The Express. — London, England, 1847-09-09 00:00:00

"Me towards men who see in such melancholy , nothing but matter for "political capital." We lately attempted to ascertain the true value of the terms applicable to the adjustment dim ascent which is commonly assumed to be still usesilbd be tween the nation and those who have enriched k with the greatest mechanical improvement of maters times. In estimating these, we are oat Whoa spa to express any opinion as to whether Sr Who Nal or has not taken the wisest course , is Wake its work altogether to the enterprise of private }wrack It is quite beside the question, as it now skee t le discuss the prudence of committing a task, the kes portance of which might have been foreseen, and was indeed distinctly . pointed oat at an early stage of the business, to their spontaneous exertions. To any real decision of the matters which have re cently become the subject of debate, it is clear that no opinion whatever as to the advantages or disadvan tages of the system that has been deliberately adopted by this country, with respect to its railways—ever since the year 1830 disclosed their wonderful powers —can at all contribute. Economists and speculative statesmen may amuse themselves by inquirue; whe ther it would have been well or ill done in the state to have laid its bands on the direction of railways as soon as they began to supersede the old turnpike roads— to have tried in England whathas been attempted, with no brilliant success, in France. They may compare the results of the two systems, as respectively exhibited in England and in Belgium, and conjecture how much of our undoubted superiority in this class of works, and in the service performed by them, belongs to the manner in which they have been taken up and carried out, and how much to other special cir cumstances. All these are questions interesting enough in themselves, questions that might have been of a most commanding practical importance were the system now to be laid down ab two, and had we now to determine for the first time how and by whom the works should be un dertaken. But in the actual case before us all that pertains to this inquiry has long since been decided past recall. The kingdom has, with eyes open, and amidst the fullest opportunities of choice, by positive acts, as well as by tacit approval, decided that the railways of England should be made in this way and in no other —viz., that the hazard and the labour should be undertaken by private persons, and that they should be entitled to seek compensation for their outlay by the earnings to be collected from the hare they might make at rates not exceeding a maximum which was fixed on a scale lower than had ever been charged for inferior service before. That this determination would certainly be adhered to by the government, were the question to be dew cided even at the present moment, has been proved beyond any doubt, by what lately took place on the subject of Irish railways. With all the experience of past years before them, with the advantage of evi dence that has reduced to certainty what was some years since a matter of 'peculation, the ministry have positively refused to undertake the charge of estab lishing a railway system in Ireland, while freely admitting the benefits to be expected from its estab lishment. As in this case the teak has been declined under circumstances of peculiar urgency—when the experiment, too, has ceased to be doubtful, and the chance of its being duly accomplished by private means is remote—we may be sure that on this side of the channel, too, were the choice now open to the government between undertaking it and leaving it, as heretofore, to the enterprise of individuals, the deci sion would be exactly the same as it has been. This must on no account be lost eight of by any one who desires to view the question fairly. Now that the chief part of the work is done in Englard by the outlay of private capital, the main communications of the country being already secured, while the nation has never for a moment seriously entertained the idea of providing them by any other means, and those who have constructed them with private means have never had the choice given them of bringing them forward in any other way than as private and insulated enterprises; now that these belong to the chapter of irrevocable facts, it is surely not on the several companies that have created this vast system that the blame—if blame there be—of its not being sufficiently " national "shouldfall. More than thie: supposing a system more " national" than the one we now have to be desirable or possible—and hitherto no proof of the slightest value to that effect has ap peared—it is now too late to return to it, without breaking through the establishments which have been deliberately authorised to occupy the ground ; and to do such a violence where no fault has been com mitted, but, on the contrary, infinite services have been performed, would be an act in excusably unjust. To establish a " national sys tem "—us so far as any such system would be required to differ, to the detriment of the actual proprietor,from that we now hare—the field is no longer open. No arrangement incompatible with the profitable existence of the rail way companies that now are can justly be attempted, with the view at obtaining still further advantage. for the country at large, by any compulsory process whatever. Unless the state is prepared to repay the funds expended, to make ample compensation for the loss of those profits which it has allowed to be held out as the in ducement to this outlay, it cannot revise the con tract made with the promoters on any equitable footing, except by offering some other equivalent The state has little or nothing else to give in ex change for any new demands. Beyond the taxes, which it is not likely to abandon, and the rates, that the private interests of our legislators will not let it alleviate, there is absolutely no one compensating item which it can present, to repay further exactions of a burdensome character. The promoters of these works, as we have seen, have already undergone the difficulties which local opposition—always counte nanced by the governing power—could raise to profit by ; and the heavy sums that have thus been poured into their opponents' pockets, or that have otherwise had to be laid oat—not on useful works, but in consequence of external hin drances—are spent, past recall. Competition has been encouraged by parliament to a degree that can not now be much aggravated, as far as the extant lines are concerned. Their rates have been brought down to a scale which the traveller of 1820 never dreamed of hearing proposed for conveyance—not at ease, and fifty miles an hove, but even for the jolting of a " slow coach." Of regulation, in a field where the state might have really . done good, spared needless waste of capital, and improved the compulsion of the system, there has been none, er worse than none. All that has had any effectual reality in its operations upon the railway world, so far, has been in the witi ew o: taxing profits, increasing burdens, cutting tariff., impaling penalties : all that it has to attempt fora more comprehensive usefu%rfat the advantage of the system at large, for general direction in laying down new lines, for the choice of proper, the discouragement of improper, schemes, has been utterly ineffectual. Little has been tried in this way ; and whatever has been tried has altogether failed. Of this no stronger proof need be given than was furnished last year by the proceedings on the to nadimpute. Here was a matter highly important tional convenience, the settlement of which was possible at the time when it was first reported on by a royal commission—a disputethat ought to have been settled, that private exertions could not possibly adjust. What did the state here ? A bill was indeed passed, throwing the commiasioners' advice overboard—set tling nothing, leaving, in fact, the existing confusion ■ ,vase coafounded ; and, in less than a year from the lists of its =t i g, it is itself treated in the same way. And now, to the futility of the government in terference—in a case where interference was really called for—the difficulty has become all but irreme diable. Such has been the usual character of state proceedings with respect to railways : they have rarely been efficient but at the expense of the pro prietors. These circumstances, we repeat, it is necessary to bear in mind, in order to say fair view of the position of the railway interest, when those new regulations were proposed last session, to have resisted which is made, in (Retain quarters, the subject of a grave charge. It may be proper to elucidate the fairness of the attache by considering what was the real nature of the bill brought in by Mr. STRUTT ; and this we shall be enabled to do the better after having thus examined the relation of the state, at the time, to those whom the bill was intended to coerce. Tux really great social questions are those which the formation and regulation of national s far as all legislation does this itt im beyond what belongs to pottance - aims, National educe- concern the formation anc character. In so far as all 1 directly, it has an importance it by virtue of its immediate ~~- _ _ THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 9, 1847. tier, in one sense, may be described as the aggregate ' work of institutions. This is the only national edu cation England has known, the indirect influence of its past legislation and history. This education, though indirect, is complete as far as it goes, involving both instrnotion and training, the imparting of in tellectual activity and a certain discipline of the character. It remains for our ale to discover how this indirect education may be aided by a more direct application of means to inform the understand ing, and develope the conscience of those who are now left to the wasteful and irregular discipline of cir- cumstance. The Penitentiary Congress which is to meet this month at Brussels may perhaps help out a solution of one of the many problems preliminary to this master achievement. The treatment of criminals, it must not be forgotten, is a subject with two aides to it. The one presents to us the punishment of offences, the other the reformation of criminals, as the principal object in view. As has been well said in the report of the Law Amendment Society's committee on cri minal law, no determination of the relative value of these principles is called for from the law reformer. Both principles should co-exist in a sound sy stem of secondary punishments. The best discipline is that which punishes while it reforms ; which makes the convict a better man, while it inspires his associates with dread. If the discipline of the prison began and ended there we should not be justified in devoting to the subject the time and space we afford to it. But this ie not the case. The prison and its evils are the plague spots of the social body. Their presence indicates a deeper malady while it is not less a malady in itself. Reform of the prison is a little matter, unless we apply our efforts at the same time to the sources from which .the prison is supplied. Turn your penitentiaries into schools, gift your juries with infallibility and your edges with superhuman wisdom, make your criminal w the most perfect the world has known, yet, unless you do your best to educate and spiritualise the clam on which prison, judge, jury, and law have to operate, you have done next to nothing for the per manent interests of the nation. Prevention is better than cure. In vain do we try to dam up the stream of crime while we neglect to drain away the springs that supply it. Of the poor creatures who crowd and cram our prisons, a large— an overwhelming portion are the orp hans of the state, who have no one to care for their training to what is good and useful, and whom the state is, there fore, bound to take under its especial care. Survey the metropolis alone. In Spitalfields, Shoreditch, Ratcliff, Saffron-bill, Seven Dials, the Almonry, and similar purlieus, are to be found the gardens in which young thieves are grown. The inmates of these quarters are scavengers, sweeps, helpers in stables, costermongers, ballad-singers, charwomen, match sellers, rag sorters, dog-stealers, and p rostitutes. From five to seven in the morning these and other equivocal industrials sally forth, often into distant localities, to pursue their respective occupations. They leave their rooms closed during their absence, having pre viously turned adrift all their children, or at most taken the youngest along with them, and do not return to their abodes until, perhaps, six or eight o'clock in the evening. During the interval the children are left to roam at large and find shelter and sustenance how they may. Sometimes they are compelled to bring back with them the fruits of the day's be ggi ng or stealing. The wretched creatures have never in side of a school or home of prayer. They prowl about the areas of houses begging or pilfering as opportunities offer. They join in parties of three or four, and ex tend their operations to most parts of the town and the outskirts. They are learned and adroit in the profession of crime—regularly educated to it if to no thing else. Once committed to prison, they are sure to return again ; sometimes in forty-eight hours at farthest in the lapse of a few months. At each re committal a heavier punishment awaits them, till they are ripe for banis hm ent, if not for the gallows. Of this class, 2,032 were in custody for trial or re examination in the county prisons of Middlesex, be tween the 29th of September, 1843, and the 20th of April, 1846. This gives an average of 66 to the month in these prisons alone. Among them there may have been a few boys of better parentage but depraved dispositions; such cases, however, are rare. The greater part of them, however, are of the class we have described, who have worse than no parents. While we write we have before us a record of authenticated cases of such beings. Turning its leaves at random we light upon one aged sixteen, who has been ten times in custody ; one of the same age who has been nine times; one of eightears who has been three times, and so on. And ea ch and all of them have either been in infancy deserted by their parents, or thrown habitually upon the streets, in the manner above described. Punishment has no effect upon them. The sense of shame has been ex tinguished in their breasts before it was developed into consciousness . Their only pride is in being dex terous in their profession. When dragged into court they eye the array of jurors, officers, and witnesses,' without the least sign of fear—gaze at the face of the judge with perfect cempoeure, and await their sen tence with the apathy of red Indians. Let senators enact and tribunals decree what pu nishments they please, fresh recruits for the ranks of this army of crime will continue to be spawned unless the state interfere. After mature reflection and in quiry, we can really see no remedy but in the institu tion of asylums to provide homes, education, isolation from depraved sessiates, for these young aifs and shays of our ovsemerwried and defectively-organised society. _ _ IT is lucky for lie !or IUIXT DIDDLERS in the House of Comma= that the average respectability of their brethren is so high. Had this been otherwise their immunity from arrest would long ago have fol lowed other extinct privileges. Their scantiness pro tects them. The nuisance is not sufficiently felt to rouse a public opinion for its abatement. The privi lege adds a cheap dignity to the representative cha racter. It is not often that creditors wish to arrest an M.P., and so the country is content to say, with a sort of pride, that no M.P. can be arrested. There is a relish in these immunities for all bat the people who suffer from them. Probably there are a few dozens of very sore creditors who are at this moment grumbling bitterly over batches of unpaid bills, contracted by popular members with safe seats. But the country at large does not care very much about the matter. It trusts to the habit, generally prevalent among members of the House of Commons, of paying their way, and while this habit happily continues in vogue we do not anticipate a crusade against the privilege that secures the member's shoulder against the tap of that now broken-spirited practitioner, the bailiff. This privilege, however, is only the lest of a chain, whose successive links have disappeared before the corrosive tooth of time and its concomitant, com mon sense. The member of either house of parliament ori ginally enjoyed privileges of which this of safety from arrest is a very insufficient representative. Not only was he safe from arrest himself, but the same privileg extended to his ser vants and his proper t y. His butler, or his bailiff, might launch out into the most reckless pri vate expenditure, and no law could lay hold of him. He stood within the charmed circle of his master's privilege, and:the great . devil cryiaa, ,. and the imp fi . fa., howled powerless out si de of it. No distraint or exe cution could be levied of a member's property. A right was claimed and allowed of exemption from all civil process whatever, of either member or his ser vants They were, moreover, discharged from the liability to answer subpoenas and to serve on juries. In fact, in those times, which may be said to ex tend to the reign of JAMES THE FIRST, the member was a sacred animal, the odour of whose sanctity communicated itself even to his man-servant and his maid-servant, his oz and his ass. It cannot be sup posed that there was no reason for this, that it rested on any inherent holiness in the person of the member. The privilege was limitsd. to the time which he was engaged in going to, attending at, and returning from parliament. In those days par liaments did not sit the year round, as they do now, with only the intervals of prorogation. They sat for a month at a time, perhaps, often for less. Originally these brief assemblages were not even annual. Than the privilege stretched over much less of a member's I life than the same immunities would do now-a-days. Moreover, in those times of unsettled law, and tierce conflict of contending powers in the state, the safety thus extended to the persons, servants, and property of members was really useful to the community. It often protected a stout bulwark of parliamentary authority against royal prerogative, or some honest assertor of the chartered tight, et bogey& egahtst the o f loghheedecilced, t "NC the bartiegh- heel: froon Ids shalt* was not samosa* _eteteedad le tits BMW ber's servants, when their se&knee was steeseary for their maeter's safe condnet through roads infested with robbers, and almost impassable from want of traffic and neglect. These were not the pa lm y days of macadamised Wimples and snug inns, still less of railways and electric telegraphs. Weeks and months were consumed in journeys for which days and weeks are now More than enough. As to the security of property spinet distraint or execu tion, this also was not nnresarmable in times when the presence of the parties to a suit had so much to do with the way in which it was decided. While the knight, or burgess, or baron was at Westminster, or Winchester, or Northampton, attending the King in parliament, it was very possible that a wealthy neigh bour, or lord, at political or private feud, might be earwigging or bribing the sheriff in the county court, and stealing a verdict adverse to his opponent. None of these considerations any longer exists. Parliament, if not sitting the whole year round, takes care never to be prorogued for more than forty days at a time, and thus the security which was formerly limited to a comparatively short period of each year is now good often for seven years, always for a very long time. Nor are the interests of a constituency, now-a-days, so singly bound up in the person of their representative as to run much risk from his incarce ration for a just debt. Members are no longer paid as they were when their privileges grew up. The difficulty is not now to find representatives, nor do we find towns, as in those days, using every effort to get rid of the onerous honour of sending a member to parliament. The constitution now provides against the encroachments of one element of the government upon another. Lincoln need not tremble for her fran chises if the gallant SIBTHORP were hauled off to the Queen's Bench. The Tower Hamlets might lose an eloquent orator if the irreverent bailiff were to nail Mr. GEORGE THOMPSON, but would ran little deeper hazard. Westminster did not suffer sensible prejuclice from the sporting sojourns of Mr. LEADER at Cannes, nor did Oxford severely miss Mr. DONALD MACLEAN. - All the other privileges, except this of freedom from arrest, have fallen before the statute law. The still-surviving immunity owes its continued exist ence less to any inherent reasonableness or neces sity, than to the fact of its having been less inconveniently felt than the others. Ireland, perhaps, would clamour most loudly against its abro gation. Some of her members might see in it a fresh blow of the Saxon against the Celt and his liberties. Perhaps the cause of the sister island might not be the worse for the passible purging of her repre sentatives that would follow from the destruc tion of this anomalous privilege. It does certainly seem absurd, that in a commercial country like ours, the one place from which a debtor may laugh his cre ditors to scorn should be the bench of the legislator. There appears an incongruity in trusting any fraction of the national credit to a man who has no credit of his own, and in committing the voting of the supplies to a gentleman avowedly oat at elbows. We hope to see this anomaly done away with, and the truth recog nised that the best security for the performance of public duties lies in the rigid discharge of private and personal obligations. 'An outline of the following appeared in a portion of our last evening's impression.] It was announced in the Gazette de France, on Monday evening, and reproduced by the Debuts, with out contradiction, yesterday, that a resolution had been taken by the government to supply twelve thou sand muskets to the Pope, and that M. Rossi, the French ambassador at Rome, bad been instructed to submit this offer to his holiness, giving every de sired latitude for the payment. The Madrid mails of the 2nd instant have been re ceived. Before the formality of resignation, M. Pacheco had, by order of the Queen, directed Gen. Narvaez to return to Paris to resume his functions as ambassador. The general replied that it was his in tention to resign that office, and would do so as soon as a minister of foreign affairs should be named. The cabinet of M. Salamanca is completed, with the exception of the ministry of foreign affairs and that of justice and public worship. The Duke of Frias was expected in Madrid on the sth; until his arrival the cabinet would not be completed. Gen. Manuel de la Conchs was named captain-general of Catalonia. For the details of the events we refer to the letter of our correspondent. Despatches from Gen. Narvaez were received at the hotel of the Queen Dowager, in Paris, on Mon day, when a council was held on the situation of affairs at Madrid. It was affirmed in Paris that con siderable funds and letters of credit had been sent to Names, to enable him to meet any emergency which should present itaelf. Our readers will remember that when we first announced the intelligence of the " plot discovered" at Rome last July, there was among the most ob noxious of those who were charged with directly or indirectly promoting and countenancing that most atrocious scheme, and who were compelled to fl, from Rome before the storm of public indignation, a certain Cardinal Lambruschini, against whom the most foul charges were made. This individual had been formerly secretary of state and prime minister to the late Pope Gregory XVI., and was, in fact, the head of the retrogr ad e , and the arch-apostle of Austria at Rome. e disappearance of his eminence from Rome after the 15th of July, simul taneously with the expulsion of his worthy colleague, M. Grasselini, various reports were circulated as to the place of his retreat, some journals having stated that he had withdrawn to Tuscany. The fact was, that he quietly retired to Civita Vecchia, of which he is the suburbicarian bishop and that he has remained there ever since, a passive but net unobservant witness of current events. The population of that port daring his sojourn there have not scrupled to impute to him intrigues against Pius IX., and to declare that he availed himself of the facilities of one of the chief ports of the ponti ficial states to maintain a correspondence with the enemies of the government These reports and the excitement of the population have moved his holi ness to cause it to be suggested to the cardinal that his residence at Civita Necchia was open to incon venience, and that his removal to same place in the interior of the states would be desirable. For a con siderable time his eminence resisted these instances, but he at length yielded, and it was lately sig nified by him that he would remove to a chateau situate in the interior of the country. His departure was accordingly fixed for the evening of the 29th, when his carriage wee prepared, and an escort of cavalry in attendance. His eminence appeared, entered the carriage, and ordered the curie - ye to take the road to—Rome. The astonishment was uni versal, and the public at Civita Vecchia was lost in conjectures of the object of so unexpected a resolu tion. However, the ex-secretary of Gregory XVI. did depart for the capital, where he would have arrived on the morning of the 30th. This intelli gence was received in Paris on Monday from a cor respondent of the Journal des Debate at Civita Vecchia, who wrote the day after the departure of the cardinal ; and that journal expresses no doubt of the correctness of the statement The DElkals adds, " We sincerely desire that the presence of M. Lam bruschini in the capital at the moment when the affairs of Ferrara have produced so much agitation may not be regarded as a provocation, may pro ductive of disorders." We continue to receive, by various routes, in various forms, and under various dates, information of the adhesion of the Italian states to the cause of the sove reign pontiff, insulted and bearded in his own house, so is speak, by the brutal soldiers of Austria. We now learn, from La Bilancia, of the arrival of fresh assurances at Rome from the court of Turin. The same journal (which is understood to be the semi official organ of the cabinet of the Vatican) adds, that it is given as certain that the King of Naples and the Grand Duke of Tuscany have sent the same de clarations of adhesion as the King of Sardinia. The latter prince has sent, as a mark of his approbation, the grand cross of St. Maurice and Bt. Lazarus to Cardinal Ferretti. A correspondent of the Alba, a jonraal of Florence, under the date of Turin, the 23rd ult., sayi that eight waggons containing muskets had Isit the arsenal of that city for Rome, on the night of the 22nd. They were to have been shipped at Gems. The Corriere Lirornese says the Count Cristofero Ferretti, brother of the cardinal, who had arrived in that city, had declared that he had seen the auto goaph let to the Pops by width Kin - , of 4 &rads premised Whimerer req uired • corpli of 30,000 men, supplies Of arms and ainumnition, mid the formation of a military cordon along the line of the Po. Letters from Turin date that eight military contingents were called under arms, and that the regiments were put on a war footing. The Augsburg Gazette of the 3rd inst., under date of Rome the 23rd ult., says that the army of observation of Forli wastoconsist of 13,000 men ; that a medal was to be struck in commemoration of the protest made against the occupation of Ferrara, having on one side the head of Pius IX., and on the other the profiles of Cardinals Ferretti and Ciacchi. It is reported that the Austrians are lees offensive at Ferrara, and that the posts are diminished. Le arriere Livornese, of the 28th, gives the follow ing from Pisa : On the evening before yesterday a demonstration took place in this town to celebrate at once the institution of the council of state the creation of the civic guard, and the news just arrived that an engagement had taken place at Ferrara between the Roman and Austrian soldiers, in which the latter had been worsted. A crowd of upwards of 400 persons started from the Union, coffee-house, and went to the palace of the governor, with the cries of, " Viva Leopold II! Viva la Consuela Viva la Guards Civica!" &e. His Excellency the Governor appeared on the balcony, and acknowledged those demonstra tions. The crowd, which was increasuig every instantmet us it parsed before Saint Zones with a body of the civic guard, who immediately placed themselves at the head of the people, and opened the march to the sound of trumpets. The whole cortige proceeded in this manner throughout the . , town, and every citizen they met joined them in their crimp., and agitated green branches and flags es a sign of their ascent. This immense crowd very quietly dispersed about 10 o'clock. Yesterday evening bonfires were lighted in several squares, and demonstrations, similar to those of the previous evening, took place, not only among the inhabitants of the town, but also among a crowd of people from the environs. During these two evenings the greatest order prevailed, and not a voice was heard to oppose the sentiment/ expressed by the population. ••- • • . . The Bt!anew affirms that the proposition of Austria to settle the Ferrara question by arbitration cannot be safely accepted by the Pope. There is, in fact, no question to arbitrate. It is intimated that many formidable instruments remain to be resorted to by the pontifical government before the actual resort to military force will be necessary, among which not the least powerful are the thunders of excommunica tion, which it is a great error to suppose have lost all their terrors. We gave yesterday intelligence from Berne, of the I 3rd instant, to the effect that the Swiss Diet had come to a definite resolution for the expulsion of the Jesuits from the territory of the con federacy. This is the last of the great questions involving implicitly the internal tranquillity of Switzerland which the federal legislature will have for the present to decide. It will be remembered that the following resolutions have been successively adopted by the same majority of twelve whole can tons and two half cantons, of the entire number of twenty-two:-1. The dissolution of the Sonderbund, or separate league of the seven smaller cantons. 2. The dismissal from the federal service of all officers entering the service of the Sonderbund. 3. A revi sion of the federal pact, with the purpose of prevent ing in future the internal discord of the confederacy, by strengthening the central and common legislature and executive. 4. The expulsion of the Jesuits. All these measures have been voted, notwithstanding the persevering efforts of the diplomacy of France and the despotic states of Europe, which have neglected nothing which could encourage and stimulate the resistance of the minority, by menaces directed against the federal government on the one hand, and by open promises of support and secret aid in money and the munitions of war to the resisting cantons on the other. But as yet these decisions of the Diet are nothing more than declarations of its will. They have not only received no obedience from the parties to whom they have been addressed, but they have been met by a formal avowal of resistance and non-compliance from one of the cantons of the league, and the like course will certainly be adopted by the others. Besides this, the Diet has not pre scrbed to the vorort the means of coercing the recu sant cantons, and enforcing the executions of its deci sions, and, until this is done, the resolutions are mere br alum fulmen. An adjournment of the Diet was to take place in a few days until the beginning of November, when it will re-assemble for the express purpose of coming to a decision on the means of forcibly carry ing into effect the above resolutions. The interval which will elapse in the meanwhile will answer several purposes. In the first place, the recreant cantons will have time for calm reflection, and the excitement attending the discussions at Berne will have time to cool down. The cantonal governments of the majority will have time to discuss the means of enforcing the execution of the decisions of the Diet, and will instruct their del eg ates accordingly. The' commencement of winter will render the communi cation between the cantons for military purposes impracticable. Thus the Valais will be deprived of the power of aiding the resistance of the lesser cantons. Berne and Argan can coerce Lucerne and Zurich, Thurgovia and St Gall can exercise the same power over Zug; finally Vaud and Berne will lay their strong hands on Fribourg. As to the means of execution, the only doubt of an energetic decision rests with the canton of St. Gall. This canton has, by its delegates, voted with the majority in all the vital questions. But its grand council gave no in struction as to the means of execution. If, through the influence of the diplomatic agents of France and Austria, a division should be produced in its council, and that it should recoil from sanctioning the execu tion of the measures of the Diet by armed force, then the confederacy will be still in the Fame state of inter nal distraction and discord as hitherto. If it should decide in favour of energetic execution, then an inter cantonal war seems at present inevitable. MADRID, SEPT. 2. 1 , Of the two seats which remained vacant in the ca- ; binet one is assigned to D. Garcia Goyene, who ar rived yesterday from La °ramjet, and has accepted the portfolio of Grace and Justice, and the other, the Ministry of State, is said to Live been offered to ' Ayllon, the Spanish ambassador at Lisbon. Concha 1 ie appointed to succeed Pavia as captain-general in ' Catatonia. General AWn will probably be named captain-general of Madrid. The place lately occupied 1 by Cordova, of inspector-general of infantry, will be given to General Bluer. Three candidates are put in nomination for the poet of political chief of Madrid, vacated by Escosars, namely his brother D. Narciso, D. Francisco Cabello, and D. Miguel Rods—the last a progAfter the construction of the ministry, the first step will be to come to a clear understanding with the grat mass of the liberal party, or rather with their leaders. Without the effective support of these, Salamanca's cabinet is a house built of cards to be blown down by the first breath. Everything, there fore, depends upon the nature and number of the concessions to the progresistas, which will appear in the ministerial programme. It seems that Senor Salamanca has assured Mendizabal and other leading men or the same party, that they may count upon his administration being based upon the following prin ciple, and directed to the achievement of the measures which I am about to indicate : 1. To recognise and practise principles of absolute tolera tion, ample reparation, and impartialitutioe.-2. To forget, as much as possible , the history of past dissensions, and look at men in relation to the present and future, rather than the past.-3. To admit, without regard to olitical party shades, all citizens to the participation of honours and public offices, judging them by their merits alone. In the military, civil, and diplomatic mew will figure men pf ell opinions.-4. A pardon will be published in favour of the Carlists, of which they may avail themselves within a cer tain period.-6. To compewmte, in part, some of the wrongs which the progresista party have received from the exeltudons and monopolies exercised by preceding governments, all will be acknowledged as senators, who held that reek at the time of the political change which took clan in lea com prising among others, General Linage, hiseeks As h e g am Don Eamon Gild. la Cuadss, Dow Alellaire lavas, and Don Pedro Acuns.-6. Don Beldemsne Bogart= shall be named senator, and permitted as Mass to Spain.-7. Considering that the palace-cotestiew belongs by its origin and nature to the class of private geestkme, and that the discussion of the same in the peen eengerembea the dignity of, and tends to sap loyalty iOl/111611 the throne, its public handling in the papa* will be prehilated, in the same manner as the ffiseumon of the right of the Duchess of Moatpsasler to the enseenice, a snidest inti mately cowateted with the Weft question - bis been prohibita-11. Two additional miniterial aepertamats s ill be gresali, separating the dim and easeasaree from that et ha arise Ina meg be better to, ge ra g i a =d it a solassisl-ase to take the &salsa of the ander ite naiades eare. Iselin the wene general nesavans, which vat le applied heraeWy, - as the ineJorft of Wiliam am ha weed egl2ll aa the been of their ,b -etratian, end a giedp el the egbit ia win vine th/ ta inirt ai t d va m c Ten. the hibuing grid rube= are ese hegenbastat—tfireara hatmenea, continuing kb eft 'omits! reforms, announced in the decrees of August 1 and 8, will publish others introducing important modi fications in the system of government monopolies.- 10. Senor Salamanca will actively promote the sole of na tional property, and will apply himself to every species of liquidation.-11. Senor Cordon has determined to put into immediate execution the decree framed by Senor Serrano in November, 1843, upon the recognition of the ranks and honours c onceded by the Duke of Victoria during his re gency.-12. Senor Cordova will also embody in a decree the favourable reception given by her Majesty to the late peti tion presented iby progresista senators and deputies on behalf of officers n the arm who shed their blood and spent their fortunes in the d efence of the throne of Isabel 11.-13. The some minister has also manifested a favourable opinion in behalfof the claims of the soldiers, corporals, and ser geants who served in the last civil war—claims acknowledged by the Cortes, 30th Sept., 1839, and recently favourably entertained by the government. —l4. The minister to be of grace and justice will find employment for the services of the magistrates and judges, that in consequence of their prin ciples have remained out of office since '43.-15. In the meantime to the same magistrates and indeed will be awarded an order on the treasury for not less than one-fifth of the pay which they received during their last employ- ment. _ _ These, then, are the chief features of Salamanca's bargain with the progresistas, and if he carries the same viForously and without delay into execution, he may, without doubt, count upon their support. The storm of opposition which is raised against him by the moderados may be easily conceived. But as the chief part of their arguments reduce themselves either to sheer abuse or raking up the antecedents of the present minis ter, as a banker, contractor, &c., they are really of very little weight No stain whatever rests on the cha racter of Salamanca, whatever vicissitudes of luck may have attended his career; and generally he bears the reputation of a man of jnteirrity and talent. For an adventurer (as he is disperaqm6ly called) to become minister is nothing new in Spain, where the regency, the best government which the country has seen, was headed by the son of a humble carretero. The weak point in Salamanca is his aunarWa con nexion. If he had strength of mind enough to lean more on the country and less on the court, his position would be much more respectable, and, perhaps, not less firm. It is said that Narvaes, having received orders from the government to return to Paris as ambassador, has resigned that poet. The Faro has been recently di recting a series of spiteful personal attacks a gain st Duke Ventura de la Vega, generally reputed a harm less person, without much political influence. It is supposed that the Faro, not being able safely to make a direct attack upon the Queen, wreaks its displeasure I upon her Majesty's secretary. The same paper flatters Concha with the view of keeping him out of office. FRANCE. The scientific congress of France opened its 15th session at Tours on the let of Sept.—Deksts. PARIS SAVINGS BANK.—The following is the re sult of the operations of the Paris Savings Bank : Money received by the Paris Savings Bank on Sunday, sth, and Monday, Bth Sept , from 5,600 deponents, 550 of whom are new ones, 604,006 franca. Reimbursements during the same week to 1,865 deponents, .508 of whom paid out, 566,653 francs. 92 centimes. Stock bouAt in for deponents during same week for a capital of 25,595 francs. Demands of reimbursements on the sth of Sept. kr 621,549 francs.— DOW& _ _ _ MURDER AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.—On Monday afternoon, a winc dealer named Boccage, whose shop formed the corner of the Rue du Bon Puits and the Rue Travervine, near the media des Plantes, had his life attempted by a man named Jafvier, a sawyer, who had long threatened to wreak upon him his vengeance under the impression that Boccage had seduced his wife from him. In fact Jafrier's wife had deserted him, and taken up her abode in the house of Boc cage, who, besides his wine trade, took in lodgers. Here she died two years ago, and yet the vengeful spirit in hairier had not left him . Watching his opportunity he found Roe cage alone behind his counter, and entering discharged one of a pair of pieols at him, an d turned the other against himself. The attempt at suicide failed, but Boccage, though not instantaneouely killed, is believed to be mortally wounded. Jafvier was immediately arrested. BELGIUM.—THE TRIPLE MURDER AT BRUSSELS. —Seri. 8.--Notwithstanding the most minute investigation, nothing certain has yet been discovered relative to the per• petrators of this dreadful crime •, it is, however, hoped that they may soon be traced. On Saturday afternoon a woman carrying a buket accosted a peasant with an air of great embarrassment, and inquired of him the road to the gate of Namur. He was about to point it out to her, when she com menced speaking in a hurried manner of the asausination, inquiring what was thought of it in the town, whether the murderers were found, &c. The bewildered look of the woman excited the suspicion of the peasant, who tome diately informed an officer who was near. This per son immediately joined the woman, and, entering into conversation with her, led the subject to the mur der ; and being also struck with her extreme em barrassment, gave her in charge of an agent of the police, wbo was passing. She was taken to the police-office, and in her basket was founds scrap of paper, on which was written: Evenepoel . . . . place Saint Gery . . . house inhabited by three women." The result of the investigation of this woman has not been made public ; all we know is, that the woman is still in custody. The two servants were interred at two o'clock on Saturday, at the cemetery of Molenbeck, in a very quiet manner. The remains of Mademoiselle Evenepoel were taken to the cemetery of Lacken, at four o'clock, attended by an immense crowd of persons. The hearse was followed by nineteen mourning coaches, con taining the relatives and friends of the deceased lady. TUE ANTWERP ELECTION.—ANTWERP, SEPT. 6. M. Rosier, Minister of the Interior, and M. Veydt, Minister of Finance, have been reelected representatives of Antwerp, the former by 640 votes , and the latter by 648, consequently out of 2,088 voters whose names are enrolled only 685 took part in the elections of the day. On the Bth of June last M. Cateaux Wattel had 781 votes, therefore 133 electors who gave their suffrages to the candidate of M. Rogier's political opinions in the month of June had absented themselves. In 184.5 M. Rogier had 1,064 votes, and M. Veydt 1,0.5.5 ; M. Veydt, therefore, had 407 votes less than in 1845, and M. Rogier 424. It is a pretty evident standard of public opinion. GERMANY.—PRUSSIA.—BERLIN, SEPT. 2. Tux rowels TazeLe.—The court was this day occupied with the case of Dr. LiebelL _ _ _ BErrmA.--The Berlin correspondent of the Co logne Gazette states that Madame von Arnim will not ap peal against her sentence, bat submit to the two months' imprisonment. GREECE.—DEFEAT OF GRIZIOTIS.—Acconnts just received from Athens state that the insurrection which was organised by GrisiotL u sons u b• e;cipeci from the prison of Cheris, has been completely put down by the royal troops. The number of his followers amounted to 4,000 men; they consisted of peasants and the lowest and most disreputable characters of the city. After General Grivu had taken preeautionary measures, sufficiently reinforced the :number of his regular and irregular troops, and hod surveyed the position chosen by the rebels, in the vicinity of Challis, after the island of Negroponte had been de clared in a state of blockade, and a royal proclamation had commanded the inhabitants to return peaceably to their homes, a simultaneous fire war opened upon the entrenchments and passes erected by the rebels. Grisiotis himself was wounded by the four first balls; his left hand was taken off, and the lower part of his body severely In jured. Quite unable, notwithstanding his personal bravery, any longer to take the command, he was carried by some of his people into the interior. From the report of General Grivas to the government, it appears uncertain whether he survived, as there was a great want of medical aid. Imme diately after Griziotis was gone, the insurgents took to flight. The loss was very great; and it is probable that the num ber of troops killed and wounded equalled the rebels. Active search is being made for Grisiotia, and he must certainly be taken unless he has effected his escape in an English steamer, which was seat to take him on beard at Kurni or Karysto. •be Court. ARDVEBIKIE, SEPT. 6.—An uninterrupted wet day, and her Majesty and the Prince were confined to the house. The Queen Dowager, attended by Lady Gore, Hon. Miss Mitchell, the Hart of Denbigh, and the Rev. G. T. Hudson, arrived at her residence, Bushy House, Bushy park, on Tuesday afternoon, from Randal's Pier Hotel, Hyde, Isle of Wight. The Duchess of Kent arrived at the New•croea sta tion yesterday afternoon, from the continent. Her royal highness proceeded to her residence, Froginore-lodge, near Windsor. The Prince of Leiningen arrived at Clarence House, St. James's, on Tuesday night, from a visit to the Queen at Ardverikie. Yesterday afternoon the Prince left Clarence House for the Paddington terminus, and took his departure for Slough by the Great Western Railway, afterwards pro• ceding to Frogs:tore-lodge, Windsor, to meet the Duchess of Kent. Major-General Bowles left Osborne, Isle of Wight, yesterday morning for town. A deputation, consisting of Mr. W. Gladstone, Mr. J. Gledetiles, and the Rev. S. Turner, on the pert of the Philanthropic Society, bad an interview with Sir G. Grey yesterday, at the Home-office. The Sheriff' of London and Middlesex had an interview yesterday with Sir G. Grey. The Eight Hon. H. Labouchere, President of the Board of T - rade, arrived in town yesterday morniner ard h e is seat, Btowey , Soniersetshire. The Marquis of C hes arrived in town. fiiir John Jervis, the Attorney-General, Lady Jerrie and family, Lady Disbrowe and suite, Count Schimmel , the Netherlands ambassador and eon, Captain = i 7 j ,‘ RN., and Baron Dietfurt, were among the pa mpa that embarked at Blackwall yeaterday morning on board the General Steam Navigation Company's mail atom ship Rainbow for Rotterdam. ARIITTAL OP THE DUCHESS OP KENT. The Duchess et Haut landed at Dover from Ostend at an early hour yeglerday Ammon, ander a royal *slate from Dover balsktat ea lealling her royal highness was received by a rata e t hoarier Rem the castle, the band striking up the = sk ew ! anthem. d. special train was in readiness at th e South Eastern terminus. The royal dachas wit reCeiTed b y J ame s M'Gregor, Esq., chairman of the baud of directors of the South Eastern Railway ; M. L. Pritchard, Esq. the deputy chairman; the Hon. James Byog, Capt. ryn c i e le, and °Wets of the directors. Mr. M'Gregor cop, ducted her royal highness to the railway state carriage. which was provided with delicacies by Messrs. Gunte r . The train stopped at New Cross, at which station horses wen waiting to convey. the duchess to Froginore Her royal highness here quitted the railway' train, acceptin g th e era of Mr. M'Gregor, who conducted her to the private car riage. Mr. Cudworth, the locomotive manager of the rail way, drove the engine from Dover to Louden. AN ENOLTSII AMBASSADOR AT ROMB.—Our cor, respondent in Rome—as will be seen by his letter—refers to • report current there that an envoy from the court ef St. James's, iu the person of Lord Minto, is on his way to the papal court. A similar report has been confidently repeated in London by parties who ought to be well informedon such • subject. TILE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. A meeting, attended by about two thousand per , sons, was held last evening at the Eastern Institution, Com. mercial.road, on the requisition of the above society. hb.. 0. Thompson presided. The Secretary having announced the receipt of several donations towards the society, among which were 101. from the Earl of Radnor, and 501. front " An Unknown Friend," Dr. Errs moved the first resolution : That every House of Commons hitherto elected under the pro. 'visions of the Reform Bill has contained a majority of meinden having no claim to the confidence of the earnest friends of civil end religious liberty; and therefore this meeting is of opinion that the time has arrived for creating a great national movement, foe the pur pose of extending to the whole people their political rights. After referring to the origin and progress of the Alliance, which had for its object the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty 'unity by all classes, while there were at the present time 6,1 11,000 adult males in this country, of whom not more than 1,000,000 had an electoral right, the great qua. Lion for them to agitate would be the right of voting, in order to secure a proper representation in parliament ; and there could be no doubt but that the thousands of pounds, and the thousands of thousands of hours that were spent in getting rid of bad laws, would all be saved by turning their attn. tion to the means which would lead to the formation of good ones. Mr. BitoOka briefly seconded the resolution, which was unanimously adopted. Mr. FRASER then proposed the second resolution : That the Notional Alliance, formed for promoting the union of all reformers, and having foe HA Objert the reel representation of the people in parliament, is worthy of the support of all rimers ; bemuse It seeks to extend the suffrage to every man of full age, to protect by vote by ballot, to abolish property qualifications, to establish electoral districts, to provide for the just remuneration of members of baba. meat, and to have parliament elected fora short and axed duration. He proceeded, in a brief address, to advocate generally the objects of the " People's Charter " and the " Bill of Rights," of which he prophesied the adoption at no very distant_period. Col. IttomesoN seconded the resclution. He thought that the election which had just been brought to a close had con siderably advanced the important objects which they had met to discuss—a fact which was, in a great measure, indi cated by the subdued tone of a large number of their &deer. series, and the extinction of the remainder. He came from • part Of the country which had given most marked evidence of the progress which had taken place. In the town which he alluded to there were men of all ranks and degrees, but there was no place in England where the extension of the suffrage walked in such good clothes. And why? Because those men who were declared not eligible to have a hand in select ing a representative had shown a fitness and intelligence which had given the lie to their opponents ; and he averred that there was no power in the country which could keep the numerous chums, when they had arrived at a proper degree of good sense and order, from being an important element in the representation of that country. There hod been times when such • state of things would be considered a step towards barbarism; but any man who advaneel such an opinion in the present day would have his banner pulled to pieces ; for there could be no doubt but that the working classes were fast becoming equal to the trust. Their cause would begin to progress rapidly when the rich men should find their own strength in the strength of those classes, and those powers equally shared of which they should only be made the depositors. There would then be no possibility of keeping the numerous class a slave class-(he used the words of a celebrated man) —as they were at present. Wan not everything changing— everything flowing on in all directions—and should the working theses alone stand as • thing in which no improve ment could be made ? He said :—Look around and see the middle clames—for he believed that none present claimed a higher rank—and ere how they occasionally show themselves in places where they can do the people service. The present was the great day of union between the middle and the ope rative classes ; and the end of that union would be that they would see a quiet removal of all the injustice of which the people complained ; and mere especially of that species of injustice which says that the working man is not capable of taking his ware into the great market of political arrange ment.—The resolution having been adopted, Mr. MIALL moved the third resolution . . . . That thin meeting pledges its to the earnest and active support of the movement, and that individually they will place themsch es in connexion with it, and use their unman endeavours to promote ill 50CCOM. . . Mr. HENRY VINCENT seconded the resolution. In the course of a long and energetic address, advocating similar principles to the preceding speakers, he pointed out the progress which was making towards a large aad beneficial reform, net only in England, but in every country in Europe —even in Rome itself. _ . The resolution ;;;Carried, and the usual complimentary vote to the chairman terminated the proceedings. DISABILITIES OF THE JEWS.—The members and friends of the association for removing the civil and religion disabilities of the Jews met on Tuesday evening at the Fish mongere-hall, Aldgate, for the purpose of celebrating its firs triumph in returning Baron Lionel de Rothschild for the City of London. The chair was taken by J. Mitchell, Esq., the chairman of the association. The cloth twirler been removed, the chairman proposed "The Health of the Queen," and in doing so said that it was pleasing to look back to a not very dist ant period, when under the reign of the sovereigns of this country certain portions of the City of Laudon were set apart for the dwelling of Jews, beyond the bounds of which they were not permitted to reside, and to cue pare that time of despotism and intolerance with the prated, when there woe no member of the Jewish persuasion is this errantry but was entitled to call himself a freeman, and who entertained the highest feeling of respect for that gracious Sovereign who now swayed a sceptre over the moo ex tended, the most liberal, and the most civilised empire on the face of the globe. The heaths of the " Queen Dowager," " Priam Albert, and the rest of the royal family," followed. 110 Mat tewe lt =s , bi , :le h eltairman was that of " Her was no doubt but that Mat geed be imputed hou ass* 1f they were powerfully brim rift spledeo ddlo gauntry. He finely due they wow pored to remove hest the brow of the Jew sue du t badge ef slavery with which it was then sad were prepared to party oat the imPtortaut sousoused by the citizens of Landes at the la* d ipotesi and equal rights to all, withoutdhlhslhadssuudes ardour, the just, the &Wei prisepbodeldl sodas liberty . The toast wee fe =ileatish" he ilesseeit sod most enthusiastic manner.— Lpesei, preposel " The Health of the Liberal Siederest du City of Ifseket who supported by their votes the amatelf civil and rebates' liberty at the last election for the C of Loudon." Theenat body of the Jews, not only in dolosseagry, but in all pen of the world, were under to their MI of the Christian nation for the ot i e di a l irthey bad so nobly adopted. They owed to those s amp doh. sif petitilde—one which he trusted would never Massed frail the heart of the long -oppressed Jew. The nu* lima was " Baron Lionel de Rothschild, and Civil and Relishes Liberty," which was received with oaths alum " Sumer to the Jewish Association for the Removal of Old and Religious Disabilities," and " The Press," Inv beg Wu toasted amidst much applause, the company ler hog se aWs hour. During the proceedings of the meeting tiVasiMiber of persons present enrolled themselves as etthe aseociation, some of whom bestowed man readdlialaurks of their approval of the objects of the aro delllen this Use mere enrolment of their names. (112131 M DISPENSART.—A quarterly meeting 01 the governors and trustees of this institution was held )eatet• day, at twelve o'clock, at the dispensary house, Aldan** sirest—W . Atkinson, Req., the chairman, said that he sr Cettto be compelled to inform them that the affairs of itution were by no means in eo good a CODSitiOS u their supporters could wish. He did not mean to convey that they were embarrassed, but there had been for the lest flor years a constant increase of patients, without ay •Orresponding enlargement of the subscriptions and door bona.—The Secretary said that it was the impression erg Nearly every one present that the finance department humid be referred to the sub-committee already appalls's , ' essider the general anrengements, with the view of phebrig the ereemortances of the institution before the public, WWI they biped to obtain sufficient support to cooties* *dr spondees as before. He was the more inclined to di& es as pmos even from the most distant parts Loden had hit dr lomat of their operations. In 1829 the entielter of patients dined was 6,121. Last year it had ire messed to 11,818, ad up to June in the present year 8,014 pumas wen relieved. showing a very great increase, while their drilled= esoishiled the same. It was true that 7501. had bees odedlood at the dinner, but that mer!ll kept the toner out of debt, and now he was into did mods. Under then circumstances, be p that the brae akin shoed/ be referred to the su b ' thmEit. tee.—The add was the pat and agreed to.—The Star tary stated doll Williae Atkinson, Req., and J. Woo* Req., had been menandhoi by the board of governors ss bliddloh — Thq muloVeleisil without opposition; and, after some ihrther doonellose from the Chairman, the meeng reparated. BANK 01 , ENOLAND.—MY. IL J. Prescott ene day elected deputy-governor, in the room of bir. den* who is now the governor. There were not many proprietors present, but among these some were found who took 101 sanguine a view of the prosperity of the Bank as to ow alder another bonus not altogether improbable. dr. Pilo cott is of the flan of Grote, Prescott, and Co., the bastes A PLusigo TESTIMONIAL. — EarIy in these days 4 omnibus cheapens, when the amount ef civility bus the coda sad driven is diminished in proportion to the redcap hue. it h dellgletel to be enabled to record a little tit' eiluslasee that occurred in one of the twopenny burn boa tr Heepollord to Paddington. The paaringers, who hyl Vria most deligh a r e surney, ane were peedble spirits, to the following to esiobistar and driver, which was proposed by " Oldie habitant," who bad got is at Hangtzford Mark" V I I