Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-06-22 00:00:00

AUSTRIA.

pire, and it is not improbable that the Prussian
Government is now endeavouring to make an ar-
rangement which would satisfy the Lombards and
not humiliate Austria. Some members of the diplo-
matic corps believe that Prussia has asked Austria
whether she will consent to renounce that part of
Lombardy which is to the west of Peschiera and
,Mantua, if her other possessions in Italy are guaran-
teed to her ; but I am not inclined to think that such
a ticklish question has been put, as Prussian statesmen
well know that the Austrian army is full of confi-
dence, and that the masters of the Mincio line and of
the Tyrol are de facto masters of Lombardy. As long
as the war is confined to the plains of Lombardy
Prussia will be able to keep her Germanic confederates
quiet; but an attack on the Lombardo-Venetian for-
tresses will cause a storm too violent to be laid by mere
as the Tyrol will cease to be a sufficient pro-
tection for the south-west of Germany should Pes-
chiera, Mantua, Lagnago, and Verona pass into other
hands. Though Venice forms no part of the federal
territory, an attack on it will hardly be viewed with
indifference by Prussia, as the possessor of the

Queen of the Adriatic is in a position to render great

assistance to any Power that may be at war with
Germany on the Rhine. These remarks are not
likely to interest the great bulk of your readers, but
persons who have maps 91 Germany and Northern
Italy at hand will at once see that the presence of
a powerful French army in the east of Lombardy and
in Venetia must necessarily make the Germans feel
nervous and uncomfortable. As the attention of the
public must soon be forcibly directed to the so-called
Mincio line some information concerning it will now be
given. The Mincio, which flows from the Lago di
Garda to Mantua, is at times a river of considerable
size and depth, but in summer it is often so shallow that
it can be waded through without. difficulty. There are
bridges across the Mincio at Peschiera, Borghetto
Goito, Rivalta, and Mantua, the distance between,
the first-named place, which lies on the Garda
Lake, and Mantua being about sixteen English
miles. The distance between Mantua and the spot
at which the Mincio falls into the Po may be about
seven miles. Thus the line which the

Austrians

have to defend is but little more than twenty miles
in length, and at each end of it is a fortress which it
is exceedingly difficult to turn, as the one (Peschiera)
is on the Garda Lake, and the other (Mantua) lies in
the midst of bogs and marshes which extend to the
Po. Peschiera, a small town on an island, is de-
fended by extensive outworks and eight " lunettes,"
with bomb-proof quarters for the troops. These

" lunettes " form a kind of fortified camp. In
addition to the fortifications already mentioned there
are two forts, one of which commands the right and
the otlier the left bank of the river. The garrison
of Peschiera has also the power of inundating the
country for some miles round by closing sluices
which are between the lake and the river. Mantua,
which also lies on an island, has a fortified camp
for 30,000 men. The approaches to Mantua are
across five dams or dykes, three of which are in
connection with the right and two with the left
bank of% the lake, formed by the Mincio. The prin-

oipal approaches on tho loft bank are in the direction
of the suburbs San Giorgio and Porto, the former
being protected by Fort St. Giorgio, and the
latter by the great citadel of Porto. The dikes on
the right side are protected by the " horn-work"
Pradella, by fort Pieteli, and the redoubt Miglioretto.
The garrison of Mantua has also the means of
effectually inundating the surrounding country.
If Napoleon is resolved to have Mantua he must be
prepared to sacrifice 80,000 or 100,000 men, for his
renowned. uncle did not get possession of it until
after he had besieged it eight months and fought
eight or ten battles. The French artillery is infinitely
more powerful now than it was in 1797, but so are
the fortresses against which it is to be employed. A
few years ago Peschiera was a mere fort, and Verona
a mere second-hand fortress, but both of them
have recently been greatly strengthened. The
Verona correspondent of the Augsburg Gazette
wrote on the 14th inshnt that the French intend
to turn Verona by sending Niel's corps, a
Savoy brigade, and Garibaldi's mountaineers through
the Southern Tyrol ; but they will arrive too late,
for authentic information has been received here that
all the passes into the Tyrol have been properly
secured. Nothing is said in the papers of the pre-
parations made for the defence of the Tyrolese passes
but no anxiety is felt on the subject, as the inhabit-
ants of the country are well able to hold their .own.
Austrian troops have just crossed the Stelvio into
the Valtellina, and this fact is for me a sufficient
proof that this Government believes that Lombardy
may be regained. The Wiener Zeitung of this morn-
ing contains the following :

" On the 17th inst. His Majesty was pleased to take from
Count Gyulai, at his own request, the command of the 2nd
army. The General of Cavalry, Count Schlick, will take
the command of the 2nd army, and Lieutenant-General
Count Degenfeld is to be Commander of the 4th army."

VIENNA, June 18.—Yesterday evening, Count
Rechberg left this city for Verona, and it is believed
that communications which were made to him on
Thursday last by Baron Werther, the representative
of Prussia at this Court, occasioned his departure for
the head-quarters of the Emperor. On the day
mentioned Baron Werther was closeted with the
Austrian minister for more than two hours, and it
does not admit of a doubt that matters of high im-
portance were discussed during the prolonged inter-
view. Men in office 'profess to think that Prussia
is about to place herself at the head of the
German Confederation, and to make• a demonstra-
tion on the Rhine, but it is not likely that she
will take such a decisive step until she has come
to a perfect understanding with Austria. Some
time ago the Prince Regent remarked to one
of his friends that it was a matter of little. im-
portance to Germany Whether Lombardy did or did
not form an integral part ®f the Austrian Em-

•

vim NORTHERN TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22 MO

The -official organ says Gyulai resigned, but
people here have no great confidence in the statement,
as it was known at eight o'clock in the =ruing of
the 16th that Count Schlick was to replace Gyulai,
who did not arrive at Verona until the afternoon of
the same day. According to private advices from
Verona, General Hess is much better in health and
spirits than he was when in Vienna. All the
hospitals being overfilled in Verona, very many
of the wounded are still lying at Mantua, but
they will be removed from that most unhealthy
place as soon as accommodation can be found for
them elsewhere. Three Parmese battalions have
arrived at Mantua, and the Modenese troops were
expected on the 14th instant. The Austrians have
evacuated Reggio, Brescello, and Guastalla, and
retired to the left bank of the Po. The Austrians
greatly fear that the retreat of the garrison of
Ancona will be cut off, as recent events have shown
that the neutrality of the domains of the Church is
not likely to be respected. When last heard of the
8,000 men were at Pesaro, on their way to Remini,
Bologna, and Ferrara. According to private ad-
vices from Rome, General Goym jealously watches
every step made or taken by the Pope. Has it ever
occurred to you that Louis Napoleon is now punish-
ing his Holiness for having refused to go to Paris to
put the Imperial crown on his brows ? His Majesty
has Corsican blood in his veins, and, consequently,
neither forgets nor forgives.

The Cormier de Lyon announces the marriage of an
ex-Chasseur of Africa, now foreman in a manufactory, in
that city, with a young Arab girl of the Beni-Ouragh, whom
he himself found on the field of battle in 1845, any after-
wards sent to France, where she was baptised, ano.i brought
up w a Christian by his mother.