The Express.
London, England, 1857-02-14 00:00:00

THE COLO-VIAL WVICE, AND THE OPERA TIONd

AT CANTOS.

Upon the motion of Earl Grey. smuts corm-
..punatnee what• parsed between hinesdi, when &voter,: of
Mete fur the Ceionies, in the autumn of 1847, ouil Mijer.
Gerund Itagilikr, et that time the Uovernu of Hoag
Kong, Motive to the warlike operations which the Litter
hod thought Inver to tulUlliewv in the Caution tiler has
just Leen laid before parliament. The Bet
Jaded Aligust 21. t, 1e47, from ihe Governor of Hong Kong
to 111,11,f-Genvnl itur.h. the Liiiitury r w f'egleta.
It is wilier familiar sad irit mile then elle Lil in it. tone:—

"'lng Kong, August 21, 1847.
"My dear General—Although I base nut rite pleasure at
year 1.411.0111111•0p.ailatt111,*, your elasmeter and wrvii•dro are SO
well known to see. that I venture to address tout, !thout fortis
or ceremony. I lute every reason to Loss; that things will
settle down here peamably, but I have no positive arhranco
of it ; and if iireunistanies should OCFI.Ir to toe tee go
to Canton again. I am but badly off for artillery. 1 can never
hope to surpriae the Chinos. defences a mewed tin', ; and
whatever I du must be demo in forte, and with rifi ream to
the altered petitioned things. Under those ein leo-tames, I
write to ask if you can spare toe half a company it ertillery
with their propirtionaie number of field gene and moment--
thin complete. I should only scant theta for six weeke. and
I pes:Wee you to send them faithfully back the moment the
service ty over. Shou:d the contingency, the EA.N4l,:lity of
whi.h is on the earls, weer, I shell endeavour tee avoid
taking the ffekl before the end of November, when the cool
weather will add strength to our exertions ; and 1 will take
care to give you the earliest notice of my intention. In the
meantime, perhaps, you would kindly prepuce Lent Torring-
ton for this request on my part, and afford like your interest
in giving effect to it, should in utustances render it necessary.
A couple of 9-pounders, with the half company of artillery,
would lee the hest ; but if they are not to be had, then ely-
thing your people ono supplied with.—Alwaya, tee.
(signed) " Crozet D'A,,l'il.A9l."
The next letter is one from Major-General Smelt, in Ceylon,
to Lieutenant-fa, nese! Lord Fitzroy Somerset (the late Lord
Itagian, then military secretary to the commend:sin-chief),
dated September 22nd, informing him of the request which
had been made, and stating the amount it the form, which
remained in Ceylon. This letter, pent to England was on the
saute dot accomp.wied with one &mu the a enter of
Ceylon, ViroUent Torrington, to Earl Grey, illelo.4llg aeopy
of General d'Aguilar's letter of August It, and remarking
that, although reluctant to assent to any proceeding which
would reduce the aunty military forte in Ceylon. he (Lord
Torrington) saw no sufficient ground for tritleholdiug the
reinforcements which General D'Aguiler apparently much
needed. The result of this information in the taloa mg un-
mistakeable reproof and wanting administered by the Colo-
nial Minister to the belligerent Governor of Hong Kong:
" Earl Grey to Major-General D'Aguilar.
Colonial-office, Nov. 24, 1847.
" Sir,—The Governor of Ceylon has communicated to me
an application which you have made to the Major-General
commanding her Majesty's troop' in that island, fur a rein-
forcement of half a company of artillery, with two guns and
a proportionate supply of murounitioonn,, to be held in e, Wines'
to be forwarded to Hong Kong, should LirCUllletaneel, render
it neceseary to undart ake any further military operations at
Canton. I have desired the Governor of Ceylon not to send
to Hong Kong the detachmeut for which you have made
application; and I have further to signify to you that her
Mojesty's government peremptorily forbid you to undertake
any further offensive operations against the Chixicee, without
their previous emu non. Her tifejesty'a syevernment are
satisfied that, although the late operations in the Canton
river were attended:with immediate success, the risk of a
second attempt of the same kind would far overbalance any
advantage to-be derived from such a stop. If the conduct of
the Chinese authorities should, unfortunately, render ano-
ther appeal to arms inevitable, it will be neeeseary that it
should be made alter due preparation, and with the employ-
ment of such an amount of force as may afford just grounds
for eepecting that the objects which may be proposed by
such a measure will be effectually accomplished without
inineesmary Ices.—l have, 6:e. (Signed) " Geer."

TEE ATTEMPT TG ASSASSI.VATE AN ABM

BISHOP IN ITALY.

A letter from Naples, dated January 27, in the
cotwon of Genoa says On Sunday, the 17th. inst., Non-
signore Roaaini, Archbishop of Activists and Motera, pro-
ceeded front the archiepiscopal residence adjoining the cathe-
dral into the sacristy, where he was in the habit of meeting
his assembled clergy on all the holidays for the purpose. of
conferring with them upon eaten of conscience; be was
accompanied by the vicar and the master of the ceremonies,
and he had to pore in front of the grand altar in order to
enter the sacristy. Scarcely had he got at far as in front of
the centre of the altar steps when the anarkir,, who was a
priest, darted from behind the rely altar, where he
had lurked iA sminish, and with a dagger, which he
held In hie right hand, struck Moneignore in the back,
but the dagger only tore his clothes. At this eaerilerrious
attempt, Monsignore remained foe an instant quite stupefied ;
the vicar ran away,
. and the master of the ceremonies triad to
catch hold of the tight hand of the assasain, who was about
to eerike a second blow. The assassin hastily raised his left
band, which was free, and in which be held a pistol ; he
pointed it against the archbishop. He fired, and the
generous master of the ceremonies, who interposed himself
between the assassin and his victim, fell dead. Ilonsigoore
hurried beck to the door by which he had entered, but
swooned and halfway up the ashram leading to
the mak,' residenee. The anemia' ran after him,
;th the intention of accomplishing his crime, which he
would doubtless have done it the archbishop's domeetic ser-
vant, who ran down =hearing the report of &opiate', had not
grappled with the aseassin and seemed him. The house of
the villain has, since his arrest, been searched, and prooili
were found that he was an adept of the prote,dant propa-
ganda ; many writings againet catholicism were discovered in
hie holm? and several weapons, with ammunition of all sorts.
During has examination he gave utterance to contradictory
and incoherent speeches ; he declared that he had no etc/mien
for any personal animosity against Moneiguote, hut that the
night before he committed the crime he dreamed that Mon-
signore wanted to kill him, and that was the ration why he
resorted to arms in his own defence. He stated many other
things equally absurd. The archbishop, on his part, hue
testified that during a year and eight mouths he has occupied
the archiepiecopal me, and has only had occasion to one tho
prieet three or our times, and has never found it necessary
to indict any punishment upon him.

THE MONETARY CONDITION OF FRANCE.-1 em
able to =MUM to you a feet of very considerable import-
' pea, which to this tie= has not been made public. The
Mimi= of his uonheated a commission to "in-
Oro WO the prick= coasts of the monetary situation
which Ms mmuntly scompied public opinion, to amaine
the umber gnu lless which dow from it, and to give its
raan des mistier which the general interests of
menntry may rend." The commission is composed
of the emir int Schneider, Vice-Pre-
sident of the Body, president; Count d'Argout,
Governer of tie of Frans • Y. E. de Beaumont, Se-
nator; IL a Pic 'hues-President of the Council of State;
M. Vuillsiboy, Idsist at the Section of Public Works of
the Come at Shim; Y. Dementia", President of the
Financial deeded at the Council of State; M.
A. Leroux, mesas of the Legislative Body ; M.
Michel Chevalier, Councillor of State, M. Greterin,
Councillor at Bests and Director of the Customs;
Y. Pokier, Preshient of the Commission of the Mint;
and IL Beisesion, Auditor of the Council of State, sa
Seeratmy. The =omission is to hold its sittings at the
Illisdnery etrammes, and the Minister of Finance (M. Magee)
neerne to latmwel/the right of presiding over it whenever ho
may think Gt. The grunions which the conwaisaioners will
have to discus Si, =do= and each is of great magnitude.
The sesreity of wheat, wine, and sill 4 in sucticesive years,
the peel pubilo works, the drain of silver from France, the
t of the spirit of speculation, the
= ellimalhos of =Tad' France, and the propriety of in-
creasing Is amplest, and, lastly, 'the currency, are the most
figment* of these questions; and the solution of them will,
tows Vas *Whet of opinions respecting them, present great
dtiliculty, and require touch afudous consideration.—lbris
torrimpodesity Evoriemist.
ROMAN OFFICIALS AND THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY.
—Genoa Count Ikwaisti, who yea famerly Minister of the
Imperial Denseins la *vas* baobab lately quitted that post
to &tem Rued= emeihier at Paris, the employee of the
dna width he has Id have enbatafted a land to present him
with stslimonial of Dar aim= It is said in • letter from
Palneeistug in the bwitiseadotat aliflk that the Count's
beareeisat solicitude for the wake at the elan of peasantry
beings miter of notoriety in BAssetso, the subscribers to this
tastheondel have agreed, with the Emperor's consent, to de-
eds the hand they leave rained to the 3natltatlon of a prim
need= which will be presented, every two years, to the
either et the best easy upon the social condition of the Rus-
sian pesasatry
THE CITY OF WASHINOTON.—QUICR DESPATCII.
—LivaarooL, FILIDLY.—The screw eteanabii.i. City of
Weshingten Captain Wylie, arrived in the ersey last
Flight from New-York, after a rapid passage of 11 days 6
, hours—having left atter and overtaken the United States
, mail stemma& Adentle—with a
large cargo 130 pas-
senifera. The eerie she km since , and is now
tatting in that =gag= for the Kangaroo, appointed to sail
from Liverpool list Wednesday for New York, amounting to
upwards 1,000 tons. The Kangaroo being frown up in
t& Delaware, the City of Washington has been appointed to
take her place, and will, with her cargo, and about 100 pais-
' *engem sail for New York to-morrow afternoon. She will
carry a mail, for which lettere must be posted before 1.'20 p.m.,
and with late fees before 2.30 p.m. Thu. in less than 36
hours the City of Washington will have discharged one large
cargo, taken in =other, and, in addition to coaling, been
reed_ y for we.
NATIONAL FREEHOLD LAND SOCIETI Tho
seventh annual meeting of this society wee held last evening
at the London Tavern; Mr. Charles Gilpin in the chair.
The report, which was unanimously adopted, stated that the
receipts for the year had been 165,6121., the society's land
transactions bad been transferred to the British Land Com-
pany, and the shares of that had been taken by the menthe=
of the society at a eat of 17,5201. The amount done within
the year is repayment of advances to members bad been
8,500/., while the amount repaid had been 21i7781. The
shares issued had been 104,762, the deposits received,
1,217,3911. • and those withdrawn. 723,7 I. The total
amount advanced to members had been 147,1034, and the
total amount repsid by members, 79,2771. The land sold had
beentlii,26l4