The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-31 00:00:00

THE SUN.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, OCT. 31, 1860.

If we may believe our contemporary, the Daily
.News, " the Emperor of the FRENCH has placed
four ships of the line before Gaeta," and with
orders not hostile to the ex-King, nor even to ob-
serve neutral ity, but to intervene between the ex-
King of NAPLES, and the King elect by popular
suffrage; for " the French Admiral has orders to
prevent an attack on Gaeta by Admiral PERSANO,
and if necessary for that purpose to sink his ships."
" Under these circumstances," it is added, " Admi-
ral PERSANO will take no part in the approaching
siege of Gaeta." Of course not, if the state-
ment be correct, though we are not told by our
contemporary the authority on which it rests.
Assuming its correctness, the interference is intole-
rable, and the threat outrageous. What Admiral
PERSANO can do, we know at Ancona; and we
know also how the Austrians dread the thought
of his visiting Venice with his fleet. To prevent
his joining in the attack is to prolong uselessly the
siege, and by liberating the entire garrison to
defend the land side is a virtual French rein-
forcement of it. We may well ask what the
motive can be ? Can it be to show that notwith-
standing PERSANO'S splendid success at Ancona, a
large force of ;French ships could vanquish him ?
Xo one, however, needs that information. Can it
be to help himself, as he doing at Rome, into a
better position for demanding the talked-of ces-
sions, if he consent to complete Italian emancipa-
tion? But England and all Europe, we fancy,
would be of one mind, if he dared really to demand
Sardinia and Genoa. Or is it a mere blind ? Does
he wish to act the " Moderator of the Revolution,"
at the eleventh hour, by taking some part in the
final settlement with FRANCIS IL ? Perhaps he
thinks it perfectly certain that GARIBALDI and the
Piedmontese togethcr are quite able to take Gaeta,
and thatea little by-
PAY, to make them take it in the
way he chooses, may present him in the light of
arbitrator in the final
arrangements.
It may be useless to speculate on his movements.
We are warranted, however, in assuming the most
selfish to be the most likelk, ana .
asserting this
new intervention to be grossly in
consistent with
his own professions. We may hope, however, that
things have already gone too far for even Louis
NAPOLEON to venture on much mischief. A.
7IcToR
EMMANUEL is now King of the Two Sicilies by the
same right as LOUIS NAPOLEON is Emperor of
France. The notice to quit wilt soon be enforced
on the unfortunate, but hardened young Bourbon;
and we trust that England will not allow VICTOR
EMMANUEL, abjectly, yet further to " mar his
inheritance" for the aggrandisement of France,"and
to our injury in the Mediterranean.

All Europe could not show, what to us does not
seem anything surprising, a First MiniAter of the
Crown presiding at a succession of public meetings,
and speaking with interest at them all. Italy may
possibly in no long time have again, as in the days of
the old Roman Republic, a number of leading states-
men, who are also able speakers both in the Senate
Rouse and at the Rostra. But in Europe, at pre-
sent, we stand almost alone in that characteristic
of our social life, which makes it natural that our
first men—our high official otss—should be looked
up to to sustain the interest of public meetings of
all kinds. Besides Lord PALMERSTON we have but
just had Lord STANLEY and Sir J. PAKINGTON ;
and we may certainly look for Mr. GLA.DSTONE and