The Express.
London, England, 1863-08-12 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(foil OUB OWN CORRIBPONDENT.)

PARIS, TUESDAY EVENING.

The Constitutionact says that Archduke Maxi-
milian's election by the Notables of Mexico must of
course, and pursuant to the Emperor's original in-
tention, be confirmed by the country at large ;
whereas the Nation says, on the contrary, that the
election is definitive, and that the archduke, long
ago, made it a condition that he was not to be
elected by universal suffrage, he having an insuper-
able objection to that form of obtaining power. If
this latter story be true, we have a very edifying
difference of opinion on a vital point between patron
and client. There is nothing certainly known as
to whether Maximilian will accept it or not.
is said to have written to his father-in-law, the
King of the Belgians, for advice.
Although the report of a grand review by the
Emperor on Friday, August 14 (the eve of the
fête), has been contradicted, I believe it is still
intended to take place, only, on account of the
extreme heat, the hour is not yet fixed. There
will be a new moon on Friday, and with it people
look to a change of weather. At present the heat,
although not quite so intense as on Sunday, con-
tinues to be almost unprecedented.
I believe the Emperor will not go to the Chalons
camp till after the fete, and that there will be a
reception of the Corps Diplomatique on the 15th.
Whether any political speech will be made by his
Majesty on that day is a subject of much specula-
tion.

I do not remember any appointment under the
empire which has called forth so much independent
praise as that of M. Duruy to the Ministry of
Public Instruction. There is no doubt that in the
early days of the empire, and when K Fortoul
was minister, the idea was entertained of educating
the rising generation in strictly Bonapartist notions.
To this end many of the most eminent professors
were 'dismissed, philosophy was banished, history
mutilated, and a curiously hard name, called
" bifurcation of studies," was invented with the
object of discouraging the classics and diminishing
the number of young men whose judgment of im-
perial constitutions might be liable to be contami-
nated by the doctrines of Brutus and Cicero. The
absurd lengths to which the revolutionists of 1793
went in their imitation of Roman republicans fur-
nished a pretext sufficiently plausible, at a time
when liberty of the press was utterly extinguished,
to give a thin varnish of reason for some of these
alterations. At the same time the government
curried favour with the clergy, little thinking that
this same clergy would so soon "turn again and
rend " its patron. Whether from the utter failure
of M. Fortoul's experiment, or from other causes,
the opinion is almost universally entertained
among the liberal patty that M. Duruy's elevation
signifies a reversal of the policy of ten years
ago, and a most praiseworthy reform in the conduct
of public education. M. Duruy's speech at the
annual distribution of prizes at the Sorbonne con-
firms all the favourable impressions that were en-
tertained of him. The Temps says :
This speech is an sweat. The minister not only said
excellent things, but he said them with the accent
and manner of a man resolved to act in conformity with
his words. He holds out a hope of that most necessary
extension of primary education which is so much desired,
and announces a bill for the organisation of secondary pro-
fessional instruction ; he tells us further that bifurcation
and the splitting of the bachelor's degree are abolished ;
and that the professor of history will lecture on the history
of Europe from 178'J down to the present day. lit will be
remembered that modern history was suppressed by H.
Fortoul from the fear that lectures upon it might lead stu-
dente to draw inferences unfavourable to what was done by
Maupse, Persigny, Saint Arnaud alias Le Roy, Finny, &c.,
and their employer on December 2, 1851.] The announce-
ment of these reforms was received with enthusiasm. They
do honour to the minister, and the reception given to them
doss honour to the youth of the university. We must,
however, obeerve that the usefulness of an historical course
of lectures mutt very much depend upon the way in which
the subject is treated. There are " Father Losiquets " of
history as well as of other subjects. We shall have small
respect for any system of teaching, although it may be
styled "national," unless it tends to form citizens and men
of sound knowledge.

The Debata, speaking of the applause which
hailed M. Duruy's appearance in the chair, says :
The repeated and prolonged cheering which greeted the
muter and friend were but a tribute of justice to the
tiatory acts by which this child of the university, now
called upon to preside over it, has justified the favour of
his sovereign. On the day when M. Duruy was named
minister philosophy resumed its place es well as its name
in the university, and the professorate, " that magistrature
of instruction," us the minister himself so happily said, reco-
vered its guarantees. M. Roulacd staunched some wounds ;
but the new minister, young, fell of ardour, and, moreover,
of liberal ardour, seems determined to make prompt and
clean work, and to efface the last traces of the disastrous
changes which public instruction in France suffered some
years ago.
The Opinion Nationale, that extreme liberal and
anti-ultramontane organ, goes further than any
other in its eulogy ; it says :
We have now obtained, if not all that we could wish, at
least more than we had hoped for. The teaching at the
lyceums is restored to its right footing by the suppression of
the bifurcation of studies, aid • new system of general
teaching, corresponding to the requirements of our epoch,
will at last go hand in hand with the humanities. The
introduction during the philosophical year of the history of
Europe subsequent to our great revolution shows very clearly
that a new direction, and one more consonant with modern
ideas, is now to be given to the studies of youth. A few
words of promise regarding primary instruction holds out a
good hope that in this department also we shall soon have
nothing to desire.
. . . .

There is a good caricature in the Charivari.
The King of Prussia leaving behind him a con-
templative lady (Germany), with whom he had
been walking, treads upon some brittle Russian ice,
which, breaking in, leaves him half submerged,
and cuttings very ridiculous figure. Thereupon
the Emperor of Austria steps forward, aud, with

the provoking mein of a successful rival, gives his
arm to Germany, saying to the man floundering in
the ice, " Madame will not follow you there ; allow
me, therefore, to avail myself of this opportunity
to take your place by her side."
The Daily News is seized on account of a leading
article, which is commented upon severely by the '
France, Opinion Nationale, and other French papers.
Ou this occasion I must really call attention to the
un justifiable way in which Galignani's ffessenger mu-
tilates articles of the London press while pretending
to quote them. Oalignani being published in Paris
is just as liable to warnings and suppressions as any
French paper, and therefore as a condition of its
existence is obliged to stand well with the police.
This state of things affords a very good reason for
abstaining to quote au obnoxious article, but it is
no excuse for misrepresentation. It is no excuse
for taking all the salt out of an article, and then
serving it up to a credulous public as if it were a
genuine reproduction. It is no excuse for taking a
vigorous, well-considered, logical, symmetrical,
apropos and striking leader, and so cutting it up
as to make it appear tame, stale, flat, unprofitable,
and purposeless. It will be no answer to these
strictures to say that curtailment and abridgment
are fair and customary. Palpably false quotation
is what I complain of. I see in the Opinion
Nationale and other journals striking passages from
the article of the Daily News, the omission in
which by Gatignani, without any points or brackets
to indicate a mutilation, completely changes it
character. If you compare the original with the
quotation, you will see at once what I mean.

The Gironde states that the convent of Carthu-
sian friars at Vanclatre, near Montpont (Dordogne),
was thrown into consternation, three mornings
since, by the circumstance of one of the members,
Father Chrysostiime, being found hanging, quite
dead, in the passage leading to his cell. The de-
ceased, whose name previously to entering the
order was M. Marian Sancy, was a native of Metz,
and only twenty-seven years of age. He was a
profound theologian, and one of the most distin-
guished members of the order. It appears that he
attended matins at two o'clock, and was found dead
about two hours later. Nothing is known as to the
cause of this suicide.