The Express.
London, England, 1866-06-26 00:00:00

(MOM Ova SPECIAL counterman:2ml
HEAD-QUARTERS OF THE ITALIAN
ARMY, CRXMONA, Jina 19.
Let me fulfil for a day or two more the task of
describing the ground along which the Italian army
is quickly moving towards Venetia, until events
shall impose on me the duty of becoming the chro-
nicler of military deeds. The river Po, along the
course of which, as I said in my former letter, ex-
tends the line held by the Italian army, does not
present much interest, except in the lower part. A
little below Stradella, the river, following its course
towards the east, skirts Piacenza on the right hand,
and receiving on its left the waters of the Lambro
and Adda, very rapid streams, approaches Cre-
mona. It then turns to the south-east, in the direr_
tion of Brescello, after having received on its right
the waters flowing from the rivers Trebbia, Nura,
and Taro, all names which the battles of the Romans
have made historical, as well as those fought in mo-
dem times, beginningwith the period of Chas. VIII.
Guest&lla onoe reached, the Po turns to the north,
, making its way through the plains of Mantua,
where it is augmented by the waters of the Oglio
and the Mincio on its left, and those of the Secchia
on its right. It skirts the towns and boroughs of
Casalmaggiore, Borgoforte, San Benedetto, and
Astiglia, which are all important places for crossing
it. At Stellate, a little ?below Sermide, the Po
forma several channels, which are called Po Grande,
Poatello, Canal Bianco, Po di Goro, Po Donzella,
and Po di Tolle. These branches, or as they are
called by the country people, these bathe, run from
south to north through about 68 miles of low and
marshy ground. The valley of Cornacchio, which
stands in the very centre of this unhealthy ground,
is separated from the sea by a large bank of sand
collected there by the restless waves of the Adriatic.
Along this proceeds the road from Ravenna, to
tho small city of Comacchio, which, crossing the
Po and the Adige, leads to the Venetian lagunes.
The width of the Po, which is nearly five hun-
dred yards at the mouth of the river Tessin, is
upwards of thirteen hundred at the point where
the town of Guastalla stands, the depth of its
waters varying from six to thirty feet, and reach-
ing at the village of Quatrelle a depth of nearly
forty feet during the autumnal floods. If we
except the upper part of the river, fords, pro-
perly so called, do not exist, except in the driest
summer days. A little below Caaalmaggiore, and
at Borgoforte, it was forded by the French and by
the Austrians in 1796, 1807, 1813, and 1814. In
general, however, the fords of this river vary very
Imuch, and it can be said of them that they are
quite unsafe in any season of the year either on
:oot or on horseback.
• • -

----
The river Po is not only the main artery of
Italian commerce, but it is also an excellent
strategic line, for, running in an almost parallel
direction with the Northern Alps, it may be des-
cribed as a kind of ditch to those boulevards of
Italy, and being flanked on one side by the
Alpine valleys and by the Apennines, and on the
other by banks and marshes, it presents
an
obstacle difficult to be overcome by any army which
may attempt to turn it. The Po thus defends Upper
Italy against any invasion which could come from
the peninsula, and still more efficiently against one
from the north.
So much has been said, especially since 1859, of
the strategical importance of the famous Austrian
Quadrilateral, formed by Mantua, Verona, Peschieral
and Legnago, that I need not, at least for the
present, dwell on the subject. I shall do so
when the warlike events near at hand offer
me a more fitting opportunity. Let me, how-
-1 ever, briefly state the difficulties the Italian
army may meet with after crossing the Po,
and entering the Adriatico-Alpine regions. The
first difficulty the generals of Victor Emmanuel
will have to contend against must present itself at
the river Adige, which springs from the snowy
peaks of the Tyrolean Pizzo Bianco. This rapid
river runs through the mountainous ground of the
Italian Tyrol and through the fertile lands Of
the Veronese, Belluneae, and Paduan provinces
for about two hundred and forty miles, and
has an average width of about two hundred
and thirty feet. At Gardolo and Zambano
the river can be easily forded, especially
in summer, but it is absolutely imposaible to ford
it at any lower point. The principal points of
crossing are Trento, Mori, Pontone, Pescantina,
, Verona, Legnago, Castelbaldo, and Boaza. The
line of the Adige is of immense military importance.
From Roveredo the valley through which it runs
takes a fanlike shape, in which an intricate net-
work of roads leads in various directions from the
Alpine passes to the plains of Italy. All these
roads unite at three points, Bolzano, Trento,
and Roveredo. A large number of narrow
defiles add new strength to the already
naturally fortified stronghold of the Tyrol.
These defiles ascend as far as Rivoli, where a
small corps d'armie could easily intercept the -
sage of artillery, and actually shut up the entrance
of the plain. For this reason the first section of
the Adige, as a line of defence, begins at the source
of the river, and extends as far as Rivoli. The
second section extends from Rivoli to Legnago, and
on this side is protected by the Veronese valleys,
which can, if necessary, be inundated as far as the
Po by cutting the banks of the Adige near Legnago.
The third section extends from Legnago to the
sea, through marshy and difficult ground, inter
elected by numberless ditches, ground which can
also be inundated by the waters of the Adigetto,
the Canal Bianco, and the Po. This last-men-
tioned line, combined with that of the Mincio,
constitutes the great and principal strength of the

Austrian Quadrilateral.
Whilst in 1859 the allied armies turned their
backs to the Alps, the Italian army, as it is now
placed, faces them, and for a long line it turns its
shoulders to the Apennines.
Those who have followed the political events of
the Italian peninsula during the last two years, and
who remember the strategical arguments put forth
by the Council of Generals who met to report on the
desirability of transferring the capital to Florence,
will be able to appreciate the advantages that the Ita-
lian army will derive from the position it now
holds. These advantages were explained by Ge-
neral Cialdini in the Senate, when he suddenly ap-
peared there asp an eminent orator.
I think it proer to make the readers of the
Express acquainted with the names of the
commanders of the four corps d'arm6e ready for
immediate action, for they will often occur in re-
lating the military events which are about to occur
in this country.
I The army, as you are already aware, will be

under the immediate command of the King, who
arrived here early this morning, having left Flo-
rence last night. General La Marmora, the well-
known leader of the gallant legions of
Sardinia in the Crimea, having left Florence
the day before yesterday, has already assumed his
high function of quartermaster-general, or chief
of the staff of the royal army. Lieutenant-General
Count Pettiti, one of the ablest superior officers of
the Italian staff, and the real organiser of this splen-
did army, is adjutant-general, or second chief
of the royal staff. Immediately under him is
Colonel Bariola, an able officer, trained be-
fore 1848 in the Austrian military school. •
General Count Menabrea, ono of the greatest
mathematicians of our time, is in command of the
Royal Engineer corps, whilst the supreme com-
mand of the artillery has been given to General
Valfrb di Bonzo, a Piedmontese. The first army
corps, which until yesterday evening bad its head'
quarters at Lodi, is under the orders of the Generals
d'Armata—which corresponds with the rank of
marshal in the French army—John Durando, a
comrade of Cialdini and Cucchiari in Portugal and
in Spain. This army corps is composed of the
Ist division, commanded by the Piedmontese
General Cerale ; of the 2nd, by General Plane%
a Neapolitan of great military skill, and
the last Minister of War of Frances U..
The third division is commanded by General Brig-
none (headquarters at Castiglione dells Stiviere).
Brignone is a member of the Italian parliament,
and has the well-deserved reputation of being one
of the ablest generals in this army. The 4th di-
vision is under the leadership of a famous Gari-
baldian general—famous, because he was a Roman
catholic priest, and still more so for the courage he
displayed in the defence of Venice in 1848-49, and
in the Neapolitan campaign of 1860. The second
army corps is commanded by General Cuoc.hissi, an
old soldier, as I have said, of the last Spanish
wars. This corps is formed by the bth division
of the army commanded by General Nunziante,
Prince of Mignano, who was among the most inti-
mate friends of Ferdinand 11. of Naples, and who
joined the national army after the downfall of the
Bourbons in 1860. General Cosenz, one of the
staunchest patriots of this country, and a friend
of Garibaldi and Poerio, is in command of
the Gth division, whilst the 10th division of
the army (the 4th and last of Cucchiari's
corps) is under the command of the Piedmontese
General Cadorna. The 3rd Army corps obeys
the orders of the Generale d'Armata, Count
Morozzo della Prows, a personal friend of
Victor Emmanuel, and a man of great military
and scientific talents. The head-quarters of this
corps have been lately removed from Piacenza to
Asola. Count Rubilant, a brilliant officer and the
very type of the gentillunnme of old, acts as chief of
his staff. Four divisions belong to this army corps:
the 7th, under the command of Bizio, the well-
known and audacious general of Garibaldi ; the
Bth, under General Cugia, formerly Minister of the
Marine in Minghetti's cabinet ; the 9th, under
Govone, the able general who was the negotiator
of the Prussian-Italian treaty at Berlin ; and
the 16th and last, under the leadership
of Prince Humbert of Savoy, the eldest
son of Victor Emmanuel. The strongest and most
powerful corps of all is the 4th, under the command
of Cialdini. This corps seems destined to accom.
plish great deeds, and it may be almost considered
as an independent one. Cialdini is to the regular
army what Garibaldi is to the volunteers. The
action of these two men must be left more to the
inspiration of their military genius than to the
rigid limits of orders sent from headquarters.
General Piola, a very able officer indeed,
acts as Cialdini's chief of the staff ; whilst
Prince Colonna, Count Moati d'Este, Count
Serristori, Count Michel, and Count Bor-
romeo—as you see, the most illustrious noble-
men of Italy—are amongst his staff officers and
aides-de-camp. Cialdini's head-quarters are still
at Bologna, but I hear his corps is under marching
order. Five divisions, and perhaps the most
brilliant, form this corps. They are the llth, under
General Count Casanova ; the 12th, commanded
by General Iticiotti, undoubtedly one of the most
distinguished artillery generals of Europe ; the
13th, under General Mezzacapo, a Neapolitan; the
14th, under General Chiabrera ; the 15th, under
Medici, a Garibaldian general of great repute.
General Count Maurice do Sonnaz, the hero of
Montebello, commands the reserve of cavalry, and
General Mattei that of the artillery. The com-
missariat of the army is under the direction of
IGeneral Bertole de Viale.
Whilst I am writing, each of these army corps
may, if indeed they have not, changed the place of
their headquarters, the forward movements of
which I spoke in my last letter having begun
since yesterday evening.
Garibaldi has gone to inspect the volunteers of
Bergamo and Brescia, and has been enthusiaa-
- tically received in both places.
Pail- I I••• •• MI I
M.P

The nieces of the late Admiral Meynell, late M, r.
for Lisburn, have presented to the National Lifeboat
Institution the sum of 54)01. to defray the cost of a life-
boat. The boat, which is 32 feet long, is named the Admiral
Meynell, had its harbour trial yesterday in the Regent's
Canal Dock, Limehouse. It is to heaveioned at Bally-
waiter, county Down, and will for Belfast by
steamer to-morrow morning, the Belfast Steam Shipping
Company having kindly promised it a free conveyance.
DEGLADING SGPEaSTITION IN SWEDEN. —At a
late execution in Beanie a vast crowd was assembled, some
of whim endeavoured to become possessed of some drops
of the blood of the victim, thinking they would so obs. tain
It
a
specific against epilepsy, cramp, and other dim:sac
was even observed that a family in the higher ranks of
society, in a large town, had gone from some distance to
the place of execution for the express purpose of obtain-
ing this talisman, which they were most eager to pro-
cure as s remedy for one ef their children who has been
grievously afflicted. Immediately after the execution the
crowd pressed around the scaffold, and the military guard
had great difficulty in keeping them off ; but no sooner and
the troops and the police been withdrawn than men and
women rushed forward and scraped the ground with their
hands that they might collect some of the bloody earth,
which they subsequently crammed into their mouths, in
the hope that they might thus get rid of their diseases.
ACCIDENT TO I l)truLus STEAMEIL—A casualty
occurred on Sunday morning to the passenger steamer
Sheffield, once a blockade runner under the name of the
Old Dominion, now on • new line el steamers plying be-
tween Dublin and Liverpool, which might have caused a
very serious loss of life. A dense fog prevailed in the
Irish Channel md in the Bey of Dublin, during which the
Sheffield, on her inward passage, ran at half speed against
Ireland's Eye, • prominent island lying between Lambay
and Howth. The shock was so severe as to throw the
passengers off their feet and to split the stem of the vessel
in two. Two of the passengers jumped off on the rocks,
and remained for some hours till taken off by a boat. For-
tunately she was built in water-tight compartment., to a
which, doubtless, the passengers owe their lives. After
short time the vessel was enabled tonake Kingstown
Harbour, where she landed her passengers, and then
inco pro-
ceeded slowly on to Dublin for repairs. Theincoming
Holyhead mail steamers also met with some detention
ro-
at
sea from the fog, which is looked on as indi
longed heat.
CRYSTAL PALACE. ONE SHELLING DAY.
MONDAY, J 132,3 2.s.—Admissions on payment, 8,666 ;
ditto by season tickets, 1,796. Total visitors, 10,461.