The Express.
London, England, 1856-02-15 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

1 The Manileur of thin day publishes the monthly
returns of the Bank of France to yesterday, Thurs.
day, Feb. 14. We give the moat important items, with
the corresponding figures of last month, at. regard:
Feb. Jan.
Coin sad bullion, Paris 94,789,695 .... 81,184,345
Ditto ditto branch banks
Bills discounted, Paris 227,030,032 .... 235,735,409
Ditto branch banks
Notes in circulation, Paris
Ditto ►ranch banks
Treasury deposits
Private deposits, Par:s 107,067,115 .... 106 806,255
Ditto branch banks

01.0 K Ora OWN CORRYSTONDWITI

PARIS, THURSDAY Evaxixo.
Several members of Lord Clarendon's suite have
arrived to-day at the Hotel du Louvre.
Baron Brunow and suits went to the Opera last
night.

Count Buol WY to have arrived at Strasbourg to-
day, and he is expected in Puis this evening or to-
morrow. The Austrian Plenipotentiary is accom-
panied by Count de Furstemberg. Count Cavour,
according to a telegraphic despatch, most have
reached Lyons this morning, mid wee to proceed to
Paris immediately. Aali•Paoha left Constantinople
the day before yesterday, and it is not thought possi-
ble that he can arrive before the 22nd.
The ConsWulionnel says:

" Authentic information enables us to affirm that
Feb. 23 is fixed as the day for the opening of the
Conferences for regulating the terms of peace (pour
le regkment de la paix), the Grand Vizier Aali Pacha
not being able to reach Paris before the 21st or 22nd."

The Vienna correspondent of the Constiettlionnel,
whose communications have been frequently heralded
to the world in that journal with the usurance that
he is not only a very learnt d diplomatist, but a states•
man of great experience and highs tending, lays it down
dogmatically today that the approaching assemblage
of plenipotentiaries will be a Conference and not a
Congres.. But however mach attention this autho-
rity may deserve, it must not ba forgotten that the
Moniteur (I cannot think unadvisedly) has already
characterised the meeting as a " Congress." The
. .

Cbristilulionnei seems to think that the solemn
gathering which will only be a Conference at first
will develop itself into a Congress afterwards. "It
is possible, and even probable, that the Conferences
which are to be held in Paris may, at a later period,
assume the character and bearing of a real Congress,
as, peace being signed, and Prussia having 'oboe-
quently given her adhesion to it, the European concert
will be happily re-established." So that according to
this the arm chairs which I spoke of yesterday as ha,.
iog probably been ordered for Prussia, are, at all events,
likely to be wanted very shortly. The correspond-
ent, proceeding in the same order of ideas, says:—
" The opinion expressed by several journals that
the plenipotentiaries who ate shout to meet i■ Paris
will have to decide on the admission of Prussia in the
settlements fur peace is founded on the fact of the
idea of the Congress being confounded with that of
Diplomatic Conferences." There is, however, a re-
port in Paris this evening, which had a favourable
effect upon the Bourse, that Prussia has made over-
tures, and agreed to accept the Austrian propoei-
does, "so as to be admitted to the Conferences at
Paris."

A Constantinople letter of Feb. 5 states that when
the Sultan went to Lord de Rcdcliffd 'a ball, the Am-
busador took the opportunity of nicking up his
quarrel with several of the Ministers, who were ne-
cesrardy in attendance on his Majesty.
The Bourn hu been extremely firm. The Rents
rose 30c., closing at 73f r. 35c. Credit liobilier rose
Mr. The railways were all higher, the rise gene-
rally being about 2fr. 500. Lyons and Mediterranean
rose 10fr.

The Gault, da rAngoumois, a journal of the de-
partment of the Deus Charentcs, hes received a
warning for reproducing the erects of M. Albert
de Broglie in the Correspondent, which was the occa-
sion of a .arniog to the Assembles a few days ago.

THE UNITED STATES.

(7101 t Ott SPICZAL

NRW YORK, FEB. 2.

I do not know but we shall in America at last go
mad on the subject of popular education. The most
stupendous preparations are being made jut at this
season for this purpose. Ira so obscure a corner of
one of our daily papers of yis'erdey that it was
only with difficulty I found it cur, is an allu-
sion to a fact which, it it had occurred in London,
would have filled the whole British empire with
astonishment. The Common School system of the
city of New York is under the supreme control of a
Board of Education elected by the people, and there is
absolutely no limit to the amount of money which they
may expend for the education of the people. They have
only to make their estimates, and the Commissioners
of Taxes add it to tho bilL The tax payers must
pay It. Some years ago, when the authority of this
board was limited to a certain amount, the city peti-
tioned the legislature of the State to grant them
the authority to tax themselves as much
as they pleased for education. This year, in
consequentce, the board expends considerably
more than a million of dollars. The system of
education reaches all classer, and affords facili-
ties to all. This year there will be expended
a quarter of • million of dollars for evening
schools. The sums voted last year were 460,000
dollars for the payment of the salaries of teachers and
janitors in the ward schools to the support of the
Free Academy, the most complete institution of
learning in Americo, 40.000 dollars ; for the normal
schools, where teachers are educated, 10,000 dollars;
extra appropriation for the evening schools, 35,000
dollars ; for the expenses of ward schools, aside from
salaries, 75,000 dollars ; for purchases of supplies,
stationery, &c., 73,000 dollars. The B.rpress has
recently contained many interesting articles on the
subject of popular education in England ; hut even
your boldest projectors of new systems would find
themselves entirely behind the age in America. For
in every ward we erect a spacious and massive edifies
for the education of the children of the people. The
most competent men and women an employed u
teachers—the libraries ere crowded with books, and
everything necessary to a coursed education, from
its simplest elements up to its highest departments of
academic learning, is provided for at the public ex-
pense. There are several hundreds of the ragged
newsboys of New York city that frequent these
schools every night. L.boariog men and women
by the thawed enjoy the same privileges, and
improve them. At the top of the whole
system steads the Free Academy, where the
very highest standard of scholarship is nobly
sod efficiently maintained. Those boys who make
the greatest prLfici.ney in tf e ward school.' can gra-
! duets and enter this head college; and thus they may
continue their education through the most thorough
coarse for 15 years, and come out the most complete
men in the country—never having expended one
Idollarfor books, education, or statiotery—or, in fact,
for the whole nediriel of education. Men like Wil-
liam B. Astor are taxed, of coarse, many thousand
dollars every year for this system ; but they
pay it oheerfally, and always awe to increase
the an I for property is Ainslie' rises in
vales just in proportion as her people in-
crease to knowledge and intelligence. I have
heard • man in the Board of Bduoation—a men
of great wealth, who could not write his own name
until he was forty years old—epeak three hours in
favour of raisin ea extra million of dollars the next
year to educate the people of the city ; and of that
talks fifteen thousand would have come from hie
own pocket by a direct tax. The Mr. Astor
Wheel I have mentioned above, whose father left

half-a-million of dollars for a great library in this
city, which is now in full operation—a free library
for the poorest and wealthiest applicant—quietly
announced to the managing committee of that
institution the other evening that Lo had tkought it
desirable to enlarge the idea which hie father had in
regard to that library, end offered a donation of up-
wards of one hundred thousand dollars for the pre-
sent year. And yet we are so insensible to any
claim for credit we may put forth in these matters,
that facts like these are crowded into the corners of
newspapers in solid minion type ! This is the spirit
of America. It is a foregone coaclasion with us that
a country is not worth living in where the people are
ignorant. We educate our people as a matter of
habit ; precisely as Russia trains soldiers, so we train
men. I have made as close an eeumate as I could
from my observation and investigations during the
last twenty year., and I think that the people of the
United States expend every year in the cause
of popular education (leaving out all the
colleges and universities.), either by tax or
donation, not less than two hundred millions of
dollars; and that is four times as much as the
entire expense of carrying on tho government. I
have made a similar estimate of the amount which
England taxes herself, or voluntarily gives, every
year to educate her people in the two kiigdome, and
I think where Great Britain expends one dollar we
expend from four to five hundred dollars. I may be
wide of the mark, but I should be greatly obliged to
anybody who will show me my mistake.