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

LONDON, THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1863.

M. DE PERSIGNY'S withdrawal from his present

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 en

Administrator on the opposite side of the Channel,
is fatal to hire, and fatal summarily. That point

has never once been attained by the reigning Sove

reign of France. He has been during these four.

teen years 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 sircultane.

ously, with terror and admiration, with

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

ing his character, in so doing, at once as member of
Parliament, as man of letters, and as gentleman—

has talked of theEmperorNAPoLEoN 111.,as looking

stupefied, as stammering like a craven, as turning

green zn 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 bad 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 of

France, the Citizen King, with his gingham um-
brella and his pear-shaped head, the Emperor NA•
FOLEON 111, has never once, during these fourteen
years rnd 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 once rendered himself by his words or 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, what they should do, how
they Should act, whom they should select, in
tvET/ instance, in
majority
of
separate constituency, the
those electors have decided upon
doing, tetit'
g, selecting,
T lIIERS precisely the reverse ! 31.
having been the chief personage reprobated
by the
WEBS
aeon °T the among all the more
sition, M. 'l' g these
candidates
MS lac of the Opp°,

been chosen by the electors
of the [second arrondissements, almost, as one might
say, as a matter of course. g
xi

in.t.7l,onent, the can-
didate, that is to say, who „es
fore that constituency by the Pitted against him be_
rior as the r' cognised candindatisentsrtion":l°: the late.
Government, though a ma. -enalt
ll °f the
highest merit in his way, aL. a - the
Lund of
man amongst the middle class of the p:i:itEtt:ii:ttE
the electors of that Fecond arrondissement,
supported very feebly indeed, or set aside resolutely
altogettic:r. Vii. DEVINCK being this Government
candidate for the second arrondissement, and being
previously well known to all Paris ns the great
chocolate manufacture—having chocolate asso-
ciated as intimately with his name among
our neighbours, as amongst ourselves, here
in London, tea is associated with the name
of Mr. DARIN, of Number One St. Paul's
Churchyard ! What said the witty Parisians
in answer to M. DE PERSTGN Y'S blundering cir-
cular" Tt e tnot deserves to be remembered—be-
yond the time of this contest betweien those two
most conspicuous among the candidates of the op-
T.o,itim and of the Government. The bon mot be-
ing thi.a—r
00 good in its way as to be almost a bon-
lon°twittiel4m,‘—"l.l.THlEßs'nanaei
stamp) d upon
a laugh, down ,B__C. 'ut th,..So.alyupcm chocolate,!" With
c chateau en L'spagne, built up