The New Zealand Herald AUCKLAND SATURDAY, SEP, 22, 1866. THE ENGLISH MAIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 892, 22 September 1866, Page 4

The New Zealand Herald

AUCKLAND SATURDAY, SEP, 22, 1866. THE ENGLISH MAIL.

SPHCTEMO,2 " Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice : Take each, man's censure, .but reserve thy judgment. This above all,—To thine own self be true And it must follow, as,the night the day, Xbou caiist not then be false to any man."

A i.tri-ti in. the European war, and may be its final termination, lias been arrived at. At any rate for the present there is peace in Europe, and a cessation of hostilities, as between Austria, Prussia and Itg.ly, ha.s taken place. Contrary to general expectation, the Prussian forces have completely overwhelmed their more disciplined Austrian adversaries!, in a series of brilliant engagements. In nine consecutive battles the Austrian' l were defeated with heavy loss, and the Prussians, by a series of rapid movements, conducted with consummate energy and skill having forced a passage .through Bohejnia, * placed the Austrian capital in dauger' of immediate capture. An was then sought for and was granted by Prussia, who as victor, dictated the terms. I The Italian forces, except as a divcrtisser inont, appear to have contributed but little to the final result. It is true, however, L that, retrieving former disasters, they ultimately forced their way into the Southern Tyrol, and had the war been prolonged : might liiive, without much difficulty, succeeded in joining the Prussian forces on the Danube. At sea, the It'afians had Buffered severe loss an engagement of ironclads in the Adriatic, It yet remains to be seen, however, to what the interference of France may lead.. Austria cedes Venetia to France, but what that country will do with it is not. known. Prussia gains possession of Sclileswig and Holstein, restoring only the Northern portion of Sehloswig to Denmark.. Tlio Emperor Napoleon had said that if the balance of power was altered, .lie should, in the interests of prance, demand ari extended territory, and he has liov, \ye learn, demanded ' the Rhino Provinces. Will I*pussia, iiji the hour of victory, Hushed with conquest, and with an immense military force in the field, yield to this demand ? Perhaps not; a,nd ' this further complication might not only i result' in a war'.between those two great . powers, but even in the reconciliation of Austria and Prussia as eomilion allies,'' the ■ former taking back her old position in the Confederation of which the' result o/tlVe war has deprived' her, and strengthening Horseli' to resist French encroachments. If we look to the aimoimcemeut of Lord Derby, we shall find cause, to believe that in the opinion pf English statesmen there is yet? reason to look for further complication in European politics. : Tlie policy of the present Cabinet' is one ; avowedly of non-intervention, diplomatic as well as military. Again, we cannot believe that Napoleon will forego the annexation of the Rhine proyincos. France looks for it, and were even its acquisition not the darling wish of Napoleon himself, the tenure of the Napoleonic dynasty even is not so firm as to make it safe to risk the wide-spread, discontent which would follow the non-gratification of the popular desire. There is but little of importance in the home intelligence, except, indeed, the increasing and continuous good feeling which appears to be springing up between the people of England and America, two states who could " hoid the world in arms." The Atlantic: telegraph' : lias been successfully laid, and messages of a friendly iiatuTe ; between the President and Queen 1

The action taken by the American Government in the auppression of the Fenian raid ! upon. Canada has been duly appreciated, by the British nation. The work of reconstruction in America has commenced by the readmission of Tennessee into the TTnion.^ The commercial news from. England is not so encouraging as it might have been ; yet, though the restoration of, confidence is but olowly progressing, there has been no backward tendency; nor, despite the failure of another large firm, the Birmingham Banking Company, with liabilities to the extent 0f°£2,000,000, has there been any revival of the panic. The panic, indeed, seems to have flowed into another direction, aiid we read of iio less than 1100 deaths from cholera, in London, in one week. In another column will be found a description taken from the Times, of the battle . of Ladowa, the " of the German war of 1866, and: the crowning Victory of the Prussians, in which two armies, each a quarter of a million strong, met in combat, and in which the passage of " the valley of death ' by " the six hundred" at. Balaclava, was rivalled by a Prussian: Regiment v which forced its way through a wood held by the Austrians, entering it 3000 strong, and coming out pn the-other side reduced to between 300 or 400 in number.