The Express.
London, England, 1859-12-22 00:00:00

TILE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 22, 1869.

one and two hundred men no unfortunate as te haws
been brought up to a wretched trade, in Wilk& a
" skilled and industrious workman" OM NM from
Ba. to 10s., about the ware of a Wiltshire labourer.
Is it to be expected that when a propose is made
still farther to redact these wages, or a Impend
which in their jadgEtteat will have that effect, it will
be received with the equanimity with which a
philosophical clerk might learn that his salary was
eat down he• 8001. to 4501. ? The manufacturer
is not to be blamed when the natural price of labour
hdlt ; and when the wages of a whole district are
lowered ;no enlightened obeerver will admit that
it is the work of employers. Bat if the workmen
who see themselves pressed out of life, and
their children exposed to misery and starvation, are
not so erne, but charge their muter with oppression
and tyranny, who in his MOMS can think that the
proper remedy for their ignorance and misconception
is to be found in an action for libel ? Starving men
generally talk at random, but of all the talk of men
en strike that of the knitters of Earl Shilton is the
solidest.

We advisedly speak of this action as directed
against the men. Mr. Monza has identified the
defendant with their cause by prosecuting him for
publishing their words; and the men have done
the same by rallying round the defendant with
274 weakly subscriptions of pens. From Mr.
HOMER'S point of view he Will a benefactor when
he changed the mode of remunerating his mama
last May ; from the knitters' point of view he was a
tyrant and oppressor. Which was right? Mr.
Hones says the question shall not be disowned,
except under penalty of a prosecution for libel. We
do not say that the workmen were right; our daily
readers have the means of estimating oar opinion oa
that point. Bat if men are not to discus a matter
until they an give guarantees beforehand that their
reasonings will be enlightened and logical, and
their conclusions sound, what becomes of freedom ?

According to the LORD CHIRF Baton the word
track-toaster " in the letter of loon SurtrattaT
was the poisoned arrow of the came. BItZTCHLRY
himself was placed in the box, and acknowledged
the authorship of the letter, of which the Judge said,
"It was certainly a well-written and temperate
"statement of facts." The evidence respecting the
treating woe conflicting. Mr. Host's wife keeps
amen"s shop adjoining his warehouse, and many of
hie workpeople deal with her, but be denied that they
were under any sempalsion to do an Oa the other
Mad a witness named Ettur Raven upend: " I
"am a stocking knitter. I know ELIZA'S= CAMP.
" I beard Mr. HOMER say to her, ' When do
"'yea have your groceries from?' She said,
" Mr. Bum. He said, 'lf you can't lay a little
"oat with the milieus (Mrs. Homan) I can't find
" ' yen work.' She was then working for Mr.
" Homan." ZORN ORTON, a stocking knitter, deposed
that he was paid by ticket, and that Mrs. Horan
took the entoont of the grocery during the week
out of it and gave him the balance; but then
he owed Mrs. Horst money for grocery.
Neither csee strictly justifies the application of the
word "track-master," yet one can see how
BEITCHLZT night am the term in perfect good
faith. TM OM was toe foe explanation, not for an
action for li►el. Mr. Horns cannot 'appose that
the 274 poor people who have taken part in the
defence of the paper which pleads their cause will
think any better of him, or be more likely to
►ire his frames, because twelve men at
Westminster have given him the verdict on
the point of leer. Those twelve men were no doubt
right, and have done their duty in the narrow
question before them. But the broader question
remains whether it would not have been wiser on
the part of Mr. Horne to have met the angry
knitters with calm reason and good feeling at Earl
Shilton than to snatch this triumph at Westminster;
and whether society could hold together if all who
pews power in this country were to nee it as be
bee dice in this am

CO Court.

WINDSOR CASTLE, DEC. 21.

The Queen and Prince Consort, sccoavtpanied by
the Prises of Wake, Priam Arthur, Prince Leopold, Prist-
ine Alias, Mame Helena, Pf 1.00111.1 "MAIN sad Prisms
&skim, lett Osborne this foresoes, sad arrived at Wkadeor
Cods at two o'clock.

athealethe wen lady lthaloeold, the Hate. Wreath
Shaw. MeOration] tho Hoe. C. Othy, 310ortheaers1
the Hoe. R. Bre" Caps to Do Pke, LiettereaeOalcael
141111111, Major laphiesteee, ILE., sad the Muhl/ of the
Itheetbeld.

In the shone= bee lisierty and the Primo Comet
trkb the Prime it Wain, Primer Alice, Primes Hamm:
Primes Looks, and Prince Arthur, visited the Dasher of
=mat d Itregewea.

The Doke 0 Noweasito lett town ytstarday for Clazaba
Perk Nab.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE,

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(TROY 0171 OWN

PARIS, WIDNEIDAT EVINENO.

In the cause of last night the wind suddenly
changed from nearly dos east to south-west, and a
rapid thaw set in, which has continued all day.
The appearance of the Seine at the Pont dee Arts is
very curious. About half the river—that half next
the quay of the Louvre—is perfectly limpid, and
flows as usual, while the blocks of ice, yet covered
with snow, have all floated to the left bank, where
they are agglomerated close together, and give to
the second half of the stream precisely the same
aspect that the whole of it had yesterday.
A lamentable and fatal accident of a most extra-
ordinary character occurred this morning in the
Champs Ripka. As one of the Peony omnibuses
was passing along the Conn la Reine, a tree, which
some workmen were in the act of grubbing up, fell
across the road and streak the omnibus. A young
man, the son of a clerk is the treasury, who was
sitting on the roof, was killed on the spot ;
the conductor had his spine broken, and
was carried off to the Beanjos Hospital in a very
dangerous state. Several passengers were more or
less injured, and among them, I regret to state, was
M. Ruben' e, formerly a contributor to the Press*,
and now private secretary to Prince Napoleon, who
received a blow on the head.

The Bourse was very geod to-day. The Rents
rose 26c. for cash and 30c. for account, closing with
mach firmness at 70fr. 600. and 70fr. Bk. Mobilier
rase Ilfr. 65c. The railways were from 6fr. to Bfr.
higher. It was rumoured that M. Magna', financial
report will be published to-morrow, and that the in-
terest on Treasury bonds will be reduced.
The Imperial Court decided yesterday, reversing
a judgment of the Tribunal of Commerce, that an
actress under age was entitled to set aside • thea-
trical engagement entered into without the consent
of her father, on the ground that it was manifestly
disadvantageous to herself, and that the mere non-
interference of the father was not a sufficient tacit
consent. The circametances of this case are curious,
and throw a strange light upon the system on which
actresses are engaged in certain Paris theatres.
The appellant, whose real name is Mffile. Antoinette
Jathiot, but whose appellation on the play-bills was
Antonia de Envy, is an extremely pretty girl, who
appeared, when very young, on the boards of
the Porte St. Martin and the Varietes. Some
time since, when about twenty years old, she
signed an engagement with the managers of the
Palais Royal Theatre for two years, at •
salary of 1,200 fr. for the first year, and
I,Boofr. for the second. Out of this miserable pay,
about 4fr. a day on an average, she was bound to
find herself in " linen, stockings, shoes, head-
dresses, and all theatrical costumes requisite for her
parts, except foreign costumes totally different
from anything habitually worn in France." Besides
this, she was liable to fines for a great variety of
stage offences, and in case of the breach of any part
of her engagement, was to pay a sum of 10,000 fr.
by way of liquidated damages. M. 0. Chair d'Eat
Aug., her counsel, said that such an agreement as
this, which left no margin for her subsistence, and
which any actress must be mad to sign, was a
palpable imposition upon her youth and inex-
perience, and could not be supported against a
minor in a court of law. But it was answered on
the other aide that neither the managers of the
theatre, nor the young lady herself, ever
expected that she wee to gain her living
on the stage; that although legally under
age she was old io experience as a member of
the demi-monde : that her real profession was that
of a " Dame aux Camelia'," the profits of which
profession were most materially increased by the
opportunity given her to show herself to the public
in the character of an actress. In support of this
view, which the facts flowed to be incontrovertible,
it was stated that the father, who had now been
pat forward to object to the contract, was an humble
clerk who had not for many years exercised any
control over his daughter; that he lived by him-
self in a miserable garret in the Rue St. Lasare,
while mademoiselle occupied splendid apartments
i• the Passage Sauloter, kept her carriage and ser-
vant", and habitually spent 6,000 k. or B,ooolr. •
year upon her toilette alone. It was even said
that the known fact of her having a great
many handsome dresses was one of the cir-
cumstances which induced the management to
engage her. These arguments succeeded before the
Triba•al of Commerce, which cancelled the engage-
ment at the snit of the management ea account of
Mdlle. Jathiot's unpuoetuality and refusal to
play a certain part ; and, moreover, ordered her
to pay 1,600 fr. damage, and the costa of the suit.
But the Court of Appeal adopting the view
of M. l'Avocat General Moreau, that the
court could not in any way sanction such an
immoral notion, as that the terms of the contract
were not disadvantageous for the minor, because it
was known that she got her living in a way that
could not be avowed, set it aside, reversed the ver-
dict awarding damages against her, and ordered
the managers of the Palais Royal to pay all the
oasts.

PARIS, TUESDAY EVENING.

The Boone opened with somewhat lower quota-
Hone, bat the oonunuanoe of the fall brought forward
a great many buyers. As soon u yesterday's price
bad been recovered toe Route became dull, and during
the greater put of the day but little bum-
per was done. There is, however, a disposi-
tion to regard the lsthmtut of Sues question
u not a serious difficulty, notwithstanding
the considerable sensation which has been

oecuioned be two successive articles on the subject
in a London journal. A turther rise is looked for by
speculators, although they think the movement will
not go very far till next week. The Rents, after
dropping to 70.26, and recovering to 70.40, closed at
yesterday's prior, 70.35 for account. For cash there
was a rise of 10e., the last price being 70.25. Mobi-
lier rose 2.50. The Orleans Railway rose 8.75.
Thera was little change in the other lines.
The Press* says, in its weekly commercial review,
that there is more activity, in consequence of pre-
parations for the new year's sale, but that as re-
gards foreign busines very little change is to be
noticed.

The government, it is said, has authorised the
railway companies to emit bonds daring the year
1860 to the amount of 230,000,000 t

. . .
It was lately reported that Captain Doimean, who
foe groan abuse of power as commandant of an Arab
bureau and very disgraceful crimes had been Den-
Wooed by a court-martial to imprisonment for life,
had received a tree pardon to enable him to serve in
China. It is not true that misplaced clemency has
been exercised to such an extent. This officer will
not be allowed to enter the army again. His punish-
ment has been commuted to ten years' banishment.
The Prince of Orange occupied the Emperor's box
at the Opera last night to see Mdlle. Vest,'li, in
Herculaneum.

1 crewed over the Pont de Solferino at 4 o'cleak
this afternoon, and observed that the Seine was as
nearly as possible frozen over. The large muses of
ice wnich yesterday floated rapidly with the current
are now quite stationary, and the water visible in
the narrow interstices between them is stagnant.
There are men who would for a wager go across the
river on foot this evening, jumping occasionally from
one ice block to another. To-morrow, if the frost
continues with its prevent intemeity, all the floating
icebergs will be knit together in one compact mass.

The prefect of the Haute Garonne is organising bear
hunts in the French Pyrenees; wolves appear in
many villages ; larks are picked up deadinthe fields ;
and Wee ere so benumbed by the cold that people
knock them on the head with sticks. The basins in
the Bois de Boulogne, which have never known a
bard winter since they were made, are now covered
with, skaters, and present a most animated scene.
The little Swim restaurant on the island, which ex-
=be deserted all the winter, is doing an
business, and offers, besides the attractions
of its marine, that rare French luxury, a good fire, to
spectators who may wish to look at the skating from
the windows. The Park Omnibus Company is de-
servedly unpopular, because it his neglected to strew
the omnibuses with straw to warm the passengers' feet,
as has hitherto been usual in were weather. The
second mail from London arrived several hours be-
hind time.