The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-19 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, TUESDAY EVENING.
The rumour circulates again to-day of the pro-
bable accession of M. de Persigny to office, as
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In spite of the less warlike aspect of affairs for
two or three days past, we are still told that the
preparations are continued, and that at the War-
office here few or none breathe a doubt of hostilities

in the spring. But as the fact of the preparations

at Toulon is too patent to be denied, they are in-
tended, it is said, for Senegal, Algeria, and China.
Confidence in the maintenance of peace appears to
be returning slowly and uncertainly. There are
some things that would render war- improbable.
The evidence is conflicting, but it is some ground of
hope that war is unpopular in France, and it is
said that even the heads of the army are not those
who are the least opposed to it.
A semi-official article, in the Constitutionnel, an-
nounces the termination of the diplomatic difficulty
excited by the projected intervention of Austria in
Sorvian politics. The Vienna Cabinet, in relinquish-
ing that project, has, it is stated, given explana-
tions on the subject which testify to its respect for the
important Art. 29 of the treaty of Paris, and also to
its sincere desire for the preservation of general
peace. The article in the Constitutionnel, after
announcing the recognition by the Porte of Prince
Milosch—an event already recorded in our columns
—proceeds to state :—" The Austrian Cabinet has
decided on taking into account the observations
submitted to it by all the powers on the subject of
the orders addressed to the Commander-in-Chief
of the Austrian troops at Semlin. If we are well
informed, it results from the explanations offered by
the Vienna Cabinet that it fully acknowledges at the
present day the importance and the bearing of Art.
29 of the treaty of Paris, and repels all idea of an in-
tervention which should not have been previously
("cncerted with the other courts. Austria had, it
is said, the intention, in offering eventual assist-
ance to the Porte, to leave to the latter the task of
coming to an understanding with the powers on
the general action which must precede all armed
intervention. It nevertheless appears that the
powers, while accepting these explanations, have
maintained the principle of their protest. Thus,
Art. 29 of the treaty of Paris will have received
in this circumstance a fresh consecration, and an
interpretation of such a clear and precise character
that any ulterior misunderstanding is impossible.
The speedy solution of this diplomatic difficulty
and the deference paid by Austria to the public
opinion of Europe cannot fail to consolidate con-
fidence and to restore calm to the public mind."
The .Debats likewise records the satisfactory
solution of the above question, and ff o ers some
reflections from which ITe extract the following :
" The solution of this question, at which we re-
joice, deprives the small number of French jour-
nals, which are so anxious for war, of a subject,
and compels them to seek for some o •tl diplomatic
difference sufficiently important and ripe to allow

them to hope for a speedy rupture. Italy remains
to them, also the agitation in the Lombardo-Vene-
tian kingdom, the desires attributed to Piedmont,
and the various manifestations of the Piedmontese
Government. But the hopes expressed in the
address to the Sardinian crown are not quarrels,
and the most animated speeches are not diplomatic
notes, much less an ultimatum. As the question
of Servia has now been reduced to nought, there
are excellent reasons for trusting in the preserva-
tion of general peace."

The same journal devotes a long article to the
treatise on the comparative merits of the English
and French navies published by the Leipsiger Con-
versations Lexicon, and reproduced in the Mes-
senger. The Debats, while appreciating the flatter-
ing terms in which the German critic has spoken of
the French navy, very sensibly points out certain
errors committed by this nautical authority, and most
distinctly denies the alleged numerical superiority
of that navy. Our contemporary, however, does
not doubt the superiority of the French vessels and
French naval officers, though it willingly admits
that the resources for providing seamen possessed
by France are inferior to those commanded by the
British navy. In this admission must we seek
for consolation.

" The Emperor of the French," says a Paris cor-
respondent of the Nord, "is about to increase the
number of his receptions. The high functionaries
of the State and the ladies of their families will be
received on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On the
same days will be given a grand dinner, to which
all the wives of general officers will be successively
invited with their husbands."

BOURSE, lan. 18.—The market has been buoyant,
owing to a rise in Metalliques at Vienna, and to a
paragraph in the Constitutionnel announcing that
Austria had yielded on the Servian question .
Railway Shares have been in good demand. Threes,
after having been done at 691. 50c., improved to
69f. 75c. ; Mobilier varied from 820 f. to 8251.
Austrian 585 f. to 592 f. 50c. ; Lombard, 5401. to
550 f.; Northern, 950 f. to 957 f. 50c. ; Lyons, 850 f.
to 860 f.; Orleans, 1,3351. to 1,345 f. ; Southern,
537 f. 50c. to 542 f. 50c. ; and Eastern, 680 f. to 690 f.
The following were the last quotations:—

41 per Cents. .... 97 Credit Fonder 645
Do. end month .. 97 Belgian 4± —
3 per Cents. 69 80 Piedmontese (5)
Do. end month.... 69 60 Roman —
Bank Shares. 3OOO Austrian
Credit Mobilier .. 825 Spanish Threes
Do. Account 827 50 Home Debt —