The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-29 00:00:00

FRENCH coN,FuL TO PARMA.

cry good authority
nAt the French GOyerument contetipiate s:.4ding
a Charge d'Affairei (" Hohorazy Consul'—what-
ever that may mean), at any rate a diplomatic
agent, to the Court of Parma. The Emperor
Napoleon may have his own excellent reasons for

.t, seems now aseertainf.

on

adJpting such a course, besides the paltry object
of watching the few stray bewigged dotards, " men
who have suffered losses," who will still venture on
occasional calls upon the Count de Chambord's

sister. France has her own "legitimate influ-
ence" to maintain in whatever may be
the meaning of that quaint, old, stereotyped
expression. we have quoted ; for • the actual in-

flu-enca at the present moment exercised by the
sons of the heroes of Arcola and Marengo is
limited to play the part of amateur Pope's soldiers
(soldati del Papa), and of servants of all works—

Without wages—to the worst minions of the pon-
tifical police.
Now, is there not a question very plainly rising
before every reader acquainted with the above-men-
tioned intention of the French Government ? Has
England no "legitimate influence" to support, to
extend, or to establish anew in Italy ? Has she no
political interests, no commercial prospects, no moral
obligations to compel her to look somewhat closely
to her own business in that quarter of the globe 1,
We have Ministers at Tutin as well as at Florence,
and with that contempt for the laws and arrange-
ments of nature which led our postmasters to write
down Parma and Modena amongst the districts of
" Southern Italy," we have placed our diplomatic
relations with Parma and Modena iar the hands of
our Minister at Florence, although geographical
position very clearly pointed out the expediency
of trusting them with a Minister accredited to a.
Cis-Apennine court, like that of Sardinia. The
mere necessity of having t? cross the mountains
every time our Minister at Florence has a mind
to inspect his Trans-Apennine dependencies
of Parma and Modena would, it is true, be
no very great matter, if it were not that our
present Minister in Tuscany, Lord Normanby, is a
sworn enewy to the policy which the English nation
has set its heart upon having pursued towards,
Italy, whilst our Turin representative, Sir J.
Hudson, is as thoroughly devoted to the Italian.
cause as duty to his country and dependence on'
his employers allow him to be. The mere shifting
of the duties of representation at Parma and
IVlodena from the hands of Lord Normanby to
those of Sir James Hudson would be such a bles
sing to the subjects of these two Duchies as they
could never be sufficiently thankful for.
But we are disposed to believe that at the present;
crisis England might with advantage.go a step be-
yond that ; and much as we regret that our leseona
in diplomatic wisdom should come from the French
Emperor, we think we ought at any rate to lose
no time in following a good example, and sending
our own diplomatic agent close upon the footsteps
of the French " Honorary Consul." We have not
forgotten that a traditsonal irrationality deprives us
of the means of communicating wish the Pope di-
rectly through a Minister accredited to his Court.
Upon Rome itself our Consuls and our Ministers
at Florence and Naples may, though we hardly
know how, exercise some salutary control. But
there is, north of the Apennine,, a vast division of
the Roman States—the very heart and soul of the
Pontifical territory—about which mu- Foreign
Secretary is left as thoroughly in the dark as if
it were the sanctum sanctorum of the Em-
peror of Japan. Now it is easy to demonstrate
that Parma is only thirty miles from Modena, and
Modena little more than twenty from Bologna, so
that our agent at Parma could, without any great
strain, have au eye upon the second city of the
Roman States, as well as upon the Austrian pro-
vinces lying only 12 miles from Parma, across the
I Po.

We think enough has bean said to show the
expediency of fixing a British representative at
Parma at such an anxious moment as the pre-
sent. Unwilling as we are to lavish praises ou
Napoleon 111., we cannot but give him credit
for the great tact and shrewdness he has
shown on the present occasion, and acknoW-
ledge the opportuneness of his resolution. These
two duchies lie at the very heart of Italy, and
they are the very first bone of contention between
those two rival powers which, even in the most pro-
found peace, are necessary rivals for the mastery of
the peninsula—Austria and Sardinia.
We have already often stated our conviction that
Piedmont can by no possibility hold an isolated posi-
tion and that the day on which another Italian
State, no matter how small, can be made to join
the policy of Victor Einanuel's Government, will
be the herbinger of new destinies for the whole
country and nation. Now we have the most posi-
tive knowledge that there is an Italian State,
powerful by its position if not by its extent, anxious
to coins to the best political
,understanding with
Piedmont, and that is Parma. We know that its
Minister of Finance, M. Lombardini, has, with a
moral courage of which every Italian has a right
to Le proud, ventured to hurl defiance against
Austria, by peremptorily refuing to renew the
compact of the Customs League which the Court
of Vienna has imposed upon other Italian States.;
we know that MM. ()Atari, Pallavicini, and
other ministers, who came into power sing'
Providence removed Charles the Third, are we'''
meaning, intelligent, moderate men, who would fain
render their wise counsels acceptable to the weak-
minded and bigoted, but good-natured Princess wn°
now governs the Duchy in behalf of that Bourbon
maniac's heir. It is impossible to imagine a case in
which& lover of fair play could find a better opP.°l-
- of using his 'influence. Here is an Italian,
State in which the Sovereign, the Ministers,
the people are of one mind; aiming at redress,
remedy, and oblivion of an irrevocable past
anxious to obtain such freedom of action as 013-Y;
allow them to work hand in hand for the common
good. •Already, single-handed, isolated, forsaken'
exposed to all the bullying threats, to all the
treacherous intrigues to which Austria inveriablf
resorts when she dares not employ open violence
—already, we say, have the Parrnese Govern'
merit won two signal victories over the Cabinet
of Vienna. Lowbardini has emancipated the coun-
try from a commercial connexion which was, in fan
a grievous tribute and a-great clog upon the COin'
merce and industry of the State, and after Austria
had repeatedly threatened to withdraw her troops
from the Duchy she has been compelled to make
good her threat by recalling her battalions, whose
presence must have been so galling to those -Por"
migiani, who since the days of Tassoni are prover:
bully nemici alla Tcdescheria, the most inveterate
enemies of the Croat to be found in all Italy.
The danger for Parina is, however, by no means
gone by ; on the contrary; the greatest uneasiness
prevails iu the Duchy, and for the very best reasons'
Driven from the capital, and from all the open
country, the Austrians muster stronger than WI
iu the second city of the Duchy, Piacenza. Entitled
by the iniquitous stipulations of 1814 to occupy the
citadel—the old dismantled citadel of that place":
not only do they occupy the whole town, but the;
.have erected formidable outworks all round 1t,6
gates ; they patrol and exercise the police autborli4
fur several miles round the neighbouring countrly
and set the civil authority of the helpless Ducal (.4e;
vernment at defiance. Even at this very naoniehti
artillery and war stores in great quantitieshava he
%
marched into that stronghold, and fresh battalin'n;
have been added to its garrison. Ostensibly,- All4'rie
concentrates force at Piacenza to show a ferrnidal;p
front against Piedmont; but her immediate ob-
ject is to overawe and intimidate the Duehe'l,o
Government, and add so many vexatious to tly,
Parmesan subjects at Piacenza that some of tbedi
in the blindness of misery, may wish fur the sPee to
and final annexation of their town and countili..
Austria—for Austrian subjects they certainlY
ready are, with a vengeance.
tbat
It is under the pressure of such circumstance
slll
France sends a diplomatic ageut to Parnia• be
Lord Clarendon, or (since little re!iance can' ill
placed upon that warm partisan of Austria)," ir
the Premier, take a hint from our "faithful anYod
The Italians have little reason to hope that auYStine i
can arise from French interference alone.
know the fate of those of their brethren who briero
been for the last eight years expoied to the ;e -rep
mercies of the author of the letter to Edouard'
They may well say, T. Danaos ! Can Bng but
do any good 1 It cannot at Naples, it is dear
at Naples the screw. is to be put on a sovereign ly
Parina it is a sovereign asking for a rescue.--optl.
Neu's.

• ,
AN IMPERFECT TRAP.—Hemp and other cong:o9oa;
ties have for some time been stolen from ware"a"
in Newcastle, and the other day a thief Wag The
covered in a tall range of stores in the Close. -,,,-a
key of the entrance-door was turned upon birei 5:0
could be got. The prisoner, however, was he was left in his huge lock up until a policern,J,
posed to
atdoeahwisaitwathyeinatrorivaalwaoorf not ul .
justice'
floor,
ware room
and to a door from which lowered into tbe
street. First too:sing his
bags
dsofarbeeot
down to the
officer of
top
pavement, he lifted his eyes gto a hook that ewulLgnil
air in connection with a crano inside. Ile `--118c1
have had some familiarity with the Prernisleg' rely
known that his weight would suffice to effect a leisuree .
descent, or he would not have hazarded the ent_ort
'prise which he medidated. A. desperate leap reu.,k
be made to catch the book, and if he missed his req
nothing could save him from being dashed to death. But
liberty is sweet. He sprang upward and forwArd, cog%
the hook, and was next moment travelling slowly bu:
surely downward. It was daylight, and eyes were pc,,
' arri vivo.
him, but nothing wrong was suspected. bo, _O,
safely at the bottom, he gathered up his bags uoi."
Looted: and walked off.—Gateshead Observer. . .