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

SPAIN.

Tho Madrid journals of the 3rd contain an account
of the christening of the infant child of the Duke and
Duchess de Montpcnsier in the palace at Seville. The
ceremony took place with great pomp, and the Car-
dinal Archbishop of Seville officiated. The Duke
d'Aumale was godfather, and not fewer than twenty-
six names were given to the princes—amongst them
were those of Marie Amelie. Tho Duke de Mont-
pensier, as delegate of the Queen, subsequently in-
vested the royal child with the ribbon of the Order
of Maria Louisa.

ITALY.
VENICE.

The Venice Gazette of the 3rd announces the ar-
rival of tho Empress Marie Anne of Austria at
Venice.

TWO SICILIES.

The Genoa Gair
ette describes as follows the mili-
tary establishment of the kingdom of the Two Sici-
lies : " In times of peace the total force of the army
amounts to 45,000 men, viz., 19,000 infantry, 4,500
cavalry, 2,800 artillery men and sappers, and the
rest gendarmerie. Every man is liable to servo in
the army from tho ago of 18 to 25. Gendarmes,
artillery-men, and volunteers arc enlisted for eight
years, but the ordinary period of service is five years
In time of war the army may be raised to 64,237
men.

GERMANY.
PRUSSIA.
BERLIN, SEPT. 6.
The Hanoverian correspondent of the Deutsche
Algemeine Zeitung repeats the announcement that in
the sitting of the Frankfort Diet of the 23rd, the
"fundamental rights" (gm/if/rec./0e) of the German
people, u they were laid down in tho " Paul's
Church" Assembly, were abolished. This act, how-
ever, it is to be remarked, did not take place in a
plenum, or full sitting, but was a resolution of the
Engere Rath, and was not decided on unanimously,
but by a majority of 12. To this resolution was ap-
pended the expressed expectation of the Bund, that
any states where these rights are still acknowledged
would lose no time in formally abrogating them,
that the federal power might not be under
the necessity of doing this in the name
of the confederation. But, as this act was neither

the act of the plenum, nor carried by unanimity, it is
legally binding on those states only which adopt it
voluntarily, though it is not probable it will meet
with any resistance. If it do, it will only be for the
sake of asserting the invalidity of majority resolu-
tions, and the validity alone of those which are sanc-
tioned by unanimous votes. The resolution of the
bund on this subject, says the Preussische Zeitueg,
has been officially communicated to all the states of
Germany.
As one of the provincial Diets is now assembled,
it will be good to note in general how it is composed,
especially as it may be taken as a good sample of
those which arc to follow.
The classes (slande) composing
the Brandenburg
Diet consist of deputies from the Ititterschaft of
deputies of cities and deputies of parishes or rural
districts (landgemenule).
The 2,000, or thereabouts, privileged properties
(rittergdter) of the province just named return 36
deputies; all the cities together return 23 ; and all
the rural districts but 12.
Thus the priviledged proprietors alone have one
vote more than all the cities and districts put
together.
Now comes the question, Why should these privi-
leged proprietors have this advantage ?
" In number and talent, in wealth and possessions,"
says the Urwhaler Zeitung, in a pungent little article
on this subject, " this class stand far below the cities
and the rural districts. Yet in point of numbers 180
litters have, according to the Brandenburg scale,
as many representatives as the half-million of inha-
bitants constituting the population of Berlin. In
talent and intellectual acquirements, Er compare them
to the metropolis would be ridiculous ; with itwyeet
to wealth. they have hardly a one-hundred-and-fif-
tieth part of that of the cities ; their landed posses-
sions would not make a third of that of the other
proprietors of the rural districts of the province ; and
finally, as to the taxation qualification,—being in
many respects tax-free—they take a place far beneath
every other order in the community."
The only quality, indeed—if it may be so called—
that distinguishes this privileged noble class (their
nobility apart) is their debts; and it is therefore in-
ferred by some commentators that this is the qualifi-
cation that entitles them to such a pre-eminent posi-
tion and importance in the state. Two-thirds of the
fortunes of this class, I am informed by persons who
cannot be mistaken in their information, is on an
average mortgaged, whilst their expenses so far ex-
ceed their means, that they depend altogether on
the bounty of the court, and declare, with some co-
lour of truth—so crippled are their pecuniary re-
sources—that the payment of a land-tax, from which
they have hitherto been free, would ruin them
utterly.
This debt qualification, therefore—the qualification
of complete dependence on the government—is a tho-
roughly valid one ; none other could be found half so
good. A rich, independent nobility might be restive
land refractory, but a poor, title-proud, ruined nobi-
lity, swarming numerously for place and preferment,
may be with all confidence relied en.
The Kreutz Zeitung decidedly contradicts the report
which I mentioned to you yesterday, that a congress
of princes is about to take place in Germany during
the autumn.

Prince 'Metternich, it is said, will, during the
courso of this week, be in Vienna.

AUSTRIA.

The account of the probable expenditure during
the present year was published on the 2nd inst. The
outlay is calculated at 277,029,527f1. that is
61,029,0928. interest of national debt ; 4,900,08411.
expenses of the Court; 600,0008. for the Diet (?),
Council, and (future) Court of the Empire; 136,8106.
Council of Ministers ; 1,892,26.18. Foreign De-
partment ; 25,300,5188. Home Department ;
103,362,6068. War ; 20,227,7478. Finances ;
18,000,0008. Justice ; 4,916,776t1. Public Education ;
33,786,7638. Commerce ; 341,6888. Agriculture ;