The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-09 00:00:00

THE AFFAIRS OF PARMA.

The following despatch has been addressed by
Count Cavour to the Marquis d'Azeglio, the Sardi-
nian Minister at the court of London : _

_ _
TURIN, JUNE 22, 1859.
Sir James Hudson has, by direction of the Earl
of Malmsebury, read to me and furnished me with
a copy of the annexed despatch having reference to
the affairs of Parma.
In this communication the principal British
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs endeavours
to establish that by the act of Sardinia the govern-
ment of Parma found it impossible to protest against
the entrance of the Austrian troops into the
duchy if it had been inclined to do so, being no
longer able to ground its protest on the neutral
character of the duchy.
The Earl of Malmesbury adds that the govern-
ment of Parma has never departed from the line of
the strictest neutrality, and that Austria has not
set the example of disregarding it ; whence he con-
cludes that the intervention of Sardinia can only
be looked upon, as a cruel and unjustifiable employ-
ment of force against a feeble and small state.
I shall abstain from commenting on the unfriendly
tone of this communication, and shall confine my-
self to the task of rectifying the facts therein
alleged. These facts are even so notorious, that
after reading the despatch in question it might not
unreasonably be asked if the minister who accuses
us has glanced at the map where the events of the
war have taken place.
No one, in fact, is ignorant that the attack against
Piedmont was prepared on the territory of Parma.
It was there that the Austrian troops collected and
threatened our frontier ; it was by borrowing the
territory of the duchy that they invaded Piedmont.
Piacenza had become the principal basis of Count
Gyulai's offensive operations ; Voghera, Tortona,
were occupied by an army corps that advanced by
the frontier of Piacenza ; the march on Bobbio
started thence. If Alessandria was threatened, if
our communications with Genoa were for an instant
compromised, this must be attribated to the viola •
tion of the territory of the duchy.
Did the governmet of Parma make any protests
against those acts accomplished under its eyes ? It
did not utter a single word to prevent, as far as lay
in its power, the military operations of its ally,
a neighbouring state, with which it affirms that it
desired to maintain friendly relations. When hos-
tilities were imminent, mere courtesy, as well
as international duties, would have at least re-
quired some communication to be made to Sardinia
explanatory of the line of conduct that the Go-
vernment of Parma proposed to itself t,.) follow in
the exceptional circumstances under which it was
on the eve of being placed. Nothing was said to us.
It was not until the enemy's
.plans had miscarried,
and the allied armies of Piedmont and France
having in their turn assumed the offensive—the
Austrians were on the point of evacuating the
duchies-'itwas not till then the wish to maintain
neutrality was broached. It is evident that after
all that has passed this pretension could not be ad-
mitted.
The Earl of Malmesbury, in his despatch, has
shown a desire only to insist on one fact, which
is, that the Government of Parma had never ,failed
in the duties of neutrality, and that Austria had
always. respected her. In order to refute these
allegations I need only recall to mind the military
operations that took place from and after the 29th
of April ; they prove that the information wh ch
reached Lord Malmesbur v. was inaccurate. If the
Minister of Foreign Affairs ;had raised the discus-
sion on other ground, and invokeds in favour of the
Parmesan Government anterior treaties that placed
it in an exceptional position, it would have been
easy for me to have replied in a no less satisfactory
manner. My circular of the 16th inst. enables you
to argue this question should it arise. I
beg you to read this despatch and give a copy
of it to Lord John Russell.—Accept, &c., &c.

„
MADAME JENNY LIND . IxO.LDSCIIMIDT.---It has
been arranged that this distinguished vocalist win visit
Ireland in the autumn, under the management of M.
Mitchell, of Bond-street,
giving'n ' The Messiah, for the
oratorios.benefit
of t
he She
Mercers' Hospital, in Dublin. She will visit
Cork, Limerick, and Belfast as well.
CRICKET.—HARROW V. ETON.--ThiS annual
match was commenced yesterday at Lords' in the presence
of a large company of spectators. Harrow had the first
innings and scored 242. Eton then went in, and at the
conclusion of the day's play had scored 47, with the loss of
five wickets. The game will be resumecKto-day.