The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-24 00:00:00

ENGLAND AND PIE7J2IIO2Vi.

The following article, which, may be .ree eived as
at least semi-official, appears in the In:lli:sae
disappointed
te
eodf
Turin
"The English press in.general has
the hopes which many had placed on it c,oneerning
the Italian question. We had previously seen the
English press turn that question into a weapon of
liberal opposition in the Parliament, and, into a
means of popularity in the electoral meetings. We
had witnessed the public opinion cheering the
downfall of Lord Palmerston, to whom nothing
caused greater harm than the opposition of Mr.
Disraeli, who had. revealed the project of a secret
treaty with Austria to guarantee her Italian pos-
sessions. We had seen the same public opinion
passing a severe condemnation on Lord Maims-
bury's conduct in the Cagliari affair, and changing,
in an unexpected manner, the politics of the Go-
vernment.
" After such facts some flattered themselves that
the popular dispositions in the Lombardo-Venetian
provinces and the manly words pronounced by the
r•
ing of Piedmont would again stir up British
sympathies for the Italian cause. Far from it—we
have seen that the English press, with but few
exceptions, preserves a cold and even a malevolent
countenance towards Italy that it forgets its own. .
preceding protestations against the foreign domina-
tion and the great number of other evils with which
Italy is afflicted, and that it proposes diplomacy as
the only sure means of curing her sores.
" In ouropinion this conduct of the English press
is owing to two causes—the first of which is that
the English having always presented themselves.
at least in 'words, as the only protectors of the
oppressed people of our peninsula, their pride is
wounded on account of their not having been the
first. this time, to get up the question of Italian
regeneration ; the second is, that the power on
which the Italians rely is France--England's most
dreaded rival. They might possibly have applauded
an insurrection, but cannot bear the thought of an
attempt assisted by French arms.
" In spite of this partly hostile and partly cold
demeanour of the English press we hold fast to our
belief that the generous portion of the nation is
favourable to us, and that its 'numerical force is
great enough to frustrate any attempt which the
more selfish might make of assisting our enemies.
The better portion of the English nation would not
bear the disgrace of an alliance with Austria, with
the object of preventing a nation from recovering
its independence. The country which boasts of
being the oldest and stanchest champion of freedom
would feel ashamed and humiliated to spend her
treasures and pour out her blood to support abso-
lutism and foreign oppression. It is possible; with
impunity, to preach neutrality in England, whero
commerce asks for nothing better, in order to avoid
a crisis ; but it would be impossible to saddle the
nation with the disgrace of an illiberal war.
"It is only on account of some cf her great in-
terests being threatened that England could inter-
fere in favour ofAustria and run the grave chances of
an European war. But her interests are not threat-
ened so long as the liberation of Italy is only
in question. On the contrary, England herself
must acknowledge the advantages which would
accrue to her from the establishment of a free and
independent Italy. Commerce being the . main
source of her wealth, she cannot hope to develope it
completely but under the shield of a lasting peace,
and such a peace no one can any longer doubt it, is
impossible unless the Italian question is settled.
"It surely is the interest of Great Britain that
no one of the great Powers which can be her rivals
should augment its territory, so as to menace the
European balance, and she ought therefore to wish .
that national and strong Governments should
establish themselves in Italy, and thus become an
obstacle to the encroachments and to the increase
of the greater Powers, as well as a guarantee for the
preservation of that balance. So long as Italy' is
feeble, enslaved, divided, and restless there will be
reason to fear that she may fall a prey to the most
daring of the invaders. On the other hand, when
she is constituted as a nation, she will be able to
defend herself, and to enter upon a system of
friendty intercourse and alliance with the other
nations. Independent Italy will even consolidate
that alliance, which has been on all hands
acknowledged so useful, between France and
England.

"It appears that a considerable portion of the
English press allows itself to be carried away by
suspicion about the ultimate intentions of France
and by fears of a general complication. What
could be more logical for England, in order to
prevent such dangers, than to associate herself with
the just aspirations of Italy ?
" The alliance between France, England, cad
Piedmont resolved the Eastern question, which was
one of the greatest dangers for Europe; the same
alliance would much more easily resolve the Italian
question ; now, when the most powerful adversary
who was to be feared some years ago, is an adver-
sary no longer, we mean Russia.
" Certain it is that, such an alliance could not be
of the kind which appears to be wished for by some
English journals,—namely, a co-operation of the
Cabinets to obtain, diplomatically, half-measure re-
forms from Austria. This is one of the gravest
mistakes now being committed by the English
press, which is not aware, or pretends not to be
aware, of the fact that the knot of the Italian ques-
tion consists in this,—Away with the foreigners.
It is of no use, for Austria to grant reforms, for
England to exert herself in obtaining thein ; the
essential part of the contest will will ever remain
unsolved, and Europe will never have peace.
" Nor is it a less error to think, as some of the
English journals appear to do, that the solution of
the Italian question, to which Italy aspires with
the assistance of France, can consist in a simple
change of foreign domination. The general con-
ditions-of Europe, and Italy's well known aspira-
tions to an absolute independence, ought completely
to dispel such a mistaken notion, which we do not
suppose to be seriously entertained by the English
journals, but which seems to us to bo merely a pre-
text for opposition and a scarecrow held out by
stock-jobbers.
" England has two means of keeping the actual
system of alliance; either actively to co-operate,
and this possibly does not agree with her intErest ;
or to stand by and allow Gthers to act, keeping
only a good watch that no Power extraneous to
Italy shall be increased. This last way of pro-
ceeding, which under' the name of neutrality, is
proposed by the most liberal of the English journals
agrees best of all with the traditional policy of
England, and is in keeping with the ancient pro-
testations of her sympathy for the Italians."

EXTRAORDINARY MA.RRIAGE OF A
YOUNG LADY WITH A BUTLER.

On Saturday the particulars transpired of another
of those ill-assorted marriages which sometimes
occur to the great annoyance of respectable families.
The bride in this instance is the only daughter of a
family residing in a village a few miles from
Sheffield, who have been accustomed to move in the
most aristocratic society in that part of Yorkshire.
It appears the young man had been a servant
abroad to one of the sons of the family, and, on re-
turning home, had been installed as butler. By
what qualities he_ gained the affections of the young
lady it is not for us to speculate, but the result was
that some three years ago they were secretly mar-
ried at a church in London. The secret, howeve 7,
wheren-ni
oot
sirittehy. gaiety
was well kept ; and what is still more extraordi-
nary, if true, it is asserted that at least one little
cherub, if not more, has blessed the secret union, all
unknown, of course, to its unsuspecting grand-
parents. The bridegroom continued to occupy his
position as a butler until last week, when a lady
visitor, who had been made acquainted with the
strange union, broached the subject to the young
wife's mother, who has very recently been bereave
of her husband. The disclosure created
daughterpainful feelings,dc esn 0 tin a
pwpheiacrh
t,
o have however,
shared.
butler and
re-
sult of the disclosure was that the
the Victoria Station, in Sheffield, his wife left the parental roofdfiohretlucixet
the otffilii
ed in
train, the young lady displayed_ took
omfomstaannniemr,ate
seN'el
she introduced her
she was known, and to whomatthe
young lady has be-
husband. It is statedtl
with
herved
several persons
converse
to in
whom t
andlstwylaes
would, had her
of her father, who, it is believed,
to his
come possessed of a considerable.i fortuneby the death
ill-assorted marriage come
_knowledge, have
left her differently circumstanced. A fear of the
' consequences of parental anger is assumed as the
motive for the long and strangely successful con-
ealment of the wedding.