The Express.
London, England, 1868-08-20 00:00:00

OUR PARIS LETTER.

(moat oua OWN ooaasepoinuorr.)
PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVANINO.

The opposition journals, and it is not wonderful,
now swear by the Jura. The example set in that
agricultural department of the defeat of a govern-
ment candidate by a larger majority than is yet on
record, even in Paris, raises hopes of the most en-
thusiastic kind for the next general elections.

The effect of the news at Fontainebleau was not
to hasten the general elections but, while leaving
the period when they are to take place in
all the uncertainty so much complained of,
to try another experiment at once by
issuing writs to fill up the three vacancies in the
Var, the Moselle, and the Nievre. These seats have
only just become vacant, the first by the death of
Viscount de Eerveguen, and the other two by the
elevation to the Senate of Baron de Geiger and M.
de Montjoyeux. The government might, in its
discretion, have deferred the elections for six
months. If it should gain the three seats—an
event which, notwithstanding the jubilant tone of
the opposition, cannot be considered very impro-
bable, there will be a ground for saying that
the vast majority of the country is yet
impressed with the wisdom of the Emperor's go-
vernment. But another departmental defeat would
be disastrous, and the democratic party has great
hopes of the Moselle.
The municipal council of Bordeaux has passed a
very important resolution, remonstrating with the
government against the palpably unfair way in
which their city (like many other great towns for
that matter) has been cut up into electoral dis-
tricts, devised for • the very purpose of
preventing a true and effectual representation.
Bordeaux has 200,000 inhabitants. The law says
that every 35,000 electors are entitled to return a
member. But the government has cut up Bor-
deaux into three divisions, each of which are made
to vote with agricultural districts in curiously re-
mote corners of the department of the Gironde.
The mayor and adjoint (both the Emperor's no-
minees) struggled against the resolution as illegal,
the adjoint, however, feeling compelled to admit
that the grievance was well founded. The
town councillors, however, insisted that the matter
was a local one essentially within their jurisdiction,
and the resolution was carried by 14 votes to 5.
This is another very important symptom of the
set of the political tide.
The appointment of Viscount de la Gueron-
Mere, editor of La France, to the post of French
Minister Plenipotentiary at Brussels, which has
long been talked of, has now been signed. He is a
plastic man of hardly any opinions, with a facile
pen, and is much esteemed by private friends of all
parties. He was an ardent republican in 1848 and
up to December 2, 1851. For a long time he was
on the staff of M. de Lamartine's journal, the
Pays. He soon rallied to the Empire; was made
censor of the press, then senator, and was em-
ployed by the Emperor to write the pamphlet
which preceded the Italian war. After that he
was for some time in a state of semi-disgrace, and
he founded the journal La France on principles—
to use one of the antithetic phrases which are
characteristic of his style—" at once devoted and
independent." The proportion of devotion to
independence is in some such ratio as that of
Mynheer Van Dunk's brandy to the Zuyder-Zee
water—three quarta of the first to a pint of the
latter. However, the France does sometimes
endeavour to vary the monotonous praises of the
Constitutionnei and Pays, by a little mild criticism
and humble advice. For instance, in to-day's
number it admits that the government should
team a lesson from the ballot in the Jura, and
" understand that the days of facile elections are
`over, and that a struggle has commenced." It is
said that M. de la Gkieronniere will not think
it inconsistent with his diplomatic functions at
Brussels to continue ostensiblyto direct La France.
A remark on the appointment by one of the
Boulevard wits is worth repeating :—" Belgium
"likes liberalism. She also likes centre/ace's (noun-
" terfeit goods), and we are sending her some."
Dr. Nelaton, just named a Senator, is, I believe,
the first physician who in that character was ever
called to the Luxembourg Palace. Dupuytren,
though made a baron under the Restoration,
was not thought sufficiently purged from
his profession to be elevated to the peerage,
and his nephew was created in his place. Louis
Philippe offered a peerage to his physician, Dr.
Double, but on condition that he should leave off
practice. Dr. Double, who had made a fortune
which would have enabled him to retire, would
not cast a slur on the dignity of his profession by
accepting the King's terms, and his patent was
never signed. Dr. Nelaton takes his scat in the
Senate without conditions.

The Bourse was a good deal weaker, in conse-
quence of sales to realise profits on the loan.
Rente was done, at one moment, as low as
70fr. 373 c., and finally closed at 70fr. 45c. for
cash, and 70fr. 524 c. for account, with a fall of
15c. and 7ic. Italian fell 40c. ; Mobilier, 2fr. 30c.;
and Credit Fonder, 3fr. 75c.

M. Mabenech has announced his intention of
bringing out a new political journal at Rochefort under
the title of Th. Taxpayer. "Nowhere," he writes, "is a
journal more necessary than where long and complete
silence has prevailed."
Telegrams which have arrived at the Paris ter-
minus of the Orleans Railway announce that • water-
spout bad fallen upon the hue. The entrance to the
tunnel at Lauriere was quite inundated, and the beim were
delayed nearly an hour and a half. In the neighbour-
hood of Pfrignsnx also the water submerged the line and
caused some goods' trains to leave the rails, but without
further damage. At Capdensc a violent blast of wind
carried off the roof of the goods station and lauded it at a
considerable distance.

-
FIRE Al' NORTIIUMBEIII.AND_Ifoy

Last night., betwven 11 mil 12 ~..1
Northumberland-homie, the town resit,
of Northumberland, was diseovood ti
some minutes it was thought the li:e
Craig's-court, as the wind from lb..
wafted the smoke over the hrmvs Sr
WOOL it was at length atieertained that the I, ,n I. *.
ducal house was on tire. We are sorry to siy G
third of the mansion has fallen a prey to the fi
fire brokoout intheball-room, a spaciousand miantt
decorated apartment forming the entire wieu of
sion on the west side of the garden front. II w
believe, originally part of the historic linitlinz,
added about seventy or eighty years ag,,. 1,
perbly decorated, the elaborate wood
sive and richly gilt. The room was decorated A
of several thousands of pounds by Hugh,
Northumberland. His two successors to the
added nothing to the rich embellishment,,
informed that some workmen had beets
.]
the day in cleaning the gilt work, and it ii
fire which has led to the partial destruction of 1.,
ing must have originated from caridessues,
The fire seems to have commenced in the cent,
room, for when the flames broke forth the c,ntr,•
roof was the first part to give way, and at lint the
were comfinedto both ends of the room, the furtli,r,
end, the limit of the building, and the
~1
leading teat oorridor, which extends the whot.l,r,„,
of the building, from west to east. For a loog
was a scarcity of water, but when the firetneti oli „„,
supply they soon obtained mastery over the fire
nately the drawing-rooms, dining-room, mathie
sod upper suite of saloons, and the rilu
have escaped destruction. A superb N•vr,...
vase, about three feet high, valued
the gift of Charles X. of France to t!
Duke Hugh of Northumberland, who w,
extraordinary from the Court ot
at the coronation of that monarch, and 1. 17: • ,p, n
frescos from the antique which adorned the s _
course, been destroyed. It is very fortueah,
discovered so early, otherwise the entire
have been burnt down. All danger of a f0r!,,.,
of the fire was over shortly after one o', 6. Ic. •,.
time the ball-room, now destroyed, was thr,,m
ducal hospitality was when their Royal
Prince and Princess of Wales honoured tl,”
and his duchess Eleanor with their pO-ielic,
banquet and Fte about four years ago.