The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-05-29 00:00:00

CHINA.

The position of affairs in Canton River continues
unchanged. Great distress is said to prevail at
Canton from the high price of rice.
The 50-gun frigate Raleigh, Commodore Keppel,
had struck upon the rocks five miles from Macao,
and was beached to save her. The Bittern had
gone to receive her guns.
It is asserted that an imperial duty upon opium
has been imposed upon Shanghae.
At Hong Kong and at Shanghae money is very
scarce. Exchanges 4s 11 dto ss, and 7s 3id to
7s 4d.

Exports of tea estimated at about 57,000,0001b5.,
against 73,000,0001b5. last year.

FRANCE.

PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVENING.

I have before me the report of M. Devinek, the
reporter charged by the committee of the Corps
Legislatif to draw up the report on the bill on

the Bank of France-:-M. Du Miral, the reporter
originally named, having declined the office, on
the ground that he was ono of a minority of two
in the committee. M. Devinck regrets much
that the Council of State should have rejected
an amendment by which the privileges of the
Bank, instead of being granted absolutely up to
the year 1897, were to be subjected to revision in
1877. It is also a subject of regret with the
committee that the bank should not be placed
under terms always to discount bills at ninety days'
date. With regard to the first point—that of a
revision of the statutes at the end of twenty years
from the present time—the report says that the
majority of the commission has not changed its
opinion. It continues to be firmly convinced that
the, government is wrong not to have taken the
measure of precaution, but, nevertheless, being of
opinion that the measure as it stands contains con-
siderable ameliorations in the concession of the
bank privilege, the committee recommends the
adoption of the bill. It is considered very doubt-
ful whether the Corps Legislatif will be induced to
vote the bill this session.
The Presse says it has reason to know that the
controversy in the Neufchatel Conference between
Prussia and Switzerland as to the mode in which
the renunciation of the King of Prussia's original
demand of a million of francs was to be effected
has been resolved in favour of the latter power,
and that instead of the fact being constate by an
additional act, article 6 of the draft treaty will be
simply struck mit.

The Court will stay at the Tuileries rather longer
than was expected, and according to present
arrangements, will not go to St. Cloud before
Sunday or Monday.
There has been a downward reaction at the
Bourse to-day. The Rente fell 10c. for cash, and
25c. for account, closing at 69fr. 30c. and 69fr.
Mobilier fell 10fr. The railways were quoted from
sfr. to 10fr. lower, with but little business doing.
News arrived at the Bourse that the general
meeting of the shareholders of the Austrian Rail-
way was held at Vienna at nine o'clock this
morning It is announced that the dividend is
fixed at 30fr., and that 2,000,0001 r. had been placed
in the reserve. This intelligence caused some
speculative business in the Austrian lines, but
they ultimately fell from Bfr. to 10fr.
M. David, the present member of the Corps
Legislature for Libourne, in the department of the.
Gironde, has written a letter to the Siecle, express-
ing his astonishment that while he.is occupied in
Paris with his legislative duties, M Arman should
have announced himself to the electors as a candi-
date, supported " by the Emperor," before the time
has come for the issue of any official list of govern-
ment candidates. M. David says he does not
know whether M. Arman be really the government
candidate or no, but at all events it is his
(M. David's) intention to offer himself again to the
electors, and at the proper moment he will ask the
Siecle to publish his address.
The Independent de t Ouest, a Legitimist journal,
replying to a taunt of the Siecle, challenging it to
support its theory in favour of abstention, declines
to bring forward any arguments on the ground that
it was ordered by the authorities, several weeks
ago, to abstain from all discussion relative to the
elections.

Forty-four individuals were placed at the bar of
the Correctional Tribunal of the Seine to-day, on
a chute of belonging to a secret society called the
Francs Juges. One of them is accused, in addi-
tion, of. i
having struck a magistrate on the bench.
The trial s expected to last several days, but, as
usual in like cases, the proceedings will not be
made public.
Yesterday, at the Porte St. Martin Theatre, an
individual advanced to the front of the centre
boxes while the curtain was down between the acts,
and, cutting a string which held together a large
packet of papers,
sent them floating over the pit.
At first it was thought that he was an advertising
agent ; but on inspecting
that they accused the government.. of deceiving the
nation, and pretended that it would be easy to fix
the price of bread at three sous and of me at at seven.
The papers were written in a female id
man disappeared before any attempt was made
The
to
arrest him.
A. letter from Damasdus states that Abd-el-
Kader has been authorised to reside for some
time in the neighbourhood of ,Tiberias, and that
he occupies himself there with farming. The
troubles between Akil-Aga and the Kurdes were
the occasion of this change of residence of the
Emir.


AUSTRIA.

VIENNA, MAY 25.
A pamphlet, which contains information respect-
ing the Austrian finances, is circulating in the
higher official regions. I make the following ex-
tracts :—During the ten years between 1837 and
1847 the increase on the part of the revonue aris-
ing from the direct taxes was only 1,272,000f1., but
the revenue from the indirect taxes rose from
81,250,0005. to 94,015,000fi. In 1852 the direct

taxes brought in 72,538,0001, which was
31,565,00011. more than in the year 1847.
During the same period of five years the reve-
nue derived from the indirect taxes rose from
24,015,00011. to 122,368,00011. This remarkable
increase in the revenue was caused by the imposi-
tion of an income-tax, and the extension of the
system of taxation employed in the other Austrian
provinces to Hungary, Croatia, Sclavonia, the
Banat, the Servian Voivodina, and Transylvania.
Although no new taxes were imposed, the revenue
from the direct takes was 12,594,0001 more in
1856 than in 1852, while that derived from the
ndirect taxes was no less than 26,517,00011. more.
That the land tax is much lower in the Hungarian
and Polish Crown lands than in the other
provinces is to be seen by the following official
figures. In 1847, the Hungarian and Polish
provinces paid a land-tax of 1,172f1. per square
geographical mile (about five English miles), and
other provinces 6,16911. In the year 1856 the
former paid 3,0351 per square geographical mile,
and the latter 8,3121 Hungary, Galicia, the
Bukovina, ecc., cannot be as heavily taxed as the
other provinces until the means of communication
are more perfect, and it is the knowledge that
such is the case which makes the Minister of
Finance so extremely desirous to have the
railroads completed for which concessions have
been granted. The following brief notices
will give you some idea of the disadvantages
under which Hungary and Galicia, which are two
of the most fertile provinces in Austria, at present
labour In 1847 the length of all the roads in• the
German, Sclavonian, and Italian provinces was in
the proportion of 8,828 " klafters'' to the square
geographical mile. In the Lombardo-Venetian
kingdom the roads were 31,176 klafters to the
square geographical mile ; in Lombardy alone,
39,344 ; in Galicia, 1,375 ; in Transylvania, 1,196 ;
and in the military frontier districts, 1,173 klafters.
In the year 1853 the high roads in Hungary were
only 560 klafters to the square geographical mile;
in Croatia, 600 ; and in the Voivodina, 1,080 klaf-
ters. During the years between 1850 and 1856,
both included, very nearly 26,000,000 florins were
expended for keeping up and improving the roads
and canals in Hungary and Galicia.
Reliable information has reached me that there
is a great excitement in Albania, Bosnia, and
Bulgaria. In Albania it was caused by the con-
duct of a detachment of Turkish Chasseurs, which
was sent to catch and enrol certain fugitive Rediffs
(Militiamen), who were concealed in some villages
in the neighbourhood of Scutari (in Albania) and
Durazzo. Some fugitives escaped from the
Catholic village of Skurai, and the Chasseurs
revenged themselves by ill-treating its inhabitants,
breaking into the church, and carrying off the
sacred vessels, pictures, and robes of thepriests.
Not long ago a deputation of peasants
(Mahomedans and Christians) went from a
district called Drwenta to Bosna-Serai (the capital
of Bosnia) to complain to the Vizier of the terrible
exactions of the employes who had to collect the
taxes. As no redress could be obtained the pea-
sants resolved to make a peaceful demonstration,
and accordingly about twelve hundred of them—
men, women, and children—started on Sunday,
the 10th, with the intention of crossing the fron•
tier into Austria. Adem Effendi, the Kaimakan of
Banjaluka, persuaded the poor people to return
to their homes, promising that they should not be
molested, but as soon as they were at some distance
from the frontier, his " Cavasses" (police) drove
them forward as if they had been a flock of sheep
Three Christian peasants were driven into the
little river Ukrina and drowned. Strange to say,
the discontent which prevails in Bulgaria is caused
by the Greek clergy, who oppress the peasants in
every possible way. The lay Christians are
resolved no longer to bear the brutality and
exactions of the ignorant " Popes ;" and it is but a
few weeks since they sent a deputation to Redschid
Pasha to entreat him to afford them protection.
M. Neophyt, the Patriarch, has been summoned to
Constantinople.