The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-04 00:00:00

FRANCE.

BourbsE, May 3.—Three;o'clock—The markc
closed as follows :
q per Cent.
End of month... It&F.an Fiveg 56 70
3 per Cent
End of mouth 7 03 Itexican Loan ... 25 50
Crodit.Mobilier

End of month... 2GO
rodit Foncier —.1557 50

Spanish Threes —
119tno Debt
Deferred

End of month...

20 75

RAILWAYS.

Orleans
Northern ... 915
Lyons and Moditerrauean
980
Southern.—
Cl 5
Western

675

Eastern ......
Sardinian
Austrian
Lombard
North of Spain

50}
70,#
9931
af
69f
5.5 f

Saragossa
Homan

CORRESFONDEI\ CE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

MONDAY.
The Belgian dimeul y has at length been settled, or
rather:the preliminaries of settlement have been arranged.
The French Government withdraws its demand for the
ratification of the leases, and the Belgian Government
undertakes to provide a thoroughly efficient system of
international traffic. Trains arc to be run through France
to Belgium in charge of French officials the whole of the
way, fares are to be lowered, &c. A commission of six is
to be appointed to arrange the details. This is a clear
victory for Belgium, for the French Government has
shifted its ground, and given up the leases by which
it set so much store. But in some quarters
it is said that the Belgians are much dissatisfied with the
arrangement, and the Pots, in its blustering style, de.
dared that the Brugsels Senate would not ratify the
treaty. But the Pat,* informs us that no treaty has been
signed, but only a protocol, which will not require
the ratification of the Senate. The Belgians seem
to have thought that the negotiations ought to have
been broken off without making any concessions what-

ever. Put it is dangerous dealing in this way with a
powerful neighbour like France. Assuredly M. Fr2•re-
Orban has managed the matter well, and has in no way
compromised the honour of his country.
There is nothing particularly new to report respecting
the elections, save abundance of rot very trustworthy
speculation as to the result. M. Thiers, who is a candi-
date both for Paris and Marseilles, is vehemently opposed
by the Government at both places. At Marseilles, as I
have said before, M. de Lesseps, of Suez Canal fame,
will stand in the interest of the Government, though not
precisely as an official candidate. Ile will prove a formidable
opponent. At Paris M. Thiers will be combatted by M.
Devinck, a highly respectable mediocrity, who at first
declined to oppose the great orator. It seems, however,
that the authorities have persuaded him. The defection
of the Constitutionnel is still the topic of the day, but
nobody seems to know the exact motive which has led to
this important going over to the enemy. One thing is
certain. It is not a design of the Government to secure
votes for moderate men against the ultras. That the
desertion has caused the greatest irritation in administra-
tive spheres is attested by the most conclusive evidence.
The cashier epidemic has taken rather a remarkable
turn. The cashier of the Convent of Prdmontres, esta-
blished near Vilvorde, in Belgium, has absconded with all
the funds belonging to the institution. It is not stated
what the sum is, but, notw:thstanding the poverty of con-
vents, the affair is so serious that the Pope's Nuncio has
gone to investigate it on the spot.
There is yet another case of the epidemic. M. T-,
agent d'affaires, receiver of rents, and steward to several
considerable properties, has vanished with more than a
million of francs. The Duc de B-, the hero of the
famous bonbon story, is the principal sufferer. Ho loses
many thousand pounds.

Another and still more serious crime is becoming alarm-
ingly frequent, at least in France. Scarcely a week
passes without the discovery of some wretched woman
who is in the habit of gaining her livelihood by the viola-
tion of the most sacred duty of her sex. A little while ago
a case was tried in which the principal offender was a
woman who regularly practised the arts of child murder
and abortion. No less than six instances of one or the
other offence were brought forward at the trial. When
the woman was sentenced, she bad the impudence to inform
the court that " they did not know all." This week a mid-
wife, named Garet, has been tried in the Drome department
for procuring abortion in the case of two young women.
She pleaded not guilty, and conviction was secured only
by one of her victims turning evidence. She was sen-
tenced to five years' imprisonment. Cases of ordinary
murder cannot be foreseen or guarded against, but this
traffic in child-murder and abortion, which is clearly very
common in the South of France, ought to be provided for.
Salutary examples, at least, might be made of those
offenders who are discovered. Hitherto comparatively
light sentences have been inflicted.

The velocipede is clearly destined to accomplish a social
revolution. Notwithstanding Mr. Lowe's playful satire
in his Budget speech, the Frerch and Americans
seem determined to supplant the horse by these
machines, and even the tradition-loving Spaniard
has not escaped the influence of the mania. We
are now informed that the velocipedes are to take the
place of horses at the Madrid bull-fights ! No doubt they
will be successful in a certain sense. A charge on a.
velocipede is well calculated to paralyse any bull, though
if the animals do manage to get over the novelty of the
thing, the consequences may be awkward for the 6rl,:er
But how will the Spanish spectators regard thiP 66 der,r-t,
.
dation" of their national pastime ?

The weather here is remarkably hot for the season.
Thunderstorms are very frequent an'', destructive, remind-
ing one of the electric visitatirns of last autumn. At
Creuilly, near Caen, durinr:, a violent storm, a woman
was struck dead, and a man and a young girl
seriously injured. At Amblie the electric fluid fell on the
church, and demolished the steeple and part of the roof.
In the commune of Cre-4eroms the lightning struck simul-
taneously a man nam....d Lauzen t and his wife and daughter,
all at work in the 'lime woman was killed on the
spA, the girl was severely wounded in the legs, and
Laurent himself now lies in the last extremity.

The trowel us•,(l by Miss Coutts in the ceremony,
and which is th, manufacture of J. W. Benson, 25, Old
Bond-street, bP.ars the following inscription : —" Presented
to Miss A,rgel.t Georgina Burdett Coutts, Patroness
of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, upon her laying the foundation stono of the in-
stitution building, 105, Jermyn-street, ?witty 4th, 18G9."

k (,e y•-oration ut gold at l'aris is about at par, and
short exchange on Loudon is 251. 170. pc: L 1 sterling.
onesnaparing these rates with the English. Ain!: price of
./6. 104 d. per ounce tor standard gold, it sive:. t•:,4t
gold at the above price is of abut the emus v%lue in. Lou,
uou'and Paris.

-4. 2-17.jr .
TALLENT
3-
PA rA
P 'l'4". I.Fr -
-LILENT

HOUSE 0 LORDS—THIS EVENING.
The LORD CHAxcu.Lon took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

There Lordships were engaged the whole of the early
put of the evening in discus,in3 the merits of the Sea
Birds Preservation Bill, which eventually passed through
committee, with a few unimportant amendments.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—Tins EVENING.
The SPLAXER took the chair at twj o'clock.
THE RIOT AT DERRY.
Mr. 0. FORTESCUE, in answer to Mr. Johnson, said
he must, be excused Loin giving any answer as to what,
6t3ps the Government intended to adopt with respect to
the firing of the constabulary on the people on the ccca-
sion of the visit of Lis Royal Highness Prince Arthur to
Loudonferry.