The Express.
London, England, 1863-05-16 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWR

PARIS, FIIDLY EVENING.

The despatches from Mexico published in the
Moniker quite bear out the surmise that the posi-
tion of the invading army must be critical. General
Foray's despatches only announce the capture of
single fort (Fort Xavier) and some islands, and say
not a word of the proposed capitulation of Ortega,
the attempt of 15,000 men to escape to Mexico,
the taking of the Cathedral and the Place d'Armes,
and a variety of other circumstances favourable to 1
the French arms,which have been published in the I
ordinary. journals. It is true that General'
Foray's despatches only come down to the 3rd
of April, whereas it is pretended that later
and better news, dating from Puebla the 10th,
was published in the Eco del Comercio of
Vera Cruz on April 16. It is incredible that the
Moniker should not be in possession of the latest
news brought by the Louisiana, and, inasmuch as
the Vera Crux journals are entirely at the mercy of
French authorities, tie probability is that the
stories published by them are false ; at all events,
the Moniker admits the heavy loss to the besieging
army ef 1 general and 5 officers killed, 33 officers
wounded, and 56 soldiers killed, and 4t3 non-
commissioned officers and soldiers wounded at the
date of April 3. As the Mexicans are shown to
have fought well, the losses subsequent to that date
may he presumed to have been vary great.
It is certain that General de Laumiere died of
his wounds as the Moniker states in its summary,
although from General Foray's despatches it
might be inferred that he was alive.
The Bourse was heavy on account as, I am told,
of the Mexican news, and rumours that further
reinforcements are to go out directly. Rents fell
20c. for cash, and 15e. for account ; and Mobilier,
16fr. 25c. Isthmus of Suez shares remain without
charge at 518.

A very good answer is given in an electoral mani-
festo published in the department of the Gera
(whiste a committee was formed on the principle of
embescing every shade of opposition opinion " froni
Count Montalembert 'to Colonel Charms") to the
cuckoo cry of M. de' Persigny's organs about the
"immorality" of a coalition. After the pungent
obsetvation that all M. de Parsigny's present
friends did not come straight' from fit. Helena on
the same day and by the same road, the address
says:

There are plenty of common and nrgeot intonate which
rattail the &Weems of. all friends of mammy, and liberty.
LoAnat the taxee—look at the expenditure—thick of the
onomquences of all these little wars, however heroic,
carried on in far &tient' countries—think of the state of
the peer, of the stataof the national representation—con-
sider the condition of individual liberty rin.lllr•the law of
public safety. What more urgent reasons could be given
far a community of efforts animated by the same views and
the same hopes?

At Bordeaux sq opposition committee having
been told by the,government, after much negotia-
tion at the Pregect's office, that public electoral
meetings were absolutely prohibited, but that
private meeting mould be
s.".tolerstel",lwattj
length fixed upon two candidates--they are M.
Aniedee Larrieu, a member of the Constituent
Assembly of 1848, and M. Lavertujon, the able
editor of the often-warned Gironde. M. Curd, the
late member for Bordeaux, although elected six
years ago as an opposition candidate, rallied to the
government as soon as he was invited to dine at
the Tuileries, and will probably not be re-elected.
Although complaints are made, and justly made,
that meetings should be prohibited in 1863 which
were permitted in 1857, and even in 1852, I think
it not doubtful that there is now, practically, a
good deal more liberty than at either of those pe-
riods. I assume, since it is so stated, that them
were some public meetings before the last two
general elections ; but they must have been very
rare, thinly attended, and, above all, very inno-
cuous. There was a reign of terror then, which
after all is in great measure dispelled at this time of
day. It is against the press principally that arbitrary
power now makes itself felt, and its pressure is
more annoying than terrible. The Emperor's
liberal proclamations of November, 1860 and 1861,
have sunk deep into the public mind, and en-
couraged a revival of political feeling which his
Majesty well knew could not, under any circum-
stances, be long delayed. Newspapers may be bar-
reseed, but citizens are not now afraid of being
suddenly transported to Cayenne. Even M. de
Persigny is hampered by his own liberal profes-
sions and promises. The Paris press, in spite of
all difficulties and perils, supplements iu great
measure the deficiencies of the departmental
journals. The prefects, however unscrupulous,
are partly paralysed by the more liberal spirit
which is abroad. Independent manifestations of
one sort or another are now so hydra-headed that
official patience and vigilance are lacking to
put them down. I do not expect that the
"five" will be very largely recruited in the next
legislature ; the various means in the power of the
administration for moulding universal suffrage are
still far too strong to render any such result probe-
'bie. But I think it no extravagant supposition
that their number may be raised to twenty—and
that would be a defeat for a government which de-
mands unanimity. Besides this I am firmly of
opinion that the minorities at the polling booths
will show a substantially larger figure than in
1857.