documents regarding the universal suffrage of the people of Emilia. May Your Majesty, who pitifully felt their cry of sorrow, accept benignly this proof of gratitude and trust. Satisfied with these legal votes, these people, oh Sire, will have no other wish than that of deserving well of, Your Majesty and of Italy and of emulating in civil and military virtue the other peoples of your Constitutional Monarchy." His speech finished, he folded up the document of the discourse and gave it, together with a package of other papers which contained the legal documents of the suffrage of the people of Emilia, into the hands. of the King, who after having received them, read, with a firm strong voice, this discourse: "I accept their solemn vote, and henceforth I will glory in calling them my people. "By uniting them to the Constitutional Monarchy of Sardinia, and putting on an equal footing with the other provinces not only the states of Modena and Parma, but also Romagna, which already had separated by its own accord from the pontifical dominion, I do not mean to give less devotion to the Venerable Head of the Church which was and always will be alive in my mind. "As a catholic prince and as an Italian prince, I am ready to defend that independence necessary to his supreme ministry, to contribute to the splendor of his Court, and to pay 1 RE DI SARDEGNA, DI CIPRO E DI GERUSALEMME, ECC., ECC. Visto il risultamento della votazione universale tenutasi nelle provincie dell'Emilia, dalla quale risulta essere generale il voto di quelle popolazion di unirsi al nostro Stato; Udito il Nostro Consiglio dei ministri; Abbiamo decretato e decretiamo: ART. 1. Le provincie dell'Emilia faranno parte integrante dello Stato dal giorno della data del presente de creto. ART. 2. Il presente decreto verrà presentato al Parlamento per essere convertito in legge. I Nostri ministri sono incaricati dell'esecuzione del presente decreto il quale, munito del sigillo dello Stato. sarà inserito nella Raccolta degli Atti Vote of Emilia and Uniting it to the March 18, 1860 1 1 VICTOR EMANUEL II KING OF SARDINIA, CYPRUS AND JERUSALEM, ETC., ETC. In view of the result of the universal vote held in the provinces of Emilia which shows that the desire of these people to be united to our state is a general one; Having heard our Council of Ministers; We have decreed, and decree; ARTICLE 1. The provinces of Emilia shall form an integral part of the state from the day of the date of the present decree. ART. 2. The present decree shall be presented to Parliament for conversion into law. Our ministers are charged with the execution of the present decree which, sealed with the state seal, shall be inserted in the collection of 1 Le Assemblee, vol. 1, p. 440. This decree and the one relating to Tuscany, in the same language, were presented to the Italian Parliament on the 12th of April, 1860, and were voted by the Chamber of Deputies on the 13th and by the Senate on the 14th following. del Governo e pubblicato nelle pro- government documents and published vincie dell'Emilia. in the Provinces of Emilia. Done at Turin on the 18th day of March, 1860.1 Dato a Torino, addì 18 marzo 1860. VITTORIO EMANUELE, C. CAVOUR. VICTOR EMANUEL, SAVOY AND NICE, 1860 Napoleon III Asserts the Claim of France to Savoy on the Opening of the 1 Legislative Chambers. March 1, 1860 1 MESSIEURS LES SÉNATEURS, MES SIEURS LES DÉPUTÉS, A l'overture de la dernière session, confiant dans le patriotisme de la France, je tenais à prémunir vos esprits contre les appréhensions exagérées d'une guerre probable. Aujourd'hui j'ai à coeur de vous rassurer contre les inquiétudes suscitées par la paix même. Cette paix, je la veux sincèrement, et ne négligerai rien pour la maintenir. La pensée dominante du Traité de Villafranca était d'obtenir l'indépendance presque complète de la Vénétie au prix de la restauration des Archiducs. Cette transaction ayant échoué, malgré mes plus vives instances, j'en ai exprimé mes regrets à Vienne comme à Turin; car la situation, en se prolongeant, menaçait de demeurer sans issue. Pendant qu'elle était l'objet d'explications loyales entre mon Gouvernement et celui de l'Autriche, MESSIEURS LES SÉNATEURS, MES SIEURS LES DEPUTÉS, On the opening of last session, relying upon the patriotism of France, I endeavoured to fortify your minds in advance against the exaggerated apprehensions of a probable war. To-day I have at heart to reassure you against the anxiety caused by peace itself. That peace I desire sincerely, and shall neglect nothing to maintain it. The dominant idea of the Treaty of Villafranca was to obtain the almost complete independence of Venetia at the price of the restoration of the Archdukes. That transaction having failed, despite my most earnest endeavors, I have expressed my regret at Vienna as well as at Turin; for the situation, by being prolonged, threatened to lead to no issue. While it was the object of loyal explanations between my Gov 1 Text and translation from British Parliamentary Papers, Affairs of Italy [2638], p. 19. elle inspirait à l'Angeleterre, à la Prusse, et à la Russie, des démarches dont l'ensemble atteste clairement, de la part des Grandes Puissances, le désir d'arriver à la conciliation de tous les intérêts. Pour seconder ces dispositions, il importait à la France de présenter la combinaison dont l'adoption avait le plus de chance d'être accepté par l'Europe. Garantissant par mon armée l'Italie contre l'intervention étrangère, j'avais le droit de marquer les limites de cette garantie. Aussi n'ai-je pas hésité à déclarer au Roi de Sardaigne que, tout en lui laissant l'entière liberté de ses actes, je ne pourrais pas le suivre dans une politique qui avait le torte de paraître, aux yeux de l'Europe, vouloir absorber tous les Etats de l'Italie, et qui menaçait de nouvelles conflagrations. Je lui ai conseillé de répondre favorablement aux vœux des provinces qui s'offraient à lui, mais de maintenir l'autonomie de la Toscane, et de respecter en principe les droits du Saint Siège. Si cet arrangement ne satisfait pas tout le monde, il a l'avantage de réserver les principes, de calmer les appréhensions, et il fait du Piémont un Royaume de plus de 9,000, 000 d'âmes. En présence de cette transformation de l'Italie du Nord, qui donne à un Etat puissant tous les passages des Alpes, il était de mon devoir, pour la sûreté de nos frontières, de réclamer les versants Français des montagnes. Cette revendication d'un territoire de peu d'étendue n'a rien qui doive ernment and that of Austria, it sug gested to England, to Prussia, to Russia, measures the whole of which clearly prove on the part of the Great Powers their desire to obtain a reconciliation of all the interests. To second these dispositions, it was necessary for France to present that combination the adoption of which would have the greatest chance of being accepted by Europe. Guaranteeing Italy by my army against foreign intervention, I had the right to assign the limits of that guaran Therefore I did not hesitate to declare to the King of Sardinia that, while leaving him full liberty of action, I could not follow him in a policy which had the fault of appearing in the eyes of Europe a desire to absorb all the States of Italy, and which threatened new conflagrations. I counselled him to reply favourably to the wishes of the provinces which should offer themselves to him, but to maintain the independence of Tuscany, and to respect in principle the rights of the Holy See. If this arrangement does not satisfy everybody, it has the advantage of reserving principles, of calming apprehensions, and makes Piedmont a kingdom of more than 9,000,000 souls. Looking to this transformation of Northern Italy, which gives to a powerful State all the passes of the Alps, it was my duty, for the security of our frontiers, to claim the French slopes of the mountains. This reassertion of a claim to a territory of small extent has nothing in alarmer l'Europe et donner un démenti à la politique de désintéressement que j'ai proclamée plus d'une fois, car la France ne veut procéder à cet agrandissement, quelque faible qu'il soit, ni par une occupation militaire, ni par une insurrection provoquée, ni par de sourdes manœuvres, mais en exposant franchement la question aux Grandes Puissances. Elles comprendront, sans doute, dans leur équité, comme la France le comprendrait certainement pour chacune d'elles en pareille circonstance, que l'important remaniement territorial qui va avoir lieu nous donne droit à une garantie indiquée par la nature. elle-même. it of a nature to alarm Europe, and give a denial to the policy of disinterestedness which I have proclaimed more than once; for France does not wish to proceed to this aggrandizement, however small it may be, either by military occupation or by provoked insurrection, or by underhand manoeuvres, but by frankly explaining the question to the Great Powers. They will doubtless understand in their equity, as France would certainly understand it for each of them under similar circumstances, that the important territorial rearrangement which is about to take place gives us a right to a guarantee indicated by Nature herself. Answer of Sardinia to France Agreeing to the Principle of Self-Determina tion 1 Count Cavour to M. Nigra Turin, le 3 mars, 1860. M. LE CHEVALIER, Turin, March 3, 1860. M. LE CHEVALIER, In his despatch of the 24th of February, M. de Thouvenel directs M. de Talleyrand to call the attention of the King's Government to the question of Savoy and Nice. He considers that according to widely spread historical traditions, the formation of a powerful kingdom at the foot of the Alps would be unfavourable to the interests of France, and would present a real danger to her, if her frontiers were not extended and fortified in that direction. 1 Text and translation from British Parliamentary Papers, Affairs of Italy [2638], p. 39. |