CHAP. VIII. 1820. Provision was made for their maintenance in the mean time, and every precaution taken to render the measure as gentle in its operation as possible. Certainly, as the Roman Catholics, like most other sects, regard theirs as the only true faith, and all others as heresies, it can be no matter of surprise, still less of condemnation, that they everywhere make such strenuous efforts to gain proselytes and reclaim souls, as they deem it, on the eve of perdition, to the bosom of the Church. But as other But as other persuasions are equally convinced that their own is the true form of worship, they cannot be surprised, and have no right to complain, if their everywhere aggressive atti-Ann. Hist. tude is met by a corresponding defensive one; and if 297; Biog. these states, without seeking to convert them to their 297; Ukase, faith, seek only to adopt measures that may secure their 1820. own.1 1 iii. 296, Univ. Ivi. March 23, 68. changes in the empe from the of 1820. The time, however, had now arrived when the views of the emperor, heretofore so liberal and indulgent, were Great to undergo an entire change, when the illusions of 1814 were to be dispelled, and Russia, instead of being, as it ror's mind had been for many years, at the head of the movement revolution party in Europe, was to become its most decided opponent. Already the emperor had been warned by anonymous letters and various mysterious communications, as well as by reports from the secret police, of the existence" of a vast conspiracy, which embraced several of the leading officers in the armies both of Poland and the Danube, and nobles of the highest rank and consideration in St Petersburg. The object of the conspirators was stated to be to dethrone and murder the emperor, imprison the other members of the imperial family, and establish a constitutional monarchy on the footing of those of western Europe. For long the emperor gave trations furent inutiles. Loin de s'abstenir, à l'instance de l'église dominante, de tout moyen de séduction et de conversion, les Jésuites continuèrent à semer le trouble dans les colonies du rit Protestant, et se poussèrent jusqu'à la violence pour soustraire les enfants Juifs à leurs parents."-Ukase, 25 Mars 1820. Annuaire Historique, iii. 296, 297. CHAP. VIII. 1820. 1 Schnitz ler, ii. 4, 32; Ann. Hist. iii. 300, 302. 69. Violent scene, and ish Diet. Sept. 28. no credit to these warnings; he could not believe that an army which, under himself, had done such great things, and had given him personally such proofs of entire devotion, could have so soon become implicated in a traitorous project for his destruction. But the military revolution in Spain, Portugal, and Naples, in the early part of the year 1820, opened his eyes as to the volcano on which possibly his empire might be resting; and the events in Poland ere long left no doubt that the danger was rapidly approaching his own dominions.1 The Polish Diet opened in September, and the emperor, who assisted at it in person, in the Polish uniform, dissolution and surrounded with Polish officers, was received with of the Pol- enthusiasm: the city was illuminated on his arrival, and at several reviews the troops of the national army evinced the most loyal feelings. The exposition of the minister exhibited the most flattering appearance; the population had increased to 3,468,000, being no less than a million since the termination of the war; agriculture, manufactures, the finances, were in the most flourishing state. But what is material prosperity, beneficent government, to a country infested with the fever of revolution? It soon appeared, when the Diet proceeded to real business, with what species of spirit they were animated. On a proposition to amend the criminal law, brought forward by the ministers, a violent opposition broke forth in the chamber, on the ground that the proposed mode of trial was not by jury; and it was rejected by 120 votes to 3. Another proposal of government, for certain changes in the Senate, was also rejected by a large majority. It was evident that the Diet was animated with the wild spirit of Polish equality, not merely from their measures, but from the extreme violence of the language which they used, and that they would be as difficult to manage as the old comitia, where any member, by the exercise of his liberum veto, might paralyse the whole proceedings. Alexander was profoundly affected; he saw at once the depth of the VIII. 1820. abyss which yawned beneath his feet, if these ideas, as in CHAP. Spain and Naples, should gain possession of the army, the main prop of the throne in his despotic realms; and he closed the Diet with a speech, in which his apprehensions iii. 304,306. and indignation exhaled in the most striking manner.1* 1 Ann. Hist. Troppau: 1820. This incident exercised an important influence on the 70. affairs of Europe in general, for the emperor at this period Congress of was on his way to the Congress of TROPPAU, where the Oct. 20, recent revolution in the Spanish and Italian peninsulas, and the alarming state of affairs in France, were to be taken into consideration. As this congress was called chiefly in consequence of the suggestions of the Emperor Alexander, and was the first practical application of the principles of the Holy Alliance of which he was the author, it belongs more properly to the annals of Russia than Germany, within whose bounds it was held. The Emperor of Austria, whose terror at the alarming situation of Italy was extreme, arrived there on the 18th October; the Emperor of Russia joined him there on the 20th. In- Oct. 20. disposition prevented the King of Prussia from coming till the 7th November, but he was represented by the hereditary prince, his son. Prince Metternich and M. Gentz on the part of Austria; Count Nesselrode and Capo d'Istria on that of Russia; Prince Hardenberg and Count Bernstorff on that of Prussia; Count Caraman, the * "Parvenus au terme où s'arrêtent aujourd'hui les travaux qui doivent vous conduire par degrés vers ce but important de développer et d'affermir vos institutions nationales, vous pouvez facilement apprendre de combien vous en êtes rapprochés. Interrogez votre conscience, et vous saurez si dans le cours de vos discussions, vous avez rendu à la Pologne tous les services qu'elle attendait de votre sagesse, ou si, au contraire, entraînés par des séductions trop communes de vos jours, et immolant un espoir qu' aurait réalisé une prévoyante confiance, vous n'avez pas retardé dans son progrès l'aurore de la restauration de votre Patrie. Cette grave responsabilité pèsera sur vous. Elle est la sûreté nécessaire de l'indépendance de vos suffrages. Ils sont libres, mais une intention pure doit toujours les déterminer. La mienne vous est connue. Vous avez reçu le bien pour le mal, et la Pologne est remontée au rang des états. Je persévéreraj dans mes desseins à son égard, quelle que soit l'opinion qu'on puisse se former sur la manière dont vous venez d'excuser vos prorogations."— Discours de l'Empereur Alexandre à Varsovie, 1/13 Octobre 1820, à la clôture de la Diète Polonaise. Annuaire Historique, iii. 616. CHAP. French ambassador at Vienna, and Sir Charles Stuart, VIII. the English ambassador there, represented the several 1820. powers. The events in Italy and Spain had excited the greatest alarm among all the parties assembled, and the 1 Ann. Hist. most vigorous measures were resolved on; and although iii. 512,513; the English government did not take an active part in lvi. 187. their deliberations, it did not formally oppose the measures resolved on.1 Biog. Univ. 71. Troppau: tions. So great was the importance of the topics discussed at Congress of the Congress of Troppau, and so various the interests of its resolu- the powers there assembled, that in former days it would in all probability have led to a general war. But the remembrance of past strife was too recent, the terror of present revolutions too great, to permit of any serious divergence of opinion or measures taking place. From the very outset the Emperor Alexander, whose appreliensions were now fully awakened, declared that he was prepared to second with all his forces any measures which the Emperor of Austria might deem necessary for the settlement and pacification of Italy. At the same time the march of the Austrian troops towards the south of Italy continued without intermission, and a holograph letter was despatched from the assembled sovereigns to the King of Naples, inviting him to join them in person at a new congress, to be held at Laybach in Styria. A minister 2 Ann. Hist. sent from Naples on the part of the revolutionary governiii.514,515; ment was refused admission; and the views of the assemAperçu des résultats des bled monarchs on the late revolutions were announced Nov. 20. conférences ibid. iii. de Troppau, in several semi-official articles, published in the Vienna 630. papers, which, even more than their official instruments, revealed their real sentiments.2* *"On a acquis la conviction que cette révolution, produite par une secte égarée et exécutée par des soldats indisciplinés, suivie d'un renversement violent des institutions légitimes, et de leur remplacement par un système d'arbitraire et d'anarchie, est non-seulement contraire aux principes d'ordre, de droit, de morale, et de vrai bien-être des peuples, tels qu'ils sont établis par les monarques, mais de plus incompatible par ses résultats inévitables avec le repos et la sécurité des autres états Italiens, et par conséquent avec la conser VIII. 1821. 72. Laybach. 1821. The congress, to be nearer the scene of action, was CHAP. soon after transferred to LAYBACH, where the Emperor of Austria arrived on the 4th January, and the Emperor of Russia on the 7th. The King of Prussia was hourly ex- Congress of pected; and the King of Naples, whom the revolutionary Jan. 8, government established in his dominions did not venture to detain at home, came on the 8th. So much had been done at Troppau in laying down principles, that nothing remained for Laybach but their practical application. The principle which Alexander adopted, and which met with the concurrence of the other sovereigns, was that the spirit of the age required Liberal institutions, and a gradual admission of the people to a share of power; but that they must flow from the sovereign's free will, not be forced upon him by his subjects; and, therefore, that no compromise whatever could be admitted with revolutionists either in the Italian or Spanish peninsulas. In conformity with this determination, there was signed, on 2d Feb- Feb. 2. ruary 1821, a treaty, by which it was stipulated that the allied powers should in no way recognise the revolutionary government in Naples; and that the royal authority should be re-established on the footing on which it stood prior to the insurrection of the army on 5th July 1820. To carry their resolution into effect, it was agreed that an Austrian army should, in the name of Austria, Russia, and Prussia, be put at the disposition of the King of the Two Sicilies; that, from the moment of its passing the Po, its whole expenses should be at the charge of that kingdom, and that the Neapolitan dominions should be occupied by the Austrian forces during three years, in the same manner, and on the same conditions, as France had vation de la paix en Europe. Pénétrés de ces vérités, les Hauts Monarques ont pris la ferme résolution d'employer tous leurs moyens afin que l'état actuel des choses dans le royaume des Deux-Siciles, produit par la révolte et la force, soit détruit, mais cependant S. M. le Roi sera mis dans une position telle qu'il pourra déterminer la constitution future de ses états d'une manière compatible avec sa dignité, les intérêts de son peuple, et le repos des états voisins." -Observateur Autrichien. |