The Express.
London, England, 1864-05-30 00:00:00

-AB

PARIS, 8171FDLT

The concluding sitting of the Legislative Corps
was marked by an unusual number of complaints
from deputies that they had been misreported in
the Moniker. The inaccuracies which seemed
important to the aggrieved members will not, how-
ever, be thought of much consequence by the public.
Indeed they were, for the most part, of an exoes-
sively trivial character. The Duke de Morny, in
vindicating the painstaking and invariable good
faith of the official reporters, spoke of the great
difficulty, not to say the impossibility, of steno-
graphiug such long debates as they had had lately
without some errors. Moreover, many mistakes
were attributable to misprints ; which were not
wonderful, seeing that the compositors of the
Moniker had been so tired all the week that many
of them " worked while sleeping," or, what was
the same thing, "slept while working." M. Rouher
condoled with the reporters on the severity of their
task, and said that he would nut be charged with
such labour for all the world. M. Belmontel took
the opportunity of returning to the charge with his
famous little bill against England, contending that
the Chamber had shown itself decidedly sympa-
thetic to the claim, whereas the Moniker had made
it appear that only a few deputies applauded him.
M. Glais•Bizoin said that what M. Belmontel really
meant was that he should be placed in command of
the iron-clad vessel Napolclon, and sent to England
in search of the Golden Fleece ; and, amidst the
laughter caused by this observation, the titillating
subject dropped.
M. Emile 011ivier's name appears among those
of the eleven members who finally voted against
the budget. He bas not, therefore, as Jet uncondi-
tionally rallied to the government, although
his alleged tergiversation of late has got I
him into great disgrace with his old friends.
M. Thiers voted for the budget, meaning,
doubtless, thereby to show, notwithstand-
ing his many severe criticisms, that he is sincere in
his deprecation of factious opposition. MM. Bet-
ryer, Ravin, and Guiroult purposely abstained
from voting.
The &eels, representing M. Havin's mild oppo-
sition, takes pleasure in admitting that during the
whole course of this prolonged session the Duke de
Morey has almost always " acted with that mo-
deration which he so earnestly recommended to
others in his opening speech.
The anti-catholic journals oomplain that the go-
vernment does not sufficiently enforce the provi-
sions of the concordat with regard to the Corpus
Christi. In the centre of Paris the priests are still
prevented from walking processionally in the streets,
as they have been for very many years ; but in parts
of the old banlieue lately annexed to Paris, such
as the Teones and Pussy, whole streets are
hung witt, white draperies, altars are erected on
the line of procession, and the priests, deacons,
beadles, and little altar boys make an immense
display of vestments, velvet canopiee, and incense
burners. The ()pinion National., more concerned
probably about the feelings of the English and
Russian inhabitants of the Quartier de l'Ecole than
these latter are themselves, thinks it • monstrous
thing that illegal popish processions should parade
under the windows of protestants, and even invade
the precincts of the golden-domed Greek church
lately built for Russian worshippers. Reason
would say that one religion has just as much right
to the use of the streets as another, but then
the catholic religion cannot reasonably claim
any peculiar privileges, and we know that it does
wherever it can. The influence which enables the
priests to brave a long-standing law of public order,
and revive their processions, would, if priests had
their will, force protestants to bow down and wor-
ship popish images. The prohibition of these pro-
cessions long ago, consented to by the whole nation,
was a measure of public peace, not in any way
restraining catholica in any essential part of
their worship, but preventing them from assuming
a superiority, and aggressively provoking sensitive
people of other creeds. In this point of view the
rule that has long prevailed in France is perfectly
sensible and just. In little country villages where
all the population is catholic, the procession amuses
the children and does no harm to anybody. But'
in Paris and other large cities, where divers faiths
prevail, the object of the catholic* in trenching
upon the rules long established with regard to the
Corpus Christi is to assert ascendancy, and on this
account, the members of other religions naturally
feel aggrieved.

WEATHER REPORT.-(THIS DAY.)

YONDAT. MAT 30, • LL