THE AUSTRIANS IN ITALY.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 436, 13 July 1850, Page 79

THE AUSTRIANS IN ITALY.

Ferrara is one of those formal old deserted cities which tell at the first glance the tale of former greatness and actual woe. The grass is growing in the streets, and the houses of the nobility look as if the windows were never cleaned or the doors opened. In the very centre of the city stands the chateau, a majestic old palace, surrounded by a deep moat, and to be entered only by a drawbridge and a dnngeonlike passage. It was ones the abode of mighty princes, but it is now the seat of the local Government, and it is quite as isolated as that Government from eny communion with the people. The citadel, or fort, is abont half a mile distant from the main streets, though still within the walls, which there take a sweep for the purpose of enclosing it. It is very strong, from the nature of the dead level of the surrounding land, and its bastions sweep every appproach. In this citadel the Austrian garrison, according to treaty, is stationed, and it is from here that all the sorrows eternally falling on the Ferrame eternally spring. There are at present about 1,000 Austrians in the citadel and in the town, and these men, with 3,000 or 4,000 more at Bologna, keep in awe the whole of a desperate population. It is curious enough to know, that whilst the Republic existed in Rome it was obeyed in the city of Ferrara, and to learn that the Austrian garrison interfered in no possible manner with either the powers , or the proceedings of the revolutionary Government. All it required was a certain share of | provisions, for which payment was punctually ! made, and on every market day a number of ' soldiers came into the town to purchase what was wanted. No other communication took place, and the officers and the men lived in the most absolute isolation. This state of things was, however, too good to last y and on one fine morning the people, drunk with liberty, and encouraged by all that was going on m Rome, took it into their heads toinsnlt the detachment as it went to market; and violence having followed the insult, three Croats were j assassinated in open day, and it was with difficulty that the lives of the other men were saved. The respectable inhabitants were indignant at this base conduct* and they waited on the governor, tendering every sort of excuse, and offering to compensate in the most liberal manner the families of the ill-fated victims. The officer appeared to accept the apology, and it was arranged that in future the foraging-party should be escorted out and home by a detachment of the National Guards, and thus that all disturbances should for the future be avoided. This precaution was adopted, and things went on in an apparently satisfactory manner, but Austrian vengeance bided its time, and when all was ripe a storm fell on the city which the Ferrarese will long remember.

On the 18th of February last Marshal Haynau crossed the Pa, which river is four miles distant from the city, and suddenly appeared before Ferrara, at the Bead of 6,000 men, one squadron of cavalry, and twenty- two pieces of cannon, and at once informed the citisens, in the most peremptory manner, that be was come to exact satisfaction for the murder el the Austrian soldiers above alluded to, and for the various insults offered to the troops ob several other occasions. Ho demanded at the same time, that the gates of the town should be delivered up to him, that six of the principal inhabitants should be placed in his hands as hostages, that the assassins should be denounced, that the arm* of the Pope should be restored, and lastly, that the snm of 20&.000 dollars should be at once paid over — 200,000 in the shape of penalty which he- imposed,, and 6,000 as an indemnity for damage done to the property of the Aus-trian-Consul. You may judge of the horror of the town when these conditions were disclosed. In vain the local Government declared that the assassination was committed by the dregs of the people, and that every pains had been taken to afford security to the troops since that event as they came to market. In vain they represented that such a sum as he demanded was not to be found in the whole city ; Haynau was inexorable, and he repeated bis demand, with the additional threat of bombarding the city without delay. The Republican governor, who had seen the coming storm, and had without effect solicited for some time before assistances in men and artillery from Bologna and Ravenna, now called bis councillors together, and, as it than appeared that there was neither troops nor ammunition, nor provisions in the town, and consequently, resistance was quite useless, the governor deposed hie authority, carried his commission and seals of office elsewhere, and, in short, abandoned Ferrara to its fate, and did as every one of the Republican leadeas whom I have heard of in Italy did— saved his own bacon, perfectly indifferent about his neighbour's hams. In this emergency submission I was unavoidable; the hostages went forth and delivered themselves up, and the principal bankers entered into communication with Marshal Haynau on the subject of the fine. They flattered, they prayed, they promised, but Haynau would not bate an inch ; and he told them fairly, that if within twenty-fours the money was not paid down the bombshells should come. An English resident was the only person who had any influence over this most awful Austrian, and by his intervention 65,000 dollars were paid down on the nail, and the Englishman gave his own note of band for the rest of the sum in certain instalments. Of course the city offered security to this nobleminded gentleman, but his conduct was no less liberal, and the citisens speak of their eternal gratitude to him. All these bills were regularly taken up at maturity, and I believe three others, which fell due since the Papal restoration, and which were, by a request from Portici, cancelled.

Now comes the most extraordinary part of this strange story. The Austrian . Government transferred the whole of the )2pO,OOQ, dollars— the other 6,000 being giveq to the Aus'trlan Consul, to the credit of Fio If ono, at a banker's at Trieste, and, still more wonderful, ' tha Pope has agreed to return 65,000 rpaid by the city, though it is not yet. known what he means to do with regard to the rest of the sum, about 80,000 Bcudi more, which was contributed by the surrounding district. You see, therefore, that a little sauce and the assassination of three Croats cost Ferrara. £50,000, that General Haynau, who was called a monster for exacting it, never touched a farthing for his own use or that of his Government, but that the whole sura was paid over for the Papal Government; and that the P,ope has now restored the precis? amount which the city alone contributed. - The people of Ferrara are cast in pretty much the same mould as those of Bologna, and the' knife is in constant use. lam told that tbeir lonely streets are none of thesafest to be walked at night, but I know nothing at all on the !sdbject, as the oply night t passed .there' I was too glad to sleep it out. There is, however/something wofully melancholy in tbesfe same deserted streets by day, and fancy has full play in: peopling them with the princes who once existed there/ and filled with pomp the long lines' of mansions or palaces that now stand vacant. The grass growing where brilliant carriages rolled appeals to the heart; and the most obdurate will yield a si<{h when contemplating the place where a D'Este family reigned, and where the proudest house in Italy held sway. " Ferrara has also to boast of a school of painting, of which Guersino and Garbfalo were the chief ornaments. A gallery exists, indifferently filled with works by names with which my ignorance was not before acquainted, but my cicerone was very proud of his Ferrara school, and perhaps to those who are very learned in the mysteries of art he had a right to be. Reflections springing out of the anomalous state of every part of the Papal territory are continually arising to me as I visit each porti6n in succession, and I cannot help feeling astonished to see ,tbe whole population, amounting to more than 300,000,000, kept in order,. by about 25,000 French, and 10,000 to 12,000 Austriaq troops. In the whole of this district, including the Romagna 1 and the .garrison of Ancona, there! are riot 10,000 men, but they are . evidently sufficiently numerous to keep the ill-disposed in awe, and no disturbance" has actually, occurred in/ any one place, however renowned, it may bt for the desperate character of its inhabitants. It is true that the vicinity of the large Austrian force at the other side, of the Po, and the overflowing garrisons of Lombardy and ' the Venella, produce a calming effect, and the people know that, though there are but 10,000 in the' Legations and the Romagna at present, three times that number could be poured in within a few days. Wer must also bear in mind, that the agricultural part of the population take no interest in revolutionary proceedings, and that the spirit of revolt exista almost exclusively in the towns. -The people are. blessed with a grateful soil, and are well and prosperous, but the lower classes in the -cities are newt to be pleased, and they afford 'plenty of combustible materials to the advocates, who take the lead: on all occasions. In-^ every part of : Italy the .liar furnished revolutionary leaders, and 4 by it at this hour the secret societies' are still fed. In point of actual comfort end physical enjoyment,, Italy ' has no reason to complain ; but the moral system is in the most disordered state,- and half- a century -must pass over before 'the .malady can be cured. Governments must take' the lead in administering the proper rem'edy-'-for we have, have 6een in the- progress 4 of last year's revolution nothing but incapacity, ignorance, treason, and cowardice, in those, generally speaking, who deluded the people with the show of liberty, and abandoned at 'the moment of peril. — Ferrara, Dec. 29i 1850,— Correspondent of the Morning Chronicle. • - • > : . i ■• - . .'" . . -

James Grant; Esq., late' of Cheap'side'an Black wall, has bequeathed' the'-sum.' of :£51090: £5l090 to the British and Foreign School Society; £1,000 to the Ragged Schobl Union; and £1,000 to the, City Mission: J•• '• • v ':'.-' ' * > A Sewikg Machine, — #c I copy, the following, from the Manchester r Ea?aminerj-hr u have in-! sp'ected 1 a neat apparjrtus'« f bnstructed t "for' the purpose oi"seVnng.- ' Itis^a machine; which Uin been in use for some time 'in' the south bf France (where it is patented) t atfd is- the invention of M.B.rThiinonnier, a native of a town near Lyphi. A patent has been obtained id 'this country by M.- Magnin, an advocate of France, and a number, of th^e- machine* have recently been constructed in this town by Messrs. Wren and, Bennett, machine-makers.. The machine, takes np,no more room than a, small 1 work-table, nor. is there, any thing unsightly in, ju ; appearance. ■ The. lUienj or work to 'be .operated upon,, is passed [across an iapefture on.B small' table, under ; which is ah apparatus for fixing 'the', bobbin 1 of thread, 'and above which is a peculiarly ; constructed me'cole^holder, supplied with, a needle of the descriptioncommonly used mi crochet work. Upon the pressure of a small foot board, under the (able, the needle. Only : the point' of (which is ; seen projecting from the case, passes through' the. cloth, down the -aperture in the table, and hooks' up the thread, thus commencing the stitch.' By successive pressures; on the; footboard, 4he needle; is thus lowered <md railed,., and e,§ch succeeding' stitch is brought jap within -the./Qrmer t>ne» thus! formingjw^atis l?nown by ladies, as •bftck^tch.'i The work produced is of the most elegant descrm- j tion, and; the machine is applicable for all kinds' of -work, fine or coarse.. . We saw a pair of trousers which had been sewn by it, and the work, appeared remarkably good."

Such is the rapidity of railway transit to Paris! that on the same day you can breakfast iv London, lunch at Boulogne, dine at the Amiens station, 'and sup in Paris.