The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-20 00:00:00

THE SUN.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 1859.

The Conferences at Zurich seem to be at a dead
lock ; for Austria, true to her avaricious policy,
wants to saddle Sardinia with nearly all the debts
incurred by her forced loans on the Italian Pro-
vinces, or Duchies. In fact, nothing will satisfy
Austria but having her own way ; and that the
Emperor NAPOLEON insists she shall not have.
The end of these mock Conferences, for we cannot
call them any other, will be a total failure, or we
shall be much mistaken. It is not in the nature
of things that a State made up of the most dis-
cordant nationalities, gathered together by intrigue,
violence, and all sorts of villainous jobbery, should
relax its hold upon any one of its victims without
a very stern pressure of persuasion.
Meantime the EMPEROR of the FRENCH is play-
ing a part of magnanimous character so unlike
Austrian policy that he must now support his own
views—keep faith with the Italians, and he need
not care one rush for all the grand but feeble fuss
of Austria.

It was but yesterday that the Marquis FON-
TANELLI proposed in the National Assembly of
Modena a resolution declaring the forfeiture of
the Austrian dynasty d'Este to the Duchy, and
the banishment from the State for ever of every
Prince of the House of Hapsburg-Lorraine. The
Assembly unanimously resolved to take the ques-
tion into consideration, and the proposal of the
Marqnis FONTANELLI was received with three
rounds of applause.

Again, the same spirit displays itself in other
parts of Italy, and in the National Assembly at
Florence the motion under consideration was for
annexing Tuscany to Piedmont, as follows :—" The
Assembly declares that it is the firm desire of Tus-
cany to form part of a strong Italian kingdom,
under the constitutional sceptre of VICTOR IMMA-
NUEL II." This motion was unanimously seconded,
the movers being Prince STROZZI, Marquis MANzI,
Counts DELLA GIIERARDESCA, FRANCHESCHI, PIC-
COLOMINI, and BORGIIESI, and M. ADAMI.

Such being the state of furor, among not only
the peoples, but their august Representatives, what
hope has Austria for recovering her stolen, but
happily, lost property in the life, liberty, and labour
of the oppressed Italians ?
We hope the Emperor NAPOLEON will be firm in
his purpose, and England will support him in his
determination to let the Italians have fair play, by
being left to themselves.
While we are just writing a telegram has ar-
rived, announcing that this very day the several
States of Italy have agreed to enter into a league
offensive and defensive for insuring the indepen-
dence of their own dear native land.

The question which apparently must be settled
next session is now fairly again before the people ;
and Rochdale has had the honour of opening the
inter-sessional discussions. War, we may hope,
there will be none to divert attention. The late
Government was ejected because their Reform Bill
did not satisfy the country ; the present Govern-
ment is avowedly a Reform Government—Reform
has now been for more than ten years a promised
Government business. Whigs and Tories have
both tried their hands at it, and neither have given
satisfaction ; and the matter has been so amply
discussed, that every phase of the subject has been
looked at. It seems, therefore, inevitable that the
PALMERSTON Cabinet should boldly grapple with it.
Whether it be by an autumn session, which is the
right course—too right, we fear, to be attempted—
or by its becoming the AARON'S rod to swallow up
all the regular Parliamentary business of 1860
—late this autumn or early next spring—we must
deal with Reform.

It was, therefore, naturally enough the chief
subject of the speeches of Messrs. CoBl3 and
BRIGHT at Rochdale. The second evening, espe
to the non-electors and
cially, was devoted
to the coming Reform Bill, in which, it is to
be presumed, they are chiefly interested. It
ought in all reason to be so. They are the party
on whom it is proposed to confer that great bless-
ing, a thousandth or a ten-thousandth part in a
member of Parliament. Mr. COBDEN, however,
tells the non-electors, with his wonted honesty,
that he does not think they care very much about
the privilege which the chiefs of parties seem so
desirous to bestow upon them. Mr. BRIGHT re-
ferred, indeed, to the hundred meetings which con-
demned the disfranchising clauses of Lord DERBY'S
Bill; but Mr. COBDEN had referred to the small
extent to which the eloquent addresses and agita-
tion of-Mr. BRIGHT, last autumn, were followed up,
in places to which he did not go. There were,
however, several reasons for this ; Mr. BRIGHT'S
Bill was supposed not to be meant as a practical