The Express.
London, England, 1863-01-02 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

Craw OUR OWN

PARIS, THURSDAY EVINING.

The Moniteur contains the new electoral circum-
scriptions allotted by a decree dated Dec. 29 ; so
that the government is entitled to the credit of not
having committed a flagrant breach of the law
according to its own interpretation, although the
public, seeing the matter postponed till the very last
moment, may well be excused for its misgivings.
The number of representatives for France, conse-
quent upon the increase of population, is aug-
mented from 273 to 283. But, curiously enough,
the department of the Seine (in other words, Paris)
is to return only nine members instead of ten. By
some inexplicable hocus pocus—complained of in
vain, until the journals were warned into silence—
it has been arranged that while the population of
Paris has enormously increased the constituency
has diminished.

The first number of K Granier de Cassagoac's
new journal, La Nation, appears with the new
year. The programme is ambitions. Like M. de
la Gueronnihre, M. de Cassagnac has a " follow-
ing." The France has been called the senators'
journal, and it seems that the Nation aspires to
be considered as that of the Corps Legialatif. In
each case the designation is far from accurate, and
contains a strong leaven of puffery. In the interest
of their respective shops, Senator Gueronuiere and
Deputy Cassagnac are naturally glad to be thought
leaders of parties. They will, however, exercise no
influence upon the thinking part of the public, ex-
cept so fares they may pass for expounders of impe-
rial ideas. The anonymous " senators" who figured
so conspicuously in the programme of the France,
have not since made known their names or num-
bers, and no senator but the editor himself has yet
signed any political article. I apprehend that as
few deputies will be conspicuous in the Natio». It
is quite possible, however, that the Nation may be-
come an organ of occasional importance.
The Temps estimates the place which the Nation
is likely to take in the French press as follows :

Fio far as we can ventove to judge from &drat number, the
Nation well be a little more conservative than the Coital-
tutiosusei, and a little more clot:cal than the Prance.

M. A. Fleury, an ex-representative of the people,
living at Rue de Seine, No. 51, writes a letter to the
Temps, setting forth that, on December 12, he was
arrested at 6 in the morning, at his own house,
and taken to a prison cell, where he was kept
some hours, having been previously cross-
questioned, searched, and deprived of his
watch and some of his money. When
brought before the judge of instruction he was told
without any word of regret or apology that he had
been arrested by mistake for another person of the
same name, and that "he might go." He says
that but for great exertions made by a friend to
whom his wife applied, be might have been kept
iu prison from Friday to Monday. M. Nefftser,
of the Temps, observes how much more serious the
case might have been bad M. Fleury been a mer-
chant with b;lla to pay at the end of the month.
That is very true. A mistaken attest is in all
cases most regrettable, and involves great responsi-
bility on the officials from whose carelessness it
arises. A mistake, however, may occur under the
best possible system, and it is satisfactory to find
that in this instance M. Fleury was released
in the course of the day. As to the necessity
of a reform in the French law of arrest and pre-
ventive imprisonment, which there is good ground
for hoping will soon be effected, no additional
argument was required.
We have bad a charming mild winter's day for
the new year's reception. After a slight white frost
in the morning, the sun shone brightly, and the
streets were tolerably clean. Immense crowds have
thronged every quarter of the town throughout the
day. At this moment the caf4s on the Boulevards
are lined with people taking refreshmenta out of
doors as in summer.