Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-02-11 00:00:00

IMPORTANT REFORMS LN ITALY.

A letter from Modena, in the official Gazette of
says—" Important reforms are spoken of
here, and among them are the revision of the
commercial code, the establishment of a tribunal
cf commerce, the nomination of a new minister for
agTi, culture and commerce, the foundation of a
cuscount bank, &c."

FRANCE.
The Emperor did not appear at the ball at the Tuil-
eries, on Wednesday, and was said to be suffering from
gout or rheumatism.
The cheers which greeted the speech of Ni. de Morny
are described as having been repeated again and again at
the allusions to peace.
The Paris correspondent of the Times also states that
the Passages in the Emperor's speech which met with the
heartiest approbation from the hearers, were those which
alluded to peace. The writer adds, if the Imperial
Polley be in conformity with the expressed wishes of the
nation, decidedly there will be no war, but many days
'Must pass before confidence is restored.
The Paris correspondent of the Herald, writing on
Wednesday, says that, on that day, the peace party were
decidedly masters of the field.
It is stated, in a letter from Rome, that, although the
French Government will not send new regiments to
Rome, it will place the regiments already there on the
war footing, and that 14,000 men are about to be
despatched for that purpose.

RUSSIA.
•The .diugsburg Gazate states that a Russian army will
shortly, be Meentrated on the Austro-Gralaeian frontier.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—THIYASDA.Y.
The Lord Chß,:ncellor announced, that he lad received
letters from Lords Canning, Elphinstone, and Clyde, and
from Sir J. Lawrence and Mr. Frere, acknowledging the
vote of thanks passed by the House for their services in
India.

Earl. St. Germains asked for some explanations respect-
ing the appointment of a single Hospodar to the Danubian
principalities:
_ .

- The Earl of Malmeibury replied that he could give
no answer, in the present state of public affairs. The
confeience for the further settlement of • the principalities
would shortly reassemble.

The Law of Property and Trustees'. Relief Bill passed
through committee.

The Lord Chancellor called attention to the winding
up of Public Companies Acts, and laid on the table a bill
for their amendment.

The bill was read a first time, after which
Their Lordships adjourned at six o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-THURSDAY

New writs were ordered - for East Worcestershire, in
place of Colonel Rushout, now a member of the House
of. Peers ; and for the borough of Hythe, in place of Sir
J. Ramsden, who has accepted the Chiltern. Hundreds.
In reply. to Lord John Russell, . . .

Sir J. Pakington stated that it was his intention to
bring forward the Navy Estimates on Friday the 25th.
Replying to Mr. Greer,

Walpole said that the whole subject of the Irish
Savings Banks was under the consideration of the
Government of that country.

In reply to yr; Thomson Hankey,

The Olianeellor of the Exchequei said that he had seen
an announcement in the money. article of the Times, to
the effect that it was the intention of the government to
pro Pose an alteration in'the sugar duties. He could only
say that, according to his present, intentions, the state-
ment was altogether unfounded.
Lord Naas moved for leave to introduce a bill for con-
solidating and amending. the law relating to county
prisons in Ireland.

After some observations from Colonel French, the
motion was agreed to.
Mr. Cross moved for leave to bring in a'bill to amend
the law relating to municipal elections. The object of
hii bill was to impose smaller penalties for bribery at
such elections, to be levied in a more summary manner.
Mr. Gilpin seconded the motion.
. _

Sir G. P-echell thought that the qualification for muni-
cipal elections ought to be lowered.
Mr. "Dillwyn said that the real cure for bribery at
municipal elections lay in the ballot.
Mr. D. Griffiths thought that the laiv ought to be still
further simplified.
Leave was then given to bring in the 'bill.

Mr. L. King in Moving for aureturn of the cost of the
Statute Law Board, and Statute Law Commission, called
attention.to the late expense incurred which had led to
very little result.

Air. Hadfield made some observations on the small
fruits obtained after great cost from Commissions in
general.

Mr. Walpole said. that it was intended to put
a stop to the commission in question. It would
be found that the labour of the commissions had
not been so fruitless as was supposed, as would
be proved on the following evening,' when a bill
for the consolidation and assimilation of the English and
Irish laws founded on its reports would be brought in.
The returns, in an amended form, were agreed to.
A new writ was ordered for the West Riding, in place
of Lord Goderich, now Earl of Ripon.

-r- -
The House then adjourned, at 10 minutes to 6 o'clock

THE SEXAGENARIANS IN PARLIAMENT,

The following members of the House of Commons
claim to be excused from serving on election committees,
on account of being more than sixty years old :—Hon.
General Arbuthnott, J. Bagshaw, E. Ball, W. H. Bar-
row, P. Bennett, T. T. Bernard, Hon. W. S. Bernard, A.
Black, Col. Boldero, Hon. P. P. Bouverie, J. Boyd, J. I.
Briscoe, J. Brocklehurst, W. Brown, Major C. Bruce,
General Buckley, Sir C. M. Burrell, . H. Calcraft, Sir
C. H. Coote, R. Davison, E. Denison, E. Divett,
H. Drummond, T. S. Dnncombe, Right Honourable
E. Ellice, Hon. J. E. Elliot, Sir D. L. Evans, J.
Fergus, J. H. Foley, W. J. Fox, Right Honourable
Sir J. Graham, B. Gurdon, G. Hadfield, G. G.
Harcourt, J. I. Heard, J. Heatheote, Right Hon. J. W.
Henley, J. J. H. Johnstone, W. Kirk, W. Long, Hon.
Colonel Lowther, T. Luce, G. Macartney, C. A. Moody,
J. R. Mullings, Sir C. Napier, Sir J. Owen, C. W.
Packe, It. Palmer, Viscount Palmerston, Sir G. B.
Pechell, N. Power, D. Pugh, 0.. Ricardo, Lord John
Russell, G. P. Scrope, R. A. Slaney, R. Spooner, Lord J.
Stuart, General Thompson, T. Thornely, G. Trani, J. A.
Turner, Sir W. Verner, 11. S. Waddington, Admiral
Walcott, J. A. Warre, H. White, B. M'Ghie Wilcox, W.
B. Wrightson, and General Wyndham.

It is notieed that the, number of Italian refugees in
Lbndon has considerably diminished during the last few
days. _

Ale Times states that the reports spread on the Stock
Exchange of the withdrawal of Austrian troops, not
from Italy, but from the Papal legations, produced a rise
of A. per cent. in Consols afterbusiness hours. It is
believed that the rumour is intended to stimulate the
Austrian Loan. It is only mentioned in the city article
of the Times and Daily News. _

A NEGRO DUEL.—AI negro duel is noticed in the
Kanawha (Virginia) Republican, as among the incidents
that occurred in and about the Salines on Christmas-day.
It was rather a bungling, affair. The preliminary
arrangements appear not to have been according to the
provisions laid down in the code of honour. We do not
understand the parties felt any particular stain upon
their honour which they desired to wipe tout by the
fashionable appeal to the duello. The affair seems to
have been a kind of trial, or practice, preparatory to a
real' duel. But so it was, they stood off at measured
distance, arid shot at each other with muskets loaded
with blank cartridges. In the excitement one of the
combatants, in drawing• the ramrod, left the button or
head in the gnu, and the result was he killed his oppon-
ent by shobting him through the breast. The negro
shot was free, the other was a slave. These are the facts
of the case as reported- to us. We do not know that
there has been any legal investigation into the affair.-1
American paper.
LOVE IN A CONVENT.--AD advocate of Rouen, M.
Raul de Malherbe, who died in 1851, left a widow, an
Italian lady, and two children. Some time after, a
Count d'O —, much her senior, fell violently in love
with her, and, though at first she did not accept his
advances, and even retired into a convent at Mantes
to avoid him, she ended by responding to his passion.
The result was, that whilst still in the convent, she gave
him several meetings, and that an intimate connection
was established between them. But after a while her
conduct became known to the superior of the convent and
she was obliged to leave her. Wrung by remorse, she
confessed her intrigue to her husband's mother., The
mother, being greatly shocked, sent her to her family at
Rome ; the count followed her there ; and a marriage,
according to the forms of the Roman Catholic Chuch,
was celebrated between -them. Subsequently, the fact of
her having had an intrigue before the marriage became
known, by the opening of some confidential letters, to
several other persons. The consequence was that " a
family council," consisting of members of. the de Mal-
herbe family, assembled, and decided that for her miscon-
duct she should be deprived of the guardianship of her
two children. The Civil Tribunal 'of ,Evreux being
applied to, sanctiofted'the decision. On Friday the lady
appealed to the Imperial Court of Rouen, and the court
decided that the fault which she had committed having
been extenuated by a religious marriage, did not consti-
tute that " notorious misconduct " for which Art. 444 of
the Code Napoleon says, that a mother may be deprived
of the guardianship 5f her children. It therefore quashed
the decision of the family council.
A GHOST IN WINDSOR FOREST —Considerable excite-
ment and alarm has been created for several weeks past
in consequence of a supposed ghost having been seen on
the lonely road between the barracks at Spittal and
Windsor Forest. This frightful apparition nightly made
its appearance to the terror of many, its haunts having
been in the neighbourhood of the new cemetery adjoining
the Great Park, and where it usually disappears. All
attempts to unravel the mystery of this hideous nocturnal
visitor have been unsuccessful. s On Friday night last,
his ghostship made a deperate attack upon a gentleman's
groom, and from the rough handling the poor fellow
received it was evident that the spectre was something
more than a shadow, as it succeeded in belabouring the
unfortunate groom most unmercifully and knocking him
into a ditch, when it disappeared. The apparition was
seen for the first time about three weeks ago by the
sexton, who resides at the entrance to the cemetery, when
it was sitting upon the gate at the entrance to the burial-
ground. After the affrighted sexton hid sufficiently
recovered from his alarm, he stated that the spectre,
which was robed in white, appeared to be between eight
and nine feet in height. Several females have been
dreadfully frightened by it, and the husband of one of
eet
the hidspe licitmres. elf
A party,the women, named Rush, a private in the 2nd 'Life
Guards,hinah well armed
edgeia
order,
with as hesaid,to
shoot horsewhips,
•have been nightly on the watch for his ghostship, with
the determination, if they catch him, to administer
sz3.oh pstigation as ho will remember te,the day of his
death.