The Express.
London, England, 1858-11-29 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, NOV. 29.

Le the Anglo-French council held at Compiegne
immediately before the trial of M. Mormeizmaaar,
differences of opinion are said to have prevailed re-
garding the policy of that proceeding. No one
ventured, of coarse, to raise • genetics as to its
justice. The coefidential friends of his Imperial
biadESIT were his guests; and it would have been
regarded, doubtless, am a siosierie, had any of them
suggested a misgiving on that score. English peers
and French officials tacitly concurred, no doubt, in
the Imperial sentiment that despotism being for the
good of France, whosoever ventures to pluck it by
the beard deserves to be visited with the utmost
penalties of the law ; and even had there been lees
oompleteunanimity of view as to the abstract prin•
cape of the righteousness of rigorous repression,
one never could imagine the moral woe of Lord
HEIt17011.1) or Count WALEWNICI impelling either of
them to counsel a reconsideration of the subject os
the more ground of equity. Equity or iniquity,
soh men would probably say, is in the abstract
matter of time, and place, and circumstance, and
practical polities a matter of regime. That which
is right in a free country is wrong in a country
blessed with a paternal government; and M. Mort-
ausarar must have known this well when his sat
down to quiz his countrymen upon the politiesl pri-
vatioas they enjoy, and the social losses for which it
is said they ought to be thankful.. Equally in
amerd we may fairly presume were the members of
the tesselated conference as to the personal aspect of
the inipendieg prosecution. There was not one 1
of the memorable party amembled at the hunting
Wen of NA reLiON 111. who betrayed • folio(
of consideration for the illustrious acensid. He had
by tares ceended nearly all of the influential parties
that awe existed is France : and, what was worse,
his tatting sarcasm had been directed a4ainst most
a the bureaucratic porecaarget from both aides of
the Chaatiel, who by special invitation had been
beceigist together there. That he richly deserved
all he might get for his wilful and wanton Satire cm
them, all the Es ratiol'ii disinterested friends were
thoroughly agreed.
Nevertheless, as we have said, there were differesess
smog these " triode in council." Lord PAL-
=Arrow, we may readily believe, exercised his
privilege as their Nxuvoa to utter certain doubta
sad warnings with regard to the eoasequeneee that
might possibly ensue from the intended proceeding.
Biz motives, he was sure, could not be questioned,
wins he ventured to say he wished the prosecution
to to dropped. He feared it would disclose to
Ramps and America, more palpably than ever, how
little anion of sentiment existed between the
governing power in France and the governing
power in England. Grantiog that M. MONTALEN-
UST was en °riming, and ought to be crushed—*
makentent, and ought to be made an example
of—a journalist, and ought to be stifled—the
question wee whether angry and bitter feel-
ings would not be excited by his conviction, and
pernicious sympathies excited on his behalf. The
proceedings of the trial might be unreported is
Franey, and no word of comment permitted to
appear ; but in England versions more or less correct
of all that took place would infallibly be given to
the public, and even he (Lord Pauesiterron) could
not answer for the approval or even silence of the
journals most devoted to his interests. What would
the wend say when in the columns oars devoted
to the singled praise of Napoletano sad Palmer-
ston= they read denunciations et the trial and
onvieticia of a man like M. SIONTALMOLIT, for a
satirical paper published in a Paris noise ? The
organs of his noble friend whose devotion to the cause
of the coup admitted of so question, might
possibly be persuaded to be docile or dumb ; but he
doubted if Lord CIAIIINDON would venture to be
answerable even for the Observer : and he was set
servo that Lord MALIISSBCIT could iodine more
than one or two of the Ministerial papers to be dis-
creet and silent. Coming so soon after the Portu-
guese affair it would be hard to hold the breath of
Ragland in. For himself and his noble friend be-
side him he was reedy to declare that they did not
intend to turn the question of the Charles et Georges
to Parliamentary account, lest it should embarrass
or annoy his Imperial ItieJESTT. But it would
sot be in their power to stop lees friendly toga's
and peas ; and when to the alienation they might
MAN was added the exasperation of severities
against the press, he (Lord Pstiasatron) feared
greatly for the result

We may take for granted that all this was as to-
effectively reiterated as usual by Lord CLAZINDON.
We have heard, indeed, that there were not want-
ing French advisers of the Estexaoa who took a
similar view. Bat the mind of hie hiIJEATT was
made sp. Lass discernment of character than he
Femmes would have been sufficient to couriers him
that his English counsellors were thinking much
mare of themselves than of him, and that they were
far more uneasy at the discredit they were certain
to share than the damage Buonapartiani was likely
to gaffer. There was withering wit, and we fear bat
too much truth, in the inexorable reply ascribed to
Loots Nerotsos :—" You ought to know the hell.
imp et your own country beet ; but I think I
"understand the sentiments of France, and you
" will led I em sot mistaken in thinking that
" there will be tittle sympathy shows for M. Mori,.
" steepen."

Now that the trial is over, and the condensed

already has been adjudged deserving of six months'
incarceration in • State prison, and that the san-
hedrim of Compiegne has brokee up, we hear it
whispered diligently that the Erareaoa will be
earnestly advised by its English members to remit
the penalty, and so to prove that he can be mag-
nanimous in the use of power. We have very little
doubt that on their return home Lords CttRENDON
and PILVIRSTON have been mad* to feel that they
were taking a very unwarrantable liberty with them-
selves when they went to Compiegne. The sincerity
of their desire to have some rag of soi &ease
clemency under which to continua their fight for
their foreign friend few will seriously question.
Unluckily for them, however, the weight of their
opinion has been long since destroyed by the suicidal
blander, into which they fell at the beginning of the
present year. NAPOLEON 111, is not the man to
forget how they lured him on to ask for • Conspiracy
Bill they were unable to carry, and left him to chew
the cud of his vexation at being publicly and pe-
remptorily refused. Ilia uncle had a trick of pinch-
ing the ear of a reckless or heedless adherent till it
bled. As his present MAJESTY loves to walk in the
traditions of the Empire he may make the ears of
his noble confidants tingle by familiarly remind-
ing them how little they showed that they un-
derstood the real feelings of their countrymen
ten months ago. Aod if he tells them
that the remisidon of the penalties awarded in the
present instance will not weigh • feather in the
estimation formed by Englishmen of the condemna-
tion pronounced on Wednesday last, he will prove
that he judges us more accurately than they do. It
is the meth= of an unlimited power of restraint
over political, social, and moral discussion, however
guarded, however abstract, or however critically
conformable with fact and reason, that we deplore
for the sake of Prance, and resent in the name of
civilised freedom. Were M. MONTAI.ESIBLET in-
carcerated but for a week, or a day, the dark mean-
ing of his sentence would remain the same. Under
the provisions of the law enacted in March last,
regarding political offences, he will be liable, if
he ventures to dwell henceforth in his native
country, to be arrested and summarily dealt
with by the Government without any acctuatioa,
proof, or form of trial. In other words, the
record of • conviction for any political offence,
no matter whether the sentence be executed
or not, leaves the condemned at the mercy of the
Imperial police. This is the true measure of M.
MONTALENDITIT'S punishment. He has henceforth
but the alternative of enacting at home the part of a
craven and a caitiff; or of spending the remainder of
his days in exile, where he may think without
danger and speak without fear.