The Express.
London, England, 1852-02-06 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, THURSDAY EVENING.
The event of the day is the reception of M. de
Montalembert at the Academy. You are already
aware that theservilityof the new academician's adhe-
sion to the policy of the 2nd of lkoember, and his
misrepresentation of the sentimeuts of the legitimists,
drew on him the rebuke of MM. Berryer and Fal-
' loux, and the contempt of his former friends. The
spoliatory decrees of the 22nd of January gave this
celebrated leader of the church party an opportunity
of breaking with the government of Louis Napoleon,
of protesting against the nullity of the part assigned
to the consultative commission, which was con
suited about nothing, and of tearing his name
from the degrading position which it occu-
pied in the ranks of official sycophancy.
f bus M. de Montalembert, clothing himself in the
dust and ashes of penitence, succeeded in mitigating,
by his timely expiation, the indignation of his col-
leagues in polities and literature, and in making his
reception at the academy possible, without drawing
down the withering effects of their contempt. The
predecessor of M. Montalembert, in the chair which
the latter now occupies in the Academy, was M. Droz,
a native of Franche-Comte, the province from which
Montalembert himself comes. You are aware that the
speech of the initiated member is the Elope of his prede-
cessor, into which he weaves his own opinions on
some cognate theme uppermost in public attention.
The beginning of M. de Montalembert's speech gave an
outline of the biography of M. Droz, who was born
at Besancon in 1773, and composed, in the course of
• long life,several works of literature and philosophr,
the chief of which is the " History of Louis XVI:"
This subject gave Montalembert the opportunity of
developing his ideas about the birth and progress of
revolutions. He said that those who blessed the re-
volution, as well as those who condemned it, derived
it equally from the war made by absolute royalty
and modern philosophy against ancient society, such
as it was constituted by the u•rion of the priesthood
and the empire. This was the kernel of M. de Mon-
talembert's discourse, and from thence he deduced a
long pleading against the revolution, and showed
how it necessarily merged in despotism. When
touching on the old constituent, M. de Montalembert
alluded to the fatal example set by the confiscation
of property. This passage of course struck a vibrat-
ing chord through the whole assembly. Droz had
been a soldier, and had served in tl e army of the
Rhine. His opinions were in favour of constitu-
tional monarchy.
M. Guizot delivered a long and eloquent reply to
M. de Montalembert.

The Monde's,. of this morning announces that the
President has received letters of notification, touch-
ing the new powers conferred upon him, from the
Grand Duke of Ilene; also from the Swiss Confede-
ration, recalling Count Reinhard, and accrediting
Count Salignac Fetaelon in his place.
A decree is published, providing that when there
is need to nominate one or more members of the
Council a State, whether to form part of a com-
mittee or commission, or to take part in the execution
of a law, this nomination will be made directly by
a decree of the President. Any law contrary to this
is abrogated.
The Muniteur contains an official communication,
stating that the reports pretending that the govern-
ment intends to establish a tax upon income or rents,
and to confiscate insurance offices, are entirely un-
founded.

The Duke de Broglie has, I am informed, re-
ceived an order from the Minister of Police to close
his salon. The duke has written a letter in reply to
the government, stating that ho was always in the
habit of receiving his friends at this season of the
year, and that he was not aware of any law in France
which prevented him from doing sn. Therefore, he
should still continue to admit the usual frequenters of
his society. As to the conversation held at his house,
he knew of no law which forbade Frenchmen, in
their private domestic circles, to exchange their
sentiments freely on all topics, nor should he
attempt to suppress any such free expression in his
salon. If the government chose to abut up his salon,
they might do so, but they would be obliged to em-
ploy force for the purpose. Unless they sent the
armed force and placed sentinels at his door his
friends would still find admittance, and ho should
always receive them. This letter of so distinguished
a personage makes a great sensation.
There is established in the department of the cen-
sorship of the press a particular bureau for the ex-
amination of the English papers, and expert lawyers
are employed to read the London journals, with the
object of discovering calumnious news, upon which
a trial for libel may be instituted before the British
courts of law. The same may be said of the Belgian,
Piedmontese, Swiss, and Portuguese papers. But
the difference between the treatment of the latter
and the English papers is, that in the Belgian and
others the leading articles will furnish subjects of
representation to the respective governments, and
procure, if they attack Louis Napoleon, the sal press-
men of the paper.
'1 here is a paragraph in the Mats announcing
that a portion of the estate of Neuilly, forming part
of the private domain of Louis Philippe, is placarded
for sale on the 14th of February. I believe this an-
nouncement originates in a mistake. An estate called
Neuilly-sur-Size, near Chaumont, in the Haute
Marne, is advertised for sale 9U the day mentioned,
but this forms no part of the property of the house
of Orleans.

It appears that Dr. Veron has made serious cow-
ttints that he, the most serviceable partisan of the
.lysee. is the only unrewarded one, and remains,
like Gideon's fierce, dry, while the dew of favours
descends on all the rest. The President is said to
have answered to these reclamations that Dr. Veron
could not stand in need of money, as he was u
sumptuous in his habits as if he were another Lu-
cullus, and as for honorary reward, how was it pos-
sible to pla& in any high dignity a personage who
could gain admission to no first-rate club at Paris.
With these reasons and with promises to attend to
the interests of the other rerbeteurs of the Canada-
tiannel the doctor is said to have been obliged to rest
contented.

The sentence of death pronounced against Mallet,
b. the court-martial at Clamecy, has been com-
muted by the President of the Republic to transpor-
tation for life, owing to the active intercession of the
curt. of Bonny. Nothing is yet known with regard
to thefate of filletot and Protet, now under sentence
of death at Clamecy. A fourth prisoner, named
Jouanin, was condemned to death by the same court-
martial on Tuesday. and another, named Gallons, to
hard labour for life.
A letter from Bourges of Feb. 1 says, that a great
many arrests have just been made in the neighbour
hootid, including a landed proprietor, a former assist-
ant of a mayor, and a registrar of a jaye de pair.

The new paper, the Dessiocraid;Napti conienne,
only ten numbers old, is about to change its name to
that of La France NupdArnienne. It is time, for
this journal is a mere Bonapartist court circular.
To-day, for instancy, it announces that the em-
broidery of the senators' coats will exceed in richness
anything that has ever yet been seen. It is not,
however, yet decided whether the ,übstmtum of the
garment will be cloth or velvet. The same
autho-
nty informs us that Marshal Jerome Bonaparte is
about to gladden the inhabitants of Corsica with his
presence. It may he inferred front this that the
duties of president of the Senate will not be very
onerous. Another piece of intelligence is, that a
partnership has been formed and duly registered be-
tween M. Emile Thomas, NI UllllOl.. M. Savalettc, ge-
neral agent, and a third person, for the purpose of
propagating during the next three, six, or nine years

bush of " His Imperial Highness the Prince Preai-
dent "laic.)
Mak eft dis mitiffikers were sent for to the Hi p&
yesterdir" There was no council. The President
transacted badness with each of them separately.
The President will give a grand soirée at the
Elysee this evening. Foreign ambassadors, minis-
, tees, chargle-cl'affaues, and very large number of
functionaries and military officers are invited.
The grand review, so frequently put off on account
of the weather, is now spoken of for the 12th inst.
Denial St. Arnaud gives a ball on the 11th, and
..has announced, through the newspapers, that his
list of guests is so full that ho cannot issue any more
invitations. There is to be another ball at the
Tuileries very soon. The upholsterers are busily at
work in furnishing all the apartments iu tho Tuile-
ries, large and small. Those of the new Governor-
General Vaudry have been sumptuously fitted up.
M. Casabianca has a princely dwelling in the apart-1
manta occupied by the King and Queen of the Bel-
gians when they were in Paris.
The uneasiness lately prevalent at the Bourse
from the fear of impending financial measures, has
diminished within the last day or two, owing to an-
ticipatory rumours of the official contradiction pub-
lished in this morning's Moniteur. It wee hoped that
a considerable rise would have taken place to-day.
This hope has not been realised. It has been re-
marked that, although that contradiction is neces-
sarily entitled to be received with respect, many of
the plans of the present government have never been
so near their fulfilment as when they were moat
strenously disavowed.
The return of Count Guitant from Madrid has re-
vived the rumour of a marriage being on the lapis
between the President and a daughter of Queen
Christina. It is certain that, notwithstanding the
emerity exercised towards the Madrid journals, they
repeat this rumour, and have received no official
contradiction.

M. Macdonald, Duke of Tarento, comes forward as
a candidate in the Loiret, for the districts of (lien
and Montargis.
Yesterday M. Delangle was installed as proeureur-
general Of the Court of Causation. In his speech to
the court he said that the duty of all good men, and
' of magistrates especially, was to second Louis Napo-
leon in his efforts to re-establish " authority, order,
and discipline." Senator Portalis, the chief judge of
the court, expressed his approbation of the choice of
M. ',dangle u procureur-general, and applauded the
'sentiments to which he had given utterance. The'
Court of Cassation, he said, faithful to its precedents
and its duties, was ready to second Prince Louis
hapoleon by concurriug in the maintenance of public
order and of thu principle of authority. It might
have been nought that the first duty of a judge
was the indifferent adrninis ra•ion of justice. Order,
authority, and discipline have rather a military signi-
fication. This studious omission, by the highest
functionaries of the highest court in the country, of
any refer ace to the special attribute of a judicial
tribunal, augurs ill for the SUCCeIIII of the legal pro-
ceedings on the part of the Orleans family.
The Bourse was dull to-day. The Five, per Cents.
closed without change from yesterday at 103.25.
The Three per Cents. fell 15c. and closed at 65.10.
Bank of France shares rose sf. Railways were again
better: Orleans rose 12.50; Havre and Boulogne, 5
each; Bordeaux, 3.75; Lyons and Testo and Bor-
deaux, 2.50 each.