The Sun.
London, England, 1860-06-06 00:00:00

armistice :

" PALERM ), May 28 (on board the Vauban,
in the Palermo Roads).
"I write to you hurriedly and amid lively
emotion. The revolution commenced here on
Whitsunday. At 4 a.m. Garibaldi stormed the
town at the head of his troops ; he was on horse-
back, and in one hand carried the Italian colours.
Close behind him came his Chasseurs of the Alps ;
they charged the Neapolitans with fixed bayonets
and drove everything before them. In less than
three hours they were masters of half the town.

" Driven back and defeated, the Royal troops
commenced bombarding the town, and from seven
o'clock on Sunday morning to three o'clock on Mon-
day morning they never ceased throwing shot and
shell into the unfortunate city, a great portion of
which was set in flames.

"At last, this morning (Monday), Garibaldi,
who, during the night had made himself master of
the other half of the town, drove out the remaining
troops, who, by means of boats, were enabled to
effect their retreat to the fortress, which has not
yet been taken. All that remains now in the hands
of the Neapolitans is this fort, the Palace (which
the Garibaldians are at this moment attacking), and
the Treasury.
.5 At five o'clock this morning the people took
possession of the barracks evacuated by the troops,
who had carried away everything they could with
them.

" This morning the Chancellor of the French
Consulate found Garibaldi sitting on the steps of
a marble fountain in the centre of the town. Gari-
baldi had a map on his knees, or rather a plan of
Palermo, which he was studying to combine his
attacks. Ho sent word to the Neapolitan authori-
ties that if the bombardment did not cease, and that
if the shedding of blood, now of no avaii, was not
put a stop to, he should feel obliged to make re-
prisals; that he had 200 Neapolitan prisoners, and
that he should order one to be shot for every shell
fired into the town. The bombardment, happily,
was stopped.

" We had scarcely time, before the bombardment
commenced, to find a refuge on board the French
squadron. Thank God here we are in safety.

" The attack on the fortress is about to com-
mence. A Neapolitan steamer made its appearance
at 10 o'clock this morning before Palermo, and
having ascertained the state of affairs steamed off
again immediately."

A letter from Paris, dated June 5, says :—" Pau
mours of the capitulation at Palermo being broken
off, and of the renewal of the bombardment of that
devoted city, have been rife. These rumours are,
perhaps, well founded ; but so many fabrications
have already been circulated as truths on official
authority that one is slow of belief unless supported
by undoubted authority. These accounts attribute
the breaking off of the negotiations between the
belligerents to the demand of Garibaldi that the
Neapolitan troops arrayed against him should lay,

A letter from Naples, dated May 29, says :
" On Saturday evening the Saetta came in, and
during the whole of Sunday the Neapolitans were
in a state of the greatest depression, caused by re-
ports of the defeat of Garibaldi. In the course of
the day a supplement to Saturday night's Gazette
was published, confirming the brilliant victory'
over the insurgents and Garibaldi at Parco, and
adding that Gen. Colonna and Col. von Michel had
driven them from that important position. On
the 25th the second intrencied position of the
rebels, defended by five pieces of cannon, was taken
by assault, together with one piece of cannon.
The insurgents and Garibaldi's bands fled to the
Piano dei Greci. Attacked there again by Colonel
von Michel and the 9th battalion of Chasseurs,
commanded by Major Bosco, they fled in great
disorder, traversing the district of Corleone. These
bands continue to fly in great discouragement at
finding themselves deceived ever since they landed,
and at the great losses they have met with. As to
the Sicilians who were led away by gold and pro-
mises, they are dispersed, and are returning to their
respective communes," &e. I omit a vast quantity
of verbiage about valour, enthusiasm, and loyalty,
and send you only the substance of the Government
report. Of course I wait for other despatches to
check it, as our Government has the same fear of
truth as the Devil has of holy water.
" And other reports have come at length which
prove that Garibaldi's voluntary retreat—not flight
—was a ruse to draw off the troops from the capi-
tal, and give an opportunity for the execution of
those feats which I now proceed to describe.
While dispatches have described the retreat of Gari-
baldi to some 20 miles from Palermo, they have at
the same time spoken of strong armed bands as
being close to the capital—facts which I felt a diffi-
culty in reconciling. From the very- scanty intelli-
gence, however, as yet before us—for only the Amalfi
Government steamer has arrived, and England and
France are still kept in profound ignorance of what
is going on—the design of Garibaldi was to call off
and occupy a great portion of the Neapolitan army,
and give an opportunity to the armed bands to
enter Palermo. The ruse succeeded, and on Satur-
day night last, or early on Sunday morning, the
insurgents broke in through one of the gates, de-
feating the guard which had been stationed there.
Meantime the people, who were in expectation of such
an attempt, threw up barricades, and during the dark-
ness of the night the work of murder went on. I

should infer from what followed that the troops had
taken refuge in the Castle, for at 8 o'clock it began
to bombard the city, and continued to do so until 2
o'clock, when the Amalfi left. 1,200 men of the
Foreign Legion—those Austrians again, the curse
of Italy—landed at Palermo on Sunday, and took
part in the fray. Colonel von Michel, a native of
Basle, who is some miles out of Palermo, having
been drawn off by Garibaldi, has with him 1,500
more foreigners, 300 of whom are Swiss, and it is
this foreign element which will occasion the great-
est embarrassment to the patriots. I may state
that the bombardment of Palermo took place in
opposition to diplomatic protests, even of Austria.
The action must have been bloody, and a great
number of houses are said to have been burnt.
The bombardment was effected by the Castle and
two vessels of war, the Partenope and the Amalfi.
A great number of beds, many surgeons, a large
quantity of lint, and 15 Sisters of Charity were
sent off in great haste yesterday to Palermo.
Bombs, provisions, and coal are being sent off con-
tinually ."

A Turin letter of June 2d says :—" Garibaldi is
at this moment the most popular man in Italy, and
the sympathies he inspires are every day proved by
fresh acts of devotedness. Besides the numerous
volunteers who are now preparing to join him, eight
young men who have just terminated their medical
studies have applied for permission to join him in
Sicily as army surgeons, and 700,000 fr., the pro-
duce of subscriptions, were yesterday remitted to
a house at Marseilles to be placed at Garibaldi's
disposal. In accordance with the order of the
day read to the Savoy brigade, announcing its
early disbanding, the officers met to deliberate
yesterday. Thirty only have declared their in-
tention to remain in the Sardinian service. In
yesterday's sitting of the Deputies, Count Cavour,
as Minister of Marine, laid before the Chamber a
statement of the naval force of the kingdom, and
alluded to the necessity for new credits to construct
iron-plated vessels like those recently built in
France and England."

A correspondent writes as follows from Naples,
30th ult. :—" The greatest anxiety prevails at the
Palace, and the King is almost beside himself from
the disastrous intelligence which has been received
from Sicily. His Majesty was seen just now in
the Toledo, with his face pale and contracted, and
his whole bearing denoting the utmost distress of
mind. We learn here that the insurgents so com-
pletely surround Palermo, that they intercept all
provisions. As, consequently, nothing can be re•
ceived by land, vessels are being despatched from
this place every morning and evening. This day
200 bullocks were sent off, and shortly after three
steamers arrived here with a crowd of people who
were half-starved, and a number of wounded men.
When the news came in of the fall of Palermo,
the excitement was immense, and already three
demonstrations in favour of Victor Emmanuel have
taken place, headed by the very set of lazzarone
who were said to be the most devoted supporters of
the throne. The captain of an Austrian vessel
which has just come in states that not only General
Salzano, but all his staff, and the pack of artillery
which he commanded, had fallen into the hands of
CaribAldi. lie adds that the shells have caused
dreadful ravages. The force under the orders of
Garibaldi is now said to amount to .about 29,000
men, well- armed."