English and Foreign.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 498, 12 August 1857, Page 5

English and Foreign.

SPAIN.

DISCOVERY OF THE EXTEAOEDINART PLOT.

The Carlist newspaper, La Regeneration, lately threw out obscure and repeated hints of important results and changes that might be anticipated from the arrival at Madrid of the Russian Envoy Extraordinary, Prince Galitzin. The signification of these inuendbs may be found in certain intrigues that have been actively carried on to bring about the abdication of the present Queen, and the accession of the Princess of the Asturias, who was to be married to a of Don Juan de Bordon, brother of Montemolin. Many persons of influence and very high position, not only in Spain but in other countries, and especially in. Italy and Russia, espoused; this project and worked' for its realisation. Its discovery is owing to a singular piece of imprudence on the part of certain Roman cardinals. These dignitaries, it appears, who warmly interested themselves in the conspiracy, thought it possible that Queen Christina, disgusted at the; treatment she had received at the hands of the Spanish Constitutionalists might be induced to join in it, and they broached the subject to her during her stay at Rome. She listened, gave no opinion, and said she would reflect and investigate. The negotiation remained for some time in this state, the Dowager Queen apparently undecided; when at last she asked to see the document's relating to the affair, in order that she might learn who the persons were who supported it,' arid come to a final decision. It is presumable that she allowed the Roman politicians to entertain hopes of her adhesion ; but, at any rate, they, with singular absence of caution and utter forgetfulriess of her well acquired reputation of wariness and cunning, placed the documents in her hands. When they came'to receive them back,'and to ask her resolution, she threw off the mask of indecision, and asked, doubtless with some scorn, how they could suppose for a moment that she, who had passed her life in combating Don Carlos, his heirs, and their pretensions, would consent to aid in undoing all that she had done. It gave her, she said, an extremely poor opinion of their acuteness and ability as politicians, that they should imagine' her capable of such self-contradiction and invite her to join iri such a plot. The conspirators, disappointed'and abashed, then asked for the documents they had'intrusted to her for perusal, but, she replied that they were no longer in her possession. The denouement took place three days before her departure from Rome. The documents had been sent to the Spanish Government.' Amongst them were six letters from Queen Isabella's husband, Don Francisco de Assis, in which that singular personage, whose Absolutist and (inconceivable as it may appear) even Carlist tendencies are n% secret, gives 'his entire adhesion to the pK>t, and expresses his belief that he shall be able to make the Queen abdicate. These most important papers, of course, received.the immediate attention of Marshal Narvaez and his colleagues. They were communicated to the Queen, and became the subject of grave deliberations. The King was before the Council of Ministers, and his letters were exhibited to him., He was told that he had rendered himself guilty of high treason, and that the Queen's advisers had but to apply to the Cortes, with the proofs in their possession, for him to be brought im--to trial. He was warned, therefore, that he had better be more circumspect in his conduct, abstain from intrigues, and behave himself well, or he might expose himself to very

unpleasant contingencies. In short, the matter will not be proceeded with, but the letters remain suspended in terror em over his head, warning him to desist from his Absolutist schemes, and, if he values his own safety and position, to give less trouble, than he for a long time past has done.

The French Government having been made acquainted with the circumstances of the plot— whether by Queen Christina or from another source I am unable to state,—Count Walewski and Marshal Serrano ■ had a long interview on the subject. It is presumable that, the Spanish and French Governments being thus informed and on their guard, Prince Galitzin will find little facility for prosecuting the schemes with the conduct of which he* is charged, or, at least, the progress and. realisation of which there can be no reasonable doubt that he is instructed to favour and facilitate.

The Times Madrid correspondent gives the following further particulars:—The participation of the King in a plan to make his own wife abdicate will, doubtless, seem the most inconceivable part of the business, but it is perfectly explicable. His mother, the Princess Carlotta, was the chief mover of Ferdinand VII. to annul the Salic Law. It was she who, when he repented of having done so, burnt the new will he made, and prevailed on him to resume his former intention. Seized with remorse before her death, she left a letter to her children, adjuring them in the most solemn and impressive terms, and as they regarded the repose of her soul, to seek the restoration of the Salic Law. This letter and other documents were delivered to the present King Consort in the year 1836, by the Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo, lately deceased. The impression it made on the feeble and bigoted mind of Don Francisco de Assis was strong and lasting, and to it may be traced his participation in the recent plot. The intention of the plotters was, Ist, to bring about the union of the two branches of the family; 2nd, to get the Queen to abdicate; and, 3rd, to marry the Princess of Asturias to a son of Don Juan, the brother of the Count de Montemolin. The means referred to in the King's letters, by the employment of which he . confidently expected to make the Queen abdicate, are certain letters relating to the birth of the Princess of the Asturia, which he is said, it is generally believed, to have in his possession, and to have employed more, than once as an instrument of intimidation to obtain his wife's consent to objects of his own. Although the particulars of the plot discovered, and of the circumstances to which its discovery gave rise in Madrid, have not yet transpired, rumour begins to busy herself with them, and it was reported here two or three days ago that the King was under arrest. This is not true ; that step was not taken, and it was thought advisable to intimidate not to punish the Royal conspirator. It is well known here that this is not the fii'st time he has mixed himself up in dangerous Carlist plots.

At the meeting of the Geographical Society, on the 27th April, Sir Roderick Murchison opened the proceedings by stating that a subscription was about to be opened to aid Lady Franklin in the search she has determined to make in the Arctic regions for the relics of her husband and his men. Lady Franklin, placing her whole fortune at stake, has already bought a steam-yacht, now lying at Aberdeen, admirably fitted for the purpose; and Captain M'Clintock, already well known as an Arctic explorer, has accepted the command of the expedition. Sir Roderick announced the opening of a subscription, to which nearly 800/. had already been contributed before the appeal was notified at the Geographical Society.

The Court of Queen's Bench has granted a rule calling upon the Reverend E. L. Barn well, Master of the Grammar School at Ruthven, in Denbighshire, to show cause why a criminal information should not be filed against him for the offence of " undue influence " committed by him at the recent election of a Member to serve in Parliament for the Denbighshire Boroughs. The offence of " undue influence " was created by the Corrupt Pratices Prevention Act, 1854, which enacted that " every person who shall directly or indirectly, by himself, or by any other person on his behalf, make use of or threaten to make use of, violence, or restraint or-inflict, or threaten the infliction, by himself or by or though any other person, of any injury, damage, harm, or loss, or in any other manner pratice intimidation upon or against any person, in order to induce such person to vote or refrain from voting, or on account of such person having voted or refrained from voting, &c, shall be guilty of a misdemeaner, and shall also be liable to forfeit the sum of 501. to any person who shall sue for the same, together with full costs of suit. " Mr. Barnwell had repeatedly threatened one Treherne, a baker at Ruthven, that; he would take away his custom, not only with himself but the church, unless Mr. Treherne voted for Mr. Mainwaring in the late election. Treherne voted for Mr. Morris, and Mr. Barnwell fulfilled his threat. This is the first suit under the act.

Newgate Prison is to be rebuilt, on an improved plan, so as to permit the adoption of the separate system. The work of demolition commenced on Tuesday. The reconstruction will be carried onjjjbit by bit, so that the jail will be used for prisoners during the progress of the work.

The prohibition of any serf quitting the Eussian soil has been removed: passports will be granted to serfs in all cases where they produce a written permission to travel from their owners. The £500 yearly expended by the Czar on the " Emperor's cup " for Ascot races, a gift stopped by the war, will in future form a prize for the Moscow races.

You must not sell your own property at Venice without official leave. Signor Pisani sold a noted Paul Veronese, "La Tenda Di Dario"—to the British Government; the Venetians were angry; and the Civil Lieutenant has fined Signor Pisani double the sum he received^ for the painting, because the sale had been without the consent of the Venetian Government!

M. Gandin of Paris has discovered a method of making sapphires. He lines a common crucible with lamp-black, and introduces into it equal portions of alum and sulphate of potash reduced to powder and calcined. He then exposes it for a quarter of an hour to the fire of a common forge. The crucible is then allowed to cool, and on breaking it the surface of the lamp-black coating is found covered with numerous points composed of sulphuret of potassium, enveloping the crystals of alumina obtained, or, in other words, real sapphires or corundum. The size of the crystals is large in proportion to the mass operated upon ; those obtained by M. Gandin are about amillemetre (3-100ths of an inch) in diameter, and half a millemetre in height. They are so hard that they have been found preferable to rubies for the purposes of watchmaking. The French Government intend to purchase the habitation and tomb of the First Napoleon at St. Helena. A bill is now before the Legislative Body to authorize the expenditure of 180,000 francs for this purpose. The British Government has aided France in arranging the purchase. At present Longwood is used as a farm-house; and it would seem that an American has got possession of Napoleon's empty grave to make a show of it—" American speculation," says the expose dcs motifs of the bill," disputes the possession of it with the patriotism of France." .

The Washington correspondent of the New YorJc Herald intimates an extravagant devel-opment-of American ideas on maritime law^— the abolition of blockades!—- "I learn from good authority that the • present Administration does noten tirely agree with the preceding one in their views respecting the proposed change in naval warfare. In addition to the abolition of the right to capture merchant-ships by public armed vessels as well as by privateers, as laid down in Secretary Marcy's letter upon privateering, it is supposed that our Government will insist upon the abolition of blockades ; for, if England has the right to blockade all our ports and capture our vessels that escape, there can be no free trade in time of. war. I learn also that letters have been written to our Ministers abroad to suspend further action on: this matter until they receive other instructions." . . .

The United States Government, it is said, have consented to pay 300,000 dollars to the Government of Denmark for the abolition of the Sound Dues.

. Messrs. Baring, Brothers, and Co., the only English Directors, issued the prospectus of the Russian Railway scheme on the 18th of April. Those who are anxious fqr shares must apply before the sth of May-instead of £3,000,000 or £4,000,000, England is \o be favoured with only £2,000,000 of the first issue of £12,000,000 of shares—probably the £2,000,000 will be quite enough to satisfy English desires. The amount for allotment in Paris has also been reduced. The statements of Messrs. Baring's prospectus do not materially modify the particulars already made public. The extent of the lines is 2585 miles, estimated at about fortythree million pounds sterling. The working expenses ai*e put down as low as 45 per cent. It is said that manoeuvres have been used on the Continent with a view to "rig" the English market and get up a premium on the shares.

The French Commission appointed to consider the subject of transportation have recommended the island of Pines, one of the group of the New Caledonia Islands, as the seat of the new penal settlement.