The Express.
London, England, 1856-12-24 00:00:00

cannon are in the sea, or lying in the &Wiz; some
of the ships in the harbour were seriously damaged;
one or two small custom-house boats have disappeared
entirely ; misses of stones and wood came dying
through the air, and fell in showers upon the ground,
at a gre at distance, bursting open doors and windows,
sinking boats, and inflicting great personal iujory.
At present the extent of injury done is not well
known. Four or five sentinels, an officer, and the men
belonging to the custom-house boats, are certainly
miseing—perhaps blown to atoms. Otters hare been
taken to the hospital with broken legs and various
injuries. An architcot calculates that GO,OOO panes
of glass have been broken ; no, a hour: hes escaped.
The causes of this disaster are as yet unknown,
and many of the details I must defer to my next
letter.

The followiog it; the address which has been pre-
sented to the King of Naples by revere' Er.glish
merchants and tradesmen residing in that city :
Sin,—The English merchants established in this now
have the ►onoar to present themselves before the august
thrtne of your Majesty. Filled with gratitude for the pro-
tection which your Mejeety has always deigned to accord
them, especially in these latter times, they come now toe:-
press the sentiments of honor which they have et erienced
at the dre..dful attempt which has been perpetrated nom
your Meinty's precious life, sod to enure your Majesty
that they will
prosperity of your royal house.
Signed—Charles Mainstay, John Maisiray, H. D. Poke,
W. Stanford, James Pilkin, John W. Fume, Conks H.
Farce, O C. Doges, Jahn H. Robin, Charles Turner, Wm.
Turner, C. A. R. Clausen, J. K. Guppy, Joseph Kerno;
Ssotimus Kernot.
Naples, December 11.

THE IMPENDING CONFLICT.

(FROM 00X OWN

GIPONDENT
BERLIN, Du. M.

The orders and instructions fo;i;;TOM'saCciersof
corps to be employed in the expedition to Switzerland
have all been completed, and are lying at the War.
office ready signed, but it is now understood they
will not be sent off till the 25th instant. The eight
divisions to be employed are already placed on the
war footing, and arc equal in numerical strength to
16 divisions on the peace establishment. After the
hostile attitude displayed by Switzerland before the
breaking off of the diplomatic relations, and after the
calling by the Swiss Federal CJuncil of 20,000 men
under arms for the purpose of occupying Schaffhausen
and Basle—the news of which arrived here today by
the telegraph—there is no reason to anticipate any
change is the policy of Paves* but it is probable
that she will rather rely upon her army and let
matters take their course. Moreover, it is to be ex.
pected that the demands of Prussia will be raised in
proportion to the expenses caused by potting is
motion an army of 150,000 men, and furnishing
the commissariat stores for them in a foreign country.
The serious turn events are taking has created a
great sensation amongst our diplomatists, who did
not expect that Switzerland would take such a de.
cided course, and are therefore taken by surprise, and
somewhat alarmed for the future. _

Amongst the members of the Hours of Repre-
sentatives the raising a loan to defray the expense"
of the expedition is already talked ot, and it is stated
on good authority that the government hey with-
drawn several measures which it had intended to have
passed this session.

Another despatch from Berlin, dated on Sunday
last, says: "An order wus yesterday received at
Stettin for the mobilisation of two divisions of the
second corps d'armee. Similar orders have been
given to other corps. Colonel Manteuffel has been
summoned here."
The representative of Prussia in the German Diet,
at Frankfort, made a formal declaration to the Diet,
last Thursday, that Prussia, having tried negotiation
without success, nuw finds it necessary to resort to
esercive measures, and to decree the mobilisation of
the Prussian army, for the defence of her rights.
The Aafionerf Gagers of Basle of the 20th says:—
, "Our correspondent at Berne writes that last eeecing
' a certain number of federal officers had assembled to
deliberate on all the eventualities which may wise.
It is said that General Ocheaben and Colonel Gehret
are again to take service in the federal army. At
Zurich also great animation prevails in consequence
of the probable levy of the militia."
The Swiss National Gazelle has the following
despatch from Berne_, dated Saturd6y last: "The
Director of the War Department lees declared that
the Federal Council had offered the Prussian Cabinet
the release of the royalist prisoners before their trill
in exchange for the abandonment of the King of
Prussia's claims upon Neufchatel, but this offer was
made without succese."
A letter from Berlin, in the Journal of Fronlif)ri,
contains this:—" It is said that the four great powers
which with Prussia signed the prceocol of London,
think of addressing a conjoint note to Switzerland,
recommending her to take the first steps in bringing
about a pacifio solution of the Neufchatel affair. The
Idea of this note appears to have came from France,
to avoid military oomplications."
The Federal army has been die ributed, says La
Press., into nine division', each of which comprises
three brigades, and which make up altogether an
effective force of 130,000 men. All the superior
officers in command are already appointed, and it
was decided at an extraordinary sit t.ng of the Federal
Council on the 20th inst. to set on foot immediately
a corps Aimee of between twenty and thirty thonsud
men, to be composed of two divitiors, one of which
will be commanded by Colonel 'kegler, and the ether
by Colonel Bourgeois. This corps d'armee will be
stationed en echelon along the border country, from
Basle to Scheuffhausen. A second corps d'armee will,
without delay, come to reinforce this one. lode.
pendently of theee forms, the federal government hr.
determined to embody the whole of the federal con-
tingent, both elite and reserve ; and the men of whom
it consists are ordered to keep themselves in reedit:es
to march. These arrangements have been officiahy
communicated to the governments of the different
eantoos.
It is moreover to be observed, that the military
eapitulations concluded in lb2S between the oven!
cantons and the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, ex-
measly provided for the event of a war between
Bwi•zerlaod and any foreign power; and in strict
conformity with the terms of a etause introduced into
those engagements, it is probable that the four Swim
regiments at Naples, composing an effective force of
more than ten thousand men, will be recalled within
a very few days, as well es the Swiss troops in the
service of the Pope in the Roman States.
The cantonal authorities are vieing with the central
government, and with each other, to tulal and even
more than fulfil their mi:itary obligations. The
cantonal council of Berne has unanimously decreed
that the military administration of that canton shall
lava an unlimited credit, to provide loch mews Is
may be required by circumetauces. 11. Migy. vice-
president of the council, who belongs to the French
party in the canton, has expressed himself most ar.
dent ly upon the duty which devotees upon its inhabit-
ants in this emergency. It should be remembered
that at the time of the Sonderbund the canton of
Berne alone supplied nearly 30,000 men to the Fe
duel army. It is well known that the canton of the
Pays de Vaud is able to send into the field an viol
number of combatants.