goreign anV FRANCE.—The principal event in Paris this week has

been the adjudi- cation of the Paris and Strasbourg Railway, by the Minister of Commerce, to united companies represented by General Cuvieres, on a lease of forty three years and two hundred and eighty-six days. There was no com- petition. At the same time, the Tours and Nantes was adjudged to the company represented by Count de la Pinsonniere, on a lease of thirty-four years and fifteen days.

The Paris Bourse has been in a state of panic, from sympathy with the panic in the English Share-market, from a similar depression of the French Share-market, and divers consequent failures. A Spani'l lady is said to have lost 1,200,000 francs [48,000/.] by the fall. At one time the lady was supposed to be Queen Christina, but this has been contradicted. Reports from the wine districts represent universal failure of the crops; which are everywhere miserably below the average of last year.

The Presse of Friday contained a long statement of a visit paid to its principal editor, M. Emile de Girardin, member of the Chamber of Depu- ties, by M. Clement Thomas, first editor of the National, accompanied by M. Degouves Dernimeques; the object of which would appear to have been to induce M. de Girardin to fight a duel with one or other of the six editors of the National, in reparation of an affront which they deemed to have been put upon them collectively by M. de Girardin in the Presse. The latter,

hose speech over the grave of his friend M. Dujarrier, killed in a duel some months since, showed that he could not again fight a duel, declined the invitation; intimating that he would reply with the proper weapon of a journalist to any attack made upon him in print.

SWITZERLAND.—Letters from Lucerne state that Dr. Pfyffer, absurdly accused of conniving at the assassination of M. Lou, has been set at li- berty.

Sems.—Narvaez has been made a grandee of Spain of the first class, by the title of " Duke of Valentia." Advices from Palma report riotous disorders in the Balearic Islands, provoked by attempts to enforce the new system of taxation.

ALGERIA.—The accounts from the seat of war are not very interesting; triffering in little from those received of late. Abd-el-Kader, so far from being dead, was in full activity; and the Emperor of Morocco had thought it necessary to send a special Ambassador to the King of the French, to prove that there was no longer any alliance between him and the Emir. Bou-Maza was distinguished alike by his ubiquity and troublesomeness: he was last heard of blockading Orleansville. Tho whole province of Con- stantine was in revolt.

The Moniteur contradicts the story in a letter from Algiers published by the Quotidienne, that three thousand Arabs were suffocated in the grottoes of the Dahra, in August last.

Csma.—The Journal des Debats of Tuesday contained a long paper ex- patiating on the advantages that France must derive from the treaty with China. It denies, however, that France had sought any peculiar privileges: she merely sought the advantages secured by England and America, and moreover the advancement of the Roman Catholic religion. On the re- ligious part the journal expresses great pride at the noble work achieved in the name of France. Some curious remarks are imputed to Ke-Ying in the discussion of that portion-

" The religion of your noble empire," he said, "engages men to do that which is right and just, and prevents them from doing what is wrong. It is a true religion: it inspires men with noble sentiments. I will therefore urge the Ein- to permit the Chinese of the interior, who choose to do so, to adopt it without being punished as criminals. He said, moreover, for two hundred years that Christianism was permitted in China, the true Christians committed no crimes; but there were among them many persons who under the mask of that religion did much harm—they corrupted the women, deceived the sick, and did many kinds of vrickednesses: that was the reason that Christianity was forbidden in the empire."

BORNEO..-.The China Mail of the 18th September announces the return to Hongkong of a squadron under Sir Thomas Cochrane, from Borneo. A treaty with the Sultan, who had ceded to the British the island of La- boan, had been ratified. Mr. Brooke, the English traveller, sailed with the fleet; and his settlement at Semwac was recognized and confirmed. While staying at Borneo, the Admiral went to Maluda Bay, and captured a fort, with thirty guns, occupied by a troublesome nest of pirates: the fort and a town attached to it were destroyed; the pirates havine.' fled. The English lost eleven killed and seventeen wounded; the loss of the Natives was considerable.

ArentaLia.—The mineral riches of South Australia are daily receiving accessions in the way of discovery. Papers of the 5th July mention the discovery of a lode of copper on the ranges about ninety miles North of Adelaide, "easy of access, and of immense value." Several parties had demanded a special survey of the district.

NEW ZgaLaND.—The Sydney Star of the let August contains further accounts from the Bay of Islands, repeating some things stated in the in- telligence which we received last week, but adding several interesting par- ticulars respecting the war with the Natives under John Held.

Held was not present at the great conflict with the British on the 1st July; having been prevented by a wound in his thigh, which though not bad in itself had been made so by improper treatment. This wound was received in an attack made by Held on Wake, a friendly chief, a few days before the arrival of the British troops: in this instance Held was quite vanquished. Some stones of cruelty to the British prisoners are repeated,—the mutilation of Captain Grant, who was killed, and the roasting of a private soldier while alive; but they are contradicted. Other stories, such as the scalping of Lieu- tenant Philpott, and the cutting up of a Native woman, wife of Nopera, a chief friendly to the British, though not contradicted, rest on doubtful authority. The facts as to the final capture of the pah are made clearer. " By the 10th of the month, some guns and ammunition having been got from her Majesty's ship Hazard, then, and then only, it seems a hill was discovered which overlooked the fortress; and then, after so much blood had been spilt, so many barbarities and atrocities at which the life-blood curdles within us, was the cannon got to where it ought to have been before a shot was fired, and the pah taken. This we gain from a private letter, dated the 10th, which states= On Wednesday (the day before yesterday) we found a way of getting our large guns to the top of the hill, not far distant from the pain; and, firing down upon them into the deep holes they had made in the ground to shelter themselves, a number of them were de- stroyed; and in the night, which was dark, they evacuated the place, and had gone away two hours before we knew of it, and they were then too far off to fol- low them in a country where there is nothing but continued wood and no roads." In a despatch dated "Camp before Ileki's pah, July 11," Colonel Despard says —" The quantity of provisions stored in the captured fortress (potatoes) exceeds anything I could have formed an idea of One report in camp is, that the prin- cipal part of the enemy have dispersed in different directions; but I have so little opportunity of gaining correct information, that I scarcely give credit to any. I shall proceed as rapidly as possible to pull down and burn every part of the pah." This was done; and ma despatch written on the following day, Colonel Despard describes the construction of the native fortress: four guns, which were found in it, not being readily removeable, were blown up. "The strength of this place has struck me with astonishment, and I feel convinced that some European must have had the direction of it. Independent of the double stockade, many of the timbers of which were twelve inches broad by four and six thick, and sunk three feet in the ground, there was a ditch within the inner stockade about five feet deep and the same broad, which was crossed by traversers at every five or six feet, with a narrow communication between each that would admit of only one man passing at a time. Deep holes were sunk in various parts of the interior of the place, and thick embankments of earth were thrown up around them; and some of them Were strongly stockaded besides with heavy timber, which enabled the garrison to remain in them without being endangered from our shot; and it was only after the guns were raised to a considerable elevation, on a hill about three hundrid and fifty yards distant, that we were enabled seriously to molest them by a plunging fire, which entered those underground habitations," A private letter says of this pah—" We had the opportunity afforded us of observing how well-skilled these savages are in the science of defence. Their

stronghold was a perfect warren,—houses under ground; a triple row of stout fencing, strong enough to resist six-pound allots, two of which were found sticking

in one of them; the space between the fences deeply trenched affording shelter to the defenders, and also the means of firing low and with correct aim," The second pah destroyed, to which some doubtful allusion was made last week, was one about six miles from Wainsate, where the troops encamped: it ma evacuated on their approach, and taken without a blow, It was understood that Held had retired to a pah in the hills, about twenty. miles off, and deemed inaccessible; intending to suspend offensive measures, but to- make his stronghold a gathering-place for the discontented. Colonel Desparth says that he should not pursue him, being hopeless of supplies.

With regard to reinforcements that might be expected in New Zealand, we observe som allusion both in the Australian and the Hongkong papers-- The Sydney Star says—" The measures that have been taken in the colony- are, that 280 of the Fifty-eighth Regiment are to proceed to New Zealand; for which purpose, the detachments at Moreton Bay and Bathurst are called into head-quarters at Parramatta, whence, with a number of the military stationed there, they will be forwarded at the earliest ;opportunity; and a strong report prevails that his Excellency Sir Maurice O'Connell will accompany them for the purpose of taking command of the forces there." In the China Mail we find this paragraph—" We hear that her Majesty's ships Castor and Diedalus, and steamer Driver, are to proceed immediately to New Zealand. The Vixen is reported for England with the Chinese indemnity- money; and the Espiegle, it is said, will be ordered to the North."

MADAGASCAR.—A Bourbon paper states, on the authority of M. Pinnid, commanding the French brig Sans Souci, that he had met at Fort Dauphin

a large Dutch ship of 1,200 tons, the supercargo of which bore a French name; that the vessel was laden with powder, guns, and other munitions of war, with engineers and gunners, for the service of the Native chiefs; and two more vessels similarly laden were expected.