The Press. — London, England, 1856-07-26 00:00:00

JULY 26, 1856. - _ filed to his care. He was at that time not more years of age, and this deliberate corn than eighteen Aliment in a time of danger and emergency proves the estimation in which the talent of the young prince was held. Shortly afterwards, at the desire of the Emperor Alexander, by whom he was highly valued, the Prince entered the Russian service. In this favorable opinion Napoleon also concurred, and, unwiiling to permit an uncertain ally to possess a young officer of such rising promise, he intimated his desire that the Prince should relinquish his com mand in the Russian army. With this demand the latter refused compliance until having had an audience of the Emperor, and he repaired to Paris in 1810. In the Journal of St. Helena Napoleon dictated : A l'epoque de ce voyage Leopold, etait un des plus beaux bommes de Paris, brillant, plein d'elegance, it avait dis-bait a diz-neuf ens. But he was unsuccessful in the object of his visit, and after leaving the Russian service he retired to Cobourg, where he sedulously pursued a course of study. In 1813, Germany having declared against the Emperor, the Prince resumed his station in the Russian army ; and the cuirassiers, under his com mand, particularly distinguished themselves at the battle of Lutzen. They were equally conspicuous for their achievements in the battles of Gersdorp, Waldheim, Etzdorf, and Limbach. At Reichenbach Prince Leopold gave eminent proofs of personal valour, when, at the bead of his regiment, he stood firm against one of the most brilliant cavalry charges of the French during the. campaign, led by General Latour Maubourg. At Peterswalde, Kuhn, Wachau, and Leipsie, the young general earned additional renown ; and the orders of St. George of Russia, and Maria Theresa of Austria, were conferred upon him, in acknowledgment and reward for his distinguished bravery. In the subsequent combats of Bar-sur- Aube, Brienne, Arcis sac-Aube, and La Fere, he took a prominent part; and at the latter place cap tured five pieces of artillery from Marshal Marmont. But the distinction won at the point of the sword did not eclipse that appertaining to the peculiar pro vinces of intellect; for as a rising statesman, whose opinion was valued, he received marked attention from the Ministers at the Congress of Vienna, where his prudence and tact led to solid advantages for his brother, the reigning Duke of Saxe Cobourg. On the more intimate connection of Prince Leopold with England it is not necessary to dilate, beyond the regret that the country experienced in the sever ance of the tie that would have made him the part ner of the throne of Great Britain. In 1827 the great powers of Europe were anxious that be should accept the sovereignty of Greece. He consented con ditionally; but as the stipulations he prudently an nexed were not faithfully carried out, the crown of the Hellenic kingdom was respectfully yet firmly de clined. On the 4th of June, 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe Cobourg was elected King by the Belgian Congress, and a deputation, consisting of MM. de Gerlach, Felix de Merode, Van de Weyer, Abbe de roere, d'Aerschot, H. Vilain XIV., Destouvelles, Duval de Beaulieu, and Thorn, waited upon him in England with the offer of the regal dignity. It was formally accepted. The Prince entered the Belgian territory on the 17th of July, 1831, and a series of jubilant demonstrations marked his journey to the capital, where, on the 21st of the same month, he pledged his oath as King to observe the integrity of the Belgian Constitution. "Je jure d'observer la Con stitution et les lois du peuple Beige." The fidelity with which King Leopold has maintained his obliga tion has been honestly declared by the Belgian people before the face of Europe. It is somewhat of a rarity to find a nation unanimous on a point that of all othere may be said to be affected by party views. Nevertheless, whatever may have been the differences of political factions, however virulent may have been the promptings of personal animosity, even the very shadow of hostility, public and private, vanished in order to do homage to one whom all honoured, valued, loved, and respected. Whether that faith, which he has so rigidly maintained, has been as strictly observed by others, cannot be discussed at the present moment; but all must admit that the conduct of the King during the memorable events of 1848 still farther entitle him to the gratitude of the Belgian people. That the preservation of the Belgian nationality was not owing to the Ministry of that day is matter of notoriety; that it was mainly dependent on the firmness of the King and the steadfast ability of the Minister of a country to whom the King is at tached by the ties of consanguinity, is not doubted generally even by those who have not a precise knowledge of the facts. Let it be said, not more curtly than truly, that the King of the Belgians offers in his person an example of a constitutional monarch, which if followed in less fortunate dominions would at once terminate, as it would eradicate, the fatal cause of domestic discontent and internecine rebel hon. The vain pomp of regal glory acquired at the expense of public happiness, is but a heartless .ageant. Suspicion mars enjoymeut, and the THE PRESS. consciousness of wrong embitters every pleasure. When, however, the possession of monarchical in fluence, constitutionally expressed, is made manifest by the intelligence and benevolence of its acts, the shortcoming of irresponsible and autocratic power is amply compensated by the approbation of conscience, the esteem of the just, and the blessings of a happy people. C. A. H. Foreign anb Colonial intelligence. THE "COUP D'ETAT" IN SPAIN. The insurrection, though suppressed in Madrid, is by no means crushed in other cities of Spain. At Barcelona the contest between the troops and the people, reported by the Paris Moniteur to have been a mere bagatelle, now proves to have been desperate to a degree, and to have lasted from the afternoon of the 18th to the night of the 21st, when the in,ur gents, driven from their principal positions, fled to the country, and were sabred by the cavalry; but great excitement still continues to reign in the city, the troops are kept under arms, and numerous fami lies had left for France. The neighbouring towns of Gerona and Junquera are in open revolt, though Figueras, up to latest intelligence, was tranquil. In Atragon, however, the revolt was most serious. General Falcon, Captain-General of the province, had declared against O'Donnell ; eighty members of the CortEs were assembled at Saragossa, and had issued a proclamation on the 15th calling upon the people " to rise as one man, to re'ist the power which seeks to impose by grape-shot irs absolute will," and "save liberty from the dangers which menace it." A second proclamation, issued on the 16th, charges O'Donnell with having "violated his own solemn engagements, trodden the Constitution under foot, and revolted against the Cortes; and concludes in these words : We do not wish to innovate. We desire neither more nor less than the results of the revolution of July, 1854; the Throne, the Cortes, progress (of which General Espartero has ever been the personification), public order, and material prosperity—such are our principles and those professed by the entire Liberal party. Those prin ciples having been violated by the Count of Lucena, it behoves us to make an effort, the more efficacious as it will be general, in favour of menaced liberty, of the Cortes, who have been treated with scorn, and of the Throne, now divorced from the country. The troops and National Guard at Saragossa, to the number of 16,000 men, have declared in favour of the movement; and though General Duice had been ap pointed by O'Donnell to supersede General Falcon, and to march upon Saragossa with 12,000 men, up to the 19th he had not left Madrid. Espartero still continued at Madrid. Rewards and promotions have been showered upon the officers of O'Donnell's army, and the following Ministry formed—President, General O'Donnell ; Minister of Justice, Luzuriaga ; Minister of Finance, Cautero ; Minister of Marine, Bayarri; Minister of Interior, Rios Roses ; Minister of Public Works, Coiled° ; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pastor Diaz. Generals Zabala, Serrano, Bedoya, Iriarte, Arnetler, Valdez, and several others, who were at Madrid, had not offered their services to the Queen, bat it does not appear that they took part with the insurgents. General Serrano Dominguez had been appointed Captain-General of Madrid, and General Manuel de la Concha Governor of the Palace. General Falcon, Captain-General of Arragon, has been struck off the list of the army by a decree of the Queen. General Prim was also superseded in bis post as Captain-General of Valencia. The policy of the present Government is stated as follows : • 1. No bloodshed for mere political punishment. Capital punishment to be reserved for common crimes committed under the cloak of political opinions. 2. Conciliation and toleration. 8. Moderate Progresistas not to be excluded from public functions. 4 The constitution to be pub lished. 6. The constituent Cortes to be dissolved, and ordinary Cortes convoked. 6. The National Guard to be reorganised on a reduced scale. 7. Political prosecutions brought before the Cortes against previous Governments and certain persons connected with them to be put a stop to. 8. Endeavours to obtain the modification of some articles of the constiintion. and certain administrative principles. Lastly, the same administrative system as before to be followed. The disarming of the National Guard was com pleted by the 18th, and the barricades removed. Domiciliary visits were being paid to collect arms. General Narvaez, who was at Bayonne, bad been offered the post of Ambassador at Paris, but has declined the appointment. On the 17th, when tranquillity wag restored, the French Ambassador visited the Queen at the Palace to congratulate her Majesty. A. decree of the Government forbids the assem blage of more than six persons, and dsclares that all who are found to possess arms shall be tried by a Council of War. Some details of the sitting of the Cortes on the 14th have come to hand. Of the eighty-two mem . . , „.. hers present, eighty-One voted in favour of the reso lution expressing no confidence in Marshal O'Don nell's Government. The Marquis of Labuerniga formed the minority of one. He has since been ap pointed Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs. A com mittee was then appointed, and an address to the Queen prepared. General Infante then wrote to Marshal O'Donnell to request her Majesty to fix the hour of reception for the deputation, but the Presi• dent of the Council declared the meeting illegal, and refused to entertain any such proposal. The mem bers were shortly after dispersed by the troops. The Paris Siècle of Wednesday published the fol lowing from a private correspondent in London We have received this instant the following information which comes to us from a source generally well informed. The English Government yesterday received a despatch from Mr. Otway, who, in Lord Howden's absence, repre sents England at Madrid. This despatch was very impor tant, and, according to what is said to-night, it left the im pression that Marshal O'Donnell's situation was less favor able than had been supposed. In consequence of this despatch, orders were sent by telegraph to Lord Howden, whatever might be his state of health, to return instantly to his post, passing by way of Saragossa; and he was informed that he should there receive despatches from his Government, as well as de spatches from Mr. Otway. FRANCE. The insurrection in Spain absorbs all other topics in the French papers. In general they consider the insurrection as quelled, and O'Donnell's Ministry as secure. An army of observation, 25,000 strong, was forming at Bayonne. The Times Paris correspondent writes : It is stated as positive that the concentration of troops in the neighbourhood of Bayonne is with the intention of intervening in Spain, should the present Spanish Govern ment make a formal demand declaring that they are un able, with the Spanish army as it now stands, to make head against the Socialist and Republican elements which are toned to exist at Barcelona, and which recently showed themselves at Valladolid and Valencia. The French Ambassador has, I am assured, notified this readiness to the Queen and General O'Donnell on behalf of his Govern ment. The offer, however, is confined to dangers from " Socialists and Republicans ;" but, as at this moment there are Progresistas and Carlists as well as Socialists and Republicans, all mixed together and united against O'Don nell all over Spain, the French Government may always find a ready excuse for intervention, Alt desire it. It may fairly be doubted whether O'Donnell is really anxious for such intervention, for he well knows that many of his own people would in such circumstances turn against him. With respect to the late remarkable despatch of ordnance and army stores to Bayonne, the Messager de Bayonne says : For some days the Bordeaux Railway has conveyed to Bayonne munitions of war and cramp equipage, which are deposited in the arsenal and in the magazines of the War Department. These objects are sent from the depots formed for the supply of the army in the Crimea. Prince Lucien Bonaparte arrived at Bayonne last Saturday, and continued his journey into Spain. The Emperor still continues at Plorabieres, and is reported to enjoy "excellent health." The Emperor had addressed a letter to M. Rouher upon the subject of the late inundations. Examining the question from an engineering point of view, he recommends the erection of weirs on all the tributary streams of the Loire, Saone, Rhone and Gironde, and orders an immediate survey of the valleys with that view. The Constitutionnel, in an article on the speeches pronounced by Lords Palmerston and Clarendon, remarks on the right the King of Naples has to be allowed to attend to his own affairs ; but suggests his attention at the same time to reasonable remonstrance. With respect to Rome, the article sets forth the opinion that the military occupation of the French in Rome, as well as that of the Austrians in the parts of Italy not being Austrian possessions, will cease im mediately that measures are taken which will secure the safety of the Pope. AUSTRIA. The intelligence from Spain had produced a deep impression in Vienna. The new arsenal, capable of containing 6,000 men with two months' provisions and stores, and bearing a powerful artillery, was concluded on the Bth, when the Emperor laid the last stone. Count Crenneville has been superseded in the com mand of the Austrian troops at Parma by Fief Marshal Baumgarten. PRUSSIA. Prince FrederiokWilliara accompanies the Dowager Empress of Russia upon her return to St. Petersburg, in or.ler to represent Prussia, at the coronation of the Emperor. Baron von Budberg, Russian Ambassador at Berlin, goes at once to Vipans, Baron Brunow taking his place at Berlin. RUSSIA. The Journal de St Petersbourg contains an ukase of the Emperor, dated June 21st, extending to all those persons who fled from any of the western pro vinces of the Russian empire in consequence of the insurrection of 1830, the same permission to return