The Express.
London, England, 1861-10-30 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(non on owl

PARIS, 'ruzzipsy EVilfll4o.

A most amusing political comedy is now going
on in France. The government allows the govern-
ment journals to quarrel about Rome just as if
they were in earnest, and just as if the public
would care a brass farthing about any of their
opinions, except so far as they may be supposed to
be not their owu. On Sunday the Pattie (whose
absorption by M. de la Guerronniare is now freely
spoken of even by the most timid) sought to put
M. Grandguillot into a fix by quoting a passage
which he wrote in October, 1860, in favour of the
temporal power, and asked triumphantly whether
the sentiment would now bo disavowed. "Oh !"
replies K Grandguillot, from his now desk in the
office of the Pays, "the question is not sufficiently
precise. If you mean it for the Constitutionnel, I
am no longer the editor of that journal,
and it is not for me to answer ; but if
you address yourself to me personally, I
have no hesitation in saying that I never
retract on one day what I have written
the day before." Thus M. Grandguillot, in
his character of editor of the Pays, whose
proprietors are the proprietors of the Consti-
tutionnel, throws upon the latter journal the
responsibility of differing with anything which
he may have said in its columns. Well, the
Constitutions/el, under Dr. Veron, who the other
day was appointed by the government to succeed
Grandguillot, dismiased,and appointed by the same
government to the direction of the Constitaiiemnd
branch establishment, the Pays, does take up the
gauntlet and declares that "if the hope of saving
the temporal power was permissible in October,
1860, it has become chimerical in October,
1861." Upon this the Pattie, whose doctrines
unfortunately are in accordance with the Emperor's
recent conduct, if not with K de la Guerronnihre's
inspiration, bitterly reproaches the Constitutionnel
with having " openly abandoned the policy of
transition so energetically maintained by the im-
perial government," and having ranged itself under
the flag of the &irk and Opinion Nationale. What
an instance this is of the imperial system of patro-
nising double currents of opinion. I defy anyone
to say which of the two diametrically opposite views
of the most important questions in Europe now
respectively promulgated by different sets of the
Emperor's paid servants and creatures is the one
that he means to abide by.
A very funny account in the Charirati of the
installation of Dr. Veron in the office of the Con-
stitutionnel, written in dog Latin and broken
French, after the manner of Moliere, contains the
following truly comic passage :

Y. Grandguillot, in deep mourning, brings the editorial
pan, upon a silver tray, and presents it to Dr. Verna,
saying :

"Ave doctor, mini qui est & gommd to ealutat."

Now that the semi-official journals have all at
once become " independent as well as devoted,"
their "latest news" must be naturally expected to
be more unreliable and misleading than ever. The
Pays says to-night that there is " no truth what-
ever" in the rumour that negotiations are opened
on the subject of Venetia. But the Pa trie, more
cautious, insinuates that there may be something
in the story, after all, speaking as follows :
It is possible that diplomacy may one day be in a posi-
tion to attack this important question ; but we believe we
know that up to the present time it hay not been the object
of any negotiations with the court of Vienna.

I suopose the independence of the devoted
journals consists materially in the permission to
transpose and re-word goverwuout communications
of a secondary order.
According to a letter from Berne in the Correa-
pondance Bullier, the news that France has asked
fur a "rectification" of the Swiss frontier, though
true, is not alarming, even as a precedent. It ap-
pears that some shepherds, having removed some
ancient landmarks to get a little more grazing land,
the federal council has consented to mark out a
defined boundary line iu accordance with a proposal
of the French government.
The Bourse has sustained a further fall. The
Route declined Isc. for cash a4d 20c. for account,
closing at 67fr. 80c. and 67fr. 75c., which were
not quite the lowest prices of the day. Mobilier
fell Mr. 75c., and the Italian Loin, 55fr.—a very
heavy depreciation. Railways were fully from
2fr. 50c. to sfr. lower.