The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-06 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE FROM P.S.RIA

•

(FROM OUR 0%n4, OORRESPO/MENT.),

PARIS, FRIDAY, June

There are "rumours of great diplomatic changes. Prineg
Talleyrancl, our Ambassador at St. Petersburg, wants to
retire ; Baron Malaret is very uncomfortable at Florence'
where he is as unpopular as a man can well be. Count
Sartiges, who has been Induced for a consideration (the
promise of a senatorship), to urge the claims of the Arch.
bishop of Paris to a cardinal's hat, has, on meeting
with opposition to his request, uttered some very
disrespectful words of the Pope's entourage. Even M. Belle.
detti, though on good terms with Count Bismarck]
find the ttnxietieq ancllool.ire Af his post 00 great
r, • .
It is now pretty well certain that Count Bismarck hM
fent A totter to Baron von Benst, thanking him fP,r
loyal policy towards Prussia, apd ills endeavours to preserve
the peace of Europe. It is supposed to be in consequence
of this closer rapprochement between Prussia and Austria
that the Emperor Francis Joseph Las abandoned hie
intended visit to Paris,

The France has a long article to point out how absurd if
the assertion that Prince Napoleon has no diplomatic
object in his journey. The France very well remarks
that it is impossible for a person in the Prince's position
to visit the various Courts of Europe without having some
motive. He is not like the Prince of Wales, who might
travel anywhere and no one attach importance to his
movements. Prince Napoleon is more in the position of
a British Foreign Minister, whose wanderings to and fr'
on the earth would certainly excite the liveliest interest.
Today is the anniversary of tho attempted assassination
of the Czar as he was driving with Napoleon in the Bois
4e Boulogne last year. Captain Lubet, of the Paris
Guard, is still suffering from the injuries which he received
in his endeavours to prevent the crowd from
murdering B6rdzowski. N6laton has removed a
tumour from the captain's left side, which caused him
terrible pain. The patient is now, thanks to a capital con-
stitution, recovering.

The Emperor has been' suffering from sciatica lately,
and there has been a consultation of physicians. He will
visit the camp at St. Maur before going to Fontainebleau.
By the way, admission to the camp has for some time past
been refused to all civilians.
It turns out that there were three men arrested at
Rouen last Sunday after all ; yet not for a plot against the
Emperor, but for carrying prohibited arms.
The Pope, on the occasion of the first Communion of
the Prince Imperial, sent him, by the bands of Cardinal
Bonaparte, a precious relic surmounted with an ancient
cameo of rare beauty. His Holiness accompanied the gift
with an autograph letter, which those who have heard it
read say is most touching. In connection with this matter
I may mention that it is usual, whenever the Emperor
leaves the Tuileries for oue of the Imperial chateaux, for
the senior ambassador to pay his respects. This ambas-
sador happens to be the Papal Nuncio, and so when Mgr.
Chigi waited upon the Emperor the other day, their
Majesties thanked him warmly, on behalf of the Pope,
for the interest which his Holiness had taken in the Prince

The model lodging-houses which the Emperor has had
constructed in the Avenue Daumesnil are now all occu-
pied. They have been handed over to a society which
has engaged to build others upon the same plan in other
parts of Paris.

The recent debate on railways in the Corps L4gislatif
must make the majority of English railway shareholders
inclined to break the tenth commandment. As your
readers are no doubt aware, the State guarantees the pay-
ment of the interest on the share capital of a large number
of the railways; But the Northern Railway has not had
to claim the guarantee. The Lyons sees its annual revenue
reach eight millions sterling, and offers to include 734
miles of the new network (which has not been
guaranteed) with the old. The Orleans offers an
analogous reduction for the line from Paris to Tours,
and will thus diminish its guaranteed capital by 23,360,000 ;
the Southern has a deficiency of only £6BO ; and the
Eastern is executing an important line without asking for
any subvention. The total Imperial guarantee is
£7,360,000, and the produce of the guaranteed railways is
£26,240,000. So that there is a wide margin of safety. The
earnings increased more than £2,000,000 last year. But
this, no doubt, was due in considerable measure to the
Exhibition. The only unfavourable feature is the enormous
cost of construction of new lines. This is not less than
£22,000 per mile, a heavy sum considering bow large
a part of France offers no engineering difficulties. I should
add that M. Pouyer-Quertier, of Protectionist celebrity,
does not believe in the prosperity of our railways, and in
the course of a violent speech in the Corps L4gislatif
declared that the Orleans Railway was virtually bankrupt.
I sadly fear that the new Press Law will prove even
less liberal than the Opposition members in the Corps
Legislatif prophesied. The Temps is to be prosecuted for
some articles it has published respecting Algeria, but
which have not, so far as I know, exceeded fair criticism.
After this there can be little hope that the circular just
issued to the prefects respecting the enforcement of the
new law is in favour of lenity.

THE WEATHER TABLE.-THIS DAY.