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Lettkrs From Paris. [From Our Own Coitii...
most part , considered the reasons advanced hy the " authentic" party peremptory enough to deserve considertion . This treaty , after all , is only the confirmation of rumours prevalent in Paris last May : and , what is more it bears a precise and formal date , the 20 th of that month . That date corresponds exactly with the esence _jie Czar at Berlin , and with the ill-success of the President's confidential envoy , M . Heeckeren , whose mission to the Emperor was to propose to him the re-settlement of the map of Europe . Moreover , the date is now distant enough to explain any possible ind iscretion to which we may owe possession of the diplomatic secret . The form of the treaty , too , is accurate and positive : it has nothing vague or undecided in its terms : tbere is nothing of the " on dW about
its dispositions : the text is strict and literal . Now , it is not so easy to invent these documents : it is easier to cite than to falsify them . The reasons _advanced by the opposite party , indeed , are purely moral considerations derived from the circumstance that Louis Philippe was never the object of a similar treaty : that the three great Powers , having never dared to attack Louis Philippe , would scarcely venture to sign such a manifesto against Bonaparte . These reasons do not seem to bear close examination ; for it must be remembered that Louis Philippe had not seized supreme power by an odious act of violence like the 2 nd of December ; he had not imposed himself upon a whole unarmed population by terrorism ; he had not endeavoured to impose upon all Europe as to the origin , the validity , the nature of his authority . If Louis Philippe had been
attacked , all France would have risen to defend herself ; Bonaparte , on the contrary , would not rally the nation even to the defence of the territory : the nation would let things take their course , as in 1814 . Such are the general conclusions to be gathered from this discussion ; and the attitude of the Government of Ronaparte goes far to confirm the authenticity of the treaty of May 20 . The Moniteur has preserved an obstinate silence on the subject ; the Patrie
has attempted a species of deuial to the Morning Chronicle , in order to divert public opinion ; this denial bore the customary form of government communica tions , but , as soon as it was generally remarked that the paragraph was not accompanied -by the sacramental word " Communique , " the ruse was unmasked , and no one committed the mistake of attributing to Government a denial which proceeded from the manufactory of the editors of La Patrie .
However it may be , the rumours of the Empire have been more rife than ever these last days . The Elysee is quite decided to take the leap , and is preparing for all eventualities . Bonaparte is even resolved to go to war , if Europe attacks him , and he is secretly taking measures to place himself in a condition to have the fortune of armies on his side . I mentioned to you , in a recent letter , the orders that had been given to provide shi ps of the line with auxiliary steam power , so that you might bo invaded in twelve hours , without the least warning ;* but Louis Bonaparte is not content with having the power of crossing the Channel at any
moment . Singularly enough , two engineers , of whom ono is a personal friend of my own , have just been sent into Belgium and Rhenish Prussia , on a reconnoitring mission , to ascertain whether trains filled with troops could reach the III line from Paris d'un sent bond , without any obstacle . These gentlemen returned on Saturday last from their inquiries , with an answer in the affirmative . Bonaparte and his adherents aro then , I say , perfectly resolveil to have the Empire , and prepared to meet all its consequences . It is in this prevision that the prefets havo worked all tho nominations of mayors and deputy mayors , and that tiie Government baa
thrown its weight into the election of _Councillorsgcnerul in the Departments . One express condition has been imposed upon all the candidates of Government—to support witli their votes every propositiem demanding the Empire , and , moreover , to take tho initiative of petitions to that ond . Ne > man has been nominated mayor without n formal engagement to aid in tho imperialist propaganda . Thus have tho machinists made every preparation fen- an effective mise en _seine . 1 " a few days , petitions will flood tho Senate
House ; the Senate will declare itself overwhelmed by the rising tide of public opinion , and will assert tho unanimous desire of all Prance to we the imperial crown em tho brow of Louis Bonaparte , and that it is impossible any longer to rej URo to Hatisfy tho public ardour . Consequently , the _Senate will proclaim Louis Napoleon Bonaparte "Emperor of the French \ " It may bo that tho Northern _powers will _declaro war , you will say . True ; but at _u » o Hist movement e > f troops in Germany , Bonupurte with his 40 , 000 men at hand , of which number one < KffL _^! u ? ° & _*** my ~ not _« t > fast ! There are certain other _* _Kfj £ it 0 * * wib ' ui ecrow » _to _« _a «» cau _overcome !—
Lettkrs From Paris. [From Our Own Coitii...
half at least is quartered in towns provided with railway communication , can invade Belgium and Rhenish-Prussia , and he on the Rhine in twenty-four hours . By striking this hold and decisive blow , by such a coup d ' eclat , he would be sure to rally to his side at once an immense popularity . Prom that moment all France would be with him and for him . From that day his cause would become the national cause . Even myself , whom you will not suspect of partiality to him , I could not escape the general _contagion of the rest of my fellow-citizens . Look well to your England , I say , and don't allow yourselves to be surprised , as we were on the 2 nd December , 1851 !
As I have just told you , the departmental and municipal elections have taken place . The immense majority of the population abstained from voting . In a great number of communes not one quarter of the electors inscribed voted : out of ten million electors , 7 , 500 , 000 have abstained from voting—only 2 , 500 , 000 took part in the elections . Nevertheless , in a great number of towns the candidates of Bonaparte were rejected , or only reached the bottom of the poll . Mayors nominated beforehand by Government were not even voted to the office of
municipal councillors : so that for the first tune in trance we shall see this singular anomaly—? nayors not even belonging to the municipal councils of which they are supposed to be the chief members , according to principle . But why talk of principles ? There is but one now—the will of the ruler . These frequent checks have sorely vexed the Government . A certain number of Prefets have fallen into disgrace—among others is mentioned M . Leon Berger , ( son of the Prefet de la Seine , ) who is to be deprived of his Prefecture de I'Indre in which department all the candidates of Government have been rejected . Yet these poor Prefets have surely strained every nerve to succeed . Intrigues and threats , official warnings , hints , every kind of pressure has been exercised .
As I am anxious to enlighten you on the prodigality of Governmental precautions , I will cite a few facts . In the Charente certain Republicans having ventured to accept the candidateship—among others MM . Babaud Laribiere and Lavallee , ex-representatives of the people—the Angouleme journal was ordered to insert the following article ;— " In certain cantons , the enemies of our institutions have dared to propose to the electors the candidateship of men of extreme political opinions , who have refused the oath of fidelity to the Elect of the nation . Such conduct is an act of hostility against the Government , and an insult to the dignity of the
electoral body , which it is the duty of the administration to repress . The good spirit of the population of the Charente will doubtless avenge these scandalous manoeuvres ; but it belongs to the mayors to arrest with promptitude and energy any such propaganda carried on in the communes . " Another journal , that of La Meurthe , has received the following warning : — " Considering that the Journal de la Meurthe , in' its impression of the 29 th inst ., puts forward as a candidate for tho functions of councillor a citizen who resigned these very functions rather than take the oath of fidelity required by the Constitution—an act which
implies a denial of the rights of a Government established by the national sovereignty , a second warning is given to the Journal de la Meurthe , & c . See . " Thc Mayor of Rozol , ( lthe > no ) had taken the liberty to present to the electors a candidate without having consulted the _Geivernment : he has boon _deprived of his _eiflice by the Prefet of the department . Another fact : in a circular to tho mayors of his department , tho Prefet of the Gironde says— " To publish any other candidates than those adopted by th _» Government is to commit an act , not merely of insubordination , but of hostility ; for , as in every election the question necessarily lies between the Government and the opposition , those whe > aro not for
the former are naturally considered against . Not content with energetically combatting every e . andidatoship rejected by the _administratiem , you aro not te ) hesitate openly to repudiate any name started in competition . We aro not _sei completely secure from the ; evil days that men of order should with impunity disband , still less divide / ' This _Preafet , you see ) , is not _sei well assured as some persons are of the sedielity of the present Government , since ho foresees the pe > ssibility of a roturn to evil days . Well : all these efforts , alt these _critie : isms , all these threats , have had but one resultto prove the real isolation of tho Government iu the midst of the nation , which has this time disduineel to tako part in the electoral movement .
Bonaparte , to indulge his anger , ban strue _^ k another blow at , his opponents . A certain number of Councillors of State of tho Section des Contentieux , had voted for tho Orleans family , in the _uffair of the confiscation : M . Maillarel , President of the Section ; M . Cornudet , reporter ; and M . Roverchon , _Bccemd reporter , were ol this number . Tlve two latter have been dismissed : it
Lettkrs From Paris. [From Our Own Coitii...
is the first instance of the dismissal of Councillors of State for fifty years . As to M . Maillard , the President has deprived him of his post as President , and named in his place one of his own creatures , M . Boudet . He has also modified his Ministry in the way I had led you to expect . Persigny , however , is not yet Minister of State ; his place is provisionally held by M . Fonld , ex-Minister of Finance . The first act of M . Fould was
to countersign the decree dismissing the Councillors of State who voted against the _confiscation . You will remember that it was this same M . Fould who left the Ministry in company with M . de Morny , so as not to seem to sanction those decrees by his presence . By now countersigning the act that strikes the Councillors of State who had the courage to protest against these decrees , M . Fould becomes an accomplice in the decrees he had repudiated .
MM . Turgot and Casablanca , the two Ministers going out with M . Lefebre-Durufle , are very mortified at their dismissal without notice . They are off to the provinces , unwilling to take their seats in the Senate ; and they speak of their master in hard terms . I have omitted to tell you that all men of rank and position remaining in France have refused to form part of the Municipal Councils : among Others , I may name M . OdillonBarrot , who thanks the electors of the department de l'Aisne , in a letter which no journal in France has been able to publish . A striking passage in his letter is as follows : — " Now that on the ruins of the
constitutional and parliamentary Government of my country is founded , not as a temporary dictatorship , but as a permanent Government , the most absolute ¦ power that exists in the world ; that France , traversing the fatal circle in which she has revolved for the last sixty years , has once more passed from an excess of liberty to a ruling power the most concentrated and most devoid of serious control ; since the deceptive forms of universal suffrage in the absence of any discussion , any possible meeting , any preliminary concert among the electors , leave to the nominees of the
Administration a certainty of success , and seem to have been preserved only to mask under a false cloak of free institutions the sad and humiliating realities of despotism , what support to such a Government can you ask of me—what good can I do ? " The Independance Beige , which published this letter , was seized on the frontier , and the letter has only circulated in France in manuscript . It is indeed a very strong letter , and expresses in _energetic language the true sentiments of the country . And so it is that France has abstained from _votinsr .
The hostility , the disaffection , is general . Only the clergy are content : not that they approve of the existing regime , but that they take advantage of the fears of Bonaparte , and make him pay dear for their support by great concessions . A new order of monks has been re-established this week under the name of the _Frerhs du Saint JEsprit—they are a religious order for the education of youth . Ever _sine _^ e the Revolution of ' 89 , it has been the dream of the clergy in France to get the education of the young in their hands : they pursue tbis dream with an inflexible
perseverance . This week , however , they have failed to gain a signal advantage . By dint of intrigues , they had extorted from Bonaparte a promise not to tolerate any but Catholics at the Ecole Normale . The Protestants anel Jews were to be no longer admitted : the candidates belonging to these two persuasions who prescnted themselves lately were rejectee ! on the pretext of moral incapacity . This fact made a great sensation in Paris ; anel Bonaparte is compelled te > revoke his dee _; isiem , anel te > declare in the Moniteur that Protestants and Jews are still admitted to the Ecole Normale .
A new limitation is te > be imposed upem the press and the publishing l . nuV . There have been a great number of cheap illustrated works published these last four years at twenty centimes ( Ad . ) a number . The Government has just interelieteel their sale . Hawkers are _enily allowed to sell works stumped by the Government . The works of Voltaire , _ItouuHcuu , & c , will thus be interelieteel , at pleasure , by authority . This concession bus b (» en oxte > rte : el by the priests .
A great juridical crime bus recently been committed . Two of tho insurgents of Chunecy _, sentenced to death by the ce > une : il of wur of the Nie : vret , have been guillotineel in the night , clandestinely , unexpectedly . The Moniteur informs the country of the _fae-t . This first stroke of the _politie-ul axe will resound far and wide : it will be tbe signal for many other executions . It is now feared that the ) olovon condemned prisoners of H & hirricux will have to mount the Hcailblel . Nothing _neiw remains of the Revolution of February—not even the abolition e _» f the punishment of death fe > r peuitical offences , which tho republicans had _listened to efface from tho French laws . Victor Hugo hum been , driven out of Bdgiuiu hy
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 7, 1852, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_07081852/page/5/
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