The Express.
London, England, 1859-07-19 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

CONON 0111 OWN 0033DQOlDIDIT.)
PUBLIC OPINION OF FRANCE ON THE

PEACE.
PARIS, MONDAY EVININO,
I am always slow to speak of public opinion in
France, on account of the great difficulty of guaging
it. In a country where the government undertakes
to think, as well as to act, for the people, and to
that end arm of no public meetings, no political
societies, and no free prose, how can any man, when
a new question starts up all on the sudden, know
what the opinion of the public in regard to it really
is ? In London, where people are in the habit of
forming opinions, and freely giving utterance to
them, • stroll in the city, a chat with your trades-
men, and a visit to one or two clubs, will enable one
to describe, with a reasonable approach to accuracy,

the general current of public thought touching the
news of the day. But in Paris the task is far
from being so easy. A systematic opponent
of the government may indeed always feed
tat his hostility by communing with the retired
leaders of defunct parties, but what they will say
may be generally guessed beforehand, and affords
but slender aid to the knowledge of what is really
thought by the manse of a new and startling event.
People will talk in spite of policemen and spies and
laws of public safety ; but then they talk in a
whisper, or among intimate friends only, and it
takes a long time before one can get together a suffi-
cient number of individual opinions to justify you
in striking an average. Owing to these considers-
lions, I contented myself on the day when the great
news of the peace of Yin/thane& arrived with telling
you what I thought of it myself; postponing any
assertion about the tone of public opinion in
Paris until I had some better data to
go upon than the first impressions of the
Bourse. I am now able to affirm that
the terms of peace have not only occcasioned a
feeling of disappointment, discontent, and even
indignation among all those who took a sincere
interest in the object of the war, but have very
seriously damaged and lowered the Emperor in the
opinion of all classes of society. The working clams
more especially, who three months ago thronged the
Lyons railway station every evening to cheer the
troops as they started for Italy, perfectly understand
that the blood of their sons and brothers has been
shed in vain, and they deeply resent the trick that
has been played upon them. At the same time the
commercial men and tradesmen, whose interests natu-
rally lead them to look upon all war with dis-
favour, have little confidence in the peace,
and reflect with consternation that the same un-
scrupulous and inscrutable will which plunged the
nation into the Italian war upon false pretences,
may at any moment begin another. It is certain
that a project was formed to hail the Emperor as he
passed along the " Chemin de fer de Ceinture" with
cries of " Vivo l'armee !" " Vivo l'ltalie "Vive
la Liberte !" but I suppose it was given up as too
dangerous. Many Orleanists, legitimists, and re-
publicans view the state of affairs with various
degrees of satisfaction, because they think or hope
that the Emperor has made a fatal mistake. The
ultramontane party alone seems to be thoroughly
enstented, but the &eels takes upon itself
to say this morning that the treaty is likely to con-
tain a clews which will check their jubilation.
The Gliswede of Bordeaux, which has been guilty
of giving expression to the general feeling of regret
sad disappointment, in a leading article concluding
with these word!, " Happy Manin ! to have died
before this day has received a warning," consider-
tag that this article contains on the glorious peace
of Villafranca anti-national appreciations of a nature
to falsify public opinion."
The Pays, which when it was its cue to write up
the war, spoke with disciple of " vulgar material'
interests, now argues in a widely different strain.
"Capitalist. and men of business," it says, "are
grateful for the restoration of peace. Content at the
spectacle of public prosperity, they pay no attention
to the political views of certain journals. The flue.
cial world sees and feels that pesos is not war, sail
test is enough." Very good ; bat this argument is
certainly no justification for the peace of Villa-
franca; it assumes that the financial and mercantile
world alluded to are glad of the peace for the wee
reason that they always disliked the war—nothing

more.
In the Constitutionnel M. Renee confirms the in-
telligence that "conferences will be held at Zurich
to regulate the preliminaries of the peace agreed to
' at Villa/ranee," but he does not say whether these
conferences are to be European, or whether they will
be confined to the three belligerent powers.
The faros of addresses from public bodies to the
Emperor congratulating him on the " glorious
peace" of Villafranca is beginning. The Court of
Caseation leads the way. The Moniteur will be
crowded with these gloving productions in a day or
two. _

a ministry in Turin, and that the King has sent for
M. Ratasni, whom. as I stated yesterday, Napoleon
111. refused to allow to be governor of Milan.
The Bourse was uneasy at the general opinion
expressed in the European press that the peace of
Villafranca is not a final settlement of the affairs of
Italy, and may probably lead to serious complica-
tions. The Rents fell 350. for cash and 60c. for

account, doming at 138 fr. 25c. in each cue. Mehlher
fell 20fr. The Orleans railway fell 12fr. 50c.;
Lyons, Ilfr. 26c.; Southern, Bfr. 75c.; and the
other lines 2fr. 50c. to 6fr.