The Express.
London, England, 1861-02-06 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(nor ova owa onnaronscr.)
PARIS, TuEaDAT EVIENII4O.

Count de Morny, in his speech to the Corps Legia-
latif to-day, which consisted for the most part of
technical exp!anations of certain new rules of prac-
tice in the house, quoted the following, as the words
actually used by the Emperor in the Council in
which he announced his intention of granting the
power to vote and address, and consequently to
enter upon a free discussion of the home and foreign
policy of his government :
I am told that what hurts my government is the absence
of publicity sod contra This it is which favours calumny
and engenders prejudice. Now I mean well, I have no other
than honest intentions in my heart, but I am liable to err,
and therefore I wish to know the opioiou of the country
speaking through its deputies after they shall have
examined my acts.

The Si&/e, by the pen of ite chief editor, M.
Havin, expresses entire satisfaction with the speech,
as far as regards foreign affairs. It doubts whether
the ultramontanists and royalists will derive much
comfort from the brief reference to Rome and
Gaeta :

The garrison of R.lllO was only augmented because the
safety of the Holy Father seemed to be in question—not a
word about the maintenance of the temporal power and the
government of cardinal.. As to Gaeta, the reason given for
the recall of the fleet is that its presence was found to be
inconsistent with the policy of neutrality and "gave rise to
misinterpretations." These words are most significant ; they
put an extinguisher upon the longings of certain pretenders,
and corroborate the declaration of non•intervention so well
made by the bead of the state.
_ _

M. Havin adopts the vulgar belief, very sedu-
lously inculcated, that France is " threatened" by
the King of Prussia, whom he is pleased to call
"the Elector of Brandebourg," and enthusiastically
hails as pointed at him the allusion in the speech
to forty millions of united Frenchmen who "will
calmly await direct provocation." The Siecle fur-
ther observes that Great Britain is the only foreign
nation named in the speech.
It was very much remarked that the one phrase
in the speech which was most particularly cheered
by the Senate and the Corps Legislatif, was that
in which the Emperor, alluding to Francis 11.,
spoke of " a royal misfortune nobly supported."
M. Havin says that this was a "pacific and re-
actionary manifestation " organised beforehand.
This view confirms what I told you when the depu-
ties were converging towards Paris a few days ago
—that the main feeling which they brought from
the departments was one adverse to war.
As to home affairs, K Havin says that, although
the speech does not say as much as be could wish
in favourof liberty, "he is too just not to admit that
a real progress is indicated."
The Please is pleased with the speech, A 8 of
course are the Constitutioanel, Pattie, and Pays.
In the lobbies of the Corps Legislatif the "re-
ticence "of the speech is considered its chief cha-
racteristic. Members, whether of the government
opposition or moderately independent sections of
the house, alike ask—What does the Emperor
really mean I And the general belief, as far as I
can collect it, is that the speech is meant to be a
collection of interrogatories upon various knotty
points of foreign politics, as to which the Emperor,
before deciding, would really be glad to know what
the members of his parliament, all unaccustomed
as they are to responsibility, can manage to say by
the light of their own unassisted understandings.
M. Havin's article, and the generally received
opinion that a passage in the speech points angrily
at the King of Prussia, lead me to notice some
very sensible remarks by M. Weiss in the Courtier
drs Dimanche, wherein he deprecates war, and, at
the same time, pointedly shows how easy it would
be for an unscrupulous government to get up a war
feeling by working upon the weak point of the
French people. He considers a war for "natural
frontiers " as the meet absurd war in which a
civilised people can engage. The phrase implies a
return to the most primitive times, when Abraham,
the shepherd, made war to get a river or a mountain
as the natural frontier to protect his pasture
grounds. But he then shows how prone the French
people are, from must generous motives, to be led
away by an empty phrase :
This expression, natural frontiers, joined to the vague
and indefinite word of nationalities, is the more dangerous
that it offers to governments the only plausible pretext for
plunging peoples into ambitious enterprises ; and because in
France more particularly it would be the only watchword
by means of which our country might be made to
mistake one of those wars of conquest which it dislikes
for oiled those wars of principle which It will never cease to
love. If you were to my openly to France, as has been
said in former times, " Let us set fire to Europe, in order
that we may have garrisons at Hamburg, or take Catalonia,
or establish ourselves in Italy," there would be one uni-
versal cry against such wickedness and folly. Not even
the national love of glory and the false point of honour
would sanction such a proceeding as this when broadly
stated. But only throw down to the mob the word
" Rhine," or " Alps," and they will serve as an excuse for
any aggression. . _

This French exposition of French misgivings is
worthy of attention at a moment when the Em.
peror expects confidence and commercial prosperity
to result from his bare promise that he will never
engage iu an " unjust" war.
The Bourse, which coldly received the Emperor's
speech yesterday, was affected by the considerable
fall in Consols this morning, and the Recto de-
clined 30c. for cash, and 15c. for account, closing
at 67fr. 80c. and 67fr. 85c. Mobilier fell 2f r. 50e.
The Northern Railway fell 3fr. ibc. There was
very little change in the other lines.
The brave Marshal Bosquet, who never recovered
from the serious wounds he received at the taking
of the Malakoff Tower, died at Pau yesterday, at
the early ago of 54. He was the youngest of the
French marshals. By his death a district com-
mand becomes vacant.

The Court of Cessation, overruling a judgment
of the police court of Chavanges (Aube), has
decided that the fete of the Immaculate Concep-
tion is not one of the legal fetes recognised by law
pursuant to the Concordat. The question was
raised at the expense of a tavern-keeper who had
kept his house open after usual hours, relying upon
a general lionise from the police for "fete days."

CITY Smelts CoMMlSaloe.—Yestertiay the Com-
missionen of Sewers sat at Guildhall ; Mr. Deputy Christie
I presiding. Dr. Letheby reported that the markets sod
slaughterhouses had been duly inspected in the course of
the week, and that the officers had seized6Aolbs., or nearly
two tons and three-cmarters of meat, as unfit for human
' food. Nearly all tins was meat in a state of disease. The
mortality returns for the week are still excessively high.
Last week the number of deaths to the City was 97, instead
of au average of 62-33, or nearly one-th isi, of the number
were among children of less than five years of ago, and 24
among old persons. There were 12 deaths from phtbisis,
10 from bronchitis, and only 4 from pneumonia. At a pre-
vious meeting of the court, the names of those parties who
had given information to the inspectors relative to diseased
meat which had been consigned to them only were men-
tioned, and a resolution was passed that the names of those
parties who had given uo information should also be made
known, and )estenlay rather a lengthy discussion took
place as to whether it should or should not be done, nod
the court ultimately evinced • determination to carry out
that resolution, RINI order* were accordingly given to the in-
spectors to that effect.
UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.—CAMBRIME, Fee.:.
—ln the senate house this day the Rev. Dr. Bakeon,
Master of St. John's College, was elected a member of the
council of the senate, in the room of the Rev. Dr. Phil-
pott, Master of St. Catherine's College, Bishop of Wor-
cester.