Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-02-25 00:00:00

THE ALARM OF WAR

THE view we have taken, in these columns,
from the beginning of that course so provocative
of war which the French Emperor and the
Sardinian King have been jointly and severally
pursuing, we have never had occasion to modify in
the least. It has been evident to us, from the
first, that those two Potentates were in an alliance
for the express purpose of attacking Austria on
what is called the Italian question. Louis
NAPOLEON of France, to serve his own ambitious'
ends, wants to gain advantages beyond the Alps ;
and VICTOR EMANUEL of Sardinia, to enlarge his
own too limited dominions, covets Italian soil that
is now under the Imperial influence of Austria.
There are other motives also —some of them of,
perhaps, a rather personal nature. There are,
moreover, misunderstandings, real and pretended,
upon those very subjects which might be expected
to affect the real question at issue. Yet in nothing
of all this is there any real excuse for war. The
ostensible cause of misunderstanding is one quite
capable of being adjusted by negotiation or by
arbitration. But this has not only never been
proposed by France and Sardinia, but the sugges-
tion of such a procedure by others has invariably
been discouraged. The actual object in view could
not possibly, in fact, be attained by any such
means. War, war is the only alternative that can
give effect to their devices. This was doubtless
seen, and therefore resolved upon, from the first.
The visit of the Sardinian Premier, Count CAVOUR,
to the French Emperor—the warlike hints of the
latter to the Corps Diplomatique at Paris on
New Year's Day the matrimonial alliance
between his family and that of the King of Sar-
dinia—the Imperial pamphlets on war—the bride-
groom's, Prince NAPOLEON'S, incendiary assur-
ance but a few days since, to the Italian refugees
in Paris, that " Italy might count upon France "
the incendiary speeches of Count CAVOUR in the
Piedmontese Senate all these circumstances,
proceeding simultaneously with the most formi-
dable warlike preparations, have made it mani-
fest all along that war had been resolved upon,
and that the approach of Spring was alone waited
for in order to commence it.
And now that the season is at hand, the rumours
have naturally enough assumed not only a more
definite, but a more consummate shape. We hear,
for ilitance, that all is so far ready, that the
French corps, which are to commence the
campaign, have already been designated, and that
orders have been given to the Minister of War to
frame a plan of operations,—that the plan is to
attack Austria at one and the same time in front,
flank, and rear,—that the Piedmoutese, supported
by a large French army, is to form the main
division, while another is to march northward for
the Papal States, and a third is to seize Venice or
Trieste. Such have been among the more
prominent of the rumours of the last few days
They are alarming enough, certainly ; and
whatever they may end in, they must, in the mean-
time, have done no slight mischief, wherever their
influence has been felt.

Then here at home we have just had the sudden
visit of Lord COWLEY, our Minister at the French
Court, in obedience, it is understood, to the
summons of the Government. And at the same
moment we have the notice—" the dangerous

notice," we see it called of Lord PALMERSTON, to
force, on a discussion of the present critical state of
Europe in the House of Commons to-night, even
to the obstruction of an important Government
measure. Its terms, as he expressed them, are
"to make some observations with the view of
drawing the attention of the House to the present
state of affairs on the Continent of Europe ; and
to express the hope that her Majesty's Govern-
ment will be enabled to make some communications
which may lead to encourage the expectation that
the general peace of Europe will not be disturbed."
That the attention of the House of Commons can
be drawn to the subject—that is, that the oppor-
tunity can be taken to discuss it at so critical a
moment—with any advantage to the cause of
peace, is more than questionable ; while any com-
munication which the Government may be able to
make, however it may gratify curiosity, is not
perhaps very likely to affect favourably the pre-
servation of the general peace of Europe. That
unity of eounsel, privacy, and decision, generally,
if not invariably, so impbrtant at such a crisis,
may not improbably run the risk of being counter-
acted by such a discussion. However, we shall

Already, it must be remembered, Lord DERBY,
speaking as Chief of the Administration, has given
to Parliament and the country the assurance, that
" if, unhappily, war should be the ultimate result,
it will be a satisfaction—a melancholy satisfaction,
indeed, but still a satisfaction—that her Majesty's
Government feel they have done all that was i