The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-04 00:00:00

MAXIMILIAN.

The following brief account of Maximilian is of
peculiar interest under the circumstances of that
distinguished scion of the Austrian family :-
44 Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, Archduke of
Austria, and sometime Emperor of Mexico, was
born at Schonbrunn on the 6th of July, 1832. His
father was Francis Charles Joseph, Archduke of
Austria, and his mother Sophie Dorothea, daughter
of Maximilian 1., King of Bavaria. Upon the ab-
dication of Ferdinand, Emperor of Austria, the
archduke renounced his claim to the succession in
favour of his eldest son, the present Emperor, the
brother of the subject of this sketch. The abdi-
cating Emperor, in giving up his throne, unequally
divided his power, and gave an advantage to the
Archduke Maximilian, to the detriment of his elder
brother. Such was the origin of the constant and
at times very warm differences which arose between
the two.

" Maximilian received his education at Vienna.
At an early age he entered the navy of the empire,
and saw considerable service at sea, sailing about
the Mediterranean, and visited all the adjacent
countries—Greece, Italy, Morocco, French Algeria,
Spain, and Portugal. At the age of twenty-two he
was placed at the head of what is termed by cour-
tesy the Austrian marine, and with a squadron
visited the coasts of Syria and Palestine. He went
also to the Red Sea and took great interest in the
works of the Suez Canal, which were then just be-
ginning. In 1856 he paid a visit to Paris, and
spent a fortnight at St. Cloud with Louis Napo-
leon. The year following he was appointed Vice-
roy of Lombardy and Venice, and in the exercise
of the powers attached to the position soon made
himself quite a favourite among the Italians. This
popularity was, however, displeasing to Francis
Joseph, and in 1859 he was removed.
" Maximilian remained idle after his removal from
the governorship of the Lombardo-Venetian king-
dom until 1863, when Napoleon decided upon mak-
ing a catspaw of him in Mexico. The crown of
Mexico was offered to him by Napoleon in August,
1863, and the diplomats were put to work to arrange
for his acceptance and occupancy of the throne.
Nearly a year was occupied in this work, and it was
not until the 10th of April, 1864, that he formally
accepted the proffered crown. By the terms of the
acceptance he made a conditional renunciation of
the right of eventual succession to the throne of
Austria and an unconditional renunciation of his
share of the family estates, amounting to 20,000,000
of florins. The condition reserved in the renuncia-
tion of the right to the succession was that such
renunciation might be revoked, should Maximilian,
finding his foothold in Mexico insecure, choose to
resign within six years from the date of his accept-
ance of the crown of Mexico."
His first official act was to offer terms to Juarez,
looking to his submission. On their rejection the
past years of war and bloodshed followed, which has
ended in the triumph of the Liberals and the defeat
of the Imperialists. His efforts to attract emigra-
tion and to develope the resources of the coun-
try are well known, as are also his personal
sacrifices for the success of his cause. That he
failed was only a natural and expected result,
and the impolicy is now apparent of his famous
order declaring the Republican President and his
supporters bandits and outlaws. In the last
struggle Maximilian acted with so conspicuous a
bravery and self-denial as to obtain the warm ad-
miration of all his companions in arms. Although
hard pressed at Queretaro, Maximilian's cause was
by no means desperate until his trusted officer Lopez
betrayed the key of the position he held. For this
Lopez received a bribe of $48,000. Juarez, it is
said, was always prepared for a flight from Mexico,
and he had dispatched his wife to Washington with
silver plate to the value of $lOO,OOO. The United
States Government have energetically interfered
In behalf of the Austrian Prince, and Lewis D.
Campbell, U. S. Minister to Mexico, has been di-
rected to proceed at once from New Orleans to San
Luis Potosi, the head-quarters of the Juarez Go-
vernment, and there p:esent his credentials. Fie
has been further directed to do everything possible to
prevent the murder of Maximilian. That he has a
strong under current of support in Mexico may be
gathered from the report that a portion of Diaz's
command had mutinied and pronounced iu his
favour, 87 of the mutineers being captured and
immediately shot. The accounts now agree in
considering that Juarez will not dare to carry into
execution his threat of executing the late Emperor.