The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-25 00:00:00

,eor Moller while in the perforwance of his

Procurat
official duties.

The extenuating circumstances were declared to
apply in a less degree in the case of: Perry, wh°
was fined 100 thalers, or five weeks' imprisonment
in default.

The other three were fined 25 thalers each, 0
nine days' imprisonment in default.

M. DE 1110.1tNY AND THE ROMAN

BAIL WA YS.

PARIS, DEC. 24.
Speculators, stock-jobbers, and the commercial
public generally have been much taken up with
occurrences which took place towards the close of
the last week and the whole of this, and which
have brought the name of M. Mires, the contractor
for the Turkish loan, prominently forward. I have
refrained from alluding to the subject until noWf
from an unwillingness to meddle with the internal
affairs of a private firm so long as these affairs did
not come in some official or tangible form before the
public. As these matters will probably give rise
to some inquiry in the approaching session of the
Legislative Corps, and as they have been wade the
topic of frequent discussion in the Cabinet Councils,
and have assumed a Constitutional and legal
character, it is impossible to pass them over anY

longer in silence.
From the different versions that circulate it would
appear that M. Pontalba, who is a ell known in
Parisian society, had various transactions with M.
Mires in the Roman Railways, of which the latter
i 3 the director. Those transactions were very ea'
tersive, and no doubt promised to be highly advall'
tageous to all the parties concerned had they con'
tinned to act together throughout. A rupture,
however, took place, for what reason or on
what grounds I am not so accurately informed ;
but the consequence was that a claim was made
by M. Mires on M. Pontalba to the amount of
1,500,000 f. or 1,600,000 f., or between £60,000 and
£70,000, and an immediate settlement demanded.
The justice of the claim was disputed in whole or
in part, and M, Pontalba met it by certain charges;
which he drew up in due form, and placed in the
hands of the Procureur. A summons was issued to
M. Mires to appear before the Juge d'lnstruction•
The summons was complied with ; he appeared, but
declined to answer the questions put to him. The
affair having assumed a form other than a mereli
private transaction, an attempt was made to settle
the difference between the parties, and through, I
believe, the instrumentality of M. Periere, 311'
Mires eithergreatly reduced or withdrew altogether
his demand on M. Pontalba. The matter having
been formally brought before the law officers of the
Crown, it was judged that whatever settlement reef
have been come to between the parties, it should
not and could not be held to stay proceedings that
had already commenced with the Inge d'lnstroe'
tion. The affair was brought before the Council Of
Ministers on Saturday last, and discussed in pre'
Bence of the Emperor, who presided. Some of the
Ministers, and two or three legal authorities,
alleged that no authority could stop the regular
course of justice, and that a private arrangement
should not act as a bar. No Government in Frauee
hsd so interfered since Napoleon 1., who quashed
the decision of a Court in 1810, but the effect
on the public mind was such that even he never
ventured to repeat the usurpation. The Mini'
sters who took this view did not pretend to prejudge
the question, but they demanded that out of defer:
ence to any private influence the regular course e'
law should not be arrested. No decision was cote.
to on that occasion. The next day or the day after
a person deeply interested for one of the parties hen'
it is said, an audience of the Emperor, and let it be
understood that if matters were pushed to an es'
treme the party attacked would be compelled,
self-defence, to make public certain facts will°•
would show the participation in these and other
transactions of certain persons who fill very high
offices in the State.
The question whether the law officers of the Crown
should be ordered to desist from proceeding fait°
with the matter has twice or thrice been before th,
Cabinet during the present week, and among those
who demonstrated the illegality of staying pr4r
ceedings on the ground of private arrangemeoti
Messrs. Baroche, Delangle, and Rouher—the fire
President of the Council of State, with a seat in rho
Cabinet, the second Minister of Justice, and both
first-rate lawyers, and the last Minister of Public
,
Works—are said to be prominent. Another Cabinet
Council was held yesterday, but I am unable to
state whether any decision was come to. to
The person whose beneficent action is said -a
be felt in this as well as other matters of the kin
is M, de Morny. It is possible that his interventieo
in so many enterprises, great and small, which 10o0
out advantage to the projectors, is founded on tRo
best motives,—it may be, pure benevolenoe, an
desire to promote the happiness of mankind
general, and of the French people in partictil,hoef
but the fact is that there is hardly anything id
vast or two minute for his watchful care. It
like the trunk of the elephant, which can Pielc
pin from the ground or lift a cannon. No one je
e
prophet in his own country, and unfortunately, th
generation with which M. de Morny's lot is cast
not so deeply convinced as he himself and his 00910;
panions are of the sincerity of his benevolence,
of the immense advantage of his schemes to the
country or to the Imperial Government. If ,t
Emperor has any doubt on this subject (and 1"0,
difficult to suppose he has), he may ask his gin.l3
tars what their opinion is of the influence Willer.
the public is led to believe sweeps everything bef°r,
it. He may ask the senators what are the whieller,
ings in the Luxembourg, or the rumours and 01,11,0
murs heard in the committee-rooms, and on
benches under the President's chair, in the aill
chambers of the Palace, and in the very Couoe, la,
room where the Ministers meet to deliberafro
And let the Prefect be called upon to repeat !lb
is brought him by his agents of the remardo
current in the workshops of the faubourg.
will hear much of that one grasping influence whi
itor
beats down all others, before which everyone Ole
of the things which that influence is used to
mote, of the belief that the protection of one i$ iti,
dispensable to the success of every project or Flied
lation, great or small, legitimate or otherwise, lip
of the astonishment of the public how the EtnPer°
the
naturally strong mind seems to recoil before
man who carries almost everything before hirci;ife
Several members of the Senate and Legisle-
got
Corps are of opinion that such things should -;
any longer go on without an attempt to check Oleos
and that the authority of the Government and 's
Bad
public of the Sovereign ought not to be lowers ad
public estimation, even to satisfy M. de Moro,' "of
his coterie. They regard the decree of the e 24°1 a
olv
November as seriously meant, and they are re $ roe
to make the experiment. In virtue of that de,,et
they may in the debate on the Address tre°4o
topics connected not only with foreign but dolo"wl
11
yo
policy. Domestic policy is comprehensive ehilt
to embrace many objects ; and information the
probably be asked as to the manner in wilieboor
interests of the public, in an industrial and CO
cial point of view, have been cared for in 0° oot
recent transactions. The press will, of course:oes,
be prevented from commenting upon what P that,
I merely echo the general opinion in saying. soh
neither decrees, nor reforms, nor concessions.:,
have their due weight with fhe public, so I(ele7tlie
one fatal influence predominates. Even u° otill
Restoration, the Sovereign could oNverco me his °Loclo
or postpone his private feelings to tbe just deimors
tbo
.of his people. When the intrigues of these,
Royalist party—very different, after all, fort:4oo
now in question—disturbed the legitimate ac.,.,bert
Government, excited the hostility of the Chad sot
and scandalised the public, Louis XVIII. °Twos!
hesitate to remove his own brother, the 0031
d'Artois, from the command in chief of the Nal:Aug°
Guard on the requisition of his Minister, the
Decases.
iill
a
The commercial state of has v
ea from
proved within the last week. bee 9,
France
Letters recei nettro;
tfan
die provincial markets state that there haL
rnsmiiest falling off in the amount of busine e
acted. It is remarked, however, that tb4 las fete e
dealers are those who complain most. li“.,robe.
ifficial Custom returns confirm thiS unfavotie•
•tatement. The falling off in the Customs ear,
during the 11 months of the present s;oticP
compared with the two preceding years,
greater than was anticipated.