Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-10-06 00:00:00

OCIOBER, 6, 185 9.

ri) used this great but indefinite test of Whig
or .odosy, as nothingbut a weapon of opposition
an. a means of personal elevation. And, we.
appeal to recent history to,provehow consistently
has always kickecl;_down, the holder- on which
rose to powor.

Let not this latest. political flirtation.,, however',

deceive the vigilance, or disarm the fears or
Cinservatives. Lord. ,110111( RUSSELL, indeed,
has hitherto disappointed—perhaps betrayed—
the Radical section of his following. But we
would not, for an infant, calculate upon his fide-
lity to the Constitution. He has yet to justify his.
opposition as a party leader, to: that intelligent
and conservative spirit of Reform, which,. as a
political philosopher, he inculcates and approves

and his recent concessions show that the. next

turn of the wheel may find-him in active league

with the only consistent promoters of that ptiblic

policy

which defeated a popular Government

and bribed its way to power

THE Italian. difficulty thickens apace
vaunting programme, issued by Louis NAPOLEON,
for sweeping the Austrians out of the peninsula,
from the Alps to the Adriatic, seems now' likely
to be realise& by the Italians. themselves.. The

KING OF -SARDINIA, nolens volens, has been
elected to their sovereignties by the Duchies. and
the Romagna. They are determined not to be
handed about, as it- may please either' the.
EMPEROR. OF THE FRENCH or of AESTRIA. The
political atmosphere,- consequently, looks- very
warlike. The united forces of GA.RIBALDI and
FANTI, supported by those of Sardinia, would
not improbably-be able to cope with the armies of
the EMPEROR. OF AUSTRIA

—if the latter be in.
And

no better plight than they were before
this position is. just that which GAVAZZI so much
desired, and so.earnestly and eloquently pressed
upon the British public. " Leave us to our-
" selves,—with.an united Italy, we. can drivuthe

hated Germans out of our country, and form

" for ourselves a. constitutional g,overnment, under
"the iule of Yreron EMMANUEL." Such has ever
been the language he has held.; and it was no
doubt but the echo of a very general and a...verY
popular sentiment in Italy.

The principle enunciated at Aberdeen, by-Lord
JOHN RUSSELL may be quite in accordance with
that sentiment ; but for the member of a. Consti-

tutional Monarchy, and Foreign Minister,, above

all, it is. a. dangerous one

—it is, in fact,, neither

more. nor less than that .of the. vox populi, vox

Dei : meaning that the populace of a country is

to choose its, own ruler. But this is, not the

idia for which Louis

NAPOLEON went to

war with Austria ; neither do we believe it

is a principle which he

eitlwr

approves

or adopts ; at any rate, the carefulness with which
he gathers around himself all things likely to
render his dynasty continuous and hereditary►
paints out the very opposite theory to Lord JOHN
RUSSELL'S. How, then, could a, Congress com

posed of such discordant elects, come to any

advantageous conclusion I)

The plan as laid

down by the preseat Foreign Secretary at
Aberdeen, would forestall its. result. Unless the

Great Powers which are to confer together agree

to allow ;the' Duchies and the Legatine State of

Romagna to resist the enforcement Of the treaty
of_ Villafranca, entered into by the Imperial bel-
ligerents,-: as to the restoration of, the Grand
-Dukes, England is to take no Part in any cOll-

ference whioh may grow out of the meetings at

Zurich. Upon the assumption that such, an un-

derstanding existed beforehand, what guarantee
have we that the course diplomatic discussion
might take would not bring the Great Powers to
ionic contrary determination ? If England stood
alone for the independent choice the people of
the Duchies have made for themselves, she would
_occupy a very undignified position, outvoted and
outwitted by Napoleonic perfidy—by Russia°.

animosity and Austrian revenge. Wll°
security is there against any such possible result
which we have thus hypothetically put? Doe
s
the career of Louis NAPOLEON, from first to last
warrant an entire and full reliance on his word?
The coup d'etat—the slavish imitation of hig
uncle—all point to the very contrary expect*.
tion. We have had sufficient evidence of his
utter disregard of oaths, and of his solemn ell'
gagements broken, whenever it suited his Par"
pose, or impeded his advancement. In such 0,,
eventuality, would our " Motley Administration,

after having forced us into such an unbecoming
position, assist the Italian States, which 10'143
expelled their lawful rulers, and annexed them
e
selves to the Piedmontese Government ? W
ci
really apprehend that -the spirit of meddling and
restlessness, which seem to be the idiosyncrtisieB

of Lord PALMERSTON and Lord JOHN IWS:
SELL, would place us in a very critical and
dangerous dilemma.. It would be a very strange
afterpiece to the Franco-Sardinian camPairci
should we take up arms against Austrian an
French arrangements. Yet we cannot see
other alternative, should we enter into a Congress
with the European Powers and get outvotea.
As we see, mow and more clearly day by daYI:
the determination of the present Administrati° e
to have a hand in the Italian question, °l
greater reason hive we to regret the overthr:ir
of that Ministry over which Lord DEBBI: P
sided : an overthrow brought about by a disgrby
ful combination, and by a majority obtaine'
means of the most shameless bribery.