New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-06-28
FRANCE.
From Our Own Correspondent
,u. himself can DO his parallel. n

FRANCE.
From Our Own Correspondent.
PARIS, Thursday, June IL, 1856.
Reports coming up daily from the regions wasted
by the floods have formed, throughout tho week,
the staple news They bring the saddest proof that
the first lOOfe notions of the extent Of damage were
not exsggerated-were not even equal tothe lament
able facts. Hundreds upon hundreds Of houses
have been undermined, and are fallen; bridges car
ried IF; railroads and common roads quilted, a1d
rendered impassable for miles; mines and qaaries
charged to aubterranesn lakes. or rather, fall res
sryoirs; Thousands upon thousands Of seres Of
grain and grass rotted by the water; the very soil
itself ws.bed away from many broad field and
fertile hillside; domestic animals drowned; even
great numbers Of ftbes left by the refreshing waters
to die among the vineyards and con-6elds. l say
nothing of the loss Of human life. Of the material
loss we have as yet no toerably accurate estimates;
but those who rate it By hundreds Of millions can
hardly be accused Of extravaganza. The disasters
along the course of the Loire prove to DO o. great
AZ those in the valley of the Rhone. Immediately
after his return from the SOUTH the Emperor started
of again to visit Tours, Anglers, and other inun-
dated districts in the valley Of the Loire taking
to boats several times in the course Of his progress
orer the streets of populOus towns. The golden
opinions he has won by these personal visits to the
scenes of misfortune and 10 the sufferers, are
honestly earned. Impressed, whether by sentl'
mepts of policy or Of sympathy, by the extremes
of suffering before him, he minded to counter
mapd the bsptismal fetes and turn the money ap-
preparations for them to the alienation OF distress
among the victims Of the inundatiOns On hh re-
turn TO Paris it proved that the preparations for
tie fetes had gone too far to be probably inter-
rupted.
And what is to be dOnel That 10 the question
supposed to be occupying the thoughts Of Govern
ment, as it is occupying the thoughts OF 30 many
private men.
than ~ 100000 already made by the State, and
the generous subscriptions by the people, which
promise to amount to some millions more, will suf-
fee OILY for the partial alienation pressing want
among the victims credit or loan Of some
hundreds of millions can alone give efficient relief:
its application will probably be connected with
the execution of great public works, destined at
once to give abundant employ ment and to prevent
the recurrence of similar disasters. II we are to
respect the opinions of the Cardinal Archbishop OF
LYONS. however, dikes and entertainments and
canals and sideways must be considered ridicu-
Ions as means of prevention. This ptelate, In
recent mandement, grsyely attributes the inunda-
tions to a non. observance of the Sabbath! Ine
keeping open on sunday OF handsome shop, 10
LYONS has drawn down, not only on the quarters
OF that city in which there are no erich shops, but
on extended districts, miles and miles away, the
"ayebpng hand Of God" Such is the language
of this impairment priest. But his revelation OF
the hidden counsels OF Heaven is rs incomplete as
impertinent. If We could believe this basphemy
how comprehend the justice OF vengeance that
fell so heavily on non-OAenders We do not un'
derstand that the erich shops" in Lyons whose
open doors invited the flood, had so much % their
door. stills wet by it. But thousands Of poor villa
gers many of them doubtless as devOut observers
If the Sabbath as the Archbishop himself were
washed out of house aud home.
by the side Of this ArchiepscOpal twaddle, or
blasphemOus can't whichever it may be, we have
pieasanter reading in the daily prints Of Paris,
" hole columns of which are filed with the names
of contributors to the universal subscription now
going On in aid of the sufferers by the rich shops
in Lyons" The sum total already published for
Paris alone, must amount to something HE ten.
millions. The lists of contributors are worth read
ing from beginning to ebd, especially by such a.
deny the Origina! goodness of human nature, and
by such others as believe that it is inherent only
in certain social classes.
Here are large subscriptions from the wealthy
and from sOullets COrpOrations-the Bank Of
France is down for 100000 francs, and the Rail
ways (k0me OF which have themselves lost largely
by the fOOds) for 100000 francs; by the side
OF them are the employees, clerks, workmen aud
all, of Railway Company, who subscribe halfa-
days wages; here are Count de Somebody,
wealthy banker, o parvcnu millionaire OF the
BOurse, with their thousands; and here are Ma'am-
sele Lisette, the grisette, aud Pierre B0udin the
mason, Rose pPoupoD (poor creatures! }, and the
rest with their two francs and one franc and fifty
centimes. A fast Joung member OF the Jockey
Club sends in 200 francs; forty wOrkmen, who
went to a cheap restaurant in the Rue Mont
martre the other day, called for nothing but bread
AID water to their dinners, and sent in each his
fifteen SOUS Count DC MOrnay set down 5000
francs against his name. A collector Of aims for
the sufferers came last Saturday into poor ROOM,
where he found priest and man to whom he
was administering the last sacrament; when in the
esgerness Of his charitable zeal he had half re-
veaed the purpose of his coming, he became fully
aware of the situation of things and was about to
retire in confusion: Father" said tho sick man,
family, "give my clothes to the sufferers by the
" flood, have NJ more need Of Them" and 90 fell
back on the pillow and died. A poor old bed.rid.
den creature in the "hospice" for the incurables
managed to swOp off her allowance of soup and
bread for Is centimes, five cents, which she sent
in to the subscription. The fact is averred in tho
Constitutional newspaper. The same journal pub
fishes list of contributors, in which read the
grand historical and objectionable names Of the
FaubOurg st. Germain with hundreds of francs
carried out aga INST them. The Empress put down
2O,CC0 francs, Madame Basque five francs. Good
women both.
Almost better than this, subscriptions are
started in Belgium and Germany. The Hebrew
Lord Mayor Of London writes that the good
M ntso khwss L., Al H.