The Express.
London, England, 1862-05-21 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

MOM OUR OWN

PARIS. TUESDAY EVMMIG

The semi-official journals are all ordered to in-
sinuate that General Prim had personal motives
for the course he adopted.
The Press, says :—" It seems to us that the note
in the Moniteur is not sufficiently categorical to
explain the intentions of government and to pre-
vent erroneous suppositions."
The Senate yesterday came to an important vote,
showing that it takes au strieux its mission aa
"guardian of the constitution." Last year an im-
perial decree, issued under the auspices of M.
Haussmsnn, with the laudable purpose of improving
the water supply of Paris, directed that the waters
from the source of the river Dhuis should be
brought to the capital by means of an aqueduct.
A petition from various proprietors of estates
watered by the Dhuia has been presented, com-
plaining that they would be seriously injured by
the proposed diversion of their watercourse, and
I alleging that the decree was unconstitutional as ex-
ceeding the Emperor's powers. Although a com-
mittee of the Senate recommended the " preview
I question," the house, after a public discussion,
I voted that the petition should be referred to the
bureaux and a special committee, which course is
the first step towards declaring an act of govern-
Iment "unconstitutional." M. Hausmann was ab-
seet from this discussion on the ground of " indis-
position."
The Bourse has not recovered from the fall of
yesterday. The Bente closed at 70fr. 40c. both for
cash and account, with a further fall of 10c. and
Sc. Mobilier fell Sir. 75c., and the Italian Loan
15c. The Orleans Railway fell Sir. ; the other
lines were weak, but with little change. Caine
Mirbe remains unaltered, at 98fr. 75c.
" The Viceroy of Egypt," says the Messager du
Midi, " related, while at Toulon, • trick which
had been played off on him, and the recital of
which has caused much amusement to the Italian
court. When his highness was about to embark
for Europe, a person requested permission to pre-
sent to him a national air for Egypt, which, he
said, he had composed for the occasion, observing
that all other nations had their patriotic hymn,
and that Egypt ought to have hers. The music
(was tried, found to be fine, and the self-styled
composer was liberally rewarded by the Viceroy.
During the visit which Victor Emmanuel paid to
the squadrons at Naples, when the French played
the air of Reine Hortense and the English God
save the Queen,' the band of the Egyptian frigate
struck up its new national hymn, which turned out
to be nothing more nor lees than the prohibited air
of Francis 11., which had been palmed off on the
Viceroy as a new composition. As may be sup-
posed, the Italians were both astonished and
scandalised at hearing it, until an explanation was
iven."

His Prussian Majesty's transport ship Elbe,
Capt. Werner, arrived at Falmouth on Sunday from Siam,
having been occupied for two years in an experimental
mike in the Eastern seas, from which she is now returning.
She has on board a large collection of objects of natural
history.
The correspondent of the Journal des Dibats, in
his last letter as the Fine Arta department of the Exhl-
biticm. expreeme all the relief he felt as entering the
French ram after a visit to the English painters. "I
Andsayself," be says, "as if 'in the open country on quite
ting a hothouse. In truth, art is Dot natural here ; it has
no vital power. It requires a high temperature, kept up
by a powerful and opulent aristocracy, who will have art
with gold, ea our great nobles formerly had mietreems.
The modern architecture of the monuments of Larks
proves the fact. Gorssonanees without originality ; every-
where antique ooloonadm, Doric or lonic portioose, palaces
imitated from Palladio. or copied at Florence. Creative
talent has mot goo* beyond the Crystal Palace, which is dr
tidally the specimen of the English style for the
menet. The Exhibitios of Areititestoni Designs at
Kensington Palace bears traces of this statairs and with
all my goodwill I have not been able to discover a news
salmon prestioal tendeecy."