The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-01-03 00:00:00

FOREIGN INTELLIG ENCE.

FRANCE.—The Moniteur of Thursday publishes a de-
cree abolishing the restrictions imposed by the rescript of
the Bth of February, 1826, on raw cotton imported into
France from Great Britain and the British possessions in
Europe. According to the said rescript the produce of
Asia, Africa, and America, sent from England and her
European possessions into French ports was to be admit-
ted for re-exportation only. The rumour is circulated in
the Legitimist circles that the Count de Chambord has
been invited to the English Court, and that the visit will
take place in the month of March next, when the ex-
Queen of the French has returned from her visit to Spain,
and when the united family will be received by her Bri-
tannic Majesty. The Constitutionnel contradicts the late
rumour of dissensions between Great Britain and France
in the following paragraph :—" Some journals have, com-
mented in their own way on the inaction hitherto dis-
played by the two fleets in the Bosphorus, and have
attempted to show that there was a want of accord be-
tween France and England. What we can reply is, that
the two Ambassadors at Constantinople had identical
instructions, and that the line of conduct to be observed
after the combat of Sinope was adopted in common between
Lord Redcliffe and General Baraguay d'Hilliers. M.
Visconti, the great architect, under whose direction all the
public works of importance, now being carried on at Paris,
were conducted, has died very suddenly.
RussrA.—A private letter from St. Petersbnrgh of the
19th says that the Russian Government had considerably
increased the army of the Caucasus, and had appointed
several generals to serve under Prince Woronzoff, the
Commander-in-Chief. According to the New Prussian
Gazette the Emperor of Russia has signified to the
English Cabinet, through Baron Brunnow, that he will
regard the entrance of the Anglo-French squadron in the
Black Sea as a declaration of war. Lord Clarendon, the
same authority adds, has replied that England does not
desire war, but considers herself bound to protect the
Turkish ports. A private letter from St. Petersburgh,
of the 19th ult. asserts positively that the exchange of
ratifications of the treaty, offensive and defensive, between
the Shah of Persia and Russia has taken place. The
Patrie says :—" A letter from Erzeroum of the 2nd states
as positive that Russia has engaged to furnish Persia
with arms, ammunition, and money, in case she declared
war against Turkey. Several Russian officers had already
arrived at Teheran to serve in the Persian army."
TURKEY.—Telegraphic despatches from Constantinople
of the 19th ult. announce that the meeting of the Grand
Council, originally appointed to be held on the 20th, had
taken place on the 18th, for the discussion of the collective
note communicated to Reschid Pacha by the ambassadors
of the Four Powers, pursuant to the agreement of Dec. 5.
The note, it should be remembered, expressed merely the
regret of the Powers at the outbreak of war, and invited
the Porte to state upon what conditions it would be willing
to negotiate a treaty of peace. The result of the delibera-
tions on the 18th instant is embodied in Reschid Pacha's
answer to the ambassadors, on the following day. The
Porte has accepted all the recommendations embodied in
the " Instructions to the ambassadors," but, by its re-
solution, it has condemned one of the bases of the
Vienna protocol, and the very one which had been
previously condemned by public opinion in England.
The Porte will not again submit to obligations arising
from the treaties which Russia has abused and broken ;
but declares that, driven to defend its very existence with
the sword, it will not exist for aught lower than full sove-
reignty within its own dominions. The Sultan is prepared
to treat, by a plenipotentiary, in some neutral city (not
Vienna), with a minister similarly empowered by the
Czar. The original sine quii non of the evacuation of the
Principalities will as a matter of course be insisted on by
the former potentate, who will also firmly decline renew-
ing the broken treaties of Kainardji and Adrianople. The
"acceptance of the project of accommodation," to use the
phrase of a Ministerial contemporary, can therefore only
be a correct definition of the Porte's reply to the collective
note, in the restricted sense of the preceding statement.
All that the Powers recommended, in their instructions
to the ambassadors, Reschid Pacha adopts ; but the abject
compliance which they were prepared to recommend (ac-
cording to the Vienna protocol) are rejected by anticipation.
SPAlN.—Accounts to the 21st ult. state that the Duke
and Duchess de Montpensier had arrived, and were re-
ceived at the railway station by the royal family. The
Queen, on the occasion of the birthday of the Princess of
the Asturias, had caused abundant alms to be distributed
in the Palace Square, and sent a sum of 60,000 reals to the
governor of the province, to be divided among the charit-
able institutions of the capital. The diplomatic duels,
which somehow got mixed up last week, are now before
the public in a distinct form. It seems that, in the saloon
of the Marquess de Turgot, an expression insulting to
Mrs. Soule was overheard by Mr. Soule the younger, pro-
' ceeding from the lips of the Duke of Alba. The lady
wore a higher dress than the etiquette of the ball-
room requires, and the Duke of Alba's remark was "Look
at Marguerite de Bourgogne." Young Mr. Soul 6 chal-
lenged the Duke, and the meeting took place on the 14th.
After half an hour's combat without result, the seconds
interfering and declaring honour to be satisfied, it ceased,
and the parties shook hands. On the same day the Ame-
rican minister, having heard that the offensive remark
originated with the Marquess de Turgot, sent him a chal-
lenge, which led to another encounter, resulting in the
Marquess de Turgot's painful wound. He is now recover-
ing. Commenting upon this John Bull says :—Consider-
ing that the cause of offence was a remark on the dress of
Madame Soule, which was of a somewhat eccentric cha-
racter, the " affair of honour" is one of the silliest ever
heard of. The absurdity of the conduct of the two Yankee
diplomats is the more glaring, as the United States
minister at Paris has quite recently made himself notorious
by a studied disregard of the etiquette of court dresses. If
the Americans cannot comply with the customs of Euro-
pean civilization, let them at least show the moral courage
of enduring " the world's dread laugh" without thirsting
for bloody vengeance.
ITALY.—A disturbance took place at Barge (Piedmont),
on the 19th, under pretence of the high price of provisions.
A band of ill-looking fellows from the mountains, rein-
forced by a party from Bagnolo, suddenly entered the
town, it being market-day, and uttered seditious cries,
demanding that the maize should be sold at 3f. per mina
(about 19 litres). The dealers refusing to comply, the
rioters took forcible possession of the sacks containing the
maize, and distributed it among themselves. The Royal
Carbineers of the locality, though reinforced by those of a
neighbouring place, were unable to put a stop to these
proceedings, the rioters being upwards of 300 strong.
The Council of Delegates immediately assembled, declared
themselves " in permanence," and, feeling the necessity
of having an imposing force at their command, accepted
the services of two courageous young men, who volun-
teered to go to Saluzzo and apply for succour to the
intendent of the province. They succeeded in making
their way unobserved through the infuriated mob, which
already threatened to pillage the houses. About 4 p.m.
some mounted carbineers arrived with the fiscal advocate
and an examining judge. The delegate of public safety
arrived also with 100 lancers. Already the house of the
vice-syndic was threatened with invasion, and the carbi-
neers of the place, fatigued with the day's hard duty,
were barely able to keep the mob at bay ; but scarcely did
the clatter of the cavalry, coming down full speed, become
audible, when a general panic seized the multitude, who
fled in all directions, but too late, for about forty of them
were arrested at once, and twelve more during the night.
Fortunately, no blood was spilt, thanks to the coolness of
the carbineers, who, though assailed with stones and
missiles of all kinds, did not make use of their fire-arms.
AIISTRIA.—It is rumoured in Vienna that the unfa-
vourable turn of affairs in Persia has, to a great extent,
paralysed the pacific intentions of the British Cabinet,
inasmuch as the security of our possessions in India may
become exposed to an unforeseen danger by this crafty
move on the part of Russia ; and that, on the other hand,
France, not being jointly interested in this particular
matter, if England should now resolve upon a more hostile
course towards Russia in the Eastern Question, Napoleon
111. will hardly allow himself to be taken in tow by his
Western ally; and that, therefore, there is a possibility of
a rupture in the hitherto existing " unity of action" be-
tween England and France.
SWEDEN AND NORWAY.—King Oscar has invited the
Diet to nominate a small number of its members, possess-
ing its confidence, to whom, as a secret committee, the
government may make an important communication. It
is believed that the government wishes, in this unostenta-
tious manner, to bring some momentous facts, connected
with foreign affairs, to the knowledge of the Diet. The
King has re-organized the higher departments of the mi-
litary and naval administration, with a view to securing
greater unity and efficiency in the event of hostilities.
Diplomatic negotiations are pending between the govern-
ments of Sweden and Denmark, having for their object
the conclusion of a league, offensive and defensive, between
the two states. ' Sweden is arming by sea and land; and
Denmark will immediately fortify her coasts, and place
Copenhagen in a state of defence. A letter from Stock-
holm, of the 11th ultimo, says,—" Stockholm is in a great
state of excitement to-day, caused by the arrival of a Rus-
sian courier, with a note, commanding Sweden to close
her ports to English and French vessels and subjects. I
can scarcely believe that it is true; but that a note of
importance has arrived is quite true, and Russia is deter-
mined, either by threat or flattery, to get Sweden on her
side, and the Swedes are in great excitement about it.
The royal family is greatly in favour of Russia, but the
nation, to a man, is against her. It is no secret here that

Russia is making enormous preparations for war, although
everything is kept as secret as possible. She has already
one or two screw line-of-battle ships, and is now convert-
ing others as fast as possible. Since Russia has had,:,Fin-
land, she has sailors equal to any in the world, with the
sole exception of the Anglo-Saxon race ; so that next
summer the general opinion here is that Russia, to say
the least of it, will astonish England and France, and put
those powers to a greater test than they have yet had."
CIIINA.—The intelligence from Hong Kong, under date
Nov. 11, describes the civil commotions which, for two
years, have kept China in a state of disorganization, as
little changed since the last accounts. We are still with-
out reliable news from Pekin, though it is commonly
reported and very generally believed that the capital has
fallen. There is no new feature to report in the proceed-
ings of the Imperial and insurgent troops. Constant
fighting is going on, with little result on either side. The
losses of the Imperialists have been considerable, while
the insurgents have suffered little, which gives them con-
fidence. The Imperialists have received large reinforce-
ments, and were estimated at about 14,000.
PERSIA.—A private letter from St. Petersburg states
that a treaty, offensive and defensive, between Persia and
Russia, was ratified on the 18th inst. Other letters an-
nounced that a body of Persians were to march against
Bagdad during the present month. Persian troops were
also concentrating at Shiraz. The Shah is said to have
dismissed all the English, French, German, and Italian
officers serving in his army.