The Express.
London, England, 1858-01-28 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 2‘41858

FRANCE. .

(ST SCIIIIIABINII DIMON riIIOWIPL)
PARIS, Tauslimx-INloanlice.
The Army of the Line is dalriddrifisdir Ave gnat
commands, confided to Marshals, and having their
head-quarters at Paris, Nancy, Lyons, Toulouse,
and Tours.

An article in the Mooliiiiur justifies the conduct of
the Government towards Protestants. Preaching
licences are refused solely in oases where there is
reason to know that it would be a proselytising
invasion rather than a natural requirement.

(711011 01:1I ow:

PARIS, WIDWIRDAT EV3IIIIO.

Keep a good look-out from Dover heights. A
French regiment has offered to be the ant to invade
England to fetch away the refugees, and the Moni-
ker euregisters the Mier in the first column of its
heat page. lam not speaking jokingly or meta-
phorically, but simply stating a literal truth. In the
offleialjournal of this morning, immediately after the
paragraph announcing that the Emperor and Em-
pies had honoured Lord Cowley's ball with their
presence, and stating (as evidence I suppose of the
entente cordial() that their Majesties, " who came
at ten o'clock, did not go away till two in the morn-
ing," you will find the following address from the
82nd regiment of the line, which, as it may possibly,
though I do not think it will, become an important
historical document, I transcribe verbatim' et /ilk
rutin :

The 82n4 regiment to the Emperor.—ln the name of the
°Moore, non-commissioned oaken, and privates of the 82nd
regiment of infantry of the line, profoundly indignant at the
horrible attempt against your Majesty, I come to renew the
assurances of our absolute devotion to your person, and to
that of the Imperial Prince your eon.
Those wild besets who at periodical epochs quit a foreign
soil to Inundate the streets of your capital with blood, in-
spire as with no other feeling than that of disgust; and if
your Majesty wants soldiers to get at them am, even in the
meows of their den (nTaire), we humbly beseech you to
choose the 82nd regiment as part of the advanced guard of
that army.

We ere, with the most profound respect, Sire, your Mli•
j404'.81 &C.. &C.. Dc CAJITAONY, ColoasL
Per* Jan. 18, 1858.
111 ere follow the signatures.]
Well done, Colonel De Castagny ! You have
made a good bid for promotion, and 1, as a humble
chronicler of events, shall not fail to give your
English brothers in arm; who will henoeforth
take special note of your name, the earliest news
of your professional advancement. But, although
I pay sufficient respect to you and the
feeling to which you are forward to give expres-
sion, to recommend all friends in England to keep
their powder dry, I doubt whether you will ever
set foot on English ground in other than peaceful
guise. We know happily by experience that the
Monitesir's bark is often " wear than its bite." A
little indecent bullying, resorted to in aid of diplo-
macy, does not by any means imply any settled
bellicose intentions. It is unfortunately but too
true that 3 ou, Colonel, and many of your gallant
comrades, would be delighted to stake your lives
against the chances of glory in a campaign on
British soil, but the master whom you flatter due
not, at present at least, see his way clear to give
you your Lead. He likes, doubtless (and the publi-1
cation of your menacing address in the Moniteur '
is a proof of it), to let it be supposed that
his superior wisdom alone restrains your ,
terrible ardour; but he is mach too
,prac-
tical a man to resort to desperate expedients,
as long u he can make his game in a regular way.
His throne is in no immediate danger, and he knows
right well that a war with England would soon
disgust alike the most loyal and the most indifferent
of his subjects by the wide-spread ruin which it
would occasion in every commercial town in France. '
He does not forget either that the majority of the
inhabitants of Paris, as proved by the last elections,
are against his system of government. It is much
more likely that the thirst for blood, which unhap-
pily torments the 82nd and many other regiments,
will oue of these days be slaked in putting down
universal suffrage in France than on any foreign soiL
Lit us hope that the present angry feeling may
peas away, and that the 82nd regiment, instead of
going to England as foes, may next summer be fur-
nished by the hospitable Eastern Railway Company
with free tickets to pay a visit to the Crystal Palace.
Meanwhile I presume Lord Cowley cannot fail to
have taken some notice of the publication in the
Mositeur. There is no use in speaking with bated
breath. The official sanction given to the address of
the 82nd regiment is a public insult to England, and
will be so understood on the Continent. It is worthy
of notice that the expression "wild beasts" in the
address of the 82nd is borrowed from Count de
Moray, and that the extremely insulting word re-
}Noire, as applied to England, is taken from the
Unirers.

The Patric (government journal) selects Colonel
Castagny's address alone, out of all those in the
Moniteur of this morning, for re-publication, and
truly observes that it is " remarkable for the energy
of its language."
The Daily News is now seized nearly every day.
The Bourse has been very inactive. Rumours of
" repressive measures" produced a decidedly bad
effect. The Rents closed heavily, with a fall of 20c.,
at 69fr. 30c. For cash there was no final change,
the last price being 69fr. 35c. Mobilier fell Bfr. 75c.
Scarcely anything was done in railways ; they were
quoted from 2fr. 50e. to Mr. lower.

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sot widerstand, and ennui understand, this state of things ;
and in that miles the berm, for she inay mistake the true
eentlinents of her ally, ma no looser believe in her sincerity.

The first remark suggested by these observations
of M. Passions is, If there is danger of the French
people misapprehending the views and sentiments of
England in the way he alleges, whose is the blame ?
The light in which Englishmen view the struggle
between the Emperor of the Friattcn and his
would-be sasessins has been loudly, unequivocally,
repeatedly expressed. The reasons upon which
the hereditary poliey of England with respect
to political refugees rests, and the impartiality of
its application, have been again and again explained
in language the most friendly and deferential to our
valued ally, the great French nation. But the
French people are debarred the means of learning
how the English people feel and act towards them.
The English newspapers and other serial publica-
tions, which would explain these matters, are not
allowed to reach the French people. The French
journals are deterred from extracting and translating
from them. And while the English people are thus
debarred the privilege of explaining themselves to
their French friends, the DE MORKTB and others of
the anti-Anglican faction in France are allowed to dis-
seminate the most malicious misrepresentation, of

English objects and feelings throughout that country.
The ignorance regarding England and English-
men under which M. PEASIONT represents France
as labouring is mainly the work of his own Govern-
ment. If there is danger that Frame " may mis-
" take the true sentiments of her ally, and no longer
" believe in her sincerity," that danger arises solely
from the restrictive policy as regards the press in
which the French Government so obstinately and
unwisely perseveres.

M. PEISIONT adroitly confounds two things en-
tirely distinct in themselves—abuses of the right of
speech (in oral discussion or through the press) and
criminal actions. He speaks of " men sufficiently
" infamous to recommend in their clubs, in their
"papers, in their writings of every kind, the
" assassination of a foreign sovereign, and
" actually to prepare its execution." To de-
beach the public mind by teaching it to
regard crimes of a certain class as venial, or even
praiseworthy, is one thing ; to concert in secret the
actual perpetration of these crimes is another. The
two offences are, indeed, not merely different, they are
incompatible. The assassin who meditates striking
a stealthy blow will take care not to draw attention
by proclaiming his designs aloud, for that would be
to ensure their frustration. M. PEILSIGNIrB object
in thus confounding two things as entirely
unlike is sufficiently obvious. He would place
the sophist who palliates simpanination upon the
same level with the assassin, and have them
both punished alike. From such a conclusion
the reason and moral sense, not only of Eng-
lishmen but of all intelligent Europeans, recoil.
Arguments and declamation can be counteracted by
arguments and declamation on the other side. The
secret assassin cannot be thus encountered. A
greater punishment is required, therefore, to deter
from assassination than from mere offences of the
press or the platform. Besides, as to the criminality
of the murderer there can be no mistake ; but what
mere human beings may take upon them to declare
authoritatively that this or that doctrine is noxious
or unsound, and prohibit its promulgation? If such
a veto on the utmost latitude of free discussion could
have been enforced, Christianity could never have
been so widely diffused as it is. The utmost latitude
of utterance must be allowed, even to erroneous

opinions, if we would escape the danger of
sometimes punishing as a crime the inculcation of
the most important troths. With the dissemination

of false statements as regards facts and characters the
case is different. But even with regard to this
offence, aa exposure disarms the lie, leas weighty
penal inflictions are required for its prevention.
M. PEitetwr is an able and subtle pleader, but he
will not succeed in his attempt to persuade English-
men that delicts of the press ought to draw down
upon offenders the same penalty as murder or con-
spiracy to murder.

Equally unavailing will be his endeavours to
prevail upon Englishmen to subject themselves
to a preventive political police, such as prevails on
the Continent, with its espionage, violation of
the confidence reposed in the Post-office, and other
enormities. If we were to tolerate such a system
against the foreigners resident among us what gua-
rantee could we have that its operation should not
be extended to ourselves P We have seen—from the
time of FIEBCIII down to that of the assault in the
Rue Lepelletier we have numerous proofs—that this
system of police repression and espionage is utterly
unavailing to prevent crime. We see nothing that
could be gained by adopting it in our own country.
We have found out a far surer way to diminish to a
great extent, if not entirely to eliminate, those crimes
against which it is directed. We rely upon the rea-
sonableness of our laws, the justice of their admi-
nistration, and the deterrent effect of the punish-
ment of those who violate them. We have
confidence in these simple means which our expe-
rience amply justifies. We cannot change our sys-
tem u regards ourselves to allay the apprehensions
of foreign absolute rulers ; and we know that it is
practically impossible to have one law for ourselves
and another for " the stranger that is within our
g• atee
If foreigners—be they Sovereigns or private indi-
viduals—think they have reason to complain of cri-
minal attempts against them perpetrated in this
country, our Courts of Law are open to them. We
have laws tally adequate for the punishment of delicts
of the press; the uncle of the present Emperor of the
Film( sought redress for a libel in ea English Court
of Law, and obtained it. To conspire to murder is
in the eye of the law of England • substantive
offence; if the Emperor of the FIIENCII believes that
there are people in this country who have conspired
to murder him, let him have a prosecution insti-
tuted, and if he can prove his case no doubt an
English jury will decree the punishment of the
guilty. We do not believe that any technical objec-
tions would be found to stand in the way of this
mode of procedure; but if any difficulty of this kind
intervened, the Legislature could easily provide a
remedy for the future; any law with an ez poet
AO* effect is of course out of the question. This we
remark with reference to a suggestion of our con-
temporary the Times. There is no need to apply to
Parliament until we find our law defective. The ob-
ject is simply to give ,full validity to the existing
English law against conspiracy to murder, not to
create a new law declaring it treasonable in
pawns who, being outlawed, enjoy no protection
from the laws of a foreign country, and consequently
owe it no allegiance, to " levy war," as the phrase
goes, against its sovereign. Of course any overt
acts having in view the institution of hostilities
against an ally would, in any case, be suppressed as
soon as they were brought to the knowledge of our
Government—that is a different question altogether.

It has been our endeavour in these remarks to
argue the question with that abases of beat and
violease of language w►iob so important a topic
demands. We have argued it as an abstract question,
equally applicable to the Emperor of Russia, or
the Emperor of Amor, or the Kim of Nary e, as

t.

to the Emperor of the Par.:cu. There is nothing
personal in it; the mole consideration to be kept
in view is, what is the policy beet_ adapted to
reooncile the demands of personal and political
liberty with the necessity of repressing crime. In-
deed, we have had little temptation to abandon this
dispassionate mode of argument. We will not allow
our judgment as to what is right or wrong to be
disturbed by M. PERSIGNY'S delicate allusion to the
risk of a rupture with his country. M. PERSIGNY ia
a controversialist as courteous and urbaue as he is
able. His arguments, indeed, appear to us fallaci-
ous, but we have no doubt that he regards them in
a different light ; for we know with what a high-
minded and disinterested devotedness he has ever
served—in adversity as in prosperity—the master
for whose advantage he now believes himself to be
acting.

The Court of Directors have again had under
their consideration the question of telegraphic com-
munication with India, and have again expressed
their willingness to grant to the Red Sea Telegraph
Company each support and assistance as would
enable them to raise the necessary capital for the
undertaking. We believe that the amount esti-
mated for a line of telegraph from Suez to Kure"-
chee is 700,0001.; and the Court, we understand, are
prepared to join with her Majesty's government in
guaranteeing a revenue equivalent to 6 per cent.
upon that sum, so soon as the work is finished and as
long as it is kept in good order. The proposition
now only awaits the ratification of her Majesty's
Treasury, to whom, by the bye, a similar elan was
submitted four months ago without eliciting any
expression of approval or support.