ENGLISH & FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 727, 18 October 1869, Page 3

ENGLISH & FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

/From the London correspondent of the Argus.)

THE OAELIST CONSPIRACY IN SPAIN.

Spain is suffering from the temporary character of its Government. The Ministry are exerting themselves to establish a vigorous central power, but the fact that they labor under a Regency leaves the way open both for Republican cabals and Monarchical conspiracies. % Carlist movement has broken out, which though partially crushed, yet threatens to give much trouble. Don Carlos, a young man, just come of age, representative of the Spanish Bourbons, has entered Navarre. It is said that 60,000 men were prepared to rise, and that the meshes of the conspiracy extended throughout Spain. Several places are reported to have pronounced for him, and bands have shown themselves at several points; but the troops have not allowed them to make headway. Many conspirators have been pursued into the mountains, others captured; and in many provinces suspected persons have been arrested. At Madrid, the Republicans protest strongly otraiust the revival of martial law. General Izquierdo, the captain-general of the city, has addressed a letter to the Government, on the indispensable necessity of at once choosing a king aud putting down anarchical abuses, and adding that otherwise he must resign. It is said that the authorities cannot wholly rt ly on the army, and that the discontent of the soldiers is increased by the rumors of the intended sale oi Cuba to the United States.

The clerical party is suspected of fomenting rebellion. Several priests are known to have joined the* Carlists in Leon. The Minister of Justice has accordingly ordered the bishops to urge upon the Clergy obedience to the laws, and to withdraw au tbority to preach and hear conies sions from those who are hostile to the Government. Not one single archbishop or bishop has lifted up a pro testing voice against this Carlisi movement.

SPANISH SUPERSTITION,

A curious illustration of the dense ig norance which yet overshadows a large portion of the population of Spain has been afforded at Lorca, a thriving commercial town, numbering 20,000 inhabitants. The people there are said firmly to "believe in the existence of certain wizards —mysterious beings with pale faces and long white beards, who, hid during the day, hunt at night for children whom they devour. The fat of these children they are said to keep sacredly for two purposes —first, as a sovereign cure for small-pox ; and secondly, to grease the wires of the electric telegraph, which, is in itself a Satanic invention, and would not work were it not for the lubricating oil obtained from the bodies of innocent lit tie children." A white-bearded Englishman, walking one evening in the fields, excited their suspicions, and craftily surrounding him, they beat him half-dead, and then dragged him before the local magistrates, who as it happened, knew him personally, but had great difficulty in saving him from .the infuriated mob.

It does not add to our ideas ol Spanish intelligence to learn that cer tain volunteers of Madrid have organised a band for the purpose of " horsewhipping journalists and tradespeople kuown to be opposed to the present state of things." One editor has been nearly beaten to death.

IHEEATENED ETTPTUKE BETWEEN TURKEY AND EGYPT. Another cloud has arisen in the East. The Viceroy of Egypt has gone suddenly home from Eaux bonnes, without completing his European tour, and without visiting Constantinople, as it was believed he Would, to invite the Sultan to the opening of the Sue? Canal. There We lor some time past been rumors °f jealousies and misunderstandings. The change in the succession to the Egyptian sovereignty, by which it dermis to the eldest son of the Viceroy instead of the eldest male °f Mehemet Ali, though sanctioned by jta Porte, made some enemies ; and it ' s said that a kinsman of the Viceroy, re sid;eiit at Constantinople, has taken of his opportunities to intr 'gue against him, and fan the Sultan'a into active hostility,

The Viceroy, whose character is no without serious stains, is yet an accomplished man, of enlarged views and muaa activity, He has devoted himself with praiseworthy forethought to developing the resources of his king dom ; has purchased from the Sultan the strip of land bordering on the Red Sea; and in order to acquire a thorough knowledge of the capabilities of the whole country, has kept a party of scientiiic Englishmen for two successive seasons engaged in exploration. Your readers will remember how recently also Sir S. Baker of Nilotic fame, was despatched on an expedition southward to bring the outlying tribes within the bonds of a more rigid rule. Illusory as are some of the objects, proposed movements of this kind evince a spirit of enterprise which disturbs " the sick man." Not long ago the Viceroy was promoted from Pasha to Khedive, yet as his influence has grown, Turkish jealousy has increased. From the time the two potentates met in London, this uneasy feeling has been kept alive. The visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Egypt was signalised by a brilliant reception, the lustre of which threatened to eclipse the subsequent festivities at Constantinople, and added prestige to the Viceroy's rule. Then came his journey to England again, and his lodgement in Bucking ham Palace, and a curious medley of newspaper letters and articles, and of questions in the Commons, all showing the universal desire to compensate for past deficiencies by a full measure of loyal hospitality. There were at the time, rumors that the Sultan had remonstrated against those honors being accorded which are supposed to be the exclusive privilege of sovereigns of the first rank, and there was an ugly story invented, as if to show our compliance, that the Viceroy had been allowed to enter the palace only by a side door ; but what is more true is, that the cordiality of his reception strengthened the distrust already ex istiug. It could not be tolerated that he should usurp in the west an equality of position, and perhaps acquire an ascendant influence. The especial cause of displeasure is said to have been his proposal to neutralise the Suez Canal; and the supposed fact that he assumed to invite sovereigns to be present at .the opening cere monial.

The Sultan, in consequence, ad dressed a despatch to the Viceroy de manding an explanation. It was last week affirmed that an aide decamp of the Grand Vizier had started for Egypt with a letter enunciating the grievances of the Porte, and threaten ing unless satisfaction was given, to withdraw the privileges granted in the tirman of 1841, Such a step must be followed by war; but it seemed iua possible that the Sultan should thus provoke the interference of the Western Powers. Meanwhile, we were told that " considerable armaments were going on in Egypt." The latest account states that the Porte had abandoned its intention of sending a special messenger, and that the ambassadors of England, ! France, and Russia were exerting themselves to compose the dispute. It appears to be now settled that the Empress Eugenie will visit Constantinople in September, and proceed in due course to be present at the opening of the Suez Canal.

THE NEW ATLANTIC CABLE.

The French Atlantic cable is now in full working order, and carried a message from the Emperor Napoleon to President Grant as its first burden to the new world. It was laid with perfect ease, the few accidents that occurred serving only to show the perfection of the machinery by which they were remedied. Three times faults were discovered, but they were almost instantly detected. Once, in the strain of a gale, the cable parted, but the end was caught before it went down into the depths, and buoyed, and the work resumed in calmer weather. This cable now lies 2500 fathoms down, and is five or six hundred miles longer than any before laid. The success which has attended the enterprise has led to a proposal in New York to put down another, and American, cable, which should be carried to Germany, as the country least likely to quarrel with the States. This would make the fourth,

THE CHINF.SE IN AHEEICA. There is a comparative dearth of news from America, Politics have subsided into a temporary quiescence. President Grant has extinguished the Cuban filibusters, has stopped the building of some war vessels designed for doubtful purposes in Peru, and may be trusted to interfere if the Fenians should carrry out their threat of making another raid on Canada. Perhaps the most suggestive fact is that, while the Californidns are beginning to agitate for the expulsion of the Chinese from their state, the Southern planters are moving to secure an importation Heir Ivoopuianschaap, a Californian contractor, a Dutchman, has undertaken to bring over 100,000 Chinese as a first instalment. The Northerners are opposed to the movement, as tend ing to reduce white wages, and say the Coolie Act forbids it.

Far more startling intelligence, if it be true, is that an aerial machine has been invented at San Francisco, which has already mady made a trial trip, and is shortly to proceed overland to New York.

HOME SCANDALS. We have an abduction case, which has attracted much interest. Esther Lyons, aged 19, the daughter of a Jewish pawnbroker at Cardiff, left her home, and went to the house of the Rev. Nathaniel Thomas, a Baptist minister in that town, where she asked for shelter from the violence of her parents. Mrs Thomas, who is keenly concerned for the conversion of the Jews, took her in, and with the help of friends sent her away, first to Lon don and then to Germany. Subsequently, the girl made a confession of the Christian faith, and was baptised. Her father could not obtain any information for a long time as to her whereabouts, but was met by evasive answers. When at length he was allowed an interview with his daughter, she refused to return home ; and, after some delay, he brought an action for loss of services. In the course of the evidence a letter.was put in from one of the friends, saying that Esther's mother " is near confinement, and not unlikely to die —I say of mortified rage —they say of grief. Pray to the Lord to defeat their efforts." The mother fainted when her daughter came into court. The girl herself, however, swore that she went away and was baptised of her own free will, and that her mother was cruel to her. The judge summed up strongly in favor of Esther's right to do as she liked, and of the legality of the Thomas V action, but the jury gave a verdict for .£SO. Public opinion is divided as to the measure of blame attaching to the minister and his wife, and meanwhile an appeal has been entered. The trial of Lord Carrington for his assault on Mr Grenville Murray terminated in his being required to enter into a recognisance of ,£IOO to keep the peace for the next twelve months Mr Murray's case, based on his denial of his connection with the Queen's Messenger, has not yet been fully heard; for on the adjournment of the case Mr Murray went over to Paris, awowedly to secure evidence from his son, and did not appear on the day fixed for further examination. He sent over medical certificates in proof of illness, but the recognisances were estreated—his surety's of .£SOO and his own of £IOOO. There, for the present, the mattter rests. Meanwhile Mr Murray has been contemptously expelled by 190 to 10 from the Conservative Club.

Apropos of clubs, let me say that the .Reform Club has hastened to repair the error and alter the rule which gave umbrage to Messrs Bright and Foster, and that those gentlemen have withdrawn their resignation. The Athenaeum Club, with Lord Stanhope in the chair, has also done itself the honor of electing Mr Bright unanimously and unasked, to its membership. A builder's clerk at Preston has lately absconded with «£BO of his employer's money, and inducing to elope with him the daughter of a retired lady of independent means. The fugitives are said to be bound for the Australian shores.

THE PRINCE AND PKINC'ESS OF WALES.

Your readers will regret to hear that the Princess of Wales is still seriously indisposed. It has been a

| trying season for her strength. The Prince and Princess have been much 'among the people, taking upon then) the duties of royalty. Thus they have assisted at the laying of the foundation stones of several asylums or benevolent institutions, at the dramatic f&e at the Crystal Palace, at the opening of the new dock at Hull, and at the meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society at Manchester. The Prince also unveiled the other day the statue of Mr Peabody, which ha 3 been erected near the Ptoyal Exchange. They are now gone for seclusion and rest to Wildbach, in Germany, but even there are not safe from the intrusion of vulgar tourists. Prince Arthur, after completing his term at Woolwich, is now about to take duty in Canada.

APPEAL TO THE PRIVY COUNCIL. A prisoner having been convicted of murder in one of the criminal courts in New South Wales, his counsel obtained from the colonial judges an order for a new trial, on the ground that newspapers were in the room occupied by the jury when they agreed upon their verdict. From this order an appeal was made to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which has decided that a new trial, cannot be granted. At the same time the prisoner's case has been recommended to the favorable consideration of the colonial judges.

THE " EXTRAS" OF BOYALTY.

When the miscellaneous estimates wergt under consideration last Friday week, some shabby items incurred by members of the Royal Family were challenged by Mr Fawcett. Among these were £3,374 14s, the cost of presents and gratuities made by the Duke of Edinburgh in Australia ; £l3 for lunching Prince William of Hesse; and £63 for carrying Prince Christian and the Duchess of Mecklenburgh Strelitz between Dover and Calais. In respect to the former item it was ex plained by Mr Ayrcon that the cause of the outlay had been misdescribed, and that the money was really what has been incurred by the Duke's expedition, which had been undertaken on public grounds at the instigation of the Government. Still, we cannot be surprised that the people of Australia should feel mortified to know that the Duke's acknowledgements have to come out of the pockets of the British taxpayers. The Daily News is rather sarcastic on the fastidiousness of the colonists, and wonders what has happened to quench their recent exuberant and effusive loyalty. Their " airs' are likened to those of piqued lovers; and the following curt advice is volunteered : —"The colonists know that they have received the presents from the hands of the Prince, and should have looked no further. They had better not boast so much of their loyalty if they are so fastidious. Here, at home, we are delighted to get a chance of picking up cherry stones and crumbs of bread which our Princes have only touched for a moment and thrown away, awl preserve them among our treasures. If we hear much more about the matter we shall begin to suspect that these Australians are little better than Republican imposters." The Pall Mali Gazette also calls attention to the subject.

TIIE ALABAMA CLAIMS AGAIN,

The Californiun Republican Convention has passed a resolution declaring it to be the duty of the Government to demand full reparation for the injury inflicted by the British Government and people on the American commerce during the rebellion. It is also in favor of Chinese immigration, but against Chinese suffrage.

THE KILDONAN GOLD-FIELDS. At the Kildonau gold-fields, Scotland, a good many of the old claims have got run out, and those working on them are doing little or no good. They are consequently getting disheartened, and, as there is no prospect of new ground being marked off for them, they will be forced to give up the diggings. In the month of July ninety-live licences were applied for.

Protection to Agriculture:. —The electors of the district of Selwyn—the chief agricultural district in Canterbury —are getting up a requisition to their member, Mr Stevens, to resign his seat for having voted against the proposed duly on imported cereal?.