The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-24 00:00:00

T. BB POLICE OF PARIS.

We glsan a few extracts from an able article on
his important subject by M. Max Berthaud, which
has just appeared in the Revue Contemporaine.
We may premise that the authoradarits the princi-
ple followed in the departments, viz., that the
muni •ipal police should exclusively belong to the
Prefect of the Seine and the 12 mayors of Paris,
the political police alone remaining in the hands of
the Prefect of Police. This is, in fact, the great
point of contention between the two authorities ;
the Prefect of the Seine not only claiming the pre-
cedecc,, refused by his rival, but also the petite
voire, or lighting, sweeping, and watering of the
streets, and the clearing of the sewers, all of which
the Prefect of Police clairne as absolutely necessary
to his authority. Hi; functions, as detailed by M.
Berth and are, indeed immense. "He can republish
all the laws and regulations ; he has authority over
all that concerns the petite voire, though his deci-
sions may be appealed from to the Minister of the
Interior ; he has under his orders a commissary
whose duty it is to watch, permit, or forbid the
opening of shops, the establishment of permanent
awnings projecting over the footpaths, and
He
t o
superintend the conduct of itinerant vender
can order the demolition of houses threatening
re
tieterneaeetenime!
ruin ; superintends all the regulations g
the rain-wa'er conduits and pipes, the circulation
of hackney coaches, and the health of the city,
particularly during the prevalence of epidemics;
he can forbid the establishment of insalu-
brFous manufactories in the city, also of hospi-
tals and maisons de sante ; he can seize all diseased
meat or other provisions ; he takes all the mea-
sures requisite for extinguishing fires or preventing
them from spreading, and can in such cases press
all csrpeuters, slaters, and other workmen into his
service. Lastly, it is he who causes assistance to
be given to the wounded, and to those who
who have been rescued from a watery death." M.
Berthaud here mentions what has been considered
a just complaint against the manner in which the
police, since 1850, rids the city of its night-soil, by
turning it off into the Seine, instead of having it
carried away in night-carts. To this the author
replies that a method having been discovered in
1850 for disinfecting night-soil, M. earlier,the
then Prefect of Police, caused the methodh which
investigated by the Council of Public Heatthe,ew h
andfound it to answer perfectly. It
thwich infest the streets
itehsadt
iMmi.nCisahrileigerh,ycausedthiitr‘vdtoas
thebe put into
itshreaclitiocuel,yt'l
of the offensive night-carts
at a late hour.
is another question
Whetheraer large
o which
t sewerbe politichby
e r
turning
gt trans.
form the Seine into
it,has been taken into
twhheiedbi,sin3ffe.ctßedertmhaathetted.sayts,
administration. The con-
structionnwnhi
when
ng
finished,
parallel withwi
il
consideration
large by
already been commenced on both
the
Seine, o
night-soil to a point below Pat is, and thus
rtbtiusnsneewl'erur,
withinathe city pure. The author
sides of threiflireaievsr
ds to detail the various duties of the
p,oeee
t and the various stratagems he em-
p„lice-agen . •
thenelrvr ye thetl le
qs in the interminable war he wages with the
P'
fraternity of thieves and swindlers of every
descripti )n ; but, as our limits will not admit
of our entering into that subject, we will con-
clude with the following statistical details :---The
Prefect of Police has daily to provide fur the pave
ing, macadamising, sweeping, watering, and light-
ing of 1,474 streets, avenues, quays, and boule-
vards, forming a total length of 384,664 metres,
and presenting a surface of 5,500,000 square metres.
There are in the streets 13,000 gas-burners, which
are lighted in the course of about 20 minutes. The
length of the gas pipes is 485,000 metres ; that of
the water conduits 330,000 metro; ; and that of
the sewers 163,000. The city contains between
32,000 and 33,000 houses, of which 6,863 are lodg-
ing-houses—that is, itthebited by a population re-
quiring a special surveillance. About 137,000 per-
sons cirmlat daily in carriag's; the omnibuses alone
transport 25,000,000
last
per annum ; and yet
there only occurred last year 381 accidents) of w
only 24 proved fatal. Every year the population
of Pars consumes 80,000,000 kilogrammese col oi
970,000 hectolitres of wino, 240,000 ft
re
s meat,
e f
h
beer, and 78,000 hectolitres of boreandd y
quality and liqueurs.
t
The police has to verify the g
these provisions, and thereforekeeps of all
its eye upon
10,000 dealers in these articles."

Among tho boating and yachting features for next
week is the opening trip of the Boston Yacbt Club on
Thursday; aid the Oxford University Boat Club ch .1-
lerge nulls E re to be roAed f,r cn the foltolviDg day.