The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-11-25 00:00:00

PARIS

[MIX OUR COIRESPONDRXT•I
PARIS. Nov. 21.

The Paris Journals have frequently made honourable
mention of M. Appert, jun. a young man, who has de-
voted the whole of his time, for several years, with the
greatest zeal, to the propagation of the system of n:utual in-
struction, and to the amelioration of prison discipline. He
is the anther of reveral well-written reports on these inter- !
csting subjects. His writings on the state of the prisons in
France, have been submitted to the Dauphin, as President
of the Society for the Improvement of Prisons ; and his !
Royal Wellness has (amassed his approbation of the zeal
and talents of the author, whom lie has taken under
his particular patronage. M. Appert being desirous of
going through the prisons iii Paris, in which it is well ;
known the most scandalous abuses exist of every kind, the !
Dauphin, on Friday week, gave him a letter to M. de
Corbiere, (Erecting him to give the necessary orders that;
M. Appert might be enabled to examine, freely, into the
' state of the different prisons. With this letter ref. Appert
went immediately to the Minister's Hotel. It is the es-
tablished etiquette, that when any person waits up.in a
Minister from the King, or any member of the Royal
Family, the Minister should advance to meet him as far
as the anti-chamber, but on this occasion, when M. Ap-
pert was announced as coming from the Dauphin, the
Minister, who detests M. Appert, as a friend of publ: in-
struction, not only dispensed with meeting him in the anti-
chamber, but suffer it him to remain there alone for three
hours and a half. After this long attendance (which alone
was certainly an insult to the Dauphin, as well as M. Ap-
pert), that gentleman was introducnl, and received with
the most hanghty coldness by M. de Corbiere, who, after
having read his Royal Highness's letter, replied, in a tone
of indignant authority, " I do not see the necessity for
your going over the prisons in Paris. The prisons are
under my direction, and I am sorry I cannot agree with
the views of the Dauphin." • It is easy to imagine the
surprise and anger felt by the Prince, when M. Appert
made him acquainted with the insolent answer of the Mi-
nister of the Intel ler. Ills Royal Highness instantly wrote
to M. de Corbiere the following laconic note—" The Dau-
phin will see M. de Corbie..e to-morrow at twelve." This
formula. according to the usage of the Court, is the same
es a positive command. The Miniver was, them fore, ob-
liged to obey it, but the hour fixed by the Prince was pre-
cisely that at which M. Ccrbiere was to transact busi-
ness with the King; the Dauphin, nevertheless, insisted
on being obeyed, and this was the reason why the Secre-
tary-Ganeral of the Minister of the Interior caudal his
portfolio to the King's Council Chamber, wife the Mi-
nister himself waited upon the Dauphin, with whtm lie
had a long canCrence. Tic: circumstance of a Minister's
portfolio being carried to Court while he remains in office,
is so unusual, that it gave rise, on the day following, to
the report that M. de Corbiere was at last dismissed from
the Miciatey.