TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE CONTINENTAL SITUATION.
FROM the altered aspect of affairs on the Continent, it might be imagined that the position of several Governments has changed from what it was ; and to prevent that misconception, we now make a very brief note of the actual position, believing that the reader will ultimately find it correct.
It has been stated that no invitation to the Congress had ac-
tually arrived when Ministers addressed the public from the Man- sion-house banquet-table. It is simply a matter of course that no formal invitation would be transmitted until after the signature had been appended to the Zurich treaties. There is, however, no very great doubt as to the fact that an invitation will be trans- mitted, or as to the general tenor of it. The feeling on the part of the several Governments is also now almost a matter of noto- riety. France, for reasons which we have already explained, is anxious for the Congress ; Sardinia ardently desires it ; Russia is quite ready ; Prussia maintains her deference for the general state of feeling amongst her allies ; with regard to the state of feeling in the Austrian Government we have no direct informa- tion. We know enough, however, to entertain the conviction that Austria has learned to view the meeting of the Congress with less fear than she felt at first, and with more hope. Our own Government only awaits to be assured that the terms of the invitation are such as do not prejudge the right of the Italians to settle their own affairs.
Considering the state of feeling on the subject amongst con- tinental Governments, and particularly in the French Govern- ment, it is most improbable that the invitation would be couched in such terms as to bar the acceptance of England. We are well aware that many signs observable in a neighbouring country might be taken to indicate a strong determination to override the wishes of the Italians. No doubt among the advisers of the Emperor there are some who are powerfully swayed by sympathy with Ducal interests in Central Italy, a sympathy in important instances strengthened by direct personal and family connexions. Nor is it denied that the Emperor Napoleon has shown great consideration for the claims of the Dukes, and for the wishes of that power which so willingly made mutual con- cessions at Villafranca. For our own part, we cannot be blind to the hereditary claims impersonated by the heir to Leopold of Tus- cany. But there are considerations of statesmanship far more -weighty and more peremptory than any sentiment, however natural and graceful ; and although the Emperor Napoleon has shown so marked a consideration for the personal and imperial feelings engaged in the matter, he is eminently a statesman. We have also positive ground for renewing the statement which
we have already made, that although the Emperor Napoleon has taken the initiative in laying a particular plan before the world, and has avowed his own advocacy of that plan, the letter to King Victor Emmanuel does not constitute the basis on which the Con- gress is to be held.
The text of King Victor Emmanuel's letter we have not seen, and we believe that very few persons have yet done so. In spirit it is precisely such as might have been anticipated. He recognizes, we believe, such obligations towards France, or through France towards Austria, as could be fairly established before any high arbitration ; but he does not hold himself bound by pledges into which he did not enter, counter to the pledges which he has throughout acknowledged towards the Italian people. In the meanwhile, however, guided by his own noble spirit, and by the advice of one of the ablest statesmen that Italy or the world has ever produced, he has pursued a course consistent at once in its independence, its energy, and its discretion. Striking testimony to this last quality is given in the restraint imposed upon Gari- baldi, and in the prohibition upon the Prince of Savoy Carignan to accept the post offered him by the Tuscan people in antici- pation of the judgment of Congress. It is not that Italy is unprepared. Garibaldi has 50,000 men at his back, and will not be slow in equipping them for the field. The votes in Florence, Parma, Modena, and Bologna are so many preparatives towards the action of Italy at the next critical period —the next opportunity ; they are so many arguments ready to be advanced in Congress. For national resolves, like Armies, are arguments as much in Congress as in the field. The Emperor Napoleon is not a statesman to overlook these considerations; he is not a petty politician to be exasperated by being a witness to the majestic march of nations ; and in Congress he will be sur- rounded by the statesmanship of Europe, which will come to the deliberation greatly enlightened and fortified for good judgment by the experiences of 1859.
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