Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-10-20 00:00:00

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

FRANCE.
PARIS, Tuesday Evening.

It would not be correct to state that the an-
nouncement in the Moniteur of a Treaty of
-Peace having been signed between France and
Austria has caused any disappointment. Where
no hopes are entertained, a disappointment is
impossible, and up to the very last it has been
self-evident that the Treaty of Zurich, whether
Sardinia signed it or not, would be null as to,
its effect on the settlement of the Italian ques-
tion—" // n'y a rien de change ; it n'y a qu'un,
traite de plus.' It would be uncharitable to deal
too severely with the work of the Zurich pleni-
potentiaries. The refusal of Sardinia to be a
party to that diplomatic sham is sufficient con-
demnation for it. Solvantar rise tubulce. The
treaty will be annihilated by the mere force of
ridicule; and the Zurich Conference will go down
to posterity as a dull diplomatic farce. The
Presse to-night thus makes merry at its ex
pense
--- - -

- A note inserted in this morning's Moniteur justifies
both those who announced the speedy conclusion of
peace and those who alleged that nothing had been
settled. It states in laconic terms that peace was signed
yesterday at Zurich, but only between France and
Austria ; it does not tell us what are the questions that
have been settled, or what questions have been reserved ;
but as Piedra ont does not participate in the peace of
Zurich, it is fair to suppose that the treaty merely con-
cerns the cession of Lombardy. Even the question of
the debt must have remained in suspense, as had any
engagement been stipulated on that score the signature
of Sardinia would have been requisite.

Th' Turin Opinione of the 16th has an article
strongly protesting against Piedmont being an ac-
cessory to the treaty of Zurich, as the question of
the frontier of Lombardy has been decided ac-
cording to the wishes of Austria, and no definite
proposal is made as to the Austrian charges on
that province. The Turin print comes to the
conclusion that Piedmont should keep Lombardy,
but repudiate the charges. The consequence of
this is, that the Opinione has been seized by the
French officials ; but I had the good fortune to
see a smuggled copy.
The semi-official papers to-night state that the
reason why Piedmont did not sign the treaty con-
cluded yasterday is, that there are to be two others :
one between France and Sardinia ; and a third be-
tween all the three Powers. As to the correctness of
this I am not in a position to express an opinion, but
it is asserted so positively that, judging from prece-
dents, I should feel strongly inclined to doubt it.
According-to the Pays and Patric., the first treaty
(signed yesterday) stipulates the cession of Lom-
bardy to France by Austria, in conformity with
the Villafranca preliminaries ; the second treaty
stipulates the cession of Lombardy by France
to Piedmont, and the third is a " general act,"
recording that peace and amity henceforth pre-
vail between the three Powers. The Pays
adds, that the three Powers being perfectly
agreed as to the conditions, the only delays in
the signature of the other two treaties arise from
diplomatic formalities of a red tape and sealing-
wax character (desformalitigs de chaucellerie).
A telegram from Zurich, however, reports a long
conversation between M. de Bonneville and the
Sardinian envoys yesterday after the signature of
the treaty,
Morocco has agreed to give satisfaction to
Spain ; 'it would be premature, however, to fancy
all danger of a war at an end. Nothing can be
more easy than to find a pretext for a war
against a weak and barbarous state, as Lord
Palmerston well knows.

The Pays to-night refers to a paragraph in the
Patrie of last evening, which announced that
deputations from " Central Italy " had been
received at St. Cloud for the purpose of pointing
out that those deputations were only from Parma,.
Modena, and Piacenza :—" The Romagnas were
not represented, as the expression Central Italy'
made use of by La Patrie might lead one to
suppose, and everything justifies us in supposing
that no Romagnese deputation will be sent to
Paris."

Why ? Common civility ought to induce the
Romagnese to send a deputation to Paris to thank
the Emperor for his late speech at Bordeaux.
The Pr•esse says in its weekly commercial re-
view :—" Although the revival of business pro-
gresses very slowly, the movement seems to be
general. A good many purchases have been
made in the manufacturing provinces. Prepara-
tions for the winter season cannot be deferred any
longer, and although the shopkeepers are extremely
cautious not to buy too largely, they are obliged
to replenish their stocks, which are unprecedented ly
low. Paris houses have received fresh orders
from the United States, and promises of further
commands before the end of the But certain
articles of luxury are still wholly neglected.
This branch of trade is always the first to be
affected by a crisis, and the last to recover. It
is remarked that the goods train on the railways
are now carrying a good deal more merchandise
than they were doing. The traffic in Belgian
coal, which had greatly fallen off during the last
six months, is becoming more active. The fall in
cereals has not continued. Wines are still rising, and
a brisk business in the vintage of 1858 is doing at
Bercy. Some new wines have arrived, but the
quality is very inferior, and they are difficult to
place. The produce of Lower Burgundy, although
it keeps up its price, is poor and of a bad colour.
In Bordeaux the advance may be estimated at
from 150 fr. to 200 fr. the barrel of 912 litres. In
the Macon district the yield has been nearly
equal to that of 1858, but prices are, nevertheless'
well maintained. The Beaujolais country has
also been favoured with an abundant crop, and of
very good quality."

•
ITALY.
PARMA, Oct. 14.

Senator Plezza, one of the mcst distinguished
men of Piedmont, is just arrived here with the
object of advising the Dictator during the
present difficulties. In 1849, when Charles
Albert began his second unfortunate campaign
against tl e Austrians, Senator Plezza was sent
into this Duchy as extraordinary Commissary
of the King. His civic courage, and his high
qualities as a wise and determined adminis-
trator, made his name so popular amongst the
citizens of Parma, that the Dictator thought
proper to summon him here when he had made
up his mind to enforce the laws of the country
against the perpetrators of Count Anviti's assassi-
nation. As was to be expected, the opinion
expressed by Senator Plezza is quite in accordance
with the views of Farini ; all that has been done
is approved by him, and he will support Farini's
measures`of energy and determination.
The demonstration which will be made to-
morrow by the National Guard will also greatly
increase the moral influence of the Dictator. The
address mentioned yesterday has already been
signed by 1,400 citizens who belong to the civic
army, and there is reason to believe that many
more names will be added to them to-day.
The conscription has likewise been carried
out with unexpected success. In the south
district of Piacenza, only two men out
of 179 have not answered to the call
of their country. Both the contingents of
Parma and of the mountain districts of the Ap-
penines have already joined their regiments at
Modena. The armament of these men, and that,
of the volunteers, are carried on with such acti-
vity by General Fanti and Colonel Frappoli, that
at the end of the year the two Duchies will be in
a position to muster an army of 15,000 good fight-
ing soldiers. The chief difficulty, however, is
that which arises from the financial queEtion, and
this, it is to be feared, will become a serious one