The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-25 00:00:00

Acting Manager—Mr. Wm. Smith.

Doors open at a quarter-past six—Commence at seven. Box
Mice open from 10 to 5 -no charge for booking. No fees to
servants permitted. A registry kept of all articles found.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE.
Lessee and Directress, Miss Swanborough
THIS EVENING will be produced a new Comedietta, by
J. M. Morton, Esq., entitled WHICH OF THE TWO ?
supported by the company.
After which, THE MAID AND TFIE MAGPIE.

To conclude with VANDYKE BROWN. Mr. J. Clark.

Commence at 7o'clock.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE,
Westminster-road.

Lessee and Manager Mr. William Cooke.
Unparalleled and Continued Success of INANHOE.
Overflowing Houses Nightly.

THIS EVENING, the performances will commence with
a new grand spectacle, founded on Sir Walter Scott's popular
work, entitled IVANHOE ; or, The Lists of Ashby, intro-
ducing among the vast resources of this great Hippodramatic
Temple,Tournaments, Processions, Banners, Combats, Tilts,
Victories, and Achievements in extraordinary magnificence.
Ivanhoe, Mr. R. Phillips ; Isaac of York, Mr. Jas. Holloway;
Richard of England, 31r. Herbert ; Robin Hood, Mr. Wm.
Cooke, jun. ; Rebecca, Miss Bathurst; Lady Rowena, Miss
Dowton.

After which, the matchless and unrivalled SCENES IN
THE CIRCLE, introducing Mr. John Henry Cooke, the
greatest rider in the world, and the whole of Mr. W. Cooke's
family, being the only instance on record of such a domestic
concentration of unequalled male and female talent.
To conclude with the Farce of KILL OR CURE.
The preparations for Whitsuntide are on an extensive scale
already.

Stage Manager. Mr. R. Phillips
Dress Circle, 4a. ; Boxes, 3s. ; Pit, 2s, ; Gallery, Is. ; Upper
Gallery, 6d.
Private Boxes, £4 4s, £2 2s, and £1 is.
To commence at 7 ; Carriages at 11.

CANTERBURY HALL AND FINE ARTS
GALLERY, Westminster-road.—Open at Seven.

EVERY EVENING during the week will appear
THE DELEPIERRE FAMILY,

consisting of three Juvenile Violinists, viz., Jules, Juliette,
`and Julia Delepierre, aged, respectively, FOUR, SIX, and
EIGHT years.
The perfect execution by these Lilliputian Artistes of some
of the most difficult and brilliant Solos, Duets, and Trios ever
written for the violin, has excited mingled wonder and admi-
ration in Continental Musical Circles, and drawn forth enthu-
siastic tributes of praise from the Public Journals of France
and Belgium.

They will perform EVERY EVENING, at NINE and
ELEVEN o'clock, in addition to the usual Entertainments.

THE WEATHER.—SUN OFFICE, MAY 25.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
67—highest since noon yesterday.
55—lowest this morning and during the night.
67—this day at noon.

BARoMETER--29'93.
WIXD, North-Easterly ; light, with very fine weather.

Every telegram from the seat of war must be
received with considerable reserve. They proceed
from some one of the belligerents, and are coloured
to suit the purposes of those by whom they are
despatched. The account of a great victory, in
which a French division defeated more than twice
their number of the enemy, would be received with
the greatest enthusiasm in France, and excite the
martial ardour of the people, to whom it would
recall the glories of the First Empire. The name
of " Montebello," too, may have no slight effect in
enhancing the feeling.

We have now before us General FOREY's official
report, but even generals occasionally indulge in
some degree of exaggeration for the purpose of
increasing the glory and raising the spirits of the
troops under their command. It seems, however, to
be certain that the Austrians sustained an unques-
tionable defeat. They left many killed and
wounded on the field, and two hundred prisoners
and some powder waggons in the hands of the
enemy. Besides, they abandoned the strong posi-
tions they had assumed, and retired not only from
Casteggio, which the allies were strongly fortify-
ing, but also from Stradella, which they had
taken so much pains in entrenching, and which
was of vast importance if they were determined
still to continue their troops in Piedmont. They
have already retreated across the Po, so that it
is more than probable the war will speedily
be carried into their own dominions. Indeed,
GARIBALDI has already done so, having crossed the
Ticino at the head of six thousand men, and
entered Varese, where a revolution was got up on
the shortest possible notice. •
It must, however, be admitted that the Austrian
retreat was effected in good order, and that General
FOREY, at half-past six o'clock in the evening,
thought it prudent not to fellow up the
day's success any further. He was contented with
expelling the enemy from Montebello and gaining
the first triumph of the war, or, as he himself terms
it, the "glorious baptism," which recalls one of the
noblest names of the Empire. The victory, there-
fore, although it must exercise a great moral in-
fluence, cannot be deemed in any degree decisive on
the future events of the war. That there will be
hard fighting on both sides seems all but certain,
unless, indeed, the exertions of the neutral Powers
should fortunately succeed in bringing about an
early peace, of which we confess we have but little
hope.

General FOREY calculates the French loss
" approximatively" at from 600 to 700 killed and
wounded, including a large number of superior
officers, who did not spare themselves in any way.
The gallant General BEURET was mortally wounded,
and Colonel MORELLI met a similar fate. They
died in the hour of victory, after having greatly
distinguished themselves on the first field of
stricken fight, and their names will long be asso-
ciated with the battle of 114Ontebello.

It seems tolerably clear that the Allies met a
superior force in point of numbers. General
FoREY says that the strength of the enemy could
not be under from 15,000 to 18,000 men. His own
division mustered about 9,000, and if we add 1,000
for the Sardinian cavalry, who behaved with ex-
traordinary valour, it may be supposed that the
Austrians were nearly three to two in point of
numbers. They were, however, the assailants.
Their adversaries occupied a strong position, and
the advantages of defending an entrenched post
against any attack must be obvious. The simple fact
that Colonel DE SoNtia was enabled to do 5o with

eight hundred men against such a formidable
onslaught for more than an hour, affords sufficient
evidence on the matter.

Of course the resistance could not long be sus-
tained on such unequal terms. The Piedmontese
were compelled to fall back, gallantly contesting
every foot of the way, and the Austrians pushed
on through Montebello to Ginestriello, where the
French troops came up in force to assist their
allies, and, as it eventually proved, to gather verdant
laurels for themselves. Their artillery operated
with great effect against the enemy. They also
charged with great firmness and efficiency, and after
a fierce and well-contested conflict, the Austrians
were driven back and compelled to abandon the
position at Ginestriello, and subsequently that
which they had entrenched at Montebello. Here,
as we have already stated, thepursuit ceased, Gene-
ral FOREY was unwilling to risk his triumph by
affording the adversary an opportunity of retrieving
the fortunes of the day. Besides, he must have de-
sired to afford some rest to men who were exhausted
by six hours' continuous fighting, and could not be
expected to follow up with vigour and effect their
first triumph. There were also the wounded to
be looked after, and every possible relief afforded
them in their sufferings.

Meanwhile the Austrians quietly evacuated Cas-
teggio, and retired by the road of Casatisma. It
does not seem that either of the Emperors appeared
on the scene of fight, although one is at Alessan-
dria, and the other is reported to be at Pavia. In-
deed it is more than hinted that the Austrian attack
was made in deference to the wishes of FRANCIS
JOSEPH, who wished to signalise his arrival by a
victory. If so, he " reckoned without his host,"
and must be contented to bear with resignation his
deplorable failure. As we have stated, the battle
of Montebello, although by no means decisive, must
materially influence the operations of the war, and
lead to strategic changes by no means favourable to
the German cause. Austria has already reason to
regret her precipitation in her refusal to bestow
good government on the Lombardo-Venetian king-
dom, and to avoid undue interference with the
minor States, with the administration whereof she
had no concern.

The Times has manfully acknowledged at length
the signal triumph won at this last General Elec-
tion by her MAJESTY'S Government. "So far as
regards the balance of parties "—says that great
Organ of the Opposition—" it has given Lord
DERBY 26 seats or 52 votes on a division." 'Besides
which our contemporary goes on frankly to confess
—" We cannot help looking back to the very hard-
fought battle, on a very definite issue, which Lord
DERBY lost by 39 votes, and with that recent in-
stance we cannot but think Lord DERBY has every
reason to rejoice with a gain of 52 votes on a divi-
sion." Now these are precisely the very facts—
,the particularly hard and stubborn facts—admit-
ting of not one instant's denial whatsoever—upon
which we have been of late perpetually insisting.
We have directed. public attention again and again
to the glaring and obvious truth that the seats won
by Ministers during these elections among the 400
separate constituencies—doubled upon a division,
have increased the already formidable array of
Derbyites in the House of Commons by the con-
siderable addition of fully half-a-hundred! A
result for which the Cabinet is directly indebted to
that most redoubtable of political Marplots, Lord
JOHN RUSSELL. The Resolutions of the noble
lord the Member for the City of London led, as
we all know, to that division in a House of 626
Members—only eight-and-twenty less than the
full complement of 654—that division which
proved adverse to Ministers only by a
clear majority of thirty-nine even under the cir-
cumstances of that most exceptional combination
of parties and sections of parties on the side of a
disunited, and distracted, and internally antagonistic
Opposition. It cannot be repeated too often that,
even with the aid of that most exceptional combi-
nation—bringing together what probably Lord
JOAN deemed at the time the " golden opinions of
all sorts of Men"—the Resolutions triumphed only
by a clear majority of 39 in a house of 626 repre-
sentatives. As the natural, almost, inevitable, and
certainly constitutional, result of that division,
adverse to the Government, the Fifth Parliament
of Queen VICTORIA was summarily dissolved. And
now, as the result of that not merely reasonable,
but, as it happened, absolutely requisite, Dissolu-
tion, we have the Ministers who were defeated in
the late House of Commons by a clear majority of
39 out of 626 members, returning to the new
House of Commons with a clear gain, upon the
complete aggregate of 654, of TWENTY-SIX in seats,
or, in other words, of FIFTY-TWO in votes upon a
division. Yet, in defiance of these plainly contrast.
ing figures, the more disingenuous and merely
partisan organs of the Opposition have argued,
since the completion of the General Election just

brought to a close, that the result of the late
appeal to the country by her M.UESTY'S Ministers
has been such that they must perforce, that they
have no choice in the matter, but simply must, by
necessity, immediately upon the re-assembling of
the Legislature, be summarily defeated, and com-
pelled thereby at once to give in their resignation.
The confidence expressed in this way by these
partisan organs could not possibly be greater if,
instead of Ministers having gained twenty-six
seats, and thus secured fifty-two additional votes
upon a division, they had positively lost those
seats and votes to the Opposition. As
illustrating conclusively the absurdity of this,
we will assume as a possibility what is
certainly not very probable in itself, but would be
greatly, we might suppose it, to the advantage of the
Opposition. We will suppose that Lord- JOHN
could rally around him once more in the new
House the heterogeneous parties, and sections of
parties, that were brought together, as we have
upon a previous occasion remarked, " just for one
night only," and that "by particular desire." We
will suppose that the noble lord the member for
the City of London could again bring forward in
the new House those Resolutions of his which
triumphed in the old House by a clear majority of
39 out of 626 members altogether. We will suppose
that an equivalent 626, ,including among them, as
before, the Speaker and the four tellers, were again
gathered together in the Commons House of Par-
liament at Westminster. We will suppose that
these 626—0 r, deducting the four tellers and the
Speaker, we will call theni the 621—we will sup-
pose that equivalent 621 to be once more counted
out into the lobbies upon Lord JOHN'S revived
Resolutions. It is not unreasonable by any means
to premise, before we proceed further in our sup-
positions, that among that aggregate of 621 repre-
sentatives there should be found the representatives
of those twenty-six seats which have, during the
late General Election, been transferred from the
side of the Opposition to the side of the Government.
And having premised that—what result is it that
we are irresistibly brought to by the quotient:of a very
simple and transparent little sum in arithmetic
Why, the result is clear enough—the quotient is
obvious enough. It is one yielding no longer a clear
majority of 39 to the Oppposition in a House of 621
_but one yielding (also in a House of 621), a
dear majority of thirteen to Her MAJESTY'S Go-

vernment. How ? It is shown by a few plain
facts and stubborn figures—not by hair•splittings,
not by specious arguments, not by ambiguous or
disingenuous eauivocations—but in two minutes by
the aid of a handful of Arabic numerals. Before
cock-crow on that day of evil omen for Lord JouN,
the Ist of April, the 621 members assembled down
at Westminster were divided by the four tellers, in
the presence of the Speaker and his clerks, thus—
For the Opposition 330
For the Government 291

Clear majority for Lord JOHN'S Resolutions.. 39
Now, assuming the House to be again assembled, as
we have supposed, to the number of 621, for the re-
consideration of those redoubtable Resolutions, the
gain of twenty-six seats by Ministers, through their
late appeal to the country, would necessitate a
change to the extent of just double that number in
the votes upon the division. To put the matter
more explicitly—the 330 on the side of the Opposi-
tion would be reduced by the subtraction of twenty-
six to a sum total of 304 ! While upon the oppo-
site side, the 291 gathered together by:the whipper-
in of the Treasury would be increased by the
addition of twenty-six to an aggregate of 317 !
The division would consequently stand thus :

For the Government
For the Opposition 304

Clear majorityagainst Lord JOHN'S Resolutions 17
Quod erat dernonstrandunt. And for this—thanks
to Lord JOIENRUSSELL and his factious Resolutions
—a Session has been lost—Reform has been post.
poned, at least, another year—Parliament has been
subjected to the vexation of a dissolution—the
country has been put to the expense and turmoil of
a General Election—and the calamity of a Euro-
pean war, at the least, has been precipitated.

How few of our readers look at, how much
fewer attempt to analyse, the details of news from
Central America. Even editors cast a weary eye
upon them, well knowing that comment would
ordinarily be of no interest to the public. At
length, however, in Mexico at least, there is a
state of things to interest us:all. The two great
parties have come out distinctly. Their respective
manifestos are published. They have fought,
bloodily, and what we should deem the right side
has had the worst of it ; it has, however, secured
the moral support of the United States, and the
anger of the wrong party seems to indicate that
the goodwill of the Union is of more consequence
than a bloody victory.

The latest and most detailed information is fur-
nished in a letter from Vera Cruz of the 21st and
22nd of April ; in the writer's account we see the
two parties fairly face to face, and there can be
little doubt which Englishmen will call the right
and which the wrong side. The party in power
since 1857 propose a constitutional federal Govern-
ment in place of a military dictatorship ; freedom
of religion ; freedom of the press ; the nationalisa-
tion, that is, the secularisation of two hundred
millions of dollars of Church property, which
yields at least £4,000,000 per annum ; the sub-
ordination of the military to the civil power; the
abolition of ecclesiastical and military fueros
(special rights or tribunals) ; a reduction of the
tariffs ; abolition of exceptional permits (a kind of
commercial monopoly) ; also of internal duties,
and of passports ; finally, a full and free opening
of the country to foreign immigration, and the en
couragement of foreign enterprise. In Mexico
fifteen of the twenty-one States already
arc in favour of these liberal proposals, and sup-
port the liberal Government, whose head-quarters
appear to be the more important seaport towns.
The other party, which at present holds posses-
sion of Mexico, may be termed the clerical, mo-
narchical, and monopolist party. The first article
of its avowed creed is the inviolability of Church
property, and restitution for past exactions ; the re-
establishment of fueros, rendering the clergy and
army responsible only to their own tribunals ;
making the Roman Catholic religion the exclusive
religion of Mexico, and limiting immigration to
Roman Catholics ; the censorship of the press, high
tariffs, commercial privileges, and, if practicable,
the institution of a monarchy. Strange to say, this
is the party—we trust not in virtue of orders from
home—which our representative has recognised,
though the United States, and foreign residents
generally, except, of course, the old Spaniards,
acknowledge the former party as the legitimate
Government.

MIRAMON is the general, and chief of the Church
party ; JUAREZ, who took the Government in a legal
way on the defection of COMONFORT, is the head
of the Liberal party. He is a civilian, Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court, and his general is DEGOL-
LADO. The latter has just been compelled, thrAigh
treachery it would seem, to raise the "tlege of
-.
Mexico ; and MIRAMON and the Chi .rch party have
become absolute masters of the capital, and used
their victory with all the brutality of Indian and
Spanish blood combined, under the instigation of
despotic principles and superstition. The liberal
forces are sadly scattered now ; still MIRAMON
has not felt himself strong enough to attack Vera
Cruz. The cordial acceptance of the proposals of
the Liberal party by the. United States authorities •
and their even commencing to treat with it on the
bases just mentioned, seem to have both discouraged
and enraged the Church party. They have had expel.
rience of the power of the Union ; they know how
hopeless their cause would be should United States
settlers and Protestant immigrants from Europe
come among them in considerable numbers; and,
probably, the issue will be, that the support of the
stars and stripes will rally round the Liberal hosts,
and give poor worn-out Mexico a chance at last.
England can ultimately take but one course.
. .
Old Spaniards, who drove a few poor missionaries
and their black converts from the little useleis
island of Fernando Po, which they had colonised,
because her MAJESTY would tolerate only the
Catholic religion in her territories—Spaniards,
may be ready to back the Church and monarchical
party. But the citizens of the great aid mighty
Republic so near at hand will not endure the
creation of both a monarchy and an exclusively
Catholic State on their borders, when they have
.the opportunity of establishing, with the goodwill
of the many, a Republic, like their own, and one
which shall open all Me.-cico to their restless and
boundless ambition. England must lend the
support of her moral, aid to the larger and more
liberal party
; and tlie one which its great neigh-
bour will enable to triumph.

It is gratifying to see that the rifle question is
becoming a national one, Town after town, city
after city, is holding it 3 meeting, passing resolu-
tions, and raising subscriptiOns, while suggestions
are furnished fromn all quarters, The terms of
General PEEL'S proposals, under an old Act, are, we
should say, rattier repressive than encouraging.
They involve so, much expense to the volunteers,
and interfere so much with their liberty in the
selection of their officers, and the times of drill and
practice4hat the number will, we fear, after all, b,'
but limited, who will be able to avail themselves,ef
the present regUlations. It is, we think, quite
sirable to have volunteer corps of the class which
will be enrolled under these regulations, and already
subscripti,opp are proffered to meet the case of those

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THE SUN.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 1869.