The Press. — London, England, 1854-09-23 00:00:00

894 different way : the instructions he has given me oblige me to press you to take a decisive line of action.' Well, I apprise you that my conscience will not permit me to be silent respecting so grave a circumstance, and I shall in form the Emperor, my master. He will not follow you in the path you wish to lead him in ; he will not follow you, because he will not be able ; and your sovereign, believe me, will end by finding himself isolated in the midst of Europe.' - A few days after this conversation, that was much alluded to in every Court of Germany, the Emperor of Austria wrote an autograph letter to the Emperor Nicholas (June, ISM), in which he said to him, ' that he relied on him for everything necessary to be done at Constantinople ; that he approved beforehand of everything ' • and that he should be prepared for everything.' This for M. de Meyendorff was a great but an ephemeral triumph, soon to be followed by a mighty fall. In fact, a reserved despatch was shortly after received at Berlin and London, wherein M. de Buol expressly declared that if the Emperor Nicholas made war on Turkey Austria would not second him. Nay, more, M. de Buol, while defining and limiting the neutrality of Austria, held up to view the cases iu which that neutrality would cease. This was the fruit of Prince Metternich's inspirations. M. de Meyendorff was consequently mistaken, and his error of judgment was shown still more by the daily course of events. Count Orloff's mission struck the first blow. It has been often asked what was the object of this mission. The Russian envoy was charged to make direct and personal representa tions to the Emperor Francis Joseph respecting some of his ministers and to advise their dismissal ; the Emperor Nicholas conceived that he had reason in particular to complain of M. de Buol, to whom he attributed old feelings of rancour. M. de Buol had filled at St. Peters burg the office of Minister from the Emperor of Austria. The story goes that on presenting to the Emperor Nicholas the letters that accredited him to his Court, he uttered a speech in which he said ' sent by his Government ; ' ' charged by his Government.' The Emperor unceremo niously interrupted him with, Speak of the Emperor, your master, sir; I only know him, and do not know what your Government is.' " Count Orloff failed ; but he learned from the mouth of Prince Metternich himself that M. de Meyendorff had been warned in time, and that, if he had so desired, he could have informed his Emperor, who would then perhaps have not 83 imprudently engaged himself. This was all the enemies of M. de Meyendorf wanted, and his recal was from that instant resolved on. Prince Gortachakoff, his successor, belongs to the Russian party ; the German party of St. Petersburg has been beaten in the person of M. de Ilteyendorff. " What has happened to this diplomatist is an example that lends its support to a thesis we have often heard main . ained, to the effect that, when affairs become aggravated, twhen Cabinets engage in serious discussions likely to end in a rupture or a simple suspension of diplomatic relations, when they go so far as to contradict each other, to watch each other, because they have interests opposed or different, those agents that have long resided at Vienna, Paris, or London are enfeebled by their habits and by the secret influence exercised over their intelligence and dispositions, by the circle they have lived in, and the society they have kept. If M. de Meyendorff had been less intimate with the society of Vienna, if he had not been lured along by his family alliance with M. de Buol, he would have taken counsel of himself alone, he would have been more clear sighted and more unbiassed, and probably he would have seen more correctly." EUPATORIA. THE following is the description of a place scarcely known the day before yesterday, but now of celebrity all over the world :—Eupatoria is a town of consider able trade, containing 12,1 1 00 inhabitants, and the possession of such a port is, in many respects, prefer able to that of a hastily fortified camp on an unin habited point of the coast. It is true that the harbour is ill protected from the weather, but it is not less sheltered than any other part of the Bay of Kalamita; while facilities must have been found for landing heavy stores at (a mercantile seaport which could not have been counted upon at other places which have been supposed favourable for disembarks tion. The alleged unhealthiness of Eupatoria is not very important, since the generals could have no desire to remain there ; and, indeed, a telegrapic despatch states that the army immediately com menced its march upon Sebastopol. The distance of the landing place from the chief point of attack may be thought to be a more serious objection ; but there may have been reason for believing that time would be saved by adopting a route which, as measured in miles, is comparatively long and circuitous. From the Katcha River to Fort Constantine is less than ten miles, while from Eupatoria to the later point is more than fifty ; but it may have been considered next to impossible to transport heavy artillery and ammuni tion from the former position into a practicable road, whereas one of the principal roads of the Crimea con nects Eupatoria with Simferopol, and anotherjoins the last-named town with Sebastopol. Following these lines of communication, the distance from the place where the allied army has landed to its ultimate des tination cannot be less than 100 miles ; but, unless a conveniently-practicable route exists in the neighbour hood of the coast, a march of even this length may have been deemed, on the whole, the easiest and most expeditious. It is probable, also, that the adoption of this course will secure the troops against their most formidable difficulty—the want of water. For about the first twenty miles the line of march appears N. THE PRESS. to run along the banks of salt lakes, without any vestage of a running stream ; but, further on, there are everywhere rivers at no great distance, and, beyond Simferopol, the road passes successive?) , near the sources of the Alma, the Kateha, and the Belbek. lortign and golonial 4nttiligente. FRANCE. The first meeting of the Imperial Commission, appointed by the Emperor to collect all the writings of Napoleon 1., is to meet at once under the presi dency of Marshal Valliant. It is reported that the labours of the commission will produce eight solid quarto volumes of matter, in which all the Emperor's decisions, directions, &c., on matters pertaining either to state policy, law, or diplomacy w►ll be arrayed. It is also reported that this great work will be pro duced in various continental languages. The architect of the new part of the Louvre has just notified to the Government that the new galleries in that building cannot possibly be ready for the Exhibition of the Fine Arts of all Nations next year. In consequence, a large plot of land has just been set apart in the neighbourhood of the Palais de l'lndustrie, where a temporary gallery will be erected for the occasion in question. The Constitutionned says:—" We are assured that it has been definitively decided that a harbour of refuge, capable of receiving the largest vessels of the state, shall be constructed at Boulogne-sur-Mer. The site of the port will be at the village of Chatillon, which is at the south-west of Boulogne. The port will be very useful, as at present large vessels passing in the Channel have no place of refuge. The expense is estimated at 18,000,0001. or 20,000,000 f. The Sentinelle of Toulon mentions the expected arrival in that port of some hundreds of Russian prisoners, who will be employed at reduced wages in the extensive works now going on there, the Government wishing that they should be pushed on with greater activity than the number of workmen that can be procured will allow. These men will be employed in the repairs of the fortifications, while the embankments and other works of that kind will be performed by natives. The Emperor left Boulogne on Saturday at noon, and arrived at Paris at five o'clock. In the evening his Majesty repaired to the Theatre Francais, and assisted at the representation of the drama of Adrienne Lecouvreur, in which Mademoiselle Rachel performed the part of that celebrated tragic actress. Another member of the Paris press, the Viscount de la Guerronniere, member of the Chamber of Deputies, has been appointed Councillor of State. The Moniteur publishes a long list of officers and soldiers of the army and navy, who, having distin•. guished themselves at the siege of Bomarsund, have received the decoration of the Legion of Honour or the military medal. The Emperor has also conferred the military medal on a number of non-commissioned officers and men who zealously attended the sick during the prevalence of cholera in the army of the East. We read in the Moniteur :—" We are happy to have it in our power to contradict the report of the death of General Espinasse. Having returned to France, in an almost dying state, from an attack of cholera, this gallant officer is now sufficiently re covered to return to the East. He came to Boulogne to take leave of the Emperor, and is now awaiting the orders of his Majesty for Marshal de St. Amend." The Emperor, who bad left Paris during the week to fetch the Empress from the Pyrennees, returned to the Tuileries on Thursday. BELGIUM. The Emancipation of Brussels replies as follows to all the insinuations which have been put forth relative to the journey of King Leopold : " The King, who is going into Switzerland and to Como forthe benefitof his health, will return to Brussels aboutthe middle of October. The excursion of his Majesty has not been dictated by any political idea, and the reports which have been circulated to the contrary are entirely void of foundation. It is certain that his Majesty will preside at the opening of the Chambers." A letter from Brussels announces that the Minis ters have withdrawn their resignation, thus putting an end to the ministerial crisis. HOLLAND, The States General were opened on Monday by a speech from the King, of which the following are extracts : " I continue to receive from all foreign powers marks of amity and friendship. This fact, considering the present political position of Europe, is extremely satisfactory to me. The neutrality which we adopted has been strictly maintained, and, as we have scrupulously observed our obligations towards foreign States, we may on our side expect to see our rights respected The resistance to our authority which we have experienced from the Chinese in the island of Borneo has, I am happy to say, been overcome by the valour of our troops. The general situa tion of our colonies is satisfactory, although the sanitary SATURDAY, state of our Indian possessions hasleft much to be desired. The latest accounts from those colonies permit us to hope that the evil will be subdued by the prompt and efficacious measures adopted by the authorities. The harvest in these colonies promises to be abundant, and, according to the reports received up to this time flow the various pro vinces, the crops in our own country promise to be equally favourable.. We continue to improve the state of our rivers, and we are also actively engaged with the ameliora tion of all waterways of importance. During the past year the Netherlands has been brought into communication at two different points with the railroads of the neighbouring States, and there is every reason to hope that a third junc tion will soon be made. I pay particular attention to the development of this means of communication, which is so necessary to the trade and industry of the country. Active measures are being taken for the augmentation of the tele graphic lines in the interior. These lines will be placed in communication with those of foreign States. Notwith- standing the impediments caused by the present war to our commercial relations, our trade, navigation, and naval organisation remain in as prosperous &condition as present unfavourable circumstances will permit. The financial position of the country continues to be satisfactory The national debt should undergo an investigation, with a view to its reduction A project of law upon the first and second class instruction will be laid before you in a short time. The law relating to the superior cicssea of instruction will also undergo amelioration ; and finally, you will have ample opportunities of showing your zeal and interest in the different scientific institutions of our country." There have been serious riots at Schiedam, ostensibly on account of the price of bread, but really on religious grounds. A Roman Catholic priest residing in Schiedam recently abjured his faith, and became a Protestant. Zealous for the cause he now advocated, lie denounced, in a public lecture, as a wicked invention of priestcraft, all the rites of the Roman Catholic Church. As the Roman Catholics are equal in numbers to the Protestants, the former determined on a trial of strength with the latter. The mob collected in groups, got up one cry against the bakers, and another against an unfor• tunate milkman, whose jealous dame bad publicly iccussd him of improprieties with the dairy-maid. But these were but rallying cries ; their object was to put into execution their threat of tearing limb from limb the apostate to his faith and the reviler of their religion. lle, however, escaped their fury, and fled—whither no one seems to know. But the police—only eight in number—were insufficient to check this riot. The military were summoned, who, on arriving, had to fire over over the mob, in order to alarm them into order. Two men, however, were killed. The town is now subdued into quietness. SPAIN. r Several foreigners have received orders to leave Madrid, and some of them have been conducted to the frontiers of Portugal. It is said that several refugees of different countries have left London for Madrid, with passports from the ambassador of a certain power which is not too friendly to Spain. The Espana declares that the rumours which had been current of the retirement from the Cabinet of M. Santa Cruz and M. Alonso, Ministers of the Interior and Justice, are unfounded; and the Clamor Public° says the same thing. The Junta of Valencia, in imitation of those of other principal towns in Spain, had ceased its functions. Madrid was quiet, but the public mind was far from easy, and reports of a new rising were rife on all sides. The friends of the Government declare these reports to be mere inventions of the enemy, but they none the less serve to agitate the public mind. The grandees of Spain cannot leave the place where the Court resides without the royal permission ; and the Espana says that twenty petitions have been sent in to the major-domo of the palace by members of that body for leave to go abroad. ITALY. The third portion of the telegraphic wire con necting the island of Sardinia with the coast of Africa is already attached. From Rome we learn that the cholera has caused the dispersion of the corps diplomatique in various directions. The Russian ambassador has proceeded to the baths of Aix ; the Sardinian ambassador to Frascati ; the Netherlands ambassador remains at Brussels ; the Bavarian ambassador is on the Tuscuelan hills. The Spanish ambassador, Castello y Ayensa, sent in his resignation to Madrid imme diately upon receiving the first intelligence of fo the revolutionary turn of events in Spain ; bu t was re stalled, General Narciso Infante having a l rea dy been appointed as his successor, whose appointment, how ever, will probably be cancelled. RUSSIA. The following letter, dated St. Petersburg, Sept. 9, given by the Berlin National, describes the effect produced by the recent Imperial ukase, ordering another levy of recruits, upon the extended scale of ten men per thousand souls, throughout the western half of the empire : " The long-dreaded Anse (to the above effect) has at length appeared. It is 'noticed on the extension of the l ei served army (whereas it is notorions that the so - ca lle, reserves are not formed of recruits, but of soldiers who ummoommiiiiiiid