Protest of Francis II
“Since a reckless adventurer, possessing all the force of which revolutionary Europe can dispose, has attacked our dominions, under the name of an Italian sovereign who is both a relation and a friend, we have striven for five months long, with all the means in our power, on behalf of the sacred independence of our states.
“The fortune of war has proved contrary to us. The reckless enterprise of which the above sovereign protested his ignorance in the most formal manner, and which, nevertheless, at the moment when negotiations were going on for an intimate alliance between us, received in his own states its principal support and assistance, that enterprise at which the whole of Europe assisted with indifference, after having proclaimed the principle of non-intervention, leaving us alone to fight against the common enemy, is now upon the point of extending its disastrous effects to our own capital. The forces of the enemy are now approaching this neighborhood.
“On the other hand, both Sicily and the provinces of the continent, which for a long time have been agitated in every manner by a revolution, rising in insurrection under so great an excitement, have formed provisional governments under the title and nominal protection of the above sovereign, and have confided to a pretended dictator full authority and the decision of their destiny.
“Strong in our rights, founded upon history, in international treaty, and in the public law of Europe, we intend to prolong our defence, while it is possible; yet we are no less determined upon every sacrifice in order to save this vast metropolis, the glorious home of the most ancient memories, the birthplace of national art and civilization, from the horrors of anarchy and civil war.
“In consequence, we shall retire beyond the walls with our army, confiding in the loyalty and the love of our subjects for the preservation of order and for respect being shown to authority.
“In taking this determination we are conscious of a duty which our ancient and uncontested rights, our honor, the interest of our heirs and successors, and more than all, the welfare of our most beloved subjects, have imposed upon us, and therefore we protest loudly against all acts which have been accomplished up to this time, and against the events which are on the point of completion, or which may be accomplished in future. We reserve, then, all our rights and privileges, arising from the most sacred and incontestable laws of succession as well as from the force of treaties, and we declare solemnly that all the aforesaid acts and events are null, void, and of no effect. For what concerns us we leave our cause, and the cause of our people, in the hands of Almighty God, under the firm conviction that during the short space of our reign we have not entertained a single thought that was not devoted to the happiness and the good of our subjects. The institutions which we have irrevocably guaranteed are the proof of this.
“This protest of ours will be transmitted to every court, and we desire that, signed by us, provided with the seal of our royal arms, and countersigned by our minister of foreign affairs, it should be preserved in our royal offices of the exterior, of the privy council and of grace of justice, as a record of our firm resolution always to oppose reason and right to violence and usurpation.
(Signed,)
“Francesco II.
“De Martino.
“Naples, Sept. 6, 1860.”
Royal Proclamation
“Among the duties prescribed to kings, those of the days of misfortunes are the grandest and the most solemn, and I intend to fulfill them with resignation, free from weakness, and with a serene and confident heart, as befits the descendants of so many monarchs.
“For such a purpose I once more address my voice to the people of this metropolis, from whom I am now to depart with bitter grief.
“An unjust war, carried on in contravention to the law of nations, has invaded my states, notwithstanding the fact that I was at peace with all the European powers.
“The changed order of government, and my adhesion to the great principles of Italian nationality, were not sufficient to ward off the war; and, moreover, the necessity of defending the integrity of the state entailed upon me the obligations of events which I have always deplored; therefore, I solemnly protest against this indescribable hostility, concerning which the present and future time will pronounce their solemn verdict.
“The diplomatic corps residing at my court has known since the commencement of this unexpected invasion, with what sentiments my heart has been filled for all my people, as well as for this illustrious city, with a view of securing her from ruin and war, of saving her inhabitants and all their property, her sacred churches, her monuments, her public buildings, her collection of art, and all that which forms the patrimony of her civilization and of her greatness, and which being an inheritance of future generations, is superior to the passions of a day.
“The time has now come to fulfill these professions of mine. The war is now approaching the walls of the city, and with unutterable grief I am now to depart with a portion of my army to betake myself whither the defence of my rights calls me. The remainder of my army remains in company with the honorable national guard, in order to protect the inviolability and safety of the capitol, which I recommend as a sacred treasure to the zeal of the ministry; and I call upon the honor and the civic feeling of the mayor of Naples and of the commandant of the said national guard, to spare this most beloved country of mine the horrors of internal discord and the disasters of civil war; for which purpose I concede to the above-named the widest powers that they may require.
“As a descendant of a dynasty that has reigned over this continent for 126 years, after having preserved it from the horrors of a long vice-royalty, the affections of my heart are here. I am a Neapolitan, nor could I without bitter grief address words of farewell to my most dearly beloved people, to my fellow citizens. Whatever may be my destiny, be it prosperous or adverse, I shall always preserve for them a passionate and affectionate remembrance. I recommend to them concord, peace, and a strict observance of their civic duties. Let not an excessive zeal for my dynasty be made a pretence for disturbance.
“Whether from the fortunes of the present war I return shortly amongst you, or whatever may be the time at which it may please the justice of God to restore me to the throne of my ancestors, a throne made all the more splendid by the free institutions with which I have irrevocably surrounded it, all that I pray from this time forth is to behold again my people united, strong and happy.
“Francis II.”
The Late King of Naples Described by Himself
A late number of the “Revue de Paris” publishes a curious correspondence between Louis Philippe and Ferdinand II., the late King of Naples. Shortly after the revolution of July, Louis Philippe addressed a letter to Ferdinand II., advising him in the government of his kingdom, to relinquish a little so that all might not be lost, to give up his system of compression and severity. “Imitate,” said Louis Philippe, “the system in France; you will be a gainer in every respect; for, by sacrificing a little authority, you will insure peace to your kingdom and stability to your house. The symptoms of agitation are so strongly pronounced and numerous in Italy, that an outbreak may be expected sooner or later, accordingly as the stern measures of Prince Metternich may hasten or adjourn it. Your majesty will be drawn into the current if you are not prepared to stem the tide, and your house will be burst in two, either by the revolutionary stream or by the measures of repression the Vienna Cabinet may think fit to adopt. Your majesty may save everything by anticipating voluntarily and with prudence the wishes and wants of your people.”
To this excellent advice and very remarkable counsel, coming as it did from a Bourbon, Ferdinand II. returned the following answer:
“To imitate France, if ever France can be imitated, I shall have to precipitate myself into that policy of Jacobinism, for which my people has proved feloniously guilty more than once against the house of its kings. Liberty is fatal to the house of Bourbon; and, as regards myself, I am resolved to avoid, at all price, the fate of Louis XVI. and Charles X. My people obey force and bend their necks, but woe’s me should they ever raise them under the impulse of those dreams which sound so fine in the sermons of philosophers, and which are impossible in practice. With God’s blessing, I will give prosperity to my people, and a government as honest as they have a right to; but I will be king, and always. My people do not want to think; I take upon myself the care of their welfare and their dignity. I have inherited many old grudges, many mad desires, arising from all the faults and weaknesses of the past; I must set this to rights, and I can only do so by drawing closer to Austria without subjecting myself to her will. We are not of this century. The Bourbons are ancient, and if they were to try to shape themselves according to the pattern of the new dynasties, they would be ridiculous. We will imitate the Hapsburgs. If fortune plays us false, we shall at least be true to ourselves. Nevertheless, your majesty may rely upon my lively sympathy and my warmest wishes that you may succeed in mastering that ungovernable people who make France the curse of Europe.”
Here it was well remarked by a writer:
“We have the father of Francis II. exactly as he was, and exactly as his son has been after him. Out of the lips of the Bourbon it is proved that a Garibaldi was sadly wanted in Sicily. Well, the Garibaldi has come, and the necks of the people bend no more; the people have begun to have a desire to ‘think;’ have raised their necks ‘under the impulse of those dreams which sound so fine in the sermons of philosophers,’ and the ‘woe’s me,’ which the Bourbon Ferdinand II. feared would fall upon him when the people did so rise, has fallen upon the head of the Bourbon Francis II. ‘The Bourbons are very ancient,’ said Ferdinand, ‘and if they were to try to shape themselves according to the pattern of the new dynasties, they would be ridiculous.’ Well, Francis II., penned up there in Gaeta, with a very small pattern of an army, strikes us as a very ridiculous king, and ridiculous because he did not shape himself according to the pattern of a wise and liberal monarch. This letter of Ferdinand II. is one of the most striking lessons of history that the present century has afforded.”