In the settlement of German affairs little progress has yet been made by the Congress at Frankfort. At a meeting on the 8th of August, at which Count Thun, the Austrian plenipotentiary, presided, it was decided that Austria should formally invite all the members of the Bund to assemble at Frankfort on the 1st of September next. A circular note of the 18th of August, in which the Minister-President reiterates the assurances so solemnly given in the circular of the 19th July, that it is the earnest wish of Austria to make such reforms in the Act of Confederation as may be required by the recent change of circumstances in Germany, and may conduce to the unity of the common fatherland, was accordingly dispatched with the Frankfort summons to the different courts on the 15th. It remains to be seen whether Prussia and the League will accept this proposal.—The third meeting of the General Peace Congress commenced at Frankfort on the 22d of August. There were some two thousand delegates in attendance, mostly from England, France, the United States, and Germany. Gen. Haynau was present for a time. Resolutions were submitted, discussed, and adopted, deprecating a resort to arms, and urging the propriety and expediency of settling all international differences by arbitration. Dr. Jaup presided, and speeches were made by delegates from every nation. Among the most prominent representatives from the United States were Elihu Burritt, Professor Cleaveland, Dr. Hitchcock, and George Copway, an Indian chief; Mr. Cobden, of England, and Cormenin and Girardin, of France were also in attendance. The session lasted three days.
In Piedmont a great sensation has been produced by a collision with the papal power. The Sardinian Minister of Finance, the Cavalière Santa Rosa, who had supported the ministry in passing the law which rendered the clergy amenable to the civil courts, being on his death-bed, was refused the sacrament by the monks, under the direction of Franzoni the Archbishop of Turin. At his funeral such excitement was manifested by the people, that to avoid an actual outbreak, the monks were ordered to leave the city, and the possessions of their order were sequestered. In the search through their house, documents were found which inculpated the Archbishop Franzoni himself, and he was consequently arrested and imprisoned in the fortress of Fenestrelles. Both Austria and France, however, have interfered; and, in consequence, the editor of L'Opinione, a liberal journal, has been banished from the Sardinian States. It is stated that Lord Palmerston has addressed to the Court of the Vatican a most energetic note, in which he cautions it against adopting violent measures toward Sardinia, and persevering in the system hitherto pursued by the Pope with regard to that Government.
A letter from Rome, of the 20th, in the Constitutionnel, states that several persons have been arrested there for a supposed conspiracy to assassinate the Pope, on Assumption day, by throwing crystal balls filled with explosive substances into his carriage when on his way to church to pronounce the benediction. The discovery of the plot prevented all danger. There was some agitation on the following Sunday, as it was supposed that there had been a plot against the Austrian Ambassador, on the anniversary of the birth of the Emperor. A strong armed force was placed near his palace to protect it, and in the evening some arrests were made.
A continuance of heavy rain in Belgium on the 15th, 16th, and 17th has produced disastrous inundations in various parts of that country. At Antwerp there was a tremendous storm of rain, wind, and thunder. The lightning struck several buildings; many of the streets were under water, and large trees were uprooted in the neighboring country. At Ghent a large sugar manufactory was destroyed by lightning, and people were killed by it in different places. A great part of the city of Brussels and the neighboring villages were under water for nearly two days; and many houses were so much damaged that they fell, and a number of persons perished. Near Charleroi all the fields were submerged, and the injury done to the crops was immense. At Valenciennes the Scheldt overflowed, inundating the neighboring country, and causing vast devastation. The damage done to the crops has produced a rise in the price of flour. Many bridges have been swept away, and the injury done to the railways has been immense.
From Schleswig Holstein, we learn that the continued rains have prevented all renewal of operations in the field. The Danes have established a permanent camp near Ramstedt, and the marshes in that vicinity have been completely flooded. The Emperor of Russia has created General Krogh, the Danish Commander-in-Chief, Knight of the Order of St. Anne of the first class, for the distinguished bravery and prudence which he displayed in the engagements of the 24th and 25th of July, at Idstedt.