EUROPEAN NEWS

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 350, 26 February 1861, Page 2

EUROPEAN NEWS

TO DECEMBER 26m

(From the _Sydney Morning Herald)

London, Saturday, December I, 1860. The great; topic in England at the present moment is that of the progress of the. allied forces in China—particulars of which will have reached yoii ere this dispatch is received—but nevertheless it is necessary for me to refer to the, subject ever so briefly. The news to hand eminently displays, the great acme of Chinese military tactics—that of deception of the grossest kind—the? yio--1 ation of every honorable principie .j^. understood in Europe. Mr. Parkes, the interpreter, Mr. Bowiby, the Times" Correspondent, and some other gentlemen, have been seized during the time of a cessation of hostilities, and sent prisoners to Pekin; their fate may be guessed at by alt who know the treachery and cruelty of the Chinese. Our last accounts gave the posi* tion of the allied army as only seven miles from Pekin, the Chinese as.usual willing to treat for peace at every critical moment,' and our people foolish enough as usual to waive their power and accede to the wishes of the Chinamen. . '. % v,-t

The next great subject of moment is one of national European importance, marking or denoting, the " progress of the times." The Emperor has decreed highly important changes in the constitution of France, which give a Parliamentary system allied to that pf this country ! The Chamber of Deputies is to have the power of voting an Address to the Crown in reply to the Imperial - Speech, on the opening of the Chambers,1, and the Moniteur is to publish a full re-' port of the debates ! arid a compilation of which is to be sent to all the French journals.

lam; enabled to stale that other great changes are to be made. The Emperor is in fact about to cast aside other trammels to the free discussion among the people of their rights. I know his Majesty to be a free-trader at heart, and to be desirous of giving freedom of thought and action to hiß people, but, wisely, by instalments. I am able to state that there will shortly be, I think from the new year, of the Press " —with some restrictions. lam not permitted to say this much in this country, as otherwise I should betray the trust ireposed in me.

Great Ministerial changes: are taking place in France. -Count Walewski has been appointed Minister of Stat3," Count Persigny is made Minister .of the Interior, and Count Flahault Ambassador to London; M. Thouvenel is to be replaced as Minister for Foreign Affairs by the. Prince de s la Tour d'Auvergne, now at Berlin. The next great question of the day is that of the possibly probable* questionable sale of Venetia! and the inevitable results, in the spring, of Austria's refusal to cut the knot of the Italian difficulty. There is a report that the Austrian Ambassador in; Paris has had several interviews with-the French Minister of Foreign Affairs on .'tW subject of the sale to Sardinia of Venetia— but nothing certain is known upon the sub- \ ject. The general hope, js that France and! England will together put a-little pressure upon Austria to induce her to sell Venetia;. as if she does not, heigh-ho for a general European War next year, Sardinia/willl either buy it, or fight for it—and have itsome way or the other. Austria/ is bankrupt— she has no credit abroad; little or none at home. Hungary is all but ripe for revolution, and dd12,000,000 in pocket is better than £30,000,000 out.. Common sense dictates the sale, but pride forbids it. ■ .■■■■■■. ■;...■.;

The King of Naples is still at Graeta at bay—resolved to fight to the last. AH the foreign ambassadors have, at his request, left lor Rome, as he did not wish them to remain in a city about to be bombarded. The King of Sardinia has not yet left Naples, where matters are anything but satisfactory, the people being dissatisfied with the conduct pursued towards Garibaldi and -his brave compatriots. Very little would cause a reaction such as might compel Garibaldi to accept the Dictatorship, or bring back the King under a new constitution of complete freedom; ~ ■

The Council of Stated has been called 'for to-morrow, the 2nd-instant, when a project of law will be brought forward .to divide the State of Naples into districts. The title ofKJing ofltalyfor that of.King of Sardinia is to be conferred .by the Parliament -of Italy.'--. .',- - ■'.-■.■■■ .-'•■-. ■• ]:■■:'-.

Sardinian Custom-houses are established round Rome, commencing frpm^his.day. The> accounts from iAmerica1 read very unfavorably. The rupture between the North and the South assuming a serious character. The session from the Union movement making steady r ,prpgress. Banking and commercial-affairs are getting into a fix, and failures must be nilmet ous. - -: •

The Empress of the French has returned from Scotland, and reached Manchester on her way back. She will finally leave England on the 10th instant for France. Her health is much better.

Momentary affairs here are much improved, and the bank rate has been lowered from 6to 5 per cent. Out of doors there is greater ease and little demand for accommodation. The month will close without any great disasters in the commercial world. .

The International Exhibition of 1862 is to be commenced forthwith,. £366,800 is guaranteed by 662 persons. Disturbances in St. Georges-in-the-East have terminated by the Bishop of London restoring the duties to their proper form, and Bryan King, the rector, foregoing his peculiar views.

The North Atlantic Telegraph Expedition has returned. The survey of the intended route of the telegraph has been successful and satisfactory. .

AH the Courts of law in London *«c to

be brought together in one building, at a cost of £1,350,000: :- -l^v 5 M't] ~ London seems about.to be intersected by "under-ground railways."■,.■:-:-'- r Baron Buqsen, for many" y'^ars the Prussian Minister in London, and one of the most distinguished literary "men, of Germany, died at Bonn, on Wednesday, in his seventieth year. : "

'riflfcr London, Saturday, December 8. , The nei%lrom Bombay by the mail of the 12th ultimo represents the natives to have made a bold and energetic stand against the mbde of collecting the income tax. The native merchants; and bazaar dealers had refused to do any business until the "tax should lie abolished."

The King of Sardinia has at last left Naples for Palermo, where lie was received with the greatest possible enthusiasm, with a promise on his part to found an administration which shall promote agriculture and commerce, the necessary essentials to the prosperity of the island. Tranquility has been restored in Naples and the Provinces with but few exceptions. The National Council ah Tuesday gave explanation of the future polic3 r of the Government, wiiich ha»r^l^|ed the people and tranquilised their feelings. " The Sardinian batteries have opened fire on Gaeta. The French Government is rumored to have intimated to the King that further resistance was useless. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has addressed another protest against the interference of a " perjured and disloyal Sovereign," saying that 'fit is not probable the defence will be as prolonged as the Sovereigns of Europe seem to wish." The King has 16,000 troops with him, and his land and sea defences number 900 gun's. * A levy of 150,000 in Southern Italy is,to be made.

The Count of Syracuse, .uncle of; the King of Naples, and the most enlightened of the Neapolitan Bourbons—the best and only good man of the family—died suddenly on the 4th instant; at Pisa, on his way to Naples, to congratulate Victor Emmanuel, as King of Naples. Had the cephew of this prince followed his counsel he would still have been on the throne of the Two Sicilies.

The King of Naples is seriously ill. The Pope is still resolved to remain at Rome, £65,000, Peter's pence, has been received from the United States.

Hungary is all but in open revolt; The Comitat at Pestli has resolved not to yield a hairsbreadth from their full rights and laws, and lots of important towns' have had popular demonstrations, resulting, in some instances, in collision with Austrian sol-