The Express.
London, England, 1853-09-05 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, SVIIDAY EVENING.
At mid-day yesterday the authorites of Boulogne
were still uncertain whether the Emperor and Em-
press would arrive to-day. All preparations, how-
ever, to give Boulogne as splendid an appearance as
possible were hurried on in order bat their Majes-
ties, if they do arrive, may find everything comma it
fact The Boulogne New Times of Saturday, in an
enthusiastic article on the imperial advent, declares
that " Boulogne has imperishable recollections for
the reigning dynasties." This is rather a bold
sneer. I have not heard whether the paper that
ventured upon it has received warning.
The .Moniteur contains a decree of the Minister of
Public Instruction, dated March 31st, 1853, but not
hitherto made public, appointing a commission to in-
quire into the dietary regulations of the three Ly•l
mums of Paris, in the triple point of view of quan-
tity, quality, and preparation. It publishes at the
same time the result of the labours of the commission
in a report from the president, Dr. Berard, Inspector-
General of the Order of Medicine, and also a decree
founded upon it. It is difficult to read this re-
port without coming to the conclusion that
the public educational establishment for Pari-
sian youth has been for a long time one vast
Dotheboys Hall. The commissioners have been at
gnat pains so to word their report as not to give
personal offence to any one, but it dearly appears
that at the outset of their task they felt it necessary
aot merely to enquire what amount of provisions
were brought into the schools, but to take more than
ordinary pains to ascertain what proportion found Its
way down the throats of the boys. It maid hays
been of little use they say to examine the messes in
the lump and then calculate how much there was
per head, because they found that masters, ushers,
servants, and employees of various kinds, had
their portions from the kitchen before the
general dinners were served out. Accordingly
the commissioners visited the schools unexpectedly
at dinner-time, pounced upon the allowances in the
boys' plates, and weighed them. They found, after
repeated experiments, that a little boy had but 33
grammes, or little more than an ounce, of cooked meat
for his dinner; a boy in the middle class, 45
grammes ; and one of the grand college, 55 grammes.
They were, moreover, all condemned to eat bouiiii
(beef boiled to rags) five days in the week. This
diet the commissioners say was by no means a favorite
one with the boys, and although it had been
suggested to them that the poverty of the meat
was compensated by the richness of the soup
which was made from it, they found upon inspection
that the soup itself was totally destitute of those
4. fatty globules " which so " rejoice " the degustatory
faculties when a true pelage tie menage is brought to
table. They have recommended a much more gene-
rous scale of diet together with a systematic inspec-
tion to see that the boys really get what is allowed
them.
The

of the Henault, at the risk of
being thought to infringe the rule laid down at the
beginning of the present session, that the Councils-
General were not to trouble themselves about politics,
has voted unanimously two resolutions—one calling
upon the government to abolish the sliding scale, and
the other praying for a thorough revision of the
tariff, with a view to tho gradual and entire aboli-
tion of all import duties upon raw materia's, and to
large reductions in the duties upon manufactured
articles. The first resolution is thus worded :
The

of the Hennlt expresses its warm
gratitude to the Emperor's government for the recent de-
cree suspending the sliding scale until Dec. 31, 1833 ; con-
vinced, moreover, that the sliding scale is a combination
which has now attained its object, which was to assure suffi-
cient provision for the country at a moderate rate; Con-
sidering that the sliding scale is an experiment against
which experience has decisively pronounced, and that it
cannot fail greatly to hamper commercial operations by
which a sufficiency of corn might he procured in difficult
times; Considering that the nation which originated the
sliding scale has effaced it from its legislation, and that many
other countries which had adopted the sliding scale have
now renounced it, and congratulate themselves upon having
done so ; Considering that the differential duties established
by the sliding scale between different sections of the terri-
tory are incompatible with the spirit of unity which cha-
racterizes French legislation ; Considering that, assuming
that these differential duties were at any time justifiable,
the immense improvements in the means of transport since
they were enacted, now more than twenty years ago, takes
away all excuse for their continuance; expresses the wish
that the sliding scale may not be revived after Dec. 31,1853,
and that it may be replaced by • fixed duty.
In the other resolution, the Council-General states
that the French tariff is the most restrictive in
I Europe, and that it remains nearly what it was at the
end of the last general war, except in those particu-
lars in which it has subsequently been rendered still
more prohibitive. It complains particularly of the
iheavy duties or, iron, which it represents to be
highly injurious to many branches of national in-
dustry, more especially to agrieuhure. protests
against all prohibitions, and demands that all high
duties may be reduced to a modera!e amount. so that
French industry may be stimulated by foreign corn-
p.tition. The Council-General of the Herault dis-
tinguished itself by a series of free trade resolutions
Ilast year.
But little has been said since his death, the other
day, in an obscure corner of a distant province, of the
Baron de Richmond, one of the many sol-disant Louis
the Seventeenths. Ile was, however, the most notable
of all those modest pretenders, and his claims were
recognised by a considerable portion of the legitimist
party. Ten members of the old noblesse were so con-