NO PEACE.
ACCORDING to the Turin correspondent of the Times, the great military cordon which Austria is drawing from Lego di Como to Lago Maggiore and along the banks of the two is formed with the friendly acquiescence of the King of Sardinia, in order to protect the Austrian frontier from the Italian refugees. The refugees, it is said, have a collected force of twenty thousand men in. the Piedmontese territory ; " money is subscribed by the rich among them, and charity given to the poor, and the whole organized for purposes of evil" ; Austria is presenting notes on the subject, but they perfectly "recognize" the independence of Sardinia, and are not calculated to give " umbrage " ; and Sardinia knows that she will be supported by France and England.
We recognize some truth in these rumours, but also much mani- fest error ; although the writer avers, that " his information is too precise for him to entertain a doubt, as the sources he commands are of the most direct nature ; and either all the diplomatic world and opposing interests are united to deceive him, or he is author- ized to state," &c. From this avowal we infer that part of his in- formation at least is derived from Austrian diplomacy; which has inspired, directly or indirectly, much of what has been contributed. to English knowledge, or English mystification, by " our own correspondents." Now it is the interest of Austrian diplomacy to make " our own" believe that the King of Sardinia is sidling up to Austria; because that may either force him to yield himself up completely, or hereafter to stand in an aspect of treachery highly useful to Austrian diplomacy. It is also the interest of the same diplomacy to make it supposed, at first, that King Victor Emma- nuel is supported by France and England, doubtful as that support may be in fact ; also to make it appear that Austria is acting solely in the defence of " peace "—the " peace of Europe"—a function to be admitted hereafter by those " friends " of Italy the Cabinets of London and Paris.
The one point which we want to enforce here is, that the Italians have a right to break the peace of Europe. The defence of Austria now is only a continued aggression on the Italians. The Italians have a right to choose their own government, if they can ; they have a right to make an alliance with one of their own primes, if they are fortunate enough and discreet enough to do so ; they have a right never to acquiesce in peace until they shall have expelled " Lo Straniero," who cannot govern them according to their genius —cannot abstain from the most hideous tyranny, which carries/ humiliation and the scourge into private families—who drafts them off, " coll' acquila in fronte," to enforce upon other raeesthe despot- ism enforced upon them. The peace of Austria in Italy is merely the supine exhaustion of the Italians in the intervals of the cease- less struggle ; and that peace the Italians, whatever the advice of our secret Foreign Office to the Sovereign of England—that peace the Italians have a right to break.
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