Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-23 00:00:00

AUSTRIA AND PIEDMONT.
The Times has received the following despatch
from its Vienna correspondent :
" VIENNA, Thursday Noon.—The day before yes-
terday. Austria forwarded a categorical summons to
Sardinia, to dissolve the free corps. A reply is to
be given within three days from the receipt of the
summons, and an evasive answer will be considered
equivalent to a refusal."

THREATENED AUSTRIAN
CAMPAIGN IN PIEDMONT.

The Times, in a leading article, describes as

follows :--

" THE PRESENT' STATE OF AFFAIRS

"Austria can place upon the Ticino 230,000 men within
the three days of grace fixed in the imperative demand of
the Austrian Government. Sardinia occupies the opposite
bank of the Ticino, with a force which could not probably
delay
,for one day its own destruction -by that gigantic
enemy. It may be that Sardinia can show 70,000 men in
,arms, including her free corps. After making deductions
for her garrisons, Sardinia may be able to range 40,000 in
line of battle. Three days of respite are all that is
given. - If the demand- has been already made, next Sunday
(April 24) may see an Austrian army in quick advance
upon Turin. If Austria and Sardinia are left to
themselves, we shall hear, in a few days, of an invasion
and a battle. Everythinr, points this out. as the natural
sequence. The sudden ultimatum and the short reprieve
aro evidently a part of a' well-considered military policy
formed by Austria. It is clearly her interest, if qhe is
resolved upon war, or if she feels that she will be compelled
to._ accept war, to crush the Sardinian army before the
French can arrive to its u,sistance. The march from the
banks of the Ticino to Turin offers every facility for the
advance of a great army. Three days would bring the
Austrian general to the unprotected city of Turin. There
is nothing between the frontier and the capital
but the army, and the bodies of the 40,000 Sardinian
troops who are so vastly out-numbered by the
Austrians. To crush that army, to effect by force the dis-
armament demanded, and to dictate terms at Turin, would
be but the'effort of a few days if Sardinia remained un-
friended. The Times examines the prospect, of Sardinia
receiving timely assistance, and speaks as follows :—We
may assume, perhaps, that the pas,ing of the Ticino will be
considered by the Emperor of the French as a declaration
of war by Aastria, and that, while the Austrians are
marching from the'east on Turin, the French Emperor
will pour his columns from the west, and march through
the passes of the Alps to meet the Austrian invaders, and
to anticipate, if possible, their arrival at the Sardinian
capital. But we should not be very confident in trusting
the safety of a kingdom to the possibility of uniting, before
Turin, columns which had to penetrate the Alps, and to
arrive from Genoa. If one condition of the military success
of such an operation were that the concentration would be
effected in three or four days. or even five or six days,
perhaps we may count something for the delay which may
be reasonably expected to be interposed by the Sardinian
army; either fighting or retreating; but, failing this, or
those other chancee of war which never can be fully
calculated, the military beads who seem to have conceived
this plan of opening the campaign have not failed in
strategic ability. The Times concludes by remarking that,
physicially speaking, if the war is come, the power
which strikes the first blow, and. chooses its own field of

action will have the advantage. more Hy speatung, tae
picture is reversed. The Emperor Napoleon is threatened
with a Euriipean coalition to prevent a general war,' The
Times says it discerns a spark of hope that Louis Napoleon
may not make a hasty rush to take up the glove that is now
so rashly thrown. The Emperor of the French, it says,
must, by this time, have meditated on the fact that Russia,
Germany, and England, have assumed an attitude already
passively hostile, and are tendithr towards a state of even
coercion, if fortune should give him victory in the war, and
if his ambition should carry him beyond certain very
narrow limits. When Prussia puts her troops in motion,
the Emperor Napoleon may he assured it is not
without some knowledge of the part which Russia
is prepared to play. As to Austria, the telegraph has by this
time carried to the Court of Vienna the strongest protest pf
England against its hasty menace against §arfieVail upon
hoped there is yet time to enable,Filiiingh the hope is but
Austria not to Dre,;-:,
sleuth.- " •

FRENCH CRITICISMS UPON THE DERBY
MINISTRY.
The Sicle contains the following remarks upon

Lord Derby's Ministry :
Lord Derby's language contrasts strangely with that of
the French Government : there is less of the spirit of conci-
liation in London than in Paris. We should have thought
it more befitting for a Ministry which has recently received
such a serious check, to have assumed a less haughty atti-
tude. That in case of the continuation of the conflict,
England should withdraw with the hope of remaining, neu-:
tral is all very well ; but to announce that her neutrality
will be on armed one; that if war begins it will not be con-
fined to Italy ; that it will necessarily be a bloody and im-
passioned struggle involving all Europe—is to assume a
menacing tone very unbecoming on the part of a Minister
who has probably but a few weeks of official existence before
him. We prefer the protest made in favour of Piedmont by
the man whom we look upon as Lord Derby's successor.
His speech shows that France was justified in only agreeing
to the disarmament on condition that Piedmont should he
i admitted to the Congress. If there is any foundation for
the rumours current to-day, Austria and France came to an
agreement before the fact was known in London. It is said
in Paris that Austria has accepted the last proposal of
France.
The Univers takes a widely different view of the
position and prospects of the English government..
After expressing an opinion that the course of events
is very favourable to ministers, and that they are
liable to gain ground in public opinion, the ultra-

montane organ says :
There can he no doubt of this fact, that England, who
has so greatly contributed to existing difficulties by her
encouragement of the Italian revolutionists—England, who
but a year ago, was so embarrassed both at home and abroad
by the Indian war, and by the indignation excited by ber
conduct after Orsini's crime, that she had lost a great part
of her influence in the councils of Europe - has now resumed
almost the first place ; she has now very considerable
weight in the diplomatic scales, and may even hope, without
any great presumption, to become the arbiter of peace and
war. Her statesmen have most ably seized the opportunity
to raise her from the secondary position in which she had
remained ever since the Crimean war. It is to England
that people now look for the solution of present complica-
tions, and (why should we not say it, although it is painful
to us to make the admission ?) it is mainly in England that
thefriends of peace and order put their trust. For our
parts we do not expect so much from her, because we know
that she consults her own interests above all things, and
that her hatred of the church is at least equal to her jealousy
of us ; but we do hope that France will not allow England
to supersede her in the place which she has occupied for
many years in the counsels of Europe, and which she could
not lose without the greatest detriment to society. do
not wish to doubt the patriotism of our adversaries, but we
in in, pVi. Llltill W atillbt uuLa. Prance, who recovered
her rank the moment she got rid of the Revolution and the
liberal utopias with which she had been deluded, could only
decline by resuming a policy which formerly condUcted her
to abysses.

EUROPEAN ARMAMENTS
A Belgian paper makes some calculations with
reference `to the expense of maintaining the armies
of the different European States, the result of which
is, that the soldier costs annually each inhabitant of
England, 12s 6d ; France, 10s.10d ; Russia, 6s 6d ;
Austria, 6s 51d ; Prussia, 5s 51d. It appears from
this table that the cost of the English soldier is the
greatestomd that of the Prussian the least, though
the latter country has expended on its army since
1815, the period of the general peace, no less than
1,200 millions of thalers. The revenue of this State,
deriired from imposts,' shows an annual payment by
1 each individual into the exchequer of 20s 10d. The.
1 maintenance of their armies in time of peace costs
the countries of Europe annually 73,313,750/. : and
the fleets, 17,687,5001. ; total, 91,011,250/. These
figures, it must not be forgotten, only represent what
exists in a state of peace. When war occurs,
fresh' expenditure of course is immediately incurred
for munitions of war, equipments, the transport of
men and horses, and provisions. This expenditure
is reckoned by millions. But how are we to calculate
the loss sustained by agriculture and commerce, by
the withdrawal of so many strong arms from useful
labour ? At present, the peaceful armies of Europe
amount to no less than 5,705,000 men, and the
navii,s to 219,000 ; making a total of 5,924,000 men.
This number is, in fact, 15 per cent. of the male
adult population of Europe -withdrawn from the
pursuits of industry, and constantly main-Willa
under arms.--Iluilefin, _