The Express.
London, England, 1863-10-01 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(PROM OUR OWA COMIKISPONDINT.)
PARIS, W=I4E:WAY Evimmia.

M. Emile de Girardin presumes to reply to the
warning given to the Presse. He does so with great
care and moderation, and that for obvious reasons,
because the hitherto prevalent doctrine—a doctrine
scarcely ever contradicted in practice—has been
that it is not lawful to discuss a warning. How-
ever, M.de Girardin fortifies himself behind the old
maxim, " Everything which the law does not pro-
hibit is permitted." lam not sure that this some-
what musty proverb will serve his turn, for I have
heard it said frequently that, according to the
practice of the empire, the affirmative of the issue',
is shifted, and that the proverb must now be read
thus :—" Everything which the law does not permit
is prohibited." It is true, as M. de Girardin says,
that no law prohibits a journal from criticising a
warning, although inflicted upon itself, and, ac-
cordingly, he, at his own risk and peril, ventures to
submit to the public that the warning given to him
is undeserved. He denies that there was anything
in his article of Sept. 26 fairly bearing out the de-
scriptiou which the ad interim Minister of the In-
terior is pleased to give of it.--[This minister, by the
way, is M. Rouher, and not M. Baroclie, as I
stated by mistake.}—ln so far as his article was
calculated to "excite alarm and depreciate public
credit," be very aptly refers to the case of the Re-
vue des Deur Mondes, which received a warning in
November, 1861, for expressions which a few days
later were almost textually repeated iu M. Fould's
celebrated letter, which the Emperor approved of
and published in the Mouiteur. He also cites
Lori Russell's speech at Blairgowrie as a recent
and prominent instance of a minister speaking in
much stronger terms than a journalist of the injury
done to property by the "apprehension of war."
He professes his devotion to the person of the Em-
peror, whom, he says, he never opposed but on a
single day, i.e., the 2nd of December, 1861 Then
he asks what good the government expects to get
by a warning which will rather enhance than
diminish the popularity of the Presse ? What peril-
ous error has the warning redressed or extinguished ?
What indication has it given to floating and per-
pissed public opinion ? What is he, M. de Girar-
din, now to reply to those who taunt him with sub-
serviency when he maintains that there is no incom-
patibility between the empire and liberty. In con-
clusion, he declares himself profoundly humiliated
and truly saddened at the act of the government,
which has picked out four lines from an article of
four columns to fasten a warning upon. What
saddens him is not the warning itself, but the idea
that " we are at this moment farther off than ever
from liberty when we fancied it was close at hand."
I believe this is the first time that a warning has
been protested against in this open way. If the
government pass over the innovation, an important
precedent will be created. M. de Girardin's bold-
ness is not rash. He sees which way the tide is
setting, and remembers that the opening of the
new Corps Legislatif is close at hand.
The Prance and the Nation form different points
of view ; both deprecate the warning given to the
Prease, but it is curious that the Nation, little
thinking of what M. E. de Girardin was writing at
the same moment, says twice over, "It would be
exceeding our rights to discuss this warning."
The France, which for four or five days past has
never ceased to insinuate that Count Walewaki was
going to London as ambassador, now gives up the
thing as a bad job, and says that the count does not
yet wish to return to public life. I suppose the
truth to be that Lord Russell's speech has put an
extinguisher upon the hopes of that party in
France which still thought that England was to be
dragged into a war for Poland. Count Walewski we
know wants war.
At the Bonnie the settlement in the Rents went
off quietly, and rather in favour of the rise. Rents
closed with a rise of Sc. for cash and loc foraocount.
Mobilier rose 10fr.

A manifestation in favour of Poland took place
three days back at Marseilles, on the occasion of
the mass celebrated by the bishop of the diocese, in
favour of the Poles. Cries of " Vive la Pologne !"
being afterwards raised, the police interfered, and
effected some arrests. The persons arrested were
afterwards liberated, but a proces verbal was
drawn up against them, and they will have to
appear before the Tribunal of Correctional Police.
Several of the French papers say that the demon-
stration was a failure. A certain number of strict
catholics (chiefly women) attended, at the bidding
of their bishop, but the mercantile population of
Marseilles knew that the real object of the meeting
was war, and that they do not want.