The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-25 00:00:00

Commence at 7o'clock.

Nothing better for Italy could occur than Aus-
tria's thus flinging aside the scabbard. So long as
peace was maintained, or Austria merely acted
on the defensive, treaty obligations should
be maintained, and her hold on the Lombardo-
Venetian kingdom would be continued, notwith-
standing the gross abuses and fearful misgovernment
of which she has been guilty, and the hatred and
disgust of the people. But war sets aside all such
arrangements. The drawn sword cuts the seal
from the bond, and the belligerents are free to
annul or destroy all such as do not meet with
their approval! Other nations may interfere, but
it is scarcely probable that they would on behalf
of the original offender ; and, as we have already
stated, if Austria persever.es she will have cause to
deplore in sackcloth and ashes her insane and
wicked folly.
But still the step taken by FRANCIS JOSEPH is
one that cannot easily be retraced. His authority
is absolute, and he will not be willing to encounter
the disgrace of eating his own words or retracting
his haughty defiance. Better that some tens of
thousands of Austrian and Sardinian soldiers should
perish miserably on the field of battle than that he
should be supposed capable of listening to
more prudent counsels, or of withdrawing
the truculent menaces uttered against one who had
excited the Imperial wrath and indignation to no
ordinary extent. We fear, therefore, that notwith-
standing the extended time conceded—notwith-
standing the earnest protests of the British
Government and those of Russia and Prussia—
although she will find herself without a single
friend or ally—she will still persevere—Quern Deus
cult perdere Arius dementat. FRANCIS JOSEPH is
now labouring under that affliction, and nothing
will mare him until he has endured the grievous
consequences of his mistake ; indeed, it is hinted
that he himself forwarded the ultimatum without
consultation with, or information to any of, his
Ministers. If this be correct, the sin will be en-
tirely his own ; and an abdication, if not a change
of dynasty, be the legitimate result.
The French Chambers will assemble this day,
in order to receive a communication from the
EMPEROR. We shall probably be in possession of
the views and opinions of Louis NAPOLEON before
evening, and we need scarcely say how great an
effect they must have in every quarter and on every
Government. Of course, if Austria invades Sar-
dinia, France must and will declare war. The first
Austrian bayonet that passes the Ticino—the first
shot fired in anger—will be the signal for France
to march her troops against the Austrians ; and
fearful indeed will be the conflict. Let not FRANCIS
JOSEPH suppose that too much will depend on the
first blow. In the present instance it will not be
anything like half the battle. The Sardinians
are excellent soldiers, and, notwithstanding
the great disparity of numbers, they may
make a stronger resistance than has been anti-
cipated. They are defending their own soil—
are well acquainted with every defensible position
where the enemy can be encountered with any
. reasonable chance of success. They will not sur-
render their capital to the tender mercies of their
adversaries without a fierce struggle. They know
well that France will rapidly come to the rescue,
and will not, therefore, yield until the utmost
extremity. The eagerness for the fray already
manifested, the unbending resolution, the stern joy
with which the Austrian menace was received,
proves that they are not so helpless as has been
imagined, and that Turin will not be reached until
it is fully garrisoned by French troops.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE,
Westminster-road.
Lessee and Manager Mr. William Cooke.
SPLENDID EASTER NOVELTIES.
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 Achievemer is in extraordinary magnificence.
Ivanhoe, Mr. R. Phillips ; Isaac of York, Mr. Jas. Holloway;
Richard of England, Mr. Herbert ; Rebecca, Miss Bathurst.
After which, the matchless and unrivalled SCENES IN
THE CIRCLE, introducing Mr. John Henry Cooke, the
greatest equestrian in the world together with Miss
Emily Cooke, Madame Blanche, Madame Bridges, Madlle.
Ilenrette, and Madame Francisco, being the greatest amount
of female equestrian talent ever seen in one night in any
theatre. Grotesques—Messrs. Hemming and Thorne.
To conclude with the Farce of BATHING.
Dress Circle, 4s. ; Boxes, 35.; Pit, 28, ; Gallery, ls.; Upper
Gallery, 6d.
Private Boxes, £4 4s, £2 2s, and £1 ls.
Stage Manager, Mr. It. Phillips

ANTERBURY HALL AND FINE ARTS
GALLERY, Westminster-road.—Open at Seven.
On and after MONDAY, the 25th inst., 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, Antal, 24.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
:53—highest since noon yesterday.
44—lowest this morning and during the night.
51—this day at noon.

BARomrrEP.--29.70.
WIND, South-Easterly ; fresh, with dull rainy weather.

APRIL 25.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
;34—highest since noon yesterday.
42—lowest this morning and during the night.
54—this day at noon.

BAROMETER—M.B2.
WrND, South-Easterly ; fresh, with continuous rain,

Although the note of preparation has been
sounded; although Austria has assumed an atti-

tude of hostility, the irrevocable blow has not yet
been struck, and it is just possible that it may be
averted by the earnest remonstrances of Great
Britain, Prussia, and Russia. Nothing can, by any
possibility, justify, or even extenuate, the recent
proceedings of Austria. She is the incendiary that
has applied the match which may produce a con-
flagration throughout Europe such as has not been
'witnessed for a series of years. Sardinia, too, is
quite prepared for the strife. There is no craven
Yielding, no disposition to comply with the arrogant
demands of her German rival. Although a heavy
blow may be struck in the first instance, before
French assistance can be obtained, she awaits it
firmly and resolutely, and it is possible
that the Austrian troops may not find themselves
at Turin quite so speedily as they anticipate, or
have the anxiously looked-for Opportunities of.
plunder and rapine in the Piedmontese metropolis.

What may be regarded as the origin of the

impending war ? If we are not mistaken it is tha

old one, ever new—woman. The Emperor o:

AUSTRIA frustrated the attempt of the Emperor of
FRANCE to ally himself, through a German Prin-
cess, with the old legitimacies of Europe. The
uncle was not too personally great to despise the
factitious greatness of intermarriage with heredi-
tary despots, and of looking on an offspring who
should owe their position half to his own genius,
but half also to their sharing the blood of the
oppressors of Hungary, Bohemia, and Italy, and
the born persecutors of patriotism and intelligent
religion. The nephew had not sense to see the
folly of the uncle's weakness. He, too, sought the
hand of a German Princess ; and he might have
had it, but Austria forbid the banns. We believe
it is highly probable that Austria, like most who
interfere with matchmaking, will have to repeat
her proud intermeddling. The EMPEROR, indeed,
defeated in political matchmaking, very wisely
married for love, and made the best of it. But,
though he doubtless has adorned his Court and
satisfied his domestic wishes far more than he could
have done from Germany, he could not appease so
easily his wounded pride. It were trite to re-
hearse the names of women, who, in the records of
Eden, in the legendary stories of Greece, and in the
Pages of authentic history, have been designedly,
or undesignedly, the starting points of fearful
movements in the world's history; yet trivial
as it may seem, a misunderstanding about a woman
may well have been the remote but not less potent
cause of the assembling of nearly half a million of
soldiers looking at each other across the Alps and
the plains of Piedmont.
Doubtless other causes co-operated. Even Re-
publican France did not like Austria to be the sole
arbiter of Italian affairs, and took possession ac-
cordingly of the Eternal City. Then, an Emperor
could but find it every way agreeable to have occu-
pation for, and therefore ground to maintain, an
immense army. Standing armies by the hundred
thousand, seem, ace rding to modern practice at
least to be the appropriate ornament of an Impera-
tor. But how cleverly has the whole been managed !
First Sardinia acquires a moral equality with the
five great Powers. She threw her sword into the
arbitrement between three of them in the Crimean
war, and thus indeed took a far higher and nobler
position than the cowardly, base, and sefish Govern-
ments which wielded the military strength of
Austria and Prussia- In virtue of this Sardinia
next stood forth at the peace conferences of Paris
as the Patronus of Italian peoples groaning
under native rulers, who were but executioners of
Austrian malice on the patriots of their several
domains. Austria in vain recalcitrated, and in vain
the representative of Russia had no instructions.
Count CAVOUR effectually lodged his memorandum,
which was virtually a bitter impeachment of
Austria, amongst the records of the conference, and
ever since then Sardinia and France have been
developing the scheme by which the two Govern-
ments should both acquire importance, by compel-
ling Austria to renounce her illegal control south of
the Po. If the result was accession of territory to
Sardinia, and of influence to France, at the cost of
Austria, so much the better. But even should this
not be gained, it would be no small glory to com-
pel a Government as brutal as it is proud, to limit
its brutalities to the boundaries assigned her in
1815, and to appear as the deliverer of two-thirds
of the Peninsula. Meantime LOUIS NAPOLEON
gains at once for his family an alliance with one of
the very oldest hereditary houses in Europe, and

The ultimatum, too, was not presented until
Saturday, so that there are two additional days
during which the advocates of peace may strive to
prevent the impending contest. French prepara-
tions may also be greatly advanced during the in-
terval. The Sardinian Chamber, on Saturday, by
a majority of 110 votes against 24, invested the Go-
vernment for the time with all executive and legis-
lative power, and the decision was greeted with
enthusiastic applause, both by the deputies and the
pubic. Any retrograde movement, therefore,
must be on the part of Austria. The question of
peace or war now rests in her hanif.s, and she her-

self will be the chief sufferer, should she persevere a kind of istanding ground for claiming special
in the reckless and desperate course on Which she interest in :the affairs of Italy.
has entered. What his chances are in the conflict with Austria

We believe it is not easy to say. It may be that
Austria is ranch nearer to the scene of action than
France; but that is not everything. The German
despots also,7doubtless, sympathise with Austria ;
and to their shame, for they deserve to be the
slaves they are while such is their feeling. The
German people, for the sake of keeping a port in
the Adriatic, wish the people of Lombardy to lie
under the hoof of Austria. We say again, the
German people deserve their ignominious political
bondage, and will deserve it till they wish Venice
and Milan to be free. But German slaves are not
the only parties to this business. There are the
free-souled Magyars and Italians, and the haters of
concordats and religious and civil oppressions every.
where, and these things:will be felt in the long run.
In one point, however, LOUIS NAPOLEON has
entirely succeeded. He has put Austria wholly in
the wrong in declaring war. She has no more right
to do it than the Russians had to march into the
Principalities. She has made a-demand of Sardinia,
as disgraceful to the EMPEROR of Austria as that
of Prince MENSCIIIKOFF (what has become of that
worthy ?) to his master the CZAR. A demand as
disgraceful as that which France herself lately
made on Portugal. In attacking Sardinia Austria
has no rational pretext whatever. She cannot pre-
tend that the sixty or seventy thousand troops of
the latter could venture to assail her. Austria is at
liberty to defend herself by as large a border army
as well as garrisons, as she thinks fit ; but, she
plunges into a contest with Sardinia amidst the
denunciations of all the other powers of Europe, and
she may find out too late, as Mr. DISRAELI has pre-
dicted, that there is a power greater even than the
sword—the power of public opinion.

Setting out with a general denial of the conti-
nued accuracy of the old epigrammatic aphorism
which pronounced England the Hell of horses, the
Purgatory of Servants, and the Paradise of Women,
a reviewer in the Edinburgh gives us, in the open-
ing paper of the current number, a remarkable
epitome of the Female Industry of the United Kin-
dom. The statistics scattered through this elaborate
criticism are perfectly reliable—being drawn almost
entirely from the results of the last census, as con-
densed and classified in the authoritative tabulated
pages of Mr. CHESHIRE. And certainly, glancing
at the array of facts here presented to our conside-
ration, it is obviously placed beyond all possibi-
lity of denial that England, in the third circle of
her own reputed terrestrial and somewhat Dantesque
version of the Divina Commedia, has lost the
marks of her imputed character. While the rail-
roads have removed, in a great measure, from their
probationary state, before entering the limbo of
the knackees yard, " the hardest worked class of
'horses"—MAßTlN'S humane act protects the sur-
vivors of that noble race of quadrupeds from cruelty
—the national predilection for horseflesh increases
everywhere else but on the table as a viand. Mani-
festly enough, therefore, whatever it may have
been formerly—England is no longer the Hell of
Horses. Again, in regard to the second division—
if we are to believe that truth, as well as fun and
drollery, speak through that4himsical pencil of
Leech, our later Hogarth—a pencil to which we
owe so many humorous limnings of the generic
peculiarities of Flunkeyana and Servantgalism—
England as surely is no longer the Purgatory of
Servants. And now as to the third and crowning
section of all—How about England as the reputed
Paradise of Women ? The day dream of grace and
beauty, of gentleness and leisure, vanishes under
the broad flood of the daylight of Fact poured upon
this supposed remnant of fairy land by the Census of
Fifty-One. The last illusory mists of doubt upon
the subject that might yet have remained are scat-
tered away inexorably by the bull's eye as of a
police lantern suddenly turned upon the theme by
the Edinburgh reviewer. Eight years ago these
waters of truth were brimmed up to us abundantly
through the well-spring of the Census. They are
filtered now even for us more brilliantly and re-
freshingly than ever, by being percolated, so to
speak, through the judgment of the Whig Quar-
terly, dripping drop by drop for all who care to
quaff in the general thirst for wholesome know-
ledge.

Enlightened now upon the subject of " Fe-
male Industry" in this country by the Census
and by the Edinburgh, it is impossible for any
one to remain an instant longer under the
illusion that England is any more the Paradise of
Women. Long since, as the critic remarks, the
women of the United Kingdom have been led forth
from their paradise into a life of labour and care
more strongly resembling that of man than either
the men and women of old times could have antici-
pated. It is not the lassies of the eclogues of GAY,
or of the pastorals of THOMSON, who go out into
the June meadows with their hayrakes, or tend the
flowerbeds round their apiaries, or thin the wall-
fruit of superfluous apricots and nectarines. Even
the reviewer tells us unpityingly, " the Dorset
milkmaid tripping along with her pail is we fear
becoming a myth"—the milking of the kine being
now generally performed by some hobnailed lout in
a smockfrock. All the pretty fanciful occupations
of the farm and the poultry-yard, the kitchen
garden, the dairy, and the orchard, survive now in
the story-books and the more innocent dreams of
the most unsophisticated of ourpoets andpoetasters.
The recording angel of the Census of 1851 tells us
plainly in so many remarks that there were eight
years ago 128,418 women above twenty years ofl
age employed in the positive labours of agricul-
ture—to say nothing of farmers' wives and farmers
daughters to the number of 289,793. Included
among the farmers,namely,among the independent
female agricultural labourers, are 64,000 dairy-
women. The complaint of these 64,000 being, and
we are assured " not unreasonably—' no end of
work!' " Listen to the reviewer's record of this no
end of work !

On a dairy-farm, the whole set of labours has to be gone
through twice a day, nearly the whole year round ; and any
one of our readers who have seen the vessels on a Cheshire
farm, the width of the tubs, the capacity of the ladles, the
strength of the presses, and the size of the cheeses, will feel
no surprise at hearing from the doctors that dairywomen
constitute a special class of patients, from maladies arising
from over-fatigue and insufficient rest. There is some dif-
ference between this mode of life and the common notion of
the case and charm of the dairymaid's existence, as it is seen
in a corner of the duchess's park, or on a little farm of three
fields and a paddock. The professional dairywoman can
usually do nothing else. She has been about the cows since
she was tall. enough to learn to milk, and her days are so
filled up, that it is all she can do to keep her clothes in de •
cent order. She drops asleep mover the last stage of her
work; and grows up ignorant of all other knowledge, and
unskilled in all other arts.

Besides these dairywomen the female agricul-
tural labourers of England include managers of
pigs, lambs, and poultry—makers of cider and
perry—and bee-mistresses, the produce of whose
labours are the gold droppings of the au-
tumn honeycombs. Glancing at the nursery
gardeners and the florists, the market-gar-
deners and the flax producers, reapers
and hinders, haymakers and hop-pickers, bean-
setters and turnip hoers—we descend from the
surface of the land to the subterranean regions.
There we find 7,000 women returned as toiling in
the mines in Wales and Cornwall and Devonshire.
Skirting the waters we find scores of thousands of
women labouring within our four seas otherwise

than as fishermen's wives and daughters. The

LATEST NEWS.

reviewer says—

It is One the amount of fish-eating in out' Country by the
lower classes of the population is inexplicably small. Xo
one seems yet to have accounted for the neglect of, or pre.
judice against, a kind of food so excellent and so abundant.
But the demand created by railway carriage,•and by the re-
moval of various restrictions, bids fair now to restore some-
thing like the fish-eating of the old Catholic days.

The following telegrams have been received at
Mr. Reuter's office :

PARIS, APRIL 23.

Along the margin of the sea, besides our CHRISTIE
JOHNSTON ES, the Billingsgate ladies, the Mussel-
burgh dames, and the Claddagh women, there are
thousands busy there in smaller occupations—burn-
ing kelp, collecting sand, raking together seaweed,
gathering jet and amber, rare shells and curious
pebbles. Next come the maid servants—an army
of toilsome women, most disproportioned in num-
bers to the rest of the population. According to
the census now eight years byegone—there were up-
wards of 400,000 maids-of-all-work, or, as it is the
fashion to call them now, general servants. There
are 54,000 charwomen 50,000 housekeepers-
-47,000 women cooks-42,000 housemaids-21,000
nurserymaids-20,000 inn servants—and attached
to country mansions nearly 400 gatekeepers. Added
to all which, the reviewer tells us—
Under the head of service' several kinds of independent
industry occur which need only be pointed out : as sick and
monthly nurses, matrons and nurses in asylums and hos-
pitals; women who go out to brew, to cook, to wash, and
to sew ; the searchers at police and custom-house offices ;
matrons of gaols ; lighthouse-keepers ; pew-openers ;
waiters at railway refreshment rooms, and the like.
Referring next to the " commercial directions of
female industry," we find as widows scattered all
over the country, as many as 10,000 beershop
keepers and victuallers-9,000 innkeepers-14,000
milk-sellers and butcheresses —B,OOO proprietors of
waggons and hack carriages.
Turning at last to the very class that ought in

The Patric of this evening announces that the
Imperial guard has been placed on a war footing.
The officers have received orders to be ready for
departure. General Canrobert left this morning to
assume the command allotted to him. The regi-
ments which quitted Paris yesterday were enthu-
siastically cheered by the people.
The report that the soldiers on renewable furlough
will be called in is confirmed.

We are assured, adds the Paine, that the ulti-
matum of Austria to Piedmont was delivered at 2
p.m. to-day at Turin.

PARIS, APRIL 24.
The .211ohiteur of this morning contains the fol.
nwing

Prussia, like England and Russia, has protested
against the conduct of Austria.
A telegraphic message from Toulon announces
that troops have arrived there intended to commence
the formation of a camp to consist of 40,000 men.
The report current in Paris that King Leopold bad
quitted Belgium is untrue. _ .

Rentes were first done on the Boulevards at
64.80 fell to 64.30, and the last transaction was at
64.40, being a fall of since Saturday's closing
price. Austrian Railway 7, and Lombardo-Vene-
tian 5 francs lower.

reason to be the most numerous of all, we find it
actually of all the least numerous—the class of
shoptoomen, as distinguished from shopkeepers.
While the shopkeepers are 29,000—the shopwomen
are actually in All no more than 1,742 ! Here it is
that we are grieved to notice our contemporary, the
Edinburgh, raising an influential voice, deprecating
the prosecution of what we must still be allowed to
regard as a most beneficent movement. Referring
to that other quarterly review which, during the
late war, attacked " the men milliners who smirk
behind the counters of our shops," the Edinburgh
here remarks, " Our impression on the whole was
that the shopmen exhibited a much better case
than could have been anticipated by careless ob-
servers." Notwithstanding which " impression," we
are yet sanguine that the genus of TITTLEBAT TIT-
MOUSE may eventually give place to those poor
sisters of theirs starving in our London garrets
and cellars as needlewomen.

TURIN, APRIL 23.
The deputies assembled for a public sitting this
day at three o'clock p.m.
The Chamber without discussion adopted a pro-
ject of law investing Government with all execu-
tive and legislative powers by 110 votes against 24.
This vote was greeted by the animated cheers
and acclamations of the deputies and the public.

TURIN, SUNDAY, APRIL 24.

The Opinione announces that the ultimatum of
Austria was presented yesterday (Saturday) even-
ing to the Piedmontese Government. The ulti-
matum demands the disarmament of Piedmont and
the disbanding of the volunteers within a period of
three days. Baron Kellerberg remains in Turin
until that time shall have expired. The movements
of the Austrians towards the Piedmontese frontiers
have ceased, and the usual traffic on the railway
from Milan to the Ticino has recommenced. The
Archduke Maximilian has departed for Venice to
inspect the Austrian fleet.
It is currently reported that the Austrians are
on their march to enter Modena. General Ferrari,
commander of the troops of Tuscany, has tendered
his resignation.
The following anecdote is given by the Opinione
of Turin :—" A banquet of officers was held at Milan
a few days ago, at which, among the numerous
toasts drunk in allusion to the impending war, a
young officer proposed the following :—' To the
Austrian army ! The French and Piedmontese
armies will break against it like this brittle glass.'
So saying, he threw the bottle he had just emptied
into the air, so as to make it fall back again upon
the table, which, in fact, it did, but—without
breaking. The Opinione states that all the officers
present stood aghast at this untoward omen."

Altogether the survey now taken of " Female
Industry" presents to view a very impressive spec-
tacle—a spectacle not incongruously closed by a
casual reference to Dr. ELIZABETH BLACICWELL,
the New York physician, and to Mrs. HOCKLEY,
the professional accoucheur of distinguished repu-
tation. There is a passing glance, too, vouchsafed
by the reviewer at LIND as a songstress, SIDDONS
as a tragic actress, and BRONTE as a woman of
letters—with a thought cast yonder int() that
quiet home at Ongar where JANE TAYLOR plied her
art as a steel engraver ; yonder at Miss HERSCIIELL
sitting unmolested in her brother's observatory
discovering comets ; yonder at Mrs. SOMERVILLE
pursuing in her unobtrusive manner her recon-
dite labours as a mathematician. Finally, quoth
the Edinburgh, as truthfully as gallantly—
Our countrywsmen have the free command of the press;
and they use it abundantly. Every woman who has force
of character enough to conceive any rational enterprise of
benevolence is sure to carry it through, after encountering
more or less opposition. For a Catherine Mompesson, sup-
ported byher husband's companionship in a plague-stricken
village two centuries ago, we have had a Mary Picard doing
exactly the same work, but alone, within our own century.
Mrs. Fry in Newgate, Florence Nightingale and Mrs.
Bracebridge at Scutari; Miss Dix reforming lunatic asy-
lums; Sarah Pellatt reclaiming the Californian gold-
diggers from drink ; Mary Carpenter among her young city
Arab, : all these, and several more, arc proofs that the
field of action is open to women as well as men, when they
find something for their hand to do, and do it with all their
might.

The reviewer might have added, in proof—what he
possibly deemed superfluous—a noble living cata-
logue. Among others, CAROLINE emsHoLm better-
ing the forlorn emigrants at our antipodes—ELizA
COOK gladdening the homes by writing the songs
of the people—AGNEs STRICKLAND inscribing
with a luminous pencil upon historic tablets,
nionumentunt are perennius, the moving annals of
our Female Sovereigns.

VIENNA, APRIL 24.

THE PRIVY COUNCIL.

WINDSOR, APRIL 23.

Her Majesty the Queen held a Privy Council at twelve
o'clock today. Present—His Royal Highness the Prince
Consort, the Marquis of Salisbury, the Earl of Hardwicke,
the Earl of Derby, the Right Hon. B. Disraeli, Mr. Secre-
tary Estcourt, the Earl of Malmesbury, Major-General
Peel, the Marquis of Exeter, Earl Delawarr, the Duke of
Beaufort, and the Marquis of Abercorn.
At the Council a Proclamation was issued dissolving the
present Parliament, and summoning a new Parliament on
Tuesday, the 81st May.

A Proclamation was issued for the election of 16 peers of
Scotland, on Tuesday the 10th May.

The Hon. William Bathurstwas the Clerkof the Council
in Waiting.

Her Majesty gave audiences to the Marquis of Salisbury,
the Earl of Mahnesbury, the Earl of Derby, and Major►
General Peel.

Viscount Strathallan and Lieutenant-General Sir Fre-
derick Steven were the Lord and Groom in Waiting.

COURT CIRCULAR.

WINDSOR CASTLE, APRIL 23.
The Queen and Prince Consort walked in the grounds o:
the Castle this morning.
The Princess Alice rode on horseback.

The Duke of Saxe-Coburg went to London, attended by
le Baron de Meyern, le Capitaine de Reuter, A.D.C., and
Colonel Francis Seymour, C.B. His royal highness re-
turned to the Castle in the afternoon.

The Queen and Prince Consart, accompanied by the
Princesses Alice, Helena, and Louisa, and attended by the
Ladies and Gentlemen, in Waiting; the Duchess of Kent,
attended by Lady Susan Leslie Melville, and Miss Victoria
Wortley ; the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, attended by le Baron
Meyern, le Capitaine de Reuter, A.D.C., and Colonel F.
Seymour, were present 9n the evening at a musical per-
formance in St. George's Hall. The following had the
honour of receiving invitations :—The Belgian Minister and
Madame van de Weyer, the Provost of Eton, the Rev. W.
Canning, the Rev. W. Anson, Major and the Hon. Mrs.
Loyd Lindsay, Lady Mary Hood, Miss Hood, Lady Caro-
line Barrington, Major-General the Hon. C. and Mrs.
Grey, Colonel the Hon. C. and Lady Phipps, Miss Phipps,
Colonel F. H. and Lady Emily Seymour, the Dean of
Windsor and the Hon. Mrs. Wellesley, Sir George and
Lady Couper, Miss and Mr. R. Couper, the Rev. W. R
Jolley, Major Elphinstone, R.E., and Mr. Glover.
The performance was " Grosse Passions-Musik," by Joh.
Seb. Bach, according to the text of St. Matthew. The
English words, adapted for the Bach Society of London,
by Helen F. H. Johnston.

The orchestra consisted of upwards of 170 performers.
The solo vocalists were—Madame Weiss -(Miss L. Pyne
being prevented singing from severe indisposition), Mrs.
Bertha Street, and Miss Lascelles ; Mr. Sims Reeves, Mr.
Winn, and Mr. Weiss. The band consisted of her Ma-
jesty's private band, aided by several of the principal per-
formers from the Philharmonic Society,ll-ler Majesty's
Theatre, and the Royal Italian Opera. The chorus were
selected principally from the Bach Society, instituted by
Professor Sterndale Bennett, Mus. Prof. Cantab, 1849, who
was present on the occasion. The performance was con-
ducted by Mr. Anderson, the director of her Majesty's pri-
vate band ; Mr. W. G. Cusins, organist of her Majesty's
private chapel, presiding at the organ.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Saxe-Coburg
takes his departure on Wednesday or Thursday next, from
Windsor Castle, for Berlin.

His Excellency the Saxon Minister left town a
few days since, for Paris.

The Marquis of Abercorn left town, on Saturday,
for Mount Edgecombe, Devonshire, to join the marchioness
and Lady Katherine Hamilton, who had left town
pre-
viously, to visit Viscount and Viscountess Valletort.
The Marquis of Lansdowne will leave town in a
few days for Bowood, for the Easter holidays.
The Marquis of Bath arrived in town on Satur-
day evening, from Longleat, Wilts,

The official Vienna Gazette publishes a communi-
cation dated the 19th April addressed by the
Austrian Government to Count Cavour. This
communication calls upon Piedmont to reduce her
army to a peace footing, to disband her volunteers,
and within three days to give a positive answer to
these requirements. In conclusion it emphatically
threatens a resort to arms in the unfortunate event
of Piedmont's not acceding to Austria's demands.

BERLIN, APRIL 23.

The semi-official Prussian Gazette (Preussische
Zeitung) publishes a leading article, of which the
following is a summary :
The resollutions of the Government for placing
the federal means of defence on a footing corre-
sponding to the armaments of neighbouring states,
were prepared before the last mediatorial proposal
of the. Powers had been made, and were accidentally
taken at a moment when Prussia was using press-
ing language at Vienna in favour of the above pro-
posal. It was also accidental that their publication
coincided with the first news respecting the ulti-
matum of Austria to Piedmont. The Prussian
resolutions were determined on quite independently
of the events of the last few days. Neither the
presence of German Princes nor any pretended con-
ventions said to have been concerted during their
stay, are in any way connected with these resolu-
tions.

As regards the last measure towards Piedmont,
the news was all the more surprising for the Go-
vernment, because during the days which imme-
diately preceded it, nothing had been neglected by
Prussia to impress on the attention of the Austrian
Government the incalculable consequences and the
heavy responsibility which would result from every
separate act of Austria.

According to the New Prussian Gazette (Kreuz-
zeitung) the Russian Government has taken the
resolution to place the Corps &armee of General
Luders on a war footing (kriegsbereit). The Cabi-
net of St. Petersburg has declared its intention not
to advance troops so long as Germany also refrains
from so doing, otherwise a Corps of observation
would be placed on the Austrian frontiers ; Russia
would thus assume the same attitude of watchful-
ness as Austria did during the war in the East.

DRESDEN, Ann, 23.

The Dresden Journal contains a Royal decree,
dated 16th April, concerning the levy of horses for
army purposes.

BERNE, APRIL 23.

It is asserted that the Eglish Ambassador has left
Berne this morning for Milan, in consequence of
an order received by telegraph from his Govern-
ment.

BERNE, APRIL 24.
Two divisions of the army of Switzerland have
been placed on a war footing.

Captain E. A. J. Harris, the English Ambas-
sador for Switzerland, has left this city for Milan,
to deliver to General Gyulai the protest of the
English Government against the 'ultimatum which
Austria has addressed to Piedmont. It is asserted
that 160,000 French soldiers are on their march
towards Savoy.

FRANKFORT 0.M., APRIL 23.

An official report of the proceedings in to-day's
sating of the Federal Diet has been published.
It announces that the sitting agreed to the proposals
of Prussia to keep the principal contingents in
readiness to march (MarschbereitschAft), and also
that a resolution was adopted to take all necessary
measures for arming the federal fortresses. The re-
port adds that the federal military committee has
been ordered to plau itself in connexion with the
different military conunisions appointed to execute

the resolutions of the Diet. It is also authentic
that a corps d'armee of 12,000 men will shortly be
posted in and around Frankfort for the protection
of the Diet.

FRANKFORT 0.M., APRIL 24.

It is asserted by well-informed persons that in
cam of war a considerable corps of observation,
composed of troops of the German Confederation,
*ill be sent to the Rhine, to which Austria on her
part will furnish a contingent of 250,000 men,
v,nder the command of the Emperor in person.

FRANCE.

PARIS, SUNDAY.

It was reported that the Austrian Ambassador
had quitted Paris, This is not true ; M. Hubner
is still here.

The Constitutionned says :—" The summons made
by Austria to Piedmont to disarm in three days
was, we are assured, sent by the Emperor himself,
without consulting his Ministers." " According
to private information which has reached us," says
the same journal, " one of the movements made by
the Austrian Army is to be on Tuscany. It forms
part of the strategical plans of Austria to occupy
the Grand Duchy, notwithstanding the opposition
of the sovereign, who is said to have decided, but
too late, on declaring his neutrality."
A Paris letter, in the Independence of Brus-
sels, says :—" The army of Lyons will con-
sist, it is said, of five divisions, prepared to
march at any moment, and three divisions of
reserve. The troops stationed in the Var are
to embark without delay at Toulon, it is supposed
for Genoa, as Capt. Chaigneau has left for that city
to superintend the landing should the troops be con-
veyed there. The commanders of the three floating
batteries in the port of Toulon, the Lave, Tonnante,
and Devastation, have received orders to arm them
with the utmost possible speed. Three regiments
of African Chasseurs and a regiment of Zouaves,
still in Algeria, are to embark for France, the latter
to join the army of Lyons, and the Chasseurs to
proceed to some destination as yet unknown. The
number of horses furnished by Algeria to the army
in France is calculated at 6,000. Lastly, the Minis-
ter of Marine, who had given orders to raise to 18
the 12 gunboats to be provided, has decided on in-
creasing the number for the present to 20."
BOURSE, April 23.—The market opened very
heavily, but after a while there was a rally, owing
to a despatch from Berlin announcing that Prussia
had joined her protestation to those of England and
Russia. It was also said thlt King Leopold had
departed for Vienna on a conciliatory mission.
Threes have advanced to 65f. 5c.; Mob ilier, to 595 f.;
Austrian, 470 f. ; Orleans, I,lBof. ; Lyons, 795 f. ;
Northern, 870 f. ; Southern, 450 f. The following
were the last quotations :-
41 per Cents. .... 92 50 Credit Fonder ---
Do. end month .. 92 50 Belgian 4
3 per Cents 65 151Piedmontese (5) 73 50
Do. end month 65 Roman B3
Bank Shares. 2650 Austrian
Cr&lit Mobilier .. 592 50 Spanish Threes
Do. Account

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THE SUN.
MONDAY, APRIL 25, 1859.