25 FEBRUARY 1854, Page 17

PARINI'S ROMAN STATE. * THE public avocations of Mr. Gladstone have

prevented him from concluding the translation of the history which he originally intro- duced to the English world. He has therefore deputed the task to a lady, subject to his " direction." The last volume of the history of Rome, and indeed of Italy since the reestablishment of legiti- mate rule at the Congress of Vienna, embraces the proceedings of the French after they had got possession of Civita Vecchia, their first repulse from Rome, the subsequent negotiations with the Re- publican Government, the siege and occupation of the city, the re- turn of the Pope, and the proceedings of his government up to 1850. At this period Signor Farini closes his historical narrative, from the lack of original documents and actual knowledge ; but he adds a letter to Mr. Gladstone, which takes a general and sum- mary review of the conduct of the Italian Governments to the pre- sent time, together with an enunciation of his own views in op- position to those of Mazzini and " Young Italy."

These views were certainly not the cause of the present plight of Rome ; for Austria would have interfered to put down the Repub- lic, and France to checkmate Austria, whether the advocates of "moderate measures " and an impracticable constitution had existed ois not. Perhaps the motives did no good to the Republic or to the defence of the city. Certainly, to some extent, the theories of the writer mar the treatment of his theme. Amid the farrago of follies and violences if not of crimes which originated in the outbreaks of 1848, the defence and fall of Rome and of Venice stand forth con- spicuous for courage carried to the verge but stopping short of des- peration, and for dignified withdrawal when courage could do no more. As an Italian, the author is not insensible to the bravery of the defence, and the honour it reflects upon the Roman name ; but he exhibits his feelings towards individuals. Mazzini, and all the Republican leaders more or less, are depreciated either in their courage, their conduct, or their headstrong obstinacy. The diplo- matic documents, and the more covert intrigues of.diplomatists at Paris and Gaeta as well as at Rome, occupy too large a space in the book, compared with the more spirit-stirring action going on before the Eternal City. Too much of personal feeling is mingled with the oritioism ; the author's dislike to the principles and objects of the Republicans extends to the men. Curious infor- mation, however, is elicited in the course of his narrative. Charges have been made against Lord John Russell's Government, and especially against Lord Palmerston, for encouraging the Italian insurrectionists and then betraying them. A letter from the Roman agent in London shows that this was not the case as regards the Roman Republic, while something not very honest is charged upon Mazzini. The first part of the following extract is from a letter by Marioni giving an account of an interview with Lord Palmer- ston.

• The Boman State, from 1815 to 1850. By Luigi Carlo larini. Volume IV. Translated, under the Direction of the Right Hon. w. E. Gladstone, M.P. for the University of Oxford. By a Lady. Published by Murray. "In conclusion he said, 'Yet you had better counsel these who govern the Republic to treat at least with France, and that immediately, with frankness and on such conditions as can be accepted. England will lend a willing hand so far, and will give you every support, for the interests not only of Rome, but of Italy. Do not let slip the present moment, in which you have the power, if not to impose and exact, at least to obtain most fa- vourable conditions. Accept the Pope with a Constitution extended sad real, with the freedom of the press, and with all the guarantees for liberty and future progress; with the express condition of the entire and perpetual separation of the two principles of the two powers, ecclesiastical and secular. Make also the secularization of the Government a condition, a sine qu9, non. It is my opinion that the French Government, whatever may be the future Ministry, will mediate on these conditions, and will cause them to be ac- cepted by the Pope and his party, even though they should not please him. Profit by this favourable moment,'—and this expression he repeated to me over and over again ; `if you let it slip, it will be your own fault—your own loss. Profit by the present state of public opinion in France—for it is not eternal ; and by the mistakes committed by General Oudinot, which have given quite another colouring to the affair. Hope in the future, pregnant with so many events which human foresight cannot calculate upon or direct, but treat, treat immediately. Perhaps, during the negotiations, circum- stances may develop themselves which may enable you to exact still better terms. For the present, content yourselves with what is practicable; if you refuse, it will be worse for you, much worse. The chances against you being very many, you may, by your obstinacy, render them still greater and insurmountable.' And, what his Lordship never did until today, he added, I give you this advice in my private capacity, or if you prefer it, as the Min- ister of the Queen, and of the British nation.' As usual, I renewed my pro- test against any treaty for the restoration of the Pope, insisting that the re- cognition should be at least secondary, and conditional, until France should have recognized us. To this he answered, that happen what may in France, we shall never be permanently recognized as a Republic ; that the Pope would be imposed upon us afresh, under some title or other, under some name or colour, even if the Red Republic should be established in France, which is certainly unlikely enough. "Mazzini, who, after the departure of Rusconi, had acted as Minister for Foreign Affairs, suppressed Marioni's letter, giving instead, a colour of au- thenticity to some private letters, according to which England, about to re- cognize the Roman Republic, advised a desperate resistance ; by which act the Triumvir not only failed in his duty towards the Asaembly, but gravely erred against the laws of honour. Nor was it by Marioni alone that the English Government sent prudent counsels; they also came by other chan- nels. Lord Napier arrived at Rome in May, ostensibly to visit its public monuments as a lover of the arta, but really to convince the Government of the necessity of having recourse to prudent measures. But they would not hold any intercourse with him, and Borgatti alone, a wise and honourable young man, who had remained in office for the sake of doing good, had seve- ral interviews with him, listened to him, and appreciated his advice ; but he attempted in vain to render it acceptable to the Triumvirs."

The advice was open and judicious ; but whether the idea Pal- merston suggested and Farini inculcates at large was attainable, or practicable if attained, may be doubted,—the preservation of the temporal power of the Pope as a constitutional sovereign, and the separation of the lay and spiritual dominion. France, it is probable, would really have achieved this if she could ; but the Pope and Cardinals would not listen to anything of the kind, and what churchmen ever will P The principle of Mazzini and his followers is broad and plain,—to deprive the Pope of his temporal power, leaving him such spiritual authority and influence as the Papal religionists may feel it a matter of duty to yield ; at the same time sending the Pontiff to Jerusalem, or whithersoever he likes to go, but banishing him from Rome. This plan is difficult of attainment, but, the physical power being granted, easy enough to carry through; while it would command the active approba- tion of all zealous opponents of the Popedom, and the acquies- cence possibly of some Romanists. The plan of Farini must en- counter the interior resistance of all those at present in posses- sion—Pope, Cardinals, and churchmen in general ; it -would rouse as much opposition among the zealous as the more radical proposition, and command the assent of none save a few liberal diplomatists, (who, however, would risk nothing to carry out the idea,) and persons of the writer's persuasion,—that is, a zealous Catholic, allowing all the spiritual claims of the Pope and priest- hood, even to the absolute direction of the conscience of the laity, (page 353,) but denying them any temporal power. This opinion has been maintained as a matter of convenience by many poli- ticians, among others by the late Mr. O'Connell. Some Italians support it on national grounds, as giving to Rome and Italy a supremacy over opinion, and a sort of claim to the dominion of the world. A few, like our author, are as conscientious in their op- position to the temporal as in their submission to the spiritual claims of the clergy ; but they forget how rare must be the circum- stances and the individual character which can resist the per- suasions of an artful or the threats of an imperious priest, especially when it is frequently so easy to confuse the boundary between the temporal and clerical. Some difficulty would also arise in the feel- ings of the Romans themselves, who at present seem to illustrate the proverb—" the nearer the church." " The Roman people will never be at rest as long as they are governed by the clergy,—that is to say, by a caste which vows to detach itself from the world, while it aspires to the privilege of managing worldly affairs. Now, this privilege not only humiliates, irritates, and excites the laity to rebellion, so as to be a constant cause of disorders in the state, but also occasions mani- fest injury to religious belief. Bossuet remarked, long ago, that the German people hated the bishops, not because they were pastors of souls, but because they were their sovereigns. What Bossuet said of the bishops of Germany may be said of the cardinals, the bishops, the prelates, and the priests, who have the privilege of governing the state of Rome; in fact, the clergy are hated and despised to such a degree that a real moral schism exists between the priest and the citizen. There is no part of the world in which the Pope is less respected than in the country where he exercises temporal sovereignty, because the worst kind of government is carried on there in his name; there the gallows are raised, there proscriptions are in force, there the lash is in- flicted in the name of the Pope. Imprecations against the Government as- cend to the prince, who is Pope, and the majesty of the Pontiff is on the wane. The bishops are little loved, little respected, because a man is made a bishop who a short time previously was at the head of the police, and

because the pastor leaves his flock to take up the sword.; the citizen thus easily slides from moral into religious schism; and it may be clearly seen that at the very time when religious belief is gaining ground elsewhere, scepticism is raising its head higher and higher in the States of the Pope, and religious observances are neglected or derided."

The style of Farini is here, as in the former volumes, diffusely finished. It wants the closeness, force, and dignity of history ; but it is rather a minute fulness of facts and ideas than any re- dundancy of words. The composition is sometimes curious in this point of view, for its perfect reflex of the writer's mind,—clear and expansive, but rather lingering behind the patience of the reader.