The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-07 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, THCIADAT MORNING.
By an adroit parliamentary manceuvre of Berryer,
who IS still more remarkable as a tactician than an
ankle, the new electoral bill presented by the minis-
by of October 26, has been smuggled into the limbo
of abortive projects.. According to the organic law
of the council of state, whin urgency is demanded
for a bill and rejected by the Assembly, the bill must
be subjected to the examination of the former body.
Still it seems that the wording of the law is not so
clear that a question may not be raised on this point.
Certainly at the moment when the vote tuna/is-et-lent,
woe taken, not a third part of the majority were
aware that their decision would involve such a con-
sequence. Everybody knows that the falling of a
bill into the Conseil-d'-Etat is like an estate getting
into Chancery. The immense multiplicity of labours
incumbent on that body forms a security for the de-
tention of the project of law during any term that
parliamentary intrigue may require. But it may
safely be asserted that the people of France will not
allow a great and vitalquestton of this kind settled, or
even considerably influenced,by a technical trick. It was
the too great cleverness of the law of May 31 that
was the fatal feature in it. Universal suffrage is the
fruit of the revolution of 1818, and no juggling upon
earth will do away with it. There must be either
fair play in the parliament, or a decision by arms out
of doors. The mode iu which M. Dupin presided
yesterday was worthy of the astute strategy of the
legitimist leader, and played into his hands. One
would think that the virtue of a chairman should be
his impartiality. The virtue of the President of the
French Assembly is, however, the very opposite
quality. Dupin is great at giving as much license
of tongue as possible to the party that vote him into
the chair, and stopping the mouths of their ad-
versaries. There is no dodge, quibble, or chicane,
to which he will not resort, to influence
a decision, which it is his first duty to take care
should be the result of impartial deliberation
and free voting. Thus, the rules of the house be-
come, in the hands of M. Dupin, a pack of cards,
with which he shuffles and deals as he pleases. Yes-
terday he allowed Ilerryer to speak on the urgency,
and even to pass beside the question to the exciting
topic of General St. Arnaud's circular to the generals
of divisions ; while last session he stopt the mouth of
Emile de Girardin, on the plea that it was against the
rules of the house to speak on the urgency. I may
explain, by the way, that urgency is demanded for a
bill in order that it may pass at the first reading.
Even llaraguay-d'}lilliers, who, since his disgrace, is
regarded as by no means Elysean, joined Michel (de
Bourges) in protesting against the glaring violation
of the rules permitted to If erryer. M. Giraud, the
Minister of Public Instruction, observed justly that
the legitimist orator had neither spoken in relation
to the order of the day, nor to the urgency, and
ended by making a motion altogether foreign to
both. for a committee on the state of the nation.

Yet I)upin, who will raise the smallest scruple into
an insuperable harrier against a member of the Left,
gave M. Berryer free rein to use all means, in viola-
tion of the rules of the house, to excite the passions
of the majority, and trap them into a vote, with the
view of bucking the great bill of the session.
In the general meeting of the council of state yes-
terday it was decided, by 25 votes against 7, that
copies of the bill on the responsibility of the presi-
dent, ministers, and public functionaries, should be
sent to the president of the republic and to the pre-
sident of the assembly. The bill, as drawn up by
the council of state, contains provisions against every
provocation to violation of the constitution, and in
particular of the 45th article.
The Petrie says :—" We arc authorised to declare
in the most formal terms that there is not and never
has been any intention of depriving General Mag-
nan of the command in chief of the army of I'aris."
The nominations of the presidents and secretaries
of the monthly committees exhibits a closer under-
standing between the parties of the majority. In
appointing the members of parliamentary initiative
an attempt was made in one or two bureaux to
introduce a debate on the law of May 31, but proved
abortive. The cx•mimstcrs Fould and Baroche
were elected presidents of their bureaux.
The llonitear contains a decree conferring upon
M. Baroche, ex-minister of foreign affairs, the rank
of grand officer of the Legion of Honour.
NI. Pierre Leroy, prefect of the Sione•et-Loire, is
gazettes] as secretary-general of the ministry of the.
interior, in the room of M. Blanche.
The prueurcur of the republic ordered to be seized
yesterday the Antanatk des Corporations Ourrisrea,
which will be prosecuted for attacking the principle
of property, for exciting the citizens to hatred and
contempt of one another, and for excusing facts
qualified as crimes and offences.

Our second despatch from Paris had not arrived
at the time of going to press. The following has
been received by electric telegraph :

PARIS, THURSDAY, 6.40, P.N.

The Assembly has decided that the project of law
for the abrogation of the law of May shall not be
again referred to the Council of State.

SPAIN.

THE CAPTURE OF AN ENGLISH BRIG BY
PIRATES.
We have received the Madrid journals of the 31st
ult. We find the following in the Herald., :
According to a letter of the 22nd from Melilla, the crew
of the English brig which was captured by the Moors still
remained in their camp. They demand 100 Bores (20/.)
ransom fur each of them. On the previous day an English
war-steamer came in search of the brig. Two armed boats
were sent along the coast ; the Moors fired on them, and
compelled them to return to their vessel, which afterwards
discharged several broadsides. The Moors lost two men,
and the English had several wounded in the boats. As
Great Britain does not usually leave such things half done,
it is probable that she will not long delay taking ample ven-
geance for this insult to her flag, and that a sufficient force
will urn he sent to make the Arabs feel the consequences of
their piratical conduct.

ITALY.
ROME.

The Osserratcare Romano publishes a letter from
Cardinal Wiseman of 9th ult., stating that he has
received 298'. Bs. 10d., collected at Rome by sub-
scription, towards the erection of a large catholic
church at London. The cardinal thanks the editor of
the Osserratore for the active part he has taken in
the subscription, and rmsommends him to continue
his efforts.