The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1861-01-02 00:00:00

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

FRANCE.
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Dec. 31, 1860.
A letter in the 3loniteur, from a correspondent
in China, contains some horrible details of the
frightful nature of the tortures which were

undergone by some of the prisoners, English and
French, before death came to their relief. M.
d'Escayrae de Lauture, who was at the head of

,he French scientific mission in China, is stated

;o have made diiraclons escape from death►

He was thrice threatened v itH being' put to
death, and some mandarins with red blittOns

gave orders to have a bed of straw placed fdi

him to lie on in the middle of the court, in order
that the blood of the " barbarian" might not

polllite the sell df China! It is remarked, also,
df d'Esedyrae, tts Was the case With the
English gentleineii bietims of similar
barbarous treatment with himself, that the Only,
sympathy he met with was from his Chin€Sii
fellow prisoners. Without them he must have

died of hunger and misery. Having lost momen-
tarily the use of his hands, which were torn and
bruised in a shocking manner by the thongs with
Which he *as bound, he Was incapable without
their assistanCe of satisfying any of,the exigencies
of nature. These people assisted him to the latest
moment of his captivity, without their attention
to him being relaxed for a single moment. It
will have been remarked that General Montauban
refused to take any part in the burning of the
palace of the Emperor of China, wishing to leave
to the English authorities all the responsibility of
so decided an act. But it is further said that other
causes disagfeentent hale burst °tit; and that
France considers she has good reason to bdnil
plain of the failure of England to give her
consent to that clause in the French Con-
vention which authorises the French mission-
dries to hare churches and cemeteries in the
interior of China. On this subject, the following
bon not is attributed to an English diplomatist
still in China :—" If you give a foot to the mis-
sionaries, they will be sure soon to take a yard."
At one time people here, and I presume also in
England, appeared to be under the impression
that Lord Elgin had made no stipulations what-
ever in favour of Christianity; but I have since
noticed in one of the English papers a letter from
his lordship to Alderman Cubitt, in which he
states that Christians are henceforth to be allowed
the free exercise of their religion in all parts of
China.

As to Gaeta, I learn that Lord John Russell
has desired thb qiieAtion to be put to the Emperor
Napoleon, whether he really wished to defend the
King of Naples, remarking that on the Mb lidhct
the present attitude of France towards Francii
11. took the form of a direct intervention, and on
the other that the English Government must
inevitably find itself placed in a very delicate and
difficult position at the opening of Parliament, on
the sth of February next ; for, as matters now
stood, the Queen, in her speech from the throne,
could not possibly state that a complete accord sub-
sisted between England and France on the Italian
question. To this the Emperor is understood to
have replied that he did not very well see how,
in any circumstances, it could be announced that
a good understanding prevailed between the
two Powers on this subject, seeing that Eng-
land was promoting the unity of Italy, while
France had continued all along to adhere
to the idea of a Federation. At the same
time he (the Emperor) had no objection to
state that Vice-Admiral de Tinan would,

in due time, receive instructions to withdraw his

feet, and Francis 11. should have three weeks'
notice before the withdrawal took place. The
inference from tile juTv -;;;:t.: ;II; that it is the

instruction of the Emperor Napoleon to protract
the " difficulties of the situation" till the spring,
by which time, unless the Venetian question shall
have been previously disposed of, the deluge will
have come in the shape of another Italian war
of infinitely larger proportions than the preceding
One:

The diplomatic corps has fedeited the usual
communications from the Tuileries in regard to
the reception to-morrow—the "Jour d'an." On
this occasion, M. Mon will be received solely in
his quality of Ambassador from the Spanish
Court ; his title as the representative (which he
formerly was) of the Duchy of Parma will not
be reecignised! The Neapolitan Minister, M.
Canofari, whose abilities and conciliating spirit
are appreciated even at Turin, has got rid hivita:
tion to be present. But the convenient reason
assigned for this omission is sthat this gentleman
has ilot Yet transmitted to the Emperor the
letters by which he is aberedited to the French
Court. One is tempted to ask Whether 4t iie
possible that a hint was given to him that he need
not trouble himself to forward them ? M.
Candfarij however, is nevertheless on the best
passible tddiiiig With Thouvenel, In the
absence of the Papal Niiribio, Earl Cowley, and
hot the Abbe Miglia, the charge d'affaires who at
present CcinduCts the affairs of the-Papal Legation,
will be the Organ of the diplomatic corps. His
lordship is now senior AmbaStador at the French
Court.
The state of trade in Paris, at. the close of the
year, is very unfavourable indeed. Some say it
hits never been so bad sin©e the winter which
sticceeded the lleVeliitiott of February; 1849: nor
are the financial prospects of the Country in any
better position. Public securities of all kinds
continue to glide down the descending settle
which established itself during the last week or
tiVo, aiid a fresh fall in Rentes was announced
to-day. It is to he iidVed that the Emperor's
speech to-morrow will remove sonic Of the dark
clouds which lower over other portions of the
Continent, as well as France, at the present
moment.

Slav Gilcat) DIILuIA4, ra v.. 1,1,11,., ua axv, as GrJl Lea u
the Voel Nant at eight o'clock yesterday morning.
GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY 0031rANY or CANADA.--
Traffic for the week ending December Ist, 1860, and
corresponding week in 1859 :
Passengers, &c. Merchandise, &c. Total Mile!
Date. No. Amount. Tons. Amount. Sterling. Open.
1860 12714 £4077 17 4 123044 £10478 11 0 £14556 8 4 970
1859 10201 3292 14 11 10495 7358 10 6 10646 5 5 970

Increase
Gross receipts for 23 weeks, from July 1, 1890-5328,047 4 5i
Ditto corresponding period last year 245,19318 El

Increase' •• • •

£82,853 5 gi

THE FRENCH CONSUL Al LtlrnnPoot.-0/3 dit that
the Emperor of the French, on the special recommen.
dation of the Minister of Marine, has promoted Mons.
Victor Mauboussin, consul of France at this pott, to the
rank of officer of the Legion of Honour, in consideration
of the services he has rendered to the exOdition to
China. The greater portion of the coal sent to the
fleet was dispatched from Birkenhead and Liverpool ;
and it is worthy of remark that the plan the French
adopted in this war, of leaving their consuls to engage
and load tl/b ships, has been satisfactorily carried out,
and with evident advantage to the Government.—Liver-
pool Albion.
HANS BVSK ON THE VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT.—
Captain Hans Busk, whose name has been so intimately
associated with the great volunteer movement since its
birth, is announced to lecture at the Collegiate Institu-
tion on Thursday evening on " Rifle Corps and Rifle
Shooting." His name and practical experience is so
well known, and his labours have been so fully appre-
ciated that we need scarcely utter one word of praise in
his favour. One thing is certain, the hall will be
crowded on the occasion, and every one composing the
crowd will not be disappointed with the treat in store for
them.
CATCH HER !—The London Police are the cleverest
men imaginable—no doubt of it. We should, however,
pit one or two of our detectives against the whole lot of
the Scotland-yard gentry. Here is the description of a
runaway, sent from London to Liverpool :—" Arrest a
respectable-looking young woman, about four feet three;
inches high, dressed in black ;—she might be twenty-
two years of age !" If the Liverpool police don't catch
her after that they ought to be "taken up" themselves.
Now, Mr. Kehoe, the chief superintendent of the detec-
tive police here, whose abilities have been often tried
and never found wanting—nor has any of his efficient
staff ever yet been found at fault—might send back
word that there was no such Woman to be found in
Liverpool ! It would be more intelligible than the
description to "catch her."
FIRE YESTERDAY.—Between four and five o'clock
yesterday morning a fire broke out in the premises of
Mr. Caruthers, in Scotland-road. The wares on the
premises were chiefly ironmongery, but there was also,
unfortunately, a quantity of gunpowder, which ignited
and blew out the windows of the establishment. Some
other injuries were also sustained, but we believe they
will all be covered by insurance. The fire was but of
short duration, the reels from Hatton-garden, Athol-
street. and other stations being soon on the spot ; aided
by a plentiful supply of water, they extinguished the,
flames in about half an hour,
TEA PARTY IN ALL SAINTS' SCHOOLROOM.—The:
annual tea party of All Saints' Parish Church took place.
last evening, at the schoolroom, Great Nelson-street. The.
place was crowded, as usual, and was beautifully deco-
rated with flags, banners, and evergreens, and reflected
much credit on those engaged in the decoration.—
The Rev. H. Marlen, incumbent was in the chair. Ho
said, in opening the meeting, that he did not intend to.
make a long speech—he would say with Goldsmith—

Come people all, and listen to my song;
And if you find it wond'rous short, it cannot ►old you long.
The Rev. Mr. Holmes spoke at great length on the duties
of the working classes ; and the Rev. Mr. Moore described
the enjoyment that England is capable of affording to
those who go to work in the proper way, and need not
look for happiness to other countries.—The choir sung
some splendid anthems, and the proceedings were alto,
gether of a most agreeable nature.