furrigu

of THUM—The news of peace did not produce an agreeable feeling among the politicians and workmen, but it has given great satisfaction to the trading classes. The Emperor returned to St. Cloud on the 17th— two days after the period mentioned a month ago by our Paris eerie-. spondent as the date of his return. There were no crowds to greet him.

The Empress and Prince Imperial figured in the scene of welcome. The child was dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Guard, and held a crown of laurel in his hand, ready to present to his father. At noon he heard mass and received his relatives and high state functionaries. On the 19th, he received the great bodies of the State at St. Cloud, and heard from M. Troplong, Count de Horny, and M. Baroche ad- dresses of welcome. Count de Horny spoke of his victories like all the others, but added a new point. " But the noblest victory of all is the victory you have obtained over yourself. In the burst of triumph you have shown yourself a generous enemy, as well as a faithful and disinterested ally ; surrounded by vic- torious and ardent warriors, you only thought of sparing their precious blood ; you have given true liberty to Italy, delivering her from despotism, and forbidding revolutionary proceedings ; finally, with that wonderful tact which characterizes you, you have gone as far as the honour of France exacted, and not beyond her interests." The Emperor replied to these felicitations by a defence of his conduet.

" Gentlemen—Finding myself again in the midst of you, who during my absence have shown so much devotion to the Empress and to my son .I feel first of all the desire to thank you, and then to explain to you the motives of my conduct.

When, after a successful campaign of two months, the French and Sardinian armies pitched their camp before the walls of Verona the struggle

was evidently, on the point of undergoing a change in a military as well as

in a political point of view. I was fatally obliged to attack in front an enemy entrenched behind great fortresses, protected against any diversion on his flanks by the neutrality of the territories which surrounded him ; and in commencing the long and sterile war of sieges I found in presence of me Europe in arms, ready either to dispute our success or to aggravate our reverses. " Nevertheless, the difficulty of the enterprise would neither have shaken my resolution nor stopped the enthusiasm of my army had not the means been out of proportion with the results to be expected. It was neceasary to resolve boldly to break through the barriers raised by neutral territories, and then to accept the struggle on the Rhine as well as on the Adige. It came to this : to accept everywhere the support of revolution. More precious blood must have been shed, and enough has been shed already ; in a word, to succeed it was necessary to stake what no Sovereign ought to stake, unless the independence of his country is in danger.

" It then, I stopped short, it was not from weariness or exhaustion, nor from abandonment of the noble cause I wished to serve, but because a louder voice spoke within my heart—'.the interests of France.' " Do you imagine it coat me nothing. to put a break upon the ardour of my soldiers, who excited by victory, wished to advance ?

" Do you suppose that it cost me nothing publicly in the face of Europe to curtail from my programme the territory which extends from the Mincio to tbe Adriatic ? " Do you imagine that it cost me nothing to behold noble illusions de- stroyed in honest hearts, patriotic hopmextinguished ? " To serve Italian independence I waged war against the grain of Eu- rope. As soon as the destinies of my country were imperilled I concluded peace. " And can it now be said that our efforts and sacrifices are a pure loss ? No. As I said in my farewell address to my soldiers, we have a right to be proud of this short campaign, In four combats and two battles a powerful army, inferior to none in organization and bravery, has been de- feated. The King of Piedmont, once styled the Guardian of thelAlps, has seen his country delivered from invasion, and the frontier line of his States extended from the Ticino to the Mincio. The idea of Italian nation- ality is admitted by its warmest opponents. All the Sovereigns of the Italian peninsula understand at last the imperious necessity of salutary reforms..

" Thus, after having given a new proof of the military power of France, fhb Peace which I have just concluded will be fruitful of happy results ; t be future will reveal them daily more and more for the happiness of Italy, the influence of France, the quiet of Europe." It is stated pretty generally that there is to be a Conference at Zurich between the representatives of France, Austria, and Sardinia, but no Con- gress. It is to open in about a fortnight. France will be represented by M. de Bourqueney, and Austria by Count Colloredo. When all is arranged and settled the result is to be communicated to the Courts of Europe.

trutatt4.—Before he quitted Italy the Emperor of Austria issued an address to the army, and when he arrived in Vienna he published one to his people.

"To the Army.

" Supported on my good right, I entered on the struggle for the sanctity of treaties, relying on the enthusiasm of my people, on the valour of my army, and on the natural allies of Austria. I have found my people ready to make every sacrifice. Sanguinary combats have again shown to the world the heroism of my.brave army and its contempt of death. Fighting against an enemy superior in numbers, after thousands of officers and soldiers sealed with their blood their fidelity to duty, it remains firm, cou- rageous, and unflinching, and waits with joy for the continuance of the struggle. Without allies I only yield to the unfortunate circumstances of policy, in presence of which my paramount duty was not to uselessly shed the blood of any soldiers, and impose fresh sacrifices on my people. I con- cluded peace on the basis of the line of the Mitlei.O. I heartily thank my army ; it has again shown that I can place absolute reliance on it for any future combats. FRANCIS JOSEPH. " Verona, 12th."

" To my People.

"When all concessions that were allowable, and compatible with the drhim�ity of the crown and the honour and welfare of the country, have been e misted, and when all attempts at a pacific arrangement have miscarried, there is no room for choice, and what cannot be avoided becomes a duty.

"This duty placed me under the stern i necessity of demanding from my people new and painful sacrifices, in order to place n a state of defence their most sacred interests. My faithful people have responded to my appeal ; they have pressed forward unanimously in defence of the throne, and they have made the sacrifices of every kind demanded by circumstances with an eagerness which merits any gratitude—which augments, if possible, the profound affection which I feel for them—and which was adapted to inspire the assurance that the just cause in defence of which my brave armies went forth with enthusiasm to the contest would be victorious.

"Unhappily the result has not corresponded with the general effort, and the fortune of war has not been favourable to us.

"The valiant army of Austria has in this instance again given proofs of its tried heroism and its incomparable perseverance so brilliant that it has commanded the admiration of all, even of its enemies. I experience a _legitiniate pride in being the chief of such an army, and the country ought to feel indebted to it for having maintained vigorously, in all its purity, the honour of the Austrian flag. "It is not less perfectly established that our enemies, in spite of the greatest efforts, in spite of the superior forces, which they had for a long period been preparing for the conflict, have been able, even by making the greatest sacrifices, to obtain only advantages, not a decisive victory ; while the Austrian army, still animated by the same ardour, and full of the same courage, maintained a position, the possession of which left perhaps a possibility of recovering from the enemy all the advantages that he had gamed. But for this purpose it would have been necessary to make new sacrifices, which certainly would not have been less bloody than those which have been made already, and which have deeply afflicted my heart. "Under these conditions it was my duty as a sovereign to take into serious consideration the propositions of peace which had been made to me. The consequences of this continuance of the war would have been so much the heavier, because I should have been obliged to demand from the faithful people of my dominions new sacrifices of blood and of money much more considerable even than those which had been made up to that time. And notwithstanding, success would have remained doubtful, since I have been so bitterly deceived in my well-founded hopes that this contest not having been entered into for the defence of the rights of Austria only, I should not be left alone in it.

" In spite of the ardent sympathy worthy of acknowledgment which the justice of our cause has inspired, for the most part, in the governments

and peoples of Germany, our natural allies, most ancient allies, have obsti- nately refused to recognize the great importance of the grand question of the day. Consequently Austria would have been obliged all alone to face the events which were being prepared for, and which every day might have rendered more grave. " The honour of Austria coming intact out of this war, thanks to the he- roic efforts of her valiant army, I have resolved, yielding to political con- siderations, to make a sacrifice for the reestablishment of peace, and to accept the preliminaries which ought to lead to its conclusion ; for I have acquired the conviction that I should obtain in any eventconditions less un- favourable in coming to a direct understanding with the Emperor of the French, without the blending of any third party whatsoever, than in causing to participate in the negotiations the three great Powers which have taken no part in the struggle. Unhappily I have been unable to escape the sepa- ration from the rest of the empire of the greater part of Lombardy. On the other hand it must be agreeable to my heart to see the blessings of peace assured afresh to my beloved people, and these blessings are doubly precious to me, because they will give me the necessary leisure for bestowing hence- forth without distraction all my attention and solicitude on the fruitful task that I propose to accomplish—that is to say, to found in a durable manner the internal well-being and the external power of Austria by the happy de- velopment of her moral and material forces, and by ameliorations conform- able to the spirit of the time in legislation and administration. As in these days of serious trials and sacrifices my people have shown themselves faith- ful to my person, so now by the confidence with which they respond to me they will aid in accomplishing works of peace and in attaining the realiza- tion of my benevolent intentions.

" As chief of the army, I have already expressed to it, in a special order of the day, my acknowledgments of its bravery. Today I renew the expres- sion of these sentiments. While I speak to my people I thank those of their children who have fought for God, their Emperor, and their country. I thank them for the heroism of which they have given proof, and I shall always remember with grief those of our brave companions in arms who have not, alas! returned from the combat.

" FRANCIS Josarse.

(Signed) " Laxenbourg, 15th July, 1859."

Austria and Prussia have withdrawn the proposals they had before the German Diet. The Prince Regent of Prussia has issued an Order of the Day to the army explaining the change in their prospects.

." At the moment when war broke out between the two neighbouring great Powers I had ordered the army to be placed in readiness for war, in order to maintain that position of power which belongs to Prussia. The change which threatened us then is over. While you were still marching to occupy positions I had ordered for you, the belligerent Powers suddenly concluded peace. Your advance had shown our firm resolution to maintain our frontiers and those of Germany. inviolate, whatever might be the destinies of war. You have shown the readiness I had expected from you, and have maintained in general a dignity worthy of the name of Prussia. You have made many personal sacrifices, and I express to you my full satisfaction."

The Pretssiam Gazette has published a leading article in defence of the attitude taken by Prussia during the last few months, and endeavours to prove that its policy has prevented an universal war. The article lays the chief stress upon the fact that a real and substantial basis for joining in the war was wanting. " Prussia can draw her sword for German and Prussian interests, but not for maintaining or reestablishing a state of affairs in Italy which Austria herself has recognized as not maintainable ; nor for sustaining isolated articles of the treaties of 1815." . . . . " The proposals for mediation made by Prussia were fair more favourable than the preliminaries of peace which have now been agreed upon." . . . . The article concludes :—" Prussia has no occasion to be dissatisfied with the unexpected turn matters have taken. While discontinuing her military measures she awaits the further development of affairs with calmness."

General Field-Marshal Wrangel has been relieved from the command in chief of the army which was to have been concentrated on the Rhine. Matters, therefore, have returned to a peace footing.

At the opening of the Bavarian Chambers, on Wednesday, the King said he had- summoned them to fulfil a federal duty, but the peace has lessened the want of money.

A despatch from Lord John Russell to Lord Bloomfield, our Minister at Berlin, appeared early in the week, retranslated from a German version. The actual despatch has been promised, but not yet produced, and we, therefore, give the Anglo-German version.

" Foreign Office, 29d June, 1959.

"My Lord—Her Majesty's Government sees with great concern an indi- cation manifesting itself in Germany to take part in the war which has broken out between France and Sardinia on one side and Austria on the other. It depends chiefly upon the moderate and sagacious behaviour of Prussia whether the present war is to remain confined to Italy, or extend to German territory, and perhaps to other parts of Europe.

"The Emperor Napoleon has declared that it is not his wish to attack Germany. It is hoped and believed that the Prince Regent of Prussia will not take part in an attack upon France. But it has been maintained that Germany is, if not directly, at least indirectly, threatened ; that if she did not take part in a war on the Po, she would soon have to defend herself on the Rhine ; that the Austrian fortresses on the Mincio and the Adige were in reality the bulwarks of Germany against France. There is much loose and unproved assertion in this statement. " The war between Austria and Sardinia has undoubtedly, perhaps inevitably, sprung from the state of things in Italy. Since 1815 Austria has exercised a supremacy in facto over the Italian States : in the course of the last few years Sardinia has favoured and fostered the passions of the Italians for independence. When Lord A. Loftus demanded from Count Buol a pledge that Austria would in no case order her army to cross her frontier in Italy without having previously come to an understanding with France, the reply was, No, I cannot give you that assurance, for it would be a surrender of our sovereign power. We shall not intervene in any State unless our aid is asked for, and in that case it will be granted, and the knowledge that it will be granted, is the best preservative of order.' Con- sequently Austria was not prepared to give up the claim to a right of intervention, in case she was appealed to for the latter, and Sardinia, on the other hand, would not give up the pretension to represent the sorrows and aspirations of Italy ; but inasmuch as the King of Sardinia was not able to carry through such a dispute with his own force, he has demanded the assistance of the Emperor of the French, and it has been granted to him.

"I do not speak here of the immediate cause of the war ; on this point my predecessor has already very completely developed her Majesty's views. But from the statement just made, it is evident that the fundamental origin of the war is to be sought for in the diametrically opposite pretensions put up by Austria and Sardinia. This war has broken out without any re- ference .to Germany. The assertion that France, when successful on the Po and the Brenta, will prove to be an aggressive policy on the Rhine, is a perfectly arbitrary assertion. The momentous question of involving the continent in war should not be decided on the ground of vague hypothesis and exaggerated apprehensions. Nor is it a tenable statement that the fortresses on the Mincio and on the Adige are bulwarks of Germany. It must be borne in mind that the fortresses of Peschiera, Verona, and Mantua do not fall within the ancient limits of Germany, that, on the contrary, the whole territory from Verona to the Adriatic, in the year 1792, formed part of -11, weak, unwarlike, and decaying Italian State. "The utmost that can be said is, that while many Germans look upon these fortresses as a bulwark of Germany, many Italians look upon them as a menace to Italy. The treaty of peace must decide about their future fate.

"The reasons adduced in favour of a war on the part of the German States thus being insufficient, very strongly resist soprecipitate a course. The Prince Regent of Prussia will in his wisdom weigh the impoliey of ex- posing his country to be considered the champion of the mal-administration

of Italy. It cannot bee-neceasary for the safety of Berlin and Magdeburg that the Government in Milan and Bologna ahould be bad. But in the eyes of the Italians, Prussia, should she appear in arms by the side of Austria, would be considered as a defender of everything Austria has committed and omitted.

" There is still another consideration of the utmost importance. Hitherto the war has produced but little excitement in France. As soon as the question of superiority in the field shall have been decided, the two bellige- rent Powers will probably be strongly inclined to put a stop to this exhaust- ing war. But should France, by a German attack, be called upon to defend her own frontiers, it is impossible to foretcl to what pitch the passions of international hatred might not be inflamed, and for what space of time the continent of Europe might not have to suffer the desolations of war. " You are already, sufficiently informed of her Majesty's resolve, supported by the unanimous feeling of her people, to observe a strict neutrality. Her Majesty has kept this country free from all and every obligation which might interfere with her freedom of action. Her Majesty's Government entertains the hope that Prussia will adopt a course as nearly similar as the circumstances of Germany will permit. Possibly the time is very near when the voice of mediating friendly Powers will be able to make itself successfully heard, and when representations in favour of peace will no longer be with- out effect.

" Pray read this despatch to Baron Schleinitz, and leave a copy with

him. I um, &c., Jima/ RUSSELL. " To Lord Bloomfield."

Nitylpg . —Some light has been thrown upon the mutiny of the so- called Swiss at Naples, which deprives it of all political colour. It is a genuine military mutiny. The conventions for recruiting in Switzerland have expired from time to time for the various regiments—the last on the 15th of June. Nevertheless the soldiers still served under the badge of their country and preserved their privileges. The Government, how- ever, determined to take away their colours and impose a new oath. To this the men demurred, and hence the outbreak and bloodshed. They resisted a violation of engagements. The greater part of the regiments, in spite of the suppression of the mutiny, refused to serve, and as many as 2600 were shipped off for France. The Swiss in St. Elms, it is said, refused to give up the place. Fears were felt lest those in Sicily should revolt. Some 20,000 Neapolitan soldiers were brought into Naples, and preparations were made to send 8000 to Sicily. Much mystery still hangs about these transactions.

i rr la II telegram from Berne, 16th July, says that "the Federal Council has charged Major Latour with an extraordinary mission to Naples. He will repair to his destination via Marseilles to meet the so-called Swiss, who have been dismissed in consequence of the recent disturbances. He will order them to state to what nation they belong, and has received positive instructions to put an end, if possible, to a state of things which is so painful to his country, and to render a return to their native land possible to those who may desire again to become sub- jects of Switzerland."

Ralf fit MOM—The Bremen arrived at Cowes yesterday with the mails from New York to the 9th July. A despatch from Washington says that an important State paper as to the position of the United States upon the question of neutral rights has been completed, and was despatched to all our Ministers in Europe by the Persia, on Wednesday. " The present manifesto lays down broad principles which will govern us in the maintenance of our rights as neutrals, and there is every reason to believe that the positions now assumed will be adopted by all the great nations of Europe. The principal points are, of course, with reference to a limitation of articles which shall be deemed contraband of war. The United States hold that nothing should be embraced in this list but the direct and immediate munitions of warfare, such as powder, muskets, cannon, lead, and saltpetre, &c. Coal, which is the very foundation of manufacturing and commercial transactions, is declared by the United States not to be contraband of war, and any attempt to construe it otherwise will be viewed as an encroachment upon our commerce. So, also, are breadstuffs not con- traband of war. The broad doctrine is also reiterated that a free flag covers the cargo."

It was fondly hoped that the promulgation of the despatch would lead to a large order for coals, but the peace will have disappointed that hope.