The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-21 00:00:00

THE ATTEMPT ON THE LIFE OF Tl]
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH.

A correspondent of the Manchester Guardian,
writing from Brussels cn the 18th inst., makes tle
following statement :
" You will have read, in addition to other details
relative to the Italian, Pierri, Arrested as one of the
participators in the recent atrocious assassinations,
th,it he had visited this place on his way from Eng-
-1 .nd to the scene of (rime. Of this there is no
question. Tile following incident c innected with
-this visit was made known to the police authorities
yesterday or the day before, and is not without
interest. A servant girl, speaking two or three
languages, arrived from England some time past,
with good certificates from a person, namel
Pierri, residing with his family at Birmingham.
Stie obtained a situation with a respectable Bel-
gian family, and continued to give satisfaction to
her employers. Two days previous to the infernal
explosion at Paris, them :seer of the house, chancing
to stand at the window, saw a dark-looking man
ring the bell. The door was then open,_d by the
servant'gid, who remained some time in conversa-
tion with the stranger, who in due time departed.
The gentleman then a,keil the girl what business
the man hid wi'h her. She replied, Oh, it was
only M. Pierri of Birmingham, in whose s,,rvice I
lived, and who wishes me to return to England.
He said he was merely going to Pori3 on commer-
cial business, should return here in a day or two,
arid would their take me with trim to England ; but
I declined.' Having heard the name of Pierri, the
gentleman after' arils thought he might be the
individual implieated in the Paris abomination,
and he therefore qu sti ‘zied the girl, who was in
ignorance of the clime, relative to the occupa-
tions and associates of her former master. To

this she replied that he was in business at
Birmingham, had a wife and child, and was ac-
customed to receive visits from other Italians,
among whose names she recollected those of
Orsini and Mazziui. Upon being asked if
she had ever overheard or recollected the subjects
of their conversation, and whether they talked po-
litics, she answered, Yes, they frequently spoke
of France, and on more than one occasion said the
Empet'or must be killed for the good of the world.'
She ail red that on one occasion a discussion arose
among Iheiit,fis to who should commit the act ; and
to the pit aflier recollection Orsini claimed a right
to this clioliOrtr,' Having heard this, the gentle-
man immediately waited on the Procureur du Roi,
and in tha''colirse of the day the girl was summoned
_ _ _
t,

;0 his cabinet, repe,fted her depositions, and waa
},laced under surveillance, to await instructions
from the French Grovel nment, to whom the affair
was immediately communicated. The police have
discovered that Pierri only remained three or four
hours at this place, during which time he is asserted
to h :ye had an interview with more than one
French refugee, the name of one of whom has re •
cently much occupied the attention of the Conti,
nental press."

(From tile Birmingham Daily Prsss.)
Few of our readers, we suppose, when they read
the accounts of the brutal and dastardly attempt
just made in Paris, imagined any more than we did
ourselves teat the plot was concocted in Birming-
ham, that one of the principal actors has been for
years a resident of Birmingham, and that it was
with a passport signed in Birmingham that he
found his way into France. Yet such we know to
be the case in some particulars, and have reason to
believe that it is so in all. M. Pierri, the Colonel
Pierri of the French accounts, has resided for a
length of time in Birmingham, formerly in Broad-
street, and latterly in Bath-low. Whilst here he
has been engaged as a teacher of languages, a pro-
tession which political exiles frequently adopt as
being at once honourable and useful, one which
men unaccustomed to labour can readily adopt,
and one iu which kindly-disposed people are
always ready to assist them. In the course of this
occupation he was introduced, we believe, to many
respectable families of the town, both professional
and tradespeople. During the time of his resi-
dence here M. Pierii has made mere than one visit
to the Continent, Prussia being his usual destina-
tion. Whether the passports used on these occa-
sions were vistld in Birmingham or not we cannot
say. His explanations of the causes of these visits
were that he had received appointments to teach
in noble families. With respect to another of the
principals in the tragedy, it will be remembered
that M. Felice Orsini appeared in Birmingham in
June last, and delivered a lecture in the Music
Hall. This gentleman came to England with the
highest recommendations. He had been a sufferer
from the tyranny of Austria, had been incar-
cerated in, and made a marvellous escape from,
an ileustiian psi on. He wa% a person of
no mean literary ability, as his narratives of his ad-
ventures proved. Altogether, as a patriot of good
birth and connections, and unexceptionable man-
ners and appearance, he met here what seemed
nothing but his due—a respectful and kindly re-
ctption. That Ot sini and Pieiri should be intimate
was what was to be expected. Both were political
exiles, and both had suffered in the cause of their
country. We need scarcely say that the. M. Felice
Orsini of the lecture room and the Count Orsini of
the Rue Lepelletier, are one and the same person.
Thus much for the former connection of the con-
spirators with this town.
The first appearance of M. Orsini in June was
openly and publicly announced—we have no doubt
that most of our readers remember it. Not so,
however, a second visit, which he paid about a fort-
night ago. That was a private one to M. Pierri,
and only a few persons knew of his presence here.
The two men held long conferences together, and
shortly after Mr. G. R. Collis, the French vice-
consul in Birmingham, was applied to by Pierri
to vise a passport to France. Having known that
the person applying to him had resided in the town
for several years, Mr. Collis complied with the re-
quest. He was then asked about performing the same
duty for Prussia, but for some reason declined.
Pierri then wanted the Belgian mark, but this Mr.
Collis was not in a position to affix, but referred
the inquirer to Mr. A. Everitt, who is the vice-
consul for Belgium. By the latter gentleman the
passport was made available for Belgium, and we
know that it was through Belgium that Pierri
entered France. It has been hinted to us that
not only did the conspirators meet here, but that
some the projectiles were also made here. On this
point, however, we cannot speak with any cer-
tainty. It cannot, however, be doubted that it
was in Birmingham that the final arrangements of
the plot wore trade. This is a distinction of which,
if the town itself was in any way implicated, we
should be heartily ashamed, as with the cowardly
transaction itself every Englishman is heartily dia.
gusted.

COMPENSATION TO PROOTORS.—Under the New Pro.
profits,
bateslsi Actlos on an
ono
rcat
average
s a r
awgreoe
00 eLfnwfit
ii
vtoleme t d
s To o
years,
iieh
from
l-o al of
AtThf .
e_ T
r their
yeeagst n
eurr
la!t
y
morning, at 11 o'clock, the Swift, Woolwich and London
eta amboat, arrived off Woolwich for the purpose of
landing her passengers, when, in consequence of the low ,
state of the tide, whilst in the act of rounding in order
to make for the pier, the aft part of the vessel struck
against the sharp point of an anchor. The result was
that a large portion of the flank timbers were torn away,
and a bole was made completely through the bottom of
the vessel. The passengers, who were much alarmed,
were all landed with safety, but the vessel was grounded,
and as the tide rose she rapidly filled with water and
sank. A large body of men will be employed at the
next low tide, in raising the vessel by means of chains
and lighters.
CONviOr DISCIPLINE AND TRANSPORTATION...." Fur-
ther correspondence" on the subject of convict discipline
te
eeru n
and transportation in the Australianocvaoeilrfo.nynoiereasorl
hasy
W reportesbeen
printed (as a blue-book) by order of both Houses of Par-
f
liament, in continuation of papers presented in March,
papers
fromus
b
Australia,BloBsdaetaTilh andseon the
the reply of the Colonial Secretary,
From Tasmania an address of the Legislative Council
i,, 0 1n85t7.0,
1857, pro-
testing waagradiendsttotht t e
re:vliovnailalo-
°affandtereaniinsapojmrstaanyi
tnweoasrtsthern parts of Australia,
House of Assembly's address against the revival of
transportation to any part of Australia
youwnas tryase-
mAmisetsateesnaudrbetlo Downing-street by Governor
ywoul
would
expressedcaus
ea thatubneilvieefrsal
discontentt he ( t o it) a
nd .induceobnoxious
deplorable consequences. Mr. Labouchere replied (4th
of May) to the effect that no plan for the formation
of any convict settlement in the northern part of Aus-
tralia was in the contemplation of the Queen's official
advisers. The second address against the revival of
transportation to any part of the continent of Australia
is simply acknowledged by the Colonial Secretary of
State, without comment. The papers from New South
\Vales refer merely to estimates of expenditure. As
regards Victoria it appears that an address to the QUM
from t'. e Legislative Council of that colony was forwarded
' by Sir H. Barkly to Downing-street on the 7th of May,
1857, praying that no measure might be sanctioned for
the transportation of convicted felons to Australia. The
Legislative Council of Victoria, adverting to the attrac-
tion of the criminal element of society to their colony
by the gold fields recently discovered (to such an extent
as to form one-sixth of the adult male population),
assure her Majesty that unless the landing of felons on
the coast of any part of Australia be prevented,
order will perish, the most frightful crimes reign
paramOunt, and the gold and wool exported to England,
and the vast employment thereby created, be
seriously endangered, if not destroyed, by the consist
element. The argumentum, ad hominem is also addax,
it being asked hew, if the mother country caltinroLD,r;
the ticket -or-leavers in its society, even after apio'paseion
of months and year., a colony efa rtuont of bow
can pay for the coercion and p
.o_2",7recoii,„d vr
offenders. The address thus r....61.71;t 04, foot of he
graciously" by her Majesty wily"
throne.