The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-17 00:00:00

FRENCH ENIGMAS.

The Emperor Napoleon has been favoured by
fortune in a manner almost without parallel in his-
tory. He has achieved glory of many kinds ;he
was elected under most adverse circumstances to the
Presidency of the French Republic ; he succeeded
beyond the expectations of his most devoted ad-
herents in the coup d'etat. He was elected by a
large majority President for 10 years ; he was ele-
vated to the purple by 7,500,000 voters ; he became
the ally of England; he received the visit of
England's Queen ; his gallant army won
new laurels in the Crimea, and blended his name
with victory; but there still remains a glory to which
none has approached—he has dethroned the
Sphynx ! When I say this, I take it for granted
that the articles which are of late so frequent in
the Moniteur are of his Majesty's inspiration—if
not actual composition—that the theme is his,
though the arrangement of the notes is by others.
We ought to be grateful that no obligation is im-
posed on the readers of these enigmas other than
to read them; it makes one's flesh creep to think
what would happen if those who read had to ex-
plain them under some such penalty as that imposed
on the traveller who failed to unriddle the " lead-
ing articles" of the mysterious creature who kept
watch on the road to Thebes.

One of these enigmas is presented to us in the
Moniteur of to-day. The composition is by M. de
Laguerronniere ; the inspirer it is superfluous to
name. One motive for its publication is probably
to neutralise the effect of the article of the sth,
which was the work of a different and an inferior
hand. If there was any intention of restoring
calmness to the public mind, diminishing alarm, re-
establishing security, or restoring confidence, I fear
much that the labour has been in vain. It is not
merely from the fall in the public funds which
followed the publication of the article, but from the
diversity of manner in which it is interpreted by
men of partiality, judgment, and pacific disposi-
tion. Among most of the banking and commercial
people it is looked upon as nothing less than preli-
minary to entering on a campaign—and this, in
spite of the pacific character of the firstparagraph of
the article. By the German Ministers at this Court
the article is pronounced as well put together, but
" perfidious," and intended to exculpate the French
Government by trying to make the public believe
that it is Germany that menaces France, instead
of the Imperial Government menacing Germany.
They have, no doubt that it will produce
a bad effect among the German people. A
few look at it in a more fivourable light, but
they are very few. It is avowed by those who are
in the secret that the intention was to show that
firmness and resolution, instead of hesitation, were
the basis of the Imperial policy. How far success is
obtained you may judge ; but the misfortune is
that, where there is one paragraph, or even one
sentence, of a nature to inspire hope, it is soon
neutralised by' others of an opposite tendency.
People have reached that state of doubt and mis-
trust—they set so little value on these official
effusions—that I believe the plainest, most direct,
and straightforward declarations would find them
as suspicious and incredulous as ever.—Letter from
Paris, .March 15.

THIS DAY'S MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE.

IMPERIAL WEEKLY AVERAGES. Wheat, 40s 3d;
barley, 34s 4d ; oats, 23s 3d ; rye, 32s lld ; beans, 41s
8d ; and peas, 40s Bd.
THE SIX. WEEKS' AVERAGES. Wheat, 40s 7d ;
barley, 33s 11d ; oats, 22s 8d ; rye, 32s 7d ; beans, 41s 9d ;
peas, 41s 3d
ENGLISH GRAIN SOLD LAST WEEK.—Wheat, 98,073;
barley, 60,101; oats, 16,721; rye, 59 ; beans, 4,898 ; peas,
1,024 quarters.