The Express.
London, England, 1866-04-28 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

THE INDIA AND CHINA MAILS.

(►ROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

By the arrival of the above maile we have re-
ceived advices from Madras to March 28 ; Hong
Kong, March 15 ; Singapore, March 22 ; Shanghai,
March 8, &c.

PARIS, FRIDAY EVF.SINCI.

The contemptible, not to say disgraceful para-
graph of the Cvmstitutionne/, signed Boniface,
pretending to know that the " favourable recep-
tion " by Prussia of the Austrian proposition for a
mutual disarmament had given rise to negotiations
for the purpose of devising a mode of disarming
which should respond to the intentions of the two
courts, was scouted as it deserved to be on the
Bourse. The government journal knew nothing of
the kind; had the best means for knowing the con-
trary ; was certain that the hopes of a disarmament
are scattered to the winds ; and that the two go-
vernments, as I represented yesterday, are more
than ever at daggers drawn. With reckless con-
tempt for its own thick-skinned character and the
public intellect, it risked the paragraph, of course
pursuant to orders, in the hope that it might
allay the panic at the Bourse and cause
honest and simple people to lose more money for
the benefit of those behind the scenes. The truth
is now out that Prussia makes the concentration of
Austrian troops on the Italian frontier a ground
for putting an end to the whole negotiation, which,
as I have unhesitatingly said, was from the first a
sham on both sides.
Panic reigns at the Bourse. After many fluctua-
tions nearly the lowest quotations of the day pre-
vailed at the close. Bente fell 40c. for cash, and
35c. for account, closing at 66fr. 80c. in each cane.
I Italian fell lfr. 60c. _ _ . .

An action was tried in the Civil Court of Paris
this week, in which the plaintiff was M. Courtel,
the eminent French sculptor, and the defendant,
Mr. Fitzgibbon, son of a late mayor of Cork. The
cause of suit was a breach of contract on the part
of the defendant, who had ordered a statue of his
father, for the sum of 11,000 fr., to be erected in a
public place in Cork. When the statue was
in an advanced state, Mr. Fitzgibbon wrote
to the artist not to send it to the founders,
on the ground that riots in Ireland on
the subject of statues made it unsafe to
carry out the original design. This argument was
developed by the defendant's counsel, who en-
deavoured to make out that the objection of
certain citizens of Dublin to the erection of a statue
of Prince Albert on College-green was a valid
reason for rescinding a contract to set up a statue
of a deceased and much respected mayor in Cork.
The court, however, adopting the conclusions of
the Advocate-General, held that Mr. Fitzgibbon
was personally bound by a plain contract, and de-
creed him within a month to pay the instalment of
4,000 fr. now due, and in default of such payment de-
clared the contract rescinded ; that the plaster cast
of the statue should thenceforth be the property
of M. Courtel, and that the defendant should pay
him 5,000 fr. damages, and be liable to imprison-
ment for non-payment.

ITALY.

(mow coos cowzr coKßEspommrr.)

FLORENCE, APRIL 23.

I observe that there has been a resuscitation of
a canard, which I imagined to have been long since
duly gathered to the father of canards, suggesting
the existence of negotiations between the Italian
government and the French Emperor for the acquisi-
tion of Venice and Rome, at the cost of a cession to
France of certain other portions of Italian territory.
And as I think it likely enough, remembering the
degree of credit which the rumour obtained in ,
England at its first avatar, that this renewal
of it may have excited a greater degree of
attention in London than it has here, it
may be worth while to lay hold of it,
and twist its canard's neck for once and all.
The assertion is, that the price to be paid fur the
good offices of France in the acquisition of Venice
and Rome is the cession of Sardinia, or of Savona,
on the Ligurian seaboard.
I have no hesitation whatever in assuring you that
there does not exist the slightest foundation for any
such report. No such proposal has been made—no
such suggestion put forward. Had it been made, or
were it to be made, it would not be entertained by
the Italian government for an instant. La Mar-
more is not the man to be led into any
trap so baited. Nor could, or would, any Italian
government, even if the existence of one capable of
desiring such a thing were admitted as possible,
dream of venturing on such a proposal. No
government could face the country with such a
proposition. Any minister daring to announce
such an arrangement as a bargain concluded would
find himself face to face with revolution. Be
assured that, deep and intense as is the desire, and
urgent as is the importance of rescuing Venice, no
cession of the smallest chip of Italian soil will be
consented to as the price of attaining that end.
The earnest longing of the people here for war

leads them to attribute small importance to the
latest pacific news from Germany. It will only put
the matter off a little, they say ; it is merely a
throwing of (lust in the eyes. No question is set-
tled ; and war must come. I repeat, however,
my recent assertion, that statements of the exist-
ence of an alliance between Prussia and Italy are
at all events as yet premature.
On the other hand, I am very much disposed to

believe that Signor Visconti Venosta went to Paris
simply in order to make purchases for his outfit,
and to Vienna simply to avoid the sea-sickness,
which any other route to his destination would
have entailed on him. But I can hardly expect
your readers or anybody else to believe as much.

LAUNCH AT MILLWALL IRON WORIB.—We have
the pleasure to record the successful launch on Thursday
of the iron screw steamship Salisbury, built by the ma
wall Iron Works Shipbuilding and Graving Docks Company
(Limited), for the Southampton Steam Collier and Coal
Company (Limited). This fine vessel will be a very valuable
addition to the fleet of the Southampton Company. Her
dimensions are :—Length between perpendiculars, 189 feet ;
breadth moulded, 28 feet ; depth moulded, 183 feet ; her
builders' measurement is 718 tons. She is fitted with water
ballast, and all the latest improvements in shipbuilding
have been put into the vesseL Her engines of 90-horses
nominal power have also been made by the builders at
their engine works at Deptford-green; they will be imme-
diately fitted into the vessel, which will lie ready for sea
in three weeks. Amongst the parties present at the launch
we noticed Rear-Admiral Sir John C. D. Hay, the chair-
man of the Millwall Company ; Mr. George Lungley, one
of the directors of the Southampton Collier Company ;
and other gentlemen. The ceremony of naming the vessel
was performed by Miss Lungley, of Southampton, in that
lady's usual graceful manner. At the luncheon, which
followed the launch, general regret was expressed at the
absence of the director of works, Mr. Charles Lungley, who
is at present confined to his bed by illness, brought on by
his exertions during the launching of her Majesty's ship
Northumberland. _ _

DENSE FOG AT MALTA. —Oll Saturday last one
of the thickest fogs that we ever remember to have seen
in Malta enveloped the island, and extended a consider-
able way at sea. Several steamers and vessels due were
detained outside in consequence of the thickness of the
weather.—Maito Times, April 19.
HEALTH AND STRENGTH RESTORED ET Dl7 BARRY'S
DELICIOUS RIVALS:WU ARABIC/. FOOD, which =el without me-
dicine or Inconvenienced yspepria ;indigestion), cough, asthma,
consumption, debility, constipation, diarrhoea, palpitation, ner-
vous, bilious, liver, and stomach complaints. It saves fifty times
Its cost In other remedies, and is the best food for infants
56,000 cures annually.—Du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street,
London, W. In tins, at Is. 1 d.: lib., El ; 12lbe We.
Whs., 40s. ; also at 61, Gracechurch-street ;4, eltespedde 150,
sad 298, Oxford-street and at all Grocera --(Advertisement.]

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 28, 1866.

Etre Court.

OSBORNE, APRIL 27.

The confirmation of Prince Arthur took Place
yesterday at Whippingham Church by his Grace tLe Arch-
bishop of Canterbury.

The Queen arrived at the church at 12 o'clock, accom-
panied by Prince Arthur (who went in the same carriage
with her Majesty), Princess Helena, Princess Louise, and
Princess Beatrice.

Prince Leopold, the Prince and Princess of Le:nil:gen.
and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein had preceded
the Queen.
Her Majesty and the royal family having taken their
places on either side of the chancel, Prince Arthur stood
at the communion rail, within which were the Archbishop.
the Dean of Windsor, the Rev. George Pruthero, and the
Rev. William Jolley.
The service commenced with a hymn. The Archlirhop
then performed the ceremony, and another hymn was
sung ; after which the Archbishop delivered a charge.
The Queen was attended by Lady Churchill, the Hon.
Caroline Cavendish, Major-General the Hon. A. Hood,
Colonel Du Plat, Sir John Cowell, Maur Ephinatone, and
Lieutenant Stirling.
Among those who had the honour of being invited to be
present at the ceremony were the Duke and Duchess of
Wellington (who were specially invited on account of
he late duke having been sponsor to Prince Arthur), the
Hon. Mrs. Wellesley, Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. C. Grey,
Sir Thomas and Lady Biddulpli, Mrs. Prothero, Miss
Bauer, Mdlle. Norelle, Major-General Francis Seymour,
C. 8., the Rev. R. Duckworth, Mr. Sabi, and Dr.
Hof neister.

The Queen drove in the grounds yesterday morning with
Princess Helena, and drove out in the afternoon, accom.
panied by Princess Helena, Prince Arthur, and Prince
Christian.

Princess Louise and Prince Leopold drove in the grounds.
The Archbishop of Canterbury and Major-General Sey-
mour left Osborne yesterday afternoon.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, with Prince Albert
Victor and Prince George, arrived at Marlborough•house
from Sandringham yesterday afternoon.
The Viscountess Walden, Lieut.-General Knollys, Major
Grey, Mr. Fisher, and Mr. Holsmami were in attendance.
The Prince of Wales took the chair at the Royal Insti-
tution in the evening, when a lecture was delivered by the
Dean of Westminster.

His royal highness wu attended by Majcr Grey and Mr.
Holzman.

A committee of the Lords of her Majesty's Meet Honour,
able Privy Council at yesterday in the Council•chamber-
Whitehall, on the subject of the cattle plague. The Lord'
present were :—The Lord President, Sir George Grey,
the Right Hon. T. Milner Gibson, the Right Hon. H. A.
Bruce, and the Right Hon. G. J. Goschen. The Solicitor-
Genend, and Colonel Harness, with Mr. Help. (the Clerk
of the Council), and Mr. Harrison (the Deputy-Clerk),
attended the committee.

COMMUNICATION FROM CONSUL CA.VEReN
IN CAPTIVITY.

(From the Cornhill Maga:ine fir Msy.)

[Csptain Cameron, who has been so long imprisoned in
Abyssinia, has sent 118 the following v(rst-s, with an
urgent request that we should puLlish tht;u with Lis
notes.] - . .

SHOAL!
TO HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.
I thank thee, Friend, for this bold song,(l)
Which thrill'd my burning veins along,
When madden'd 'neath the sense of wrong,
I wrung the cutting gyves and strung,
That eat these free-born limbeM
Bleeding at heart, I work'd each link,
Till ev'n as speanstabli'd leopards slink,
To cool them by soft Mareb'sk3)
So, wild and worn, I turn'd to drink
The solace of thy hymns.
They spake like Jean, " Be thou while"
But 10, the mystic fennel bowl,
That erst must quaff the troubled soul ;
I seize it, and return thy Skoal, (4)
From honest heart and free,—
" All scathe to me is Freedom's gain—
Then welcome hunger, shame, and pain ;
Yet sing, my Friend, a gallant strain—
Afric shall sooner cast her chain
For this our.misery." (5)
Magdala Prison, 27th December, 114":5. C. D. O.

(1) "The Goblet of Life"—see Longfellow's Poems.
(2) Chains round the ankles eat the limb internally.
The sinews shrink, so that the ankle becomes a mere stick.
The calf, at the same time, wears away—and gradually
retires—perhaps three inches higher than it WnIS before
chaining, and its dimensions above decrease in proportion.
(3) Mareb, a river which, rising in Ahyssiiiir., loses
itself in the Eastern Sarhara. Its waters, filtered through
white sand, are singularly soft and sweet. The Sarhara,
like its sister Lybia, is " arida nutria leonuni,-.- ..n] no
traveller can pass irough without an adventure eitLer
with lion or leopard.
(4) Like Longfellow, the writer has drunk many a Skoal
in Sweden, so this is no affectation.
(:)) The slave trade is carried on with a high band in
Upper Egypt, and along the west cast of the Red Sea.
The writer may, hereafter, furnish the public with
statistics on the subject. There are about 1,400 slaves
passed through Massowah alone to Capola and Djedda.
When the writer was at Massowah, a Greek merchant
' there, 11. Aristide, entertained the plan of purchasing op
a number of these, and accompanying them to their re.
spective homes. His object was not philanthropicLl, 1.”. t
had in view the conciliation of the distant Galla tribes, to
the end of establishing trading stations among tLe:n. A
practical nation like England might safely take the same
view on a large scale, being assured that the suppression
of the slave trade would necessarily lead to the develop-
ment of legitimate commerce. At present a hatred of the
whits Christian is sedulously instilled into the 'Linde of
the Gallas by the slave merchant, who represents us as
cannibals for his own purposes.
When the writer was in the Soudan, he stopped, by
authority, a whole caravan of slaves. They all, the girls
especially, burst into tears, imagining that they were to
be roasted and eaten forthwith.
. . .

The slave trade is forbidden in Abyssinia, though the
law is sometimes evaded, slaves being often pr.ssed through
to be sold at the coast. But there is no open traffic in
human bein4s in Abyssinia itself,—rotten se the Chris-
tianity of Abyssinia is, it has at least produced th.s good
effect. But as among the Jews prisoners of w•c.r are re-
tained as senants, and after baptism, for they generally
adopt the religion of their masters, treated on the same
footing as menials of the country,
There are many hundred flu .stian slaves, AbyssiMans
by birth, scattered throughout the Soudan. They Ere
kidnapped by the border tribes.

The funeral of Mrs. Carlyle took place on Thurs-
day. Her remains were laid within the choir of the ruined
cathedral at Haddington, in the same grave as her father,
Dr. Welsh, who was in practice at Haddington, and died
there in 1819. The pallbearers were—Mr. Thomas Carlyle,
chief mourner, Dr. Carlyle, Mr. John Forster, the Hon.
Mr. Twistleton, Rev. Mr. Welsh, Mr. Dods, banker Had-
dington, Mr. Binnie, of Leton Mains, and Dr. Thomas
Howden. formerly partner with the father of Mrs. Carlyle.
The funeral was attended by a number of the older resi-
dents, who bad known the deceased lady in youth and her
father, who was much esteemed in the town as a medical
practitioner. There were also a number of ladies and gen-
tlemen present in the churchyard.
Tit's LATE WINDSOR ELM:TM:M.—Sir H. Hoare
writes to the Times :—" Sir,—l was unaware of Mr.
Labouchere's intention to address you on the subject of the
Windsor petition till I read his letter in the Times of this
morning. I cau substantiate every word he says with re-
spect to my position and course of action during the elec-
tion. I visited Windsor for the first time in the
last week of April. having only received an invita-
tion to became a candidate in the middle of the month.
My solicitor, Mr. Durrant, accompanied me. and advised
me throughout. At my request Mr. Labouchere also con-
sulted him, and we employed him for the express purpAie
of preventing any illegal unl impropersteps being taked by
our agents. It appears we might as well have saved our-
selves both this trouble and expense, as we have been un-
seated on the ground of one of our agents having hired
certain public-houses as oommittee-rooms in the interest of
Mr. Flower, which hiring was effected some five months
before I became candidate for the borough of Windsor.
The charges of bribery, which were of a nature most frivo-
lous, vague. and shadowy, broke down without exceptli.n.
Not one single act of bribery or undue influence was proved
against any one of our agents from the day of their en-
gagement by us. I and my ' colleague in misfortune,'
therefore. have been condemned for a corrupt action and
imputed corrupt intentions on the Tart of Mr. Flower's
agents durin3 the previous winter. I will only add tluit
numerous member, sitting on both sides of the house have
expressed to me by word of mouth, or by letter, not only
their sympathy. but their dissent from the justice of the
decision given. and every one of .hem (to quote the words
of a letter on the subject now before me) is of opinion
that we hlve harshly and unjustly
' lc.. HENRY A. HUABE. 22, Berkeley-square. April 27."
NORTHAMPTON AND BANBLRY JCNCTIoN RA:L-
I WAY.—The Board of Trade has granted its certificate
uuthorising the opening of the above company's line from
Blisworth (the junction with the London and North-
Westisrn Railway) to Towcester. Jt is the intention to
open it for riss.miger traffic in the course of a few days.
The coznp.iny ilitend making their own line.