Glasgow Courier. — 1864-11-17 (Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland)

THURSDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 17.  The Peace Treaty, ratified by Denmark, was despatched from Copenhagen to Vienna on Saturday by a special messenger.  The West Indian mail has arrived, but the news is of no general interest. At Havannah yellow fever, and at Jamaica small-pox, were causing great mortality. Trade, excepting at Trinidad, is reported generally good.  The Coroner's inquiry into the gunpowder explosion at Erith closed on Tuesday, when the jury returned a verdict that the persons killed met their death through an explosion of powder originating in a barge belonging to the Messrs Hall. The jury further called the attention of Government to the necessity of providing for the deficiencies of the present Acts of Parliament affecting gunpowder, on many important points connected with its storage and transit.  The Austrian Parliament was formally opened on Monday by the Emperor in person, who delivered the customary speech. Amongst the principal topics mentioned in it were the acceptance of the Mexican Crown by his brother Maximilian, the war with Denmark—which his Majesty thought had been settled in the most honourable manner—the recent insurrection in Poland, and the• new custom's tariff. The financial position of the country was alluded to more in words of hope than of congratulation; but his Majesty trusted that, through the increasing development of the national resources and the continuance of peace, all embarassments would be overcome.  It has been stated, whether correctly or not events will show, that the Emperor of the French has already taken steps, without reference to what the other neutral Powers may do, in the matter of the capture of the Florida. Despatches, it is said, have been sent to the Prench representative at Washington, threatening that if the Florida be not released and full satisfaction given to the Brazilian Government, no Federal man-of-wax will be allowed entrance into a French port except under sheer stress of weather. There can be little doubt that whether this course has been taken by the Emperor or not, it is one in which all the nations of Europe ought to unite, if the laws of neutrality are to be maintained. The Patric asserts that England intends calling upon the Powers to protest collectively against the capture of the Florida and to support Brazil.  The curtain having filially dropped on the Briggs' tragedy by the execution and confession of the murderer, it is unnecessary to detail the steps taken by the friends of Muller to obtain a respite for him, if not a commutation of his sentence. It is enough to say that, even without his own final confession of guilt, there was nothing whatever advanced in the memorial to the Home Secretary by the German Protection Society which could have justified Sir George Grey in acceding to its prayer. His confession at the last moment proves that the almost unanimous conviction of his guilt in the public mind was in thorough accordance with rthe belief of his guilt entertained by the judges and jury who tried him. His confession and execution, taken together, at once vindicates the law and satisfies the public conscience. The documents left by Muller were laid before a special meeting of the Court of Common Council on Tuesday. They contained, contrary to general expectation, no confession, but simply a repetition at length of the statements which had been put forward in the prisoner's defence before and since his sentence. The statements added no new facts to those already before the public, and the papers were not read to the Court. The confession, therefore, reduces itself to the three or four words which were uttered by the unfortunate man on the scaffold.