The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-09 00:00:00

THE FRENCH

EMPIRE.

It is calculated that in the course of the night
_not less than 5,000 persons were present at the
ball given to the Emperor and Empress on llonday
night. Every Member of the Senate was in suc-
cession presented to their Majesties Prince Jerome
Napoleon, Prince Napoleon, and the Princess
Mathilde took their places near their Majesties.
Prince Lucien Bonaparte and the Princess Came-
rata were also present, as were the Diplomatic
Corps, the Ministers, all the senators, a great
number of the Leg,islative Body and of the Council
of State the Prefect of the Seine, the Prefect of
Police, and all the most remarkable men of the
army, of the different administrations, of litera-
ture
and
of the arts. The inemb:rs of the Diplo-
maticßoly we • the object of the gracious at-
tention of their Majesties. The Empress was
dressed in white satin, trimmed with fringed
ribbons. She wore a magnificent pearl neck-
lace, and had violets in her hair. The eagerness of
the ladies to behold her was extraordinary, and
amidst so many women remarkable for beauty she
undoubtedly shone forth pre-eminently. She
seemed in excellent spirits, and her cheek, in place
of being pale, as was observed at the ceremony of
her marriage at Notre Dame, had the clear bright
colour of perfect health. In a few minutes after
the entrance of the Imperial pair, the Emperor de-
scended from the estrade to open the ball. It was
not without difficulty that sufficient space could be
Era c ured to allow the quadrille to be formed. The
4mperor danced with Madame Troplong, the Ern-
d A
p,resasgy
del,ancing with Count Regnaud de St. Jean
vice-president of the Senate. Their Ma-
jaesndties then went arm in arm through the rooms,
at
half-past eleven proceeded to the Imperial
suPper-room, where their Majesties presided at a
table set out for two hundred ladies, all ad-
rai„tted by special tickets. , During the night,
Other ladies were likewise admitted to sup in
thes reona, other supper-rooms being disposed on
ground floor for the guests not so specially fa-
ther.,V. At nearly half-past twelve the Emperor and
4'lllPress withdrew, and soon after a consider-
_ Tehlee portion of the guests followed their example.
peat majority, however, remained later, and
dancing was kept up with great spirit, to the sound
of Strauss's enlivening band until five in the morn-
Amongst the uniforms present that of a colonelof the
Nizam's irregular cavalry was much remarked
for its richness. A tolerable sprinkling of English
uniforms were present, but they chiefly belonged
to the militia. So admirable were the arrange-
'tents that though upwards of 2,000 carriages drove
up to the building during the night, we have not
heard of any accident occurring.
The Moniteur publishes a long report from the
Minister of Finance to the Emperor on the
financial state of the country, from which we
make the following extracts :—" It now only
remains for me to point out the provisions
to which the year 1853 may give rise. The
law of July 8, 1852, established the budget of 1853,
With a provisional deficit of 34 millions of francs.
Since that period supplementary credits have been
opened ; they amount to 18-i millions of francs,
which brings up the actual deficit to 52 millions
of francs. The Senatus Consultum of December
last made important modifications in the vote and
regulation of the budget. Henceforward the
budget will be voted by ministries, the division
into chapters will be made by imperial decrees, and
when so made, removals from one chapter to the
other may be so ordered by decree. This regime
will be applied to the budget of 1853. In adopting
this system, the authors of the constitution were
inspired by the idea that it belongs to the country
by its deputies to annually fix the sum which it will
place at the disposal of the Chief of the State to go-
vern anddefend it, and that this sum once decided on
it is for the Chief of the State to regulate the employ-
ment of it according to the wants and the interests of
the country. Your Majestythought that this system,
while giving to the Government the liberty and the
independence of which it stood in need, would se-
cure to the country as great a guarantee of economy
as it had when the representatives were called on
to regulate the slightest details of the administra-
tive services. This object, sire, will be attained,
but on condition that, except in extraordinary
and exceptional cases, the supplementary credit
ehall disappear. The power of transferring from
one chapter to another will do away with al-
most all the annulments of credits ' • it is neces-
sary that on the other hand it should suppress
almost the whole of the supplementary credits. If
this be the case, the budget of 1853 may acquire
an equilibrium, for the deficit of 52i millions
which it now shows will be in a great measure
done away with by the increase in the receipts.
In fact, the budget of 1853 having been made
at the commencement of 1852, the indirect reve-
nues were only estimated for 1853 at 8031 mil-
lions—that is to say, at 6 millions less than they
produced in 1852. No one can doubt but that
they will produce more, and that they will go on
increasing with the improvement of business and
the development of public prosperity. The year
1852 produced 66 millions more than 1851. I
dare not reckon for 1853 on such an increase, but
it is permitted to hope for a very considerable one.
The month of January is already known, and it
exceeds b 8,500,000 f., the amount of the month of
January, 1852. If this proportion be maintained,
it will give for 1853 an increase much superior to
that of 1852 ; but it is necessary to say that the
month of January, 1852, was not a favourable
one, and that the increase only dates from
February. Neverthless, with such increase of re-
ceipts, we may, without excess of confidence, hope in
1853 for the equilibrium of the budget." The report
gives a detailed and elaborate review of the various
fiscal operations of France for a series of years past,
and concludes thus :—" France will be happy to
learn—thanks to the development of the public re-
sources and the increase of the revenue resulting
therefrom—thanks also to the economy which, by
obeying your orders, your Government carry out
in all branches and in all state expenses, notwith-
standing the great things which have to be accom-
plished and the groat public works to be executed—
that the people will have no new burdens to suffer
and no new imposts to dread."
The Constitutionnel, alluding to the recent ar-
rests, says :—" A certain number of arrests, pre-
ceded by domiciliary visits and seizures of papers,
have just been made. Plots and conspiracies have
been talked of ; and it has been sought to spread
alarm by exaggerating either the number of the
persons arrested or the gravity of the causes which
.led to this measure. The question is of proceed-
ings rendered necessary by a sort of organisation
of correspondence, the character and object of
Which is to spread in foreign countries false news
on the state of France, and to bring its Govern-
tient into disrepute in the eyes of Europe. Thie
inumber of arrests has been sixteen, and all have
°een placed in the hands of justice." The Debats
states the arrests to have been much more nu-
numerous. It says :—" On Sunday morning, at
tlx o'clock, General Viscount de St. Priest, M.
fßune de Rovigo, M. de la Pierre, Count de Mira-
baud, M. de Coetlogon, and forty other persons,
amongst whom are several Germans and Italians,
were arrested at their respective residences, and,
after an examination of their papers, taken to the
,Prison Mazas. In the course of the evening, Ge-
'era). de St. Priest, M. Rene de Rovigo, Count do
Mir
abaud, and three or four other persons were
restored to liberty." The Assembles Nationale
ft's :"'"" A search was made amongst the papers
General Count de St. Priest, and he was lodged
in the prison Mazas. Towards six in the evening
Was set at liberty, with the declaration that ho
nzld been mistaken for another. In the meantime
„rehis papers had been turned topsy-turvy, andi
a„o- with the greatest care. We do not know ex-
:culY either the number or the names of all the
Names
arrested • we shall merely mention the
:nes of MM. de Rovigo, de Coetlogon, de Ville-
essant, de La Pierre, Virmaitre, Tanski, Pages, and
d4_TPort. The motive of these arrests, all political
,Itrout doubt, and which appear to appertain to
I• same cause is not known. It cannot enter
nt° ' '
b„,
ideas to discuss what we are ignorant of ;
"t, n the interest of the Government itself, it is
ZumiPc,rtant that public opinion should be promptly
gntened as to the cause of these arrests, so rne nu-
oreils and so unexpected." The Journal de
re,u says :—" Yesterday, at Paris, there was a
Fort that two gentlemen connected with a litho-
igraPhie
ii;he
drecorrespondenced, which is, however, ad-
Which epartments only to the journals
are the most devoted to the principle of
autherit
tneritieneYa had been arrested. M. Vergniaud was
as being one of these two gentlemen."
The number of arrests is variously stated. The
141r2e declares that only 16 persons have been con-
Nb'oeYr edato ytaris, while other journals give the num-
mtde hy. Numerous arrests have also been
e, rid other parts of the country,
rn
Several coffee-hroge .
°f
Persons charged with singing
'Publicans seditious songs.
and
soin the departments, where the
been closed by Socialists have assembled, have
order of the authorities.
R NbudaY, a
ue du Tem l _ Yoh woman, residing in the
of the house,pe, threw rself from the fifth
dashedtot of despair, and was literal
Ina fistoryy
Pieces ; not a whole ne was left in the
*unfortunate creature's body.
:Yesterday being Sh
was at its umber - rove-Tuesday, the Carnival
nent and the Boulevatvcimarrs:
Pletely
speetatoa all day with
bee,if
ors, and the principalsspedroactession of the
The festivitie
noon yester-
daY, aud t, d
to.he -ay the telegraph re zesents all .Paris
penitential mood.l The streets are
deserted in y
u). but the hunches are thronged. Thd