The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-23 00:00:00

PROM A CORRESPONDENT.

On the 24th Sept., at 8 ia the morning, the
Modenes brigade was drawn up in a large walled
field opposite the Palazzo Cappelle in Cortigliano.
H.R.H. the Duke on horseback, followed by a car-
riage in which was the duchess, passed fur the last
time along the front of their faithful troops. A
military mass followed immediately. The altar
was erected in the balcony of the first floor of the
Palazzo Cappello, and the brigade was massed is
frost of the altar, which was visible to all from its
elevated position.

The service being over, the chaplain-in-chief gave
the benediction to the honoured ranks. After the
holy service, H.R.H. the duke again mounted on
horseback, and a square being formed, the follow-
ing order of the day was read:—
ORDER OF THE DAY.
Guards Noble of Honour, officers, non-commissioned
officers and soldiers of the Estensian Brigade.
The moment of giving you an attestation of our esteem
and gratitude is arrived. Providence has not permitted us
to confer it, as we hoped, in our own native home, after a
glorious campaign along with you.
Receive, then, from our hands this day the token of your
virtues as soldiers and faithful subjects. All from first to
last you have fulfilled your duty. We thank you, and
accept the expression of our unalterable gratitude.
The Duchess, our beloved Consort, and your Sovereign,
who has come expressly to see you once more, shares en-
tirely these feelings of ours.
Preserve ever stainless and honoured the mark of distinc-
tion which we consign to you this day. Those who will
not return home—that is to say, almost the whole corps of
officers, and a large proportion of the non-commissioned
officers and men, will wear it proudly in the ranks of the
army into which they are about to enter, and which will
respect and value it. Those who return to their own
country will keep it with care, until better days, and above
all, will cherish in their hearts the feelings which animate
them this day, and will spread them in their families, in
whose bosom we wish that they may be able tranquilly to
remain. (Signed) FRANCIS.

Bassano, Sept. 24, 1863.
When this Order had been read, all the officers,
and two non-commissioned officers of each corps
and battalion fell out from the ranks to be decorated
by H.R.H. with the commemorative medal created
by his Dakml decree of 31st July. This medal is of
bronze, having on one side the Effigy of the Duke,
and on the reverse the words " Fidelitati et Con-
stantio in adversis."

H.R.H. addressed a few words in particular to

the superior officers, and to each of the corps of the
officers, for he knew thoroughly each and all;--
and then he decorated them and the non-commis-
sioned officers and soldiers who had fallen out from

their places, while, not to prolong too much a cere-
mony so painful, the captains in command of com-
panies, in the Duke's name, attached upon the
breasts of their men that mark of honour.
The distribution of the mobile ended, there was
read a second Royal Order of thanks and farewell,
which the Duke addressed to his faithful soldiers,
and which ran as follows :
Officers, non•commissioned officers, and soldiers I—Hav-
ing now decorated you with the badge of honour, which
you have so well merited, before parting from you we thank
right heartily,„in the first place, your most worthy Com-
manding General for the untiring zeal, the attachment
through every ordeal, and the prudence with which he suc-
ceeded in preserving this chosen band of faithful soldiers
throughout above four years, in the midst of most trying
circumstances, and with the certainty that he would have
thus maintained it till better days, if circumstances foreign
to us and equally foreign to you had not put an end to the
existence of this brigage.

We thank also the chiefs of corps and all the staff and
and subaltern officers, for the co-operation which, with no
less zeal, they afforded their well-beloved commrnder.
We cherish the like feelings towards the noble guard of
honour who, freely quitting their homes and families, fol-
lowed us, and this day are at our side.
Lastly, we thank the non-commissioned officers and sol-
diers, and all others who up to this day have been attached
to the brigade, for the fidelity which they have maintained
towards us, and for the exemplary discipline which they
constantly observed up to this latest moment.
Born and brought up among you, you know us enough
to conceive what we suffer in this separation and bidding
you, if only for the present, as we do, adieu to each and
all, flattering ourselves that in no circumstances will you
forget your lawful prince, whose lasting affection will
remain with those who will not cease to follow the path
which honour and conscience dictates.

Imploring every blessing of God upon you, we hope that
we may some day find as many of you as possible gathered
again around these honoured standards, which we shall
keep as a precious deposit, praying that we may one and all
contribute yet to the triumph of the cause of religion and
justice. (Signed) FRANCIS.
Bassano, 24 September, 1863.
A. load Evviva responded to this cordial farewell,
while tears burst from the eyes of officers and men,
of old and young. Then the square was broken
.
eP
and the brigade, still above 2,300 strong under
__al
arms, defiled before their Sovereign and his "I'
Consort.
The most painful moment has yet to come' 11l
assembled
the afternoon the corps of officers
before the Duke's quarters in Bassanlwoi:A,
advanced,
of grenadiers, of the let and 2d ofhthame company
in their Sove.
bearing their colours to deposit them
many proofs they had
he traced
Saccozzi,
Prince and to their
reign's hands. Their veneratbe
traced the story of
after a short speech, in which
the Estensian troops, and the
surrendered stainless, as
their d .
given of their fidelity to
banner, which they Do:,
that in his sorrow into their Sovereign's '
they had received tbsd
IN it was
roerfi. ect
theirs,on that
and
hands. 11.R.1-1- answer"bl
honoured were their colours which
tli without befaualt oef histe
at least a consolation
fatal day how
must be lowered wl
that be would preserve them as Precious memorials
of his faithful troops, and with the hope of still see-
ing the' raised aloft again.
From the hands of the General, H.R.H. received
the two colours and consigned them to his Grand
Steward, General Count Forni.
Their Royal T-1-
--,iglinesses, immediately after this
'painful act, took leave of the General, and the whole
corps of Officers, Who, with profound emotion and
tearful eyes, hissed hands. His Royal Highness,
turning towards the Grenadier company, which
was drawn up before the door of his apartment
took leave of them also, saying, " Farewell, my
children ; do not forget me, and always remain
Men of honour ;" and with these words, to which
these admirable soldiers replied with a spontaneous
and hearty cheer, and amidst the weeping families
of the offi3ers gathered in the court to bid a last
adieu to the Duchess, he hastily entered the carriage
from
so her Royal Highness, and finally parted rom
so many hearts that were beating warmly for thew;
departing Sovereign.

LONDON, FRIDAY, OCT. 23, 1863.

MANHATTAN speaks pretty confidently, under
date the ninth of this present month of October,
about the all but certainty of a war between the
French and the Federals. " I will bet two thousand
dollars," he says, " that war is declared against
France before the first day of January." It would
almost seem that the Northerners were " beside
themselves," by reason of the very agonies of the
frightful civil war in which they are engaged.
Like that tuft-hunting old lady at Mr. Spenlow's
dinner-party in " David Copperfield," the old lady
who was such a stickler for long pedigrees wherever
they cculd be found or affected—all they want
(apparently) is blood ! As if the hideously de-
structive struggle, which they have now for the last
two or three years been engaged in, with their own
brethren of the South, were not nearly enough to
satisfy their greed of ruin and lust for slaughter—
the Federals have been howling all this while alter-
nately for an additional or supplementary war, now
with England, now with France. France and
England all the while, on their part, having re-
peatedly to exercise an extraordinary amount of
self-control and forbearance, if only out of sheer
pity for the straights to which the North
has been and is still being put—by the
Confederates. If France and England had not
exercised pertinaciously an extraordinary amount
of forbearance and of self-control, in one word of
" magnanimity," there must inevitably have been
war already with one, or the other, or with both.
In spite of all kinds of revilings, insults, and out-
!sages, unprovokedly directed against the two great
opean Powers, from the opposite side of the
Atlantic, England and France have all through the
war maintained an attitude towards the bellige-
rents in North America of the very strictest neutra-
lity. To maintain otherwise would not only be a
violation of all truth, but would be one so
extravagantly flagrant of
its kind as to be
simply ridiculous.
Once,u '
it is true, when the
British flag and the
Q uniform had been
insolently outraged upon trsleigh seas by a Fede-
ral Swashbuckler, wildly bentin somehow, or rather
anyhow, upon distinguishing himself
even England
then by
any w
began to arm, The attitude assumed
this country, was not one iny equivalent
to that of an athlete shaking his fiat, to that of a
knight of old flinging down his gauntlet
simply as the buckling on of the armour.—it
was
But, it
was sufficient. Tardily, grumbling, reluctantly
the North made the amende honorable. How ev,:rit
made it—it made it. That for England was enough.
The armour was unbuckled again. The storm-cloud
blew over. And--cordially or not it matters little
—the Northern Government and their repre..
sentatives, naval, military and diplomatic,
have since then, in regard to England,
been tolerably on their good behaviour. Not so,
however, has it been with them, in their bearing
towards France, that is towards the French Go-
vernment. More particularly since the successful
occupation of Mexico by the French troops under
Marshal FOREY. From that date the malignity of
feeling against France, against the ruler of France,
(m the part of the Federal Power (or Weakness,
!whichever we may like to call it) has been
the
p
holly undisguised. The North hates France, hates
French EMPEROR, with both a lively and a
deadly hatred. MANHATTAN, as the most uncom-
promisingly outspoken among his countrymen, utters
the wish of his heart, as well the thought of his
brain, when writing, as
we have shown that he
has just now written,
He predicts plainly enough,
but it is with the
flourish a Yankee Bombastes
Fur:usu. He not only sofa
quite confidently, " I will
het 2,000 dollars that Neer i
i declared against France
before the Ist day of Jantiary„ but he adds " and
I will wager that Calfornie before that time will
be ready io place 100,000 seedier.
'withrifles and
bowie knives, iv the very heart ofNle o, without
asking the aid of one of her sister states, and I will
wager that force will whip 200,000 Frenchmen, t
LOUIS NAPOLEON can get up that quantity of i
to
go into Mexico to assist in inaugurating the Austrian
Montezuma-" It is the very crow of chanticleer!
But of chanticleer at a moment of the highest ex-
citement, perched on the extreme top of his own
daog,Lill, with his comb troken and b:eeding, and
with his spurs dreadially sore. Of one thing, in

regard to France, the Federals may be
absolutely certain—namely, that the ruler of
France is one in no way to be sneered,
or even for that matter to be reviled, into a war.
We know that ourselves here in England—from
experience. NAPOLEON 111. is one who can bide
his time (the time of his own choosing) with extra-
ordinary equanimity, we will even say with extra-
ordinary magnanimity..

The comparison between the relative conditions
of the agricultural labourer and the felon has very
often been made, and recent discussions have
tended to bring it once more to the surface. The
degree of comfort, and even luxury to which a
man may attain as a reward for breaking the
lews of his country and injuring his fellows, con-
trasts more effectively than edifyingly with his
miserable condition as an honest labourer. The
hours of rest, the amount of labour, the food, the
clothing, the habitation, are all startlingly diffe-
rent in the prison and the cottage. The convict
enjoys his ten hours of undisturbed repose in a
comfortable hammock all to himself; the tasks re-
quired of him are light, and the regulations as
to the quantity of work to be exacted from him
are by no means rigidly enforced. We are
speaking of the county gaols as being those most
nearly connected with the agricultural labourer.
The convict enjoys a liberal supply of good and
wholesome food, pleasantly varied, and above all
he lives in a dwelling well warmed, drained, and
ventilated. The home, if home it can be called,
of the rural labourer is the very reverse of all this.
His food is of the coarsest and scantiest description,
his hours of labour long and laborious, while the
place he lives in has been described as considerably
lower in the scale of civilisation than the dwellings
of some savage races. Drainage is incomplete and
ineffective, heaps of decaying vegetable matter is
suffered to poison the air with hurtful gases. The
roofs and walls of his cottage suffer the winds and
rains of winter to find ready admittance, while his
family, huddled together, are suffered to grow up
in utter disregard of the commonest laws of health
and decency. Such being the facts, we need not
feel surprised at their producing the natural conse-
quences. The agricultural labourers, as a class,
have sunk into a state of degradation from
which it is difficult to raise them, while
the general low order of morality which pre-
vails among them is only too clearly traceable to
the miserable condition of their homes. It is per-
fectly useless, perhaps even worse than useless, to
send a child to school to learn lessons of morality,
order, and cleanliness, and then to send it back to a
room in which five or six men and women, of all
ages, are compelled to sleep. Precept and practice
when directly at variance are always dangerous
opponents, but in this case they are perfectly irre-
concileable, and we can conceive no greater mortifi-
cation to the ccnscientious teacher than being
obliged to dismiss a hopeful pupil from the class in
which he has been learning:the plain duties of every-
day life, to the hovel which renders it simply im-
possible to put them into practice. The consequence
of this state of things is a degree of moral and social
depravity that is really startling. The old pleasant
tradition of the purity and innocence of rural life is
completely exploded. A Suffolk vicar, writing to
a morning contemporary on this subject, gives some
highly suggestive statistics of the degree of guilt in
town and country. It seems that whereas in 15
towns in Suffolk, with an average population of
5,000, the annual proportion of criminals
is 1 to every 593; in 15 villages, averaging
820 inhabitants, the number of criminals reach
the ratio of 1 to every 317, Among the culprits
actually in gaol the proportion is equally striking.
In every crime in the list the country far outstrips
the towns, and the darker the offences, the heavier
the preponderance. In burglary it actually amounts
to 16 town against 41 country, and in arson, to 4
town against 72 country: The burning of
hay-ricks is, of course, a very different thing
from firing houses, but the degree of vice
and immorality existing among our rural
population is a startling evil. The want of decent
houses is so great an impediment to all benevolent
efforts to bring about a better state of things, that
it has lately been said that " There are none who
believe that, with the existing social condition of
the working class, they can be raised much above
the standard they have now reached." This re-
mark, too, is made, not by an interested declaimer
against existing institutions, or an angry censurer
of the upper classes, but by an established publica-
tion, belonging to the Church of England, which
would scarcely, therefore, he unduly eager to over-
throw the social fabric. It is high time that this
matter were looked into, and this disgrace removed
from English rural life. No attempt is made to
contradict the terrible assertions so positively and
perseveringly made by gentlemen, whose position
gives them every opportunity for accurate observa-
tion. On the contrary, the accounts from one
part of the country only too painfully confirm the
revelations made in the other districts, until special
blame can be attached to no particular quarter or
county, but a general state of things is brought to
light which calls loudly for examination and reform.
We cannot afford to lose the qualities which have
made our sturdy Englishmen what they are. It is
directly ridiculous, as well as unjust and cruel, to
look for a strict observance of the laws of morality
and order from a population brought up under such
fearful disadvantages, while even the pure air of
the country will not serve as a preservative against
bad drainage, leaking roofs, and stagnant water.
Our social reformers will find enough to do, if they
will turn their attention in this quarter, for al-
though much rests in the hands of the landowners,
the influence of public opinion is all powerful. All
attempts at intellectual training, and endeavours to
raise and educate the masses, should be preceded
by Procuring them clean, healthy, and decent habi-
tations if
they are to effect any wide-spread or
lasting good.
Our
population is rapidly on the
increase, Bo that the evil, if unchecked, will, like
most other
evils, increase instead of diminish.
test of the civilie
The position of women
one has often been cited as a
sati
e.
of crime above referred toshState, and the statistics
toweraonblyy totoheplmaiinselyratbhlee
fatal effect produced upon them
condition of the hovels in which they live. The
rasehimself aeent
idc
v e ; thete labourer
eorf
engaged
l classes easn cannotc tatchcealnp themselves
build
cottage; the tack and the duty lie at the
those above them, and heavy will be their respon-
sibility if they continue to neglect them.

King WILLIAM has certainly great cause to be
disappointed at the result of the olcetions. -.. it
Would
have been almost impossible for the result to have
been more adverse to the wishes of those who seek
to establish absolutism in the land, and, by fair
means or foul, to put down the struggling attempts
at liberty with a strong hand. All lovers of pro.
gress will rejoice at the failure of these manwavres,
and exult at the prospect that seems to open before
us of Prussian liberty making again a decisive
etand against the inroads of oppression, and this
time with renewed vigour, and refreshed spirit. It
is
not always fair to make hasty conelusions respect-
ing the
Conduct of a people under trying circum-
stances. What bears evidence of Ihe wrath and
contempt of one nationmay not do FO of another;