The Express.
London, England, 1865-03-21 00:00:00

domed to pettarm a public peasaes. It is that Arbaes
who is sow to be saaoalsol.

It is always well to chasten Utopian ideas, how-
ever dear to our hopes and wishes, by the sternest
of Bela. The partisans of "obligatory instruction"
fancy that nothing but a decree of the Emperor,
which, but for bad advisers, he would issue directly,
stands between the country and the consummation
of the wish that every French citizen should
"read and write." Prussia is cited in M. Durny'sl
report se a practical example that obligatory in-
struction is possible. But the report on
the Pianism budget of 1865 presented to
the Berlin Chamber of Deputies these remarkable
words :—" Obligatory instruction in the primary
schools is no guarantee against ignorance." And
in proof of this assertion the reporter states that 20
per cent. of the recruits in the Prussian army had
received no primary instruction.
_ _

The official soootints in the Monitwir of the cur.
render of Osjaca make no mention of the execution
of the Mexican general, Porfirio That., so that
Marshal Forey's approbation of the supposed fero-
cious sot of Marshal Bazaine only stands u an
avowal of what he (Marshal Forey) would have
done if he had had that opportunity. Moreover,
the Afositeur accords to Porfirio Diaz the title of

general which Marshal Forey denies him.
The Pays does not seem to know whether Porfirio
Diaz was shot or not, but, wishing to be on the safe
ride, it agrees with Marshal Forey that a Mexi-
can commander who surrendered a beseiged city
and a garrison of 4,000 men was not entitled to be
considered as a prisoner of war, and that it was all
right to shoot him on account of a bad reputation.
There seems reason to think that Marshal Forey

found a mare's neat, and that the Porfirio Diaz
whose crimes he alluded to was only a namesake of
the commandant of Oajaca.

The same journal announces that Marshal
Bamine was preparing an expedition against
Tobasco, which " may be considered" as the very
last refuge of armed resistance in the south of
Mexico.

A Mexican journal, called L'Eaprit Public, was
lately suspended under one of Marshal Foray's de-
crees for an article which had " displeased the Em-
peror." As soon as Maximilian heard of this
awkward wording of an administrative act by a
too zealous disciple of coup d'itat legislation, he
relieved the journal from the suspension.
When I sent, more than a week ago, a faithful
report of the trial before the Tribunal of First
Instance, which resulted in a decree against Mag-
shal Magnan to pay a sum of 80,000 fr. as surety
for his son, I said that the French journals would
probably not venture to notice the case. The
Gazette de France has, however, resolved at length
to exercise the right, without respect of persons, of
making the public acquainted with what takes place
in courts of law ; and it states that Marshal Mar-
iam was allowed time to pay on the ground recog-
nised by the Cods, that he was a debiteur mal-
heureux et de bonne foi—(an unfortunate debtor who
had acted in good faith).
The Patrie says there is no truth in the news
lately given by the Gazette de France that the im-
port duty on foreign wheat was to be raised from
50c. to 2fr. boc. The protectionist gratulations of
the legitimist journal, therefore, fall to the ground.
The Right Hon. W. Hutt, M.P., introduced by
Earl Cowley, had the honour of a private interview
with the Emperor yesterday at the Palace of the
Tuileries.
The Duke de Saint-Simon, senator, has just died
in Paris, aged 83. The dukedom expires with him,
but a collateral hair succeeds to the title of Marquis
de Saint-Simou.
At the Bourse there was little change except in
Mobilier shares, which were much depressed, and
ultimately fell 17fr. 50c.