The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-08 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

THE SENTENCE UPON M. EMILE DE

WRARDIN.

(PROM OUR OWN CORRISPONDINT.)
PARIS, THIIintIAT EVINCNG.

At half-past 11 this wonting the judgmeil! of
the Correctional Tribunal in M. de Ch.:una's case
was pronounced by President Delastaux. The
following is a translation :
Whereas in the number of the Liierf: of March 1, I'h;;',
De Girardin, the managing director, published in
an article of which be is the author. entitled. " Ihs Ihs.
tints. Meilleures " (Better Destinies). beginning with
these words :--" Of all the speeches of the Miniatl of
State," and concluding with these, " In the balance the
weight of his opinion:" And whereas iu this article the
author, reducing the speech made by the Minister of state
in the Corps Legialatif on February 16 to the following
phrase :—" We have gradually and every year led the country
to better destinies "—makes that phrase the buds of his
operations, and examines what he calls the extenial and is.
terns! situation of the country. With regard to fun ign
affairs, he restricts the greatness of imperial France to the
territorial aggrandisement produced by the annexation of
three new departments, and affirms, in a form and style
which fails to conceal his real intention, that this aggran.
disement was obtained not only at the price of the heaviest
sacrifices, but moreover by the solution of all the great
questions which he examines in a sense contrary to
the public interests. With regard to home politics
he confines himself to expressing his preference•
for the legal state of things anterior to December
2, 1851, and measuring France, as he says. by a
comparative scale of liberty be affirms that she is far
below Germany, England, Belgium, Rolland, Italy, Poe-
tess], Switzerland, and that the only country in Europe
below France is Spain : Whereas these affirmations with.
out discussion cannot be considered as a criticism on the
acts of the government, nor as a censure in the jadicial
sense of the word, for in that sense censure is
only something one degree above criticism : An•l
whereas, in every article of loyal criticism the reader
ought to find the element of a decision either for or
against the solution proposed : Anil whereas, if it were
otherwise, the press; under the form adopted by the
article incriminated would, either forcibly or aurrepti.
tiously, impose its opinions upon the public—a thing which
it has no right or duty, and, doubtless, no desire to do :
And whereas the aforesaid affirmations, put Us:ether with
a manifest intention to " attack," constitute the offence
of exciting to hatred and contempt of the government :
And whereas the author of the article, with the object of
reviving rancours of another epoch, for the purpose of ere.
sting excitement, to-day renews the attacks against the act
of Dec. 2, 1651, which has been twice acclaimed by universal
suffrage and now belongs to history• : And whereas after hay.
ing in the course of his article affected to consider France
as isolated from her government he concludes by the fol-
lowing queries, which betray a criminal intention, and are
at the same time smart decided forty of weeds exciting to
hatred and contempt :—" Is Franca more powerful than
she was before 1851? Is she more free? Materially, ',ea
it possible fur France to prevent the irreparable faults
which have been committed And, if these should be
aggravated by new ones, what means has France to throw in
to the balance the weight of her opinion !": And
whereas the declaration made by M. de Girardin
in court—that if his article exceeded the limits of dis-
cussion and censure which are his right, he had no inten-
tion to excite to hatred and contempt of the Emperor's
government, and that he committed the fault and pub.
liahed the incriminated article at a moment when, by the
letter of Jan. 19, the Emperor entered spontaneously on
the path of his present policy--attenuates the mis-
demeanour, but does not extinguish it: And whereas
besides there are extenuating circumstances in the cause:
And whereas Serriere printed the number of theLiberto which
contains the incriminated article, knowing that it was to
be published : And whereas he also knowingly aided and
abetted the author of the article in the acts which pre-
pared and facilitated their execution : And whereas these
facts constitute in regard to Etude de Giranlin the mis-
demeanour provided for and punished by Art. 4 of the
decree of August 11, 184 ff ; and in regard to Serriere,
the misdemeanour of complicity provided for and punished
by Articles 59 and 00 of the penal code, and the 160 VA
article of August 11, 11446, modified Art. >t of the same
decree, and Art. 453 of the penal code : The court sen•
tenets Girardin to pay a fine of 5.000 f r., and Serriere to pay
a fine of 100 fr., and condemns both jointly and severally is
costs.

This sentence, although the fine of 5,000 fr. is
the maximum which the court could inflict, is
milder than was expected. During the two hours
that the audience was waiting in court yesterday,
while the judges were in the council chamber, the
greatest astonishment was expressed by the bar at
the delay, because in these suit of cases the judges
generally have their judgment drawn up before
the hearing and only appear to deliberate as a
matter of form. Most irreverent remarks were
made in court about the judges having sent
to the Tuileries for "orders," and about
a proctireur-general's clerk in a cab running after
the Minister of Justice in the Bois de lioulog,ne.
I do not know what the truth may be, but I c•r-
taitdy do not exaggerate or misrepresent when I
say that the public have no respect whatever for
these Correctional judges, and do not believe in
their independence. I have seen people who de-
clare they saw a proof-sheet of a semi-o iticial
journal in which the sentence iipon M. de Girardin
was stated to be one mouths imprisonment
besides a fine. Rightly or wrongly I cannot tell—
the belief is that if the judges required to sleep
upon the matter it was that the•; awaited instruc-
tions from a power which in a ell-on:ais...l state
has no influence on the judicial bench. Of course
if the judgment is not such as the government in-
tended, the Procureur-General will appeal.
Notwithstanding the mildness of the sentence,
M. Emile de Girardin publishes in this evening's
Lawrie a declaration of war in limn against the
government. Ho says the condemnation places
him in the ranks of the " systematic enemies of
the imperial government," and forces him—pain-
ful though the separation is—to break with the
friendships of twenty years (meaning his friend-
ship with the imperial family). His " cruel
wound " Can be cured by nothing less than " am-
putation," and ho proudly gives the Iluiper..r
notice that his (M. de GirardiMs) •' respounbility"
cannot go the length of " solidarity " with him.

Tamberlik is now in Paris, on his way from St.
Petersburg to Madrid, where he has accepted an enga,T•
meat for fifteen nights. Fraachini will make his first Ap-
pearance this season in Paris in Verdi's opera, Us /3,114
is Maschera.

THE LATE"ARTENICSWARIt."—OUT4oIItIIantptiII
correspondent, writing yesterday, says :—The TeM3il.4
of Mr. Charles Brown left here for London by the :0(1
p.m. train this afternoon, preparatory to their tempormy
interment in Mensal-green cemetery. The body w., ~c-companied
companied by Mr. Hinton, Mr. Brown's travelling coin.
panion and business manager. The pleasant and com-
panionable qualities of the deceased are proved by the
number of literary friends;who amidst the turmoil of
their professional lives in the metropolis often came down
here to cheer him by their sympathy and friendship. It
redounds to the credit of the United States go. eminent
that their representatives in this country took the greatest
interest in his welfare, and were solicitous that,heing
American citizen, nothing should be wanting to solace him
in hislast illness. Captain Britton, the United Stateseonsul
at this port, although he was not a peraonal acquaintance
of Mr. Brown's previous to the llatb.r's arrival heir,
behaved towards him as a father to a son. ilia Brown
would scarcely allow him out of his sight, and the captain
watched him hour after hour. and affectionately closed his
eyes after death. From words that escaped him before
his death be was evidently thinking of the great country
be find the ocean, which he loved so well.
DEATH OF PRoFltssOtt GooteOß. —.The death is
announced of John haslsir, Profesaur of Amitomy in the
University of Edinburgh, at Wardle, near E.lillllllr,ill. on
Wednesday. The deceased gentleman died unmarried in
his 53rd year. His chair was, it is understood. the most
lucrative in the University of Edinburgh, being worth to
him over 2,0001. a year.