The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-13 00:00:00

THE LATE KING OF .PORTUGAL.

The late King of Portugal, Don Pedro d'Alcan-
tars, whose death is announced by telegram in
another column, was the eldest son of Donna Maria
the Second, da Gloria, and of the King Don Fer-
nando, of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, and was born at
Lisbon on the 16th Sept., 1837. During his
minority the country was placed under the regency
of his father, who occupies in Portugal the same
position which his Royal Highness the Prince
Consort fills in this country. In 1853 he visited
England, as may be remembered, and his gracious
and dignified deportment made a deep impression
not only upon his royal hostess, but upon all those
with whom he came in contact. He subsequently
visited France during the Exposition of 1855, and
afterwards made a tour of Italy, Switzerland, and
Belgium, until, attaining his majority at the age of
eighteen years, he was called to fill the throne
which his death has now left vacant. He was
crowned on the 15th November, 1857. The prin-
ciple events which signalised the regency of his
father consisted of various treaties with France and
Belgium for the extradition of criminals, and with
the Southern States of America for the promotion
of navigation and commerce. Don Pedro V.., which
was the title that he assumed, preserved the ministry
of the Duke of Saldanha in power. That minister
held the reins of Government for four years, but at
length succumbed to the opposition of the Upper
Chamber, the King, upon constitutional prin-
ciples, having refused to create new peers to form
a majority in his favour. The Minister Loule, who
succeeded Saldanha, was supplanted in 1857 by M.
d'Avila, whose principles were more advanced than
those of his predecessor. In the same year the
young King married a Princess of the House of
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a relation of the King
of Prussia, and whose death, from diphtheria, took
place on the 17th July, 1859.
His late Majesty had no issue, but leaves sur-
viving him three brothers and two sisters, the
youngest of whom, Prince Augusto, is, as our
readers are aware, now lying seriously ill of typhus
fever—the same disease which carried off the late
King, and his brother Prince Ferdinand—whose
death we announced a few days ago.
The crown of Portugal will now devolve upon
his brother, John Duke of Oporto, who is in his
20th year, having been born on the 16th of March,
1842, and is a lieutenant-colonel in the 2d Regiment
of Cavalry. He is unmarried, and as by the consti-
tution of Portugal the King attains his majority at
the age of 18, the country will not require the
government of a regent.

THE BALLOT SOCIETY AND THE ELECTIONS.-

The weekly meeting of the executive committee was
held on Tuesday, at the offices, 5, Guildhall-chambers;
Mr. Man in the chair. Mr. Bontems, Mr. Whitehurst, Mr.
Francis Clowes, Mr. B. T. Williams, Mr. Le Maitre, &c.,
were present. An address to the electors of Carlisle, for
circulation in that city, was agreed to, which contained the
following passage in reference to the Liberal candidate for
Carlisle :—" The committee of the Ballot Society rejoices to
bear testimony to the able, energetic, and long continued
support which their friend Mr. Edmund Potter, by his pen,
by his purse, and on the platform, has given to the cause of
the ballot, and the committee trusts that the triumphant
return of Mr. Potter will show that although the electors of
Carlisle tolerated Sir James Graham's opposition to the
ballot, on account of his eminent public services, no other
liberal candidate opposed to the ballot has any chance of
obtaining their suffrages." In reference to the Plymouth

election the committee agreed to the following resolution :
" This committee, on behalf of the society and the friends.of
the ballot generally, tinders its thanks to the electors of
Plymouth for returning, in the person of Mr. Walter Mon•
rison, a member thoroughly in favour of the ballot, and as

•
his speeches show, able to advocate that measure in the
House of Commons. And this committee trusts that the

recent victory at Plymouth is the forerunner of similar suc-
'eases at forthcoming elections, and the committee com-
mends the zealous and united labours of their fi iends at Ply-
mouth to the imitation of the supporters of the ballot at the
constituencies of Lincoln and Carlisle." The proceedings
to be taken in reference to the appointed conference with
Reform Associations, to be held this day, also engaged the
attention of the committee.
INCENDIARISM BY A SOLDIER.—The magistrates
in petty sessions at Colchester were on Monday engaged in
investigeing a charge of arson against John W. M'Grath,
drummer of the 88th (Connaught Rangers) Regiment,
stationed in Colchester Camp. On the night of the 30th of
October, about 9 o'clock, the alarm of fire was raised in the
camp, when it was discovered that some farm premises not
100 yards from the camp wall were in flames. There were
at the time in the barn and other outbuildings 12 fine cows,
4 very valuable cart-horses, and 141 fat hogs, the whole of
the value of more than £l,OOO. By the timely arrival of the
fire-picket, with three engines from the garrison, the flames
were subdued, and the whole of the stock was saved. Next
morning the prisoner surrendered on his own confession of
having caused the fire ; but when taken before the com-
manding officer he denied it, and, there being no evidence
to support the charge, he was returned to the ranks. On
Friday last, however, after a quarrel with some of the non-
commissioned officers, the prisoner rushed out of the camp,
surrendered to the police on the same charge, and described
the manner in which he caused the fire. The reason he
assigned for the wanton act was a desire to get out of his
regiment. This he repeated in a preliminary examination
before the mayor, but before the magistrates on Monday he
again denied the charge, and said he made the confession to
escape the consequences of a court-martial for a military
offence of which he had been guilty. There was, however,
such a contradiction in his assertions that the Court deter-
mined to send the cass to another tribunal, and the prisoner,
whose character as a soldier is very bad, was accordingly
committed for trial at the next assizes.
A CHILD SHOT BY HIS BROTHER.—An inquest
has been held at Haxey, Lincolnshire, before the coroner
for the district, Mr. C. H. Holgate, upon view of the body
of Horatio Wright, aged four years, the son of Mr. John I

Wm. Wright, farmer, who met with his death under very
melancholy circumstanccs. It appeared that on the 2d inst.
the father of deceased sent one of his sons for his gun
whilst working in one of his fields, and told his son Charles

to get a halfpenny worth of caps, which he did, end took
them and the gun to his father. His father having a cap in
his pocket, allow, d his son to keep those he had in his pos-
session, which was the cause of the fatal and distressing
occurrence. 'The father loaded the gun, but did not fire it
off, and ho ultimately sent it home in a cart with his two
sons Charles and Thomas. The gun was placed in its usual
place in the sitting room, just over a able, and within reach
of any child four years of age. The old cap was also left on
the nipple. On the afternoon of the 3d inst. all the family)
except Thomas and the deceased, went to church, and whilst
the two boys were amusing themselves with rolling a cricket-
ball about the floor, Thomas found a cap. Then he thought
of the gun. He took it down, and fancying it had been fired
off, took the old cap off the nipple, and put on the one he
had picked up. He then pointed the gun at his brother's
face, pulled the trigger, and shot him dead. The jury re ,
turned a verdict of " Accidental death."

ANOTHER CASE OF " KLEPTOMANIA."—On Satur-
day, an expensively-dressed young man, named George
Franklin, was charged, at Ashford, before W. P. Burra,
Esq., with stealing two halfcrowns from a box, by means of
skeleton keys. The prisoner and his wife occupied apart-
ments at Mr. Sewell's, New-street, Ashford, and in conse-
quence of money having been repeatedly missed, a police-
man was set to watch in a Cupboard in the bedroom on
Saturday morning. He saw the prisoner came and take
the money out of a sum of £4, which was wrapped in paper
and kept in the box. All the money was marked. The
policeman jumped out of the cupboard and arrested him as
soon as the theft was committed, and his surprise and con-
fusion may be imagined. He was remanded. His friends,
it is said, occupy a very high position in society.—Sussex
Express.

DAYBREAK IN SIAM.—A day at Bangkok in fine
weather is a well-illustrated page of the country and the
people of Siam. It has been a sultry night, so sultry and
still that every ripple on the water has been clearly dis-
tinct ever since the moon went down, about a couple of
hours before daybreak. You are lying in that state of
torpor which is neither sleep nor wakefulness, and yet is a
compound of both, afraid to think, lest the very effort
should awake you. The disgusting el yof the tokay some-
where close over your head gradually subsides as the night
verges into morning, and you are just flattering yourself
upon the enjoyment of a couple of hours' wholesome sleep
in the delicious freshness of the early dawn, when a scuf-
fling and rustling about the rooms warn you that one or
more snakes have pursued some hapless frog into a cul de
sac, and are meditating an early breakfast. If you had any
doubts about this subject, they are soon dispelled by the
cries of the hapless frog and the angry squeaking of the
tame house rat (every house in Siam has a tame rat, which,
being taken young and carefully reared, grows to a great
size and of prodigious strength, and expells all other ver-
min of a like genus that offer to intrude upon the premises),
who likes not the proximity of such ugly customers, and
scampers up the bedpost for better prot3ction. The possi-
bility of its being followed by some hungry snake induces
us to strike a match and light the candle, and in two seconds
afterwards the room is cleared of intruders. It is no use
thinking of any more sleep, for there comes those certain
harbingers of day, countless legions of noisy crows flying
overhead like black and impenetrable clouds, and bound from
the cocoa-nut topes where they roosted to the rice fields in
the interior, in search of early grubs. In half an hem's
time hence they will be back again with redoubled cawing,
and take up their regular positions for the day, spread all
over the city, and each individual crow bent upon commit-
ting a felony at tho earliest available opportunity.—Col-
burn's .New Monthly illagazzne.

As the greater part of the turpentine available
for commerce comes from the pine timber in the swamps of
North Carolina, a mercantile correspondent suggests that,
looking at the probability of the supply being interrupted
by the civil war, it would be a great advantage if any other
sourco could lie pointed out whence it may be obtained. A
small quantity is imported from Franco which is procured
in the neighbourhood of Bordeaux, and the probability is
that there are may other parts of the world whence it might
bo had in comparative abundance.

L T E ru NEWS
P.. . •

DEATH OF THE KING OF PORTUGAL.
LISBON, Nov. 12.
The King of Portugal died to-day. The Duke
of Oporto succeeds him:

PARIS, Nov. 13.
The 111oniteur of to-day announces that the Em-
peror and Empress went into mourning immediately
on receiving news of the death of the King of Por-
tugal, in order to testify their strong sympathy with
the Royal family of Portugal. The celebration of
the Empress's name day, as well as the projected
hunting parties and other Court festivities, have
been postponed.

The Constitutionnelof to-day publishes an article
signed by Dr. Vernon, in which it says :

" The result of the deliberations of the Council of
Ministers, held yesterday, is that the adoption of
the resolutions which we announced;yesterday as
having political and financial importance has been
adjourned.

" At the moment when the special powers of the
Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of State were
to be determined certain difficulties in carrying out
the details of the proposed arrangement are said to
have presented themselves."

M. Walewski, Minister of State, has accompanied
the Emperor to Compiegne.

ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 11.

Count Chambord disembarked here yesterday,
and took up his residence at the Palace of the
Viceroy of Egypt,

BERLIN, Nov. 12.

Th© Preussisehe Zeitung of to-day has news from
Warsaw, announcing the seizure of 15,000 muskets
in a convent on an estate belonging to Count
Zamoyski.

The prior of the convent, several priests, and the
bailiff of the estate, were arrested. The latter de-
glared that the count had no knowledge of the fact
that arms had been stored in the convent, and said
that he himself had received them at the request of
the priests.
Similar seizures have been effected at other
places.

PARIS, Nov. 12.

The Paris papers of this evening announce that
the Emperor presided to-day at a Council of Mini
sters, and returned to Compiegne at 4.39 p.m.

The Senate will assemble on the 10th December,

The Pays of this evening, in an article signed by
M. Grandguillot, says :—" The Turin Opinione was
right in asserting that the article of the Pays, ex-
pressing a desire for a change in the present Italian
ministry, was neither inspired by Signor Ratazzi
nor by the French Government."

PARIS, Nov. 12.

The Constitutionnel of to-day publishes an article,
signed by Dr. Veron, which, after mentioning the
probability of the nomination of M. Fould as Mini-
ster of Finance, concludes as follows :—" If we are
well informed, this is not only to be considered as a
personal change in the ministry, but as a political
and financial event, which the Senate and Corps
Legislatif could not fail to applaud."

BERNE, Nov. 12.

A note addressed by M. Thouvexel to Dr. Kern
asserts on the authority of categorical statements
made by General Faucheux that the territory of the
Valley of the Dappenthal has not been even tem-
porarily violated by the French troops. A similar
declaration has been made to the Federal Council
by M. de Turgot, the French Ambassador.

TURIN, Nov. 12.

Another congress of workmen has just been held
at Asti, and has expressed its disapproval of the
deliberations of the last congress assembled at
Florence.

The province of Avellino is again disturbed by
brigands.
The King has returned to Turin.
The journal Venezia publishes the following
despatch ;
" Yesterday a grand popular demonstration was
made in the province of Viterbo. National flags,
decorated witn the cross of Savoy, were displayed.

" The people, taking advantage of its being the
anniversary of the Italian plebiscite, demanded
annexation to Italy."

RAGUSA, Nov. 12.

Ou Sunday last insurrectionary movements broke
out at five different places in the district of Behac,
in Bosnia, having altogether a population of 5,000
souls.

VIENNA, Nov. 12.
The resignation of M. Probatavara, the Minister
of Justice, has been accepted.
The Croatian Diet has been dissolved. A special
Aulic Chancery for Croatia has been established at
Vienna.

PARIS, TUESDAY EVENING.
There has been an important Cabinet Council
to-day.
It is almost certain that M. Fould accepted
the Ministry of Finance.
His programme is retrenchment in every branch
of the Administration.
A loan is not immediately necessary.
Europe will be assured of the pacific inten-
tions of France.

WEST INDIA AND PACIFIC MAILS.
SOUTHAMPTON, Nov. 13.

The Royal Mail Company's steamship Seine,
with the above mails, has arrived here, with 72
passengers, 736,163 dols in specie, pearls to the
value of £4OO, plating to the value of £2,730,
and 1,100 packages of cargo.
Considerable excitement prevailed at Lima on
account of the elections, during which a disturbance
had taken place, when the troops fired on the
assembled crowd, killing from eight to 20 persons.
The French ship Infernal had been destroyed by
fire at Valparaiso. The British storeship Nereus,
which was anchored close by, suffered considerable
damage.
Her Majesty's ship Clio arrived at Panama on
the 15th. The Termagant left Panama for Mexico
on the 20th.

At Valparaiso exchange on London was quoted
441 for GO to 90 days' sight ; on Paris, 4.60 to 4.62 ;
on Hamburg, 383- to 39. Bar silver, per mare,
10.50 dols. Freights unaltered.
The weather at Barbadoes was fine, and the crops
were improving. The import market was generally
depressed. Irish butter was in better demand.

Exchange on London, 3.0 days' sight, 4921 ;
private bills, 4821.
Demerara,—Mr. Ilincka is to succeed Governor
Wodehouse in the Government of British Guiana.
The import market is e:ccessively dull. There is
little produce for shipment. Sugars are advancing.
Tonnage abundant. Exchange, drawing 90 days,
per £lOO, 480; purchasing a.t 472.
At Jamaica the weather ccintinind wet. Trade