CONTINENTAL INTELLIGENCE. ITALY.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 394, 22 September 1849, Page 115

CONTINENTAL INTELLIGENCE. ITALY.

The Intelligence from Italy is highly important. The French detachment which had lately been despatched for the ostensible purpose of re-inatating the Pope, has met with the most signal defeat. It is difficult to properly understand, from the imperfect accounts we have aeen, the events which have occurred in the Papal States, but as nearly as we can make out, thete are the facts:— At a conference of the Catholic powers at Gaeta, it had been resolved to restore the Pope to his temporal power, and Austria and the Two Sicilies announced themselves ready to lead the enterprise. This excited the jealousy of France, who was unwilling to see the Pope indebted for his restoration to other powers, and prefered therefore taking the lead upon herself, more particularly as she hoped by her influence to establish a more liberal Government in Rome, than would likely be effected if his Holiness was left in the hands of Austria and hiß other allies. With these views, and it is believed with an understanding with Austria and Naples at the time, General Oudinot landed his army at Civita Vecchia, which he immediately occupied, but at the same time abstained from any act which should wear the appearance of acting on the part of the Pope, for he now sought to propitiate the popular party, as if the interference of his Government had been made on behalf of the Roman Republic. This awoke the suspicions of both parties, and when General Oudinot marched towards Rome, which he almost immediately did, with about 6,000 men, and twenty-four guns, he was met by a messenger from the Provisional Government, sent to inquire his object in landing a French army in the Papal territory. The General, instead of giving any satisfactory reply, merely said that be had been sent to protect Rome against the Austrians, and to repress anarchy. This language was intended to suit the temper of the French National Assembly, but it gave no encouragement either to the friends or to the enemies of the Pope. The leaders in Rome upon this made every preparation to defend the city, in which they were aided by large bodies of people who flocked in from the adjacent country. We have no detailed account of the engagement which took place, but the following, taken from a Parisian paper, will give some idea of what ensued : —

" General Oudinot at first sent two companies into the city of Rome through a postern, the key of which had been given up to him. Whether from treachery or from any other cause, this postern was closed as soon as the companies had passed it, and the General immediately after heard the firing begin. He resolved to go to their succour through breaches to be made in the wall ; but, when he had released the fragments of these companies, he was obliged to retire to San Paolo. The General narrowly escaped being taken prisoner in crossing a bridge, upon which he had to sustain a sharp attack. This retreat, imposed upon him by the situation in which he found himself, drew his troops out of the line of communication ; and the inhabitants of the country, who up to that time had been very cordial with the soldiers, supplying them with provisions, suddenly withdrew, in an apprehension of a defeat. It was not'till the next day that the General could regain Castel.Geltdo, and reform his line. He then retired to within six leagues of Civita Vecchia, where he was to wait for re-inforcements. The disaster is even greater than was first supposed. We have 800 men %or» dt combat, including fortyseven officers. Among the killed is an officer of great merit, M. de JonquicVe."

Another description is given in a letter witten at Toulon, on the 4th of May :—

" It is known, that after having organized Civita Vecchia, of which the command had been given to Colonel Blanchard, of the 36th, General Oudinot took up a position within a few leagues of Rome, hoping, no doubt, that the presence of the expeditionary corps would determine a movement against the Triumviral Government His expectations were not realized. A company of the first battalion of tiraillures, sent on to the gates of Rome, having been received with musket shots, retired in good order, and soon after part of the division advanced and penetrated without much difficulty into the enceinte of the capital, of which the streets were barricaded ; but they were received by a well-fed fire of musketry, and a storm of missiles from the windows and roofs of the houses. The 20th of the line, which was in the front, was severely treated ; a company of voltigeurs of that regiment was almost totally destroyed. At last, seeing the impossibility of continuing a struggle which became fatal, General Oudinot ordered the retreat, and the expeditionary corps occupies at this moment a strong position near Rome."

A correspondent of the Times gives the following description of the "Eternal City" after the attack of the French :—

" Rome may now be said to be a city of ruins. The Villa Borghese and Medicis has almost disappeared. The ruins still encumber the soil. These barbarians only wanted time for their work, and they have been interrupted by the arrival of the French. They are flocking to the barricades. It is awful to look at these barricade* ; each one of them is a regular fortress. Three priests, Jesuits, were discovered yesterday in a villa where they were in hiding. The mob dressed them up in rags, dragged them through the city, and overwhelmed them with outrages cf all kinds. They dragged them to the bridge of the Castle of St. Angelo, where they cut them in pieces, and flung their palpitating remains into the Tiber. I have received these details from an eye-witness of this horrible scene. He assured me that one single person filled the whole place with his cries of agony. As for us, we are only living from day to day. Not being able to quit the city, and trusting no one, we are only preparing ourselves for death. Rome is silent as the tomb. You no longer hear the sonorous heart-stirring chimes of its numerous bells. The shops are all shut up.

On every side you only hehold armed men and women. The Chartreux have been driven away since yesterday. The Dames de St. Joiephe, being threatened with conflagration, have taken refuge in another convent. We are just told that the Neapolitans are coming, and Gribaldi has issued out to encounter them. He. tells .us, « We have eaten the cock, and are now going to swallow the maccaroni !' Since Sunday we hive been constantly on foot, and not a moment without hearing the most frightful alarms. The most atrocious looking figures constantly pass before us. The convents are attacked' night and day. The object is to find money, plate, and linen, and visits are hourly made in search of these even in the deepest caves and cellars. You may judge of the terror felt during these visits, which [ are accompanied with cries and the most terrible vociferations. Poor Rome ? It is her beauty, her wealth, her ruins that I deplore. The present war is a social one. It is no longer a question about the Pope ; he is no longer thought of; it is for the complete destruction of society and for the triumph of Communism. The galley slaves, the prisoners, have been all let loose and armed ; the women, dressed in men's clothes, are also armed, and encourage and excite each other to prepare the boiling oil and pour it from the windows on all who may enter the city. The property of the Princes, the nobles, and of all who possess anything, is seized, ravaged, and pillaged. The churches, bridges, and ports are all undermined. The Academy of the Yille Medicis is turned into a fort. The rappel is at this moment beating in all directions. lam obliged to close my letter — Adieu!"

After General Oudinot had retired from before Rome, desertion from his army went on to a great extent, as there was evidently a great unwillingness on the part of his troops to -fight against a Bister Republic.

Thus far, the accounts of the French expedition in Italy are pretty intelligible, but what remains is exceedingly vague, and our remaining account is somewhat conjectural. On the receipt of the intelligence , from Paris that General Oudinot had sustained a defeat, and that too from Italians, the greatest excitement and indignation ensued. There were rumours of a change of Ministry, but we cannot make out if. such took place actually. General Cavaignac was spoken of as the new Minister. Large reinforcements however were immediately despatched from Toulon, Marseilles and Lyons, and General Oudinot, on their arrival, advanced a second time towards Rome. Upon this, the Roman Government issued the following address to the French army : —

" Frenchmen 1 the land you tread on still preserves the traces of our glorious ancestors ; but these brought us liberty, and you bring us slavery. In destroying the Roman Republic 'you will destroy your own, and you will be fratricides at the same time that you injure yourselves. Ob, shame ! You stood by, and regarded with a laugh of mockery the misfortunes of Lombardy. You had not a single; word of consolation for the fall of Piedmont Your venal writers utter blasphemies and calumnies on the heroic efforts of Hungary. On this very day, with an impudent mockery, you come to destroy Roman liberty. Frenchmen ! your implacable Government subjects you to the greatest of all infamies, binds you to the train of despotism and of injustice, and obliges you to walk in the wakes of the Croat and the Cossack. Are you indeed soldiers? If you are, choose a foe worthy of your courage. Do not come to defy the rising strength of a petty State. If you wish to combat against Republican arms, cease to be Republicans yourselves, or confess that 1| you are the satellites of tyranny and hypocrisy. French {citizens ! tear aside the veil of policy, and answer. Whom do .you wish to restore to power? Are they the priests? this headstrong race, who have caused so much blood to flow and occasioned so many woes to France herself. Study your own history, and you will see what a fatal present you are about to make to us. Know it, once for all — from our earliest infancy even to our old age, we have cherished an implacable hatred of sacerdotal domination. You wish to reimpose it on us by force. You are about to place us on a level with the Chinese. You will force us to curse the soil which has given you birth. We are unfortunate, because we are the sport of the violence of powerful men — unfortunate, because we are despised and trampled under foot by the very nation which was always the illusion to our mind, and the source of our hopes. Frenchmen! before undertaking a detestable work, ask of the blue heaven that is above you, and it will answer that it has been polluted by sacerdotal iniquities and by their horrors in all ages. Ask our youth and our women, and you will learnjfrom them uninterrupted tales of seduction, of debauchery, and of venality. Ask of our farmers for whom have they laboured ? They will answer, for the priests ! Ask to whom belongs the fifth part of the State? To the priests I Ask to who belongs the most luxurious abodes, for who are the most exquisite delicacies, and who are those obeyed by thousands of menials? The reply will still be— the priests! the priests t Frenchmen ! your mission is the work of hell. It will bring down upon your heads an universal malediction, for which your past glory will not prove a recompense. On this very day you lose all the pride and glory of warriors. The children of the conquerors of Arcola and Marengo have, alas! become the Janissaries of the sacristy, and the champions of the accursed mitre!"

While the French General was preparing for a second attack upon Rome, a courier from Paris arrived, who completely changed the aspect of affairs. The precise object of his mission did not transpire, but it was believed by the* army that its future operations were to be directed againßt the enemies of the Roman Republic, instead of against that body itself. An extract from a correspondent of the Daily News, written at this time, gives a short account of this change : —

" There is every symptom of an approaching alliance between the National Assembly of Rome and the 10,000 French, to make a stand against the pretensions of Austria and Naples. This

morning, to the* surprise of all, the Triumvirs ordered the 500 French prisoners to be all set free, and to be furnished with rations and every comfort to speed them on their way to head quarters. The King of Naples and his 8,000 men are in a position very critical, as Colonial Roselli, with 4,000 Romans, and Garibaldi, with 6,000, have both got between him and his capital. The Romans have levelled to the ground every tenement that embarrassed or encumbered the free range of the musketry round the walls of Rome. There is the English chapel outside the gate Del Popolo, which alone they have allowed to stand inviolate. Respect for the religious feelings of your .country has spared this edifice. It seems to be Garibaldi's plan of operation to dash up to the gates of Naples, with the Abruzzi at his heels. The sth was the anniversary of the sack of Rome by Constable de Bourbon and his German lansquenets. Several cannon balls have been found in the Vatican Gallery, and placed in the collection of coins, inscribed ' gift of Pio Nono ;' but this is highly unjust, as no one doubts but that Pius would have disapproved of this bloodshed had he not been led blindfold by Antonelli and those about him at Gaeta. Three thousand Romans have marched out this morning to oppose a corps of Spaniards who have landed a Fiumicino. There was no news of Garibaldi."

But the correspondent of the Times, writing from Civita Vecchia, gives this graphic account of the arrival of the courier at that city —

'• The day before yesterday a steamer did com e in, and an officer was landed from her, who started en-courrier for the camp. I believe that officer brought despatches to the Commander-in-Chief calculated to make him pause before he renewed the attack on Rome. Yesterday, another steamer arrived, and two officers followed with equal haste their colleague of the previous day. Much agitation among the outsiders of Gallic diplamacy, who are here in no small numbers, was observed, and we concluded that orders changing the nature of the intervention had actually come to hand. As I was present at a scene which illustrates to a certain extent what was going on, I will describe it. On the point of starting for head- quarters for the purpose of witnessing the projected attack, I was taking some refreshment in a room where some thirty or forty French officers were at table, when I saw one of their comrades rush in, who appeared much agitated, and who exclaimed, ' Gentlemen, I have the honour to inform you that the destination of our expedition is changed. (Cheers.) We are here now to defend the Roman Republic. (Frantic cheers, and cries of " Vive la Republique.") Marshal Bugeaud has received orders to occupy Piedmont. (Cheers.) We are at war with Austria and Naples. (Cheers.) The National Assembly dismisses the present Ministry. The Republic of France has united with that of Rome (tremendous cheers). Gentlemen, to the honour of France and ,the Roman Republic' In an instant every man was on his legs, bumper in hand. Then came the touching of glasses, the hurried drinking of the toasts, and a cry of ' Vive la Republique' that sprang directly fron^thejheart. When a little calm was restored, the officer I allude to, in answer to the numerous questions that were addressed to htm, explained that despatches had been received of the nature assigned ; that no doubt existed of the National Assembly having interfered to save the national honour; and that General Oudinot was ordered to suspend all operations until his successor was appointed. Every word he uttered was cheered, and then, when conversation resumed its ordinary courie, I could not help hearing exclamations such as these — 'At length the hour was come;' 'We shall measure swords with Russia.' ' War with Austria and Naples ;' and in more than one mouth was found that fatal word J Waterloo.' "

What the result of all this may prove, we shall learn in due time.