The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1866-07-07
TIE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
European Affairs.

NAPOLEON III. Is apparently about 10 achieve
a notable success. After - many years OF per
-istent endeayOr and disappointment, it seems
likely that at last his lon. cherished and never
abandoned design OF a European Congress under
the influence and through the instru1Hentaliry Of
"a BJnapartc, Is about 10 be realized. perhaps even
brilliantly. In Paris, too, Is the proposed Con-
grcss. OF Conference 70 be held. Heretofore he
has not yentured 60 far. Vienna has invariably
been the bait thrown out to secure the acquies-
encr of Austria, and 10 ward of suspicion ON the
part Of the other powers. Now the times have
again changed. Nillifranca l. to be repeated, it
tie French Emperor can carry his point, but on
Il more extensive scale. Austria once more
kncsis d supplicant At the feet OF France. Austria
comes u Paris for relief from the dangers that
beset her. Napoleon Ill. achieved u victory
when he became the guest Of Queen Victoria at
Windsor Castle; lie achieved Il double triumph
when he received her as his guest Mt the Tuileries.
Let him now succeed in making important changes
in the map of Europe. and his victory of the
Queeniy visit and his victory at SOlterInO will be
as nothing compared with the new one.
That Napoleon will himself preside over the
deliberations Of the Congress, however, as sug-
sested in our latest European news. is not IN the
least degree probable. The Congress in the first
place i not one of sovereigns. In the second place
his presidency could not prove otherwise than Il
restraint upon the free interchan e Of opinions
between the Commissioners inferior TO Linn in
rank. Besides such an assumption would wear
on its face the appearance of a pictorial design.
The other Powers would hardly consent to have
their representatives sit in the Imperial shadow.
If France is to extend her frontier to the Rhine,
if Belgium is to be absorbed, if Prussia is to
have the extended seacOast on the Baltic, if
Austria, instead of Turkey, is 10 have Mpldavia
and Wallachia, and Italy is to have Nenetia.
Europe generally, even Victor Emanuel. would
rather. we think. to have the changes discussed
in n manner that would not too Ialpahly suggest
tho exarcisa of an nn1ua influence If the (uD-
gress is to be one OF Governmental Commission
ers. five of the six Powers, We should think, would
insist upon its being such exclusively.
Austria Will meet Italy in the Congress on
terms of equality. In 1859. she haughtily re-
fused to do so, on the ground that she could sit
in convention only with her peer. She lost
Iombardy, perhaps. by her fooIishness in this
respect. She may now attempt 10 retain Venetia
by what she probably considers her condesccnsion,
but she is likely to fail. Categprically, it is
said, she refuses all propositions that relate to
the cession sf Ncnctia. Her object undoubtedly
is to hold back and concede nothing until she
has secured the best possible terms for herself but
she must yield up the Italian province az length.
Her other demands took a. though the Congress
is to be anything buta harmonious one. Prussia
is not likely to loosen her grasp on the Duchies.
Meantime the three threatening Powers are
still actively preparing for war. Austria, it is
said, has modified 600 coo men. Her standing
force, on Il war footing, is S19. 600 distributed as
infantry, 43l coo; artillery. 81 ,000;
cavalry, II. 900; extra corps, drivers, ambulance
and field hospital men, log 600. Deduct from
the infantry and the iagers the fourth battaliuns
and depot strength, 1O9.SO0 men, who remain
Mt home and in the recruiting districts, and the
number of foot troops available for service is
32l GOO. Making Il similar deduction from the
other branches of the service, and the artillery
can take the field with ~ 900 men and the caval-
~ with 80, 700, making IL total effective force of
1873 200 men. The telegraph informs us that
she is largely augmenting her force by recruiting.
Prussia has Il standing army of 367 900 men.
she can easily increase 70 a force of 800
300. The drawback on Prussia. in the event of
war. would be the number of fortresScs she
would have to defend. There are some thirty,
the formidable ones of Dantzig. Stettin,
Posen, Madebourg. Cologne, Coblentz and Ko-
The Italian service has under arms, at present,
204 500 men. including Ii ,004 officers. The re-
serve comprises l5O,4l4 men, giving a total of
354 ,743. OF these, 240 600 are available ut
once. Recruiting and Garibaldi's volunteers
would probably swell the number to 450, 900 or
500 .00O.-BUHefiH.