The Express.
London, England, 1863-12-12 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(MI 0013 OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, FRIDAY EVENING.

The government is moving heaven and earth to
prevent the re-election of M. Eugene Pelletan for
Paris. There is in the commune of Ivry, of which
his rival M. Picard (d'lvr) )was formerly mayor—and
of which another M. Picard (brother of the govern-
ment candidate) has just been appointed mayor for
the purposes of this election—a highway known,
in the strategetical map of Paris, as "Route De-
partmentale, No. 19." This road No. 19 has been
for years in a bad state of repair, and local
petitions on the subject have uniformly gone
into the waste paper basket. But now
—just on the eve of the election—the Prefect
of the Seine has promised to spend 250,000 fr. upon
this road, and as an earnest of his intentions 300
men, all electors, have already been set to work
upon it. M. Picard (d'lvry) is a member of the
municipal council of Paris (named, as you must
bear in mind, by the government), and an intimate
ally of M. flaussmann. Under these circum-
stances the struggle may be expected to
be unusually severe. In order to create a preju-
dice against bins, the Constitutionned has raked
up some of his earlier writings, in which he
had the courage to speak of the lamentable
ignorance of the masses, as showing him to be an
"enemy of the people." Because of a criticism on
Beranger, in which be expressed the very sustain-
able opinion (which, permit me to say parentheti-
cally, I do not share) that the reputation of that
great lyrist was overrated, M. Pelletan is held up
to odium as a libeller of the "national poet." On
the other hand, there is in the Prase to-night an
article in favour of M. Pelletan, which, though
bearing the signature of M. Jauret, the secretary,
is unmistakeably the work of M. Emile de Girar-
din, now a guest of the Emperor at Compiegne.
This article says :
M. Picard (Very) signifies " Liberty deferred." If. Pens-
tock means " Liberty restored." To reconquer lost liber-
ties !—and without stopping to inquire whether they were
lost after 1830 or after 184 S—that is what the electors of
Paris meant when they voted for the opposition candidates.
And what are these lost liberties! They are liberty of the
press ; liberty of public meetings ; liberty of association.
These three ►iberties exist in England, Belgium, Holland,
Italy. and Switzerland ; where they neither disturb public
order nor prevent the duration of governments. Why
should they not exist iu France ! Why, if Francs is suffi-
ciently advanced to have the liberty of voting, should she
not also possess the liberty of writing, speaking, end
meeting! It is by the entire liberty which it en
joys that a country shows itself to have this
government suited to it. Political liberty and national
government are syncopes. All the electors who think this
will vote for M. &germ Pelletan. To vote for him is to
continue to vote for the "list." The election of Dec. 14 is
the continuation of the election of June 1.
These are courageous words of M. E. deGirardin,
and being written as they are, in the palace of
Compiegne, they do him great credit, and are at
the same time a remarkable indication of the cur-
rent of public opinion.
The Notion says that a compromise is likely to be
come to on the great Isthmus of Suez question,
which, owing to the large fees paid by M. de
Lesseps on the one side, and Nubar Pacha on the
other, for articles which are,in fact, advertisements,
has lately produced a mysterious schism among
the very organs of the French goverment. The
rumour now is that the company will not insist
upon the tale of fellahs which the Viceroy has
hitherto furnished, and will accept a pecuniary
indemnity in their place, with which money it will
be able to hire foreign labourers. Up to this
time the Viceroy has punctually paid all
the money which the company claimed from
him. The Native says that the Viceroy has asked
the Emperor Napoleon to act as arbitrator in the
matter. This news coincides with the statement
made some time ago that the Emperor had asked