Italy. 19 September 1848
Supplement
Italy.
* Messina was taken by the Neapolitans on the 7th inst. after a five-day savage struggle. More than 7,000 persons, mostly women and children, have taken refuge on the French warships. The French envoy in Naples is said to have demanded of Ferdinand that the Neapolitan government content itself with the conquest of Messina, and attack neither Palermo nor any other Sicilian city.
Leghorn is fairly quiet. The government commission chosen under the direction of the Grand Duke, to which Guerrazzi belongs, is working with zeal to satisfy the demands of the people without lengthy hesitation.
In Turin the Chambers have been adjourned until 16 October. The ministry cites as its main reason that, were the Chambers to meet now, they would paralyse the energy of the government upon the expiry of the armistice. In order to meet the shortage of money, a forced loan has been opened, to which all house- and landowners are to contribute according to the purchase value of their property, all holders of mortgages and usufructuaries, as well as the commercial class, in a progressive manner.
Garibaldi has travelled via France to Nice.
Venice has finally been abandoned by the Piedmontese; Albini’s fleet was sighted near Ancona.