The Press. — London, England, 1858-08-07 00:00:00

CHINA. Mr. WHITE inquired whether the Government had any astistaetury information to communicate with re ference to proceedings in China. The CHANCELLOR Of the EXCHEQUER said, that the last information received from China was certainly of a satisfactly nature, tending to ju,tify the conclusion that increased activity in that quarter would lead to the result which the hon. gentleman no doubt desired. At this point of the proceedings Sir A. Clifford, Gentleman• Usher of the Black Rod, entered the house, and summoned the Speaker and the assembled Commons to the House of Lords to witness the royal assent to several bills, and to hear the commis sion read proroguing the Parliament. The Speaker and the members present accordingly proceeded to the House of Lords. Upon their return, The SPEAKER, standing at the table, while the tnernbers were grouped around, stated that, though the Parliament was prorogued, it might be agreeable to hon. members if, in conformity with old practice, be read to them the Royal Speech, a cupy of which he had obtained. When the Speaker had concluded reading the speech i.he Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Pal merston, and many other members shook hands with the right hon. gentleman, and the proceedings ter minated at a quarter to three o'clock. THE SESSION. WE abridge from the Standard of Monday last the following summary of the session:— The Imperial Parliament, which will this day be prorogued by Royal Commission, has been sitting exactly eight months. It was called together hastily on the 3nl of December last in consequence of the suspen sion of the Bank Charter Act. It was in the midst of the crash of falling banks, and the ruin of large commercial establishments, that the letter signed by the then Premier, Lord Palmerston, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, authorizing the Bank of England to exceed its legal issue of notes, appeared, and immediate relief was felt ; discount, which was then at 101. per cent., quickly fell to 61., 51., and even lower, and the consequence was a general restoration of public confidence. Ministers were accordingly enabled to meet Parliament in the same spirit, and the Palmerston Administration was probably never stronger than at the opening of this session, which has witnessed its fall, and the formation of a Conservative Government. Parliament only sat just long enough to enable it to pass the necessary Indemnity Bill, and ad journed until the 4th of February. Before its re assem bling, however, a great event had occurred. A conspiracy against the life of the Emperor of the French had been organized, and on the 12th of January an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate him while going to the Opera, in company with the Empress, was made. Several infernal machines were thrown at the carriage of the Emperor, which exploded, killed six, and wounded 200 of the populace. When it became known that these machines had been constructed in Birmingham, and that the assassins had made their preparations in this country, general exasperation was felt in France, and many of the addresses from the army contained menacing expressions against England. Accordingly, the moment Parliament reassembled, the Earl of Derby in the House of Lords, and Mr. Roebuck in the Commons, brought the subject before it, and inquired what the Government intended to do. Lord Palmerston replied by bringing in the Con spiracy to Murder Bill, which was read a first time on the Bth by a majority of 200 for Ministers, and the second reading fixed for the 19th. Before that time, however, the despatch of the French Foreign Minister became public, in which it was stated that in this country assassination was elevated to a doctrine, preached openly. Accordingly, when Lord Palmerston, on the 19th, moved the second reading of the bill, Mr. Gibson moved a counter resolu• tion, that it was not expedient to legislate before that despatch had been answered, and carried his amendment, in a very full house, by a majority of 19—the numbers being 234 against 215. The Ministers accordingly resigned, and the present Government was appointed. Although the present session has lasted eight months, yet, in consequence of the numerous adjournments result ing from the breaking up of the Cabinet and other circum stances, the actual number of days on which the two houses have sat is perhaps not more than usual. During the whole session, from its commencement in December to its termi nation today, the Lords have sat on 83 days, the average length of each day's sitting being 2 hours 34 minutes, and the total number of days and hours it has occupied in the actual transaction of business, computed at 12 hours a day, is 17 days 7 hours and 10 minutes. The number of divisions taken in the House of Lords during the session has been 19, of which no less than 12 were taken in July, showing the enormous amount of bua'ness thrown into the last month of the session. The most im portant division of their lordships was that which was taken on the 14th of May, when the Earl of Shaftesbury's resolu tion, condemnatory of the present Government, was re jected by 107 to 151. This was also the most protracted sitting, their lordships being occupied in debate eight hours and five minutes. The Commons sat on 103 days, the average length of each day's sitting being eight hours. The house has been occupied in the actual transaction of busi ices, estimating the business day at 12 hours, 67 days 101 bodrs. The total number of hours it has sat after midnight iistAle. 'The two most protracted sittings of the Commons wars on July Bth and 12th, on each of which days the house met at twelve o'clock a.m., and did not separate till THE PRESS, AUGUST 7, 1858. two p.m. the next morning, which, allowing two hours for the suspension between four and six, gave a sitting of exactly twelve hours. The number of divisions taken during the whole session is 172, of which Hl were taken in July. It was counted out twice—once as late as halt-past one in the morning, and another time between eight and nine p.m. There has not been a single "no house" for the session. The most important division in the Com mons was that on Mr. M. Gibson'3 amendment, which threw the Whig Administration out of office. The present session of Parliament has witnessed the passing of several important measures. The long-con tested question of the admission of Jews has been set at rest, and Baron Rothschild, introduced by Lord J. Russell, took his seat on Monday last. After great discussion, a bill, transferring the government of India from the East India Company to the Crown, has passed. Among other important measures, a bill has passed abolishing property qualification for members of Parliament. foreign anb (Colonial Intelligence. FRANCE. The Moniteur publishes a report to the Emperor from Prince Napoleon relative to the system of administration which his Imperial Highness intends to pursue in the affairs of Algeria and the colonies. We subjoin the following extracts from it, which alone are of any general interest:— The Governor-General shall be nominated on the pro position of the Prince charged with the Ministry of Algeria and the Colonies, shall depend only on him, and conse quently shall correspond only with him, except as regards acts purely and exclusively military, and which do not specially interest Algeria. The questions which regard the position of the Prince charged with the Ministry of Algeria and the Colonies, when he shall be in Algeria and the colonies, especially as concerns the command of troops, shall be regulated hereafter with the approbation of your Majesty. The commission has recognized in principle the necessity of attaching to the Ministry of Algeria and the Colonies, in conformity with what was indicated in the projects presented to your Majesty, the Affairs of Justice, Public Worship, Public Instruction, and Finance, which were detached from the Ministry of War in 1848. The Ministry of Algetia and the Colonies will have to come to an understanding with the respective Ministers to effect the transfer of those affairs, and to submit the conditions to the approbation of the Emperor. The officers of engineers and the agents of the intendance shall continue to give their co-operation in the works and in the settlement of expenses in the military territory. The per sons employed in the Arab bureaux shall he placed at the disposal of the Ministry of Algeria and the Colonies. Inter preters shall depend on that Ministry, as they have always been more of a civil than a military character, and the selection of them can only be effected by the central administration of Algeria. As regards the direction of affairs, the following princi. plea, clearly fixing the attributes of the new Ministry, have been established. All despatches, without exception, which concern political matters and the administration, and all those which, though having a military character, concern the situation of Algeria, shall he addressed to the Prince charged with the Ministry of Algeria and the Colonies, subject to the communication, when necessary, by that Ministry to the Ministry of War of the despatches which may concern the latter. The correspondence rela tive to the internal administration of the various corps, to purely military questions, and to military justice, except in certain trials of Europeans or natives by courts-martial, shall be transmitted to the Ministry of War. Mr. Sams, of St. James's-street, bad a private audience this week of the Emperor at the Palace of St. Cloud, for the purpose of submitting to his Majesty, on the part of the committee, the plan for the Dramatic College, or asylum, at Langly, and . soliciting his support of it, which the Emperor graciously promised. A circular is said to have been issued by the Minister of the Interior, forbidding the newspapers to occupy themselves with the private life of the Emperor, to reproduce attacks upon public func tionaries, or to publish letters from members of former Legislative Assemblies. It is added that, in consequence of this prohibition, a letter from M. de Montalernbert, which was intended to see the light, is denied publicity. BELGIUM. The Chamber of Deputies, by a vote of 53 members against 39, has rejected the Government measure for the fortification of Antwerp. At two o'clock on the morning of the 2nd instant the Antwerp Exchange was totally destroyed by fire. Nothing was saved. AU the archives of the admi• nistrative bodies are destroyed. The Indipendance Bilge of Tuesday contains the following letter from Antwerp, dated Monday, 2 30 a.m.:— At the moment I write an immense disaster is occurring in our city. The Bourse of Antwerp, that place to which so many glorious souvenirs are attached, and which by its late improvement, its fairylike covering, had become the admiration of all foreigners, is nothing more than a heap of rubbish and smouldering ashes. The glass roof fell with a frightful crash, and the enormous pieces of the metal framework broke like glass on falling to the ground. Every part of the building, in fact, is destroyed, and it was with great difficulty that the neighbouring houses could be preserved. The civil and military authorities, the troops, the firemen, every one, indeed, did their duty, but nothing could be done as to the Bourse, which will be burnt to th e last fragment of wood. The fire appears to have aris en io an upper room, on the side of the Courte Rue des Cla:re s , It was there, at least, that the names were first seen, and is half an hour the place was enveloped in fire. The Bourse chamber of Commerce, th e Tribunal, and theo n the Syndics' Chamb er o f the Stock. b c rok taß e i r en s ce , °d t rcl h t Y ffi Sy c n e. ti ice! Chamber of the Antwerp Broken, and the Telegraph Bureaus. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is saved. All the archives of these various bodies are lost . I have just returned from the scene of th e disaster, and, in spite of the united efforts of a crowd of workmen and the engines, the fire continues. The ceilings which surmounted the arches of the interior galleries have jug caught fire, and Dart of the turret on the side of the Place de Meir has fallen. NAPLES. The following is the account given of the co ur t and prisoners during the late political trial :—Thejud es who have presided at it have been the President, Dallis (who was Attorney-General at the tri a l o f the unfortunate Bandieres), Corona, Baeeicalupi, Sab e lli , De Mann's, Tommasuolo, Politi, Coneihs, and Attorney-General Pacifico. The President through out has conducted himself with great mildness, and generally with impartiality, while the Attorney General, who like March opened with storms, has calmed down into a lull. Francesco La Francesca, the first of this distinguished band, was " latitanti" for three months last year. It is a term well known in this country, and describes one who flies and con ceass himself for fear of persecution. Why was he menaced ? God knows ; ask the Government. Francesca was the counsel for Captain Sitzia and his crew, and they can never forget his devotion. Raffaele Carelli was counsel for the mass of the Ponza prisoners, and defended them bravely. Two years only have passed since he was confinato in Naples for four months, to the injury of his professional occupations and the 'interruption of his social peace. Diego Tajani, counsel for Nicotera and his sixteen associates in one of the most daring and ill-judged enterprizes ever undertaken, was confinato to Vieui at the commencement of the trial for fifty-five days, was prohibited from bringing a dying wife to Salerno, and even now is compelled to return every night to Vieth. Antonio La Mea, a young advocate, who also defended the Ponza prisoners, if he has not suffered persecution himself, belongs to a family that has been, and that is, marked by the police ; yet both he and the other advocates above named have never shrunk from duty, but have given proofs of civil courage which have awakened the admira tion of all who have witnessed their conduct. During the trial Park and Watt have been rescued from the fangs of injustice. The Sardinians were liberated after a long interval of time; one of them, Fromento, has since died, and the responsibility of his death rests upon the treatment he received in the prisons of the Two Sicilies. Others, too, have died. Two hundred and one prisoners now wait to be seat to their several destinations ; fifty-six others will be sent to Ponza to enjoy the very doubtful privilege of being under the surveillance of the police. The sentence had granted a suspension of punishment to four, as having voluntarily given themselves up after the conflict; a rescript, which was not opened till the last moment, accorded the same to the other three. No one, therefore, entertained any doubt as to the reprieve; and there was, in fact, no ground for doubt. The consternation was, therefore, general when it became known that on the evening of July 20 the Attorney-General had sent for Signor Tajani, the counsel for Nicotera, and told him that he had made a mistake; that the order which be had received was not to suspend the execution, but to report the result of the trial ; and that if by midday of the 21st an order for suspending the execution did not arrive he should be compelled to put three of the prisoners In capella. Tajani protested in the strongest manner against this barbarous deceit, but to no purpose. Ho and his brother advocates were compelled im me- diately to start for Castellamare, where the h.ing is residing, and demand an audience. They were re ceived, it is said, coldly by his Majesty, who would not hear them, but simply ordered them to leave their statement and petition with his secretary, Major Severino. Even from this unsatisfactory rec e p tion it was nevertheless inferred that a grdzia wou ld be granted, and the relief to the inhabitants of Sa le r no was great and general. During the interval of an xiet y, which prevailed very many bad visited the churches and interceded for the preservation of the lives of the prisoners. Of the public executioner, it is add ed that during the day he had been occupied in getting tl!e chapel ready and preparing the instrument of death, and that at night he presented himself at the prtson door to know if his services were ne eded, and vikr , driven away by the soldiers, who were indignant at his brutality. By the latest intelligence we learn that the King has commuted the sentences of death passed upon_ the seven men, convicted at Sapri. Nicotera arid two others are to be sent to the galleys for lite. The other four will remain prisoners in irons for twenty five years. The sentence makes no allusion either to the English or Sardinians.