The Express.
London, England, 1864-08-24 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(mos ours ows coanSPOIMIXT.)
PLEA Tussah Evismrs.

The good people of France do not look upon the
new projected alliance with Italy so favourably as I
had at first imagined. They think that such a
family compact may lead to fresh complications
with Austria. The state of Italy gives constant
uneasiness here, and it is felt that should the
slightest encouragement be given to the party of
action France might be precipitated into another
war. The semi-official paper, the Pays, in alluding
to Prince llumbert's coming, says that the report
of the prince's marriage with a member of the
Bonaparte family has assumed such consistency
that it is bound to notice a matter which it can
neither deny nor confirm.
The Danish despatches are printed, and the
Temps draws attention to the very curious relations
which existed between France and England in the
month of July last. The cabinet of the Tuileries
was determined to suffer even the occupation of
Denmark by the Diet. Great importance, however,
was attached to the documents published by the
Morning Post. Then we see France suspected of
having a secret understanding with Prussia ; and
France fearing that England, in case of a European
crisis, would join her enemies.
The arrogant conduct of Prussia in her dealings
with Northern Germany still continues to incense
the French press.

The Gazette de France announces that M. de
3ferode and General della Marmora are about to
arrive in Paris. The arrival of the Pope's Minister
at the same time as the eon of Victor Emmanuel
will be rather inopportune.
The Emperor will shortly start for the camp at
ChLlonstwhere the Duke of Magenta is manceuvring
troops on a large scale.

The Frenchman has taken it into his head that'
the Irishman is oppressed and that the condition
of his country can be only compared to that of
Poland, of Hungary, or Venice. This idea has
lasted ever since Humbert effected a landing and
since Hoche's memorable proclamation, when he
should have stepped ashore in Bantry Bay and
expelled the English. Every trial which has
visited Ireland has been the work of the British
Cabinet, and Lord John Russell might have easily
averted the potato failure. Most French jour-
nalists still deny that there is any civil or religious
liberty in Ireland, and it is useless for even a
native of that country to argue with them on the
subject. A long standing error is as difficult to
cure as must have been Lord Aldborough's leg.
A writer in the Prase has, however, had his eyes
opened, and some of his remarks are worth record-
ing. After referring to the rather equivocal duties
of the Lord Lieutenant, M. Chatard says that
party spirit is still profoundly rooted and
vivacious in the country, and that seldom is an oc-
casion allowed to pass over without a manifestation.
The hand of the Irishman is as quick as his tongue ;
he strikes as promptly as he speaks, and his head
is as hard as the shillleha (sic) with which he fights.
It will be long before it will be possible to cool his
temperament and inoculate him with those ideas of
order with which every Englishman is imbued.
Ireland possesses to-day as complete religious as
political liberty, and there is no reason for any
serious agitation. There may still be some brains
troubled by the chimera of national independence;
but Ireland would not enjoy • wiser government
and one more liberal if she could separate herself
from England and be ruled over by an 0' or a Mac.
We have Bretons and others who have the preten-
sion not to be Frenchmen, and it is not astonishing
to find sons of St. Patrick who object to be Saxons.
After explaining with a good deal ef lucidity and
candour the present state of affairs at Belfast the
writer goes on to remark :—" Daniel O'Connell,
who knew his compatriots well, said of them, 'lf
there be an Irishman to be burned, another Irish-
man will always be found to turn him before the
fire.' A philosopher has since then written that if
Irishmen were indifferent or atheists they would be
much wiser and more easily governed. We are
not convinced that the rioters who have burned
William lIL and Daniel O'Connell in effigy are
animated with any sincere religious fervour. The
greater number of them are incorrigible disturbers,
who have not even the excuse of fanaticism, and
who allow themselves to be misled by a pack of
madmen who think themselves able to effect in
1864 what their forefathers failed to do in 1792,
when backed by a French expedition. These men
forgot that at thst epoch Great Britain had only 14
millions of inhabitants, and that to-day she has 24
millions ; that Ireland in those days had maven mil-
lions, and that to-day she is reduced to five millions."
Those Irishmen who wished not long ago for the
Duke of Magenta as king might read M. Chatard's
observations with advantage. A perusal of some
of the volumes of "Napoleon's Correspondence "1
might also prove • counter-irritant—that great
general administrator and reader of ebareeter was
never misled by the representations of the Irish
chiefs ; his letters show how he estimated them,
and at last he refused even to receive them or their
communications.
The Labastide trial drags its slow length along.
Two or three days have been occupied in trying to