1 DECEMBER 1849, Page 4

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FRANCE.—A paper in the Credit has raised much political excitement In an account of the official interview granted by the President of the Republic to several new Prefects of departments, on their repairing to the circle of their official duties, the President is said to have used the fol- lowing language- " In face of the reactionary and revolutionary parties, which hold in reserve for the day when the public powers are to be renewed, solutions of a nature to cause the greatest perturbation in the country, and to again throw everything into doubt, the agents of the Government, of every degree, have at present another solution to support and forward—a solution of a pacific and organizing character, and which, in the opinion of the greatest number, is looked on as a guarantee of order and security. That solution is the maintenance, the continuation, of what nolo exists. If the power elected by five millions of votes hesitated to intervene in the most menacing eventuality in the name of the common safety, it would be suits part an unpardonable act of weakness and incapacity, a veritable desertion; if it sought to so intervene by other means than constitutional ones, it would teas odious folly. It is between these two shoals that you will have to steer in pre- paring from the present moment the future and constitutional reelection of the head of the Executive Power, by aiding it with all your efforts to merit, by the strengthening of order and by a positive improvement in the Wellbeing of the people, the affection and confidence of the people."

. The Paris papers have obtained matter for political gossip in the dis- covery of a so-called Legitimist plot. It seems that the Police have for two months watched a reunion in the Rue Rumford, which had the os- tensible bond of charitable objects. Latterly, they obtained evidence that the members were organizing some conspiracy to effect a restoration of Henry the Fifth. On Monday the house was surrounded, and forty-six deliberators were seized and carried off to the Prefecture. Papers con- taining military commissions, from King Henry, and seals coins, &c., with Royalist emblems and inscriptions, dated 1850, were discovered. The Gazette des Tribunaux says-

" The affair appears to be a mere secret society. Among the forty-six perseae arrested, there appears to be no person of any note belonging to the Legitimist party: there were among them several old servants of the household of Charles the Tenth, workmen, tradespeople, a physician, a priest of the church of St. Sevens, and the beadle of the same parish, &c." The organs of the Legitimist party pour ridicule on the affair, as a coop contrived by M. Carlier to illustrate his vigilance and activity.

The Journal des Debate of Monday had an article in a very Anti-Eng- lish spirit on the presence of our fleet in the Dardanelles. The Joursd deals with the circumstance as an act having "some signification or none In two cases it might be of no importance: if stress of weather had corn' polled the manoeuvre; or a mere point of amour propre either of the Ad- miral's own or another's, with the fixed idea of a prompt withdrawal. Indeed the Journal is "strongly disposed to praise the wisdom of the English Cabinet if it withdraws its fleet from the Dardanelles, leaving to others to praise the boldness which made it enter there." But there is a ease in which the presence of the English fleet in that quarter "would be of some moment," and that is, "if it remained there for a longer or shorter period." It could not remain there to "warn Russia, that, thanks to her ships, England's as near to Constantinople as Russia herself. No one is ignorant of ths; even at Sebastapol." Nor to ",warn Turkey that she may boldly resist Russia": Turkey has not waited for such a hint—

"And now that Russia only makes a just and equitable demand, Turkey hts no interest in resisting her. If, therefore, the English fleet, in the present stots of affairs, remains longer in the Dardanelles, it is to raise a premeditated and gra: tuitons quarrel. In that case, the event is of immense importance. We are, eala always have been, friendly to the English alliance; and what is more, we like sad we admire England, because in our opinion she represents powerful and vag

v.1 LUt. i,c

liberty; and if the world is one day to divide itself between English and Russian

gun- we hope that in that war of Europe France would be on the side of Eng-

land, even were England i conquered. Lord Pla

age almerston is an important person- in Europe, and even in England; but he s not, nevertheless, either all Ea- Toe or even all England. The Emperor of Russia drew back when he was in the

",„;.eng, and we applaud i him for it; but that a reason to suppose that he will do i

50 again, now that he s in the right? " i

The question is asked—" Would t not be advantageous to France to see England and Russia at war? Would she not gain in strength by the ultimate waste of strength which ought inevitably to fall on these powers from their extensive warlike preparations?" A parallel case from Polybins the Ro- man historian is quoted- ei"When the Romans and Carthagenians were at war, some of the politicians of Greece were at first delighted at the prospect of these two great powers being reduced so much in strength as to be no longer formidable. But Agelaus, of liaupectus, the historian, gave another.current to their ideas, by expressing his apprehensions that, when the Punic war was over, the victor might fall on i Greece and deprive t of the liberty of acting independently—of taking or laying down arms as she pleased?'

Applying this case to the present juncture, the French journalist con- cludes—

"We beg pardon for thus going back to ancient history for the purpose of ex- plaining that, far from wishing a war between Russia and England, we dread it extremely. Yes, we fear a Punk war; yes, we fear that, instead of itself de- ciding its destinies, instead of taking up arms or laying them down, as may be armed upon, Europe, and particularly France, will be obliged, as Asia and Greece ;ere formerly compelled to do, to look towards the North and towards the West, and to divide itseffaccording to preference or necessity between England and Ewa. This is, it is true, a perspective still far removed; but it is one which a quarrel might singularly tend to draw near." The pugnacity of M. Pierre Bonaparte has been transferred from the floor of the Assembly to the glades of the Bois de Boulogne and the Forest of St. Germain. On Saturday, M. Pierre fought a duel with M. Rovigo.

'It was mutually arranged that it should begin with the sabre, and be con- tinued with the sword after the first wound. The combatants, sabre in hand, were placed at three paces distance, and advanced on each other. M. Pierre Bo- naparte having attacked, was stopped at the second pass by a thrust which wounded him on the left side of his breast, and on the left wrist. But at the same moment the sabre of M. de Rovigo fell from his hand; and on the cry of the seconds 'Stop!' M. Bonaparte; who had his weapon raised, did in fact stop. The wounds of M. Pierre Bonaparte not appearing to his seconds to be of sufficient gravity for the duel to be put an end to, they proposed to continue the duel with the sabre; maintaining that the circumstance of being disarmed ought necessarily to modify the original conventions. The seconds of M. de Rovigo, confluing them- selves exclusively to the first conditions, declared that the combat ought to be continued with the sword, and in no other way. In order to adopt a medium course, the seconds of M. Bonaparte proposed, in the name of their principal, who had been consulted, to continue the duel with the pistol; which the seconds of M. de Rovigo considered it their duty to refuse; and thus the matter terminated."

The other duel was fought with M. Adrien de la Valette, principal editor of the Assemblie Nationale, for an offensive article in the paper. Shots having been exchanged at twenty paces, the affair was declared ter- minated, and the parties left the ground.

The Moniteur has announced the appointment of M. Wallon to the Pro- fessorship of Modern History in the University of Paris, in place of M Guizot, who retires on a pension. •

ITALY.—General Rostolan was relieved of his command of the French force at Rome,* General Baraguay d'Hilliers, on the 20th November.

The Sardinian Chamber of Deputies was dissolved by the King on the 20th November; and it is reconvoked for the 9th of this month. M. Gal- vague, Minister of the Interior, has issued a stringent address to the Inten- dants-General, and Intendants of Provinces, calling on them to "counter- act intimidation" of electors; and to recommend the electors to vote, and escape the trouble of voting for five years by electing a Chamber in unison with the Government.

GERDIANY.—A memorial has lately appeared in print, on the German question, by Prince Leiningen, the leader of the Archduke Regent's first Cabinet.

It commences with allusion to the really astonishing change and revulsion of circumstances in the past year. "Instead of that unity for which this time last year men were ready to sacrifice their substance and their blood, we now have a perfect dualism; in lieu of transcendent liberty, the military dictatorship of two great Powers. Germany, that was then on every lip and in every heart—for whose glory and greatness the very utmost was readily to be dared—the very thought of such a Germany has vanished now ; the moment has been lost, never

again to return Austria, by dint of her victories in Hungary, has once more her hands at liberty, and is already standing with her war-practised prm- tonans on the borders of Germany, from Bregenz to Eger; and the German people, if such there be, has, in its great majority, with hatred of Prussia' for its watchword, made common cause, consciously or unconsciously, with particu- 'angel and private interests against the Federal State octroyed by Prussia." What is to be done? "The can of the matter" must be the conclusive answer. Prussia could not bring about the Federal State by force of arms, except on condition that she "assured herself, by means of concessions, of the cooperation of the Democracy, in order to bring the under strata of the population into motion, and organize the revolution anew." But, independently of other difficulties, "Prussia cannot do this—first, because the aims of our German Democrats have already, in the event, proved worthy of utter repudiation, and impracticable, making thereby every concession impossible which could be supposed to secure the sincere co- operation of these party-leaders; and secondly, (which is of itself an independent re!inen,) because these leaders, the moment anything has had to be really esta- blished or carried out, have proved so inefficient, that it is impossible to make use of them with advantage. Experience has shown that they are only skilled in de- Riolishing, and in taking their pleasure afterwards in the ruins they have made." Finally, in such a war, Germans would again be opposed to Germans; other 118.- t1008.would interfere; and there would be renewed the past disgraces and loss by such interferences. "The reflection which now immediately presents itself is a very mournful one. It has been proved that the German people had neither the earnest will nor the courage and internal strength which were necessary for it, to remodel itself as a powerful nation out of the weak complex of larger and smaller nations. Unfortunately, it has been proved that these nations, or little nations, were equally far from being ripe for true liberty; or at least, that they were ill able to wear the garb of liberty properly. Thus it was that we saw, as far as nnity was concerned, the standard-bearers and champions of this unity, one and all, from the King down to the Republican, left in the lurch by the nation NI our struggling and striving, our speaking and writing, our elaboration of doe- Irises and programmes leads to nothing, if we have not the Executive power at Or disposal; and this power, in reality, is at present to be found only in the large armies of Germany.' His practical deduction, therefore, is—." That the Proposals for the formation of a definitivuni in the question of Germany's consti- tution should be primarily determined by Austria and Prussia, and then amended

and agreed upon by a Congress, which should be composed of the delegates of the individual Governments and of the Popular Representatives of the individual States."

Early in the week, some London papers gave news from the Cologne Ca- sette, that the Austrian Government had protested against the summoning of the German Parliament by Prussia, and had threatened to back its pro- test by an armed interference if Prussia persisted. The Berlin correspond- ent of the Times contradicts the statement, as " perverted and exaggerated." " The Austrian Government declares expressly it will do nothing to prevent the execution of the plan beyond refusing to participate in it ": that Go- vernment, however, concluded its communication with the obscure threat, that " Austria, for its own sake, must be prepared to meet the consequences that may spring from what it considers a disastrous policy."

TURKEY.—There is much contrariety of opinion on the policy of the Paris and London Cabinets with regard to their Mediterranean fleet, and the

Hungarian refugee question at Constantinople. It has been stated in Paris, that the French fleet has never yet gone to the Dardanelles; nevertheless, that the President has recalled the fleet from the Dardanelles. On our own side of the Channel, the Morning Herald has announced that_" orders have been sent out to Vice-Admiral Sir W. Parker, Bait, 0.0.11., to retire from the Dardanelles with the fleet under his command, and to proceed to Malta." The contradictions have rsised doubts of the concord between the two Cabinets. The Paris corrrespondent of the Morning Chronicle professed, on Wednesday, to set the matter at rest by this statement- " There is no difference between the Governments on the subject. On the con trary, simultaneous orders have been sent out by both Governments to their re- spective Ambassadors at Constantinople, placing the two fleets entirely at their disposal, according to the circumstances that may arise."

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.—The Minerva Indiaman, on her way home from Calcutta, touched at the Cape, and has brought news from that colony to the 28th of September—six days later than our previous intelligence. A most critical stage had been reached in the contest between the colo- nists and their unwilling coercer Sir Harry Smith. The Anti-Convict As- sociation had again and again besought the Governor to take upon himself the responsibility of sending the convict-ship and her freight to Ascension or any other place. Sir Harry reiterated the expression of his deep sym- pathy with the cause of the colonists, but reiterated also his steadfast in- tention to interfere in no sort of manner with the convicts till he should re- ceive further instructions from England. In justification of his resolve, he made an extraordinary reference to what might occur in the event of the convicts being transferred to any other port than that one to which the proper authority had legally consigned them: they might rise and massacre the whole crew of the ship and set themselves free, and it would be a justifiable act under the circumstances. The colonists had prohibited sup- plies to the Army, Navy, and all Government establishments; and no sup- plies accordingly were granted. The Governor was compelled, in this state of things, to make bread in his own house. Commodore Wyvill was placed in a similar situation.

"Her Majesty's ships Castor and Geyser and the store-ship Serin- gapatam were in Shnon's Bay. Her Majesty's ship Eurydice had sailed for England, and the Orestes for the Mozambique."

SANDWICH Islam:ie.—The Hibernia brings news to the 27th August from Hawaii, the capital of the Sandwich Islands. The French and the Island Government have quarrelled on the interpretation of the treaty be- tween them; the French Consul-General, M. Dillon, had assumed the high hand, and proceeded to measures of actual war in carrying out his view-. The ostensible point of quarrel was the refusal of the Hawaii Govern- ment to levy only 50 per cent import-duty on French brandies; the treaty of 1846 stipulating that a prohibitive duty should not be imposed. Other causes of quarrel were also put on paper, and a. formal demand was made of reparation within three days. The reparation having been withheld, the French Admiral landed men, captured a fort, and took possession of all Island shipping and of the royal yacht. The fort was held three days, and then evacuated; and the royal yacht was sent off to Valparaiso with a prize crew. The Admiral then departed, with M. Dillon and his family on board. The British and American authorities ineffectually offered media- tion, and the latter delivered a strong protest.

UNITED STATES.—The Hibernia arrived at Liverpool on Wednesday. with advie,es from New York to the 14th, and Halifax to the 17th No- vember.

The elections for the House of Representatives had been completed ; but the results are so even "that it is impossible to say which party will elect the Speaker." The Senate is Democratic by a large majority. The Phila- delphia correspondent of the Morning Chronicle writes—" I learn that the forthcoming report of the United States Secretary of the Treasury will recommend specific instead of ad valorem duties; that the duties on raw articles will be diminished; those on manufactured goods mostly will be increased, particularly on iron."

The Empire City steamer had brought news from California to the 2d October—a fortnight later. A State Convention had been in session three weeks at Monterey, and had settled the leading feature of the constitution to be laid before Congress at Washington. It had been determined that there should be no slavery in the State, except as a punishment for crime on the other hand, that no free Negroes should be allowed to enter t State. The accounts as to the profit of the diggings are very various;

seem to be dictated by the limited and particular knowledge of the wr. . So the quotations of prices are incongruous: on the one hand, sales -de- clared impossible, or ruinous from the glut of goods; on the e prices quoted seem as exorbitantly high as ever. The account stating that a gold mine has been discovered on the "rancho Fremont, on the Mariposas river. This is the first mine dis country. The vein has been traced on the surface of the than a mile: the matrix is reddish quartz, and aver ounces of gold to the 25 pounds of stone. A silver covered by a geologist sent out to examine. The le Francisco supplies two interesting scrape— "The harbour presents for miles an unbroken fore 'Of masts. Ships from every nation and country lie here, idle and worthle: leaving: many must go down at their anchor, for CIO employed to work the twentieth part of them. Theolde way of detaining them for duty on board; the tied the r desertion At least seventy-five housesot, respec and are put up by Chinese carpenters. Neu an Ins& are of Chinese manufacture, and there area as bon Kong-sung and Wang-tong, where very r , the cur in Colonel red in the nd for more no yielded 2 has been dis- a writer at San- no prospect of ever not men enough un- _eve; there is no been weakened by orted from Canton, s in private families in the town kept by w, curry, and tarts, are served- up by the Celestials. Washing is stilt 8 dollars a dozen: and the- consequence is that large quantities of soiled linen are sent to our antipodes to be

purified. A vessel just in from Canton brought 250 dor,en which were sent out a few months ago; another from Sandwich Islands brought 100 dozen; and the practice is now becoming general."

CANADA.—The Canadian news brought by the Hibernia is of little im- poraume. The Annexationists of Montreal held their first meeting on the 8th November. It was pretty numerously attended; the highest accounts say 500, the-lowest from 150 to 200. The leading speakers were several "old Reformers," two Tories, and a. number of French Canadians, chiefly young men. The Tories were particular in their avowals of undiminished loyalty. Mr. &boson, indeed., is reported to have said, "they were going to the foot of the Throne to beg the Queen to allow them to earn their sub- sistence; and if she refused to allow them, they would. submit, as they were in duty bound. to do,"—a, servile declaration that was loudly cheered in irony. Mr. Holmes made a speech on the material advantages to be ex- pected from annexation with the flourishing Union, which is calculated to have considerable effect among those who are to be swayed by written statistics.

The British American League was sitting at Toronto. At a late meet- ing, resolutions had been passed which indicated a shifting policy. They maintained, that "whether protection or reciprocity were granted or mots" the welfare of the,colony and its future good. government demanded a new constitution, embracing a union of the British North American- Provinces; that "the entire -control of our internal affairs be vested in the colony " ; and that the Legislative Connell should be. elective. The Tories debated long upon the second clause, and accepted it reluctantly. It is remarked OD the fact, that "this is the first recognition by the Tory party- of the theory of Colonial independence in their own affairs."

WEST INDIES —The news from Jamaica by the ?evict mail-steamer, which reached Southampton on Tuesday, is only three days later, than the in- telligence brought by the American route last week: by the same American route this week the advices from Kingston are carried 'twelve days later— to the 4th of December. The bill to reduce salaries, which was thrown out by the Assembly, had been followed up by a bill proposing a prospect- ive reduction of public salaries; and so much better a feeling prevailed on the subject, that there was "every reason to believe that,this measure would be carried unanimously, and that an immediate reduction of the cost of the judicial establishment would take place, on conditions that would, be satis- factory to the present holders of office."

From Demerara the accounts extend to the 19th October. The old Civil Litt quarrel was its abeyance. All public. business was stagnant pending the ensuing elections. Mr. Stanley, Lord' Stanley's son and Lord George Ben- tinck's successor as Member for Lynn, had- arrived at George Town, and met with a distinguished reception from the colonists. The georgeTown Gazette states, that "Mr. Stanley, after remaining for some time in Guiana, and familiarizing himself with its institutions, its agriculture, its resources, its defects, and its state of society, will visit, we understands Tritddscl, Ja- maica, and other parts, of the West Indies; and thence proceed. to Panama, and cross over the Isthmus to the Pacific."