them his passport; they carried him off, and rifled his
pockets. He demanded permission to write to the
American Minister at Vienna, but was refused.
Subsequently, however, the officer in command did write.
Matters now rapidly changed. Liberty and his papers
were promised if he would depart. He refused; and
said that the question must now be settled between the
Austrian empire and the United States. Mr. Richmond,
who himself gives the account from which we write,
says—"I told the officer that it was easier to arrest an
American citizen than to set him at liberty. It was
finally resolved, on my part, that I should demand
satisfaction from Austria through the American
Ambassador, and on his that I should remain under police
observation until the answer came down from Vienna.
This last was only a ruse to alarm me; for in an hour
my papers and passport were sent to me, with a wish
that I should leave the place. This I shall do as soon
as it suits my convenience. I have not been invited to
pay for the broken door." Mr. Richmond has appealed
to the Federal Government.

The Sardinian Parliament has been occupied with
financial affairs. The budget of 1854 fixes the expenses
of the state at 149,314,294 livres, and the receipts at
125,061,061; leaving a deficit of 24,253,233 livres,—
namely, 13,097,300 livres for the ordinary expenses, and
11,155,926 for the extraordinary. Comparing these
numbers with those of 1852, there is a diminution in the
expenses of 1,613,081 livres, although there appears an
augmentation in the ordinary expenses of 4,000,609
livres. The Ministry is not pre-occupied with the
deficit of 11,000,000 in the extraordinary section, because
it relies on the results, accruing from the construction
of the Alexandria, Novarre, and Arona Railway. It
directs all its attention to the deficit of 13,000,000 in the
ordinary section. A considerable reduction is to be
effected in the estimates of the Ministry of Justice; and
if the general state of Europe was not opposed to the
conversion of the Five per Cents, now at par, the desired
balance between the public receipts and expenses would
be immediately obtained by that very simple financial
operation. On the 20th inst. the Chamber of Deputies
finally passed the Bill for Repealing the Import Duties
on Corn.

The accounts from Rome give a remarkable instance
of the tardy administration of justice afforded by the
execution of two custom-house soldiers, who have
been in prison fifty-four months, charged with having
taken part in the murder of some priests at the Convent
of San Calisto during the siege of Rome. The custom-
house troops, during the war, were placed under the
command of a noted republican, named Zambianchi,
and quartered at this convent, where it is said that five
priests or monks were shot by them during the last
days of the siege. Soldiers obeying their officers'
orders, are not usually held responsible for their actions,
but the ecclesiastical government, considering the
shooting of priests a very dangerous precedent, resolved,
from the beginning of its return to power to deal very
severely with the present offenders. Their treatment
in prison has been one prolonged agony, insomuch that
seven of their number have died, two have committed
suicide, and several gone mad. The two now executed
are the miserable remains of the platoon, whose ill-
omened duty it happened to be to fire upon the priests
at San Calisto.

There have been some serious conflicts with brigands.
One took place near Velletri between the robbers and
a detachment of gendarmes, who, having reason to
suspect that an attack would be made that night on the
courier from Rome, preceded him some distance in
a similar carriage, as a decoy. The plan succeeded
perfectly, for, being summoned to stand and deliver by
a band of eleven brigands, they sprang out with their
muskets levelled, and fired a volley among the assailants,
bringing four of them to the ground, and putting the
rest of them to flight, with the exception of one who
was captured. One of the gendarmes was wounded by
the fire of the retreating brigands. From the depositions
of the wounded prisoners, the whole band was found to
consist of inhabitants of the neighbourhood of Velletri,
many of whom were small landholders and had no
other motive for their transgressions than the traditional
love of brigandage prevalent in that district.

Sweden and Denmark have united their policy on the
subject of the Russian and Turkish question. They
have addressed to the governments of Europe a
declaration, in identical terms, that they intend to
observe a strict neutrality in the impending war. They
will admit, without distinction, vessels of war and
merchant-vessels belonging to the belligerent powers,
but not privateers. Denmark, however, will not admit
vessels of any kind into the port of Christiansoe, used
as a state prison; and Sweden will not permit foreign
vessels in her harbours to approach within the line of
her forts. All trading will be permitted except in the
articles contraband of war. The two states will not
allow prizes to be taken in, or sold in their Admiralty
Courts. The following summary of the naval forces
belonging to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, is given
in the Danish and Swedish journals. Denmark
possesses 5 ships of the line, 12 frigates, 4 corvettes, 1
barque, 4 brigs, 3 schooners, 2 cutters, 40 ketches, 42
gun boats, and 6 war steamers, total 114 vessels. Her
navy list comprises 1 vice-admiral, 3 rear-admirals, 8
commodores, 7 post captains, 18 captains, 36 first-
lieutenants, and 42 second lieutenants. The number of
her registered able-bodied seamen is about 20,000. The
Swedish fleet is composed of 10 ships of the line, 8
frigates, 3 corvettes, 5 brigs, 6 schooners, 8 bomb ketches,
250 gun boats, and 12 war steamers; total 302 vessels.
Her naval officers are: 7 admirals, 40 post captains, and
200 officers of a less grade. Her registered seamen
amount to about 30,000. Norway possesses 2 frigates, 4
corvettes, 1 brig, 5 schooners, 136 gun boats, and 5 war
steamers; in all, 153 vessels. She has 38,000 seamen,
but only one-tenth of them are in actual service. Thus
the total number of Swedish and Norwegian ships is
355, and of the Danish, 114; which, added together for
the three Scandinavian kingdoms, gives a grand total of
459 war vessels of every class. The Danish government
has just ordered the immediate construction of two large
50-gun screw frigates.

The accounts from Havanna extend to the 14th ult.
The new Captain-General Pezuela had arrived, and
Canedo had departed on the 11th. Pezuela had taken
vigorous measures. He had ordered the military
authorities to keep the most rigorous watch over the
inhabitants, and to report daily all suspicious acts; and
by a subsequent order all the Spaniards were forbidden
on pain of death to leave the island. Two Creoles had
been arrested at Cardenas on a charge of high treason.

The accounts from the Western Coast of Africa
speak of new troubles having broken out. The chief
Kossoko was threatening Lagos with a force of 10,000
men. The Abbeakuta chiefs had joined King Docemo;
and Admiral Bruce, with a large force, was off the town
to chastise Kossoko and restore commerce. The crew
of the ship Heroine had been murdered off Grand Taboo,
by the natives, and in return the Penelope had destroyed
the village with shot and shell. The master of the
Queen's ship Myrmidon had been murdered while
spearing fish, and Admiral Bruce had sent a force to
punish the natives.

In a message to his parliament, delivered on the 6th
December, Mr. Roberts, President of Liberia, had given
assurance of the support of France and England. Louis
Napoleon had sent 1000 stand of arms and accoutrements
for a militia.

A terrible fire occurred at New York on the 26th
December. It broke out in Front-street; sparks falling
in showers fired the sails of the ship the Great Republic,
4.000 tons burden, also the Walker, and the clipper
White Squall. There was a high wind blowing
furiously; and the air was alive with sparks. The three
ships were totally destroyed. All night the flames raged;
it was so cold that the water froze as it fell upon their
sides. The White Squall was cut adrift, and floated
away, a burning mass before the wind. When the sun
rose, her hull was burning low; the water poured into