The Express.
London, England, 1858-12-28 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

M. MONTALEMBERT.

The Monitsur of to-day announce' that the Em-
peror relieves M. de Montalembert from the penalties
pronounced against him on the 21st of December
by the Imperial Court.
The editor of the Correspondant is also pardoned.

(TROY GUS OWN

PARIS, MONDAY BVININO.

You will remember that some two or three months
ago there was great talk of a large reduction in the
French army. The rumour was so studiously accre-
dited that many people believed it. A paragraph
which went the round of several English journals
affirmed that the extent of the reduction would be
no less than 100,000 men. I well recollect at the
time asking a gentleman who knows what is said
in official quarters whether there was any truth in
the report. I was told that the government bad the
fullest intention to reduce the army, but that it was,
of course, oat of the question to discharge 100,000
men at once, for the simple reason that it would
be an injustice to the men themselves, who, if dis-
charged is such numbers, would not find
employment. It was, however, positively
said that the reduction' would be effected
gradually, by calling out fewer recruits than
usual. Well, it turns oat that the government
calls under arms every man that it can lay its hands
upon. The entire contingent for the year is ordered
to join, and this is a thing unprecedented in time of
peace. The Indepenclance, although it habitually
picks and chooses its words for its French edition,
in order to avoid being seized on the frontier, thus
significantly comments on the fact:

The Christmas holidays will, perhaps, be somewhat sad-
dened in the country villages and In Ur fechnies by the de-
parture of 100,000 recruit' to join their regbnente.

It is already said that the camps of instruction for
1869 will be unusually large. An army of thirty
thousand men near the Italian frontier is spoken of.
Six regiments of infantry took up their quarters
to-day in the new barracks near the Chateau trEan,
which are to be henceforth called the Prince Eugene
Barracks. The Emperor will probably visit the
establishment shortly. A new line of Boulevard is
projected to be carried from this barrack to the Bar-
riers da Trost.

M. Gauthier d'Aubeterre, the unfortunate gentle-
men who was strapped on his horse's back d to Ma-
seppa, by Lieutenant Wagner, the director of an
Arab bureau, appears likely to get the worst of it.
The last news on the subject is that the lieutenant
still commands his post, and that the civilian is to be
brought before a court-martial foe insulting an
officer in the exercise of his duty.
Some few of the victims of the law of public
safety who were arbitrarily transported by General
Espinasse will probably be allowed to return to
France on the occasion of the new year ; but I
believe no ooe will be admitted to this indulgence
TWINS he humbly solicits it in writing. Votre
peau ou votes hauteur is the dilemma generously
submitted to all persons in this oategory.
The Council of State are now diactuising the

question whether the mayor in the Seine and Oise
(Montmorency I hear was the seat of his mayoralty),
who lately arrested three municipal councillors for
voting against him and packed them off to
prison in a cart, should not be prosecuted for
an " excess of power." The probability is, however,

that means will be devised to hash the matter up. '1
Discussions in courts of law touching the acts of
government functionaries don't answer, even
although the public may be excluded, and the
newspapers ordered not to publish reports.
The Pay. publishes a long letter from M. Rouxel,
the captain of the Charles-et-Georges, recounting a

great &slot unnecessary ill-usage which he appears
. . .

to have suffered from the Portuguese authorities of
Mocambique, but from which it results clearly
that he bought slaves from their owners, and paid
the price for them ; bat, in accordance
with the extraordinary theory of the French govern-
ment, he preteuds that the traffic was lawful,
because the moment they set foot en board his ship
they became " free labourers," engaged by a con-
tract entered into of their own " free will and
accord" to serve for a term of years is the French
colonies. He admits that dysentery always prevails
to a terrible extent among the " free blacks" on the
French recruiting ships. The French journals re-
"reboot that the papers which the Portuguese
government refuel to prodnes to the Cortes are not,
as ham been supposed, those which would convict the
Freese government of having bees in the wrong.
but *me, which like Captain Hoaxers letter,
show that it was entirely la the right.
The Emperor went oee day last week to inspect
the new Salle des Etats in the Louvre, where it is
intended to open the session of the Corps Legislatif
in February. His Majesty, is order to ascertain
whether the laws of acoustics had been sufficiently
attended to in the construction of the chamber, stood
at one end of it while one of his attendants reed a
page of Bonnet at the ether. He appeared to be
satisfied with the experiment. There is, I dare say,
no doubt that the imperial speech of 1859 will be
audible, although—es many members of the
Haim of Commons well know—en army
in an empty hall is a very uncertain cri-
terion as to whether the wend of the voice
will fill the same building when it is full of people.
By the way, M. Couture, the artist who had been
engaged m paint the compartments in the
walls of the Salle des Etats, has been sud-
denly told that his services will not be
required, and is so nettled at the dismissal that he
positively refuses to finish a greed picture of the
baptism of the Imperial Prime, for which both the
Empire, and the Empress gave him severaleKtiage.
This picture was intended to be one of the great
festaroo of the exltibitien of modern artists next

I spring.
ThslOtiasiten been *reward. The affairs of
Salvia: wars; in some instances, either a came or
pretext for plea. Analog wee also felt abort the
Jong announced new bank, and there were a great

many vague rumours of issues of obligatio
raise money. The Rents fell 15c. for mak
and 30c. for account, closing at 73fr. Lad
73fr. 3c. It was a shade firmer at the class
than it had been, the quotation for account haring
been at one moment 73fr. Mobilier was relatively
firm; nevertheless it fell llfr. 23.. Railways I,"
dull, and from 2fr. 600. to 3fr. lower. The Rea of
France has declared its half/early dividend to-dsy
at 48fr. This is even less than I led you to expect
it would be. The last dividend was 86fr., and the
two together only give the very poor income for the
year of 3fr. 800. per cent. This unfavourable resit,
however, was to be expected when it was found thee
the reduction of the discount to 3 per cent. did eat
materially increase the business of the Bank.