The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-05-12

| biiiNeu Ut DttWttU AuSt'i" ohN
France at Paris--which would facilitate the
action of tho two powers in direction
| favorable to France.
| While theae assurences were being ex-
changed General Turr reached Florence
tJnly 27) and brought Victor Emmanuel q
budget of gossip and We've, unofficial but
most interesting, which revealed great
change in the situation from that OF the 18Th
of July, when the triple alliance had been
arranged, with the Roman question, which
| had prevented an understanding In 1863,
quite left out. General Turr on hls part
found Italy agitating with regard to Rome,
and Austria proposing preliminary treaty
between herself and Italy as condition
precedent to the triple alliance with France.
| The French Government now found it
| necessary to invite categorical explana-
tons. This it did July %. King Victor
| Emmanuel in reply formally withdrew his
demand on France for anything more than
| a simple return to tue terms of the cOnven- =.
tion of September, but on the very same
day Count Won Beuet telegraphed from
Vienna to the Austrian IL mister at Paris to
say that the suggestion he had made ION
the 20th-his letter reached Paris on the
23i) that France should evacuate Rome
had beeu inspired by Italy. The Italian
Am bassador at Paris being questioned at
once asserted as positively tbat Austria
and not Italy had taken the initiative in
the matter and the French Government
found it necessary to unravel this contra
dic.ion. The Italian Ambassador, the Chew
slier de Nigra, telegraphed to Florence for
an explanation, and received areply July %
from the Italian Foreign Minister, Count
Vsconti Venosta, declaring positively that
whenever France should execute her
part of the convention of September 1864,
'Italy, which has not denounced that con-
vention, would carry out faithfully it's
clauses, cOntiding in q ust reciprocity on
the part of France in meeting her own en-
gagements." All was now apparently set.
tied, and the Duke of G Gramont wrote to
the FreL ch Ambassador at Vienna: "TEe
incident is completely ended. In
consequence ind ourselves to day
standing plumply on the ground of the
September convention nothing more than
that is asked of us, and We will carry it
ont. Oar corps of occupation will evacuate
the pontt tical states on the 5lh of August.
At this moment, however, King Vlctor's
aide- de- camp and Prince Napoleon's friend,
General Turr, suddenly came upon the
scene again, this time at Vienna. He could
hardly claim to be even an "oflicious"
agent of Italy in the face of Visconti-
Venosta's explicit declaration, but it was
desirable that he should be informed of
what had, been done and that an under
standing had been arrived at. The Duke
of Gramont telegraphed on the 29th of
July to Prince de la Tour d'Auvergne, the
French Minister at Vienna, thus:
have received letter from General Turr,
who writes from Florence and is on his way
to Vienna. where he will stop at the Hotel
Muller. He is meddling in the whole negotia-
tion, and though he has no authority for SO
doing, think he is employed by prince Ma
poleon) 1t seems to me that at Florence he
did more harm than good. ! fear he may do
the same at Vienna. Send for him as soon as
he arrives and tell him from me that we will
on no consideration abandon the convention
Of september-thnt he must not even speak of
IL. Use the same language to him ss you have
to the others on this subject.
Prince de la Tour d'Auvergue acquitted
himself of this commission July 30. Two
days later Count Vlmercsti reappeared at
Paris from Vienna with the draft of an
Austro Italian treaty in four articles. Aus
tria and Italy agreed by this treaty to place
their forces by land and sea on the footing
of an armed neutrality, which was to be
Converted by COMMON and simuTtaneo0s
accord into an effective cooperation in
favor of France. All the conditions to be
observed during and after the war were
prescribed, and the moment of action |
chosen by Austria, and selected by her
because her army would then be ready to
move, was to be the beginning of Septem Der |
There was n special article in the treaty by |
which Austria engaged to second Italy to
the end of obtaining a more advantageous
settlement of the Roman question than that
which would result from the convention cf
September, 1864. This article brought
up again, though in less explicit form,
precisely the proposition which on the
objection of France had been previously
laid aside. Furthermore, Vimercati's new
treaty was between Italy and Austria
alone and did not offer France an immedi- |
ate participation. This the Duke of Ora
mont pointed out. He was told that as
France was already at war the signing of
q triple alliance would bring Prussia and
probably Russia down at once upon Austria
and Italy before those powers were ready
to fight. To leave no doubt as to the real
object of the treaty, the clauee about con
verting the armed neutrality into an effec-
tive cooperation with France, however,
had becn added. Count Vimercati left
Paris after n stay of a few hours to carry
the treaty to the Emperor Napoleon at
Metz. He brought it back to Paris the next
day. Napoleon had indicated two changes
The date of entering into active CO opera
ton must be fixed, and be an early one,
aud the article about Austria seconding
Italy in the Roman question must be struck