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Fit&NCE.—M. Trouve Chauvel, the new Finance Minister, made his debiit in the Assembly on Monday, with a budget speech.

He proclaimed himself a zealous partisan of order, of property, of the invio- lability of contracts, of fidelity to all engagements, and of the maintenance of ex- isting rights. He thought that the Republic ought not to be satisfied with a mere progress. The Monarchy had stopped at no sacrifice to pay the debts of the country; the Republic should imitate its example: he therefore announced the im- mediate presentation of a project of decree for the integral payment of the Treasury Bonds and the deposits in the Savings-Banks. The financial difficulties of the country originated in the too great development imparted by the former Government to public works, and the simultaneous construction of too many rail- road lines. He, however, considered it an imperative duty for the Government to open new means of communication; which, independently of their beneficial re- sults for the country, would enable it to employ a greater number of workmen. The ordinary resources of the country, if wisely appropriated, would amply suffice for all the wants of the Treasury. The deficit on the 31st December would be 271,000,000 francs; and to cover that, the Treasury would have at its disposal 260,000,000 francs of extraordinary resources. In 1849, however, the strictest economy would be necessary, as the extraordinary resources of 1848 would not again be obtainable. He thought that the condition of affairs, already much improved, would still fur- ther improve by the restoration of confidence, the increase in the receipts, and the decrease in the expenditure. To attain that end, the Government should pursue a firm policy abroad, and an energetic but conciliatory system of administration at home- -but no change should be introduced into the present mode of taxation, and the Assembly should carefully reject all the reforms proposed, at least for the pre- sent.

An intelligent contributor to the Morning Post, travelling through France towards Perpignan, on a Spanish mission for his journal in London, records, en passant, his impressions on the question as to who will be the first President of the French Republic. His route was through the cities and towns in the rich wine districts of the South—Tours, Bordeaux, Agen, Toulouse, Carascone, and Narbonne. He quitted Paris with the opinion most common there," that the chances of Louis Napoleon in the approach- ing Presidential contest had almost ceased to be a chance, but that his success had become a certainty". but, after "hearing the everlasting topic of the election, and the qualities and titles of the candidates for the popular suffrage, discussed and canvassed in such diverse localities and by all sorts and classes of persons," he changed his opinion. The popular satire and caricature of the day—the printsellefs shops, and the ballads from the wallets of the itinerant song-venders—first gave him his new im- pressions— "In Paris, the portrait of Louis Napoleon takes foremost place, sometimes as a single likeness' and again arranged and grouped amongst the other nephews of 'the Man': at the same time the grim visage of Cavaignac appears, in most cases, side by side; leaving M. de Lamartine and the other candidates for hazardous and precarious power far in the shade. Now, in the cities and towns I stopped at on the way, the case was far different; popularity seemed altered: Louis Napoleon was seldom seen, Cavaignac everywhere; and, getting Southward, the Duke of Bordeaux and even the portrait of that fierce Paladin of the cause of Carlism in Spain, the renowned but dreaded Cabrera, were everywhere exposed for sale?' Grave opinion was generally in accordance with these lighter indica- tions— "Few persons seemed desirous of the advent:of Louis Napoleon to power; all agreeing on one point, that, in the present position of France, a chief of stable and formed character, of energy, determination, and military ability, was essen tially necessary to take the helm of the State bark to guide and control it in the coming storm. Mary I found favourable to the claims of De Lamartine; and in fact I should say that, personally, M. de Lamartine has preeminently the esteem of the French people: but thinking men fear to trust him; his genius is fully ad- mitted, but not his capacity for action."

The great problem would be the course taken by the powerful Legitimist party. On this point the Morning Post's contributor says-

" I have good reason for believing the Legitimists themselves are, as a party, yet undetermined, or even as to whether they will take part in the contest at all. Whichever candidate has their support must inevitably carry the day before all competition; but as the strong probabilities are in favour of their adhering to General Cavaignac, it seems to me so far as I have been enabled to glean from the sources I have studied, that General Cavaignac will be returned President, and by a most decisive and overwhelming majority."

"As a party, the Orleanists have ceased to exist."

Letters from Caen announce that M. Guizot will be returned to the French Legislature, as Representative for the department of Calvados, on the 19th of November. The Assemblee Nationale says that on his election, of which no doubt is expressed, he will present himself in the Assembly.

AIISTRIA.—The news from Austria is neither full nor very trustworthy. Our last accounts ended with the announcement that Prince Windisch- gratz had appeared before Vienna, and seized the island of Lobau. He has now regularly invested the place with an army of some 100,000 men and 140 guns. His chief force extends in a great semicircle round one half of Vienna, resting its flanks on the river above and below the city, and having his centre in advance of the wooded heights on its North. Pon- toon bridges put the army in easy communication with all the points on the South; and every road and strong place on that side has been seized, and is held by adequate troops. The army of Jellachich faces to the East, and holds the Hungarian in check on the banks of the Leitha.

One of the last chronicled measures of the Diet was its prevailing on the Common Council of Vienna to send a deputation to the Emperor, urging concession. The Council did this; but with no better success than the Diet itself. The Emperor refused a personal interview; and the Mi- nister "Wessenberg refused the demands preferred; adding, "All further requests respecting the restoration of tranquillity at Vienna must be addressed to the Generalissimo of the Army, Windischgriitz, who is fur- nished with the requisite full powers." The deputation had hardly returned to Vienna when a messenger brought to the Diet a parcel of 1,000 proclamation from Prince Windisoh- gratz " to the Inhabitants of Vienna "— " Inhabitants of Vienna," he said, " your city is stained by deeds of violence which fills the breast of every man of honour with horror. It is at this moment in the hands of a small but arrogant faction, which shrinks from no deed, how- ever disgraceful. Your life and property are given up to the despotism of a hand- ful of traitors. Be men; follow the call of duty and of sound sense. You will find that I possess both the will and the power to deliver you from their violence, and to restore peace and order. By these presents, the city, the suburbs, and the environs, are declared in a state of blockade. All the civil authorities are placed under the military power; and against every one who transgresses my ordinances martial law is proclaimed." The messenger delivered commands that these proclamations should be posted through Vienna; he then mysteriously disappeared. The Diet de-, liberated: it refused to acknowledge Prince Windischgriitz's commission, as having been signed by only one Minister.

On the 23d came these proposals from Prince Windischgrlitz- " 1. Within forty-eight hours after receipt of this present, the city of Vienna, with its faubourgs and neighbourhood, are to surrender; and by detachments the inhabitants are to give up their arms at some place appointed for that purpose, with the exception of private fire-arms. "2. The dissolution of all armed corporations, and of the Academical Legion; the University to be closed ; the President of the Academical Legion and twelve students to be made hostages.

"3. Certain individuals' hereafter to be named, are to be given up to me. "4. During the state of siege, no journals are to be published; with the ex- cep.tion of the Wiener Zeitung, which publishes official notifications.

5. All foreigners are to show their certificates of residence; those who have no passports are to depart immediately. "6. All clubs are closed during the state of siege.

"7. All persons acting contrary to the above, either by deed or by endeavour- ing to excite others to oppose them, or convicted of fomenting conspinicies, or found in possession of arms, will be punished according to martial law. "At the expiration of the time above notified, I shall take the necessary means to bring the city to obedience." The Diet replied with a declaration that these measures were illegal and against the constitution. To which the Prince rejoined—

"My fall powers do not extend to a negotiation with the Diet, which I recog- nize only as a Constitutive Assembly. The Minister, Kraus, is considered a pri- soner. The only legal authority which I recognize in Vienna is the Communal Council, and this is subordinate to me. I give the Diet twenty-four hours to con, sider of it."

Deputations hastened backwards and forwards in negotiation with the Generalissimo, down to the 25th, without effect- This is the last date to which we have news from within Vienna. At that time the population were perfectly ready for fighting, and Messenhauser had put the city in as good a position of defence as possible. The streets were placarded with an address from him, saying-

" All hopes of a peaceful solution are not at an end; but every inhabitant, from old to young, must be on his guard. I now for the first time commence the most important portion of my duty, which is to place Vienna in a state of de- fence. Follow the example of the brave inhabitants of Buda Pesth. Let every soul—men, women, and children—labour night and day in erecting barricades and intrenchments."

The accounts of what happened outside Vienna are later, but they are uncertain. The Berlin Deutsche Reforms of the 30th October bad a tele- graphic announcement that the cannonading commenced on the 28th. "Already on the 27th some bombs had been thrown into the suburbs, and had set some houses on fire. All then became quiet, until the 28th; when, the disarming not having taken place, the bombardment commenced in the morning." The same paper had a letter from Breslau of the 29th, which said—" The employes on the Vienna railway have brought a copy of the following telegraphic despatch, forwarded yesterday through Olmiitr." "General Wilts to the Minister Von Wessenberg in Ohniitz.

"Yesterday (the 280) at eleven a. m. Windischgratz began the attack on all sides. The Schoenhals battalion, which stormed the first barricade, situated at the entrance of the agerzeil, and defended by twelve pieces of artillery, has been totally destroyed. Later in the day, the barricade was taken by the Jager corps and the .grenadiers. The troops have penetrated as far as the Berle Theatre. The Lomsenstrasse and Franz-Allee suburbs are in flames. The leaders of the- students have fled."

Other accounts are said to confirm these accounts of the attack; but they state that the operations are confined to the suburbs, and are not a bombardment of the city itself.

The intelligence from Olmiitz and Prague indicates a still greater ten- dency in the Imperial counsels to side with the Sclavonie elements of the Empire. On the 20th October, the Emperor proclaimed the removal of the place of sitting for the Austrian Diet, from Vienna to the city of Krem- sir ; and summoned all its members to meet at the latter place on the 15tb. November, in order to proceed instanter in the mighty work of perfecting the constitution.

On the 25th, the Bohemian members of the Diet, Palacky and Pinkas, went to Olmiitz and saw the Emperor: they carried with them a declaration of the whole of the Bohemian members, to the effect that it was their de- termination not to return to Vienna, and that they would not be answer- able for anything that might happen in Bohemia should the Emperor re- fuse to transfer the seat of the Diet from Vienna to another city. The Em- peror received the deputation graciously, and referred them to his procla- mation above mentioned. He stated, however, that he did not resign the hope that it might yet be possible to lead back his capital to peace without extreme measui es. He wrote also an autograph letter to the Vice-President Wogkrowsky, expressing delight at the affectionate loyalty of his Moravian people; a loyalty which was hereditary and ancient. He also gave this pledge-

" May the Representatives of Moravia trust my Imperial word, with which I hereby reiterate to them the maintenance of their liberties already sanctioned by me, and assure them of my Imperial favour."

The Diplomatic Corps has quitted the city of Vienna. The English Ambassador was delayed the longest, and had great difficulty in passing the line. To effect this, be was obliged to go in person to the State Chan- cery, and thence to the commander. The French Ambassador is gone to Hitzing, near Schonbrun.

The following letter has been addressed by the Ban Jellachich to his " Sclavonic brethren in Bohemia": it was read with acclamations at ths sitting of the Prague Slovanska Lipa Union, on the 25th October.

"Beloved Companions and dear Brethren—My proceedings hitherto testify what I aim at, and what I desire. Inspired as 1 am with affection for Sclavom- anism, I am neverthless perfectly persuaded that Sclavonianism is the strongest prop of Austria; but that Austria also is an inevitable stipulation for the integrity of Solavonianism. Therefore it was my duty, as a faithful and sincere Sclavonian, to oppose in Pesth the Anti-Austrian party which hostilely rose against Selavoni- anism.

a But as I approached Pesth, that nest of the Magyar aristocracy, our common enemies arose; and bad they conquered in Vienna, ray victory in Pesth would have been incomplete, and the main stay of our enemies would have been Vienna. "Therefore 1 turned, with the whole of my army, to Vienna, in order to chas- tise the enemies of Sclavonianism in Austria's capital. Inexpressibly great was my joy when I saw that my brethren in Bohemia, through convictions which had been strengthened by the departure of the delegates, unfurled their victorious banner before Vienna, for the purpose of offering me and my army the right hand of fellowship, and of thus conquering as heroes or dying with honour. "I was led solely by the conviction that I was approaching Vienna against the enemy of Sclavonianism; and I cherish the hope that you not only understand my actions but will support them. Receive my greeting. "Given at the head-quarters of the Croatic-Sclavonian army at Zwolfaxingen.

"Oct. 22, 1848. JELLACHICH, Ban." Field-Marshal Radetzky has addressed the soldiers of the garrison at Vienna with a proclamation remarkable for its vigorous eloquence. He addressed them not as a commander, but "as the oldest soldier in the Austrian army." "Unheard-of events have taken place tinder your eyes. Airs- tria's spotless banner has been tarnished by treason and blood. Your Emperor has been compelled a second time to fly from his capital. The War Minister, Master-General of the Ordnance, Count Latour, has been barbarously, scanda- lously murdered, and his corpse dishonoured. A brave general fell, as they say, by the baud of a grenadier ! A grenadier battalion forget its duty in the midst of orgies and shameful drunkenness. It refused obedience, and—oh, eternal shame !—fired upon its faithful comrades." In the name of the Italian Army, Radetzky apostrophises the Viennese soldiers on their duty—" Where are these traitors, that have cast shame upon our standards? Have they met with deserved punishment, or do they drag on their treacherous existence, concealed amidst the ranks of the insurgents? Soldiers! anguish overcame me, tears fell from my aged eyes, when intelligence of infamy, unheard of hitherto in the annals of the Austrian army, came to my astonished ears! • • • On you, ye true and valiant men, depends the safeguard of the throne of your Emperor, and the consolidation of those institutions which he, in his fatherly goodness, accorded to his people, and which an insurgent horde have shamefully abused. Soldiers, open your eyes to the abyss that yawns at your feet! Every- thing is at stake. The foundation of the social edifice is shaken. Morality, re- ligion, and property, are menaced with destruction. They seek to annihilate everything that men hold dear and holy—everything which constitutes the basis of general welfare and prosperity. That, and not freedom, is the object of these agitators, who seek to entice you into shame and destruction. Soldiers, in your hands rests the defence of the Throne, the maintenance of the Empire! May Al- mighty Providence grant me the favour to live to see the day when it shall be proclaimed aloud, The army saved Austria.' Then, and then only, will the un- hallowed days of the 6th and 7th of October be atoned for and obliterated; then will the army of Italy, now engaged in defending the frontiers of the Empire, extend to you the hand of brotherhood."

GERMANY.—The King of Prussia's indiscreet words on his birthday have caused such disagreements in his Cabinet that General Pfuel has re- signed. The King twice refused his resignation; but on the 23d he de- finitively insisted on resigning, and he now holds office provisionally till a successor can be found.

Paste—The Sovereign of Persia, Mohammed Shah, died_ at Tabriz, early in September. His son was proclaimed his successor, on the 13th September, by the name of Nour-ed-Deen Shah.

Leoxi...—The overland mail from Bombay of the 3d October arrived on -Tuesday night, and has brought unfavourable news.

The last intelligence from Moulton was to the 29th of August; when the forces of the British and their allies were still incompletely assembled be-

fore the rebel city. The assemblage was completed on the 4th September, by the arrival of the siege artillery, and a large escort of horse and in- fantry. A reconnoissance had been made by General Whish on the 1st, and a plan of attack arranged: it was supposed that the preliminary ap- proaches could be made with suoh expedition that the breaching-artillery could be in position by the 7th, and the place carried by storm on the night of the 7th. or 8th. But these calculations seem to have been made in great ignorance. On the 6th, the position of the besiegers was somewhat as fol- lows. General Whish had his head-quarters at about two miles East of Moul- tan ; the allied forces under Edwardes, Cortlandt, and Lake, lay to the Gene- ral's left, and bore South-east of Monitan; a body of Sikh forces under Shere Singh lay on the extreme left, and to the West of the city. The British troops numbered about 7,000 men of all arms and 34 heavy guns; the Pathan and Bhawnlpore allies, about 20,000 and 30 guns; and the Sikh force about 5,000 men and a large proportion of artillery of various calibres. Besides the besieging army, which thus invested the city on the East, South, and West, a force of Sikhs and three English steamers were busy seventeen miles Northward in some operations on the river Chenab, meant to influence the flow of the river channel in a manner not explained. The besieged force is estimated to have numbered between 7,000 and 10,000 men, with more than 50 guns admirably served. The siege com- menced on the 6th, with shell artillery, under cover of which the enemy were driven from strong outposts. On the 7th, further successes of the same sort occurred; a native regiment carrying one position in

spite of resistance by five times their number. But these ap- proaches revealed the true state of the defences. In the suburbs of the city are multitudes of rained brick-kilns, with vast heaps of easily moveable ddbris; and it was found that the besieged had converted all these into defensible positions, and crowded them with skilful marksmen: it would be necessary to take each in detail by sapping or storm. The latter process was difficult, from the innumerable watercourses; so that the slow means of approach by regular parallels had to be adopted. The 7th and three next days were spent in alternate fighting and sapping: the be- sieged concentrated their force in front of the lines of approach, and waged a contest of sharpshooting and harassing sallies, that showed they were com- manded with the greatest skill and spirit. On the 8th, a fortified garden and some houses were taken by the Fifty-second Native Infantry. "On the following morning, the Fifty-second was relieved by the Forty-ninth; and the post previously held by the three companies of the former was now occu- pied by a like number of the latter corps, amounting to 120, under a captain and a subaltern. The enemy were in possession of a strong post about 100 yards in front: from this they maintained a dropping matchlock fire on us, so well directed that the moment a man showed himself he was sure to be hit. As soon as night drew on,and the European soldiers of the Tenth began to excavate a new parallel, a furious and deadly tire was opened upon them. This they immediately re- turned; but with small effect, in consequence of the denseness of the thicket and the shelter around. The officer commanding in the trenches at length attacked the garden and village from which the enemy were annoying us. Some com-

panies of the Seventy-second joined in the fray, and at first the enemy were driven out of theircover. The post in the garden was a strong one; in the village one large house full of men was loophooled; and though the door was forced by Lieu- tenant Richardson, the troops failed to effect an entrance. So hot, meanwhile, was the fire of the enemy, that the European soldiers were compelled to seek shelter, and ultimately to retire. The enemy pressed on them until they had fallen back on the intrenchments; they then moved off in line to reoccupy the garden from which they had at first been driven. The fire was not, it is said, surpassed in fury at Moodkee or Sobraon. Out of 90 men engaged, her Majesty's 1 enth had 40 wounded, almost all of them severely; the Forty-ninth Native Infantry, 28. Brigadier Markham, Lieutenants Holliusworth, Echardson, and Irwin, were all wounded. The post assailed was about 600 yards from our outworks: the as- sault was boldly made, but the place was much too strong for capture."

On the 10th, the artillery was somewhat further advanced: on the 11th, "a virtual armistice was maintained on both sides"; the besieged seemed to have become aware of their strength, and the besiegers more aware of the difficulties before them. General Whish gave order to attack the peel.. thoucontested on the 9th and 10th, with a picked force of 2.500 men. The Europeans in this force, smarting under the previous repulses, "fought like furies." "They found 400 men in a narrow square, and shot or bayo- neted every one of them." Sixty men who parleyed with Ensign Lloyd, and cut him down treacherously, were "destroyed nearly to a man by her Majesty's Tenth—only five of the party escaped." Our own losses were large and serious: Major Montizambert, of the Tenth, Ensign Lloyd, of the Eighth N.I., Lieutenant Cubitt, Forty-ninth N.I., were killed; and great many other officers were wounded. Major-General Whish' s horse was shot under him. But the result was, that all the defensible outposts on that side of the city were mastered; and a position was secured for the battering-train that would have taken more than a week's regular ap- proaches to gain. The enemy felt the danger of our success, and at dawn of the 13th made a desperate sortie on Lieutenant Edwardes's camp; but was successfully repelled. On the 13th, further approaches were made; the guns were brought into point-blank range against the walls; it was supposed that a storming breach would be made in thirty hours. At dawn of the 14th, another outwork was carried, from which, it was sup- posed, an entry could be made by storm without breaching the walls. The city must fall in a few hours. But at seven on that morning came news of treachery: Share Singh had deserted, and taken to the assistance of the -enemy 5,000 fighting Sikhs, twelve heavy guns, and nearly a hundred light field-pieces. He had al- ready gone within the fire of the besiegers under the Western walls, and was about to enter and join in the defence. Major-General Whish imme- diately called a council of war; and it was determined that the siege must be raised, and a position of simple observation assumed. These determi- nations were acted on, and the army was withdrawn into camp.

There are no clear details of the movements made after the 14th. One account states that Major-General Whish retired with such precipitation as to lose much provision and ammunition, and did not halt till eighteen miles on the road towards Ferozepore; the enemy harassing his rear. But other accounts, dated the 18th, say that the army was safely encamped to the "South-west of the city, about the same distance as before" [two miles]; well found with provisions, and safely intrenched with its left on the river-bank, commanding the route of relief from the South. The latter seem the more trustworthy statements.

The accounts from the other districts of North-western India show that the rebellion in Moultan is part of a large scheme of insurrectionary opera- tions. The disturbances in Peshawur, and the Hazareh, on the North and North-west of Lahore, and in Noorpore on the Jullundur frontier, con- tinue unsuppressed; and it is said that abundant evidence has been ob- tained that Gholab Singh, the Maharajah of Jummoo, is in close league both with the rebels of the North and with the Dewan of Moulton. Two of Gholab's regiments have actually joined Chnttur Singh, who heads the Hazareh commotions; but Gholab asserts that they

have done so in defiance of himself. However, Major Lawrence at Peshawur, and Captain Abbott and Lieutenant Nicolson at Attock, have succeeded in preventing serious events in those directions. Chuttnr Singh has been driven back from Attock, and cut off from the Hazareh; and the disturbances in Noorpoor have been completely suppressed.

The authorities of Lahore will not therefore be prevented from cooperat- ing with those of Bombay and Delhi in sending speedy aid to General Whish. Large forces are already on the way to him; and it is probable that next mail may bring news of his having reinvested Moult= with an overwhelming force. The Governor-General was intending to leave Calcutta for the North- west on the 9th September.