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THE GARDENERS CHRONICLE. 
899 
the corps in which they served. —M. Casimir Delavigne, the 
poet and dramatic author, died at Lyons in the night of 
the 10th inst., in the arms of his wife, andin the presence 
of his son, who is only in his tenth year. He was on his 
way to Montpellier for the re-establishment of his health, 
travelling by short stages. On arriving at Lyons on the 
9th he became too weak to proceed. M. Delavigne was 
born at Havre in 1794. As a private man he was univer- 
sally esteemed. He was a member of the Académie 
Frangaise, and librarian at the Palace of Fontainbleau.— 
The Courrier Francaise states that the crowd was so great 
on Saturday evening in the Café de la Régence to witness 
the game of chess then in progress between the English 
and French amateurs Mr. Staunton and M. St. Amant, 
that six persons became so ill from the heat that it was 
deemed prudent to carry them to their homes. mu- 
nicipal guard was ordered to be stationed at the door of 
the café, whose duty was to admit only the number of 
spectators which it could reasonably contain. The last 
accounts of the game state that Mr. Staunton on Wed- 
nesday had gained 11 games, and M. St. Amant six; 
and that four had been drawn: Mr. Staunton was con. 
sequently the victor. The papers add that he won his 
J1th (the conquering) game in ‘fine style.”’—It would 
appear that horse-racing is losing favour in France. The 
papers announce that the Minister of Commerce has 
suppressed the Royal breeding stud at Rosieres, and con- 
siderably reduced the others by the sale of several horses. 
Spain.—The sittings of the Congress continue to attract 
general attention in Madrid, but the debate upon the 
occurrence of the 28th November advances but slowly, 
On the 9th sundry incidental motions and counter-motions 
were supported by the Progresistas and Moderados, the 
confusion created by which renders an abstract of the dis- 
cussion a difficult task. At length after many interrup- 
tions M. Lopez, the late Prime Minister, moved with 
extreme warmth that the Chamber should refuse to discuss 
either M. Murillo’s proposal to address the throne or the 
Queen’s message. M. Lopez defended the Progress 
party and violently attacked their opponents. He was 
about to discuss the affair at the Palace, which he pro- 
nounced a mere intrigue, when the Chamber adjourned, 
In the sitting of the 10th M. Lopez resumed his speech 
and addressed the Chamber with as much vehemence as 
the day before, deriding the superior veracity ascribed to 
the Queen, inveighing against all that had been done since 
the alleged occurrence at the Palace, and quoting the line 
of a Spanish poet, which says, ‘‘ Do you believe I am 
silly enough, when I wish to dissemble, to do so without 
any appearance of truth?’ The ex-Premier urged as 
evidence of the Palace affair having been but an intrigue 
of the Moderados that he had not been sent for by the 
Queen, although she had assured him on his retirement 
from the Cabinet that she would demand his advice when- 
ever any event of magnitude occurred. He concluded by 
threatening to discharge many more arrows which he had 
in his quiver, and which would inflict severer wounds than 
was supposed. His proposal was nevertheless rejected by 
a majority of 77 to 62. M. Martinez de la Rosa was the 
next to speak in favour of a proposal that all incidental 
motions be set aside and the address to the Queen 
from the army and civil service. On the 13th the 
Chamber after authorising the prosecution of two 
Members, M.M. Mateo and Lorenzo Calvo, who are 
charged with a participation in the late attempt on the 
life of the Captain-General Narvaez, resumed the debate 
on the Queen’s message relative to M. Olozaga. The 
sitting was taken up with another speech of M. Cortina, 
in which he declared that the laws of Spain formally 
impose upon the Sovereigns of that country the obligation 
of telling the truth. On the 14th the debate was resumed, 
and M. Cortina again spoke at considerable length, 
inveighing against the Camarilla, and reminding the 
Moderados of what had taken place in England when, on 
the Tories recovering office, Sir R. Peel required the 
dismissal of certain members of the Royal household. 
He concluded by affirming, that what was passing was 
but a reaction, the consequences of which would be fatal 
to the country. M. Posada followed, and next the 
President of the Council, M. Gonzales Bravo, who, in up- 
holding the Queen’s veracity, gave rise to a serious alter- 
cation and great uproar. pon his reminding the 
Chamber of what he had heard the late Minister of War, 
General Serrano, confidentially state respecting the occur- 
rence at the Palace, the latter cried, ‘ It is not true.” 
M. Gonzales Bravo then exclaimed, “ I regret I am here i 
when Serrano said, ‘ Out of doors it would be the same 
thing.” Another scene of confusion was produced by M. 
Cortina interrupting the Premier with ‘ "Tis false!’ Ser- 
rano spoke afterwards, and M. Gonzales Bravo replied 
that he had not questioned the General’s loyalty, but that 
what he now said did not prevent their subsequent meet- 
ing and their seeing whether they could not come to some 
understanding. The Chamber then adjourned in much 
agitation, as a hostile encounter was expected to follow. 
Several friends of the Minister and General, such as 
Generals Narvaez and Concha, and MM. Engenio Moreno 
and Lopez, had hastened to interpose, and it was hoped 
that through their efforts the meeting would be averted, 
An impending dissolution of the Cortes was still talked of, 
and it was also rumoured that M. Olozaga would shortly 
be arrested. His absence from the two last sittings of the 
Chamber of Deputies had been remarked, and it had 
somewhat corroborated a report of a serious nature 5 
three attempts had been made to assassinate him, and 
he has been compelled to conceal himself. Various 
other reports were afloat denoting the critical state of 
affairs. Among others it was said that four armies were 
about to be formed to act simultaneously, under the com- 
mand of General Concha, and to be stationed at Guada- 
laxara, in Arragon, Catalonia, and Galicia. A decree is 
published in the Gased/e whereby the Queen sanctions 
the levy of 25,000 men voted in August last. With the 
above report may be connected the Espectador’s allegation 
that the Government were preparing to disarm the whole 
National Guard on the same day. In regard to the Queen 
herself, who seems to,be lost sight of amidst these melan- 
choly discussions, it was rumoured that insurmountable 
difficulties have arisen to prevent the marriage of the 
Count d@’Aquila with the young Queen of Spain, and 
that the Count of Trapani has started as a competitor 
for the prize. The Gazette of the 12th contains a Royal 
decree, inti M. Garcia Carrasco Minister of 
be voted as promptly as possible. He was il 
defending the Moderados and repelling the attacks of 
their opponents with gentleness ; the Chamber adjourned 
as he was telling the Progress party that they must 
either believe the Queen’s statement, doubt it, or 
consider it false, and that in the two first cases they must 
vote the address, and in the last impeach M. Olozaga. 
On the 11th M. Martinez de la Rosa resumed the argu- 
ments in support of his motion for permitting no inci- 
dental proposals to be discussed and for hastening the vote 
on the address in reply to the Queen’s message. His 
oration elicited a violent answer from M. Olozaga, who 
indulged in bold theories and carried his notions of equality 
to extremes, but in repeating what he had already said of 
the circumstances which had preceded his accession to 
office, and in assailing the Moderados he threw no addi- 
tional light on the scene at the Palace on the 28th Nov. 
He insisted that his word was as good as that of the Queen, 
and thanked those who offered him their assistance to 
frustrate the ‘‘ wretched intrigues and infernal machina- 
tions of the Court.’ At the close of his speech M. Mar- 
tinez de la Rosa’s proposal was taken into consideration 
by a majority of 126 to 2. On the 12th M. Olozaga again 
addressed the Chamber. He replied principally to those 
who had imputed to him irreverent conduct at a Royal 
banquet and to the allegation of his having picked up 
and pocketed on the evening of the 28th some sugar-plums 
which the Queen had dropped, and represented them as a 
gracious sowvenir sent by her Majesty to his . 
The ex-Minister of War Serrano siext catered reir 
of what had occurred since the 29th, when he was first 
“informed of the occurrences at the Palace the evening 
before. His narrative of the affair put it beyond a doubt 
that the ordinances for the dismissal of Olozaga were 
drawn up without the knowledge or sanction of any single 
member of the Cabinet, and that it was entirely the work 
of the Camarilla. He stated that on his arrival he found 
no less than four ordinances drawn up—one dismissing 
Olozaga, one annulling the decree for the dissolution of 
the Cortes, the third declaring Olozaga incapable of future 
public employment, and the fourth reciting that in future 
the Queen should transact business with the whole 
Cabinet only. He refused to sign any of these decrees, 
because he had a difference with Olozaga; and it was 
only after that that Frias, the only Cabinet Minister who 
signed them, was sent for. General Serrano concluded 
his speech by a severe attack upon the Government for 
the military demonstrations they were making on the 
subject of the Olozaga affair, and also for the dismissals 
Finance. By another decree, signed by the new Minister, 
M. Manuel Gonzales Bravo, father to the Premier, was 
nominated Under-Secretary of the State of the Finance De- 
partment. The same official journal publishes a number 
of other appointments, and amongst them that of Baron 
de Meer as Captain-General of Catalonia in the room of 
General Sanz, who was transferred in the same capacity 
to the seventh military district. The French ambassador, 
M. de Bresson, has had frequent conferences with the 
Minister for Foreign Affairs since his arrival at Madrid. 
Prince de Carini, the Neapolitan envoy, had been present 
at this last interview, and it had been decided that he 
should i diately present his to the Queen, 
Messrs. Donoso Cortes and Ros de Olano left on the 11th 
for Paris, on a mission to Queen Christina to invite her 
to return to Madrid. The invitation, however, contained 
a proviso that she must bring with her 10,000,000f. of the 
150,000,000F. still remaining in her coffers,—a condition 
which is expected to induce her Majesty to decline the 
invitation.—The Saragossa journals of the 14th state that 
some disturbances took place there on the night of the 
12th, and that more were apprehended. The authorities 
were taking steps to preserve order. All singing in the 
public streets was forbidden, the laws regarding pro- 
hibited arms were put in full force, and the military were 
kept on the alert. The people in all parts of Spain are 
said to’ be in a state of great excitement, in consequence 
of the recent events at Madrid, and a general out- 
break seems inevitable. 
PortuGAL.—We have accounts from Lisbon to the 
12th. The Costa Cabral Ministry is surrounded by financial 
difficulties, which have forced it to the unpopular measure 
of imposing fresh taxes on the first necessaries of life— 
such as wine, salt, fresh meat, iron, and flax. In addition 
to this the Government has formidable opponents in the 
municipal bodies, which carry on opposition by means of 
bold and almost seditious addresses. The municipalities 
are dissolved, re-elected, and prosecutions instituted 
against their members. The unpopularity and doubtful 
success of this repression renders the position of the 
Justice Minister as painful as that of the head of finance 
is rendered by the new imposts; and both aresaid to 
meditate resigning. 
Ho.ianp.—By despatches from Berlin we learn that 
the ex-King of Holland, his Majesty William Frederick 
Count of Nassau, died in that capital on the 12th inst. 
Nothing had given reason to expect so speedy an end of 
the life of the venerable Prince. He had béen engaged in 
business that very morning, and was found by his aide- 
de-camp sitting in his own chair, struck by a fit of 
apoplexy, and apparently dead. All the attempts which 
were immediately made to recover his Majesty proved 
fruitless. The deceased Prince was born in the year 
1772, and was therefore at the time of his death 
in the 71st year of his age. He married a Princess of 
Prussia, daughter of Frederick William II. The eldest 
child of this marriage is the present King of Holland 
who was born on the 6th December, 1792. When the 
French republic in 1793 declared war against the Low 
Countries, his Majesty received the command of the army 
of Holland, and greatly distinguished himself during the 
hostilities which ensued. He commanded a division at 
the battle of Jena, and was at the battle of Wagram, after 
which event he proceeded to Berlin, and finally visited 
England, which he did not quit till the year 1813. e 
was proclaimed King of the Netherlands on the 16th of 
March, 1815, and as a Sovereign entered Brussels on the 
5th of April following. On the return of Bonaparte from 
Elba, foreseeing that his territories were likely to become 
the scene of great operations, he lost no time in labouring 
to put their military positions into the best state of de- 
fence that circumstances would permit and to organize 
his troops with as much expedition as possible. The 
command of these forces was confided to the present King 
of Holland, then Prince of Orange, who was wounded at 
their head in the battle of Waterloo. The late King is 
said to have been a person of great simplicity of life, very 
attentive to business and of most economical habits. The 
Paris papers state that the fortune possessed by the 
ex-King of Holland amounts to 156,000,000 florins 
(12,000,0007.) The greater part of this immense fortune 
is vested in the funds of the Belgian General Society. 
The rupture which separated Holland from Belgium and 
gave the title of King of Holland merely to the deceased 
monarch—his abdication in 1840 in favour of his son— 
his second marriage to the Countess d’Oultremont—his 
life of retirement as the Count of Nassau—are circum- 
stances of course familiar to every reader. : 
Grermany.—From Vienna we learn that there is now 
no longer any doubt that the Archduke Stephen will be 
placed at the head of the government of Bohemia, but 
with what title is not known. The best results for the 
kingdom of Bohemia are expected from this measure. 
The Grand Duke Alexander of Russia and his consort, 
with the Prince Alexander of Hesse, arrived on the 9th at 
Darmstadt from St. Petersburg at the Grand Duke’s 
Palace, where they intend to make a long stay. The city 
gave them a very brilliant reception. 
Ivary.—The Paris papers state that the French and 
English papers have been excluded from Rome in conse- 
quence of the attacks they have lately contained on the 
Pope. The excitement in Naples is still very great and 
the Government are taking further precautionary steps. 
Much astonishment has been created by a singular event 
which has recently occurred at Rome, and is the topic of 
general conversation. Prince Gallitzin, who has resided 
in that city for many years deriving his income from his 
estates in Russia, has had his remittances stopped by 
order of the Russian Government. The cause of this 
measure has not yet transpired. In consequence of this 
circumstance the erecting of a splendid palace which Prince 
Gallitzin was constructing on the Piazza Clementina, after 
the model of the palace Giraud, the masterpiece of the cele- 
brated architect Bramante, is now discontinued. It is said 
that the Duke Alessandro Torlonia will become the pur- 
chaser of it as it now stands, and have the building 
finished on the same plan as originally intended by Prince 
Gallitzin. The Papal Government have been straitened 
in pecuniary matters owing to the extra expenses occa- 
sioned for supp ing the late di y 3 and although 
they had resolved a short time back not to have recourse 
to a loan, one fora million of scudi with an eminent 
London house is said to be nearly concluded.—A letter 
from Palermo of Nov. 27 states, ‘‘ We have received at 
last advices from Catanea referring to the eruption of 
Etna. The fire which had been observed on the top of 
the mount for some time was not a real stream of lava, 
but only the reflection of the lava slowly rising within the 
crater. However, on the 17th November, the mass of 
lava opened itself an outlet, breaking through on the 
north side below the crater of 1842, and forming out of 
the new crater with great force a fresh stream, which in 
a northerly direction and with great rapidity flowed 
towards the village of Bronte. The inhabitants of this 
place very much frightened by the fiery mass fast running 
towards them, packed up all their movables in order to 
leave their homes the next day; but on the 18th the lava 
stream divided itself into two branches, and spared the 
alarmed inhabitants, who a few hours before thought their 
former dwellings would be buried under a stream of fire. 
The eruption did not however pass over without damage ; 
the lava reached many vineyards and fields, which have 
been changed into barren black heaps of stone. On the 
23d the lava was flowing quite slowly.” 
Greece.—Accounts from Athens state that the elec- 
tion of President and Vice-Presidents of the National 
Assembly has taken place with the general approbation of 
the people, and that it affords an additional proof of the 
happy unanimity which prevails in the Assembly. Notaros, 
aman of no party, revered from age, being upwards of 
100 years old, and from having presided over several 
assemblies, is President. The Vice-Presidents are Mavro- 
cordato, Coletti, Metaxos, and Londos, all four ministers 
—the three first considered to be representatives of the 
three parties, English, French, and Russian. The rules of 
the Belgian Chambers have been followed in those laid 
down for the Assembly. 
Gibrattarn.—H.M.’s steamer Locust sailed from 
