The Express. — London, England, 1851-12-26 00:00:00

- ir he eraarti4o. TO CORRESPONDENT , . • reerhd I.Aities “, TM Eases; aostalatne he woo ageuires tanette," 9 . l tinebod every Tnnagay May atest, in time toe pug. A Iron,. afaniniwaleil for ?be Exprana, ° trona° Qom` w g own U at tn. boagansainvet, b 7 1 v. o'co.ait tie do et tbbiket... DIOR WATER t T LONDON BRIDGE. 44. um. Sk. 16e. Tess DAB—Manila & Y. WEL. To- reasov—lhraias. 4.5. LO.VDOS, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26. WE have always expressed a high opinion of Lord P.0.5tER:41 . 0:4 as foreion minister of England. No man holding that position has ever striven more earnestly for the cause of constitutional liberty. Ilia active interference mainly secured that blessing to the Peninsula. Ilis negotiations chiefly contnbuted to endow Belgium with independence and with a mo narchic constitution that has hitherto defied revolu tion and anarchy intro so urns et extra, as well as any form of government in Europe. Lord -PALMERSTON . I more recent efforts in Italy were stimulated by nerous and noble policy , — going the length of en dowing that country with constitutional govern ment, and not going beyond that aim. If these efforts failed,—and if the failure and the misrepresen tation of these efforts have had the effect of making England, and its foreign minister, disliked by the abolutists courts, that may bo an inconvenience under certain circumstances—but, it is no crime._ nonce 13.,%1111U.1 wuviaso••••••••••••• And yet with this tribute of admiration to Lord Parsisiewroir, we know that he had faults, and, amongst others, a great and irremediable one. Ile had been for far too many years in possession of his late office. It is the misfortune of England that her statesmen and placemen stick far too long by their benches. What the country wants is not an admir able CRICIIION of a secretary, but a relay of politi cians in all walks and classes. We want statesmen, nut merely in the cabinet, but in parliament. It is not for the interest of the country that it shieild be told suth a minister must con tinue to hold office because there is really no one efficiently capable or instructed to be able to replace him. This it is that peoples our cabinets with lords,—an eternal succession of lords,—as if tho sphere of common( rs in this life was to play second fiddle to lords, tied up and adorned with red tape. What we should like to IRV would be a new foreign minister every three years, as they have in America, where they are never at a loss for one. For all these reasons, and retaining our admiration of Lord IbtosEasisix, we are quite reconciled to his resignation, provided it has been brought about by circumstances—not dictated by the alarm or fasti tidiou.suess of the court, nor brought about by the cunning intrigues of Russia mid Austria, and inglo- Austrian diplomacy, which is so fussy in the society, and so intluential mith ono por.ion of the press, of the metropolis. We shall all probably learn the reasons fur his retirement from the speeches of Lord stuistees himself, who, if lost to the cabinet, will doubtless be found in the House of Corn loons, and be looked up to there. Flagrant and immediate opposition is not to be looked for from that veteran official. But that he will be found in his plate, and that any act of foreign polic y , subser vient to the despots of the cast of Europe, ur inipli eating England in the dynastic struggles or interests of the Continent, will And in Lund PALMERSTON a ready, an able, and an inevitutle denouncer. That at lest we both look and hope fur. Meantime we are glad to be told that the seces sion of Lord Psomesros may lead to the re-constructieen of a cabinet upon a broader basis. To be sure, the lint step,—the appointment of Earl Gil N VlLLE,—fur from widening that basis, may be said to narrow it. But if the change leads to the acquisition of rtiformern, and to opening the doors of the culeinet at length to men of the people, it will be a good sign and a good deed And we may place some credit un these assurance's; for without some thing of the kind, the Whig cabinet can not and ought nut to stand. We are entering evi dently upon a very difficult and knotty peri al, both of domestic and foreign policy. Our financial &Te te in and commercial prosperity are bound up with both. Too many councillors cannot be consulted on such a crisis; too ninny interests cannot be milled to take an active and confidential 'wart in the guidance of the nation. 'lime may possibly bring the ne cessity of great resolves, entailing great sacrifices, and rhos' eunnot 1w decided by a clique, either of courtiers or politicians. Let not, therefore, the Times prattle to us of the gnat strength that is to accrue to the Cabinet from increased union. No doubt, a Cahoot ing of one Prime Minister and half-a dozen striplings us clerks, would be a very united Cabinet. lint such union can scarcely be called strength. The people of England are not so ye ry anxious for unanimity in Cabinet Councils by obedience of the many to the one. They arc more interested in having a Cabinet, the members of which May not so very perfectly agree, but who, viewing affairs from different points, and in the light of diffe rent interests. may carry in their final decision a larger mymputhy from the country, and especially from its untitled amid industrious causes. IT is to be hoped that a sense of what is needed fur their own self-preservation may promet the Whig government to do what neither reason, ju4tice, nor far-sighted prudence has hitherto led them to yield. The Cabinet, after some few shiftings and inoailica- Lions, remains as esgentially exclusive and oligarchi cal as it was whin first ushered into being in 1818. Cireumstanetv have changed, and with them mea sures have varied in turn with every wind of heaven. l'ilxt•tc, and SExvtocit, and OttxxvlLLE, have been admitted to the Cabinet, and the names of AtcaLvsn, and l'ALuEttsvoN, are no longer found upon its list. But the jealous and greedy character of aristocratic monopoly is stumped on it as conspicuously as in the be ginning. The grasping and insolent spint of clique has up to the present hour prevailed. There is not a merchant nor a man of science, a manufacturer or a man of letters, nut even a soldier or a sailor of plebeian rank and fortune, who is permitted to share in the administrative council of a realm which, hut for the worth, and wisdom. and work of the classes we have adverted to, would be but a third or fourth rate state ut Europe. Hitherto it must be owned that the position of parties in the legislature has seemed to favour the fond dream of the whigs that this lucrative and agreeable scheme of rule by family compact might be indefinitely prolonged. They were fortunate in pos sessing three or four men of great ability and expe rience; and no disaffected section was strong enough to take the reins out of their hands. . _ So. the hereditary bureaucracy said unto its soul: "Take thine ease, job, blunder, and be merry; to morrow shall be even as yesterday, or yet more abundant!" Recent events, however, may well serve to awaken whiggcry from its selfish dream. Its lamps are gone out, or beginning to burn dim. If new light be not speedily borrowed from some friendly quarter, all will soon be darkness. Whatever may have been the proximate or remote —the real or assigned—Cal/Ws of LordPALIIERATOWS removal from the poet he so long occupied, nndwhat ever success may attend the experiment by which it is proposed to supply his loss in the deportment over which he so long presided—it is plain that his retirement must materially weaken the prestige and power of the administration generally both in par liament and in the country. The personal qualities which contributed to rendCr the ex-minister popular his bitterest adversaries never have denied, and the energy, courage, and versatility which he brought to the performance of arduous and varied duties admit of as little question. In the House of Commons he was eminently a favourite ; and it were difficult to imagine any sufficient reason why his popularity in that assembly should be less Mier he has thrown aside the trammels of office than it has hitherto been. If the drudgery of having to pull blundering colleagues and subordinates out of the mire, was not able to quench the spirit of Ilk humour, or to quell the audacity of his bearing—what may we not expect when lie enters the course unweighted, end when the faltering* and shortcomings of those who have repudiated his veteran aid, will have become fair game for the damaging candour of his pity, if not the polished irony of his scorn ? that tesics, hospitalities, and other circumstantial details of the Foreign office, it is no doubt possible that in debate the change may not at first be felt so strik ingly when foreign affairs are the theme. But, withr the exception of the first minister, there is nobody on the Treasury bench capable of encountering such an assailant as the evicted Viscount. To there consi derations must be added the certain alienation of serpert and renunciation of forbears/lee from pro lised opponents, which his withdrawal will inevi- Iditsanee. There were many occasions during the Lei en years on which Lord l'aiimasios'e influ ent), Wu found useful by a feeble government, bib in securing lukewarm allies and neutralising isabdri enemies. The whigs would probably sire Lew for the loss of intellectual strength If they were sure of not suffering a diminution of votes on critical divisions. But when both arc in evitable and impending, it manifestly behoves them to take active measures to recruit from other quar ters their impaired and shattered force. Lord GRINVILLE may be acceptable at court, and rather a favourite in the House of Lords. But as regards the stability of a liberal administration, pledged to reform, the extension of education and the maintenance of free-trade, what does the inoffensiveness of the new Secretary of State signify ? It is in the House of Commons that the straggle must be waged. It is there that the issue must be determined during the residue of the present parliament: and it will in no trifling degree depend upon the impression made upon the mind of the public by the incidents of next session what the predominant party colour of the new parliament will be. It; as in 1811, ridicule and shame arc heaped by elated ad versaries of mingled hue upon the arrogant and ob stinate monopolists of power, the general election will Inevitably prove, as in 1811, a knell of po litical doom. 'Yet, exclusive u they were then, the spirit of administration is, if possible, still more so now ; and disheartened and effete as the expiring Cabinet of Lord .11ELBUCHNE was then said to be, it contained beyond question a greater number of men of real ability and deserved weight in the country than the cabinet of Lord JOHN Itt;s 3ELt. at present contains. We point to no individual, or set of individuals, I whose pretensions to office we would be supposed as desiring to recommend. Such a task were invidious and mischievous. We shall not incur the reproach of seeming to undertake it. What we contend for Is, a great popular right —a great national principle that exalted office should be open—not as of favour, but as of right—to men of talents, virtues, and attainments, no matter to what class in life they happen to be long. We want to see equality of conditions in this respect established. We want to see the insufferable usurpation of the landed oligarchy in this respect broken down. Personal preference and selection from among competitors equally fit must always be left, in some measure, to the head of the administration. What we contend for is, that his choice be not limited to a narrow clique, or bounded by a rule of wrongful and insulting I,opular exclu,ien. THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE. TILE ELECTIONS. rAitis, CIIRISTNIAS DAT. The total number of votes known up to the present moment is— les No As y, t the definitive result of only 14 departments is known. In tit. se the pull stands as follows: Yes "co These are the latest official results. The Bigllehn de Pura, which passes fur a semi official organ, says: The President of the Republic is working at this moment at the compwition of the Constitution. According to re ports in circulation the elections of the legislative body arc likely to take place towards the end of January. It is said there will be one representative fur every 100,000 inhabit ants. The suffrage is to he direct, and the representative appointed fur live years. A modification of the cabinet is also spoken of. M. de .lorny, according to this report, would take the depai !mint of Foreign Affairs, and hl. Bassxhe that of the Interior. The most honourable tribute to Lord Palmerston on his exit from office is the exultation of the meta- Ides of despotism over hie fall. The AssembVe Na tionalr indulges in rut indecent pan over the ex- Foreign Secretary, and congratulates Christendom upon the disappenrance of a scourge—it might have added—of despotism. Generally . the rumoured ap , pointtnent of Lord Granville is received well to France, owing to the sensible speech made by that nobleman at the banquet given at the Hotel de Ville on the occasion of the l'aresian Ji•tes in honour of the Exhibition. The news of Lord Palmerston's resignation was received in Paris yesterday morning, and sounded like an echo from the shores of Brita►n of the thun dering coup Jttat of December 2. From the joy testified by the enemies of all liberty, civil or reli gious, at this event it is evident that the fall of the Foreign Secretary is regarded as the precursor of concessions on the part of England to the military despots of Europe, which will end in the constitu tional flag being hauled down in those countries where it has been maintained hitherto in spite of menaces from all quarters. The liberals however do not cease to hope that the successor of Lord Palmer ston will not abandon the cause of freedom and civilisation, and display as much firmness as the late Foreign Secretary did energy and spirit. The .Voniteur of to-day is as a table richly laid out with Christmas presents to the generals and mi litary officers who helped to effect the romp trial. Among the 15 generals of brigade raised to the rank of general of division, are Rubel, who commanded on the boulevards, when the indiscriminate slaughter of unarmed citizens strewed the must frequented pavement in Paris with the dead and wounded and General Baguet, aide-de-camp of Louis Napoleon. Among the colonels promoted to be generals of bri gades, are Scy, Duke of Elchingan, and other ardent k.lyseans. Epaulettes and laced cocked hats arc scattered with the profusion of bon-buns among the crowd of armed suitors who besiege the Elysie. You may remember that the Message, published surreptitiously, some months back, a document con fided by M. earlier to M. Eugene Forrade, wherein a certain M. Lemulier, representative of the Assem bly, was designated as having procured for a debtor of his the office of director of the Gobelins, and of going shares in the profits of the place. This M. Lemulier, who is a elwf irsradron of artillery, is now appointed to the command of the artillery of five forts on the left bank of the Seine. In consequence of the promotions just made among the general officers, the following appointments tare been made :—General Courant to the command of the Ist subdivision of the lit military division of Paris ; General &Alphonse to the command of the Ist brigade of infantry of the 3rd division of the army of Paris ; General Repond to the command of • the 3rd brigade of infantry of the 3rd division of the army of Pans, and to the functions of inspector of the school of exercise firing; General Partonneaux to the command of the brigade of cavalry of the lit division of the army of Pans; General Duplaix to the command of the 3rd sub division of the Ist military division, at Orleans; General Poilloue de St. Mars to the command of the 2nd subdivision of the 3rd military division, at Nancy ; r General &Rogues to the command of the 2nd sub division of the Oth military division, at Grenoble; General Muvran to the command of the 3rd sub division of the 7th military division, at Avignon ; 1 General Bourgourd de Lamarre to the command of the 211 d subdivision of the 12th military division, at , Rochelle ; and General I'cyssard to the command of the 2nd subdivision of the 13th military division, at Bourget. I By decree of the President of the Republic tilt-en generals of brigade arc raised to the rank of general of division, and 20 colonels to the rank of general of brigade. The following arc the names of the new generals of division : Corbin, Dulfoure, Serea•iw, Ro?uet, I.e Pal. , de Deur jolly de Sermaiu, tirand, iterbiduu, t, M ciiv. Rd- Dulae, Repot, Aulas de Cuurtigis, Thiry, and Fur.y. The following are the names of the colonels pro : meted to the rink of general of brigade : /autui;ithat the Premier is in future to shape and guide the foreign policy of the eountrv, and that Lard ORANULL . E fact, only to dO the cour- THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 26, 1851. Satareau, of the staff ; Lemaire, 19th of gendarmerie ; d'Anthouard Vraineourt, 24th ; Memo, 68th line ; Coeur, 2nd reg. foreign legion ; 114ond, 31st line ; Boost, 33rd line ' • Pessard, 27th line ; d'Hugues, 37th line ; Con rad, 19th line; Bourgoord de Lamare, 13th light infan try • d'Aurelle de Paladins, ',mares ; Ney d'Elchingen, 7th'dragoons ; Consearin, 3rd spahis • Beltramin, Gth dra goons; Dorsch, 4th African chasieurs; du Poilloue de Saint-Mars, 9th dragoons; Lannes de Montebello, 7th Outwears; Allot, 7th artillery; and Allard, director of the fortifications of Nantes. Adniiral Jacob, the senior officer of the French nary, having sent his adhesion to the President of ' the Republic, has received the following reply from ; the Minister of Marine: I have laid be fore the President of the Republic the letter which you enclosed to me, felicitating him on having saved society when menaced by the demagogical party. The nephew of the Emperor has felt very sensibly the kind ex pressions smployed by one of the glorious veterans of the fleet, and has charged me to express to you his satisfaction. - • - The President appeared at the Opera last night, attended by the Ministers of War and the Interior, and his aide-de-camp, General itoguct. He was cheered upon his entrance with cries of " Vivo Na poleon!" which he acknowledged by bowing several times. When he retired the same cries were re- peated, and accompanied hits to his carriage. The government has given orders to the authorities in the departments not to release any prisoner made in the departments without previously referring to the ministry. A French ship of war is to be sent to Muscat in consequence of a difference with the Imaum, who has I withdrawn the leave he gave for the exportation of negroes to the Isle of Boubon. A decree appears opening to the Minister of the Interior a credit of 5,600,000 francs, applicable to the liquidation of the indemnities to be grouted to proprietoi a ' whose property suffered material da mage by the events of February and June, 1848. The sum will be distributed, under the superintend ence of the Minister of the Interior, conformably to the decisions of the commission appointed by decree of September 2, 1850. The considerations upon which this decree is based are the provisions of the law of the 10th of Vende moire, in the year 4 of the Republic, which enacts that communes arc responsible for the damage com mitted with open torte by mobs, as well as for the interest of the corresponding valuation. It is alleged that Paris is in an exceptional situation, which does not authorise the absolute imposition of such an obli gation upon the capital. But although the state is not legally obliged so to do, it is nevertheless conforma ble to the rules of equity and sound policy to repair unmerited disasters, and efface as much as possible the painful remembrance of civil discords. A deice of the Prefect of the Ilerault of the pith has postponed the election in 16 communes of the arrondissement of Be•:ziers, one commune in the arron dissement of Saint Pons, and two in that of Mont pellier, on the ground that insurrection had broken out in these communes that the municipalities had not been yet reorganised, and that the state of feeling in those localities would be a serious obstacle to the sincerity of the ballot. The official declaration of the votes of the depart ment of the Seine took place at the Hotel-de-Ville yesterday morning. M. Fleury, member of the Council of Perfeeture, took the chair. The bureau was composed of MM. Prelart and Duperrier, mem bers of the Municipal Council. M. Berger, the Pre fect of the Seine, oppened the sitting by addressing a speech to the mayors of the different atrondiesetneuts, in which he thanked them fur the zeal and devoted ness they had shown during the electoral operations, and begged them to be the bearers of his thanks to their several deputies for their zealous co-opera tion. The department of the Seine had, he said, given a striking adhesion to the great act of December 2, and in which the whole country would unite. The speech of the Prekct was warmly ap plauded, after which M. Fleury, the President, read the decree for the vote, and the mayors proceeded to state the general number of the voters, and the num ber of the affirmative and negative votes in their respective districts. When this was finished, the Prefect of the Seine proposed that the mayors should carry the result to the President of the Ito public, which was agreed to with acelamation. As the numbers were alreedy known the crowd round the Hotel-de-Ville was very small, and the whole passed off with the greatest order. Louis Napoleon having received the deputation, thanked the mayors for their devoted concurrence, and congratulated himself on receiving from the de partment of the Seine a mark of confidence so strik ing, and still greater than had been bestowed in De leember, 1848. lie would endeavour to show himself worthy of the confidence which France testified in him, by consecrating himself entirely to the happi ness and prosperity of the country. These words were received with tries of " Vice Napoleon." " Vise le President." The Consultative Commission met yesterday to examine the returns sent in of the votes in the de partments. As the greatest number of the Councils of the Prefecture only assembled yesterday in the departments, the Minister of the Interior was nut able to present to the bureau a great number of re turns. No business took place, and the commission adjourned till to-morrow (Friday). Decrees appear, opening to the minister of finances a supplementary credit of 220,229 f. for various items; re-organising the persomsel of the committee of sur veillance of the Caisse des depots et consig nations ; suppressing tho law of October 3, It+is, relative to the professional teaching of Agriculture; appointing M. lioussingault, Professor of Agricultural Chemistry at the Conservatoire des Arts et Meteirs, and M. Ville, Professor of the same science at the Agronire Institute; promoting the well known officer Yusaf, commander of the native forces in Algeria, to be General of Brigade on the Staff ; appointing Generals Cuurand, Boast, &Alphonse, Ripond, and Par touneaux, to the command of various brigades of divisions of the army of Paris; and Generals Dapleix, du Poillone de St. Mars, d'ltugues, Mayran, and Peyssard to command respectively at Orleans, Nancy, Grenoble, Avignon, La Rochelle, and Bourges. Ten promotions to colonelcies, and ten to lieutenant-coloneleies follow, with the usual profusion of decorations. 1 mentioned some days since that several masonic lodges bad been closed, and that the Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France wishing to meet the views of the government, had issued a general order, prohibiting any masonic meeting before the Ist of January. It appears that this is not enough. There is to be a general persecution of freemasonry. The Jesuits, of all people in the world, object to masonic lodges, because they are secret so cieties. "Shut them up . altagether," says the nsirers to Louis Napoleon. " Yon are strong enough to do whatever vou please; you have only the middle classes (the bourgeoisie) against you, and lodges are the especial secret societies of the 'bourgeoisie.'" It will be in vain to plead, what is familiar know ledge, that the very essence of freemasonry is ineon sistent with any interference of its members quo free masons with political questions. It can't be denied that masonic meetings bring friecds together. In coming to, or going from, the lodge they may per chance walk in groups of three or four together. They may take occasion to talk politics, or may pos sibly make some appointment for another day. Masonry is a vety ancient, very innocent institution, deeply rooted in the habits of the people. Never mind, the Jesuits don't like it ; they are omnipotent ; and masonry must submit to be suspeuded, and hope fir better times. ITALY. PIEDMONT. Rude, in t kingdom of Naples. he duration of one of thes h e e shocks, at MeHi, was T upwards of 12 lseconds. SPAIN. The Gazette contains a decree for the re-organisa tion of the Bank of St. Ferdinand. The capital will be for the present fixed at 120 millions of reale (30 millions of francs), but it may be hereafter carried up to 200 millions. The privilege is to continue for years. The bank will have the power of issuing notes to the amount of its capital. The reserve fund will be formed by taking 10 per cent, from the pro- fits. The bank will have the power of establishing branch establishments wherever they may be con sidered necessary. The Count de San Imis (M. Sartorial+) has been elected deputy for Priego in spite of the most determined opposition on the part of the government. The decree for the concession of the Almansa Railway has been at length signed, but is not yet published. • MADRID, DEC. 19. The semi-official organ of the cabinet, the Orden, which has recently renewed its editorial staff, and obtained the assistance of writers whose ultra opi nions are well known, contained an article yesterday, which is universally considered as on 3 of the preli minaries of the coup ff,'tat expected in a few days. The writer, after drawing a sombre pic ture of the dangers of the socialist propaganda, states, and with some appearance of truth, that the political parties in this country are well nigh extinct, that the deepest indifference has succeeded the ardour of former years, that though there be ambitious leaders, th . ere are no confiding and disciplined fol lowers, and that now that society seems to he threat ened by a new and dangerous sect, it is incumbent on all men, of whatever shade of political opinion, to rally round the throne, the altar, and the institutions. He concludes by remarking, that, for the present, he will not enter into more ample and all-important considerations. In the meantime the most minute attention is paid to the discipline, clothing, and pay of the army, which is now under the direction of a war minister, personally popular, and evidently well versed in the details of his department. Notwith standing all the assertions of General Narvacz, about the impossibility of reducing the war esti. mates, the present minister has succeeded in effect ing a reduction of nn less than twenty millions of mils; and, so skilfully has this reduction been made, that all the necessary outlays of money for the construction of military barracks, Paixhans cannons, and 30,000 percussion, cap muskets have been made. The walls of the fortresses of Cadiz have been re paired, and a cavalry school, in imitation of that at Saumur, has been established. The contractors of provisions for the army have been compelled to furnish them of the best quality • and a number of gros= abases , that were permitted during the corrupt administration of the last minister, have been done away with. The government, in the present disposi tion of the army, will find it obedient in any emergence, and a passive instrument for whatever is required of it. MADRID, DEC. 20. The Queen and the infanta just born are in excel lent hcnhh. The baptism will take place to-morrow. The Minister has not awaited the sanction of the Chambers for the legal enacting of the tariff bill he brought into the lower house a few days before it closed, but has made it law by a decree published in to-day's Gazette. In the preamble it is stated that the results obtained in the year 1850 from the new tariff of 1819 have been favourable with few exceptions, which gave rise to the three bills which were presented to the Cortes. The first is relative to the introduction of weaved cotton goods, mixed cotton goods, and ready-made clothes. The second bill is for the modification of iron import duties, and the third is for the lowering of the duties on other articles. with the hope that such a measure will be advantageous to the consumer and to the revenue, without injury to the national manufactories, as they produce few of the goods alluded to. The presenta tion of these bills produced a certain stagnation in trade, in consequence of the prorogation of the Chambers. tinder these circumstances the minister, desirous of conciliating the interests of the state with the attributions of the legislature, has thought it expedient to enact acme of the provisions in the third bill, after consulting with members of the com mittee on the tariff bills, and the most considerable manufacturers in the kingdom. In consequence cod fish, the consumption of which has declined since 1849, when the duties upon that article were augmented, without any amelioration either in Spanish fisheries or cattle-growing having resulted thereby, is to be admitted upon paying 31 reels, when brought from European or American fisheries in native bottoms, end 421 reels in foreign bottoms; and when brought from other fisheries, 47 70-100 reels in native bot toms, and 58 30-100 reels in foreign bottoms. Lea thers, the heavy duties on which have had a very injurious effect on Spanish tanneries and shoe manu factories, are to be admitted, when proceeding from I the Philippine Islas de, at only 2 60-100 reels in native bottoms, and 25 90-100 reale in foreign bottoms. The duties on paper of all kinds, thread stockings or woollen stockings, and earthenware of different kinds are al very considerably diminished, in consequence of the markets being almost ex( lusively supplied with these articles by smugglers. The duty on brass, however, will be raised, in consequence of the repre sentations of manufhaturers. The duties on cloths, baize, twills, flannels, serge& merinoes, beavers, and woollens of different kinds, arc considerably reduced. The government has had the mortification to find that the Count of San Luis, the Minister of the In terior in Narvarz's cabinet, has been elected member of the Chamber of Deputies for Priego, after a severe contest, in which every means were taken to effect the return of the ministerial candidate. contemplate a &aided freo-trade movement as keenly effectual escapb from the Austrian trammels, Aus tria might, through the mediation of Hanover, put in lb! veto. Hanover, on the other hand, has re served the right of cancelling the treaty, as soon as an universal German customs' union be formed ; it is Gee, therefore, at once to negotiate with Austria and the southern states on the formation of such union, free to deliberate with Prassia's opponents on schemes which meditate the annihilat ion of Prussia's commercial independence and political station. On the whole it appears to many that the treaty imposes fetters on l'russia alone, and that the time is not far distant when M. von Mantenffel will him self be obliged to throw off those fetters,-- that is to say, if he shall be able to do so without coming into too serious conflicts; for Austria will certainly not willingly relinquish the hold which, through its paramount influence in Hanover, it has now got over Prussia in this momentous contest for the direction of German commercial in terests. Without the treaty of 7th September, Prussia could at all times secure its junction with Hanover by adopting the Hanoverian financial tariff, thus putting an insnperable bar between itself and the Austrian schemes. By means of that treaty, Prussia has, it is true, effected a junction with Hanover, but upon a basis which gives it no safety; it has, in fact, made Hanover the lever of Austrian attack, whereas Hanover formerly offered the fulcrum for Prussian resistance. Had the Prussian government acted boldly a few months ago, and joined Hanover with the Hanoverian tariff, leaving to the option of the southern states to follow or not, it would have a firm and clear position, which perhaps no degree of boldness will now enable it to gain. Its former associates in the Zoliverein, sup ported and instigated by Austria, will raise demands, to which l'russia cannot accede without falling com pletely under Austrian influence. A split in the Zollverein seems inevitable; and Bavaria will probably wise the opportunity of heading a southern union ; while Prussia, though it' gives up its junction with the south, will be prevented, by the Austrian influence in Hanover, from shaping its own free course. And unless Prussia succeed in establishing for its?lf a free-trade tariff, it cannot on the long run ward oft' the customs union with Austria, however strong its political objections may be. Not only the Prussian protectionists would perpetually push the measure, but the free-traders, too, when they gave up the hope of a free-trade tariff, would grasp at the benefit of extend ing internal free-trade from Stettin to Venice, and from Aix-la-Chapelle to Hermannstailt, over a population 'of seventy millions. It is difficult to conjecture how the Prussian government will get out of the trying predicament in which it is placed. At all events, one can do it no better service than by giving timely warning, and stating all the impending difficulties in their fullest force. The Prussian Chamber never gave a more damning proof of its incapacity on mat ters of real practical importance than when it lately passed over the Hanoverian treaty, with a few re marks equally trivial and scanty. Tho Kreu:- Zt.itittv of this evening states, in excuse of the treaty, that Ilanover itself would, on political grounds, not have consented to a tariff wholly un acceptable to Bavaria. That is no excuse. Prussia's task was, to consider its own policy, not Bavaria's wishes. The article further promises that the duties ou iron shall be reduced 25 per cent. Who can promise that? Will the southern states ; consent if they remain with Prussia? Will Austria allow Hanover to consent if Prussia be reduced to a union with this state alone? "The Prussian govern mentw,Nadraspptchaers fur -tra de bo firiiily pnnciplere resolved reducing d to oa n d i anm the duties; persons who, addicted to protection, might work against this, will be dropped." The dis missal of M. von dcr lteydt, the protectionist minis ter of trade, has been hinted at often enough, without his making any signs of relinquishing office. The difficulty of an advance to the Gee-trade prin ciple for Prussia is, however, not got over by a mere change of persons. A semi-o ffi cial notice in the Frankfurt Pest Gazette disavows the articles formerly givenas official reports of the Diet's proceedings, and designates them as mere expressions of the views entertained by the majority of the federal committee entrusted with preparing the reports for publication. Future ar ticles will be strictly abstracts of the IKet's protocols. TIIE ARCTIC SEARCHING EXPEDITIONS. By the Avon have been received further details of the news an to the Behring Straits Arctic searching expedi tion, brought by her Majesty's ship Dmaslus, Capt. Wel. lesleY, from Behring's Straits to San Francisco on the 22nd of October (as stated in the Express of Dec. 1G). The Plover, Commander Moore, had passed the winter in Granticy Harbour, and was rejoined by the Enterprise, Capt. Collinson, C. 8., from Hong Kong, on the 3rd of. July, who, on the 10th, proceeded northward. The Daedalus and Plover met at l'ort Clarence towards the end of July, the former deeply laden with provisions and stores, and prepared to pass the winter in the ice, should that prove necessary from any accident having happened to the Plover. The crew of the Plover had suffered a good deal from scurvy during the winter, but no lives were lost, and a great number of the crew were removed, and replaced by vo lunteers from the Daedalus. We regret to state that the Enterprise has been less fortunate, having lost two officers. These me Lieutenant J. Barnard, and Mr. White head, clerk in charge. Lieutenant Barnard and Mr. E. Adam, assistant-surgeon of the Enterprise, had been left at Michaelowski, the Russian trailing post in Norton Bay, in October last, fur the purpose of collecting information of the missing expelition front the Russian posts and from the natives inland. In pursuance of this object, Lieutenant Barnard, with an interpreter, had gone early in January to a distant post, intending to communicate, if possible, with some of the neighbouring chiefs. During the night the post was surrounded by a large body of Ko-yu-kuk Indians, several of whom at daybreak entered the principal dwelling and killed the Russian governor. Lieutenant Bernard and the interpreter, who were in the same house, made such re sistance as drove the Indians oat of the house. They then laid siege to the post, sheltering themselves behind wooden shields, stuck upright in the snow, but one of them being soon afterwards shot, the whole party retired to an Esqui mans village at some distance, where they committed great cruelties, killing upwards of 60 natives, including women and children. Lieutenant Barnard died of his wounds on the afternoon of the day following the attack. Mr. Adams, on hearing of the event at Michaelowski, pro ceeded with a number of Russians to the post, where he saw the body of his late companion, in which were numer ous wounds, the principal one being in the abdomen, and of such an extent as to have proved inevitably fatal. Mr. Whitchead's death took place on board the En terprise, while on her passage from Hongkong to Port Clarence. Lieutenant E. L. Cooper (invalided), and Mr. John Simpson (11), surgeon (on promotion), came to San Francisco by the Daedalus on their way to England by Panama. The whaling-vessels have crowded in greet numbers this year again to the Straits of Behring, but have not been so successful as before. The season has been a late one in those seas, and the ice floating about until late in July, has caused many disasters, no less than 11 or 12 ves sels having been lost, but not may lives. Among the ves sels endangered by being " beset" by the ice were the En terprise and Daalialus, somewhere near St. Lawrence Island. The line of ice in the Artie sea has likewise been found in a lower latitude than in the two preceding years. There is no account of the Investigasor, Commander M'Clure, sines July, 18.50 ; probably ho is to the ice eastward of Point Barrow. The Dmdalus sailed from San Francisco for the Sandwich Islands on the 31st of October. LATEST FOREIGN EXCIIANGES. MADRID, DEC. 20.—Three per Cents., 38 ; after Boise, 38. Four per Cents., —. Five p er C en t s ., 16 15-16 ; after Bolsa, 17. Coupons, 81 ; after Bolsa, 84. Passives, 5 9-16 ; after Bolsa, 5 9-16. Bunk of St. Ferdinand, 99 c. Exchange on London, 50.30. VIENNA, DEC. 24.—Five per Cent. Nletalliques 94 ; Four-and-a-Bait per Cent. ditto, 64. Bank Shares, 12.96. MONUMENT TO WEBER.—The committee for the erection of a monument to the memory of the celebrated Carl Maria von Weber, notsvithstandinz that tho necessary funds are wanting, has been so bold, egnfiding in the pa triotism of the Germans, as to order the execution of the statue of the great musician by the hand of Professor Iteitschel, which will afterwards be cast in bronze. Will England not join is the subscription I—England, to which country Weber devoted his never forgotten " Oberon !" Art.Jourtsal. WEST INDIA MM Yesterday (as stated in last evening's 'orate) the Avon arrived at Southampton with the 11 cat India and Pacific mails. JAMAICA. From this island we have accounts t the 29th ult , from which it appears that the air& i was still raging there. The Cornwall Clironirle that at Sudbury village, on the grand interior I V 1 to Fal mouth, including Kirk l'atrick I . , tate, and Orange to the north of the Montego 11. , river, the disease has become prevalent, and several i , hs have occurred in those districts. Since the 1:: of Sep. tember, 66 deaths have taken place in tow n; 17 of these were from that date to the :; October, and from the Ist of November to yestexi ihe 21th, 49 new mounds have been raised in c h o l era graveyard; thus showing an average 0: vo within the last twenty-four days. It i ~.timated that four or five times the number of the ;,at have died have been successfully treated, in !ding tho cases which have appeared in an incipi, • stago of the complaint, and to which immediat, r..Nentivo remedies were applied. The disease luis tested itself virulently at Montego Bay, in Xestinore- I land, and Trelawney. The small-pox was still very bad in tl district of Trelawney. The ; weather, Iv: assumed a mild and serene appearance regarded as an augury of returning he:. ' kincan's cr, had I, ich was for tho as pre dishing preaNt. In the House of Assembly on tho 2(41 sentcd a draught of a proposed bill fur a responsible government in Jamaica. '. his of the bill states that much inconve , li, hitherto arisen in carrying on the pabli. the colony, from the difficulty of main , necessary communication between the rep and the other branches of the legislature crouching on the privileges of those bed: as considerable disorder in the finanei ments of the colony from the system of money grants without consideration as t. of raising the necessary revenue, it pra . Majesty would bo graciously pleased part of her instructions to the present r . governors which relates to the compositi of the council, and to create an executi, council distinct from the body which nom double capacity of an executive council a cond branch of the legislature. The bill :- sanctioned by the Queen, to provide that Council shall be appointed by the gore': consist of a secretary of finance, secreta, a secretary of public works, a secret health and education, and a barrister . standing at the English bar, to be charg' duties of attorney-general and of legal zc! executive or privy council; the salaries t aries to be 1,0001. per annum, of the attoi .5001., and the clerk 5001. The bill was it a first time, the second rending fixed fortnight, ordered to be printed for the hers, and to be inserted in the several ne this island for two weeks. The Jamaica Ikapatch has the follow: upon the question of responsible goverm Our opinions on the subject of responsibi. fur Jamaica have repeatedly byes placed beibe and as yet we see no cause whatever for reeedii There must be a vast alteration in the de, t. adore any such change in our constitution, .11 be otherwise practicable, could ever be cart safety in this Wand. To establish responsibl with constituencies formed they are at pr. tuated by the venal principles which are amongst the lower class of our electors, woo,. :brow the whole executive authority of tie the hands of the lowest class of our population thing be done to alter our constitution in tint must have a totally new system of franciii, have intelligence enfranchised. The Morning .Tottrnat, on the other hand, in sen sible opposition to the one-sided spirit px•rrading the article from which the thregoing is extracted, ant's: .ing tho ntatives Imutca ig v.,211 aman,;e• !inating TnC.ITIA hat lax :ter thd Jl futuro d du: ice r privy k in the of a eudtd, if l'Cry pu d ic ..% c a yeari .1 with the T the -gcceral •L 4 mad that day of mein oapc ri of 4 reni •nremnent -•Ir IMM than. . travv.hiitt i• to . ttrit with rt:vt:ramttnt tit. and an tinivt !• ititni4 to Auntry late B. fore any , o*neet, We mud The condition of the electoral body at the ,resent mo ment, and the state of the election laws arc to e.,, theref conclusive evidences of the necessity for respo,dile govern ment, and that condition can only be improve., and those laws are most certain to ha made what they ou.; r lit to be, by the edtablishinent of such a government. Ii the public desire that its business should be properly at.eutled to, sad such evils as those wo have alluded to pi, vented for ' the future, it must consent to the appointment of pro. per men to look after and attend to that bedhass. And having observed that to the want of such men is attribut able the present state of affairs in respect to the election laws and the electoral body, we may rums, k, 'hat the ev.l has not taken its rise so much out of the low s•ate of the qualification as the utter absence of all attemp» to rem tly what is wrung in the laws, aud to ensui , ,, their en forcement. Their spirit and intention, awl the cry letter of them, have openly and syst.maati been traded and violated, and no attemi t has been made to punish the wrongdoers. Impunity aria insisted these to go the utmost lengths, and we say it with sh.due and regret, that they have been encouraged :aid even paid by those who ought to have acted differently, to violate the ! laws of the land and to set them at defiance. When mea lb.rs el the Assembly procure themselves to be roamed by bribery and corruption, and by perjury on the part of many who voted fur them, how can we expect that the fic tion lawr will ever be made what they te.vzht to b., or that the electoral body should be °tits rvrioe than corrupt, degraded, and demoralised. The evil hiss deep. It can only be eradicated by bold, kilts!, and united hands. It is not the qualification which has brought it into existence or perpetuated it, but the %Mit ot active, zealous, and, above all, conscientious men, vino, perceiving the exiateero of wrong, will apply themselves to put it down ; and, whilst carefully guarding the rights of the poorest and humblest man in the community, will boldly and fearlessly carry out the intentions ut the legisla ture, and enforce the laws for the punishment 0f wrong of every description. • The island requires, as the first step towards the improve ment of its condition, and the reform of its institution, union rind co-operation amongst the best info-tiled an.l the most influential of the members of the Assembly. Tl.i. ran only be accomplished (with the hope of contittopu) by the formation of an executive council, and the employment of those who will give their whole time and attention • to the business of the country. The amendment of the laws which fix the qualification of ,I,c , tors and regulate elections, though perhaps more an xiously desired, is not more necessary than oth. r reforms or , ' improvements which will have to be made. Aud we may I remark that the condition of those laws, and of the con,ti • tuency, is the consequence of the absence or non-exit ,- nee of parties whose duty it should have been to at and to th.m, and their operation, and the unwise economy shiedu the te,sembly is so notorious for practising in sonic particular r cases. BRITISH GUIANA. The Colonial of Dee. Hi, says: Of topics interesting to our home readers, there is a gnat dearth. The most pleasing piece of news that w. , can auto to those interested in the colony is that, for the last fort night the weather, thou3lt somewhat variable, has Luxe on the whole much more favourable than we hail any rl.tht to expect at this season of the year, and a great deal of pro duce has been made. TRINIDAD. We learn that a disposition to emigrate to Vene zuela was growing up. lteferring to this topic, the Port qt . Spain Gazette says: The number of emigrants is increasicg cLily, and there is every probability of a large number leaviru Our shore!. While the government are expending the pliblie fuads is the importation of immigrants, and giving them money to come over, the people of Trinidad are pre t ,“riag l• - vo. these shores to seek a home in the hospitable LILA or Venezuela. A smart shock of an earthquake was mem . need at Port of Spain on the 25th ult. local paper thus describes the visitation : The rumbling noise was heard for a f, then came the abrupt and tremulous moti The houses shook considerably. It must I three seconds ; the direction was north-em Many persons were roused from their beds, visit their respective friends, but no acrid( tioning has happened. We have not yet 1 country districts, and we await with anxiety fearful of some alarming occident in our si,t, 'file weather, which during the carli vember, had been so favourable that se , had set their mills about, principally of getting plants from the canes cut tiicture of sugar, has again set in very •N. new moon, and the attempt to proceed making has been generally given up. ance of the canes for the coming ere! raising, and there is every probability u I 1852, it labour can be got to reap it II I large as that of 1851. LEEWARD ISLANDS. The St. Lucia Palladium states that of that island are at war with the tre mcnt, and had presented a petition pea! lieved from the obligation of exposim at the Audit-office their invoices of in The petition has been brought up at a Legislative Council, and referred to a Our su,2ar crop (says the Palladium) has t 1850 hy 1,286 hhds., and only falls short of of 1817 (the last planted ere these colonies heca: to the madness of the sui-discut freetiaders) 6,500 hhds. have been shipped this year, that, under the continuously low range of the Th and t pram) T 1 the in Gen( flout tato. Dee( to rc nat" stuff more a fni rupf trail nth jilt end 265. awe Wi hal Ma Lii Lii Qu Pa ha nel lel do ha few se cond:: and Li] tine (4 the (id!). have la,ted for as: to sauth- weid• ', and went out to M lent worth wen - heard from the oh ty the next raudk m inter roloniet. a lice half of No- , a r e several planters fit fur the purpos e do the flung' y wet with th e co th ( Ted in suga r- dc 'lke appear" b( rap is %I. • eery' P m. A NY ' of the crop o f IA in, pros . * as l i t E S -ri S. yr 64 the merehantil ren,ury depart- raying to be,re - oi yr ng to tnsperteg inportn.d good' C a bitting of the in committee. e g s exceeded tItM of 14 )f the gtrt erot 14 V beenate i-rndlo s) by 1,113 hlmt so X, but ac d enbt fa V the 3.lin,finsfans GERMANY. The Count de Chambord has quitted Prague to re turn to Frohadorf. lie will remain:there auneweeke, and then set out for Venice. The Colayne Gazette, states that Austria has de manded the appointment of an officer of the bund, whose especial function will be to indict all German news papers publishing opinions offensive to the govern ment. On the 23rd the Magni! Gazette was con victed of having reprinted and published one of the tracts on peace, culled " Olive Leaves," and was fined accordingly. Ihe Earl of Westmoreland dined with the Emperor of Austria on the 19th inst. The popular Czech writer Haw Heal, has been expelled from Bohemia, with permission to reside in the 'fyrol. The Constitutional of Bohemia, states that Kos suth's mother, who was lately surprised in the night, at her house, by Austrian officers, ffied at Pesth on the 16th inst. Count Francis Zichy has been appointed to accom pany the Archduke Governor of Hungary, as his confidential adviser. The Archduke will have no council. Ten millions of tho new• Prussian loan are to be left to the speculation of the Exchange; the rest, viz., six millions, is already taken by the Seehasul luny (board of maritime trade). BERLIN. DEC. 22. Well informed persons in Hanover, connected with the government, write, that, in spite of popular re monstrance, the chambers there will indubitably ratify the treaty with Prussia without making a pro viso as regards the tariff principle. There is mach difference of opinion here concerning this treaty, not only between free-traders and protectionists, but between persons who view it only as it may affect A Turin correspondent says : The law lately pre- the interests and operations of the Prussian 'govern rented to the legislature for withdrawing from the meat. M. von Manteuffel's supporters assert that co , ,plisanee of juries offences of the press resulting his motives for effecting the treaty were to reinforce from attacks on foreign governments or princes is `the free-trade interests in the Zoliverein, and, in still the chief topic of conversation. None but the i case the Zollverem should be split, to secure extremest democrats see in this project a symptom of ; a customs' union, with a district conn ec ti ng reaction. It is, indeed, a patriotic precaution, India- Central Prussia withits western provinces. That pensable if ministers arc to be allowed to proceed in the measure, by bringing over the Steuerverein to the the path of rt form and liberal government. The protective system now adopted in Austria, and by in law neither compromises nor attaaks any principle. I voicing the dissolution of th e Z o ll vere i a treat i es, and is designed simply to avert the publication of would give such an opening for the Austrian pro remarks which might give a pretext fur neighbouring , jeers, was certainly not foreseen. The demise or th e states to embarrass our government,and perhaps lead : late King of Hanover, too, f orms a mos t untoward to the ruin of the noble and successful experiment ; feature in the business : for th e new ki ng ' s po li cy now making in Piedmont. The new bill is made a ' seems to incline to seeking support principally from cabinet measure. Vienna, by conforming entirely to the desires of the TWO SICII ILa. Austrian cabinet. Now, the Hanoverian govern- Violent and repeated shocks of earthquake, but' merit g ains by the treaty of tho ith Septe m b er happil y without serious consequences, occurred : a decisive Twee on Prussia's measure s o f coin on the sth at Meld, ltapolla, Itioncro, and mercial policy. If, therefore, Prussia should r I