The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-15 00:00:00

ITALY.

A letter from Rome of the 30th, in the Milan
Gazette, states that nine new arrests have taken
place there, all belonging to the middle classes. It
is not known whether they are connected with the
conspiracy of August 16, now under inquiry, or not.

TIM LATE QUEEN OF PORTUOAL.—A solemn
mass and requiem for the late Queen of Portugal is to be
sung to-day at the chapel of the Bavarian Embassy, in War-
wick-street.

TUE PORT OP VARNA.—As a Seaport Varna might
soon rival Odessa if it had.fair play. Placed on one of the
bays that indent the western shore of the Black Sea, near
the point at which the Balkan range terminate: in a pro-
montory, the port, or rather the road although not pro-
tected from the east and south-cut winds, is amply shel-
tered from north and north-east winds, the most dangerous
that prevail in the Black Sea. The entrance of the bay is
picturesque, for the two capes that form it sad leave a
passage of four miles and a half wide, are steep and rocky.
Further in, the shores sink, and become quite level in the
neighbourhood of the city. It has been proposed to make
a cutting, in order to connect the port with the
lake of Deane, in which case it would oecome
the safest refuge for vessels, and the most important point
in the Black Sea. When the present Sultan visited Varna
in 1847, the plan was laid before him ; but he seems to have
been discouraged by the enormous estimates of some Turkish
engineers. The cutting would only be a mile long, and
there already exists a little stream called by the natives
Derse, which turns al mills. Occasionally boats are
taken up from the sea for a pleasure party oa the lake.
Along the banks of the Derse groups of women are con-
stantly seen washing wool and carpets in the running
water. It would only be necessary to deepen the channel
that already exists, and an enormous fleet might find reran,
in all weathers, in an inner basin completely protected.Evea
as it is, the port of Varna is visited by a great number of
vessel,. Two years ago there were 430, one only
of which was English. The year after there were
only 272, of which eight were English ; but last year there
was a great increase. The Austrian steamers put in at
Varna twice a week, on their way to and fro between Con-
stantinople and Galatz. They carry all kinds of merchan-
dise, even cages of poultry, which cover the deck from end
to end, to the great inconveniecce of passengers. It is cal-
culated that 200,000 fowls, and GO million eggs are annually
exported. In the year 1847, in which commerce was re-
markably active, the value of the articles exported from
Varna was about 600,0001., two-thirds of which sum were
employed in the purchase of wheat and barley. The im-
port trade, moreover, is by no means insignificant. From
these facts, it is evident that 'Varna is a most important
point. It is the maritime capital of Bulgaria, just as Rout-
chuk is the Danubian capital.—Diclumes Household Words.
AUSTRALIAN POSTAGE.—The South Australian
Postage Reform Bill, with the exception of one clause in it,
has passed the legislature of that colony. Its main provi.
lions are an uniform charge of 2d. on all intra•provincial
letters, and Gd. on all extra-provincial letters. A single
letter must not weigh above half an ounce. Newspapers
are to pass free through the post, except when they are
directed to be left at the post office or to the town where
they are posted, when a penny each is to be charged.
AMERICAN COMMUNICATION WITH CHINA.—A
proposition has been submitted to the American govern-
ment to subsidise a private steam•packet company, to estab-
lish a mail communication between New York and Shang-
hai tin the Pacific Ocean, which it is believed would open
up • vast trade between the United States and China, the
eastern pasts of India, Japan, the Eastern Archipelago,
and Australia, and enable correspondence to and from
those parts and Europe, to be conveyed in a month's less
time than at present. The subsidy named is two million
and a half of dollars per annum. The clause prohibiting
two or more newspapers being placed under one cover, has
been struck out. The object of this clause was to prevent
newspaper proprietors from sending parcels of newspapers
through the post. The clause which was left for decision
was that colonial newspapers, posted for parts out
of the colony, should be charged a penny each.
" Colonel hiaberly," says an Adelaide journal, " who
requires that his scheme should be adopted in its in-
tegrity, has included this among his conditions. At the
same time such a tax is justly esteemed by our legislature
unjust and impolitic, and will, we should hope, never he
consented to. As the whole loss from not charging this
penny would fall upon the colonial revenue, we can see no
reason why the home government should force us to tax
ourselves against our will. We have no doubt that if the
measure is passed without this provision, and the reason of
the omission explained, it will not be found to militate
against the sanction of the hill by her Majesty. Such a tax
would be a ' heavy blow and or. at discouragement' to colo-
nial newspapers, and would stand greatly in the way of the
diffusion in the mother-country of correct information con-
cerning the.colony."