The Express.
London, England, 1861-03-06 00:00:00

XPRESS FROM PARIS.

(mos ous owe

PARIS, UZIDAT EVICRING.

It is really wonderful to see the rapid progress of
plain speaking, now that it has come into fashion.
It is commonly said that the propensity of French-
men is to go to extremes in everything. In 1848
" liberty" went a great deal too far, and the " autho-
rity" inaugurated in 1851 has been carried to such
an extent that even its author got frightened at the
consequences of his work, and on Nov. 24, 1860,
spontaneously and unexpectedly invited criticism
on his acts and those of his agents. After a slight
hesitation, caused by a doubt whether the imperial
word really meant "go" or "no go," the
nation has fairly taken a start, and it
is • most amusing thing to see how official
personages press forward lest they should be left
behind in the race. Law officers, who any time
these ten years have curried favour by prosecuting
the most petty misdemeanours of the press, now
write flaming articles in magazines in favour of
liberty, which they swear was always near to their
hearts. The Prince Napoleon delivers a speech
which might have been made by Victor Hugo in
1848. The Minister of Justice proclaims in the
Moniteur that all Mires' accomplices, if he have
any, shall be prosecuted without fear or favour,
and M. Procurour-General Dupin, following
up this idea in the Senate, lets his
new-born zeal for the liberty of the press
run away with him so far as to reproach
the Paris newspapers with a failure of their
duty, because they puffed Mires' undertakings,
which promised 10 or 11 per cent., but forgot to
warn the public that such high interest meant bad
security, and thereby encouraged a host of small
capitalists to " lend money to the seraglio which
the eunuchs will never pay." Now, although the
Senate laughed very heartily at this joke, it
was a very unfair one on the part of M. Dupin,
who, unless he be much worse informed than the
generality of the public, must know what is perfectly
notorious in Paris—that it was considered unsafe
for any newspaper to say a word against the Otto-
man Loan. The Opinion Nationale, alluding to
this notoriety, calls to mind that the loan in ques-
tion was puffed by the Moniteur, and that it (the
Opinion) therefore feared to criticise its prospect',
"lest we should be thought to interfere with some
great international interest to us unknown." This
anecdote strikingly shows the progress which virtue
is making in official circles.
It is rumoured that the Emperor is about to
make a military inspection in thejeastern depart-
ments, and that he may, perhaps, take the oppor-
tunity of paying a visit to the King of Prussia.
The rumour which I noticed on Friday last of a
note from Prince Metternich is contradicted by the
Patric, which attributes the origin of it to the
Cologne Gazette. I believe, however, that it was
concocted in Paris.

The Bourse was again heavy, with scarcely any
business doing. The Rents fell 10c. and 5c.,
closing at Mfr. 95c. for cash, and 68fr. for account
Mobilier fell 7fr. 50c. The Lyons Railway fell
6fr. 25c. ; Western, 3fr. 75c. ; and the other lines,
lfr. 25c. The Mires securities remain without
much change.