The Express.
London, England, 1852-08-31 00:00:00

a FRANCE.

rmus, foamy EVISINCI.
Tho Moniteur, makes a retort, but by no means a
courteous one, to the fresh punishment applied to the
government of Louis Napoleon by your morning
contemporary. It is briefer than the previous article,
and safer, as the writer takes refuge in the mples-
tionable accuracy of official returns of killed and
wounded at the o'nteitle of the days of December.
The note is as follows:

The goverutnent is not irritated by insults. It does not
reply to them. But, when the question is of facts auda-
ciously and calumniously disfigured, its duty in ever to re-
establish the truth.

The Times convicted of premeditated defematien eau
only defend itself by teeth sunders. In iks number of the
28th of August it pretends that after the 2nd of December
1,200 inoffensive and unarmed persons were essassiosted by
drasken soldiers in the streets of l'aris. 'I he fel station of
such a calumny lies in its very ea ,geeration. Everybody
knows that the official report lays the number of persons
killed during the insurrection et 380, that is alrady too
much, no doubt. As to the persons accidentally mounted,
the number fortunately amounts to eight or ten only. In the
presence of positive documents opposed to false assertions,
let every one judge of the good faith of the journalin."
Every person will be satisfied that tl.q comber
of those wounded by accident was but small.
But this is no answer to the statement that the
soldiers on the boulevards fired deliberately with the
intention to kill unarmed and inoffensive persons.
For the rest, the only importance of this skirmishing
between the official press of France and the most
widely diffused organ of English opinion, lies in the
peculiar character of the prince, who may be sup-
' posed to have dictated the two notes of the Moroiteur,
and who seldom takes a step of that sort without
some ulterior design, not immediately penetrable by
simple observers. M. do Persigny has just
returned to l'aris, and his return coincides
with an eruption of rage against the anti-
Bonapartist English press, and with the threat
to expel from Paris the English correspondent
of a London paper. Nothing could play better into
the hands of the English tones than this sort of
violence exhibited by the French autocrat against
the liberal press of England, for it tends to propagate
a belief that the accession of a liberal government
would be followed by war with France, and that
Lord Malmesbury, the intimate of the Elysk, is to
bo the tutelary genius of the country against French
invasion. The more the President shows his hatred
sf those institutions which are the safeguard of our
country, the more it behoves us not to leave power in
the hands of a party whose press is favourable to the
destroyer and denouncer of parliaments. Were the
reign of the second Napoleon likely to be a long one
there might be sonic solid motives for somewhat
muffling the censure due to his libertieide acts, and
seeking to Inc on better terms with him; but this
nation will never endure the imperial high-pressure,
and at some day not tar distant a political boiler
constructed of such treble materials, and subjected
Ito such en enormous pressure, must explode. That
epoch must enter into our calculations, which ought
' not to be based, as the tory foreign policy is, upon
the lasting success of an audacious anachronism, and
upon the durability of a despotism which ignores the
first French revolution, while it apes Louis XIV.
The Count de Chambord has written another letter,
which is much spoken of, expressing his regret at
the disobedience of certain legitimists in accepting
functions under the present government in the coun-
cils general, &e. lie says this will teach him better
to distinguish his true friends, and that if he is re-
called to France it will be by the needs of the
country, and not by a party.
A whole class is on the point of being liberated
from military service. To prove his solicitude for
the well-being of the army, the President has re-
solved to give for each regiment of cavalry liberated
six or eight places with civil functions. the number
of places reserved for regiments of the line will be
more considerable. As Frederick of Prussia used to
like to have the biggest and tallest men he could get
for his guard, so it appears the President is about to
choose among those huge brawny sons of Martin,
the carabineers who have finished their time of ser-
vice, the most gigantic for his footmen.
M. Creton, in a letter to a friend, written a few
days since from Ostend, expressed great doubt
whether he should accept the amnesty offered to him
while so many of his friends remained in banishment.
With the exception of M. Thies, I am not aware
that any of the Orlcanist leaders, to whom the act of
grace on the oecas'on of August 15th was extended.
have returned to France. There is • report that they
intend to sign a collective refusal ; but I believe they
have as yet come to no decision upon the subject.
M. Thins is at great pains to make it known that he
returned absolutely without conditions. One of his
former colleagues in the assembly at first
made interest for him, and wrote that a letter—
e word only to the government would suffice to pro-
cure his recall. M. Thies positively refused to ask
a favour. A passport was then sent to him, but he
sent the passport back, with an intimation that he
would not be the subject of an isolated exceptional
revocation of the decree of banishment. But when
at his retreat at Vevey he saw in the Ahmdeur of
August 7, his name in the same list with those of
Remosat, Lastey Tie, Duvergier de Hauranne
others, he unaffectedly expo seed the joy he felt at
being able to return to his country with honour and
independence.
M. Berryer, who for several months has been re
siding on his estate at Augerville, lately came to
Paris to pay a visit to M. 'I hiers, with whom he had
a long conference.
M. Emeraud de la Hachette, the editor of the .Es-
peralice du Petyk, the legitimist journal of Nantes,
was arrested at his house at six o'clock on the morn-
ing of Saturday, and thrown into prison. The nature
of the charge against him has not transpired, but as
warning had been given the day before to a paper
of different politics (the .1.1411dall), for provoking
language towards the Eye's-once, it is thought pos-
sible in Paris that the arrest may have been made to
prevent a duel, and not for any political reason.
The price of flour at the Halle of Paris has fallen
lfr. per suck this week. Although but little business
has been done the fall has in great measure allayed
the apprehensions that have been entertained with
respect to the harvest. Amidst many conflicting
reports the better opinion seems now to be that
although the harvest will certainly be below the
average, perhaps to the extent of one-fourth or one-
fifth, there is no ground for serious alarm. In 1846
the bad harvest followed three others, either bad or
middling, and those were preceded by two not very
good years, 1839 and 1840. But the lust five years
have been good ones in France, and a falling off was
to be looked for in the natural course of things.
There is a good deal of wheat of 1851 in band,
and tee quality of this is so excellent that
it may very well be kept for another year,
should the damp state in which undoubtedly much
of the new grain has been got in. render an early
consumption desirable. With regard to the wine
crop there is no question but that it will be very de-
ficient, and to what extent is yet extremely uncertain.
The disease hiss already attacked many of the vine-
yards in the south, and should its progress the effects
limy be disastrous. The wet west cr has made the ,1
gropes very backward, and it is feared that wine
generally will be of but midoling quality. At Bercy
an active busisfess is doing, the dealers being anxious
to fill their cellars, although they resist a further rise
in prices, already sufficiently high. Commercial
affairs arc calm and steady. The manufacturers are
later than usual in preparing their assortments for the
autmnal sales. They generally do this in July
and August, but this year, owing to the
" high price of raw materials, they put off their pur-
lchases us long as possible, fearing that in the event
of a fall they might he obliged to sell at a loss. Tho''
speculators, however, kilos% ing how little stock was
on hand, continued to buy. The manufacturers must
now, at the lust moment, buy wools and cottons at
the highest prices. &serail orders of manufactured
artic es for exportation have been given within the
last fortnight, and many more are expected. The
workshops will, therefore probably be in full ac-
-1 tivity up to the end of the 3 ear. Raw silk is
lees firm than wools and cotton. The crop haa
been plentiful in the south of France, as well
as in Piedmont and Lombardy. The mane-