The Sun.
London, England, 1867-11-28 00:00:00

THE WAR IN THE RIVER PLATE.

The French:packet Navarre, arrived at Bordeaux,
brought a fortnight later news from the Brazils and
the River Plate. War still rages in these beauti-
ful countries, and peace, so anxiously expected, is
slow to come, as all the allies are so situated that a
defeat will not only be a defeat on the battle-field,
but also a defeat at home—i.e., will carry with it
a change of Government. If Brazil does not come
off victorious, the Emperor, it is said, will abdicate
in favour—of whom ? and Brazil will be the prey
of ambitious men, and Demagogues declare for a
Republic, and will split in a dozen. If Brazil
cannot maintain any longer a large force at Monte
Video, the rebel Flores will have to run away, and
make place to the legitimate voted Government,
which he, with the help of Brazil and Buenos Ayres,
has upset ; if victory does not crown Gen. Mitre,
whose term of office as President of the Argentine
Confederation will expire in a year, he will have
to make place probably to Gen. Urquiza, the friend
of the soldiers, of peace, and Paraguay. Very
different it is with Paraguay. Lopez there is sus-
tained by the will of a people whose patriotism has
shown itself in a three-years' war, and even if he
was inclined to peace, without having all his de-
mands satisfied, his people would not allow it.
Paraguay will fight to the last, and even if Hu-
maita and Curupaity should be taken, the Allies
are as far from having conquered Paraguay
as they are this day, where their fleet is still
beleaguered between the fortresses of Curupaity
and Humaita, and their army kept in check
at Tuju-cue. The peace proposals of Mr.
Gould, her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of Lega-
tion at Buenos Ayres, made in the name of the
Allies, and not accepted by Paraguay, has been
read in the order of the day to the Paraguayan
army, and was received with shouts of derision.
The Paraguayan army declared they would not allow
their General and President, even if he was willing,
to leave the country, but that they would conquer or
die before falling a prey to the hateful Brazilian in-
vader. Mr. Gould seems to have played a double game
in Paraguay, which Gen. Lopez soon saw through,
and had all the documents, relative to Mr. Gould's
mission to Paso-Pucu, published, which it seems
made Mr. Gould very furious ; besides this he con-
siders that Marshal Lvez did not treat him accord-
ing to his rank, and had shown him less civilities
than were shown to the English officers of the gun.
boat the Dotterel, to whom opportunity was offered
to visit the different camps and fortifications.
Consequently Mr. Gould, on his arrival at Buenos
Ayres, represented Paraguay in the last stage of
exhaustion, and that two months more would finish
the war. The officers of gunboat, which
arrived at Monte River, tell to every one who
likes to listen quite the contrary ; that not only
Paraguay was very well provided, but also able
to resist any forces the Allies would be able
to bring into the field for a long time to come.
Mr. Gould is said to have threatened to report
to his Government the behaviour of the Paraguayan
Government towards Peen; but it being