The Express.
London, England, 1853-09-17 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, FUIDAT EVENI*O.
I find the important announcement I made to yon
some days since, of a contemplated reduction in the
postage between France and England, confirmed to-
day by a paragraph in the Union, which states that
very shortly the postage on letters between France
and England is to be reduced to 25c., being a dimi-
nution of Cic. on the present rate.
The Moniteur promulgates the convention agreed
to at Rome, on the Ist of April, 1853, regulating the
postage of letters between the Roman States and
France or Algeria. The postage of an ordinary sin-
gle letter between the two countries is to be lfr.,
the sender having the option to prepay tke let-
ter or not, just as he pleases. A like amount of
postage is to be charged for letters from the French
post-offices in the Mediterranean to the Pontifical
States, and vice versa. Th. postage on newspapers
its to be 20c.

The rise at the Bourse yesterday has not been
maintained. The Threes felt 35c., and most of the
railways from a. to 10f. The purchases made today
were chiefly for account of small capitalists. The
great speculators are very cautious, fearing that the
augmentation in the discount of the Bank of Eng-
land must necessitate a similar measure here. How-
ever, at the meeting of the council of the Bank of
France yesterday, the question of an increase of the
rate of discount was not brought forward, and unless
an extraordinary convocation should take place, the
council will not, it is thought, reassemble for three
weeks.

I am informed to-day of the bursting of a mon-
strous bubble. M. Mires' credit fonder scheme,
which for the last month has been puffed by monster
advertisements in every form aided by solemn lead-
ing articles in the Constitutionnel and the Pays, is
now admitted to be a failure. Out of a nominal capital
of forty-eight millions he only succeeded in getting
subscriptions for twenty, of which, according to the
' programme, but thirty-five per cent. was to be paid
up. Yesterday in order to cover his retreat,
M. Mire's used his influence with the govern-
ment to obtain a refusal to authorise the forma-
tion of his society. Happily tor the shareholders, I
understand M. Mires is perfectly able to return their
deposits.
The Northern Railway Company has announced a
reduction of 50 per cent. in its charges for the car-
riage of corn, grain, and flour.
The bakers of Paris continue to be very anxious on
the subject of the merle and extent of the indemnity
to be granted them by government for selling bread
under its value. There is a conflict in terms between
the resolution of the Municipal Council, which I
sent you yesterday, and a circular sent to the syndi-
cate. According to that circular the bakers would have
nothing to complain of. The syndicate assured them,
on the uuthority of a personal communication from
the Prefect of Police, that they would immediately
receive in money the entire amount of the difference
between the fixed price of 40c. the kilogramme
and the ordinary price according to the regulating
scale. The syndicate added that this mode of reim-
bursement would be continued from fortnight to
fortnight so long as an artificial price of bread was
maintained by authority. It seems that the Prefect
of Police must have promised in the name of the
Municipal Council more than he was authorised to do.
Their resolution speaks only of " advances " to be made
to the bakers to provide for their " necessities," leaving
the mode of compensation to be " definitively
adopted " for ulterior regulation. The bakers appre-
hend that there will be uo universal distribution of
money to the trade, but that such bakers as may
choose to declare themselves needy will receive loans,
to be reimbursed hereafter, although the ultimate
mode of compensation may not make up the full
amount of their losses. The general impression, to
which I alluded in a former letter, that the price of
bread would be allowed to rise to its natural level,

so far as the public in general was concerned, tickets
entitling the holders to be served at a lower price
being issued to the poor, was perfectly well founded.
I learn to-day that the Municipal Council had
actually passed a resolution to that effect.
But the Emperor to whose ultimate decision it was
necessary to refer the question said there were in
Paris so many necessitous persons seeming black
coats, that he could not bring himself to sanction a
measure which would confine the relief to labourers
and poor people in the ordinary acceptation of the
term. Unless the price of flour shall speedily fall,
the expense entailed upon the city %Nill be enormous.
The population of the department of the Seine is
1,422,099. Estimating the consumption of each in-
dividual at the extremely moderate rate of llb., the
daily consumption for the department would
be 1,422,0001 b. The present difference between
the natural and the artificial price of bread
is 3c. the pound. This multiplied by 1,422,000 gives
a sum of 42,660 fr. per day, upwards of 50,0001.
sterling per month, which must be paid either by
the city or the bakers so long us the present system
lasts.

The Mont'emir says :—" Several persons arc pre-
paring to celebrate the Pte of the Empress on Sep-
tember 16. We are authorised to state that her
Majesty's tete takes place un November 13."
L'ntil this announcement it wias generally supposed
that this was her Majesty's ftte day, and the opening
of the hippodrome at the Camp of SatcrT, was, 1
believe, fixed for to day upon that supposition. Ac-
cording to the calendar, the Saint Eugenie falls on
Sept. 16. November 13th is the Saint Eugenius.
M. Drouyn de Lhuys has been these last two days
absent from Paris. According to a report seql to
the Lidepentlance Belye, which, however, that jibr-
nal treats as absurd, he has gone to Loudon to confer
with the English ministry on the Eastern question.