The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-07-25
49, - -
EUROPE.
fcoyre,pondsnc, of the London 1fm,s.l

Correspondence Of the London Tfnes.l
AN AUSTRIAN VIEW OF THE AUSTRIAN
ARMY AND IT'S GENERALS.
VERONA, June 20.-Meanwhie the headquarters
of the Emperor remain in Verona, and the most
peremptory contradiction is given to the statement
contained in the papers just received from Vienna,
that the supreme command of the army is about to
be relinqushed for time by his Majesty, and left
to be welded by the veteran Hess. The Emperor
remains at the head of his army, which requires his
presence in order to regain that spirit which it has
somewhat lost in consequence of the retreat from
Cavriana. ] am not certain that it is generally
known in England how completely the Austrian
military system has been changed within the last
six seven years; yet the change in part explains
the shortcomings of the past few weeks. The Aus
tian army up to this date has been army of very
Young soldiers. | do not mean by this that the men
are under age or deficient in strength, but they
have not been long under training. According to
the regulations fixed number of corps has to be
maintained throughout the empire. At fixed pc
Rod of every year the youth of that empire are
drafted into the army and distributed among the
corps. The arrival of these new drafts liberates
| equal number of men who have already served.
The latter after one, two. three years service,
at the option of the colonies of regiments retire to
| their homes furlough of indefinite duration,
and are only called out again in the event of
! The Austrian army, which has been fighting at
| MontebellO, PalestrO, Magenta, and Cavriana, is
thus composed of young soldiers who cannot have
the endurance, the foritude, and discipline of older
! and more experienced men. 1t would have been
WISER doubtless, had the Austrians thought of this
matter in time. They were aware that Louis Ma
| poleon would move, if he moved at all, with the
! flower of his army. They knew that he had paid
| high premiums to induce old soldiers to remain in
the ranks after the expiration of their usual time,
/ and that the picked men of the French army tried
under the fierce of Africa and in the hard came
paign of the Crimea would be opposed to them,
and be assisted besides by an artillery of a novel
and most effective kind. They did not take suhi-
cient heed of these important facts, any more than
they considered that generals who, 10 years ago,
| fought with ability and success in the campaigns of
Italy might have possibly lost some of their origi
nal vigor The result has been such as to open
their eyes to the necessity of supplying defects
! which are now apparent to all. The soldiers who
are now recruiting the Austrian army are the re-
tired furlough men past years; they reserve
which it would, perhaps, have been better to en-
| ploy at once, but which will now give increased
vigor to the efforts of Austria. Of old the army
was without reserves, and great series of defeat
necessitated the formation of a new army, composed
chiefly OF recruits. The present system gives Aus
tria reserve which enables it to repair losses al
most instantly. The question, as far as the present
war is concerned is this: Which is best, to risk all
the tried men first and trust to recruits after or
employ first the young soldiers, and bring up re-
! serves after As far as the present campaign is
concerned the results favor the first of these alter
| natives.
With regard to the generals the experience of
the last few months has been decisive. First twas
found necessary to remove Count Gyulai. Now fur
the changes have become necessary. | learn that
Count Clam Calais retires to Germany to superin-
tend the formation of a new corps that Prince Ed
ward Lichtenstein follows Count CLAIMS example;
that General Zedwitz, who withdrew his cavalry to
GOito, is pensioned and that General Laung shares
his fate. Thus, while French generals are becoming
dukes of imaginary principalities, Austrian gener-
ais remain in their old dignties or lose those which
| they previously enjoyed The retirement of Gen
era Zedwitz promotes Count Sternberg, and Cen
era Pockorny gets step. Count Palsy also rises
to higher rank and numerous colonies become
| generals of brigade.
Among those whose talents and energy age can
not obscure or diminish, Baron Hess stands prOmi-
nent, and Count Nugent excites wonder. Count
Nugent, although 50 years of age was to be seen in
the centre Of the action of the oath. either scan
ming the advance of the enemy from prominent DO
sitions, giving directions, Gliding many ingerers
He remained in the midst of the donger till the last
and it was only at the tender socitude of his aides
de-camp that he was induced at last to mount his
little yellow pony and quit the field. During the
night he took no sleep, and yesterday he out
for eight hours reconnoiering the heights of Rivo.
Count Nugent is the general to whose energy Ra-
detski owed it that be obtained timely reinforce
ments in ls49. He is a thin, white-hared Irishman
of middng stature, whose voice does not as vet
trembe, and who possesses at fourscore the &C
tivity of of 80. 1t may be interesting'to add
that notwithstanding his long service in Austria
and the facility with which be speaks most of the
dialects of the empire, he preserves rich southern
| brogue edtirely unimpaired.
| From the London TTmesl
| 1t ought now and then to occur to our Younger
readers how man, like Lord Palmerston at the
age of seventyhye, to be once more installed
as the chief man of this empire. We know what
most men are who survive to this age, aud how
literally they fulfil the psamist's lament that after
three score years and ten all is but labor and trou
BILE. We know how they humble, and prose, and
complain; we know their prejudices, the stupid re-
marks they make about affairs of the day. and their
feeble attempt to compensate for much ignorance
and wickedness by the continual obtrusion of some
foolish hobby pretence of godliness. If they are
strong and rich they are brutay selfish and dicta-
torial; If not, they are misanthropes In fact un-
less one can hope to be something better than the
average, reason would dictate short career But
here is Lord Palmerston, still gay; still winning
friends; still open to conviction; still learning; and
besides governing the nation, able to make good
speech for anybody that wants Here we have
him distributing prizes at the University College,
surrounded by of the chief educatonists of the
| country, and surprising them on their own ground
even while, with his wonted good nature he is re-
minding people of their good sayings. Well, tell
us how this is, you jolly young fellows who think
the fun of life must be at thirty, and that at
forty is confirmed old fogey, good for
nothing under the sun, except, perhaps, to make
money and leave it to his betters.
| Your premier is twice this age;-beat him. if
you can. Run tilt with him anywhere Cross
rapiers at table, put on the gloves with him at
ST. Stephens, draw bow with him for set speech
on an important subject, and you will find him
your better-better for hand, and for eye and for
stamina. How is it, think you? What virtue or
what vice of system still brings this man to the
top OF us all? He is only an Irish peers he has
enough for his position but no more; he pretends
neither to much religion nor to none; he is not
even an orator, for he is incapable of philippe,
tremendous argument, or an overpowering climax.
| The old idea of the man who welds fierce de-
mocracy or commands the applause of a Senate il
| scarcely fulfilled in him who again and again be-
| comes bv common consent the first man in tie ma
ton. There is mystery to be solved in result of
| which the means are so wanting to the end. 1t is
mystery of nature and of art; and when Lord Pal
| merStOn from before throne mi
rants for fame and advancement and tells them the
right way to get on, hailhim not merely as man
who has Just got up some views on education, but
as one who has solved in his great secret
of life, and now tells US how he has done it.
Of course we must put some things aside as very
necessary to success in life but not to the purpose
in the distribution of prizes. The chief are the so
cal qualities capacity for friendship real inter
| est in worthy persons and objects, command of
temper, and goodnaured indifference to the petty
anmosites of the vulgar. Where these are not it
| is almost vain torecommend them and Lord Palmer
ston might well have advised all his younS
hearers to stand at least five feet ten in their shoes
as recommend kind and generous disposition, As
regards what can be done, and what every lad can
I resolve to do on entering a college or betaking
himself to his garnet, Lord Palmerston gives most
admirable, most simple and most Ineligible advice
Tho points of most importance, in his estimate
| must be those which he most insists upon and re-
turns to- The first of these is perseverance against
failure, against defeat against the continued pres
| sure of adverse circumstances. Strange advice to
hear from man who has right to be considered
the most fortunate man in the empire
For this he quotes a remarkable saving of Mr.
| Fox, who hoped more from the man who had not
succeeded, but went in spite Of it, than from the
| buoyant career of the successful. This was well
for Mr.. Fox who combined genius and sue ess but
lost the prize for want of the very quality he prais
ed Lord Pamerston's career has been pre-emi-
| nently one of industry and perseverance. He must
be a very old man indeed who remembers the time
when Lord Palmerston not in the House of Com
mons, taking every opportunity of doing his duty
as legislator, and, when in Office, a servant of
the crown. For half century he has been as con-
slant to that floor as any man of business to his
desk. To undertake such seryitude beforehand is
| something overwhelming. Who would do it for
any consideration? Consider that it involves Lon
don for more than half the year, remuneration of
dinners parties of all kinds and, what is more do
mestic life except on few precious evenings, and
the bulk of ones time to be spent in listening to ex
ceedingy dull Professionalism all this, and one
| would gladly compound with some admitted mis-
fortune than be bound for such a slavery. But
that has been Lord Palmerston's own career if the
hundred thousand revolutions of mill-horse can be
so called. He has made it his rule to give an un-
tagging attention to everything and everybody; to
lose opportunity; never to get behind even for
five minutes in the parliamentary race. So be is
the man to tell us, with singular authority, sThe
whole life of man in country like this is life of
struggle, of competition.-I will say of fght--of
competition with those who are running the same