The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-31 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, TUESDAY EVENING.
The Moniteur states that the health of Prince
Jerome is daily improving, and that the Empress
visited him on Monday, at half-past five.
The Ministerial paper, Le Pays, contains an
article on the system of recruiting in England, of
which the writer evidently thinks very lightly in
comparison with the conscription in France ; and
in this respect, as no doubt in others, England is
shown to be behindhand at least one hundred years.
The opinion of M. Bizouard, the author of the
article, on the excellence of the conscription is not
that of a still higher authority—an authority, in-
deed, so exalted that M. Bizouard will not hesitate
any more than M. Henri Canvain on the passport
system, to bow to it in mute acquiescence.
The Emperor Napoleon 111. says :--
"We see on the one hand that all the recent or-
ganisations (in France) which have equality for their
basis obstruct, to a certain degree, liberty. Thus,
for instance, the conscription, which is an institu-
tion of the most democratic kind, as it subjects all
citizens to the same charge, injures in a high degree
personal liberty, inasmuch as it prevents a man
from following the profession to which he desires to
devote himself, and it forces him to sacrifice to the
trade of arms the finest years of his youth."

This sentence, too, M. Bizouard arid his confreres
of the French press ought to study :—" Every
citizen of a commonwealth ought to desire to be
free ; and," exclaims the august writer, " liberty is
indeed a vain word if one canuQt freely express
one's opinions in writing."—CEuvres de Napoleon
111., vol. 2, edit. 1855.
A privittc letter from Switzerland announces
that the Cantonal Council of Basle, as also that of
Neuchatel, refuses to receive the new Consuls, and
that the Federal Council of Berne has charged Dr.
Kern to make known to the French Groverunem
the feelings of reprobation which the new measures
relative to passports have produced among the
public. Indeed, se great is the excitement, that it
is thought it will be almost impossible to carry
them out.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs is said to have
addressed to his agents abroad a circular relative
to the question of passports, modifying in a certain
degree the measures originally adopted.
BOURSE, March 30.—The following were the
closing quotations :

4. per Cents 92 95
Do. end month 93 5
3 per Cent. ..... 70
Do. end month 7O 5
Bank Shares . . 3150
Credit Mobilier 805
Do. Account BO5 -
RAIL'
Orleans
Northern
New Ditto 790
Lyon and Mediteran. 845 '
New Ditto BOO
Geneva

Credit Foncier
Belgian .4
Piedmontese (5) 9O
Roman B9
Austrian
Spanish Threes
Home Debt —

Midi
Western 660
Strasburg
Grand Central
Sardinian
Austrian

RUSSIA.

It is stated that Prince Gortschakoff is about to
resign the post of governor of Poland, but is to re-
tain the command of the army in that country.
Nothing is yet decided as to who is to be his suc-
cessor, but the Grand Duke Michael, and, after him
Princes Souwaroff and Barjatinski are mentioned.
A letter frem St. Petersburg of the 21st says :--
"To facilitate the emancipation of the peasants the
Emperor has ordered that officers on active service
who are proprietors of serfs shall, if they desire it,
receive leave of absence to attend the deliberations
of the nobles on the question, or to form part of the
commissions elected for that purpose. The leave is
to be for two months, and it cannot be refused by
their chiefs except for peculiar reasons which must
be stated. Officers obtaining it are only to be re-
placed provisionally, and their absence is not in
any respect to affect their right to a pension, nor
is it to reduce the pay, except they be nominated
members of the commission.