The Express.
London, England, 1848-01-10 00:00:00

She Iffrpretio.

MAILB
wffilittisesivir 24:=4rDigirc"1."*""1-
Ifs dome
MIL' Oa is . Idedluarsassa.
=Ad" O&I• 1..011114 LW Isse. So, wlllbe =ado up OS tb.
snit
Vie oils -lkiliT Ilunisdi. sad N. Usltsi
Slam vill Work 22 tliegmaltlis 1411 i Jmmy.
Us Wet lails lialagh Wars. Ilsaksas,
Weft^ N/I. Orlise7W' art Porto Woo, sail
Waft lbw br Maim beied. Seats girths,
COW% Mae. Ilea Calit 4 Wit and Bt. Jastt.da.
Maw% ma be mi. sir et 6017th lssra.m.
Ile swims mils est MAK lbe Imsaam
Cleflokbalk. OWN via lloathasspata.
up sans rerin of Os kirawr.
TWIN& ONt Iligne Soak weft,. illa of emen laud. sat vow
Leslsalsallisnais was So analogs/es MS Jarsary.
TM amili IN ths IlinWscslas Nam Tiemoiews VW*. Persia.
.a:zinisa lliAtrs, . sag Rums. Ayr" le be awls up am Us

0011111111rOmmerns.
10. • TM Ewer,* Leedom 41.10ts=eurt
atnos.iry Two eh** on U.* dap of

MOM WATIN AT LONDON IS{IDOL.
Dav—)l4rels.4. loot 4 z Aflame*. 44 Aga pm* 4.
TeJlesanr—llensLog. sir put 5 Aftwons. Nan poi L.

aidiri s
gree,,
'Arrl bia alrdeadl:aea.
• sgetisaltusal j tan-
farms of from two to five hundi.,
Ores in the counties of Sligo and &woollen; and,
as if anticipating the first objection that wouldoccur to
the cautious mind of an agricultural capitalist on
this side of the channel, the revolting sasurance
is Volunteered that " the previous occupants have
daring the last season either died" where they
dwelt, "or emigrated to America." The land-
lords of North -Connaught know that no skilled
and shrewd farming capitalist, whether Scotch or
English, would relish the idea of being regarded
as an invader and usurper by the community
amongst whom be was asked to fix his future
dwelling. Ile might not object to the rent named;
but the unnameable risk would be a different matter.
A stock of tools are essential everywhere • but how
could he estimate the cost of arms P Change of cli-
mate might not make any perceptible difference in
his digestion ; but nobody likes to be told by his
parting friends that, in his new abode, he can no
longer consider himself as an insurable life. All
this the sagacious advertisers of the grass farms in
Roscommon and Sligo foreknew and forethought of;
and having resolved to confiscate anew the soil as far
as it belonged to them, and to begin afresh the often
abortive work of re-plantation from Britain, they felt
it to be quite indispensable to offer due warranty
that the lands to be let were free from Celia as well
as other noxious reptiles!
I Nor is this all. An immigrant agriculturist would
Ike to have some notion of the amount of rates, and
*ore especially poor rates, he might have to pay.
Nothing in this view could be more judicious than to
lasinuate that all who had ceased to occupy bad
ousaett to trouble the land with their presence. Dr
ems apparentibus non existentiheis : the previous
occupiers were gone—were safe out of sight or recur-
rence—others, by the thousand, being soon about to
follow. There was no need of a note bens at foot—
" Poor rates likely to be moderate."
Of the sincere desire to insure the Mfilment of this
condition the official documents from which we have
already quoted furnish ample proof!. Neglect and
omission in some places, and in others open disregard
of the reiterated demands of the law, appear to have
been systematically pursued. Of the Swinfoid union
Capt. BROUGHTON, temporary proprietor, writea,l7th
November last, that "the attendance at the board con-
sisted of but three guardians," though there was
enough to be done.
In the union of liana no expostulation on the
put of the commissioners could induce the guardians
to enforce the levy of the rates which had been
struck, or, in some cases, to pay the portion for which
they were individually liable. " From many
wealthy persons," writes Mr. PHELAN, one of the
district inspectors, in August, 1847, " the collector
cannot obtain the rates, and there ate four ex officio
guardians who have never paid any rate." Then we
have the memorial of thievery board tothe Lord-Liente-
nant, in September, praying that they might not
be called upon to impose more than two shillings
and sixpence in the pound, on account of the
poverty of the union. " The truth is," writes one of
the collectors to the commissioners about the same
time, "that in the board of guardians are comprised
nearly all the landlords of the union, and a large por-
tion of the rates fulling on them they are issuing
orders in their own favour ; and if they can by any
contrivance keep the workhouse open and keep up
the appearance of supporting the paupers, they are
perfectly indifferent? On the 10th November, Lieut.
HAMILTON, temporary inspector, visited the work-
house, and found many cases of persons within its
walls who had suffered, some from want of medicine,
and others of sufficient food. "There were three
children, which had suffered much from dysentery,
eery little remored from skeletons. lie never saw
such dreadful objects in his life. Dr. 11not.t,r stated
to him that he was afraid to order them any extra
diet, in consequence of having been found fault with
by some of the guardians on former occasions!"
In the Sligo union " the magistrates," says Capt.
Gilbert, on IGth November, 1847, " have twice failed
to decide upon cases of refusal to pay rates. Two of
three magistrates presiding at the sessions are them
selves ratepayers, and have refused to pay their own
rates ; the people there doubt the legality of enforcing
the collection ; and, following the magistrates' exam-
ple, have withstood the payment."

tey 411
ity sad

LONDON, MONDA Y, JAN.IO.
Tat Country Party is as feeble and capricious, with
regard to its leaders, as the most arrant coquette of
the most intriguing ap. Whether it is the disrup-
tion of their old, twice broken, and once renewed
attachment to PEEL, that has filled them with misan-
thropy and peevishness ; or whether it is merely
fretful anxiety to choose and put forward the beet
horse to win, as if they could really afford to lose no
more, it is difficult to say. But certain it is
that these gentlemen see hawking their leader-
ship from candidate to candidate, and in utter
mistrust and disgust of their own officers, are
anxious to put themselves under even foreign
command. Perhaps there is some principle at work,
which prompts them, like the Italian republics of old,
to prefer warring by means of condottieri under mer-
cenary chiefs, their own ranks being found wanting
in staunchness and military talent.
There was first an outcry against Lord GEORGE
BENTINCK, as too adventurous, and as having far too
much of the CANNING leaven. The currency ques-
tion was to be committed to Mr. HEREtEs, and it was
generally understood that this statesman, who be-
trayed and broke up one cabinet in order to take an
inferior place in that which succeeded it would be a
very apt commander to the fire-ship which was to
blow up the wbigs in 1848. But Mr. HERMES
wanted pluck, and allowed himself to be put down by
hie rival.
The vote of Lord GEORGE upon the Jews Bill has,
however, created such ineffable disgust amongstthose
of Colonel SIBTUORP'S creed, that they can tolerate
him no longer. And yet a most anxious review of
their party has not disclosed a single personage fit or
likely to take the desired position. Why not have
advertised it ?
The conservatives have taken a step far more un-
dignified, in applying to Sir ROBERT PEEL'S lieute-
nant—to the very ACHATES of their stray &semi--
to lead them in their next expedition against the
whir. Mr. GOCLnURN has certainly claims to ultra-
tory allegiance. lie abhors Jew and catholic with
most orthodox hate, and has his zeal only reined in
by his principal. The Country Party have, therefore,
besought Mr. GOCLISCRN to lead them in the great
sugar question. For with a good commander, cer-
tain of the party think they canbreak through and raze
at least this portion of the free trade entrenchments.
Mr. GoeLever4 is very desirous of acting the part of
political field-marshal, and of leading the party, of
which, though estranged, he is the red tapist par er-
eelknce.
Sir ROBERT PEEL is said to be in a very strange
and puzzling quandary : whether to quarrel with
GOCLBURN altogether, or, affecting to quarrel with
him, simply lend him to the protectionists
for a short campaign, and, the battle fou4ht,
whistle his " tassel gentle" back again. Then
again, whether a man so accustomed to be backed
might make but a poor and timid fight, stand-
ing alone ; or whether he might not grow too rash,
and commit himself in extravagance so far as to ren-
der him incapable of resuming rank in the sacred band
of the plausible' and convirtibles—these are grave
considerations. But, however solved, it will certainly
be comical to see Mr. GouLnuari and Sir ROBERT
PEEL separated on the opposition bench by that great
Terminus who divides the Peelites from the Country
Party, PLARGUS O'CONNOR, and each leading on his
fraction of the tories to the battle.
We should certainly congratulate Sir ROBERT
PEEL on having so adroitly promoted his lieutenant.
As to the country party, we perhaps might have
equal reason for congratulation to see that untameable
Leviathan caught at last, and fastened by such a
powerful hook in the nose as Mr. Gouteuity. Sir
ROBERT would not be many months in playing the
huge fish till he brought it fairly to land, and utterly
I worn out and helpless, at his feet.

VIE fourth series of papers relating to the adminis-
tration of relief in the various poor law unions in Ire-
land during the latter part of the year 1847, has just
been published. Its details are of painful interest.
They depict the various incidentsof the social struggle
which has begin to take place, between property
heretofore irresponsible, and labour hitherto unem-
ployed. It was not to be expected that such a con-
cession as that conferred by the recent extension
of the right to relief of the able-bodied poor
should cheerfully and promptly be recognised by the
hereditary monopolists of land. While too long impu-
nity for neglect had rendered the great majority of
Irish landlords incredulous of the sincerity of the
legislature, when it tardily declared the right of the
people to be supported out of the produce of the soil :
habits of prodigal expenditure too long indulged had
at once disabled and, disinclined the vast majority
to accept or fulfil the new condition of their
being. In their secret hearts they cherished
the belief that after the pressure of stark
famine had passed away, and the cry of shame had
ceased, things would revert to their previous condi-
tion—that labour would again be as cheap and rent
as high—that to-morrow would for them be even as
yesterday, or yet more abundant. They warned the
legislature openly that the extended Poor-law would
not work; and there were not a few half audible
mutterings that it should not work. The volume be-
fore us contains some startling echoes of these stifled
threats.
If there be a region more desolate than others in
the western part of the kingdom, it is that which,
comprehending the county of Sligo and the northern
baronies of Mayo and Itoseommon, has been divided
for the purposes of poor relief into unions—those
namely of Balling, Swmford, Sligo, Boyle, and Castle-
rea. In no region of the same extent, perhaps, is
there so much room for agricultural improvement, so
great a want of employment, so many spare hands
willing to work, and so low a scale of wages
to be found. The average size of estates is very
large, that of holdings very small. Nowhere could a
wise and energetic proprietary do more, beneficently
to their tenantry and beneficially to themselves.
Yet, with a few exceptions, nowhere has less been
done. During the dearth and pestilence of last year,
in no part of the country were the miserable found so
utterly helpless and destitute. To use the simple but
truthful expression of one of the first inspectors sent
thither by the government, with the exception of the
clergy, the medical practitioners, and here and there
an isolated individual belonging to the landed gentry,
"there was nobody to do anything." And left to
their fate, one-half of the population must have

perished.
Even with the munificent aid supplied in this way,
the depopulation caused by death and desertion of
holdings has been very great. Mr. BOURSE, assist-
ant-commissioner, writing from Balling, describes
the number of tenements that have been abandoned
by their occupiers, and the extent of arable land
which has been left uncultivated,—how some
farms have been vacated in time for the pro-
prietors to take possession and till them," although
in many instances they have not been formally
surrendered so soon, the occupants still lingering, no
doubt, in the vain hope of being enabled to resume
their little holdirr • In ot'ier unions the same re-
sult has been accomplished by other means. Where
fever and famine, and the fear of their recurrence,
did not clear the land quickly enough, civil bill pro.
ceedings have been unscrupulously resorted to. What
the inscrutable decrees of Providence have spared, the
more pitiless decrees of the land-law now seek to effect.'
As short-sighted in their present crucade against popu-
lation, as they formerly were in their desire to stimu-
late its increase, the proprietary imagine that they will
thereby be enabled to elude the burthen of its sup-

'HE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, JANITARY'IO: 1848.

eurlent for their „foreerr value. Not at all. There
was ma immediate fall in the current value of pre-
dimly the same extent es in the intrinsic value ; and
it would be a libel on the common seam of mankind
to conceive for a moment that there could be any
different result. " For," as Loam long since de-
eland, " men, in their bargains, contract not for de-
nominations or sounds, bet for the intrinsic value."
If this abundantly simple proposition needed addi-
tional confirmation, it might be found in the state of
the public mind with reference to measures of quan-
tity. It would be as difficult to pick up premien-
°ltaly a man who could explain philosophically why
the contents of the imperial bushel are limited to 554
or 548 cubic inches, as one who could explain the ra-
tionale of a fixed standard; and yet it is incontestibly
certain that every man conducts his transactions in
voicing questions of quantity, upon the faith of mach a
mathematical certainty and uniformity of measure.
Let there be a whisper that the bushel measures of
London are one-fourth deficient, and how many people
will be found who will not abate one-fourth in the
price of the article measured ?
The elaborate failure of the Wish:antler Iteviewer
affords another example of the manifold hazards
which attend every attempt to quit the tangible and
common-sense principle of an intrinsic equivalent.
It is quite true that gold and silver are not perfect
mediums for the measure of value. It is an admitted
fact now-a-days, that there is no such thing in nature
as a perfect and unchangeable measure of value. But
the precioas metals approach the nearest to each a
medium, of any commodities which have hitherto been
discovered or invented. They are neither easily in-
creased nor easily diminished in aggregate quantity ;
they are durable, portable, and possess great value in a
small compass, and they possess all these pro-
perties, in a degree beyond all comparison, superior
to that in which the same qualities are found
in any other product or substance. It can
excite little surprise, then, that from the
days when ABRAHAM bargained for the burying
field of Hebron in the " current money of the mer-
chant," gold and silver have been selected as the
medium in which men were content to make their
contracts. But we must not forget that the principle
of qua,,tity is as rigidly applicable io the nineteenth
century as it was in the early days after the flood.
The real and true meaning of every money contract is
still that the borrower or the buyer bargains to give,
either now or at some future time, to the lender or
seller, a certain quantity of gold or silver. It is not
true, as the reviewer most strangely state+, that the
equity of the obligation is not fulfilled unless in a con-
tract, say for 1001. far six months, the debtor at the end
of the term hands over the same purchasing power
as was represenn d by 1001. at the date of the
stipulation. The same purchasing power over what"
over corn, or wine, or iron ? over one commodity or
over many ? and if over many, over how many, and
in what way is the alteration in their value to be
ascertained? These are not litigious questions ; they
are some of the strong reasons which show the ne-
cessity of rigidly confining the terms of all prospective
engagements to one commodity, and of not permitting
them to refer to a multiplicity of commodities which
no two men concur in estimating by the same rule.
We deny, as a matter of fact, the accuracy of the
reviewer's allegation that at present gold and silver
are subject to more extreme fluctuations per se than
most articles of merchandise. We admit that an
imperfect system of currency management, or
rather an imperfect system of banking policy,
has several times exacerbated the evils of an
emergency. which under any circumstances—either
with a circulation of coin or of assignats -
must have produced at least some inconvenience. But
the correction of these artificial imperfections has no
connexion with a root and branch obliteration of the
only safe and rational basis of monetary legislation
with which the wisdom of mankind and the expe-
rience of every people has eo far made us acquainted :
and this we hope, in thecourse of the discussion, to be
able to prove.

In addition to the intelligence brought by our
Paris correspondence of Friday, which appeared on
Saturday, we have received the Paris journals and
our correspondence of Saturday.
The selections of diplomatic documents on the
affairs of Italy and Switzerland, formed the subjects
of general conversation in political circles on Satur-
day, and engrossed a large space in the columns of
the journals. The comments upon them in the oppo-
sition press are marked with an unusual spirit of con-
temptuous irony.
It is said that the occupation of Modena and a part
of the duchy of Parma by the Austrians, has been
effected with the acquiescence of Prussia, with the
complete assent and approval of France. M.
d'Appony has declared, that although the occupation
of these stated, is intended only to be temporary, his
government cannot assign a definite term to it in the
present agitated state of Italy.
The Chamber of Peers met on Friday in the
Bureaux, to deliberate on the address as drawn up
by the committee. The Chamber is to hold a public
sitting on Monday, to hrar the document read, and to
proceed to the general discussion.
M. de liknwiat has placed in the bands of the
President of the Chamber of Deputies a petition
from upwards of 60 professors of the colleges of
Paris, calling the attention of the Chamber to the
necessity of having legal guarantees established to
assure the independence of professors in general.

Wu regret that we are unable to say that the sixty
pages which are occupied in the last number of the
Westminster 12.,rietobya " History and exposition of
the Currency Question," have either elucidated the
annals or removed the difficulties of that much de-
bated subject. There is abundant evidence in the
tone and temper of the article that if the writer has
mistaken novelty for truth, and fallen into the com-
mon error of proposing alterations which are practi-
cally impossible or logically absurd, it is from no lack
of real, and no deficiency of good intention. If since-
rity alone could constitute a currency reformer, we
do not know that a more eligible candidate could be
:ound than the Westminster Reriewer. But if to
sincerity must be added the further qualifications of
judgment comprehensive and nicely discriminating,
an extensive and accurate knowledge of facts, and a
discernment which can draw the just line of demarca-
tion between salutary reform and impertinent inter-
ference, we very much fear that this new expositor
ot the science would not be able to command the suf-
frages of a competent majority.
We have seldom met with any treatise which in
SO small a compass contained so many important
errors as are to be found in the section of the article
I under consideration, which refers to the subject of
value and a fixed standard. We do not pretend to
say what the doctrine of the reviewer upon these im-
portents points actually may be, because, after a most
careful perusal of what he has written, we must con-
fess that we are utterly unable to conjecture his
meaning. We can only proceed by way of negative, I
and approximate towards what he does, by pointing
oat what he does not, mean.
To the best of our judgment his notions of value
will be represented with tolerable precision by the
famous definition of Lord CASTLEREAGH, that value
was a sense of currency in relation to commodities;
and we are surprised that a writer of so much can
dour and apparently of so much erudition, as the
reviewer, did not do Lord CASTLEREAGII the justice to
refer to his former labours in behalf of those views
which we see at present revived in so much detail.
The reviewer is most emphatically of opinion that
the intrinsic value of a pound " never, or but rarely,"
enters into the calculations of those who buy and
sell. He believes that the 5 dwte. 3 gre. of gold
which every sovereign ought to contain, are practi-
cally an altogether useless fiction. He contends that,
with scarcely a single exception, the people who have
toe good fortune to be conversant with the expendi-
ture of money attach no more Impoitauce to the cir-
cumstance of each coin being of full weight and fine-
ness than to the circumstance of its being yellow
instead of pink or purple; and as far as we can under-
stand—bat we do not speak with perfect confidence—
the reviewer is prepared to maintain that the con-
aomitant of intrinsic value is altogether superfluous
in our system of circulation.
With a laxity of plan not uncommon in these cases,
he has omitted to describe the method by which cer-
tainty and precision as to the subject matter of pecu-
niary contracts may be obtained, under the somewhat
flexible dispensation which he appears to contemplate.
And so dense is the obscurity which pervades this
part of his dissertation, that we cannot help think-
ing there are few persons who would find greater
difficulty in giving a satisfactory reply to the short
and stubborn question with which Sir HOBERT PEEL
steadily persists in perplexing the Birmingham eco-
nomists, " What do you mean by a pound ?"
Now, in the first place, we deny the fact that, in
the common estimation of the public, the intrinsic
value of the sovereign is of no moment. It m.. be
quite true that not one man in a thousand, or ten
thousand, can explain upon the instant how many
grains Troy a pound sterling contains, and why it
contains neither more nor less; but it is not, there-
fore, true, that every man is indifferent whether the
sovereigns in his pocket are made of gold or pinch-
beck; and it is unfortunate for the case of the reviewer
that there :s an utter discrepancy on this topic be-
tween the stat,menls of the theoretical and the facts
ot the historical part of his treatise. He does
not disguise the fact that the scandalous
debasement of the standard by HENRY VIII.
produced an immediate effect on the value of the cur-
rency. The intrinsic value of the coin was lammed
by one-fifth, but we do not find that the principles or
she reviewer received any confirmation from subse-
quent experience. The coins did not continue to pus

The Madrid mails have arrived.
On the 2ud, a ministerial crisis continued to be ex-
pected, and new combinations were named as pro-
bable, among which are the following :—Concha, for
Foreign Affairs; Fidel, for the Interior; and General
Pezuela, or Fulgosia, for War. In this case, Narvaez
would be sent back to Paris (which he, probably,
keeps vacant as a retreat for himself), and M. Sartorius
to Lisbon. A conference was held on the let inst. at
the hotel of Queen Christina, the object of which was
supposed to be the realisation of some such combina-
tion. It wu attended among others by M. Mon, and
the French ambassador, the Duke de Gluckeberg,
MM. Jose de la Conchs and Dalborgo, Charge
d'Affaires of Denmark, and by MM. Fulguio and
Rubio.
The Clamor Publi4 o says that an exalted personage
has expressed a wish that the Salamanca affair should
be arranged without an investigation before the
chamb re. In short, that the matter should be
dropped.

Public order is gradually recovering its influence in
Switzerland, and the army raised for the suppression
of the insurrection of the small cantons is being dis-
banded.
The Suisse of Berne of the 4th states that the Vo-
rort is about to disband the artillerymen of the seven
batteries which are still kept, and that, according to
the new reductions, the federal army will consist of
only 14 battalions of infantry, 9 companies of carabi-
niers, and half a company of cavalry. The division
of Colonel Ziegler is to be disbanded at his own re-
quest, and Colonel Gmur will take the command in
chief of the troops of occupation in the cantons of
Lucerne, Uri, Schwytz, and Zug. The entire amount
of the federal army to be kept on foot is riot to exceed
11,000 men. The canton of Unterwald has been en-
tirely evacuated by the federal troops.
M. Siegwart Muller has published in the Augsburg
Gazette a refutation of the charge brought against
him of having, when he fled from Switzerland, car-
ried off with him some of the property of the govern-
ment. As this charge, however, had been suffi-
ciently refuted by the facts which transpired after
the visit of the police to M. Siegwart Muller at
Demo d'Ossolo, it is not necessary for us to publish
his own statement.
By the terms of the federal pact, the direction of
federal affairs will still belong to the canton of Berne
during the year 1848. Since the introduction in the
canton of the new constitutional order of things, the
administrative year will only commence on June 1.
It results, therefore, that the Vorort will continue to
have M. Ochsenbein the present chief of the con-
federation, at its head until 31st May next.
The Press° has the following from Berne, dated

the 4th :
A report was current here yesterday that a revolution bad
broken out in the canton of Neufchatel, but letters received
to-day from Neufchatel merely inform us that the govern-
ment, fearing some attempt at revolution, had sent some
pieces of cannon to La Sagne and the Val de Travers. It
appears that the liberals of the canton, besides, seeing with
regret the lamentable part played by Neufchatel in the affair
of the Sonderbund, cannot bear the idea of their cipital be-
coming the seat of a congress, whose object is to domineer
over the confederation. This is the way in which diplomacy
deranges everything, whe it seta its foot within Switzer-
land. It is to diplomacy that we owe the war, and that it is
which will farce us to take up arms a second time, perh►ps,
! by interfering too muck in our print* quarrels.

We have the journals and correspondence from va-
rious parts of Italy. The 27th ult. being the Ate of
the Pope, occasion was taken for various popular nu.
nifestations. A crowd of people assembled Wei the
papal palace of Monte Cavallo, ostensibly to receive
the benediction of his Holiness, who appeared at the
balcony to impart it. In the midst of the silence that
reigned during this solemn rite, several voices were
unexpectedly heard to exclaim, Set Parodist at
berty ! (the person who accused Torlonia, and who is
now arrested). The Pope concluded the benediction,
and immediately after retired. 'On the same occasion
Ciceroacchio, in the name of the people of Rome,
privately directed to the Pope ation, for a series
of reforms, the moat important of which are, freedom
of the press, and the banishment of the Jesuits. The
Alba of Flerence of the 31st ult. says: " We are as-
sured that the little duchy of Gusetalla is already
under the domination of the house of Este. This
duchy is composed of a town and two districts with a
population of about 20,000 persons."
The Genoa Gazette states that the news of the en-
trance of the Austrian troops into Modena had pro-
duced a great fermentation at Leghorn. On the
evening of the 27th ult. the people in a mans pro-
ceeded to the residence of the governor, and demanded
arms with loud cries. It was not without difficulty
that the tumult could be appeased. The day before
a similar commotion had taken place at Florence. The
Tuscan government hes decreed an extraordinary
levy ; twelve pieces of cannon have been already des-
patched to the frontier of Modene4Meanwhile, it does
not appear that the enthusiasm excited by the insti-
tution of the National Guard keeps up. The official
journal of Florence announces that very few persons
had presented themselves for the elections of that
body, and that, out of 24 elections, only one could
take place, a sufficiency of voters not having come
forward for the rest.

beards thick, and ends in • point ; the eneemble of hes essi
is austere : it malls, except the expression of mildness, the
traditional face of Christ; his voice is grave end soaorms.
His stature, below the middle sire, appears robust, sad h
well proportioned. His costume is the most simple of mi
worn by the secondary chiefs of the province of Orm_yn
black burnous over two white ones; the boot of corium,
yellow morocco. He is distinguished by no sort of lull
not even by that of cleanliness. It seems to us that we bine
meta hundred times, in the midst of the Arab gowns, Meg,
features and the ssme phriognomy.

THE WRECK OF THE AVENGER. ,
The Admiralty has received the following hb,
portant, but painful, corn. opondenee in reference to Us he
of her Majesty 'a steam-frigate Avenger:

Tila SECitarilti or Tie ADIMIALTT.
Ceylon, at Malta, Dec. 30, 1847.—Sir :It is with mit
regret I enclose for the information of the Lords Coellala
sinners of the Admiralty a copy of a letter to Sir Willi.*
Parker, and enclosures, acquainting him with the unreels'.
nate end melancholy toes of her Majesty's steam-frimet
Avenger (for I find by Lieut. Rooke's statement lbws are
few, if any, survivors), at 10 p.m., ou the 20th instant, °it
reef sear the Island of Oahu, on her passage to Malta, that
island bearing, es appears by Lieut. Itooke's letter, N.g,,
distant twelve miles, a copy of which is inclosed to As
vice-admiral. This reef I consider to be the Ssectit
rocks, which lie about that distance from Gahm. I beg
acquaint their lordships that, on receiving the intelbehtt
on the 28th, I instantly despatched the 11, cite with cab*
hawser, stores, &c., to render every asaiatance, but I feu ets
late, es the Ariel yacht, which has arrived bete, maws(
the Cane Rocks, and, for nearly the whole day of the 26th
instant, parts of a wreck, bulwarks, tube, &c , the bulwerlis
being painted like those of the Avenger, and I am intoned
that several parts of the wreck were not more than tea tea
long. The only hope I have is, that the vessels sent fact
Tunis may have arrived in time to save bay survivors of ths
crew, but so foot days had elapsed between the date of the
wreck (the 20th) and these vessels leaving Tuuis, it is auch
to be doubted. I have the honour to be, sir, your 1144
obedient humble servant, Lucius Coatis, Rear-Madio
and senior officer at Malta..

ROME, Dsc. 23.
Tiberio Paradisi, who had denounced Torlonia as a
public robber, was yesterday, on the strength of some
obsolete edict which the tobacco king's lawyers fished
up out of the musty records of Roman law, put pro-
visionally into prison until he can justify his charge.
The Roman people are in high indignation at this act,
and bat for the stormy weather prevalent yesterday
would have broken open the prison and rescued hie.
Meantime Don Carlo Torlonia, who had felt it neces-
sary to resign his command in the civic guard, and Don
Alessandro, hie brother, think prudent to hide them-
selves from the compliments of the season. The re-
marriage of Theresa Gamba (widow Guiccioli) is
commented on by the Roman press with warm sym-
pathy, inasmuch as the Gamba race has not merely
exhibited Philhellenic patriotism, but taken part in
every struggle for freedom in Ferrara and northern
Italy. The Pope is understood (the families of both
having been most intimate in Senagagliu) to have
written a congratulatory note to the countess, now
Marchioness de Boissy : a step which will shock your
English prudery, stern and unforgiving.
The Princess Beljoioso, well known for her liberal
politics, has just arrived, and is become the lioness of
Rome. Dyce Sombre and the sculptor Tadolini, who
executed the mausoleum of that wicked old woman,
the Begum of Sumroo, arc at loggerheads. A stamp tax
will be put on the fourteen newspapers now issued in
this kingdom, on the first of January ; the produce is
to pay the staff of censors, whose appetite will thus
grow by what it feeds upon. Lord Minto has ordered
the bust of Cicerohacchio for his reception-room in
Rome.
The grand event of this week was the annual
dinner of the British artists, who mustered over half a
hundred, in the spacious hall of their academy, under
the shadow of the union jack and banner of St.
George, while the statuary of Greece and Rome
ranged round the walls witnessed their banquetting.
The chair was taken (again this year) by the vene-
rable Prout, who kept them all in good humour. A
report of the proceedings from the slips of the Roman
Advertiser is herewith sent, but, as it is possible the
matter may be of merely local interest, you will p sr:
haps be content with a song which was chaunted on
the proposal of the Pope's health, and runs thus
Air, " Boyne Water."

Old Tyber rose from his oosy bed,
And his ran grew erect with wonder;
For, Let Rome be free !" was the wor that was said,
And her chains fell, enapt asunder'
And the guns boomed loud from old Adrian's male
With • roar of joy, that under
The ribs of death might errata • soul,
To exult in freedom's thunder !

In the Vatican, when eacnitoman man
flaw enthroned his liberator,
'Twas if Peter's word had to life restored
Rome's " Dying Gladiator '^
Or if he whom the asp Ina marble grup
Kept coiled and for age* stningled.
Got loose tram the bold of each serpent fold,
And nulled, disentangled!

Whit glorious and divine forethought
In that hest of picture's• fitness,
Where the prophet hand of Raphael wrought
The bloaed scene we witnew :
Look down—'tis the rage of a Roman youth,
By demon powers beleaguered !
Look up the reign of Right and Truth;
'To Homo—but Roms Trswingured !
Traisagoration.

MALTA, DEC. 29.—You will recollect receiving
front me, some few months ago, an account of what was
termed here an abduction of a daughter by her mother,
from a school, where the young lady had been placed by her
father, the trial for the recovery of the child, and the court's
decision in favour of the mother. Mrs. Curtis, the lady in
question, and her daughter have since been residing in
Malta. Some few Sundays ago Sir Cecil Bishop, one of
Bishop Tomlinson's chaplains, gave a public notice to the
congregation, that the bishop would hold a confirmation on
the 16th December, and that all persons desirous of the rite,
who had not been examined and received a ticket, were to
attend the church on the following Tuesday, at II a.m.
Amongst the candidates appeared Miss Curtis. Immediately
on her entering the pew (the admiral's) allotted for '
the candidates, Sir Cecil desired the clerk to send
Mrs. Curtis into the vestry. The lady went, but soon came
out, her eyes bathed in tears, and her visage inflamed by
emotion, called to her daughter, and took her from the
church. What passed in the vestry is of course known only
to the parties. It is well known that the protestant clergy
used all their endeavours to keep Miss Curtis from her
mother. But that they should still keep up a spirit of ani-
mosity, after the dmiaion of the law, is not easily, understood.
Bishop Sant, the new Bishop of Malta, has, like his preile-
cemor Caruana, refused to take the oath that he will not at-
tempt to disturb the protestant faith, required before he can
be admitted as a member of the council of government. He
is therefore ineligible to sit. It is creditable to him that in this
instance he did not approve of the end justifying the means.

ABD-EL-KADER.
We take the following interesting narrative of the
last hours of Abd-el-Kader in Algeria from the Moniteur
Algerien of Dec. 30 :
The Emir appeared to feel the last sentiment of ex-
piring pride when he was received with a flourish of trum-
pets and military honours, on this ground of Sidi Brahim,
the theatre of one of Ilia mo-t glorious victories, where are
still to be seen the tombs of our soldiers, whose death we
can pardon, for they felt that day victims, and glorious vic-
tims, of the fate of arms. He preserved, during the whole
journey, that melancholy gravity which is said to be his
wont, and which the circumstances in which he was placed
could not but increase.
At six o'clock ho arrived, with Lieutenant-General de
Laramie:ere, General Caysignac, and Lieutenant-Colonel de
Bmufort, and he was presented to his Royal Highness. Con-
forming his actions to his present fortunes he humbly de-
posed his sandals upon the threshold, waited a sign of the
Prince previous to taking a seat, and after an instant of si-
lence pronounced the following words, translated by the
principal interpreter, M. Rousseau:
" I should have wished to have done before what I have
done this day ; I have waited for the hour marked by God.
The general has pledged me his word, which I rely upon. I
do not fear to see it broken by the son of a great king, such as
the King of the French. I ask his amen for my family and
for myself."
His Royal Highness confirmed in a few words, at once sim-
ple and concise, the promise of his lieutenant, and dismissed
with dignity this personage, towards whom the passions ex-
cl. el by his long struggle must henceforward be reduced to
silence.
Tents had been prepared within the precincts of the hos-
pital of Nemours for Abd-el-Kader and his family ; he was
conducted thither, and was thus enabled to bust himself,
during the whole day of the 24th, with those affairs he is
about to abandon for ever. A last ceremony, which must not
have been the least galling to his pride, took place in the
morning.
At the moment his Royal Highness wasreturning from the
review he had passed of the cavalry which had returned to
the camp, the ex-Sultan presented himself on horseback, and
surrounded by his principal officers, and alighting at some
steps from the Priace, said: " I offer you this horse, the last
I have mounted on, it is a testimony of my gratitude ; I
hope it will bring yot ppiness."
" I accept it," replied the Prince, " as an homage paid to
France, whose protection will cover you for the future, and
as a sign of forgetfulness for the past."
The Emir then saluted his Roya: Highness with dignity,
and returned on foot into the precinct of the camp.
The ex-Emir is a man of about .H years of age. We have
in vain sought in his features the high distinction
al.d the penetrating expression we have so frequently heard
spoken of by persons who had seen him in his power. His
physiognomy, however, is intelligent; his eyes, barge and
black, have a look at once harsh and imperious. His com-
plexion is yellow, his face thin; without being long, his