The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-03 00:00:00

naRRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, TUESDAY, June 2.

As I mentioned yesterday, the Pays had the sensation
story about the conspiracy against the Emperor all to
itself. The Siecle makes merry this morning at the expense
of its Imperialist contemporary. "It was not," says the
Siccle, "one of those bad journals, propagators of false
news," which made the announcement, but M. Granier de
Cassagnac's Journal de l'Empire. If the Pays has blue•
dered, why may not less fortunate journals blunder without
intention, malignant or otherwise?

The Liberte tells a good story of the Empress. When
she was at Rouen on Sunday she asked M. Ansel,
deputy for Havre, to give her a glass of cider. As she had
a few minutes before drunk some champagne, the deputy
replied that he feared the two drinks would disagree with
her Majesty. "Is it for my head or my stomach that
you are afraid ?" asked the Empress. " For your
stomach, madame." " I am not afraid, then ; I
have a stomach as strong as a sailor's ;" and
so a great glass of cider was brought and quaffed
at one draught, to the great delight of the Rouen-
Dais, who felt complimented by this Imperial approval of
their local beverage. This visit appears to have been very
successful. The crowd was enormous, the reception
enthusiastic ; the only drawback was the want of arrange-
ments for keeping back the throng. On one occasion the
Imperial party were completely blocked, and the Emperor
himself had to ask the people to make way. At the
cathedral the clergy, at the request of the Archbishop,
gaVe their Majesties a cheer with one voice. On leaving
Rouen the Emperor told the Prefect that he expected to
see him again soon, as he would shortly be going to Havre.
The International Maritime Exhibition at that place
was opened yesterday.. It has not been got up, as most
concerns of the kind in France are, by the Government,
but chiefly by a local gentleman of influence, M. Nicolle.
He has received only a small grant from the department
of Marine. The exhibition is situated on a large piece
of waste land. close to the . sea - shore. It re-
minds one of the Paris Exhibition, and, like
that, has gardens and cafds surrounding it. There
is also a large aquarium, as there was in the Champ de
Mars. Of course, the agent of the Bible Society was
there giving away tracts and otherwise enjoying himself.
Several English and American officers in uniform were in
the crowd. The opening took place at two o'clock, and
was signalised first by an orchestral performance
of the overture from " Romeo and Juliette."
Then there were speeches—some far too . long.
Then an ode was sung, and was rapturously
received, especially the verses speaking of " the vessel of
Progress," which made the audience rise en mane half a
dozen times. In the evening there was a grand dinner, at
which 350 persons were present, and paid 30f. a head.
The weather was magnificent. I understand that the sale
of tickets has already reached £12,000, and the sale of
catalogues £l,OOO. I should add that among the articles
exhibited are all matters relating to the fisheries, with
models of fishing vessels, pleasure-boats, and an America
indiarubber lifeboat.

Prince Napoleon is expected at Vienna on the 6th. He
is travelling incognito, and has therefore declined to avail
himself of the Palace of Schonbriinn, which had been
offered him by the Emperor. He will stay with our
ambassador, the Duke de Gramont. But though travelling
incognito, the Prince does not object to attending grand
dinners got up in his honour.
The Empress Charlotte of Mexico is somewhat better,
but is subject to periodical attacks of insanity. These
come on after taking food, and so the unhappy princess
always retires after her meals, that no one
may see her. On the occasions when her sisters-
in-law dine with her she eats nothing. She
has written to several persons in Paris who formerly
were in her suite. She speaks in enthusiastic terms of the
heroic end of her husband. She has sent her old friends a
picture, representing on the one side the Emperor
dressed as a sailor, holding up a Mexican flag, and sink-
ing with his vesel in the midst of the waves ; on the
other side are written the words of the gospel read at the
last mass which he attended. They were sadly prophetic :
"The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
M. Auguste Vermorel, of the suppressed Courrier
Francais, is now undergoing punishment in the prison
reserved for political offenders, and he publishes in
to-day's Liberte the first of a series of letters to M. Emile
de Girardin, entitled " Lettres de Sainte-Magic." This
one is partly political, partly philosophical, and by no
means lively.
The Emperor is just now a good deal interested about
the state of the asylums for the insane, concerning which
there have been some very unfavourable revelations lately.
It is hoped that shortly there will be a sweeping reform.
It is sorely needed.
The latest novelty in Paris is a velocipede club. There
was a grand race with these vehicles at Saint Cloud on
Sunday, and medals were given to the successful compe-
titors.

A very remarkable article on " The Finances of the
Second Empire," written by 111. Cochut, appears in the
new number of the " Revue des Deux Mondes." The
writer has taken the trouble to ascertain all the sums
which the Government has raised, exclusive of taxation,
from 1832 to 1868, and chiefly by means of loans. They
amount to the enormous sum of £172,900,000, giving an
average of over £10,000,000 a year borrowed in seventeen
years. During the same period the Government has in-
creased its yearly burdens by over £10,300,000. In addition
to these national burdens, the Parisians have become
responsible for further enormous amounts. In a
pamphlet just published by M. Jules Ferry it ap,
pears that the great embellishments of Paris have been
divided into three networks, which have already cost
40 millions sterling, while the annexation of the suburbs,
the construction in old Paris of public buildings, markets,
churches, &c., have cost another sum of equal amount.
The liabilities of the city are now 28 millions sterling. It
has been found impossible to repay a loan contracted with
the Cr6dit Foncier, and Baron Haussmann is obliged to
apply to the Corps Legislatif for a measure of indemnity
for having illegally contracted the loan, and for
authorising the repayment in sixty, instead of ten, years
as agreed upon. These enormous figures show how con-
vinced Napoleon is of the necessity of keeping the work-
ing class employed. By these improvements he has
obtained two objects at the same time, both tending to
establish his power. He has disarmed the enmity of
what has always been the most dangerous class in France,
the OUrriCrS; and he has so altered Paris strategically, that
in the event of a revolution barricades would be impos-
sible, and his troops and artillery could sweep the city
from end to end.

The three bills which have lately passed the Italian Cham-
ber give Italy £-1,200,000 additional revenue ; but much more
than this is wanted. Unfortunately, Italian deputies do
not understand the urgency of the financial position, and
such large numbers of them absent themselves on account
of the great heat, that it is difficult to get business trans-
acted. Why does not General Menabrea import from
England an ex-Lord of the Treasury or two, with instruc-
tions to make a house, keep a house, and cheer the Minis-
ter? There is many an English M.P. who would under-
take the matter for a consideration. Count Cambray
Digny would find the outlay repaid a hundred times.
, Mr. Roupell, the ex-honourable member for Lambeth,
seems to have his counterpart in Italy. In the sitting of
the Italian Chamber on the 26th ult., the President an-
nounced that M. Genero, deputy for Susa, had resigned
his' seat on account of certain accusations brought against
him before the Correctional Tribunal of Turin. The resig-
nation was accepted, and the college of Susa declared
vacant. It now appears that the accusation is of a very
serious nature, nothing less than the forgery of banknotes.
M. Genero is accused of forming part of an association of
that kind, and the Public Prosecutor had written to the
President of the Chamber to ask his authority to proceed
against him. To avoid scandal, Deputy Genero was urged
and induced to resign by the men of the party with which
he habitually voted. A Turin paper now informs us that
his house has been searched, and himself arrested and im-
prisoned.

There have been disturbances at Palermo. A telegram
from FlorPnce states that they were caused by some mer-
chants refusing to receive some false bronze money which
had been put in circulation. Order has been restored.

Baron Meysenburg, the diplomatist who has been sent
to Borne by the Austrian Government in order to depre-
cate the displeasure of the Pope with respect to the aboli-
tion of the Concordat, has been received by his holiness
" very benevolently."

The Florence correspondent of the Times considers that
Brindisi must inevitably become the port of departure for
the cverland mails. Ire says : "It is a geographical
necessity that our communications with India should be
through Italy, and neither the Marseilles interest, nor the
French railway interest, nor any of the various pressures,
direct and indirect, brought to bear against it can possibly
suffice long to retard the change. There has been talk
lately of a project fur sending the India mails vitt
Ostend and Germany, over the Brenner Pass, so as to
set at nought the opposition offered in France to
an alteration which would be a great benefit, not only to
Great Britain as the mistress of India, but to all those
numerous persons in Europe and America who trade or
.correspond with the East. Brindisi must make its way,
and become the port of embarkation for letters, passengers,
and such costly articles of merchandise as will bear the
expense of an overland journey. Meanwhile we hear of
the approaching establishment there of a telegraphic
agency which will undertake to forward news and private
•despatcbes directi9R AB'