,fraun.—The LegislarrvepoifaKstip.arated on Thursday, the 27th of June, amidst cries
of "Viva l] operear !" and the political quiet in France is broken only lb, relorts dr eleations to the Councils-General, nn at which the GoveieVni- .horainees are. ...feriLed. The repeated election of Opposition ctinefirlaeris consididd'innytorlant, not be- cause they will have any pohtleallielfer., but treetviite:piei show a decline in the influence of the Pitied?. The GovirsimearIces.sus- tained another defeat in the contest 'vatil the Due de Brbelli. . The Duke, a man of the highest standing ancr character, had-ordbred a printer to lithograph a hundred copies of a pamphlet he is preparing. The printer intormed the Minister of the Interior, who ordered the sheets to be seized. As the pamphlet was not to be published, the Duke brought an action for the recovery of the sheets, and the Ministry, indignant at his audacity, commenced a prosecution for a breach of the law. The Duke appeared accordingly before the Juge tl'Instruction, but pleaded that, as Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, he was, under a decree of the Emperor, liable only to the High Court of Justice. The plea was well founded, and as the Court cannot be summoned together to try such a trifle, M. de Broglie departed in peace. The Court has decided that the sheets are his own property, and the Minister must now surrender all he can find. Unfortunately for himself, he has circulated a few among his friends, and should any of them publish the pamphlet, he will be liable to penal consequences. The excessive expense of the existing r‘gime is also attracting attention. The consolidated debt has increased one-fourth since the Empire was proclaimed, and the charge for intereat and consolidated fund is now within two millions of our own. The Go- vernment, moreover, when it wants money, as for instance to pay railway debentures, has recourse to "expedients," such as the issue of bonds redeemable in thirty years, which meet with no favour, and involve a heavy annual cost. The effects of heavy taxation are be- ginning to be felt on trade, and are intensified by the disturbances in America.
The Siamese Embassy was received by the Emperor on Sunday, the 30th of June, the Envoys crawling into the presence on their knees, as in Siam, and presenting the following presents: A crown of massive gold, covered with diamonds; a gold waist-belt, with a plate ornamented with diamonds; gold dishes, richly enamelled, of enor- mous weight ; and a number of palanquins thrones, arms, &c. The crown, which is of a conical form, is covered with a band of very thin caoutchouc, on which the diamonds are placed, so that at a little distance it resembles a pile' of precious stones. The trial of M. Mires commenced on Thursday, the 27th of June, and. has continued throughout the week. The great charge against him is fraudulent mismanagement of the Railway Bank, with a view to his own advantage. The proceedings are not reported, but the accused exhibits excessive agitation, and temper, and public feeling seems to be in his favour. It is said to be established that his trans- actions with the bank yielded has no profit, though the bank, it is alleged, speculated with varied success to the extent of upwards of 60,000,0001. The decision will really depend on the view taken by Government of the affair, and, to judge by his book, M. Mires has made his peace. The north of France has been ravaged by a succession of storms which have destroyed property to a large extent. The single depart- ment of the Cate d'Or has lost 144,0001., and that of the Calvados 484,600/. In Burgundy, the Haute-Garonne, the Haute-Loire, the Marne, and the Vosges, the crops have been seriously injured, and many of the trees blown down. In Algeria the crop of the year will, in consequence of these storms, not exceed one-half the usual average. The storms were hailstorms, one of which, near Lyons, stripped roofs off the houses, overturned carriages, and laid the vine- yards bare, while in the Nibyre it levelled one hundred houses and tore up thousands of trees.
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