The Express. — London, England, 1853-01-17 00:00:00

kr-Ut OtlatOO• TO I'OIittEZPOLIDIVITS. a -.v... Mihail' 4 taper is," *mammas •he was* inneirfee ...ottte," Y yIII. ialM ...!y TernMg and Prtday •tibt. Sa time est A ,x.t.instrolPd for.' The Exprims,"Lf*Sae I..eoag spar, ..• as the 2oucarie•Airesl. by Two e'slasii oa tM Jay of paSticetuns. WAIL': AT LONDON MUDGE. t• OAT —Murata& 71. Ils.. 111torsiss. 7k. 345. T.. .usaus—Yenusg. 7a. N. Sern• LO.VDON, MONDAY. JANUARY 17. Ocu telegraphic summary of news from India has in due time been followed by the despatches whence it was derived, and to•day we place before our readers the latest information of our last military operations in Burmah. Every line of this additional intelligence bears out the criticism we were the first to apply to the proceedings of General Goowrie and to the character of the war in which ho is now en gaged. After his enormous delays, the English com mander, it now seems, did at last move up the river from Rangoon, and by the 21st of December con trived, with a considerable force, to reach Pegu. General Goiortft had with him infantry, sappers, miners, and artillery numbering 1,0 4 30 men under arms, to say nothing of the crews of the steamers. Such is the policy of those who have control in India, that in December we find General GOD wts moving up the stream with all the pomp and circumstance of a great war—with steamers and soldiers enough to capture half-a-dozen Bur mahs—to the very point which a dashing com mander required no such assistance to reach. As if to prose the utter needlessness of the ancient General's proceedings—and to show how dreadfully out of proportion was his calculation of means to the end in view—the despatches tell with cruel exactness how speedily the city was taken. The place was reached by Sunday, December the 21st, and no sooner reached than mastered. Soldiers were " landed on the river bank during the night, and after a sharp fee from the stockade carried the place at the point of the bayonet. The Burmese resisted well so long as the wooden barrier existed between them and the invaders, but bolted the instant the head of the 'eolumn showed inside." The loss in killed was five, and in wounded thirty four; and this comparatively small loss, says a writer from India, is said to have arisen from men being unwisely " landed close under the guns of the stockade." Some of the enemy—says the same in formant—" fled to Toonghoo, from whence they would require to be frightened—beaten mow ism not apply to inch warfare." All the evidence afforded from Burmah seems to tell in precisely the same direction. " Had the city been retained when it was captured some months below as it ought to have been," the lives lost on the pre sent occasion might have been spared ; and we might have been spared too the cost of sickness and treasure paid as the price of the delays in this snail-like war fare on the Irriwaddy. To cap the whole affair, and to show by his own act General Gonwim's real opi nion of the military character of this post taken with so many and such costly preparations,—no sooner was this grand engagement over than he sailed down the stream again to Rangoon, only leaving four hundred sepoys to hold his prise." Surely an enemy who needed all the force General GODWIN led up the stream could not be restrained by 400 men of the Native Infantry , ? Either the General took far more men than he needed, se he has left too few behind to preserve his conquest. The mail which brings this news of the formal eapture of another Burmese city, affords us also $ farther piece of intelligence confirmatory of what ve said when this war begun. " There seems to be no doubt,"—says our Bombay correspondent,— " there seem to be no doubt of the annexation ef the country." Of course not. Everybody who has looked at the history of British India had no doubt on this point, from the first moment that war was spoken of as probable. Aggression, outlay, slaughter, victory, prize-money, titles--annexation. These eight words summarise the whole story of past Indian campaigns. Affghanistan told a different tale; but the rule holds as we have briefly sketched it. Several of our contemporaries having shared the opinions we first expressed on this war, it is possible that its promoters and conductors may meet lass than the customary amount of adulation and Seward; bat annexation is as sure, as the war on the Irrawaddy has teen slow. Our already over grown empire in Hindostan will have another huge block tacked on to one side of it, and then, as ease possessions will abut upon Siam—a prosperous eastern kingdom—another difficulty about 9W, may — se in this case of Burmah—lad some day to another Got:min-like expedition and to further annexation. Meanwhile, every fact goes to show that re east annexations have weakened and impoverished the empire they are said to have glorified. As our Tadian empire has spread, our Indian finances have fallen more and more into arrear. As our lands have grown so has our debt, until, if the process is remitted to go on unchecked, we shall some day lad ourselves in the plight of a Protectionist Duke—ruined by an accumulation of acres. Apart from this financial view of the question, lot ns not forget how dearly we pay for these barren conquests in human life. To say nothing about the consequences to the people at tacked, see how our own people fare. Every *Adis mail has its own story of sickness—of cholera, el fever, of brave troops decimated by climate, of hundreds dying wretchedly like poisoned dogs for teas who fall by the weapons of the enemy. In this uses the news says that out of 1,400 who garrison' . Illartaban, no lees than 870 were in hospital! Au equal number were sick at Moulmein, whilst oat of a empany of European Artillery, only 13 were in &arras's' ! How can all this be excused? The coat of maintaining _ a to be team than that of moving him backwards and forwards. But now matters are quite changed. The Minister for Foreign Affairs at St. James's may any day conclude by a letter (the return of post being four-and-twenty hours), or electric telegraph (in little more than an hour) any busi ness he has to transact with his official brother at the Tuileries. The interposition of a resident agent to do for him in writing at Paris what he can do for himself in writing at London, is sheer unnecessary complication and expense. It is like the custom in some barbarous courts of appointing a censor to re peat to the King what an ambassador has and what the royal ears have heard well enough. In the perfected state of postal and telegraphic arrangement that has been attained to all the ordinary, routine, diplomatic communications between the french and English Governments may be carried on much better by direct, immediate com munication between the two Foreign-offices than by the lumbering system of ambassadors on both sides of the water. And what is true of Paris is equally true of Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin and Vienna. There is indeed a line ring superstition that per resident ambassadors are of use for the solace and support of Englishmen in foreign lands, and for supplying our own Government with early and accurate information respecting social, political, and economical movements of consequence in the countries where they reside. In so far as protection from insult and outrage is concerned that can be afforded by consuls, no ambassadors are needed for that except on extraordinary occasions. Then as to the hospitality that we are told the ambassador ex tends to his travelling countrymen, that is enjoyed by a very limited circle, composed . precisely of thins who least need it. Any lord or millionaire who can promote the ambassador's interests is positively per secuted by the ambassador's attentions and hospi tality. But SMITH, BROWN, and ROBINSON are never admitted beyond the office of the secretary and attache ; for them the ambassador and his hospitalities are a myth. With respect to information, a permanent Minister is a person pointed out to the court to which he is accredited as the channel through which it is to con vey all its lies to his employers. He is permanently and incessantly mystified, and his Government through him. The more ambitious he is of distin-1 guishing himself, the more dangerous he is ; for he retails the greater amount of apocryphal informa tion, and in a more plausible manner. An instruo five illustration of this will be found in the first volume of Lord Hou.s9D's Memoirs of the Whig Party in his time (p. 69): " Nothing contributed in that war more to the success of the French than the false intelligence by which their enemies, and England more especially, were constantly misled. • • • Surprise at such ignorance was always much diminished upon an ac quaintance with those employed in our diplomacy. In Italy there was not one man of talents equal to his situation. I might perhaps except Mr. Jscxsor, I l an. charge crafaires at Turin ; but he does not ap pear to have shone in procuring good intelligence, as Ike furnished General MELAS with the accounts which misled him into the campaign of 1800. Mr. Daaxe had, indeed, been bred to business, and wrote with eloquence and facility. Mr. Ptrr, on reading his dispatches, was struck with his being ' the moat accomplished man in the line of dipiomacy.' cernment was not one of those meant lishments; a predilection for the marvellous esodered his credu lity excessive, and it became more hazardous by being suppor ted with some degree of ingtmuity. I met with a man who took ma pains to be deceived. He had folios of false intelligence. The less probable the relation, the greater he thought Nos merit in discovering it ; and consequently the Melia disposed was he to believe it. He read as of the secret consultations of the Waite de I fi s ril lit tPublique at Paris, in which the opinions and the motives, too, of each interlocutor were arranged is the form of a set speech, and the whole dial given in the shape of a debate, or rather of a t end a very bed and improbable we; yet had ;17741 bees meet, with great despatch and secrecy, to the rimeigsmffice, and, strange to say, read with relish est credited by our Ministers." It is only necessary to turn up any recent Bice Book, relating to Italy, Austria, the affairs of the Savant, &c., to be convinced that Mr. Dittis is a sufficiently common-place character among diple :statists, and that our diplomatic poultry yard is et pent ermined with DRAKES. They are the nate * and alussagy produce of the system of perma nent embassies. They are alternately deceived and deceiving. They cannot supply reliable information for obtaining which there are many other channels. Business and family relations—facilities for travelling and letter-writing—newspapers, and so forth, enable any Englishman who keeps his eyes and ears open to know as much of the continents of Europe and America ea of his own island. The British Govern ment have no more need of permanent paid spies at Vienna, Berlin, or Washington, than at Manchester or Glasgow. Nearly a hundred years ago, the great Lord CHATHAM revealed to the ministers of his day the real source of authentic intelligence: " 1 will tell these young ministers the source of intelligence. It is sagacity; mgacity to compare causes and effects; to judge the present state of things and discern the future, by a careful review of the past. OLIVER CnonwaLt., who astonished man kind by his intelligence, did not derive it from spies in the cabinet of every prince in Europe; he drew it from the cabinet of his own sagacious mind. He observed facts, and traced them forward to their eeosequeuces. From what was he concluded what must be, and he never was deceived." But however obvious it may be that permanent embassies are more costly sources of misinformation, and means of protecting Englishmen in foreign lands which are unfairly transmuted into screens for their oppressors, there are but slender grounds for hope that they will soon be discontinued at tho great courts. '1 here exists a superstitious faith in their efficacy which time and argument alone can under mine. The permanent embassies at tho innumerable petty states, however, fall under a different category. No man dreams that it is of the slightest use to know what goes on in the petty courts of Tuscany, Darmstadt, or Nsessu. And as all these miniature sovereignties must obey the behests of their great neighbours, it is not of the slightest consequence whether we enjoy their good will or not. If these petty permanent en:lassies are to be kept up, it must be at their present price. It is only by discontinuing them that we con economise. And their discontinu tame is recommended b y , more urgent motives than mere money saving. fhey are permanent sources of ' misleading information, the more certainly the clever and more ambitious the diplomatists who are em ployed on them. Tun will show whether any, and what kind of action, will be taken by Congress on the touching ',presentations lately made by American Ministers at European courts respecting high house rents, cost of carriages and horses, and extravagant prices of fuel, comestibles, &c. But one moral to be drawn from these "pitiful stories" is obvious. American diplomatists in Europe naturally contract the habits of the European diplomatists with whom they asso eiate. The United States have departed from the ▪ practical, common sense views of BENJAMIN PIANILIN and his compeers, respecting diplomacy ; *sir vanity has instigated them to aspire to a diplo: made establishment after the fashion of the old states of Europe; and it is now pretty clear, that if they will keep this plaything, as old BENJAMIN would have told them had he be.. alive in these days, they oast " pay the whole price for their whistle. There is no help for it. Any country that will maintain permanent =bunks in all the capitals of the civilised world must pay as much as any other. The knowing Yankee, who looks at both sides of a Wiling before he parts with it, and is bent upon having money's worth for his money, can no more help himself than John Bull, whose vanity prompts him to pay extravagant charges with an air of oaring nothing about the matter. The expenses of permanent -embassies are fixed, not by the will of the nation that maintains them,but by a conventional agreement of all professional politicians throughout the civilised world; against which it is vain to rebel. America his hitherto reconciled the severe cco- loamy of its government with those spendthrift habits of diplomacy by making rich men its amber seder% who have been willing to pay out of their private ketones for the privilege of standing in that dignified &neuter before foreigners. Nor has firs practice he manned to America. In the private papers of the I, Lard MALMEsBUItIr (and ethers or his clam) that have been allowed to see the light, we find frequent complaints of the extent to which Ambassadors' expenses have eaten into their private fortunes. And in the selection of noblemen is figure as special envoys at the courts of France and St. Petersburgh on great occasions the choice has generally been determined by the ability and incli tattoo of the individual to incur an enormous espen dkuse fur the sake of vain glorious display. Few words are required to show thlt ibis halfing ohs outlay between the Ambassailor and the country is a purblind and unreal economy. In the first paw, if the possession of wealth, instead of the possession of talent and experience, is to qualify for each cmploymeat, the country is pretty sure to be inadequately served. And in the „second place, . FRANCE. . . • • these generous spenders of their own money, foe . , • their country's honour and glory, generally contrive -: . , PARIS • to pay themselves back in the . low tun i pee The 1• . , fluxnav Evannto. r contains the following article, eel- MALMESBI:itt paid himself,witifinterest, by hicm dently preeeeding from a hirer quarter, in reference five sinecures which he contrived-I:Sigel jaeapeA upon. W recentliticles in (pertain English nenepapers: himself and his son. While . all governments strive to maintain the meet friendly relations between different countries, at • moment If we are right in this inference, that permanent " ute t r i i . ::t powers of i n n eagle sort associate themselves with the embassies at all, or the greater part of our civilised eourts—with permanent palatial residences and am- Emperor, and t he r :re servi c es rendered ing by e hi r i:te hU CZo r r a d:r w , baseadors with staffs of attachis, secretaries, chap- certain foreign journals persevere in their deplorable aye brine, and so forth—if to be kept up , can - tem of falsehood and insult. They appear to suffer at the not be so at lees cost than at p resen t , spectacle of peace and public confidence. Their excesses show e : l ow fortunate . it a is f a or a tbe a pcace a o d f the world and the the question is opened whether something may not be done in the way of national economy by fps" prosperity states . tes ta . ' l ' : must, ida however , I m e a ti a o d n m7t o t i e r el g t o o v ' Or r : dispensing with the whole, or a greater part of these honour of the foreign press that these excesses have be costly establishments. The services of an Ambas- come more rare. In Belgium nothing more was required antler are only required occasionally and at intervals. than to call the attention of the government to the license and dangerous character of certain newspapers in that Is it not lolly to keep one permanently on a spot y to enlist against them the op inions of all hones t where he may notbo requited for years ID The consul c° me j u n , t a r nd to bring them under the 'nit a uthority of the law. t is necessarily a permanent officer. He has minis- Even in England, journals which ' at first were among % terial and judicial functions to discharge, under the 'must hostile to the new order of things in France, have recognised clear law of nations. His continual reen unable to resist the evidence of tams Although nut alwaysina within generally i bounds of truth and propriety, their presence is as indispensable as that of a judge or a dig guardian of the poor. But an ambassador's business a ,ata. ge l l t s t:t g' Shis is l lio s t p li i, . 'n e g, more ive thirtcl,ll'.7,j*oe is to supply by negotiation and convention deficiencies nab. Some of them, among which are particularly to be in the law of nations as they present themselves from remarked the Mernong Chrotsiek, the Timer, and, above time to time. He is only wanted at intervals fur all, the l'unignit Adverti s er, seem to redouble their hawed special taaks. and to carry impudent calumny and grass insult beyond all limits. It is in vein that the Emperor, in the most solemn circumstances, has protested his sincere desire to preserve, The notion of maintaining permanent ministers at foreign courts gained ground insensibly at a time to con that h s e li . dati c i uc e i v i e re n, g th t t a i t sere ra o n i ce tr a zo n rid. It is in vain respect of havin g no to when communication by letter, and personal localise-. env y other nations in tion, were difficu lt , eensive, and irregular. Having now aspired only vo the peaceful conquests rg g lo ry planted an am bassador at a foreign court on one civilisation, and found, in the colonisaCtar of Algeria, e completion the of s ir on the special occasion, it was found no bad economy to let in th amelioration cat lot her lineaof intercommu alcati of the *working classes, in thpro him remain there till he should be wanted again. gress of industry and art all necessary aliment for her fruit him at a distance was found ful acti , lease so forms' declarations, so; by _ . activity. ,upported the fact of the redaction of the sum, have obtained from these journals nothing but an insokst contradiction. Ac cordiug to them, France and her chief breathe nothing but war, and wait but for an opportunity to rush upon Europe. A new coalition is necessary to resist this insatiable ambi tion. And, as if fearing that France was not in reality what they represent her to be, they incessantly irritate her pride and insult her affections. In their eyes, the French people in acclaiming Louis Napoleon emperor, were the vilest arm most contemptible of people. The statesmen, generals, the army itself, all who concurred in the saving set of DT. 2, are but miserable slaves, or hungry instru mesas of tyranny. " Benspertiem" says the Morning Chromic' hoot Jan. 1, "Bonapartiem without military glory and without territorial aggrandisement is an absurdity. A pro found mistrust of Louis Napoleon prevails in all quarters, a suatimeat attributable partly to his character, partly to his deeds, bet principally to the souvenirs of the empire. . . . The usurper, aided by a band of adventurers, has set about eleepeasing the imperial government, etc." The Times of rheumy 2, alter having drawn a picture of the pretended Usurpations by which Louis Napoleon successively raised himself to the empire, adds " A senate more cowardly . than that of Tiberius has given the Emperor mast exorbibmt power, and has killed at • single blow all the guarantees that remained to the nation. Favourite , * gorged with ho nours, functionaries without conscience, unheard of ether tions, such is the government. But chastisement is in pre paration. Europe is already ueon the qui Mee And the year will not go by without spew thing terrible occurring." As the llfornissp Ad. vertiser, it exhausts the vocabulary of Jesuit the chief of the state. Its tone may be judged Write following extracts from its number of January 7: " here is nothing on the surface of the whole globe comparable to the despotism which weighs upon France, and the degrada tion into which she is pluoged. The liberties of the country are under the heel of Napoleon, whose name is synonymous re with oppression and tyranny. . . . Louis Napo leon is. nothing else than the greatest tyrsat, the most criminal perjurer, that ever stained the earth, and the most abominable monster that ever shamed humanity. The art of writing will soon be completely abandoned by our neighbours. To exercise literary talent is a crime. Intelligence is put in iron.. In the press, in the street, in society, no one dares to open his mouth. la a short time the French will be plunged into • state of bar barism for which no parallel can be found in the history of nations." But why multiply citations? These are sufficient to show in what terms certain journals speak of a friendly nation, and of the sovereign called to the throne by that nation's enthusiastic acclamations. The indignation raised throughout Europe by the odious manifestoes of the demi ster, against the re establishment of the empire will yet be ellessibered. England itself was astonished that they to whom she extended the benefit of her hospi tality should dare to take advantage of it to publish those savage provocations. The same disgust, the same universal reprobation, will befall the language we have just iiuoted. What an opinion do these journals give of the liberty of the press of which they put themselves for ward as such haughty defenders? What I in • country where this liberty has existed for centuries, there yet exist writers who make use of it to foment hatred and propagate lies. The French government is assuredly far above such insults. In the spectacle of the public prosperity, in the confidence and affectioa of the people, at finds sufileiont to inspire disdain fur all such ealleages. It knows, besides, the sentiments of English statesmen ; it knows that the mass of the nation is animated , he a sympathetic feeling fir France. The multi plied and intimate relations now subsisting b e t ween the two nations have taught them reciprocally to esteem each other. They have every; inducement to shake hands and to aid each other in the acoomphshinent of their providential task. But it is precisely for this man that one cannot help feeling • painful impression in reams lag that at the very moment when governments and be dissect men are working together to extirpate the prejs dives of another age, which have been so fatal co both aides of the Channel, unworthy writers should do their eleecot to revive our ancient divisions. The good settee of lie English will do justice upo n a press which so unworthily mistakes the sentiments an true interests of its country, and to condemn those excesses it will suffice to hold them up to the ban of public opinion. The French government would be in a better posi tion to complain of the license of the foreign . press, if it permitted freedom in its own. It Li ab surd is Louis Napoleon to talk about the oon&leaes and affection of his people, and to t France as insulted in his person by the attests of English newspapers, while nothing but the " despotism " and tyanny "of which he thinks it so very: hard to be reminded, has protected him from at least equally rough handling by three-fourths of the Parisian journals. At this moment he has not a single independent supporter in the whole metropolitan press. Not all the success of the election of Decem ber 20, 1851, the elections of the Corp. legislatif, the triumphal progress . of last summer, the proclamation of the empire, the settlement of the I constitution, the undeniable improvement in trade, nor the recognition of the empire by the great powers, haseonverted so much as one newspaper. The Debate, Assemble., Union, Gazette de Francs, Press I Siecle, Clariecri, all "resist the evidence of facts,' ] and either maintain a dogged silenee on political subjects, or criticise the present regime with as much severity u they dare. By whom era the.. journals supported, and where do they find subscribe rs if it be true that all France is so delighted vith her Emperor' The plain truth is, ring the changes as you will upon "8 millions of votes," " popular en thusiasm," "imperceptible minority," and so forth, the intelligence of the country, which must ultimately govern the country, is hostile to the government, and if there were a free press, the Bonapartist system would not last a week. Official notification is given of the proclamation of , the French Empire at Tunis on the 2nd inst. The I Bey ordered the event to be celebrated by firing . a volley of a hundred and one guns from the batteries, a salute which was acknowledged by an equal num ber from the French frigate Mogador, statbned in' the harbour. Abd-el-fader arrived at Messina on the 2ird De cember, at half-past four in the evening, after a jour ney of lees than three days. Great attention had been paid to the Emir on his route by the King of the Two Sicilies. The ruins of Etna particularly excited Abd-el-Kader's attention, and the civilities of the authorities were acknowledged with all the florid gratitude of Arabian custom. Various decrees, renewing the laws of 1826 and 11836, in reference to the navy, are published in the Moniker, but none of them are of particular interest out of France. PARIS, SATURDAY EVENING. The accounts of the Bank of Fr.ince, published yesterday, are thought to have had a benefitial effect' upon the funds. It is especially considered a favour able symptom that the advances upon stock and mil- way shares have diminished, although bat in a slight degree within the last month. It is hoped from this that unsound speculation is on the decline. From a table published by the department of Pub lio Worn, it appears that the total length of railways in activity in France in 1851, was 1,307 kilometres (about 2,200 English miles), and in 1852, 3,T08 kilo metres; that the total receipts of the first year were 106,967,496 E, and in the second 132,277,903 E ; and that consequently the receipts per kilometre rose from 32,345 f. in 1831, to 33,873 f. in 1832. The indirect taxes and irevenues, aooorling to a return published in the Mositesr of this day, amounted, in 1852, to 804,334,000 fr., ir 1831 to 737,843,000 tr., and in 1830 to 738,242,000 fr. The in crease in 1952 was consequently 66,491,000 L compa-ed with 1831, and 66,092,000 fr. oumpared with 1850. The items of increase in 1832 aro these :—ltegistra- THE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVkfIgNG, JANUARY 17, 1853... WINIMINIM tion, mortgage, and other duties, 24,483,000 fr.; stamp dates, 3,037 t 000fr. ' • import duties on corn, 10,000 fr.• on venom descriptions of goods 15,464,040 k.; on sugar from the French colonies, i 5,168,000 fr., and on foreign sugar, 1,989,000 fr.; navigation duties, 343,0001 r.; salt, 6,599,0001 r.; wines and spirits, 7,812,000 fr.; tobacco, 4,269,000:r.; gunpowder, 418,000 k.; Poet-office, 3,907,000 k.; money. orders, 29,000 fr.; and transit duties on fo reign mails, 42;000fr. . These items make a total of 72,596,000 fr.; batik is reduced to 66,491,000 k. by diminutions of 812,000 f. in the Customs duties on exports, 50,000'r. on different Customs duties, 1,458,000 fr. on the manufacture of native sugar, 2,057,0001 r. on various duties and reoeipts,42B,ooofr. in the duties on conveyance of goods and specie in packet-boats, 261,000 k. on places in the mails, 959,000 fr. on ditto in the packet-boats, and 80,000 fr. in what are called accidental receipts. The amount of direct taxes received in 1852 was 339,282,000 k., and was nearly 94 per cent. of the total 413,896,000 fr. to be recovered. The amount received in 1851 was 379,898,000 fr., which was 92 per cent. of the total to be levied. The taxes from what are called a Biens de Mainmorte" yielded 2,946,000 k. in 1852, and 2,945,000 fr. in 1851. The cost of legal proceedings instituted to obtain payment of taxes was 2fr. 70c. per cent. in 1852, whereas in 1851 it was Mr. 7c. per cent. SPAIN. The Madrid journals did not appear on the 10th, in consequence of the preceding day having been Sunda; but by a letter of that date we learn that M. Aristizabal, Minister of Finance, had offered his resignation, and that it was considered certain he could be replaced by M. Llorentc, Minister of the Interior, M. Benavides succeeding that gentleman. The resignation of M. Aristizabal, says the letter, is owing to his not approving of the continued exclu sion of General Narvaez from Spain, which his col leagues insist on. The Queen Christina had left for Tarancon to pass three or four days. The Marchio ness de Loule, infanta of Portugal, and aunt to the Queen Donna Maria, had arrived in Madrid from Paris, and after two or three days stay was to pro ceed to Lisbon. GERMANY. In its sitting of January 12, the First Prussian Chamber adopted definitively and without discussion the bill which modifies the constitution by fixing the general elections for the Second Chamber at intervals of six , years, and rendering the session of the legisla ture biennial instead of annual, as at present. The Augsburg Gazette publishes the letter of M. de Tallenay to the President of the Germanic Diet, notifying the election of the new Emperor of the French, and the response of the President of that body. The documents contain nothing new or inte resting. ITALY. The Sardinian Chamber of Deputies voted the estimates of the navy on the 10th. The discussion turned principally on the proposition of a member that the cruises should not be confined, as hitherto, to the and Adriatic, but extend to more distant seas. The Minister of War opposed the proposition. If a maritime war (he said) broke out, our navy would be of no avail out of tne Mediterranean or Adriatic. It is consequently important to study the shores of those seas, and to ensure our seamen against the winds and swells which there prevail. The advice to send our Sect out of the Mediterranean is not prudent, for if a war exploded, and such a contingency is not improbable, how should we ' defend ourselves in the absence of our ships of war, which would require three or four months to return? As to the protection to be granted our commerce and country men, the ministry agree with the committee, and a ship of the state sailed yesterday for the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio de la Plata, for that purpose. It, however, reproves distant expeditions, as it would be necessary to confide them to the most distinguished officers, in order to derive the gre►test possible benefit from them, and it might happen in the event of a war, which, I repeat, is not lin probable, that several of our officers should be absent three or four years. The motion was afterwards put from the chair and rejected, and the Chamber voted the estimates. 1 The committee named by the municipality of ' t Turin for the erection of a monument to Glioberti Imet on the 10th, under the presidency of the Mayor, and resolved to invite all the municipal corporations of the kingdom to participate in the work which they have undertaken. The Corners Mercantile, of the 10th instant, states that on the previous day the parish priests of Genoa read from the pulpit a new pastoral letter of the bishops of the province of Genoa, anathema. tizing the Civil Marriage Bill, the press, &c. In its sitting of the 11th the Chamber of Deputies, at Turin, commenced the discussion on a bill pre sented by government for the alienation of two millions of rente. MM. Casaretto and Sarum opposed it on the ground of economy. Count Cavour, Minister of Finance, defended the measure, declaring that the financial reforms he contemplated could not be in troduced until an equilibrium should have been estab lished between the expenditure and the receipts of the state. The discussion was adjourned till the following day. A letter from Florence of the Bth, in the Opinione of Turin, states that political arrests are still going on there. ROMAN STATES. Our Roman correspondent, writing on the 10th January, announces the conversion to Romanism of Lieut. Bathurst, of the navy. The Pope has ordered a monument to Pius VIIL, a temple to Rome, to be erected on the Piaci°. DENMARK. (a? 11.2=1110 TILIGIAPI.) COPENLIAORN, JAN. 13. The Volltsthing has rejected by 60 votes against 43 the removal of the Customs Frontier from the Eider to the Elbe. ..... ___. HAMBURG, lAN. 16. It is believed that the Danish Diet is dissolved. AMERICA. ARRIVAL OF THE CANADA. LIVERPOOL, SVINDLY ETIUMOC The Royal Mail Steamship Canada, Capt. Lang, has just arrived in the Mersey, from Boston and Halifax. She left the former port on the sth, and the latter on the 7th inst., bringing the mails from the United States, Canada, the Lower Provinces, Newfoundland, and Bermuda. She also brought 70 passengers, but no specie. The United States Mail Steamship Pacific, Capt. Nye, with the mails from hence of the 15th ult., ar rived out at New York on the Ist inst.; and on the same day the Royal Mail Steamship Asia, which left Ithis port on the 18th ult., carrying the news of the I decision of the House of Commons cat the previous night, upon Mr. Disraeli's budget, arrived out at Halifax. The Asia ran shoat of coal.. _ _ — On the 3rd inst. the United States Steamship Washington arrived at Boston. The defeat of the Derby ministry produced great sensation immediately on the news becoming known, and the European Tunes, the only paper containing a telegraphic report of the debate, was eagerly pe rused on the landing of the mails. The vessels reported by the last steamer California, Sam) as being on their way from California, had arrived at New York, with gold-dust to the value of three and-a-third million of dollars. _ _ _ - 11;eiicarag ----- uanminister,BlinOr Maroleta, had been dismissed from Washington by the American government. The French Count Boulbon bad capitulated to the Mexican government, and the expedition was de clared to be at an end. General Quie's resolution, for an inquiry into the circumstances of the British colony, the Bay of Islands, had been adopted in the United States Senate. Mr. Mason's resolution, calling for the corres pondence on the subect of the proposed tripartite treaty of England, France, and the United States, guaranteeing the integrity of the sovereignty over . Cuba to Spain, vas under debate when the Canada sailed, and it was generally expected would be adopted. 'the fishery question was said to be settled, and the treaty, giiiog reciprocal trade between the United States and the Provinces of Canada, was drawn up, and had been approved by the ministers both of the United States and Great Britain. When the Canada left Boston, the state of business in New York and the other chief cities of the Union was very firm, although money was rather tight and stocks quiet, but prices were firm. The market for bteadetuffs was rather quiet, and not many transactions were reported. Holders were waiting for further advices from England; and prices were reported as follows :—Western canal flour, S dole. 621 e. to 5 dole. 75e. per brl. steady. Indian corn, round yellow, 68 to 70 cents. per bushel steady. Indian meal, 3 dole. 75e. to 3 dole. 871 c. per bd. The New York cotton market is rerrted brisk, with a good average amount of business doing. Prices had slightly advanced, New Orleans and Mo bile, mid. to fair, 10:c. to 101 c. per lb.; showing a rise of lc. Freights remained unchanged at the steamer's de parture, the asking rates being :—Flour, to Liver pool, 3s. 6d. per brl. ; grain, to Liverpool, 101 d. to I Id. per bushel; cotton, to Liverpool, d. to 7-16 d. per lb. Exchange on London was suoted at 1091 to 1091; with few sales. Bills on Paris were dull at sf. 13e .; Hamburgh, 36 to 37; and Bremen, 791, 80. SOUTH AMERICAN MAILS. The royal Brazilian mail packet Tay, Captain Woolly, from the Argentine Republic and the Brazils, &c., arrived at Southampton yesterday, and landed her mails under the charge of Lieut. T. W. Purver, ILN , Admiralty agent. Her dates are: Buenos Ayres, 2nd Dec. ; Monte Video, sth Dec.; Rio de Janeiro, 15th Dae. ; Pernambuco, 23rd Dec.; Bahia, 20th Dec. ; St. Vincent, let Jan.; Teneriffe, ith Jan.; Madeira, Bth Jan.; Lisbon, 11th Jan. RENEWAL OF HOSTILITIES ON THE PARANA. War is once more the chief feature in our intelli gence from the Argentine Confederation. Buenos Ayres and Entre Rios are the contending parties; the latter province being governed by General Ur quiza, who notwithstanding the revolutionary move ment at Buenos Ayres of Sept. 11th, still aspires to direct the affairs of the general republic. General Juan Madariaga left Buenos Ayres Nov. 11th with an expedition composed of 1,400 men, cavalry and infantry, and on the 15th General H ornosf disem barked in the port of Don Basilio in Entre Rios,' and immediately threw himself into the province. General Madariaga's despatch, dated Don Basilio, Nov. 17, states that General Hornos had entered the town of Gualeguaychu, where the inhabitants had declared in favour of the movement. The general says that horse, and meat are brought in abundantly, and that the people were disgusted with the rule of Urquiza. In the same despatch he states his inten tion of moving upon Arroyo de la China, there to establish his centre of operations. A second despatch of Madariaga, four days later, confesses that, on arriving at his intended centre, the writer's division of infantry suffered a defeat there. On the same day, however, according to the despatch, Gen. Hornos " obtained a triumph over a detachment of Urquiza's forces, headed by some of his most accredited gene rals. Hornos had met with no opposition from the masses; on the contrary, many parties had offered him their services, which he generally declined, recom mending every one to remain quiet. His force now amounts to 4,000 men. The Entre-Rianos ace tired of fighting, and General Urquiza must now fall by , the very same causes that upset Oribo and hones." Such is the Buenos Ayrean version of these events. Letters from the province of Entre Rios, published at Monte Video, state that the Buenos Ayrean gene rals, far from meeting with the success and encou ragement of which their despatches boast, have rushed upon certain ruin ; that the only fact in their communications is the rout of Madariaga, that Hornos was retreating, that the whule province was flying to arms on behalf of its -chief, and that 4,000 men had joined Urquiza's flag within four days. The Correntinos have entered into a league with Buenos Ayres, which the organs of the latter govern ment assert to be of a satisfactory character. In San Juan, it was said, a party had organised itself for the overthrow of Benavides, a governor friendly to Urquiza, and having deposed him on the 14th Nov., set up a certain Yanzi in his stead. Of the interior provinces generally the British Packet says that nothing is known ; we must there fore judge from their past conduct whether the same journal is correct in stating it as " certain that they have not moved and will not move a single hand." The National Congress was assembled at Santa Fe on the 20th of November, and was to hold its sittings lunder the delegated presidency of the Minister Pena. Of coarse neither Buenos Ayres nor Corri enter was represented. Paraguay has accepted the pacific overtures of the Buenos Ayrean government, and will observe abso lute neutrality in the pending contest. Our Rio correspondent remarks on Argentine affairs :—According to the accounts which we have re ceived the political aspect of the Argentine Republic is more unsettled and uncertain than ever. A new disorganisation has taken place, and the contending parties (to judge from the tone of the press on the one side and the other) scarcely seem to know what they are aiming at, or what the ultimate result of the struggle is to be. The opinion here is, that the pro visional director must succumb, and there are not wanting those who even predict the return and restoration of General Roses to the dictatorship. This is scarcely probable, but it is now becoming a matter for speculation whether his system of ruling with an " iron rod" was not the best adapted, after all, to the half civilised inhabitants of the margins of La Plata. RIO DE JANEIRO, Dee. 14. The ministerial party (u far OA intelligence from the interior has been rece►ved) hassignally triumphed in the elections hero. _ _ Official intelligence has been received by the go vernment of the discovery of a gold mine of extraor dinary richness in the Serra of Botucabaru, between Iguape and Sorocabe. Our commercial transactions of the past month presented no animal feature until the arrival of the Tay. Exchange ruled at 28d., at 60 and 90 days. On the 13th, large amounts were passed at 27; and a, and it closed finally to-day firm at 27k. We estimate the amount negociated for Tay at 330,0001., and upon France at 700,000 fr., at 340 to 343. From the departure of the Teviot to the 30th of the past mouth the sales of coffee amounted to 1110,000 bags, being for Europe 20,000, for the States 90,000 ; no variation in price was noted. This month, up to the arrival of Tay, 36,000 bags were taken-23,000 for Europe, 13,000 for the States, with a slight decline in prices. lIMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. (From the British Packet.) BUENOS AYRES, Disc 1. War is the dire fatality of these states, and a temporary paralysis of business is the consequence. The local demand for the last month has been languid, and may be expected to continue so until the uncertainty that envelopes the political horizon is fairly dissipated. A. small amount continues to be despatched for Paraguay, and something for Entre Rios, but with the other interior provinces our intercourse is all but suspended. Amid all these disadvantages the money market has been comparatively tranquil, and liabilities are met in a satisfactory manner. Imports are larger, in fact, than the immediate prospects of the mark ets jus tify, but the deposit system now in operation may enable parties to wait for better times. Among exports the supply of the superior Messes of ox and sow hides is inadequate, and prices rule higher. Our wool market has opened well for the growers. More then a fair average and a good eon ' dition may be expected this year from the River Plate, a seasonable compensation, we trust, for the deficiencies of the Australian markets. We have a heavy amount of ship ping in port. EICHANOW—Spanish dollars and pataeoons, 171; Spa nish doubloons, 275 j ; bills on England per doubloon, 655. to 6.55. flcl. ; currency per dollar, ; highest rate of ex change on England during the last week, 665. per os. ; lowest, 661.64. ExPoirra.—Dry Matadero hides, without balls, 28 to 301 be. ; Farads of 3.51bs . 32j to 33 rls. sil. llides of low weight, average say 171h5., 32 to 32j rls. Ox hides, salted, 60 to 651155., per &ribs. 28 to 29j rte. sil. Wool ; Ordinary dirty, per 25Ibs, 18 re :20 He. sil. Washed, 32 to 35. Meatigo, dirty, 25 to 30 ; washed, 45 to 50 ; flae dirty, 33 to 44 . • washed, 6.5 to 70. FILZIOUTS.- To England: Dry hides, per ton, 22101 he, kflOs. • sal d hides, 2.5. Tallow, in boxes and pipes, 255. to 3s. RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 14. EXCHANGED, etc.—Loudon, 271i1. ; Paris, 340 to 346 ; Hamburg, 640 ; Doubloons, 28.600; Dollars, 1.900; Sove reigns, 8.800 to 8 850; Stock Provincial, 1038 ; Stock Six per Cent , 1078 ; Commercial Rank, 715.000 ; 80.000 per annum. Comenz.—Superior, 3.750 to 3.850 ; good first, 3,550 t o 3.650; first ordinary, 3,400 to 3,450 ; good second, 3.240 to 3.350 ; stock, 70,000 bags. SUOAl.—Redondo, 2 800 ; Batido, 2.600 ; M ucayo, 1.800. HIDSIL—Rio Grande, 190. Fgalogra.—English Channel, 435. to 4Gs. ; E ng l and. 85s. to 40e. ; United States, 70c. to 90c. ; France, 351 r. BAIIIA, Dec. 18. EICIIANOBS.—LondIn, at►,6o days' sight, 281/1., mil „ 0. . Paris, ditto, 3351. to 3371.; Hamburg, 648, m. beo.; Ro m' doubloons, Spanish, 28.500 to 29.000 each; ditto ditto, Patriot, 28.500 to 29.00 each ; ditto Old Joel', 16.000 each • ditto 4,000 dol. pieces, 9.000 each ; ditto sovereigns, 9.006 to 9.200 each. Silver patacoons, Brazilian, 1.920 each; ditto dollars, Spanish, 1.900 to 1.920 each; ditto divo, Patriot, 1.850 to 1.860 each; copper, to 1 per cent discount. . _ EXPORTIL—Sugar, white, 1.700 to 2.000; ditto, brown, 1.400 to 1.600; cotton, Moneta, 5.600 to 6 700; ditto, Bahia, 5.600 to 5.700; coffee, washed, 4.000 to 4.500; ditto, on. washed, lit, 3.800 to 3.900 ; ditto ditto, 2nd, 3.500 to 1700; ditto, ordinary, 3.000 to 3.400 ; cocoa, 1.700 to 1.050. instowra.—Channel for orders to United Kingdom, to, to 625. 6d. ' Liverpool, 40s. to 455.,1 sugar; ditto, per lb. cotton ; London, 455. to &Os. . . SUOMI. is much icquired after, particularly the better qualities, bat the rise in exchange has prevented an im provement in price ; supplies are beginning to come in more freely, and the weather continues favourable. Fur regular lists 1.600 per arr. for browns, and 2.000 for whites Lave been paid, at which, exchange 281 d. they stand in 15s. GI. and 19s. 10d. per cwt. free on board, exclusive of freight. For picked 106 re. per arr. more has been granted. COTTON.—In the beginning of the week purchase, of cotton were effected at 5.600 per arr., latterly sellers are holding back, and demand something more, but the quan tity in Heft bands is in considerable. At 5.900 per arr. ex. change Md. it cost 6.76 d. per lb. free on board, without freight. COFFIII.—The prices are higher, and on the water 3 400 to 3.450 per arr. has been paid, equal to 3.500 to 3.550 on shore ; second hand dealers demand 3.600 to 3.800, accord ing to quality. About 800 bags have arrived from Cara. vellas, which will probably be sold by public auction; 600 bags more are hourly expected. At 3.600 t 5 3.800 per art. exchange 241. it stands in 365. 7d. to 38s. 7d. per cwt. tree on board, freight excluded. PERNAMBUCO, Dee. 20. Au actibe business has characterised our market since the departure of the steamer fur England. The very favours. ble &deices brought by this mail, of the sugar markets in Europe, have given great &ululation to business in this article, and prices have advanced considerably ; th e d a il y supplies are large, notwithstanding which the demand is even in excess of the receipts, the qualities generally are superior, and it is estimated that the present crop will not be less than 70,000 tons, being considerably more thee soy former yield. A few days since we have received late dates from the United States, bringing favourable advices of the cotton crop, and representing it as likely to be very large; this has caused prices of the article here to undergo a de cline of about 6 per cent. The scarcity of suitable tonnage to load sugar, noticed in our last, still prevails, and freights have advanced to 525. Gel. per ton in bags to the Channel and Mediterranean direct. A larger business in exchange his been transacted this month than has taken place for a lung period ; it is estimated at 125,0001. almostentirely at 280., and a: which bills are still obtainable—of this amount govern. ment took 54,0001., which has tended to keep the rate from advancing. Imports of many articles have been limited— in dry goods only about 806 packages have came in, and u the supplies on the way are limited, we look fur fair priced being maintained. EXCIIANOIIB.—London, at 60 days' sight, 28t mitres; Paris, 340 f. ; Lisbon, 98, 100; gold , doubloons, Spanish, 28.500, 29.000; ditto Patriots, 28.000, 28.500; ditto 6,400 pieces, 16 000 ; ditto 4,000 ditto, 9.000; sovereign'', 8 500, 9 000 ; silver, patac ions, Brazilian, 1.930; ditto dollars, Spanish, 1.930; ditto Patriots, 1.800, 1.850 ; dis counts, 9 per emir. PORT OP SAN NICOLAS.—A decree, published on the 29th ult., allows foreign vessel., of 120 tons and up wards, to proceed direct to the port of Ssn Nicolas. The government of Paraguay has also extended the right hand of fellowship to foreigners, who may think fit to visit or settle in the South American Chita. Free ingress and egress are guaranteed ; exemption from military service and forced loans ; the right of acquiring and disposing of property ; liberty of conscience, with certain moth& cations, &c. INDIA AND CHINA. THE OVERLAND MAIL. THE WAR IN BURMAII, CAPTURE OF PEGU. We have received our despatches and papers in anticipation of the overland mail. The dates are— Bombay, Dec. 17; Calcutta, Dec. 7; Madras, Dec. 13 ; Hong Kong, Nov. 29. The following is the letter of our Bombay corre spondent : BOMBAY. Dec. 17. Pegn was re-captured on the 21st November by the force under General Godwin, the departure of which from Rangoon I mentioned in my last. It consisted of Ist Bengal Fusiliers, Europeans, 300 men ; Ist Madras Fusiliers, Europeans, 300 men; sth Madras Native Infantry, 400 men • Sappers and Miners, 60 men ; Artillery, 30 men : to tal, 1,090 men —with two howitzers. The expedition left Rangoon in three small steamers and a number of gun-boats from her Majesty's ships on the 18th, and reached its destination on the night of the 20th November. On the following day, Sunday, the 21st, the city fell into our hands after some tolerable show of resistance, our loss being as follows :—Killed-2 rank and tile Ben gal Fusiliers; 1 sergeant and 2 men sth Madras Native Infantry. Wounded—Lieut. Cooke, sth Madras Native Infantry, commissariat department; Lieuts. Whitlock and Cloete, sth Madras Native In fantry; Bengal Fusiliers, 9 men ; Madras Fusiliers, 1 sergeant and 14 men ; sth Madras Native Infantry, 2 native officers, 2 sergeants, and 2 sepoys. Total killed, 5 ; . wounded, 34. The first and last named officers were dangerously, and the second severely wounded. General Godwin directed the operations of the day in person. As usual, complaints are made of bad arrangements, the troops were taken too far up the river before being landed, and when they did land they were close to the guns of the stockade, and suffered severely. The best account of the affair I have sees is given by a correspondent of the Bombay Ames, which I subjoin : Piga was gallantly captured on the 21st alining, with a lose to us of five killed and 32 wounded, most of the latter severely; the attacking force consisted of a wing of the Bengal Fusiliers, a ditto Madras ditto, and 350 of the Ma dna 6th Native Infantry, with two or three guns of light calibre. This force left Rangoon in the river steamers and boats of her Majesty's steamers Fox and Sphinx, on the morning of the 18th; and on the morning of the 12th reached Pegn. On the 20th they were landed during the night, and after a sheep fir* from the stockade carried it at the point of the bayonet. The Burmese resisted well so long as the wooden barrier existed between them and the invaders, but bolted the instant the head of the column showed inside. Old Godwin, of coarse, commanded, he not being inclined to allow any of his numerous divi sional and brigadier officers to reap the honours. Ths enemy expected we should have attacked them at the fur ther corner of the stockade, which they bad very strongly fortified, all ready to give the troops a warm reception. They had, however, fortunately for them, placed a boom, or rather posts, across the river, which compelled the steam vessels to anchor below the river. Our loss chiefly COIRSIPiI of men of the bth Madras Native Infantry, who remained at the corner of the stockade near the lauding place, keep ing up a fire on the Burmese to distract the attention of the enemy from the Europeans, who were making a rapid ad vance along the face of the work, slightly sheltered from observation by low grass and shrubs ; the ditch was found to be quite impassable, being so muddy that a man sunk nearly waist deep in it. As a garrison for Pegu, 200 of the Madras Fusiliers and as many of the sth Madras Native Infantry, with some artillery, were left behine ; the remainder of the force returned to Rangoon. The enemy from Pegu fled in the direction of 'foonghoo, from whence they would require to be frightened—beaten away does not apply to such miserable warfare. An unfor tunate affair occurred near Proms on the 19th, in which Captain Gardner and a sergeant of the 40th Madras Native Infantry were killed and six sepoy . s wounded. The following account of the mishap I' given in the Rangoon letter of the Culotta Enylish man of the 2nd instant: The evening before last news was brought down by a gun-boat of a disastrous affair at Akoktoung, disastrou because a small detachment of our troops there was re pulsed, being overpowered by numbers, and more especially disastrous, as at the same time fell Captain Gardner of the 40th Regiment Bengal Native Infantry ; he was one of the facet officers in the service. The following account of the affair has been gathered from the report of the officer com manding the Enterprise steamer, stationed at Akoktoung. A detachment of the ,nth Regiment Bengal Native In teeny, under Captain Gardner, was attached to the Enter prise, with instructions to visit the Akoktoung-hill onus day. On the morning of the 18th the detachment landed, end marched over the brow of the eastern part of the hill, whieh Is separated by a creek from the western, without any moles tation, and without even seeing any one, although several armed men were observed on both aides of the hill from the Enterprise, whom a shell er two served to disperse. Oa the morning of the 10th Captain Gardner determined to land on the other hill, and he resolved to attempt its assent from the village of Tomboo just above. There are two white pagodas on the slope of the hill, surrounded by thick jungle. The place selected for landing is a plain extending from the jungle to the river. As soon as the troops ap proached the jungle a jingal was tired from the summit of the hill as a signal evidently, as the troops were not wallas range of it. The detachment soon eker entered the junlie