The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-20 00:00:00

ports,

The loss of property caused by the earthquake a'
Manilla amounts to forty million dollars.

MARSEILLES, AUG. 20,

The Messageries Imperiales steamer Peluse left
this port yesterday with mails for India and China,
36 passengers, 451 packages of merchandise and
specie, value £136,032.

CONGRESS AT MALINES.
(nom OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

MeLiras, Wednesday, Aug. 19.
You called the attention of your readers, ou the
20th ult., to the kind of Social Science Congress
which the religious world of Belgium, essentially a
Catholic country, intended to hold in this its old
ecclesiastical metropolis, and to which were invited
foreigners connected with any of the religious works
to whose social influence the attention of the in-
tended gathering was to be directed. The invita-
tion of the committee of the society, or " Assemblee
des Catholiques Beiges," has been responded to in
a most extended way; and yesterday, at half-past
ten, we witnessed a gathering of representatives of
all nations in the fine old Cathedral of St. Rombauf,
to the number of something like three thousand, to
assist at the grand high mass, which was the open-
ing ceremony of the meeting. His Eminence Car-
dinal Wiseman was the observed of all observers,
as he sat in the sanctuary next to the offi
ciating Cardinal Archbishop of Malines, and held
the first place in a long line of prelates,
beginning by the Armenian Catholic Archbishop of
Jerusalem, and ending with Mgr. Geoghegan,
Bishop of Adelaide, in Australia. Between these
two extreme points were seen various Bishops from
Germany, Belgium, Holland, and England, the
latter being represented by Dr. Cornthwaite,
Bishop of Beverley. Several French bishops had
expressed their intention to be present, but it seems
that their temporal Sovereign objected to their
going,
on the principal of discountenancing all ten-
dency to religious independence from State nursing,
and that he had intimated to some of them that the
borders of Belgium were like a prison the threshold
of which may be crossed on entering but not on in-
tending toreturn. France, however, was nobly re-
presented, in this assembly of children of that
Church of which she is the eldest daughter, by her
best known writers, priests, and zealous laymen,
among whom
might be observed the President-
General of that world-wide charitable organiza-
tion, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, M.
Adolphe Baudon, who still
continues to direct
it in all other countries but France, where the
jealousy of Imperial power bas forbidden the society
to have any sort of central direction.
At half-past 11 o'clock the gentlemen who had
gathered in the Cathedral marched —preceded by the
cardinals, bishops, and prelates—to the Petit Semi-
narie, or ecclesiastical college of the diocese, which
is situated at about 10 minutes' walk from the
cathedral, and they soon filled the immense hall
used ordinarily for the annual
public exhibitions of
the college pupils. The upper end of the hall was
ornamented with a red velvet canopy, or throne
dais, under which was placed the crucified figure of
the Divine Teacher of Mankind. Above it, against
the wall, might be discerned the portrait of his Holi-
ness, the present Pope, surrounded by a trophy of
flags of all nations. Other trophies of Belgian
flags, with all the rich effect of black, gold, and red,
decorated the hall, and in the midst of the
most prominent was displayed the portrait of
the King with the mottoes of " Union" and
" Petrie," The chair on the raised plat-
form at the upper end of the hail, was
at first occupied by his eminence the Cardinal Arch-
bishop of Mechlin, who opened the proceedings
with a most appropriate address, recalling to those
present the Christian precept of union and brotherly
feeling enjoined by the Saviour, and which he had
promised to reward by being specially in the midst
of those who assembled in his name. He spoke of
their meeting to confer on works of faith and of
charity, and on the duty of laymen to the Church
to support and defend her as children do for a
mother, a duty which they could but imperfectly
fulfil if isolated from each other. He invoked for
them the spirit of courage and wisdom, and mom-
mended them to aim at practical conclusions in
their endeavours to render service to the Church.
He recommended also the greatest consideration
and freedom to be extended to the expression of all
opinions morally just and honest. Their mission
was one of faith and charity, of truth and civilisa-
tion. It would tend to make them better citizens
and benefactors to their fellow men. He announced
in conclusion that his Holiness the Pope sent them
his blessing and a special brief, approving the
He promised that the
altar would be offered
daily, either by himself or by some of the bishops
present
for
sacrificethe th e
ofsuccess meeting,
theof
the Congress, and he ter-
minated His eminence then left the chair, to
sit b
in thelessibnygagain bestowing on the assembly his
own
body of the hall in the midst of the pre-
1a t es, who formed the first line of spectators, and at
the left hand of bis eminence Cardinal Wiseman.

In a few minutes, M.Dupectiaux, the indefatigable
secretary and organiser of the Congress, had sub-
mitted to the assembly the names of those proposed
as officers of the meeting, and soon the venerable
Baron de Gerlache was seated in the chair as Pre-

sident of the Assembly, and began to read an address
which received additional interest from the weight
of authority of such a man, who, after having been
the President of the first Belgian National Assem-
bly, and the most prominent author of its free con-
stitution, now leads a secluded life and speaks very
seldom in public. The assembly heard him, with

ever-increasing delight, define the object of this
meeting as being—not to widen the divisions
already existing in Belgium and throughout Europe,
not to foster party spirit, but to unite more closely
together Christians of all countries, whose device

was love for friends and for enemies. If Catholicity

was a party, it was that of the people and of the
poor; while those who opposed it had no fixed

principle, bat that of aiming at power for the pur-
pose of enjoying its fruits among themselves only.
The perpetual agitation produced by such ambi-
tious instincts compelled Catholics to hold such
assizes, not to be left defenceless, at its mercy.
Liberty was not to be separated from religion.
Catholics should lore liberty dearly, for without it
they could not ba thus assembled. The Church was a
mother towards whom they had a double duty as
citizens and as Catholics. In Belgium they had for-
merly experienced what it was fora Catholic nation
to be subjected to a foreign Protestant Power; but
they now found that it was very similar to being
under the rule of free-thinkers, who, mingling vio-
lence to cunning, destroyed gradually all real
liberty in the name of the law. Catholics, on the

___. ....._
other hand, never provoked their enemies, but wished
fsot irtrau teirosnt hadat e o
f subjectiondecreed
n B Belgium,
Under their
they had seen
gjuain:
simply to profit by the freedom which the con-
themselves compelled to receive even their clergy at
the hands of Xing William of Holland, who insisted

on young priests icing =ado to study in edqcittion-41-

establishments of the State, where the teaching of
professors was specially devised to undermine their
faith, while he closed all colleges and schools kept
by men of religious independence, and secured to
himself a monopoly of science. This iniquitous
prccess was not devoid of certain outward forms of
liberty. He recalled this not from any wish to
revive any ill-feeling against the neighbouring
Dutch nation with which Belgium became daily
more united from commercial intercourse, and the
common interest of the defence of their individual
independence. But he wished to show that now
the system of a free press, under which they were,
was less corrupting than the influence of power, and
that it was amply compensated by freedom of edu-
cation. In fact, while they considered the moral
statistics of Belgium, and watched there the
struggles of the parties which divided the world—
tt e Christian and the anti• Christian—they must
take into consideration the immense good produced
by such a University as that of Louvain,
which has now been in existence for more
than thirty years. As we shall find the Baron de
Gerlache's admirable discourse published by all the
Belgian and French religious journals, I refrain
from giving you a more extended report of it. At
the end of it, the brief addressed by the Pope to the
committee was read to the assembly, which stood
up during its reading; after which the address
drawn up in answer was unanimously approved, and
a telegram sent to Cardinal Antonelli to apprise his
Holiness of the dutiful wishes and thanks of the
assembly. An address signed by 750 pupils of the
Louvain University was also read, and the nomi-
nation of the officers of the five sections of the con-
gress took place. The secretary announced the list
of the orators who would address the meeting on
the successive days, among whom is included the
Count de Muntalembert, who is expected to speak
on Thursday, on the principle of a free church
in a free state, a principle which has been so mis-
quoted against him. Cardinal Wiseman is to
address the assembly on Friday on the state
of religious and charitable works in England. At
5 o'clock, the members of the congress met again,
dividing their numbers and attention among the
five sections into which the discussions of the
Assembly resolved themselves. I attended on this
first day the fifth section treating of the press, and
especially of the question of founding in Belgium a
great Catholic international journal. The first
three articles of the programme were approved of,
after a most animated and interesting discussion,
in which the following gentlemen took part :—The
able president of the section, M. Ad. Dechamps,
Minister of State; Mr. Charles Audley; M. Digard,
of Paris; M. Lem mens, of Ghent; Prince Ladislaus
Czartoriski, the celebrated preacher; Abbe Mer-
milled, of Geneva ; Senor D'Albeida, from Lisbon,
the superior of the Polish mission in Paris ; Herr
Meyer, from Cologne ; M. Armand Neut, of Bruges;
and Count de TheuA, Minister of State in Belgium.
The discussion of that section, which lasted a little
longer than that of the others, terminated at eigh
o'clock.

In the evening the Jardin Botanique of the town
was splendidly illuminated, as part of the festivals,
which are kept up.here for the whole week.

Gakqnani, to-day, in allusion to the Great Con-
gress, the inauguration of which has been here
described by our Special Correspondent, thus noti-
fies the loyal reception accorded by the people and
visitors at Malines to King Leopold and the Royal
Princes:—" A grand fete at M Alines, in Belgium,
on the occasi.in of the Jubilee of Notre-Dame d'Hans-
wyck, commenced two days back in presence of a
great concourse of spectators. At 1 o'clock the King
with the Duke and Duchess de Brabant, arrived,
and were received by M. Broers, the Burgomaster,
attended by the Communal Council, and by the
Chevalier Pycke, governor of the province. The
Royal party at once proceeded to the Archbishop's
palace, amidst loud acclamations. At two the
authorities were received by the King, when the
Burgomaster delivered a loyal Address. At the
close of the reception a grand cavalcade was to have
taken place, but, unfortunately, the weather was no
unpropitious, the rain falling in torrents, that it was
postponed to the 20th, In the evening the King, and
the duke and duchess, were present at a grand ban-
quet given by the town. At the dessert M. Broers
proposed the health of the King. The toast was
drunk with the loudest acclamations, which his
ALjesty briefly and appropriately acknowledged,
amidst repeated cries of " Vine le Roil"

THE FRANKFORT CONGRESS.
THE EMPEROR'S SPEECH.
FRANKFORT, Aug. 18, 7 p.m.
The military part of the population of Frankfurt
was a-foot at 5 o'clock this morning, and greatly it
disturbed the slumbers of the burghers and of the
strangers now residing here. At the hour mentioned,
military bands paraded the streets, and at short in-
tervals guns were fired in honour of the Emperor of
Austria, who to-day celebrates, at Darmstadt, his
birthday. Hie Majesty wished to spare his fellow
potentates the trouble of calling on him to offer
their congratulations, but in matters of etiquette
German Sovereigns are great " sticklers," and they
therefore proceeded in corpore to a railway terminus
in this city, at which the Emperor was expected to
arrive at half-past 10 o'clock. His Majesty was
as punctual as usual, and, as a matter of course,
he was obliged to accept the more or less long-
winded felicitations of his illustrious " brothers
and cousins." The banquet given by the Senate of
the free city of Frankfort went off with great eclat,
but the fireworks partly failed, as it rained heavily
in the afternoon. In the evening the weather
cleared up, but the air was so damp and cool that
few persons were inclined to remain long out of
doors. The Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess
Mary were to have seen the fireworks from a villa
on the right bank of the Maine, but it is very pos-
sible that their intentions were not carried out.
The Duke of Cambridge is frequently here, and the
names of the Earls Granville and Clarendon appear
in the strangers' list. The Emperor of Austria gave
the following toast at the civic banquet :
" I speak in the names of the Sovereigns here present,
and thank the Senate and municipality of the free city of
Frankfort for the hospitable reception given to us. I think
that we—the Princes of G.rmany assembled in this federal
city—cannot better express our gratitude to our patriotic
hosts than by proving to them that a heart-felt love for our
common Fatherland is the bond of union between it.
" We all cherish a friendly feeling towards this honour-
able city, which is so rich in historical recollections, and
your illustrious guests will therefore readily join me in
emptying a cup to the welfare and increasing prosperity of
Frankfort."

The speech which the Emperor of Austria made
at the opening of the Congress of Princes is as
follows :

" Most illustrious and beloved Brothers and Cousins,
most valued Confederates,—An assembly of the heads of the
German nation, for the purpose of deliberating on the wel-
fare of the Fatherland, is an event which has not occurred
for centuries. May we, by the blessing of an Almighty
Providence, be on the eve of a happy future.
"Confiding in the elevated sentiments of my fellow
Princes, confiding in the just spirit of the German people,
who have been enlightened by experience, I have sought to
bring about a meeting at which the German Princes should
in a fraternal spirit unite their hands for the strengthening
(Befestigu)ag) of the Confederation. I have deemed it my
duty openly to express my conviction that Germany justly
(mit Becht) looks forward to a development of its constitu-
tion ( reefassuieg), which shall be in accordance with the
necessities of the times, and I have come in person to ex
change ideas and opinions with my Confederates, and to state
what I consider feasible, and what I, for my part, am ready
to grant.
"Your Mejesties„ and all of you, my illustrious and be-
loved Confederates, accept my thanks for your kindness in
consenting to act with me.
" I have forwarded to my illustrious Federal allies the
draught of a project of reform which was drawn up under
my immediate superintendence.
"Being of opinion that the sphere of action of the Bund
should be enlarged, I, in my plan of reform, propose that
the executive power shall be placed in the hands of a Direc-
tory, which shall have a Federal Council at its side. We
require the periodical meeting of an assembly of Deputies,
which shall have full power to participate in the legislation
and in the control of the finances of the Bund. I propose
that there shall be periodical meetings of the German
Princes. By the introduction of an independent Federal
Court a satisfactory guarantee is given for the proper ad-
ministration of justice in Germany. In all these matters
the priucipla of the (quality of the several independent
States will, as strictly as is possible, be upheld. At the
same time, due regard must be paid to their political in-
flll4ce and to the number of tluir inhabitants, is orig that

an effective executive power and a general representation in
:the Band may be inseparably united.
" All details are based on one single idea—on idea that has
taken complete possession of my mind. It is, that the time
has come for renewing in a way which shall be in accordance
with the spirit of the times, the Bund which our ancestors

entered into. By allowing our peoples to participate in the
Bund, we shall give new vigour to it, and enable it to up-
hold to the end of time (bis in die spiitesten Tage) the
honour, power, security, and welfare of Germany as one
great and inseparable whole.
" Doubtless my propositions will admit of improvement.
I readily admit that such is the case. But I beg my Con-
federates to take into consideration whether it is not our
common interest not to postpone, even for a time, the ac-
ceptance of a plan which, as it now stands, is a great im-
provement on the present state of things in Germany. In the
proposed Act of Reform (Refonn• aete) the necessary means
for repairing its defects in a constitutional way are pointed
out. I see no prospect of finding a firm basis in the ques-
tion relative to the future of Germany by means of pro-
longed deliberations. The question must be settled by the

prompt, unanimous, and disinterested resolves of the Ger

man Princes, who, in matters of inferior moment, most
magnanimously make sacrifices for the attainment of the
great object which they have in view.
"Most illustrious and beloved Brothers and Cousins,
most valued Confederates,—As you all share with me the
" exalting " (erhebend) impression of the present moment,
so must you participate in the deep regret which I feel that
Prussia is not represented here. One of my most heartfelt
wishes has not been fulfilled. I was not so happy as to
be able to persuade King William of Prussia to participate
in person in our work of union' (Einigungs-icerke); but,
nevertheless, I have not lost the conviction that the results
of this day will be salutary. The King of Prussia fully
appreciated my arguments concerning the urgent necessity
for a reform of the Bund. King William had no other
objection to make to my proposition to hold a Congress
of Princes than that the necessary preparations for such an
important step had not been made. In principle, the
King was not opposed to an assembly of Princes, but
he was of opinion that a Conference of Ministers ought
to precede it. I called his Majesty's attention to the
fact that all former negotiations by means of second
persons (Mittelspersonen) had been fruitless, and that it was
for us to reform the Bund, and that we were firmly ra •
solved that the German nation should no longer be de-
prived of the means of enjoying greater (hi;here) political
development.' Let us pass quickly over mere matters of
detail for the sake of the iccalculably more important whole.
In good federal faith let us preserve for the mighty (king-
dom of) Prussia the place to which she is entitled, and let
us hope that our unity will produce an indelible impression
on all German hearts.

" In as far as I am personally concerned, my allustrious
Confederates and Friends, I shall always feel satisfied to
have done all in my power to draw closer the ties which
unite all the German peoples, and to make the Bund, as one
great power (Gesammtmacht) a boon (Heil) for Germany
and a guarantee for the peace of Europe."
The Emperor of Austria delivered (read) his
speech in such an impressive manner that his hearers
could not doubt that he deeply felt the necessity for
a reform of the Bund. When his Majesty had done
speaking there was a murmur or rather " hum" of
approval, which was continued until the King of
Bavaria rose to reply to his fellow Sovereign. In
substance his Majesty said that he acted as the
mouthpiece of his illustrious Confederates when he
assured the Emperor that they fully shared the
opinions he had just expressed. The members of
the Bund then present had accepted the invitation
of his Majesty without knowing the exact nature of

the propositions he was about to make, as they felt
assured that the rights of all would be respected,
and that if sacrifices were necessary, they would be
required of all the members of the Bund, and not of
some few of them. The King of Bavaria said,—
" The assembled Princes will take the propositions made
by your Majesty into conscientious consideration, and it is
probable that some modification of them may be deemed
desirable, although we are as desirous as yourself that the
important questions now at issue may be brought to a speedy
and happy end. We share the regret of your Majesty that
the King of Prussia, our dear federal ally, is absent, but we
cherish a hops that at our next meeting for the despatch of
business that powerful link in the great chain which con-
nects the different German States will not be wanting."

It is said (but I know not with what truth) that
the King of Saxony, who is a literary man, acted
as secretary to the Congress. The only furniture
in the hall in which the Congress of Princes holds
its sitting are a very large table and a certain num-
ber of arm-chairs, on which are emblazoned the
arms of the different members of the Confederation.
There is one chair of less pretension, which is said
to have been intended for the person who was to
act as amanuensis.