The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-16 00:00:00

arrived at Paris by the last packet from St.
Nizaire.

This is the third day of cold, wintry, unsettled
weather. Yesterday there was a great deal of rain.
To-day the weather was fine, but it was as cold as
January. The French astronomers always calcu-
late upon unsettled and unfavourable weather dur-
ing the Lune Rousse, or red moon. This year the
weather has been true to the traditicn, but its reign
was over yesterday ; and under the auspices of the
new moon of to-day the weather prophets calculate
we are upon the beautiful summer days, of which
we have already had several specimens.
The Moniteur says :—" The placing of the Prus-
sian army upon the war footing advances rapidly.
The Staff of the Field Posts and Military Caisses
are organised."
The vessels of the General Transatlantic Com-
pany, on the line from Havre and Brest, are so con-
structed that the company now undertakes that the
passage, twice a month to and from New York,
shall be effected in nine or ten days. These five
river steamers are the Napoleon 111., Le Pereine,
La Ville de Paris, and the Saint Laurent.

In the course of a discussion in the Senate upon
agriculture, M. Cornudet, on the part of the Go-
vernment, made sonic interesting remarks upon
free trade, and contended that the abolition of the
sliding scale was not the cause of the low prices of
which the agriculturists complain. There were
lower prices in 1834 and 1851. " The fact is lucid,
complete, and striking. It was the abundance of
production and not the new legislation which had
caused the decline of prices. Since 1861 the fare
of things had completely changed. Up to that
period France did not produce sufficient corn for
food. She was forced to import from foreign coun-
tries from 800,000 to a million hectolitres (the hec-
tolitre is 100 quarts). Since 1861, thanks to the
progress of agriculture, we produce more than we
want. I say thanks to the progress of agriculture,
for it is acknowledged that the quantity of land
where corn is cultivated has increased, and that the
produce of each acre has already been considerably
augmented. By this result France has become an
exporting country. Such is the information we de-
rive from the facts. At the coming inquiry all com-
plaints, all accounts of sufferings, will be heard, and
the Government will seek all means of ameliorating
the condition of the agriculturists. The problem
to be solved is to enable the growers of corn to ob-
tain a remunerative price, without injuring the con-
sumer. There were two modes : one was to in-
crease prices, and the other to decrease the ex-
penses."
The extensive demolition• necessary for the site
of the new Hospital or Hotel Dieu almost daily
lead to interesting historical revelations. A house
built on the Quai Napoleon, now in process of de-
molition, was on a portion of the spot where stood
the ancient church and priory of St. Denis de la
Chatre, demolished in 1781. The church contained
a crypt, where it is supposed Saint Denis was im-
prisoned. Over the door there was a bas-relief re-
presenting various eminent individuals. The bas-
relief dated from the time of Louis the Eleventh.
Near the same spot was the church of St. Sym-
phorren, afterwards called St. Luc, which was con-
structed under the auspices of Sully, Archbishop of
Paris. In 1704 it was given up to the community
of painters, sculptors, and engravers. By the side
of the church, pulled down in 1790, there was a
public school for drawing, which produced several
eminent artists. In the Rue de la Cite was the
celebrated wine shop of the Pomme de Pin, where,
according to Rabelais, the scholars of Lutoce (so
was Paris called in the time of the Romans) were
joyous in moderation.

Railway and other Companies.

RAILWAY BILLS.

In the House of Lords Committee yesterday the
Buckley (additional powers) Bill, to raise £30,000,
by shares, and £lO,OOO by loan, was passed. Th •
Mersey Docks and Harbour Bill was passed, with
one amendment. The Lancashire and Yorkshire
(West Riding branches) Bill wzs passed, with one
amendment. The Lancashire and Yorkshire (exten-
shire (Blackburn and Padiham), and the Avon
Valley Bills were passed, without amendments. The
New Milford Docks Bill, to raise £50,000 by shares
and £16,000 by loan, was adjourned.
In the Ways and Means Committee the following
bills were passed :-The Berks and Hants extension,
to raise £200,000 by shares and £66,600 by loan ;
the Severn Junction Bill, to make two branch rail-
ways and to lay down narrow gauge rails upon the
South Wales line, between Awre and the Forest of
Dean Central ; the Buckley Docks, &c. ; the Bray
and Enniskerry, to raise £36,000 by shares and
£12,000 by loan, to make three miles of railway
from Bray to Enniskerry; the Barry (alteration),
to raise £21,000 by shares, and £7,000 by loan ;
the Harborne Bill, to raise £90,000 by shares, and
£30,000 by loan ; the Great Eastern (additional
powers) Bill, to raise £86,000 by shares, and
£28,600 by loan ; the Shrewsbury and North Wales
and Shrewsbury and Potteries Junction Bill ; the
East London (Eastern Extension) to raise £600,000
by shares, and £200,000 by loan to make 64
miles of railway ; the Letterkenny and London-
derry and Lough Swilly Bill, to raise £50,000 by
shares, and £16,500 by lean ; the Esk Valley ; the
Metropolitan and St. John's-wood (capital) Bill, to
raise £200,000 by £66,000 by loan ; the Cheshire
Lines Bill, to authorise the Great Northern, the
Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, and the
Midland Companies to raise each sums of £40,000
by shares, and £13,300 by loan ; the Somerset and
Dorset Bill, to enable the company to subscribe
£20,000+0 the Bristol and North Somerset Railway,
and £50,000 to the Bridgewater Railway, also to
raise £300,000 by shares and £lOO,OOO by loan ;
and the Newport Pagnell Bill. In Group 1 the
preambles of the Great Eastern (Alexandra-park
branches) and the Muswell• hill Estate and Rail-
ways were proved. The preamble was also proved
in the case of the Tottenham and Hampstead Junc-
tion Bill. The North-Western and Charing-cross
Bill, being unopposed, was referred to the Chairman
of Committees. The Great Northern (Potter's-bar
and Hendon) Bill was passed. In Group 3 the
South-Eastern and London, Chatham, and Dover
(London, Lewes, and Brighton) Bill was again ad-
journed. In Group 10 the Manchester, Sheffield,
and Lincolnshire (central station and lines) Bill was
again adjourned. In Group 12 the East and West
Junction (Hitchin Extension Bill, was withdrawn.
The Bedford and Northampton Bill, to make 31
miles of railway, was referred to the Chairman of
Committees. The East and West Junction
(Southam Extension) was adjourned. The
Southam Bill, to raise £25,000 by shares and
£B,OOO by loan, was also adjourned. In Group
16, the Great Western Bill, to raise a
further sum of £1,220,353 by shares, making the
total share capital £33,000,000, and the borrowing
powers £11,000,000, was part heard and adjourned.
The preamble of the Bute Docks Bill (Cardiff) was
proved. The Cambrian (New Works) Bill was
referred to the Chairman of Committees. The
Bristol and North Somerset (Southern Extension)
Bill, to enable the Bristol and North Somerset, and
the Somerset and Dorset Railway Companies to
raise each £200,000 by shares and £65,000 by loan,
to make three railways- together, about 241 miles
of railway-was adjourned. In Group 19, the pre-
amble of the Caledonian (Greenock and Gourock
Extension) Bill, to raise £410,000 by shares and
£136,000 by loan, was proved. The North British
(Coatbridge, &c., Branches), to raise £140,000 by
shares and £46,600 by loan, was part heard and
adjourned.

Mr. Henry F. Beaumont has given notice 'that
he intends, in committee on the Redistribution of Seats
Bill, to move that a memb:r be allotted severally to Barns-
14y, Doncaster, and Rotherham, in the southern division of
the West Riding of Yorkshire.
RUSSIA.---The Goloss of St. Petersburg states
that the Municipal Council of that city recently
expressed to the Emperor its desire that the author of the
murderous attempt on his Msjests's life should be tried in
public, but the Imperial reply wss to the effect that his
Majesty did not see reason to accede to the request
made by the Municipal Council. The inquiry, therefore,
will still be conducted by Cieueral nouravieff, and without