The Express.
London, England, 1853-05-19 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVENING.
The Ilfunitcur contains the following official ver-
sion of the latest news from Constantinople :
There was reason to apprehend, at the moment when
Prince Menschikoff was proceeding to Constantinople u
Ambassador Extraordinary of the Emperor of Russia, that
one of the effects of his mission would be to annul in part
the concessions obtained by 81. de Lavalette in favour ot the
Latin lather, of the Holy Land in 1862. It may be remem-
bered that on the application of the French legation the
government of the Sultan had consented to restore
to the patriarch of Jerusalem, the delegate of the
Holy See, the key of the great gate of the church of
Bethlehem, to give orders to have a star, bearing a
Latin inscription, and which had disappeared from the
grotto of the Nativity in 1847, replaced in its former posi-
tion, and finally, to accord to the Roman catholic com-
munion the right to celebrate its religious rites in a vene-
rated sanctuary, the church of the Tomb of the Virgin.
The government of his Imperial Majesty could not
allow any of these advantages to be withdrawn
from the Latins. The cabinet of St. Petersburg, besides,
soon transmitted to the cabinet of the Tuileries an assur-
ance that its intention was not to constrain the
Porte to go back on the concessions which had been
made to us. The last news from Conatantinplo of
the date of May 7, brought by the Chaptal steamer,
permit us to affirm that the status quo at Jerusalem, called
fur by Prince Menschikuff, does not imply, in the state of
possession of the Latins, any modification susceptible of
affecting the arrangement agreed to with the Marquis de
Lavalette. That was for us the essential point, and which
could not be on our side the object of any compromise. As
to our ancient treaties with Turkey, no diplomatic act, no
resolution of the Porte, could invalidate them with-
out the consent of France. Prince Menschiksff also
asks from the Divan the conclusion of a treaty which should
place under the guarantee of Russia the rights and immu-
nities of the church and of the clergy of the Greek rite.
This question, completely different from that of the sanc-
tuaries, relates to interests of which Turkey will have to ap-
preciate the value. Were it to lead to any complications, it
would become a question of European policy, in which
France would find herself engaged by the same title as the
other Powers which signed the treaty of July 13, 1811.
_ _

1 understand that the official form of settling the
question will be this—a firman will be •addressed to
the Greek patriarch of Jerusalem, and at the same
time a copy will be sent to the French and Russian
ambassadors, accompanied by a note couched in
identical terms for each of the two powers.
A despatch from Malta of the 12th announces that
the English squadron was still at anchor there, all
the vessels having been detained in port by the
admiral in command, who had just received des-
patches from London and Constantinople.
The first division of the army of Paris is under
orders to march to Versailles to-morrow morning, to
form the camp at Satory. All camp materials will
be carried with them by the troops, who will take
up their quarters on the plain in the course of the
A ay.
bill has been presented to the Corps Legislatif
for putting the Cumptoirs d'Escompte, which since
1851 have only existed provisionally according to
their original constitution, upon a permanent footing.
These establishments, you are aware, were created
by a decree of the provisional government, on March
7th, 1848. They have succeeded beyond all antici-
pation, so much so that M. Parien in the expose des
motifs of the bill states that the comptoirs, with one
or two exceptions, are now so firmly established as to
bo able to dispense with the guarantee for their
operations hitherto given by the State and the towns
where they are situated. They will, therefore, in
future, be mere private establishments, enjoy-
ing no privileges beyond other soeietes anonyme,
except certain facilities for the speedy realiza-
tion of securities deposited with them ; and a
diminution in the registration duties. A suspicion
is entertained that government in withdrawing the
support hitherto given to the comptoirs, upon the
pretext that they are able to go alone, hopes to force
some of them to break up in order that more recently
founded credit establishments may profit by their fall.
Business at the Bourse commenced heavily this
morning. An improvement, however, eventually
occurred. Final quotations : For cash, Three per
Cents., 81f. 35c.; Four-and-a-Half per Cents., 104 f.
„,,. . .

There were not many transactions effected in the
railway share market to-day, and yesterday's quota-
tion in several cases remained unchanged. Closing
prices:—Northerns, 9271. 50c.; Paris and Orleans,
1,110 f.; Paris and Strasbourg, 9471.; Paris and
Lyors,96Bl. 50c. ; Paris and Itonen, 1,155 E ' • Lyons
Ito the Mediterranean, 83L 50c.; Western of France,
7901.