were theoretically republican, they did not make a particular form of
government a matter of principle. Nor were they agreed in a definite
advocacy of the unity of Italy.

A Genoese of the name of Malghella, who was Murat's Minister of
Police, was the first person to give a powerful impetus to
Carbonarism, of which he has even been called the inventor, but the
inference goes too far. Malghella ended miserably; after the fall of
Murat he was arrested by the Austrians, who consigned him as a new
subject to the Sardinian Government, which immediately put him in
prison. His name is hardly known, but no Italian of his time worked
more assiduously, or in some respects more intelligently, for the
emancipation of Italy. Whatever was truly Italian in Murat's policy
must be mainly attributed to him. As early as 1813 he urged the King
to declare himself frankly for independence, and to grant a
constitution to his Neapolitan subjects. But Malghella did not find
the destined saviour of Italy in Murat; his one lasting work was to
establish Carbonarism on so strong a basis that, when the Bourbons
returned, there were thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of
Carbonari in all parts of the realm. The discovery was not a pleasant
one to the restored rulers, and the Prince of Canosa, the new Minister
of Police, thought to counteract the evil done by his predecessor by
setting up an abominable secret society called the Calderai del
Contrapeso (Braziers of the Counterpoise), principally recruited from
the refuse of the people, lazzaroni, bandits and let-out convicts, who
were provided by Government with 20,000 muskets, and were sworn to
exterminate all enemies of the Church of Rome, whether Jansenists,
Freemasons or Carbonari. This association committed some horrible
excesses, but otherwise it had no results. The Carbonari closed in
their ranks, and learnt to observe more strictly their rules of