The Press. — London, England, 1857-10-31 00:00:00

1052 by a sovereign chosen from a great Western family. This is a legitimate pretension, but before arriving at a conclusion so important, many points will have to considered, and great precautions taken that no other power is injured by such a definite result. The opponents to the Union say " that the new king. dom will be too weak to protectitself, and that sooner or later it will become the prey of one or other of its powerful neighbours." This argument is based on false grounds. Take for instance Belgium. We all remember when the British Government determined with France to erect that country into an indepen dent kingdom, the same objections were made by the opnonenta to the measure. We were then told that Belgium would sooner or later be again the Depart ment of the Dyle, and that we should once more find the French frontiers pushed out to the Rhine. Nearly twenty-five years have elapsed, and Belgium remains unmolested—ay, even more. The formidable double line of fortresses, about which so much was said and much more written, remain as they were previous to l8:11, and are to this day garrisoned by Belgian troops. The obvious reason for all this is, that Belgium is a neutral State, placed under the protection of the European powers. As it is w►th Belgium, so would it be with Roumania. Can any one for a moment believe, that had Roumania been a neutral kingdom, previous to the invasion of Bessa rabia by the Russians, the Emperor Nicholas would ever have crossed the Pruth ? Certainly not. There can therefore be no objection, on the ground of the invasion by a powerful neighbour, to the erection of Roumania into a new kingdom under the sovereignty of the Porte. But there are many o'her weighty objections, and those objections will be duly discussed and considered, before the Emperor clmes to a final decision. In the opinion of diplo rnstists of all ranks now in Paris, Lord Stratford de R .dcliffe, whether acing with or without instructions, close an indifferent moment for bringing about a change in the Ottoman Ministry. It was a sort of defiance to France, and with any other sovereign not possessing the strong mind and sound political views of the Emperor it might have produced an effect contrary to the hopes of that distinguished diplomatist or his rush chief. The arrival of Baron de Bourqueney in Paris has created a certain sensation, and it is generally sup • posed that he is the bearer of the views of the Court of Austria upon the question of the union of the Danubian provinces. The situation of the Bank of France is, as coin pared with the money market throughout Europe, far from being unsatisfactory, and it is now certain that the payments at the end of the year will be effected without any serious financial crisis. Money at present is not scarce. Rents for October have been readily paid, bread has fallen in price, and the harvest is most abundant. The Court continues at Compeigne. Our aristo cracy, owing to the continuance of fine weather, remain at their country seats this year longer than usual, but we have in the capital a great number of distinguished foreigners. M. Barthelemy Lasagni, who, although an Italian, was for nearly forty years a distinguished member of the French magist?acy, and at one time President of the Court of Cassation, died at Rome on the 24th October, aged eighty-four years. When M. Lasagni, on his arrival in Paris in 1810, was presented to the Proeureur-General Merlin, Lasagni being then only thirty-six years of age, a gent'eman present remarked that he was very young to be named a judge. Merlin replied, "It is a good fault ; wish I possessed it." . _ . . The Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian returned to Venice on the 20th. His Highness was followed by four huge frigates and other minor vessels. All these ships got through without difficulty the Pass of Malamocco, end anchored in the Lagune at the month cf the Canal Spignoni. Great credit is due to the engineers who undertook the arduous work for facilitating the entrance into the port of Venice. It is expected that ere long vessels of the heaviest tonnage will he able to anchor at the point of the public gardens. When the new canal is finished, merchant vessels will be able to discharge their cargoes at the terminus of the Lombardo-Venetian railway. _ _ „ A new list of refugees who are permitted to return to the Lombardo•Venetian domains was published in the official journal of the 22nd October. A curious pamphlet, under the title of ” Napoleon the Third in Germany," has just appeared in Paris. It is a translation from the original German. The object of the writer is to point out the Emperor of the French as the person destined to effect a permanent reconciliation between France and Germany. It was written shortly before the Emperor went to Stuttgardt to meet the Emperor Alexander, and was meant to call upon the Germans to bid welcome to a sovereign who came among them, not only to hold an interview with the Czar of Russia and to make additional ad vances towards the maintenance of the general peace, but "to heal former heartburnings and jealousies which bad arisen between German THE PRESS, OCTOBER 31,1857. and France during the old revolutionary war, and which have never yet perfectly subsided." The writer begins by reminding his readers that Napo leon 111. was, in point of fact, brought up in Germany, and spent there several of his early years, and on that account deserved a warm reception. He thinks, however, that the visit of a French Emperor may:awaken some of the former hostile reminiscences of patriotic Germans, for he takes care to add : I hear the cry which an antiquated patriotism utters at these words. 1 do not forget all that a blind bate and paltry jealousy, set in action by many different springs, have dared to say and do for the last seven years against the government of the Emperor. In fact, it is exactly that which induces me to take up my pen. He then goes on to show that a careful and attentive observation of the policy of Napoleon convinces him that all those persons are in error who attribute to him either inordinate ambition, or a wish to profit either by the strength be has bestowed on France or the weakness of the neighbouring powers. And first, with reference to the internal policy of the Emperor, he points out that in the same way that Napoleon T. restored order after the revolutionary orgies of 1793, did Napoleon 111. heal the wounds inflicted by the disturbances of 1849, and he defends with some show of reason the restrictions imposed upon the Frenc h press:— Bet we are now told, and asked to believe, that France repents of her work. That she is discontented, and that this discontent is owing in particular to the yoke which weighs upon the press of France. Itut it must not be forgotten that the particular position in which France has found herself has necessarily created a particular position for her press. In no other country are the rights of the reigning dynasty called in question; in England less than any other. It is altogether different in France. He points out with what constant and untiring zeal Napoleon has been supported by the peasantry as a proof that the great mass of the population are favourable to his rule, and that, in fact, the expecta tions the nation entertained have been fully borne out by the policy the Emperor has followed. In reference to the external policy of France under her present ruler, he calls the attention of his readers to the whole course of Napoleon's career in his rela tions with foreign countries, and, basing his state ments on the famous Bordeaux declaration that " L'Empiro c'est la raiz," he claims admix• sion of the fact that the Emperor has done his best to carry out that declaration, and in conclusion sums up rapidly the general position of Eurcpe, showing that Belgium, Spain, Prussia, and Denmark acknowledge the good offices of the Emperor. Altogether the pamphlet is fairly written, and is noticeable from the fact of its being written by a German. ( foreign an (Colonial ]ittelligenre. FRANCE. The Court continues at Compeigne. The tone of the French papers upon events in India is on the whole satisfactory. They acknow ledge the success at Delhi as legitimate, and do not generally seek to underrate its effects._ _ - The recent diplomatic changes at Constantinople at first called forth a storm of indignation upon the head of Lord Stratford. The Pays charges Turkey with ingratitude, and the Patrie says it is impossible that England can tolerate such manoeuvres " with out complomiEing, her own dignity and the peace of Europe." An article in the Constitutionnel of Wednes day would seem to indicate an intention on the part of the French Government not to press for the union of the Principalities in the approaching Congress. . . The Government papers deny positively that there is any foundation for the report that the Government entertains the question of giving banknotes a forced currency. Indeed, the Emperor is known to be strongly opposed to the proposal. PRUSSIA. A Cabinet order, issued on Friday last, and based on the formal opinion of the physicians, who state that the King must abstain from public business for at least three months, confers upon the Prince of Prussia the direction of the supreme affairs of the Statd for the said period of three months, unless, contrary to all expectation, the King's health should be re-established sooner. The order of the Cabinet invited the Prince to take upon himself the execution of its provisions. On the following day the Prince of Prussia ad dressed to the Ministers a statement, in which, after announcing his acceptance of the royal powers con • ferred upon him, he declares it to be his firm will to conform faithfully to the constitution and laws of the country, and to direct the affairs of the Government " according to the intentions of the King," known to him, so long as his Majesty shall think fit. The Prince adds that he expects from the army, the functionaries, and the subjects of the King, that they will pay him due obedience. The Ministers collective]'•, and each of them individually, will re main charged with the same responsibilities as be fore. The Ministry of State and the several de• partments, together with the military and civil a d. ministrations, will be maintained in the same con ditions. The decrees of the Prince will bear the signs. Lure :—By 'delegation of his Majesty the King : the Prince of Prussia. The Ministerial journal, Le Temps, announces that the Prussian Government has directed its re. presentative at the Diet to demand, without loss of time, the intervention of the Germanic Confedera tion in the Holstein question, and to request the support of Austria. With regard to the views of Prussia towards the Principalities, we learn from good authority (say s a letter from Vienna in the Bourse Gazette of Berlin) that the policy of Prussia relative to the Principali ties has lately undergone a very essential modifica tion, and it is very probable that in the Conference of Paris Prussia will vote curainst the union. On the 21st inst. Count Lavradio, the Portuguese Envoy Extraordinary, applied formally to the Prince of Hohenzollern for the hand of his daughter, the Princess Stephanie, in the name of his master the King of Portugal. It is already settled that after the preliminary espousals by proxy the bride elect is to proceed to Lisbon in the steam yacht Grille, which will be convoyed thither by the frigate Thetis, which has just been commissioned nominally for a cruise in the Mediterranean. According to the latest arrangements, Prince . Frederick William will come to England in the early part of next month, and stay at our Court until after the birthday of the Princess Royal. LISBON. The terrible fever, which some declare to be the real vomito, and which is ravaging this city, con tinues to spread. The deaths average from eighty to ninety daily. The King is behaving in the most kingly manner. He refuses to leave the palace of the Necessidades, daily rides through the streets of Lisbon, and does everything in his power to calm the fears of his people. The movement everywhere (says one writer), and among all classes, is to get out of the town and into the open county} : So many people have left Lisbon that the altered state of things is obvious to everybody. There is no appearance of life, no business—the shops are shut up; no carriages wake the echoes of the silent streets ; on 'Change it is the same, hardly a dozen merchants are to be found at the hours of business: few bills are negotiated, and everything in the shape of trade is paralysed. THE NEW SPANISH MINISTRY. The Cabinet is now definitively constituted, and is as follows :—President of the Council and Minister of War, General Armero ; Foreign Affairs, Martinez de la Rosa ; Justice, Casaus ; Finance, Alexandro Mon ; Marine, Admiral Bustillo; Gober• nacion, Bermudez de Castro ; Interior, Salaveria ; Governor of Madrid, Marquis de Corbera. TURKEY. Redschid Pacha has once more returned to power. Further Ministerial modifications are expected. The Courrier de Constantinople of the 21st announces that a great financial operation is pro jected by the Turkish Government with the Ottoman Bank. It is to involve a loan of 200,000,000 francs at ten per cent., destined to liquidate the debts of the civil list, to withdraw a portion of the paper money, and to restore the exchanges to their normal state. AMERICA. The intelligence from America, which reaches down to the I 7th inst., is on the whole satisfactory. The great monetary crisis is considered to be at end. The banks have g'nerally resolved to suspend specie payments. A 3espatch from Washington says : It is not true, as stated, that the Government of Ni- caragua have recognised and agreed to the details of the treaty with that Republic adopted at a Cabinet meeting. The question is still under consideration. Yrissari, the Minister of Nicaragua, has left for New York. The statement that Lord Napier had given orders to the British squadron in the Gulf to arrest the Filibusters is wholly untrue. There had been some rioting at Baltimore. airnl aitlJ Vilitarg Ititiligtat. THREE ADDITIONAL REGIMENTS OF LIGHT CAVALRY, composed of small men, from five feet to five feet five inches in height, will be raised immediately by the East India Company, for service in India. Two TROOPS OF HORSE ARTILLERY are to be added to the regiments of artillery for service at home. LIEUTENANT-COLONEL NEWMAN, it is reported, will succeed to the colonelcy of the South Glouces tershire Militia, in succession to the late Earl Fitz hardinge. THE colonelcy of the 35th Regiment, vacant by the death of General Sir George Berkeley, will in all probability be conferred on Major-General John Leslie,