The Express.
London, England, 1865-03-11 00:00:00

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LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 11.

THE announcement of the fall of Wilmington
would have made • great impression a month or
even ten days ago, but coming after the evacuation
of Columbia and Charleston it is regarded as little
more than an incident of the general ofillapee-Of the
Confederacy which those events denote. Never-
theless, the fall of Wilmington has an importance of
its own. To • Power in command of the sea every
newly-acquired port is of value, and Wilmington is,
moreover, the port nearest to the position which
SHERMAN'S army held when it was last heard of. A
Richmond journal has expressed the opinion that
SHERMAN needs no base : but a line of communi-
cation with the coast, by which he may receive re-
inforcements and supplies, and send away hie
ineffective men, surplus negroes, and others,
is an advantage which he will not despise.
It is also probable that the capture of Wilming-
ton sets free for other operations • force much
larger than that which has just been driven from
strong defensive works. Moreover, the town was
a point of junction for numerous railways radiating
to Florence, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Weldon: like
Columbia, it was one of two places through which
all traffic from the nether districts of South
Carolina must pass to reach North Carolina and
Virginia. It is to be assumed that HARD= last
no time in effecting his junction with Bit...new:use
or LEE, after the evacuation of Charleston ; but if
he bad not passed through Wilmington before its
capture, he would be reduced to the necessity of
marching his troops acmes a considerable portion of
the country, instead of transporting them by railway.
We hear nothing later of SHERMAN. If Brains-
GARD cannot stop that General the Richmond
newspapers can, and accordingly they detain him at
Winnsborough, where be was reported to be by the
advices we received at the beginning of the week.
It will be observed that the latest reports of him
allowed to be published are dated February 19,
whereas we have news from New York

the 25th, six days being thus unaccounted
for. • It would appear from various indications
that Union forces are advancing from Newborn
upon Goldaborough and Nashville, in North
Carolina. If they are able to take such a liberty
with impunity, the Weldon Railway will re-
main of little service to General Lac, and we may
expect to hear of the early evacuation of Peters-
burg. We get no comments from Richmond on
the fall of Wilmington, but as the capture of
Charleston is treated by the Whig as an event that
"should inspire cheerfulness rather than gloom,"
we may expect to receive some sprightly reflec-
tions on that subject also by the next mail.

THE Second Empire is approaching the term of
life which no dynasty, imperial or royal, self-
created, restored, or engrafted, has exceeded since
the crimes of the Terrorists and the imbecility of the
Directory " rendered possible the First NAPOLEON.
Yet even the intoxicating illusions which console
the fainted anguish of proscription have sickened
and perished before the star of C.csaa has begun
to wane. To all outward appearance, at least,
and therefore to the satisfaction of mankind,
never was a Government more firmly and securely
established, on broader and deeper foundations,
than that which reigns in Paris, over a new city and
a new people ; a city of strategic boulevards and
unpaved streets, of theatres and barracks ;
a people weaned from political follies, and
reconciled to the indulgence of the nobler
appetites. Never was a Government more calmly
confident and assured of its own permanence,
and, as any Englishman who comes back from a
week's loungi in Paris is ready to bear witness,
never was • population less disposed to look back'
or forward, at the invitation of • few
disappointed or ambitious malcontents. There
may be some secret canker at the root of
this seeming vigour and prosperity ; for in all go-
vernments as in all men the seeds of death are
growing with their growth. But Paris is gay,
France is careless and contented ; the rest is
silence ; and the army is as one man for CESAR.
Nothing can indicate the EMPEROR'S consciousness
of security more remarkably than his descending
into the lists of literature in CAumit's costume, and
delivering himself out of pure gaiety of heart to
the slings and arrows of the tormentors.
Assuredly it is no concern of ours to hint a doubt
of all these flourishing appearances and favourable
impressions. But we cannot help remarking that