Year: 1859




terday.


One days later news, telegraphed from Father
Point after the arrival of the North Briton, pub
lshed in the Tribune in the morning.


THE EMPERoRs' INTERVIEW.


From the London Times, July Ill


AT o'clock this morning the two Emperers of
France and of Austria to meet at Villa Franco,
Napoleon having expressly desired this friendly in
terview. The armistice which took the world by
prise Friday, agreed to by these two princi-
pals without the intervention of their ministers,
and it is not impossible that even the outline of
peace may be settled in the unceremonious
manner. 1t is course of proceedings which offers
great advantages to the more sagacious and the
stronger of the two negotiators. The armistice
the result of a letter from the Emperor of the
French and courteous reply from the Emperor
of Austria but the public mind, excited by the
sudden cessation of the great din of war, is
still anxiously asking for or imagining occult
causes and dramatic incidents in so unexpected an
event The cause is undoubtedly a conviction in
the mind of the Emperor that a suspension of hos
tilites is at this moment of time very convenient
and expedient to himself, With this conviction it
was not difficult to find means of opening cor
respondence. Louis Napoleon accordingly wrote
to Francis the necessity he found
himself under of bombarding Venice. Everything
was prepared, the feet was quite ready to begin.
but the tender heart of the French Emperor could
not bear the emotion which the possibility of dam
age to that beautiful city caused him. For himself
his most earnest desire to spare that interesting
monument of medieval civilization. He put it to
bis imperial enemy-coud nothing be done to avert
this dire necessity?


This was respectable excuse for an overture
from the victor and it was at the same time a de-
cent pretext to the vanq1ished. To Francis JoseLh
it must have come like water to wounded soldier.
1t came at a moment when he had no longer any
confidence in his army, and when his army had no
conf fdence in him. He could not sue for peace and
hold his throne; but truce is a different thing.
Truces military arrangements, which some
times followed by renewal of war, as they were in
1913 and lS49, when they served as point to mark
the change from Austrian defeats to Austrian vic
tories 4 truce salvation to Francis Joseph.
He accepted it with coyness that i'll masked his
delight, and with an attention to appearances
which Napoleon, with future objects in his head,
might not be sorry to humor.


There are reasons living upon the surface why the
Emperor of the French should desire to close the
first chapter of his military career. The campaign
is complete and uncheckered in its success. The
Austriaps had invaded the territory of his alIv
Louis Napoleon has chased them out, and has re-
taliated their invasion. The Germans had declared
throughout all their nOn-Offical organs that they
would come to Austria'S assistance Immediately the
French crossed the Mncio. Louis Napoleon struck
a great blow, and then passed the Mincio in COM
plete tranquility. He has done all that he desired.
He has shown Austria that she is at his mercy, and
Prussia that he is very far from fearing her. Much
more than this; he has sent Austrian standards to
Paris, and has gained victories at the head of a
French army. In all his previous history he never
could be quite of the soldery, for he had not
shown himself soldier; now be is safe in this re-
spect. What more natural than that the Emperor
should desire to go back to Paris, and wear his
laures while they vet are green? Surely this is
better than risking reverse in that illfamed Quad
rilateral! thousand things might happen. The
pestilent marshes of the Mincio are rife in autumn
fevers, and one of these might prove more fatal
than battle. Why should he wait to break his
teeth against those solid stone walls? He has ridden
his fox to earth after splendid run, almost with
out a check; it is scarcely worth his while to wait
and dig him out. So thinks the Emperor. He
leaves that trusy old earth stopper Marshal Vail
liant on the watch, and, with whoOp to his hounds
he turns his horses head, and is off home to Paris


We have stated what are, we think, obvious rea-
sons why both Emperors should agree to the arms-
tice, soon as the first difficulty OF proposing it
was got over. 1t appears to u.s. however that these
reasons are no less cogent to prevent recurrence
of hostities, and that there others of still
greater import which favor the hopes of peace. At
present the Emperor of the French has not serious
iv embroed himself with his clergy, but the steps
which he must next have taken if the war had pro-
ceeded could scarcely have failed to tell unfavora-
bly upon his relations with Rome. He has not vet
committed himself to the task of revolutioniZing
Hungary but the torch was lit and the hour ap-
pointed at which he was throw it. War is very ex-
pensve, and even thirty millions is a sum not i'm
possible to spend, and it is luxury which you
would enjoy now and then-even three years or so


it is wise to enjoy it temperatey, and to leave off
unsatiated Then there is the glory, and the profit
of magnanimity. No one can appreciate more per-
fectly than Louis Napoleon the advantage of re-
framing from doing all that he unquestionably
could do. If he has done enough to convince
Francis Joseph that he has Austria in the hollow
of his hand and can close his fingers on her
when he lists, he has done better than if he had
marched to Vienna. Perhaps it is possible to make
of an humbled enemy grateful friend. Napoleon
III has habit of levying friends at the head of a
recruiting party of 900 men. Russia, now so
loyal, was enlisted among his intimates by that
heavy shake of the hand he gave her in the Crimea.
has fS,alaT a,,A
he play it at once nobly ami proftaby. Say
that he gives part of his spoils to Sardinia, and
leaves Venice to Austria the price of her ready
submission. The Romans may complain, and the
newspapers may remind him of his promise that
Italy should be liberated from the Alps to the Ad-
riatic; but few specious stipulations would fulfil
this promise to the ear, and the Emperor of the
French in answer to every cavil, might show to
his own people and to the world two irst-rate Eu-
ropean powers who had been his enemies, and are
now his friends; he might point to Russia and
Austria, both humbled and both spared. We
think all these considerations counsel peace. De-
pend upon it, Louis Napoleon has not given a
respite to Francis Joseph merely that the latter
NAV buy rifed cannon and bring down his reserves
from Austria and Francis Joseph has not accepted
this boon with no other hope than that his brist-
ling Quadrangle shalbAe taken a few months later,
and that Hungary may have time to play her part
in the confusion. We have seen enough of Louis
NapoleOns military policy to note that he runs his
races in short heats He has learnt that France
likes but that war to be popular In France
must be short and successful Unless Austria should
be so unreasonable as to insist on retaining Lom-
hardy, and refuse to withdraw from further inter
meddling in ltaly-an obstinacy which we cannot
imagine, for it would amount to judicial blindness
W! do not anticipate any more deeds OF arms on
the MinciO. The army of Italy has gathered its
laurels, and may be content. The army of the
Rhine is not yet fully mustered, and when brought
into position it villas we shall be duly informed
in the Jfoniter-only be there to check any am
hitlOus of
the integrity of the French empire.


NAPOLEON'S MODERATION.


[Frona the London Ne,Us J,iyI21


The present moment is not, perhaps, avery proud
one for the supernumeraries whose business it is to
swell the triumph of the halfdozen actors whose
appear in big type in the play bills of passing
history. 1t may seem to the inspired writers of the
MOniteur ungracious and disrespectiul to be only
moderately exultant at the declaration of an armis
tice the plains of Italy. BlOodShed is so horri
ble-as soon as an Emperor has as much as he
wants of it; war is so inhUman-when it ceases to
be onvenient and is not the Empire peace-when
its cause is won, though the cause for which
it broke the peace be compromised or betrayed
The Woniteur has not yet set the armistice to mu
sic, and we should be sorry tn misrepresent the
Composer of Europe before his baton has struck the
first note but we are anxious to give reason for
our reserve if we hesitate for the moment to chime
iu with the acclaiming chorus OF congrauiation
and the hymn of praise of which "the moderation o.
the Emperor is the magnificent refrain.


For :'moderation'' is the cant word of the hour
to which the public opinion of Europe is expected
to bow down in humble thankfuness and devout
acknowledgement. We know what crimes have
been committed in the name of liberty, and what
horrors have been perpetrated in the name OF re
ligion; the holier the words the more abomnablt
are the acts they consecrate; and we wait with
anxiety to learn what imposing sacrifice is about
to be performed under the name of ''moderatiOn
Assuredy no sound-minded Englishman will deny
the virtue of "moderation." 1t is the keystone o
our constitutional arch-the saving principle of oul
national life-the characteristic of our polity-the
habit of our daily experience in all our ecclesiast
cal aud civil affairs. But moderation for domestic
use, and moderation as export, are two very diff
guilty of "moderation" at the expense Of your
neighbor; but Englishmen who are not ad
dicted to theatrical effects, und not dis
disposed to regard international transaction:
as so much stage business for green-roon
Emperors' are apt to call ''moderation'' o
this kind by another name. We are GER
tain to hear So much of "moderation' fol
ant to the welfare of the nations more Immediately
interested in the meaning of the term to arrive
at an accurate definition. 1t was a chivalrous
but not, to speak by the card, ''mOderate act tc
put two hundred thousand men in line in order tc
turn a rival Emperor out of northern Italy. But
havinr done So it will not be, strictly speaking, al
act of absolute ''moderation to stop short at the
point where the real difficulties of the campaign
begin, and to say: 81 have proved yself general
have tested my rifed cannon; have slept in my
uucles bed won two great actions, and sacrificed
some thousand hetac5mbs to the God of Battles
and now, when France is satisfied, Europe is con
, tent let me make things pleasant with Austria
and go back, and celebrate the st. Napoleon a
More Dame" This sort of "moderation may dc