GENERAL SUMMARY OF EUROPEAN NEWS. (From the "Home News," May 24.)

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 569, 27 September 1851, Page 3

GENERAL SUMMARY OF EUROPEAN NEWS. (From the "Home News," May 24.)

On this, the"24th day of the existence of the Grea 11 Exhibition of Industry, all the interest of the metropolis— the home of nations — is absorbed in it Admiration of the opening spectacle, enthusiasm in favour of the Prince with whom the great idea originated, and pride of its best patron and encourager the Queen, were the prevailing feelings when we last wrote; they filled the minds of the whole people, and produced a fervour of loyal expression which astonished, strangers, and foreigners have considered it a fervid passion. Every day since the first of May has intensified that feeling, has spread it wider on. ever/ side, and now the observer note 9 that it is not merely a passion to be awakened by great events and extraordinary circumstances but a sentiment forming part of our very nature, and which, however long it may be latent, remains ever in the bosom of an Englishman a principle of action. In ordinary circumstances, and under common rule, it regulates : when the character of the sovereign is capable of exciting respect and admiration it expands and fills the breast, warms it, and so tempers the heart and understanding that loyalty is love, and becomes a passion which no force can withstand. This feeling prevails extensively at the present moment, leavens the whole mass, and produces that perceptible effect on the conduct of an entire people, which makes others besides " Jacob Omnium" ask, " Why are we so good natured ?" Everybody rejoices in the triumph of Prince Albert,— and the unparalleled and unpredicted success of the Exhibition of Industry is looked on as Ids triumph, a vast victory in the field of peace, a conquest beyond those of heroes over national prejudices and interests, followed by a treaty of brotherhood and mutual instruction, of which there is no autotype. Our most radical and uncourtly writers take Prince Albert for their theme, and cover him with eulogy as the real " friend of the people," and the mediator for all kings, reconciling all crowned heads to the democracy ; a new reign of new dynasties^ is declared, as the sovereigns of Europe are considered the friends of Albert. The two days which followed the opening, the receipts for the guinea admission bi ought nearly £2000, when, on the Monday following, ss. was the price of admission, and so it has continued till now. The receipts of the first day were £1500, the receipts of je&tevday rose to £4095 Bs., and the sale of orison ticket* lias averaged nearly =£500 a day, although of couiao gradually diminishing. The receipts of this day, which alone remains at the price of 55., cannot fail to exceed even the sum hitherto realised; and on Monday when the doors arc open at Is. it is calculated that not fewer than 60,000 persons will be assembled within the enclosure of the Falaee of Glass. To that crowd we look forward with interest ; w*

have seen how the people received their Queen | we are curious now to witness their reception of King Mob. Hitherto the "\ i&itor» hiuc formed, even amon? the countless treasures of the Exhibition, one°of its most cm ions and interesting feature.-. The company has been as rare and a'choice ab the si«litt> they came to sec. The Regal opening, and the days of State on which ihe Queen and her Royal gucots have cn f ered early, and left late, and spenUhe intermediate hours in ihe inspection of the inconceivably magnificent collection in the midst of her nobilit) ; have been grand ; but not more extraordinary will the sight bo when it is composed of 60,000 of her people. " [t will be a grand si^ht io see thevast tide of humanity rolling along that sublime central avenue, 'and swelling through the courts and passages of the inferior to its ""remotest boundaries." 'One of the great topics of conversation of the day is the committal b\ 'Mr. Ilardwick of Captain P." IT. Somerset for striking and whipping police constable Griffin who endeavoured to prevent (he 'Ca jtain's driving in a way which had been forbidden by the Commissioners of the Great Exhibition in the' Park. The general opinion is, that as the oallaut Captain so far forgot the usage of discipline a<> to offer per-^^al Chastisement to a man under or on dvt 1 ,, ho deserved to be sent to the House of Correction for ten days ; this sentence the gallant Captain tried to avert or turn to a fine but Mr. Kardwick was peremptory, and he has been confined for his entire term. On the 7th instant the Queen gave her first state ball to 2100 invited guests. Her Majesty wore blue silk and white tulle, with bunches of apple blossoms sot with diamonds, a wreath of the sjime forming the head-dress. She opened the ball with the Pi incc of Prussia. Almost _ every day is spent — the morning at the Exhibition, at noon in avisit orasi£>ht,inthe evening at the Opera or the Theatre, or at hornet ith a party or a concert. On the 12th the Prince opened the museum of {.Economical Geology, and congratulated the public on the occasion "with a real intelligence and sense of its value. As it was remarked at the Academy of Arts, no one could compliment art so like an artist as the Prince, so here none but a scientific mm could have so complimented science. Sir E. L. Bulwer's play, written for the Guild of Literature and Art, and studied for representation by the literary and artistic actors already so oelebrat ed, was produced on the 1 6th at the D uke of Devonshire's in the presence of Royalty and of the highest nobility; and it was plajed as such a work for so noble a purpose ought to be played. The audience was " shut up in measureless content." The Queen and her guests visited the Flowei Show at the Botanic Gardens on Wednesday the 14th, and were highly gratified ; that night the Royal Literary Fund Society drank the Prince's health. Her Majesty's second state ball was given on the 19th, and again upwards of 2000 guests shared in the festivity. Her Majesty wore a blonde dress over white silk, with bunches of flowers set with diamonds, and the head-dress to correspond. On the 22nd, the Queen paid the Exhibition a fare-well visit, and in the course of the day the Court removed to Osborne. Scotland enjoys her usual tranquility, but the Highlands suiier from threatened famine. Ire land is still in a tumult of Agitation against the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. Tn France uncertainty still reigns, and alarm in some measure governs. As the trying year 1852 approaches, it becomes more evident that the direct appeal to the "Fountain of all power," the people, must be boldly made, and that by their most sweet voices the great decision will be pronounced. Shall France, under a red Republic, take further steps in the revolutionary path, and shall the horrors of the past be renewed in the future ? In the constitution, Republicans are strong enough to say no ! to the party of anarch}' will Cavaignac or Louis Napoleon be called upon to find words in which to express that sentiment ? Should France decide on going further back, will she encounter a period of uncertainty and evasion under a regency for the interests of the Orleanists ; and will the sovereign immediately succeeding a Republic be an infant? Or will France boldly recall her King, and having gone the round of Government, close the cycle where it began? These arc the possibilities of the case, and all France demands as the preliminary to choice, a revision of the constitution. That perfection of Republican wisdom, the French constitution, is condemned on all sides, save that of the ultra Republicans, and the political manifestations made at the party clubs favour the belief that the present Parliament will be called on to make great alteration in their own work or that of their predecessors. The nearest calculation that can be formed of the probable result of putting the question to the Assembly before it goes to the people is 450 voters for a revision, the majority being collected from all the pax ties. Against any alteration 200, composed of the Montagnards and extreme Legitimists. Absent, or refusing to vote 100. Now a vote carried by such a majority would, be, by the It lth clause of the constitution (this very constitution) illegal ; for to make such a, vote valid, three-fourths of the number present should form the majority — about 484 votes. Now the Bonapartists contend that, in a great crisis, the wheel of progress should not be delayed by minor or formal obstacles, and they propose to accept the irregular majority. This will be at once resolving to revise, and practically carrying out the abrogation of the constitution. As France shall decide, so shall the future of Europe be influenced and guided. The Holy See, forsecing the probability of a Socialist Directory at the head of affairs in Paris, is naturally very uneasy at the contemplation of her new constabulary, the French army, keeping the peace in Rome ; and has, it is alleged, already applied to the Emperor of Austria to introduce into Rome an Austrian army of occupation. France will not easily be induced to give up toJgAtistria her holding in the Eternal City, and her command of Civita Vecchia, as a means of reinforcing her army within the Avails. The great questions the probable events of next year in France are soon to come under royal recognition in European quarters. The emperor of Russia, the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, and some minor powers, will hold an Imperial Court of Audit at Warsaw, or at some place there to be appointed in order to consider what steps it will be necessary to take, in ease of the worst. Rumours of intended interference we not worth the paper they would occupy in recital. Tn Spain, it has been officially declared that the Queen again is in a condition to promise an heir to the throne; the greatest precautions are taken to prevent accident or alarm. Donna Isabella has placed herself in the hands of her physicans. The Queen's mother, Christina, has met with an accident ; stepping out of her carriage she misplaced her foot at the entrance of the palace, and fractured her leg bone. In Portugal, the revolution effected by Saldanha, for the overthrow of the Ministry of the Conde de Thomar, has completely succeeded. The Conde is in London, and writes stingingly to Saldanha, thence foretelling fearful evils in the times to come from his disloyalty. The Marshal has already published to all the governors of districts, &c, that he accepts the office of President of the Council of Ministers, in order to secure the throne of Donna Maria 11., -as well as the liberties guaranteed by the Charter of the Monarchy ; yet we are not surprised to find that the probable abdication of Donna Maria in favour of her sou, now fourteen years of age, is freely canvassed. From America we have news of a number of Ilun crarun, &c, refugees having been arrested at Ne\v\ r ork, in the very net of their intended embarkation, armed and accoutred, on board the steamer Cleopatra, prepared for a second descent on Cuba. Itis thus that these restless revolutionists repay the hospitality of the countries that give them shelter. But even this is not sufficient to excuse the apathy of the English liberals m the matter of Koss>uth. lla remains a dispainng

prisoner hi Turl-ev, ;md append p.illiclii'ally from his t wants io his friends, and e\ en to those -who had been called liib enemies.

The Commam) at Mumus. — The rumour adverted to in the postscript of our hat upon ihh subject, has been confirmed. At ;i Court held on thc'l-ifhoi'M.iy, Lieutcnnnl-Genernl Sir Richard Armstrong, C.8., was appointed to succeed Sir George Berkeley, X.C.15,, in the command of the forces on the Madras Establishment. Sir Jliehai d lias been elected Second Member of Council at Port St. George.

Evvrr.nv Navigation Compvny— This Company has made an application for a charter to the following; ellect: — "By or on behalf of the Eastern Ste.un Navigation Company (provisionally registered), formed for the purpose of establishing communication by steam and other vessels between the United Kingdom and India, China, and Australia, and the ports and places connected with her Majesty's eastern trade, dominion--, settlements, and' colonies, and also for the purpose of •land-can iage, or transit of goods and passengers V any wise" connected with the business of the said Company, a Charter of Incorporation, under the provisions of the Act of Ist Victoria c. 7a, intituled "An Act for better enabling her Majesty fo confer certain powers and immunities on Trading and other Companies," which application has been referred by her Majesty to the Committee of Pi ivy Council for trade and Plantations.

OvBRiiAM) via Tkihste. — A letter from Jnestc in the Journal ties Debate says, " The only thing talked of here at present, is an attempt aboutto be made by English capitalists, to establish^ line of steamers between Trieste and Alexandria, for the tiansporl of the mails a.id of passengers to India and China. Large subscriptions liavc been made, and one eommevrial house has subscribed to the extent of £10,000 sterling. This undertaking will give Trieste, it is contemplated, a decided superiority over Marseilles, for the passage of the India mail. It is also said that the engineers, pent to examine the Isthmus of Suez, report most favourable on the practicability of cutting a passa2C from the Mediterancan to the Red Sea. An English engineer, who lately returned here, explained at length his views on the subject, at a grand dinner given to him by the Austrian Lloyds .and the numerous merchants who were present appeared to enter readily into the matter. At all events, this, new undertaking may give a rude blow to Marseilles; and you can well imag'ne that every one here puts up Aery contentedly with the Inconceivable delays which have taken place in the construction of the Lyons to Avignon Railway. On Thursday there was an arrival of gold from Russia to the amount of about £80,000. A further moderate sum will be brought by the next Hull steamer. The shipments of specie by the Peninsular and Oriental steamer Indus which sailed on the 20th instant, amounted to £50,000. Of this £10,000 was in gold, for Ceylon, Madras^ and Singapore, £45,G00 in silver, from Bombay' Calcutta, Fenang, Hongkong, and Canton.

Gkkecb. — We translate the following from the Courier d Athens, 18th May, 1851. — His Majesty King Otho arrived in Athens on the 13th instant at 11 o'clock at night, by the Austrian man-of-war steamer Vulcan. His arrival was announced by a French steamer which the Admiral, at the request of the Queen, had despatched for the purpose of being on the look out for lI.M. — No sooner had the approach of the Vulcan been signalled, than lI.M. the Queen, accompanied by her ministers, and some of the King's aides-de-camp, set off to meet him. Their Majesties having reached the Piroeus, they were received by all "the authorities, and an immense concourse of persons. They then repaired to the principal church in the city, where a Te Beam was sung. At midnight, they entered their palace amidst the tumultuous acclamations of joy. The newest of Anti-Papal legislation is the reluctance with which its most zealous promoters revert to the subject after it has been allowed to lie dormant for a few days. They regard it with as rueful a visage as one who has burned his fingers with a piece of hot iron might be imagined to eye the glowing lump if he were commanded to lift it again. t j The House of Commons is at a dead lock; it j cannot get into committee on the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. An objection was raised, that the forms of the House had been violated in the mode of introducing the bill ; and though the Speaker overruled the objection, "the Irish Brigade" contrived to occupy the house for two whole nights by talking about it, anil ended by compelling Lord John Russell to grant them a third night. As an additional means of spinning out the time, they consumed almost two hours on Thursday evening by reading the prayer and explaining the object of every petition against the bill that they presented. It is not easy to conceive by what means the advocates of legislation on the subject of Papal aggression can counteract such reckless obstruction to business, if persevered in; even though Lord John Russell and Mr. Walpole may have compromised their differences in order to accelerate legislative action, as has been hinted in the House. Yet Ministers have, though so far without avail, hung out a flag of truce to the malcontents. The course adopted by Government in relation to Ilr. Lacy's Religious Houses Bill was a palpable attempt to allay Romanist irritation. It is true that Messrs. Lacy and Spooner, in their somewhat rambling and gossipy speeches, failed to make out a case for the measure ; and that the provisions of the bill were of an impracticable character. But Ministers did not merely oppose that bill ; when interrogated as to their intentions, they declined to promise any measure of their own in lieu of it. They would seem to stand in more dread of the appearance than of the reality of Popery- They in effect have intimated, that if Roman Catholic prelates will abstain from claiming certain titles, they in return will abstain from claming any powers of survelliance over one of the most questionable agencies of priestly domination. Apart from any gross violations of of morality that may creep into them, conventual establishments, by their secrecy and seclusion, afford opportunities of coercing the inmates without risk of detection. In not a few Catholic countries leligious houses have been suppressed; and in those where they are still tolerated, their privileges have been materially curtailed. Yet the Protestant Government of Great Britain, which is horror-struck at the assumption of empty titles of dignity by Romish Bishops, shrinks from the responsibility of asserting its right to establish a system of registration and inspection for establishments which even members of the Romish Church admit to require inspection, as being liable to great abuse. A noteworthy incident in the House of Lords, is another detection of the slovenly way in which the Commons put Bills out of hand. h\ the Income-tax Bill, though the duration of the impost has been limited to one year, phrases have been allowed to remain which imply a longer duration. The Marquis of Lansdowne, when the discrepancy Avas pointed out, coolly remarked that it was owing to the inaccurate habits of those who made or amended the Bill ! The commercial treatise which have recently been ratified between Sardinia on the one part, and England tnd Belgium on the other, have excited a ferment amongst the Continental Governments. The fever has not been allayed by the report that Sardinia is on the eve of concluding a similar treaty with Switzerland. That Austria and the States of South Germany favourable to a restrictive policy should be alarmed by sucb. an extension of the principles of reciprocity and free-trade is natural; but the hostility to these measures evinced by part at least of the Prussian Cabinet is unaccountable, and the soreness expressed by the French Government impolitic in the extreme.