jortign anti Colonial.
FRANCE.—Suuday, October the 6th, was Louis Philippe's seventy- second birth-day. It was only observed privately, at the Chateau d'Eu; as the public celebration occurs on the 1st May, the day of his name- saint, St. Philip. Before leaving France, the King has vouchsafed an act of clemency, thus announced in the Moniker- " By an ordinance dated from the Chateau d'Eu on the 4th instant, the Sing, on the report of the Minister of Justice, has remitted the remainder of the punishment which they had to undergo to all the political convicts whose penalty, pronounced previously to 1844, is to expire before the 1st January 1847, and to twelve other political prisoners, sentenced to six, ten, fifteen, and twenty years' imprisonment, or to transportation." [This will release fifty or sixty political prisoners.] Before his departure from Paris, the King granted rewards to the officers and soldiery of the army of Africa who had distinguished them- selves at the battle of Isly : General Bedeau had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General, and Colonels De la Tour, Du Pin, and Cavaignac to that of Major-Generals.
The Due De Glucksberg left Paris on Saturday evening for Madrid ; whence he is to proceed to the kingdom of Morocco. He was the bearer of the treaty of peace between that Power and France, ratified by the French Government. The King had appointed the Due De Glucks- berg officer of the Legion of Honour.
PORTUGAL.—Letters from Lisbon, of the 1st instant, report the open- ing of the Cortes, after a long recess, (since February last!) on the
30th September. The Ministers made reports of the manner in which they had exercised their extraordinary powers ; and in each Chamber the report was referred to a Committee to investigate the facts. Just before the opening of the Cortes, Seuhor Costa Cabral had com- mitted another act of legislative usurpation ; having issued an ordi-
nance to reorganize the University of Coimbra, the medical, scientific, and literary establishments of the country, and the national schools of primary and secondary instruction. The ordinance, which contains 183 articles and 137 clauses, is not without some useful portions; but it is overlaid with arbitrary and impracticable details. A disgraceful example of the disordered state of the country is men- tioned— " The French Ambassador at this Court, on his return to Portugal through Spain, accompanied by the Spanish Secretary of Legation, Senor Cuesto, was robbed of all his baggage, money, and effects, with the exception of two watches, by a band of Spanish brigands. The Spanish Secretary, (who bad only recently left this country for Spain on a secret mission,) having little baggage with him, suffered less than his companion."
SPAIN.— According to letters from Madrid, of the 3d instant, a Minis- terial crisis rapidly approached. Narvaez is alarmed at Queen Chris-
tina's ultra-religious tendencies, and, as a counterpoise, desires to libe- ralize his Cabinet. S. Mon, the Finance Minister, is at issue with his col- leagues : Narvaez would pay the army at the expense of every other department • others do not like Mon's honesty and thrift, which does not favour the speculations of Madrid money-dealer& The Cabinet, therefore, is expected shortly to break up, from internal dissension.
TAHITI—Intelligence has been received of very insulting conduct on the part of the French officers at Tahiti towards an officer of the British Navy. There are several versions of the affair, but they agree in the main particulars. When proceeding with the English squadron from the Society Islands to Valparaiso, Rear-Admiral Thomas sent the Hazard, Commander Bell, to Tahiti, with despatches for the British representative at that island. The ship arrived in the Bay on the 4th April, without entering the harbour; and Lieutenant Frederick E. Rose was sent on shore with the despatches, in a four-oared boat. He delivered them at the Consular-house to Lieutenant Hunt, commander of the ketch Basilisk ; who was the only English representative at Tahiti. Mr. Rose then embarked, for the purpose of returning to the Hazard. After having proceeded about one hundred yards from the wharf, be was hailed in French by an officer in a boat belonging to the French frigate La Charte. Not comprehending the meaning of this unexpected challenge, he returned to Lieutenant Hunt, and represented what had
occurred ; and he was informed that he was required to go on board the frigate, or to the residence of the French officer. He declared he would not comply, unless force were used ; and again entered his boat to pro- ceed to the Hazard ; when he was boarded by a fourteen-oared galley, with ten men in addition, fully armed. The commanding-officer peremptorily ordered him on board the frigate La Charte having but four men in his boat, beside the Assistant-Surgeon of the Hazard and himself, without any arms but his own sword, he considered it would be impossible to resist effectually such opposing force ; so, after solemnly protesting against the insult to an officer of the British Navy, in uniform, with the British pendant flying at the boat's mast-head, he ordered the pendant to be hauled down, surrendered his sword to the French officer, and was immediately conveyed on board the French frigate. He was detained as a prisoner for three hours, and then liberated. As soon as he obtained his release, he demanded from the French commander an apology for the insult ; which was positively and very unceremoniously refused. On returning to his own ship, Mr. Rose related what had happened to Commander Bell ; who had no communication with the French commander, but proceeded to Sydney to procure water. As Admiral Thomas had gone to Valparaiso, and there was no prospect of reporting the transaction to him for some months, Mr. Rose obtained leave from the commander ; took his passage for England in the Arachne merchant-vessel on the 6th June, and proceeded at once to London, to lay the affair before the Lords of the Admiralty. According to some of the accounts, an apology was sent, after the affair, to Com- mander Bell.
The Journal des Dads publishes the following extract of a letter written at Valparaiso, on the 1st Jane ; which is understood to be the French official account of the battle of Mahaena- " The Tahitians assembled at a distance of twelve miles from the town oc- cupied by our troops, and threw up intrenchments, defended by seven guns and by the bravest part of the population. Five hundred Frenchmen landed opposite the works, which withstood during three hours the most obstinate as- sault. At last, the Marines, exasperated by the fall of 50 of their number, of two officers killed, and two midshipmen left for dead on the field, made a despe- rate charge with the bayonet and carried the redoubts. The dead bodies of 170 Tahitians, and two English deserters who had joined them, were found in the works. The Natives had dispersed, and were greatly discouraged by so complete a defeat. We lost 52 wounded, and 25 killed. The two officers were shot dead. One of the midshipmen, M. Coloudre, was wounded in the arm ; and the other, M. Debris, had his thigh broken, and received two bullets
through the arm and breast."
WEST INDIES.—The West Indian mail which left St. Thomas's on the 14th September, brings intelligence from Jamaica to the 8th, and from the other Colonies of corresponding dates. It is not of much im- portance. The Jamaica House of Assembly had been dissolved, after five years' duration, to give the electors the opportunity of pronouncing an opinion on a contemplated loan for emigration.
Guano is said to have been introduced into Demerara with much success.
An earthquake had visited several of the islands; Jamaica being ex- empt. No great damage appears to have been done, as far as is known ; although it is feared that in the direction of Caraccas, famous for vol- canoes, the effects may have been more severe.
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