fortigu nut4
sta14.—The Hord states that an opinion exists among the best in- formed persons at Turin that King Victor Emmanuel will accept the principle of the sovereignty of the Duchies when it shall be offered officially. It is not believed that the question of the Duchies will be
discussed or regulated at Zurich in its present state. If the restoration of their Sovereigns had been accepted by the people, the arrangement of the differences existing between the Dukes and their subjects might be submitted to the Conference, inasmuch as in that case the question would not affect the international law of Europe ; but the moment the violation of treaties is the matter to be considered a European Congress alone is competent. The Nord adds that the idea of a European Congress is making progress, and that M. de Balabine has communicated a note to the Austrian Government, in which the Emperor of Russia insists strongly on the necessity of assembling a Congress.
A deputation of the Assembly is appointed to convey to King Victor Emmanuel the decree of union with Sardinia. Amongst the deputies are Prince Strozzi, Count Manzi, Count Borghesi, Count Franceschini, the Leghorn banker Adami, and Professor Giorgi' who represent not only the great families but the principal cities of Tuscany. The Government will publish a memorandum which it has addressed to the great Powers —a very able State paper,—and other important documents.
With reference to the restoration of the Central Italian Dukes the Constitutionnel has got authority to speak out plainly against armed in- tervention. The article has all the appearance of being semi-official. The following are extracts :— " We have hitherto abstained from taking part in a discussion which we considered premature and as sterile as irritating. When, however, the moment for expressing an opinion on that grave incident arrives, it seems to us that it will be easy to do so in a few words. The Emperor at Villa- franca accepted, without any sort of repugnance, the restoration of the Princes. At the hour of reconciliation he was unwilling to remember that at Solferino some among them were in the ranks of his enemies. What, in fact, did that matter to him ? It was not against those Princes that he di- rected his arms, but against the political system of which they were the accomplices or the first victims. The system once vanquished, why prolong resentments the motive of which no longer existed ? Was a war of prin- ciples to be changed into a war of persons ? That would have been to fall very low." As the Emperor Napoleon had entered Italy to achieve the independ- ence of a whole people, and not to favour some local revolutions or to aid indirectly in the expulsion of some petty Princes, he was not op- plated to the return of the latter. He conceived that having had a severe lesson they would be inclined to grant salutary reforms, and that in that manner their restoration would prevent new political complications. If the reforms proved sufficient, Central Italy would be spared those scenes of agitation which sometimes afflicted even the most powerful kingdoms :—
It was with that generous object," says the writer, "and more for the sake of the populations than for that of the Princes, that the French Government, faithful to its promises, caused the language of reconciliation to be employed in the three Duchies. It has not yet abandoned all hope of success, and it will endeavour to the end to fulfil loyally its disinterested mission. But if it should not succeed, what will it do ?' is asked with strange persistence. 'Do not,' it is said, the services which France has rendered to Italy authorize her to offer something else than counsels' ? To give orders perhaps, and to make menaces, to be soon followed by acts ? No ; France is not a gendarme in the service of Princes against the populations. She endeavours to unite them in a mutual and profitable accord, and will
notdo violence either to one or the other. By what right, by what means, could she act between them ? By an armed intervention! But that would be to walk in the path of the old Austrian policy, which was defeated at Magenta ; it would be to exercise the right of intervention, which was torn to pieces at Solferino. It is not consistent either with the dignity or the honour of France to do herself what she condemns in others. Austria has lost for ever the profitable monopoly of armed intrusions in the affairs of the Peninsula, and we will never claim it for our own advantage. If at Rome an army of occupation is charged with the mission of protecting the Sove- reign Pontiff, it is because there is at Rome not only an Italian Prince in presence of his subjects,. but the Pope, the father of all the faithful, whose repose and security it is important to us to secure. At Rome we do not defend a private cause ; we defend, in the interest of France and in that of Italy herself, the cause of Catholicism. Everywhere else the Princes are subject to the common law, and that law requires that no one shall place himself between them and their people. As friends whose devotedness ought not to be forgotten, we believe that we have more right than others tome to the populations of the Duchies advice which we consider wise and prudent. If they do not follow it, we may feel regret, but we shall never endeavour to impose it on them by force. In a word, Italy owes to us her independence, and we will not take back tomorrow what we have given today."
The Tuscan Government has issued a State paper dated "Florence, August 24 " explaining the causes of the revolution and justifying the recent vote of the Assembly. It commences by affirming the perfect unanimity of all Tuscans in the Italian sentiment. It contrasts with this the flight of the Grand Ducal family into the camp of the enemy. It narrates the junction of the Tuscan national army with a French corps, the peace, and the sub- sequent recall of the Sardinian Commissioners. It was then decided to convoke a National Assembly under the law of the 3d of March, 1848.
"The National Assembly, regularly convoked, regularly assembled, and regularly deliberating, have issued two votes which in substance farm but one, because, united, they correspond with its convocation providing for the definitive organization of the country.
"It issued a first vote declaring for ever terminated in Tuscany the reign of the Austro-Lorraine dynasty. "It issued a second vote declaring it to be the will of the Tuscan people to form part of a strong Italian kingdom under the constitutional sceptre of Victor Emmanuel II.
" That Tuscany abandoned to herself and left without a government had the right to provide herself with one and to elect one most suited to her sentiments and interests is so patent a truth that it needs no further ex- planation. It will suffice to give an authority applicable to the present case, and which cannot be objected to—it is that of the Grand Duke Leopold II.
himself. That Prince, in his decree of the 12th May, 1848, deliberating on the annexation to Tuscany of the provinces of Massa and Carrara, Garfagnana and Lunigiana, solemnly proclaimed the principle now invoked by us, and proclaimed it, founding it on thesame facts and on the same reasons."
The Memorandum here dwells on the hostile animus of the House of Lorraine towards Tuscany. " Finally it may be added, that faith was broken when foreign troops were called in, and by the abolition of the constitution the compact which united prince and people was broken." It continues :— " Should a Sovereign of the fallen dynasty return to Tuscany he would return, there is no use denying it, with a deep and incurable rancour against the whole country, and would include in his aversion all classes of society, from the highest to the lowest. The country would retort those sentiments with sentiments still more hostile. Deep-seated animosity on one side, invariable distrust on the other,—such would be the links be- tween the governor and the governed. Personal repugnances and ill-feeling would render all government impossible. Tuscany would become a hotbed of permanent revolution, and the peace of Italy would be reduced to a dream. Where would be the strength of the returning government ; where its point d'appui; from where would it derive its authority and means of government ? In every country, when a revolutionary moment is feared, or a disturbance of the public peace, the government and the army are looked upon for support. But in Tuscany it is especially the army which, more than any other class of citizens, is compromised towards the dynasty of Lorraine, which more energetically than others blamed its anti-na- tional conduct, which more than others powerfully contributed to its downfall. From this it may easily- be conceived by what spirit and tendencies it would be animated. It would be necessary, therefore, for the dynasty to have recourse to auxiliary troops, to foreign intervention ; and then would recommence,. with more terrible intensity, those acts of violence on one side, and revolutionary conspiracy on the other—acts of aggression and of vengeance—which have called upon unhappy Italy the attention of the world, and made it feel the necessity of finding a remedy for so many sad grievances.
"Nor must it be lost sight of that Austria, though forced by the chances of war to adhere to the peace of Villafranca, will never accept it frankly and sincerely. She will always be awaiting an opportuuity to reoccupy Lombardy, or to resume her ancient protectorate in the rest of Italy, taking advantage, toward that end, of every European complication that may arise. Hence the language of the journals more devoted to that govern- ment, which make no concealment of its designs. " When this should arrive, Italy would have to make, and would make again, a great national effort to maintain what she has acquired through the valour of the Italo-French arms, the gallantry of King, Victor Em- manuel, and the powerful and generous cooperation of his Majesty the Em- peror of the French. An Austrian dynasty in Tuscany would be a return to the 27th of April. " In our times no one can suppose that a country can risk its destinies and its prosperity in a game of a continual alternative of revolution or re- storation.
"The-question actually agitated between Tuscany and the Lorraine dy- nasty may be thus briefly stated :—Can the vanquished impose laws upon the conqueror ? Ought a civilized people who have given proofs of every civic virtue to be sacrificed to despotism ? or the will of one to be estimated above the interests and will of 2,000,000 of men. Europe and the voice of public opinion say, 'No '
" The Tuscan government, though without official communications, is nevertheless aware that some importance is attached to a supposed abdi- cation of Leopold IL, and to an asserted programme of his son Ferdinand, holding out large promises of liberal institutions and Italian sentiments. That abdication and those promises have been chiefly supported by the coun- sels of a friendly government, that Tuscany might not refuse to consent to the restoration of the fallen dynasty. To give in to such suggestions it would have been requisite for Tuscany to have forgotten all her history of recent date and the many breaches of sworn faith; she must have forgotten that the interests of that dynasty were so intimately allied to the interests and passions of Austria as not to be compatible with the interests of the country ; finally, it was necessary to have forgotten the presence in Modena
of the said Archduke Ferdinand, expecting impatiently the issue of the battle of Magenta, that he might return to Tuscany at the head of the Austrians if the battle had been gained by them. "Finally, the word Solferino' must have been obliterated from history. A singular example, forsooth, would this have been of public morality 1 A Prince who seeks refuge in the camp of his country's enemy, who fights by their side against it, and when he finds they are beaten, exclaims, 'Now I am with you. Neither a sentiment of safety nor that of reciprocal dignity, could allow Tuscany to subscribe to so humiliating a capitulation, the re- sult of defeat and tho fruit of a late repentance.' "
The Memorandum then defends the second vote of the National As- sembly, the vote for the annexation to Piedmont. It enumerates the immense majority which prevailed through all the towns and districts of Tuscany in favour of the annexation, and the spirit of national inde- pendence which animated the voters. It then points out the difficulties attending an Italian Confederation, according to the terms of the peace of Villafranca, with Austria holding a strong position in Italy. Such con- federation would be impossible. The result was that the partisans for annexation with Piedmont increased considerably after the peace of Villafranca.
"As long as the war lasted," says the Memorandum, "hopes that the kingdom of Upper Italy, even including Venice, the Austrians everywhere driven out, would have been established, prevailed. Those hopes are now dispelled."
The Memorandum then points out that annexation to Piedmont would be the beat guarantee for the tranquillity of Tuscany. It places its hopes in the great Powers of Europe, and makes a warm appeal to them. "But," it concludes, "should human justice fail us, we shall defend by every means in our power our rights and the dignity of our country against every attack. And should events turn against us, we should always have the consciousness that all of us, people, assembly, and government, have done our duty without weakness and without bombast. Then publics opinion and history will decide on which side right, civic wisdom, and moderation were to be found ; on which side were injustice, blindness, and abuse of power." It is signed :— "Rreasom, President of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of the Interior.
C. Rimer I, Minister of Public Instruction, Minister ad interim of Foreign Affairs.
E. POGO', Minister of Grace and Justice. R. BUSACCA, Minister of Finance.
SALVAGNOLI, Minister of Public Worship. DE CavEsto, Minister of War."
The Government at Florence, says the horning Post correspondent, without displaying an uncalled-for rigour, watches with the great- est attention that the public order may not be in the slightest de- gree disturbed. All individuals, not Tuscan citizens, likely to disturb public tranquillity and to furnish pretexts for diplomatic remonstrances are watched and warned. The National Guard is made to go through its manoeuvres every day, and will be mobilized the moment it becomes ne- cessary. In short, the Tuscans are resolved, rest assured of that, to re- sist in every possible way the restoration of the late dynasty, and, if they be destined to fall, they will so fall that their oppressors will be loaded with all the shame and execration which the assassination of an innocent people cannot fail to draw down upon their heads.
Speaking of the recent Tuscan mission to Paris the same correspondent says :-
" The following are the precise words which Napoleon III. used in his reply to the Tuscan Envoy:—' Vous pouvez assurer cos populations quo je n'interviendraijamais pour favoriser les restaurations, et Jo ne permettrai jamaia a l'Autriche d'intervenir. Reizet a mal compris sa mission, et s'est rendu tras impopulaire en Italie.' These words, I am positively assured, exist in the official despatch of the Tuscan Envoy transmitted from Paris to this Government."
" The Florentine papers publish telegraphic despatches from Turin, in which the acceptance of Tuscany by Sardinia is given as almost certain. It is reported that Victor Emmanuel will send Prince Carignan as Viceroy into Central Italy, to hold it provisionally. until the Congress shall have secured and guaranteed the definitive possession."
The Nord of Brussels states that Cardinal Antonelli has addressed a new Note to the Catholic Powers, in which he not only rejects all species of reforms, but he moreover, protests warmly against what he calls an attack on the Sovereign rights of the Pope. The same authority de- clares that Prince Poniatowsky has no political mission in Italy, and that the sole' bject of his journey is to attend the marriage of his niece, Mademoiselle de Ricci, with Count Paul Tolomci-Biffi.
The Opinion of Turin states that the telegram from Berne published by the English papers last week respecting the progress of the Con- ference, was wholly inaccurate. The questions arising out of the an- nexation of Lombardy to Sardinia are not settled, although they have made progress. Neither has it been decided by France and Austria to treat the question of the Duchies directly. The same journal maintains that the settlement of the Duchies, so far as foreign Powers are con- cerned, must be made by a European Congress, the proposition of which now meets with less opposition than it did, and " in favour of which the majority of the Great Powers have pronounced." A Pans correspondent of the Nord asserts very positively, and the Journal des Debars accepts the assertion, that the Emperors of France and Austria signed at Villafranca a formal engagement which expressly provides that neither shall employ arms to restore the Sove- reigns of Tuscany or Modena. An able correspondent of the Daily News gives some information re- specting the later proceedings of the Conference. " Twin, August 21. "Yesterday a message by electric telegraph informed us that the Con- ferences at Zurich had been brought to a conclusion. Upon receipt of the news I immediately called upon a person high in office, who told me that the Government had received no intimation of the occurrence, and that he, for his part, believed matters were still very far from the final arrangement.
'It would seem,' he smilingly added, 'that the Bernese Bear must oc-
casionally take it into his head to indite despatches. In fact, only three days ago the negotiations at Zurich had made such little progress that the discussion about some adjacent bishoprics had to be adjourned.' And what instructions can have been sent to Commendator Desambrois f ' I asked, at the risk of being thought indiscreet. Always the same,' he replied ;
and my opinion is that they will never be altereg. He will have to remit
as many questions as he can to a European Congress ; and as regards the money he must be close-fisted enough, unless Austria gives compensation in important concessions about the two fortresses of Peschiera and Mantua, or the political condition of Venice, which it is very unlikely she will do.'
Thus there is a part of the negotiations, that which relates to the Con- federation, which has been omitted from the very first. Concerning this project, the King protested, even at Villafranca, that he would not accept it unless upon conditions that can hardly be reconciled with the pre- liminaries of peace. For the rest, the management of the discussion is con- ducted in this fashion :—M.M. Colloredo and de Bourqueney discuss together the first of the three treaties for establishing what shall be con- cluded between Austria and France, as affecting the cession of Lombardy by the former to the latter, with definite obligations and limits. On these two points M. de Bourqueney confers specially with the Sardinian pleni- potentiary. The treaty that will subsequently- have to be concluded be- tween France and Sardinia will be simple enough, as all there is to be done is to transfer to the latter the possession of Lombardy, precisely as previously ceded to France by Austria. I obtained all this information, part of which is not exactly new but the whole of it strictly authentic, only yesterday, from an individual who is in a position to know accurately what is passing."
,franrt.—M. do Moray, President of the Legislative Corps and bosom-friend of the Emperor Napoleon, is also President of the Conseil
General of the department of the Puy de Dame. On Wednesday week he presided at the opening meeting of the Council, and made a speech referring to the events of the day and the policy of the Emperor. He spoke especially of England and of the attacks of the English press on the Emperor. We reprint his remarks on this topic in full. Be said :- " You have participated, gentlemen, in the enthusiasm excited by our victories, you have shared in the unanimous gratitude of France for the great moderation of the Emperor. But you find it difficult to understand howlis Majesty's evident desire to prevent a European conflagration can have caused in England the newspaper articles, the Parliamentary speeches, and the warlike preparations of which so much has been said. You know,
without doubt, by means of what logic the English explain their appre- hensions. They say, Our press is free—the French press is not so; there-
fore insults have not the same importance in one as in the other.' That is quite an error. There is in France no means of preventing a journal from publishing what seems to it right—the Government is only armed against the press with the power of warning and of suspension, which are repressive measures. The English add, ' The Emperor retains at the bottom of his heart the desire to avenge Waterloo and St. Helena; he only concluded peace with the Emperor of Russia in order to make him an ally ; he has been generous to the Emperor of Austria only to make a friend of him also, and with that double alliance he intends to attack England.' I do not think it inopportune to tell you what I think on that subject. We live at a period when the hatreds of castes and families have succumbed from the increased mildness of manners ; and at which national hatred and prejudice have been effaced by civilization. The new generations have something else to do than to avenge the past ; they are too enlightened to act on any other motive than the interest of the present and the future. The Emperor and the present generation of Frenchmen are not of those of whom it can be said, They have learned nothing and
forgotten nothing?, As for the generous proceedings between the three Emperors, to ascribe them to the speculative object indicated above, is it
not to reduce to the proportions of a paltry theatrical intrigue the regula- tion of the great interests of Europe, and to degrade the elevated sentiments which God has placed in the heart of a Sovereign for the welfare of hu- manity ? Assuredly, I am better able than any other to appreciate the loyal fidelity of the Emperor and his pacific intentions ; for when he did me the honour to send me to Russia, to draw closer the relations between the two empires, the part of my instructions which dominated every other was
this Do not allow any encroachment to be made on the English al- liance; and, far from endeavouring to divide the great Powers, on the
contrary, point out that if they had the good sense to unite and to come to an understanding, all the paltry difficulties which may arise in Europe may be solved peaceably.' Need I recall to your memory the incidents which preceded the war with Austria in order to prove that the Emperor Napo- leon, whilst desiring to free Italy, and to disengage the frontier of France from Austrian pressure, would have preferred attaining that object by a Congress rather than by a war ? The number and the state of our army at the moment when the ultimatum of Austria was issued prove this. And if the statesmen of England who now consider that enough has not been done for the Italians had consented before the war to express the sympathies which they now manifest, it is to be presumed that the affairs of Italy would have been regulated by diplomacy. I repeat that after all the Em- peror has done and said, to suspect him of preparing in the dark, without any other motive than ancient enmity, an enterprise which would throw into confusion the gravest interests in the world, and would be the most fatal blow to civilization, is to doubt his word and his heart as a Sovereign and a man," He suggested that perhaps the attempts which have been made by certain newspapers and speakers in England to excite distrust of France were only inspired by the desire of the one to increase their circulation, and of the other to gain popularity. The Count continued-
" Time, and the determination of the Emperor to lead France into the occupations and labours of peace, will, I doubt not, triumph over chimerical fears. That, gentlemen, is the sort of war which we must wage with England; let us resolutely terminate our means of conveyance and of circulation; let us put them in communication with our 'coal-pits; let vs-reduce the cost- price of all raw materials and of all our manufactured articles; let us imitate the English in what we are deficient in ; let us gain strength from the spirit of association without continually requiring the support of the Government ; let us endeavour to conquer, and by prudent use preserve, the liberties which make a man absolute master of his own welfare, and which have no other limits than the wrong done to others. Yes, let us make on England a manufactuiin,, and commercial war—a conflict of pro- gress and civilization, loyal, avowable, and -which will be advantageous to us all. That is what th-e Emperor desires ; let us second his efforts. Al- ready. is the amnesty a work of pacification which is the prelude of the sys- tem into which we are about to enter. Let ua hope that it will be so un- derstood by everybody, especially by those who are the object of it."
A letter from St. Sauveur of the 26th presents a not unpleasing pic- ture of the life of the Emperor Napoleon and his wife in villeggiatura.
"The Emperor and Empress, the day after their arrival, began taking the baths. His Majesty bathes every morning at seven, and her Majesty at eight. In the course of the day they make excursions in the neigh- bourhood, and have already been twice to Barges, where the Government proposes to reestablish a military hospital. The Emperor takes great in- terest in the projected establishment, and has had the plans submitted to him. It is said that his Majesty will order various coustructions iu the environs of St. Sauveur, but thus far only one operation is certain—the re-
storation of the old hermitage of St. Pierre, the ruins of which are opposite Luz. The chapel there was formerly a place of pilgrimage, and the hermitage acquired a certain degree of celebrity. The Emperor and Em- press seem much pleased with their new residence. 'I have visited various parts of the Alps, said the Emperor the other day to one of the principal functionaries of the district, but I have never seen any thing so pretty as the valley of Luz.' We had the other evening a little scene, which was really of charming simplicity, and which excited the enthusiasm of the in- habitants and the bathers, from the contrast it presented to the idea generally entertained of Imperial Majesty. The mountaineers of Lira are
famous for their skill in singing. They are simple peasants, most of whom cannot read, and not one of whom knows music ; but they sing together with great skill and taste the songs of the country, or pieces of their own composition. A number of singers thus collected the other evening before the house occupied by their Majesties, and began singing. The drawing- room in which their Majesties sit is on the ground floor, and the moment the singers began the Emperor appeared at the door, and was shortly after followed by the Empress. The Empress seated herself on a chair on the door steps, with two ladies of honour behind her; and the Emperor, de- scending among the crowd, stood leaning against the wall. The singers, though somewhat moved at such close proximity to their Majesties, sang exceedingly well, and their Majesties several times gave the signal of ap- plause. One of the songs was a sort of cantata in honour of the Imperial family, and a prayer to God to watch over the Emperor and the Imperial Prince: which it contained drew tears to the eves of the Empress. When the singing had ceased the bystanders cried out with great enthusiasm, Vice 'Empereur ." Fire I Imperatriee ." Vice is Prince Impdrial P The Empress then advanced to the singers, accompanied by the Emperor, and addressed to them her thanks and compliments."
A new Russian Commercial and Banking Society has been authorised by the Russian Government, and the statutes are now published. The concession is for fifty years, and the period can be prolonged with the consent of the Government. The company is to have all the privileges of a merchant of the first guild, and the power to trade, possess ships, stores, factories, and all kinds of industrial establishments, except dis- tilleries; to carry on all banking and exchange operations, assurance business, contracts for Government works, &c. According to its capital and connexions the company is to assist the financial operations of the Government and the industrial activity of the country generally. Im- movable property may be held, but not to a greater amount than a tenth of the paid-up capital. The same limitation is also adopted with regard to the purchase of merchandise. The sum 'invested in public funds or shares is not to exceed a fifth of the total paid up. Other rule) are like- wise laid down with the object of keeping the business of the undertaking in safe channels. The capital is to be 8,000,0001., in 201. shares, which will be issued gradually from time to time. The concessionaires, how- ever, engage that within a year a fourth at least of the capital shall be subscribed ; when operations will be at once commenced. The adminis- tration of the affairs of the society rests with five directors, of whom two must be Russians, with an administrative council of fifteen. An ab- stract of the accounts will be published annually. The Minister of Finance appoints a Commissioner, who is to attend the general meetings of shareholders and those of the administrative council. Ha can examine the minutes of the directors and all agreements concluded by them, verify the cash, and assist in making out the balance-sheet. If ho dis- cover any infringement of the statutes he is to point it out to the di- rectors or administrative council, and in case of his remonstrances being neglected, or of a difference of opinion, reference can be had to the Mi- nister of Finance with whom rests the final decision. He will also pre- sent with each balance-sheet a general summary of the position of the company's affairs.
fltlif11.—The following gossip from Constantinople is given in the Morning Post. The mission of Prince Labanoff (the envoy sent by the Czar to present to the Sultan the insignia of the order of St. Andrew) has been received at Constantinople with extraordinary honours, and the Post correspondent says :.— " Some days previous to the audience granted to Prince Labanoff his Majesty the Sultan had received through another channel a second auto- graph letter from the Emperor Alexander. In this letter the Czar reiterates his thanks for the manner in which his brother, the Grand Duke, was re- ceived, compliments the Sultan upon the growing prosperity of his empire, and renews, in the warmest language, his professions of friendship, the sin- cerity of which friendship was clearly shown during the late war. The Czar, notwithstanding the overtures made him, did not once depart from the line of strict neutrality which the interest of Russia and Turkey demanded. The letter concludes with an encomium on the present Turkish Ministry, who, true to the interests of their Sovereign, endeavour by every means in their power to heal old wounds, and join in close amity two countries which nature has marked out for friendly intercourse. " I have underlined the principal passage, as it is in direct contradiction with one clause of an autograph letter received by the Emperor of the French from the Emperor Alexander. In this letter the Russian Emperor deplores his inability to take part in the war, the internal affairs of his empire occupying his whole attention ; but he promised at the same time that ,Germany and Turkey shall not budge, and, if necessary, that the Principalities shall be occupied by a Russian corps d'armae and the mouths of the Danube closed. The Emperor Napoleon, on receiving this letter from the hands of the Russian General Schouvaloff, made known its con- tents to Counts Persigny and Montebello, remarking that Russia had but one refrain, ' Donnez moi in Turquie.'
" It is not improbable that this letter hastened the arrival of peace. It at least goes some way to explain the contradictory complaints of the Em- perors Francis Joseph and Napoleon ; for while the first says be has been deserted by his natural allies, the French Emperor alludes to the alternative of accepting the combat on the Rhine and the Adige."
Correspondancia Autografa of Madrid announces that orders have been given for the formation of an expeditionary corps of 10,000 men. The Spanish Consul at Tangiers has withdrawn from that place, after having handed a note to the authorities announcing that Spain is decided to have satisfaction by arms for the hostilities against Ceuta.
111/1/11.—We have letters from Bombay to August 5. The military exodus of soldiers who have claimed their discharge goes on. The Eng- lishman says that about 5000 may be expected to go from Bengal alone. Advertisements are out for the passage home of 2305 soldiers from Bom- bay, Goa, and Kurrachee alone—" effective European troops," Thirteen of the Berhampore mutineers are to be tried by court-martial. A correspondent writing from Cawnpore to the Englishman says that hundreds of the men will change their minds and withdraw their names from the discharge-list, if allowed to do so. From the Punjaub journals we also learn that there is every probability that a number of men will change their minds, and remain in the service.
Thursday, the 28th July, was appointed by the Viceroy and Governor- General of India as a day for a solemn thanksgiving to Almighty God for His signal mercies and protection during the late rebellion," and for " the restoration of peace and tranquillity to the Queen's dominions in India." In Bombay, Europeans, East Indians, Portuguese, Persees, Hindoos, Jews, and other races vied with each other in loyal emulation ; and in the English churches, the Portuguese chapels, the Parsee fire- temples, the Hindoo pagodas, an unanimous chorus of holy thoughts and pious thanksgiving rose to the throne of the Almighty Protector of the I Universe. It was a holiday for the rich and the poor. A suttee has taken place at Koonghur, near Hansi. The villagers re- sisted the widow's desire to burn, but her curse availed to turn them, and they eventually made the pile, and the poor creature perished. Those most actively engaged have been imprisoned for ten years, nineteen others for five years, and another for two years, and a fine of 500 rupees has been laid on the village. The thanodar and the whole of the police have been dismissed by order of the Lieutenant-Governor, for not having found out and prevented the crime. Koonghur is not threly to indulge in another suttee in a hurry.
A Bombay mail with dates to August 5th has arrived. The Bombay Gazette estimates that 6000 men of the European forces have applied for their discharge.
A despatch of Lord Canning, dated 10th May, addressed to the Pun- jaub Government, expresses his disapproval of the rule sanctioned by Sir John Lawrence, allowing missionaries to preach to Natives in jails. Lord Canning writes :—
" In the opinion of the Governor-General in Council, it is idle to talk of prisoners as free agents, even in the matter of listening, and even though (as is conceded in your letter under reply) they are not to be collected to- gether by guards to hear the preaching or to have assent to the preacher's doctrine forced upon them. An earnest missionary, whose zeal would de- serve nothing but praise and admiration, if exercised upon men as free as himself, could not be trusted so to measure his action as to abstain from forcing himself upon those who might desire to escape from him, but who would be unable to do so; and to watch his proceedings through any officer of competent authority would be impossible. "His Excellency in Council cannot easily imagine a step more likely to be understood by natives as belieing our professions of neutrality in matters of religion than the sanctioning of the practice which is here re- commended."
A paper from the pen of Lord Canning revives the question as to the Indian executive in Oude. It is in reply to the last of the despatches of Lord Stanley. The Governor-General says, in this minute, that he does not seek to prolong the discussion, but only to rectify some mistakes or misapprehensions. Lord Stanley had intimated that the celebrated Oude proclamation was altogether objectionable, because merely intended as a menace. His lordship had also said that the proclamation had been can- celled and not acted on. Lord Canning quotes from despatches of Mr. Montgomery to show that the proclamation has not in any sense been cancelled. Where there has been persistence in rebellion, says Lord Canning, the sentence of confiscation has been a reality, and not merely a menace.
tailS.—Mr. Douglas, understood to be one of the candi- dates for the Presidency of the United States, has published the following letter on the revival of the African slave trade
Washington, August 2.
"My dear Sir—You do me no more thanustice in your kind letter, for I which accept my thanks, in assuming that do not concur with the Ad- ministration in their views respecting the rights of naturalized citizens as defined in the 'Le Mere letter,' which, it is proper to observe, have been since materially modified. "Under our constitution there can be no just distinction between the right of native-born and naturalized citizens to claim the protection of our government at home and abroad. Unless naturalization releases the person naturalized from all obligations which he owed to his native country by virtue of his allegiance, it leaves him in the sad predicament of owing alle- giance to two countries without receiving protection from either—a dilemma in which no American citizen should ever be placed. "Neither have you misapprehended my opinions in respect to the African slave trade. That question seriously disturbed the harmony of the Conven- tion which framed the federal constitution. Upon it the delegates divided into two parties, under circumstances which, for a time, rendered har- monious action hopeless. The one demanded the instant and uncondi- tional prohibition of the African slave trade, on moral and religious grounds, while the other insisted that it was a legitimate commerce, involving no other consideration than a sound public policy, which each State ought to
be permitted to determine for itself, so long as it was sanctioned by its own laws. Each party stood firmly andresolutely by its own position until both became convinced that this vexed question would break up the Convention,
destroy the Federal Union, blot out the glories of the Revolution, and throw away all its blessings, unless some fair and just compromise could be formed on the common ground of such mutual concessions as were indispensable to the preservation of their liberties, union, and independence. "such a compromise was effected and incorporated into the constitution, by which it was understood that the African slave trade might continue as a legitimate commerce in those States whose laws sanctioned it until 1808, from and after which time Congress might and would prohibit it for ever throughout the dominion and limits of the United States, and pass all laws which might become necessary to make such prohibition effectual. The harmony of the Convention was restored and the Union saved by this com- promise, without which the constitution could never have been made.
" I stand firmly by this compromise, and by all the other compromises of the constitution, and shall use my best efforts to carry each and all of them into faithful execution, in the sense and with the understanding in which they'were originally adopted. In accordance with this compromise I am ir- reconcileably opposed to the revival of the African slave trade in any form and under any circumstance. S. A. DOUGLAS." " Colonel John L. Peyton, Staunton, Virginia."
5111111i ft.—The Jamaica papers are filled with details of outrages and riots in the town of Falmouth, arising out of a long-pending disputed right of possession of a property called Florence Hall, which could only be properly decided by a court of law. It appears that for some time past the police courts of Falmouth have been occupied in trying persons brought up for creating rows at the hall, which rows were so frequent that they came to be denominated the " Florence Hall disturbances." The dispute was as to the right of possession between the attorney of the lawful heirs to this property and the natural son of the deceased owner, and the disturbances always arose from the attempt made by the one Party to eject the other, and on each fresh occasion acquired greater di- mensions. On the last occurrence, the magistrates committed the ring- leaders for trial at the Circuit Court, and in their own jurisdiction dis- posed by fine or moderate imprisonment of those whose part in the dis- turbances was of a less aggravating character. The Circuit Court met on the 28th of July, and the judge having noticed in his charge to the juep that indictments against parties to the frequent disturbances in the parish would be submitted to them, the signal for outrage was given, and thus commenced the riot which took place on the 1st of August. Several of the accused confined in the gaol were rescued, and when true bills were proclaimed against others, and they were being conveyed to prison the police were assaulted and the prisoners rescued. now as- sumed such a form that the Court had to be adjourned. The Riot Act was twice read, and the mob advised to disperse ; but, instead of dis- g, one of them discharged a pistol and wounded a policeman. Stones and other missiles were hurled in every direction, and several ma- gistrates, who were active in trying to restore order, were wounded. The police had orders to fire, and two persons were shot dead and several others severely wounded. The mob became more excited, and they at- tempted to destroy the goal, the Court-house, the police-station, and other buildings. Through the interposition of the magistrates, who went about trying by persuasion to allay the outbreak, order was somewhat restored, but only to be interrupted in a more serious form. At night the mob again assembled, and no less than three attempts were made to fire the town. The peaceable portion of the inhabitants then armed themselves for the preservation of order, and with the assistance of the police from the neighbouring parishes of St. James and St. Ann, who at this time arrived, completely suppressed the outbreak.