Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-09-17 00:00:00

NOTES OF THE DAY

been altogether for the " independence of Italy." Nor ,
are we quite sure that any such "independence" would
be served by the annexation of these sovereignties to
Sardinia, about which they are so anxious,—more
especially if, after all, they are to be :left to the tender
mercies of a Louis Napoleon. Still, the King of Sar-
dinia's course is, on every account, a right one ; although
there is little doubt that, to some extent at least, he is
making a virtue of necessity. But the ambition of the
House of Bonaparte has to be satisfied in any arrange-
ment that, after all, may have to be determined upon.
The idea of an Etrurian kingdom, under the sovereignty
of Prince Napoleon, is by no means given up,—intrigues
to that end, indeed, are said to be still prosecuted in
Central Italy, with' more activity than ever, and not
without success. This is an issue, then, which will not
be lost sight of, in all probability, in any disposal to
.which the French Emperor may be a party, of those
Italian sovereignties which the revolutionary spirit
evoked by the late war, has not only deranged, but
nearly destroyed. . ,

We have already taken occasion to observe—and to
express our congratulations upon the fact—that with '
respect to the recent deplorable accident on board the
Great Eastern, the cause was not in the ship itself, or in
her boilers or engines, but only in the most culpable indif-
erence and neglect on the part of those to whom the actual
working of a portion of the machinery was entrusted.
The extent of the disaster, however, is now ascertained
to have been much more serious than was at first appre-
hended. The sides of the boilers most directly exposed
to the force of the shock, have been so greatly weakened,
that it is found they cannot be safely used in the condi-
tion to which they have been reduced. At the resumed
Inquest to be held to-day, when the evidence of the
engineers is expected to be taken, any mystery which at
present surrounds the unfortunate affair will most prob-
ably be cleared up. It is evident that the Company,
and the individual to whom the engineering department
was entrusted, take very opposite views of the responsi-
bility that has been incurred ; and upon this point it is
very important that a satisfactory explanation should
take place. All this, however, we repeat, in no wise
affects the question of the capability of the ship, or of
the success of the great experiment that has been so far
successfully tried in her case.

THE HEALTH OF THE EARL OF DERBY.—In a con-
terriperary of yesterday we found a statement to the
effect that the Earl of Derby had been suddenly, and,
as it would seem, unexpectedly, seized with an attack of

gout, while engaged in shooting
so circumstantial as to make it

..taere can be little doubt that the Cabinet Council to
be heldto-day
is
for
the purpose of considering the
recent events in China. Without waiting for the deli-
rations of the Cabinet, however, great preparations
have been begun for reinforcing our naval armaments
Chinese waters ; and, simultaneously with these,
appears to have entered upon
auzmentation of the French forces,

French Government

[Lents for the

FRANCE.

flags against a common enemy will strengthen
the alliance, and dissipate recent rumours of a

rupture

THE EMPElfoit OF THE FRENCH AND
THE ITALIAN QUESTION.

The Moniteur has given great prominence to
an address to the Emperor, signed by upwards of
10,000 inhabitants of Bergamo. They state that,
although profoundly afflicted at the failure of the
projected deliverance of Venetia, they respect the
grave political reasons which caused the Emperor
to leave his magnanimous enterprize incomplete ;

and express a firm belief that the final treaty of
peace will be of a nature to lessen the sufferings
which menace unfortunate Venice.

sue same quarter, to even a much greater extent than
Idea
that has been spoken of here in England. The
44'ea of sending some 10,000 men, under the command of
n,elPerieneed French General, if it be correct, certainly
Zaltates a determination on the part of the French Em-
:eror not to be trifled with by the perfidious Chinese. And
v,48 is an example which we must copy to the full, and on
4,e same principle. The Emperor of China must be
'light that, barbarians though the Europeans may be
t°llsidered to be, in an Empire that is " celestial," they
mkt yet be treated with common honesty and humanity
..-;„ 'which certainly they have not been, in the recent
-'clt disgraceful affair in the Peiho.
we have already remarked, in previous Notes, on the
eireatustances, so fortunate in many respects at a con-
ikiletare so critical as the present, of the French and
E'oni,glish Governments having, by the recent Chinese
o upon their combined squadron, been placed
aader the
necessity of actively resuming their close
ttili
r all" in dealing" with the Chinese Government. The
41°-011eration of France and England has become more
'4411 ever indispensable ; not only to the establishment
o that intercourse with China which it is so desirable to
fsecure,Out but for the purpose of concerting and carrying
measures for the chastisement of the Chinese, which
!
IlbasMist not for a moment be delayed. Already, it is said,
nithat necessity created a better feeling towards
and in the Court circles of Paris. It is even stated,
aka:. t it has had the effect of stopping the publication of
o.eat tick in the Moniteur
P, designed to exalt the foreign
y of the French at the expense of the English Go-
`term:tient. Whatever may be one's opinion of the French
Emperor, it must certainly be admitted to be fortunate
that anything has arisen, if not to produce a better
understanding between theh two nations, at least to divert
them from hostile tohfou.fricts of each other.
stitutional caution The Con-
deputations from Parma tor Emmanuel towards the
hichyleisterday, at Turin,
an audience the day before Modena, to which he gave
precisely similar to that Nv
judiciously observed
was
towards the Tuscan deputation Nvbs.i°ch lately waited upon
him for a similar purpose---that, namely, of tendering
the sovereignty of their respective Dueilie" nis Majesty's
assurance to them, that he will support ths. •
tchause before
evieFt French
the Great Powers, and especially beforeelr Emperor, who, he tells them, in leading his
liegiens was "fighting for the independence of Iqrail°"
was the utmost that he could say under all the cireuync
minces of the case. We, ourselves, as we have often
of the late fighting h • aYing

The Minister of the Interior has issued a
circular to the prefects throughout France, stating
that it is not the intention of the Government to
modify the laws on the press, and requesting
them to continue to control the latitude allowed
to the provincial newspapers.

The King of the Belgians has arrived at

Biarritz

THE FRENCH FUNDS.
12 P.M.—The market opens firm, and animated

Rentes 68f. 75c

3.42 r.m.—The final quotations in Rentes were
at 68f. 95c., an improvement of since yesterday.

ITALY.

ADDITIONAL COMPLICATIONS.
NAPLES, Sept. 16

The Austrian party is represented as trium-
phant, and no reforms are to be expected. A
new anti-reform ministry is spoken of.

VENETIA, Sept. 16

The great landowners and others have signed
an address to the Emperor Francis Joseph, pray-
ing him to take off the additional war-taxes, as
the annual revenue from the land cannot support
such heavy burdens.

PARMA.-ITS OPPOSITION TO AUSTRIA
PARMA, Sept. 15.

The National Assembly met to-day for the
reading of the answer given by the King of
Sardinia to the deputation sent to Turin. The
Assembly has unanimously voted for the contract
of a loan of 5,000,000 f.

A deputation has been chosen to deliver an
address from the Assembly to the Emperor
Napoleon. The deputation is composed of the
following members : Signors Cantelli, Torrigiani,
A nguitolo, and Ranucci.

shown, are somewhat sceptical

The Assembly has been prorogued, with the
power to be re-convoked by a decree of the
Dictator and President of the Assembly, or can,
at any time be re-assembled at the request of

twenty members

GERMANY.

NEW ASSOCIATION FOR THE REGENE-
RATION OF FATHERLAND.
FRANKFORT-ON-MAINE, Sept. 16..

A meeting of the Society of Friends of the Fe-
deral Constitution was held here to-day, at which
150 persons were present. The following resolu-
tion was passed :--7" Since the formation of a na-
tional party in Germany, for the purpose of pro-
moting the unity and liberal development of
the great and common Fatherland, the foun-
dation of which has been laid at Ersanech
and Hanover, has become a reality, the under-
signed do hereby establish an association to be
located at Frankfort-on-the-Maine. The aim of
this society shall be to labour for the patriotic
objects of the party with all available lawful
means, and more especially to take upon itself the
moral task of making the people more and more
conscious of the aim and means of the movement

which is being promulgated throughout the whole
of our fatherland." A committee of twelve has
been charged with the management of the

association

AUSTRIA.

ITALIAN AND FRENCH RELATIONS.
It is said that the state of siege in Venetia will
very soon be abolished.

The Vienna Gazette contains an official article
written with a view of dissipating the apprehen-
sions of the stock jobbers, who profess to consider
the recent Moniteur announcement an alarming,
rather than a peaceful document.

The narrative was I
assume the appearance I• ' THE WAR IN CHINA.

of verity. From enquiries which we have made, it
seems that the apprehensions so justly expressed in the The Gazette publishes Admiral Hope's official
intimation referred to, were fortunately not well founded. despatch, giving an account of the attack by the
His lordship has been, as is well known, for many years
Chinese forces, June 25th ; it is dated July sth.
a martyr to attacks of gout, and that within the last
On the 17th June, the - Admiral reached the
few days he may have suffered from one of them is pos-
sible ; but we are glad to understand—as we feel mouth of the Peiho. The works for the defence
assured all our townsmen will also be—that no material of the river, which had been destroyed last year,
depreciation has taken place with regard to his lord-
were found re-constructed in a much more formi-
ship's general health. dable manner.

An officer was sent ashore to

--- -
intimate the intended arrival of the ambassadors.
TI-IE LATEST NEWS He was met by a guard, apparently of country
people, who prevented him from landing, inform-
-1/E Mg him that there were no officials nearer than
• Tien-tsin. A promise was given' that a •cora-
PARIS, Sept. 16th. mencement should be made for the purpose of
THE ANGLO-FRENCH EXPEDITION removing the obstructions within the next forty-
AGAINST THE CHINESE. eight hours. On the following day the whole of
It is stated that the French have already the squadron moved up to the mouth of the river.
3,000 or 4,000 men engaged in the Cochin-China On the 20th the Admiral, finding that nothing
expediticn, and these will be available for coming had been done towards removing the obstructions,
operations in China. Besides the 10,000 or 12,000 addressed a letter to the Tantai at Tien-tsin,
troops that will he despatched to China from acquainting him with the object of his arrival,
France, there is little doubt that a corresponding and,requesting .free communication with the
French naval force will be sent out.
The Paris journals of yesterday nearly all shore. To this an evasive answer was received
two days subsequently.
express their satisfaction at the official announce- On the 21st the Ambassadors requested the
ment of a joint French and English expedition. Admiral to take measures for clearing the river,
and he gave notice to the Tantia that he should,
Several add a hope that the union of the two

if necessary, remove the obstructions by force.
To this no reply was received, and, consequently,
On the 24th the Admiral took the force inside
the bar to prepare for operations, and gave further
intimation that, after eight o'clock in the evening,
if he received no reply, he should feel himself at
liberty to take his own course.

On the morning of the 25th the vessels were

placed in position. At two p.m. the Opossum
opened a passage through the first barrier, and

at 2.30 she moved up to the second barrier, sup-
ported by three other vessels. The forts at once

opened a simultaneous fire of not less than between
thirty and forty guns, of calibres from 32-pounders
to 8-inch, on which the Admiral directed the
ships to engage. At 3 p.m. the ships inside the
barrier were getting disabled, and they were
dropped out in fresh positions outside of it, where,
having received assistance in men, they renewed
the action. At 6.30 the fire from the north forts
beased, and, half-an-hour later, that on the south
side was silenced. At 7.20 a landing was effected.
The storming party were encountered by a heavy
fire, but, notwithstanding the very serious ob-
stacles, 150 officers and men having reached the
seedid ditch, and about 50 having arrived close
under the walls, had the opposition they
experienced been that usual in Chinese
warfare,,. there is little doubt but that
the place *ould have been successfully carried at
the point of the bayonet. On a report that the
party could hold their position, but that it was
impossible to storm without reinforcements, orders
were given to retire under the cover of night,
which had now closed in ; the force being sent
down to the ltoat by detachments, carrying the
wounded with them, and eventually the whole
were brought off by 1.20, a.m., of the 26th, Com-
manders Commerell and Heath being the last
on shore, the fire of the enemy being remarkably
well directed and sustained, occasioned the
squadron considerable loss, amounting to 25
officers, 5 men killed and 93 wounded, of which
54 are slight. In the subsequent attack on shore
64 officers and men were killed and 252 wounded,
of which 90 are slight.
The despatch mentions the casualties to the
gunboats, and concludes by thanking individual
officers for the extraordinary gallantry they had
displayed.

The following appeared in a portion of our impression
of yesterday :

TURKEY.
[REUTER'S TELEGRAM.]
SMYRNA, Sept. 9,—ln consequence of a judicial in-
vestigation, the Prussian Consul-General Spiegalthal
has been suspended and the business of the consulate