The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-20 00:00:00

people adore white elephants, which are found in
the forests of the south. One of those animals,
regarded as the representative of Buddha on earth,
is lodged in a splendid palace at Bangkok, to which
is attached a temple. The French seamen were
admitted by special favour to visit this mysterious
residence, the high-priest doing the honours. The
Siamese,although naturallyof a humane disposition,
are cruel when their religious fanaticism is roused:
The sacred elephant having died in the summer of
1863, this calamity was attributed to the neglect of
the high priest, and the people assembled in
great numbers before the palace, and demanded
that he should be put to death.

There is a French Catholic mission at Bangkok;
its progress is as yet but slow.
M. de Mon tigny quitt,A the kingdom of Siam at
the commencement of the month of September, to
proceed to Cochin• China, where he arrived in
sifety.
A private letter from St. Petersburg, of the 10th,
inst., states that the expedition sent by the Russian
Government to the extremity of Asia has been
completely successful. The Russian troops drove
away the tribes living at the mouth of the river
Amoor, and established themselves solidly on the
borders of tha sea of Baikal, and in the town of
Irkutsk, where they had collected a store of pr vi-
sions and ammunition. The Russians were pre-
paring to construct a flotilla for the navigation of
the sea of Baikal, of which the Russian engineers
had surveyed the coast. _ _

The relations between Russia and China had
become more easy and more important. Russian
produce may be conveyed by the sea of Baikal to
Kiatehka, and bartered with the Chinese for cara
van tea.

Le Nord publishes an article to prove that the
greatest political interest of Russia is to maintain
peace, and that, in place of encouraging Persia in
her attack on Herat, the Russian Government has
used all her influence with the Court of Teheran to
induce it to renounce the expedition. The Nord
observes :

Peace is as necessary for the development of the internal
prosyerity of Russia as it is her interest to avoid conflicts
with England, which she has no reason to seek. It is
moreover necessary even for the progress of her political and
commercial influence in provinces yet half civilized, for
it is not on the force of her arms or on conquest that
its influence can be supported, but on the ascendant of
superior civilization, and of a higher moral and material
development, favoured by a closer contact.
The Nord goes ou to say that the traditional
policy of the Russian Cabinet is to maintain peace
in Persia and in Central Asia. That oven during
the late war all its efforts were exerted to induce
Persia to remain neutral. It Siteceec(ed, although
the temptation was great for Persia tx) take advan-
tage of the events passing in her neighbourhood.
It asserts that since the commencement of the
conflict between Great Britain and Persia, excited
by the question of Herat, the attitude and language
of the Russian Government were directed by the
same principles. Russia never ceased to impress
the Shah with the disastrous consequences which
might ensue from a collision with Great Britain,
and used all its influence to induce him to abandon
the expedition against Herat, and to re-establish
friendly relations with the British Government.
A letter from' Madrid, of the 13th inst., contains
the following ;

The news of the insurrection in Sicily has produced a
profound sensation in the Palace. When it was subse-
quently known that an attempt had been made on the life
of the King of Naples, the queen became greatly alarmed,
and said to her physician, who was in attendance, " You
see, you see, the ruin of every one of the Bourbons is
resolved upon."
The courtiers, thinking to please her Majesty, thereupon
launched out into insults against France and England.
Far from profiting by such lessons, the influential chiefs of
the clerical party urge, on the contrary, that no time should
be lost in re establishing absolutism, and the " apostolic
restoration," as the only means of cutting short, once for
all, revolutionary projects. The news from Catalonia is very
serious. The apostolic party, headed by the celebrated
Bishop of Barcelona, leaves nothing undone to provoke the
Liberals and even the Republican party, who are watching
for the moment of vengeance.
The plan for the fusion of the two branches of the
Spanish Bourbons, about which so much has been said, is
nearly forgotten. As that was the principal mission of
General Urbistondo in the War Department, it is said that
he will retire from his post in the Cabinet, and that he will
be succeeded by General Mazarredo, who was Minister of
War when General Narvaez was named Minister of War ;
and who, as suet), signed the decree.

There are at this moment two competitors for the Captain
Generalcy of Cuba: Urbistondo and Lersundi. the Minister
of Marine. Some of the Ministers are of opinion that, at
a time so critical for Cuba, the resignation of General
Concha should not be accepted. It is doubtful, however,
whether he will remain.

Another letter, of the same date, says

The Government is getting from bad to worse. It is
just that the responsibility should fall on the right persons.
The exclusive policy of the Cabinet is alienating its own
friends from it, and though the various fractions of the
Moderado party who were invited, and who were disposed
to support it do not yet offer open opposition, nevertheless
it is certain that they are keeping themselves apart. The
position of this party in the Palace is by no means satis-
factory. The other day in the presence of several per-
sons, and with reference to the attempt on the Kicg of
Naples, the King observed to the Queen that General
O'Donnell should bo sent for to form a new Cabinet. I
repeat that it the very probable event of the fall of the
Ministry the fault is to be attributed to itself. The
Gove'rnment has never yet adopted the conciliatory policy
which it promised, and to which the whole Moderado
party would have responded.
The fact of the matter is, that those who aided
in bring about the present state of things do not
consider that they have had a fair share of the
spoils whicd Narvaez and his immediate friends
are anxious to keep for themselves. Instead of
finding the door open to them, they have, to use
the words of many of the party, " beeu left on the
pare"
The folloning private telegraphic despatches
have been received :
MADRID, Dxc. 14.

The Gazetse of to-day publishes a Royal deciee; appoint-
ing M. Moth Ambassador Extraordinary to the Court of
Rome.

Dsc. 16.

The jriurnala continue the polemic commenced on the
affair of M. Mires. The biddinga relative to the adjudication
of the loan of 300,000,000 of reale will be positive), received
on the 17th,

The journals announce that the decree re.establishing the
octroi duties is signed. _ _

The Three per Cents. cloned to-day at 601 75e
for the end of the month, and the Four-and-a Half
at 91f. 65c ; Orleans Railway shares, 1,320 f ; Great
Northern, 9451; Strasburg, 812 f 50c ; do. new
shares, 752 f 50c; Paiis and Lyons, 1,380 f ; Lyons
to the Mediterranean, 1,7501; Western of France,
855 f ; Bordeaux and Cette, 755 f; do. new shares,
780 f ; Great Central of France, 6151; Lyons and
Geneva, 752150 e; Bank of Credit Mobilier, 1,470 f;
Austrian Railways, 787 f 50c.