Weekly national intelligencer., 1854-11-18
MR.. soULEs DIFFICULTY.

i1aso i1lSu5h papers, anu rum luSm oomO Oi oui
own, have recently contained references to an al
legged difficulty interposed by the French Govern
ment to the return Of the American Minister, Mr..
SouLE to Spain through the French territory. The
affair SO obscurely alluded to that, added to the
known fact that Mr. s. has lately been spending
some time in Paris, which he Of course reached by
travelling through French territory We gave the
story but little credence Itseemed TO us very i'm
probable that the French Government would per-
NIT man, however offensive or suspected, to ap-
proach the capital through France, and then re-
fuse him leave to quit the country by the same way
Private letters, however, which we received from
London by the steamer Of the lst instant, have en-
had gone from France to England, and it was per-
mission to pass from that country through France
back to Spain which was refused by the French
authorities. We have since received from our
regular Paris correspondent the letter which is
subjoined, and which should have reached US the
day previous. This letter we have no doubt pre-
sents the leading facts of Mr. SoULEs correct
ly. Its statements are corroborated by those of
another respectable American sojourning in Paris,
whose letter will be found on another page, and
may be relied on as substantially correct. We have
reason to believe, indeed, that these letters
brace the material particulars of all that had trans
pred the Both ultimo, the latest date from Paris
A great many particulars connected with the alair
are given in letters and papers from Europe, but
they are of nature not readily to have been made
public, if true, and are hardly to be relied on. Our
Government paper, the Union, publishes q letter it
has received from London which states that our
Minister Mr.. MASON, was treated with rude iaci-
ulity when he asked for an official explanation In
regard to the indignity offered to Mr.. -SoULE"
We trust that this statement will turn out to be un-
founded; for we are that the department of no
Minister could less invite ncivlity than that of Mr.
MASON, and we should be disposed less easily to
excuse an act Of official rudeness towards him than
the 5rusgue expulsion of Mr. SoULE, as in the lat
ter case there might have been reason, real or ina
ginary, for the inciviGty.
The London Times, in an article on the sub
| ject places the expulsion Of Mr.. SoULE on purely
personal grounds and there is no doubt (says the
| New York Express) that on these grounds alone
Mr.. SoULE was refused a traverse through France.
Indeed the Paris correspondent of the very paper
through which DIR. SANDERS addresses the public
says
Some weeks ago the Minister Of Foreign Affairs init
mated to Mr. MASON informally that he should be graft
fed if be (Mr ny would privately prevent Mr.. SouLE
from coming to France. Mr.. MASON naturally did not
accede to the request. Last Thursday, being the
Ministry upon other business and yet ignorant of the
stoppsge of Mr.. SoULE he asked NJ. DRouYN L HuYs
why he had desired that Mr.. s. be advised to avoid
France. The Minister replied THAT THEY OF
HIS EXPRESSED HOSTILITY TO TIE rREsRsT Gov.
1 ERNAEyT OF FRANCE"
4 This hostility (says the Express was very freely
expressed not only in the south of France, when
Mr.. SouLE was there, but in Lyons, when Mr.
SouLE there got into difficulty with the policeman
and afterwards in other parts of France.
Public opinion in this country on the subject ha
had as yet little opportunity to manifest itself
Turning to the New York Epeaing Posi-, anon!
the ablest of Democratic journals and with litt
liking for the Emperor of France or Emperors il
general any other journal Of its party, we find al
article on the treatment Of Mr.. SoULE and Of th,
general question involved, from which we extrac
the annexed passages:
"A
"We do not by any means agree with those VIII,
are attempting to exat this affair into an insult Of
fered by the French Government to that Of tht
United States Mr.. Soule was no. in France il
any official capacity; he was not accredited to itl
Government; he did not in any manner represent
our couAtry within its limits; in France he was
simply an American citizen The stopping of Mr.
Soule at the frontier was no insnlt to on,
nation than If he had been the inventor Of sewing
machine who was taking it out to Paris to secure
patent for it" g 1t frequently
happens that Americans are stopped BY the police
! in European countries and turned back in their
journey, with less reason probably than there was
in the case of Mr. Soule. 1t strikes us that these
cases ought to be first dispatched by our Government
"If Mr. Soule had no other way of proceeding to
Spain from London except through France the case
would be clear one we would fight for the right
of way. But the Southampton steamers offer a
most convenient method Of reaching Spain without
coming in sight of France. The voyage is per-
formed with great dispatch, and he might have had
his choice Of dozen landing places on the Spanish
or Portuguese coast. What official necessity takes
him into France, that we should insist upon his
| going thither?
We make these remarks not for the purpose of
justifyng in the least degree the French Sovereign
in the step he has taken but for the sake Of putting
the affair upon its true footing. MIR. Soule is q
person who naturally fell under the observation of
the French police He was believed in Franco TO
have meddled with the politics Of Spain, and TO
have been concerned in folnenting revolt against
the Government. He has recently been In Paris,
where it is not at all likely that his language and