The Express.
London, England, 1864-04-22 00:00:00

THE EXP.

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

BHA KESPRAItZ FORBIDDEN.
(nom oul owl ooszzeromuzsr.)

PARIS, THURSDAY Evutra.

It is most true that the English Shakespeare
banquet is interdicted: The thing was done in the
most off-band way, without apology, explanation, I
or even direct communication with the English
committee. A police agent went yesterday to the
Grand Hotel, where the banquet was ordered, and
coolly said, " Yon will let those gentlemen know
that they will not be allowed to have their dinner."
An employi of the hotel took this message to Mr.
Yapp, the honorary secretary—and that was all.
The considerable expenses incurred, the arrange-
ments made with a view to April 23 by Englishmen
who, from their rank and position, have many
engagements, and the legitimate desire of English
residents in general to participate in the celebration
of Shakespeare's tercentenary, were ali held of no
amount, and a harmless festivity was put down
with as little ceremony as an electoral meeting.
The committee have, however, perhaps wisely—
at all events, meekly resolved not to
consider themselves affronted, and they will
not condescend to ask the English ambas-
sador to prefer a remonstrance which could
hardly fail to be seriously listened to. Annoying
and ridiculous as the conduct of the authorities is,
it is quite clear that they bear no malice and enter-
tain no suspicion against the English residents. If
the dinner had been, as by the light of present
events, it is now seen that it ought to have been,
an English dinner exclusively, it would never have
been interfered with. Unfortuuately the festival
is swamped, because the committee guilelessly and
large-heartedly accepted the proffered co-operation
of Frenchmen. When a gentlemanly Frenchman,
M. Leroy, got up at the public meeting at Lord
Cowley's, and made the proposition, seconded by
the Rev. Archer Gurney, that on the ground of
Shakespeare being the poet of the world, anti not
of England only, the banquet should be inter-
national, it never occurred to any Englishmen pre-
sent that Frenchmen labour under anch social disabi-
lities that no twenty of them can dine together
without the permission of the Prefect of Police.
M. Leroy, when proposing to join a set of English-
men on jovial thoughts intent, forgot that he was
presuming to exercise a liberty which the laws of '
his country, voted by universal suffrage, do not
permit French citizens to enjoy. The English
committee understand this now. Given the posi-
tion, which it is not for them to dispute, that it
was a political necessity to prohibit the exclusively
French banquet with Victor Hugo's vacant chair,
they are not disposed to deny the consequence that
the English dinner, to which Frenchmen might
have obtained admittance by buying tickets, could
hardly be allowed to come off. Another time they
will know better.

It is a dangerous thing, as Messrs. Roebuck and
Lindsay know to their cost, to report any converse-
Ration with Napoleon 111. Even such a courtly
and accomplished diplomatist as Lord Clarendon
may not do it safely. There is a wide discrepancy
between the little tart note in the Moniteur yester-
day about Garibaldi and the genial conciliatory
speeches of Lords Clarendon and Palmerston. The
Moniteur, after having denied that Lord Clarendon
promised the Emperor as a concession that Geri:
baldi should shorten his stay in England, went on
to say that the French government had made " no,
kind of observation to Lord Clarendon on the sub.
ject of Garibaldi." It is obvious that in the above
paragraph the " Emperor " and the " French
government" are used as synonymous expressions.
It is officially averred, therefore, on this side of the
channel that the Emperor never " said" a word to
Lord Clarendon touching Garibaldi But in the
House of Lords Lord Clarendon spoke of a
"communication " which he bad received from the
Emperor, and stated that the Emperor had "said "
that he entirely and fully believed how completely
such qualities as Garibaldi had displayed
went straight home to the English heart and
I commanded their approbation. In the House
of Commons Lord Palmerston was empowered by
Lord Clarendon to say that the Emperor " said "
that he looked with admiration upon the feeling
which the reception of Garibaldi expressed upon
the part of the British nation, and that it did them
the highest honour. Now if the matter ended
here, although there would be still enough to
puzzle a plain mind, it might be argued that the
French word " observation " has a bad sense,
implying criticism or remonstrance, and does not,
strictly speaking, exclude the fact of the
Emperor having conversed with Lord Claren-
don on the subject of Garibaldi. But
when the Moniteur makes a misrepresentation it is
apt to stick to it ; and if you refer to the Moniteur
of this morning, you will see that the speeches of
the two English ministers are so translated as to
make it appear that the Emperor " said " nothing,
but merely listened to Lord Clarendon, who put his
own construction upon what he presumed to be his
Majesty's sentiments. All the remarkable passages
which I have cited above, and which formed the
beats of the telegrams sent from London, are stu-
diously omitted in the Moniker translation. This
curious story is an illustration of the fact often re-
marked, that diplomatic truth is a thing essentially
malleable in its nature, rerit4 en decd des Pyrenees
erreur au de/d. Of course all Englishmen believe
that the Emperor expressed to Lord Claren-
don the magnanimous sentiments about Gari-
baldi's reception which are recorded in parliament,
but it would be very inconvenient if such a belief
were to prevail in France, seeing that the semi-
official journals under the French government
orders have never, since Garibaldi set his foot in
England, ceased to sneer at him and at the English
public on account of him, and seeing moreover
that the Moniker, which professes to give news
from all parts of the world, has till yesterday ig-
nored the fact of Garibaldi's being in England at
all. Accordingly all loyal Frenchmen are held to
believe that the Emperor never so much as men-
tioned Garibaldi's name to Lord Clarendon.

The Bourse has recovered materially from yester-
day's fall. There were 000siderable fluctuations,
but the market closed very firm, with a rise in the
Bente of 45c. for cash and 35c. for account, the
last prices being 67 ft. 35c. and 67fr. 50c. Mobilier
rose 30fr. In railway shares there was little altera-
tion. The bullion in the Bank of France is under-
stood to be increasing, the figure now mentioned
being 229,000,000. The money article of the
Opinion Nationale says :—" The subscription to the
Mexican Loan is going on successfully. The num-
ber of subscribers yesterday was 2,784. It is stated
that the demands of the Receiver-General repre-
sent 7,000,000 or 8,000,000 of Rents. This figure,
added to the small subscriptions already known,
nearly covers the portion of the loan reserved for
French capital."

Molts THAN WM AND Darns THAN Ema.—This
applies to the lamest sad best dock a 1 sprfasead serenser
patterns ever sabeattled for pabbe worktArseed
16a. trousers at Alfred Webb KUlS.fr"Lorlilastar's stay este.
‘llatunent., TS, Brook-street, Basovereqvare. WADI/Med 1861
.{Adrertiaseaset.