The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-05 00:00:00

THE EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN.

VIENNA, JULY 1.
Subjoined are all the details collected from a
variety of sources at present known as to the fate
of the Emperor Maximilian :

" The official Vienna Gazette of the Ist inst. says :
—' Faithful to our promise that the Imperial Go-
vernment would immediately publish every item of
intelligence respecting the fate of the Emperor of
Mexico, immediately after its reception, it is our
mournful duty to reproduce a series of deeply
affecting announcements just received. The first
is a telegram from Mr. C. F. Loosey, Austrian
Consul-General in New York :

America to Vienna. Given in June 30 (? 29),
2 14 a.m.

I have received the following despatch :
News has reached me via New Orleans, the 29th,
from the Austrian Charge d'Affaires at Mexico that
the Emperor Maximilian has been condemned, and
was shot at 9 am. upon the 19th. The President
refuses to deliver up the body. The Elizabeth is
intended for the transport of the Austrians from
Vera Cruz. " GROLLEII, Captain in the Navy.'

" LOOSEY.'
" The second is a telegram from Baron von
Wydenbruck, Austrian Ambassador to the United
States. It says,—

"America to Vienna. Given in June 29, 445 a.m.
SATURDAY.
" I report with horror that I have just received
the following telegram fron► New Orleans
A telegram from Vera Cruz notifies the sen-
tence and death of the Emperor Maximilian. Juarez
is in possession of the body. The despatch is signed
by Naval Captain Grolier, and the news not yet
known at the Foreign-office. 1 learn, further, that
the execution took place by shooting at 7 a.m. on
the 19th.'

WYDENBRUCK."
"As, however, the fact was not placed by these
messages beyond all hope, though ever so small, of
error, the Austrian Government immediately tele-
graphed to Baron von Wydenbrick, the Ambassador
in Washington, desiring him to make the most
exact inquiries both as to the news itself and all
the details, and to report without delay. The an-
swer has not yet arrived ;
nor has any intelligence
been received from Paris, whether the Imperial Go-
vernment also addressed itself in a similar sense.
The announcement of the Emperor's deplorable fate
created here tho more profound and painful an
impression as the official news last received held out
the prospect of the matter taking a favourable
turn."

" The Vienna papers contain the following com-
munication understood to be from an official source :
It may be of interest to learn the steps already
taken months ago by the Austrian Government to
avert this terrible catastrophe. Upon the with-
drawal of the French troops, the Emperor of
Austria, starting from the idea that the Emperor
Maximilian would leave Mexico nt th,.l same time a 3
Marshal Baz.tine, thought it advisable to take the
question into consideration whether the Emperor
Maximilian's return should not be facilitated by
restoring to him all his rights as next Agnate, which
he bad renounced before leaving for Mexico. The
reason for no further action being then taken in
the matter—independently of the fact that other le-
gitimately;acquired rights demanding close examina-
tion were at stake—was that the Emperor Maxi-
milian remained in Mexico and continued the con test
with the native forces at his disposal.

" When the news of his capture arriv ed here
everything was done to bring about a diplomatic
intervention of collective Europe in his favour.
The Austrian Ambassador in Washington had been
previously empowered to apply to the Government
of the North American Republic requesting its active
diplomatic intervention in case of any danger
threatening the Emperor. It is known that Mr.
Seward complied with this request, and that the
American Government, even at that time, made a
bona fide application to Juarez in this sense. When
the capitulation of the Emperor Maximilian became
known, France, England, Russia, and Prussia were
asked to instruct their Ambassadors in Washington
to unite their efforts with those of the Austrian
Ambassador in saving the Emperor Maximilian.
All the Powers took steps in consequence of this
desire, Queen Victoria adding 'that it was a ques-
tion of saving the life of a near and dear relation.'
" One hope still remained when we learnt here
the grounds upon which Romero, the Ambassador
of Juarez at Washington, sought to justify severity
against the Emperor. These were mainly based
upon the assumptions that the Emperor Maximilian
would always remain a claimant, constantly prove
a rallying-point for all the unquiet spirits in Mexico,
and thus keep the country in continual excitement.
It was, therefore, at once resolved, at a Council of
the Imperial family, to restore the Emperor Maxi-
milian to all his rights as next Agnate, to obtain
from him the fullest renunciation of his claims as
Emperor of Mexico, and to afford the necessary
guarantees for this renunciation being carried out.
A telegram to this effect was sent to the Austrian
Ambassador in Washington. Seward again showed
himself inclined to active support, but, according to
the latest intelligenc.., it seems unhappily to have
proved ineffectual. The question of ransom was
never raised. The Austrian Court was perfectly
willing to have paid ransom. But the utmost
inororteredninotgatoorfaitsheethceoiudreta.
ofinte
caution
was accessary,rferencewit the p
withh
martial, and thus
perhaps disadvantageously.
influence the fate o
the Emperor Maximi-
lian. This last consideration, also, operated when
the question arose whether a confidential agent
should be sent to Juarez.
The idea was abandoned,
because, apart from the bad effect that might thus
have been exerted upon the fate of the Emperor,
Juarez would also have been compromised in case of
discovery.'

" The majority of the Vienna papers also devote
special articles to the
memory of the late Emperor.
The Neuc Frenulenblatt remarks that the bold ex-
ploit of an intellectual
prince has turned into a
grander tragedy than ever entered a poet's imagina-
tion.'l:he Morgenpost
says—, lie was one of the
best of men. Ile Possmed a noble mind and a spirit
eager for action. He felt in his breast that impulse
which is the origin of everything great, that uneasi-
ness without which no one ventures to change or to
improve those things that surround him. lie pos-
sessed that breadth and magnanimity of intention
which gave him confidence in himself ; a certain
boldness that lent him the determination either to
conquer his place in 114tory or to die. He has now
done both.' The NeuePreie Presse styles the unfor-
tunate Emperor a prine endowed with the noblest
acquirements. The tragic occurrence will make an
overwhelming impression
not only in Austria, where
he was born, but will treate a sensation in all parts
of Europe, and even far beyond the limits of the
Old World.' Ihe Presse writes—' The sad news will
be felt all the more deeply, as the popularity of the
prince, in consequence of his self-sacrificing devo-
tion to the idea that led him to Mexico, had increased
daily. The execution of the Emperor will be an
everlasting disgrace t) the BIQA
icau Republicans. A

noble enemy taken prisoner, a man anxious for the
welfare of the country, did not merit this treatment.
The disorganised republican institutions of Mexico,
against which Maximilian strove, can certainly
make no pretentious claims to legitimacy. The
murder of the Emperor, who would unquestionably
have offered all possible guarantees for the aban-
donment of all his claims, is nothing but a low
and mean act of revenge on the part of the abject
Mexican half-bloods.' The Dcbatte declares that
Maximilian has fought, suffered, and fallen like a
hero.

" The official Vienna Gazette further publishes
lengthy extracts from the latest official despatches re-
ceived from Baron Lago, the Austrian Charge
d'Affaires in the city of Mexico. The subjoined pas-
sages are given as showing the sanguine belief uni-
versally entertained, even so near the scene of action
that all chance of any catastrophe had altogether
disappeared. The despatch is dated May 25.
46 4
• . For several days a report has been
current here (in Mexico city) that the Emperor was
tried by court-martial immediately after his capture,
sentenced to death, and shot, with all his Generals
and officers above the rank of captain. This intel-
ligence was afterwards admitted to be incorrect, even
by the Liberals. . . . All the most prominent
members of the Liberal party in this capital whose
opinion I have taken agree that now his Majesty has
escaped the immediate danger, no sort of apprehen-
sion for his life need be entertained. The Liberals
maintain that the Emperor will be tried by the Con-
gress, constituted chief tribunal for the purpose, and
that one of the principal charges against him will be
the decree signed October 3, 1865, declaring all
Mexicans continuing to fight against the Empire all
but outlaws. . . . As a matter of course the
diplomatic body, and, above all, the Austrian Em-
bassy, will consider it its first duty to obtain his
Majesty's release upon the most honourable terms at
the earliest possible date. I may take this oppor-
tunity of stating that the, as it appears, fully secured
salvation of his Majesty's life is to be ascribed ex-
clusively to the magnanimous act of his Imperial
brother, our most gracious Lord, and to the friendly
intervention of the President of the United States
brought abaut by our Emperor. Although the steps
of the Washington Government have been some-
what severely criticised in the United States, Juarez
and his advisers are yet thoroughly aware that dis-
regard of the wish officially expressed by the chief
of the great neighbouring Republic would most
deeply offend the self-esteem of the Americans,
and produce an instantaneous reaction among
the people in favour of the measures taken by the
President and against the Republican Mexican Go-
vernment. Juarez must, therefore, and probably
will, prefer to show his gratitude for the services
rendered to him and his cause by the Americans by
an act of justice and humanity reflecting honour
himself."'