The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-21 00:00:00

PRUSSIA.

AL Berlin letter, of the 15th says :—" The Second.
t7aktaber has decided that the legislative period is
sinue extended from three to six years. This deci-
jr-11, 18 against the wish of the Ministry, who de-
t,--kt it tobetwo years. The day before yesterday
e, Council of Ministers decided that they would
t accept that determination, and that the ques-
Vi)11 should be submitted to the examination of the
lret Charaber.,,
.A.
be treaty of commerce has just been completed
%it/veep. Austria and Prussia.. The particulars of
ii,‘• 8 treaty, which may be regarded as the most
%,...7q3°rtant event that has occurred in Germany
2,711 the establishment of the Confederation and
thei/'"ein, are not yet publicly known. Never-
mat;, enough has transpired to warrant the affir-
prn,,,l first, that Austria furnishes incontestable
no
her determination to adopt a system of
teogressive liberal commercial policy, as will be
lietwil.,hy a large reduction of intermediary dues,
illcianY upon all raw articles of primary necessity,
lteta'ng unwrought iron, but upon numerous
the ef manufactured goods ; and secondly, that
Nth, ir?ake with thd Darmstadt coalition, by a clause
cejlein it is stipulated that no treaty shall be
Part.ll:de(' with any Zollverein States without the
it r,,,icAPation oraasent of Prussia. The treaty, whilst
kallees the tariffs on divers most essential and raw
liku u 'aetured articles, stipulates likewise that no
terrntation whatever shall be introduced upon in-
leaveecliarY tariffs, to or fro, but at the same time
pattiB external tariffs at the disposal of contracting
favoue:',, But this faculty is more likely to tell
Iltatea'aplY than unfavourably as regards foreign
and considering the liberal views entertained
b,,,,unced by the respective Cabinets. The treaty
Oro;:dier said to extend not only to all Austrian
general' lands, including Lombardy, but to Italy
entereilY--that is, to such Italian states as have
Nth ther., may conclude commercial conventions
3_11412.0rta,-unPerial Govement. This is a most
'cncia ~lab feature of then gotiation, since it ex-
Lines, 'raile Wide field for the debut of Prussian pro-
-Veei w and manufactured ; and will be most
forge..k-t beneficial to the Rhenan provinces, whose
•hektelaaltt,ers and manufacturers already carry on
uealitigs with Austria. These and other
iobees,tY' will now have a population of some seventy
!tele ate -4
suppl and this under the most favour-
ce
4icl. t as regards rail and water carriage. It
gi both sit the tariff on raw iron is to be reduced
en pa es to 4, whilst (as well known) Belgian
klee 1518 74, and
twe_that of England 10.. This diff.er-
t; 4ed -Dfn 4, accorded to Austria, and 10,
of ""40
-and, will no doubt attract the atten-
Ilene to 11r), Board of Trade, and justify its exer-
"'el of keltagiiiinticianin- diminution; at all events, to the

theten,..3, ITALY.
-"'ung to accounts of the 15th
.from. Milan,
t, o Was still great difficult in obtaining
Com
kaairrhitoin the city. Baron Martini, Military
any
Deri,„llt, had threatened to punish severely
access
4441 raising cries, singing, or whistling in the
hatz:i Two persons had been condemned. and
in t the
NI --- Chefor having taken up arms against two
gists at Josa-gate, the other for having
4141478 in his shop and having been seen with the
telzertts in the Rue Bottonuto.
toilit"ers from Berne of the 17th, state that the.
'Aar
kr,at ' orders issued at Tesin are enforced with
Nhth• 87eity. The Austrians have blockaded eve
1 g-ats The Ftderal Council has sent Col.
ollr •
of
nThgeolS to examine and report upon the real state
140eZalts, and hopes were entertained that the
corti7te would be raised, and that the export of
kerchat least, would be allowed. Travellers and
1/3' thea are now compelled to take the route
Spingen.

• Out
SPAIN.
CaAi aec°llll-ts are to the 15th. Among the indi-
°lls th
%°bae a't the s • h
Government are making
the tarY prepaPrrvis
tutrctre Vated inerelaTes intthsestat
artillery t haatnd besidescivi
l
1.801!th havelee,.rises of leave which were issued last
been Who werei)ell r?called, and the conscripts of
4 04%34into at their homes on partial leave have
quarters, and that detachments of

the engineer corps have been sent to such fortresses
as required reparation.
M. Martinez de la Rosa is to be the Ministerial
candidate for the Presidency of the Chamber of
Deputies, and his election is considered certain.
All reports of modifications in the Ministry had
ceased.

The following are the prices of Stocks :—Three
per Cents., 42 ; ditto Deferred, 23 5-16 ; Redeem-
able Debt (first class), 10 ; ditto (second class), N ;
Coupon Certificates, 4. Exchange on London, 51.

THE MADIAIS.-THE OFFICIAL CORRES-

PONDENCE.

The official correspondence in reference to the case of
the Madiai having been laid before Parliament, we select
from the documents the following important letters, in
reply to the dispatch of Lord John Russell, which has
been already published : _

No. 34.

MR. ERSKINE TO LORD JOHN RUSSELL. --(RECEIVED FEB. 4.)
"Florence, Jan. 27, 1853.
"My Lord,—Your lordship's dispatch to Sir Henry.
Bulwer, of the 18th inst., reached Florence, by messen-
ger Drury, on the 24th.
" On the following day I called on the Tuscan Minister
for Foreign Affairs, and explained to him, as nearly as
possible in the words used by your lordship, the views
entertained by her Majesty's Government with respectto
the continued imprisonment of the Madiais ; requestini,
that his excellency would impress upon the Grand Duke
of Tuscany the cruelty and impolicy of persisting in a
course which is calculated to weaken the mental faculties,
if not to shorten the days, of those unfortunate prisoners.
" The Duke of Casigliano repeatedly interrupted the
communication it was my duty to make to him, and de-
sired that I would state to your lordship, that although
he did not intend to dispute the Queen's right to point
out to his Sovereign the arguments which ought, in the
opinion of her Majesty, to prevent the adoption of rigor-
ous penal measures against offences relating to religious
opinions, such arguments or advice must be received un-
officially (officieusement). The Grand Ducal Govern-
ment would protest, not only against anything like in-
tervention by force of arms, but even against the right
of her Majesty's Government to tender its advice in such
a shape as could be construed as an attempt at moral
pressure.'
"Even such communications as the present he deemed
highly injudicious, as tending to keep alive in the mind
of his Imperial and Royal Highness the impression left
by the interference of the Earl of Roden's deputation.
" The Duke of Casigliano denied, most emphatically,
that any analogy exists between the moral torture de-
scribed by your lordship as a species of capital punish-
ment, and the mild form of imprisonment which the
Madiais are now undergoing ; as his excellency asserts
that the prison discipline of this country is notoriously
as humane and enlightened as any en the Continent.
"These persons were not, as is alleged, convicted of
having apostatised from the established religion, but of
having sought to seduce others from that religion—a
crime punishable by law.
" His excellency and his colleagues had spared no
effort to induce the Grand Duke to exercise the Royal
prerogative of mercy ; but his Imperial and Royal High-
ness would make no promise as to the exact period at
which he should see fit to commute the sentence of the
tribunal. 'As a friend,' he added, will tell you
frankly, that the more this question is agitated from
abroad the less chance is there of an early liberation of
the Madiais.'

" The Duke of Casigliano took advantage of this op-
portunity to allude, in a pointed manner, to a very
similar trial, which has recently taken place in Sardinia,
in which a person named Mazzinghi was found guilty
and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, adding that
her Majesty's Government would, doubtless, offer the
same advice at Turin as was given here.
"From the whole tenor of his excellency's conversa-

tion there is, I fear, but little reason to hope for the im-
mediate release of the unfortunate persons in whose fate
her Majesty's Government and the British public have
exhibited so warm an interest.
"The Grank Duke is now absent, arid will not return
to Florence for some days. I shall not, therefore, be
able to report to your lordship by this messenger the
effect produced on the Royal mind by the advice I was
instructed to tender in the name of her Majesty's Govern-
ment. _ _ _

" Early next month I shall, however, report to your
lordship, by the regular messenger, how this advice has
been received by his Imperial and Royal Highness.
(Signed) " E. M. ERSKINE."
No. 35.
MR. ERSKINE TO LORD JOHN RIISSELL.—(RECEIVED
FEB, 4.)

(Extract.) " Florence, Jan. 27, 1853.
" I think it my duty to state to your lordship, with
reference to one expression in your dispatch to Sir Henry
Bulwer of the 18th instant, namely `an unhealthy
prison,' that I am informed by Mr. Chapman, an En-
glish gentleman, who has interested himself most warmly
in favour of the Madiais, and who is permitted to visit
them occasionally in prison, that he has no fault to find
with the treatment either of Francesco Maidiai or of his
wife.

" The former, as your lordship is aware, is now con-
fined in the prison at Volterra, in a healthy situation at
the top of a high hill ; and Mr. Chapman assures me
that the infirmary in which he is lodged is in every re-
spect as comfortable as any well-regulated hospital for
persons at large.
" Mr. Chapman is equally satisfied with the atten-
tion bestowed on the physical wants of Rosa Madiai at
Lucca.

"Although this circumstance does not in any way
affect your lordship's arguments as to the moral torture
inflicted on sensitive minds by protracted imprisonment,
I venture to mention it, as the expression ' unhealthy '
might be laid hold of by the Tuscan Government, with
the view of diverting attention from a real to an imagi-
nary wrong.

I may add, that the Duke of Casigliano requested
me to state to your lordship that the most satisfactory
accounts were received yesterday from Volterra of Fran-
cesco Madiai's health ; accounts, however, which are
not borne out by Mr. Chapman, in so far as relates to
the mental condition of this unfortunate person."

No. 36.
MR. ERSKINE TO LORD JOHN RUSSELL.-(RECEIVED
FEB. 15.)
(Extract.) "Florence, Fob. 5, 1853.
"With reference to my dispatch of the 27th ult., I havo
now the honour to report to your lordship, that on the
2d inst. I learnt from the Duke of Casigliano that he had
communicated to the Grand Duke of Tuscany the argu-
ments by which her Majesty's Government have sought
to persuade his Imperial Highness to pardon the unfor-
tunate Francesco and Rosa Madiai. _ _ .

"Those arguments,lTegTeTto say, have failed, not
only to produce conviction on the mind of his Imperial
Highness, but they have tended, if possible, to confirm
him in his original resolve to do nothing in this matter
until such time as he shall be left to the unfettered use
of his own discretion. •
" The only point on which the• Grand Duke seems to
be at all alive to public opinion abroad, is the alleged
condemnation of the Madiais as Protestants. He desired
the Duke of Casigliano again to contradict this notion,
and to assure her Majesty's Government that they were
punished solely because they attempted to convert
Roman Catholics to their own belief.
" I ventured to state to his excellency that it would be
difficult for your lordship to attach any credence to this
assertion, while it was notorious that the prisoners were
not allowed to receive the Sacrament according to the
rites of their religion. His excellency could find no be,-
ter reply to this objection than that in the public hospi-
tals that permission was granted to Protestants as a
matter of course ; but that the prison discipline forbade
such an indulgence to criminals.

ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN GOLDMINING OOMPANT.

On Wednesday, a dinner was given at the Clarendon
Hotel, Gravesend, by the directors of this company, to
Capt. Bell, the superintendent, and the staff of miners,
who sailed on Saturday, in the Adele, for Australia;
Dr. Bartlett in the chair.
After the cloth was withdrawn, and the usual loyal
toasts had been drunk,
The CHAIRMAN addressed the men. He stated, they
were about to depart for a new country ; they must not
forget that while labouring for the company they would
be working for themselves. He had heard much of de-
sertions in Australia ; they had, however, a guarantee
in the fact, that the men had left their families at home,
and that a portion of their earnings would be withheld
for their support. As far as possible, they had exacted
all that could be done—they had looked at the dark side
of human nature instead of its best aspect. For his own
part, he had great confidence in their superintendent,
who had resided some time in Australia, and was well
acquainted with the colony ; and judging from the
honest faces of the men before him, he did not think
they would be so wanting in character as to forget they
were Englishmen, and fly from engagements which they
had freely entered into.
On prosperity to the Anglo-Calfornian Company
being drunk,
Mr. MASSEY DAWSON observed, that connected as
he was with that company, the oldest established
of all the gold associations, it gave him great plea-
sure, if he might use the term, to see so many branch
associations springing from the parent stem. The ex-
perience acquired at the Anglo-Californian board would
be used in the direction of the Anglo-Australia and
Alliance Companies ; they might in their sphere be
equally useful to each other. The men were leaving
England as freemen, not fettered in any way as convicts ;
he trusted they would never forget what was due to
their character of Englishmen. They would carry with
them the elements of Anglo-Saxon industry and energy ;
and, while their labour was of benefit to the colony, it
would be of corresponding advantage to the mother
country.
Mr. MURDO YOUNG stated, in proposing success to
the Anglo-Australian Mining Cordpany, he felt the con-
viction, that if the directors did not command success,
they had done all in their power to deserve it. Every
precaution had been taken to prevent failure ; and he
trusted that the enterprise would be attended with the
prosperity which the shareholders anticipated.
Dr. BARTLETT said, they were indebted to their secre-
tary (Mr. Parker) for the energy and ability he had
shown in attending to the interests of the company. He,
therefore, most cordially proposed his health.
Mr. PARKER observed, in returning thanks, that he
had met with the most cordial co-operation on the part
of the directors and all concerned. In their ship they
had put on board not only machinery, but everything
which they thought would be of utility, or conducive to
the comfort of the men ; and he might say with pride,
no company had yet sent out their staff so fully equipped
as theirs.

The health of Captain Bell, the- superintendent, was
drunk, which was replied to in a neat speech by that
gentleman.

Mr. FALDER, of Penrith, responded on behalf of the
mining staff, who had been selected by him from Cum-
berland.

The healths of James Harmer, Esq., of Ingress-park,
who had kindly attended the dinner, of the Alliance
Gold Company, Messrs. Combs and Nickoll, the soli-
citors of the company, Charles Hinks, Esq., and
Frederick Bull, Esq., were drank and severally responded
to, and the meeting separated, apparently highly pleased
by. the excellent banquet supplied to them, which re-
fleehcateridin.great
:ci:edit on the establishment of Messrs.

20
20
10
St.

St.
St.
St.
St.

2G
135'
20
20

St.
50
20
20

12i
12j
25

16i
20
S
9

25
10
106