garrison upon the ramparts, and the artillery at the batteries, shouting Viva il Re, viva la Constituzione di Spagna. The people without no longer hesitated to answer with similar acclamations. In the mean time the prince of Carignano, had proceeded from his palace to the citadel, to ascertain from his own observation the extent of the insurrection. The insurgents addressed him as a mediator, entreating him to intercede with the king to comply with the wishes of his people, and save them from the horrors of civil war. The prince yielded, and repaired immediately to the palace, accompanied by more than 20,000 of the inhabitants. At this time some accidents happened, through the impetuosity of the royal guards, who, on pushing back the crowd, trampled on two or three individuals, and injured them severely. These troops, to the shout of Viva la Constitusione, always replied Viva il Re. The conference of the prince with the royal family and the king's council was long and alarming; while the people and guards continued in front of each other in the streets and under the piazzas, waiting the result. It was supposed, from the delay in announcing his decision, that the king had refused compliance with the wishes of the constitutionalists, and so great was the alarm in consequence excited for the city, that a deputation of the inhabitants repaired to the palace to represent to him the dangers to which they were exposed. The deputation continued in the palace from 7 o'clock in the evening of Monday till 2 o'clock in the following morning; while a detachment of the Savoy regiment of cavalry, of the Piedmont regiment of infantry, and several companies of the royal legion, kept their station before it. The king resolved not to sign the constitution, and on the 13th abdicated the throne. At 5 o'clock on the following morning the king, with the queen, their two unmarried daughters, and a retinue of about 20 carriages, proceeded from the palace on the road to Nice, escorted by the regiment of Savoy cavalry. A few hours after the abdication, a proclamation was issued signed by the prince of Carignano, announcing that Victor Emmanuel had abdicated the crown, and had in the mean time entrusted all authority to him under the title of regent; at the same time calling upon the people to allow his majesty free passage to any part of his dominions on the continent whither he might choose to go, and to surround him with respect, wherever he might choose to reside. On Tuesday every thing remained quiet from the morning till about 5 o'clock in the evening, when the constitutionalists, see |