22 DECEMBER 1849, Page 1

The French Ministry has achieved a victory of doubtful value,

in maintaining by 418 to 245 the reimposed tax on wine. The Government must have funds, yet the French people detest paying taxes ; and the tax on an article of such popular growth and popular consumption as wine has all the odious fea- tures which would be presented in England by an excise tax on corn. It rather resembles our malt-tax, only it is more odious ; and it tells on a wider class of producers than our hop-duty. The united Democratic and Socialist parties in France have made good use of the tax to excite odium against the Government ; and the circumstances are understood to have favoured them : in the country generally the influence of that joint party is said to have increased. That it becomes formidable, appears from the union of all other parties against it in the Assembly ; and it is hinted that, on necessity, the President may resort to an armed coup d'etat to keep order in his dominions. The Democratic and Social- ist party, even when combined with the moderate Republicans, is in a minority of the Assembly, something in the proportion of one to two ; but when it is remembered that the majority is com- posed of the most heterogeneous materials, the increasing compact- ness and vigour of the Democratic party is seen to be formidable. A coup d'etat might not be altogether favourable to the quasi- Monarchical league of rival factions. The "abolition of the passport system," which the President announced to an English deputation, is not yet clearly under; stood : no one has explained whether the abolition applies only to foreign passports, or to the complicated police restriction* on natives in their transit. In either case, the measure, good in itself, is inconsistent with the practices of espionage so recently shown to form one reliance of the French Government for main- taining order ; and how it will be made to fit, we cannot guess. Will the French suffer foreigners to enjoy a privilege of unequal freedom ?