English and Foreign.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 566, 7 April 1858, Page 3

English and Foreign.

ARRIVAL OF THE MAIL.

ENGLISH NEWS TO JANUARY 16th. By the arrival of the mail schooner Caut^rlmry 'horn Wellington we are iv j;u-;.j'ioioa of the English Mail of January, w.iich iii-riveti in Melbourne on the 12th nit., and in Wellington on the'• 3.oth. We give below extracts from the London Spectti'oS-s .'weekly', summaries, for the [ituto.l, containing;, the. principal items of JS.igiish and Continental; news as the}' occurred. NKVV.^ OP THK MONTH. (Fur the TFeek ended December 28 .) •The usual collapse of the season in politbal manifestations has taken place. Parliament, alter the slmvt sitting, has disapjjpaivd. like a d e;.m; j v lie meeting's are scan-y and exceptional; and society, like Lord Derbj', has retired' from public business into the active business of private lire in preparation- for Christinas. Tue season, however, is peculiar in many respects. The ''merry Christmas," which comes round for. such numbers, will be dull enough, for whole districts and whole classes. -The list of bankruptcies, which continue to receive daily additions, will .cast a cloud over many a private circle; and the state of employment in the manufacturing districts, and in districts devoted to trade, will extend the gloom to bundie Js of thousands of humble abodes. The tioubleis not limited to this country, as the continued agitation at Hamburg reminds us; and that further troubles are brewing, is rendered top probable by the ominous revival of activity amongst the Credit Mobiiier class of financiers in Paris. Nevertheless, the season is not entirely without its- consolations. From rno^t quarters some intimations of dawning improvement are received. The published figures'of the banks at New York show tua-t they are recovering-. Even at Hamburg the excessive agitation seems to be subsiding, and several houses have protested against being included in the list of failures; a fact which suggests, though it may not prove, that the list has been exaggerated. Last week we noticed signs of some slight revival of trade in. this country; and we observe that houses in London city which had suspended payment are beginning to resume. The blessr ing of an abundant harvest can never be felt so substantially as at this season; and whatever may be the distress to great multitudes, we continue to enjoy the other blessing of general tranqutlity. The country is suffering' for its wide-spread sins, but upon the whole we recognise a cheering display of compensating virtues. One'circumstance that distinguishes the Indian war from all that have prncedcd.it, except the Crimean, is the fullness of the inibi■ rotation 'waieii enables the public to taks p:>rt hi the watch over the course of c veals .and the administration of the milicary authorities. The public seems to know almost as much as the chief officials, audits judgment can grow up from'day to day. The interest taken by the public will prevent' the 'coining debates on India from being" a merely formal ceremony. On onfi paint the. country, seems, to have :-;:i.:l.j up it:; .mind, and the adj mined meeti~v? ;)\ f,ho. G^pel Pro;>:i<r:'i-fion- Society at Willib'o Rooms, is an evidence of the conviction,—t'hat'altltough we may not undertake any aggressive proselytism in India, Christianity must be more actively promoted, and must be made to exercise a more direct influence over our administra-: tion. The tone of speech' delivered by the. King of Sardinia in opening h:s Parliament implies that he is determined not to relinquish the mission which he has undertaken as constitutional King of Piedmont find its allied states, and as leader, of the liberalization of Italy., The public, feeling manifested for the King, the popular response to the filial devotion which makes him continually remind the country that its liberties have Charles Albert for their author,.tells us that, notwithstanding the great efforts to obtain same - reactionary advantages in the late election?, the-public of the ''Sardinian"states- is with the King and his. Government. There is a similar recovery, even more decisively marked, in Belgium; where the elections have resulted, not in favour of the Ultramontane party,.'but in giving' an addition of 20 to the Liberal majority, and a strong feeling of confidence to the Government. , The message of P; resident Buchanan to the Congress of the United States is expected with considerable interest. Meanwhile, we learn that the Kansas question

has assumed a very critical and embarrassing aspect. This time the Southern party in the State has got the start, and has carried a constitution in a Convention representing, it is said, only a minority of the population. It is understood that Governor Walker condemns this Convention, and that Mr. Buchanan is disposed to compromise with the South. It remains, however, to be ascertained whether it is true that Mr; Buchanan has contemplated this course.

The issue of a modest printed sheet in the form of a memorial to Lord Palmerston, accompanied by a very short explanatory pamphlet, is in itself apolitical event. The memorial comprises the proposal of not only an educational franchise but of an educational constituency, separate from other constituencies, though spread over the whole of England. Certain members :>f incorporated or registered professions— clerical, legal, medical, artistical, and learned; —to form a new constituency, and to ha divided by topographical not professional bounds; all t;ie professional freemen to vote for a member in each of the districts. It is proposed thus to add 70 new Members to the House of Commons; and not the least remarkable part of the proposal is, that it suggests, prospectively, the revival of scot and lot voting in order to a proper representation of the mechanic and artisan. It would at once strike the reader that the plan offers the idea, not entirely alien to our constitution, of class representation. To the memorial.is appended a truly surprising collection of signatures, given by very eminent men in almost ail professions, with every variety of political party and of sect—from Tory Peers to Dissenting ministers ; among the number appearing the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chief Justice, and the last two Speakers of the House of Commons.

It has been officially announced to those whom it most immediately concerns, that a bill will be introduced by Government, during the present session, to bring- the administration of India under the direct government of the Queen. Although such a measure was to a great extent expected, it has undoubtedly come like a t innder-clap upon the vested interests; and we musr. expect an obstinate struggle from various quarters to pi-event tlie '"passing-, of the bill, to mutilate it, neutralize it, or defer it. Already we have evidences in the press that the East In !ia Company and its advocates will present the standingcase against any measure for transferring the duties of an Executive from the East India Directors in Leadenhall Street to any official department, whether in Cannon Row or in some other West-end' office, undei a "Secretary of State for India." Signs -of this contention have been apparent within the last few weeks, even beibre the present notice, in the press, in the movements of " Indian Reformers," and in the manifestations of society.' Should Lord Pidmerston, however, make good his ground on English questions,—above all, should he reasonably satisfy intelligent expectation wit j regard to his Reform Bill, —lie will be strong enough to make the; Rouse of Commons register his Indian; edicts. The general opinion of the country, a? we may learn by " the usual channels; of information," has long been in favour: of abolishing the " double government":; and it is understood that further inquiry i into recent obstructions will assist in prov-, ing that the indirect government is not; conducive to vigorous, prompt, or effectual! administration. Supported by public; opinion, and by the strength of Ministers! in the House of. Commons, a'reasonable! measure for transferring* the authority! .must pass; and practical men will be disposed, from this week forward, to turn; their attention to the question. What' would be the best arrangements attainable, under probable cirrumstancft*, for tlie better mnnag'emerit of Indian affairs, in England; and in India '{-

The first message of President Buchanan to Congress is unusually interesting-, both on account of the many and important subjects to which the President refers, and the manner in which he handles some topics interesting' to ourselves. To dismiss that, part which technically relates to England, we need 'only mention the inflexible manner in which he adheres to the American construction of the ClaytonBalwer treaty, while proposingl to cancel all past obligations on the subject, and to recommence anew in a friendly spirit. The three grand difficulties, however, which press upon the Federal 'Government of tlie United States nn», the struggles of Kan as, the Mormon rebellion, nnd the commercial crisis, —each treated by Mr. Buchanan

less on theoretical than on practical grounds. In Kansas it appears hitherto to have been absolutely impossible to collect the suffrages of the whole State; the two parties absolutely refusing to recognize each other, and each treating itself as the State. One Convention, somewhat less illegal than those which have preceded it, adopted a draft constitution respecting the offers of the Union, and has made provision in it for referring the question of slavery, and its admission or prohibition, to the direct vote of the whole State. This provision complies sufficiently with a leading- enactment of the Nebraska-Kansas Act; that statute having been comparatively vague with regard to the submission of the wWe constitution to the direct vote. Mr. Buchanan is inclined to make the best of the Lecompton draft, and he accepts' it. Against this resolve he ha?, ar nued at once the Anti-Slavery feelingof the North and the sticklers for exact conformity to the Republican precedents. It remains to be seen how far he wil be a'»lf? to carry his view With regard to the Mormons, he takes the direct course of-asking-'Congress to raise four new regiments, military force being the only means of putting down those who have rebelled against the Federal authority. But, again, it remains to be seen whether four regiments will suffice to conquer the difficulties of the desert- —difficulties which Mr. Buchanan proposes to diminish in future by a military road from the East to California. With regard to the commercial crisis, the President holds that all issues of paper-money should reside in the supreme power of the State. But the Federal Government—which he does not propose to alter—is by its constitution debarred from exercising an effectual control over the fourteen hundred banks of the States, which deluge the Republic with paper, tempt the citizens to exorbitant indulgence of credit, foster over-speculation, and lead to periodical crises. Still he thinks the Federal Government and Congress might impose an effectual check, by enacting an " organic law," that every bank refusing specie payments for its notes should by such refusal sentence itself to "civil death." Mr. Buchanan is a lawyer, and thinks that this law could be passed : but will Congress pass it ? Let him ask the State banks.

Quiet as 'Christinas-usually is, this week witnesses the arrival of unusually stirring" intelligence from the seat of rebellious conflict, and some public activity. First comes the consummation of a measure some time since prepared, in the conversion of the -Military College at Sandhurst to be the Staff College; a school to educate officers of the army already holding" commissions, in the higher branches of military science and service. It is rather curious that this reform is carried out at the very time when the report reaches our hands from a minority of the Army Purchase Commission, elaborately expressing agreement in the report of the majority, with the exception of one point—the dissidents cannot abide the selection of Lieutenants-Colonels by merit. On the whole* the progress here is greater than the obstruction. The Wardmotes of London City have in some cases been animated by a prophofie regard to the future. Sir George Grey's threatened bill to reform the inimical constitution has stirred the souls of the citizens—some of them to welcome, some to denounce the impending reform.

The tranquillity of Buckinghamshire has been evaded by a contested election — an outrage on the disposition in such cases made and provided. Hitherto party understandings have allotted two seats to tiie Tories one to the Liberals. The Liberal Member, Mr. Cavendish, is made a P. jer, as Barnn Latimer. The whole arrangements to replace him by his sou— a counterpart in politics—were proceeding placidly, till the Tories suddenly struck out the inconsiderate and impolitic idea of getting the third seat for themselves. For tins act. of greediness they are threatened with retribution in kind; since the Liberals believe that they could get two seats at least, —even if Baron Lionel de Rothschild should refuse them the third by permitting them to oust a " near neighbour of Hampden." (For the Week ending January 2.) The New Year begins with announcements preparatory to the marriage which is by a fresh link to join the Government of this Country with Lutheran Germany. One consequence of the schismatical differences in tlia Christian faith, coupled with the assumed necessity of making our royal matches upon a certain lev*!, is th;it the highest family in this country is sup-

Posel to be necessarih' more eujoeiv uait<<.. with alien tha:i with English intei-e>f The knowledge vouchsafed to the country this week is interesting-: the marriage ceremony is to take place in the Cii«i[>ei Royal j certain royal persons will umviand take up their abode at Buckingham Pahice, or at other places provided for them ; three theatrical t-iitc-rtiumueu!. will take place at her Miiie-ty'- '' • *f-«iti---, and when Prince Frederick William oi Prussia shall have been three clays the husband of Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, he will be invested with the Order oi the Garter. Yet the whole programme has not given satisfaction ! l<'ew of otu Sovereigns have been so popular as Queei; Victoria; but if the pub ■ .:.• . ,-, belonging to the country, the Pfiid i-o .ntr loes not like to be excluded the grandei exhibitions of her royal .-tate. It is quite rrue that the 27,000,000 souls of the (Jnited Kingdom cannot ' assist" at tiufirst marriage in Queen Victoria's family; but the public could to a certain extent assii-t by proxy; and if the ceremony itself could not be viewed by a vast concourse, the approaches to it might be public.

Why does not the marriage take place in Westminster Abbey ? —that is the great question of the week. Precedent has perhaps decided in favour of the (Jiiapei Royal: precedent also has kept the programme of the ceremony concealed until it is perhaps too late to alter the arrangements. If a coronation can be performed in Westminster Abbey, why not a marriage?

There is one practical test which would draw the line between public and private character in such events. At present, the whole arrangements of the marriage look too much like a .family affair,—not a favourable aspect for it to bear in the public sight. And if it is so, we ought to find that all the cost of it, even the alterations of the Chapel Royal, have been defrayed out of the private purse of the Crown. If a " little bill "is presented to Parliament for the expenses, then it is not a private but a public affair, and the public ought to be admitted to a participation.

Some official movements raise a surmise that matters are not quite so settled as we might suppose in the Government. A little while ago it was understood that there was to be no change; but it lias since been officially known that the East India Company is to be superseded, and that, a new department of state is to be created on the ruins of the Companj' and the Board of Control, the names"of various statesmen being already mentioned as likely to take the newly-created Secretaryship. Lord Harrow by suddenly retires from the Cabinet, and the post of Lord Privy Seal, in order to admit Lord Clanricarde; who, even within a few weeks, has been considered almost an Opposition Peer. The explanation is that Lord Harrow by's indifferent health causes him to retire; but the public remembers that while he failed to vote for Lord Palmerston's Jew Bill, the present Ministers will be all the better for a .little more strength to encounter formidable opponents in debates on Indian affairs. It is always supposed that Macanlay was made a Peer not solely in acknowledgment of his eminent literary services, but also in the hope to secure from him an occasional assistance in grand debates, particularly on Indian matters. Baron Macaulay will, of course, take the very highest ground, and he may rise to more exa'ted discourse than Lord Ellenboi-ougli can command. The practical details of the immediate measures in prospect, however, will need a man in more vigorous health and one more recently accustomed to business; and Lord Clanricarde is such a man. His accession to the Ministry is a double gain, since it probably transfers him from th« ranks of the Opposition to add him to the ranks of the Ministerial side.

The retirement of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe from his post at Constantinople is a greater mystery, and it has not yet been explained." The'Times'treats it as the close of Lord Stratford's active political life; but " there is life in the old do^- yet," and he is still too enpr^etie a m m to be spared—or at le;ist to spare himself. His return to the West is rather re:narkable in sequel to the recent state of affairs at Constantinople, lie and SI. Thouvenel, the French Minister, were known to be violently at. issue. It has buen reported that the French Government succumbed to ours in the matter of the Principalities; and H. Thouvenel, it has Wen .^aid, was made to " knuckle down" before Lord Stratford de Redcliffe.

The French diplomatist, like Ac: i les, ntired to his own abode and sulked; and, curiously enough, he only emerges from this seclusion when his triumphant opponent, Lord Straff u-d, is for some reason or other re-called home. It would look as if France made the concession in show, while England made it in reality ; but at present the mystery is simply inscrutable. The contested election for Buckinghamshire has led to an interesting- discovery. It passed off almost as a matter of course, and there was no necessity for that preliminary which, as we see by the Mayo election, appears to b? still necessary "in Ireland—tne introduction of military to keep the ppace while the " free and i'ndeppnd -nt" exercise their privilege. The Tones have been supposed to possess the county of Buckinghamshire, though the Liberals were magnanimously allowed to return one out of the three Member?. A soi-disant representative of the tenantfarmers, Captain Hamilton, attempted to get for them the third seat; but the Liberals have found that they could return the son of the late Member, Mr. Cavendish, in spite of the, Tories. Mr. Disraeli's own county, therefore, is not so completely in the hands of the Opposition as it was supposed to be; and the same change is found to have taken placp quietly in other counties supposed to be Tory preserves. Tins gi-HOuul but steady increase. of Liberal feeling is an index of growinaopinion in the country, which sLould be kept, in mind by tlio p who are res'iinn-ilKe for the construction of the promised h'eform Bi 1. It shows that it will not do to underrate either the opportunity or the Liberal feeling* even among' those classes that are not generally considered turbulent or dangerous. • ■ By all the established tests of the commercial barometer, we ought-to be able to report an improvement; and there is no doubt that improvement is going- on, although the reaction cannot possibly be so rapid as the sanguine anticipate. The lowering of the rate of discount at our own bank, last -week, from 10 to 8 per cent, has been followed by the Bank of Fr&nce, which still keeps considerably below ours, now- descending- from 6 to 5. It has been remarked that the re-payment of the two millions of over-issue towards the end of last week may be considered formally to have closed the crisis; but in many respects the termination is only formal. If i'ew large houses are now failing, many smaller establishments are still added to the list of bankruptcies. And the. cases which occur continue to point a remarkable distinction between commercial houses which declare their position and place themselves in the hands of their creditors the moment they find that there is any deficiency in their capital —any want of balance between their means and their liabilities, and those houses which have been for years trading upon consolidated insolvency.

M. Regis has been hastening up to Paris to satisfy the doubts of the Emperor Napoleon on the subject of the African free emigration scheme. The British Government, it appears, has remonstrated; perhaps intimating- to the Emperor that supplies of labour can be obtained from other sources—from China or India. And the Emperor has been so far impressed that the friends of the new Marseilles slave-trade are driven to great exertions ia defence of their traffic.

If occupation cannot be found for French capital and hands in that direction the improvements of Paris are to continue, notwithstanding- the progress made already, and the difficulty of.finding the money. Another. Continental capital is to be improved. Among the pacific signs of the times is the demolition of the internal fortifications of Vienna, in order to the better building of the city. The incident, however, is not so great a testimony to pacific policy as it is supposed to be. The capital of the great Austrian empire has long groaned under the nuisance of fortifications which cramped the dwelling" accommodations, and the Government has on'iv ceded to the importunity of years. Christmas festivities have been celebrated with more than ordinary vigour iv the metropolis. Not only were the usual places of public- resort, the theatres, galleries, and institutions, opened on Monday, with attractions befitting1 the season, and throned with visitors, but tJierd have been two novelties —performances by Mr. Lumlev's operatic corps at the Hiiymnrkr-t Housts with Giuglini nnd Piccolim :i 'or stars; an.l Ciiristmas revels at t; c Crystal p.-ilace. The latter was the novelty par excellence, and "drew " accordingly. The piilace,. traditionally supposed to be devo-

ted to art, was was on Monday the scene h>F mirth. There was a mon--•ster Christmas tree ; the ancient drama of Poach and Judy;; and a magician. There were dunces after the old English type of the?gi«eat Sir Roger's day, apparently improvised for the occasion. There was also a .bunch of mistletoe, with some rough scrambles beneath it for the forfeits which its overlian^i ig leaves and berries .entail on the fair sex. With the exception of these: not very decorous scenes, all is .reported to have gone off well. The holiday-makers at the palace, rinc'luding* numbers of children, mustered 14,000.

(For the Week Ending Jan. 9fk.)

'At a time when public life is as much suspended as it can be in favour of domestic life, we must expect to find that, however the news of the week may recount events abroad and visitations at home, it will not report maay business proceedings. Accordingly, the political manifestations of the day relate to the future. We have the murmur of debates that will happen next session—we hear the sough of the , wind before it comes. Thus, the announcement of the India Government Bill has called forth many signs of an active and extensive opposition; but we have had as yet no public -meeting of the parties that intend to man that opposition. On another section of the Indian question we have had public meetings; but they have arisen more naturally out of a certain routine in missionary business. The question discussed is the policy to be pursued hereafter in India with reference to our own religion and the indigenous creeds. Lord "Shaftesbury was the chief spokesman ; and while he disclaimed anything like compulsory proselytisin, he advocated a change of policy which may be t ms expressed,—in lieu of a passive position discouraging* conversion to Christianity, the Christian Government of India ought to extend its shield over its own countrymen throughout the empire; afford protection and favour to the Indians who enbrace our faith ; absolutely ignore the Native creeds; arid put down those crimes against the law of humanity which origi-n-ite in the barbarous rites of India. But even here we have only the gathering of zealous men anxious to preoccupy the ground of earnest discussions during the session of Parliament. The new Church-extension movement .continues; and, notwithstanding a mistake here and there, it flourishes. In one sense it is on!} r too prosperous; it is the fashion — t is "a success;" and the opening of Westminster Abbey, last Sunday evening,; .was crowded as if the performance had been that, of a new opera. Hence, some confusion at the doors, partly arising perhaps from defective arrangements which will be remedied next time. In various districts of the Metropolis there have been t le same special services, professedly for' tle working classes—actually for the classes, whether working or not, that do not iHinflly attend divine service. And although it. is probable that many regular church-g-oeis testify their zeal by assisting at these service;, it seems also to be the fact that many coins who would not otherwise be brought. To a certain extent the movement may be said to have exten led to Paris, where the old cry of cliurch.•aeeommodation receives utiusual attention, mnjl has conjured up an earnest and popu■3ar clergyman to go put as a preacher even libefore the church can be prepared. The most conspicuous fact throughout the whole movement still is, that High Church, Low Church, and No Church, are acting cordially together; a kind of cooperation which in this free country is to a great extent a check upon bigotry in any of its extremes. From the "City," and from the money centres elsewhere, they announce a decidedly favourable reaction. In Hambiirjr, tis in Lind >n, the rate of di-eount is coming ,-lv.vn steadily and rap'dly ; we knoiv . that c:-m<idftrabi« suns are floating absut;' "and although the monetary sky is still oheTpiPred, the most general remark is that "the filing in the City is altogether altere.l for the better. St:ll we see new mercantile failures ; still we see a Judge of the : ;Insolvent' Court complaining; of the gi*ira.n£ic- nbtue of aecorn notation bills. "These antt;re!ies;of the commercial 'crisis'no-not check a fe«ling which looks -.very much like', the return of a a impulse to Ur go it again." tit Hs se.ircely conceivable in ordinary c.vses 't'hut the protest agiiin-t a particular , ele^tio i in ;'& foreiirn country can nearly 'concern. in ? yet, ' Englishmen \vho have once turned.- their attention to the contest in the 'district/of Strambino m Piedmont will fuel the deepest "interest in the inquiry

that it has occasioned. The question lies at the very root of religious freedom. As in Belgium, the clergy of the Sardinian states have employed every possible exertion to influence the election of Deputies to the Sardinian Parliament; and they have had better success than in Belgium, partly, na doubt, because they believed that they would have mote impunity for whatever they pleased to do, and partly because they retain a more recent sense of undisputed power. In Strambino, the candidates were a nobleman, who is a most active patron of the Ultramontane, party, and an extremely moderate Liberal. -In j order to procure the return of their favourite, the political priests arrogated to themselves the right to buy up the elecI tors where they could be bought, to malign the Liberal condidate, and to cast at opponents threats of virtual excommunication and of eternal perdition. The question raised by the protest of the Mayor and ' electors is, whether the .priests within the Sardinian states have the right thus to employ their spiritual thunders, and means not entirely spiritual. If they have the right, fere we! I to any ch.mce of freedom until the Papacy itself shall be overthrown; if they have not, freedom may develop itself even in Roman Catholic countries, and may thus gradually open a way for improvement of every kind without a social or religious revolt. The Sardinian Parliament has resolved, by a large majority, to inquire: and, should it be necessary, the Minister will propose enactments to render the laws against such spiritual electioneering more effectual. The influences by which the Sardinian Government is surrounded are such that the contest is not one of mere_ form, —it is arduous and anxious: and the interest in the result must be much more than local.

The literary genus is given to play strange pranks in politics. The ' Assemblee Rationale' was reputed to enjoy the presiding spirit of M. Guizot; it contrived, with courage and adroitness, to keep up the traditions of the Orleanists, and latterly of the Legitimist interests ; and it was half-suppressed by the Imperial Government in being compelled to abandon its name. It elected, we regret to say, to be our own namesake; but although calling itself the ' Spectateur,' as if it stood aloof from party, it is still animated by the old spirit, still acts" as a malcontent Huguenot upholder of the powers that were. In pursuit of means to damage the Emperor Napoleon, lately, it drew out from some current archives a statement that England is united to Austria in a secret treaty, which Prussia is likely to join, in order to divide the Gontinent in ualf, to keep Prance from encroaching, and to isolate the Bonaparte, If this statement had been true, it would have explained some apparent anomalies in the present situation." It appears to be nothing more than a repetition of Mr. D'waeli's old story about that " treaty of December 2," which never cam? into effect. It has been authoritatively contradicted both in Paris and London ; and we may guess at the mode in which the discovery was made. The situation is anomalous, —the inquiry how the anomaly can be accounted for would suggest the secret treaty, —and Eureka i the thing is found.

Without any change of importance, the position of the American Government indicates increasing trouble. In resigning his post as Governor of Kansas, Mr. Walker has been at, the pains to publish a correspondence which shows that Mr. Buchanan had instructed him to discountenance conventions that did not submit the whole constitutions of the people Mr. Buchanan has since, on grounds of expediency, assumed the draft constitution proposed by a convention that ha^ not so submitted it. Literally speaking, there is no incompatibility between these instructions at one r.im" ami a conclusion upon a different opinion sit another; but Mr. Walker carries away the palm of "consistency,'' and will be supported by a great number of people who always assume change of opinion to be dishonest. It is probable, to-), that Senator Douglas may occasion 'trouble to the President in occupancy. After h-iving coquetted with the Slaveinterest, the, ambitious Senator has dashed off up;m Free-Soil ground, and be appears to be collecting suffrages with a view to the next election. It remains to be seen hmv far Mr. Buchanan's bu-sinass powers and clo-e application to practical objects will enable him to countervail the ceaseless and increasing conflicts of party.

(For the Week endhiff 'January 16 )

The ''questions" which are kept alive by the journals continue from time to

time to hold out some show of "movement" among1 the people, but, these sig-ns of action are scattered and possess little importance. Thus, a Reform meeting among a few neighbouring" towns in Cornwall, and another "in the metropolis, at which Mr. Herbert Ingram and Mr. Ernest Jones, representing the middle class and the working class, effected a rapprochement— at a grand meeting a. la Bruce and Wallace, —are proceedings which really prove the generally apathetic condition of the country at present. If there were any genuine movement, we should not see the newspapers making much of a union between those, or of a pronunciamento by \ a few Cornish "villages. The special services in the churches have more life and meaning in them; though the gentlemen in black who are leading the movement do not appear to.have a very definite idea of the corporate.result. There is a more distinct motive for the meeting of the East Indian Company; though here again, notwithstanding the immense interests at stake, the corporation cannot restrain its members from exposing the fact that its own body is weak- | ened %y diversity and even contrariety of purpose. • Another meeting is to be called by the ■ Chairman, in order to receive a report upon the communications which have passed with Government, and upon the position of the Company, and then to collect the opinion of the Proprietary in regard to the course which should be pursued by the directors. We cannot anticipate that the Proprietary will bring the light of any useful counsel to that discussion, unless better reasons for the continuance of the Company can be shown than those which Colonel Svkes ventilated—

the democratic nature of the government, the material progress of India, and the perfect innocence of the Company with regard to the mutiny. The directors do not seem likely to make a very strongcase with the public; and in the meeting of this week they have betrayed their incapacity to prevent their defence from being' burlesqued by certain gentlemen who have constituted themselves the accusers of Lord ■■ Palmerston in the antique and exploded fashion of David Urquhart. , The preparations for the Royal marriag-e proceed rapidly, both in London and Berlin. A rather remarkable contrast is consistently maintained through the whole course. The marriage ceremony in London will be a .comparatively private affair; the felicitations will be a dry drawing-room form; the happy .event.will be enclosed within the Palace —except such portions of rejoicings as the public may set up for itself, separately, on the voluntary or self-sup-porting principle. For even the dramatic representations " commanded" by the Court are to be self-supporting, with tremendous rates of charge for those wealthy or extravagant persons who choose to assist at them. At Berlin, the town is as far as possible to participate in the reception of the Princess Royal: after taking leave of the Court in London, she is to be received with open arms by the •people.of Prussia. The distinction may in some degree account for the different tone of the comments. In Prussia they are hailing the alliance with England as a grand gain to the prospects of liberty : in this country the pubiic seems rather disposed to consider that exactly as much as Prussia gains we may lose; honce a tone of apology, coupled with the semiofficial assurance that the affections of the Princess Royal are not to be sacrificed in a merely political match. Another attempt to murder the Emperor of the French has been made. Seeking to profit by the experience of past failures, the assassins tried in tins case to carry out a design which had before been contemplated though not reduced to practice —to use neither the dagger nor the pistol, but an explosive of the grenade order. Thny flm.s hoped-to effect by scattering missiles broadcast what had hitherto been denied to the single aim. The cruel desperation of their contrivance is shown in the results, — the shuttering of the carnage in which; Napoleon sat with the Empress, the wounding of several people in or on it, and i the l.'U'gft loss of killed and wounded among r,he escort or the crowd. It was indeed a iiftiro'.v ftseap.'Vfor a ]>nvt of the shell went ibrw/h the Emperor's hat. On no past ore isioii has the rebound of public opinion in his favour haan so marked, so natural, or so unmishiktiablv spontaneous. The cheers of t!iH jr.'upld could not have been arranged b"fo!',"!r.i:i(i. Nor did assassination ever b'-fui-o s!mw itself in a more revolting !tsp;!cr; for to .strike at the one man, with Nfip.ileou was to have been destroyed Eugenic, and indiscriminate slaughter was thrown into the midst of a concourse of

i women as well as men. In the desperate effort to bring1 down Louis Napoleon, his assailants have made themselves the object of general execration. Queen Isabella has opened- her Cortes with a Royal speech, expanding1 almost to an American President's " message," and constituting-, in fact, a prospectus of the new Armero-Mon Ministry. The baby is vaunted as " a new g-uarantee for the stability of the throne," and he is said "to dispel even the shadow of vain illusions." A compromise with the Pope on the subject of church property is proclaimed; j likewise the mediation of the Emperor of the French and the Queen of England, " moved by noble sentiments," between Spain and Mexico. Spain is passing* through the monetary crisis of Europe without perturbation; while public works, rail\va3-s, and measures destined to endow territorial property with institutions of credit, and to regulate the movement of "commercial bills," adorn the vista. "The law on the liberty of the press," an "ex-' pcriment" not entirely successful, will be maintained, with "modifications." The state of siege has been abolished " in, almost all the provinces;" and the Government contemplates an extinction of the financial deficit. The prospectus was considered a decided success; when lo! the now Armero-Mon Ministry threatens to resig"n in dudgeon at the appointmant of, a tried parliament man to be President of the Cortes.

The United States Government finds itself in " a pretty considerable fix." Not only has Mr. Buchanan one Walker lecturing 1 him on a compromise with principle in accepting" matters as they are in Kansas, but the two irreconcileable parties, each of whom calls itself the State, have returned to actual blows as the more satisfactory form of discussion; and the other Walker has beem placed in a position of peculiar advantage. Commodore Paulding, of the United States Navy, had di-z-ecfced a landing* on the coast of Nicaragua, in which Walker was seized bodily and sent off to Washington. Commodore Paulding-'s superior authorities then discover' that the evidence against Walker is technically incomplete, while Paulding stands confessed as having- committed: a trespass on the territory of a foreig-n state, whose authority he has superseded and invaded. So Walker is discharg-ed, Paulding is summoned home to a court-martial, and President; Buchanan is by his subordinates placed in a position of seeming- to tolerate if not to shield the Filibuster he had denounced.

The New Zealand Steamers.—The London Correspondent of the Melbourne 'Argus' writes under date Jan. 16th:— It has been announced that some time during January the vessels destined for the inter-colonial mail service will leave England to proceed direct to Melbourne. These consist of two large screw steamers of 1,000 tons each, and two smaller vessels of 500 tons burden.. The large vessels will perform the service between Australia and New Zealand, the smaller steamers -will distribute the mails amongst the various j provinces, returning in time to enable the j former to fall in with the homeward mail. These arrangements are made with the cooperation of the Royal Mail Company. The vessels, which are all new and in excellent condition, were constructed by ! an eminent Scotch builder. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sewell took their departure for New Zealand by the mail steamer from Southampton on the 12th January. Mr. Sewell may therefore be considered to be in Auckland about this time. Beginning with the night of the 16th December, and continuing till the end of that month, the kingdom of Naples had been desolated by successive shocks of earthquake. The official report is that; 15,000 persons had suffered damage, but, says the ' Times' correspondent, it is probable that the real number is double that amount". !■ The only news from India and China; which has come to hand is contained in the; ! following paragraphs from the Melbourne ( Argus' on the morning of the European's' arrival. ' "Nothing fresh from India. The mutiny is virtually quelled.. Straggling parties, in small numbers only remain, and chiefly confined to Oude, which is now surrounded' by the British forces. ; " Curiton is taken, and in the occupation^ of the British. -..,- I "The city of Chin-kdang-foo has ..beejri retaken by the Imperialists, and the conY; muiiication with the north again reopened. " Teas are declining."