On 16th October, the States-General were opened at Brussels by the king in person, who was pleased to nominate, as president of the second Chamber, M. Reyphius, who was the first candidate on the list, and selected from the ranks of the constitutional opposition. On the 20th, the annual budget for 1827 was presented to the second Chamber by the minister of the interior. It amounted to 21,070,409 florins, and exceeded that of 1826 by 987,926 florins. In the department of the interior, there was an increase of 2,100,000 florins, which was partly designed for the construction of a number of maritime works, and facilitating the navigation of the Rhine, and part of which, 500,000 florins, was meant for the support of the Catholic Church in the southern provinces. After long discussions, which continued till 23d December, the Chamber adopted the project of a law, which appropriated for 1827, 2,400,000 florins to the redemption of the pub. lic debt; but the project which was to fix the expenses was rejected by 77 votes opposed to 23 votes. When this result was made known, his Majesty, by a message, requested the Chamber to take the first project into farther consideration, and withdrew the other. He then replaced both by a new project, which authorized his government to collect taxes, and continue the expenditure on the footing on which both had been placed by the budget for 1826; and that for the first half of the year 1827. This provisional measure was agreed to, without opposition, by both Chambers. The news received from Java was both distressing and alarming. The new governor, Viscount Dubus de Gisignies, who had sailed for that colony with fresh troops, had hoped to appease the insurgent natives, by introducing an improved system of government; but was completely disappointed. The insurgents continued to devastate the territory belonging to the Dutch, and compelled them to fortify themselves in several positions. A number of petty conflicts took place in August and September, attended with no results but the loss of lives; but, about the beginning of October, a battle upon a grand scale was fought between Solo and Samarang, the Dutch being commanded by General Van Green, and the Javans by their Palembang, Depo Negoro. The result was, according to the accounts received in Europe, that the Dutch army was almost annihilated, and the victorious general had advanced to the neighbourhood of Samarang, Whether these accounts are strictly correct, we have no means of determining; but that the affairs of the Dutch in Java were in a most critical state, was evident from the demand made by the government upon the States-General to have the army in that island reinforced, CHAPTER XI. Switzerland.-Rome.-Two Sicilies. THE Swiss Diet assembled at Luerne in the month of July, when it esumed the question which had been o long agitated regarding the proriety of establishing a peculiar police or the coercion of emigrant strangers, nd also for restraining the liberty of he press, so that its labours might ot be offensive to foreign powers. A ariety of opinions were offered upon he question by the deputies of the lifferent cantons; but as the discusion advanced, it was evident that he friends of liberal principles had gained ground; and, at length, it was greed to adjourn the question until he succeeding Diet. Before separating, the Diet took nto consideration a variety of reports of commissions. One of these recomnended a revision of the penal code, which the Diet approved of. Another communicated the basis of a preliminary treaty, entered into by the French ambassador and the commissioners of the Helvetian republic, for a convention between the two nations,reciprocally regulating the rights of settlement and domicile of the citizens of the one who might establish themselves in the territory of the other. The federal directory was charged by the Diet to transmit the preliminary treaty to the different cantons, who were recommended to make known their opinions of it before the 1st January. VOL. XIX. PART I. There was this year formed at Thoun, an encampment of the national federal army, consisting of seven battalions of infantry, four companies of dragoons, two companies of carabineers, and one company of artillerymen. After having been exercised for several days, and executing a number of grand manoeuvres, the troops retired into their respective cantons. The great Council of Lucerne, having been petitioned to permit the introduction into that city of the Protestant worship, determined, upon 29th December, by 52 votes against 39, to grant the permission applied for, reserving to the Council to grant at any time afterwards a still greater latitude of toleration. The Pope of Rome busied himself exceedingly this year in fulminating bulls and edicts against the members of all secret societies whatever throughout the whole of Christendom, whom he denounced as guilty of high treason, and invoked all Christian princes to assist in their extirpation. These documents are chiefly remarkable, as proving the eager credulity of their author, and the vengeful spirit with which he was animated. They were displeasing to a party in the college of cardinals, who conceived them to have been dictated by that foreign influence which domineers over and oppresses Italy; to have been meant to serve as an apology for the continued occupation of Naples by Austrian troops; and as likely to give offence to all constitutional go vernments. In one instance, however, the Pontiff was pleased to make a display of common sense and of clemency. By an ordinance he reduced, by three-fourths, the punishments of about 300 persons, who had been condemned, in the provinces of Ravenna, Cesena, and Forli, to imprisonment, for being implicated in seditious practices. The punishment of others who had been condemned for the same crime to not more than four years' imprisonment, he entirely remitted. Meantime, these provinces continued to be agitated by serious troubles. The cardinal legate, Rivarola, escaped assassination in a singular manner. A canon who was travelling in his suite, having been mistaken for the Cardinal himself, was fired at, and mortally wounded by a pistol shot. Upon receiving intelligence of this outrage, the Pope sent an extraordinary commission into the provinces. A number of arrests were made; but, notwithstanding, and though a reward of 10,000 pistoles was offered for the discovery of the assassins of the Cardinal, all the investigations of the commissioners turn ed out fruitless. As if in contempt of the spirit of the age and of public opinion, the Pope re-erected the districts of Conca and Canemorto, in the Roman states, into perpetual fiefs, with civil and criminal jurisdiction, and the right of sanctuary. The first he bestowed upon the Inquisition; the other upon the Chapter of St Peter of the Vatican. This year the dominions of the Neapolitan monarch were relieved of one part of the dead-weight which pressed so heavily upon them. On 9th April, the Austrian troops which occupied Sicily, consisting of about 6000 men, under the command of General Count Lilienberg, were embarked in transports, and sailed, one division of them for Trieste and Venice, and the other for Naples, where they were safely landed. The place of the Austrians was supplied by 9000 national troops brought from the continent, who oc cupied different points of the island. By a royal ordinance, dated 24th May, two Councils of State were esta blished, one at Naples, and another at Palermo. Military commissions also were established in all the provinces for the summary trial and punishment of seditious persons, and persons connected with secret societies. As some of the commissions seemed to proceed reluctantly in their work of blood, or at least to have great difficulty in discovering victims, the King, on 18th September, issued a new ordinance for the purpose of stimulating their activity. There was a violent suspicion entertained at the time that these ordinances, as well as the bulls and edicts of the Pope, were at the instigation of Austria. Such was the distracted state of the finances, that it was found necessary to impose new taxes, and to increase some of the old ones, especially the personal contribution or poll-tax, and the duties upon luxuries; by which it was thought the revenue would gain an addition of 400,000 dollars, and an equality be established between the receipt and expenditure. On the other hand, the King promised to the landed proprietors and farmers some material relief from the billeting of soldiers, by which he hoped to stifle the loud complaints that were made of the partial military occupation of the kingdom by the Austrians beyond the term fixed by the treaty of 28th April 1825. CHAPTER XII. Russia. tal, and indeed the whole empire, was involved in the deepest gloom. The premature death of Alexander had given a severe shock to the feelings of the people; and there was scarcely a distinguished family in the empire, which had not reason to be seriously apprehensive, on account of some of its members, of the result of the labours of the commission which had been formed to investigate the recent conspiracy. In order to put an end to a state of apprehension on the part of the mass of the soldiery engaged in the revolt, the emperor THE result of the insurrection, hich unfortunately distinguished he accession of the Emperor Nichois, must have convinced the most fatuated of the conspirators, that he Russian peasantry, and people enerally, were indisposed to a raical change, and even not sufficienty ripe to look with favour upon any ensible improvement in their system f government. But the emperor onceived it prudent, under the cirumstances, to adopt a number of meliorating measures. He forwardd injunctions to all the provincial unctionaries, to the effect of prevent-adjudged that, of the two regiments ng abuses in the treatment of the Doors, and protecting the rights of he poorer classes, and of expediting he decision of causes before the triunals. He also established a particular section in the Imperial Chanery, to be under his own immediate surveillance, for the purpose of completing a new code of laws, and prescribed to the committee the term of two years for the fulfilment of its labours. He also remitted all arrears of taxes then due, which did not exceed 2000 rubles, and the discharge of all those imprisoned for debts due to the state, which did not exceed the above sum. But, notwithstanding these and other benificent measures, the capi of the guards, about 300 of the most guilty should be confined in fortresses, and the rest distributed among the troops of the line. But afterwards, on the occasion of a review, the em peror, at the intercession of the Archduke Michael, remitted even these lenient punishments; and, addressing the insurgent regiments, told them he would give them an opportunity of proving their courage and loyalty, by sending them as a reinforcement to the army of Georgia, which was engaged in subduing certain predatory and rebellious tribes, inhabiting Mount Caucasus; and that, in their absence, he himself would provide for their wives and families. This communication of his majesty's gra cious sentiments was received by the troops with shouts of gratitude and applause. An official statement was published by government, from which it appeared, that, since 1823, there had been a gradual diminution of the national expenditure to the amount of no less than 168,300,000 rubles; and that in the course of these three years, there had been no new loan what ever. Another very important document appeared about this period. It was an official report upon the military colonies, by the governor of these colonies, Count Arackschejeff. It appeared from it, that the advantages which were proposed in the establishment of the colonies, had not been obtained. It had been calculated, that they would increase within themselves sufficiently to render any other mode of recruiting unnecessary; but the mortality among the sons of the soldiers had been so great, in comparison with the births, that Count Arackschejeff was obliged, in order to complete the regiments, to take soldiers' children from the crown and other villages. It farther appear ed, that of the 15,061 males, and 12,670 females, composing the northern district, only 4751 had not become a burden to the government; consequently, government had to provide for 23,251, instead of for 6000, which was the utmost that had been calculated upon. Thus, about sixseventh parts of these colonies did not support themselves, as it was expected they would do; on the contrary, government would have to find support and provisions for the colonized battalions, as well as for those on service, and at the same time provide for the other indigent individuals, of whom there was a constantly increasing number in these settle ments. After the death of the late emperor, his mortal remains were removed from the palace of Taganrog to the church of St Alexander Newsky, where they lay upwards of two months. They were then removed in great state, and under a numerous escort, to St Petersburgh. In every city through which they passed, funeral ceremonies were performed over them in the principal churches, which, notwithstanding the inclemency of the season, were attended by nearly the whole neigh bouring population. After having traversed 8000 wersts, the body arrived, on 10th March, at Czarskoje Selo, where the imperial family were assembled to receive it. It was then removed to the imperial palace of Tschesme; from whence, on the 18th, it was removed in grand procession to St Petersburgh. The procession was divided into thirteen sections; in the last of which was the hearse, drawn by eight horses, followed by the reigning emperor, who was accompanied by the grand Duke Michael, the Prince of Orange, and Prince William of Prussia, and supported by the Duke of Wellington, and other distinguished military characters. The Empresses Alexandrina and Maria followed in one carriage, with the Crown Prince and Princess Maria of Wurtemburgh. On arriving at St Petersburgh, the body was deposited in the cathedral of our Lady of Casan, where it lay exposed eight days, during which, persons of all classes were admitted to pay their last respects to it. On the 25th, the body was removed to the church of St Peter and St Paul, where it was interred with great pomp in the cemetery of Peter the Great, the members of the imperial family, and the foreigners of distinction then in the capital, having assisted at the cere mony. Upon the accession of the new em |