The Express.
London, England, 1866-09-15 00:00:00

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

(rHIS DAY.)

The Times observes that after fully eighteen
years of the most painful experience, the Emperor Napo-
leon must be aware that he leaves at this day the Roman
question precisely on the same terms as it was when he
took it up in 184$. The Pope will soon be once more in
the hands of his subjects, and, were these determined to
be rid of him, it is doubtful whether even the 1,205 hire-
lings from Antibes could do more for their new sovereign
than favour his second flight. The organisation of that
body, however, and the intimation that its members are
to consider themselves French no lees than Papal 'oldie!s
is fraught with no little mischief and danger. There is,
the TOWS firmly believes, no instance in the world
of another community that has lasted so long as the
Papal government with so strong and deep-rooted and
unconquerable an antipathy on the part of the subjects.

We are short of convicts, and the Times mentions a
novel inconvenience occasioned thereby. When Sir John
rakington, in his Admiralty progress, was at Queenstown,
a deputation waited on him to urge the completion of the
royal dock at that port, which, in pursuance of a vote of
the House of Commons, has been already commenced.
Sir John replied that he considered the works thus antho•
rised ought to be completed ; but the vote in the House
of Commons was passed on the understanding that the
dock was to be built with convict labour, and the neces-
sary supply was not forthcoming. The estimates had been
based on the supposition that f,OO convicts would be avail.
able, but in reality only 150 could be obtained. The public
works, in short, are partially checked for lack of criminals.
. _

The Tunes makes this incident an illustration of a prin-
cipal feature in the report of the director of convict prisons
for the year 1865, and comments upon the reasons for the
marked decrease during the last three years, both in fresh
sentences and in reconvictiona. It seems that though the
population has risen from fourteen to more than twenty-
one millions, the amount of crime had not only relatively,
but absolutely diminished.
A correspondence from Mr. Bonamy Price on the cur-
rency and the question of international copyright with the
United States are amongst the subjects discussed by the
' Daily News. In the latter case it is observed that the
fault is admittedly on the American side. Our copyright
laws give only reciprocal protection, but give that protec-
tion fully, and all that is needed to give American authors
the full benefit of English copyright is that English writers
should have an American copyright granted them, so that
the whole question has to be decided in the United States.
The Poet denounces the censorship of the stage, which
it says drives away real genius from the drama, and make.
it take to some other freer branch of literature.
The Herald is pleased to find Prince Gortchnkoff ex-
pressing his hearty approval of the policy of President
Johnson, whom it compares to St. Paul, speaking of him
as a brave and earnest man " fighting with wild beasts of
Ephesus" at Chicago end St. Louis.
The Star finds Mr. Deputy Judge Payne distinguish-
ing himself by acknowledging the beauty of a culprit ea a
mitigation of her crime, and expresses amazement at
the travesty of justice which he Las exhibited in the
case. A Grecian advocate might indeed unveil to an
enraptured court the form of a Phryne on which the gods
had set the Amp of beauty ; but one did not look for
anything of this sort in a seselons-house in 1866. Re
meant it well, no doubt ; but that be would have sen-
tenced an ugly girl without hesitation fatally impeaches