II %re have received the following letter from Paris :—Ourcorrespon-
dent is evidently biassed in favour of the Latitte or Movement party: his opinionS of the national feeling and politics of France must therefore be taken with some grain of allowance. Those parts of his letter 1% Ilia relate to minor matters will not be found destitute of
amusement.] • •
"PARIS, Wednesday, September 4.—The journey of the King has been marked throughout by the absurdity usual in such cases, and it would he equally absurd to take the harangues which have been made to him as indications of popularity. Day by day the Citizen King is losing ground ; and if it were not for the dread of another convulsion, we might predict his downfal to take place in less than a twelvemonth.
" It is openly avowed by the French Ministers, that they intend next sessions, if they last so long, which is very doubtful, to propose a new law against the Press, which they find very embarrassing to them, particularly the small jour- nals, which pay a stamp-duty a little lower than that on the larger papers, and are published much cheaper. The stamp-duty on the full-sized papers is five cen- times per sheet—a portion less than the English halfpenny ; on the small sized, four centimes. Of the latter, there are now at least twenty published at two to three sous each, in which politics are freely handled. But the most powerful papers, of the small size, agaimt the Government, are the Corsair and the Citaritiari ; the latter of which appears every day, with one page devoted to a well- executed lithographic caricature. On the whole, the Press may be considered as against the Government, in the propOrtion of ten to one, and with a lively peo- ple like the French, it is impossible for this to go on without producing the de- sired object. TIMERS, in order to diminish, if possible, the influence of the Republican papers, has got some of his supporters to start three papers on the Juste Milieu plau—viz. the Conciliateur, the Electeur, and the Diraanche. As a bait, they are brought out under the usual price, but, unless well paid by the Ministers, they will ,,ave a short existence. On the other hand, a company has been established for the publication of Republican works of every kind, at a very cheap rate. The number of persons who have taken shares in this under- taking is very considerable.
"People say here that M. THIERS hopes to make himself a little agreeable to the merchants and others here ; by opening a fresh negotiation with the English Government on the subject of the Post-office arrangements. You are aware that the Duke of RICHMOND refused to accede to every proposition of M. COMTE for the admission of the newspapers at a very small rate of postage, and to all other suggestions, except the mere extension of the number of days for sending letters. The consequence of this has been that the French Government have, on their side, done nothing to facilitate the interests of eonimerce, and have established a rate of postage which is really enormous. Previously to the new arrangement, the regular post and the estafette left Paris four times a week. The postage of the thinnest and smallest letter by the regular mail was sixteen sous, and by the estafette twenty-two. Now, however, persons sending letters have no option, and they are compelled to pay the estafette prices. A single letter from London to Paris, written on ordinary Bath post, costs, first, in London, Is. 2d., and, on arriving in Paris, 2s. 6rd. ; making, altogether, 3s. 8d. ; and if it should be sealed with wax, and pretty abundantly, as is the case usually with the English, the postage will be about 4s. for a distance of two hundred and fifty miles. Is not this scandalous ? The thing must be altered ; but, in the mean- time, let me recommend, through the Spectator, to persons who are writing to Paris, to use very thin and small-sized paler. TIIIERS says, that if the Duke of RICHMOND will do what is right, tae French Government will be very liberal. We shall see !
" Yob have probably heard of the erection of commercial telegraphs on the route from Pans to Rouen ; and of the opposition offered to the undertaking by the French Government. The persons at the head of it, however, being men of wealth, took the opinion ofabout twenty of the most eminent men at the French bar, who declared that the Government could not, without a gross violation of the law, prevent the establishment of commercial telegraphs. Consequently there is no chance of their being put down, except by the Chamber of Deputies : but this is not expected, Nthough Ministers say that they will make every effort to obtain their suppression. In the course of a few months, there is to be aline of telegraphs on the route from Paris to Calais, by which means you will get all important news very rapidly in London ; as the estimated rate of expedition is two hundred and fifty leagues per hour in the day, and about one hundred in the night. It is generally believed here, that the great ground of objection to thee telegraphs, on the part of Ministers, is, that they will be deprived of their pre- sent facilities for jobbing in the Funds, by which, and other malpractices, they gain rapid fortunes. There is one of them, who, in 1830, was the editor of a minor paper, burdened with debts. The Revolution brought him into notice, and, shortly afterwards, LA FITTE paid his debts and gave him office. He is now said to be worth four millions of francs ; and I dare say he is : for the French Court and Government in the corrupt reign of Loins the Fifteenth was not so corrupt as it is now. Nothing is done without bribes. The smallest situations, as well as the largest, are sold. A Receiver-General usually pays a year's pur- chase; and the poor devils who sweep down the steps of the Tuileries and the Palais Royal do the same. You must not be surprised, therefore, at the fortunes acquired by French Ministers. LarrrrE was above this infamy. Had he not been so, he might have been Minister still ; for the present men have a host of supporters in the sharers of their corruption. It is asserted, and I believe truly, that the greatest enemy LAFITTE has had, is the Minister whom he first brought into notice.
" Great activity is now displayed here in the augmentation of the Navy. There are on the stocks at this moment in the different ports, 24 ships of the line, 28 frigates, 6 corvettes, and 10 small vessels. Many of these are in a very forward state. The French Navy, on the 1st of January 18.T3, consisted of 33 sail of the line, 37 frigates, 26 corvettes, 54 brigs and schooner-brigs, 8 bomb vessels, 6 gun-brigs, 18 cutters, schooners, and luggers ; 86 flotilla.boats, 17 steam-ships, and 52 other vessels in all, 287. The King affects to be very anxious to increase the number rapidly, and talks of instituting an order of honour exclusively for the Navy ; but he had better let this alone, as his decorations are not much sought after ; of the last fifty persons decorated by him not five venture to wear the ribbon. Frenchmen are becoming too sensible for this buffoonery. " A company is forming here for the establishment of a railway between Paris and Dieppe. The expense is calculated at 400,000 francs (16,0001.) per league of two miles and a half. I do not think the projectors will be able to raise the necessary capital ; should they, however, succeed in doing so, they calculate on being able to complete the railway in eighteen months."
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