Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-05-10 00:00:00

FRANCE.

1"Is) Sunday.—The Ministerial combination
11411• Probably remain as it is, though as the moment
lathe Emperor's departure draws nearer, private
unitience is at work, and may, at any moment, be
t,essful. The camarilla, which was thought to
,rushes
The appendage of old. dynasties, apparently
11,1 shes under new ones. In spite of the relatively
nrrte- dant -position which a Minister fills in the
,Vres'ent system, in the eye of the public, yet atten-
iiL 4*ltito to a certain degree been excited, and some
esity felt as to who was to be the official
rs the Lieutenant of the. Empire during the
unkliee of the chief. I may add a few words to
ialtt -I have already said on the subject. On Tues-
rotrning the EMperor sent for M. Laity, former
il7itet of the Basses PyrenZes, and a devoted
otnkpartist. His Majesty informed him that in
7.l7,2*quence of a conversation some days before
,
NI. de Persigny, he had. made I.ip his mind to ti
his advisers, and. before setting out for the
to construct his Cabinet anew, with M. de
%1„1-ney, M. laity, and. Marshal Randon for his
tne 4:4a1 Ministers. M. Fould was not to be in-
to) ta in the new Cabinet. The Emperor handed
v.,,,'Nt• Laity, a list of the Ministers drawn up
,Q„,411 his own hand, which he directed him to
enolunicate to M. de Persigny, and to return
▪ it him in the evening to the Tuileries, in order
decide definitively as to the Ministers. Before,
:Cever, the hour came, the -scene had changed.
of the Ministers menaced with exclusion
• ed his influence with the .Court party to good
iint. :That influence, which is too great, we are
'Tor any thing, or any one, to resist successfully,
tireniere prevailed ; and, much to their surprise,
-;:rorganizers of the new Cabinet were informed,
I,_e they came to receive theiEmperor's orders, that
Majesty considered that it was too late before his
f4.llparture to think of making any radical change in
eabinet. M. Fould and M. Walewski, whose
is said to be now impregnable, remain at
:1 r posts. M. de Persigny was asked to go to
on as Marshal Pelissies successor, which, as I
;annual you yesterday, he accepted. M. Laity was
Zred'a Portfolio; but he declared that without M.
tlkrsigny, and with M. Fould, he would not sit in
Cabinet. M. de Persigny leaves for his post on.
7"“de.y. The usual formal intimation of his ap-
'Lunt:anent has been made to the English Government,
'Zaof course no objection will be made. I will add,
nal. de Persigny returns to England moreconvineed
"Luan ever of the necessity of maintaining friendly
Iljdotions between the two countries, for the interest
Xsairope ; and determined to employ his best
"" orts towards that end. So far as words have any
ht, his Majesty is of the-same way of thinking,
it* I feel pleasure in assuring you that, notwith-
Rtitnding all that has occurred, M. de Walewski has
titpressed himself in a similar manner. According
to„ lthe last accounts from Genoa, the entire of the
itmperial Guard had arrived there, with the exception
artillery. Colonel Fave, one of the Emperor's
early officers, is appointed chief of the Military
Lion of the Imperial Cabinet. He has left for Italy.
,Situation of the French in Italy promises to
(embarrassing enough. Of the Italian govern-
-4°4444,' whose bad administration has called for the
wed disapprobation of France, Naples and Rome
'prominently forth. Despairing of overcoming
Obstinacy of King Ferdinand, France and
a lid broke off diplomatic relations with him,
.recalled their Ministers. It was thought their
;Torture would be the signal for serious disturbances,
that nothing could save the monarchy when
baron Brenier and M. Petre shook the dust off their
quitted the Neapolitan territory. No insur-
Z7l aon followed, though things went on pretty much
Zitale old style. Pulcinella had it all his own way,
'i apparently gave himself very little uneasiness
We what either of those governments thought of
Fn• The system of government pursued in the
~34ttificial States has been the theme of constant
Ikrobation. The famous letter of the President of the
_"each Republic to Colonel Edgar Ney; the official
417 Patches to the various Ministers at Rome; the
official brochures and articles, and other mani-
rations of the Imperial Government of France,
;re exposed the vicious administration of the
La,‘Pal dominions, and stigmatised Cardinal Anto-
Vks policy. With Modena, France has had nothing
to diplomatically, as the Emperor has, I believe,
'or been recognised by the great Potentate who
ZaYs the destiny of the Duchy. We may presume
‘.•,t, it was not less worthy of reprobation than the
Lt e r s . There were two States, however, which were
Zowedly less oppressed, and less viciously adminii-
l'ed than the others. In comparison with Naples and
tot n° the government of Tuscany was just and
h ant ; and the manner in which the Grand
Zueliess of Parma ruled her people was, to a
certain extent, admitted to be deserving of
wise. Yet is it not strange that it is these
‘l.? States, comparatively guiltless, which have
the effects of M. Cavour's regenerating
.."4"n'e • while Rome and Naples, in whose
,
defence no voice was raised, have as yet passed
it" _ What is Gen. Goyon's position at Rome ? Is
4e„,,.the defender of the status quo at all risks ?
napoleon
do not go to Italy," says the Emperor
apoleon, in his proclamation to the French people
up Tuesday last, " to ferment disorder, nor to
'curb the power of the Holy Father, whom we
Ol'e restored to his throne, but to withdraw
73_01. from that foreign pressure which weighs
1 the entire Peninsula, and to assist in establishing
der while legitimate interests are satisfied."
This is a little vague ; of the influence exercised
7, Austria in Italy there is no question ; but sup-
e the Holy Father, as is most likely, has a
derided preference to Austrian over French " foreign
pressure," what will the Emperor do ? His Majesty
tri to Italy confessedly to destroy that influence;
Can he destroy it without doing violence to the
1,„
.."kates of the Pope ; or, in the words of the Praia-
V°on, without " disturbing the authority of the
I Father ?" If the Pontifical Government re-
/4111 n intact, what becomes of the reforms and of
e hopes and encouragement held out to the
I:1-0131 e ? Suppose the demonstration of the 24th ult.
b..1.4_e repeated, as is not unlikely, in a more energetic
C'ner, will the conciliatory proclamations of General
hjon always suffice for their repression ? Fancy a
serous gathering of patriots in the streets of
;h7lrte clamouring for adhesion to the cause of Pied-
ink demanding to be led. to battle against the
Ctriano, the oppressors of Italy. Suppose a
cyotation waiting on the French General to inform
,24_k that he must bow to the sovereign will of the
To his efforts to reconcile profound
el'ellee for the authority
,of the Pope with the
eneration of the people, the deputation respect-
.,l
reply by showing him the letter to Colonel
ayrr Ney, the brochure, Napoleon 111. et
other equally significant indications of the
eror's views with regard to Italy. The
erenee waxes warm ; the deputation will
the no excuse; General Goyon grows angry ;
ko multitude assembled in the streets grow tumul-
be 11. s and menacing ; French troops are ordered to
lo readiness in the squares and before the
Palace of the Pope ; General Goyon cries to his
shornos to clear the streets ; they are resisted;
Go are fired, and as the tumult increases, General
, 's
e4l°ll, Whose good humour and patience are
oust,
shout d, and whose authority is set at defiance,
rounds Out, perhaps, in the words of Murat, wheeling
bzoi _ on the pursuing Cossacks, " Dragons, chassez
"8 eogains ld ! " and the patriots whom France

was to liberate were in Point of fact, handled as
French Generals do ov:asionally handle riotous
Welds. Something like this is likely to happen.
I apprehend the Holy Father would much sooner
be at Gaeta even now than remaining under the
protection of the French General. The pious French
Government would, of course, be shocked if any-
body hinted that His Holiness was not at this
moment a perfectly free agent, yet it is not certain
that, if he wished to quit Rome for Naples or any
other place, he would be allowed to do O. Matters
may become so complicated as to require, of course
for his personal safety, a certain restraint over him
—a slight limitation to this freedom of action. I
doubt whether he is quite free at this moment ;
but the time may come when " State necessity "
will compel his protectors to redouble their vigi-
lance, in such a manner that, in the eyes of the
un-regenerated world, His Holiness will be considered
as a captive—of course for his own interest. The
Emperor of the French would repel with indig-
nation the charge of his holding the Head of the
Church, of which he is the eldest son, in captivity.
There was formerly an Emperor who, while pro-
fessing unbounded veneration for the Holy Father,
yet made war on him. His soldiers assaulted Rome,
took the Pope prisoner, and kept him in his own
castle of St. Angelo. Charles V., overjoyed at the
success of his arms, yet put himself and his court
into mourning for the disasters which befel the
Pope ; and not only that, but he ordered prayers
and processions throughout the whole of Spain for
the recovery of his liberty, but which by an order
to his Generals he could have at once granted him.
Matters may not come to this point, but it is not
the less true that the position of the French at
Rome, in their double capacity of regenerators of
the people, and supporters of the Papal authority
is, as I have observed, very difficult indeed.
A private letter from Marseilles, of Friday, informs
us that the movement of troops and warlike stores
continues with unabated activity in that town.
Every day fresh troops embark both at Marseilles
and Toulon. Everybody is of op.inion that hostili-
ties in Italy will assume a serious character now
'that such a considerable French force has arrived
there. Every impediment is opposed by the French
government to the transmission of news, either by
electric telegraph or letter, from Italy to Marseilles,
so that the Marseillais receive all the news from the
seat of war through Paris. Fears are entertained
at Marseilles that the war will not be confined to
Italy, and that the consequences may be more fatal
to France than anybody could have foreseen a few
months since. A letter from Antibes of the 2nd
inst. announces the arrival there of the French
steam-packet Osiris, which sailed 'from Marseilles
the previous evening for Genoa, with 200 passengers
and a 'battalion of the Chasseurs of the Imperial
Guard. The Osiris had narrowly escaped shipwreck
on the Island of Hyeres, during a gale of wind, and
lost a man overboard. The Osiris was speedily
repaired at Antibes, and sailed again 'at six the same
evening, The troops, on their departure, were
warmly cheered by nearly the entire population of
Antibes, who assembled -on the pier, crying Five la
France ! Vire Italie!

THE lONIAN ISLANDS AND
THE WAR.

The Journal des Debats of this day refers at some
length to the case of the lonian Islands, and observes :
" The lonian Parliament rejected the liberal consti-
tution offered them by Mr. Gladstone, and declared
that they preferred the statu quo to any change
which had not for its end the immediate annexation
of the lonian Islands to the kingdom of Greece. We
expressed our regret at the adoption of such an ex-
treme course, and at the obstinate resolution of the
lonians to demand exclusively of England that which
a European war could alone give them the means
of conquering. Since then circumstances have
changed, and the war which has commenced has
aroused many hopes analogous to those which have
so long agitated the lonians. Events may arise
which will render less and less chimerical their per-
petual wish for annexation to Greece ; we may even
add that if the agitation in the East tends to
increase, the annexation of the lonian Islands to
Greece will not be the most important event we
have the prospect of witnessing in that portion of
the world." _

From the Athens journals, it appears that the
Grand Duke and Duchess Constantine of Russia are
receiving the most flattered attentions from the
King and Queen of Greece

AMERICA.

ARRIVAL OF THE EUROPA

The Cunard mail steamer Europa, Capt. J. Leitch,
arrived yesterday afternoon from New York, which
port she left on the 27th ult. She brings 106 passen-
gers and $532,424 in specie.
Mr. Sickles has been acquitted of the murder of
Mr. Key, the seducer of his wife, at Washington.
A two o'clock on the 26th ult., the case went to the
jury, who, after retiring for an hour, brought in a
verdict of " Not Guilty." " This is just what we
predicted," say the New York Herald, " nearly two
months ago, in the first article we published on
the subject, when the homicide occurred. But
looking back over the course pursued by counsel
on both sides during this judicial investigation—
their gladiatorial exhibitions, their long-winded
legal dissertations, their subtle, hair-splitting
mystifications, their self-contradictions and ridiculous
fooleries, which, spun out for • twenty-three days,
with all sorts of variations, were sufficient to confuse
and bewilder any twelve honest, unsophisticated
men —we have had our doubts as to the result during
the progress of the trial, and we now regard it as
really wonderful that the strong common sense of
the jury triumphed over such difficulties, and, loom-
ing out of the fog with which they were surrounded,
not only came to a definite conclusion, but rendered,
after so short a consultation, a verdict in full accord-
ance with public opinion. No thanks to the counsel
for this denouement of the tragedy, for never was a
trial so botched and bungled before. It is to the
sound understanding and firmness of the jury, and
not to the wisdom of the lawyers, that this verdict
of substantial justice is due, and there can be little
doubt that these twelve sensible men had made up
their minds at an early stage of the trial, which
might as well have been despatched in three days,
as forced to drag its slow length along for three
weeks."
From Washington we learn that the navy depart-
ment had received voluminous despatches from
Commodore Conover, of the African squadron, dated
Porto Praya, March 12. The sloop-of-war Vincennes,
and the flag-ship of the squadron, were at that port,
and the Dale was shortly expected. The slave trade,
as usual, was being carried on extensively. Quite
a number of captures had been made, both by
American anti English cruisers. The health of the
officers was good.
Senor Mata, the Mexican Minister, had not yet
arrived. He telegraphed Secretary Cass, on the
receipt of his despatch at New Orleans, that he
intended to proceed to Washington immediately.
Senor Mata was authorised by Juarez to negotiate
certain treaties, which, when he returns here, will
probably be laid before our government. They are,
in many aspects, important to the United States,
both in a commercial and postal point of view.
The first fruits of the Paraguay expedition have
just reached Washington. The State Department
had received a draft for ten thousand dollars, as an
indemnification to the family of the seaman who was
killed on board the Water Witch.
News from Utah, received by the Overland Cali-
fornia mail, indicates an alarming condition of
affairs in the territory. The ill-feeling between the
Mormons on one side, and the army and the
" Gentiles " on the other, has reached a point at
which it seems impossible to prevent a serious
collision. A misunderstanding has also arisen
between Gov. Cumming and Gen. Johnston, in
reference to their respective
powers, and an open