of the Roman Catholic religion, with all the privileges
which, by the laws of the church, it ought to have,
unlimited persecution of heretics being of the number.
Thus fall at a single blow that liberty of conscience and
freedom of opinion in religious matters which have
hitherto so honourably distinguished the Austrian
Government. The second article gives to the bishops,
clergy, and laity, free communication with the Pope,
without the intervention of the temporal ruler, thus
depriving the Emperor of any power or control over the
national church, and placing it in the power of the Pope
to contrive and execute the most dangerous conspiracies
against the Government. The third article gives the
bishop complete authority, pastoral and clerical. The
fourth article enables them to do everything belonging
to the government of their sees which is in accordance
with the explanations or stipulations of the canonical
laws, and which, in respect to the discipline of the
church, is approved by the papal chair. The fifth
article places all public and private schools under
the control of the bishops; and the sixth gives
the bishops the power of appointing and removing
the only persons allowed to teach sacred theology.
The seventh article provides that none but Catholic
priests shall be allowed to teach anything in the
middle class schools, and the books of instruction
are to be chosen by the bishops. By the eighth article,
the emperor is permitted to choose the inspectors of the
schools of the diocess, but under the declared condition
that the candidates from whom he may select shall he
chosen by the bishops. The ninth article promises the
help of the Government to suppress such books as are
dangerous to religion in the judgment of the bishops.
The tenth article establishes ecclesiastical courts for the
punishment of the clergy and the trial of cases relating
to marriage and betrothal. The eleventh article invests
the bishop with the power of inflicting ecclesiastical
punishment on clergy and laity; the twelfth
article surrenders to the civil courts the power of deciding
on the right of patronage, except in the case of a
disputed succession.

A letter from Bucharest, dated the 3rd instant, speaks
of the arbitrary proceedings of the Austrian occupants
of the Principalities:—"A very serious affair has just
occurred here. At two o'clock yesterday the English
Colonel Thier was arrested in his lodgings by the
Austrian military authorities. He was stripped of his
military uniform by them, and forced to put on the Austrian
great coat. Colonel Thier had served as lieutenant in
the Austrian army, and passed over with his company
in 1849 to the Piedmontese. After the war he entered
the British service, and advanced in it to the rank of
colonel. He was sent to Kronstadt, in Transylvania,
the night that followed his arrest. He was at Bucharest
ten or twelve days, having been sent by the English
government to buy horses and carts for the army. He
was duly accredited to the English agents, as also to
the Ottoman authorities. Colonel Thier is a Hungarian.
Ten minutes after his arrest the consul-general
of England went to the house of General Coronini to
reclaim the colonel. The general gave a brief and
decided refusal. Mr. Colquhoun thereupon addressed
an official letter to him on the subject, and it is said
that the reply was something to this effect: 'I seize my
deserters wherever I find them. I have the right to
cause Thier to be shot instantly, if the Emperor
commands me to give him up I shall break my sword.'
The sensation produced here by the conduct of the
Austrians is immense. I hope you will now understand
the fault committed in allowing the Austrians to enter
the Principalities."

In the Spanish Cortes, on the 5th instant, M. Arcas
asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs if the relations of
Spain with foreign powers were satisfactory, and he
remarked that it was strange that so many Spanish
ministers to foreign courts should be at present in the
capital. The Minister of Foreign Affairs replied that
the relations with all foreign powers, "Russia
excepted," were of the most friendly character, and that
the reason why so many ministers to foreign courts
were in Madrid, was simply and solely that they had
been summoned because they were members of the
Cortes, and because without them the number of deputies
would not be sufficient to enable laws to be voted.
The remark of the minister about Russia excited a
considerable sensation, and the Epoca says that the
consequences of it may easily be anticipated.

The Piedmontese Chambers were opened at Turin on
the 12th instant by the king in person. The following
is a summary of his majesty's speech:—"The year
which has closed has been for me a period of heart-
rending and cruel visitations. I have not hesitated to
unite the arms of Sardinia to those powers who are
struggling in the cause of justice, in behalf of the
civilisation and independence of the nations. It is a proud
thing for our soldiers and sailors to share in the dangers
and glories of the brave armies of France and England
and of Turkey. May God grant his blessing to our
united efforts to make the next peace lasting—one
which shall ensure to each nation its legitimate rights.
——The expenses of the war necessitate a recurrence
to public credit, by which the government will endeavour
to render the general burdens less onerous. Let
Sardinia continue to offer the noble example of a
monarch and his people united by indissoluble ties of
mutual love and confidence; maintaining inviolable the
basis of public welfare, of order and of liberty." The
Marquis Alfieri has been elected president of the
Senate.

The Belgian Chambers were opened on the 13th
instant. His majesty made no allusion to the topic
which disturbs the peace of Europe. His speech related
entirely to the internal condition of the country, which
he described as being, considering the difficulties of
the times, generally satisfactory. He concluded, by
saying: "We have commemorated the 25th anniversary
of our independence; if this independence has been
fruitful in benefits for the country—if, received at first
with some defiance, it is to-day surrounded by the
esteem and sympathy of governments and peoples—we
owe it to that spirit of moderation and uprightness
which forms the basis of our national character and
regulates our policy. My government is animated by
this spirit. I rejoice to believe that the royal concurrence
of the Chambers will not be wanting."

Accounts from Stockholm mention the arrival of
General Canrobert on a mission from the Emperor of
the French, ostensibly in order to present the Grand
Cross of the Legion of Honour to the king, but really
(as is understood) for the purpose of making overtures
to induce the Swedish government to enter into an
alliance, offensive and defensive, with France. General
Canrobert has been received with great distinction by
the court, and with enthusiasm by the people.

The Emperor of Russia has issued an ukase, dated
October 15, ordering, "In consequence of the losses
sustained by our troops during the campaign of the
present year, that a levy of ten men for every thousand
souls shall take place over the whole empire except in
the governments of Pskow, Pultova, Tcheringof, Kharkow,
Ekatherinoslav, Kkerson, and Tauris." On this
subject a letter from St. Petersburg, dated October 26,
published in the Constitutionnel, says:—"The manifesto
of the Czar relative to the new levy, produced here the
most painful impression. Since 1836 no levy of 10 men
in every 1000 inhabitants had taken place throughout
the empire, for you must have remarked that seven
governments only have been exempted from the
measure. Russia, as respects the conscription, is divided
into two great provinces, the one formed of the eastern
governments and the other of the western, each of
which must furnish in turn the annual contingent of
recruits. In 1836 the two provinces supplied together
5 men for every 1000 souls. In 1840, 6 men for every
1000 souls were levied in 25 governments, and 5 in 22
others. In 1848 and 1849 the western part gave 8 men
per 1000 souls, and the eastern 4. It is only since the
beginning of the war that the alternate levies amounted
to 10 and 12 men per 1000 souls, one year in the great
eastern division, and the other in the western. But the