The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-02 00:00:00

BELGIUM.

BRUGES, April 2.

The Court of Assizes to-day passed sentence on
the pri,oners accused of incendiarism at St. Genois.
Vanderpute was sentenced to 12 years' hard labour,
Virginie Takkens to 15 years' imprisonment, Van
Overschelder to 10 years', and de Poorter to 5 years'
imprisonment.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(ntom OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT;)

PARIS, THURSDAY, April 1.

In the Corps L6gislatif we have had an interpellation
on the Belgian railway difficulty, and M. Rouher has given
us some remarkable information on this subject. It is
pretty clear that the Government will allow the question
to die a natural death, if possible. It resolved that there
should be a Belgian difficulty, and there was one; it has
had enough of it, and is now determined, apparently.
that there shall be no Belgian difficulty. At least
it is difficult to put any other interpretation
upon M. Rouher's speech of yesterday. He said that the
mixed commission was constituted in principle, but thatit
had not been organised. No exchange of communications
between the Governments of Paris and Brussels had
taken place since the official note was published. No pro-
gramme of the questions which the commission is to dia.
cuss has been drawn up. M. Rouher was as negative as
Mr. Watkin Edwards, your justly famous ex-official
assignee. He did not even know whether the question of
fares would be raised. In fact, he knew nothing. The
row about the Belgian railway has been going on for
weeks, despatches have been interchanged, Europe has
worked itself into a periodical ferment, an official intima-
tion of a settlement has been published, and yet, when the
Minister of State is questioned, he states that a mixed
commission has been agreed upon ; but of whom it will
consist, or what it will do, he cannot say. It looks very
much as if the Belgian embroglio had either answered WI
purpose, or the French Cabinet had come to the conclu-
sion that it never would, and must therefore be dropped.
Nobody, in fact, seems to trouble himself about the
Belgian, or any other foreign affair. The refreshing
novelty of France minding her cwn business may be wit-
nessed in this troublesome land for once. The elections
are now the one topic of interest. The attitude of both
parties shevvs how fully the great importance of the struggle
is appreciated. The authorities are doing all that can be
done. Some of them have turned literary hacks, and the
country will shortly be swamped with official publica-
tions, designed to convince the nation of the excellence
of the Government it has got, to show that the people
are getting all they can possibly need, and therefore ought
not to trouble the disinterested Administration by sending
up a shoal of venemous Opposition deputies. " A Letter
to an Elector," said to be the work of the Emperor him-
self, is now in the press. It is designed to prove
that the national confidence has been fully re-
paid, and that the Emperor, named at first
sovereign absolute, has realised gradually those re-
forms that seemed desirable. Another work of greater size
and importance is a sketch of the history and acts of the
reign of Napoleon 111., with statistical documents, shewing
the improvements of all kinds that have been accom-
-plished in France under the present rule. Of
course I do not expect that anything will be
said of the things which have been done that
ought not to have been done, or the things which
have been left undone that ought to have been done. But
these addresses to the electors are not all. The Emperor:o

recent speech to the Council of State has been sown broad'
cast through France. In all the towns, and especially the
manufacturing towns, the speech is posted up and die'
tributed to the cry of "Grande discours," "Superb('
discours," in favour of workmen. This speech, I hardly
need remind your readers, related to the abolition of the
workmen's books. The Government is distributing it in
every possible shape, in order to lessen Liberal influence
with the workmen. And though the workmen will doubt'
less be inclined to ask why this reform was effected just
before the election, yet the measure can hardly fail to have
some effect. But this canvassing and pamphlet-dissemi'
nating in the name of the sovereign grates strangely upon
English prejudice.

In the great work of propagation the Opposition ell'
dently struggle at a great disadvantage. They have not
the resources of the Budget, and so far they are not die
playing the same activity. Moreover, the Government
has secured the services of the non-political press, and for
some consideration these small journals consent to distri'
bute, inclosed within their twa leaves, the Emperor's
speech or any other documents that may be thought
necessary for the good of the people. This is an enornuniS
advantage.

Besides the Belgian question another very important
topic was brought before the Corps Ldgislatif yesterday'
M. Jerome David's interpellation relative to bribery and
corruption by money came on. There was a large attet"
dance, Marshal Canrobert and several State Councillors
being present. M. David believes in official candidature,
and hopes that the Government would never abandoo
them—they frustrate the Opposition so—but he does vet
believe in competition by money, and urged the Govern'
ment to repress it. M. Rouher then got up and
said that there was nothing to require any
extra severity, or any new measures. England
might be corrupted, but France was not. M. David with'
drew his interpellation, but M. Picard, Opposition deputio
carried on the discussion, though a question of his own,
and severely handled the Government. The debate vio
adjourned until to-day. I hear that the Minister of the
Interior has declared that the Government had no inters'
tion of abolishing official candidatures. Nobody expected it.
Another public meeting has come to grief. At the
Barribre d'ltalie, Madame Minck was telling of the
oppression which the people suffered during the middle
ages. The word " oppression " roused the commissairo
who put an end to the meeting.

The Naval receipt and expenditure account for the
past year has broil published. The net excess of expendl4'
tore beyond the grants is £330,194.

The West Suffolk Chamber of Agriculture held th
meeting at Bury St. Edmund's, on 'Wednesday. The following
resolution was unanimously agreed to :--‘, That till'
Chamber is of opinion that, without abandoning the prin'
eiple of lc eal self-government, the taxation for that PurP°s:
ought net to fall upon real property alone, but should 1)"
provided fairly from general source,."
Mr. Newdegate's return of the RIMS voted to, alla
borrowed for, the support of Maynooth College has it'll;
been issued. The amount paid from the Consolidated
',Fund between 1840 and 1851 for repairs and furnishing WAd
£30,000. It further appears that £18,700 was borrovie
by the trustees of the college out of the Public Works Lolls
Fund (Ireland) between 1861 and 1865. This sum is par;
able in 22 years from the date of the advances by an op°
rent-charge of £olos. per annum.