The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-22 00:00:00

SPAIN.

MADRID, Seer. 15.
After many days of political stagnation, rumours
of different kinds begin to circulate respecting the
anomalous position of the Bravo Murillo cabinet.
The state of Europe has for some time past kept
Queen Christina, the sovereign de facto of this
country, in a state of constant fluctuation. Without
daring to decide frankly in favour of a system of
concessions, and not possessing the energy that is
required in the system of resistance which Narvacz
so strenuously held up, Queen Christina and her
camarilla have, during the whole summer, adopted
an expectant policy. The Bravo Murillo ministry,
created and sustained for the purpose of getting
through the knotty question of the public debt, the
overthrow of Narvaez and his overbearing colleagues,
and the nullifying of the pianos, has fulfilled the ob-
ject of its mission, and has, up to the present time,
staved off the difliculties to come. But now that the
rigours of the season have passed, and with them
the lethargy that in this country is to be taken into
account in affairs of every kind, now that political
men of every kind are flocking back to the capital,
the Queen Mother and her friends begin to see the
necessity of preparing for the re-opening of the
Cortes, of finding new means for meeting the terrible
deficit in the finances, a deficit that the imminent
necessity of augmenting the military resources of,
the Antilles renders still ireater. The Queen
Mother has already brought ',to play those strate-
gic resources of domestic intrigue in which she has
so often succeeded. Cortina, who was her constant
guest at La Granja, and who has professed himself
tired of the mode of . political agitation in which
his life has been frittering away, has published
I his political manifesto, in which he hides his epos-
tacy under a cloud of words; Gomez de Soto has been
won over, and even Mendizabal has just received an
immense service. This celebrated ex-minister has,
since the years 1820 and 1813, been owing very con-
: siderable sums to the state, sums which had been de-
' posited with him, and at the same time he is a state
creditor to a heavy amount fur supplies furnished at
the above-mentioned epoch. His accounts have been
I audited exactly as he himself could have desired : 30
millions of problematical credit have been set aminst
T his 30 millions of liabilities. Mendizabal thus
• gained, General Espartero has been next thought of.
correspondence between him and the Queen
I AMoth
er has taken place, and it is asserted that the
.iveteran has received orders to come to
'Ma-
drid. Bravo Murillo has shown much dis-

taste for these measures, but Bravo Murillo
is a very different person from his iron-willed
predecessor Narvacz, and the Queen Mother has in-
sisted upon Espartero's coming to Madrid. Narvacz,
"emit" isesci:wpechoted hweererebefatorethesoend anosftotushe mtoonsethn. I d
him
tni
away, have either- outgrown their fears, or, as they
say, desire that that personage may present himself
once more on the political stage, in order that, led
away by his ambitiou, he may give them a pretext
to avenge the many affronts they have suffered from
his hands.
Another rumour, which, if true, is not without
importance, I must not omit to mention. The lofty
palace of Buena Vista, where the once famous Godoy,
the Prince of Pence, took up his residence,and where
General Espartero lived during his regency, has for
some years been occupied by the War Department.
Orders have been given for the War-office to
take another residence, and the old palace
is to be fitted up with uncommon splendour
for the reception of a high personage. As it has not
been given out who this high personage is, all kinds
of reports obtain. Some say that the Queen of Por-
tugal thinks of abdicating and accepting an asylum
here, others that the palace is being fitted up for the ,1
Montpensiers, or for Don Enrique, the King's brother ;
but the report that obtains most credit is that the
Prince of l'arma is about to come to Madrid, charged
with a mission from the absolute courts, who are bent
upon persuading the Queen of Spain to do away with
the constitution, alleging that such a measure will be
received with as much indifference by the public as
the concordat, which by the bye, the government has
not yet dared to put into execution.
As all these news are without that confirmation
that can give them great value, political men look
with no small anxiety to the ministerial papers, and
above all, to Christina's print, the Espana, for some
indication of the intentions of the government. The
leading articles of the latter paper, for the most part
written by Christina's private secretary, show a
tendency towards a concessionary policy. Cortina is
strenuously defended against the attacks of his old
friends, and free trade is advocated. The I.'spana of
to-day earnestly recommends that in the present
state of affairs with the United States, a demon-
stration of all parties should be made in favour of
government. The news of the easy victory. obtained
over the American invaders have been received with
no small exultation ; the boasting of the American
papers, and the obvious contempt they have always
demonstrated for the personal courage of the Spanish
race having long ulcerated the public mind. Some
uneasiness is being felt here on account of
the news having arrived that Adminil Bus-
tines is proceeding with dangerous zeal in the
performance of his duties. lie has fired upon
and considerably injured an American ship laden
with flour, and bound to llavannah. The vessel, it
appears, did not heave to as hailed to do. After
being rigorously searched, she was ordered to return
to the United States, though she had nothing on
board that could justify suspicion. It remains to '
see how brother Jonathan will behave when he
learns these transactions. The American minister

ICa.;llad frequent conferences with the Minister of
Foreign Atthirs these few days.
A reinforcement of 4,000 men has been just sent
to Cuba.

The following is an extract from a private letter :
MADRID, Seer. H.
I learn that the Spanish government has adopted
a high tone towards that of the United States ; and
as public feeling is decidedly in favour of such a line
of conduct just now, it will render itself popular by
so doing. Moreover, it counts upon the support of
the British and French governments : hence proba-
bly its pugnacity.
bespatchcs are on the point of being transmitted
to the Spanish minister at Washington, directing
him to protest in the strongest terms against the
supineness of the American government in having
permitted a second marauding expedition to attack
Cuba, and to demand satisfaction for the outrages
the Spanish consul at New Orleans has been sub-
jected to by the annexationists.
I have just been assured upon good authority that
Genera, Aupick, the French ambassador here, has ad-
vised the government to oiler the command of Cuba
to General Narvaez.

ITALY.
LOMBARDY.

- -
The Emperor of Austria went on the lith instant
from Verona to Mantua, and returned in the evening
to Verona. On the 18th he left the latter city fur
l'cschicra, and was to sleep at Rive.
The Milan Gazette of the lath publishes a notifi-
cation from Lieut. Marshal Schulzig, commandant
of the fortress of Mantua, announcing that Count
Alexander Arrivabene, late lieutenant in the Aus-
trian army, has been condemned by court-martial to
be hanged, for having written and spread an article
entitled " The Secret Agitators," containing injurious
expressions against the government, and, moreover,
for having a stiletto and a tricoloured scarf in his
possession; but that the punishment has been com-
muted Into that of two years' imprisonment, in con-
sideration of the said Count Arrivabene having
fought bravely on the Austrian side in the late war
of Italy, although he knew that his father and bro-
ther were fighting on the other side.

NAPLES.

Our correspondent relates, in his letter of the
14th, some proceedings of the government in relation
to Mr. Gladstone's letters, and instances several facts
calculated to throw fresh light on this subject of con-
troversy:. The Pope has granted power to the King
to appoint the Archbishop of Naples. The King has
left with a body of troops for Maid, in which neigh-
bourhood some fresh shocks had caused damage on
the tith.

ROME, Slot. 10.
Whatever may be said as to the more moderate
proceedings of the priestly party here, it is pretty
evident that it is still progressing, and by no small
steps either, in its course of severity. Whether it is
advancing on the road to triumph, or to that of ruin,
m many suppose, remains to bo seen. It began its
mow with banishment and deposition from employ-
ment, but the former was only for such as were not
included in what some have been pleased to term
the amnesty, and the latter was not had recourse to
until some sentence had been passed, the supposed
result of proper examination. At the present
moment, however, even those who are comprised in
the amnesty are liable to banishment at the mere
will of the police, and parties arc deprived of their
situations without the unnecessary formality of pre-
vious investigation, as has happened to several persons
of my own acquaintance—among others to Dr. Caval-
lini. A short time ago, it is true, some young men
were condemned to 20 years of the galleys for having
gunpowder in their possession for Bengal lights, and
others underwent the same punishment for having
extinguished a few matches; but no one, as yet, had
been condemned to suffer death for offences purely
political. The French mado this their great boast,
as an evidence of their benign influence; but the
priests have just now given them the lie direct in
this matter, for they have condemned to death Signor
Salvatori, municipal magistrate of Giulianello, near
Agnani, solely because he conscientiously discharged
his duty. It appears that in this commune, in the
time of the republic, there existed a society of San-
fedists, which Salvatori felt himself officially called
upon to look after ; and as they did not confine
Ithemselves to words only,but were speedily approach-
ing to deeds, as was the case also in general of the
neighbouring communes, he judged it best to refer
their proceedings to the superior authorities, which
very shortly had recourse to energetic measures.
Among the leaders of the society, as might be ex-
pected, there were several priests, on whose persons
were found not only treasonable papers, but also the
seal of their society, bearing a death's head and
po4nards. One of these priests was condemned to
, suffer death, and it is to appease the manes of this
I Sanfedist that the present victim is to be immolated,
though in no other country possessing a shadow of
justice would he have been deemed deserving of any
punishment at all. His lawyers, to whom his family
have paid more than a thousand crowns to conduct
his defence, gave them great hopes of his acquittal,
but such is the mystery that here envelopes all pro-
ceedings connected with politics, that it is not known
whether even a single word was uttered in his
behalf.

If Mr. Gladstone would visit Rome and take the
trouble to look a little into our criminal courts, ho
might relate more extraordinary matters than all he
has told us respecting Naples. lie would find

that an accused person, after several months of
imprisonment, is at length visited by a ma.
gistrate, who commences by asking him if he
knows why he has been arrested, hoping
by the interrogatory to elicit some particulars that
may still further criminate the prisoner, who after a
' short:examination is again locked up in his dungeon,
there to remain til the day of trial. In the mean-
-1 while an advocate is provided for him, which in
these political cases is nothing more nor less than a
cruel mockery, since although he is made acquainted
with the general nature of the charge against tho
prisoner, he is furnished with none of the particulars,
and is moreover sworn not to divulge it to him;
and it is only on the day of trial that the
prisoner learns the nature of his accusation.
He is not even allowed to see the witnesses
who depose against him, and those who conic for-
ward in his favour arc heard or not, us the judge
may think proper. Everything is carried on with
closed doors, and the sentence, except it be that of
death, is never made public till it be put into execu-
tion. An exception, however, occurred in the case
of the poor wretch who was sentcnc.l to twenty
years of the galleys for having extinguished the
allumette. The journal of the priests, with its accus-
tomed regard to truth, stated, in its number of the
Ist September, that this punishment was rtv.-arded
in consequence of the accused having attempted the
life of the party ; whereas the accusation does nut
even allude to violence, but simply to the act of ex-
tinguishing the match in the hand of his friend who
was about to light a cigar. The Austrian mili-
tary tribunal for a similar offence, accompanies!
with personal violence, awarded to the otfender
only forty days' imprisonment. Yet, in the
face of all this, the (Veers is astonished
that there should be an ambassador at Rome who could
publicly protest against such nn act of injustice, and
threatens, moreover, to publish his name, as if lie had
been guilty of some heinous crime. Equally
atrocious is the condemnation of the master of the
café to five years of the galleys for deposing that, in
his opinion, the whole affair was only a 4oke be-
tween the two young men. You may imagine from
this how little encouragement there is to come for-
ward to give evidence in favour of the accused. A
young man, only 18 years of age, of the name of
Apolloni, was accused of having assisted in burning
the carriage of Cardinal Scram. lie brought for-
ward seventeen persons, all highly respectable inha-
bitants of the piazza where this auto do ft took
place, and who all deposed that Apolloni was not
present at it. The judges decreed that the assertion
to the contrary of two of the cardinal's servants was
more worthy of belief. Apolloni, then, to
clear himself effectually, proved an alibi, show-
ing that during the whole of that day he was with
his battalion of the national guards defending the
walls of the city, and he mentioned the names of his
companions in arms who were at his side; upon
which the Judge l'asqualoni, with a noble indigna-
tion, exclaimed that it was an indecent procure,
and that no faith could be placed on the word of a
man who acknowledged that he was in arms against
his legitimate sovereign ; whilst, on the contrary,
the witnesses against him were above all suspicion.
The other judges immediately joined in chorus, and
the unfortunate man was mercilessly found guilty.
We repeat that if Mr. Gladstone were to come to
Rome, he might convince himself that on the re-
gister of the prison of Monte Citorio alone arc in-
scribed the names of 3,745 prisoners who have been
sent there since the Ist of January last. He might
see also in the Roman prisons many unfortunates
who have languished in them several years without
having been brought to trial, and 80111 C even without
having. undergone a single examination, as is the
case with the dragoon Offidani, who has been 27
months thus incarcerated in a dungeon. Capanna
was thrown into prison immediately after the entry
of the French ; he was arraigned before their tri-
bunal, and condemned to imprisonment for life ; he
appealed to the Court of Cussation, which set aside
the judgment, hut the French gave hint up to tho
priests, who still retain hint in confinement. Gran-
doni, a colonel of the National Guard; Constantini,

an officer of the Roman legion ; Caravacci, Dr. Corsi,
and Pestrini ; have all been imprisoned two years, and
have only undergone a single examination. So
much for. justice in the city of Rome--facts which
Dr. Valen, with all his assurance, can never contra-
dict. _ _

But one condemnation, which has only been known
since yesterday, and which has caused the most
painful sensations throughout the city is that of Col.
Calandrelli, Minister of War under the re-
public, whom we have repeatedly had occasion
to mention, as a distinguished engineer and
artillery officer, who performed prodigies of valour
dining the siege of Rome. 'Mc process against him
is a tissue of the lowest intrigues and the basest re-
venge. Will it behelicved that this honourable man,
through whose hands enormous sums have passed in
his official capacity without a shadow of suspicion as
to his integrity, has been accused of having stolen
some books front the ecclesiastical academy, and has
been condemned as a common thief to twenty years
of the galleys? This accusation, equally cruel and
absurd, and which rested its only chance of being
believed upon the fact that Calandrelli was beguiling
his imprisonment with some literary labours of an
historical nature, has nevertheless been his ruin. Ho
had plenty of time to escape, and his friends fur-
nished him with ample means of doing so, even after
he was thrown into prison—hut he constantly refused,
trusting in his innocence and despising the idea of
running away from a charge of theft. lie had
not borne sufficiently in mind the implacable nature
of priestly vengeance. His double sentence was read to
him a few days ago—that condemning him to death
was graciously remitted, thanks to the good offices of
the King of Prussia in his behalf ; but by virtue of
the other he was forthwith sent off to Ancona,
chained to a sanitary officer of the name of Itipari,
condemned like himself to the galleys for 20 years,
and in company with two others, likewise chained
together, and both condemned for political offences—
, one to death, the other to ten years of the galleys.
Of these last two the names have not yet transpired,
such is the secresy with which these matters are
conducted ; but it is conjectured that the unfortunate
who is condemned to death, and who is described as
a remarkably fine and handsome young man, may
probably be the deputy Paella.
Among the devastations which the republicans
have been accused of is to be reckoned the destrue-
i .
Bon of the guillotine, the wood having been burnt
t and the axe thrown into the Tiber. The restorers of
order have, however, re-established it, and in order to
3 prevent its being so easily demolished at any future
r period, have taken the precaution to rebuild it of
cast iron.