The Express.
London, England, 1852-01-06 00:00:00

TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 6,

The latter company had solicited the con—
cession for the last two years, but was objected
to by the National Assembly, as not sufficiently solid.
It has been now admitted as one of the combined
companies, chiefly at the instances of M. de Morny,
who is said to have insisted expressly on this ar-
rangement, as an indispensable condition of the con-
cession. The decree of the concession will appear in
the Monileur as soon as the new company shall have
been constituted, and paid into the treasury the first
instalment of ten millions. As soon as the distribu•
tion of the capital between the several companies is
known you shall hear more un this subject.
_ _ _ _

In connection with this subject, I may add, that
M. Bartholinny lost no time in presenting himself
before M. Fould, as soon as the latter was installed
in the ministry of Finance, in order to apply for the
concession of the Paris and Lyons Railway. M. de
Rothschild only applied several days later. This
mark of a want of confidence in the government was
noticed with displeasure at the Flytke ; and it was
not without some difficulty., notwithstanding his
immense reputation as a capitalist that M. de Roths-
child was admitted to make one of the grantees of the
railway.
It is reported that to-day at the Bourse 75fr. pre-
mium was made on promises of shares in the new
line. _ _ _

The promulgation of the constitution has been de-
layed, owing to the incompleteness of some organic
decrees which arc to be appended to it.
Count Turgot has addressed a circular to the minis-
ters representing the French Republic at foreign
courts. After dwelling upon the strength
given to the government by the enormous
number of votes polled in the President's favour,
and the consternation and defeat of the party
of disorder, the Minister of Foreign Affairs speaks of
the services rendered to the whole of Europe by the
triumph of Louis Napoleon. It is added that the
note contains assurances that the present govern-
ment has no intention of deviating from the princi-
ples of foreign policy observed by France hitherto,
but I believe that these assurances arc vague, and
bear no positive construction.
I am informed to-day that a serious difference
lhas broken out between the President and his
Minister of Finance, M. Achillc Fould. The
main ground of disagreement is a diametrical
opposition of opinion on the conversion of the Five
per Cents., which is supported by M. Fould
with much warmth. You may remember how much
noise was recently made owing to the announcement
in the Constitutionnd of an impending conversion of
this Itente. It appears that M. 'hunt, one of
the reilacteurs of that journal, has been
obliged to retire, merely from his having
written the article in question. Other sources
of disagreement between Louis Napoleon and
his Minister of Finance are the socialist schemes
entertained by the former for the benefit of
the working classes. I have already dwelt upon
these, and upon the financial measures contemplated
in reference to them. All these appear to meet with
disapprobation from the Minister of Finance, who is
not troubled with any such philanthropic crotchets.
It is said that the ministry of Public Instruction
will be suppressed.
It is reported this evening that the majority of the
political refugees now in London intend to go to
America, and that the British government has been
requested by foreign powers to use its influence to
obtain grants of land for the emigrants.
Two medals, commemorative of the events of De-
cember, are to be struck at the Mint. One by M.
Clayranl has on the fats/ a bust of the President, and
on the reverse a figure of Renown, bearing the num-
ber of affirmative votes obtnined on Dee. 21, with
these words for a legend, l'ost 'spoil rot Dci. The
other, intended to commemorate the coup dant of
Dec. 2, is by M. Cagiat, the artist who designed the
medal of 1 kr. 10, IM4B.

The mayor of Rotation-centre (Cite d'Or) has been
arrested upon the charge of having attempted to
break open the ballot-box of his commune at the
election of 20th and 21st December. The accounts
do not state upon which side of the election tf is
flagrant attempt was made. It will be interesting
to inquire.
The 'fours and Nantes railway has made many re-
ductions in its warehouses, and it is said that several
engineers will be discharged.
At the Bourse the .5 per Cents. rose :We., and
closed at 105.10, the Three per Cents. rose 50, closing
at 70.90. Railways were generally firm. Orleans
rose 20f. Havre, 22.50. Northern, 17.30, but
Marseilles and Bordeuax fell 3f.

(room OCCASIONAL COIIIIESPONDENTI
PARIS, lAN. 4.
The President is doing all in his power to excite
the people in his favour, but in vain. They have
sullenly elected him, and they as sullenly leave him
to his fate. Never was obstinacy like it. They
refuse to be entertained, provoked, or even interested.
They prefer a wise passiveness. He begs them re-
joice, and they tell him there is no occasion ; he
prays them to illuminate, and they reply that they
cant aitord it. He implores them to cry Vire No-
',aeon, and they tell him to blow his own trumpet.
He commands their archbishop to pronounce a Te
Drum, and the good man says ho does that every
day. Ho distributes money to the poor, and they
receive it as their own. He goes to the Palace of
the Tuileries, and finds it cold as La Morgue. He
steals into the Champs-Elysees, and the crowd
laugh at him. He touches his hat, and is told that it
is his uncle's. Ho beckons to the people, and is
followed only by his suite and his shadow. The only
men who pronounce his name aloud are those who
sell his brazen image. And yet, despite all this, his
hireling journals assert that at every step of his
course he is received with enthusiasm.

I have already written you about his reception
on the Ist of January ; and extensive inquiries made
since confirm tho account in every particular. Never
before was a pc so universally condemned as a
farce. Tho only friendly sign of tho day was the
charitable fog, which concealed his person from
sight, and wrapped the procession in a shroud.
' Yesterday being the anniversary of Saint Gene-
vieve, it was anticipated by many, and had even been
announced in the journals, that the transposition and
perversion of the Pantheon into a catholic church
would be accomplished. But it seems the event is
considered one of far too great importance to be has-
tened. However, the anniversary was celebrated all
the same, and the unique little church of Saint Eti-
enne du Mont, situated just by the side of the Pan-
theon, and containing the tomb of the worthy shep-
herdess and saint, was the scene of more or less in-
terest all day. The grand square in front was
filled with booths, and presented the appearance of
a country fair. The chief articles on sale, however,
were such as are incident to the catholic worship.
There were crucifixes, rosaries, crosses, all kinds
of sacred pictures, no end of beads, and areat
variety of consecrated jewellery (warranted to be
pure copper or tin, as the case might be), and por-
traits, busts, and statuettes of Saint Genevieve with-
out limit. Crowds of little boys and girls pressed
round me, and urged that I should buy a little blue.
covered pamphlet containing the life of the saint, on
the ground that my so doing would be converted by
God into a mutual blessing. I bought one
of them (on that understanding) and found it to be
one of the most trashy bits of superstition and im-
posture which I had ever seen. On inquiring if it
was sold authoritatively, I was answered in the I
affirmative. In fact it was offered to me in the
church itself, which was turned into a warehouse.
On entering the building, and after passing sorrow-
fully by a decrepid old man, whose duty it has been
for many years to hold out a moist dirty-looking
brush to all who approach him, and I found the
aisles crowded with women, most of them of the
very poorest class, and all making their little pil-
grimage to Saint Genevieve's tomb. Nearly all of
them had purchased little candles of a priest on the
premises, with the intention of placing them on tho
tomb as a religious offering. Others were buying
trinkets of various kinds at a stand near one or the
altars, and getting another priest to bless them, and
rub them against the tomb, in order that they might
receive a sacred influence, and be useful hereafter to
keep off evil spirits.
Joining the procession, though without purchasing
candle or trinket—armed in fact only with the
blue covered pamphlet—l approached the sacred
monument, which I found to be a large stone coffin,
smooth with age, and literally soiled with the con-
stant touch of priesthood. It was enclosed in an
iron railing, all the points of which were filled with
burning candles: in fact the coffin itself was all on
fire with them. Several priests stood by to assist in
sticking on the candles, and consecrating the trinkets.

That such a scene could take place in the 52nd year
of the 19th century, seemed to me incredible ; but
after witnessing it with my own eyes, and hearing
the solemn jargon which accompanied it with my
own cars, I could better understand how 7,500,0199
Frenchmen had just voted fur Louis Nspoleun Bona-
'lPartu•

SPAIN.

MADRID. Dec. 31.

The Queen will resume shortly her official duties,
and affix the sign manual to decrees. Her Majesty will
receive, on Sunday, the message of the progressista
deputies, who protest against the adopt of certain
measures or the government, without having con-
sulted the Cortes.

fhe Gaulle of to-day publishes the receipts of the
revenue for the month of November, I s•il. The re-
venue has fallen off about nix millions in comparing
it with the receipts of the same month in DCA, and
about seven millions lean than the estimates. The
Custom-house receipts have presented the most re-
markable diminution, viz., J91,Y,i11 reals. The only
contribution, the direct tuxes, which cannot be
escaped from, and which press hardest, are the only
ones which present un increase.