The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-05 00:00:00

BELGIUM.

The Belgian Chambers have just been
somewhat suddenly. It may be recolleoPt2r
short time since the ministry resigned office, in con-
sequence of the Chamber refining to sanction a new
tax on sitoocssions. After upwards of a fortnight
spent in negotiation with the heads of divas parties,
the King found it impossible to bring a cabinet into
existence; the old ministers were induced to resume
their seats, and the obnoxious law passed with some
slight changes. The opposition did not, however,
give up the game, and have suoceeded in defeating
the ministry ou the Suocession Tax Bill in the Senate.
The result has been the prorogation of the Chambers.
The Senate will be dissolved.

_••-•
I \ ITALY.

121.11 EARTHQUAKE AT MELFL
NAPLES, Aro. 27.
hat communication I gave you a brief no-
tice of Oa terrible earthquake which took place at
Mehl and the surrounding country on the 14th.
Since that date the official journal has published a
report of the loss of life and property from various
villages surrounding the nearly destroyed town of
Melfi; but I find the official narrative so incomplete
and falling so short of tho actual extent of the cala-
mity, that I prefer sending you information from
persons who have arrived in Naples from the scene
of the disaster, and more particularly the account I
have received from a medical gentleman, which I
hero translate: " Near Melfi, Aug. 20.—My dear
Friend,—l will endeavour to give you a narrative of
what I have seen in my journey from Naples to the
scenes of the awful events of the 14th. When I reached

the table-land of Terra de Lavoro I learnt the
earthquake had been felt there much more distinctly
than in the city of Naples; indeed the vibration
lasted thirty seconds; several persons were thrown
on the ground, and a few houses are split, that is the
walls are cracked, but fortunately no life was lost as
far as I can learn. Continuing my
journey I found
Avellino had suffered slightly, without low of life.
At Monteverde six persons were buried in the ruins
of a house, and many others wounded. The inha-
bitants of this district are in a most excited state, as
other slight shocks have been felt. Many have fled
from the villages, and I saw groups of people living
in huts outside the towns. still more pronounced
was the effect of the earthquake at Boyne) and As-
coli, where many houses are in a dangerous
I state, and must be pulled down. Here use
I found the people greatly excited. I was
continually asked, " Did earthquakes follow
one another ? Was it safe to remain in the houses!"
The whole of the district of Bari has suffered for
miles round ; scarcely a house in any of the villages
in that direction may be said not to be injured. The
terror and misery is beyond my powers of descrip-
tion. Basilicata has suffered throughout the whole
district. The town of Venosa is nearly destroyed ;
the market-place is one heap of ruins, and you see
houses here and there threatening to fall. In more
than one place I observed the earth torn up and
showing ragged fissures. In this district the earth-
quake assumed its most terrible phenomena—viz.,
first a perpendicular action and then an oscillatory.
ltapola is in ruins • the cathedral no longer
exists. An inhabitant Of this town told me the falling
of the buildings produced such a consternation
that for more than half an hour after the event
he could find no one who could give a coherent an-
swer to a question. Day and night, women, men,
and children were tearing away the ruins to find
their friends and relatives. At Itionero, the inhabi-
tants were employed when I arrived in digging at
the ruins ; halt this town is destroyed. I saw seve-
ral of the wounded (not less than 120); they wero
wanting surgical aid very much, bat I feared to dis-
cover my profession, as I could not remain, being, as
you know, sent to :Witt. I think I never could wit-
ness a more painful picture, and I need not remind
you I have attended the wounded after more than
one battle, and that is bad enough; but here with
the horrors of the very worst of wounds—the crush—
you see a mother lamenting a child under a mass
of fallen rubbish ; a father wildly asking where
is my family—my wife?—children without parents ;
some lamenting over the dying, some weeping over
the dead. Gran Du)! (Iran Die ! The village of
Basile has actually disappeared. I found all about
this district large fissures, partly filled up with
houses. A man who escaped told me it appeared to
him that for a minute he was being tossed about in
the air ; the earth appeared, as it were, with a
breathing power, and then came a different move-
ment—a shaking to and fro. Here some mi-
litary had arrived to excavate. There was
a strong stench of decomposing bodies.
This place was really deserted by the inhabitants,
at least I saw very few. How shill I give you an
idea of what was once the town of Meld? The ca-
thedral is down, as are the college, the churches, the
military depot, and 163 houses-98 are in a falling
state, and 180 pronounced as dangerous. The mili-
tary have arrived, and are working away. Our
medical staff is by no means strong enough. More
than a thousand bodies have already been dug up. I
need not add, all dead. The wounded are over 64)0,
and present every variety of flesh wounds and frac-
ture. The town offers a strange and awful appear-
ance. Many have fled, others linger about the ruins,
as fond friends about the tombs of all they loved
best in this world.
"I have no time to give you any notice of the various
phenomena; indeed, IL have learnt little as yet. It
appears however certain that the convulsing current
was strongest at Melfl, and took a direction in the
centre of the peninsula towards Sicily. The water is
still warm, and repeated slight shocks have been felt
in several places. Some suppose a volcano will
break out, as there is evidently much subterranean
action going on. The whole district, I observe, pre-
sents many traces of volcanic creation in past times.
Etna and Vesuvius have been quiet for some time
past, a fact worth remembering when speculating on
causes. The earthquake was followed by hurricanes
which have also done much injury. To tell you the
truth, I am by no means quiet in my, mind whilst
living hero; the elements of destruction are below
us.—l will let you know more as soon as possible.
"P.S. I should have told you the village of Ascoii
has also suffered immensely : 32 houses have fallen
in. I do not know how many lives are lost ; I should
imagine altogether the loss of life cannot be leas than
3,000, including all the sufferers in all the towns."
Such is the account given by the writer of this
letter of a calamity which has produced a profound
sensation throughout the kingdom. I have seen other
letters which are still more alarming, and contain
more horrible details ; but as they were written
in a moment of excitement, I hope they are exag-
gerated. On inquiry at the chief pohce office at
Naples, I am told, up to this day " the returns of
dead bodies dug out of the rains from all towns and
villages, is 857, but tho excavations have only com-
menced." I am told the town of Molfl and other

places have suffered much from plunder—even in this
awful moment some wretched examples of humanity
were found who occupied themselves in sack-1
in g the deserted houses. One gentleman
told me his brother wrote stating ho had
lost 170 piastres and many valuable articles of furni-
ture, after the earthquake when all the family in
town had left the house. Sixty-five boys of the
college of Melfi are supposed to have perished. The
calamity took place when most of the population
were sleeping, as is the custom in Italy, after din-
ner. I have heard in one place a lake has appeared.
It may be observed Melfi is the site of an old
volcano. In 1783 an equally terrible earthquake
occurred in Calabria, and from that period
up to the present (indeed almost annually) slight
shocks have been felt, but happily without much
damage or loss of life. Sicily. has ever suffered
more than the continent—the city of Catania alone
has more than once been entirely destroyed.
The government has sent soldiers and medical
men to assist the suffering districts.
Yesterday (24th) Vesuvius threw out boiling
water. This morning, at day-break, I observe a
little smoke was issuing from the crater.
VENICE.

The Oficial Venice Gazette of the 30th states that
the priest Pietro Dalloca, a native of Venice, has
been condemned to 3 years' imprisonment, for having
sent two numbers of the Italia del Popolo of Muslin
to a friend of his at Ferrara.
LOMBARDY.
MILAN, Ann. 30.
The Gaulle announces that, pursuant to a decision
of the council of the Helvetic confederation, the old
Swiss money will be withdrawn from circulation
after Sept. 1, to be replaced by a new coinage. In
consequence, from and after Oct. 1, that money will
only be taken at the public offices, and, from and
after Nov. 1, it will no longer he in any way current
in Lombardy.
PIEDMONT.
TURFS, SEPT. 1.
The King has gone to Cuneo with the Duke of
Genoa. The minister Poleecapa has gone on before
to wait for his Majesty, who will lay the first stone
of the bridge over the Stuns.
The Costitu:ionale says:
We read in the German papers that a lesmae of princi-
les is about to be renewed I. Italy; that the King of
• led away by the King of Saxony, will take part
in it, and that Austria, making use of the nominal pre-
sidency of the Pope, will be st the head of the confiders-

tion, nishe b at this head of that in Germany. On the face
of this statement the question presents Wulf, with what
Mates will Austria cuter into the Italian confederation?
Awarding to Prince Schwartsenberg's system, she ought to
enter u the would do in Germany with all her states ; from
this it would follow either that she desires to create a Ger-
many or an Italy, extending from the Black Sea to the
Mediterranean, or, which is more probable, that the whole
pretended combination is a joke.