In Turkey, the Hatti-scheriff has already occasioned difficulties in various
places. The British Consuls and merchants report their fears of a Mussulman outbreak against the favour shown to the Christians, with probably some vindictive personal out- Hitherto these fears appear to have been exaggerated. At Nablous there has indeed been a conflict in which blood has been shed. ;' but the violence must be ascribed, in great par; to ac- cident. A man belonging to that class of half-idiot fanatics who are supposed in barbarous countries to be regarded with some kind of Divine favour, had accosted an English gentlenian with violent and insulting demeanour ; a pistol which the Mus- sulman held was accidentally fired in the defensive struggles of tie Englishman, and the man fell dead. There is no doubt that the execution of the Ilatti-seheriff must be a work of time and trouble, and the direct interference of foreign Christians would only aggravate the difficulty. From Northern Russia we have a continuance of the new peace reports. The Minister of the Interior, Lanskoi, has issued a cir- cular to stimulate the governors and people of the provinces in the extension of commerce ; and the breaking of the ice in the Neva promises a speedy opening of the season ; which will re- joice the people of the Russian towns not less than the opening of a London season delights the young lady who is first to enjoy it. It may be rather consolatory to some of our impfigned officials, that the Emperor of Russia has found it necessary to decree a direct and emphatic censure upon various officers of his army— most especially for gross neglects in the Russian hospitals during the war.
The Italian news rises in interest. The first Plenipotentiary of Sardinia at the Paris Conference has returned to his place in the Parliament at Turin, and has made his official statement. He has explained to the Deputies the line of conduct which he pursued, the plan of action which he proposed to the Western Powers, and the degree of support which he received from those Powers. But he has made two other statements which are new. Notwithstanding the fact that the relations with Austria have not improved, the Government of Piedmont perseveres in its course with respect to Rome.
Interpellations have taken place in the Belgian Chamber with respect to the threatening proceeding of Count Walewski in the Peace Conference. The Minister for Foreign Affairs proclaims, that he will never submit to the pretension of a foreign power in dictating a change of the constitution—" Never ! " he exclaimed with emphasis, amid the cheers of the Deputies. Undoubtedly, Belgium has a very difficult part to play ; the guarantee of her independence having been accompanied by the obligation of neu- trality, which in her case extends to special liabilities. It is na- tural, however, that the Belgian Government should be much exasperated, if, as we infer from the language ascribed to the Minister, no communication has been made to that Government by France on the subject of the press ; and if the Ministers of King Leopold know—as certainly they must know—that the French Government has found other means of placing a control upon the Belgian press, and even of using that press for its own purposes, neutrality notwithstanding.
