Rassegna storica del Risorgimento

18
Howard R. Marraro
John Y. Mason a Lewis Cass
Legatimi of the United States, Paris, Aprii 28, 1859. No. 386.
Sur: Tbe eveuts of tbe few days silice tbe date of my last despatch bave crowded eacb other witb rapidity. and while they show that war is most prò bably inevitable, tbere is not yet positive intelligence of the first blow having been given. Yesterday the intelligence receivcd that Sardinia had indignautly rejected the arrogant demand of Austria was positive, but there were contra-dictory rumors, by telcgrapb, of the movement of the Austrian troops. It is not yet known witb ccrtainty that the Àustrians bave entered the Sardinian territory, but there seems to be no good reason to doubt that thcy bave done so, and there is as little doubt that two divisions of the Frencb army were at Genoa and Turili, ready to unite witb the Piedmontese to resisi them.
In the slip from the Moniteur Universel of ycsterday's date, which I enclose, you will find some important documents on the cruestion of the war. The vote of the Ghamber of Deputies yesterday, autboriziug the Government to cali into the service an inereased contingent, was unanimous. Today the projet de loì will pass the Senate witb unanimity. Today the Cbamber will, I ani inforaied, pass the bill authorizing the loan of five hundred miUion franca, without dissent, and tomorrow the Senate will concur.
The troops depart for the scene of war with alacrity, but mournful scencs are witnessed when their friends take leave of them, at the railroad depots.
In England, Lord Derby seems stili to have hopes of preserving the peace, but from what I see and hear, it seems to me to be hoping against hope. Whether the war will continue for a long time, and whether other powers besides the immediate combatants will be drawninto the conflict, cannot now be anticipa te d. As events of interest transpire, I will not fail to keep you ad vised.
John M, Daniel a Lewis Cass
Turìn, Aprii 29,1859. No. 105
Six:... [Riferisce su un incidente fra marinai americani e contadini vicino La Spezia...] The Àustrians bave at lengthpassed the Ticino, and now stand on Piedmontese soil. No baule has yet taken place. The first fait d'armes will probably occur this morning near Casale.1) The Àustrians will never get to Turin. They bave lost the last three days, when a grcat blow migbt really have been struck, by listening to a new proposition of mediation made by Eng-land. This absurd delusion was encouraged by Louis Napoleon simply that he might have time to get bis troops here. As soon as the telegraph informed him that fifty thousand of bis troops were on the spot, he dismissed the nego-tiators. It must he admitted that the Austrian Government bas been fooled and outwitted in ali these diplomatic matters to an extcnt rarely witnessed.
') Casale e il Monferrato furono teatro della prima fase della guerra. Gfr. CABRANO, 1 cacciatori delle Alpi, Milano, 1860; CADOUNI, Ricordi del 1859.1 Cacciatori delle Alpi, in Nuova Antologia, I luglio 1907, per dettagli sulle prime mosse e scaramucce di Garibaldi lungo il Po da Chivasso a Pontcstura e Casale.