The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-01 00:00:00

CORRESPO.

(PROR OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, FRIDAY, Jan. 31.

~Torirnalism is a preCarious business in France, as the
debates in the Corps Ltislatif have shewn. The condi-
tion's of its existen( are continually changing, but not for
the better. By the new law imprisonment of editors and
printers is put an end to, but the fines will *amount
to confiscation. On this point M. Pelletan made
Borne extraordinary statements. It appears that the
4! 6mition. " required for a journal will be enormous,
the lowest fine for a press offence £4BO, and the highest
£3,200; in other words, confiscation. It must be remem-
bered that accusations brought against the Paris preis
never fail. This has been the case for the last sixteen
years. M. Pelletan remarked this, and was charged with
calumniating the magistrates. "All that I ask," he
replied, " is that there shall be a few acquittals to break
the monotony of condemnations." The report on the new
law remarked that the press was a productive enterprise ;
to which M. Pelletan replies, that of the seventy journals
published in Paris, two or three prosper, four or five live—
that is, meet their expenses—and the other sixty are dying,
or are only prolonging their existence by incessant sacri-
fices on the part of their friends. Even this is not all.
The taxation on the press is enormous. The Debats, with
forty to forty-five thousand readers, pays to the State
800,000 f., and to its proprietors 200,000 f. M. Glais-
-13 izoin might well exclaim C'est monstrueux. " Under the
hew law," said the orator, making a splendid hit, " I
see a long file of journalists who will struggle and succumb
fatally, yet, undismayed, exclaiming, 'Ave fJcesar morituri
to salutant.' "

M. Thiers's speech contained nothing specially remarx.
able for him, though there were of course many brilliant
Passages. The philosophy of freedom of speech are seldom
better stated than in his words—" Liberty is a grand
lottery organised by God; great nations may invest in it
without fear ; sometimes they may lose, still more fre.
huently they gain." He did not deny that there was such
a thing as moderation, and that it was desirable to have a
guarantee that it would be exercised by writers. " But
what is moderation ? It is justice in criticism. We
cannot define moderation, but every man must give his
neighbour the right to use own judgment. The veritable
public opinion in France is formed by moderate men.",
Ms Thiers demanded the newspaper as a necessity
occurring not only every day, but indeed twice a day
I must content myself with a passage relating to England.
" I do not forget the terrible legislation that has existed
for a long time in England ; and very severe legislation
exists there still. I do not contest that at all. But the'

English press, in spite of it, has raised itself to a high
position--almost on a level with history. You have read
what was written at the death of Lord Palmerston ; and

when his death compelled the retirement of his colleagues,
Lord Russell and Mr. Gladstone (the speaker should have
said their promotion), I declare there is no person who
would not have wished to be judged by history as those
Ministers were then judged by the press. That phe-
nomenon is explained by two reasons. In the time of
Elizabeth, of Cromwell, of James 11., the press was cruelly
treated. The iron collar, nay, capital punishment itself,
was not deemed too harsh for the offending journalist. In
the eighteenth century these punishments became lighter,
as manners became more refined. At the epoch of the
French Revolution there was a renewal of severity, but
peace at last calmed the passions, and the press of England
has attained the position in which we see it to-day. Who
will deny that it is the voice of the English nation ?"
M. Pinard, Minister of the Interior, followed Thiers,
and defended the law. Re maintained that neither the
fines nor the caution were excessive. Nous verrons.

It seems to me that under this regime the condition of the
press will be more intolerable than ever, though I am
bound to state that journalists themselves think otherwise.
How they can exist, in spite of constant drains in the
shape of heavy fines like those I have mentioned, is incom-
prehensible. The worst part of the business is the fixing
a minimum so high. The actual advantages conceded in
the new law are that any one may start a newspaper with
out the preliminary authorisation, and that suspensions,
arertissements, and the like are buried for ever; but the
fines are ruinous.
The conductor of the Philosophe has been fined 200 f.
:or publishing two numbers without authorisation.
Terrible disorders appear to prevail at Naples. Ac
counts received here state that the streets are deserted at
dusk., Assaults and assassinations are the disorder of
the day. On the IGth instant a certain M.
Paresi was robbed ; he reported the matter to
the Questor, who simply congratulated him that he had
got off so cheaply—that he had not been assassinated.
The villains are seldom arrested.
The Spanish Budget just presented shews a deficit of
48,000,000 reals. The Government ask for a credit of
140,000,000 reals for the expenses of the Pacific Expedi-
tion. Authority is asked to sell the State forests.

A. disastrous fire was caused a few days ago at Stras-
bourg by the ignition of a barrel of petroleum. I notice
the fact to mention that two children and a woman were
thrown from the second story of the house in which the
fire occurred without any injury ; mattresses were spread
in the street to break their fall.
The attention of the French Academy of Sciences has
been called to the deleterious effects of east-iron stoves. It
is said that they give off a quantity of carbonic acid gas.
In Savoy something like an epidemic has been produced
by them. It would appear that wrought-iron stoves are
not injurious.
A. remarkable rise has taked place in the waters of the
Seine. The total rise amounts to about eight feet. It is
attributed to the melting of the snow.