The New York Herald Newspaper, June 19, 1859, Page 1

WHOLE NO, "THE WAR IN EUROPE. Arrival of the Anglo-Saxon at Farther Point, HIGHLY IMPORTANT NEWS. FOUR DAYS LATER. The Great Battle of the Campaign, : Three Hundred Thousand Men Engaged in the Two Days Conflict. NAPOLEON ON THE FIELD. Defeat of the Austrians at Magenta. TWENTY THOUSAND AUSTRIANS AND TWELVE. THOUSAND FRENCH - HORS DE COMBAT, The French General Espinasse Killed. f Marshal Canrobert Mortally Wounded. FIVE FRENCH M4RSHALS AND GENERALS AND Nine Austrian General and Staff Officers Wounded. Insurrectionary Movements in Lombardy. Milan Evacuated by the Austrians. ILLUMINATION OF PARIS SPEECH OF THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ADVANCE IN CONSOLS, to., &a. w., The steamship Anglo-Saxon, Captain Borland from Liverpool on Wednesday, the 8th inst, passed Father Point at nine o'clock yesterday forenoon, on her way to Quebec. The news is of the highest impo: tance. The steamship Adelaide, from New York via St. Johns, N. F., arrived at Galway on the morning of the 8th. The great battle of the campaign occurred at Margenta, near Milan, in which the French claim a decisive victory, giving the loss of the Austrians at 20,000 hors du combat. The French loss is reported as high as 12,000 men. The Austrians had evacuated Milan. The Queen of England had delivered her speech to Parliament. Tlie document possesses no impor- tant points. A motion of want of confidence in the Miuistry was pending in the House of Commons, ‘The Paris Bourse was active and prices higher, the Rentes closing at 63f, 30c. Consols had advanced, the closing price being 93} a 933 for money and account. There was but little inquiry for cotton in the Li- verpool market, and prices were weak, while in many cases a decline of {d. was quoted. The sales of the three days were 17,000 bales, In the Liverpool breadstuffs market prices of all descriptions of breadstuffs were slightly lower as compared with the rates quoted per Europa, The Liverpool provision market was dull. The Bombay mail of the 20th of May had arrived, but the news was not of much importance. A A great monetary panic had*prevailed, THE BATILE OF MAGENTA. The latest news by the Europa, reporting the Austrians in retreat across the Ticino, is fully con- firmed. The French crossed the Ticino at Buffalora and Turbigo. There was considerable fighting at both places, On the 4th inst. a great battle took place at Magenta, twelve miles from Milan, Napoleon's despatches claim a decisive vie- tory, and Paris was illuminated. He says that they took 7,000 Austrian prisoners, and placed 12,000 more hors du combat, besides capturing three cannon and two standards, The French loss is stated by the Emperor at 3,000 men. The Austrians took one cannon, ‘The French General Espinasse was killed, and Marshal Canrobert was mortally wounded. Five French marshals and generals were wound- ed. General McMahon was made a Marshal of France and Duke of Magenta,’ q General Baraguay d’Hilliors had been superseded in his command by General Forey, N 2 Milan was insurgent, and hat «i: clared in favor of the King of Sardinia. The Austr'ans hadretre] from Milan, Lat the Trench had not oceupied it, Rumors prevalent at Paris represent te French loss at Magenta at from 9,000 to 12,009 mon. The forces engaged are reporte! as 150,000 @ 180,000 Austrians, and 100,00) t) 13),)00 Preneh. The Aus'rian accounts speaks of a ‘s baltles with varying . uccess on br h side: still undecided up to the night of the iih, with great losses en both sides.” The Austrians a mit that they had four generals and five staff officers w unded, It was reported that General 1 the Austrians, and also that the im eror N partially commanded the French. The latest rumors detracted from, ihe alle French victory. It was believed that proposal: for pease would be made if the French entered Milan. THE QUEEN'S SPEECH TO THS BRITISH PAR LIAMENT. The Queen delivered her opening speech to, Par- liament on the 7th. She laments the outbreak of tie war; says she did all she could to prevent it, and proclaims her strict and impartial neutrality. the navy has been increased beyond the au- thority granted by Parliament, and asks for its n. She recommends the 1 - plomatic intercourse with Naples. She expresses the hope that the reform question will be settled at this or the next session. In the House of Commons the liberals had moved an amendment to the address to the throne in reply to the royal epeech, declariug that her Majesty's Ministers do not possess the confidence of Parliament, and a debate thereupon was pending. THE BATTLE FIELD OF EUROPE. Its Geographical Position. Its Divistens and Swroundingt—Italy; Northern, Central aad Southers—Its Strong Cities, Its Seaports aud Istands—Réative Position of Piedmont and Lombardy=The Repabilc of San Mari- no=The Two Sicilies=The Scrategeucal Rivers and thelr Strong Places-6witzer- land Likely @o Be in the Fray as Well ag Tuscuny—The Swiss Alps the Navurel Cua- del of Freedom tn Europe=The D:fects in ‘tne Censtitution of the Helvetio Republica History of Its Resent Defiance of Pruswsin— Whe Passes Over the Alps and the Grat Tunnel Through the Alpr=—The French Bases of Gperations, &. ITALY. Tho mits of no region aro marked in more distinct characters by the band of nature than Itely, and yet no- where have the political boundaries been x or. flactuat- ing. The Alps, the highest mountains in the ancient world, arranged into a huge crescent, one extremity of which reaches to the Adriatic Guif, and the other to the Sea of Genoa, separate Italy from the regions of the north, and serve as a barrier against the frozen tempests which blow from thence, and at the same time arampariagainst continental invasion. Hannibal denominated the Alps the walls not only of Italy, but even of Rome itself. The She says sancti ening of di- Adriatic rea bathes this charming country on the east, | the Turcan eca 02 the west, and on the couth the Ionian sea opens communication with Greece and all the southern countries. “It seems,” says a French writer, “that the eods have launcked Italy into the mids: of a vast occan asa iminense lighthouse which Invites the navigators of more distant countries,’? Numberless small isiands Mine its ehores, and it has three large islands of great beaa- ty and fertility. Through its whole length it is divided by a secondary chain of mountains, oailed the Apennines, rannipg out from the A!p2, a! Genoa, towards the sont, flawening gradaally into plains, and at last sinking into thesea, This single ridge, which may be called the beek bone of Italy, pnases beneath the waters over inte the Island of Sicily, which is only separated from Italy by the narrow Strait of Messina, Italy is thus a large pe. | ningule, extending in length from Monnt Roga, the highest summit of the Italian Alps, to th» Cape de Leuca, 670 miles, while the medial breacth between the Adriatic and she Mediterranoan {s about 100 miles; but from the head of the Gulf of Trieste to the Rhone, the western boundary of Savoy, is 870 miles. According to Mayer’s map the to- tal superficial extent of Italy, including its islands, is 131,600 square miles. It presents the singular form of a boot, aw if in the act of giving a kick with the toe to Sicily, which is of @ triangular shape, and was therefore called by the anciemts Trinacri. fount Etna, so often mentioned in the ancient c’assics, is in this island. The chief river of the Italian Peninaula is the Po, whieh riaes within the French lines ia Mount Viso, on the eon ves of France and Italy, at an elevation of 6,466 fest, and thirty miles west of Turin. tt regeives thirty tri- butaries. It is a very deep and rapid river, The canalof the Naviglo unites the navigation of the Po and Ticino. The Po, from the Alps to the Adriatic, is 840 miles long vhe river eecond tn importance is the Adige, which flows from the Tyrol to the Adriatic, and is 220 miles long. The third important river is the Tiber, which, rising in the southern siope of the Apenires flows through Romo, and thence 18 miles to the Mediterranean, after a course of 185 miles. It ts navigable at certain eeasons 20 miles above Rome, At Romo it is about 900 feet wide. The princi- pal seaport of the Papal States is Civita Vecchia, and lies a \ittle north of the Tiber. The fourth important river is the Arno, which also rises in the southern slope of the Apenires, and flowing through Florence, the capital of Cuseapy, enters the Mediterrancan forty miles from that city, Pisa, a rather beautiful city, is situated on its banks seven miles from {ts mouth, and Leghorn, tho princips! senport of Tuscany, is only a little south of tae Arno, The qbole length of tho river is 76 mi'es, and it is nayigablo oatarally from the sea to Florence, and has been made navigable to near its eource by means of 27 locke, It communicates with the Tiber by moans of acanal, The valley of the Arno is one of the richest and most beautiful wats in Italy. In extent ef coast Italy is rot surpassed by any country ef Europe. Ibis surrounded on three sides by water, and on the fourth it is bounded by the mighty Alps. it has, thereforo, an almost insular position, like England, and were its population united together under one strong government, it would be one of the most powerful and prosperous nations of the world. What is wanted is It«lian unity and Independence to make this country what nature mtended it te be. The coasts are flat and unprotected ia the mertheast, where the Pe and several rapid coast civers, fowing from the neighboring Alps, rusa with great impetuenity into the sea; but everywhere ole they aro guarded by bigh rocks and steep cliffs. The natural bonn dary of Italy to the north and west is the Aips; and Savoy lying beyond, is, strictly speaking, no part of the country; but belonging to and continuous with Piedmont, the cen- tral State of the Kingdom of Sardinia, it is set ra im most modern maps as part of Italy. It is a truly Alpine country, separated by an enormous ridge the Grey Alps, from the peninsula, On the eoas of the Mediterranean a strip of Franee, extending to the Gulf of Genoa, separates both Savoy and Piedmont from the sea. The boundary of France, the Var, ts only four miles from Nice, an important seaport of Sardinia, In the game way, on the opposite side of Savoy, Illyria, with its capital and principal scaport, Trieste, is sometimes troated asif Jt were portion of Italy; but it is not, and never was. Lilyria is province of Austria, Ta ancient times Italy, like most other countries, was ‘divided into inaumerable petty states and kingdoms, bat became divided, while yet in a state of inciplont civilize. | Nion, into threo grand districts—the northern, the central, | and the southern—and it is so divided at the presont ime. ‘The frst or northern division was voized and colo- nized by the Gauls, who cither extirpated, expelicd or SONDAY MORNING, JUNE 19, 12 ~oW YORK HERALD. PRICE TWO CENTS. subjngated the original inbabitants, The Romans a’ called this Cisa!pine Gaul, beoau mas oo their side of the Alps, Afterwards it was called Gallia fTogata, Decause the inhabitants, when eonquered by the Ro- mans wore the Roman tga or gown. This exton- sive tract inoluded Piedmont, the Geaoese country, and the fertile valley of the Po, pow known as Lombardy, and measured 280 miles in length by 150 in breadth, Tne oentral division, now known by the name of Tuscany, and tho patrimony of St. Peter, comprenended the ancient Htruria, Umbria (peopled by a Celtic coleny), Latium, Sabipium, Picenum, an¢ the northwestern parts of the modern Kingdom of Naples, The sonthern division was called Magna Grecia (Great Groece), because most of the cities on its coast were Greek colontos, dvd spoke the Greek language. The inbabitants so called it, not be cause ft was larger than Greece proper, but from mer vanity, ag Pliny informs as, Italy was afterwards divided by Augustus Cwesar into eleven provinces, Ce! tra} Italy, the seat of Rome, was the soat of power, which gase laws to half the world. Upon the downfall of the Roman power Italy was seized by the Ostrogoths, whe were expelled by the celebrated Belsarlus, General of the Empcior Justinian, In the Middle Ages tho kingdom o Lombardy and the Kingdem of Napier held tae two extremities, while the Papal and Tuscan Powers occupied the centre. aly may still be considered under the three grand di ground is higher near the Alps), Cantrai Itely, and Southern (or Low +) Italy. The following { vies exhibit the various divisions, the area, population and capital of each:— NORTRERN (OR UPPER) ITALY. Sy Populasion, Sardinia (continental) 4,566,260 Island of Sardinia 9,047 ‘577282 63 6,800 2,407 600,000 2,148 «604,912 118/068 5,503,478 Austria has possession of tho Tyrol and other north- eastern Alps, and thug has am open coremusioation with Lombardy, which is separated from Piedmont oaly by the Ticino. Piedmont litorally menas “foot of the meua- tains.” It lies at the foot of the Alpe, southwert of Lom- mort, Nice, Genoa, aud the island of Sardinis. In any new “ivision of territory in which France will have her will, Savoy will propably be ceded to her, ag well as her old Rhenish provinces, and the King of Sardinia will get Lombardy or the Duchies instead. Monaco is a Principality under tho protection ef Sar la, ‘We do not include here the Island of Corsica, which lies nearer to contineatal Sardinia than does the Island of Sar- dinia, beoause Corsica politically belongs to the French, though geographically it belongs to Italy. We have not included Illyria, which lies at the eastorm side of the Adriatic, because it does not belong te Italy. It is part ef the Austrian dominions. Its area is 4,056 square miles, aad ita population 608,016; chief town and seaport, Trieste. ‘Turin, the capital of Sardinia, is about one hundred and four miles by railroad frem Genoa. It is now unde- fended. It is on the right bank of the Po, but that river ig scarcely déop enough there to form a line of de- fenoe, though it 1 navigable from theace to Arona, whore itfalls into the Adriatic, and averages 1,200 feet in breadth. Turin liog in an angle formed by the confluence of the Dora and the Po, Itis beautiful city, cailed by Lady Morgan ‘‘a little city of palaces.” In the wars of Napoleon, Turin yielded without even the formalities of a siege, and Picdmont was declared a department of France. In 1848 it had 136,949 inbabitants, Ia a military senze Alessandria, 80 called from Pope Alexander, is the most mportant inland city in Sardinia,as Genoa is the great stronghold on the coast. It is situated in a sterile plaia on the Tanaro, forty-six miles E. SE. of Turin. ‘The formi- dable fortifications erected during the domination of the French rendered it one of the strongest places in the world; but these are demolished, and only its citadel is left. Two miles distant from this ig the I tile village of | Marengo, celobrated for the great victory gained by Nape | by the pass of the Grest Mount St. Bernari. Alessandria | Commands the sluices of the Tanaso, by which the plain can be inundated. If its fortifications which had beow | commenced were carried to a proper termination, it place is renowned for the agsaults it has sustained in almost every war in Italy. The Gulf of Genoa is one of the finest in the world. It | sformed like a crescent. In the centre is Genoa, the great commercial city of Sardinia and Italy, At the west. ern extremity, bordering France, is Nice, anothor excel- lent port; amd on the esstern extremily, which is aiso tho extremity of Sardinia on the coast, is Spczzia, the best harbor in the Mediterranean. cities of Sardinia. From the eleventh down to the elght- | eenth century it was the capital ofa famous commercial republic, which planted numerous colonies in the Le- ‘vant and on the shores of the Biack Sea. It was taken by the French im 1797, and ceded to the King of Sardinia in 1816, against the wiahes of the people and with the con | sent of England, who had guaranteed its independenee—a breach of faith for which the Geneese detest her to the preeent day. On the recent arrival of the French it wae made'the bage of French operations om the coast. Its population in 1848 was 100,382. The province, exclusive of the city, bad then a popniation of 184,851, Still more famous and celebrated is the Austrian city of Vonice, im the gaif of the Adriatic, which is aiso fortified, and in 1866 bad, beside its garrison, a population ef 126,- 768. It istwo miles frem the matin land, and connected therewith by a bridge of 222 arches, forming part of tho railroad te Milan, which is the chief city of Lombardy, as Venice is of Venetia. For many centuries it was the rst commercial! and maritime power of the world It, too, was @ republic. It is built em piles, oceupying seventy or eighty small islands, separated by one hundred aad forty-nine camals, which are crossed by three hundred and six bridges. The chief of the ea: is the Canal Grande, one hundred to one hundred and eighty feot wide, and bordered by magnificent paleses and | ehurokes. In going from piace to place the people, instead of omnibuses.and railroad cars, use boats, called gondelas, ‘The Palace of St. Mark is connected with the prison of t! Inquisition by the “Bridge of Sighs.’’ Venice was taken by the French in 1797, and was held till 1814, when it be- came the posession of Austria. In 1843 the Venetians revolted againet the Austrians, and held the eity for seve- ral days. Milan is fortified, and hase population of 175,000, i eluding a garison of 8,000 men. It was tho capital ef a Public in the cleventh century, and passed successively under the inion of Spain and Austria, and the Frenes, who made it the capital of the kingdom of Italy im 18@5. It was restored to Austria in 1816, It is inlaad, and oaly two hours and a half by railroad from Venice. It has been besieged and captured forty times and four times destroyed. Yet now it is a magnificent city. Lombardy is ealled from the Lombards (long beards), whe formeriy inhabited it. While we write, the news of its capture by the troops of Louis Napoleon has arrived. side. It lies between the Olona and Saveso rivers, and is the capital of the Austrian Provinces in Italy. Tae Valtelline, which has been recently the scone of Ga- ribaldi’s operations, Nes in the north of Lombardy, clos up to the Alps, with the Swiss Canton Ticino, tho only one on the Italian side of the Alps, dividing {ton the west from the Piedmonteeo territory, On the north it is bounded by the Swirs Canton Grisons at the othor side of the Alps. It is intersected both by the passes of the Splugen and the Stelvio, and it is of groat mili- tary importance. It belonged formerly to the Canton of Grisons, and was subject to that territory till 1797. contains 1,270 squaro miles, It is called by tne G Veltlein, and by the inhabitants themselves, Vaite Zellina. It is @ country enclosed between two chains of lofty mountains, about fifty miles in length, and from eighty to twenty in breadth. It 1s fruitful, and throughout its whole extent is watered by the Adda. Tho whole coun- try consists of threo valleys, and is divided into threo dis- tricta, called Upper, Middle and Lower. Shortly after the first French Revolution it revolted against the soveroigu- ty of the Grisong, and both sides left tho matter to the arbitration of Bonaparte. Auetria advised tho Grisons not to appear, Bonaparte held that Austria had let the case go by default, and decided in favor of the Valtelliae, as it evidently belonged to Italy, and permitted it to join the Cisalpine Republic, THE STRATEGICAL RIVERS AND STRONG PLACES OF TOE CAMPAIGN. ‘ The Po, running down from the western Alps, through the visions—Northern Iisly (or Upper, 80 called becausy the | vardy. The kingdom of Sardinia consists of Se.o7, Pied | Jeon over the Austrians in 1800, after he crossed the Alps | would be a model of military architecture. As it is, the [ Genoa ie well fortified, and considered one of the strongest | It is in the midst of a wide | and fertile plain, many miles from the Po, on the Austrian | centre of the valley or basin at ove Hide, ono the Apempines to the south en the other de receives the whole mass of waters flowiag from both vapges, apd falls into the Adriatic in seven moutba, Ina | ttrategical sense it ts bighly important on arcouut of ite great Cepth ond breadth, ‘The fort fled cities on its banks are rmong the stron’ defensi points of Piedm at and Lowbardy. Those of Piedmont, except Turin, being setaad by the Austrians, they were turned sgainst tne Sardi- uiawe. Among the « is Valonza, on the right bank of tue Po, feven miles porta of 4 lcssandria, and Stradeila aear the rigbt bank, down near the Duchy of Parma, and in ‘he vicixity of Montebello, where the firet battle was fought. Lower down, oo ‘he right bank of the Po, Is the strovg ‘oriress of Piacenza, which, though sitnated in Parma, just where it joins Lom- hardy aud Piedvont, is occnpled by Austrian troope. Further down still on the Po 1a the fortress of Cremoaa which is ip Lombardy; aod near the mouths isthe atroogly fortified city of Ferrara in the States ot the Charch Tai, with Commachio, alco tu the Papal Statea, twenty-eight miles sourb, w strongly fortified place i tho midst of marebea, toree miles from the Adriutic, Austria was per- misted to occupy and fortify in pursuance of the treaty of Viewra. Austria has also occupied and fortitled the port of Avcona, in the States of the Church, on the Guif of the Adristic, which it bas uo color of right to do by treaty or oiberwine. Ferrara is only twenty six miles from Bologna, which is aleo in the Papal States, and about the centre of tbe Itaiian peninsula, By late news, pubitahed yesterday, we learn that Prince Napokon was at Pisloje, in Tuscany, very bear to Bologna, and evidently on his way there, after which it is probable ho would pay a visit to Ferrara. The river next in importance is the Adige, which, rising in the Swiss Alpe, fows through the mountains of the fy. rol, baying on its banks Glurns, Trent, Roveredo aod Verona. It enters Lombardy thirteen miles south of Ro- veredo, It discharges itself into the Adriatic parallel witb, and not far from the Po, but further north, It is navigable from Trent wo the sea, but its velocity renters the navigation difficult. Verona, the greatest fortress of Austria, i on ita banks, at the foot of the Tyrol mouatains. | Verona is not only a fortress, but an immense fortified camp, furrounded with earthworks, Tre Ticino, which is only a tributary of the Po, rises in the Swis Alps, in the canton Ticino or Tessia, on the south erm declivity of Mount 3t. Gotbard, and flows southeast through Lago Maggiore, after which it forms the boundary between Lombardy and Piedmont, and joins the Po on its left bank three anda half miles below Pavia. Ite whole course is 125 miles. It 1s navigable (rom the Po to Lago Maggiore. On its left bank is Pavia, one of the stroogly fortified cities of Austria. Another tributary of the Po of some strategical importanco is the Trebbia, @ rapid stream, famous for the defeat of the Consul Sempronius by Hannibal, and io modern times by the bard earned victory of Suwarrow over Marshal Mac. donald. It rises on the northern slope of the Apennines, and after a course of fifty-five miles, joias the Po on its right bank, three miles northwest of Piacenza. The Sesia rises near Mount Rosa, and after a course of cighty- six miles through Piedmont, joins the Po five miles east of Casale, which is on its right bank, and is one of the strong points. Versolli is also on the right bank, fourteen miles northwest of Casale, and ia afibther Stropg point. This river and these two cities have been frequentiy mentioned during the present war. It will bo recollected that Cialdini, the Sardiaian general, crossed 1 in the face of the enemy. But the most important of all the tributaries of the Po, though the shortest, is the Mincio. It issues from Lake Gardo at Peschiera, where there is a fortrees, and its whole course to the Po, near Governolo, is only 38 miles, but to Mentua, where there is another strong fortress (on an island of the river,) is only | 21 miles, This line of 21 miles is ali that it is necessary | to guard, as below Mantua impassable marshes extend down to the Po, und above Peschiera the Lake Gardo ex- tends to the Alps. The rear of this line is defended by the Adige, with Verona on ite banks opposite to Peschiera. | snd Legnano, another forrest on ts banks, 22 miles below aud oppotite Mentua. Betow Legnano are the marsnes ‘both of the Po and the Adige, and above Verona are th: mountains of the Tyrol. This is the celebrated strategica square between two rivers, and with a fortress oa each corver, . Behind the Mincio, therefore, the Austrians, | Deaten back from Milan, wil make a great sland, Ani if between the Northern Alps Frensh, <'n8 7,86 square miles and 236,251 inh xbl- tanta, Its c! of city ts Ajaceie, t 13 ‘amous as.tae birt :- plaos 0 Nipclecn Bonaparte the Great. Hetoalr’ a) the fomgetmg popu ation: in °2,74°,6¢2, Such is tre co vtry whic ™ now the theatre of war. Toe «jo a n of the Power which ha taken ne inl- tative tn this war—vamely, Austria—was 30,500,000 im 1884 bericee the military. Foger one mater! Viz:—Slavoniang, 14,802,761; Gor- maus, 7,870,719; Megyars, 4,866,556; Italiane, Illyriane, | & , 6,001.06; otber races, 817,712, Take away the Ita- any, aud sus'ra ig redaced to $1,000,00) of popalation. Tho populaten of France is homogeneous, and aamoers apwares of £6,%0,000, The population of the other vowers who may be drawn into this war are—Prussia 17,260,600, of whem about 10,750,000 are Protestants and veerly 6,600.06) O.tholics, Russia bas a population of €5,0(0,000, SWITZERLAND, Tn deneribing the battle ground of the present strugg'e Switzerland, ita boundary on one side, cannot b+ om ved particularly as, in the course of the war, n twith+taudiag the guaranteed “perpetnai neutrality” of ite territory the belligerent Powers, when pressed by hard nvceasity may take advantage «f ite mountains and passes to march *bd Moanceuvre aga’nsteach other. La tho first French re volution it was (aken mi‘itary possession of by the French republic, which facilitated its # ucceesful operations in Italy In the commeocement of this war the Swiss go- vernment @emaaded from both France and Austriaa pledge to treat tio Swiss territory as neutral, according to the treaty of Vienna, Louis Napoleon replied that in no cave would he violate the neutrality. The Austriao Em peror, on the contrary, said what be inten:ted to do woud all “depend on the good behavior” of Switzerland. Bold words, considering that the Swiss are on his froatier, thai the Hapsburgs are their ancient enemies, and that the Helvetic repubiic can march 60,000 troops into the plains below, which, perbaps, would be decisive of the contest- considering what kind of troops those Lardy , chamois hunt- ing/mountaineers are, with their unerring rifles, Switzer, land and France lie together on the western side of the Alps—Switzer'and to the north and France to the south, just as Piedmont and Lombardy do on ths east ern side—Piedmont lying to the south, and Lombardy to the north. gGwitzerland, therefore, is right opposite to Lombardy. She bas been arming for seme timo—thougn she gays it is only to mainta'n her own neutrality. ‘The greatest length of Switzerland from east to west has ‘Deen estimated at 200 miles, ite greatest breadth at 130- Ite’ figure is neatly that of @ right angled triangle. Its area has been variously estima‘ed at from 15,000 to 19,000 equare miles. It is bounded on the north by Germany. Is is a thorough!y mountainous country, two-thirds of its territory consisting of Alps. Two of the principal rivers of Earope, the Rbine and the Rhone, rise in its Uavits. It is famous for the stand made by William Teli and bis compstriots against Gesler, the Austrian tyrant. Never has greater heroism been exhibited in the werld than by the old Swiss. ‘The population is 2,891,478, of whieh a majority are of the Calvinisilc creed of Scotland. Calvin was born im Geneva. Nocovxtry in the world cam boast of such soenery or such strange contrests. The summits of ite granite mountains ‘are bidden ip the clouds and covered with eternal snow. Beyond a certain height no vegetation, no living thing is ever seen. Below the valleys glow with the sun’s rays and teem with fruits and grain, and all kinds of vegetable life. It is the country of avalanches, which are ready te fall by the tread of the foot on the earth, or by the sound of the buman voice, and often carry destruction to the plains, The Swiss Alps haye been weil described in these Mey ee aneutancenstate aimee cain Have pinnacied in clouds their snowy scalps, And throaea Exernity in toy hatis Of cold eubiumity, whers forms and fa'ls ‘The avalanche—the thunderbolt of snow— All that expands the spirit, yet appais, Gather rouud these summits, a8 if 10 show ‘How earth may pierce to heaven, yet leave vain man below. ‘The Helvetic republic, like our own, Is a confederacy consisting of twenty-two independent States or cantons, as they are called, It is the only repubiic in Europe thas de servesthe name, aud the sympathies of the American people wiil be navurally with it in this crisis. Our appre- hensious will also be awakened for its safety, fo Mantus ehould bo taken, or Peschiora, or if the river should be fo-ced between these points, they will fail back behind the Adige. If beaten here, the Austrians might re | treat bebind another river still further east, the Broata | ruoning like the Adige from the Tyro?, and entering the Adsiatic at Venice after a course of ninety miles. The | strong: at poiat on thia river is Bassano, where the dret Na- poleon fought a great battle. The Brenta connects with the Bacchiglicne near Padua, which is on that river, and thus unites the two cities ine strategic line. Padua is on the railroad between Verona and Venice. Still furthor east is the Togliamento, which rising in the Austrian Alps, and enters the Adriatic balf way between Venice and Trieste, after a courte of 100 miles, Bebind this the Austrians | would be out of Italy and in Illyria, an Austrian province Which constitues part of the Germanic Confederation, and which, if invaded, would bring the Germans to tho aid of Austria, cvording to the compact. The important port of Trieste is thus part of the Germanic Confederation, j and that is the reason why it has not been hitherto blockaded by the French, The railroad from Vienna to Verona pagees through Trieste and Venice, and it would be, therefore, bighly important to the Freach to cut off this communication by operations on the Gulf of the Adriatic, CENTRAL ITALY. | This consiets of the following States :— Sq. Miles. Population. _ Capitat. | Toseany,grand duchy. 7,415 1,793,967 Florence. | States of the Church..19,210 2,898,116 Rome. | San Maripo, republic... 22 7,000 San Marino, ‘The Istand of Elba, in the Moditerranean, famous for | being the residence and possession of Napoicon, belougs to Tuscany, and isnine miles from the shore. It was | erected into a sovereignty for Napoleon by the Peace of Paris in 1814. From this he suddenly returned to France in 1815, when his career was floished at Waterloo. Length of the island 17 miles, breadth from 2% to 10 miles. It is 160 square miles. Population about 22,000, | Tuscany has been called “the oasis of Italy.”” The Grand Duke bas ruled with moderation. He has refused, however, to go with Piedmont in this war, and the army and people demanding it, he has fledieaving them to join their | Italian brethren against the stranger. Florence is one of the finest cities of the world, and here the Grand Duke bad his priacipal residence. Its popula- lation at last census Was 110,714. It is situated om the | Arno, at the foot of tho Apennines. Rome, “the Eternal City,” needs no description. Sam Marino | is entirely surrounded by Papal territory. It is the smallest State and the oldest republic in Kurope, dating back to 469. It lies between Ancona and Florence Its founder was St. Marinus, a hermit, to whom a pious lady made @ present of the little mountainous territory. | Iexecutive power ts in two rulers, elected for six months, Ite standing army is twenty four men, ite mili- tia beimg $50 men. Its insignificance alone saves this little republic from being swallowed up. SOUTHERN (OR LOW&R) ITALY. Kingdom of Naples, or of tho Two Sicilies. ‘Sq. miles. Popul: Capitat. Continental Sicily. 6,886,030 Napies. | Islane of Sicily, 2,231,020 = Palerme. ‘The city of Naples, the capital of “tho kingdom of the Two Sicilies,”’ has been well called “the metropolis of a ruined Paradise.” It ts situated in the innermost recess of the beautiful Ray of Naples, which, with the mountain: surrounding it like an amphitheatre, and Mount Vesuvia in the distance, is the admiration of the world. It is th» richest and most populous city in Italy, In 1856 th | population was 413,020, Six strong castles defend it, and the entrance of the port is protected by an excellent mole, Naples is famous for the multitude of its filthy beggars, callod lazcaroné. The French took it im 1709; Joseph Bonaparte was made King of it, and was succeeded by Murat in 1808. The Austrians drove the latter from it in 1814. In 1815, when +| Napoleon left Elba, Murat waa captured in an insurrec- tion to regain his kingdom, and shot by the Bourbons, one of whom now hoids the throne. In the insurrection of 1848 the Island of Sicily led the way, and made the most gallant resistance to tyranny, The narrowest part of the Strait of Measima, which divides this island frem the main land, is only two anda half miles. Tae popula. tion of the city of Palermo in 1856 was 200,000, The island of Maita, which lies off Lower or Southern Italy, belongs to Great Britain. Its area ts 98 equare miles, and i has 123,270 inbabitants. Its chief city is Valotts. Corsica, which lies off Northern Italy, and belongs to the it cannot be denied that it is in great peril do. tween the contending despots. Tue hand o nature has marked out tast country for the citadel of Ea- rope, where freedom might be safely lodged when driven from less secure regions. But, unfortunately, the supine- ness and selfishness of ite rulers during iis modern his- tory, and its quarrels about religion owing to @ defect in its constitution, have afforded just grounds for gloomy forebodings about its fate. The Helvetic repub'ic is just 1 ke what the confederany of the American colonies was before tbe constitatiun was framed, Both eprang from necesaity—mutual protection against & common foc, The Swiss was formed by slow degrecs—frst one canton was taken in, and then another The American colonies contederated almost together. The neecesity for a more intimate uaion and consolidation was felt by the fathers of our Revolution, and the constitution of the United States was the result, The Swiss neglected or refused this union. There is no such thing as the rights efacitizen of the confederacy being the same in all the States, nor aby provision rendering it necessary that each State should have a republican form of government, The general government has not the necessary power possesred by ours; and its requirements are always caus- ing it to make encroachments on the rights of the cantons, which they reeept by going to the opposite ex- treme. Even the army is limited ia war to a specific number by the States, which, of course, hampers the government and Congress (or Dict as it is called), covsisting of two deputies elected for three years from each eantoa, from which arrangement the mors populcus States cannot outvote the smaller. The Hel vetic republic has no standing army, but keeps in time of peace @ nucleus of 1,200 or 1,300 men. In time of war the confederacy raises a federal army whose strength is fixed by population. It is now about 80,000 men. Iv 1851 the regular army was 72,000, and the reserve 86,000—in ail 168,000 men, Every man in Switzerland is soldier, Each cantom contributes its contiogent in men and money in proportien to its population, It is called Switzerland from the canton of Schwyz or Schweitz, the principal of the turee Arst which formed tho original con. federacy. There is no public debt in Switzerland. It owed $600,000 in 1814, which bag been long sixce paid off It is calculated that from 80,000 to 40,000 Swiss troops are employed in the service of foreign States. But they are liable to be called home in time of danger, as was the case when the King of Prussia, a fow years ago, prepared to march on Neufchatel, one of tbe cantoas of which he claimed the sovereignty, Of this canton, William, Priace of Orange, who became Ring of Eogiand in 1688, was then sovereign, and the sovercigaty was inherited by his nephew, Frederick I. of Prastia; and it wag a curious phenomenon that the great kings of Prussia were obliged to swear to the constitution of this little couatry, though @ canton of Switzerland. In 1848 it declared its independence of the Pruseian King, who, however, did pot acquiesce in the revolution, but, on the contrary, when the revolutionary spirit in Europe subsided, took the opportunity of exciting a few of the popuiauoa to revoits in order to have an excuse for chastising the whole. The revolt was toon put down; but the Prussian troopa were put in motion, when all Switzerland flew to arms. By the medi- ation of England and France the collicion was prevouted atthe last moment, Austria exerts a constant influence on this republic, and keeps it in terror. Its safety de pends on the mutual jealousy of France, Austria, and other Powers. But how long that may be it is uncer- tain. If Austria and France become friends and allies, soon would her fate be sealed; and that would be the lact of the republics of Europe. This fear has suggested the following lines of an ilivstrious poet:— The name of commonwealth js past and gone Over the three fractions of the groaning gtobo; Venice is crushed, and Holiand deigas to own A sceptre, and endures the purpie rove; If the free Switzer yet bestrides alone His chau'ess moupiains, ‘tis but for a time, For tyranny of late is cupniog grown, And in its own good season tramples down ‘The sparkles of ted —— ~~ [Bays ta 1@ vigorous offepring by divi ppehageten and purged in the devotion Of freedom, wh ch their fathers fought for, and Be queath’d—a heritage of heart and hand, ‘And proud distinction from each other laud— Stil one great clitue, in full and free dedance, Yet rears her crest, unconquered and sublime Above tbe far Atiantic! THB PASSES OVER THR ALPS. ‘The moat noted passes over the Alps are the following :— Firat, The pags of the Bochetts, leading from the city It consists of rather hote- | of Genoa’ to the plains of Piedmont, It is vory narrow and confined, The crest of this pass is 6,560 Rayiien feot above the city of Genoa On the eouth side of Piedmont the defile is commanded by tho fortress of Gayk feene rpring of 1800 the Bochetts was stormed by @eam. Melas; and 16,000 French, under Massena, though aifod by a npmerous artillery and the natural advantages of a nar- Tow pass, presenting @ barricr almost iosnperale, were compelled, after an obstinate struggle and the loss of their entrenchments, to shelter themnelves bebind the ramparts of Genoa. The second pass is that of Mount Genavre, in the Cottian Alps, twenty miles of horizontal distance to the fouthwest of fuss, This pave is only + O41 feet above the Sea, and is easily soaled,the summit being a jong and wide plain, well cultivated in esveral parts. The large Village of Bourg, Mount, Gendvre, lies mostly in the centre, the beights on either side not rising to a thougan 1 feet above its level, and are covered to tee wp with large pines in great abundance. A beanticul road over this Pass was constructed by French éngineers, by order of Bonaparte the elder, Itagcencs the right bank of the Durance, whilst tue old road went up the left bank. The foot of this passé ia little more than two miles northwest of Besancon. Tne third pass ts that of Mount Cenis, in the same Alpe It ie much more steep and difficult on the Italian side thas on that of the Dauphine, or French, side. The road om the French side ascends from Lens de Bourg for four miles ip @ winding direction, till it reachees the pass, which is a plain six miles long by four wide, encircled on all sides by the differeut eminences and ridges that ‘form the summit of this part of the chain. The crest of thie pase is 6,885 feet above the sea, and the surrounding heights are from 2,500 to 4,500 abeve the plain, Im the middle of this plain is a circular lake of im- mense depth, and one and a half miles in diameter. Th ts 6,280 fect above the sea. To the sou:h of this plain & tremendous cliff projects towards the side of Italy, pre- senting a broken and almost perpendicular precipice. From hence is a prospect as far as Turin. ‘The fourth pass is that of the Little St. Bernard in the Graian Alps, leading from Bourg St. Morris across the range to La Tuille, on the Italian side. This is the identica! pass by which Hanuibal entered Italy, and is the easiest of all those by which that country can be entered on the side of France. The summit is a plain of two anda halt miles in length, well sheitered, aad having in its centre = small lake, the source of the Doria, The plain is 7,210 feet above the sea. To the northeast of the hospice (or refuge) is a large circie of stones exactly resembling a Druidical circle, and uni- versally derominated “the Circle of Hannikal,” who is believed by tradition to bave held a council of war within this enclosure with his oMoers. This pass is practicable for mules; and in 1815 a column of 6,000 Austrians, with ten pieces of cannon, passed it, and the road is in a good state of repair. ‘Toe Fifth pass is that of the Great St. Bernard, leading om Martigny, in the Valais, on the Swiss side, to Aost onr the Italiam side. At the foot of the pass on the side of Itely the road divides into two—the one shorter, but more steep and difficult, called the Vaiteline; the other, broad- er but lenger, loads down the vailoy of Aost and the val 1¢y Of Bardo, from @ castle 80 called, which commands the defile and the valloy, being seated on an eminence. The agcent amd descent from St. Remi, at the foot of St. Bernard om the Italian side, to Martigny on the Swiss side, is eightoon miles, By this pass in 1800 Bonaparte entered Italy, amd onoe more sealed its fate by the decisive battle of Marenge. The hospice or coavent is 8,180 feet above the sea. The sixth pass is that of Sempronias or the Simplom, eading !rom the head of the Valais acroas the range ot the valley of Tega, and the town of Daomo de Ossola in the Milamese. A military road over this was constructed in 1602 by Bomaparte. This was the first great highway constructed over the Alps. ‘The seventh is the pass of St. Gothard, leading up the valley of the Reuss till it crosses the range, and then de- ecends by Aireie to the Levantine valley, along the course of the Tiaize. It wus by thie route that the Germans firat invaded Italy, im the reiga of Claudius Caesar, and it was by this pacs on the side of Italy that Sawarrow, in 1799, entered Switzeriand. Tho crest of this pass is 6,952 feet above the sea. ‘The eighth, nisth and tenth passes are important. Aug tria was not satisfied with one ronte to ber Italian pro- vinces and one paes over the Alps: she must have ons to each province, The way to Milan by Verona was not sufficiently direct and short, and she was resolved to have ® separate road to the capita! of Lombardy as well as to Verona, in Venetia. The road of the Brenner pass over ‘he Tyrol, from Vienna through Innspruck, fs the same for both as far as Glurps, on the Adige; thence the road to Verons continues streight onward south through Trent; that to Milan turns to the rigot or westward, and, croesing the pass of the Stelvio, leads to Bormio (German, Worms) in the extreme north of the Valtelline, on the teft bank of the Adda, whence there is a road down to Como and Milan, At the head of the lake of Como it connects with the road over the Splugen pass. By the Steivio the distance to Milan from Vieona is greatly short- ened; and of such importance in military pomt of view did Austria regard this route, that sho spent an enormous eum in ite construction. It was opened in 182% It ia the loftiest carriage route in Europe, {ts sammit be- ing 9,100 feet above the sea. The pass of Saint Mario is @ etilt shorter and readier route, and lice mear the Stelvio, but a portion of it goes through Swiss terrijory, and Austria preferred the Steivio route, not only because it was all through her own territory, but because it waa more inaccessible and difficult, and eazy to be cut up 20 as to prevent the passage of anenemy, It is exclasively a mibtary road. It is unrivalled in the world. It ascends far above the lire of perpetual snow. There are nume- rove viaducts and tunnels, it winds in such short curves as to create giddiness. It connects, as we have said, the Tyrol with the Valtelline, and thence with Milan. The cew Austrian road over the Splugen, constructed in the Valtelline, wag made pass- able for carriages in 1823 by the Austrian government, which entered into a stipulation with the Swiss Uaaton of Ticino in 1818 to prevent the building of a new road from Bellixzona to Coire over the Bernardin, and only to keep the old road in its preeent conditicn, The consideration was permission to import salt and fruit from Lombardy, The validity of this treaty, however, so contrary to the interests of the Grigons and the other Oantons was dis- puted, and the building of the road was fioally com- menced. The summit of the Spiugen pass is 6,939 feet above the level of the sea. The main road from Inneprucic, in the Tyrol, to Italy, is over the Brenuer, a mountain of Tyrol 6,036 feet in beight. At this place the road is ten miles long, and ascends to a height of 4,367 feet. Toe Brenner pass brings the north of the Austrian e nptre into communica- Yon with the important valley of the Adige. This gorgo wae known to remote antiquity ; for on the northera stope way still be seen a milestone that attests the passage of the Roman legions, It was by this way that the German emperors invaded Italy, whenever the republic of Venice shut against them a passage through her territory. It led straight into the Tyrol, which at every period has been the province most devoted to the bouse of Hapsburg, and the most useful"instrument of its elevation. It is tha possession of the Tyrol which gives such military strength to the fortress of Veroua, which is the key of the Vene- tian province cf Austria and also of Lombardy, standing as iedoes between them, and commanding by its powerfal posit on the narrow passage between the foot of the Tyrot mountains and the lake of Garda, Laatly there is the pass of the Col de Tende, across the Maritime Alps into the Piodmontese territory. This pass, called alao the Col de Cornio, is 6,560 feet above the sea. ‘«Lot no one,” gays m late traveller, ‘imagine that the crossing the Alps is the work of a moment, or done by a single heroic effort—that they are a huge but a detached chain cf hills, er like the dotted lime we find om the map. They are a sea, or aneatire kingdom of mountains. It took us three days to traverse them in this, which is the most practicable direction, and travelling at a goed ound pace. We passed on as far as eye could s00, and still we appeared to have made little way—stilt we were in the shadow of the same enormeus mats of rock, and enow, by the ide of the samo creeping stream. Lofty mountains reared thomselves in front of us; horria abysses were ecooped out under our feet. Sometimes th® Toad wound siong the side of a steep hill overlooking some village spire or hamlets; and as we ascended it, it only gave os a view of romantic scenes, ‘where Alps o'er Alps ariso,’ toesing-about their billowy tops, and tum. bling their unwielay shapes in all directions—a world of wonders. It gives ns a grand idea of Bonaparte to think of btm bere, amidst the grandeur and eterual forma of