, 1860-11-15

From the London Tlnes.1

Political and Financial E1igsncfss OF
Russia and Austria.
From the London Tiues.1
In that ancient city which stands like a mon
ument orer the ruins Of Polish independence
have Just met the three lneal representatives
of three sovetelgns who ninety years ago COM
menced the work Of extinction md partition
which It has been reserved to our own days to
sec fully consumnated. Austria, PRUSSIA, md
hnssla have met In their second triumvirate, .
conjuncture Of III omen to the liberties Of Eu-
rope, as when Of old It proclaimed wrath "to
Poland and to man-" But the spoil that they
divided among them hu not th1iyen with
them They meet, not, as Of old, to plot the
ruin Of their neighbours, md to divide among
meet In terror and dismay-with discomfort ut
the present and sinister forebodinga for the
future The pillars On which they believe
their power immutab1y based a1e cracking and
tottering beneath them. 4 new spirit has
arisen IN Europe, 20 longer the frantic spirit
OF innovation which burst forth SO vehenentiy
In 1793 and l8a8-the easiest antagonist with
which an absolute prince can hare 10 cope, the
most suicidal Of ali manfas, which, II 1t sue
cecds in orerthEowing despotism, Is sure to
!ay broad foundation for worse tyranny In
its stead. The spirit Of the present day is
more moderate, more rational, and therefore
to those who reat their claims neither on sea-
son nor moderation, mora truly formidable.
Fhe spirit Of modern Europe spurns at theoc-
racy, whether in the person Of priest who
hos made himself into a temporal monarch,
Ike the Pope, or Of 4 temporal monarch who
has made himself into the head Of religious
sect, like the Car Of Russia. 1t demands
equal rights aud equal laws, freedom Of COM
'nercc, the abolition Of Inyidious and exclusive
privileges, and voice for the people in the
Affairs of the government under which they
live and suffer,
These things must sound to tho ears Of men
s"athcd IN the purple aud taught to lisp in the
strnnge md horrible indeed, and We cannot
wonder that the soyeseigns Of eastern Europe
have met together to take counsel how this
plague may be stayed and matters retained a
little longer in their original happy state. But
cd, has ended In nothing. It has been q SOL
enn display before the eyes Of Europe Of an
ger hnd impotence, Of alarm at approaching
danger, and Of fecblcuess which has no power
to avert it.
The Interview has, II we mistake not, re-
Tcaied to each Of the tr;umyirate the aec1et Of
his OWL aud Of his associates weakness, But
i has done something more, It has taught
these cmperors aud princes how little real
harmony there fs Ia their Views; how little
they possess the will, evcu II they possessed
The power, of united action. The solemn hunt
ins which was to conclude the deliberations Of
tstcnsib!y Oh account OF the illness Of the
| empruss dowagcr Of Russia, but really, VIC be.
hcvc, because the terms on which the empes-
ors met each other were such as to render
protEacted intercourse extremely undesirable.
They arc gone back, each to his own home,
With Ittle contentment with themselves OF
each other, and with, we suspect, the firm con-
siction that these principles Of uon-iuterrep-
tlon which they 10 cordially detcst ase
forcibly imposed upon them alike by their
*eakness and their disuuion. The Emperor
Of Russia must be we'll aware that he has
enough on his hands in the interior Of his
country without plunging into the stormy
waters Of Italian politics. He Is standing face
| to face with whole srryilc population, which
he has taught to know and demand it,
rights, without having devised any means
Of conceeding them. We're he rs power
might trcmble before the domestic troubles by
which he Is surrounded, and which threaten
cot only the -subyeraion Of government, but
the destruction Of society itself The South
ern half of his dominions Is deso1atcd by the
VAT which the rashncss Of his father provoked,
h:s army ia much reduced In numbers, and
even those numbers It Is difficult to support
The credit Of the government is gone, and it Is
next to impossible for 1t to borrow, even on
the most cxorbltaut terms. Russia can recall
her Minister from Turin. can advise the Pope
to stand firm. can frame protests on behalf OF
tAA@ AAA.AA *NA oAAAkf kAE A4AE5 Qk AAplC3t OAt
the days when 9uwarrow crossed tho Alps to
rcconqucr Italy from Napoleon are passed, not
to return. Russla cannot spare her army, and
1t she could, has not tho money required to
put it In motion. The Czas may pray a;s.irst,
but be cannot light a.ainst, the new Italian
Kingdom.
Prussia must at length be thoroughly con.
vinced Of that Of which she ought to lave been
convinced long ago-that the arts Of trucklin.
and ambiguous policy arc unsuited to the uf.
scncJ Of tue present time She has tried to
persuade Russia and Englaud-thc two poles
Of the political woEld-that she is entirely in
accord with both. After tho failure Of the
conference at Warsaw, she has nothing for Il
but to relapsc Into tho semtconstitutionalism
from which for moment she seemed to wish
to emancipatc herseE But weshould imagine
that no one las returned from this abortise
meeting SO utterly discontentel as the Empe,
rorof Austria Bis feelings aud preIudices have
been ~ much Outraged as those Of his neigh,
bors, but with him the evil does not stop there.
The emancipation Of Italy is to iim some,
| thiog more than speculative injury. It CON.
mencea by Iobbing him Of Lombardy, and il
will assnretiy not terminate without depriying
him Of Venetia. He las played the list card
in his hand By the grant Of i Constitution to
| his dsconteuted provinces. The Constitution
Is scanned In narrow and dlstrustful spirit,
and, as Tar as wc can get judge, has done noth:
Ing towards allayfns existing disconteuts. Ills
| tIUNpn A4G Nl44EtlcA Ill 1HlluEukG 1Nn34E3 GGQlQH
the fortresses OF Vtnctia; his resources are
exhausted by the effort, and yet he dAre moi
take the decisive step for which he has made
every preparation. He Is not sure of the pro
yinces he Leaves behind,-h is not confident
against the enemy whom he may have to mce1
III front. Something Is apprchcuded from
Hungary this winter, something tho probabii
ty Of which the emperor can scarcely admit to
himself II Russia were only able and willing
to give the samesassistancc in case If need a.
she did in 1849,-hQt that is hardly to BE- thought
Of. Whatever be the extent Of the recoucilia
tion OF which 50 much has been made, it can
not give Russia the means, even II she had the
will, for second crusade against the liberties
Of Hungary. Then there IS the question o.
finance, or rather the certainty Of almost i'm
medlate bankruptcy, Nor 10 this all TLe
emperor Of the French adds battalion to eve
y regiment, pouss his troops into the Ronag
III, and, while he recalls his minister from IL
rim, secretly approves and stimulates tic ycl,
policy which be disayows.
As far as the letter Of treaties is concerned
Austria might invade Modcna, Parma, Tusca
ny, the States of the Church. Of Naples, with
out giving France capae Of war. hut france
has already shown how easy 1t is to make I
! very dangerous contldeucs which should in
ducc the emperor to vio1ate tho principle O
non-fnteryention recently laid down with &
much emphasis Ia the semi-oflci3I article It
the CoAstisutiosaad. Besides tho emperor ha.
recalled to the recollection Of Austria that sh.
by her treatment Of Yenetia, SO that is sutti
caent cause Of quarrel To remain in her pres
cnt position Of armed expectation ia to Aus
tria financial ruin, and q sacrifice Of nu tht
prestige which she hAs not lost already; t.
advance alone Is full Of danger, aud to reced.
Is scarcely possible No wonder that the Em
peror sought at Warsaw IN escape from thes,
| troubles In tha alliance. of Russia nnff pruas3o