The Express.
London, England, 1867-10-05 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(I/10X ODX Owl

PARIS. FRIDAY EVENING.

A report is current, and I believe it is not alto-
gether without foundation, that a state document
on the situation of France with respect to Europe,
is about to be drawn up, at the command of the
Emperor, by M. Drouyn de Lhuys. The Journal
de Paris affirms that the editor of this memorandum
concurs in the necessity " of inaugurating a policy
which shall raise the prestige of France, weakened
during the past year, not only by the events in
Germany, but by the hesitation of the cabinet of
the Tuileries in the Mexican question, and in the
affairs of Rome." This journal calls to mind the
fact that M. Fould became Minister of Finance on
the 14th November, 1882, in consequence of a
memorandum written by him on the state of the
Treasury, inferring from that that a similar posi-
tion awaits the ox-foreign minister after his expo/4
of the state of affairs with which he has been re-
quired to deal.
It is said that M. Nigra has taken to Biarritz the
draft of a treaty, prepared by General Menabrea,
to receive the signature of the Emperor. Accord-
ing to the terms of this alleged treaty, the conven-
tion of the 15th September is to be so modified
that France will hereafter hand over to Italy the
duty of protecting what remains of the temporal
power of the Pope. I give you this as a report
rather strongly insisted upon, but which I think
is not deserving of implicit confidence. At the
same time, the affairs of Italy and the relations of
France with that country are in so doubtful and
precarious a position that it is impossible at this
moment to say what truth there mayor may not be
in rumours of this description. I believe M. Nigra
lately handed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
a note from his government relative to the Roman
question, which is now undoubtedly one of peculiar
difficulty, and, perhaps, the most threatening to the
peace of Europe.
Press prosecutions in Paris continue. The go-
vernment has taken proceedings against the journal
the Epoque, which is charged with publishing false
intelligence in an article entitled " Derniere
Heure." The Phare de fa Loire has also been sum.
moned to appear before one of the tribunals to
answer for an article headed " Ni Libert6, nj
prospdrit4."
If there are black spots in the political horizon
hanging over Italy and France, things are looking
no better in other parts of the world ; and Turkey
and the Eastern question supervene to add to the
anxiety and disturbance of states. A letter from
Ragusa, in the doenir National, states that the
Montenegrins, far from abandoning the field, have
constituted two corps d'armee, one of which now
holds a strong position near Vasscevici. They are
represented as being within gunshot of the Turks,
who desire to establish a blockade on the confines
of Servia, destined to cut off all communication
between that territory and the Montenegrins. As
to the political view of the situation, the
writer says it is true that Austria, Russia,
and Servia herself are interposing diplomatically,
but it is very doubtful whether Sonia and Russia
are acting with sinceri4. Now, it cannot be con-
cealed that if war should break out in Montenegro,
the Bulgarian insurrection, which up to the present
time has been of little importance, will henceforth