The Express.
London, England, 1861-12-30 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 30, 1861

FROM Oct. 6, The A'r kiEti.Bl.lM haul been
- THILXSPINCIL

QATURDAY the 4th, will be published the
1,7 EIRST NUMBER for lea, of the ATHELEUIL /ace
Volume raispleto is itatitr. with Title page and Intim

frWENTY LETTERS addreelexl to the YOUNG
.a. 'ARMIN of INOLAND sad Um COLON I lal. Adana
THAILIT. A Handbook of aciantlas aad Ptactlcal
Prke ad.. Ire., by post foe ststansps.
Joseph Marto, Nswastaistrast.

THE FARMER'S PAPER. THORLKY'S
GLEANER includes eight pages of Original sad Al anectril matter in c”tincsion with Farming Operations and -
cultural liiiproroncitte tele penny. Published meg
he time fur twat. . . _

Newgate-strutt. City.

ALMldbleed. la, New Edition, by post 14
illTEpu SC cs a LIFE : or, How tarns
and What to Live Yoe; Explanatory of the St pdoeles of
Yen's P.:Menet. and the various Phenomena of Ufa With
Instructions for waling Health and Strength aad lamorks
on the Treatment of !Sodden incidental te Sedentary Life. By
• Pnlartan of 20 years' practice.
ConTleth—The Physical &location of Early Life—Tbs Art of
Prolonifinz Life—The Theory of Ingeetion—The Stomach sad Its
Dllkeitlee—The ultivation of the Affections and Itainknics
cd the tandem —Nervous Disorders, Ac.
Landoll: Mann. 1111„ Orshill. and all booksellera

GIVEN AWAY to NERVOUS SUFFERERS.
I. IT has just published . FRI% EDITION of his
valuable wurk, lbw Plti VATt MEDICAL FiLLVAD (116 =i
ea the self-ears d Nervous Debility. Loss of llinnory. I
ed Snail. die" post-bve, on rree;:ir a directed
dtsturnpu—dd
mi

FRANCE.

(nor MB 01111 CORRESPONDM.)
PARIS, SATUIIDAT EVENTNO.

I am really disposed to think that the Emperor
is about to "crown the edifice "—that is to say,
that he means speedily to endow France with that
" wise measure" of liberty which he said ten years
ago she was to have some day. I was struck yester-
day by the Opinion Nationok's opinion that the
Emperor was tired of " personal " government ;
and I now notice a very remarkable and evidently
Guerronniere-inspired article, in the Patric, headed
" The Constitutional Empire." Curiously enough
this article, of which I prophecy that you will hear
a great deal, is but au amplification of the criti-
cism, " The fundamental principle of the Constitu-
tion of 1852 is the Emperor," for which the Debate
received a warning, and for my comments upon
wL•ich the Daily News has been seized to-day by
the small fry of officials who are blind to the
signs of the times. This article begins as follows :
The Constitutional Empire exists in point of right coder
the Constitution of 1852. But its liberal character has been
so long veiled that its mecum at home and abroad have an
excuse for denouocing it se a dictatorship. Itmust, however,
be admitted that previously to the decree of Nov. 24th,
1860, the participation of the public amembhee in public
affairs wee more theoretical them real.

Here we have a semi-official admission of an un-
doubted truth, which could not have been uttered
any tine this ten years without drawing down
upon the utterer warnings, prosecutions, or worse.
Sooree of times official speakers iu the Chamber,
and hack writers in the press, protested before the
24th of November that the representative body
was not a sham but a moat useful reality.
The writer proceeds to draw a striking picture of
the helplessness and insignificance of the Senate
and Corps Legialatif before November 24, and,
quite forgetting M. de Persiguy's warning to the
Debala, admits that " all the organic forces of the
government seemed to be absorbed in the omnipo-
tence of the sovereign concentrating iu himself the
entire life of the people." lie goes on, in a fulsome
strain, to deecribe the Emperor as returning to Paris
after Solferino " more than au absolute chief," as
" a supreme arbitrator," " the image of command
consecrated by glory, tempered by modera-1
tion, and accepted by public gratitude." Au ordi- '
nary man would have been intoxicated by this
popularity, but the Emperor's "superior mind"
became uneasy lest his personal prestige should
efface the institutions which he had intended to
found, and he felt it necessary that "people should
believe as much in the Empire as in the Emperor."
This is precisely the sentiment which, in the mouth
of M. Saint Mare Girardin, was deemed factious on
Christmas-day. The Court writer continues :
" The memorable decree of Nov. 24 was tbe comae-
quence of that idea ; this great reform did not create
nor change the Cuostitution ; it merely revived it."
A very curious revival this, since we were told •
moment ago that until Nov. 24 the Constitution
was more "theoretic than real." This nonsense
about the resuscitation of a thing which never had
life is the mere canting echo of M. Troplong's
scruples about "fundamental changes" in the Con-
stitutiou, without au appeal to universal suffrage.
We come uow toachareteristic bit of Guerron nierieca :
"After having restored to the public assemblies their
importance, by publicity, by the vote of the address,
and by the presence of ministers without portfolios
on the government bench, it was necessary to give
the control more efficacity. In placing supplemen-
tary credit's under legislative guarantees, the Em-
per or does not weaken his power ; he limits it." Oh !
toe • French Jeremy Bentham to gibbet as they
deserve those dealers in wordy distinctions ! None
so great as Guerronniere in pointing a difference
between "importance" and etficacity," between
"weakened" and "limited" power. But to come
tossefitiee. The article, alter justifying, according
to the writer's nature, all that has been hitherto,
gives it to be understood that better is coming. "Is
there nothing," he says, "to be added to the recent
senates oonsultum 1" Have we seen the last of our
constitutional reforms 1 We do not think so."
This sentiment, I observe in passing, is quite
adverse to • speech of M. Dillault's' who weut in
strong for finality, and to various articles in the
Moniker and its satellites—but never mind. I
believe in the Patrie's inspiration this time and sus-
pect something coming for the new year. The
above is the sum and substance of an article epuu
out as M. de la Guerronniere, that wonderful word-
spinner, is wont to do. I find little more worth
quoting. Be admits that the laws on the press re-
quire revision ; says that the empire has passed its
militant condition, and is uow entering upon a
constitutional and liberal phase ' • in almost
the same terms as M. Prevost Paradol
he concedes the principle of ministerial
responsibility, and while pretesting against " par-
liazuentary gevernment " acluowledges the necessity
of such a "representative government" as comes
to the same thing. Verily we hope that there is a
"good time coining."
A considerable piece of news to-day is that the
' Court of Cassatiuu has quashed the sentence of the
'lmperial Court of Perin against Mires, for various
vices of form. Thu legislation of the Code Nape-
leou, too blindly admired, as I humbly conceive, pro-
hibits the Supreme Court of Appeal from correct-
ing a judgment which it denuuuees as wrong.
This high and much vaunted court is only
competent to say that right has not been
done, but cannot of itself do right. Mires is to be
tried over again at Douai, by a court of co-ordinate
jurisdiction with the Imperial Court of Paris. A
fresh appeal to the Court of Caseation will lie from
the decision of the Court of Douai. I remember
noticing iu a hasty paragraph written at the com-
mencemeut of the proceedings in the Court of 011/1-
elation that Mires' counsel complained very bitterly
that the judge-reporter, M. Plougoulm, had gone
out of his way to pronounce., a homily against Mire*,
instead of confining himself to the rj points of
law, with which alone the Court of mention is
supposed to deal. I now hear a ciirizais
anecdote on this subject. The counsel had
privately told the presiding judge, M. Waisse,
that he thought of waking a motion to suppress
the irrelevant passages of M. Plougoulm'a report.
The president begged him not to take • course
which would occasion much scandal, but promised
not to interrupt him if be attacked the report in
the course of his speech. The counsel made large
use of this permission, and much amusement was
given to the members of the bar who were in the
secret by M. Plougoului's uneasy contortions in his
seat on the bench, and his ineffectual attempts to
telegraph to the President that Ithe counsel ought
to be stopped. M. Waisse, bent down on his desk
taking notes, refused pertinaciously to catch the eye
of his irate brother.

The Temps and ()pinion Nationale were severally
convicted to-day of the misdemeanour of publishing
" false news," and, the charge of " bad faith" being
negatived, sentenced only to pay fines of 2.000 f.
each. The false news in question was an unlucky
canard about a young lady being shot in the Con-
vent Des Oilman:, in the Rue de &Ivrea, which was
invented by a rather celebrated correspondent of a
foreign journal who goes upon the principle that a
readable anecdote is none the worse fur not being
true.

The Bourse remains waiting for American news, !
and there is little disposition to speculate deeply.
The rente, after slight fluctuations, closed at
67f. 15c. for cash, and 671. 26f. for account, with
a rise of bc. in each care. Mubilier fell 2f. 50c.,
and the Italian loan 20c. In railways there was
scarcely any change.
The Pays thinks it necessary to say es " Latest
News" that the only object of the daily meetings of
the Council of the Admiralty is to settle the promo-
tions to be made as usual at the end of the year.
The natural inference Ifroni this announcement is,
that people had supposed the Admiralty to be occu-
pied with preparations for the eventuality of war.
Signor Scialoja, the Secretary-General of the