The Press. — London, England, 1855-12-08 00:00:00

1164 SPAIN. Great efforts are being made to create ft division between Espartero and O'Donnell, but the Cortes passed a vote of confidence in O'Donnell by 131 votes to 8. " The question of the Western alliance," says the Epoca, "is not so completely abandoned as is gene rally thought, and before the spring a decisive result may be attained." The preparations fur raising eighty battalions of provincial m►litia were proceeding rapidly, and great numbers of rifles were being manufactured in the arsenals, it being intended to provide the whole army with that species of weapon. The Spanish Cortes, in its last sitting, adopted, nearly without discussion, Art. 58 of the Constitu tion, empowering the Cortes to exclude from the succession to the throne any person who is incapable of governing, or who shall have committed an act by which the right to the crown may have been for feited. They have also the power of excluding any persons who may be similarly situated from the guardianship of the King AMERTCA. The arrival of the Pacific at New York with English papers of the 3rd ult. bad created a great sensation throughout the United States, but after a few days the official organ of the Washington Cabi net states . Thai despatches received by the steam-ship Pacific confirm the assurances that there is nothing whatever in the diplomatic relations between Great Britain and the United States which need awaken a moment's solicitude on this side of the water, and that though the Central American question is a subject of earnest discussion and very serious difference on some points, yet that it is still a matter of negotiation ; and that the despatch of the British fleet to the West India station was probably caused by the alarm produced by the British Consul's mistake relative to the barque Maury. After this declaration the general feeling of the States was that the difficulty would be speedily ad• justed, and that matters would soon assume their old routine. INDIA AND CHINA. The Santhal insurrection, by date to November 2, still continued. The insurgents, descending from their mountain fastnesses, made razzias upon the neighbouring villages, burning and murdering in all directions. The Supreme Council still hesitated to declare martial law. On the north-west frontier everything was quiet. At Oude the general religious war was subsiding, though the difficulties and troubles of the kingdom were so great that the crisis was rapidly approaching. At Bnrmah all was quiet ; the embassy had been received at Ava on the 13th September, and the Governor-General Lord Dalhousie had expressed his intention to visit Burmab, and to return to Cal outta by the Ist December. From Hong-Kong to the 15th ult. we learn that Sir James Stirling has been employed it; the negotia tion of a treaty with Japan. Two French ships, and ber Majesty's ship Pique, had taken possession of one of the Kurile islands, and the Russian settlement there was destroyed. FOREIGN MISCELLANEA. TIIE ANNIVERSARY OF THE COUP D'ETAT, last Sun day, passed over in Paris without any of those corn metnorations lately anticipated. '1 he bulk of the Imperial Guard only reaching Marseilles on the 3rd entirely preven►ed a triumphal entry into Paris on the 2nd. COUNT DE HATZFELD, the Prussian plenipotentiary, has returned to Paris from Berlin after a short absence. It is rumoured that Count Walewski has a'ready asked him for explanations touching the King of Prussia's speech. THE Frew ' French journal, in commemoration of the 2nd of December, in one sense, reprinted on Sunday at full length the valuable Austrian treaty, signed on the 2nd of December last year by England and France, underlining the passages which say that " in case peace should not have been made iu the course of the then present year (l 854), the Em• peror of Au4tria would deliberate without delay with the Emperor of the French and the Queen of Eng land as to efficacious means for enforcing the object of the alliance ;" and asking, what result has this treaty produced? THE FRENCH ENGINEERS appointed to survey the Isthmus of Suez, to report. on t le practicability of the proposed canal between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and all the European commissioners, have arrived at Alexandria. GENERAL CANROBERT'S :MISSION To SWEDEN was mainly intended, said Mr. Wise, M.P., at a public dinner at Stafford last week, " to obtain for Prince Napoleon the hand of a daughter of the King of Sweden." THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF ALGERIA, in warning the newspapers published in that colony, forbids them to discuss anything whatever in regard to which the Government may have interfered, either directly or indirectly. 1 THE PRESS. THE KING or Panama's SPEECH has excited the bile of the French papers, which declare that France cannot rest satisfied with so Jesuitical end thoroughly evasive a reply to the s t raightforward tone of the Emperor's Speech. The Siecle declares the late mission of Count Munster to St. Petersburg has en tirely failed, and that the rumour of peace now float ing about is utterly unfounded. THE VISA ON PASSPORTS BETWEEN FRANCE AND Pnussu, and vice versa, is about to be abolished. Negotiations on the point are, it is stated, on the eve of being satisfactorily concluded. THE EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH never loses an opportunity of rewarding personal bravery in his army. It is said that a few days ago a young ser geant of Zouaves, distinguished for personal courage, who by a severe wound had been ircapacitated for service, and sent home for a pension, petitioned for promotion to the rank of sous lieutenant, offerinp at the same t;me to give tip his pension. The affair corning to the Emperor's ears, he sent for the young sergeant to the Tuileries, heard his story, promised him his promotion, and taking off his own cross attached it by the side of the Inkermann medal on the breast of the future sous-lieutenant. GENERAL CANROBERT arived in Paris on Sunday night, and had an immediate interview with the Emperor. Subsequently the gallant general visited the principal Ministers of State. THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON has presented to the Princess Royal of England the fan once belonging to Marie Antoinette, and to the Prince of Wales a small watch, of which the case is ,composed of a single ruby split in half. AN ULTRAMONTANE JOURNAL, to resemble the Urti vent of Paris, is about to appear at Vienna. THE PROVINCIAL CONGREGATIONS of the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom, suppressed in 1848, and since then existing provisionally, have been declared definitely reconstituted by Field-Marshal Count Radetzky. PRINCE CALLIMAICI, it is asserted, will shortly take the place of Arif Effendi as Ambassador of the Porte at the Court of Vienna. BARON PROKESCH OSTEN left Vienna on the morning of the Ist inst. for Constantinople. PRINCE PASKIEWITCH iS said to be dying. All the leading physicians of the empire have been consulted, and the Archbishop Arsine, on the 25th ult., ad administered the last sacrament to the brave old general. THE PRINCESS CHRISTINE BELOIOJOSO has lately been recalled from an exile since 1849 by the Emperor of Austria. Her large estates in Lombardy, sequestrated upon her banishment, will be restored to her. DELIBERATIONS ON THE STATE OF THE PRINCI PALITIES will commence at Vienna the moment Sir H. Seymour arrives at his post. Count Coronini will take part in the conferences. The new consti tution for these provinces is said to include the follow ing leading points :—The Hospodar to be named for life; the slavery of the Teiganes to be abolished; the Boyards subjected to a land tax; and foreigners, not excepting Jews, to be permitted to purchase landed property. The Porte is anxious that the future government of Wallachia should be given only to a native of the country. France and England, it is said, are in favour of a Phanariote ; while Prussia and Austria are intriguing for the appointment of a German prince. THE SERVIAN GOVERNMENT have formally an nounced their intention to permit the free exercise of the Protestant faith throughout the country. THE BELGIAN MINISTER OF WAR, in a late debate upon the budget, remarked upon 'the necessity of keeping up the effective strength of the army, and observed, " That it was a duty they owed to them selves, in presence of their neutrality, to be always ready for war." An effective organisiation of " Lea brave Beiges " is too important an item in the balance of European politics to be neglected. THE DUCHY OF BADEN, it is believed at Vienna, is about to follow Vienna's example, and conclude a noncordat with Rome. The Prince Regent, on open ing the Chambers last week, announced in his speech that, owing to the unsatisfactory relations of Church and State, " negotiations had been opened with the Papal Chair." GENERAL COUNT BENCKENDORFF, Russian Military Commissioner at Berlin, lately accompanied the Emperor Alexander to the Crimea, and applied for a high command. The Emperor is said to have given him a division at Nicolaieff, but that on his Majesty's return to St. Petersburg the count was ordered to return to his post at Berlin. "VAN DIEMEN'S LAND" has been now changed by authority to "Tasmania." The good colonists are so desirous to obliterate every trace of convicts in that territmity that they lately peti ioned the Queen to change the name of the island Crum the first to the latter term. THE UNITED STATES Will not, it is believed, take any part in tne approaching conference on the Sound dues. SATURDAY, (fart sub jastion. Tam presence of the King of Sardinia at the Court during the week necessarily changed the usually quiet routine of the Royal Family. A series of state dinners have been given every evening, except Sun day, to which the most distinguished members of the nobility and the foreign ambassadors have been invited. Her Majesty, ou Wednesday, held a Chapter of the Garter, for the purpose of investing the King of Sardinia. The investiture was accompanied with the greatest state and ceremony, and in the evening her Majesty gave a grand banquet in St. George's hall. The King of Sardinia took his leave of her Majesty at an early hour on Thursday morning ; and accom panied by Prince Albert, the Duke of Cambridge, and a numerous suite, left Windsor for Paris, vik Folkestone. The;r Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cam bridge and the Princess Mary arrived on Monday, on a visit to the Queen, and remained at the castle until Thursday. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge has been on a visit to the Queen during the week. His Royal Highness Prince Albert, after accom panying the King of Sardinia to Folkestone, returned to Shornecliffe, and inspected the Getman Legion. At the close of the inspection the Prince presented new colours to the different regiments. Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar has been on a visit to her Majesty during the week. Viscount Palmerston returned to town on Thurs day from Windsor. The Duke of Devonshire still continues at Brighton. VISIT OF THE KING OF SARDINIA. His Majesty the King of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel, whose arrival in this country was announced in last week's PRESS, has principally passed his brief sojourn in this country in a series of inspections and visits. _ . On Saturday, accompanied by the Queen, Prince Albert, the Duke of Cambridge, and suite, the King visited Woolwich Arsenal, inspected the work shops and reviewed a troop of horse artillery, and a field battery on the common. Everywhere the King was received with great enthusiasm by the people, and, after an inspection of wounded men from the Crimea, the royal party returned to Windsor. _ _ • • ------- On Sunday the King left Windsor at an early hour and attended divine service at the Royal Sardinian Chapel, Lincoln's-inn-fields. On his arrival, his Majesty was received by Cardinal Wiseman and the Chaplains of the Embassy. The cardinal, in a brief congratulatory address, offered "the humble homage of the clergy to the King." After mass, Beet hoven's in C, the King returned to Windsor. On Monday, accompanied by Prince Albert, and attended by a numerous suite, his Majesty paid a visit to Portsmouth, inspected the dockyard, where be visited the Excellent, witnessed shot and shell practice, and examined several ships now build ing, with great interest. On leaving the Repulse, a 90-gun ship, the King was informed by Prince Albert that her name was henceforth changed to Victor Emanuel, a compliment at which the King appeared to be highly gratified. His Majesty then lunched with Sir Thomas Cochrane at his official residence, and, after a brief inspection of the fleet at Spithead, returned to Windsor. On Tuesday occurred the most important and formal affair — HIS MAJESTY'S VISIT TO THE CITY. The King, and suite ile ft Windsor at an early hour, and arrived at Buckingham Palace shortly be. fore ten a.m., when various deputations bearing ad dresses of congratulation were received. The Lord Mayor and her Majesty's Commissioners of Lieute nancy of London were first introduced, when his lordship read an address expressive of the admira tion felt in this country for the enlightened policy of the King, and for his magnanimous alliance with us in the present war. To this address the King replied in French, thanking the honourable deputation for the senti ments they expressed : The happiness of my people (said his Majesty) has always been my dearest wish. It is, then, with no ordirusy satisfaction that I find my efforts to attain that point so favorably interpreted by the municipal representatives of this great country. The aim of this great struggle is too just and honourable to doubt that the energy and perseverance of the allied powers will cease but by being crowned with a peace at once glorious and durable. Deputations from Edinburgh, from the bankers and merchants of the City of London, from the Protes tsint Dissenting Society, and from the religions