The Express. — 1863-05-02 (London, England)

OUR OWN 0011UNPONDINT.) PARIS, FILIDAY EVINING.  As the day of the general elections draws nigh the government shows the cloven foot. The hypocritical pretences so smoothly put forth by official orators that the system of " government candidated " only implies a desire to prevent the electors from being deceived as to the persons really enjoying the confidence of the government, are now unblushingly put aside. The Moaiteur sternly announces the determination of power to break up all free electoral committees by enforcing the laws which prohibit the meeting of more than twenty persons without permission. The crown lawyers have found out (and who shall contradict them 1) that although any one section of an electoral committee may consist of less than twenty persons its meeting will nevertheless be illegal, and the journals are warned that they will be prosecuted if they report any of the proceedings of any such ;sections. What now becomes of M. Baroche's boast, uttered only the other day, that the more free the elections were the greater would be the majority for the Emperor's government 1 What reasonable man, not being a French functionary, can pretend that an election is fair when a regime of terror prevents all effective organisation of an opposition j The threatening note in the Moniteur to-day only discloses, after all, a part of the "foul play" which the authorities meditate. The electoral committees are not to meet ostensibly even in small sections, and the journals are to give no publicity to their resolutions. But if they are industrious enough to work by writing numerous letters they know very well that there are in the arsenal of the imperial laws abundant means of visiting them with the terrible copsequeuess of belonging to a secret society. Private or public canvassing, the moment it becomes effective, is to be put down with the strong hand. I hear that several of the committees mean to throw up the game, and protest. The course taken by the government certainly tends to justify M. Proudhon's argument that abstention is the most dignified as well as the most effectual way of manifesting opposition. Of course the crippled French press cannot speak of the ominous demonstration of the Moniker as it deserves. Most of the evening papers register it servilely without comment. The Opinions Nationak, however, says : It is not doubtful that the government has the letter of the law in it. favour; but the question is, whether the in. terrention is opportune, judicious, politic, or justified by any reasonable apprehension of danger or inconvenience ? Noon. can venture to say it is. The near ►pproach of the elections makes the measure singularly ill-timed. The subject deserves an attentive consideration, and we shall return to it. In the Prase M. E. de Girardin writes :  The Moniieur hes done a famous service to the electoral committees, which were breaking up under the weight of their own impotence. The Monsieur has saved them from ridicule. Now that they are prohibited from meeting, they will not fail to say and repeat that but for the fear of the government the central committee would have been the master of the elections, aad have obtained a majority after its own image. As the contrary cannot be proved, the government thus gives them every possible advantage.• The Echo du Nord of Lille has received a warning for writing about the ooming elections, and exciting to hatred and contempt of the government by "attacking the authority and sincerity of universal suffrage." The 'Bourse was very uneasy. The Russian answer is understood to have arrived in Paris, and there can be little ground for hoping that it is satisfactory. Route fell 25c., and Mobilier 271 r. A telegram from Brittany brings the verdict in the case of the adulterous murderess, Madame Olive, and her acconitlices. They are all found guilty but with extenuating circumstances. The sentence on her and two of the suborned assassins is imprisonment with hard labour for life. The fourth gets off with eight years' imprisonment. The Emperor and Empress went to the Vaudeville Theatre last night to see Sheridan as repreIDented in L'llornme de Bien.  The committee of the Legislative Body charged to examine the bill for opening to the Minister of the Interior a credit of 1,200,000 fr. in aid of the suffering cotton weavers, has received several amendments, demanding that the sum shall be increased to 2,2d0,000fr. The committee is said to consider the proposed addition favourably. The Echo Honjleuraie states that a new line of steamers is expected to be established to run between Bonileur and London. One of the motives for the new line is the extensive trade carried on between that port and England, and particularly in MR&