The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-04 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1863.

M. DE PERSIGNY'S withdrawal from his presen

position, we should imagine, might almost any day
now be looked for. His retention of the .Minis-
terial portfolio much longer is hardly practicable.
And this, for the very simple reason that the French
Imperial Minister of the Interior has virtually, nay,

practically, shown himself to be not only power••
less, but more than that, an object of ridicule. The

latter being a point that, when once reached by an

Administrator on the opposite side of the Channe

is fatal to him, and fatal summarily. That poin

has never once been attained by the reigning Save

reign of France. lie has been during these four•

teen 3 ears and a half of his power over France

the object certainly of the most violent passions

He has been regarded all this while, by friend

and by foe, alternately, often eimultane

ously, with terror and admiration, with

fear and respect, with suspicion and confidence,
but never with ridicule. Mr. KlNGLAKE—degrad-

ing his character, in so doing, at once as member o;

Parliament, as man of letters, and as gentleman—
has talked of the EmperorNAPOLEON 111., as looking

stupefied, as stammering like a craven, as turning

green In the face in moments of great danger,

and so forth.

The French have never once

whispered any such miserable and contemptible
mensonges as these. They know their ruler better
than does this spiteful burlesquer of history. They
have had him in the midst of them under their close

scrutiny now for very nearly five consecutive lustres.
—and they know for an absolute certainty that,

whatever else he may be charged with, he
cannot certainly be charged with that. Un-

like his predecessor upon the throne o

France, the Citizen King, with his gingham nm
brella and his pear-shaped head, the Emperor NA,
FOLEON 111. has never once, during these fourteen
years and a half of his power—nearly four years as
President, upwards of ten years as Emperor—his
MAJESTY has never once during all this interval
.been an object of ridicule to France, even to Paris,
has never orce rendered himself by his words bor by
his acts ridiculous, in the estimation of those quick-
witted, laughing satirists the Parisians.
Not so is it now with the Emperor's Minister of
the Interior. M. DE PERSIGNY is now flagrantly,
in the sight of all Europe, the laughing-stock
of every one of the Paris arrondissements.
Because of his absurd policy, in every one of
those arrondissements the Opposition candidate has
triumphed over the Government candidate. Be-
cause of his nothing less than impertinent dicta-
tion to the electors, :.hat they should do, how
they should act, whom they should select, in
/7 instance, in every separate constituency, the
majority of
attim those electors have decided upon
Ty
selecting, precisely the reverse ! M.
by the Minister
been the chief personage reprobated
diskiegoitZeZro of the Interior, among all the more
sition, M. Titui,
Ong tbese candidates of the Oppo-
ofn
.bt 1, tayttvi
oos,,ittf
the second armada's 13etlseell,oaslenineebty the electors
say, xsaerne
as matter et eonya ,as one might
didate, that is to say, No:. 11-18 opponent, the can-
fore that Constituency b°;" l'iviittad against him be-
yas the recognised candidate
-calel'iaten of the late-
Government, though a man the
highest merit in his the
.ssav
41 kind
tein-
man amongst the middle class of the ofP
the electors of that second arrondissement, a:tai;
supported very feebly indeed, or set aside resolutely
altegethcx. M. DEVINCK being this Government
candidate lot- the second arrondiFeement, and being
prev•onsJ— well known to all Paris as the great
chocolate manufacturc—having chocolate asso-
ciated as intimately with hi, name among
our neighbours, as amongst ourselves, here
in London, tea is associated with the name
of Mr. DAMN, of Number One St. Paul's
Churchyard ! What said the witty Parisians
in answer to M. DE PER.”GNY'S blllndering cir-
cular ? TI e snot deserves to be remembered—be-
yond the time of this contest betwecen those two
most conspicuous among the candidates of the Op-
position and of the Government. The bon mot be-
ing god in its way as to be almost a bon-

bon of w —" M.TilaßS'narre is stan3ped upon
History, M. Dz...vNicx's ly upcn chocolate,!" With
a iaug h, down went the chateau en Espagne, built UP