The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-30 00:00:00

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It -wallti- teem that the era when natioNsha
no longer-need to defend themselves is .as yet fair:-
off in the opinions -of European rulers. The late --:
war"awoke many of us from dreams of a millenninna
of free travelling and prosperous export trade, but ,;
there •is now little- inclination to abandon those . f
means of defence wbich.we have created at such a "
test.- . A continental kingdom which, like our own,
cannot afford to forget the art of war, is engaged ,
with equal diligence. Among the greatest military
works of the present age must be reckoned the re-
construction of the fortress of Alessandria.. This
Stronghold has been remarkable in the -history. of .;
i
Northernltaly during
Imany generations. It has
alternatelY defended Austrians against French and
rer—ia.—tigainst Austrians. When - Italy passed '
nto the hands of the First Consul, the genius of
great engineers and a vast expenditure of money
were employed to make Alessandria one of the
strongest bulwarks of :France. The Austrians on
the fall of Napoleon destroyed the works, and now,
after the lapse of more than 40 years, the Piedmon-
tese Government is intent on their complete recon-
struction. The • King is no doubt aware that on
the independence of . his own :territory rest all
the hopes of Italy. The State which he governs
lies-between- two great military monarchies, and
e may suffer either from their ,discord or their
1i
oo close alliance. With Austria his country has
eon at war within a few years ; the principles
which Sardinia represents are considered by the
Viennese statesmen- as hurtful to their own into.
rests, and the densands of .the Sardiaian Envoy at
the Conferences df Paris will not .be speedily for-
given or forgotten by the Power whose pride and.
interests they threatened. The w.rld will there-
fore think that Victor Emmanuel's advisers do well
to_turralseirattention...tsi_the reconstruction_of the_
kreat Italian fortress. . It adds not a little to the
pelf-confidence of .a minor State if it. has a strong-
iholdd of the first-class, under cover of which its small
rzny can make head against ~the forces of a too
/powerful neighkou4nutit the. a?sistance of sympayi
,thising allies can be obtained:
1 Piedmont; placed between; great warlike States,
much resembles-in position and histf:sry the Belgian
iingalein: : Consequently- - Alessandria• has - been
ore than once the scene of great events. The
ast time thatit:was taken -by siege was in 1745,
Nihon it capitulated to the Spaniards ; it surren-
ered to the Russian armies in .1799, after a bloc-
ade, in that memorable campaign when, with its
oung Getter tl in • the East, the French Republic
vas unable t) withstand the combined forces
!of the Cist- and-- -the - German EmPeror, se-
'conded-by --the -whole power of Great Britain.
IvVe may well hope that. never again will a
'foreign enemy set foot within - the precincts
lof the fortress. But it is a strange reflection
`what monarchies have;.: within - little more
than a century, been powerful enough to send cons
Ignoring armies int this region of Europe. Spain,
whose Viceroys ruled at Milan and Naples for so
tmany years, and s/hich•even in the middle of the
last.century was a first-rate Sato, is now of no
more accountin Europe than a small German king-
'dom. Its decline within the present century has
been the most rapid in the history of the world.
jWe can hardly realise that this ltingdem, which
!now has only a feW frigates and earvettes, *a§, in
iithe memory of -.men sdll living, a great naval ,
Tower. Jervis fought the battle of Cape St. Vin-
cent, in 1797, -against 27 Spanish sail of the line—
a force equal to the combined armaments of France
and England in the Black Sea. After eight years
more of warfare the monarchy was still able to put
to sea 15 sail-of-the-line at the battle of Trafalgar.-
Since then. everything has gone—army, fleet, re-
Ipn tation, cplonies, ships,. and, commerce. The so-
I called Indies, from Texas AO Patagonia, have be•
I come independent. republics, or passed under the
i doinyou of the Anglo-Saxon race. The poverty of
the land is now as proverbial as its former wealth.
The grandees of the kingdoni have fallen from their
I high place among the aristocracies of Europe.: We
are now accustomed to leok only with pity or con-
;tempt on what is passing-at Madrid. If this hai
beenthe fate of the greatagef despotic kingdoms we
may.well have-hope for the future. Spain was,.
[ during
, a
of all who had the cause of liberty at heart. The
teformelreligion, popular institutions, the inde-
pendence of: all 's'econd-rats Slates were' SuppoSed2
' to beendangered.Ly the preponderance of a monar-
chy Which- cared for nothing but to spread its un-
sornputonsi and. 'crUshing sway. Spaniards. were]
supposed to slossesa_a,bove,, all,,men the genius for,
conquest. and to bs' inspired by-a fanaticism Which-
niaderthem obrtain of sucliess in war. They.ruted
itiyawith -a ToJ ,of .iron • they held all that was
, _se eniinizty iltaAt.ta in.
_itat _ .ew Wnild-, ' It 6-. -w e"iel
..,
great- in the -Indian -Seas, and at th,,,e. Philippines:
established the
_most flourishing colony of those
regions. They were the most formidable enemies'
England. or Franco had ever met, and to -resist.
thorn manfully was looked upon as the highest
and boldest of all achievements. Yet they have
passed away, and an invasion from another planet
is not more improbable than that a Spanish army
should ever again summon the fortress of Alessan-
dria to surrender.

Russia has been to Europe for the last hundred
years in some degree what Spain was in the old
timcs. She has conquered and ruled mercilessly.
Her government has been conducted with the same
vigilance and cunning, and inspired by the same
unscrupilous ambition. Fanaticism has been a
powerful agent in forming an ignorant people into
fit instruments for, the purposes of aggresive war-
fare. The world in general has had the same
notion of a manifest destiny which was to give:the
Czars a supremacy in 'Europe • and the delusion
has almost tended to fulfil itself. Yet, if we con-
sider that. Spain was once far more terrible than
Russia ever was, we may hope that, like ,Spain,
the aggressive monarchy of the North will one day
cease to give uneasiness to civilised Europe. Even
now we can hardly imagine Atissian troops besieg-
ing a Piedinontese fortress, although it is not yet
sixty years since Alessandria opened, her, gates to
Suwarrow's army, and little more than 40 years
since 160,000 Russians werelrEWidwed On the plains
near Troyes. There is reasiop,tfelrbelieve that a
crisis in the history of Europe has just taken place,
or rather that the late short and hloOdy war was
a sign that influences have been growing within
the present generation which will for ever stop
the aggressive plans of the Russian Czars. The
wonderful increase of the Western nations in
wealth, population, and power—the capacity of such
a country as England to carry on a war for many
year without feeling the burden—the rousing of
the East to activity and civilisation—even the pre-
sence of!great free communities in the New World.
and Australia, must diminish the chances of des-
potic ambition in a struggle against independence
and national rights. It seems, therefore, that
Piedmont and Italian independence have outlived
the fear of two powerful States whose armies have
in old times trod the Italian soil. There remains
now but the Power which has, during the whole
period of what is called modern history, been as-
sociated, mostly for evil, with the annals of Italy.
It is avowedly against Austria that the bastions
and forts of Alessaudria are rising. We do not
believe that the Court of Vienna will willingly en-
gage in an open conflict in which it would have the
sympathies, and something more than the sympa-
thies, of all free nations against it; but it is not
the less necessary to be provident and forearmed.
Italy will soon, we hope, be strong enough to deal
with all foreign pretensions to interference and
dominion. In the meantime the English public
will watch with pleasure every fresh gun that tis
placed in the defences of Alessandria. It has even
been proposed that we should help Piedmont by
offerings in kind ; but Victor Emmanuel can dis-
pense with any tribute of cannon, shot, and shell.
Should the time ever come when Alessandria shell
be pressed by an invading force, the transports of
Liverpool and the stores Woolwich will not be
wanting.—Times.

A terrible catastrophe has just occurred on the Ba-
varian railway. A train-which was:conveying a battalion
of Austrian troops, to the number of 1,200 wen, who
were to relieve the garrison of Mayence, ran off the rails
near Laufach ; six men were killed on the spot, and
about 30 soldiers and officers were severely injured.
A NGUIS IN ECCLESIA.—On Sunday last, during the
sermon, a snake attempted to enter at the door-of Mar
garetting church, but was luckily observed by a boy, who
killed it in the porch. As the school children sit close
tP the door, much confusion at least, if not danger, was
obviated, as it proved to be a full.sized
ford Cltronicle.
THE RECENT GALE OFF BRIGHTON.—The bodies of all
the sufferers who were lost during the fearful hurricane
of Vie night of Wednesday week have been found. On
Wednesday Thwaites, Merchant, and Gringer (broiler
to the lad previously found) -were pinked up about two
miles west of Newhaven, and on Thursday Rolfe was
discovered washed in abreast of Bletchington Battery,
thbreetowe miles east
heiansgta o
p f Saneadiord,
Portobello,
Carden at the east end of Seaford-bay, Allen at (Jack-
andMaronheaanretr wasto
m afountre
Brighton. The features
of the poor fellows were all dis-
tinguishable, but they were in a very bad state, And
were conveyed to Brighton to th • err respective homes.
Yesterday they were all interred one in grave at the new
cemetery, and were followed to their last restine,Place
by hundreds of their relatives and friends, the expense
of the grave, &c., being kindly defrayed by the Rev.
J. N. Goulty. It is also intended to erect; a-stone to
-the memory of the sufferers, on which will be in-
scribed a suitable inscription commemorative of the sad
event. The subscription on behalf of the widowsand
orphans, and the fishermen who have severely Buffered.
is proceeding satisfactorily, and the list includes the
names of the Marquis of Bristol, the borough mem-
bers, Admiral Sir W. Grant, Mr. L. Peel, &0,,
have subscribed liberally.

WS PAPER
T.HE PRESENT A CRISIS n
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