Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-07-20
q The WOrIkiDgmen % France
Against AuStria. at

The Paris Steele of July g. publishes a
long letter from a workman, well known
in 1S4S, M. Corbon, on the partiality attrib-
uted by some journals to the Paris popu-
lace in favor of Austria. M, Corbon denies
the truth of the assertion, saying: rsrl
"TO preach from example, and without
pretending to bring forward any new ar
lguments, / will put this simple question to
any person capableIof judging correctly:
If Austria, listening to the voice of justice
and that of her own interest, had consented
to the cession of Venetia, was the present
war possible? In other words would Prus-
sia ever have thought of taking up arms,
had she not been able to rely upon a diver
sion on the side of Italy? The answer to.
this question cannot be doubtful. No inn
partial mind can refuse to reply-No; war
was not possible. Therefore It is Austria
who is the first and principal cause of the
blood which is being shed at the present
day on so many fields of battle. On her
must fall the greater part of the response
bility. Then again, supposing a war be-
tween Austria and Italy inevitable, was it
not good policy on the part of the Italian
Government to profit by the old rivalry be-
tween the two great German Powers, and
to combine simultaneous action with
Prussia? All know well that, without a.
miracle, Italy, operating alone against her
powerful O. adversary, would have been
crushed, and; that France, to prevent that
consummati0n, would have been obliged to
intervene afresh Is it not, then, hundred
times better that in such a necessity the
rival of Austria should do indirectiy7what
France would have been under the i'm
iperious obligation of doing directly p
Where is the man gifted with the small
est political Intelligence who would
not agree with us? The Prussian
Government had, indeed, O long time since
excited all our antipatbies, and the alliance
between it and the Italian had wounded
the public feeling in Franee.o We were so
full of the idea that in some future day we
should have to- complete the emancipation
of the noble Italian nation, that the alli-
ancelwith Prussia on the part of Italy ap-l
peared to us in the light of an infldelity,
and with that feeling, Joined to our antip-i
athy fOrthe Prussian Government, we look
ed with an uhfavorable eye on the solidar-
lity established between those two PoWe Wers.s,
But In the end we have had to toaekuowledge,
that our feeling was rather generous than
wise, and that the italian nation has COM
,mitted no sort Of infdelity toward us in,
lsparing the forces of France, and prohtingi
by those which born adversary Of AUS
tria would have to bring into the field.
What the Italian Government has done is,f
therefore, In every point of view, good pOlsa
icy. lastly, the minds OF men may be,
easily made up as to the Inevitable nature,
and necessary effects of the war that has Just
commenced No person endowed with any
foresight could imagine That the sovereign
ltyaof populations could be substituted for
that Of princes all over Europe without
causing one day or another a aformidable con-
lfiict between peoples and rulers. The pub
llicists of French democracy haVea thou
sand times since the revolution Of 1890 pres
ldicted the inevitable nature of this con-
test. gIs It destined to spring out,of the,
present war? Yes--although the struggle
is hoty everywhere fotmally engaged inti
the naaieof those two principles. Id real
ity, the revolution is one. side and resist-
ance on the ,othera The organslof. clerical
and legitin1ist opi1iop make no mistake iii
the matter, Ever since the beginning of
the crisis they. have characterized it dis
tinctly enough IN their eyes it is the old
=. Hf.H IU