forrign niiIi Colonial.

"ran r1.—Count de Montalembert was tried on Wednesday before the Tribunal of Correctional Police and sentenced to six months' im- prisonment and a fine of 6000 francs. Dunoil, the gerant of the Cor- respondant was, at the same time sentenced to one month's imprison- ment and one thousand francs of fine.

A correspondent of the Deity _Yers, having had the good fortune to obtain a ticket of admission, has graphically described the exciting and important scene. The scene of this trial is a room about the size of a Vice-Chaneelloes Court in Lincoln's Inn, calculated to hold 200 persons. Count Montalembert had ten tickets for his friends. Twenty junior members of the bar were admitted by ballot. The Countess de Month- lembert and a few ladies were present. There were a few diplomatists, and many friends of the Count. Three or four persons got in without tickets. At twelve Montalembert entered, accompanied by the Duke de Broglie and M. (Millen Barret. He sat between his counsel, M. Berryer, and the counsel of Douniol, M. Dufv.ure. There were four judges on the bench, acting. and a great many as spectators. " The proceedings commenced by M. President Berthelin warning the auditory that no marks of approbation would be permitted—a warning which it will be seen in the sequel was not attented to. He then called on the defendant Douniol, who, in answer to the interrogatories put to him, said merely that he was the responsible editor of the Coirespondant ; that M. de Montalembert's article was published without his seeing it, during his absence, he having full confidence in the persons left to conduct the Journal; and that he had no observations to offer. " M. de Montalembert, on being asked the usual preliminary questions, said that his name was Charles (he did not mention his English Christian name of Forbes), that he was forty-eight years of age, an ex-Peer of France, and a member of the French Academy, and that he was born in Paris. (It has been stated in some recent biographies that he was born in London.) He answered all the questions put to him with the greatest frankness and the most perfect sana froid, never for a moment shrinking from the respon- sibility of anything he had said in his article, and never failing to detect the import of any insidious suggestion made by the President. He admitted that he admired the present political institutions of England, and regretted that France had lost them ; but he denied that he had 'attacked' French institutions, in any sense forbidden by the law. He admitted that when he spoke of his joy at a temporary escape in England from pestiferous miasma and corrupt atmosphere,' he alluded to miasma and atmosphere in France, but he totally denied that he meant to ear that he and his friends alone were honest inen, and that the eight millions of Frenchmen who had voted for the Emperor were cowards. When asked whether he should not think it an insult to say to ally one in ri chawingroom that their ideas of happiness and honour were very different,' he said, Yes, if I said so to a person's face; but when I say so of a class of persons whom I do not expressly designate, I do not transcend the limits which have always been permitted.' He denied that the fair construction of his expression about a • Government of an ante- Chamber' applied to the Emperor. Ile had denounced in a general way flatterers and sycophants, bewhem there were as many now as there bad been in all time. He had particularly denounoedithose flutterers who has been the obsequious followers of every dynasty. With regard to his hob, said that the press was gagged,' that was a mere statement of an wise: niable fact. Not only were there legal warnings, but it was notorious that only within the last two days the journals of Paris had received an order altogether extra-legal, commanding them to abstain from comment uses', certain subjects. " The Procureur Imperial, M. Cordouen, then pronounced his requisitoire or speech, for the prosecution. It was weak beyond description, 11. Cu; d'Estange, the 'Brocureur-General Imperial,' who sat hidf hidden behind one of the judge's chairs, looked vexed beyond measure at the poor exhiSj. tion which his inferior officer made. Etiquette prevented him from sseak. lug himself, as he belongs to a superior court. M. Cordouen, feel ing probably that he had very little to stand upon in regard to the specific passages of the article in the Correspondant, on which his indictment was founded, relied especially upon the general spirit of the writing considered as a whole. Be accused M. de Montalembert of haring praised England for the express purpose of disparaging France by contrast Englishmen, he said, had their good qualities and their faults, but one merit they had incontestably—they always spoke well of their country No Englishman would have been capable of drawing any such contrast ti; the dieparagement of his own country us M. de Montalembert had done. He indulged in a few commonplaces about parliamentary goveniment having broken down in France, the immense popularity of the Emperor and the necessity of a strong government. England, he said, could support' liberty, because her dynasty was founded nearly two hundred years ago, whereas that of France was only sixty years old. No young dynasty ha ever been so liberal, so moderate, so indulgent, as that of Napoleon m. He cited laws of William III. against the press, which he said remained in force in England till 1771, and which were more severe than any now in France. The manifest inference from this part of his argument was that France must wait.150 years or more before she would be fit for free institu- tions. France, although not parliamentary, had representative halite- lions, which constituted a free government. He concluded by apostro- phising, M. de Montalembert as a man having lost the feelings of a French. man, and said, repeating the expression three times, You have laid Eng- land prostrate at the feet of France ; you have struck France in the face; yes, struck her lathe face—unworthily struck her in the face.' " "M. Berryer, on rising, said that no one could have so well answered the charge made against M. de Montalembert as M. de Montalembert himself; but that he had promised not to speak, and to confide his defence to his counsel because they were persuaded that the law was altogether on their side. He described the prosecution as 'unjust, unfounded, ill-advised, and, he was going to say—rash.' He desired to accept the proposition of the Procureur Imperial, that M. de Montalembert's article must he judged of as a whole, and not from miserable details, and the strained interpre- tation of here and there a strong expression dropped from the pen of a vi- vacious writer. The spirit of the article was not an attack upon anything French, but a genuine admiration of English free institutions, produced by hearing a splendid debate in the English Parliament on one of the grandest questions which ever occupied a deliberative assembly. He here pronounced a most eloquent eulogium onthe conduct of the English Parliament and na- tion on the occasion of Lord Elleuborough's resignation on account of his answer to Lord Canning's despatch, and said that M. de Montaleinbert, who at twenty-one had made ir brilliant defence of himself in the Chamber of Peers for having founded a free school with Abbe Lacordaire—M. de Monts- lembert, whose whole. life had been passed in parliamentary struggles for religion and liberty, as he understood them, must naturally look back with regret to institutions which France had but very recently lost. On M. Berryer saying that to affirm that France did not now possess liberty was not an attack upon the government, but merely the assertion of a notorious and undeniable fact, he was interrupted by the President, who said—' Maitre Berryer, the defence is free, as you have seen; but you are now going too far, you are repeating at the bar the very offence with which M. de Monte- lembert stands charged; and that cannot be permitted.' "If. Bauer, with a gesture of eloquent astonishment, continued- ' Must I then throw up my brief? Have I lost my reason and conscience: Do I understand what the court means ? Can it be that a counsel is to be construed as attacking the Government because he will not say that black is white ? Why, it is the boast of the Government that it has bartered liberty for order—and it has done so, it says, with the consent of the French people ; and that I am not here to deny. Yes, France has repu- diated her own liberty. That is a fact which sonic people may and others may not regret; but it is not rational to hold it an offence M any one to state the simple fact that liberty does not now exist.' M. Berryer then examined in detail the different heads of the accusation, and argued that no one of them was borne out by any passage in the article. With regard to M. de Montalembert's severe remarks upon servile flatterers and hangers- on of ante-chambers, it was no attack upon the present Government, but upon a class of men who existed under all governments. He and his imme- diate friends were men who had taken leave of ambition, and refused offered honours; but if he were in the habit of frequenting the ante-chambers of palaces he was sure that he should find in them now the same faces which he remembered years ago among the fawning adulators of former govern

m - ents. Coining i

ing to the most important count n the indictment, that of an attack on the rights of the Emperor under the constitution and the prin- ciple of- universal suffrage,' he would prove to demonstration that there was no scrap of law to support it. This accusation was entirely based upon a law of 1849, passed to protect from attacks and insults the constitu- tion of the Republic with a President for four years. How could that law be applicable to the empire ? Would it be replied, by analogy.? This was his answer, In 1819 a law couched in somewhat similar language was paSSed to protect the charter of the restoration granted by Louis XVIII. of his so- vereign will and mere motion by virtue of 'his rights by birth. Louie XVIII. swore to maintaiu this charter, and ho kept his oath. (Laughtv and sensation in court.) When the revolution of 1830 took place, it never occurred to any lawyer or statesman that the law of 1819, made for a char- ter so granted by a King by right of birth, could be applicable to the con- stitutional monarchy of the Rol des _Francais, and accordingly Louis Phi- lippe's government passed a new law to a similar effect. eAgem, iu 1848, when we had a single sovereign assembly, a law was passed for the protec- tion of that constitution; and when, in 1849, the form of government was again changed, though not in any such radical manner as it was subse- quently in 1862, another law was passed to meet the circumstance. If the present government had neglected to renew that law it was their own fault; but that was no reason why they should dispense with all law, and, acting upon purely arbitrary- principles, condemn a man merely because he wen nb; noxious. He concluded by a brilliant and impassioned peroration, which"-

will not attempt to quote from. • "When M. Berryer sat down, loud, numerous, and simultaneous cries of 'Bravo' burst forth from the lower end of the court. The President ordered the police to turn out any one who had joined in the manifestation if tbel" could find him, and threatened to clear the court if the outrage should le: repeated. M. Yillemain, the perpetual Secretary of the Academy, apPron'

and squealing hia hand said, 'You were is ler ia your life finer, seb3f. BerrPer at r the' bar or an the tribune.' " The Court -now rose for a short space. When the judges resumed their seats, M. Cordouen replied to M. Berryer in vague and declama- ,,s, terms. Then M. Dufaure replied upon the whole case. --i% The Procureur Imperial seemed to think that reading here and there a as from the article in a most cursory way was a sufficient formality to ,r,iitify a condemnation, without pointing out, as he was bound to do, the teesalar passages which fell within the scope of the laws referred to in em. If the Procureur had read the article carefully he would have seen tbat the leading idea of it was to defend the religious policy of the Corre- 8,5wkwt against that of the Univers and legitimiat journals, who decried & English alliance and extolled the cut-throats of Cawnpore and Luck- nos M. de Montalembert had replied to four furious articles of the Univers which had appeared but a short time before the number of the Correspondant wow in questions He denounced the ultramontane and retrograde policy of the Univers with burning indignation, and said that the Correspondant defended ratMnal religion such as it had been understood by all the noblest sea best men in France for ages against journals who gloried in the mas- sacre of St. Bartholomew, and justified the revocation of the Edict of Nsines, As an instance of the little thought which the Procureur Imperial ha bestowed upon the case, he said that the charge of M. de Montalembert having alluded to the Emperor when he talked of a 'government of an ante-chamber,' refuted itself. If ever there was a man whose habits were self-reliant and solitary, it was the Emperor. That he might say of him, without being wanting in proper respect. The Emperor was wont to decide most important questions without taking much counsel, and often quite against the opinions of those nearest to him. His former ministers (turn- ing towards M. Odillon Barrot) can tell us a little about this. M. Dufaure recapitulated and reinforced with crushing logic the arguments of M. Ber- ryer, showing that the law of 1849 could not be applicable to the present imperial constitution. It would be a strange thing, he said, if /A. de Mon- talembert were to be condemned for having lamented the loss of liberty of the press, liberty of the tribune, &e., under a law passed for the express purpose of protecting those very institutions from attacks. He referred with humour to the capricious nature of universal suffrage, which in the course of a very few years had sanctioned a republic with a sovereign chamber, a republic with a chamber and a president for four years with con- current powers, a modified republic with a president for ten years, and finally the present empire. If to regret some of the results of universal suffrage was to be construed as an attack upon its principles, there were few men in France who had not attacked it within a very short time. He read a passage from Montesquieu narrating that, when receiving the hos- pitality of a foreign country, he felt a peculiar interest in and regard for the people and institutions of that country-. M. de Montalembert had been actuated by the same sentiment when in England. As to the expression which had been much objected to, that France was in leading-strings ((sidle), the same thing hail been said with regret over and over again by many eminent men. On this subject M. Dufaure read a passage from a speech lately pronounced by Prince Napoleon at Limoges, in which, speak- ing in favour of decentralisation, he used that very word tutelle, and re- gretted that there was so much of it in France. He further observed that there was not a word its the article contrary to the Emperor's policy as re- gards England. His regret that there was not a greater approach to simi- larity in the institutions of the two countries only showed that he wished to see the alliance established on a lasting basis. So far from his being anti- French, he showed his love for his country, and paid a compliment to his countrymen, when he expressed his belief that France was worthy to enjoy light, liberty, and freedom."

The Judges deliberated for an hour on their judgment, and then, with reasons duly set forth, they passed the sentence recorded above.

The Univers has received a notice that it will not in future be allowed to write on the Mortara affair. When the notice was received M. Veuil- lot said he had an article already in type and could not suppress it. The article appeared. Now all the other papers had been -warned off the same ground. The next morning the Sieele replied to the Univers, determined, as it said to have the last word.

"Since the Univers thus continues the war, the Government cannot have two weights and two measures, and we are not aware M. Veuillot possesses any other privileges than those of a poltroon who insults. The Government, which has inscribed at the head of its constitution the principles of 1789, will permit those who defend the French revolution, the civil code, liberty of conscience, and the liberties of the Galliean church, not to bend the head before the inquisitors and insulters of all that France has produced great and honourable in the course of the last century."

The immediate cause of the " friendly " warning is said to have been tins—The Jewish consistory of Paris had complained to M. Rouland, the Minister of Public Worship, of the outrageous attacks of the Univers, and this complaint led to the question being brought before the council of ministers. There Prince Napoleon took the opportunity of expressing an Opinion in favour of the liberty of the press, and begged M. Delangle not to give any warning to the Univers. M. Delangle promised that he would not. "But,' said the Prince, "I hope you will not warn the journal which answers the Univers." A like promise was given. The next day to make everything pleasant, the minister resolved to put all the journals on an equal footing. It is understood the prohibition applies to all religious articles. Upon this the Paris correspondent of the Times remarks- " The press is rapidly approaching the complete quietism of Figaro's Journal Inutile, and, like it, may not even then escape suppression. 'Pourvu que je no park pas en mes dents ni de l'autorite, as du eulte, in de la politique, ni de la morale, ni des gens en place, ni des corps en credit, ni de l'Opera, ni des autres spectacles, m de personne qui tienne a quelque chose,. je puis tout imprimer librement, sous Pin- spection de deux on treys censeurs.' It is difficult to point out any one of the above topics which can now be treated. Authority ?—Out of the question. Morals ?—Why there are few of the great personages of the day who would not interpret the praise of morality as the bitterest censure on themselves—witness. M. de alontalembert's case. People in office ?—Not even by implication, as the Revue des Deux Monde& and others can tell. Of great bodies in credit ?—The "great bodies" do not, I suppose, mean „...sthe sun, moon planets, or fixed stars, or anything else than the Senate, '''-gtelutive Body, and Council of State. The proceedings of neither of them are made public' of course censure is not to be thought of. Of the Opera and other theatrical representations ?--Matters may come to that Point before long. The Opera and certain other theatres are subsidized by the Government, are under the control of the Minister of State, and may, I suppose, be officially protected from criticism. So that you see Figaro's Programme wants but little to be complete." A letter from Compiegne dated the 18th November, from some Court Newsman, throws a little light upon the doings there.

The representation given last evening at the Palace by the performers of

the TiMatre Frannais was a most brilliant one. The pieces given were La Teunesse de ifenrt IV. and les Dear Menages, both of which were admir- ably played. Their Majesties frequently gave the signal for applause, and at the close of the performance the artistes were recalled amid loud plaudits. Among the personages present were the Princess Ilathilde, Lord and Lady Clarendon, .Lord and Lady Palmerston, the Marquis of Hertford, Lord ma Lady Cowley, Lord and Lady Alfred Paget, Marshal Valliant, Count and Countess Walowsld, Baron de Rothschild, M. Fould, M. and Madame Rouher, the Duke and Duchess de Bassano, the Marquis and Marquise de Cadore, Baron de Talleyrand, General Bougenel, the Countess de la Be- doyen, the Baroness de Pierre, Baron d'Olfremont, &c. Several of the principal functionaries of the department were also invited. A grand stag- hunt was to have taken place on Tuesday, but the wetness of the weather prevented it ; still their Majesties went to the place of rendezvous, in apita of the rain, but it was considered injudicious to let the dogs loose. The next day their Majesties and some of the guests went to visit the barrack of the Lancers of the Guard, and spent some time in the riding-school. The Emperor displayed great skill in striking, at full speed, objects with a lance, and Lord Palmerston' in spite of his years, proved himself a first- rate horseman. It is said that the Court will remain here until the 2d of December."

The Government, taking into consideration the present low price of corn after two abundant harvests, preceded by four years of scarcity, has determined to form a reserve by compelling the bakers in above 160 towns to supply themselves with flour sufficient for their consump- tion for three months at least. The idea of storing a quantity of flour after an abundant harvest sufficient for a provision should the succeeding harvest be deficient is not new. Several Governments in France have endeavoured to carry it into execution, but without success. Louis XV. determined to form a granary of reserve, but to a limited extent. Stores were established at Corbel for the supply of Paris, and were kept con- stantly filled until the year 1789. In 1793 the Convention decreed the establishment of granaries in the chief town of every district in France, and voted 100,000,000 francs for the purchase of grain. But, as the Revolutionary Government could not supply the funds voted, the gra- naries were WW1 established. Some stores, known under the name of reserve de Paris, were established under the Consulate and the First Em- pire, and intrusted to a special commission, which was carefully renewed and maintained under successive Governments till the year 1830. At that period the system was abandoned for various reasons, but since the year 1811 the principle of a commercial reserve of grain was established, according to which the Government imposed no sacrifice on itself, but trade followed its regular course.

Vrnssia.—The final elections for the Prussian Chamber have taken place this week. Up to Wednesday it was known that of the 352 depu- ties, who have been elected, the following are at present known-94 Liberals for the new Ministry, 19 old Conservative, 13 uncertain ; total known 126. Among these, Schwerin was three times, Baron Auerswald (Staat:minister) four times, and Burgomaster Grabow three times elected. The Liberals have behaved with the greatest moderation. The " men of '48 "have declined to come forward as candidates, but they have taken part in the elections to show their respect for authority. The Feudalist party have scrupled at no manceuvres, and have cried revolution and anarchy at each step. Unfortunately the Government has shown some alarm. In an address from the Prince Regent of Prussia to the Ministry of State at the first sitting, his Royal Highness, after alluding to the King's illness, said-

" It must be generally admitted that the welfare of the country and of the Crown are inseparable, and that the prosperity of both repose on solid and. Conservative bases. To recognize these wants, and to properly satisfy them is the secret of State wisdom, and it is above all things necessary to avoid running into extremes. In thisrespect the mission of the G overnmeut will not be uneasy one ; for a movement has of late mauifested itself in public life which may be in part explained, but which, on the other hand, already shows traces ofideae unusually violent, and which must be opposed by acts as rational as they are legal and energetic. Everything that is promised should be scrupulously performed, without, however, refraining from ameliorations ; and every- thing not promised must be firmly opposed. Above all, it is necessary to abstain from the stereotyped phrase that the Government must indefinitely consent to the development of liberal ideas, from the apprehension that they may make their way in an underhand manlier. When truth and legality are manifest in all the acts of the Government it is strong, because ipis conscious of acting properly ; and that feeling gives it a right to energeti- cally resist all that is objectionable." The Minister Flottwell followed up this by issuing a singular and al- most unintelligible menace to the Liberals. Ile remarked, that hopes and wishes had been expressed in the electoral meetings that could not be fulfilled, and he directed the attention of the authorities "to the work of resisting by all legal means such erroneous opinions, and all ex- . pectations which go beyond the just limits of a fair appreciation of the relations and requirements of the time." Then followed this curious passage- " The ground taken up by the Government is that its business is not to renounce all those traditions which are the foundation of the greatness and strength of Prussia; on the contrary, it is the resolve of the Government to oppose all endeavours and suggestions to that effect ; and it is not disposed. to allow any deviation in any direction whatsoever." Finding that this circular irritated the public mind and raised an out- cry that the Ministers were recurring to the old regime, and were trying to coerce the Liberals alone, the Minister caused another circular issued seven days earlier to be published. In this he says- " The employes of Government, in the discharge of such duties as the approaching election imposes upon them, will take care to abstain entirely from all encouragement of extreme or exclusive political tendencies. Ac- cordingly, I request the country magistrates and the clerks of the poll to give their best attention to this order, and to inform me immediately of any infringement of it."

This is held to be directed against the Kreuz party; its publication at the eleventh hour did not efface the impression made by the circular which first saw the light.

Druntark.—The Danish Government has addressed a long circular to its residents abroad recounting with great minuteness the steps in the negotiation between itself and the German diet respecting Holstein and Lanenberg. The details extend over several years and are very COIII• plies*. The Diet is represented as aggressive and encroaching ui,itit ollc; the Danish Government as yielding and conciliatory. The non- 'German European powers have not given any support to Denmark. T4e King, conforming to the reiterated councils of his non-German allies, ler

elares that he has now "satisfied every demand in support of which the federal law has been invoked."

"The King's Government indulges the hope that the German Confedera- tion will appreciate this conduct, and will contribute, on its side, towards a pacific solution of a difference which has been too prolonged, and which was dangerous for their mutual interests. He cherishes this hope all the more that it is impossible for him to make any further advance in the way of con- cession. If, then, contrary to all expectation, the Confederation is about to put forth fresh demands of still greater moment—if it resolve on steps which would prejudice the sovereign authority belonging to the King as member of the Confederation—and, still more, if it is going to prejudice the independ- ence which belongs to him as Sovereign of the Danish monarchy, it would become the imperative duty of every Danish Government to oppose such a violation of the rights of the monarchy with a resolution all the greater that it could count on the devoted and energetic tic cooperation of the nation, and on the sympathies of the Powers that have shown their lively and constant interest for a free and independent Danish monarchy."

Int P.—The Greek Chambers were opened on the 11th November. There was no Royal speech, as the Ministers were disinclined to risk a conflict with tho Senate which had prepared to oppose them on the dis- cussion of an address.

• s.

tithe Stairs.—The Persia arrived at Liverpool on Sunday with

advices from New York to the 16th.

_ The elections for the state of New York have gone against Mr. Bu- chanan's administration. In fact, the whole of the Free states arc for once united in opposition, although that opposition is far from being a consistent whole. In 18 states the numbers are 36 for and 111 against Mr. Buchanan. In 1856 they were 66 to 86 respectively. Mr. Douglas having carried Illinois against the Republicans it is thought that he will be accepted by the South as their champion in 1860. The speeches which have been delivered contain some remarkable statements. Hitherto the Republicans have mainly sought to prevent the extension of slavery. But Mr. Seward has now declared that in reality the contest was earned on between the rival systems of slave labour and free labour, and that it would end, not with cooping up slavery within its present limits, but in its extirpation everywhere. Senator Hammond, of South Carolina, formerly Governor of the State and one of the most prominent and in- fluential members of "the chivalry," made a speech the other day upon Douglas and his doings, which has excited a great deal of attention in- asmuch as it is looked upon as the Southern programme of operations during the next electioneering campaign. In it he acknowledges with- out reserve, that as far as the propagation of their rival systems is con- cerned, the North has unmistakeably triumphed, and that it is no use for the South to contend against it in the manufacture of new States any longer ; that the predominance of the free States in the Senate is hence- forth a fixed fact ; that the slave-trade cannot be revived, and that the South must henceforward content itself with the simple assertion of its rights under the constitution. White, one of the contractors anxious to secure the Nicaragua route, is represented as having been busy at Washington, as being in alliance with Walker, and as facilitating the transport of filibusters to the San Juan. Henningsen has also been at Washington. Senor Yrissari, a Nicaraguan, is said to be deep in the plot, and to give passports to the filibusters. The American journals seem to expect some coup from the administration.

A curious paragraph has been cut from the Californian journals. It is this-

" The Fraser River excitement was fully played out. The steamer Cortes, which left San Francisco on the 9th, took out only twenty passengers, and steamers were returning daily, loaded down with disheartened and destitute miners. The whole amount of Fraser River gold dust deposited in the San Francisco mint up to October 1 was valued at only about 57,000 dollars. A fire broke out at Jamestown on the night of the 6th, which destroyed twenty- seven buildings. Total loss 250,000 dollars. Business generally had been quiet at San Francisco since the departure of the last steamer, but the demand for goods from the interior was about as full as usual at this season."