The Express.
London, England, 1846-11-05 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 5, 1846.

But this was more easily overlooked, so long as the
business of Administration could be carried on along
the track of established routine; and while the chief
attention of statesmen was devoted rather to party
Politics than to the progressive demands of society,
which, although growing daily, were at first but
faintly heard in high places. This, however, is
no longer the case. The business of Government
has been mainly transferred, by imperative circum-
stances, from the contest of rival ambitions to the
practical treatment of serious questions: on which the
maintenance of social order, the healthy existence of
the commonwealth, the very bases indeed of civil
society, have a direct bearing. In such circum-
stances, when the paramount inquiry in every de-
partment of Administration is, What shall be done ?
rather than, What political party shall hold office ?
when the necessity of meeting face to face the diffi-
culties which have grown up, unheeded, under the
old system, is startling all men, of all parties, out of
their sleep, and compelling them to use a new
language, and entertain, or at least profess, a concern
for the fulfilment of duties hitherto neglected—
in this state of things we can no longer
afford to suffer ignorance or indolence to gain
admission to any, even the smallest, division
of the public service. For it is of little
advantage to choose well the ruling heads, if the
subordinate hands are unfit for the work. There
must be industry and intelligence in the whole
machine, to second properly the directions of the
moving power; and to supply, indeedothe very means
of its useful activity.
This is so like a truism, that it might seem idle to
insist upon it; were not our established practice, and
the neglect which it shows of any care to secure the
appointment of men properly qualified for public
duties, a notorious proof that the conviction, if it
exist, has no actual influence whatever upon our
system. It cannot, therefore, be deemed superfluous
to urge, that the integrity and skill of the work-
ing class of public servants, are conditions quite
as necessary to good administration as are the
same qualities in those who must direct them.
The supreme head of an office must, in a great mea-
sure, use the eyes of those beneath him for the informa-
tion required to guide his plans ; and he must wholly
rely on their hands to carry many of them out when
matured. In the vast mass of details collected from
the furthest ramifications of the system, transmitted
upwards through different official stages, and subject,
at each moment of the process, to be confused or
cleared according to the capacities of those who have
to forward it,—the influence of error, though not im-
mediately seen, can hardly fail to be infiuite. The
ruling decision is exercised on a general re-
sult, derived from a composition of materials,
which may be either vitiated, or truly presented,
according to circumstances, by various hands
at various points of the deduction, before they arrive
at the final process; and it may depend upon the rec-
titude or faithfulness of a very inferior department,
whether the Minister, on whom the business waits, at
last shall proceed upon false assumptions or on well-
grounded truth. In the execution of his measures,
again, how much of the success of everything new
must be hazarded upon the diligence, willingness, and
discretion of those who are to conduct the details of
the operation ! The best arrangements may be made
to fail, by the fault of those by whose means its trial
must be made. To render any investigation fruitless,
to defeat any practical improvement which has to be
carried out by servants of the State, it is not necessary
that it should be positively opposed. It may be as
effectually thwarted by merely inert resistance ; still
more fatally by flat stupidity, or a settled dependence
on forms ; in those who are charged with its operation.
In this latter respect it is, that our system of electing
untrained men seems likely to be the most mis-
chievous. Having first to learn their business at the
moment when they are called to undertake it, they
are naturally led to grasp at the directions of routine;
and relying cn this as their only rode-nierum,--and
being too often, at the same time, wholly unfurnished
with any other resources applicable to the business,
or capable of enlarging their general aptitude,—they
become, by the time they have grown to be masters
of their work, so built up on the forms of office, and
so wholly confined to their common-places, that it is all
but impossible to tear• from them, afterwards, a single
fraction of the stay on which they have been forced
to lean. Deprived of it, they must become helpless,
confused, and discontented ; and cannot be expected
to prove cordial or efficient agents in a process which
destroys the sole foundation of their skill, and renders
it necessary for them, to their great trouble and dis-
comfort, to exert general powers of intelligence and
dexterity, which they have never learned to cultivate.
This description may not apply to all the officials
whom chance or interest has provided with State
employment. There are honourable exceptions, no
doubt; men whom their own energies have rendered
superior to the accidents of a defective system. The
fullest admission of such exceptional merits, however,
will not require us to deduct anything from the
charge against the system itself. It is sufficient to
show that its tendency is against the production of
what is now required, and will every day be-
come more and more indispensable in all State
employments. The necessities of public business
ought not to be left to the chance of its finding, here
and there, a grain of the right material, amongst the
nines of less useful stuff which is now swept, with so
little discrimination, into the doors of office. The
wants of the day require the beet service ; the method
by which we now choose and appoint the servants of
the State, gives no security that they will even be
tolerably good ones. Of the practical truth of this
assertion, we think there will be no very general
denial. It may, then, be inquired : if the system be
defective, in what manner shall we amend it? What
means can be devised for obtaining a better choice ?
To this question we shall address ourselves : in
the hope of offering on the subject some considera-
tions, at least, that may serve as materials for a
further inquiry into a business of no little national
importance.

MOST persons will admit that, in our preceding
articles, we•have described a great existing distinction
between a Savings Bank and a Benefit Society: we
say a great existing distinction, with stress upon each
word. And, not doubting that this difference of con-
stitution is the cause of the difference of repute in
which the two things are held, we suggest as a re-
medy that the government should take the Benefit
Societies into its own hands.

The government owes the poorer children of the
state some acknowledgment for the general good
temper with which they have borne that bitter pill,
the new poor-law: like other children, they have a
right to a lump of sugar after their physic, and, in all
well-regulated families, the greater the necessity of
the dose, the better the right to the gratification.
All can see how fast the time is approaching
when the poor man will be the child of
state in good earnest: he is so, compared
with what he was; he will be so, compared with
what he is. The time must come when the legislature
will look on his struggle to avoid the workhouse (that
is, on his whole life) with an interest beyond that
which examines witnesses, fills blue books, and
engrosses directoryacts of parliament ; with an interest
which lends active help, on no other condition than
submission to as mach of regulation as will make help
effectual. Why should not that time come at once ?
The sooner it arrives, the less and the fewer will be the
difficulties.

Oh ! then, there are difficulties, are there ? " I see
a difficulty," says the wise man, and away he walks—
without adding (indeed there is no occasion) " and
my heart is not in the matter." There are impedi-
ments to be got over ; these require consideration ;
and we do not bind ourselves to suggest the best plan
of getting over them. There is a little time, though
the case is somewhat urgent. We are not of those

journalists who seem to think that they will drive
the Home Secretary to go without dinner at night,
that he may work out their suggestion of the
morning.
The preliminary difficulty is not in the collection,
or rather reception, of the payments—the Savings
Banks will do that for the merest trifle towards their
expenses of management: and how many such trifles
go towards these expenses in the Benefit Societies as
the matter now stands! It is not in the dis-
bursement of the benefits due—which again the
savings banks can do for a very small per cent-
age ; one more trifle. It is not in the apportion-
ment of the rates of payment: ask Mr. FIN LAl-
sos. The preliminary difficulty is how to arrange
with the existing societies. Some of these may be
working on insufficient rates; though we think it
most likely that, even where there is such insufficiency
with the present expenses of management, the scale
would be turned by the cheaper system which a large
government measure would at once introduce. But
this is of its own nature a difficulty for inquiry, not a
difficulty for discussion. First make good rates; then
call in by proclamation reports of the affairs of the
societies which will be willing to listen—mind, only
to listen—to a government proposal : and then ex-
amine the states of those societies. It is impossible
to say, until this is done, how much or how little the
preliminary difficulty will amount to. These are
the questions which may arise : Shall this
society, or rather its existing members, be
allowed to continue at their old rates? Shall
the accumulations, which they can bring to the
common fund, be held sufficient? If not, shall admit-
tance to the government scheme be conditional upon
a further subscription ? or shall the plan include an
indemnity for all past errors ?
These questions, and others which may arise, are
questions of amount ; and opinion upon the proper
answers will be regulated by the notions which may
be formed of the general principles of our scheme:
that is, if the amount, when determined, should turn
out to be large. For these principles we refer to our
next and concluding article. In the meanwhile we
desire it may be remembered that what we ask, in the
name of the poor, at the hand of the executive, is
guidance and co-operation, not charity.

If the ministerial press of Paris be a true
interpreter of the feelings and designs of the
Cabinet and the Court, neither the one nor the other
can fairly be charged with pursuing a furtive course.
These journals are, from day to day, in alternate
strophes, each in its own key, and according to its
peculiar taste, chanting one accordant song of minis-
terial congratulation and national triumph. The
praises of M. Guizot are eel( brated for the accom-
plishment of the most magnificent political measure
which has been effected under the dynasty of the
Barricades. He has,—not married the youngest son
of Louis Philippe to the sister of the Queen regnant,
—not obtained for the wealthiest family in Europe,
the richest dower in the world to augment the heap
of their uncounted treasures,—no, these are not the
things now praised. What he is lauded for is,—that
he has resisted English dictation; that he has banished
British influence from Spain ; that he has established
in the Peninsula the sway of its nearest neighbour,
its natural ally, and best friend ; that ho has, with
rare courage and firmness, broken the entente cordiale,
and released France from an alliance which brought
her only shame and dishonour ; that he has rendered
it impossible that a connexion so mischievous can
ever be re-established ; that he has prepared her for
combinations with her natural allies, the despotic
courts of the North and the East. It is true that these
(*nits have not vet proffered to her the hand
of friendship. But no matter, says these jour-
nals, France has only to wait, tranquil in
her dignity. Time, and the force of things,
will bring these alliances to her. Then, allied
with the autocrat of the Neva on this side of
the Atlantic, and the democrats of the Potomac on
that, France will wield a power which will keep in
subjection the common enemy of mankind—England!
Such is at present the theme of journalists, the breath
of whose nostrils is drawn from the secret funds dis-
pensed ut the nod of the lute august guest of Windsor
and the royal host of Eu! No one surely can say
that there is any unworthy concealment in designs
thus declared. • _ . _. . _ _

-------
Meanwhile, the royal pair which form the link of
connexion between the nations on either side of the
Pyrenees are approaching Paris, surrounded with the
usual exhibition of theatrical triumphs. The drama
got up at Bayonne has been already described in the
journals of London. The episode of the British consul
at that city has been given with different versions.
The Consfitationnel of Tuesday has it as follows:
" Letters from Bayonne were generally circulated on Mon-
day in the city and at the Bourse, to the effect that on the
occasion of the file there, the consuls of the foreign powers
had hung ouftheir respective flags at the consulates, as is cus-
tomary on days of rejoicing; but that the English consul
formed a sole exception. Having been requested by the
sous-prefet to follow the example of his colleagues, the
British agent replied that be obeyed the instructions of his
government, and could receive no directions from the civil
authorities. Thereupon arose a sharp altercation, ending
with a menace that the British consul would repent his re-
fusal. An opportunity for retort was not slow to present
itself. The next day (Tuesday), a regatta was held upon the
Adour, in honour of the Royil pair. In the arrangement of
the boats carrying the flags of different nations, things were
so managed that the last place was assigned to the English
flag. This was received as an insult by the consul, who, it is
said, immediately demanded his passport."
The Bayonne journals do not hint at this incident.
The free-trade agitation progresses. A meeting
was held on Saturday, in Paris, for the organisation
of the central association, at which M. Anegnon-
l)uperron gave a sketch of the object and spirit of the
association, evidently with a view to allay the alarm
of the monopolists, and to win over the support of the
timid.

" Free-trade," he said, " was the object of the association,
but it did not seek to attain this end by any means which
would shock or injure existing interests. Improvement
would be effected by degrees, by successive modifications of
the tariff ; due regard being paid to the wants of the state
and political exigencies. Our object (said he) is freedom ;
but, in arriving at it, we will use all reasonable care, we
will march to it step by step. There is one thing, however,
which we will immediately claim : it is the abolition of pro.
hibition. This barbarous term must disappear from
our tariffs as confiscation has disappeared from our
criminal code. Prohibition is the death, competi-
tion the life, of human intelligence and activity.
But, in desiring competition, we desire the means
of sustaining it. We must have the elements of production
on as good terms as our competitors. We must have the raw
matenal, and, above ail, iron and coal, at the lowest possible
price. The principle of free trade is founded in truth ; we
maintain it, and will continue to maintain it, but we will
only ask the prudent and progressive application of it."
The Duke d'Hareourt was elected president of the
society. MM. Kceehlin and Bossom, manufacturers;
Ortolan, professor of law and member of the Council-
General of Commerce ; Le Clere, and others, were
elected to the council. M. d'Eichthal, regent of the
Bank of France and Deputy of La Sarthe, was elected
treasurer.

Admiral Duperre has just died at Paris.
Lord Brougham, who has arrived at Meurice's
Hotel from his chateau at Cannes, had an interview
with M. Guizot at the Hotel des Affaires Etrangeres,
on the subject of the claims of the Spanish bond-
holders.

The French government is about to establish a new
professorship of Le Mecaniquc celeste for M. Le Ver-
rier, whose mathematical calculations led to the dis-
covery of the new planet.
The combination of the London morning papers
against the Daily News is exciting the attention of
foreign journals. The details of the conspiracy
appmed in La Presse of Monday.

The provisional government of Geneva tendered its
resignation to the Grand Council on the 28th October,
in case the latter should disapprove of its measures.
The Council declined accepting the resignation, and
passed, almost unanimously, a resolution to the follow-
ing effect :
' Considering the decree of the Council-General of Molar&
the Grand Council does not accept the resignation of the
members of the provisional government, otters them its thanks
for the services they have already rendered to the country,
and requests them to continue their office.
Letters from Basle of the 31st ult. state that the
Council had adopted on the 30th, by a large majority,
the proposition to revise the constitution. A com-
mittee of 15 members was appointed for the purpose,
the majority of whom were decidedly in favour of
reform. _ _

---The city continued perfectly tranquil. The lesser
council had assembled on the 28th, and had resolved
not to take any military measures, but to leave to the
citizens the care of maintaining tranquillity.

The Madrid mails of the 29th ult. arrived at Paris
on the afternoon of Tuesday.
A Royal decree had been published prescribing
rules for the punctual execution of the amnesty. A
letter from St Jag°, of the 21st ult, announced that
the troops in that city had marched in the direction of
the frontiers of Portugal.
The Captain-General gave a magnificent banquet at
Barcelona, in celebration of the marriage of the
Queen. Among the toasts were" Louis Philippe, the
pacificator of Europe." The Consul of France pro-
posed the health of " Her Majesty, Victoria, Queen of
England ;" and the Captain-General, " lina Maria
da Gloria, and God deliver her from her enemies."
The reports of a change of ministry which had pre-
vailed proved to be without foundation. Tranquillity
was established at Saragossa. News had arrived from
Lisbon of the date of the 24th, which gave hopes of
the submission of Oporto. Private correspondence,
published by some of the journals, announce that Va-
lencia, Chaces, and Viana had sent in their sub-
mission.
The funds sustained themselves, and it was expected
that they would do so until decisive news should be
received from Portugal.
These mails are otherwise destitute of interest.

FRANCE.—RECEPTION OF TIIE DCKE AND
DUCHY-48 TIE MONTPENISIER AT PAC.—The M,nsorial of
Pau gives a long account of the arrival of the Duke and
Duchess de Montpensier at Pau in the afternoon of the 29th
ult., at about four o'clock, passing through treble ranks of
elegantly-dressed ladies stationed in the gardens on each
side of the road into the town, and through a dense assem-
blage of the people, all betokening their satisfaction by loud
acclamations. The streets were decorated with flags and
draperies, the windows were filled with ladies, and the
, cannon fired a salvo of twenty-one guns. In the middle
of the Besse Plante was a triumphal arch, under which
the Mayor received their Royal Highnesses, and delivered
an address of welcome, to which the Prince replied as
follows :—" It is always with deep emotion that I return
to this fine town of Pau, the cradle of my family. The
reception given me three years ago will never be effaced from
my memory, and that which I this day receive adds to my
feelings of gratitude. Assured of the sympathy of the gene-
rous population of Beare, I was impatient to introduce to
them the descendant of Henry IV. She joicut me, sir, in
thanking you for having associated her in • manner so
affecting with the wishes you have been pleased to express
for my happiness." The Duke wore the uniform of Major-
' General, with the grand cordon of the order of the Golden
Fleece, and the Duchess a dress of Lyons velvet, with a white
, hat and feathers. Fine rich black hair with beautiful blue
eyes give a great effect to her delicate features, and her coon-
tenance declares her descent from the house of Bourbon.
Ilaving replied to the Mayor, the Duke with his bride
entered a carriage prepared for them, and followed by
others, in which were the numerous personages who
attended them, proceeded at a foot pace to the Chfi-
' tcau, where they were received by Colonel I'oque, the
Commandant. The young ladies of Pau were first
admitted to present the accustomed basket of flowers
with an address, delivered by Mlle. Castemau, the daugh-
ter of the first deputy-mayor. As the Duchess was
unable to reply in French, she made her acknowledgments
by graciously saluting on the cheek Mlle. Castelnau.
Their Royal Highnesses retired to their apartments to
take a short repose, and then made their appearance in
the grand saloon, where were assembled the Duke De-
cares, Grand Referendary of the Court of Peers, the
Count de St Cricq, and the Marquis d'Angosse, Peers of
France ; M. Laviclle, deputy, the Count de Gestas, and
Lieut.-Gen. Baron Janin, who had the honour of being
presented. On this occasion also the former suite of
, their royal highnesses were present. Addresses were
then presented by the First President of the Cour Royale
and the President of the Tribunal of Commerce, to
which the Duke gave suitable replies. Commandant
Payoo presented the officers of the National Guards with
, an address. M. Ricau, cure of St. Jacques, likewise
congratulated the royal bride and bridegroom in the
name of the clergy of the town, and the rector, in pre-
' Renting to their Royal Highnesses the Academic
Council and the Professors of the College, delivered
a speech which brought from the Prince a reply couched
in the most gracious terms, eulogising the university.
, There is now exhibiting at the Mint of Paris a
medal engraved by NI Borcl, and struck to commemorate
the marriage of the Duke de Montpensier. On one side are
the words, " A. N. Ph.-L. d'Orleares, due de Montpensier :
Louise Ferdinande, infante d'Espagne ; " and on the other,
surrounded by a wreath of laurel, " Manes a Madrid, le 10
Octobre, 1846."
THE LATE M. OUVRARD.—We find the following
curious account of the army contractor, M. ()untied, in the
:—" The fame of Ouvrard was founded on his singular
aptitude for realising millions; the eclat of the part that he
performed was entirely produced by the talent that he dis-
hplayed in the mode of spending his money. There wits in
im the complete financier, and—what is very rare—the
financier in this case was also the homme d'esprat. Born in
the middle class, he had the rare advantage of making his
fortune at an age when it is well to be :ich, viz., at twenty.
The revolution having broken out, he foresaw that the con-
flict of political discussion would cause the production and
distribution of an immense number of books, pamphlets,
and journals, and, by contracts cleverly made, he monopo-
lised all the paper that could be manufactured for two years
at the paper-mills of Poitou and the Angoumois. His an-
ticipations were realised, and he gained three hundred thou-
sand francs by the first affair. He was then scarcely nine-
teen years old. The revolution, however, which struck the
wealthy as well as the noble, checked his progress, and in
order to escape the danger which menaced him, the young
financier fled to the camps, and sought protection under the
mouths of the cannon. As soon as the worst days of the
revolution were over, he threw off his uniform and returned
to Paris. It has been said, but by way of necrological rail-
lery, that Ouvrard was a grocer. He was no more a grocer,
however, than by having, under the Directory, speculated
largely in colonial produce, by which he realised a profit of
three millions of francs in the year. At twenty-six years
of age, Ouvrard was worth ten millions of francs. He was
at that time tall, well-made, of a remarkably handsome face,
and full of wit, imagination, and ardour. One day when
Bonaparte, who had only just received the baptism of fame,
was at Madame Tallien's, a numerous circle surrounded the
young general, listening to his conversation, but suddenly
the door opened, and M. Ouvrard entered. The circle al-
most instantly separated, leaving General Bonaparte alone,
in vain attempting to find a listener; everybody crowded
round the idol of the day. Onward little dreamed what a
powerful and irreconcilable enemy he had thus created.
home time afterwards Bonaparte, who was soliciting the
command of the army of Italy, went one morning to Barran,
at the Luxemburg. Ile was told that he was engaged,
and was obliged to wait two hours, burning with anger
and impatience. At length he heard a loud laugh,
and the door of the director's room opening be saw him
come out with his visitor—this visitor was Ouvrard. When
Berms had taken leave of Ouvrard in the most friendly
manner, he turned round to Bonaparte and said, ' You were
there then ?' Bonaparte replied, that he had been there for
two hours. diable,' said Barns, you have shown
great patience ; I did not know you possessed that virtue,
which, however, is a very useful one for any man who
hopes to make his way. You will rise, mon cher.' ' I hope
so,' replied Bonaparte. Barran then added, ' But if you have
waited two hours, you owe it to Ouvrard. There is no
leaving him when you have once listened to him. What a
delicious cam:cur he is! what talent ! What anecdotes he
tells! He knows all the secret history and adventures of
our pretty women ; they hide nothing from him, which is
not surprising, fur he is young and rich, and thus has the
key to every heart. But this is not his sole merit. If he
shines in frivolous things, he excels in serious ones. I know
of no friend so precious for a Government that wants money;
with him I am never at a loss ; he is able to create resources
under all circumstances, and can find veins of gold
in the moat sterile ground.' These eulogiums from the lips
of Barrio were not of a nature to remove the aversion which
Bonaparte already felt for Ouvrard. As soon as he had be-
come first consul, the persecutions of the financier com-
menced. Ouvrard, however, had protectors and powerful
friends. He had lent fifty thousand, francs to Bernadotte on
his marriage with Mademoiselle Clary, the daughter of a
merchant at Marseilles, and had rendered numerous services
to Madame de Beauharnais, before and after marriage
with Bonaparte. All the heads of finance were attached to
him by interest or gratitude, and his cause was warmly
pleaded with the Consul, who made the following reply to
Collet, who was the organ of Ouvrard's partisans When
a man has thirty millions and does not care for them, he is
too dangerous for me in my position.' Ouvrard was arrested ;
seals were put upon his papers, which six counsellors were
ordered to examine, and the hatred of the Consul received
fresh food from the discovery of several letters written to
the financier by Madame Beauharnais and Madame Bona-
parte. These letters were urgent applications for money,
and Ouvrard had become a creditor of the property which
Bonaparte had with his wife. These things are not easily
pardoned. When the First Consul became Emperor, the
persecutions against Ouvrard recommenced. Ouvrard strag-
gled valiantly. The edifice of his fortune resisted the most
violent attacks and rose upon its ruins. The financier made
the most splendid use of his opulence; he displayed the
greatest luxury, and received the most brilliant society at
his hotel in Paris, and at his magnificent chateau at Rainey,
formerly the property of the Orleans family. In the country,
he used to say with a laugh, ' I have three ministers of state
for porters.' The fact was, that Talleyrand, Berthier, and
Decree each occupied one of the elegant pavilions which
formed, as it were, the lodges of the park of Rainey. Dis-
contented with the imperial government, Ouvrard went to
Spain, where his talents as a financier were so well appre-
ciated, that King Charles IV. did not disdain to enter into a
partnership with him for a trade with America. But the
hatred of Napoleon and his ministers pursued him beyond
the Pyrenees. Ouvrard was compelled to dissolve his part-
nenhipwith the King of Spain and to return to Paris, where
he had not been long before he became the victim of fresh
chicanery, and was imprisoned in the chateau of Vincennes.
He never recovered from these last blows; the restoration,
however, lent him a hand, by appointing him mnnitionnaire
general of the army of Spain, commanded by the Duc d'An-
gouleme. Onward had still a good number of millions, but
his debts were considerable, and nothing could induce him
to part with his property to pay them, which would have left
him, perhaps, with only five or six hundred thousand francs
a-year. He preferred to this honest mediocrity a factitious
and stormy opulence. His system consisted in paying no-
body. He sold all his estates and turned them into money.
Lawsuits and judgments did not terrify him ; at last, how-
ever, he was arrested, and shut up at Sainte Peie for a
debt of five millions, due to N. Seguin, another millionnaire,
as great an original at tirmself. Ouvrard passed five years

in prison ; this was a million a-year that he gained, for at the
end of the five years fixed by the law. his debt was paid. by
his incarceration, and his creditor gained nothing. After the
episode of this captivity, Ouvrard fell into complete obscurity
and his death became necessary in order that he might be
again talked of."
THE INUSDATIONS.—A letter from Roanne, in the
Gazette des Tribunaux saTs .—" Upwards of 200 individuals
have been arrested for taking away articles carried down by
the Loire. A peasant of good property hlO/ been lodged in
prison for having seized on several casks of wine. Other
persons, living along the banks, seized on beds, furniture,
trunks, &c. The prison of Roanne is so full that a great
,
number of the occunanta have been sent off to Charlie°. '
The Journal du Loire( states that the disaster which has just
occurred to the valley of the Loire had been previously an-
nounced to the authorities as imminent, and that they were
called on to guard against it. The Council-General of the
Loiret had strongly supported these representations, but the
central authority had refused to listen to the protests sent in.
The above journal also declares that matters went so far that
I the commune of Sandillon had formally signified to the Pre-
fect of the Loiret, that it should hold the government respon-
sible for any damage that might ensue.
PRICE Or BREAD IN PARIS.—The Presse says:
" The last tariff of bread was made upon the official declara-
tions of the flour brokers, sent lu some days previously. The
price, however, is under the really current price of flour and
wheat, and the Paris bakers therefore sustain a loss. In
order to prove this, it is only necessary to state that the
average is now 51fr. 24c., which is 2fr. above that on which
the price of bread for the first fortnight of November has
been fixed at 43 centimes the kilogramme. It is probable
that a rise of several centimes will take place for the 15th
inst., unless there should ba in the meantime a sudden fad in
the price of wheat."
Silvio Pellico, whose name is so well known in
Europe by the account of his sufferings, is now on a visit to
11. de Lamurtine, at his chateau in Burgundy.
ITALY.—hour:, OCT. 20th.—The Romans still
entertain hopes that on the Bth November, the day fixed
upon by the lope to take formal possession of St. Jean de
Liman, an ordonnance will be promulgated containing the
proposed refi,rms in the papal administration. Unhappily,
the retrograde party offer great resistance to reform, but the
people place implicit confidence in the Pope and the govern-
ment of Cardinal Gizzi. His holiness has appointed a rail-
way committee. All the beggars which infest Rome are to
be put in asylums, and provided for.
NAPLES.—The Gazette qf the Two Sieilies contains
the treaty of commerce concluded between Austria and
Naples on the 4th of July, and ratified on the 3rd of Octo-
ber. 'inc commerce of the two nations is placed on an equal
footing.
It appears by the List accounts from Palermo,
that the rumours of diststers in Sicily from floods were
grossly exaggerated. Several houses at Mellazzo and Mar-
sole were, however, washed away, and nine persons lest
their live-.
GERMANY.— Curiosity is excited, says the
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, to know how the Russian
government will act in the affair of the Spanish martinet.
The French journals are of opinion that the Russian cabinet
approves of the line of policy followed by Louis Philippe
and the 11ontpentier marriage; it is not, however, likely
that Russia has made so sudden a change in its policy. As
yet Russia has refused its approbation, and for sixteen years
has, by its silence, condemned the accession of the Orleans
dynasty. How then could it suddenly stand up in defence of
the dynasty and the policy of the house of Orleans? Russia
will always be jealous of the aggrandisement of
France, if it were only on account of the sympathy felt in
France for Poland. Should such a combination take place,
Austria and Prussia might rejoice at the occasion fur deliver
ing Poland from the Russian yoke, and of forming I'oland
into an intermediate state between Hussies and civilised
Europe. In such case, Poland would willingly resign the
territories belonging to Austria and Prussia, which formerly
belonged to Hungary and Silesia. England would side with
Germany. All this is self-evident, and the dangers of a
European war inevitable. It is not, therefore, likely that
France and Russia will form an alliance on the subject of the
Spanish marriage.
THE ARCHUCKE PALATINE.—It is stated in a
letter from Pesth of the 24th ult., that the health of the
Archduke l'alatine of Hungary had improved so much that
no more bulletins would be issued.

The Nuremberg Correspondent of the 29th ult.
mentions a report that the Uovernment of Mecklenburg
intends to form part of the German Customs' Union.
EXPLOSIVE INVENTIONS.—A letter from Vienna
states that Dr. Heller, of that city, has prepared tow in the
same way as has been lately done for cotton, and that its
explosive force is far more considerable.
SCIILESWIG-HOLSTETN, OCT. 28.—1 n the bitting
of the 28th inst. the Duke of Augustenburg made a propo•
sition for a new constitution. A committee was appointed
to take the proposition into consideration, by 39 votes
against 2. A committee was accordingly formed, consisting
of the Duke, Count Reventlow, of Jersbeck, Dr. Gulich,
Privy Councillor Falek, and the Advocate Riinnenkamp.
Privy Councillor Dullard' then proposed a separation of the
administration of the duchies, as regarded the army and the
finance, from that of Denmark. A committee was ap-
pointed to take this second proposition into consideration,
II 32 votes against 8. The 8 dissenting votes were, MM.
Jensen and Nielsen, of Flensburg ; Jepson and Lorenzen, of
Lillholt ; Pewit, Flack, Staten' Councillors Rumohr, and
Weber, of Rosencranz. The discussion on the question of
joiaiva tho G..rman Confederation was to come on in the
next sitting. The King of Denmark has issued a royal
letter patent to Schleswig and Holstein, dated 19th Oct.,
ordering the election of new deputies to the assembly of
states of the respective duchies, as the six years, for which
period deputies are elected, expire on the 31st Dec. of the
present year.
THE NETHERLANDS.—THE HAGUE, Nov. I.
The first chamber of the States General had a sitting yester-
day, in which it gave its assent to the address in reply to the
screech from the throne, adopted by the second chamber.
1. his address will be presented to the king to day by a depu-
tation of members of the two chambers. The first chamber
likewise adopted the project of law for proroguing the law of
the 18th of Dec., 184.1, for the importation of provisions.
The section of the second chamber of the States General are
engaged in examining the project of law for the employment
of the surplus of the colonial funds.
Nov. 2.—ln the of the second chamber of
the States General on Saturday last, Mr. De Mann made his
report, in the name of the committee appointed to present to
the king the address in answer to his Majesty's speech. The
report stated that the committee had been received by the
king in the usual manner. After hearing the address read,
his Majesty answered: " I wish, with your high mighti-
nesacs, that this present session of the States-General may
contribute effectually to the real welfare of the country.
His Majesty has just made the following appointments in the
diplomatic body of the Netherlands. By a decree of the 31st
October, the king has appointed his Excellency Count G.
Schimmelpenninck his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary to her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain,
in the room of Baron S. Dedel, deceased. By a decree of
28th October, Baron N.W. Mollerus,latcly Charg d'Affaires
of the Netherlands to the court of Portugal, is appointed
Resident Minister at the Ottoman Court, as successor to Mr.
Testa, who has obtained his honourable discharge, with a
pension and his Majesty's thanks for his long and faithful
services.

OCT: 30.—The herring fishery on the English
coast appears to take a favourable turn. Yesterday a vessel
arrived at Kattoyk with a cargo of 113,000 herrings, and the
day before yesterday another arrived ct Nordwyk, and since
our last accounts three vessels have arrived at Scheveningen,
one laden with 41,000, the second with 71,000, and the third
with 52,000 herrings.
The half of the property of the Hande/sb/ad teas
lately sold at Amsterdam for 250,000 florins. A Dutch
jowl's.' having affirmed that the purchase had been made
on Belgian account, M L. Keyser, one of the purchasers,
has formally protested against this assertion ; he declares it
to be false and malicious, and intended solely to excite doubts
respecting the national spirit which has always character.
ised the Ilandelsbled. Mr. Keyser declares besides, that no
foreigner can have, or ever shall have, the least influence
over that paper, so long as it retaics its present directors.
In the sitting of the second chamber of the States
General on Saturday, a report was received from his Excel-
lency the Minister of Finance to the King, respecting the
employment of the revenue for the year 1844, together with
tke receipts and expenditure for the years 1843 and 1844.
This report was given in compliance with Article XXVI. of
the fundamental law. It was ordered to be printed and
distributed among the members. It is immediately to be
laid before a special committee to make a report upon it.
THE CAUCASUS.—On the 26th of September
last, the Russian Commander-in-Chief arrived at the camp
of Fontanga, and inspected the newly erected fortifications
there. Owing to the activity of the men under the orders
of General Labinhoff, the works are nearly completed. The
troops under his command amount to 7,000 men. Although
Schamyl vowed destruction on the fort, he had not made his
appearance, and not a shot had been fired since the 18th of
September. The Nekochanges had refused to join Schamyl.
On the 30th of August, Soliman Effendi, a priest of high
repute, and a friend of Schamyl's, passed over to the Russian
side with all his family. Last year he was Sehamyl's prin-
cipal agent oa the other aide of the Cuba:. On the 15th of
September, a skirmish took place at about six wersts
from Alschoi ; the garrison of Ofen were attacked whilst
cutting forage, but the mountaineers were repulsed with
lose. In Southern Daghestan, Lieutenant-General Prince
Argutiacki is following up his operations, and keeps the
enemy in check. He has had different skirmishes with the
enemy. The only event worth mentioning in the other dis-
tricts is the attack made by the N.iib Duba on the detach-
ment of Colonel Drisch. The mountaineers fought gallantly,
and bad one piece of artillery, but they were driven back
with the loss of their gun and five killed. On the Russian
side two were killed and twelve wounded. The plain of
Kumok is commanded by the fortresses erected on the Jarik,
and a reserved body of cavalry is stationed there.