The Express.
London, England, 1862-05-26 00:00:00

CHINA.

The dates from China are Hong Kong to April
14, and Shanghae to April 7. The news is almost'
entirely confined to the proceedings of the rebels,
between whom and the E open and avowed
hostilities are noir acknowledged. The China Over:
laud Trade Report asp : .
Skirmishes have been frequent between the allied British
and French Mee, 'minted by the Thouters levies under the
filibuster Weed as the cm side, end the Tierney on the
ether. Tworeversee of &serious nature have bee* sustained
by the Tespirsp, and their can.. in the neighbourhood of
Shanghai, is eerbeely damaged. Sir Johe Mitchell, the
British military oornmeadw-inehief, has been suppes,
by Brigadier Siaveh who leas been since the Pekin treaty
ememendset of the BM& genie= at Take and Thalia.
It would appear that the apse= government have really ,
been nuking during the whiter preparations for a campaign
co a large =ale in the *lag. A large force collected a few
weeks ago on the north bank of the Yanstane opposite to
Nankin, and slier westing much time is menaciag it, at
length attacked it. The Taepings again proved that their
resourom are pester than was deemed poerible. They haw
rid a portion of their main army up from Hangchow, a 150,..
ins that the report which was enmest of a faunas prevail-
ing at Nankin was either untrue or greatly exaggerated.
Had the Imprialleta made their Meek beim them red.
foremost" arrived ,they would probably bare beep sue-
easeful ; but making it afterwards they failed =Mutably.
Subsequently the Taepinp made • sortie, and with Qom-
pandevely a small number of ma drove the baperbdigis ,
before them.
The strength of the Thepinp may now be partially esti-
mated with some degree of prairie= They hare huge gar.
risme at Hocehow sad Hanschow. They are being be-
t 'bpi at W as important city on the Tampere.
They bola N as already eaplain4 and thee there
is this him Louie ramedies•
• Bbiaae. Besides all
these. they other Pomp. not so well knows
to " Mmelipari, mid it* ibedd lie ebsemeit .dime
much ussasineas prevails eves at Canton regarlins limn.
Although the allied British and French can undoubtedly
eerily bombard and eject the Teepup from Sharshoe,
Ningpo, Wuhu, and Nankin, there really appears. nothing
worth meationiag to arrest the march of these 1011116151•11
masses of insurgents south. Nor does there appear any-
thing reliable to prevent them from carrying out their
threat of ravaging the tea and silk districts.
Admiral Hope continues to attack the Taepinp in the
meet implacable manlier. He appears quite insensible to
danger Idris measures against them. rile had a snow
escape of being made ' ner • short time since, and has
at length been wounded in the leg whilst remembering,
accompanied by a taw of the Tamtars levies.
Tien-tin is to be evacuated by the allied garrison imme-
diately, and only • small British force will be kept in one
of the Take porta until the balance of the indemnity shall
be paid. The troops thus relieved will of coulee be made
available cm the Yantis.. About 1,000 French troop have
been sent 00 from Saipon. These have already base
despatched north.
her Majesty's minister at Pekin still throws difficulties
in the way of British merchants and missionaries visiting
Pekin. This is the more provoking, inasmuch as other
foreigner are permitted to go by their authorities without
let or hindrance, nor do the mandarins throw the smallest
obstacle in the way.
As for trade' matters, they continue a subject al ono-
gratulation. The spring has not yet sufficiently far ad-
vanced to admit of the season commencing, but the vigorous
preparations which are being made at Hankow and Kew-
kiang unmistakeably indicate that a good trade is antici-
pated. At both these ports the Imperial levies continue
their aggressive conduct towards foresee= and are almost
intolerable. It is likely that ships will load at Ilanchow
next season direct for Londe°. The Peiho is nearly clear
of ice, and prospects are good, although Wainer had not
fairly commenced. The trade of Foochow will be good if
this matter of the contemplated attack by the rebels can
be overcome. At Canton as much tea is expected as wee
received last year.
The prohibition which was stipulated in the treaty &pia=
the exportation of pule*, M., from the northern porta in
foreign bottoms has been withdrawn. This will be highly
beneficial to shipping.
At Japan matters appear more tranquil. Mr. Alcoa, the
British minister, has vacated the post, permanently it is sup-
posed. Colonel Nude, one of the secretaries to the embassy
at Pekin, succeeds.
Shipping continues scarce and much wanted ; in fact, trade
is mulcted in consequence.

JAMAICA COTTON.

ITAY.

(non on own occumsronnixe.)
TIMER, MAY 2L
Many foreign journals say, and not without some
probability, that Signor Beittassi will take the port-
folio of Foreign &fain, and that his secretary and
fellow townsman, Capriolo, will take the portfolio
of the Interior. This would ba a freak mistake on
the part of the ministry. Instead of casting off an
enlightened and =Messes man like General
Durando, it would sot much more rationally under
present circumstances if it got rid of SignorDepre-
Us, who represents that Very party which is now
iscpardicing the peace and safety of the realm, and
ef it put in his place soma man who enjoys the
, esteem of the consenative-party, and would, there- ,
'Rift, bring more strength to the cabinet.
, ,he Minister of War ham called before him the
prime* of of the late southern army sou
now belong to the regular army ; he has reminded
them of the oath they have taken, set beleith
then the dstemninailion of the government not to
recognise any superior to the law, and expressed
his conviction that in any OW they would have
dime their duty. Be told. them to reflect on, all
' this tbat If they felt fiz fear that they might
tanarliy an Ad and iable devotion to
ici".llWe..-414/0Z
ograivoosg, .sets
ar
be in a
nd we be Ina to sully theniselves yan act of
tie,s(lll • voluritarg redinenent at this mg-
we consistent with 'honour ; but' woe •
l 4 them should they hereafter disobey' rders.

. .
letter from Rome says :—" There is a rumour
et fleet here that there has been a sharp encounter
with brigands on the Neapolitan frontier. As the
band, being bard pressed, retreated into the Roman
territory, the Piedmontese penned them without
opposition from the French; and completelyroated
them, killing many, and making fifty prisosbni.4
The Piedmont's. after the battle did not retire, but
kept their ground within the Roman frontier.
This is very magnificent, if true. Everybody seems
to think that the question of the temporal power
will be a good deal aired among the bishops and
other clericals assembled for the canonisation on the
Bth. Guyon, I hear, asserted constantly that
was only oppeli, sod not rappc.l4, to Paris. I
have reason to believe his having said, in a
I -
private conversation, that he had so long pro-
' tested the Pope he could not bear to stay
Ito see him dethroned. • The libeisis lay great Innis
on the fact of the Austrian ministry having pro-
claimed their resolution to act on the non-Interren-
tiain principle. This deprives the Emperor of his
strongest argument for limping a French garrison
in Rome.
"Last night I went to .St. Peter's, to look at tbe
decorations for the a teaching ceremony. They
will certainly. be Val and the stags effect
must be mlignificent 4t frail was quite .puraled
when I saw the nave shut in with large columns
so like the real columns that I began to think
1 must •have bad a wrong impression before,
and that the architecture was really different
from what I had imagined it to be. Each of the
entrances of the side chapels was flanked by two
Damns supporting a kind of pediment, on the
tysepmatim of which was a large painting fresh with
new paint and glowing colour, representing a mi-
racle of one of the intended saints. On close
examination I found these columns to be imp-
nioasly eosistructed of wooden framework, covered
first with mares and then with marbled paper in
imitation of the real marble pillars, most ingeni-
ously manegast so as to keep the proportions and
true =ryes of rthe columns and bane. A sort
of portico behind the great Baldacohino over
the large altar will, I aippose, support •
larger picture, and forma an entrance to
the altar of St. Peter's chair. Enormous
candelabra are being made of wood richly gilt,
and placed at intervals all along the nave and in
the transepts. Bright yellow draperies in festoons
are hung across between the pillars, and with the
dark crimson ones will give a most brilliantly
vivid effect when the candles are lit up. 10,000
wadi (about 2,3001.) are to be spent in the religion
of wax and flame, which is so much cultivated
here, and 20,000 on the decorations, so I suppose
sham pillars are expensive things, or rather let
us hope the painters of the miracles will have a
solid reward for their waste of skill ea such
subjects." _ _ _

The Union denies that King Victor Emmanuel
gave a valuable present to St, Januarius at Naples,
as stated. It says :

The offering wade by the King has been the subject of •
warm controversy in the Italian journals, it Lein pre-,
tended on the one hand that the royal visitor had adorned
the mint with • rioh collar, estimated at 1:50,000f., sidle
in the opposug camp it was affirmed that, if mythic:ma:
offered the tag, it was only • bond of the knee.
has been on both aides an equal exaggeration Being well
informed as to the liberality of the King, we are enabled
to state that a present has been nude, bat that
it was not so sumptuous as the Piedenontese jour-
nals have pretended. His Majesty gave a little filmy
Cross in diamond', suspended to • gold chain ; the chain
being very slender, and the diamonds of the smallest sine—
the whole being worth about 1,2001 r. This prdesist was
only delivered at the treasury of the cathedral of Naples an
the eve of the closing of the novena, thus escaping tie cri-
ticism of the pahhe.
__--- - - • •

A profane• Paris journal is moved by this contro-
versy to suggest that as a miracle more or less can
be no object to St.Januariue, is would be well if he
were to impart to the jewels the highest value
supposed.