The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-17 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 17, 1851.

FRANCE.

presented the President with an immense bouquet 1
of flowers, one of the party addressing to him a com-
pliment
in the name of her companions. The Pre-
sident, with becoming gallantry, saluted each of
these ladies on the check, and, after thanking them
for their attention, said, " Como and see me at the
'Elysee. I shall expect you to-morrow at 10 o'clock::
Ho then saluted the crowd and withdrew, in the
midst of loud cheers. Accordingly, this morning,
the dames de la Valle deputed a bevy of the best-
looking of their community to accept the President's
courteous invitation. A capital breakfast was served
at the Elysee ; the President was as gay as the occa-
sion demanded, and retutmed thanks in a becoming
speech for the frequent bumpers drank to his health
by his fair and merry guests.
Rumours, given rise to by the Messages, have
been current as to an interview having taken
place at the Ely 'see between Lord Normanby,
M. )(mos° Cortes, Spanish plenipotentiary,
and M. Baroche, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
with respect to the Cuba question. Unfortunately
for the possibility of the alleged interview Lord
Normanby is in the Pyrenees, M. Baroche at Men-
lan, and Donoso Cortes in the country.
The Manlier's announces that M. Fould will re-
sume his duties as Minister of Finance, which have
been discharged during his absence by M. ltouher.
The French squadron is expected to be ready for
sea by the 18th, and will, it is thought, be reinforced
by the Henry IV., now at Lisbon, and by the Ville
de Paris. The destination of the fleet is supposed to
be Naples.
The Minister of Marine is about to undertake a
journey to ',orient, in order to examine the iron
works of Indict. It may be remembered that on a
recent excursion, to be present at the opening of the
Nantes Railway, M. Dufaure refused to visit this
establishment, of which ho had recommended the
suppression.
. . . .

PARIS, TtrSDAT Evraixo.
Not long ago you were induced, by the condem-
nation of M. Charles Hugo to a heavy fine and im-
prisonment for no greater crime than the composi-
tion of an article published in the Er•lnement against
capital punishment, to call public attention to the
singular severities exercised in France against the
opposition press. I have to report to-day s still
more remarkable instance of oppression inflicted on
another member of the same family, tried on a simi-
lar charge. M. Francois Victor Hugo, a younger
son of N. Victor Hugo, aged 23, was sentenced
yesterday by the Court of Assizes of the Seine to 9
months' imprisonment and 2,900 fr. fine for having
written an article published in the En'stement of the
9th instant, entitled "Cn Avcu." The article, which
I send below, complete and literally translated, was
provoked by a leader in the C'onstitutionnel, which
characterised the recent indiscriminate arrests of two

hundred foreigners of all nations as an act of inter-
national loyalty. M. Paul .Meurice, the y.,ant of
the Ethsetnent, was condemned in the same trial to
9 months' imprisonment and 3,000 fr. tine; and the
paper itself has been suspended for one month. Four
' editorsof this paper, namely, the two sons of M. Victor
Hugo and 3D1.-Nleurice and Paradis, are now there-
fore in prison. The incriminated article is as fol-
lows :

At last, then, they own it. The present ministers of the
tFhree nnicohnicarcpbuiliclalic cogons,!..rle.raettetintscoflvii:sumaspeid,eii,iittfinitalifiewciit all
with
the Emperor of Russia, identified with the Emperor of
Austria, identified with the King of Prussia, identified with
the King of Naples! The present minister of the French
republic, charged to watch over the maintenance of our
democratic constitution, is the ally of the Neeselrode
ministry, who violated the l'olish constitution; of the
Schwarxenherg ministry, who violated the Austrian con-
stitution; of the Manteuffel ministry, who violated the
Penni= constitution! M. Louis Bonaparte, who has sworn
fidelity to the republic, one and indivisible, is the auxiliary
of the Holy Alliance ! It is the Constitutionnet that says all
this! What we, opposition journalists, would not have
dared to have ais:rted, the journal of the Elysia: affirms
and boasts of; and it claims as an eulogy fur the govern-
ment that which we should have thought to be an limit !
Yes it is the government journal that declares that,
in arresting German refugees, guilty of wishing
another government for their country thou a Cus-
sack one, the minister of the republic has per-
formed an act of international loyalty, and that in
violating the sacred laws of hospitality 'aim regard to these
unfortunate exiles, he has but fulfilled the duties imposed
upon him by the law of nations! And, at the same time,
this journal lets it be understood that the executive power
would do well to address representations to the English es-
binet on the subject of the protection afforded to the exiles
In London. This, then, is what we have come to! That
right to an asylum which the barbarians themselves granted
to their vanquished enemies, that right to an asylum out of
respect to which the Turkish sultan has just risked a war
with Russia and Austria, that right to an asylutu for re-
streetworfawthhicolfi talytil,iettinleolnlaerelvier,
of republic so ltocreltiravoende
government that violates it, and glorifies iu so doing. And
this government is that of the former calls of Thurgovio,
it is the government of France, the government of the re-
public. That which the restoration itself would
only have dared to du in secret, the ministry
of M. Bonaparte dares to do, and boasts of.
It places its police, its gendarmerie, its prison%
at the service of those who divided Poland, devastated Hun-
gary, enslaved Germany, ruined Italy, and it calls that a
duty. For the ministers of it Bonaparte, to be European
and to desire any other equilibrium for Europe, than
the impious and unnatural one established in Itsl4
by the conquerors of Waterloo, that is called a
crime against the security of the state. For the
minister., to be a Pule, and to wish tho expulsion of
the Cossacks for his country, to wish fur independence, fir
life, is a crime against the security of the state. For time
I ministers, to be Hungarian, and to wish the fall of Austria
and national independence fur his country, to wish to re.
venge his brothers banged by treason, his mother flogged in
the public market-place, to have haughtiness of soul, to
possess the remembrance of home, of the family religion, to
utlinire Kossuth, and to curse Hayman, is a crime against
the securityof the state. For the ministers, to be a German,
and to wish for Germany that unity which is the right of a
race and the Corey of a nation, to wish that the mother
country should not be parcelled out among thirty-sin
princes, to wish for the end of arbitrary power and fir the
reign of right, to struagle fur those principles which hare
ramie the English peep ie free and the I. rench people sovereign,
is a crime against the security of the state. For the minis-
tees, to be an Italian, and to wish for Italy any other reign
than that of Mondial Radetxki, of Cardinal Antonelli, end
of the King of Naples, to wish fur the expulsion of the
Austrians, to wish to have done with the Jesuits, and to
detest the bombarders of Milan, Rome, and ?amine, is a
crime against the security of the state. For the ministers,
to b, a Frenchman and to gise an asylum to exiles, to fill
the respevt due to misfortune and to exile, to say with Nil-
poleon—llonour to the vanquished!—that is called nn net
of felony. These are your principles! it is well! It is
good that France should know thaw who govern her! The
restoration made the expedition into Spain; but at least it
tried to claim for Spain an appearance of constitutional
liberty. 'f he dynasty of July desired the expedition of the
Sanderbmul; but at least it iorciesolt d up to the last ma-
ment to protest against the partition of Poland. These
governments were with the holy alliance; but from some
inexplicable sense of shame they (lid not avow it. Yuu
have none of that false shame ! A minister of the republic,
you arc the ally of the Cossacks! and you own it !
ters chosen by the nephew of the conquered of Waterloo,
you make an alliance with the conquerors, and you glory iu
the treaty! Thank you.—F. V. Item).
The sentence of acquittal which has been just pro-
nounced in the trial of the Agen conspiracy by the
Court of the Lot-et-Garonne, coinciding with the
condemnation of the En7nement at Paris, offers ano-
ther striking instance of the contrast noted between
the verdicts of the metropolitan and provincial
courts. I have previously stated that this anomaly
had its origin in the different rules followed at }'serfs
and in the departments in the appointment of juries.
Some further details on this important subject may
be interesting on the present occasion. In fact the
appointment of juries is regulated by a decree of
August 7, 1848. First a general list is formed of all
citizens in the department capable of serving as
jurymen, that is of all citizens aged 30 years and
upwards, enjoying civil and political rights, with the
exception of servants and persons unable to read or
write. Thit general list is drawn up in each com-
mune of the departments by the mayor, that is
by an officer appointed by election ; but at
Paris the Prefect of the Seine, an officer appointed
by the government is charged with this duty. Next
an annual list is selected from the general list. This
annual list comprises in the department of the Seine
at most 3,000 persons, in the other departments
1,500, the number assigned to each arrondissement
or canton being proportioned to the number contri-
buted thereby to the general list. Now, the jurors
of each canton on the annual list are appointed in
the departments by a committee composed-1, of the
councillor-general of the canton, appointed by the
electors; 2, of the juge-de-paix ; 3, of two members
of the municipal council of each commune of the can-
ton, all appointed by the electors. At Paris, on the
other hand, the jurors of each arrondissement figuring
upon the annual list are selected by a committee corn-
GERMANY. posed-1, of three members of the municipal council,
appointed by the government ; 2, of the mayor and AUSTRIA.
deputy mayors of the arrondissement, appointed by VIENNA, Seer. 12.
the government ;3, of the jugs-dc-pas, appointed The Vienna journals will have put you in posses-
by the government. Thus the composition of the sion of the terms and the amount of the new low,
departmental juries is essentially the result of which the Austrian government is attempting to
popular election ; while that of the Paris juries procure, together with the purpose to which it is to
tsexclusively the work of appointment by the govern- be applied. Five days have elapsed since theme
ment. This radical distinction accounts very clearly terms were published, but the remains of the
for the contrast between the two verdicts which I government joutnals thatl the whole of the eighty-
have just had to report, and for the invariable five millions would be subscribed within the empire,
severity of the Paris courts in the trials of a political and within a week seem likely to be deceived. Up
nature, while in similar cases acquittals are more to last night no more than four millions and a half
common in the provinces. In the meantime, it may had been subscribed ; the telegraphic advice' frost
be asked why a decree issued in 1848 should ordain all the chief towns of the empire of the amounts
a system so utterly irreconcileable with all our no- subscribed in each do not exceed that sum. Still
lions of an impartial administration of justice. The this apparent reluctance of the monied clams to
answer is simple. The Constituent Assembly thought ; trust the ability and honesty of the government,
at that time that the municipal law would be voted must not induce you to believethat the whole amount
without loss of time ; and that the municipal coun- will not be made up. From information which
' cillors mayors, and deputy-mayors, would be ap- I have received, there exists a very great
pointed
popular election. This function, however, in the taken up, though slowly. As for the rest,
interval of delay before passing, has been with doubt- the government is determined that the full amount
ful legality the municipal law assumed by the go- shall be subscribed, though it should be compelled to
vernment. have recourse to " dummy" subscribers. Such prep-
!
I mentioned that at the ceremony of yesterday the tines are well understood here. With respect to the
President presented MM. Leon Faucher, earlier, and purpose to which these eighty-fire millions are to be
Berger, with the cross of commander of the Legion applied I would not have your readers receive the
of lionour. To the first he addressed the following , impression that paper money to that amount will be
complimentary speech : I
imil hued
possesgiin and dotildtroheyedfin.anlZithmisnabic
minister cannot sum
of mnorru -
Mansieur le Ministre de l'lnterieur,--I had no need of !
n
the Feoftsst occasion to appreciate fully all the solicitude rally resist the temptation of lessening the annual
and nativity which you display in the direction of the great burden arising from the interest paid on what are
Schuielversehreibun n" " debt bonds,"
, Womb confided to your charge. lam aware that every I called
Woo W your time is devoted to the duties of your office. gc or
lea mew happy in acknowledging such devotedness on circulate
roc aa
cc the public good, and accordingly nominate interest at three and five percent.,
Y.
reentm.,aannedl aTmhgelinbeisoal
lee er of the I.agion of Honour, as a well-me- to believe that a very considerable portion of the
alai sseempenic for your services. Ace:pt, Monsieur, this eighty-five millions will be expended In calling in It
NMI IS • testimony of my high esteem.
portion of these " Schuldverschreibungen"—a pro-
Yesterday, at the close of the ceremony of laying seeding which will have very much the same effect
the foundation-stone of the Central Markets a depu• las taking money out of one pocket and putting it
tation of the &Juni de Lit Halle came forward and into the other. How the pretended regulation of the

A treaty is on the point of being concluded between
France and Austria for the reciprocal protection of
the marks of manufactures.

Mr. Benjamin Oliveira has arrived at Meurice's
Hotel. This gentleman, after consulting with Messrs.
Rothschilds and other parties interested in Spanish
bonds, will proceed to Madrid, deputed by the com-
mittee of bondholders in London, and the coupon
holders specially, to obtain a modification of the law
for the regulation of the Spanish foreign debt.
It is reported that Colonel Couston, who was pro
sident of the court-martial at Lyons, is about to bo
promoted to the rank of general etc brigade.
General d'Hautpoul is expected to return to
Algeria, to resume his functions of governor-general.
The Ist of October is fixed on as the date of his re-
installation.

All the shops in which tickets in the lottery of the
Lingots d•Or were sold nt lfr. 2Je., lfr. elk., and
2fr. were closed yesterday, by order of the prrivet of
police. Efforts have been made to obtain from the
ministry of the interior a new adjournment of the
drawing of the lottery, but without result; and the
drawing remains irrevocably fixed for the Ist Oc-
tober. The statement that a capitalist had at his
own risk and peril taken the 1,890,000 tickets re•
maining unsold on the 31st ult. turns out false. M.
Langlois, the director of tho lottery, has been dis-
missed.

The Dowager Duchess de Maine has just been
burnt to death at the chateau of La Rocheguvon,
where silo was on a visit with her friend, the Duchess
de Larochefoucauld. She was standing in her room
near a waxlight, when a current of air sent the
flame iu the direction of her dress. which caught
tire; in a moment she was enveloped in flame. She
lingered for about 15 days in hopeless agony. It is
a remarkable coincidence that at this same chateau,
when it belonged to the Prince de Lion, afterwards
Cardinal de Mohan, the Princess de Leon met with a
similar death.

The President of the Republic, with the approba-
tion of the Council of State, has dismissed the mayor
of the commune of Rio, and the deputy-mayor of the
commune of Ayntte in the Lot, on account of their
conduct in the late election for that department.
They had previously been suspended from their
functions by the prefect.
There is no ground for the report that the period
fixed for the re-opening of the .Usern'ly will be anti-
cipated. The Committee of Permanence agreed yes-
terday that the declaration of the Ardeche in a elute
of biege did not call fur any such measure.

currency is to be effected by it, it is difficult to un-
derstand. Silver is now at per cent. premium,
and, as the loan progresses so slowly, is likely to
rise.

Lane are unavoidable in cases of public necessity,
but there arc means by which they may be avoided
or more easily obtained than by the Austrian govern-
ment. These means are, a reform of the financial
administration, and extensive retrenchments in the
outgoings of a country. The Austrian government
has promised, and has endeavoured to make the
world believe that it has commenced a series of re-

trenclunents calculated to afford a vast relief to the
finances of the empire. The public has been told by
the got crnmental organs that the army has been
very considerably reduced, and that further reduc-
tions are to be made. In proof of these
statements the numbers of the veteran and drilled
soldiers, who have been permittirt, or discharged on
furlough, arc quoted in their columns. Die returns
arc true, no doubt; for I myself have seen large
numbers of these pnnnittirle en route to their homes.
But still the armies of the empire contain pretty
nearly the seine number of men they did in December
lust. For the old and drilled men who arc dis-
charged, fresh recruits are entered; and I believe it
is an acknowledged fact that recruits are more ex-
pensive than old soldiers. The public have further
been told that the cavalry and artillery have been
considerably reduced, and that a vast number of
leases have been sold. Hanes may have been sold,
but all who are still fit for active service have only
been lent to the farmers and landowners in the vici-
nity of the great cavalry depots, and may be reclaimed
by the government almost without notice. The se-
duction then, in this branch of the government, is
only a sham. Besides, how is it possible to reduce
the numbers and efficiency of the standing army, so
long us the government firmly believes that between
four and five hundred thousand arms are necessary to
keep the people in order? Your readers will, per-
haps, hardly believe that Austria possesses at this
moment eighteen regiments of mounted police, each
containing a thousand men, all employed in main-
taining order. Their method of doing so, is to arrest
every one. During three months of the present year
the mounted police in Bohemia arrested no less than
fifteen thousand persons, and were praised fur their
efficiency by the government. In addition to
so vast an army of armed police, and regular
police, the promised retrenchment is being further
carried out by the erection of seventeen or eighteen
large fortified barracks, in each of the principal
cities of the several Austrian provinces. ienna is
honoured by two; 01:C on the Belvidere, and another
on the &limas, two points from which the whole of
the city can be battered to pieces. Each of these
forts in Nlcanna will contain space for an army of six
or seven thousand men, with their baggage, of
course including cavalry and artillery. 'The others
arc to be smaller, and will be garrisoned by about
four thousand men. The united expense of these
forts is estimated at seventy or eighty million
florins, about the amount of the new loan. It is
these hundred thousands of bayonets, these armed
forts, and mounted police, which drain the resources
of the empire; and the government may go on
making fresh loans to all eternity, without benefiting
the finances or even the currency. It is of little use
to recommend retrenchment. Your readers have
seen by the above what interpretation the Austrian
government puts upon the word.
The information of the conclusion of a treaty
between Prussia, as the chief of the Zollverein,
and Hanover, as the chief of the Steuerverein, has
burst upon Vienna like a shell. The public have
becen brought to believe that the Zollverein was
damned. Austrian newspapers, and even Austrian
diplomatists have asserted over and over again, that
the cities of the government on this point had been
successful, and that the Zollverein would be broken
up in the year Mil. I, for one, most certainly
believe in its destruction, more especially because
thoroughly acquainted with the character and plans
of the Prussian Minister of Trade. blow the treaty
has been brought about is yct a secret. It is a
triumph to the free trade party in Germany, since
the miff of the Zollverein must be reduced very much
to coincide with that of the Shawn:mein, for surely
the Hanoverian government cannot have been mad
enough to agree to as 'late their tariff with that
of Prussia. This would have been destroying the
goose that lays the golden eggs with a vengeance.
Hanover an Oldenburg owe their extraordinary
progress to the liberal tariff of the Steuerverein. The
Ltv/ of this morning takes notice of the treaty,
acknowledging that its conclusion is a triumph for
free trade ; hut is so inconsistent in its subsequent
remarks, that the confusion into which the treaty has
plunged the government agents is quite apparent.
he treaty (says the Lloyd) Is to pave the way for
the boasted Aastro-German Customs league; the
tariff of which is to be strictly protectionist. How
is it possible, then, every plain minded man must
ask, for the treaty to be a triumph to free
trade? The inconsistency of the Lloyd is still
more glaring. It congratulates the public that
the conclusion of this treaty must cause the separa-
tion of Bavaria, Wirtemburg, and Baden front the
Zollverein, their junction with Austria, and the for-
Imation of a South German league. According to the
lgovernment organ, the treaty then is a triumph of
tree trade, a step towards a united German protec-
tionist union and towards the formation of South
and North German Customs' Unions. It is evident
that the editors of the /44 are at a loss what to
sty. If Prussia is honestly determined to maintain
the Zollverein and its union with the Steuerverein
the government of that country may by wisdom and
firmness regain much of the power which it has lost
since the beginning of 1840.

The heads of three convents in Vienna, and two
others elsewhere, have determined to invest all the
disposable portions of the property of their convents
in the new five per cent. loan. It is supposed that
the other monarchical institutions will follow their
example.
According to the Austrean Currespondence, the
subscription to the loan at the Hank of Vienna, up to
the evening of the Inch, exceeded 2,430,000 florins.