NEWS OF THE WEEK.
MHE celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of Italian unity . began on-Monday at Rome. The chief ceremony took place -in the Capitol, where the King, Queen, and the Count of Turin were seated on thrones. The King made a speech which the Times correspondent says was received with warm applause, the references to King Humbert, to the co-existence of Church ; and State, and to Marcus Aurelius (" sacred and propitiatory image of that cult of the moral and civil law which our Fatherland wishes to follow ") being greeted with particular applause. In the afternoon the King opened the Exhibition of Fine Arts. The correspondent says that the exhibition is not yet ready, with the exception of a few pavilions. Of these, one is the British, which has been finished in spite of all difficulties ; the pictures are all in their place, and even the catalogues are printed. We are glad to learn that the same energy is at work at Rome which distinguished the British section recently at the Brussels Exhibition. . Messages were sent by the German Emperor from Venice, and by the. Emperor Francis Joseph from Vienna. The chief celebrations will take place in April, when Great Britain will . be represented by the Duke of Connaught. It is strange that neither the German Emperor nor the Emperor Francis Joseph , (though the latter might, of course, be excused on the ground of age) will be present at the most important celebrations in the history of the Power with which they are allied. We , discuss elsewhere the significance of this fact in relation to the Triple Alliance.
