The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-16 00:00:00

ITALIAN AFFAIRS.

The solution of the Italian question, as well as that of
every other political problem of the day, can only be
worked out by that key which the knowledge of the de-
signs of Russia affords. We must also understand her power
of working with the various Cabinets of Europe, more par-
ticularly with that of England ; and we must have an accu-
rate estimate of her position relative to Austria.
No one is now unaware that Russia will not consider her
destiny fulfilled until she has the whole of Europe in her
grasp ; that even with the support given to her by the
hopelessness of the Poles, and their desire of revenge
against the Western eowers, she never entertains the
thought of attempting such a coup by force of arms, and
that she is content to work by the slower and surer process
of disorganisation, decomposition, and ultimate protection
and incorporation.
Austria, composed as she is of the most heterogeneous
elements, is geographically the especial rival and most ex-
posed neighbour to Russia ; she is directly opposed to the
Russo-Greek Church, as the champion of the Latin Church,
which binds her discordant particles together ; and as a
copartitioner of Poland she at once shares in the crimes of
Russia, and is hourly made to tremble at their conse•
quences.
Austria has, besides, by accepting the assistance offered
to her in the Hungarian campaign, placed herself in the
position of a necromancer receiving a gift from an evil
spirit, whose design he knows is to ruin him body and
soul.

Further, the position of Austria in the Principalities,
forced upon her, as we yesterday showed, by the English
Cabinet, is precisely that as laid down in the will of Peter
the Great : "We must interest the House of Austria in
the expulsion of the Turk from Europe by giving her up Is
part of the conquest, to retake it from her afterwards."
This brings Austria upon the same field in the East as
England and France, and gives Russia the means of excit-
ing the one against the other.
In addition, Russia has the Italian revolutionary party
in her hands by means of her dexterous and valuable agent,
Signor Mazzini.
With these premises, and before touching upon Monday
night's debate, we shall proceed to show what was the ante-
cedent action of Lord Palmerston, by which he helped
Russia to gain this mastery of Austria's position, particu-
larly in reference to Italy.
We must not omit to notice the position of the French,
as occupiers of Rome, as a power to be played off against
Austria, and we must call special attention to that of Sar-
dinia., which, anterior to 1848, was an efficient opponent to
the diplomatic progress of Russia, but who has since the
Italian campaign, and particularly since her alliance with
England and France, forfeited that position, as she was
take.. under the special protection of Russia at the Paris
Conferences, not of course to gain any definite advantage
to herself, but to be used as a tool for the destruction of
herself and others.

Naples is in the same e xtegory. The most melancholy
part of the diplomatic history of the present day is that
Russia, the mistreis of that infernal art, first tempts her
victims to crime, and then makes those crimes the pretext
of their destruction.

No one can palliate the tyranny of the ruler of Southern
Italy, but it must always be borne in mind that England
has less than auy other nation the right to protest, for
England has placed herself in a position of direct commer-
cial hostility to Naples, as, through the arrangement of
Lord Palmerston, a special exception was made to the in-
troduction of Neapolitan oil into this country on the same
terms as that of other nations, obviously for the extin-
guithmeut of a rival to Russian tallow.

By an Italian Revolution, therefore, Russia's designs can
be furthered, as effecting the decomposition of Austria, as
gaining a complete ascendancy over Sardinia,, also with a
viow to further action on Switzerland, and as obtaining a
final triumph of the Greek over the Latin Church. It re-
mains to show how nine years ago Lord Palmerston, then
Foreign Secretary, helped her to this position.
All must remember the events of 1817-1Q43. Lord Pal-
merston had his agents traversing Italy, not in the ordir
nary shape of political refugees and revolutionary
democrats, but British noblemen and servants of the
Crown.

Lord ➢iinto's tour must be fresh in our recollections,
and also the damning fact, that while Lord Napier was
resident in Naples, representing for the time a mission of
which Lord Palmerston's brother was the chief, he habi-
tually sent to the insurrectionary council at Palermo all
details respecting the movement of troops.
We are in possession of the additional fact that Admiral
Dundas had instructions to salute the Sicilian flag.
It is well known how, after this, Lord Palmerston aban-
doned the revolutionists ho had excited, leaving them to
the tender mercies of the King of Naples, whose fears ho
had aroused and aggravated till they have goaded that
miserable man to his present pitch of insane tyranny.
Simultaneously was brought about the revolt in Rome,
which has brought France into the field, and (together
with the occupation of Turkey) has earned her a Euro-
pean war that must leave her prostrate, exhausted, and in-
capable of resistance to the Cossack and the Pole.
Similarly occurred the Milanese barricades. The Sardi-
nians and Austrians were arrayed against each other, and
were both betrayed.
That the defeat at Novara was caused by treachery
there is little doubt ; but Austria had offered, through
England, on the 22d May, the independence of Lombardy,
which was treated in the same way as her successive pro-
posals to restore Poland, and the victory secured to her
by management on Italy was the signal for the events in
Hungary, which brought Russia into the field as the mis-
tress and arbiter of Europe.
We again repeat, that to the action of Lord Palmerston
in Italy, first revolutionary and then treacherous, all these
events are to be traced.
Having said so much, there is but little necessity for us
to notice the recent debate—there is a very similar pro-
gramme, and very little disposition to understand or to
resist it.
Lord Lyndhurst hurls at Austria the thunders of his
eloquence. Lord John Russell, that lineal descendant of
old Bunyan's Mr. Facing Any Ways, thinks that we should
by interfering maintain the principle of non-interference.
Mr. Disraeli crushes the small man, and " finds encour-
agement in the language of Lord Palmerston ;" while Lord
Clarendon in the Upper, and the Premier in the Lower
House, the one in definite and the other in indefinite
terms, promise a repetition of the scenes of 1848.
"Every effort we can legitimately make shall be made
in order to ameliorate the condition of the Italian people."
—Lord Clarendon.
" Her Majesty's Government will omit no proper endea-
vour to restore the Governments of Italy to freedom of
action within their proper limits."—Lord Palmerston.
" Peace in her vineyard ; yes, but a company forgets the
wine." This line well understood is the explanation of the
whole ; but without its comprehension, all is chaos.—
Morning Herald.

The Bishop of Manchester will administer the affairs
of the diocese of Durham until the resignation of the
Bishop of that see, which will take effect on the Ist of
September, if the bill now before Parliament should
pus into a law during the present 60661011.