Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-05-06 00:00:00

THE NORTITERN TIMES, FRIDAY, MAY 6, 1859

THE SEAT OF WAR

THE Imperial Manifesto which the Emperor of
Austria has addressed to his people, in explanation
of the occasion of his going to war, contains state-
ments, it would be seen, which are very important as
elucidating the course of events which have issued in
the hostilities his Majesty has been driven to have
recourse to, and also as pointing out the precise
arena where the sanguinary contest will, to all
appearance, be mainly carried on. " I have ordered,"
he tells them, "my faithful and gallant army to put
a stop to the inimical acts which for a series of years
have been committed by the neighbouring State of
Sardinia against the indisputable rights of my
Crown, and against the integrity of the realm placed
by GOD under my care, which acts have lately
attained the very highest point." And in so doing,
he goes on to say, he has fulfilled " the painful but
unavoidable duty of a Sovereign," and his conscience
being at rest, he " can look up to an omnipotent GOD,
and patiently await His award." One cannot but
shudder at such an appeal to Heaven, in such a
cause ; for however true it may, be that Sardinia has
been guilty of the " inimical acts " against Austrian
rights imputed to it, Austria has not been guiltless
of still more " inimical acts " against Italian rights,
or what ought to be considered and respected as
such, in her despotic rule in Lombardy and else-
where. The grudge is of old standing ; and the
design it involves may, of course, be taken to be
equally so, a design which has probably never been
lost sight of, and which is now, we may be
sure, more sanguinely entertained than ever.
" More than ten years ago," says the Imperial
Manifesto, " the same enemy—violating international
law and the usages of war, and without any offence
being given—entered the Lombardo-Venetian terri-
tory with the intent to acquire possession of it.
Although the enemy was twice totally defeated by
my gallant army, and at the mercy of the victor, I
behaved generously, and proposed a reconciliation.
I did not appropriate to myself one inch of his
territory, I encroached on no right which belongs to
the Crown of Sardinia as one of the members of the
European family of nations. I insisted on no
guarantees against the recurrence of similar events.

The hand of peace which I in all sincerity extended,
and which was taken, appeared to me to - be a
sufficient guarantee. The blood which my army
shed for the honour and right of Austria I sacrificed
on the altar of peace." Such is Austria's case. And
yet, his Imperial Majesty declares, " the reward for
such unexampled forbearance was immediate con-
tinuation of enmity, which increased from year to
year, and perfidious agitation against the peace and
welfare of my Lombardo-Venetian kingdom." We
do not quote these passages, however, on this
occasion, for the purpose so much of presenting the
Austrian justification of the hostilities commenced,
as of explaining the situation in which, on this
Imperial authority, we may conclude the war will,
in the first instance, at least, be carried on.
The immediate seat of war, it is evident, will be
the vicinity of the Lombardo-Venetian territory of
Austria ; and it would seem that very formidable
preparations had already been made there. There
has been for some time an entrenched camp at
Piacenza, on the right bank of the river Po, which
the Ticino joins, at Pavia, that seems, to have been
lately fortified in order to be made a base of opera-
tions against Alessandria, if besieged. On the north
are Bergamo and Brescia, strong places, but not
impregnable, and able to disquiet an army passing
them to attack Verona and Mantua, which are the
key of the country. This territory, it will be

remembered, was the the;:tre of the campaign of 1796,
and Austria has accumulates d defences there in the

belief that in afutUre war the Same_plan of attack
would be followed. On the Tincio, which is only
ten leagues from the Lake of Gardo, iii which it ride's,
to the marshes that surround Mantua, where it falls
into the PO, and which can be forded in several
Places, means of defence have been accumulated, and
Peschiera and Mantua 'protect its, two extremities.
The Adige is in the rear, and flows parallel to the
Po for a certain distance. It is perpendicular to it
behind the Lake of Gardo from- Verona to Legrano,
a length of 'fifteen leagues. It can nowhere be
forded, and its banks, on the side of Verona, are
covered with gardens and vineyards, and those on
the side of Mantua with rice-fields and marshes.
The road from' Verona to Legrano runs between the
Adige and a canal ; and an army placed within the
-square--formed by- Pesehiera, -Mantua, Verona, and
Legrano, protected by the water which is found on
the east and west, by mountains to the north', and
by the marshes to the south, is free in its movements,
and can march on any point that may be, threatened.
Such is the locality where the Austrian operations
have begun. We learn that, some days since, the
Austrians were concentrating in great masses at
Piacenza, where proclamation had been issued by
an Austrian 'Commissioner Extraordinary. They
have since occupied Intra, Palanza, and Arona
on the Lago Maggiore, the Sardinians re-
treating on their approach. Later accounts state
that two thousand Austrians occupy Mortara, and
400 infantry and 50 ca,valrY Novara, in Milanese ;
and they: have since- -advanced- to Vercelli: . The
Austrians in large numbers had quitted Piacenza,
and proclaimed a state- of. sjege—proceeding
to concentrate their forces on the left bank of the
Po.

At- the moment of our writing this, great un-
certainty. prevails as to the actual proceedings of
the invading forces of Austria. But we have
endeavoured to indicate the probable posifion of
their main body.

We may add, that while establishing its military
'position on the frontier of Piedmont, Austria has
not been unmindful of more distant locations ;' and
that on. the Adriatic she has taken the precaution of
protecting herself against an attack on its coasts. It
is notorious that from the banks of the Po to the
frontiers of Istria, the shoreS of the Adriatic are
very insalubrious—so lunch so that in some places
it is impossible to pass a night without being
attacked by fever; aud the sea is shallow to a con-
siderable distance from the coast. Venice, in' fact, is
the only place which can receive vessels oven of
a secondary size, and they must enter by passes
which are protected by strong forts. But it inmost
improbable that the French fleet may make a dash
there._ There is Fore_Malghera, however, which
'cannot be approached with impunity by land or
water : only it would not avail much, if other inlets
were found. A few days more may probably show
us what is to be done in these several quarteis.