The Express.
London, England, 1847-01-12 00:00:00

might entail, did not prevent the Porte from obeying
the dictates of justice and of that spirit of a wise and ;
enlightened administration which is so apparent since
Reschid Pasha's accession to power. By adopting
such a line of conduct, the ministers of the Sultan i
have shown a decided s7mpathy with the constitu-
tional governments of Europe, to whose support they
have thus established an additional claim. It is un-
necessary to Point out the importance of a close
alliaece with 'turkey in case of a rupture with the
northern powers. Iteachid Pasha and his colleagues
have thus boldly declared their principles, but they
are not in a position to defend them airninst a serious
opposition unless aided by France aid England. The
appearance of a Russian fleet in the Buspiiorus would
at once change the whole face of events in Turkey.
During the rebellion of the Wahabees, and the oc-
cupation of the northern part of Arabia by the Egyp-
tian army, the province of Yemen raised itself into a
kind of independence. A warlike people of the sect
of Zeydi, who had, since the first Ottoman conquest,
inhabited the mountains in the neighbourhood,
assisted by the Sheik of Eboorish, took advantage of
the disorders which existed in that part of the empire
during the late war with Mehemet Ali, to take pos-
session of Yemen. The Porte has determined to esta-
blish its authority over this province, and for that
purpose an army is to be formed, the head-quarters of
which will be at Mecca. Fahreff Bey, one of the
commissary-generals of tics l'orte, has already set out
fur Egypt to make the necessary preparations for the
expedition.
C'hekib Effendi, appointed ambassador at Vienna,
left this by the last Trieste steamer. Before going te
his post, he is to visit Rome, for the purpose of
offering some splendid presents to his Holiness from
the Sultan. He is also the bearer of an autograph
letter from his Majesty, congratulating Pepe Leo on
his accession to the pontifical throne.
We have had no English war-steamer here for
some time. The naval force ix the Mediterranean is
so small that the admiral cannot spare the Blooi-
hound from Malta, whither she was recalled to re-
place the Heels, ordered to Lisbon.

THE REIGNING SOVEREIGNS OF EUROPE.
We extract the following from the De:rtsehe
Altge-
meine Zeitung :
Of the fifty-two sovereigns reigning in Europe, two ot
them have reach. d their 70th year—the King of Hanover,
the oldest sovereign in Europe since the decease of
Gregory XVI., and the King of the French. Of the other
sovereigns. thirteen are between GO and 70 years of age,
fourteen from 50 to 60, eleven from 40 to 50, eight from 20
to 30, and two have not yet reached their 20th year, namely
the Queen of Spain, who is only 16 years 3 months, and the
Prince of Waldeck, who is not yet 16. Of all the sovereigns
the Prince of Schaumbourg-Lippe hat reigned the longest of
the time if his minority is counted. He boo reigned for
nearly sixty year... Two have reigned more than forty year
equally counting their minority ; four from thirty to forty
year. ; nine from twenty to thirty years: twenty-one from
ten to twenty seam ; toe MU e3l other sovereigns. ot whom
three ascended the throne during 1845, have not reigned
more than ten years.
By counting the reign from the date only of majority,
not counting the year in which a sovereign was still a
minor, the longest, reign is that of the Duchess of Parma
(32 years 7 months), as the Princes of Scheumbourg-Lippe,
of Lipne and Selmarzhourg-Rudolstadt and the Duke of
Saxe-Meinengen, reigned many years before they reached
their majority. Six sovereign.. are unmarried, namely (in-
dependently of the Pope). the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-
Schwerin, the Duke of Brunswick, the Princes of Reuss-
Schleitz, Reuss-Ebersdorfe and of Waldeck. The King of
Hanover, the Grand-dukes of Hume end of Oldenburg, the
Duke of Nasesu, are widowers; the Dusters. of Parma is a
widow. The Sultan is a polygamist. The Elector of Hesse
has contracted a morgana'ic marriage. The thirty-nine
others contracted marriages suitable to their rank ; two
have been married thrice, eight twice.
Of the forty-six anvereigna married or widowed, thirteen
have no children. Of the thirty-three others, after the
Sultan, comes Prince of Lielitenstein, who hu nine children.
The King of Bavaria and the Prince of Lippe have each
eight; the Orand Duke of Baden seven ; six other sove-
reigns have each seven—three only one. Fifteen sovereigns
hove grandsons the King of the French has fifteen ; the
Emperor of Russia. the Grand Dukes of Hews and of Saxe
Weimar, and the Prince of Hohenzollern Sigmariagen have
each six. As the Duke of Saxe Altenburg has only daughters
there are thirty-two sovereigns who have heirs. presumptive ;
fourteen have collateral branches for successors—twelve
have brothers: the Queen of Spain, her sister; the Prince
of Hohenzollen-Hechingen, the eon of his grand uncle.
Six sovereigns have no fixed fume...ors ; they are, inde-
pendently of the pope, the Duchess of Parma, the Dukes of
Brunswick, of Anhalt-Bernberg, of Anhalt-Cohen, and the
Prince of Reuss-Sherder,. Of forty-six hereditary princes
and heir-prvaumptives, the eldest being the Prince of Reuse
Schleitz, 57 years and 2 months, the youngest the Prince of
Reuss-Greitz, only 9 months of age, 23 are married; one has
contracted a morganatic marriage, one is divorced for the
second time, sixteen have children : Prince John of Saxony
hu nine.
In the course of laid year, eighteen deaths took place in
sovereign families; three reigning Prince a, Pope Gregory
XVI., Francis IV., Duke of Modena, the Landgyave Philip
of Here-Homburg, one ex-sovereign, Louis Bonaparte, ca-
king of Holland; the Dowager Duchess (properly speaking
princess hereditary) of Anhalt Dessau, mother of the reigning
duke and his sister, Princess William of Prussia, aged 72 and
71 years, both sisters of the late Landgrave of Hesse-Horn-
burg ; Prince Henry of Pletwia, uncle of the present king,
aged 65; Prince William of the Netherlands, aged 10 and a
half; the hereditary Prince of Hesse-Philippthal-learch-
felsl, aged 21 ; Prince Charles of Waldeck, uncle of the
reigning prince, aged 43 ; •Count Henry of Reuss
Kostritz, aged 78; Count Ferdinand of Lippe-Blester-
feld, aged 74 ; the Grand-Duchess Mary of Hestia,
daughter of the Grand-Duke Michael, aged 22 ; Primus
Augusta of Noun- Usineen, married to the Count de Beenark,
the divorced wife of the Lenderrave Louis of Hesse-Homburg,
who died in 1839, aged 68 ; Maria Luiaa, Princess of Spain,
wife of the Duke of San Fernando, aged 67 ; the Princess-
Dowager Leopoldine of Liechtenstein, horn Princess Ester-
hazy, aged 58 ; Princess Louisa of Hohenzollern Hechingen,
widow of Baron Heer von der Burg, aged 72; Prioress Caro-
line Louisa, of Schaumburg Lippe, sister of the reigning
prince, aged 60. Among the births, 16 are especially worthy
of notice ; those of the sons of the King of Naples, of the
Queen of Portugal, of Prince Luitpald of Bavaria, of the
Prince-hereditary of Reuss-Greitz, of the Prince-hereditary
of Sardinie, of the Prince-hereditary of Schaumburg Lippe,
of the Duke Eugene Erdunarna of Wurtemberg, of the
hereditary Prince Charles of Heese-Philippthal, and of
Count Jules of Lippe Blesterfeld ; then those of the
daughter of the Queen of Great Britain, of the Duke of
Nemours., of Prince of Liechtensti in, of the Princes Louis of
Naples, Peter of Oldenburg, and Augustus of Saxe-Coburg-
Gotha.
In 1816 the following marriages took place in sovereign
houses:—that of the Queen of Spain with her cousin the
Infant Don Francisco; of the Oulu. of Montpensier with the
Infanta Louisa of Spain; of tile Prince Royal of Wurtem-
berg with the Grand-Duchess Olga of Russia ; of the
Princess Mary of Holstein Bliickehurg (willow of Colonel
Lasperg) with Count Alfred of Hohenthal-Kiinigsbruck ; of
Count Henry 11., of Reuss Kostrite, with Countess Clotilda
of Caatell ; of the Hereditary Prince of Monaco with
Countess Antoinette of Merode. We may notice, in conclu-
sion the divorce of the l'rinee Royal of Denmark from his
second wife, a Princess of Mecklenhergalltrelitz.

FRAIjCE.—TnEFRENCTIMISRION IN Cu .—The
affair of the French mission in China has been settled.
The French Consulate at Canton is suppressed. A French
Charge d'Affaires is appointed to the Celestial Empire.
M. Forth-Rouen has been nominated to the post; be is to
reside at Canton, where the viceroy resides, the legal repre-
sentative of the Emperor of China towards the Europeans.
If, at a later period, the hopes of the English government
arerealucd, and foreign agents arc admitted into Pekin, the
French representative is to take the title of envoy extraor-
dinary and minister p'enipotentiary to the Chinese court
an interpreter, • seactary, and a chancellier are to be
attached to the mission. M. Lefevre de Bicourt, French
consul at Canton, has been appointed consul-general at
Manilla. M. Fibre, consnlar agent at Manilla, bag been
appointed consul at Santiago, in the island of Cuba. and M.
de Montigny has been appointed consular-agent at Changhai.
FRENCH MattarEtts.—From the 9th August, 1830,
to the Ist January. 1847, there have been 5.5 ministers at the
different portefeuilles. The mii,ists rs the longest at the
head of office are :—Guisot, about 101 rears; Souk, 94;
Dochitel, 94; Martin, 8j; Cunin Gridsine, nearly 7; La-
cave-Laplagne,6S ; Thins, 44; Salvandy, 3 years 10 months
Mackau, 31; Duman, 3; 11016, 21; de Broglie, 2 years and
7 months.

COLONIAL.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
ALBANY (KING GEORG l.'s SOT'. N —We have
bina favoured with the following extract from a letter,
dated 15th July last, just reef-lived from an intelligent settler
at Albany:—
With rameet to timber, I have sees and been about the country,
and on both aides, and I give you my opinion. It would afford me
much coloni•t to th•nk tbr timber lieculatka now
in peogreas on the other side may entered ; yet, although the quality
of the mahogany is unsurpaverd. the went of baboon., distant hill,
&e., will, In my opinion, rend, it of minor horertanee; but I r
certain if a company could be rained with a gaol capital to work -.
timber on the mem at the " Nornoleep" inlet, about sixty miles to
thegestwarflo' Albany, much profit cow: lbe made. I now give you
a harried description of the place, and the resmuttee as to timber. The
entrance to the ••• Nornalerp" inlet is narrow, and gat-bottom vessels
drawing not more thaneightfeee only could enter; there are three rivers
in the inlet. The West Hirer I have been up eieht miles; os the
right hank, a mile 'ram the entrance of thin river, it a studded with
the most gigantic " Mart," or tilurgurn, if immenne height, and
straight as a trumborrel, mixed with %behest mahogany and another
kind of valuable timber. The mUistle ovum n contains another river
which I did nuts nos r, but there appeared to Ice the same timber up
that river. The last Myer on both bank. contains the some demerit.
lion of timber, bit of much more considerable extent and Importance.
The timber on them rivers would .n by the whole of Great lit gain
for shipbuilding for very many years. lath fiT the nary and mercan-
tile purposes. We have a newel called the blmma cherratt of 94 tons
register, built et Torbay, about tea mica west of Albany,
trading to Adelaide, the Isle of From:, Ate., and uut now
on a voyage to the latter port. Ibis veesel was on the
stocks nearly tea peen building. I bought one fourth to aunt
i the pinks to send her tons. She la entirely planked with the