The Express. — London, England, 1853-12-02 00:00:00

zfte erprons. TO CORRESPONDENTS. risk verging oa rashness. But succeed or not me- need, the Governments of England and France can scarcely stand by unblatned. It is certain that the crews of the cocubined fleets, if left to their own wishes, would gladly have sailed with their Turkish allies ; and if those allies should suffer from the cou rageous zeal which sent them alone on a highly perilous duty, the condemnation of the world will •: • • mum.; oa tai - w wan stopped It pro crastinating idleness in the Sea of Marmara when the greedy author of all this wretched quarrel, was to be met and dealt with in the Eosin.. We are either the allies of Turkey, or we are not. If we are, let what may be our duty be done—and done well. When BONAPARTE, at the head of 100,000 soldiers, was frowning down upon England from the heights of Boulogne we were very glad to seek for allies, and that scourge of Europe, when he wished to trample our soil under the heels of Frenchmen, was drawn from Boulogne to the opposite side of France to meet a new foe whom we had drawn into the field. We were glad of allies then, just as Turkey may be glad of them now. Then, as now, an insolent aggression was attempted, and the threatened party appealed to the other powers—to the high police of nations— for co-operation against the common foe. So Turkey now appeals. England and France have made a partial response. Austria shuffles out of the claims upon her, Prussia seems also inclined to avoid her share of the reponsibilities of the case. The SULTAN, whilst kept in aspen,e as to what aid he may cal culate upon, does his best single-handed against the ("us. Should he in this seemingly unequal contest be beaten whilst the rest of Europe stand shilly-shallying by, their after-work will be all the more difficult. A task is ever the more irksome, and always the more ill done for being done too late. & &woad addles w'• The Papineee." eastalatai the Cam. evealeire ••Guette." as pabitabed every Teeed.hy and Vralay sight, is Woe for pest. Advert...meets Weeded rat "The Toprow," Leedom Limners part. neat be at toe race, it. loovetievrenret. try Two o'rlort es the day Cat publreaties. 111011 WATIM AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tn• D •9i... 39.. ..."aa" /LI ima....—Aftorsoos. Us. LONDON, FRIDAY. DECEMBER 2. "Tile Turks have gained further advantages in Asia. They have not only defended successfully Fort St. Nicholas, but captured the fortresses of Usurghetti and Souchoum Ksleh." Such is the tenor of the last telegraphic despatch that professes to tell the news from the scat of war, and as the allegation reaches us through Austria, there is little fear that it overstates the truth. Souchoum Ka leh is a large fortress on the shores of the Black Sea, considerably to the north and west of Redout Kaleh, and its capture shows at once that the Turks are making decided progress in Asia, in the exact direction which renders the Russian frontier in the Caucasus less secure than ever. In the list of strongholds in that portion of the world, Souchoum Kahl, is marked as a fortifica tion of the first class, and its reduction by the SULTAN'S forces cannot fail to have considerable morel influence on the surrounding populations. The telegraphic despatch which brings the news repeats what has often before been stated, that " the Georgian people are favourable to the Turks." The Georgians are not singular in their dislike of Russian rule in Asia, and it only needs a few more such proofs of Russian weakness as this tall of Souchoum Kaleh to give the needful impulse to a general revolt against the CZAR in that portion of his dominions. Some time must elapse before we can hope to receive by post full particulars of a contest, the results of which have thus been told by telegraph. When those particulars do reach us we shall be able to test the value of the present surmise that some portion of tho Turkish fleet has been at work to secure these successes on the Asiatic shores of the Euxinc. Souchoum Kaleh is, of course, open to effectual attack from the sea, and the Ottoman ships of war are well fitted to make short work of any Russian defences within reach of their shot and shell. For ourselves, we anticipate with confidence that Admiral SLADE sailed into the Black Sea with the intention of dealing with a more formidable antagonist than the commandant of any fortress on the shorts of the Caucasus. We may look for news of his appearance off the far more serious military position on an opposite shore, and no one who knows the =lnge and high spirit of the Or maali will be surprised to hear that the feat of Ouaa PACIIA in crossing the Danube has been followed by the bombardment of Sebastopol by Admiral SLADE. At first blush it may sound very like rashness to suppose any such step possible, but those who have visited Sebastopol, and who know exactly what its military value is, may well be inclined to believe in its vulnerability, either by land or sea. Yesterday the Russian organ in the English press thought fit to endorse the opinions about the efficiency of the Turkish fleet—especially in gunnery—which we were the first to make public when the Russian invasion of the Principalities was threatened. Before long we may find the same columns giving publi city to such views as we now hold in refer ence to the weakness of the beet fortress of Russia on the Black Sea. In estimating the probability of an attack on this place we must also remember that the Turkish fleet is led by an Englishman, long in the Sutras's service. The ship which bears his flag is one of those we months ago described as equal to anything we can show of the same size in the British fleet. The crews under his command can work their gnus excellently, and are far more than a match for any equal force of the Muscovites. Altogether the SULTAN'S ships and the Czan's strongholdare more evenly matched than might be at first sight supposed—at any rate for a sudden attack by sea. In suggesting these views we do not forget that the batteries of Sebastopol, against which a Turkish fleet may measure, or probably have mea. sured, strength, have always been said by Russian agents to be impregnable. To talk of attack ing the place has always been pooh-poohed as something absurd. But Quebec, Gibraltar, and many other fortresses, were declared by feather-bed warriors to be impregnable—till they were taken by English commanders. Russian spies and Russian journals have been the authors of the impression that Sebastopol is beyond reduction—that it may defy assault ; but Russian travellers entertain far more modest opinions. Viewed from without the Russian city is formidable. "As we approached Sebastopol (says Mr. Otteitmer, who writes fresh from the place) the great curiosity which I had long felt to visit a town of which Russians speak with a kind of mysterious awe was not unmixed by anxiety; and when at a sudden fora of the road we obtained an extensive view of the shores of the Crimes, it was startling to find that the most prominent feature of the landscape was Sebas topol itself, with its lofty white houses and frowning batteries and green-domed churches. Far inland, and long after the houses bad ceased, the tapering masts of the ships were visible above the low hills. Their sails, which had been hung out to dry, were hanging idly upon them ; and as we approached still nearer we could discern the large hulls of the line-of-battle ships floating, as it were, in the very streets of the town." As he drew near to the Russian fortress, our traveller ads, " My expectations of Sebastopol were evidently not doomed to disappoint ment." Hisopinion before he had entered the place was that of the world at large :—let us turn to what he says, after ho had learned a little more about it : Nothing. eau be more formidable than the appearance of Sevastopol from the seaward. Upon a future occasion we visited it is a steamer, sad found that at one point we were commanded by twelve hundred pieces of artillery . forts lamely for a hostile fleet, we afterwards heard that these Could not be discharged without bringing down the rotten batteries upon which they are placed, and which are so badly constructed that they look as if they bad been done by manna. Four of the forts consist of three tiers of batteries. We were, of course, unable to do more than take a very general survey of these celebrated fortifications. and therefore cannot vouch for the truth of the inertias, that the rooms in which the guns are worked are so narrow and ill ventilated, that the artillerymen would be inevitably stifled in the attempt to discharge their guns sad their duty ; but of one fact there was no doubt, that however well fortified may be the approaches to Sevastopol by sea, there is nothing whatever to prevent any number of troops landing a few miles to the south of the town, in one of the sin convenient bays with which the coast, as far as Cape liherion, is indented, and marching down the main street (provided they were strong enough to defeat any military force that might be opposed to thcm in the open field) soak the town, sad burn the fleet. THE snug firm of Goo, MAGOG, and Co. is totter jag. Up to the present time the partners in the concern have been allowed to hold their heads tolerably nigh. It is true that it was whispered that Goo was rather too much addicted to dinner parties, and that MAGoG occasionally looked a little shaky after returning from one of those mysterious expe ditions by which the Thames is preserved, or con served, as it is phrased. Nevertheless, the world was inclined to look leniently upon the doings of these jolly old boys. The House was an old one, and had from time immemorial been distinguished for paying its way. It had a prestige derived from old traditions in its favour. It had WALWORTU and WRITTLNOTON amongst its ancestors. Its existence seemed in some manner bound up with that of the City. This feeling is, as we observed, vanishing. There is a strong suspicion that the accounts of the firm will scarcely bear over handling. The suspicion is increased by the strange conduct of the partners. Until now both Goo and his plethoric partner have refused to produce their books. Being a nation of shopkeepers we rightly look shy upon such conduct, and means are being adopted to discover what the parties concerned have hitherto concealed. It cannot be denied that as the investigation proceeds the appearance of things does not improve. In other words, the Cor poration makes even a worse figure than was anticipated. • _ _ The 'widens of Mr. WILLIAMS, the member for Lambeth, printed in the Daily News of yesterday, contains some very curious statements with respect to City expenditure. This gentleman, in 1830, was appointed by the Common Hall to act as one of the auditors of the accounts. The report which the auditors drew up was generally regarded as a re markably good one, and they received a vote of thanks for the same. The arrangement existed until 1834, when the Corporation refused any longer to supply the auditors with the necessary bills of parti culars. The auditors, rightly considering that audits were a mere farce without bills of particulars, threw up their office. In the year 1833, when the Qty Corporation Committee instituted an inquiry, Wit.usus and the leading Reformers formed thimeelves into a committee for the purpose of giving eM the information in their power. Their intentions ! \mover, according to his own statement, were de hated by the City officers, who "showed great shi nty in protecting their own interests." In the middle of the same year Mr. WILLIAMS offered him self, " reluctantly," as candidate to supply a vacancy in the Court of Common Council, for the sole purpose of getting at the City accounts. He was as far as ever from the attainment of his object. The Court of Common Council having passed an order that the officers of the Court should furnish no information of any kind to any one except their regularly constituted authorities, he was obliged to content himself with the Blue Books published under Me authority of the Corporation, and "these," he i mam us, " afforded no correct idea of the money enacted by them from the public, under various Awe At last, Mr. WILLIAMS succeeded in ob tain a committee to inquire into the salaries, pale, his, and emoluments of the officers of the Ompration; the amount of the City revenues, the amass whence they were derived, and the mode in wide& they wem expended. Even after this bad been panted, and the committee appointed, the greatest difficulty was experienced in getting information. Fee instance, all the Aldermen who had passed the ace of Mayor being written to, with a request that limy would supply information with respect to the *mount of the money they had received during the Mayoralty year, not one complied with the request except Sir PETER Lame. However, the committee managed to ascertain that the cast of the Mayoralty during the year 1833 was 25,0341., a tolerable sum for a chief magistrate, it must be confessed. Mr. WILLIAMS went on to state that the committee dia. covered that emoluments were received by vari one officers to the amount of 74,4401., which did not appear in the Corporation accounts. He estimated the whole income of the Corporation in 1833 to be 321,4611., which amounted to 2/. 12a. 6d. for each head of the City population, ex elusive of the enormous amount entailed on the public by the practice of allowing none but freemen to be employed in various handicrafts, of which the hllowship of porters afforded an example. Con trasting City taxation with the taxation of the Empire, it will appear that while the affairs of the Qty are managed at the expenditure of 2/. 12s. 6d. for each inhabitant, those of the United King dom involve an expense of 11. 17s. The City expenditure, therefore, in proportion to population, is 30 per cent. more than that of the Central Government of the whole Empire. A similar compa rison being made as to the cost of the Cabinet Minis ten and that of the City officers, it appears that while 12 Cabinet Ministers oast the country 45,4351., the same number of City functionaries received 48,4331. for their services. Turning to a few miscel laneous items, we may remark that Mr. WILLIAMS pets down the allowance for the City barge and dollop, part of the extensive feet engaged in the miaow duty of the conservancy of the'thames, with other expenses incurred in this proceeding, at 2,0001. The bills of three City lawyers in the 10 years from 1826 to 1835 he states to have been 162,6201., 'riving en average of 16,2621. per annum. There were also 116 other lawyers who received, in 1833,22,843/. The City law expenses thus amount to 39,105/. per eanans. Should it hereafter appear that the Turkish fleet have really sailed into the Black Sea with ords re to engage the Russian men-of-war, or to undertake the still more serious task of attacking Sebastopol, it is almost superfluous to remark that they may, or may not, be allowed by weather or by the fortune of war to meet the antagonists they wish for. But if they should measure weapons with the people of the CZAR, and if moreover they should be successful, the credit will be all their own. Such a venture must undoubtedly be regarded as one of Perhaps, however, the greatest of the extortions — greatest in its enormi'y, and greatest in its iniquity —is the coal tax, which yielded last year 192,0001. THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 2, 1853. Mr. WILLIAM. stated that, although this tax was .levied on the whole of the metropolis, up to the presenttimsthe whole of the proceeds had been ex _pendia in City improvements, with the exception of • balance paid over last year to the Office of Works for 'metropolitan improvements. Every one will agree with him in his assertion of the monstrous injustice of allowing one twentieth portion of GO metropolis to tax the remaining nine- teen-twentieths for their own local purposes. Why is the prico of the coal that warms the garret of a poor woman in Marylebone to be raised for the benefit of a Corporation which taxes the metropolis, but in no sense of the word can be said to represent It. This is a glarisg injustice that must be abolished. Coals, in this country, are not a luxury only, but a prime necessity of life. The dwellings of the poor must be warmed, if the poor are to live. The restric tions that are placed by the City in the way of the supply of cheap coal to the metropolis must be abo lished, as the first-fruits of the Reform Movement ; and the Corporation will do well, as an earnest of their oft-repeated assertion that they are not really desirous of opposing Reform, to lend their assistance to those who are spurring them on to the good work. ENGLISH OFFICERS IN THE RUSSIAN SERVICE. There are good reasons for supposing that the Bastian government have been trying all the means at the disposal of secret diplomacy to induce the English government to recall Admiral Slade and Captain Borlase from their commands in the Turkish fleet. This request is equally impudent and absurd. Russia has always worked by means of clever foreigners ; she still has many in her pay, and the cool effrontery of suggesting that the Sultan can be deprived of his nght to engage Englishmen in his service is quite worthy of the man who thought he could invade Moldavia and Wallachia without any opposition from the rest of Europe. LATEST FROM ABROAD. RUSSIA AND TURKEY. A telegraphic despatch from Vienna, of December 1, states that the Turks, on the 26th, had constructed a bridge between Rustchuk and the Island of Mok nan, having on the previous day advanced from Kalafat 12 English miles towards Krajova, aid formed an intrenched camp for 8,000 men. The whole of the Polish army is ordered to the Principalities. _ _ Ser;ia has demanded of the Porte the return of the Russian Consul-General, and that his exegualur shall be granted to him. From Constantinople we learn that the Russian steam-frigate Vladimir has been taken by an Egyptian war steamer. Advices from Bucharest, of Nov. 19, inform us that the Turks have maintained their position at the confluence of the Salonitza and the Danube, near Hirsova, in ',spite of the most strenuous efforts to dis lodge them. The 4th and sth Russian corps have, it is said, received orders to proceed to Wallachia. Private letters from Jassy contradict the reports of the German newspapers of the march of Russian reinforcements through that town. General Luders had led a portion of the fifth Russian infantry corps across the Pruth, between Rein and Leowa, but of Osten Sacken's corps nothing had been seen. Letters from the theatre of war in Asia state that such a large quantity of snow has fallen that military operations are becoming impossible. Several foreign journals speak of a protest which the consuls and agents of the different powers at Galatz are said to have made against a decree of General Urusoff, who has governed Moldavia since the departure of Prince Ghika, on the ground that it was contrary to international law, and must be considered an interference with the commercial free dom of neutral states. Letters from Oalatz state that four battalions of Russian infantry, with 20 guns, arrived there on the 14th, on their way to Ibrail RUSSIA AND TURKEY. Letters from Trebisond of the 6th November con firm the accounts already given of the events which have taken place at Tchuruk and ShefkatiL These letters affirm that the Russian troops were three times more numerous than the Turkish. The eon of Prince Gouriel, who has fallen into the hands of the Turks, is called the Prince of Malachi". Three battalions of the infantry of the guard had arrived at Trebisond, and had proceeded towards Tchuruk and Shefkatil. The Turkish forces on that point amount to 25,000 men. Two orderly officers of Mehemet Ali Pacha, the Minister of War, had arrived with injunctions to Sell= Pacha and Abdi Pacha to urge on hostilities vigorously. A special transmission of gunpowder and other military stores had taken place for Schamyl and Daniel Bey. The news of the encounter of the Russians and Circassian near Bekhetie is confirmed, and the position of the former ►t Tiflis and in Georgia is considered precarious, on account of the decided check which Schamyl gave them at the pass of Dariel, on the road from Mos. dock to Tiflis. It is said that the Circassian had on that occasion 20,000 men and 60 pieces of cannon, whilst Prince Woronzoff had only 13,000 men. The Russians, who were at first worsted, were able afterwards to act on the offensive, in consequence of receiving reinforcements from General Nesteroff and General Bariatinski, and Schamyl was obliged to with• draw to the mountains. The loss of the Circassian was about 2,000 men, and that of the Russian is estimated at not less than 5,000. The Cologne Gazette has the following front Ber lin, dated the 26th :—" In the negotiations concern ing the arrangement of the difference between Russia and Turkey , there was a proposition from M. Buol Schaneustein, on the part of Austria, that the ar rangement should be left exclusively to the bel ligerent parties, and this proposition is said to have obtained the assent of the cabinet of St. Petersburg, and has been communicated to the other powers." Some curious particulars relative to this impudent pine d trickery will be found in the letter of our Paris correspondent. The French Cabinet of course declared that it could not adopt the views of Austria, but it offered to discuss a modified proposition if the Austrian cabinet would pledge itself to make common cause with France and England to compel both Russia and the Porte to adopt any mode of settlement on which the four Powers should agree u being honourable to the bel ligerent parties and at the same time essential for the equilibrium of power in Europe, and the maintenance of peace and tranquillity. Up to this moment the answer of Austria has been that she would pledge herself to nothing but to a neutrality, from which she will not depart so long as her own interests are not directly affec'ed. The neutrality of a power which never presents itself but as a Russian catepaw may well be suspected. The Hamburg News contains a letter from St. Potenburg of the 20th ult., which says :—" Orders Mu been sent from this place to Prince Gortschakoff to sesame the offensive, it is said, against the Turks on th e left bank of the Danube. It is stated that the governments of France and England have given explanations to the Csbinet of St. Petersburg respect ing the probable entrance of the French and English Beets into the Black Sea." A letter from Bucharest of the 19th ult., in the Post Ampt Ga:ette, says :—" Doubts aro beginning to be felt here of the sincerity of the Russian bulle tins ; lately, one of them declared that a single sol dier had been wounded in an affair. The Turks maintain themselves, notwithstanding the efforts of the Russians, near Pira-Petro, at the spot where the Jelmanitim falls into the Danube. There is no longer anything heard of the march of the corps of Osten-Sackers into Wallachia,' but intelligence has been received from Galata that the 4th and sth I corps of the reserve have quitted Bessarabia to enter our Principality. Karaxian,one of the two Boyards who were arrested, has been exiled by the Russians to Bender." The Prussian Correspondence contains a letter from Bucharest of the 19th ult. which says : " For the last fortnight, the position o f troops in Lesser Wallachia has not changed. The 25,000 Turks entrenched near Kalafat make no move ment. General Fischbach is also quiet. The Turks continue to bombard Giurgewo. In the night the Turks weepy the Isle of Mocan, but when daybreak appears, and General Formsoff opens his fire, they withdraw. The Council of Administration of Wal lachia opposes energetically the incorporation of the Wallachian militia with the Russian army, on the ground that such a step would break the neutrality of the country." The New Prussian Gazette contains the following from Vienna, dated the 26th ult. :—" The opinion here still is that the Russo-Turkish difference will be terminated by a pacific arrangement. The news of the formation of a corps of observation has been con tradicted. It is certain that the Rosbach regiment, which had received orders to march, had been coun termanded. The officers are allowed to go on leave as usuaL The news of an armistice having been concluded between the Turks and Russians is becom ing confirmed; but it is to be nut for three months, but for three weeks." A letter from Trieste of the 21st ult., in the New Munich Gazette, says: " For some days past three Russian vessels of war have been here, consisting of a corvette and two brig,. This little squadron was cruising in the Levant, and being quite ignorant of 'what had taken place in Turkey, found the Dar danelles closed against it. The officer in command took refuge in a friendly port, in order not to expose himself to an attack. The captain in command and part of the officers have gone to Vienna to ask for leave to winter their vessels at Trieste, so ea to return' by land with their men to Russia. This permission has been granted them." A dispatch from Trieste was received in Paris on Wednesday, stating that a steamer had just arrived there with intelligence from Constantinople to the 21st of November. General Baraguay d'Hilliers has been brilliantly received by the Sultan at a grand audience of ceremony; he pronounced an address in favour of peace, but under the re serve of the independence of Turkey being ensured. The Sultan replied in the most gracious manner, insisting on the necessity of having the de mands of Russia withdrawn, and on the evacuation of the Principalities. There was some talk of send ing six steamers, French and English, into the Black Sea. On the 23rd, a vessel of the Dutch squadron was shipwrecked in the waters of Smyrna. His Ex cellency, M. de Lacour, arrived this day at Trieste. The Steele says : There his arrived through London and Vienna a piece of diplomatic intelligence which is not without importance. Austria, more and more embarrassed with the situation which her gratitude towards Russia his imposed on her, has applied, the report goes with earnestness, to have • European conference opened on the affein of the East. Should that proposition be accepted by the four Western Powers—the supposition being that it could be so—Turkey and Russia are to be invited by Austria, in the name of England, France, and Prussia, to send to the conference each • plenipotentiary, with the very last conditions which these two powers would consent to for an arrangement. We can very easily conceive that Austria should make such • proposition, for she has need to deceive every one. The language now employed by Austria to the Western powen may be thus summed up. If this last effort does see emcees& I shall consider myself disengaged toward, Sara* sad my neutrality . will certainly be friendly to the Ottoman Porte. To RUMS, she says in substance : If by the combined efforts of the four powers, Turkey is in duced to make decisive concessions to you, I shall have re paid you for the service which you rende red me in Hun gary ; should the conference fail, I shall have gained by my proceeding the confidence of Western Europe, and [shall be able more easily to pay the Czar my debt of gratitude. The truth is that Austria only thinks of extricating herself from the false position in which she has placed herself in making the violation of the principle of nationalities the vital condition of the empire of the Hapsburgs. But Russia, who is well acquainted with her vain and wily neighbour, will not allow herself to be deceived, and Austria will be constrained, nolena eaten:, to serve the projects of the Em peror Nicholas, that grand pontiff of all the governments which are opposed to the rights of the people. Other and not less gran motives lead us to believe that the conference of Paris or of London, should it be held—a ease which we by no means consider impossible—would have no better result than that of Vienna. Amongst these motives we may mention the following:—By the reply given by Turkey to the last note, which arrived on the 7th of this month at Constantinople, she appears decided in the first place not to enter again into her former treaties with Russia before she has obtained a profound al teration in them, and next, not to content herself with the simple evacuation of the Principalities, a reparation being due to the Sultan for the insolent and unjust aggression which he has been subjected to. On his side the Czar has declared that, whilst desiring to have peace re-established, be considered himself under an obligation, from the reli gions feeling of his people, to obtain some concession which could be accepted in Russia as a new guarantee for the Christians of the east. The medium between the pretensions of Russia and the rights of Turkey is an absolute impossibility, as long as events shall not have modified the situation. It is true that if the western powers should consent to act together, they could impose any arrangement they pleased on the Porte, but in that case an impossibility of another kind arises. Either the arrangement will be in conformity with justice, and then Russia will not accept it, cr it will saeri- lee the rights of the Sultan, and the almost immediate fall of the Ottoman empire will render a modification of the territorial division of Europe inevitable. We will add a final consideration. Letters from London announce posi tively that two days before was signed between France and England a convention regulating the manner and limits of an intervention In common in the affairs of the East. As to the signature of the convention, we cannot alarm any thing about it ; but a feet concerning which no csauslenent is that a negotiation has been opened between the two go vernments to determine and regulate their action in the media rendered imminent by the war between Turkey and Russia. That all we have just muitioned does not absolutely prevent everything like propositions and confe rences, we willingly admit; but th•t, in the present state of things, there are fair grounds for indulging in reasonable hopes of effecting an arrangement by diplomatic means alone, is what we cannot believe; and the more so, that there has jest taken plane at Fultsdorff, at the instigation of Russia, an event which is not of a nature to induce the present government of France to place great confidence in the Northern Powers. SERVIA. The attitude of the Salim government in rela tion to Turkey is now well defined. The following is, according to the Augsburg Gazette, the reply of Prince Alexander to the application of the Ottoman Porte to declare himself on the conflict between it and Russia : Imperial Majesty,—l believe it right to soaks the follow ing reply to the letter which the Minister of Foreign Af fairs of your Majesty addressed to me on the 28th ult. The Beryl= government will be always disposed to second the Sublime Porte, as much at least as existing treaties per mit. But never can it submit toe thing which appears to it incompatible with its duty. Such a circumstance pre sents itself at this moment in the sad dissension w Bich has broken out between your Majesty and the powerful Czar. May heaven cause this conflict to turn to the advantage of your Majesty. But the Servian government cannot take part in a conflict between the two powers that protect &a via. It can only adopt a policy of neutrality and jasper, tiality. It results from that that the Servian government cannot permit a body of troop. to cross its frontiers. That would be contrary to the policy which circumstances com mand. The government of your Majesty will be obliged to admit that in so acting the Servian government only follows the counsels of moderation, and that they will always serve it as a guide. To make its policy of neutrality more energetic, it has given orders to all the inhabitants of the principality to hold themselves in readiness to execute all the orders it may transmit. Let your Majesty receive as heretofore the assurance of my profound devotednese. ALEIANDEII G EORO WIT6CII. Yvagokowats, Nov. 6. It is not known what resolution the Ottoman government has formed on the receipt of this reply. It is probable, however, that it will be contented if Servia will act sincerely upon its professions, and observing a strict neutrality itself, preserve its ter- ritory inviolate. TUE JESUITS EXPELLED FROM BADEN. The Archbishop of Frieburg, has presented • protest to the government of Baden against the expulsion of the Jesuit preachers from the Grand Duchy. The minister of the sovereign replies that the motive on which the government acted was an evident intention on tLe part of the holy fathers to circumvent the government and evade the law regu lating the settlement of religion% order in the territory of Baden. The only guarantee which the government has at any time for the behaviour of a foreign clergy is the confi donee that the archbishop himself will watch over them, but this confidence, alas ! is gone, and the government can no more allow thelesuits to settle within its jurisdiction. GERMANY. The Aus tria states that after the Ist of January next the Austrian government will require payment of customs duties to be made in coin, or if paper money is received this will be according to the rate of exchange of Vienna or Augsburg then current. The Cologne Gazette states that the Cuetoms con ference has decided upon the institution of bonding warehouses at the German ports. Herr Ludolph Camphause was elected deputy to the Second Chamber for the city of Cologne on the 29th ult., by a very large majority. The honourable gentleman at once declined the honour paid by his fellow citizens. OPENING OF THE PRUSSIAN CHAMBERS. The Prussian Staats An:eiyer of the 28th ult. contains the following : —After the celebration of divine worship in the minster and in the church of St. Hedwig the Chambers assembled is the White Hall of the Royal Schloss. The Minister President, I Baron Manteuffel, opened the session with the fol lowing address: Gentlemen of the First and Second Chambers,—His Ma jesty the King, our most gracious Master, has, by his royal commission of the 26th inst., empowered me to open this session of the Chambers in hie name. Since the close of your last deliberations several impor tant bills, which lon had passed, have received the royal sanction. Among these the law of May 30, 1353, regulating the municipal government of towns in the eastern provinces has introduced in the place of a here defective and there provisional state of things a normal enactment, susceptible of further development. His Majesty's government hopes, through your co-opera• tion, to see the remaining laws fur the regulation of the communes, the circles, end the provinces, soon settled, and these important matters established on a still firmer basis. The conscientious consideration which his Majesty the King continues to devote to the final formation of the First Chamber, in conformity with the law of May 7, 18,53, has led him to regard it as desirable for the ensuing session to re-convoke the previous members of the First Chamber, in tuU confidence in their proved patriotism. It has been a great gratification to the King, our most gracious master, by the opening of new railroads, to give both the eastern and the western portions of the kingdom still further proofs of his paternal solicitude. The execution of the line from Posen to Breslau and (Mogan has been secured without entailing any further obligations on the funds of the state. The papers connected herewith will be laid before the Chambers. The construction of telegraphs has, by the efforts of his Majesty's government, united with those of friendly and neighbouring powers, attained an extent which, while it provides for intercourse in very widely extended ramifica- tions and on Lniform principles, already gives good promise of adt gnats returns. Manufactures, commerce, and navigation are, in spite of the disturbing influences, the existence of which cannot be denied, active and thriving. The products of our coal and iron mines are already so extensive as to justify the hope that in a very few years our whole demand for raw iron will be supplied at home. Considerable amounts of capital are being applied, more particularly by means of associations, to the various branches of industrial activity ; so that the constantly progressive de velopment of the resources of the country cannot be mis taken. It is matter of extreme concern to his Majesty's govern ment, that the present high price of the necessaries of life exposes the more indigent portion of the population to pri vations. It may, however, be expected, that the duty free importation of the first necessaries of food, as cons• mended by his Majesty, and more particularly the main tenance of unrestricted traffic in them, as well as the eco nomical prudence of the people, in conjunction with active providence and benevolence amongst the various classes of society, will prevent actual scarcity from being felt till the next harvest comes round. The Budget for the year 1854, which will be as soon as possible laid before you for consideration, will, as in former years, give you a clear picture of the financial position of t he State, which it will be your strenuous endeavour, Gen tlemen, as well as that of the government, to improve and strengthen. In addition to the above, various draughts of bills will be laid before you, having for their object partly to supply existing deficiencies in our legislation, partly to remedy faults that have been felt in various branches of adminis tration, and also to afford legal bases and protection to cer tain useful enterprises. His Majesty's government indulges in the confident hope, so well justified by your former activity, that you will devote to these labours not only your attention, but also your impartial and enlightened seal, and that your deliberations and debates will again confer blessed frui►s on the country. Gentlemen, your deliberations commence at a moment in which apprehensions are felt that the peace, which has so happily and so long been preserved in Europe, might be disturbed in consequence of complications that have sprung up in the East. His Majestj's government will not and can not conceal from you that these apprehensions have actual grounds, The government, however, looks forward with confidence. Prussia, relying on, and fully conscious of, her own strength, will continue to prosecute the sincere and active endeavours she has hitherto made in every direction to plead the cause of peace and moderation in this eventful question with independent and impartial language. What ever turn events may take, Providence has placed the King, our most gracious muter, at the head of a martial, patriotic, and united people, and his Majesty's government —be assured of this, gentlemen—will, in every step that it may be called upon to take in this matter, adopt the true interest of the country, which is inseparable from that of the Crown, as the sole criterion of their efforts and their actions. And herewith, in virtue of the authority committed to me by his Majesty, I declare the Session of the Chambers to be opened. At the conclusion of this address the members gave three hearty cheers for the King. The Minister then informed the two houses that their respective chambers were ready for their reception, and the assembly dissolved. FRANCE. PARIS, WZDNISDAY EYZIIINO. The Debate, in the solemn form of a leading article, signed by its manager, M. Armand Bertin, gives a summary of its news from the East, which will be read with considerable interest. It appears from the admission of this journal, which invariably leans to Russia, that Lord Aberdeen's government walked unsuspectingly into a snare laid by Austria, and was only rescued by the firmness of Louis Napoleon and. the hesitation of even the Prussian court. The article is the more entitled to attention, because the Debate, though esteemed the most important journal in Paris, rarely sine the coup detat expresses any opinion of its own upon passing events, and now professes to have sifted a mass of conflicting ru mours, and to give the result from its own peculiar sources. The following is the statement : Our last letters from Vienna and Berlin give us some information en the present state of the negotiations relative to the Eastern question, which may to a certain point allow us to judge of certain reports winch have been recently in circulation. However scrupulous our correspondents may be in their investigations, they do not pretend any more than ourselves to be able entirely to separate what is true from all the contradictory rumours which are afloat, and can only forward to us what they consider as moot proba ble. With this precaution and reserve, they think they may state as certain that the Austrian cabinet, which sincerely desires the pacific solution of the Turco-Russian question, and seeks with good faith an expedient to g e t over the difficulty, has made a fresh overture to the cabinets of Paris and London. Austria is said to have pro posed that the four powers should in a measure keep themselves aloof, and let Russia and Turkey settle their dispute by a direct arrangement between the two sovereigns, founded on ancient treaties; maintaining them by explaining or completing such of their clauses as may have been shown by recent experience to be either obscure or insufficient. Austria is said to have promised on her own responsibility the immediate evacuation of the Danubian principalities by the Russian armies, and demands that on their side the cabinets of Paris and London shall engage to use all their influence with the Divan in order to obtain its consent to treat directly with Russia. This proposition was communicated to the cabinet of Berlin, and it appears that it has not been judged very favoUrably, as it was thought to offer an issue too advantageous for Russia, and too dangerous for Turkey, and but little in unison with the intervention of the four cabinets which assem bled at Vienna in such long and frequent confe settees. The impression produced on the cabinet of London by this overture of Austria is said to have been more favourable, and a disposition was shown to accept it ; it is said, however, that this opinion has somewhat changed, in consequence of observations made by the cabinet of the Tuilleries, and on hearing of the reception given to the Oed tll.Or AUttti4 f T o tr i g p r o o g p n o 0; but it m a y l ead to a new phase in the state of the political reistimis of o il cabinet of Vienna. It i., in fact, said, th at i n reply to due communication the courts allied t the Porte intend take therefore, proposit io n a littlet Berlin. ee e advantage of the opportunity to demand explanations s r to what is understood at Vienna by the neutrality of sea 4t ,. 4, in order that it may be known exactly how tar that u ru . tralite will go, at what moment it will cease, and for the benefit of which party it will do so. It i s a dd ed that it will be more particularly insisted on that Austria shall make known as to how far she will engage herself with the other European powers in all the measures or in all the s which shall have for object to lead Russia to secure the peace of Europe, which she has disturbed by her ditterrara with Turkey. _ _ In a subsequent part of the same article the &iota asserts that Omer Paella in crossing the Danube acted in defiance of the instructions of his govern ment, and that his retreat from Oltenitza is not to be explained by the weather or by the exigencies of the campaign, but is a retrograde movement mad e in pursuance of imperative orders from the Porte. This statement is contrary to the whole tenor of the more recent news, and I believe it to be wholly un founded. It may, however, be true that the r e p re . sentatives of France and England did press th e Ottoman government to suspend hostilities, with 4, view, in the words of the Dames, to "testify their desire to maintain peace and their re. Bret that it should so suddenly have been disturbed,' Here, again, as in so many recent instances, we see the fact that Russia broke the peace . by crossing the Prnth ignored, and a disposition to impute the coin. meneement of hostilities to Turkish rashaesa and impetuosity. A letter from Malta, of the 29th, says that the Caradoc had anchored in the pot, on its way to Constantinople, with despatches for Lord defied. cliffe. I understand the government lawyers have be en instructed to consider whether a plausible ca se way not be made out for the confiscation of the Count de Cbambord's property in France. It is reported that a new Russian note has been sent by M. de Nesselrode to the Czar's ministers in France and England. In this note the acts that would lead to a rupture of diplomatic relations be. tween Russia and the two governments are said to be _specified with precision. M. Dupont, responsible editor of the EstaPtte, M. Pecourt, editor of the Edo) ...tyrieute, and M. Auger, editor of Bulletin des Hulks et Marchils, were yester. day tried by the Tribunal of Correctional Police on the charge of publishing false news. The false news consisted in these journals stating that the price of wheat at Montereau on the 24th Sept. was dearer than it really was. But the Tribunal decided that the statement in question was not sufficiently grave to amount to the offence described in law, and it die. charged the three accused. An old institution, called the Congress of Bakers, has been revived in many of the departments, prinei• pally in the central districts. The chief object of the measure is to counteract the vulgar prejudice enter. taioed by the lower classes that foreign corn is always bid. The duty of the congress is to issue certificates of the quality of all parcels submitted to their examination. The inauguration of the railway round Paris will take place on the 12th of December, in presence of the Emperor. The only part not yet completed is the bridge at Berry, but that is in a very forward state. PARIS, TIII:11.qn1Y EVENING. The Emperor and Empress returned from Fon. tainebleau to-day. It was announced in the morning papers that they might be expected about half-put two, and long before that time the Boulevards were lined with crowds of people. Towards three o'clock, the imperial cortege not having appeared, some anxiety was felt on account of the sinister reports recently circulated. But shortly before half-past three, their Majesties, escorted by a squadron of Guides, appeared on the Boulevard des Itaheas. They were in a close carriage with the windows up. The Emperor was to all appearance in his usual health. There was more bona fidc cheering as he passed than I have heard en any former occasion of the kind. The Empress sat on his right hand—and, therefore, in spit of all reports to the contrary, it is to be M- I ferred, e according p to court etiquette, that an heir to the throne is expected. When General Baraguay d'Hilliers was about to leave Paris, it was rumoured that he said to some of his friends who were talking to hint in a warlike tone,—" Ati ! if you only knew my instructions " meaning to convey the impression that his was a peaceful mission. This story receives some confirmation by the telegraphic despatch from Trieste, announcing that the general made a speech to the Sultan "in favour of peace." It is to be inferred from Abdul Medjid's answer, insisting upon the necessity of the" withdrawal of the Russian demands and the evacuation of the Principalities," that the speech was not accepted precisely in the sense in which it was made. From this same despatch it is to be gathered that on the 21st—that is five days later than the news by the Egyptus—no English or French vessels had gone to the Black Sea. News has reached Paris this evening that a body of Cossacks having crossed the Danube in the night time at a point above Turtukai, to make a recon noissance, had been surprised and completely routed by the Turks. The settlement at the Bourse to-day went off better than might have been expected after the fluctuations of the last few days. It was found that the bears had oversold themselves, and the scarcity of stock for delivery occasionod an upward movement in the rents, which continued without a check throughout the day. The Threes opened at 74fr. 1.3 c., and closed at 74fr. 60c., being a rise of 40c. Foreign news had but little influence, " the state of the house" being almost the sole guide to transactions. In railways there was comparatively little business doing, the settlement in these securities not taking place till to-morrow. They were, however, very firm. St. Germain rose 7fr. 50c., and Northern and Orleans 7fr. 25fr. each. The Moniteur publishes the official monthly re turns of the price of corn in the principal markets in France. The highest price is 32fr. 70c. per hecto litre, in those of Bergues, Arras, Hoye, Soissons,Paris, and Rouen ; and the lowest, 27fr. 33c., in those of Saint-Lo, Paimpel, Quimper, Hennebon, and Nantes. The average for the whole of France is 29fr. 9%, being a rise of 2fr. sc. on the last return. It must be borne in mind that these returns do not comprise the last fortnight of November, during which prices have sensibly declined. The Mondeur de l'Aroule says, the journals that have announced the different towns in which the new battalions of chasseurs are to be organized are misinformed. No decision has yet been come to on this subject. Doubtless the " polygon " garrison towns will be preferred, but questions of barrack accommodation must also be considered. I under stand it to be settled, that the formation of tea more battalions of this arm will be decreed before long. M. Deschamps, the aeronaut, has perished in a balloon ascent from the circus at Nisines. No par ticulars of the fatal accideat have arrived. The fact alone was telegraphed to the Courrier dc Marseille. THE FUSION.—The Frankfurt Gazette informs its readers that it is empowered to state that the engagements or acknowledgments made at Frohsdorff by the Duke de Nemours were not made by the authority or on account o the Duchess d'Orleane, who has not acknowledged the transaction in any way. Letters from Vienna of the 27th inform us that the Duke and Duchess of Nemours and the Duke of Cobourg dined with the Comte de Chambord of the previous day. TIIE CURFEW IN MJLAN.—The Genoa Carafe Mercantile of the 26th ult. publishes a new notice of the Director of the Police of Milan, enjoining the proprietors of horses in the city to close them at midnight, and in the suburbs at ten o'clock, under a penalty of from 6f. to 241. fine, or an imprisonment of from one to four days. CONVENTION WITH NAPLES.—The ,lournal of the Two Siceies of the 16th ult. publishes the convention sti pulated between that country and Great Britain, for the extrvdition of sailors deserting from their respective navies. LOMBARDT.-By accounts from Milan, it seems that the return of Count Gyulai, or the apprehension of that of Maazini, or a mixture of both these evils, has been the signal for the most unprecedented precautions against anything like surprise—such, indeed, as arc only taken by troops in an enemy's country, and not always then. Guards are placed in parts of the town where no guards ever were before ; the numbers at the different posts are doubled; the soldiers so employed are secured from being overpowered by any sudden onslaught of a mob by stout stockades ; even in the theatre the officers of the garrison have a pen so railed off for them as to protect them from the animosity of the multitude, and a private entratur assigned them; and, to render security doubly sure, civi lians are not allowed to enter the theatre without showing their passport, or carts; di sicurezza, at the door. I