The Press. — London, England, 1855-05-12 00:00:00

tprtign cartspontnut. BRUSSELS, Wednesday. AT the latter end of last year there were three Russian agents in this place—the Princess Lieven, M. de Kisseleff, and M. de Creptowitch. They fulfilled to the letter their several missions. Each was distinct from the other. The princess bad passed many years in England—had been intimate with its leading statesmen and the Great Duke in the time of George IV.—had been admitted to their most intimate councils—had been a party to their State secrets—had mastered the minutest intricacy of our national statistics, military, political, and com mercial—had a son educated at Harrow—tinged her Greek orthodoxy with a Protestant colouring, and persuaded even the Great Duke and the lesser Aber deen that Russia fraternised heart and soul with free and generous England. She went to Italy to recon noitre, and praised the "Eroe di Lancastro." On returning to England she found it safe, well packed and directed for Russian use, "duce, duce," and then took up her residence at Paris. The revolutions of 1848—the French Republic and the Empire—were watched with attention by the Princess Lieven and M. Kisseleff, and with out doubt they conveyed incorrect information to the Emperor Nicholas. The incorrectness was not as to common fact, but related to the motives and the state of parties. The late Emperor Nicholas himself is the authority for this assertion. Lord Palmerston had been dismissed ; Lord Derby had been defeated by a coalition of Whigs, Radicals, and Peelites; the Coburg policy was in the ascendant ; and Lord Aber deen, the friend of Nicholas, was Premier. The dislike of the Whigs and Peelites to the Emperor Napoleon had been expressed by three of the (loan. Lion Ministers—Lord John Russell, Sir James Gra ham, and Sir Charles Wood—and was shared by Lord Aberdeen, who wanted the sincerity to avow it. The insecurity of France, the alleged repugnance of England, under Lord Aberdeen, to the empire, and the overt leaning of the Ministry to Russia, were reported to the Emperor Nicholas without comment. Relying upon this fallacious intelligence, he deemed the moment had arrived to carry out his designs upon Constantinople. He was deceived by the Princess Lieven, M. Kisseleff, and M. de Brunow, and these were deceived themselves. The princess and M. Kisseleff came to Brussels, where was stationed the Muscovite and unscrupulous Creptowitch. The Belgians are easily imposed upon and led, especially by such practised adepts as Russian diplo matists. Besides, no people are more anxious to seize an opportunity of offence as those who are under obligation to others. The Belgian obligations to France and England were for her actual inde pendence—the acknowledgment first, and then the protection of her nationality. The Russians found the ground ready for their operations, and they com menced by securing the Independence, the Echo, and the Etoile. The first of these journals is purely political, and ably conducted, has a European circu lation, and is approved and permitted at St. Peters. burg. A large number is forwarded there daily. The second is the Journal de &deli, wherein no opportunity is lost to vilify and traduce England and the English ; and the third, following the same course, circulates amongst the middle classes. Antianglicism, antigallicism, and the elevation of Russia as the tute lary power of Europe, form the spirit of the Belgian press. Organised companies of Red Republicans of all nations are embodied at Brussels. Their communi cations with London and Paris are constant and well known to M. de Creptowitch. The Russians, who are here for a purpose, give themselves out as political refugees, which they are not. Amongst them are several ladies, who follow their avocation with care and assiduity, are rarely seen, yet acquire with unfailing accuracy the knowledge of everything that passes. The " haute politique" of Russia has no scruple; it teaches, and the Greek Church teacLes, that crime committed in its necessary ser• vice for the interest cf the viceregent of God, the Emperor, does not deserve that name, especially if successful and for the one purpose. The bravo patriot constitutes himself a martyr, the Muscovite assassin seeks canonisation, and M. de Creptowitch promises it to him at small cost. Mazzini, in his proclamation, exhorted the Italian Republicans to exchange the sword for the dagger. M. de Crepto witch creeps noiselessly and whispers with more effect. Suspected persons are constantly on the move betwixt Brussels and London. On the Thurs day in Passion-week, and before the arrival of the Emperor in England, certain parties lett here and met others by appointment at Dover from Jersey. They proceeded to the metropolis. The attempt of riaoori, a professional assassin, was without doubt THE PRESS. planned for London, and from the indigence to which he was reduced at Paris to his comparative affluence when in England, it is easy to establish the source from whence he derived his infamous wages. No one knows the whereabouts of the imperishable fountains of corruption better than the Princess Lieven and M. de Creptowitch. On the day before, or on the morning of the attempt — for he has stated it both ways—Pianori was visited by two women, and when he fired the shot a low carriage was in waiting close to the spot with the door half open. At the moment he was overpowered and secured the door was shut from within by a female hand, and the car riage drove off rapidly. The Princess Lieven, on her parole of non-inter ference, has returned by Imperial permission to her old quarters at Paris, in a failing state of health. M. Kisseleff is at St. Petersburg in close attendance on the Imperial Councils, and M. de Creptowitch, the Muscovite, sly, cautious, enterprising, unscrupulous, and faithless, except with assassins, awaits fresh com binations, and is ready to avail himself of any agent whom the powers of darkness—namely, Ledru Rollin, Mazzini, and Kossuth—may furnish for his use. And Brussels is the head-quarters of the bar barism. _ _ E. R. FRANKFORT, May 8. THE attempt to assassinate the Emperor Napoleon still monopolises public attention. It has been reported authoritatively throughout Germany that an Austrian prince, S , on retailing the news of the attempted murder to another Austrian noble, added—"and unfortunately without effect," to which the other replied, " Quel dommage." The " Maisons Princieres " of Austria beginning with the nineteenth letter of the alphabet are— Salm, Shoenbourg, Schwartzenburg, Solms, and Strahremherg, and it will be proper to know which of' them, or whether all, individually, collectively, and nationally, have espoused as a legitimate and direct ing creed the foul canons of assassination. Some Germans of respectability lately arrived from Russia affirm that at Moscow, I ver, Kharkoff, Kazan, Kieff, Tamboff, Saratoff, and other places, the Papas of the Greek Church are, from the altar, exciting the population in favour of the war, or holy crusade, against France and England, and lay it down as a primary act of duty upon every Russian, and one of a religious office and sacrament, to aid in expelling the infidel from Europe, and to re erect the Cross on the cathedral of St. Sophia. They cease to designate St. Sophia a " mosque," and lay claim to its possession by the Czar as the imperial and pontifical inheritor of the holy and orthodox empire of Constantinople. That is to say, they insist on the patriarchal posses sion of Constantinople by the Emperor of Russia; they declare it to be an inherent right of the Impe rial Crown; and the recruits on receiving benediction are enjoined to fight for the Viceregent of God, and to expel the infidel from the holy Byzantine dominion. There is no disguise on the subject, for the Russian population is publicly instructed by the priests to consider Constantinople as having been taken by force from those whom the Czar singly and solely represents. These bishops proclaim that the right of conquest must be held generally to constitute a title, or it must not. If Poland is to be recon structed as a kingdom in respect to ancient right and custom, which the Emperor avows to be his intent, a parity of right gives the Byzantine empire to Russia. It is thus that the bishops and priests pre dicate and teach—the people hear, and the people obey. What possible chance of peace can there be on a permanent and secure basis, when the Russian people, one and all, the entire Tschin and serfdom, adopt this creed, political and religious as the gospel and catechism for their infant children. The Russian priests, more or less, to their credit, reject the paraphrases which their diplomatists use. The Polish question, and the levy of a Polish and Finnish batallion by France and England, have caused fresh hesitation on the part of Austria, and have sobered, from terror the faithless and disho noured sovereign of the grand duchy of Posen. On wisely deciding, for his own sake, to be crowned King of Poland, the Emperor Alexander has checkmated Austria and Prussia. He has nothing to fear, they have everything to dread. He cuts openly as a bold potentate, without fear of consequence ; whereas they shrink and prevaricate as petty larcenists at the bar, who dare not hold up their hands from fear of afford ing former proofs of convicted guilt. Prince Peter of Oldenbourg, a German and relative of the P.omanoff family, has been sent by the Emperor of Russia on a mission to the German princes. He is brother-in law of the neighbouring Duke of Nassau. The object of his particular embassy is to reassure the German princes of the paternal regards of Russia towards them, And to etarautee them, by promieel SATURDAY, against the effects of any ill-temper from Prussia or Austria. Under any circumstances, Prussia will be a gainer by the war. She has greatly increased her power in Germany, and she will not lo&e her sovereignty in the Crimea and its dependencies. The terms offered by Lord John Russell ar e unwelcome evidence of the fact; and it is but just to say that M. de Bismarck and M. Osten-Prokerscb, and all the Dietic authorities, speak of him as the " bete noir" of England, and in terms of supreme contempt. If, say they, the propositions he made and was disposed to make at the Conference were sincere on his part, there was no excuse for him to have betrayed the Ministry of Lord Aberdeen, and the offer of Austria, to which he was not opposed, of two English and French frigates to confront and to check the navy of Russia in the Euxiue, was mo. delled upon the proportions of his powers mental and physical. Treachery is indefensible at all times, even for the accomplishment of a great object, but when the purpose is personal and lilliputian, the evil done is only worthy of the kennel. The Roman Catholic crossings, genuflexions, and adoration of the Host, with the other harlequinade recreations of Lord John Russell at Vienna, publicly reported by eye witnesses, have been received with shouts of derision by the German latitudinarians and free thinkers—and they are the mass. The retirement of M. Drouyn de Lhuys, and the evident displeasure of the Emperor Napoleon against the acts of Lord John Russell, are not calculated to strengthen the English Ministry. The meeting at the Guildhall, London, with the other in the City, coupled with the forthcoming motion of Mr. Layard in the House of Commons, and another by Lord Ellenborough in the House of Lords, under general approbation in England, and with that of the friends of the old country everywhere on the con. tinent, augur unfavorably for the Whig Govern. ment. J. E. L jou* anh sit plata! 3ittellipact. FRANCE. On Saturday last the Emperor received the de spatches charged to present the address voted by the British residents and visitors of Paris on the occa• sion of his Majesty's escape from attempted assassi nation. The Duke of Bassano, Grand Chamberlain, introduced the deputation. The address was signed by 409 persons. His Majesty expressed his grati fication on receiving such a testimony from the English in Paris. M. Dronyn de Lhuys, lath Foreign Minister, has resikned, in consequence, it is reported, of the pro ceedings at the late Vienna Conference. Count Walewski, French Ambassador in England, has been appointed to succeed M. de Lhuys, and was sum moned to Paris by telegraph on Monday. M. Per signy is to be the new representative of France at the Court of St. James's. The Emperor has granted a pension of 4,000 f. a year to Madame Bizot, the widow of the General of Engineers, who was killed before Sebastopol. The reigning Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha arrived at Paris on Saturday, and on the same day dined at the Tuileries. The Emperor paid a visit to his Royal Highness on Sunday at the hotel of the Prince de Chimay. The Duke has since arrived in London. Immediately upon the receipt of news from the Crimea that the fire before Sebastopol was suspended, the French Government sent orders to Marseilles for the embarkation of a new siege -train, consisting of nearly three hundred heavy guns. The new loan of seven hundred millions is under the consideration of the Council of State. It is thought that it will come out on the system ofobliga tions and primes. The Moniteur publishes the returns of the gross receipts of the French railways during the first quar ter of 1855. They amounted to 49,444,706 f., and, compared with the corresponding period of 1854, exhib•t an increase of 0,301,100 f. The average length of road worked during the first three months of 1855 was 4,077 kilometres, or 570 more than in 1854. The receipts per kilometre increased from 9,787 f. to 10,572 f., thet is by 785 f., or upwards of 8 per cent. ----. IFj-ii GERMANY. A Vienna despatch of Wednesday states that it is believed that a general accord among the German States is in progress. The editors of semi-official journals have been requested to favour this move ment. SPAIN. The extraordinary tax of 200,000,000 reels on the property of the Church, in order to cover the press ing deficit, has been accorded to the Government. Letters from Madrid of the 4th state that Lord Howden does not cease to press the Government to allow Protestant worship to be freely exercised in Spain ; but the Minister of Foreign Affairs replies that, as the penal code forbids any meeting of more than twenty persons without the permission of the authorities, it is not possible to nuke the 0012C08blOU dolundod,