intentions are disclaimed: an offer is made to refer new archbishop was the occasion for a sudden and the question of right to the arbitration of any foreign power, to be chosen by the pontiff. Such is understood to be the nature of the concession made by the government of Vienna. As to the responsibility of the local commander, that may very probably be true. It is evident that the infirmities of Prince Metternich are telling seriously on the administration of Austrian affairs: had he done the work himself, it is not probable that he would have made so great a political blunder as the gratuitous aggression on the Roman territory. But in his decline a good deal is necessarily left to subordinates. And that fact furnishes Austria with a loophole to back out by. irrepressible burst of cries to the honor of the pre- The pope is said to have declined to negotiate until Austria should have relinquished her armed occupation of his territory: but practically the The important event which, though productive question has been brought within diplomatic dis- of so little effect at the time, has decidedly changed cussion, and it is to be hoped that the wiser spirit the fate of Italy, was the occupation of Ancona, now manifested by Austria may be improved. If it an armed protest against the violent interference be possible to reestablish Italy among the nations, of Austria in the affairs of southern Italy. The without bloodshed or war, the achievement would occupation of Ancona, be it remembered, was not be worthy of the enlightened views which states- merely an act of France, or of a French captain. men of our day so loudly boast.-Spectator, 11 Sept. It was a measure deliberated upon, resolved, and If the rulers of Italy are of accord, they do not sanctioned by the joint accord of France and Engas yet go fast enough for the people, and the pro- land, and was a position taken up by the two great gress of the peaceful revolution is hastened by the constitutional countries of the west against the depopular impatience. The record of the journalist spotic tendencies and dictation of the east. The can barely keep pace with the march of events occupation of Ancona, as well as the reduction of now some great movement occurs in Rome, now Antwerp, were acts of France, supported by Engthe sound of revolt in the Neapolitan domains pen-lish assent. Without this support, France would etrate through the muffling of the press; now the in both cases have brought down war upon her. scene is shifted to Lucca, to Leghorn, to Genoa; | Austria mooted the point; but seeing England and and the Austrians cannot keep stillness even in their own territory. France arrayed against her, bowed her head, and submitted to the occupation of Ancona, and to something more serious, viz., the principle implied and established in that occupation. We last week learned the ready concession yielded by the Grand Duke de Lucca to the demands of his subjects he retracted, but only to make his concession the more complete. After his paternal proclamation, Charles Louis ran off, like Louis the Sixteenth, and repudiated his concessions: a deputation was sent to bring him back: he declined to go home, but offered to appoint a regency with the chief of the popular deputation at its head: the managers of the revolution were not to be thus foiled, they threatened to confiscate the duke's goods; on which he returned with haste and did all that he was required to do. It has been ascer-It is known how Louis Philippe sought to conclude :tained, therefore, who is master in Lucca. Since that period until now, Austria has marched no columns across the Po. She has even much relaxed of her absolutism. Her efforts have been directed rather to conciliate than intimidate the princes of Italy, and to manage that country amicably through its courts and statesmen, without bullying or dictation. There was the more necessity for this, since France having so signally come forward to captivate the good will of the Italian people, now addressed herself also to Italian princes. a marriage between the King of Naples and one of Tuscany benefited by this great political experi- his daughters. This was defeated by Austria, who ment on the obduracy of princes: the people called gave the monarch an archduchess. In Piedmont upon the Grand Duke Leopold to hasten his con- and Rome, Austria was equally successful, preventcessions, and he complied at once. A national ing the pope from acknowledging the constitutional guard is now the guardian of order in Tuscany.queens of either Spain or Portugal, and checking, It has therefore been ascertained who is master there. Parma, a small quasi-Austrian duchy, seems disposed to follow Lucca. in short, every move of France. The abilities of Count Rossi, and his efforts, when sent ambassador to Rome, changed the fortunes of this secret and diplomatic war. Rossi procured the election of Pius the Ninth, thereby routed the Austrians, and drove them from the very centre and strength of their Italian position. A similar spirit has been manifested in all parts of the Italian territory, though it takes an endless variety of shapes: in Sicily and Calabria, it is armed revolt; in the towns of the Roman States, The King of the French had thus a straight and it is fervid and clamorous loyalty to Pius the Ninth; glorious path before him, and had but to pursue it in Genoa, it is exulting displays in honor of the old with moderation in order to emancipate Italy, and expulsion of the Austrians; in Piedmont, it is sug-neutralize the power and the despotism of Austria. gestive cries in praise of Charles Albert. In many places "the Italian flag," a tricolor, has been unfurled, instead of the flags of the separate States; and among the cries has been one for a "King of Italy." But the most significant of all demonstrations, perhaps, is the out-break at Milan, the capital and head-quarters of Austrian Italy. The arrival of a But dynastic purposes and interests intervened. The settlement of a younger son, and the hope of his wearing the Spanish crown, overweighed with Louis Philippe all the interests of France or of freedom, and his majesty has evidently been anxious to sell both to Austria, in return for its support of the Montpensier succession. In consequence of such an understanding with Italy has been a favored seat of intellect and art, more than once of political power. Although hideous corruption destroyed the empire of Rome, the Romans still exist. Florence and the other Italian city-states first helped civilization to struggle out of the dark ages; and although their returning greatness bore in it the seeds of decay, from the very necessity of inexperience, which made them adopt imperfect political principles, it should never be forgotten that they set Europe the example of civilization and self-government. Italians redeemed the lost learning of the ancients. Italians revived the arts, as they still lead in the youngest of the artsmusic. Long as the Italians have been kept in bondage, they have never sunk so low as the other countries in the south of Europe. Spain, whose brightest history was that of her Arab rulers, has been in the comparison semi-barbarous. Greece, the great teacher and prototype of Italy, though possibly she may retain her natural faculties, is but emerging from the dark ages, prolonged for her by Mussulman oppression even to our own day. Italy has been held down, but has never yielded-has never forgotten, has never ceased to vindicate, her nationality; and Mr. Cobden can tell whether her politicians are behind our own in knowledge. France, Austria imagined that she might recur to her old policy, might once more intimidate the sov ereigns of Rome, Naples, and Sardinia, without any fear of an Ancona occupation; and accordingly Prince Metternich pushed his legions to the city of Ferrara. He, however, reckoned without his host. Although France might have been bought, England remained unsold. One of the powers that had sanctioned the occupation of Ancona and the independence of Italy was true to its old policy, and took up that standard which the French king had purposely let fall, and which announced that the apparition of Austrian bayonets beyond the Po would bring British guns and vessels into the Italian ports both of the Adriatic and of the western coast. The demonstration was enough. Austria has withdrawn. The pope and the Italians are left to right themselves, and work out their own reforms; each gov-never rivalled Italy in intellect or art, but has always ernment being left undisturbed in its confidence and councils to guide and control the popular effervescence and its outbreaks-most dangerous, indeed, but inevitable in such a state of things, and which hitherto has been marked by no fatal or disastrous symptoms. Never did a great, a national, a universal change from monarchic monopoly to the acknowledgment of popular rights, take place with less of the character, or more of the realities, of revolution.-Examiner, 18 Sept. The accidents of their own priority in civilization, of their consequent dissensions, of the course of events in Europe, have contributed to split up the people of Italy into a number of petty states. The feeble sovereigns have sought a strength from without, and in return for Austrian protection have been the servants of Austria. That fatal reliance has deprived them of internal strength: defended against their own people, they have aided Austria in oppressing and weakening their people; their people have been an enemy, not a support; and thus the princes have been content to be sovereigns over DIPLOMATIC INTERCOURSE WITH ROME.-The truth is that there is hardly a single court of Europe with which it is of greater importance that we should be in regular and legitimate communication than this. The pontifical dominions promise to be the birthplace of that enlightened and liberal policy which is to retrieve the long degradation of the Italian peninsula, and which it is the interest of all philanthropists to promote. Nor is the influence of their sovereign confined to his own territories. As the spiritual head of a vast number of British sub-states which were stunted, feeble, and poor. But jects, he exercises a certain controlling power within these realms which it might indeed be thought very desirable to transfer to more amenable hands, but which it is the height of childishness to ignore. The influence, such as it is, actually exists, not in force sufficient, as experience has often proved, to It is all altered now. Italy, even while divided, be weighed for a moment against the suggestions has been one of the great nations of Europe; as of loyalty or patriotism, but with quite enough real-intellectual as any; as replete with political infority to deserve attention. And yet, for the sake of a statute already condemned by the conclusions of sense and reason, we have been contented to forego all the benefit which might be derived from amicable relations with a sovereign whose voice on certain points would be respectfully listened to by some millions of British subjects.-Times. the government of a poor and feeble state is itself poor and feeble; and the princes of Italy have scarcely ranked with the private peers of England or the marshals of France. They have been of no account in the councils of Europe. mation, as ripe for modern self-government, as most. But, divided among feeble princes, possessing no unity, she has been a blank in the European system. At present, when any question arises in Europe, we talk of its being settled by "the five powers"Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia; the secondary powers, such as Holland and Belgium, occasionally take their share; but Italy PROMOTION OF THE ITALIAN PRINCES.-There is is a nullity. Let her be free and united, and, with reason to hope that the sovereigns of Italy have not her high intellect, she becomes a leading, a first-rate only yielded to the peaceful revolution which keeps power: we shall henceforth speak of the six powthe even tenor of its way among them, but that ers-Austria, France, Great Britain, Italy, Prussia, they have adopted it, and perceive how large an and Russia. When Austria or Russia seeks to interest they have in its consummation. It will keep back the progress of the world, France and virtually promote them from the rank of vassals to England will look to the princes of Italy to join that of potentates. This is apparent from the facts. them in maintaining the lead. Apart from all conItaly has never altogether lost her greatness. Her siderations of disinterested humanity, the princes country is still blessed with the same sun that shone of Italy, if they are as wise as they seem inclined upon it when Rome emerged into the light of his-to be, will perceive that the emancipation of their tory, or when the city of Fiesole looked down upon land under Pius the Ninth will confer upon them an the flooded Arno and saw no younger rival in Flor- immense accession of political power and royal digence the Fair. From the earliest dawn of history,nity.-Spectator. From the Examiner. of the merchants had been deposited by them in the History of the Bank of England, its Times and mint, then within the tower, with a perfect convicTraditions. By JOHN FRANCIS. Two vols. Wition of its safety. If the short-sighted policy of the loughby; Effingham Wilson. earlier kings of England had extorted money from EVERY one has laughed at Sydney Smith's witty the Jew and the Lombard, at least they borrowed and wise assertion that the warlike power of every from their English subjects; it remained for the country, in these modern and mercantile days, polished Charles to sully his fair fame by robbing depends on their three per cents. them. Yet let him not be judged too harshly"If Cæsar were Right and wrong assume new aspects under varyto reappear on earth," said the peaceful canon, Wettenhall's List would be more important than his ing circumstances. The monarch trembled on his Commentaries; Rothschild would open and shut the throne. His prerogatives were denied. His favorTemple of Janus; Thomas Baring, or Bates, would ite minister was impeached. The claims of his probably command the tenth legion; and the soldiers children were endangered. A discontented people An irritated would march to battle with loud cries of scrip and were opposed to a perfidious court. omnium, reduced, consols, and Cæsar." Great ac- parliament were thwarting a proud aristocracy. countants bear out the great wit; and Mr. Finlay-The supplies were stopped, and levies were made in vain. To compass these dangers money was son, examining the states of the three per cents. all over the world, tells the House of Commons required; to gain it by ordinary means was impracassembled in grave committee at what precise time ticable. Ere judgment be passed, let these things it may look for insolence, and when for patience, be remembered. Rank, family, life, were in the balfrom the full or empty purses of the rival powers ance, and the monarch yielded. The money placed of Europe. What more dignified subject for his by the merchants in the mint, amounting to two tory, then, in these modern days, than banks and hundred thousand pounds, was seized; the sanctubanking operations? So it seemed to Mr. Francis, ary of a people's commercial faith was violated to who has written a very amusing book. He appears supply the royal necessities.” to be connected in some way with the great corporation, and familiar with its practical workings and ways. But he has treated his subject popularly; and does not affect to discuss the many grave questions which rise in connection with it, and are likely to force themselves soon more nearly upon public attention. He has a clever knack at compiling, fits in his anecdotes very pleasantly, and writes what he has to say for himself with considerable ease and freedom of style. Is not this somewhat dangerous "bank" doctrine? If the circumstances Mr. Francis inentions, and not the immutable moral laws, are to determine right and wrong, what wretched culprit that ever held up his hand at the Old Bailey might not have pleaded precisely such in acquittal of his crime? The murderer lifts the knife, and the thief takes the purse, because "to gain his object by ordinary means is impracticable." The passage is also an illustration of a somewhat To any knowledge of the science of political vicious excess of short sentences which impairs economy, we should think Mr. Franeis made small the otherwise easy style of Mr. Francis' writing. "The prize for which he struck was a kingdom.' pretension; and his book will win little regard from the graver economical pundits. He is simply and says Mr. F. of the Pretender. "The spirit with as it were personally devoted to the very respecta- which he contended was worthy of the prize. His ble Old Lady of Threadneedle street. march was one scene of triumph. Men fought for Her griefs are his; her accidents, adventures, and glories. him. Women embraced him." And so forth. "He soon learned to play many parts," says Mr. What she owed to her founder, William Paterson; how far she has been befriended by the state, and F. of Charles Price the forger. "Now a comedian, with what rich interest she has repaid that service; and now a gentleman's servant. At one time a how the fates of such schemes as the Mississippi in rogue and the companion of rogues, and then a fraudFrance, and the South Sea in England, were but ulent brewer or a fraudulent bankrupt. Great taltestimonies in her behalf; how panies arising from ent was employed in enormous crimes, and great the pope, the devil, the pretender, joint-stock evil was the result. His only confidant was his schemes, and railways, have at various times agi- mistress. He practised engraving till he became tated the old lady; how she has borne up against proficient. He made his own ink. He manufacthe "runs" that have on these occasions threatened tured his own paper." All this, with its huge to bear her down; how she has been able, when affectation of pretence about it, is miserable slipnecessary, without any very material loss of char-slop. Let us give one more instance. "England, acter, to suspend her payments in cash; how she says Mr. F., speaking of the time of the French might have profited by branch banks, and how much Three Days, "felt that mighty and revolutionary more the country would have profited by their adop-spirit. The demands for reform grew earnest and tion; how the curious forgeries of Price, the des- incessant. Ireland was told by the Liberator to look perate frauds of Fauntleroy, and all the various at France and Belgium. Kent, the garden of EngNight after exchequer bills, wills, and continental forgeries, land, witnessed the first disturbances. have variously affected or afflicted her; and finally, night, conflagrations were lighted up by bands of what countless human beings' blood she has shed incendiaries. Mills were attacked. Machinery was in a vain attempt to keep her own one-pound-circu- demolished. All protection for property seemed at lation pure ;-all this is Mr. Francis' theme. We an end." A man who can write so well as Mr. must do him the justice to add, that in the last-men- Francis should be ashamed of such writing as this. tioned case, he does not think his venerable client void of blame. His opinions on such matters are liberal and intelligent, as we find them for the most part on every subject introduced. Occasionally we have a slip of the pen; as where he mentions a celebrated incident of the reign of Charles the First: We close with a few extracts that are more amusing. Lovers of mere anecdotical gossip will find Mr. Francis' book agreeable reading. FATE OF ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE BANK. "Mr. Michael Godfrey, whose pamphlet has been quoted, and to whose exertions, with those of Wil"The treasure arising from the accumulated gains | liam Paterson, may be traced the successful estab A FRENCH SETTLEMENT. lishment of the bank, met with a somewhat singular for supper. The opera was crowded with cooks, fate in 1695. Previously to this year, the allied ladies' maids, and grisettes, dressed in the superbarmies had retreated before the wisdom of Louis, est style of fashion, who had fallen from a garret and the bravery of his soldiers. The funds supplied into a carriage." by the new corporation changed the scene; but the transmission of specie was difficult and full of hazard, and Mr. Godfrey left his peaceful avocations to visit Namur, then vigorously besieged by the English monarch. The deputy governor, willing to flatter the king, anxious to forward his mission, or possibly imagining the vicinity of the sovereign to be the safest place he could choose, ventured into the trenches. As you are no adventurer in the trade of war, Mr. Godfrey,' said William, 'I think you should not expose yourself to the hazard of it.' "Not being more exposed than your Majesty,' was the courtly reply, should I be excusable if I showed more concern!' "Yes!' returned William, I am in my duty, and therefore have a more reasonable claim to pres ervation.' "A cannon-ball at this moment answered the reasonable claim to preservation,' by killing Mr. Godfrey with several officers near the king, and it requires no great stretch of imagination to fancy a saturnine smile passing over the countenance of the monarch, as he beheld the fate of the citizen who paid so heavy a penalty for playing the courtier in the trenches of Namur. Tradition states that Mr. Godfrey's remains, which were buried in the churchyard of St. Christopher le Stocks, were disinterred, to make room for the enlargement of that prosperous establishment in which he once felt so deep an interest, and in the service of which he may be said to have fallen." THE MISSISSIPPI MANIA. "A considerable banker at Paris having a draught brought to him from a public office in that city for a large sum, which he could not answer, after cramming down the draught into a loaded pistol, called to the gentleman who brought it, and telling him, This, sir, is the way that persons who have no money pay bills that are due,' instantly clapped the pistol to his ear, and shot himself dead." THE FIRST FORGER. "The day on which a forged note was first presented at the Bank of England forms a memorable era in its history. For sixty-four years the establishment had circulated its paper with freedom; and during this period no attempt had been made to imitate it. He who takes the initiative in a new line of wrong doing has more than the simple act to answer for; and to Richard William Vaughan, a Stafford linen-draper, belongs the melancholy celebrity of having led the van in this new phase of crime, in the year 1758. The records of his life do not show want, beggary, or starvation urging him, but a simple desire to seem greater than he was. By one of the artists employed, and there were several engaged on different parts of the notes, the discovery was made. The criminal had filled up to the number of twenty; and deposited them in the hands of a young lady to whom he was attached, as a proof of his wealth. There is no calculating how much longer bank-notes might have been free from imitation, had this man not shown with what ease they might be counterfeited." THE FIRST CLIPPER. "A new crime was discovered in 1767. The notice of the clerks at the bank had been attracted by the habit of William Guest, a teller, picking new from old guineas, without assigning any reason. An indefinite suspicion-increased by the knowledge that an ingot of gold had been seen in Guest's possession-was attracted; and although he asserted that it came from Holland, it was remarked to be very unlike the regular bars of gold, and that it had a considerable quantity of copper on the back. Attention being thus drawn to the behavior of Guest. he was observed to hand one Richard Still some guineas, which he took from a private drawer, and placed with the others on the table. Still was instantly followed; and on the examination of his money, three of the guineas in his possession were deficient in weight. An inquiry was immediately instituted; and forty of the guineas in the charge of Guest looked fresher than the others upon the edges, and weighed much less than the original amount. On searching his home, four pounds eleven ounces of gold filings were found, with some in "The dirty street, Quincampoix, in which Law resided, was impassable. People of the highest rank clustered about his dwelling to learn their destiny, and delicate women braved all weathers with the hope of enriching themselves. 300,000 applications were made for 50,000 shares; and the destiny of an empire, remarkable for its national hauteur. seemed in the hands of John Law, the son of a Scottish jeweller. From six in the morning until eight in the evening the street was filled with fervent worshippers of mammon. The dissolute courtiers of the yet more dissolute regent shared in the spoil. The princes of the blood were not too proud to participate. They mingled with the eager erowd, they added their voices to the Babel-like confusion, and when they won the money of the canaille, thought they did then too much honor in accepting it. The antechamber of Law was crowded by women of rank and beauty-the mistress of Law vas flattered by ladies as irreproachable as the court of the regent would allow them to be-and interviews with Law were sought with so much assiduity, that one lady caused her earriage to be upset to attract his attention; and another stopped before his hotel, and ordered her servants to raise the cry of Fire. The people emulated one another instruments calculated to produce artificial edges. luxury. Equipages more remarkable for splendor than taste rolled about the streets. Footmen got up behind their own carriages, so accustomed were they to that position. One of those who had done so recollected himself in time to cover his mistake by saying he wished to see if room could be made for two or three more lackeys whom he had resolved to hire. The son of a baker, wishing a service of plate, sent the contents of a jeweller's shop to his wife, with directions to arrange the articles properly Proofs soon multiplied; and the prisoner was found guilty. The instrument with which he had effected his fraud, of which one of the witnesses asserted it was the greatest improvement he had ever seen, is said to be yet in the mint, a memento of the prisoner's capacity and erime.” INGENUITY OF FRAUD. "In 1780, a gentleman of eminence in the mercantile world was grieved by the contents of a letter train could be seen for miles in rear, dotting with its snow-white tops the maguey covered plain. On our left was Popocatapetl and Iscatafetl, the snow on their not distant tops rendering the air quite chilly. General Scott did not leave with us, but came on the next day with Captain Kearney's dragoons. The second day's march was like the first, gradually ascending, passing through defiles, narrow passes and over deep chasms, where a more determined enemy might have seriously annoyed us by merely making use of the obstacles nature everywhere presented. Thick woods of the finest forest trees were abundant, and the rugged nature of the country would readily carry one back to the northern parts of New England or the passes of the "Notch." Here and there beautiful little lakes were interspersed in the deep valleys, and the clearness and coldness of their waters were almost incredible. which he received from a correspondent at Ham-on looking back from the head of the column, our burgh, the post-mark of which it bore. From the statement it contained, it appeared that a person most minutely described had defrauded the writer, under extraordinary circumstances, of 3000l. The letter continued to say, information had been obtained that the defrauder-the dress and person of whom it described-was occasionally to be seen on the Dutch Walk of the Royal Exchange. The object of the writer was to induce his correspondent to invite the party to dinner; and, by any moral force which could be used, compel him to return the money; adding, that if he should be found amenable to reason, and evince any signs of repentance, he might be dismissed with a friendly caution and five hundred pounds, as he was a near relation of the writer. As the gentleman whose name it bore was a profitable correspondent, the London merchant kept a keen watch on the Dutch Walk, and was at last successful in meeting, and being introduced to the cheat. The invitation to dine was accepted; and the host, having previously given The third day we were to encounter the much notice to his family to quit the table soon after din- vaunted pass of" Rio Frio," and also the passage ner, acquainted his visitor with his knowledge of of the mountain which was to lead us to the El the fraud. Alarm and horror were depicted in the Dorado of our hopes, the great plain of Mexico. countenance of the young man, who, with tones Our march was to be long and difficult, and three apparently tremulous from emotion, begged his dis- o'clock saw us under way with heart and hopes full grace might not be made public. To this the mer- of the prospect before us. The much dreaded pass chant consented, provided the 30007. were returned. is reached and passed. The mountains which skirt The visitor sighed deeply; but said that to return the road on the left, here close upon it for about a all was impossible, as he had unfortunately spent mile, overhanging and enfilading it completely and part of the amount. The remainder, however, he affording with their crests most excellent coverings proposed to yield instantly, and the notes were for an enemy's marksmen. The newly cut trees handed to the merchant, who, after dilating upon and long range of breast-works thrown up on the the goodness of the man he had robbed, concluded crest, showed us that preparations had been made, his moral lesson by handing a cheque for 500l. as a while numerous parapets with embrasures in the proof of his beneficence. The following morning logs taught us what might have been done. But the gentleman went to the banker to deposit the no men were there-the muskets and cannon were money he had received, when, to his great surprise, gone. Valencia, with 6,000 Mexicans, was full a he was told that the notes were counterfeit. His next inquiries were concerning the cheque, but that had been cashed shortly after the opening of the bank. He immediately sent an express to his Hamburgh correspondent, who replied that the letter was a forgery, and that no fraud had been committed upon him. The whole affair had been plotted by a gang, some of whom were on the continent, and some in England." Mr. Francis dedicates his book, as "illustrative of the origin and progress of the Bank of England, and forming the first history yet attempted of the greatest monetary establishment in the world," to Sir Robert Peel, whom he thinks the greatest statesman of the day. From the Courier and Enquirer. THE BATTLES OF CONTRERAS AND CHERUBUSCO. THE following clear and admirable description of the march and achievements of the American army, under Gen. Scott, from the day of its leaving Puebla, until it became master of the city of Mexico, will be read with universal interest, and we therefore give it place, to the exclusion of much other matter prepared for to-day's paper: SAN ANGELO, Mexico, Aug. 31, 1847. We left Puebla on the morning of the 7th, and entered upon a beautiful rolling country of great fertility, supplying with its gardens the inhabitants of Puebla with food, and surrounded by lofty mountains, some of which were covered with snow. Our road was gradually ascending and so good that day's march ahead, making for Mexico with a speed mountain, with the enemy's scouts on every side of us. teen miles from Mexico by the national road, which |