Total......39,216,326 0 1 No doubt is entertained of the intention of the cabinet to recognize Don Miguel as king of Portugal.

FRANCE. The following is an epitome of the speech of the sovereign of France, delivered in person from the throne, at the opening of the present session of the chambers.

"His Majesty declares the confidence with which he meets the peers and deputies; notices the great events which have taken place since the preceding session, the pacification of the east of Europe, the measures pursued to secure the independency of Greece, and the succession of an able and suitable sovereign; his exertions for the repose of the Peninsula, and the reconciliation of the hostile branches of the house of Braganza; admits that whilst engaged in these negotiations, he has not obtained from Algiers reparation of the insult offered to the French flag, but that he will pursue plans, already begun, from which he contemplates not only the honour of his kingdom, but the general benefit of Europe; reports the revenue to have exceeded the estimates of the year's expenditure; hints at projects for the improvement of the finances, the laws, and the condition of the military on half-pay; congratulates them on the liberality with which charity has been extended to the indigent during the severity of the winter, professes his interest in the prosperity of France both at home and abroad, and his desire that her institutions may go down to posterity unimpaired; expresses his reliance on their aid, and his assurance, that, if obstacles

should be raised to the peace of the kingdom, he shall overcome them by his firmness, his confidence in his subjects, and their love to him.

The chamber of peers returned an address to the throne, couched in the most loyal terms, and without one dissentient vote.

Not so that of the deputies. After a very warm and protracted debate the opposition carried an amended address by a majority of forty, 221 members voting against, and only 181 for the ministers. In this address the following expressions are too strong to be passed unnoticed:

"It (the charter) makes the concurrence of the political views of your government with the desires of your people an indispensable condition of the regular administration of public affairs.'

"Sire, our loyalty and our fidelity oblige us to assert, that this concurrence does not exist. An unjust mistrust of the sentiments and reason of France is the principle which now governs the administration. Your subjects view it with pain, because it is insulting to them; they also view it with anxiety, because it threatens their liberties. Sire, France is as great an enemy of anarchy as your Majesty is of despotism. She deserves that your Majesty should rely on her loyalty as she relies on your promises."

The answer of the king to this address is brief and firm. He simply regrets their dissent from his views and measures, which he declares to be fixed immutably. If so, there must be a dissolution of the chamber of deputies. Public feeling is strongly excited, and the greatest anxiety prevails.

EASTERN GERMANY.-The breaking up of the frost has been attended with great inundations, especially in Silesia, Moravia, and Austria. The damages sustained in the two former are very great, but in the latter they defy estimation. Vienna, and the adjacent country, is, from situation, particularly exposed to this sort of devastation, and means, approved by long experience, are always employed at the commencement of a thaw to prevent the consequences. These were resorted to as usual, but, from the rapid increase

of waters, and the obstruction of their course by the immense masses of ice both floating and stationary, proved ineffectual. At half-past midnight on the 1st of March, the flood poured over the banks, and in one hour the suburbs were from seven to twelve feet deep in water, and presently all the adjacent plain was covered, presenting to the eye one expanse of waters. The wretched inhabitants, roused from their sleep, fled in a state of nudity before the waves, to the upper stories or the roofs, where they were exposed to all the miseries of cold, nakedness, and anxiety. Many perished whilst they attempted to escape. So rapidly did the destruction come on, that many of the horses in the barracks have been drowned, the soldiers having been unable to save them. The attention shown to the sufferers by the members of the imperial family on this occasion is truly delightful: as soon as boats and supplies could be procured,

these were not only sent to their relief, but they were accompanied by the archdukes in person, amongst whom the archduke Charles, forgetful of all his own infirmities, and his recent severe affliction, was particularly distinguished by his perseverance and activity. The inundation had not subsided when the last despatches left Vienna.

GREECE.-That Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg will be the new sovereign of Greece is no longer a subject of conjecture.

AUSTRALASIA. The new colony intended to have been established on the Swan River may be considered as a complete failure. The settlers found the country so different from what it had been represented, and their prospects so uninviting, that few remained there when the vessel which last arrived left that coast. Many had gone to Port Jackson and Van Diemen's Land.

Chester

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