The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-30 00:00:00

BELGIUM.

Brussels was on the afternoon of Wednesday the
scene of apopularturmoil, which at onetime assumed
the features of a serious political demonstration.
This incident arose from the warmth of political
feeling excited by the debates in the Chamber of
Representatives on "charitable institutions," and
particu!arly by the attitude of the opposition in
the sitting of Wednesday. M. Frere, a member
of the latter, laid the foundations of the subsequent
disorders by characterising the guar.intee offered
by Government for the production of the
accounts of monastic institutions as an insulting
farce. Loud cries from the right of " We know of
nothing of the kind," interrupted the speaker, who
was requested by the president to retract his words.
M. Frere replied in a stentorian voice, " When
some days ago I denounced the conduct observed
towards some young girls, lace workers. in a reli-
gious institution, a voice in this chamber taunted
me as an infame." This sentence was received with
immense applause by the strangers in the gallery,
who commenced yelling and stamping. The presi-
dent gave orders to the huissiers to clear the gallery
and the public slowly withdrew. The allusion of
M. Frere to the young lace manufacturers is ex-
plained by the following article in the Precurseur
of Antwerp

" The Observateur published in ono of its late
numbers a fact so incredible that in the expectation
of an official contradiction we have until now hesi-
tated to lay it before our readers. In presence of
the silence of the clerical journals and of the per-
sons interested we can no longer doubt of the cor-
rectness of the account given by that journal. It
is therefore now certain that the religieuses of the
lace school of Liederkerke caused the hair of the
heads of ten young girls who worked in their
manufactory to be cut off because, on the Sunday
these poor girls had taken part in a
odfanLarmesse,cek,.,e

After a few minutes had elapsed, and before the
excitement created amongst the members of the
chamber by the incident had subsided, a great
number of men with their hats on forced their way
into the galleries, and it was necessary to have re-
course to the troops on guard in order to clear the
chamber, and orders were given to strengthen the
military posts outside. Half-an-hour after this
second disturbance, the president resumed his seat,
and the discussion recommenced. Meanwhile, the
been expelled from the house,
assembled
and agitated groups on the
the park from the chamber.
spacepublic,
w afit
which
h r
in
separates havingnois
No sooner had the proceedings terminated and
some members of the right departed than a storm
of hisses and yells arose from the crowd. The
apostolic nuncio, Mgr. Gonella, who was leaving
at the same time, misconstrued the attitude of
the crowd into a personal attack upon himself,
and he withdrew into the chamber. The
crowd, after waiting in vain for M. Frere,
proceeded to his residence, where it sang the
Brabangonne" ueder his windows, and in-
(lilted in innumerable vivats. The crowd next
proceeded to the residence of M. Verhaegen
and favoured him with a similar manifestation ; it
then dispersed in the utmost order. During the
above scenes, the troops were ordered to remain in
barracks ready to act should circumstances unfor-
tunately have demanded their interference.
At the commencement of Thursday's sitting of
the Chamber, Vicomte Vilain XIV., Minister of
Foreign Affairs, said :—" A circumstance to be re-
gretted occurred yesterday. The Apostolic Nuncio
to the Court of Brussels was seriously insulted. The
Minister of Foreign Affairs had offered excuses
to him in the name of his Government,
which the Nuncio would have been justified
in demanding had he had time to draw up his re-
presentations. The King has charged the Grand
Marsh alto express tb is morning to the Papal Nuncio
the regrets of his Majesty.
This brief speech was received by the Chamber
with general approbation.
The Independance Beige of Friday has the follow-
_ _

ing
" The manifestations were renewed yesterday on
a large scale. Long before the sitting of the Cham-
ber of Representatives was over, an immense mul-
titude had assembled in the vicinity of the Palace,
waiting for the deputies to come out. Cheers and
hisses continued for nearly half an hour.
" The mob then proceeded towards M. Frere's
house. That gentleman was absent., The crowd
then made for the park, and as it passed under the
Palace windows gave cheers for the King.
" The numbers had now considerably increased,
and the crowd proceeded across the Place Royale
and the Rue de la Regence. Before the Palace of
Justice they stopped to hiss and express their dis-
satisfaction in' various ways. Leaving the Rue de
la Regence they entered the Rue des Minimes,
stopping before the house of MM. Verhaegen and
Orts, to cheer those popular members ; they then
proceeded to the offices of the Emancipation and of
the Journal de. Bruxelles, where the mob took up a
menacing attitude.
"In the evening their Royal Highnesses the
Duke and Duchess of Brabant attended the Opera.
Their carriage was greeted as it passed with cries of
' Vive le Roi i Vive le Due de BrAbant r They
were also cheered on entering the theatre.
The pit then loudly demanded the Brabanconn.e