The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-04-22 00:00:00

PRUSSIA

BERLIN, APRIL 18
According to an quicieyx article in the Zeit, this
Government has caused its Diplomatic ReprCsenta-
tive in Washington to remonstrate with the United
States' Government, on account of the many acts of
violence committed on immigrants in American
ports, by forcibly pressing, or with artifice kidnap-
ping them on board American vessels, and thus
securing their compulsory services on board Ame-
riCan merchantmen. ' These steps at Washington
have been mainly founded on a report published
by the Liverpool Society for the protection of
Foreigners, which shows, among other things, that
during the past year and the first month of
this year sixty-nine cases had come to the
knowledge of the society, of foreigners who
had been compelled against their will to serve on
board of Americtin merchantmen, and who, on
arriving in Liverpool, were so perfectly ruined in
health and fortune as to become entirely dependent
upon charity and hospital aid. Of thirty-seven
others who had been talked over into taking Ame-
rican service voluntarily, a further number of
thirteen had been obliged to have recourse to
surgical aid on malting Liverpool, in eonsequence
of maltreatment, and out of a total number of 106
cases that had come to the knowledge of the society,
only two persons were found that did not complain
bitterly of the ill usage received on board-American
vessels The grievous malpractices in New York
also,.to which immigrants are exposed, from the
artifices of ," runners," who hoax the ignorant
stranger into delusive purchases and expensive
routes to their destination, have been repeatedly
and industriously exposed by the Government
here, through the agency of an Emigration Board
for the information of intending emigrants; and
the sale of through tickets to American poi is
has , been strictly for'aidden in the Prussian
dominions, an example which has been followed
by the Hamburg and Bremen authorities. On the
other hand, this Government has at various times
pointed out, even by. its official organs, the superior
advantages awaiting the emigrant in Australia and
Canada, where, whatever the emigrant's individual
success in life may be, he enjoys the advantage of
British laws and the regulated freedom obtainable
under a monarchical government. It -only remains
for the local government and railway authorities
in Canada to show the world good evidence of
their really providing well for the despatch of the
immigrant to his destination, and•his protection
there, to obtain a considerable' amount of counte-
nance willingly accorded to them by the authorities
here.

In my last letter I told you that no fresh instrue•
tions had been forwarded to Count Hatzteld from
here in the Neufchatel matter, and that the meeting
of the Representatives of the Four Powers last
Tuesday must have had reference to the drawing
up of a terme moyen to be submitted to both Prussia
and Switzerland as a mediatory proposal in the
name of the Conference. This turns out to be
quite correct. All the daily reports that have been
current in the press about Count Hatzfeld having
received fresh instructions about the King's being
more or less conciliatory, and the Emperor's having
Written to him to urge on him to reduce his pecu-
niary demand, are all flights of fancy in the' absence
of real information.

It is very probable that the bill for raising the
price of salt, which is a State monopoly` here, will
even at this late stage be withdrawn by the Go-
vernment. It stands a very fair chance of being
thrown out in the House of Notables, and rather
than be exposed to this check after having had
their bill for imposing a tax upon houses thrown
out in the House of Deputies, they will probably
withdraw the obnoxious bill, arid thus prevent the
House making itself populor at their expense. The
measure has at all tint( s been unpalatable to the
King, fornot only does it dispropor innately increase
the burdens of the poor rather than the rich, but it is
to a certain extent a breach of an implied under-
taking, made when the tax was reduced some
years back, that it should never be raised again.
Several portions of the loaves of bread, which
gave rise to such strong suspicions of poisoning at
Hongkong, have been forwarded to Baron Liebig,
'at Munich, for analysis. From the circumstance
that such a distant authority in chemistry has been
sought out, one so perfectly aloof from all local
and political sympathies and antipathies, one may
conclude that it is the friends of Alum who are
desirous of corroborating the verdict of the
English jury at the hands of the German analyst.

In consequence of the tall in the price of corn,
the authorities of Madrid ordered the bakers to
lower that of bread, and fixed the reduction.
Thereupon the bakers refused to make bread, or at
least made a much smaller quantity than usual,
and for one day there was a great scarcity, which
ceased, however, upon the morrow, under threat
of rigorous measures.