[Protest. Annexation to Sardinia.] return to their States, and should co-operate in an Italian Confederation, which, by inaugurating a new order of things, should introduce European public law into Italy. His Imperial and Royal Highness the Grand Duke Leopold II, anxious that past differences should not disturb the harmony of his beloved country, generously and spontaneously abdicated the Crown on the 21st July, and nearly the whole of Europe acknowledged in our person the legitimate Sovereign of Tuscany. As a son and subject, always obedient to the commands of our august parent and Sovereign, we accepted on that day all the prerogatives and responsibilities of a Grand Duke; from that day we, by the sacred Rights transmitted through the Act of Abdication of Grand Duke Leopold, became the legitimate Prince of Tuscany, to which wise conditions of internal liberty and national federation were guaranteed by His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon. The Rights acknowledged, and the Guarantees established, by the Preliminaries of Villafranca (No. 298), subsequently received a new sanction by the Treaty of Zurich (No. 301), which completed those Preliminaries; that Treaty also was signed by His Majesty the King of Sardinia (No. 303). In the sole interval of time which elapsed between those two Acts, the Government of Tuscany, subservient to Piedmont, by which its illegal origin was admitted, working in the interests of the latter, and employing all the means which are at the disposal at all times of a constituted Power, setting aside the real welfare of the Country, and the general benefit of all Italy, which was to be found only in the idea of a Federation proposed by His Majesty the Emperor of the French, proceeded to convoke an Assembly to vote, as it did vote, the Annexation of Tuscany to Piedmont. But what is still more serious, and what we denounce to the opinion of the whole world (coscienza universale) is this; that although the Piedmontese Government was bound by the signature of its King, written both at Villafranca and at Zurich, not to interpose any obstacle to the restoration of our authority, yet it excited, favoured, and accepted the Vote of Cession promoted by its own tools, violating every principle of right, and ignoring the example of the magnanimous Emperor of the French, who, fully conscious of the obligations contracted together with his Royal Ally, advised the Tuscans to hear, and His Majesty the King himself to favour, the plan which should conciliate the interests of Italy. [Protest. Annexation to Sardinia.] And now, in the very time when the Emperor, before the representatives of the French nation, and in the face of all Europe, more solemnly than ever, admonished the King of Sardinia to abstain from an aggressive and hazardous policy, the latter, under the aegis of the French army, which has once saved him, and which he now thanks by hoisting its generous banner, proceeds to the consummation of a long and laborious conspiracy, exposing the Emperor Napoleon to the suspicion that he connived at it, and that he himself had failed knowingly in his sacred word sworn at Villafranca when he considered it expedient to propose the Peace that was agreed upon, under an explicit Declaration that what has now occurred should not occur. We, then, being under an imperious obligation to defend our Rights, raise our voice to Protest on the Nullity of the Acts consummated by an illegal Government; to Protest against the consequences which are or may be inferred from those Acts by him who has recognised and reserved our Rights by solemn Treaties ; to Protest before the whole world against that violation of public faith which imperils the existence of civil society; and this we do by the obligation incumbent on him who is born on the Throne to defend the Privileges thereof, as the principle of order in human society as the anchor of safety in the rude conflict of unbridled passions. We appeal for our Right to all Sovereigns, who must recognise in our cause the interests of their own; and especially to His Majesty the Emperor of the French, who, after ourself, is chiefly offended by the acts which are consummated under his power, and in scorn (onta) of his words. We also appeal to you, our beloved Subjects in Tuscany, who for more than a century have called yourselves happy under the rule of our House, who have grown in the estimation of all Europe, and who can still boast of institutions which place you in superiority to many others. To you, who do not share in the guilt of the wicked thoughts of your seducers, who, in order to vanquish those in-born feelings which have long made you abhor this change, have persuaded you that your annexation to the Sardinian Kingdom will be sufficient to place you in the position of resisting the perils which might hereafter menace you. Undeceive yourselves: to resist the preponderance of mighty Empires, there is no other means within our reach but the guardianship of public law, or the concurrence of the [Protest. Annexation to Sardinia.] whole nation. But this you are making impossible by exciting in the southern part of Italy a fear which is but too just, and by forcing it, therefore, to a continual antagonism. Instead of constituting a nation, you divide the nation for ever; and on the day when, whether by artifice or by force, the attempt should be made to effect there what is consummated in the Central part, torrents of civil blood would flow, and miserable Italy will be again exposed to the scorn of the foreigner. It was the province of us Tuscans to take the part of Peace-makers and Mediators between those noble Provinces of our common Country; it was our duty to render interests and feelings common to all; it would be our glory to promote and cement the Italian Confederation. The guilt of a few and the generous error of the many have placed in the path of that good work an obstacle which cannot be eternal, and which your virtue, tempered by the sufferings which await you, will powerfully avail to remove. In the meantime, O, my beloved Tuscans, as long as our temporary separation shall continue, of this you may be perfectly assured, that as we hold dear and inviolable the love which so many of you retain to us unaltered, our whole care shall be centred in your welfare, and in preparing ourself for contributing thereto on that day when the injustice which has fallen upon us shall cease. FERDINAND. [Union of Savoy and Nice to France.] No. 313.-TREATY between France and Sardinia, for the Annexation of Savoy and Nice to France. Signed at Turin, 24th March, 1860.* ᎪᎡᎢ. Preamble. 1. Union of Savoy and Nice to France. 2. Conditions of Transfer to France of Neutralised Portions of Savoy. Reference to Vienna Congress Treaty. 3. Appointment of Mixed Boundary Commission. 4. Contributions of Savoy and Nice towards the Public Debt of Sardinia. 5. Rights of Civil Servants and Soldiers of Savoy and Nice. 6. Nationality of Subjects of Sa voy and Nice. Preservation of Immoveable Property in ceded Territories. 7. Execution of Treaty by Sardinia. 8. Ratifications. (Translation as laid before Parliament.†) His Majesty the Emperor of the French having explained the considerations which, in consequence of the changes which have arisen in the Territorial relations between France and Sardinia, caused him to desire the Annexation of Savoy and the Arrondissement of Nice (Circondario di Nizza) to France, and His Majesty the King of Sardinia having shown himself disposed to acquiesce in it, their said Majesties have decided to conclude a Treaty for that purpose, and have named as their Plenipotentiaries : His Majesty the Emperor of the French, Baron de Talleyrand-Périgord, &c.; and M. Vincent Benedetti, &c.; and His Majesty the King of Sardinia, His Excellency Count Camille Benso de Cavour, &c.; and His Excellency the Chevalier Charles Louis Farini, &c.; Who, after having exchanged their Full Powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed upon the following Articles : Union of Savoy and Nice to France. ART. I. His Majesty the King of Sardinia consents to the Annexation of Savoy and the Arrondissement of Nice (Circondario di Nizza) to France, and renounces for himself, and all his Descendants and Successors, in favour of His Majesty the Em See also Swiss Protest of 28th March, 1860; and Treaties between France and Sardinia of 23rd August, 1860, and 7th March, 1861. + For French version, see "State Papers," vol. 1, p. 412. [Union of Savoy and Nice to France.] peror of the French, his Rights and Titles over the said Territories. It is understood between their Majesties that this Annexation shall be effected without any constraint of the wishes of the Populations, and that the Governments of the Emperor of the French and of the King of Sardinia will concert as soon as possible upon the best means of appreciating and verifying the manifestations of those wishes. Conditions of Transfer to France of Neutralised Portions of Savoy. Reference to Vienna Congress Treaty. ART. II. It is equally understood that His Majesty the King of Sardinia cannot transfer the Neutralised Parts of Savoy, except on the conditions upon which he himself possesses them, and that it will appertain to His Majesty the Emperor of the French to come to an understanding on this subject, both with the Powers represented at the Congress of Vienna, and with the Swiss Confederation, and to give them the Guarantees required by the Stipulations referred to in this Article.* Appointment of Mixed Boundary Commission. ART. III. A Mixed Commission shall determine, in a spirit of equity, the Frontiers of the two States, taking into account the configuration of the Mountains and the requirements of defence.† Contributions of Savoy and Nice towards the Public Debt of ART. IV. One or more Mixed Commissions shall be charged to examine and resolve as soon as possible the various incidental questions to which the Annexation will give rise, such as the settlement of the share to be contributed by Savoy and the Arrondissement of Nice (Circondario di Nizza) towards the Public Debt of Sardinia, and the execution of the obligations resulting from Contracts entered into with the Sardinian Government, which Government, however, reserves the right of itself terminating the labours undertaken for boring the Tunnel of the Alps (Mont Cenis).§ * See French Proposals of 20th June, 1860; and British Reply of 25th June, 1860. + See Treaty of 7th March, 1861. See Convention of 23rd August, 1860. § A Convention on the subject was concluded on the 23rd August, 1860. |