The Express.
London, England, 1847-05-14 00:00:00

NARROW ESCAPE OF THE QUEEN OF THE

BELGIANS_

BRUSSELS, MAY 12.
The Queen of the Belgians had a providential
escape yesterday (the 11th inst.), whilst travelling on
the Belgian National Railway. Her Majesty, who had
accompanied her royal husband as far as Verniers on
his way to Cologne and Wiesbaden, was returning home
to this capital when, about half-put two o'clock yes-
terday afternoon, and in the vicinity of the Ans
station, the royal train came into violent collision with the
Brussels down one, which left at eleven a.m. The royal
train at the time was going at a very rapid pace in order to
make up fur some delay which had taken place at Verviers.
The shock was, consequently, very violent. Fortunately
her Majesty herself escaped uninjured; two officers of
her nate, however, were seriously injured, viz., General
Mural, who had one of his ribs broken, and Gen. d'Hane,
who received • violent blow on the head ; the former was
unable to continue the journey further than Liege, where he
was placed under medical treatment. One of the servants
had his arm brskeo. Immediately after the accident a
locomotive was dispatched with • museager bearing
• letter for the king. It was calculated that the in-
telligence would reach his Majesty about seven p.m,
The
queen
cha2layed great presence of mind and ex-
deep concern for the injuries received by the
above-named gallant generals. One of the carriages of the
royal train was almost smashed to pieces. The two trains
came into collision at •junction line, • circumstance which
win explain the reason why the pilot engine was not previously
struck, and did not give the usual signal of danger
The locomotive of the Brussels down-train struck the royal
carriage, and the former was broken by the violence of the
shock. The queen's escape was altogether providential, for
even the chair in which her Majesty was seated was injured.
Gen. Chasal was conveyed on a bed to Liege. Notwith-
standing the persuasions of some of the royal suite, her
Majesty declined returning to Brunets by the high road,
and after some delay resumed her seat in the royal train,
which did not arrive near Lacken until 10 P.m. The royal
carriages had been waiting since d Psi. A strict inquiry
has been instituted into the causes of the accident.

ATHENS, APRIL 30.
It appears that by the treaty of 1832, it was stipu-
lated, in the sweat of Greece not paying the interest of the
loan, that Great Britain was empowered to take possession
of all the custom-houses in the kingdom, and retain it until
the demand was liquidated. The ships of war are going to
Salamis ; one will be left in the Pincus, and another small one
will be sent to Patna. The dissolution of the chambers
has created great alarm in the minds of all, aid may be-
come the prelude of great misfortunes. The majority of a
single vote, that of M. Coletti, on • question of finance, dis-
cussed la the Chamber of Deputies, has served as • pretext
for the adoption of this extreme measure. In any
other country, the minister, when abandoned by a
parliamentary majority, would have resigned, and left the
crown to choose another administration: but M. Coletti,
encouraged by his patrons, prefers to violate the charter,
and interrupt the most essential labour of the parliament—
the puling of the budget. The difference with Turkey has
taken an alarming appearance. The Greek charge grajfairee
proposed to the Ports to admit a M. Manaki to act as con-
sider agent for Greece when he left Constantinople: this
was refused. The Porte, seeing the tardiness of the cabinet
of Athi as to make the reparation demanded, was on the
point of retiring its exeguatur tram all the consuls, of ex-
pelling all Greek subjects, and refusing to acknowledge the
flag. Happily, the representatives of the great powers in-
terfered, and the Ottoman cabinet decided to adjourn these
riprous measures until the return of the French steamer,
which had been sent to the Palms.
In dissolving the chambers, the crown bas exercised a
right conferred on it by the 30th article of the constitution,
but those who counselled this measure must reflect upon its
consequences: the minister has ao budget ; he ha., therefore,
consequently, no legal mesas of raising • revenue, for the
52nd article declares, No taxes can be imposed or duties
raised, until they have been voted by the chamber of depu-
ties and the senate, and sanctioned by the king." The con.
duct of Coletti wee disgraceful in the extreme—immediately
he found himself in a majority of one only (55 against 54),
upon • question of taxation, he arose from his seat. quitted
the chamber, and made • signal to all the ministerial mem-
bers to do the same. So precipitate was his flight, that he
left his spectacle., and notes he had takes of the sitting, upon
his seat. After the dissolution, Coletti issued the following
Proelamatioa to the peo_p_le:
" COUNCIL or MINIATNIAS TO Till GRIER NATION.
--Serious motives relative to the interests of the people, and
to public order, have occasioned the dissolution of the
chamber, and the eonvocatioa of another for the 22nd of
July next, by a royal ordonnanee of this day, conformably
to the 30th article of the constitution. We hasten, by the
present, to bring to your knowledge these motives, that you
may understand the facts exactly, and to counteract the in-
sinuations of hose who will endeavour to lead you into error.
The intent of the government of his majesty during these
three years has been the consolidation of the oonsutution,
the enforcing of laws, and the development of the national
good. The government is occupied with these objects, and
carrying its particular attention apse the confirmation of
internal security, and public order.
A new system of contribution, that of a direct taxation upon
property, has replaced that of farming, of which the most de-
plorable results yet weigh on many families, Wdelivered the
people from hard oppression, considerably reduced many taxes,
and hid the first foundations of a better system of taxation.
It is notorious that every new political system is, at the
commencement, harassed with ditHcaltim, and therefore the
government, by • prudent conduct, has pared through the
two previous scosione, overcoming every continued attempt
to smooth the great difficulties, and to surmount many ob-
stades, which them who ill understood the intentions of the
government every day placed in its way.
The opening of the third session took place under the
most happy auspices, and the government, full of hope that
this semen would be quickly passed over, submitted to the
Chamber, in the month of Demober, the budget for the
current year, and after that, at the proper time, the laws of
taxation, the voting of which was the m eat essential and the
most pressing on the legislative bodies, the more so, as the
eking of the ant legislature was approaching, and the go-
vilaflant was obliged to ennounc• the new elections, and to
mew itself Ia effecting theca. It is already five months
sines the opening of the third saseicia, and by mason of fre-
quent otaisetes which the opposition has sever ceased to
eremeo. Mem easuiag an interposition of nonsensical
Cr, the Wirt has not been
.voted to this day.
usegiesume ell this delay in legislative labours has
newieserily been, thee a certain Imito do hes come over the
elerels of the eimielleative working ,and carried with it most
porn hien s rem* teethe interests of the people and the govern-
meat. It mei ander these is circumstances that the
.inboy tats eensgletsd, ing to the views expressed by
the nadooal reenteeleithea The ministry was not ignorant
et the difficulties ithket aelerled it, yet it did not hesitate
Immediately after Mine emnphled, to present itself to the
amber, and to sememem thee it considered, as a minis-
terial question, the thee jet irliegriz its project of law
emeerning the oaaNISINS of tax, having decided
pmeeionaly, in can et being be a , having but •
utslioriVehte:spi
_elks, or boo recourse to the
of the eforthea thew by the leth article of the
eemelltntlem, of the peritaseet end appealing to
to The todelay, brine only in a majority of one,
pothered the leek tweak end have retired, if it
had net pseemind the firmiksan of the Kies, wed If it bad
net the eandeths el euthiths the eeelhethe d Ow people,
and bather the twesithewe
be
bed urthweeei lateeems of '
the weetty, srassi othith may be area de eiliseetea
the pethertythz, athaltheed by it, avast the eperewiTe
system des M.
In this dale ef Obey 4741.1i= of the scandakins con-
duct memeety held by the la the chamber, with
the Jainism*, awn men eletewt elthethe to the
promise of the goveremeat, we line smislarel that we owe
It to the throne sad to the nation to emit he pewee at a
critical period, when the interests ef the sedan end the
legislative duties have boon, to a wish' point, mis-
undentood. Independently of these considerations,: the

Ministry has not hesitated to adopt the measure of a diesels-
' don for the resions that, according to the constitution and
the electoral law, the duration of the present period finished
in the current year, and that the electoral operations .ill
commence to-morrow in such a manner that, in consequence
of the dissolution, they will not be exposed in any extra"-
dinary manner to an electoral strife.
Them are the most important motives which have placed
us under the disagreeable necessity to order the dissolution of
the chamber; and we are convinced that the Greek people,
the friends of the law, will fully appreciate their weight.
In taking this measure for the reasons which we have ex-
posed, we want that we are only guided in our acts by the
con►titution and the existing laws; inasmuch a. more paid-
' cutely concerns the expenses which will take place in this
interval, we shall have for • support the ►udgets voted
' during the last two sessions, and diet which we have sub-
mitted in the third, to account of which the Chambers have
already granted a credit for three months: as regards that
which relates to the taxes, which was the object of the pro-
ject of the law in question, the government, without in-
fringing upon the laws in force, will take tu:h precautionary
measures as the interests of the country require.—The
Council of Ministers: J. Courrn, President.—Athens,
Aprfl
After the retirement of M. Poeiroupolo, the Minister of
Finance, en ordinance appeared, in which the King expressed
bin satisfaction for this manner in which be had tulfilled the
functions which had been confided to him.

Numerous

MALTA, MAT 4.
continue to arrive here,

loaded with wheat for France and England. A great num-
ber have also arrived from England and Ireland in ballast.
Many of them have been chartered to load at Alexandria,
Varna, Odessa, and Tsganrok ; others litre gone on in
ballast for thou porta, thinking to get higher freights.
The Bull from the Pope, ordaining Bishop Sant as coad-
jutor of Bishop Cunene, with a promise of the bishopric at
his death, arrived here a few days ago. It appears that the
sudden departure of the ex-chief secretary to government
Sir Hector °rein, for England, in the Erin, was occasioned
by a something that has transpired in connexion with this
said appointment, which is now well known to have taken
place through the iiPrigues of the J. suits and the Camarillo
party in the government offices. The Jesuits applied to
Cardinal Aeton to intercede with the court of Rome, and
induce it to request the court of St. James' to sanc-
tion the appointment of Bishop Sant. The British
government wrote to the Malta government for information
respecting the qualifications of Bishop Sant, and the Malta
government rep riled that it had no reason to disapprove of
Bishop Sant as coadjutor and successor to Bishop Cunene,
adding that it had made no promise to any other ecclesiastic.
Now it is asserted that the bishopric was long ago proinised
to another, and for these reasons: Bishop Sant was made
Bishop of Laredo in spite of the British government and '
Sir Thomas Maitland ; this occasioned a despatch from Eno.
land to the Malta government, ordering that Bishop Sant
should never, under any circumstances, become Bishop of
Malta, Not long ago another despatch was received by the
Malta government upon the same subject, adding to the
above, that Bishop Sant can never be bishop on account of
his excessive weakness of mind and being a Jesuit. It is to
explain this matter that Sir Hector Oreig, it is said, is gene
to England.
The Canon Dedomenico, who cut his throat, is dead.—
The governor, Sir Patrick Stu►rt, has been indisposed of
late.—The English brig Star, Captain lit'Donold. from
Galata, bound to Cork, picked up, 100 miles east of Malta, a
boat containing twelve persons, the crew of the Ottoman
brig Dervish, from Marseilles to Constantinople. An hour
afterwards the brig was observed to sink.

FRANCE—PARIS, MAT 11.—UFN. CTJBIERES.—
The interrogation of Gee. Cubiires terminated on Tuesday,
after a sitting which lasted three hours. A summons was
then issued for M. Paraseutier to appear, on Wednesday,
before the committee. It Li presumed, from the number of
persons whose names appear in the correspondence, that
these preliminary proceedings will extend to a great length.
TIIE Ittor Acr IY FatNcE.—During the recent
disturbances in different parts of France to prevent the
removal of grain, the military authorities have not ventured
to employ force to establish order, when net unaccompanied
by one of the civil authorities. The Minister of War, how-
ever, has just issued directions setting forth that, by the law
of August 3, 1791, the commandants of the military have
not need of the co-operation of a civil magistrate to repress
acts of aggression and pillage, and to ensure the absolute free
circulation of grain and provisions.
The Marquis d'Aligre, peer of France, has just
died, leaving a fortune the income of which is estimated lit
2,000,000 f.
- - - -

GERMANY.—PRCSSIA.—BERLIN, MAY 10.—The
report of the proceedings in the chamber of the three repre-
sentative Estates, is concluded in the official journal of this
day. Two interesting episodes occurred after the termina-
tion of the debate which arose on the motion of the depu-
ties from Posen. The first arose from a representation of
M. Von Beckerrath, on the part of the committee, to which
all motions for a revision of the tariff of the Zollverein, have
been referred. M. Von Beckerrath stated that the committee
had judged it necessary to apply for copies of the minutes of
the last conferences of the Zoliverein, held at Karlsruhe
and Berlin; and that a promise made by ministers
to communicate them, had been subsequently re-
tracted. The commissary of the Diet complained that
this representation was premature. He had, indeed, pro-
mised that the minutes should be communicated to the com.
_ .

matte, and had afterwards found that there were difficulties
in the way ; but the letter in which he had intimated the
existence of these difficulties was confidential: no official
refusal had been given. M. Von Bcckerreth denied that
the letter was confidential ; and the commissary called upon
him to produce it. The obstacle to the production of the
minutes arises from en impression that, being the common
property of the Union, they cannot be subjected to the dis-
cussion of the estates of any one government composing it.
The second episode was a renewal of the discussion upon the
declaration of the 137 liberal deputies. In replying to a remark
of Count Bencken, the commissary declared that the declara-
tion was a protest, not a petition, and therefore not capable of
tieing received. Several members-some of them who had
nut signed the document—rose to protest against the irregu-
larity of giving an invidious description of a paper, the sub-
stance of which had not yet been regularly communicated to
the Diet. The commissary maintained that it bed been read
to the chamber ; but, from his own statement, it appeared
that only the motion referring to the declaration, not the de-
claration itself, had been read. M. Von Vincke protested
against the attempts of ministers to inveigle him into 'debate
ou a document that was not yet before them. This
discussion gave rise to considerable excitement and noise.
The marshal's hand-bell (by which he calls tie assembly
to order in extreme eases), was more than once put in requi-
sition. The commissary commenced one of his speeches by
expressing a wish that the meeting would become less ex-
cited, which exposed him to the retort from M. Von Vineke,
that he was himself the first who lost his temper. At the
close of this conversation, the scrutiny, paragraph by para-
graph, of the report on the law for excluding improper
characters from the Diet was resumed, and some further
progress made.
Foote DISTURBANCES.—Accoants, of the Bth inst.,
from Herrenberg, Urach, Ludwigsburg, and Goppingen,
in Wiirtemberg, state that great anxiety was felt. at those
towns, for fear of outbreaks. Precautionary measures had
been taken by the citizens. In the night between the sth
and 6th, Herrenberg was up in arms, as it was rumoured
that an attack was projected there, as well as at Odlstein,
on the store-houses. Some arrests took place, patrols pa-
raded the streets, and the night passed by quietly. Similar
measures were taken in the other towns. Disturbances, but
not of a serioue nature, had also broken out at Riedlingen.
The King of Wirtemberg has given, from his own privy
purse, a rum of 2,0005. to the town of Ludwigsburg, in
order that the inhabitants may be furnished with bread at •
cheaper rate. Disturbances broke out, on the 3rd inst., at
Ratisbon, but we have no particulars.
BELOIUM.—DISTURBANCES IN BRUSSELS.—On
the 10th inst., general hundreds of evil-disposed persons,
belonging to the lower orders, perambulated various streets
of Brussels, uttering seditious cries. Not having been
immediately checked, they proceeded to attack ahaker's
shop in the Rue des Tanneurs, broke the windows, sad forced
the proprietor to make a distribution of bread. They were
commit other excesses, when a detachment of
fir luta! to
fire brigade arrived and succeeded in dispersing
the rioters, after arresting a few of the ringleaders. The
mob, however, soon reassembled in another quarter, and
commenced en attack upon the premises of en extensive
corn-merchant in the Rue des Secure Noires. A large body
of police and military arrived just in time to save the pre-
mises from being plundered. A large quantity ot sent and
rye had been brought to the stores only oa the preseding
night, and the publicity of that event hul=
the de) created considerable stir in the neig
All day, on the 11th, the police and military men on
the qui env. Large crowds had assembled near the
Hotel de Ville and in the two streets above name/
On the night of the 11th, the disturbances were renewed.
During the entire day a great number of pesos were sta-
tioned in the Grande Place, and in the Rue de PArnigo (be-
hind the HOW de Vile), when the city prison is situated,
and where about a dosen rioters were detained in custody.
Towards nightfall the crowds increased to such numbers that
it was deemed advisable to draw out the military in front of
the Hotel de Ville, and to clear the Rue de l'Aaigo of the
concourse of persons assembled there. Pram :mutest Mae
till half-past eleven p.m., there were samseens ekb-
mishear (so to write) between the weep sod the pismire,
who Mooed and hooted, and uttered thesis of ea elseudne
nature. Towards midnight, die base geadarmes, Ida sas
particularly obnoxious to the people, made frequent use
of the flat part of their sabres, charged the multitude several
times, and ill-treated way persons. The arrival of power
ful reinforcements anomie prevented any abroad lei*
11111 Ce on the part of the exasperated populace- A renewal of
the disturbances is apprehended for this night and tar-
row, which being the fed of the Ascension, is a grand bakbay.
Extraordinary military and civic precautiose bare been
taken to secure the peace. There were, is all, six beers
attacked and partly plundered during the outbreak ea Maw
day night and early on Tuesday morning. There eseht net
have been less than 8,000 persons assembled on the Mt el
Tuesday in the immediate vicinity a the Hotel do
HOLLAND.—The Rotterdatrache Corrado: dna
12th contains a cheering account of the prospects of the bar-
vest in the vicinity of Bois-le-due.
SPAIN.—The Pomento of &redoes, el tra 3rd,
Oates that the Mexican privateer it ism, yea Chas, car-
rying one gun, and a crew of 33 ma, had in the
waters of Ivies, and brought into Esmag..,NreaMmeriosz
ship Carmelite, 188 tens, Capt. Edwin imosidkoorog from
Ponce, on the Neapolitan coast, to Trieste, with albs.
TURK EY . —BAODAD.—The continued eeriOt has
occasioned fears of a deficiency in the Wain larv,r-
Speculators and possessors of torn have onerequently