The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-09 00:00:00

wait, and we hope that Lord STANLEY has already
adopted the only safe and ready means for its solu-

Yesterday afternoon was held, under the presi-

dency of the Lord Mayor, a Reform meeting in the
City—one of the last, we may presume, that will
for the present be found necessary or desirable.
The proceedings were very brief, inasmuch as the
time was limited owing to the necessity of present-
ing the petition agreed upon to the House of
Commons that very afternoon. The object
of the petitioners was to obtain the rejec-
tion of the Lords' amendments against which the
speakers argued with much energy. The increase
of the copyhold and leasehold qualifications from
£5 to £lO, the use of voting papers the loss of one
vote to the electors of the City, or, as the petitioners

termed it, their " partial disfranchisement," and the
requirement of the payment of a county or borough
rate in addition to the poor rate were all dwelt
upon. As we have seen, the House of Commons,
with one exception, adopted the desired views, and
reduced the bill to very much the same position as
formerly. The citizens of London have less reason to
complain of the reduction of their voting powers than
the members of other constituencies, seeing that
three votes is by no means an unreasonable allow-
ance. The terms of the petitioners were ingeni-
ously vague. They do not altogether disapprove of
the principle of representing minorities, but say
that the mode by which that object is proposed to
be effected by the Upper House " affords oppor-
tunity for the practice of abuses, for the evils of
which any supposed advantages in the principle
itself would yield inadequate compensa-

tion." This is not a very lucid objection.
The fear that the Peers hope to replace
the influence they lose in nomination boroughs and
nomination minorities is surely a groundless one in
the City of London. The voting papers were
objected to on the grounds that they would facilitate
corrupt practices and the exercise of undue in-
fluence. All this, however, is mere matter of con-
jecture, and since there are many solid arguments
in favour of the adoption of voting papers, it would
surely be wise to make the experiment in a few
boroughs or counties. Experience would soon show
whether the objections raised to them were
valid or no, while there is no question that the
adoption of a different mode of voting would be
the first step towards the Ballot. Very probably
it is the conviction of this that excites so strenuous
an opposition to the papers. One thing is certain
our present mode of conducting our elections is
eminently unsatisfactory, but there are always a
host of objectors to exclaim against the adoption
of any new course, so that we have not much
chance of seeing a change for the better.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

----- ,P.--

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Thursday Evening.
The evening Moniteur, in its weekly review of
foreign events, says :
" A few days before the departure of the Em-
peror of Russia from St. Petersburg for the Crimea,
to meet the Empress, he signed an ukase relative to
the reorganisation of the newly-annexed provinces
of Turkistan. The two administrations, civil and
military, are declared to be conjoined under the
authority of a Governor-General. The natives
fill a good many offices, and the customs of the
country are scrupulously respected. The Govern-
ment of the Emperor Alexander has obtained an
important success by extending its influence over
those countries which, in the vicinity of Persia, the
Indies and China, occupy in the heart of Asia, as
it were, such an important geographical position
under the double rank of politics and commerce.
" The elections for the Confederate Parliament
have commenced throughout the whole of Northern
Germany. The scrutiny will commence towards
the end of this month. The absence of any pay-
ment for the deputies has rendered candidates
less numerous. The Prussian Government has sus-
pended the measure which it proposed in regard to
the treasure of the ancient electorate of Hesse.
Instead of adding to the Prussian Treasury the
reserves successively accumulated by the sovereigns
of that country, it is proposed to apply them to
objects of local interest.

The Sultan left Vienna on the 31st of July to
hnsgr a
tt h interruption of embark in the Danube on his return to his States.
committees
chargedof the
with
labours of theDit
euirei
h, e
the
exami-
nation of the laws presented during the -session
pursue their task with activity. The Confessional
Committee is occupied with propositions having for
object to give matrimonial jurisdiction to the civil
tribunals, to emancipate public instruction from
ecclesiastical authority, to regulate the relations
between various religious communities,
,and to
decree the equality of the confessions before the
law. The Chamber of Deputies has already
accepted these propositions in principle, but it ap-
pears doubtful whether the House of Lords will
ratify them.
"In Italy the agitation which extreme parties
endeavoured to foment appears to have been com-
pletely dispelled by the public good sense. The
note published in the Moniteur, on the subject of the
journey of General Dumont to Rome, has replaced
things in their proper light and put an end to all
equivocation or misunderstanding. The Govern-
ment of King Victor Emmanuel, like that of the
Emperor, exhibits the firm intention to scrupulously
respect the Convention of the 15th of September,
which is at once the safeguard of the Pontifical
territory, and the pledge of the amicable relations
existing between France and Italy. The Chamber
of Deputies held it last sitting on the Ist 'of August ;
it will not meet again till November. It is believed
that the Senate will agree to the law for the liquida-
tion of ecclesiastical property without difficulty."
The packet which has arrived at St. Nazaire from
Vera Cruz has brought a despatch from M. Dano,
dated July 8, to the Government, and anterior tc
the telegram recently published in the Moniteur.
Juarez had not yet arrived at Mexico, where, how-
ever, be was expected without delay ; and Parfirio
Diaz, who continued to hold the command, seemed
personally disposed to exhibit moderation. General
Vidaurri, who was arrested in consequence of a
denunciation made on the morning of the 7th, was
shot on the same day in one of the principal squares
of the city.
The school vessel, the Jean Bart, has arrived at
Brest. The health of all on board is excellent.
Prince Napoleon and the Princess Marie Clotilde
have left Paris to take the waters in the Pyrenees,
where they will remain for the season.
The Siecle, in discussing the nationality of
Schleswig, says :
" What could have been more easy and more ad-
vantageous for victorious Prussia than to have ful-
filled the treaty of Prague, as regards Schleswig
By executing it faithfully there would have been
extenuation for greater violence on her part.
As Andrieux says—
" A windmill is respected ; a
province is robbed." The windmill for Prussia
consisted of the rights of that courageous little
population of Danish Schleswig, who resisted and
who still resist their invaders with such heroism.
If it be true that homage is due to courage in mis-
fortune, no nationality ought to be more respected
than that Danish nationality, so attached, so de-
cided, and which now prefers dispossession andr
exile to submission to Prussian Germanism. IN e
had occasion lately to see in Paris a certain number
of persons of various classes belonging either to
Denmark or to the provinces in question. It is
impossible to imagine a population better beloved,
better instructed, or more sympathetic, or who
merit less the misfortune which has occurred to
them. Some statistics relative to the elections ex-
plain why Prussia does not proceed to the vote
respecting the cession of Schleswig in pursuance of
the treaty of Prague. She knows that the inhabi-