The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-04 00:00:00

THE FIRST CLUB-HOUSE AT BIRMINGHANI.

Club-houses are no longer to be confined to the
metropolis. The joint-stock palaces, which the ladies
dislike so much, are spreading to the provinces.
Birmingham has erected a refuge for gentlemen.
The Midland metropolis opened yesterday a large
club-house, built in the Italian style, capable of
accommodating 700 meinbers. The building is said
to be very fine, mil will form one of the ornaments
of Birmingham.

THE PAPAL STATES.

Agb.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

R.THE. APRIL 27.

Tl•c Austrian alliance with Italy is not yet afa it acme
p 7 , as the cession of the Trentino is a condition which the
Catholic party 5n Austria and the province itse'f ale
resolved to combat to the very last. Tient lqis just sent a.
large sum of money to the Pope, and among the many
members of her noblesse who leave enlisted as simple.
Zouaves, may lame the Count Josef di Paoli, who took
service last week. ~-,etters from Vienna speak of
the suggestion o: a mixed occupation of Rome as
impossible, as the Austrian Liberals would not retard the
fall of the Temporal Power by a day; and the Austrian
Catholics would join those of all other countries in oppo-
sition to the insult implied in the presence of the Italian
troops in Rome. In Florence a withdrawal of the French
Corps E..7editionnaire is looked upon as certain after the
French elections, and in such a case the attack of 1E67
would probably be renewed. In Rome itself an optimist
view seems to prevail, and far too much reliance is placed
on the discomfiture of the Garibaldians in 18G7. Another
invasion would now be attempted, if at all, with the ban
et arriere ban of the Italian army, and the whole
" ciangeroas class " of Italy, and would be a very different
matter to the levy of raw boys and canaille or. Mentana.
Moreover, l;;wouldhava the full benefit of Mazzini's direct
aid and experience, and, as nearly certain, the under-
hand help of the -United States, whose fleet is relied on by
the Mazzinian party, as pledged to the unfortunate role
of Admiral Mundy's squadron in !.8.60.

On the other hand, tl:e Pope's position, as not exclusively
dependent on France, is greatly improved, and the
Catholic party in Italy is strengthened by the recent ,
gathering in Rome. The entrance of Germany on the
Ultramontane stage is a great event, and this has ci n.
siderably lessened the danger of an attack, although it
has by no means assured its not being made.
A meeting of the heads of all tl-e national Catholic
committees now in Rome was herd yesterday, Count von
Biome (married to a daughter of Count Bush) repre-
senting Austria, ; the Chevalier Dexmet, France ; Mgr.
Stonor, England M. D'Emptine, ; and von
Glieeland, Bolland. Measures for the better organisation
and mutual understanding were discussed, and r. common
plan of action decided on. The maintenance of the Papal
army costs above £600,000 annually, and the levy oz the
usurped provinces £800,900, making a total of £1,490,000,
to !ie supplied ".iy- Catholic funds.
The feast of St. George was observed w tle English
contingent of Zouaves this year with great festivities. The
young men, above sixty in number, and among whom
were Messrs. Vavasour, Stourton, Watts, Russell,
Collingridge, Woodward, Weimar), Vansittart, Maxwell,
and Errington dined together rt Cie Parigi. Mgr.
Stonor was in the chair, and gave fie Pope's health,
which was drunk with a genuine burst of English cheer-
ing, and then, in a very excellent speech, he: l'irjesty
Queen Victoria's, impressing on his young hearers
the duty of every English Catholic of being a loyal
subject to the Crown, and alluding to the baneful effects
of treason, rebellion, and sedition, which they, in a most
special sense, were pledged to oppose at home and :.broad.
There was evidently very little necessity for the Zouave
chaplain's appeal, for a scene of great enthusiam followed,
the cheers only ceasing to give place to the "God save
the Queen," sung in chorus, to the great astonishment of
the Romans.

The Pope received the English Zouaves the same day,
and singled out especially the " veterans," and the sur-
viving brothers of Julian Russell and Alfred Collingridge,
both killed in action in the last campaign. A soirée to the
Catholic gentlemen now in Rome was given at the English
Zouave Club in the evening.
Victor Emmanuel has', the telegrams of this evening
inform us, left Naples, Prince Napoleon arriving in his
yacht an hour later ; and as the royal visit had been timed
expressly to meet the Prince, this hurried departure is
the subject of much comment. All along the line the
King was hissed at the sations, and cries of "Abasso la
Monarchia ! " "Viva Mazzini!" " Viva Garibaldi !"
saluted hirn. The conspiracy of Milan is considered to be
far from arrested. Its ramifications extend to every city
in Italy, and to Naples and Florence especially. The
Italian Government has made a strong remonstrance to
I. Pioda, the Minister of the Swiss Confederation,
against Mazzini's residence at Lugano, and as it has
not ol,ta'ned any satisfaction, it has established
a cordon of troops across the Ticenese frontier, with the
object of preventing the passage of Mazzinian agents,
by whom the nzot d'ordre has been given from other
parts of Italy. The Garibaldians disclaim any complicity
in the Milan plot ; but no one gives any credit to this
disavowal, as both Menotti and Ricciotti have been con-
stant visitors at Lugano this spring, and the former was
on his way back there when the arrests at Milan were
male.
1-11.! resun plop of diplomatic relations between the
Coles of Rome and St. PetersLurg is currently reported