The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-01 00:00:00

" in perfect frankness" say, that we do not believe
a word of them. Just in the same style in the
spring of last year, he denied that France was
armed or arming—yet, a few weeks later, he
launches an army of 150,000 men on Italy, had
another large army of observation on the Rhine,
and plenty to spare also to repress all liberal
mauifestations at home. With hardly more than
a single colony to defend, France does not want
the 600,000 soldiers to which he confesses.
France does not want them for peaceful purposes.
Oae half that number would be far more than
enough for a Power which as certainly meant to
leave other Powers alone, as other Powers are
indisposed to meddle with her. As to the
navy—that, we doubt not, is a very
sore point. It was intended to get quietly
a-head of us. It is not, and cannot be
denied, that that object was nearly attained, but
the design was noticed. England wakes. Her
dockyards and steam-engine factories resound with
the adze and the hanmer, and the mortified EM-
PEROR sees our navy now in a condition to sweep
his from the sea, and to assert again successfully
the rule of Britannia over the ocean.

Hence, in great party this loving letter. But the
immediate occasion doubtless was, that at last
England has not only acted, but spoleen out. " And
thou, too, Lord PALMERSTON"—for thee to do ft—
..; ou who " know" me; for you to say, what all Europe
is so perverse as to say—what all the common
people of England were saying—for you, the
Prime Minister of England, in your place in the
House of Commons, to pronounce that France could
not want her army and navy for honest purposes !
Oh, it was " the unkindest cut of all." Now,
therefore, was the time to write " in all frank-
ness" to my dear PERSIGNY," and get him to
publish the letter to all England, and to convince
these misled Islanders that he do not contemplate
fulfilling the third part of his programme, " to
avenge a defeat." Peace and commerce are his
only thoughts. Armies and navies are but acci-
dents of 'lig position.

The latest :atelligerv3e from "Icaplet is not the
very bi ightest 7 y e.l it indicates sulmstaotilil advance.
,A telegram of the !):0(17t from tLat. city tells us that
GARIBALDI an a General CLA a v,.1-Ite commander-in-
chief at Messina, have concluded. a military con-
vention, by which the NeapolitanA are to remain in
possession of the three fortresses they yet hold,
Syracuse, Agosto, and Messina, with free access to
the towns. Melazzo is not mentioned,and we may
presume therefore that Bosco and his men have.
had to capitulate. The citadel is not to fire on the
town—not to repeat the atrocitiee; of 1848 and of
Palermo in. 1860. The Patriot anrd Royal flags are
to have equal rank, and the navigation of the Strait
of Messina is to be free.

What does all this imply. Is GARIBALDI ;merely
acting with the prudence anl caution which have
distinguished hi 3 military pins, quite as much as
his courage and dash; or, is he really intim aced
by advice ?

Either would account for this convention. After
the dreadful fig It at Melazzo which has found
competent a witness and describer in DUMAS,
though he inflicted such tremendo.us losses on his
opponents, yet his own was seve re ; and it may
well be that, though able ~o march on at once, and
to occupy the town of INleasina, he 'vas not in a con-
dition to attack the fortiEeati oi is, the citadel
especially. He might need many &more guns and men
also, and delay might have be-n &essential td him,
especially since he could hardly Use anything by
it. Not only would his own re sources increase
continually, but the state of things in the island
garrisons, and on the mainland es o, would become
mort and more unsettled—the see is of dissatisfac-
tion with the Royal cause being so abundantly
sown that he maycaulate on the. weakness of his
opponents, and his own stroraigth increasing
together. Indeed, we should not at all be sur-
prised if the rumour prove true, the t while the con-
vention is in force the Royal troopt ; will evacuate
the citadel of Messina.

On the other hand, we know tih ,t the King of
SARDINIA did write au autograp h. letter and for-
ward it by an adjutant to GARIBA. Ll M. What pur-
ports to be a copy of that letter is; :now published;
and the KING, of course, writes in ;, what he must
do, if the letter was to be published ;'to all Europe--
"The KING did not approve the expedition ori-
ginally; but, under present circurngit ances, it would
be wise for GARIBALDI, if the Xi no of NAPLES
would evacuate Sicily and abide bs • the fair vote of
the Sicilians, not to attack Zhe mainland,"
and so forth. One of the greatest; •e, ssayists of the
last generation wrote his essays in the shape of
letters to a lady whom he was wet ,:ng at the time,
and the preface states that each published letter
was accompanied b 3 another letta r—many of his
readers thought they should like to.isee that "other
letter" also. And in the present tease we should
like much indeed to see the " othi 31-letter" of the
King of SARDINIA, which went w ith the official
one ; or at least to know what the A djutant under-
stood, when he left Turin, that GA 3i IBALDI was to
understand from the whole conimtueication.
We have, indeed, letters from iga pies two days
prior to the telegrams which bring• ;'the news of the
armistice, which asserts "that iG. ARIBALDI had
refused to e3nclude the armistice a, ivised by King
VICTOR EMMANUEL, and had repli e d that he him-
self could alone judge concerning t foie real state of
things." GA IBALDI is also 2.sserte, I to have added
that "he would not pause until the cause of
national unity had triumphed." .1' hey' also add—
"th et the disemba-rkation of GARIBA 14:Dion the main-
land was immediately expected." `.these accounts
are not inconsistent. It may be emtaally true that
the General has refused to engages to turn aside
from his great project of liberating Maly, yet that

he has coneluded'a miletary conventi 3 u merely, v.ith
General CLARY at Messina. We a lust, however,
be as patient as GARIBALDI himself, sand await the
full development of his plans, only d e voutly hoping
for one ultimate issue, that on whit h. the heart of
GARIBALDI himself is set. That sac will be the
result of Italy left to itself, as the :Et nperor of the
FRENCH now proposes, we ean.harelty doubt.
•••••

The blundering of the Chief Commissioner of
Public Works is really inexplicable.. His first pro-
ceeding gave good auguries for his administration.
But, alas the gleam of that fair c wen has proved
nothing better than an illusory flush in the pan.
Mr. lIAWKSLEY'S Filtration &het nil has certainly
been set aside as a very dirty at tempt at cleanli
ness. The residue of the X 17,090 voted for the
payment of it by the House of Co mmons has been
snatched like a braud from the bur cling,. The north-
western extremity of the Serpentine is no longer
destined to ;be haunted evermore by the wheezing
ghosts of so many unseen, but ncii;her unheard nor
I unsmelt stationary engines, everlastingly puthping
up the bilge water
those of Bayswater There are still
tva-gardening vases and stxtues in stone and
stucco littering the spot designed origi sally by Mr.
HAWKSLEY to be the scene of such filthy secret
ceretnonials behind a veil of flowering shrubs and
Cockney statuary. If we have eseapal the engi•
1 nearing experirnents of this Ildvenzure, 'us gentleman,

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