The Express.
London, England, 1859-11-24 00:00:00

VENETIA.

The Gaulle of Savoy states that two recent con-
demnations had caused much excitement in Venetia;
that of an engineer, named Franceechini, to 16 years'
imprisonment with hard labour, and that of a work-
man, Angelo Bottari. to 16 years' hard labour. The
former was found guilty of having wished to serve
in the Italian army ; the latter of having committed
**toot insurrectionary enthusiasm, in cons<quence
of a rumour which prevailed after the battle of
Magenta, of an arrangement which would liberate
Voiotia.

TURKEY.

Ise fieligionsers Massager of the 16th ult., there
appellee the following translated extract from a
letter addressed to the Gazette du Midi
" The barbarous custom, dictated by reasons of
state, of not allowing any male children of the
daughters of the Sultan to live is still in full force
at the eeraglio. The sultana wife of Mshmoud
Paella was recently delivered of a son, who was piti- '
Wetly strangled after its birth."
A correspondent of the Daily Naos at Con-
stantinople writes :—" The report is utterly void of
foundation. This lamin a position to affirm most
emphatically, after diligent inquiries on the spot
among persons of the Princess's household, and some
of whose ladies were present the whole time—before,
during, and after her confinement. Having seen
lately, moreover, Mahmoad Pacha himself at the
palace of the Hanum Sultana, his sister, during the
festivities which came off on the occasion of her nup-
tials, in the course of conversation I took an opportu-
nity of alluding to the rumour afloat. His highness ap-
peared much hurt and mortified, and authorised,
nay, requested me earnestly to give at my earliest
convenience a formal and explicit denial to this
odious statement. It is purely and simply, I really
believe, a French canard of the same genus, species,
and origin u those which are constantly flitting
about to the great annoyance of our old friend and
ally John Turk—damaging alike his goods and
chattels, his reputation, prospects, and position in
the world. This is really too bad.
" The real facts of the case may be summed up in a
very few words: viz., on Sunday, the 28th of August
last, Montle Sultana, a delicate and weakly young
person, was delivered of a still-born male child after
a difficult and protracted labour—a first labour too—
and great sufferings during nearly fifty hours.
" Infanticide, although from one motive or other a
crime unfortunately too eemmon in many countries,
W here, I am happy to state, of rare and exceptional
occurrence; but that it was invariably and inexora-
bly perpetrated in former times in respect to the male
issue of daughters and sisters of the Turkish sove-
re a matter of historical notoriety. Those
barUrous and atrocious acts were dictated, it appears,
and sanctioned in some sort by old traditions, and
the necessities of the times, with a view to
avert the still more serious evil of intestine
troubles, wars, and bloodshed, by securing within
the immediate circle of the Imperial family the line
of succession to din throne. These objects, however,
laudable no doubt, could in nowise evidently justify
the means ; bat what I mean to observe is merely
that even in those dark and barbaric ages of Moslem
rule no wanton cruelty well practised, no wound in-
flicted, no " pitiless strangling," such as described
by the inventive correspondent of the French journal.
No single instance of this atrocious usage has come to
my knowledge during the present reign.
' I have thus given you the whole facts relative to
the confinement of Djemile Sultana, and you may
rely on their accuracy. No later than yester-
day, moreover, a medical friend procured me
' an interview with the Christian midwife,
M— who, with five or six others of
that worshipful sisterhood, was in constant atten-
, dance on the Princess on that critical occasion ; and
I am happy to add, that in every point her account
, coincides exactly with those, as above noticed, of my
other informants."

HUNGARY.

molt 01711 OWN

PINTS, Nov. 18.
A most telling demonstration took place at
Miskolc@ on the 13th instant. Though Count
Than had forbidden any further meeting of the Pro-
testant districts, unless they previously submitted to
his organisation, and threatened them in case of dis-
obedience with the interference of the police and
law, the Cis-Tibisson district of Calvinists met in the
above-mentioned industrial town. The large church
on the hill Ayes, which overlooks the plain, wu
filled not only with protestants of all ranks, but with
many Roman catholics and even priests. The Su-
perintendent, the Most Rev. Paul Apostol,opeued the
proceedings witha fervent prayer, pointing to the dif-
ficulties and dangers which the meeting was braving.
The Rev. Louis Hegedus, clergyman of Patak,
opened the discussion after him, reviewing and de-
nouncing the obnoxious decrees of the Minister of
Public Worship and Instruction, butjwas interrupted
by a government official, who declared the meeting
illegal, and warned the people to disperse. In his
official seal he had, however, forgotten hie pre-
scribed official costume and insignia of office ; his
interference, therefore, were treated as unofficial; a
protest and petition was hastily drawn up, unani-
mously accepted and signed, and the meeting broke
up before any further steps could be taken by
the Austrian officials. A great dinner con-
cluded this important event, which is the
first public step taken in defiance of the
Austrian authorities, at which Roman catholic priests
publicly drank " health and prosperity to the pro-
testants fighting a noble battle," which was returned
by a toast trom the Superintendent for the prosperity
of the Roman catholic Cardinal Primate and the
Archbishop of Erlau, Adalbert Bartakovins, the
noble champions of freedom. I need not say that
this unique scene, never witnessed before, made a
deep impression upon the public as well as upon the
Austrian official,. The opening of the museum at
Elansenberg, in Transylvania, will now be the lett
great opportunity for an anti-Austrian dedan-
atration.