Sicily, which under English influences during the Napoleonic War had acquired a certain amount of constitutional freedom, was on the restoration of the Bourbons thrown back, so far as government was concerned, into the Middle Ages; with the same result as in the other Kingdoms of Italy, insurrection, finally suppressed by Austrian power. The same movement occurred in all the different States of Italy and in all the basis of revolt was the same--a desire for unity, demand for a constitution, and hatred of the Austrian power made more odious by the severity of Metternich. The forces of insurrection were stirred not only by the revolutionary instigations of Mazzini, but also by the contributions of literary men, the most notable of whom were Gioberti, Cesare Balbo, and D'Azeglio. Gioberti aimed at unity, independence and liberty; the first two to be obtained by a confederation of the various States under the Presidency of the Pope, the last by internal reforms in each State. The ambitions of Balbo were for a Kingdom of Italy. A confederation of States was to him, as to Gioberti, the only practical solution. D'Azeglio, who preached peaceful methods instead of violence, interviewed the King in 1845, and received the following reply: 'Let these gentlemen know that they must keep quiet at present, there is nothing to be done, but tell them that when the time comes, my life, the life of my children, my army, my treasury, my all, will be spent in the Italian cause.' From this time the King of Piedmont was regarded as the leader of the Italian movement. King Charles Albert, now a convert to liberalism, said: 'I intend to make a form of government in which my people shall have all the liberty that is compatible with the preservation of the basis of the Monarchy.' In 1848, the King's hand was forced by the revolution in Vienna and the five days' insurrection in Milan to declare war on Austria. At Milan the liberal committees prohibited the use of tobacco which was a monopoly of the Austrian Government. This led to a fracas which was the immediate cause of the insurrection, and the Austrians were driven out of Milan. Simultaneously with the movement in Lombardy there was a rising in Venice, the Austrians were driven out and a Republic was proclaimed. This proclamation was a great mistake, as it created distrust between Venice and Piedmont. The war with Austria was carried on with the utmost inefficiency by Charles Albert; he wasted every opportunity and gave himself up to fasting and prayer, and defeated, he had to submit to the terms of Radetzky to obtain an armistice which stipulated for the evacuation of Lombardy, the Duchies and Venetia. The Piedmontese Constitution was proclaimed March 1848. It established two Chambers, gave a veto to the King, the prerogative of making peace or war, and to the Chambers the control of expenditure.