Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1859-08-04
From the London News. July Is.
The Peace.

" ;" - AAR VI a. a. W HRNkbl
and Count Cavour, the leader of the M
tional party in Italy, has made known his
opinion Of the same work by resiguing
his ministry. There could be no doubt
as to the course which that high spirited
minister would take. 1t was with appeals
and promises to Italy that the war was
commenced. and it is before Italy that
the pacifcation must be justified. Count
Cavour declines to say that this is a
righteous peace.
The war of Italian Independence is ter.
minated for the present, without securing
the objects for which it was undertaken.
The Allied armies are marching home
ward, leaving the noble work at most on.
ly half done. Italy is not free from the
Alps to the Adriatic. The Austrian
v%ulture, though beaten off from the right
side, still plants his cruel talons in the
left side of that long suffering Promethe-
US. This abrupt and Disappointing ter.
mination of the noble struggle has natu
rally filled both the covert and ayowed
enemies of freedom and progress with
unwonted exultation. The friends of des.
potism and intolerance, the aristocratic
partizans of Hapsburg rule; the supper.
tiers of the Holy Alliance and the Papal
throne, are almost beside themselves with
sudden joy. 1t is a jubilee for Austrian
grand dukes, italian cardinals, French
priests and English peers. All this is
natural enough. But there are others
besides the ayowed and real enemies of
progress who regard the peace with a
certain kind of satisfaction. Many sin
cere friends of the Italian cause look
upon it with a kind of sardonic pleasure.
as the fulilment of the gloomy prophecies
they have uttered ever since the com.
mencement Of the war. Such an alliance
they had always said, would. never pros
per, and could produce no good result
The peace is no doubt a very bad one !;
but they are no: disappointed, as they
never expected anything better, and can
only marvel at the ignorance or credulity
of those who imagined that the Italian
cause would be really served by a selfish
and arbitrary ruler like Louis Napoleon.
Looking at the conditions of the peace.
they turn with an air of triumph and
exclaim, He has betrayed the cause. as
we always said he would"
We have no wish to share this feeling
of triumph, nor do we accept the grounds
on which it rests. The cause of Italy is
dearer to US than the fulflment of any
prophecies. 1t is far too sacred to be
made the instrument of mere personal or
party triumph, and those who are in ear
nest IN the subject, will he more anxious
to examine the actual result than to con
denim the whole effort as an utter failure.
The peace is VIGOROUSLY imperfect, and
we have criticised it as it deserves. This
criticism has brought the prophetic enc.
mics of the alliance around US. More
than one correspondent of this class has
written in a tone of mingled c~ongratula-
ton and censure. They heartily approve
our condemnation of the peace and the
author of it. But while hailiDg what
they regard as an altered tone in refer.
encc to Louis Napoleon, they at tue same.
time express their surprise and regret
that we could ever have 4rnstaa
ported him. The answer to this is short
and simple. We have never trusted and
supported the Emperor of the French in
the sense referred to by our correspond.
ents. From the day he FIRST assumed the
purple, his character and conduct have
been unsparingly criticised in these col.
umns. The judgment formed on both
seven years ago, has been confirmed du
ring the interval byIfresh acts.of tyranny,
and repeated over and oyer again, and
we have hitherto seen no reason to
change it. His best impulses are obvious,
ly of a mere selfish kind /; but useful &C
tons often spring from questionable mo.
tiyes. And without inquiring too curl
ously into motives, a good action is to be
welcomed whoever does it. To help the
great cause of Italian nationality is EN-
phatically a good action, to be welcomed
by all lovers of freedom, When Louis
Napoleon offered such help, we, in com.
mon with the greatest italian statesmen,
willingly accepted it. There was a certain
amount Of peril, no doubt, in accepting
help at all from such a quarter; but while
the need was urgent, many reasons con
splred to render the danger small. The
condition of Italy could not be worse,
and it was the interest of Louis Napoleon
to make it better. But from the outset
we have supported him only SO far as he
identified himself with the cause of Ital-
ian independence, and we have trusted
him only on the conviction that this
course was in many ways connected with
his W interest. His fidelity to his en-
gagcment we were perfectly sure could
at most be only an act of enlightened
self.interest. Had he, according to his
promise, freed Italy from the Alps to the
Adriatic, he would have effectually hum
bled Austria; have established a power.
ful friendly kingdom on his southern
frontier; secured the gratitude and deyo.
ton of the Italians; fixed himself and
dynasty on the throne of France. and
gained at least the admiration of patriots
In every part o fthe worid
lie has to a great extent thrown this
splendid opportunity away. He has stop
ped in mid career, and hastily patched up
a miserable peace, when he might have
gloriously concluded a noble war. But
we believe in doing SO he has betrayed
himself quite as much as the cause he
championed. He is unfaithful not only
to Italy but to his own highest self.
interest. Had he concluded the work,
his triumph both in France and Italy
would have been certain and complete.
but it is now only dubious and PARTIAL
A latent consciousness Of this turks in the
~mendacious and apologize phrases of the
imperial manifesto just issued by the
Emperor to his soldiers. 1.-The priuci.
cal aim of the war is obtained - pnna tba