The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-14 00:00:00

sent to such an arrangement ; but I submit that
such consent, although desirable, is not necessary;
all that is required being that others should agree
to respect her territory.
"The other idea, of a league among the Italian
States for their mutual defence against revolution,
seems to me more difficult of accomplishment,
though nevertheless worthy of consideration should
it be preferred by the parties most interested in
the question.

" before quitting altogether the subject of the
separate treaties, I may mention that Count Buol
4onsiders the secret article in the Austro-Neapolitan
treaty of 1815, which binds the King of Naples not
to alter the institutions of the kingdom without the
permission of Austria, to be a dead, letter.
" But, while insisting principally on the four
points especially recommended to me by your lord-
ship's instructions, I have ascertained Count Buol's
sentiments on the other matters suggested to me
by Count Walewski. I will take them in the order
in which they are stated in my despatch of the 16th

of February :
" 1. The adoption by all the States of Italy of a
system of government' which would admit of the
taxes being voted by an Assembly of some sort.
" Without any proposal of this nature, I inti-
mated to Couut Buol the expediency of reforms in
the administration of these States.
" Count Buol said that the Austrian Government
had been much maligned by those who supposed
that Austria was opposed to reforms, or had used
her influence to prevent them, On the contrary,
he could assure me that her advice had ever tended
to encourage real ameliorations. He was not, how-
ever, one of those who imagined that sweeping
measnres suited the nature of the Italian people.
Austria respected the right of all sovereigns and
nations to model their own institutions. There
was much of which he could not approve in the
constitution of Sardiuia, but hePiad never attempted
to interfere with it. On the same principle he had
refrained, and would still continue to refrain, from
all intervention in the internal affairs of other
Italian States, who, however, were not so ill-
governed as it pleased Sardinia to represent them
to be.
" 2. Pecuniary aid from all the Roman Catholic
States to the Pope, for religious purposes, and the
consequent reduction of taxes levied in the Papal
States.
" Count Buol did not evince the least disposition
to entertain any proposal of the kind.
" Before closing this despatch, I will beg your
lordship's permission to refer briefly to some of the
difficulties with which I have had to contend in
carrying out your lordship's instructions.
" In the first place, I had to encounter a fixed
idea that France was determined on war with
Austria, and that to make concessions was but to
put off the evil day. I hope that 1 have succeeded
in partially removing this impression.
" Secondly, the pride of Austria naturally revolts
at being constituted the object of attack, and being
called upon to make concessions instigated by the
animosity and ambition of Sardinia.
" Thirdly, the attitude assumed by Germany
towards France, by which the Austrian Govern-
ment is naturally anxious to profit.
" And, lastly, there being no real question at issue
between Austria and France which can fairly be
assumed to involve a casus belli.
, " I have the satisfaction of adding, in conclusion,
that great as is the irritation which, it cannot be
denied, exists at this moment against the Emperor
of the French, the Emperor of Austria and his Go-
vernment render full justice to the services which
have been rendered to Europe by the former Sove-
reign ; nor can I doubt that the Austrian Govern-
ment would accept, with a sincere desire to bring
them to an honest conclusion, any overtures for a
reconciliation with France, the acceptance of which
would not be incompatible with their honour. But
as long as Sardinia is allowed to remain armed, I
doubt whether Austria will enter into negqtiations,
since she looks upon the Sardinian army as the
advanced guard of France, permitting the latter to
take her own time to arm, and will feel no security
that peace is intended so long as that advanced
guard is in existence. The disarmament of Sardinia
is, therefore, to Austria, the gage of the sincerity of
France. I need hardly add that, upon Sardinia
disarming, Austria will take a similar course.--
I have, &c.,

(Signed)

" COWLEY

The correspondence relative to the proposed
Congress or Conference is eery voluminous, and
now, of course, somewhat barren of interest. The
impression on Earl Cowley's mind on the 18th of
March was that the French Emperor was desirous
of keeping peace, and thht he contemplated no
modifications of the Treaties of 1815 ; that he had
great sympathy for the Italians and wished to do
something for their benefit.
On the 11th of April the Earl of Malmesbury,
in a letter to Lord A. Loftus, urged upon the Go-
vernment of Austria the propriety of disarming,
and distinctly stated that if the proposal were
declined Austria " would have placed herself in
the wrong and forfeited the sympathy of this
country." No further concession, he adds, was to
be expected from France.
Her Majesty's Government fully approved the
proposal for a disarmament of the three Powers
before the meeting of the Congress, and expressed
a wish to bring to a close the " false negotiations"
that had been going on.
We may conclude our summary with the follow-
ing last " warning" of the British Government to
Austria, after the arbitrary summons which she
addressed to Sardinia at the' latter end of April:—
" THE EARL OF MALMESBURY TO LORD A. LOFTUS.
" Foreign-office, April 22.
"My Lord,—l have acquainted you by the
telegraph with the strong feeling of indignation.
against Austria, which prevails in London, in
consequence of its having become known that,
at the very time that Austria had summoned
immediate
hostilities to disarm under penalty of
hostilities in case of refusal, Sardinia had actually
agreed unconditionally to disarm. Your lordship's
language), therefore, to Count Buol cannot be too
strong in regard to the course adopted by Austria.
" Her Majesty's Government are at a loss to
imagine on what grounds the Cabinet of Vienna
can justify this menace of invasion of Sardinia,
now that she has agreed to disarm. It cannot,
surely, be justified on the ground of the admission
of the representatiVes of Italian States to the Con-
gress; fdr the Austrian Government was itself a
consenting party to the admission of them in a
certain character, and it is monstrous to suppose

that a change in that character, whatever it might
be, even supposing it were insisted upon, could
warrant Austria in taking the fatal step of an in•

vasion.

"Her Majesty's Gdvernment feel, after all that
has passed, that they are entitled to expect to be
informed on this point ; and, in order to bring the
question to an immediate issue, you will ask Count
Buol whether Austria will stop the march of her
armies, and will agree to the adniission of the re-
presentatives of the Italian States as mere dele-
gates and not as Plenipotentiaries, and will also
accept the first three points in my proposals of the
18th inst. relating to disarmament to be effected
by commissioners, and to the meeting of the Con-
gress when those commissioners have commenced
their labours.
" You will give Count Buol clearly to understand
that the refusal of Austria will enlist against lmr
the feelings of the Government and of all classes in
this country.
"You will add that, in making this proposal,
her 'Majesty's Government assume that if Austria
should agree to it, the military operations now in
progress nrFrance would at once be arrested.
As regards, however, the question of Sar-
dinian disarmament, I have to observe that her
Majesty's Government still consider it impossible
to call upon the Cabinet of Turin at once to
disperse the Free Corps, as such a measure would,
in all probability, lead to a revolutionary move-
he wisest course would be to keep
h
in
togetherltal y. T
for awhile under the Alps, and to
move-
menteffecttheir disbandment gradually.
" I am, &c.,
" MALMESBURY."

The following strong language, moreover, occurs
at the close of a draught of note, or protest, pre-
sented by Lord A. Loftus immediately afterwards :
" Her Majesty's Government can only now deal
with the case as it is presented before them—
namely, that Austria has peremptorily summoned
Sardinia to disarm, under penalty of immediate
war ; and the undersigned (Lord A. Loftus) is
directed to say that her Majesty's Government feel
it due to themselves and to the great interests of
humanity which they have so earnestly striven to
uphold, and also to those who have aided them in
their endeavours, solemnly to record their protest
against the course that Austria, regardless of the
terrible consequences to Europe, and indifferent to
the public opinion of the world, has so rashly! and,
as her Majesty's Government believe, so unjustly
adopted. They assign to Austria and fix upon her
the last responsibility for all the miseries and
calamities inevitably consequent on a conflict which
was on the eve of being averted, but' which, once
begun, will infallibly produce a more than ordinary
amount of social suffering and political convulsion."
On the 25th of April our Government considered
the negotiations for a Congress " at an end," and
war unhappily commenced. •