The Sun.
London, England, 1868-11-30 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE PROM PARIS.

vita OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, SUNDAY, November 29.

lii spite of considerable expectations of an acquittal, the
Sixth Chamber, faithful to its traditions, has condemned
the accused in the Baudin affair to severe sentences. One
has been punished with six months' imprisonment, six
months' deprivation of civil rights, and a fine of £4O ; two
have been only fined £4O; and three have been fined £2O.
The counsel for the defence of the Temps strove hard for
an acquittal, holding that the case of the journal
which he represented and of the Journal de Paris
was totally different from that of the journals which had
been sentenced a fortnight ago. Those papers had been
prosecuted for manceuvring against the Government by
instituting the Baudin subscription. The Temps had
done nothing but publish the lists—merely the exercise of
an ordinary right. By its own judgment, the first prose-
cution had been established because letters had
been exchanged between two of the editors; one of whom
had made a speech over his grave, and had formed one of
the audience when some verses were recited on the
occasion of the jour des snorts. The Temps was a stranger
to all this ; it had purely and simply published a subFerip-
tion list. The policy or good taste of attempting
to separate the case of the Temps from the other papers
may be questioned ; but the ingenuity of the speech was
remarkable. It failed, however, to save the incriminated
paper. Notwithstanding this condemnation, there
can be no doubt that the Government is heartily
tired of the whole affair. Some say that the
acquittals in the provinces have even been
prompted from the highest quarters. This is unlikely,
but that the Government would draw out of these prose-
cutions if a chance presented itself is unquestionable. It
is said that when M. Rouher informed the Emperor of the
acquittal at Clermont, the astute Minister treating the
news as lightly as possible, he encountered only a wearied
reply to the effect that his Majesty almost wished an
acquittal at Paris would put an end to the whole
business.

The recent press trial at Lyons, though it resulted in a
condemnation, is really nothing less than a check to the
Government. Proceedings in this case had been insti-
tuted against a local paper, named the Discussion, on
account of some most hostile comments on some local
matters directly connected with the Government. Lyons,
like Paris, is governed by an Administrative Commission,
appointed through the Ministry of the Interior. This com-
mission was a few years ago presided over by a senator
named Waisse, who was extremely unpopular. His
successor, no doubt taking his unpopularity into considera-
tion, thought a statue to his memory would greatly
please the good people of Lyons, and accord-
ingly a large sum of money was spent in the per
formance of this laudable duty. The statue was made and
paid for, but for some reason was never put up. Probably
it was feared that the Imperial dignity might be compro-
mised by the effigy of the unpopular ex-president being
smashed by the not very peaceful inhabitants of the second
city of France. At all events the statucwhich had cost so much
was consigned to a municipal store-house. These proceed•
ings, which were flagrant enough, were attacked in the
I columns of the Discussion with e_ctraordinary vehemence,
so much so that the charge of " exciting to hatred and
contempt of the Government" was literally justified. The
case created great excitement, and M. Jules
Favre made a speech for the defence, in which even
he outdid himself in eloquence and virulence against
the Government. He talked so furiously at General
Castagne, who was present, that he was obliged to get up
and leave the room. And yet, whilst publishing a sub-
scription list is severely punished, this exceptional dis-
' play of hostility was visited only with a week's imprison-
meat and £6O fine in the case of one of the accused, and
fine without imprisonment in the case of the other.
Olozaga has arrived in the capacity of Spanish Ambas-
sador. Of course his coming has been made the subject
of endless canards, one of which has some slight shew of
substance. It is that Olozaga's mission is to procure the
support of France to the candidature of the Duke of
' Aosta, who is now deemed the last hope of the
Monarchists.

A small financial crisis seems to prevail here at present.
In two days the Tribunal of Commerce has pronounced
twenty-five judgments of bankruptcy.
After the recent revelations respecting the Credit
Mobilier it is not surprising to find that its fellow-swindle,
the Compagnie ImmobiliZ-re, is in difficulties. At a meeting
of the shareholders of the latter a remarkably simple and
matter-of-fact statement was made. The liabilities of the
company exceed the assets by more than four millions and
a quarter sterling. This reduces the capital to zero, and,
moreover, compromises the interests of the creditors, par-
ticularly the Credit Mobilier itself. It has been proposed
to amalgamate the two companies, but as yet nothing has
been done.

The Marquise de Caux—the public will call her by no
name except that of Patti—has consented to take part in
a concert for the benefit of the subscription which is to be
raised to erect a monument to Rossini.

The quondam Duchess de Money's splendid collection
of jewels has been sold. A collection so unique attracted
a large company, but the prices realised were rather
disappointing, though £22,006 was realised in two days.
A diamond necklace, composed of twenty-three stones,
brought 104,000 f.; thirteen diamond pendants, 38,000 f.;
three large and very fine brilliants, 42,000 f., 38,000 f., and
24,000 f.; a suite of turquoises and diamonds, 33,000 f.; a
bracelet of diamonds and three sapphires, 13,500 f. ; a
brooch, consisting of a large emerald surrounded with
brilliants, 15,500 f.; three others, smaller, 19,600 f.; six
pendants of pearls of different sizes, 27,000 f.
In the suburbs of Paris an idiot girl, aged 18, was left
by her parents "in charge of " her brother, a child. The
boy by some means approached too near the fire, and
his clothes were caught by the flames. Upon hearing
his cries his sister at once hastened to his assistance and
succeeded in extinguishing the flames. But in doing so
her own clothes were ignited, and she was frightfully
burned. Strange to say, the instinct which impelled her
to the rescue of her brother did not prompt her to save
herself ; she permitted the fire to burn every fragment
of clothing off her person without making any attempt
to arrest it or to raise an alarm.

THE WEATHER TABLE.-THIS DAY.