The Express.
London, England, 1866-12-21 00:00:00

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

(THIS DAY.)

THt FRVICH =PIM
The feeling which is being manifested in France
against the manure fort he reorganisation of the
instanced by the Daily News as not one of the least
curious and interesting surprises which the Second Empire
has reserved for history. On the whole, however, that
empire has shown neither the lust nor the lassitude of
glory. And now it finds itself in the presence of a
peaceful public when it proposes a measure which would
diuble its effective army and convert the whole
civilian population into • reserve. Every journal
with the slightest pretension to independence
condemns it utterly ; even the government organs belt and
hesitate in defending it. It would probably be an in-
justice to the Second Empire to refuse it the credit of
having provoked this most welcome anti-warlike spirit,
not only by its encouragement of peaceful arts and enter-
prises, not only by the example of some Muller wan and
abortive expeditions, but by the simple fact of its own
existence as an essentially military government, and by the
natural law of attraction and repulsion which under the
monarchy of July made the liberal opposition ardent for
war, and under the Second Empire makes them sick of

soldiering and eager for peace.
assuming that It VimWs financial statement, which has
OM been made, is of a satisfactory nature, the Telegraph
dwarves that the data for judging of the national amounts
of ISO' are not very definitely explained, though it is not
until lelki that the main pressure of the expenditure re-
quired by the proposed reorganisation of the army will be
felt. There is clearly no present intention of humming ex-
tmordinary expenditure for that purpose, and the
relegropk believes that it is the 'Moen belief
of the Emperor that the reform he proposer
to introduce can be deeded without laying any
abnormal burden on the mimosa of the country.
It dues extremely little good in inveighing against the
wickedness of war' or against the folly of turning labourers
and artisans into soldiera. Some eausideralde augmentation
of the national foray was urgently den anted by public
opinion in Franca, and the proposed scheme may fairly be
regarded, in the language of X. Fould, "as a fresh gua-
rantee of peace and severity, fur the future."
The Mal/.1414 also enlarges on the satisfactoey character
of the French budget. and seems to regard Alm wag of
deficit' as orientally overt rowu in France. M. Font
and France, the Emperor and the ministers who hare
aided him in his liberal comniertial policy, must be Imlay
congratulated upon the increase of revenue from indirect
taxation which has thrown alto the lap of the minister
41i3OrktOnfr. this year, and from which he dares to count
on double that sum in 1:117. This increase indindee •
great commereiri and industrial prep city, it proves an
augmentation of well-being, not to say wealth, amongst
the people generally., and, in fact, supplies the most con-
clusive and thoroughly impartial testimony to the wisdom
of the remarkable roan who has known how to enrich
France aga est her will, curb at his own cost her passions,
and 'amities his favourite schemes to her interests.
ads to the army question, the Storsiard complains
that M. Foul," says nothing of the price which
France will have to pay fur the proposed changes, and
considers the information on the subject generally as very
scanty and unsatisfactory.

EMBARRASSED RAILWAY CONITANIES.
The London, Chatham, and Dover cannot pay its de-
benture•hnlders, and it asks its debenture-holders to aid
it in raising a fresh loan the North British can pay its
debenture-holden, but tot its preference shareholders,
and so it leaves its debentures untouched, but lays hands
on its preference shares. To the Times it appears that the
very obligations which in the London, Chatham,
and Dover proposals are represented as coming
before debentures, are considered by the North British
directors as coming after them. Yet, what is
law in one case must, we presume, be law in another.
The debenture holder is something different from a share-
holder of any class. He has lent his money on mortgage,
as it were, and it is not to be denied that people who
bought railway debentures have always done so on the
understanding that they acquired a claim on the property
of the company corresponding to that of a mortgage-bolder
on land. It was probably never imagined that the claim I
would need to be enforced, but it was presumed that in
the last resort the debenture holders could enter on
the property and sell it up. The Times does not
conceive, indeed, that this right is disputed now,
but it seems, nevertheless, that a variety of claims i
little dreamt of in such transactions may rank on a
level with debentures, or even struggle for priority.
It really appears as if the true priority of the numerous ,
claims which may attach to the property of a railway
company is not yet understood, but the fact only brings '
out into strong relief the necessity of obtaining not only
accurate but intelligible accounts of railway property.
People will certainly require to know hereafter not only
what debts are to rank before debentures, but what
amount of such debts exists. It is the ignorance, and,
Iby conseqence, the distrust, of the public which keeps
shares so low, and residers investors so timid.

The Central Pacific Railroad is complete to Cisco,
93 miles test from Sacramento, and 121., miles from the
summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and 5,911 feet
above the level of the ma.