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

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than they they were 10 years ago. - , : :;..:' •• - ~.viiik 1.4
works tube taken before any app ,-.; , .',.::!',Hl--I,Dlr .c.i
to-the main defences, and in the , ... '.',:, • ie,r•
,ski,L74
)
may have brought together again 4 ~..i.."-e-•,i, !t'Sl_, sr4,.
of risking, another general action. - - . A
painful as it must be for Austria to. co. - ...s itosh; S
cannot risk
,a general engagement„iand this is owing
as much to the loss of - confidence ainOng'the lower
ranks of the army as to the diminution in-numbers
caused by the battle of Solferino. I should not be
dOing'my duty as a truthful exponent of the situa-
tion here if I were to pass over this fact in silence.
Theersoldiers had one moment of enthusiasm; that
was when the Emperor led them in person on the
23d to . the advanced- positions from ..which file
intended to attack the enemy ; 'but the events
of the 24th seriously affected the morale--of --the
army. , Instead of attacking, as they were led
to expect, 'they had to 'repel " the assaults of
the allies, .who, ' knowing what was before them,
had halted for a inealat two o'clock in the morning.
The Austrians, Whose baggage and cooking utensils
accompany the columns even in tho advance, bivou-
acked on the night of the 2'3d, and were attacked
before they could get their breakfast. The baggage
and cooking-carts were obliged to return to the rear •
out of the fire of the allies, and the result was that
the army of the kaiser had to 'fight on empty sto-
machs. Hunger and hard knocks have a, tendency
to discourage. even the bravest soldier. I was as-
tonished to see men from the field of Solferino re-

tiring unwounded, and lying' down exhausted
when out of the reach of the enemy's fire. I
am told that many so exhausted laid themselves
down only to die. .The mystery is explained when
one carisiders that these cases arose, from want of
ordinary sustenace. Your own correspondent, who
had nothing to eat for 24 hours, was very much
exhausted when he reached Villafranca ; . but he had
not to fight on an empty stomach. The prisoners
taken by the Austrians mostly carried .something
eatable or drinkable, and the latter could not but
feel discouragement when they considered that they
were less prepared for holding out against_ privation
than their opponents.
Other remarkable circumstances have come to my
knowled e which cannot but be regarded as serious
I have spoken of the rion-appearance of
Lichtenstein's corps: (the 2d) on the field. It ti`p-
pears'that this corpi, which should:have 'taken part
in the aotion of the day, "was halted in Consequence
of the approach or6s2A4W4.sayAls_v_i_u-its-,-
vicinity, itud tharr Lnstein, far' imiSons
which he will doubtless have to explain, returned
to Mantua. Again, General Zedwitz, commanding
the cavalry brigade of the Ist Army, instead of
advancing as he should have done, fell back on
Goito, thus depriving the Emperor of six.regiments
of horse and a considerable amount of artillery.
Thus, while on the part of the allies all the available
guns that could be brought into action`were used; on
the side of the Austrians, the artilleik'.Was weak
and utterly unable to oppose an effectual fire to
that of the enemy. It is true, on the other hand,
that the French artillery did not commit the havoc
which it might hawse done had its fire 'throughout
the day been true to the mark, instead'Of,being over
it. Still, the effect of the inferiority nnderiwhich the
Austrians suffered in this respect was disastrous, as
it prevented them from repelling the advance of
the infantry opposed to them. Among the wounded,
to the number of 4,000 or 5,000, who are now in
Verona and the• surrounding villages, it is remark-
able how few are suffering from woundsC inflicted by
artillery. The soldiers admit that they preferred
being in the front, under musketry fire, to being in
reserve, as the shells and shrapnel of the French did
more harm at some distance in rear of the line of
battle than in the front of the action. Thus it was
that the Generals.in-Chief and their Staff, who are
generally less exposed than the rest of the army,
were all day unc'er a' heavy artillery fire. Thus it
was that the Emperor was placed in considerable
danger in the very rear of his army.
The Austrians do not cease to deplore the absence
of necessary reserves at Cavriano, feeling sure that
had dispositions been made to that end, the day
would have been not only less disastrous than it
turned out to be, but might have had a result alto-
gether different from that which they .now lainent.
Benedek, it seems; did wonders, He successfully
repulsed at Pozzolengo the whole Piedmontese
army and drove it to Rivoltella, but when the
centre was cut through, although he had 'made 700
prisoners and taken some guns, he was obliged to
retire on Salionse.
The official lists of the losses suffered by the Aus-
trians are gradually coming in. Those of the 7th,
sth, and Ist Corps are 210 officers killed and
wounded. Privates and non-commissioned officers,
8,000 killed and wounded. Separated from their
corpS, or missing, about 4,000. Of the latter the
greater part have been brought together again. Of
the Bth Corps, under Benedek, the losses were less
serious; but I am not sure of the source 'whence
the numbers are obtained. lam informed that
Benedek lost 20 officers and about I,OOQ men killed
and wounded.
The line of the Mimic, having been abandoned,
all the bridges have been destroyed; those of Goito,
Valleggio, and Monzambano having been set on fire.
His Majesty the Emperor is still here, but there
is no saying how long he may remain. If Verona
be besieged he cannot stay here, and it is expected•
that he will soon retire to a position where he can
with more safety and effect conduct the movements
of his army. -Whatever may be the ultimate fate
of Verona, it will not perish of hunger. Quantities
of grain have been stored in every available place,
and 25,000 Hungarian oxen are either here or in
the immediate vicinity. General Urban has as-
sumed the supreme command of the fortress, the
internal economy of which is now settled under
the most rigid war regulations. No one is
allowed to stand within 300 yards of the walls ;
no one allowed to go in or out without a
special pass, and the black and yellow colours on
his arm. A proclamation has been made public by
General Urban, in which he declares that he has
assumed the command entrusted to him by his
Majesty Franz Joseph. It has, come to his know-
ledge that the proclamations hitherto issued have
not been respected as they should have been. For
this reason he thinks it necessary to state to the
public that he will act .with rigour against evil
deeds or ill intentions, and, in order that the public
inay know
,what they have to expect, he declares
that he is a loyal Austrian, in whom all may put
their trust; while for his own part his trust is in
himself.
The Emperor is still here, but in case of siege
will no doubt retire to a more convenient place.
The loss of artillery in the action of Solferino is
stated to-day to amount to five guns, which could
not be removed owing to the damage they had sus-
tained.

The Pope has addressed the following encyclical
letter, dated June 18, to the patriarchs, primates,
archbishops, and bishops in communion with the
Holy See :—" Venerable Brethren—Salutation and
apostolical benediction. The seditious movements
which have recently broken out in Italy against
the authority of legitimate princes, in countries
nearest to the States of the Church, have invaded
some of our provinces like flames of a conflagration.
Excited by this fatal example and by intrigues
abroad, they have thrown off our paternal rule ; and,
in spite of their small numbers, the adherents
of the revolt demand that they shall be sub-
jected to that one of the Italian Governments
which, of late years, has been the adversary of
the Church, of its legitimate rights, and of its
sacred ministers. Reproving and deploring the
acts of rebellion by which a portion only of the
people in those disturbed provinces • la i•
so much injustice our zeal disregard with
and our paternal care,
and declaring publicly that the temporal sove-
reignty which the most perfidious enemies of the
Church of Christ are, endeavouring to wrest from
it is necessary to
the Holy Sco, in order that
it may exercise without any
.obstacle its sacred
power for the welfare of religion, we address to
you, venerable brethren, this present letter, in
order to
seek, in the midst of such serious dis-
turbance
of public peace, some consolation for
our sorrow. On this occasion we exhort you,
on account of your declared piety towards the
Holy See, and your singular zeal for its liberty, to
see to the accomplishment of the prescriptions
-which we read was formerly given by Moses to
Aaron, the Sovereign Pontiff of the Hebrews :
(Numbers, chap. xvi.) 'Take a censer and put fire
therein from off the altar and put on incense,
and go quickly unto the congregation and make an
atonement for them ; for there is wrath gone out
from the Lord ; the plague is begun.' So, also, vo,
exhort you to offer up prayers, in imitation of
those of the holy brothers Moses and Aaron, who
prostrate on the ground cried out:—(Numb., chap.
xvi.) Most powerful God of the spirits of all flesh,
shall some men sin an dw ilt thou be wrothwith the con-
.great
gregation ? That is why venerable brethren we send
you the present letter, from which we expect
relief, because we feel confident thatyou will super-
abundantly respond to our wishes. Moreover, we
solemnly declare that, possessed of the virtue from
above which God, moved by the prayers of the
faithful, will confer on our weakness, we will brave
all perils, and undergo all trials, sooner than fail
in any respect in our apostolic duty, or do anything
whatever against the sanctity of the oath by which
we bound ourselves when, in spite of our un worthi-
ness, God's will, to this supreme
irnaciseedor,
by
the Apostles, the citadel and
seat
ofw
et
the were
Pr
rampart of the Catholic Faith. For the accom-
plishment of pastoral charge, calling down on you,
venerable brethren, all f joy and all' e we
lovingly accord to
you and your flocks the apos—
tolical benediction, which is a pledge of celestirg
happiness:,