The Express.
London, England, 1865-05-15 00:00:00

THE DANTE CENTENARY AT FLORENCE.

FLORENCE, NAT 14.

The centenary fete of Dante Alighieri was cele-
brated in this city to-ray. The inauguration
of the monument erected in honour of the poet took '
place this morning, the King, the diplomatic
corps, the municipality, and deputations from all
the Italian provinces being present. Many national
and foreign scientific bodies were also represented
at the ceremony. The King was much cheered.
The city is decorated with flags, and great general
enthusiasm prevails. There will be an illumination
to-night.

ALGERIA.

MEDEAR, MAY, 12.

The Emperor has visited this town, and met with
an enthusiastic reception. His Majesty has since
returned to Algiers. . .

-
The Emperor contiunea in excellent health.

ALGIEHA, MAT 13, limas's._

The Emperor has returned to this town, and will
embark to-morrow morning for Oran. His Ma-
jesty enjoys perfect health. The weather is very
Sue.

The Paris evening papers of the 13th publish a
telegram from Marseilles, asserting that letters bed been
received there from Tunis to the 7th Met, stating that the
Boglab Coosul-Geeeral bad officially presented the Pay
with the insignia of the Order of the Bath.
The Moniteur of yesterday contains an Imperial
decree signed " Eugenic," proroguing the session of the Corps
Legislatif, which was to have been closed on the 19th Bay,
to the 14th Jose.

Von or WATT OF CONFIDENCL—The HOLISS Of
Commons sometimes declares its want of confidence in a
government, and the ministers resign. Constituencies
sometimes peas a vote of want of confidence at an election,
and a representative loses his seat. The Examiner points
oat that the division on Mr. Baines', bill was
also a vote of want of coufideoce, but of a third kind:—
" The vote upon Mr. Baines's bill is, in the mildest
view, a vote of want of coofidasoe in the main
population of the (wintry oecsupying houses below the
101. vain*. The vote is, in effect, a vote of censure upon
the balk of thematic's, and it was supported by disparsging
representations of the habits and intelligence of the working
classes. The turn of the debate in opposition to Mr.
Manatee bill was distinctly to set class spinet class, the
working against the middle, the middle against the work-
log. The rights of the one tnd the °Lime of the other were
arbitrarily ruled to be incompatible."
THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQrSI: ON 14R.
MILL'S CAROL:ATOM FOR Wzininterga—We have been
requested so publish the following letter :—" 11. Downion-
street, Whitehall, May s.—Sir,—The Chancellor of the
Exchequer desires me to acknowledge the favour of your
cornmuoications relating to the candidateehip of Mr. J. ti.
Mill, for Westminster, in reply to which lam to say that
Mr. Mill's claims appear to Mr. (Haddon* to be of the
highest order, bat that as being a member of the govern-
ment, Mr. Gledsione does not intend to join any committee
or take part beyond giving his cote.-1 em. sir, your obe-
dient servant, W. IL Otimerotig—Jemas Heal, Esq."
THE Nsw MITF.OPOLITAN FIRS BRIGADE.—
The new fire brigade is, it appears. to be main-
tained by a half-penny rate, producing 30,000/., to itilch
will be added 10,01/0/. from the government on behalf of
public buildings, sod 10,0001. from the insurance offices as a
contribution in lien of their present expenses (oow above
23,000/4 this will prove, therefore, both a relief to the
" offices," and, we hope, an extension of protection from
**dangers of fire to the public; but why the fire escepes
are omitted from the programme and left to the voluntary
contributions of the few we are at aloes to know. Add souther
titbits( to the rate, Ste George Grey, say we—complete
•comprehensive measure by uniting the 160 men and Et
fire escape stations of the Fire Escape Society to the 130
men of the fire engine establishment ; pot the whole on one
footing of efficiency for the protection of life and property,
and there will not be a ratepayer who an grumble; all
will then pay alike for that which benefits every man.
woman, and little child in Loudon asleep.—The Illuatrated
London Non, May 13.
THE MALTA AND ALEXANDRIA TELEGRAPH..

We are requested to erieceures the r•-ocieuieg of
the Melts sad Ahosadrie TaslT66ll, 6 telegrams havieg
been received trees Yalta dated 13Sh Nay, 4.15 p.as., ca.
Toying ilitati.6o. al the sucoseshd ereardetiou of tier
repairs oe the acotiee of the Use whisk was iaterrapted
Wrist Ileughasi cud Alesseidris.
Oral. rALAO3, FP/I fiTMLIEG DAT--
ISATUIDIT. MAT 13 Admiesiace echreime. 458,2 ; dime
by sews delay 5,673 ;

horrors.
No backers of a pugilist were ever more indifferent
to the condition of his man, or more anxious to
have him fight as long as he could stand up, no
matter what the consequences to himself, than the
European hackers of the Confederacy to have the
Southern people "die in the last ditch."
As regards the probability of the continuance of
a state of turbulence or disorder at the South, I
can only repeat that no person here whose judg-
ment is of any value in the matter, expects anything
of the kind. There is no indication of it in any
direction. The government does not expect
it, as is evident by the rapid and exten-
sive reductions they are making in the army.
Nearly all the hired transports are being dis-
missed, commissary and quartermaster stores have
ceased to be purchased, except in such quantities
as may be actually needed from day to day by
the forces now in the field. All recruiting
having been stopped for some time, all invalids
and tteffits art Ott ltrgeZ," and preparations are
being made to disband, very quickly, a consider-
able portion both of Sherman's and Meade's army ;
and it must not be forgotten, too, that,
these measures have been taken under the
advice of General Grant and the other military
chiefs, who are, perhaps, better qualified than
anybody else in the country to judge of the
disposition and intentions of the dlichtirged
Confederate soldiers and of the Southern
people. And the view taken by the go-
vernment is confirmed by the conduct of the
Southern armies, and of the guerillas. Lee's and
Johnston's troops have made the best of their way
home without arms; and though, for want of other
means of subsistence, they are said to do a good
deal of plundering on the way, there is no question
whatever of their general desire to get hcme and
to stay there. The band of guerillas in Tennessee,
which was formerly commanded by Morgan, have
all surrendered. Mceeby's men and all his officers,
in Virginia, have done likewise, and though
Moseby himself has refused, he has to con-
ceal himself closely to avoid capture, some even
of his own followers being, it is said, tempted by
the reward of 2,000 dollars offered for his delivery by
Geaeral Hancock. Imboden's, and Roseer's cavalry
have also dispersed or surrendered, so that almost
absolute quiet now reigns between the Potomac and
the James. The farmers in the Shenandoah, or at
least those who have the means left them,
are putting in their crops, in the assurance, for the
first time these four years, that they will see them
grow in peace and reap them in security.
The same accounts come in from North Carolina.
Everybody wants peace and quiet, and everybody
is satisfied he is now going to have it, and is acting
accordingly. As to South Carolina, it may be said
to have been swept out of existence. The
wealthy planters are all beggared, the fields deso-
late, and their slaves free, and in fact a large pro-
portion of what remains of the superior race is now
crowded into Charleston and Savannah, living on
rations drawn from the Federal Commissariat.
The State may be said for all practical purposes to
consist of the blacks, and with them of course
there is not, and never has been, any difficulty in
dealing, as far as the question of allegiance is con-
cerned. They at least are enthusiastic uncondi-
tional Federal..
The greater portion of Sherman's army is
marching northward, under the command of Ge-
neral Howard, probably to be sent west and dis-
banded. The famous "left wing" of the Georgian
army under General Slocum, remains to garrison
the Carolinas until the final settlement. Gordon,
Granger, and Wilson are by this time in undis-
turbed possession of Georgia and Alabama, so that
east of the Mississippi I think there will be hardly
another shot fired. All restrictions on trade other
than those imposed by acts of Congress are removed
through the whole of this region by a recent order
of the President, but the ports still continue closed.
It would be hard to think of anything more likely
to hasten the restoration of tranquillity, for the
warhas perhaps in uo way mused so much suffering
to the great body of the Southern people as in
forcing them to do without all Northern and
foreign goods. They had no manufactures
when the war broke out, and the inzonveeiseee
they have since undergone has been greater than
could perhaps occur in any other civilized coneby
under any circumstances. The law Times, which
occasionally travels out of its sphere in the moat sin-
gular way, for the purpose of pitching into the

Yankees, recently,—wifb MilioWiredding igno-
rance of the relations of the two mations, repre-
sented the Northern traders- as heavily indebted
to the Southern planters, and gave this as a proba-
ble cause of Yankee pertieestey •is -trying to
ruin the latter. The fast is that *a planters stand
in a commercial sense in atm+ the same position
towards the North that they stood towards the
Bristolmerchautebeforetherevolution. Debtistheir
normal condition. They bought everything of the
North on long credits, spent the proceeds of their
crops • year in advance, and it is calculated by
the Chamber of Commerce here that the sum total
due by Southern planters and retailers to Northern
creditors before the war, end repudiated by them,
either is obedience to the act of the Confederate
Congress, which directed them to pay it into the
Confederate Treasury, or to their own sweet wills,
was over one hundred and fifty millions of dollars.
That such a sum as this should have been outstand-
ing when the Secessionist movement began may
serve to give some idea of the extent to which the
South was dependent on the North and Europe.
Their importations from abroad were of course
included in this, as they were nearly all made
through ibis city.
The people are of course far from being in ,a
position to recommence purchasing to the same
extent as formerly, but they still have the means
of supplying themselves with a thousand things
which they have been compelled for the last four
years to forego, and the abeam of which has been
productive of positive misery ; so that I think the
influx of goods will of itself do a good deal towards
thorough pacification. Traders and speculators
here are of course ready to make • great rush into
the vaimum as soon as the lines of communication are
open. Clothing, tools, machinery, will be sent
down in immense quantities during the coming
summer, followed by an army of mechanics ;
and thousands in every State of the
North are eager to try their luck at
cotton planting by free labour. There are but few
planters who have any slaves left ; fewer still who,
have the money to employ free labour, or know
how to manage free labourers ; so that I think a
very large proportion of them will be very glen to
leave, or sell, their plantations to enterprising
Yankees.
There are still no indications that I can hear of
the course which the President intends to pursue
on the much vexed question of reconstruction.
Those who know Mr. Johnson bast believe that he
is purposely abstaining from the announcement, if
not from the formation, of any distinct
plan of action, and will regulate his course
very much by the attitude of the South-
ern people themselves. General Butler made a
speech last night on this subject at the Union
League Club in this city, which has attracted a
good deal of attention owing to the fact that he is
supposed to be in Mr. Johnson's confidence, and
has recently had some prolonged interviews with
him. He proposes that military governors, sup-
ported by a small force of troops, should be retained
in each State until it has revised its constitution,
ratifying tbefederal amendment abolishing slavery,
repudiating the right of secession, prohibiting the
payment of any public debt contracted in aid of the
rebellion ; that these things, once done, all sem-
blance of oonstraint or reptession should, disappear,
and things be left to resume their natural channels.
I am inclined to think that this foreshadows with
tolerable accuracy the policy of the President, but
I shall be able to speak with more coutideuoe on
this subject in my next letter.