The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-21 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE PROM PARIS,

'PROM__ OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, THURSDAY, Attiisi 20.

It is thought with much reason that the Council of
Ministers held yesterday must have been of considerable
importance to bring M. Rouher from Macon, whither he
had gone to the marriage of his niece. The question dis-
cussed was the time for holding the general elections, and
as the Ministers saw nothing in the present state of France
to encourage an immediate appeal to the country, there
will be no general election until next year. The seats
which are at present vacant will, of course, be filled up
very shortly. The results of the last seven contests give
a return of four Imperialists to three Liberals ; but the
total of votes polled by all the Opposition candidates is
much larger than the number given to all the Government
nominees. The Opposition journals have not yet forgotten
the Jura election, which still inspires them with pride
and exultation ; but the official papers are silent on the
subject. The unfortunate prefect of the department
is likely to meet with dismission as the result of his ill
success. He has been fourteen years in his
present post, and is now unable to meet the
difficulty of the position. Tho control of the depart.
ment will be much more difficult after the recent victory
of the Opposition. Moreover, the present prefect acted
injudiciously on this last occasion in choosing a can-
didate of no status or reputation, and in the violence with
which he opposed M. Grt'vy.
The official press is still engaged in endeavouring to
diminish the signification of the interview at Schwalhach
—an event, I should think, that needs neither to be
exaggerated nor lessened. The Atoni'etir is not very pro-
nounced in its pacific assurances ; but it observes that the
smaller German States have adopted a project with the
view of increasing their military strength, and yet their
policy has not therefore become less pacific.
It is said that M. de la Tour d'Auvergne, who is at
present on holiday, will not return to his pest, and that
his place will be filled by M. Drouyn de Lhuys. This
rumour probably arises from the fact that the latter states-
man is now the neighbour of Lord Stanley at Lucerne.
The edition of La Lantcrne, which has been published
at Brussels, is vigilantly sought after by the police here.
It is little likely that many of the copies have found their
way into France. At all events the domiciliary visits
which have been numerous have not as yet resulted in any
discovery.
A letter which is published in a Berlin paper gives
some details of the health of Count Bismarck.
The writer says that the Premier is detained at
Varzin by circumstances of a particular kind (it does not
appear what), and not by illness. He has seen the
statesman in person, and says that he never looked
better, being, at most, but a little worn out.
He rises every day in good time, and mounts his horse,
spending seven hours in visiting his tenants and the neigh-
bouring landlords. Then follows dinner, and afterwards a
period of rest and State business. If he had been really ill
he would not, thinks this correspondent, have retired to a
little village where there is neither doctor nor apothecary.
The doctor, in fact, has never been required except once,
when the count's wife fell off a chair and slightly injured
herself.

THE WEATHER TABLE.-THIS DAY.