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ridiculous eulogiums upon tbe virtue and misfortunes of that family which has bathed itself in the blood of Freuchmcn , and with insolent wishes for the return of a child who could not , if he possessed the heart of a man , cast his eyes upon our walls , or upon our monuments , without blushing for the crimes of his
grandfather . We shall not say any thing upou , the insults offered to a whole city and a whole nation ; the people despises them and forgives them . The only effect produced by these two journals is , either to afflict or rejoice some old courtiers at their chateaux in the provinces , who are delighted at the evils they predict , and who most cordially desire that they may be still greater .
The Journal des Debats must be placed at the head of those publications which resist the spirit of the revolution , that is to say , of those which , having adopted tbe revolution of 1830 , do not , however , wish to accept the consequences of it . During the whole of its long career , this journal has always endeavoured to defend interests rather than principles . The aristocracy , of whom it has constituted itself the defender , is composed of what remains of the old lords of the ct Ancien
Regime , * of that portion of the old noblesse who enriched themselves upon the ruins of the monarchy , and in the anti-chamber of the emperor ; of a party of the new noblesse created by Napoleon , and also of the possessors of some of the large fortunes made i $ trade , who endeavour to imitate whatever is ridiculous and
vicious in both these classes . Being the advocate of a bastard aristocracy , it was both monarchical and fanatic until the upstart reign of the Villele ministry , which , pushing these principles too far , forced it to oppose such unskilful friends ; and to this opposition it did , in fact , owe its fall .
During the Martignac ministry , this journal was again the servant of power : for this minister was precisely of the calibre which it approved . But it was soon obliged to resume its opposition . The Polignac ministry , the manufacture of a coterie , or rather of the priesthood , was formed without the consent and even against the prayers of the more liberal of the Tuilleries and the
Luxembourg ; it was no guarantee to people who knew Fiance well enough to be aware of the danger of the attempt to bring back the old system . And even among the majority of the aristocracy this attempt could not have been pleasing . Many of them must have felt that their situation was firmer , more impor-
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tant , and more influential , under a representative government upon the model of that of England , with a chamber of peers , primogeniture , and great land-holders . This journal began then a lively war against the new ministry , and hoped to cause its fall , as it had that of Villele , either by open opposition , by family remonstiance , or by court intrigue . The
follies of the 25 th of July upset this scheme . We may easily believe that it was not by such proceedings that the aristocracy desired to triumph , even had their success depended entirely upon a " coup d ' etat ; " but it certainly never expected that the illegal measures would have been opposed as they were in the streets of Paris .
The monarchy fell , and all the plans of this paper were deranged . What was to become of it under a system established by popular insurrection ? Jt deliberated for a moment whether it should sit down under the ruins of the monarchy and chant the hymn of the high priest to the Chamber of Peers ; whether it should remain faithful to its old
feelings , and to a throne so rudely pulled down that it was scarcely possible to discover even if the roots were left ; or whether it should attach itself to a dynasty now in its cradle , and surrounded with dangers . Present interest overcame past affections , and it allied itself with the new monarchy , but with certain reservations . It promised to surround the government as soon as possible , with all the aristocratic chains which had encircled the
old one . It well understood that to accomplish this it would be necessary to form new alliances ; and it sought these from among the men who , by their constant opposition during the restoration , had made themselves popular . A fine opportunity offered itself . The Chamber of Deputies was the only power which
survived the storm , and was invested with a necessary authority which no one disputed , and the necessity of which was evident to all , but tbe illegality of which struck every one as soon as it was perceived that it had the cupidity to persist in its ambition . It was found that by the withdrawal of most of the ultra
Deputies , the Chamber then contained scarcely any but those members who had been opposed to tbe restored government . Some men who loved logic in all things , even in government , raised their voices and demanded that the new order of things should be ratified by a dissolution , that the nation might not at a later
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400 Critical Notices . — Miscellaneous .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1831, page 400, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2598/page/40/
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