The Express.
London, England, 1852-08-14 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, Fazes': Eventno.
I have to announce the death of aeuther old sol-
dier of the imperial armies. General Petit, who
clasped the Emperor in his arms at the " adieux" of
Fontainebleau, has followed Fseelmans and Gout-
gaud to-day. General Petit was litutenaut.gover-
nor of the Invalides.

I am assured, from a good source, that the mar-
riage of the l'resident is positively broken oft; and
that the rupture is owing to the intervention of
Austria. The arrangements fur the marriage were
so fur &deemed that Miss Howard had actually left
the apartments that she occupied in the house of the
President's private secretary, M. Moequart, and was
about to start for England. The marriage lx•ing
countermanded, the lady has returned to her former
home.

M. Chauvin, the ex-legitimist representative fur
the Loire Inferieure, has written a letter to a Nantes
journal, from which it would appear that l'ronellion
is by no means singular iu hislief that socialism
and Louis Napuleonism, after all, mean the same
thing. He says that the public must not suppose
that all the resignations of mayors and elective coun-
cillors, on account of the refusal or withdrawal of
the oath, have found their wey into the press.
Judging from what has occurred iu his own neigh-
bourhood, ho would infer that the resignations pub-
licly known are but the smaller part of those that
have actually taken place. He mentions a dozen
instances within his own knowledge that have never
been noticed in print. He further states that uu the
Uth of May ho himself resigned the office of mayor
of Sion, and his resignation was followed by that of
all the other members of the municipal council, ex-
cept one, who is a paid public functionary. But the
most remarkable statement in M. Chauvin's letter is
that almost all the vacancies are now filled by men
who in 1818 called themselves republican socialists.
They are, he must suppose, converted, but however that'
may be, they are delighted to be in office, and seem
to enjoy the confidence of the government. It must
be borne in mind that the present policy of the legi-
timist party is to represent Louis Napoleon as in
league with socialism, in order to increase his unpo-
pularity with the bourgeoisie, whom it is at the same
time sought to propitiate by holding out in perspect-
e a large measure of constitutional liberty us the
accompaniment of a Bourbon restoration. But the
belief in the existence of a good understanding be-
tween the socialist leaders and the government does
not rest upon legitimist evidence only, and whether
well founded or not, is certainly very general. It is
now well known that many red republicans, whose
"sudden conversion" is openly denied by their most
intimate friends, have been elected to the councils-
general as government candidates. Iho supporters
of government in Paris admit, while they lament the
fact, which they account for by alleging that the
prefects have been taken in. But this reason is not
readily accepted by those who see in the publication
of Proudhon 's book under the highest auspices, ground
for believing that Proudhon does not reckon without
Ibis host when he proclaims the head of the state the
chief of the social revolution. They are not satisfied
with the theory suggested by certain government
prints that Louis Napoleon must have allowed Proud-
hon to parade his folly before the public upon the
principle which led the Spartans to exhibit drunken
slaves to their children. They think that after the
performances of Caussidiere, as prefect of police, with
his commandant Pornin' after the occupation of the
Tuileries by the mob in February', the saturnalia of
the clubs, the publication of La rraie Republique, Le
Pere Duchesne, and the lueubrations of Eugene Sue,
l'aris has no need of more instruction in this kind'
and remembering that the leader of the Fouricrists
was once elected by 1:00 votes in the metropolis, and
was succeeded in his seat by Proudhon himself, they
think the author of "Property is Robbery " still too
dangerous a personage to be despised, much less
to be encouraged.
The prefects having, in most of the departments,
satisfactorily accomplished the task imposed upon
them, by procuring the election of the government
nominees to the councils-general, it now becomes
their duty to maintain, against all comers, the pro-
position that the elections have been free. M. Ito-
dolphe d'Ornano, the prefect of the Yonne, has sus-
pended the mayor of Ligny, a defeated candidate, for
having, in an address to the electors who voted in
his favour, thanked them for their efforts to support
him against a disloyal and perfidious coalition. The
decree of suspension describes this allegation as a
falsehood, Bering that the electors voted in perfect
freedom for the candidate of their choice.

The Progres de 'Oise has received a warning, for
having spoken indecently of the power to give
warnings conferred upon the prefects by the decree
for the regulation of the press, for having criticised
the assumption by the government of the right of
nominating officers of the national guard, and for
having isaidiously inserted a letter not intended for
publication, written by the prefect of the Oise to a
public functionary.
The prefect of the Tarn and Garonne has given a
warning to the Journal de Castelsarrasin for an
article complaining that the monopoly of judicial ad-
vertisements had been given to a rival newspaper.
In giving way to a feeling of cupidity on this sub-
ject, the newspaper is charged with having incurred
the guilt of excitation to hatred and contempt of the
government, and of defamation of public authority.
The warning given some days since by M. Calvi-
moot, the prefect of the Dordogne, to the Echo de
reeone, has now assumed the aspect of an important
affair. M. Paul Dupont, against whom rather than
against the journal, the warning was launched,
is determined to measure his dignity as a legislator
against that of a prefect. He says that the law upon
the press was not meant to serve as an instrument to
settle the quarrels of prefects with their neighb”urs,
that M. Calvimont has calumniated him by the ac-
cusation that he bad garbled a correspondence, and
that, unless the prefect is sent away from the Dor-
dogne, he will resign his seat in the Corps Legislatif.
M. Billault, on receiving a letter from M. P. Dupont,
expressive of this intention,went to Nantes expressly
to see him. He declared that, jealous of the privi-
leges of the Legislative Body, he would, if necessary,
bnng the affair before the President of the Republic.
I understand that M. de Morny and M. Magne
will both use their influence in support of
M. Dupont. With this array of interest
against him, the general opinion is that it will
go hard with the prefect, and the more so because,
after obtaining leave from the Minister of the In•
tenor to nominate a candidate for the councils-
general, he failed to secure the election of his proter,,
who was beaten by an unconverted republican.
The Montkur contains the following :
The Sub-Prefect of Valenciennes to the Minister of the