The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-29 00:00:00

SPAIN

Our Recounts from Madrid aro of the '32nd inst.
On the Saturday previous the Duke of Valencia
gave a grand dinner on the ooession of the anniver.
nary of tb birth of the Princess of the As,u►ias.
All the Miuia►ers were present, with the Corps
I)iplon►ntiquo. M. Martin►•z de la nom Mon.
Gonzales ilravo, Urbistondo, the Duke of Hives,
and other distinguished persona. The Marquis
do Turgot proposed a toast in Spanish to the
Queen, the King, and the Princess of the Asturias.
General Narvaez thou proposed a toast to the

. .
sovereigns of all tho nations allies to Spain.
The question relating to the liberty of the prose
was to be dismissed at a Cabinet Council.

The lereran:a reeominends tho Absolutist party
to tak i part in the municipal elections.

~................

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE

Tbo Racoon, 21,and the Charybdis, 21, two of the
new clans of screw eorvettea building at Chnthsni
dockyard from the designs of Sir H. F. Walker,
K.C.11., are both to be fitted with engines of 40C
horse power, and to be completed with despatch.
The Goliath, 80, is undergoing some very ezten•

give alterations an,l improvements at chathan
,ioeliyarti in order to he adapted as a germ steamer
The Irresistible, screw steamer, building
ham, is Intended to bo fitted with °nein

K at Chit•
ien of 400

horse power, end the flood, HO, with ei'lgines of 60C
horse power.

THE REIiOLUTE.—In recognition of 113N111011 dear
to the hearts of Englislunen, Lady Franklin has
forwarded throe splendid and massive oaken to be
presented to the officers and crew of the Resolute
—thus showing that !My Franklin, as an English
lady, keeps up that ancient Custom so highly
appreciated by the Anglo Saxon ran, and which
is am highly estimated by Brother Jonathan as by
ourselves.

The Dreadnought (late Caledonia) hospital ahil
is ordered to be undoeked to-morrow, and wi
shortly be removed to green winh to tnke the► plan
of the old Dreadnought. now moored in the
as an hospital ship for seamen of all nations. Tit
new hospital is at present an object of tnu(
interes- ' '

11019 t complet
manner, under the superinteu.dence of Mr. Peak(
assistant master shipwright at this yard. Th
vessel was presented by tho tiovernment to th
Seamen's Hospital Society, and has heeu under th
hands of 200 workmen for the past five montht
She is much larger than the old Dreadnought, and
since her arrival here another Beek has been added
and her upper deok has been nonsiderably enlarged

committee of tho Seamen's Hospital Swiety, and
the apartments of the commander—these aro of
bird's•eyo inaplowool, and present a vary pleasiiiß
offset. Tho main dock contains a spacious and

well•arranged dining-room for the use of the Nur
goons, assistant-surgeons, purser, and otheroflicors ;
a storeroom, and a chap]. The latter has been
fitted in an admirable ulnl,ner for the seeommodn-

wood of the old vessel, and tablets in gutta iterate
have been affixed co:Mining the Lot l's Player, the
Ten Commandments, the Litany, and the following
inscription :—" The committee has caused this
apace to be set apart as a chapel, in order that the
worship of Almighty God may be celebrated with
&coney and solemnity " Tho screen which sepa-
rates the apace apportioned for the chapel from the
dining•room is of painted oak, French polished.
The middle, or gun-deck, contains on the star-
board and port sides two commodious surgeries,

and the dispensary is on the aft portion of
tho deck. The lower gun dock contains well
arranged bedrooms for the nurses, anti a museum

meat. The lower or orlop deck,is well fitted I
fcr the reception of patients, and contains
one of Dowston's pumps—which is connected
with hose—to he used in case of fire. and
for washing the decks. The
of tlio various departments of the Yes

•
ovided for a oonstant supply of water

ventilation
I Ii i u hnnn

also provided on each of ifiedeeks, and a constant
supply of hot water will be available b means of
an improved apparatus connected with cad,
department. The upper dock and the forecastle
are provided with an awning, and every arrange.
meta has been made to secure the comfort of
patients who may be able to %yolk on this portion
of the vessel. The galley is fitted up in a moat
comploto manner, with one of Brown and d
paths immeomo ranges, containing boilers an I oven.
At the next monthly committee meeting of the
society a commander will be appointed for the nev

hospanl—Captain Saunders, the present com-
mander of the Dreadnought, who has held that
offiee for 20 years having resigned on a retiring
pension of 125/ per annum.

_
The following appointments were made yetiterday
at the Admiralty:—

Lieutenant 11. J. Challis, to the Blenheim
Lieut. W M. Wright, to tlw Scourge, for disposal
J. C Montgomery, 11. Crohan, W. Otter, and J
W. Gambler, naval cadets to the Iris; George A
Browning, master's assistant, to the Plumper.

VACANCIES, A PP 1/NM E.V7'S. dND PROMOTIONS

IN Tllli CI rIL SEBVICA

Privy Council Office.—Mr. Charles A. Hamilton,
first class clerk, ham been appointed ehief clerk of
the Privy Council 011ioo, vice Mr J Barrett
Lessard, deceased.

'Flip Foreign Department.—The Comm!fillip of
13altimoro, United States of America, has become
vacant by tho death of Mr ifonry Goorgc Kuper
Salary £6OO.

'rho Board of Trado.—Captain Bartholomew
Sullivan, II N., 40.11 . bay been appointed a proles•
donel mernl►er of the Maxine Department of the
Board of Trade, in ;thole of the late Admiral
Beeehey.

The Admiralty—A commiasionership of Greer
rich lloapital has boom° vacant by the death c
kdmiral Sir II Hart.

Customs

Mr I' 11 Lowther has been promote(
nm second to first, class searcher at Hull. M
home Stoll( hat, hecn promoted from third t(
!Bond class r esro•ho rat Hull. Mr John Friso ha!
eon promoted from fourth to third class emetic
t Hull. Mr Charles Taylor has been promote(
-um socoud to first clans tido surveyor at South
mpton.

Inland Revenue Dopartment. —Stamps and
Taxes Branch.—Mr Soils has been appointed to
Buckingham. Mr John Nicholson has boen pro-
moted from Norwich to Burton-on Trent. Mr
King Patton has been promoted from Worthing
to Lynn. Mr John Daleiel has been promoted
from 13nokingliam to Worthing. M r John Dutlield
liven VI otnOtOG It,iin mortmth to
sixth clam him district tieing midmi-0,.d.

East Indies.—Aicstirs 11 'T. Pritatiep and G N.
Barlow hart, been attached to the lit/nil/a
divihion of the presidency of Fort William. Mr W,
D. Grant has bean appointed an extra ou•sintarit
comtnissionar of the second (darts in the I lyiii ral,a(l
stmigned districts. Mr T. J. Fallon, extra nesistant,
has boon appointed assistant commibsioner at
Bassein, rico Lieutenant Datigorfield. Mr. S. N.
Martin, officiating magistrato and collector of Juan-

novinue of OL

of Mr. It, hirnson. Mr. A. A. Roberta, civil mu
sessions judge iu the Saugar and Nerbuddi
territories, has been appointed Counnifisionor 0
_•V 6 . .

been appointed assistant eornininsionors of tho firs
olass in the province of Judo. Mr. 8, F. Davi
has been appointed eolloctor of Chittagong,

service (laze! le

ritz

MAGAZINE EXPLOSION AT
NAPLES.

A few days ago, we mentioned that a terrific
explosion hail taken place at tho extremity of the
military arsenal of the City of Nooks. Since then
bilditional details have come to light. The stouo
mooring pilasters, weighing 10 cwt., were thrown
to an inereditable diitanee, and caused great
dismay. One was thrown over the Teatro del
Tondo, and In its fall put rotated the stone staircase
of a small house in its rear ; another fell near a We
not far from the old Post Office, and broke the legs
of two man who were sitting outside. A woman
was killed in the streets. Many houses in the lower
part of the city were so shaken that they aro
neeessarily propped up, and as to the loos of life,
it has been very considerable. Up to tho present
moment 20 bodies have boon found, and it is feared
that many more remain yet to be diseovered. in
the Hospital of Pollogrini there MY 15 oases, five
of which aro for amputation, and in the Incurables
there aro five eases. It is remarkable that the
official journal, which is filled with the most
fulsome adulation of his Majesty, is almost silent
on this melancholy subject. Thera was ono
feature in the conduct of the pol►ulation which
struck mo as most significant on the oecabiln of
the explosion—all began to fly anywhere, every
where ; there _ was a generally

''lPrOliet

revolution, an

Ulu pimple began to
mhut their shops. It is pillage that iy
leered, and that from tho liana gepte, who hay'©
boon kept in ignorance, tlernoraliae(l. and taught

4. Smintarerti, —Nyibi'd, but saints,
use the words of ono of our wit() bitahOpli. This i
is %% liieh furnishes a 01110 to the system of govern
moot in Naples. Fearful stories of treason, hew
over, have been circulating since Ow public mind
has been at leisure to examine into the reeout (mph).
Bien, and I understand that Governmont has come
to the conclusion that it was designed. Two of the
survivors Imo been examined, and the deposition
of ono is that an otheer, who was killed, was seen
to by from the magazino, shouting " Tradimento ; "
in Not, exeept upon snob a supposition, no ono
appears to be at all ablo to explain the lamentable
fact. The King and Querns were, 1 believe, at masa
when it happcnud. Vhe King fell or wan thrown
upon his face, whereupon his Majesty exolainiod,
" aro betrayed." In the palace there was a
goners) panic, and tho sontinela about tho arsenal
Plod front their nowtd. Itofihrm 1••••1 -

ma rani Isrel

.ecovere(

from two former shook the following yet moro fcar
NI (sots or reports present themselves for word—
On Saturdsy morning I hoard from (linlomni;

multi to blow ti the sum flood
great magamine of Santa
ltni.bara. On going from house to house I found
the Ramo report prevailing among all classes. Two
do" huvo eine() elapsed, and among (Antal people,
noides, basso gtnte, merchant 8, and even employes in the arsenal, I meet with the aurae statement, that on
Fl iddy night or Saturday morning a sold ier was found
mining or laying a train—that Ito Was challenged
by tho sontiuel, who knocked him down and
arrested hirn. Unwilling as 1 stn to mislead you,
still I cannot but report th..
one, " You may rest a

v words of almost every
1 that it is trim," Now.

theme aro two Inchtante strongly corrohorativo
of the truth of the mtatemcnt Tho Prefect
of Police bee been compelled to admit that a

soldier was found iti suspicious circumstances,
with a handkerchief full of powder, but explains
it thus, that the num had permission to go out
for n few •

grains of loose powder for a little sport. v.
Another
lin:Wont is this, that since Saturday morning
the utmost exertions have been made to get all the
powder out of the arsenal ; that all Saturday night,
till 4 o'clock on Sunday morning, mon were at work
in getting it oft in barges to Nisida, Babe,
anywhere ;
that they have renewed their work, and that among
those who are employed in this business the same
story exits. The magazine of Santa Barbara,
where the alleged attempt was made, is the largest
in the country; employer tell me that it has eon-
tained 20,000 cantari of powder, and that it
may have recently contained 10,000 cantari, a
quantity sufficient to destroy half Naples; and
it is when contemplating the bare possibility of
the success of such an attempt that I have seen
strong-minded and strong-bodied men almost
turn pale. " I have gone to bed in terror for the
last two nights," said a person of not weak nerves,
"and am moat grateful that the powder is out of
the city." I (oar that, in spite of my wishes and

Bore Is a dotert

d
ceenng to the Governments. Should anthe
reports of which I speak be ell false, yet what
must be the state of the public mind when
such possibilities are believed and circulated?
it Should they, on the contrary, be true, how awful is
the position of this country ! It is heaving as
1. with an earthquake. Sicily has lately, now
f and then, made attempts to rise. A soldier
t comes forth from the ranks and makes an attack
upon his Afajesty in manner unparalled in our
history ; a powder magazine explodes under or
Inear the Royal l'abiee, not without some suspicion
of design ; and an allege i attempt, generally
beli.•vcd. has ' • mad-

oCCia h must
suited, if suceossful, ino theWhic destructionh
of half
the city. The last support of the King—the army
—fails him ; there are numerous arrests, de-
r•ertions, courts martial'', jealousies, discontents,
and there is a fearful looking forward to the
future. For many months I have said that
Inch was the state of things in the eonntry that
the means of redemption do not exist within it,
and the strong arm would bo welcomed by every
lover of order, let it come either from the East or
the West. It is no longer from this or that
dynasty that wise mon asked to be saved, but from
1 anarchy and social dissolution. One word again
as to the criminal wham political sympathy
! has converted into a hero. Though the causes
of it may be different the sentiment is univer-
sal ; and I am informed that the congregation
of the Vertecosli collected on the morning
of his execution 500 ducats for masses, and that
silver and gold were thrown in, Meantime, judging
from the official journal, all would appear to go
merry ns a marriage bell. The Italian language,
rich as it is, is searched for superlatives to express
the fulsome adulation of the employes, " Most
glorious," " Mem. reliuious," " Adored,' " Best,"
such are the terms in which the Sovereign has
been spoken of; and, as if to ,give the stamp of
truth to such expressions, a powder magazine
blows up under the Palace.

MILITARY STATISTICS OF SIT'ITZERLAND.

We read in the Moniteur (1 ['Armee:—
" The strong interest which seems to have been
awakened in the affair of Neufchatel, rend( vs it
very desirable that, at the present time, the situa-
tion of that part of Switzerland, in a military point
of view, should be correctly understood.
"The Canton of Neufchatel has formed, since
1815, the 22nd canton of the Helvetia Conf, &ra-
tion. It is situated between France, the Canton of
Vaud, and that of Berne. Its population amounts
to about 60,000 souls, and its area to 725 square
kilometres. It consists of the so called Principality
of Nouripol nrortar, ut yule n d.
The public are now w;il, _..!.•

._...,.. organisation, political
rganisation, and with the esuses that Intro given
rime to thu present difficulties, upon which it would
be neodleas for ua to enlarge.
" By the terms of the federal compact, each
canton of Switzerland is bound to fui MAI to the
army a conting.mt proportioned to its l'oPulftion.
In case of war, Ow aggregate numerical. strength
of theso contingonts is 33,758 men, 'alio form part
of tho first levy ; in this particular instance, the
roota duo from the Pin-arm 1, • .

Fuel is 900

to infan tr

tue troops composing the
irst levy, the federal army has a reserve of the
sine numerical etrongth, which, in the event of a

orious c

reiso the forces of the
Confedurallon to 07,515 combatants, not including
the landwehr or militia, which consists of all the
men capable of bearing arms, who belong neither
to the nontingent nor the reserve.
"The Swiss aro brave and intelligent, but, not-
withstanding their merits, we must not shut our
eyea to what in the real strength of an army consti-
tuted like theirs, comprising an it duos men wits
families, men taken from their business or work,
and who do not possess, like the soldiers of perms-
vent and regular anniuo, the instruction or tho
habits acquired in military life.
" Neverthelesis, it is necessary to tako into
account the patriotic sentiment, the profound
devotion to the independence of his native land,
to which the Swiss in every ago has been indebted
for suocesses otherwise hopeless.
" In fine, looking at its actual condition, the
Ilelvetio army is fully adequate to maintain order
within the sphere of the Confederation, and to
cause the federal pact and the laws of the country
to be every respected ; but, abandoned to itself, it
would evidently not be hide to sustain a serious
contest against one of the great military powers of
Europe.

" When Switzerland is engaged in any military
eontebt, the Diet forma the millirem° military anther
rity. It it that body which publishes military
orders, determines the general organisation of this
army, calls the citizens to arms, and appoints the
general commanding-in-chief, the quartermasters
general, and the. einnanivaary•gencral. It presides
over the instrumion of both officers and men, as
well as the purchase and custody of the nninitions
of wan

Filo general oomminding in
h: .• 1.! •

it:mires
~‘,.0 loft I 111 t Inn iustruetions and powers, and he
alone ih responsible for his acts. His office may in
no ease oontimte longer than the duration of the
term for which the tornes are embodied.
• " The 011111tIn -..r_t . .

_ Pientcli, py tho
lake of the i4llloor name, whittelchrotected extendsb from
Yverdun towards the north east as far as Saint
Blaise, over an extent of nearly thirty-two kilo,
metres, with an average breadth of seven kilo.
metres, la aveessible through the canton of Vaud
and that of Borne, and the mountains of the Jura
chain which traverse these districts, 0013 fain ninny
defiles of a nature greatly to essint the defence.
" The city of Neufchatel, the chief town the
principality, and the seat of its govemMent, Ilea
close to the Seyon, where it de anent,
into tho
lake ; its inhabitants number about 6,000 souls. Is
towns in the prineipelity are nondly.
in ineapable of defence, arta could not stand a bie go.
Travers, hinders, Velangin. Le Loole.
The other
Chaux-dc-fonds. Tito soil of Neufchatel is generally
rich and well cultivated, and the inhabitants who
dwell in it arc laborious and peaceable'"
The followinn ;. t-___ = • and 1.8

kenordiug t-o- a recent statistical work of Stephen
• councillor of the Confederation, Swit•
..rt.nt of 718

square miles, a population of 2,891,478 citizens,
the majority of whom aro of tho Protestant faith,
The
etbtagitisoteftioroft
itil,tyeyte!loed
year 18,17,
Confederation, exhibitedtoare remiine
of 10,200 0(X) francs, against an ordinary expend).
lure of 15,700.000 francs. The public debt was
covered in 1815 by the share allotted to Switzerland
)ut of the contribution exacted from France by the
Allied Powers to defray the expences of the great
!outinen,nl war. The Federal army, the chief
!ommand of which since 1847 has been vcs'ed itx
leneral Duf.tir. with 91 colonels and lieutenant
.olonels, and 132 commissioned °Meer: of inferior
anti, comprises, taking the regular troops and the
eset.ve together, an etfootive force of 108.000 soldie? a,
If all arms. It will be seen, therefore, that Svvita.
'ritul Is a power of some consideration.'