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

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 16, 1866

arrived at Paris by the last packet from St
Nizaire.

This is the third day of cold, wi y, unsettled
weather. Yesterday there was a deal of rain.
To-day the weather was fine, but it sas 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 iloniteur says :—" The placing of the Prus-
sian army upon the war footing adrances 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 Porcine,
La Ville de Paris, and the Saint Laurent.
In the course of a discussion in the Senate upon
agriculture, M. Cornudet, ou the part of the Go-
vernment, made some 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.