Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-12-26 00:00:00

THE DAY'S NEWS.

The postponement of the Congress for a fort-
night—that is, from the fifth to the nineteenth of
January—has been
_occasioned, it is believed, by
the still unsettled arrangements for the represen-
tation of all 'the European Powers whom it is
deemed desirable to make parties to some final
settlement of the Italian question. Sardinian
and Italian interests will find in the Congress
two very able defenders in Count Cavour and M.
Desambrois, who have now been formally ap-
pointed by the King,—his Majesty, it is said,
having insisted upon their presence, expressly as
a matter of defence. The King of Naples, it is
noW settled, shall• be represented by two able
Plenipotentiaries, in order that his interests
also may not be overlooked. There is still one',
preliminary difficulty, we understand, having\ re-
ference to the Popedom • and it is not probable
that the recent semi-of; French pamphlet,
" The Pope and the Congress," has any other
effect than, to increase that difficulty—although
its influence may be very beneficial, if only in
preparing Congress for a proposition to reduce
the -Popedmn within the small limits proposed as
an indispensable requisite to the permanent peace
of Italy. In so far as any indications can be
relied upon, of the views of the French Emperor
respecting the Popedom, there is. .every reason
to believe that his Majesty is' quite decided
in those views respecting it given in the cele-
brated pamphlet, which is supposed to have been
written under his. direction. The far-seeing
Emperor is no doubt- convinced that the Pope
must henceforth confine himself strictly within
the patrimony of St; Teter. And to enforce this
object will, no doubt, be one of the endeavours of
the Congress, and it will of course receive the
support of England, Prussia, and Russia, as well
as of France and Sardinia.

The Spaniards are now doing battle with the
"Moors with better effect. The Spanish army,
Under General Prim, has repulsed an attack on
.the road to Tetuan, with a view of obstructing
the works, in a manner which shows that, since
_the Spanish army is now reinforced, the Moors Will
in all probability be driven within their fortresses.
According to accounts received by the Bombay
mail, there would still appear to be considerable
doubt respecting the fate of Nana Sahib. 'There
is some reason to believe, it would seem, that he'
i still alive, and at the head of a large party of
mutineers and rebels encamped in the Nepaul
jungle. At any rate, there is a large rebel force-
there, either under Nana, or some other desperate
1-chieftain; and as a body of Nepaulese troops
were about to commence operations against them,
we may hope by the next arrival to hear of their
dispersion.
The declaration of the Roman Catholic laity
of sympathy for the Pope under his troubles as a
temporal Sovereign, and with the view of favour-
ing the restoration of his temporal dominions
although rather numerously signed, has, by no
means, obtained the unanimous assent and appro-
bation of that large and respectable body of our
fellow slip-juts in England. Mr. Petro has ad-
dressed wetter to the Times, in which he protests
against it, and maintains that the temporal power
of the Pope forms no part of the religion of Ro-
man Catholics. It is very desirable, therefore,
that a counter-declaration should be signed in
order to•disabuse the public mind on a subject..
which is calculated to interfere injuriously with
the interests of the Roman Catholics.

The sailors of the Princess Royal, it will be
seen, are to be released from custody to-morrow,
which is the day before the expiration of a month's
imprisonmenti—the' Admiralty having recom-
mended that this should be regarded as a sufficient
punishment, and that her Majesty should there-
fore exert the Royal clemency and remit the re-
mainder of the three months' imprisonment,
inflicted by tile sentence of the court martial.
We have telegraphic-intelligence from Queens-
town, conveying the news that the 'steamers City
of Manchester, and Europa, from New York, had
both arrived at that port, landed passengers and
mails, and proceeded towards Liverpool; The
news so conveyed are interesting in many points of
view, but from the importance of their indication,
and the all but certainty that in course of this morn-
ing, or to-day, we will be furnished with ample
details, we do not deem it desirable to enter into
particulars, and content ourselves at present with
merely calling attention to the outline already
referred to.

THE Peelites, if they have a spark of patriotism
or conscience within them, must be beginning to -
find out the inconsistency and the danger of their
present vague ;connection with a Government
- which includes an extreme politician like Mr,
*ILNER GIBSON, and a vacillating partisan like
Lord Jom RUSSELL. We have had a great deal
said of late years about fanciful and useless
adherence to old theories and exhausted memories.
But of all the inconsistent uses to which the
recollections of the past can be put, the vainest
and the Worst is the practical influence supposed
to be still depending upon . imaginary ties.
t 6 the memory of a deceased statesman.
The notion that the character of the late
Sir ROBERT PEEL can be fitly made a .
stalking horse for violent partisanship, and
in reality a fund on which incipient democracy
can indirectly draw for support, is surely not
more fanciful- and more dangerous, than it is a
deep injury to the memory of a Constitutional
politician. Granted there are some few anti-
quated foSsils", here and there stiffly embedded
in the long since up turned strata, and still
passing.a sort of galvanised life on the memories
of "protection and so-called monopoly, there is
something more unreasonable in an intelligent
body of political believers pretending to draw
their inspiratiOn on general subjects from the past
history of a single life. It is more unreasonable,
because the other is, at worst, an excusable
though barren reminiscence ; while this is meant
to serve as a rule of conduct, and to influence the
fortunes of a party. The perverted way in
which such a delusive and unfruitful notion is
likely to work, when turned into a prin-
ciple of action, is just .what we see in ,
the actual position of Parliamentary poli-
tics. Either these devotees suffer a moral
paralysis in their public life, or when their com-
bined forces borrow a form of momentary activity