CONTINENTAL NEWS. (Sydney Morning Herald.) Paris, April 24th.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVII, Issue 1414, 2 July 1861, Page 4

CONTINENTAL NEWS. (Sydney Morning Herald.) Paris, April 24th.

On Easter Sunday, about a thousand of the Poles resident here, belonging to different social classes, and holding various political opinions, assembled at their school in the Batignolles to observe the national custom of the Btnit, or banquet blessed by a priest, and consisting of Easter eggs, a Pascal lamp roasted whole,' Bucking-pigs, cold meats, and Polish pastry. The fete; 1 ' which was under the patronage of the Princesses Czartoryska and Czetwertynska, and other Polish ladies of liigh rank, was rendered picturesque by the striking national costume worn by many of the guests, and was ' attended by aides-de-campi of the Emperor and Prince Napoleon, and a number o£ other distinguished French guest*. Toasts to the Emperor, Poland, and the lady patronesses were drunk with the usual " enthusiasm," and the children of the school sang several of the national songs of Poland in very good stylo. ' Rumouis of impending war are rife in Denmaik, Austria, and Italy, all of whom aie as busy as ever with their military preparations. It is piopo=ied to declare Gaiibaldi " the first Italian subject," and to after him, not as a iecomp3n.se, but as a testimonial of national gratitude, a laudod. estate worth 150,000 francs a year, for him and his hoira for ever.

A letter from St. Petersburg state* that the people wiihed to go en mcwse to the palace, to thank the Czar for the act of emancipation, but the authorities prevented this, as it was desired above all thing! to keep the publio quiet. To that end no one was allowed to know when the ukase would appear, and the document was aotually sent to the clergy in the night, with orders to read it next day in tlia churohes. In the evoning, however, the public demanded the national hymn, "God save the Oza,r!"in all the theatre 3, and welcomed it with thunders of applauie. The newa reached Moscow on the following day, the people shedding tears of joy, and everywhere offering up prayers for the Czar. A gentleman from that city relates a scene that took place at a great manufacturing village five miles from Moscow, all tho workmen in. which were serfs. The mayor and chief of polioe requested tho workmen to go in a body to the church. ' ' What for '" enquired one of them. "To hear the Imperial manifeito which makes you f rea " On hearing this, the people all threw themselves on their kheea, orossing themselves, and offering up 'prayers for the Emperor, with the utmost fervour, and weeping with joy. The utmost tranquillity appears to have prevailed throughout tho country. The agitation in Poland it increasing, but perfect order is everywhere maintained by the popular leaders. Austria is no nearer coming to an understanding with her various provinces ; and it is considered doubtful Whether the local Diets will be opened at the appointed times. It seems that the French immigrant who has just made himself King of Arauoania, in South America, under the title of Orelie Antoine 1., is a native of Chourgnac, near Pengueux ; his real name is Antoine De Touneus, and he emigrated to Chili several years ago. He has proclaimed the Code Napoleon, and has made the royal office hereditary in his family. A nephew of the new king, who was practising as a lawyer in Perigueux, disposed of hia practice 3 years ago, and went out to his undo. As the new monarch is old and childless, it is supposed that the ex-lawyer will be his successor. Araucama ia peopled by savage tribes ; but the new king has given them a constitution, appointed ministers, and divided the country into departments and communes, with prefects, maires, and prefectorals and communal councils. The constitution proclaims the unity of the Araucanian people, the attributions and privileges of the king, and the equality of the Araucamans m the eye of the law. Three leading Parisian journalists who have been fraternizing with the Milanese at the inauguration of their new statute to Manin, the late ex-President of the Venetian Republic, and who then went on to Venice, were immediately expelled from the Austrian Italian territory, though provided with passports in perfect order. A foolish mistake on the part of the Axisfcrian officials, and one that will not certainly tend to improve the feeling of the French people towards the jailor of Venetia. The Minister of Marine is establishing electric lights all along the coast of Normandy. If we coidd pin an unhesitating faith on the statements of the European Press, we should be tolerably certain that all this hemisphere would be wrapped in the general conflagration so often predicted for the present spring, before this letter could reach its destination. The Danubian Provinces and Turkey, Hungary and the " Empire," Polaud, Germany and Denmark, and the Italian Peninsula, are «o many i centres of possible combustion, ready, if all accounts be true, to break out into flame at any moment. War seems to be generally expected in all quarters ; and warlike rumours are therefore to be heard wherever telegrams are received or newspapers printed. But as every nation has much to risk by plunging into war, the very universality of the alarm is perhaps our best ground of hope that the clouds may bo conjured away without being allowed to b'irst. That Garibald^ who is now at Turin, whither he repaired some six days ago, wishes for war with Austria, and " rather to-day than to-mor-row," as he said in his reply to the address of the working men of Italy, just before quitting Caprera, is tolerably clear both fiom his letters and the reports of his conversation. Ganbaldi is suffering much just now from an attack of rheumatic gout, and is confined to bed at the house of his friend, Count Annoni, whose house, at the extremity of the open and sunny street of La Rocco, looks out upon the country, with a view, on one hand, of the hdly range above the Po, and, on the other, of a splendid Alpine panorama. The general has been enthusiastically welcomed at every point through which he has passed on his way to the hilly sub- Alpine capital ; his appearance in Parliament, where he will show himself as soon as his rheumatism permits, will doubtless be the signal of an ovation, certainly better deserved than most of ihe popular demonstrations the world has yet seen. It is stated that Garibaldi will not hear of accepting the estate of 150,000 francs a-year, with the title of First Citizen, which the bill of the Deputy Mußebno proposes to confer on him ; and that the bill itself will be withdrawn by its author in deference to the general's wish. The letter of Prince Lucien Murat, severely commented upon by the Pans press, and. disavowed by the Emperor in a letter to the svriter, which, though not published officially, has been made sufficiently public by the private circulation of some thousands of written copies, is regarded in Italy as a " dodge" of the TJourbonists. It is denied that anything like 'a Muratist party exists in any part of the kingdom; and the Italian press teems unanimous in representing the Prince as having been imposed upon, and "used as a tool, by the adherents of the ex-King, who are fain to use his name as a weapon of opposition to Victor Emmanuel, with a view of profiting by any trouble they may succeed in creating in the interest of the fallen regime. Notwithstanding the legacy of long misgovernment left by the latter in the Two Sicilies, the press of Southern Italy indignantly denies the existence of the confusion and dissatisfaction said to obtain in that part of the country. Much, of course remains to be done, especially in tho departments of education and road-making ; but the needed impulsion is being initated, and the immense majority of the people are declared to be confident and hopeful, and heartily in favour of unity, and of the King who is its symbol. The Hungarian Diet was opened on the appointed day. It is tolerably evident that Hungaiy is bent 'upon either freeing herself altogether of Austria, or foicing her King to displace the centre of the monarchy from Vienna to the ancient capital, which is called Pesth on one side of the Danube and Buda on the other. If the Emperor would merge Austria in Hungary, the Magyars would probably cease to deshe a separation, and stand by their sovereign to the last man. But though Hungary is incomparably larger, richer, and more powerful than any other single member of the heterogeneous federation now falling apart from under the sceptre of the Kaisers, it seems as unlikely that Fiancis- Joseph will consent to such a change as that the Hungarians will lelinquish the prosecution of their designs, in which they ovidently take no more thought for the interests of Austria than they could do for those of Persia or Tartaiy. _ It is reported that the shores of the Austrian posiegsions are being fortified in a novel manner, by means ■of sub-marine mines of gun-cotton, impermeable to water, connected by means of an electric wire, through < which is transmitted the spark which serves to deter- ' i mine the explosion. At the trial of one of these new ; contrivances, Baid to have just taken place at Trieste, the commotion caused by the explosiou is stated as having been so violent that a sloop, laden with stones, v?hich was to be acted upon, disappeared without leaving a traco, and the perturbation was felt at a distance of twelve miles round. The Bohomian Diet was opened at Prague on the (Jth instant, and that of Lower Austria at Vienna, on the same day. That of Gallicia was opened on tho 4th. , -The feeling of these bodies vrould leom, as far as we can judge by the telegrams, which constitute as yet all tho information we have of their doings, to ■be in favour of conciliating the exercise of local rights and franchises, with the maintenance of the Imperial power and the representation of the various provinces in the Diet of Vienna. The experience of the past, not being favourable to the existence of small nationalities^!: too limited extent and resources to be able to maintain themselves against external attack, it would seem that the wisest course for Hungary, both in view of her own interests and those of Europe, would be to improve-the present opportunity to the removal of existing abuses in the administration of the country, and the placing of her affairs on a safe and and sound basis, without weakening the Empire of .cwhich she might then form a part, with benefit to lierself, but nothing indicates that she will take this ( course ; and rumours are even beginning to circulate 'a project on the part of this discontented vassal of the House of Hapsburgh, of making itself the head of a great nation to be formed on the Lower Danube at the joint expense of Austria and Turkey, and to the bitter disappointment of Russia, who would thus see lierself cut off from tho possibility of making that final clutch at Constantinople towards which she has been so long and so perseveringly directing her hopes. The Journal de Frankfort states that Berlin is in great distress. l More than thirty wards of that city are invaded by armies of rats that aie undermining the soil, choking up canals and sowers, and, in certain streets, audaciously showing themselves in broad d lylight. Tho Chief of Poltdq has invited the cominisof hid department to draw up reports on tho -subject of this invasion.

The Pope had a fainting fit on Easter Sunday, but s better. It is again rumoured that an understanding vill soon be arrived at between Prance, Italy, and he "Spiritual Power" at Rome; that France and [taly will jointly^ occupy that city, the Utter administering its civil government, the former, though not assuming the spiritual functions, yet "protecting" the Chief of sixty millions of Roman Oatholioa to look after the spiritual affairs of hia flock. The Pope is Baid to have named Nicholas Cardinal Wiseman, is administrator of the Papal See, under tho title of Pius X. ' The great majority of the French press is calling for % dissolution of the Legislative Body, on the ground bhat the reactionary, ultramontane, and anti-Italian feeling of its actual members does not represent the sentiment of France. The Emperor is invite^ also to modify the law on the press, and to give more freedom of initiative to the people of France and of her colonies. The pastoral of the Bishop of Poictiera has been pronounced "abusive" by the Council of State, and is therefore suppressed by an Imperial decree, which cites the articles of the Constitution restricting tho exercise of ecclesiastical powers to spiritual matters, and expressly forbidding the clergy of all ranks from interfering in temporal Affairs. The electric cable which is to be laid down next month between Malta and Alexandria is to touch at Bengali and Tripoli ; it will be raised, for the land portion, on the newly -mvented iron tripod supporteis, instead of the ordinary wooden posts. The sittings of the French Chamber are of a far less stormy character since it has finished its angry debates on the address. It is occupying itself mainly with tho Budget, and other bills ol domestic interest ; among which is one empowering the Company of the Messagerles Imperials to organise a postal service with India and China, It is proposed to make the departures monthly, from Suez to Segon, a distance of 1900 maritime leagues, touching at Aden, Point de Galle, Penang, and Singapore • monthly depaitures from Aden to the Isle de la Reunion, 825 leagues ; from Point de Galle to Chandenago, vi 4 Pondicherry and Madras, 450 leagues ; from Singapore to Batavia, 180 leagues; from Segon to Manila, 300 leagues ; from Segon to Shanghai, by Hongkong, 570 leagues. The company is to receive an annual subvention of 608,000 francs a year for tvrenty-five years, and is in return to carry the French mails gratis. It is to maintain six steamers of 500 horse-power each, and eight of 228 , the former for the great line 3, the latter for branches ; in each steamer are to be four or five officers, and fifty to eighty warrant officers and sailors. It is inferred from the Government having brought in such a bill, that it intends, founding a colony in Cochin China It is tolerably sure that the Emperor, who is too enlightened to share in the oidinary prejudice and jealouiy with which his people regard the industrial and commercial supremacy and flourishing colonies of Great Britain, but who is desirous of leading France to emulate tho action of her old rival, will not be content to leave hh country to her ancient habit of sterile envy. We mußt be prepared to see the growing resources of France, and her growing confidence in her Emperor, turned, in a certain measure to the acquisition of colonies in the East — a diversion oE the activities of our clever and glory craving neighbours that may surely be welcomed rather than feared by her predecessors in that particular field of enterprise. Rumours of mutual provocations between Italy and Austria are as rife as ever, and probably equally destitute of foundation. Garibaldi and General Benedek being, perhaps, the only men in Europe who would really like to see the sword drawn between Italy and the mistress of the Quadrilateral. The relations between Austria and her provinces have not undergone any marked change. The Hungarian Diet, at Pesth, has not determined whether or no it wdl vote a leply to the royal speech, and pave the way to the coronation of the king — rendered legally possible by the formal abdication recently obtained from the Emperox Ferdinand. The influence o£ M. Deak is being cxci ted to induce the Diet to vote an address, and otherwise to adopt a policy of conciliation towaids Vienna ; but tho rediut is still doubtful. The Emperor ha 3 consented to be crowned also in Bohemia. Should all the old reviving nationalities insist on their sovereign going thiough with a similar ceremony in their capitals, the stern young monarch will probably have a surfeit of coronations. "Venetia positively refuses to elect repiesentatives to the Geneial Diet at Vienna, and General Benedek, though a Hungarian, is so angry with all the provinces, that he has issued tv furious order of the day to the army of Venetia, in which he repioaches the different members of the empire with throwing obstacles in the way of the new constitution, with disloyalty, ingratitude, and a determination to destroy the Imperial rule; — declares that the troubles of the empiie are caused by the intrigues of foreign and hostile governments, by the ambition of lawyers and traders anxious ft>r notoriety, by the " petty nobility, whom a constitu tion granted by God himself could not succeed in getting out of debt", — and calls on all under his comStand to be firm and resolute, when the hour of struggle conies, to the victors. The almost savage energy of this curious manifesto of the military Governor of Venetia, if accepted as being in harmony with Vienna, would certainly augur little for the peaceable termination of the Venetian difficulty. The Romans are sanguine again, that the French are Boon to leave, and Cavour is believed to have addressed a strong remonstrance to the Fiench government, on the danger of delaying the settlement of Italian affairs The Diet of Fiankfort has decided that it will not recognise the new kingdom of Italy. Happdy for the latter, the sharp passages at arms between Garibaldi and Cavour, that threatened, for a few days after the goneral's appearance in parliament, to lead to an open rupture, have ended in a reconciliation, brought about by the personal influence of the King, to whose instance Garibaldi has now yielded. Wailike preparations arepushed on as actively as ever ; and the Government is reorganising the South Italian army. Bouibonist conspiracies are constantly breaking out ; and Francis 11. is making his presence in Rome felt throughout the Peninsula. The Italian papers have been again indulging in prophecies of the speedy departure of the French from Rome, thanks to pressing remonstrances from Turin ; but the semi-official Press of Pans, that had, for a few days, been giving the world to understand that there might be some ground for these anticipations, have to day changed their tone, and declare that the iSuiperor will persevere in his mission of protecting the Pope. The Italian Parliament is composed of 443 members ; giving, for a population of 23,000,000, one deputy to 60,000 souls. Of the elections hitherto made the Parliament has validated 362 ; fresh elections will replaco the deputies whose right to sit is rejected by the Chamber. Of the 3G2 now sitting, there aie 4 princes, 3 dukes, 20 marquises, 26 counts, 16 barons, 31 knights or commanders, 101 barristers and magistrates, 27 professors, 25 doctors, 12 engineers, 1 bishop, 8 canons, 11 generals, 9 colonels, 2 bankers, 1 major. 7 untitled scions of noble houses, 57 untitled men of good circumstances, and 1 musician — the composer Verdi, who, though a good patriot, owes his election entirely to the lucky orthographic chance which made bis name a symbol of Italian unity pievious to the annexations. It is said that not one member of the Assembly belongs to the " lower classes." Meantime, the Austrian Emperor has cieated 56 hereditary members, and 39 life-members of the Upper Chamber of the Council of the Empire. Baron de Rothschild is the only Jew yet named to the Upper Chamber. The sanguinaiy massacres at Warsaw, and the severity of the Russian government which has established the state of siege in all but the name, has excited almost universal reprobation thioughout Europe. The Polish difficulty constitutes a veiy difficult additional complication m the tangled snail of European affairs. Garibaldi has openly denounced bhe Czar as having entered on the tiaditional leactionary policy of his house ; and promises aid to Poland when other matters shall have been disposed of. The Polish deputation, though kmdly received by the Emperor Napoleon, can hardly have received much encouragement from Mm in any project ofioastanoo j and most moderate lovers of their kind regret that, while so many thorny questions aie pending, Poland should have taken this time for isserting aspirations which, however just, and howsver probable their fulfilment at some future period, jan hardly be advanoed by piesentation at this tune, rho immediate effeot of passive resistance, whose iractioal utility it is difficult to see, has been to jreate a vast sum of sorrow and misery for all con:erned; and so severe is the repression now at»mpted that the wearing of mourning for the victims _>f the past fortnight is only permitted to the relatives of the dead, and iv vntuc of a permit from the Lieutenant of Police.