Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-07-31
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The Armastsce the bases of Peace.
FOn the LODdon Tfmss, July 70
War having had its time Of action, the time Of di
plomacy has come. A different class Of actors now
claim to occupy the scene. When We ask the ques-
tion, go exciting the curiosity Of all and 50 inn
portant to the personal interests Of many, whether
tits to be peace after the 18th of August, we
must ask il not Of Of the sword, but Of the ne
reditary possessors Of clouded canes aud diamond
mounted SNUFF boxes Immediately, while the con
ditons Of the armstice are yet scarcely knoWn the
idea of Congress arises in every diplomatic mind
A European Congress is 3 grand comm emoratIon OF
treaty-makers, q great pitched battle Of diploma
fists It is an encounter Of wits sharper than steel
can be shsrpened, wherein great victories can be
neutralized and q thousand deeds of heroism rem
dered unavaiIing. After ali the fighting is over,
il is these men who balance with calm calcula-
fion the profit and loss in the balance sheet of
blood Il is they who 6x the gains to be received
and the contributions to be made up according TO
the successes or reverses of the combattants. Hay
ing made their award, they separate with ahou-
sand courtesies, and amid shower Of rib1o and
crosses, which adhere 10 them forever afterwArd
To the professors Of this craft Congress is what
great battle is 10 q soldier. OF course the whole
profession declares this 10 be the orly possible
next move. It is almost certain that Europe is
now about to enter upon the ceremony Of great
Congress.
Il is early for such an expedient There are many
matters left unsOlEe6 by the war which ought TO
have been settled by the war, by diplomacy with
out war. The events of the last three moaths have
been sufficient to work great change in the posi-
tion Of the parties who but few weeks ago we're
pressing their extreme pretensiOns upon Europe,
but these events not sufficiently decisive to 81
either party right TO claim all that be then deelsr
ed TO be indispensable If we suppose the prelim-
mary difficulties to be got and the Congress to
be met, we can imagine that for some time its work
II hl,va It'll
Unity. glance at the map shows the status qHc.
Lombardy up to the MinGio is spoil Of war. Mo-
dena and Parma have thrown in their lot with the
Allies. All this land is the gain OF the Allies. Sar-
dinia, for whom the war VAS undertaken, may
naturally take il to form that Italian kingdom where
Of we have heerd much. Thus far We sre within
the status quo. But there ether considerations
besides these Venice is threatened but not subdaed
France will not like to leave Venice in the hands Of
Austria The superiority Of the French feet, AMI
the certainty Of the fact that France might take
Venice any day she chose, may pdu q the congress
10 think that the Queen of the Adriatie should have
o neutral fstS sad should exist as separate indie
pendent State, under Austrian ATchduke and
Italian institutions This will not content the rest Of
Italy, and will only be Submitted &c as q tempo
rary settlement; but it is difficult to see how Con-
gress called at his early crisis could pretend to
give more If we admit this solution so far, we get
rid of Lombardy and Venice; but our Difficult les
are by means st an end. Between LouIbardy
and Vencie lies that famous "Q1sdrlater9l," hug
fertilization throw out from the Tyrol, advancing
into Northern Ialy, and cutlidg the coGn'ry in
two. The possessor Of these four foIt'esses will
be, whenever he may please, the possessOr Of It
ally. What can the Congress do with these for
tresses? At present they Aastrisn IL is scarce
ly possible TO take them away from her without en-
equivalent, and the Congress has no equivalent TO
offer. The Emperor Napoleon has DO idea SO far as
we understand Of giving mp anything be has taken
the contrary, he demands, the price Of peace,
concessions which he has not yet forced by Aus
tria has taken care to inform Europe that she has
submitted to this armistice entirely the Invitation
ofFrance snd che has certainly sho present hu
to give Ut nything ond what her position d
Dramatically speaking demand. We have supposed
that she might be induced TO give up Venice, and
this would in itself be vast concession, 1t is
not easy to see how, Congress could ask her to
give up Ler great fortfesses Of Peschiers, Verona,
MsntuR and Legnsgo. Yet, if this be not done,
nothing has been done, and 100000 lives have been
sacrificed without result Bullet US imagine that
Austria, in fright or in policy, consent to rem
der up these uncooqueFed places Of strength; en-
other question of still greater difficulty, and equally
untouched by the fortune of war, arises-HoH is
Rome to be settled The most crying evil of all the
ills OfItay and the osensble of the whole of
war, the Observation-Disclosures of the Roman States.
What can Congress do to abate this great En-
ropean scandal France and Austria are them
selves the twin champions of the Pope. If they
Holy See; but if cad Of uniting upon this ques-
tion they should continue to bid against each other
for the favor Of the Roman Catholic world what
8 Congress dc? How can ProstestaDt England or
sohismatic Russia or Lutheran Prussia arbirate be-
tween the Holy Poutif ard those dutiful sons who
are shocked by the buheries of Perugia, ard still
By the chronic scandals of ecclesiastical gov
ernmenl? It may be that European Congress is
the proper machinery for creating theserew modif-
cations, for aggrsndizing Sardinia. for giving in
al,
away the temporal sovereignty Of the Pope, for
moulding tickle Tuscany, even now half inclined to
return to her old Archduke into some new Central
lillian dominion, and Tor deciding to the prirci-
Piles Of government which shall hereafter obtain in
the Italian Peninsula We confess however that
we cannot discern the exact aptitude Of the ma
chinery for the object intended to be produced
Everything that Congress could do, France and
Austria could themselves do much better, and much
that is necessary to be done Congress cannot med
die with. Its powers of mediGtion for good must be
exceedingly feeble it can only be q convenient
scapegoat TO bear the odium Of broken promises and
blasted hopes.
But what hopes have we of being able to do good
service to humanity in such assembly, or what
interest persuades to take part IN it. deba' les
Fortyfve years ago We appeared at the Congress of
Vienna among the powers which had undertaken to
resettle Europe. We went there with enormous
influence, having borne the principal part in the
war, and we out Of it with no further adV8nt-
age than barren declaration against the slave
trade. If we should thrust ourselves into the Con-
gress now about TO be proposed we shall be intru-
ders, tolerated only by reason of our power. We
have taken no part in the war and We have right
20 any voice in the discussion of the terms Of PEACE.
We should 20 there to become lrty responsible for
measures on which we could have no large amount
of inf uence. OF course, should be the advocates
Of constitutional goverDment-but with Whist hope
of an audience for our advocacy France would be
against US, Austria would not listen TO Us, Russia
would laugh as to scoTn; and, these the
Powers which fought, or prepared to fight, theirs
would be the voices that would carry the decision.
When the settlement of the States of the Church
came TO be ize1 we must be lily silent if we
woull bot be rebuked as impe-tineut, We might
have helped to exPe the Pope snl to give away his
kingdom; but from cur safe neutral position can
hardly, with deeency, pretend 10 advise Austria and
France how they should cons rain TO justice their
reverend but too exacting spiritual father. As we
represent in Europe nothing lut Pratestautism,
which has adherepts ameng the cOmbats, and
Constitutional Government, which has no friend
among the contending crowned heads, and as he
have hitherto by cur interference earned only the
i'll will Of both Sides think that it is not to the
honor dignity of this country to take place in
assembly where she must either be silent ove:
ruled. Unless it can be shown that we have some
more decided interests in these decisions than at
present appears, we shall, in opinion. act most
wisely If we leave these Continental questions 10 be