The Express.
London, England, 1863-10-15 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(nom oom owl( coammeromozrr.)
PARIS, WZDNZSDAT EVE3OIO.

The France says, and, I am inclined to think,
rightly, that the new diplomatic appointments have
no political signification. I know it to be quite true,
as stated in the Emperor's complimentary letter to
Baron (roe, that the latter diplomatist did long
ago want to retire from active employment. But
then the question naturally arises, what are the de.
cumstances, alluded to by the Emperor, which
stood in the way of his retirement some time since
and permit him to be replaced now 1 Of course, I
cannot pretend to speak with certainty upon such
a point as this ; but I think it not unreasonable
to conjecture that so long as the Emperor
hoped to drag England into a war with Russia,
he wished to keep the London embassy open
for Count Walewski. Now that that hope is
(as I think it is) abandoned, and that
the imperial speech is being prepared on a peace
principle, there is no longer any reason for keeping
Baron Gros as a warming-pan, and the translation
of the Prince de la Tour d'Anvergne from Rome to
London is merely the diplomatic promotion of a
favourite. The other appointments are simply
consequential, just like the long list in the Goodie
when a regiment gets • new lieutenant-colonel
without purchase. There is always but one new
officer--an ensign, just as in this case the Count
d'Aetorg, the only new plenipotentiary, is made
minister at the courts of the Grand Duke of hew
and the Duke of Nassau.

The government writers seem already to feel
instinctively the necessity of arguing against the
impression that the loss of M. Billanit is one that
cannot be readily filled up. It is remarked that
the paragraph in the alonifeur announcing his death
is rather cold, and is, moreover, in small type and
placed as a secondary event, after the conspicuous
but insignificant letter of the Emperor to Baron
tiros. The France, after a few indispensable eon)•
pliments to the memory of the deceased, hastens to
assert that " no anxiety whatsoever need be mingled
with the feelings of legitimate grief." It enforces
' this view by citing the names of Colbert, Tinged,
Mirabean, and Chateeubriand as illustrative of the
general proposition that France will never want
men worthy to serve her. The argument is
very wide of the mark, for it is universally
admitted that M. Billault was not like the men so
inaptly compared with him, a statesman of the
highest claw And yet there seems to be as little
question that be was the most able man whose
services the Emperor could command. The Prance,
referring to the notorious second-rate standing of
M. Billault before he became an imperial minister,
says that he " only found his talent become great
when he-devoted it to the service of a great eases,"
and then it draws the courtier-like inference that
any other person who may be " inspired" by the
Emperor will, equally with M. Billsolt, " become
the faithful interpreter and eloquent organ of the
idea of the sovereign." This convenient doctrine,
which makes ministers as men even less than
they are under the Napoleon regime, is ob-
viously not worth serious refutation. I cite it,
in all its absurdity, to show what extreme sensi-
tiveness there is lest the opinion should be even
cursorily entertained that the imperial system
could for a moment suffer for want of a man.

M. Gtuiroult, in the Opinion Nationafr, looks at
the matter in a very different way from the France.
He thinks that M. Billault's death is a "moat
serious political event, which brings into question
the new and yet untried system of ministerial
organisation." According to this deputy for
Paris, M. Billault's peculiar talent was the
only thing that made the institution of
" talking ministers " possible for so long
a time. That institution was looked upon
with disfavour, for the obvious reason that whereas
a minister who defends his own acts generally
believes himself to have a good cause, a minister-
advocate, whose duty it is to defend the sets
of others, may very often not approve of them.
M. Billault got over the difficulty of his position
in a wonderful manner :

Endowed with a *apple well-informed mind and a cod
judgment, and poesemed is a high degree of busimedhe
eloquence, all his qualities, eras hie undecided and tat*
sonvietione, rendered him eminently apt to become the
ceps of n policy which he would net himself have coer
mired, but whiob be anarnilated in a marvellous sensor,
sad which he expressed with a mixture of authorit►, cop•
phloem, misderstion, sod preciaioo, which made him, is
►ie kind, s finished castor. He knew bow to make the
meet isadmiesible rituatioes appear plausible, to avail him-
self el obscene intentions in such a way ss that opposing
parties would think it their interest slot to sift them too
ably ; he could give to hesitation the semblance of im.
pertislity, and make iaooaeieteooy psis for profundity.
Hie last speech en the Roman question woe the beau ideal
al this clamed oratory, and may defy compelitios this
death leaves an irreparable void, and cos which, wing the
gassy illustrious orators lately elected to the Corps Lagis•
uhf, will render for his sueosesor that task almost impas-
sible which he himself felt to be far from easy, and the
promos of which we are aimed emelt him great
By the latest decree on ministerial organisation,
the whole burden of supporting government mea-
sures in the chambers was mist upon 31. Billault
as minister of state, and M. Roober, as president
of the Council of State. M. Rouher is an able
administrator, but not a first-class debater. M.
Gudroult does not know where a man is to be found
to replace M. Billault, and be thinks the cense-
, quince of his death will very likely be a return to
the old parliamentary system of every minima
defending his own bills, and so, indirectly if sot
directly, to " ministerial responsibility," which
the empire made such a great point of abolishing.

Tat. COURT IN THE HIOHLANDIL —Their
Fligharrods the Prime aid Princess of Pride and soda
attended divim service at Cmtlais Chard last Sunday.
The Priecan Helene, accompaded by lady Augusts Brost.
lady Churchill, Loni Charles Fitsroy, ha, was also pre.
seat. The Rev Dr. Norman Macleod officiated, aid taw "
instinctive lecture from Mark, chap v., sad let to Ali
verses. The church was rather thinly attended men to
the bad weather. The new. doctor bad a service is Ow
foremen in the dining-room at Balmoral, when the star'
the royal family, and household were pemeat.—Edo,terga
Courant.
THILILTRI ROYAL HAYNARIERT.—This theatre was
last seeded honoured by a special maenad from their
Royal Highemeee the Priam and Primer of Wales
aocompacied by the Prime and Primes. Metier of ',Ge-
rnert. Priem Frederick, and the Prima, Dogma:, arrived
eudieleatly early to me the first repemeatatioo thw
mason of The Ritats, and remained for the farce of Pas
&stria !VW.
Tan EARL or LZITRISI. —The Dubbin Erenirw
Pea anacaraces that the Berl of Leitrim has been neer.
sided is the commission of the puce for the cameos of
Dempal, Leitrim, aid Galway.