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o THE NORTHERN STAR. July 26, 1851. ^
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f oreign srurUigeure
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FRANCE. The discussion on the Revision o...
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DO YOU WANT LUXURIANT AND BEAUTIFUL HAIR, WHISKERS, &c. 1
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O The Northern Star. July 26, 1851. ^
o THE NORTHERN STAR . July 26 , 1851 .
F Oreign Sruruigeure
f oreign srurUigeure
France. The Discussion On The Revision O...
FRANCE . The discussion on the Revision of the Constitution { continued from our last ) was resumed by M . Michael de Bourges who ascended the rii . cr . e , and said that he and his friends were not ; fra : d that the principle they advocated should be ' iscassed ; ihey , however weak , however UuSKilful , ^ a the contrary urged their opponents to discuss xheir princip le . Thosa who contested that ri ght canforraed to a monarchical tradition . He and his friends had Ins pretension of being reason itself . ( Laughter . ) The psople instinctively defended the ilepuWic The revision was a had thing , for it implied no great respect for the constitution , or a least for its spirit . Those who attacked it , attacked societv itself . The Republic was proclaimed in Fehruary , " l 848 , by the people , and the consti-The
tuent Assembly had solemnly adhered to it . reactionists had evinced much skill , and ably pro fted bv the faults of their adversaries . Ihey had crept into the councils of the Ripubhc , sacrificed th ~ man who hzd fought their battle and rendered them immense services , and p laced the reins of the G » T * ram « nt of the Republic in the hands of s Pretender , and the high offices of the State in those cf the Rbvslists . It was a wonder to bim how the Republic vet lived under those circumstances . The Sepublicans were only 200 in the Assembly ; their adversaries mustered 5 C 0 * . they had at their dis--posal au army of 500 , 000 men , and a legion of Royalist functionaries , and yet the Republic was standing ! M . Michael de Bourges then csst a rrtrospective view on the progress of Republican ideas during the last thirty years . He concluded by expressing fcis intenrion of voting against the revision . ( Lmiu cheers . ^
M . Berr er comhatted the arguments of M . llic ' sael de Bourges , and supported the revision of the constitution in a speech which gained much applause from the Right . M . Pascal Duprat then rose and proceeded at once to vindicate the convention from the accusations levelled sgainst its acts by M . Berryer . He in the first place avowed himself a descendant of the Convention , but he spoke as a freed
emancipated Frenchman oy means of the revolution of 1789 . He argued that the Convention was a battle ground on « hicb had to be fought the cause of human liberty . That excesses had been committed and blood had been shed in that battle , was what he admitted with regret . They should recollect , he said , that the Convention had declared it would not ceaie to act in a revolutionary manner until the conclusion of peace ; and bad not the Conventionalists hect hack an invasion and rescued Toulon from the
English , into whose hands it had been betrayed by the " Royalists ? In this strain the honourable gentleman proceeded for some time , amidst the encouraging cheers of the Montagnards ; and then he produced extracts from historians in vindication of the men whom he had heard so violently at . tacked . In turn he retaliated on the monarchy , which he accused of having , ia the massacre of St . Bartholomew alone , sacrificed more victims in one night than could be put to the charge of the Republic throughout its whole agitated career . He then proceeded to argue that the restoration of monarchy was no longer possible , even if its partisans were waited , which they were not . Even the
views of M . de Falloux , M . Berryer , and M . dc la Roehejaquelin did not correspond , although they were all three Legitimists ; hut how might he not widen the differences amongst them if he should examine other sections of the monarchist patties . As for the fusion , it was a dream . There could be no fusion , because there could be no reconciliation between tbe men of 1815 and the men ef 1830 . Too many bitter recollections arose to render it possible . How could the partisans of the Count of Chorabord forgive those who imprisoned the Duchess of Berry in the Chateau of Blaye ? He then took , up the question of the prolongation of powers , which had most incensistently been first mooted by the very men who had so strenuously
blamed the military banquets and tbe reviews , and the subsequent speeches at Dijon and Poitiers . They proposed to open the way to the re-election of Louis Napoleon for the most extraordinary of all reasons , that they feared it . But they were mistaken in supposing that the name had the prestige which surrounded it in 1848 . That prestige had been destroyed by the expedition to Rose , and by the other illiberal acts which had been committed by bis government . ( Loud cheers . ) He would not and could not be re-elected , and his ministers ought , instead of urging petitions , to tell the country honestly that the President was not re-eligible . Should he be re-elected in an unconstitutional manner , then the Assembly would do its duty and defend the
Constitution-M . it u Rochejaquelih said that after the direct allusion to his name , he could not remain silent . He would not admit that the republic had any exclusive right to a national basis . Be himself , as was well known , had advocated a direct appeal to the people on the question of republic or monartlvy . His feelings on that subject had unfortunately been the cause of a split between him and his friends . Tet after the turn the discussion had taken , he would ask whether they were debating any other question than that of monarchy or republic , and if they wanted to call a Constituent Assembly , did they not seek to impregnate the country with their own sentiments , so as that that
Assembly should be monarchical !? disposed ? He was opposed to all such indirect methods of proceeding . He wished to have the question of monarchy or republic put forth unequivocally and clearly . M . JBerryer , although they happened not to agree on this point , yet admitted with him that the basis of the monarchy was no other than national . It was derived from the nation , and could only be restored through the nation . As M . Dupin had asked , how indeed could it he otherwise ! It was for this reason that he was opposed to the law of the 31 st of May .
because it stood in the way of that appeal to the nation which he , a Monarchist to the heart ' s core , advocated in the interest of his cause . He ¦ was so much a friend to the free expression of the national will , that if the country did re-elect Louis 3 fapoleon even unconstitutionally , he could not see how such an expression could be resisted . In his « yes all questions sank before that of an appeal to the nation on the question of monarchy , which , instead of being presented iu an indirect manner , ought to be put forward clearly and distinctly .
The calm attitude which the Assembly had pre served during the previous sittings was broken on Thursday last by the impassioned eloquence of Victor Hngo . Seldom has a more stormy series of explosions been witnessed than were called forth by the uncompromising positions of the great poet orator . Notwithstanding the jeremiads of the moderate papers about the scandalous provocation of the speaker , one can only regret that the fervid language of republican conviction cannot be listened to as patiently by the majority as the royalism of MM . Berrrer and de Pallo » x bv the
minority . Th ? latter , whose languid and feeble flattery of tings was heard with patient disdain by the Mountain , signalised himself on Thursday by taunting Victor Hugo , in the midst of his impetuous harangue , with a miserable personality . While the orator was dealing with matter purely political , M . de Falloux threw in his face the pension which he had received frota the Monarchy , and flourished in his fingers the letter of thanks which M . Hugo had written to CharlesX . Nothing aud he more creditable to tbe poet than the triumphant manner in which he answered this mean charge . While a mere lad he received from Louis XVIII . a oension
of £ b 0 . Later the government of Charles X . prevented the drama of « Marion Delorme " from being represented on the ttage ; but the king , in order to compensate the author for this prohibition , offered him 120 f . in addition to the former pension-This offer Victor Hugo declined . Nothing could be more pitiable than the figure cut by M . de TalloUX in the face of the explanation . Accordingly , after tie descent of the speaker from the tribune , he revenged himself upon M . Hugo bva wretched series of personalities , fr the worst possible taste . M . X » ap : n , instead of protecting M . Hugo against the s . oweroCg . besand scoffs whichweredir . cter ] against lia accent speech , dril y 0 DSemd that it 4 s the orator who made his audience . At moments the tumult became
indescribable ; the whole Right rose en masse , and the bench of mincers t , ? > d and gesticulated likemen possessed . But M . H „ 80 baffl " d these ungenerous , attempts to drown his power ( u ! speech by admirable presence of mind , and in pro p T . ion to the rage of his persecetors lashed them ~ ith greater severity . At the noiiy cloie of bis ha rangue , he- answered the brutal personalities of M dt Falious an . f his brother leaitimists bv sparkling and refined wit . « Your ideas . ' said he , - are not yet relumed from emigraUoa . ' In rice , whatever the merit of Victor ilugu ' s principles of eoverntfi ^ t . hsrfre w on Thursday a most pDwerfufrticiure ot the errors of the monarchv , and exposed with C « PMi « ja- . v . « success the littleness of aim of the r «; -. a ! par : i-s ; n j-rop . irt - > n to the vast r'O'tlrcaiCnlS
o > n a ;? 2 r « 3 country . T ?; s frankness w : ; h lihic ' i i \> . <_ ' « i-. rvc - ; ,. ( j- cii : i developed his iJeas fvfras z
France. The Discussion On The Revision O...
favourable contrast to the mock deference of M . de Falloux for the principles of 1789 .
THURSDAY . , M . Victor Hugo said he would only accep t the debate under a protest against the law of the 6 U \ of May , which had destroved universal suffrage , and against all kindred laws , ' such as the laws against the press and against the right of public meeting . Till all those laws were unconditionally abrogated , what could the majority hope or expect from revirion > Hs wondered that the majority , who laid claim ' exclusively to the designation of practical men should bring forward the proposition with the certainty oi failure , in the face of the immutable minority who were the inflexible guardians of the
sovereignty of the people . It was a waste of precious public time , and a disturbance of public tranquillity , but since it was the good pleasure of the majority , he was ready to argue with them . In spite of all tbe protestations and distinctions of M . de Falloux , of M . Berryer , and M . de Broglie , he would declare that their attack upon the Republic was nothing hut an attack upon the whole revolution from lf 89 downwards . The revolution V ? as the manifestation of the Republic . They were as inseparable as the dawn and the sun . There might
be masks in the Assembly , but there were no dupes . Had the Constitution been fairly and honestly tried during the last three years he could have understood a demand for revision for the purpose of developing democratic ideas , for realising those principles , some of which the Constitution had only declared—the essential rights of the people , the right of labour , to organised assistance , the abolition of punishment of death , gratuitous instruction , freedom of the press , freedom of conscience , freedom of speech ; the abolition , in short , of all obstacles to
the physical and moral progress of man . If , it bad been said , the Constitution of the French Republic should be the charter of human progress in the nineteenth century , the immortal testament of civilisation , the political bible of the nations , it should approach as nearly as possible to absolute social truth , therefore let us revise the Constitution , that he could have understood , but that in the middle of the nineteenth century they should be told , there is a great light in France , let us put it out ; that they should be told , the French people have hewn out of indestructible granite the first stone of that vast edifice that will hereafter be called the United States of Europe —( loud and long continued
cheering)—that they have made a revolution unheard of in history , tbe ideal of great philosophers realised by a great people—that they should be told all this , and then that it should be added , we are going to destroy this revolution ; we will extinguish this Republic ; we will snatch this book of progress from the people's hands ; we will raze out the dates 1792 , 1830 , and 1848 ; we will bar the way against that rash giant who does all things without consulting us , and whose name is Providence;—that this should be said , that . this should be dreamed of , overwhelmed him with astonishment . Proceeding to argue the question which was before them , of republic or monarchy , he said that what was called
the fusion had simplified the question ; there were but two monarchies—the monarchy of principle , which was legitimacy , and the monarchy of glory , as certain privileged journals called it , which was the empire . He would iu the first place deny that monarchy was a principle . Monarchy had never been anything else hut a fact . ( Great interruption . ) He repeated that the possession of a whole people by one man or one family could have been but a fact , and when the fact ceased to exist there was au end of it . Not a vestige of right remained . A republic might be suppressed in fact , but the right would remain . The rights of kings in this age , in this place , is a mere nonsensical word . Sat will you
take the lower ground of utility , will you say that democracy is bad , for a state , and that royalty is better , that political stability is the fruit of hereditary monarchy ? Let us see . What are your griefs against the republic ot 1848 ? Insurrections ? But monarchy had plenty . Tbe state of finance ? Constitutional monarchy was dear enough , and was the inventor of large budgets , but your real monarchy , your monarchy of principle , your monarchy of fourteen centuries sometimes made itself wilfully bankrupt . ( Laughter and cheers . ) Your great Louis XIV . now aud then scared proprietors , to cite Boileau , A Vaspect ffun arret qui retranche un quartier , A royal decree which takes a quarter , of the
subjects' income , is a royal bankruptcy . ( Great interruption . ) Under the regency the monarchy pocketed —that is uot an elegant word , but it is the true one—350 millions by altering the currency . Louis XV . was bankrupt nine times in sixty years . ( Long , interruptions , caused by a voice calling out , ' What of poets' pensions V Here M . Victor Hugo triumphantly disposed of the mean charge brought against him hj M . de Falloux , of having accepted a pension from Louis XViII . ) . Cardinal Dubois described monarchy as a strong government , because it could become bankrupt as often as it liked . ( Much laughter . ) The republic of 1848 was not bankrupt , nor , if let alone , would ever become se > The
republic had made no war . He might say , in the interest of peace , that it had been almost too pacific , for its sword , but half-drawn , would have sufficed to send many formidable sabres rattling back into their scabbard . There are miserable accusations against tbe republic that go the round of your newspapers . There are the commissioners of Ledru Rollin , the forty-five centimes , and the Socialist Conferences at the Luxembourg . Ah I beware of the Luxembourg , ' ¦ or there you may chance to meet the shade of Marshal Ney . ( Great uproar . ) Men of worn out parties , you misunderstand contemporary phenomena . Because monarchy has vanished , you say France is vanishing . It is au optical delusion .
France is one thing , and monarchy another . France remains aud grows great—understand that , France was never greater—foreigners know it , but , it is sad to say , you do not . The orator here drew a striking picture of the varied miseries which bad been endured by the royal family of France , and asked if their friends would lepAaca that f unify in the mnciienvied Tuileries , to invite a repetition of the same history . He said that within a very short time pror perty and commerce would come to understand that the republic was terra Jirma , and that monarchy was the dangerous ground , and that then the royalist party would be finally extinguished . In answer to M . Berrytr ' s assertion that France could never
accommodate itself to a republic , he asserted that similar prophecies had been made in opposition to representative government ; that tbe republic was a natural step onwards ; that the masses would soon find their equilibrium , and that what was called the political fever , and was so' injudiciously sought to be repressed , was but a wholesome fermentation . He contrasted the royalists of the present day with their chivalrous ancestors who fought in La Vendee , and did not reserve the confession of their political faith till all danger was gone by—men who openly made war upon the revolution , and did not insidiously seek to steal it—men who did not come peaceably and quietly to stammer out « Vive le Hoi '
in the Assembly , after proclaiming the republic twenty-six times . He would resume all that he had said of the monarchy of principle . In one word , legitimacy was dead in France . But there was another class of monarchists , who must be taken to express the opinion of the government , because their journals had the exclusive-privilege of being isod in the streets ; who said ; ' True legitimacy is impissiWe—divine right is dead ; but the other monarchy , that of glory—the empire—is not only possible , but necessary . ' Where did this glory •¦ xist ? He was looking about far it . He found every liberty successively entrapped and bound , Hniversal suffrage betrayed , socialist manifestos
resulting in a Jesuitical policy , and for a government , one vast intrigue . ( Murmers . ) History would say that it was a conspiracy —( Great sensation)—some incredible understanding , that the republic is to be the foundation of the empire , and which has made a sort of Bonapartist free-masonary of 500 , 000 place-holders ; every reform so'fled or postponed , burdensome taxes maintained or re-established , six departments in a state of siege , amnesty refused , transportation aggravated , the press shackled , juries packed ; too little justice and too much police ; misery at the foot , anarchy at the head , of the social state . Abroad the corpse of the Roman republic , Austria , that is the gallows , with her foot upon Hungary , upon Lombardy , upon
Milan , upon Venice , a latent coalition of kings , waiting for an opportunity . Our diplomacy dumbhe would not say an accomplice—Turkey abandoned to the Czar . Kossuth languishing in a dungeon in Asia Minor . This is our situation . France bows her head , Napoleon quivers with shame in his tnmb , and 6 , 000 coquins shout 'Vive l'Empereur . ' hl 0 H the Le / I ' ) Pe 0 D , e raiRht sav . ' But nobod y dreams of empire . ' His habit was ' to tor orr maiks What was then the meaning of tbe cr . es ef 'Vive PEmpereur / and who paid the parlies thai uttered them ? What was the mtanin ? oi the ridiculous pem-onio * for a prolongation oi tue Praia ' s powers ? Probation meant con-• .. „ . a- lor lu =, aud that meant empire . 'Gentle-
France. The Discussion On The Revision O...
men , ' he exclaimed , ' there is an intrigue ! an in . trigue , I tell you . I have a right to search into it-I do so . Come , let in daylight upon all this . ' France must not one day find herself with an emperor , without knowing the reason . Because there was once a man who gained the battle of Marengo , who reigned , is the man to reign who gained the battle of Satory ? ( Laughter . ) Because ten centuries ago Charlemagne , after forty years of glory , let fall on the face of the globe a sceptre and a sword of such proportions that none dare to touch them ; and because one thousand years later—for nature requires no less a period of gestation to produce such men—another genius caught up that sword and sceptre ; a man who chained revolution in France and unchained it in the rest of Europe ; who added to his name the brilliant synonyms o f
Rivoli , Jena , Essling , Friedland , Mon ' , rairail ; because this man , after ten years of fabulous glory , at length exhausted , let all this sceptre and this sword of Charlemagne , you are to take in your little hands the giant ' s sceptre , the Titan ' s sword . What to do ? What ? after Augustus , Augustulus ? Because v * e Once had Napoleon the Great must we now have Napoleon the little ? ( Indiscribable uproar and conflicting cheers followed this sentence , and it was many minutes before silence was restored . ) M . Victor Hugo claimed the freedom of the tribune . He would say a truce with parodies . To put an eagle on the flag there must first be an eagle at the Tuileries . Where was the eaule ? „ .. M . Leon FAUCHER .-The speaker insults the President of the Republic . ( ' Yes , yes , ' on the
M . Victor Hugo . —I am unable to understand the observation which has been made . It cannot be an insult to the Prsident to say that he is not great . ( Laughter . ) What we ask of the President , and what we confidently expect from him is not that he should retain power like a great mani hut that be should quit it like an honest one . ( Applause on the Left . ) The orator then , at much length , accused the majority of relying upon
Russian cannon to support their principles , which ac cusaticn produced violent outcries , and M . Victor Hugo was called to order by tbe President . He concluded his speech , amidst much interruption , by alluding to the approach of 1852 , dwelling upon the dangers of the law of May 31 , but confidently predicting that , let . the struggle come when it might , two combatants only would finally be lef ; standing—God and the people . ( On descending , he was enthusiastically congratulated by the whole of the Left . )
In the sitting to-day M . Carnot rose to explain the words used by him , and alluded to yesterday by M . de Falloux , He had said that be preferred having the Cossacks at Paris to having the Jesuits , because tbe Cossacks would become Republicans one day , which would never be the case with tbe Jesuits . M . Ney de la Moskawa explained the motives which had determined him in accepting a seat in the Chamber of Peers , notwithstanding the execu . tion of his father . The debate on revision was resumed by
M . Baroche , who was surprised that after having bitterly criticised the constitution , M Hugo had concluded against revision . He then showed , by quoting the chief arguments of the speakers of the Left , that the main ground which they assigned for resisting revision was the policy of the majority in passing a series of repressive laws . By this argument M . Baroche sought , with a certain degree of dexterity , to unite the whol majority as on a question of order against the Left . He then attempted to show that the constituent to be appointed would be as free and as truly the expression of public opinion as the first constituent ! appointed under the stress of a commercial crisis
and the pressure of commissaries and circulars . The constitution he represented as having been inspired by a feeling of distrust and personal hostility against the executive power . ( At these words M . Baze and M . Dufaure demanded to speak , with great vivacity . Great agitation succeeded the remark of M . Baroche , the Mountain seeming radiant with satisfaction , Groups formed , and engaged in very animated conversation . A vehement altercation took place between General Bedau and M . Leon Faucher . General Lamoriciere signalised himself by the animation of his gestures . General Cavaignac quitted the bench of tbe committee to speak to Lamoriciere . The sitting was suspended
for a quarter of an hour , in the midst of an indescribable agitation . ) Silence having been re-established , M . Baroche said that he had either expressed himself ill , or that his language had been misinterpreted . Had it been imagined that he had meant to question the powers of tbe constituent to frame the constitution ? Such an idea was as remote as possible from his mind . The question was , whether they would appoint a fresh constituent , in consequence of the circumstances which had accompanied the elections of 1848 . He bad spoken of personal distrust . Well ,- he appealed to all members of the constituent who were present whether , upon the third reading of the constitution , there bad not arisen propositions which
expressed distrust , not indeed against the person of the President , but against the design attributed to him . M . Baroche then proceeded to make a personal attack upon M . V . Hugo ; but , having been recalled to the question , he protested that the in tentions of the President and of his government were to observe the limits of legality . He enlarged upon the claims of the President to the gratitude of the country and tbe respect of tbe Assembly for having re-established order ; and he concluded by abjuring the Assembly to vote the revision . ( M . Victor Hugo then offered a few words in justification of himself against the attack of M . Baroche , which provoked the jeers and murmurs of the Right . )
FRIDAY . The greater part of the Assembly ' s sitting was absorbed by petty personalities and trivial recriminations . An allusion of M . de Falloux called up M . Carnot ; and the former , in apologising fell foul again of Victor Hugo , who clamoured in vain to exercise the right of reply . Ney de la Moskowa had then to recur to the painful subject of his father ' s execution , which appeared in the list of the poet ' s charges against monarchy . M . Baroche , as if to divert the attention of the Assembly from the irritating assault which he had made on tbe legality of the elections of the Constituent took to heaping fresh abuse . upon Victor Hugo and plunging the
debate once more into the noisy sphere of personalities . M . Hugo having painfully succeeded in obtaining permission to defend himself against all these attacks , grazed in his reply the susceptibilities of the Mountain by repudiating ail alliance with the insurgents of May 15 th and June 24 th . MM . B . Haspail and de Flotte required all the vigour of their neighbours , Michel ( de Bourges ) and others , to hold them down . In short , during three hours the Assembly exhibited a scene , as it were , of parliamentary pugilism ; closed at length , by a timely mot from M . Dupin , who said when M . Dufaure mounted tbe tribune , that it was past five o ' clock , and the debate was going now to begin . ,
. M . Dufatjrk replied to M . Baroche . If he could have chosen the time to speak , he would not have taken part in this solemn debate at a moment when the , AssembIy was so agitated by the violent personalities to which they had listened . He much preferred their three first sittings to the two which had followed . He deeply lamented the tone in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs ( M ; Baroche ) had permitted himself to speak of the Constitution . There he had taken great pains to protest his respect for it , but he had at the same time let fall assertions and allusions which he ( M . Diifaure ) bad often seen before in the journals , and which became of grave import now that they were repeated from
the tribune . U had been contended that the constituent assembly did not truly represent the country , because it was elected under the influence of the circulars and of the commissioners of the provisional government , it was well known , and it was to the honour of the country , that tbe means employed by the provisional government lost . them more votes than they gained . The constituent assembly was elected by ten millions of citizens . . It may be that there are organic vices in the constitution which require to be reformed—that is opm to discussion—but meanwhile do not , for heaven ' s sake , attenuate the authority of that constitution
upon which this Assembly , the President of the Republic , all the powers of the state , tbe public peace alike repose ; do not let loose all those bad passions which would destroy all the good which we have done during the last three years , and leave nothing standing but unbridled revolution . He had advocated the principle that the constitution , unlike the characters that had preceded it , should not pretend to be immutable and : eternal , but that it should be subj-ct to revision . This Assembly being the judge Of the necessity and opportunity of revising it , and now as one of the judges he would give his opinion . He then alluded to the very gnat difficulties whiih the darners of the constitution had had to contend
France. The Discussion On The Revision O...
with at a time when the public mind was so unhinged at a time when the immense success of M . LaTartine ' s Girondins had , veiling the horrors of 1793 tended to make the republicans of 1848 nlaeiarista oi the former Republic at a time when what were called Socialist principles , and which he believed were incompatible with any durable government Sere so widely spread . They had succeeded in excluding from the constitution any trace of these destructive and Utopian principles . More , they had restored the irremoveability of the judges , which the provisional government had abolished and had reversed many other innovations . It was not sur-> , risin ( ii that a constitution which thwarted so many ideas should find critics on all sides of the Assembly .
M B aroche had said that he had heard nobody defend the constitution , to which he would answer that though he had listened to more magnificent speeches than he had ever before heard in his life , he had heard no one specify precisely what were those vices in the constitution , considered as a republican one , which absolutely required immediate revision . If they would start from this point , that the frameta of the constitution were necessarily excluded by their mandate from preserving any idea of monarchal power in a republic or from maintaining what had been called a ' pays legal , ' they would perhaps find that the constitution was pretty nearly what it ought to have been . To reproach the constitution with having failed to prevent
confliats between the powers of the state , was unreasonable . Mr . Canning had said that , « To look for perfection in any human constitution was unreasonable , because it was irrational to hope to attain perfection . ' No government , unless it were a convention or a despotism , could be secure from conflicts . It was impossible that any law could entirely supply the place of reason and prudence . He admitted that there were imperfections in tbe constitution , hut he found that all the attacks upon it were , in reality , attacks upon the republic . M . Berreyer ' s whole argument reduced itself to the assertion that the republic was impossible , because it was antipathetic to our manners and habits . His political associations were not republican , but he had accepted the republic with less enthusiasm than some of those who were now opposed to it , but when his constituents had sent him to
deliberate on the new order of things he had accepted his mandate seriously . He had not been able to satisfy himself that the republic which he would define to universal suffrage and temporary executive power was in antipathy with the feelings of tbe country . He thought the public mind . would easily accustom itself to the frequent renewal of the executive power in the-same manner as it had done with respect to the Legislative . , He found that under the existing republic property was safe , family ties were respected , the laws were executed the army was disciplined , and the revenue was collected with even more than ordinary punctuality . He saw no reason for putting all this in jeopardy ,
end he was persuaded that if the Assembly were to propose the revision with a view to put the question of monarchy or republic to the electors , it would lead to a civil war . There were particular parts of the country , in Brittany for instance , where the peasantry had still an ardent affection for the royal race ; in other parts the republican feeling was equally strong ; but on the whole he believed that France had not any very ardent faith either in monarchy or republicanism , but only de sired a government that would ensure tbe well-being of which she stood in need . He would conclude
with a few words on a delicate subject . What was the real meaning of the current of public feeling which had displayed itself in the petitions which had been presented to them ? He and M . Odillon Barrot had been ministers together for five months , and during which time the utmost harmony existed between the two powers of the state . On tbe 31 st of October the President had thought fit to separate himself from them , and as he had himself declared , to change a parliamentary policy for a personal one . Far from being hurt by bis dismissal he was greatful to the President for never having supposed for one instant that he or his friends could be the
ministers of such a policy . But while his private feelings no less than parliamentary usage led him to speak with the utmost respect of the person of the President , be had a right to judge of the policy which he inaugurated on the 31 st of October , and he was firmly convinced that the policy was bad , fatal , and that it had led to those dangerous consequences which the Assembly bad checked on the 18 th of January last . Without entering into details he would say that the proposition for revision which at one time had been discussed in the councils general in quite another point of . view had suddenly started forth in pursuance of this policy as applicable to art . 45 exclusively . He had voted for art 45
at a time when no one thought of M . L , Bonaparte as a candidate for the presidency , because the centralised administration of France would enable the President , through the enormous number of placeholders , to exercise an immense pressure upon the electors . He thought the article a good one , and should certainly not vote for a revision , the professed object of which was to repeal it . Replying to the argument drawn from the danger that the President might be re-elected unconstitutionally , he believed that the electors would have sufficient good sense to respect the law . He was moreover sure that the President would keep his oath . He would undertake to answer for him that be would not
allow himself to be proposed . If unfortunately , and he begged pardon for the supposition , the President should persist in trying with us how many honest men there are in the country who will not give a vote which he could not accept without perjury , he declared that his unconstitutional election would be found impossible . Our laws called that impossible which was contrary to law and morality . This Assembly , not like a former Assembly , enervated by a struggle of ten years with thrir heads at stake—would never give way , but would defend in this place the first of all our laws . The minister had said yield to the wish of the majority of the country . He did not know , nobody knew , what
that wish was , for the country had not pronounced , but this he knew , that he was sent there with a mandate of independence , and he owed bis constituents an account of his own opinions and not theirs . He would say as Burke said to the electors of Bristol : — ' A representative ought to sacrifice to his constituents his repose , his pleasures , his enjoyments—he ought to immolate to no man or class of men his opinions , bis conscience j his soul—he received those from God and was accountable for them to God . He owed to his constituents his talents , he would betray and not serve them if he sacrificed bis opinions . ' He thought with Burke , and should vote against revision .
SATURDAY . In the sitting of to-day , after some words from M . Raspail , in defence of the insurrections of May and June , for which he was subjected to the censure , M . Bataille was admitted to take his seat for the Haute . Vienne . The tribune was then occupied by M . Odilon Barrot , who began by saying , that yesterday an orator had expressed surprise that the real question , namely , that of the merits or demerits of the constitution , had not yet been put . He shared this surprise , and thought that instead of trenching upos the ground of the future constituent , it would he expedient to limit their present debate to the examination of the defects and
advantages of the constitution . It was nut their business to fan political passions , hut to consider whether the greater danger lay in revising the constitution , or in refusing to . allow Hs revision . He acknowledged with M . Dufaure that the consti tuent was . perfectly free when it voted the constitution , and that tbe committee was selected with a certain degree of impartiality . Republican ideas had not then been long enough subjected to dis : cussiori , and the republic came forth ready armed , as it were , from the brains of certain honourable men , who had long imagined a republic in their closets . Good constitutions are not made in a day ; they are tbe work of time and experience . This cannot be said of the constitution of 1848 . M , Barret then proceeded to attack the permanence of the Assembly , which altered the fundamental
condition " of a representative government . He then blamed the institution of a Committee of Permanence , which was always placed between the alternatives of ringing the tocin too soon or too l & t » .. He proceeded to find fault with the system of a single chamber , the excessive centralisation , ' the frequent change of foreign minis'ers , and unsteadiness- 'of various institutions , which placed France in an inferior position to those powers which maintained tradition , sequence and consistency in affairs , while at home the cowatrv was deprived of all the gii . arantei s of stability and " security In esaminins ihe question of opportuneness in the revi mod he » id that rf the delects of the constitution had ten of a secondary order , there mf < ht be soulour'for the objection apiHst entering immediau-lv upen the task of amendment . But the vices of th ' , constitution were fu ndamental , Blld CBllefUor reform
France. The Discussion On The Revision O...
without delay . M . Barrot took occasion to make a flattering acknowledgment of the merits of General C hangarnier , and to express sincere regret at his dismissal from office . He then proceeded to pass in review the objections of M . Dufaure , and confessed that he could not find in them sufficient weight to determine him to oppose revision . He declared that he was not alarmed either for liberty , or for public order , or for society . He was surprised that any one cou ld discover an objection to revision m the chance of the President ' s re-election . Therevision would ob viate all the anticipated dangers by offering a chance for the re-election of the President , f For dictatorship , '( cried a voice on the left . ) The
entire world , as well as France , was preoccupied with the perils attending the moment when , on a fixed day , France should be left without a government in the midat of the excitement , of parties . He demanded a legal remedy , which was denied because of the apprehension of affording the President a chance of re-election . Let tbe Assembly consider in what moral and political situation it would leave the country by refusing the revision . Might they not affect their own chances of re-election and prepare the way for an Assembly elected under the influence of popular irritation ? In conclusion , he intreated his colleagues seriously to reflect on the consequences of their decision .
When M . Odilion Barrot had concluded loud cries of La cliture , arose on the benches of the majority . M . Joles Favrb combatted the cldture , which , being put from the chair , was adopted by a very small majority after a doubtful trial of sitting and rising . M , CHARAMfVULE withdrew an amendment he had proposed , and the Assembly proceeded to vote
on the proposition in favour of the revision of the Constitution . The total number of votes was 724 . ' The votes iu favour of the revision were 446 ; against it , 278 . Majoriry in favour of revision , 168 . Nevertheless , the votes in favour not amounting to three-fourths of thewhole , or 543 , the proposition was pronounced rejected . The Mountain saluted the result with erics of
' Vive la Kepublique !' Report prevails of an Odilon Barrot cabinet replacing the present one , with a programme for the alteration of the law of May . The debate of Monday , which concluded with the vote of censure on the ministry , gave no indications at the opening of so grave a termination . Colonel Charras was scarcely listened to while he recapitulated in a long speech the facts which he considered as bringing directly home to ministers the origin of
the pretty notorious pressure of government agents in favour of the petition movement . This speech called up M . Leon Faucber , who protested that he would be the first person" to discard all unconstitutional petitions , and to refer for prosecution to the Minister of Justice any which might have been worded disrespectfully towards the assembly . If there were functionaries who had deviated from the line of their duty he was most desirous to stigmatise their conduct as it deserved , but he complained
that Colonel Charras , by tbe manner in which he bad dwelt upon a few issolated facts , had attempted to disguise the real character of the revision movement . He contended that the movement bad been free and spontaneous , and that it was an imposing manifestation of public opinion . He instanced many districts in which the functionaries , far from influencing their neighbours , had not even signed the petitions themselves . As to ; government circulars to mayors aud prefects to inquire what
progress the petition movement was making , there was nothing wonderful in that ; it was the duty of the government to make themselves acquainted with what was going on in the country . With regard to the meetings of the prefects in the south , he insisted that he was not bound to give any explanation . He would only say that the departments of the south were too often exposed to serious disturb , ances for the government not to be under the frequent necessity of ordering the prefects to confer together .
On Tuesday the proceedings of the Assembly were completely devoid of interest . The ministers offered their resignation again collectively this morning . But the President declined in the most positive manner to allow of their retirement , as he considered the vote of yesterday a personal attack upon himself . M . Rouher and M . Leon Faucher were the first ministers to take their seats upon the ministerial bench . Several members were seen in
conversation with them , and offering condolence upon tbe mishap of yesterday . M . Odilon Barrot appeared in bis place , It is reported , hut from questionable sources , that he was sent for last night to tbe Elysee . The impending discussion of the Municipal Bill , which involves the application of the law of May to municipal elections , would render a change in the ministry at this moment , in the sense indicated , highly important as a demonstration against the electoral law of May ..
DENMARK . Intelligence received from Copenhagen states that the Danish Ministry is definitively formed . It is composed as follows : —Count Moltke , President ( without portfolio ) ; M . de Reedtz , Foreign Affairs ; Count Sponnek , Finance ; M . Dockum , Marine ; M . Madrie , Public Worship ; M . Tillich , Interior ; General Fiensborg , War ; M . de Bardenfletb , Minister for Schleswig ; M . Charles Moltke , Minister ( without portfolio ) .
PRUSSIA . It is stated in the Berlin papers that the principalities of Hohenzollern will be required to do formal homage to the Kmg of Prussia , and that the celebration of that ceremony will take place on the 23 rd of August . The King will proceed to Hohenzollern , accompanied by Baron Manteuffel , and the Presidency of the Cabinet will for the time devolve upon M . Van der Heidt , while the Foreign Affairs will be in the hands of Baron Lageditsch .
. GERMANY . The Kolwr Zeftunp states , from : Frankfort of the l 8 tb , that in the last plenary sitting of the Federal Diet the French and English protest against the Austrian annexation was submitted to the discussion of the delegates . After a short conversation the Diet resolved unanimously , '' . That this annexation question referred exclusively to Germany , that , it was a Ger . man question , and that none of the non-German Governments should be permitted to influence its decision . ' '
The same paper states that the proposal of organising a Central Federal Board of Police , for the prosecution of political offenders , has lately , been urged by Austria and Prussia ' , and that there can be no doubt but that tho smaller States will ultimately be compelled to accept the proposal .
PORTUGAL . The Oriental Company ' s steam packet , Madrid , arrived at Southampton , on Wednesday . Her dates are : Gibraltar Jujy 14 th ; Cadiz , 15 th : Lisbon , 19 th ; Oporto , 20 th ; Vigo , 20 th . Advices from Lisbon state that ! among the many important occurrences which have taken place at the meeting of the Miguelites on " the 10 th as a party is not the least . It was convened by invitation at the residence . formerly occupied by
the Count St . Miguel , and although many of the notices miscarried , yet- upwards of 70 n , of the first blood and character of the country were present , representing , however , only the metropolitan city and province of Estremadura , and showing , what is yet more astonishing , the immense number of the ancient nobility and gentry who yet adhere strenuously to the principles of legitimacy , or in other words , tcj the presumed rights of the exiled prince , Don Miguel . The Count de Barbaoena took the chair .
. They deliberated as to whether any part should be taken by them as a party in the next general elections , and it was decided that they uoght not .
SPAIN . The Queen had pardoned Mi guel Paris , sentenced to death as chief of the revolt repressed last year at Colmenar Vifjo . It was announced to the Chambers amidst much applause that the Queen was five months eone with pregnancy . ' 6 -ROMAN STATES . A letter from Rome , of the 14 th , states that ai attempt was made on the 11 th to ' aasSinat StJT ?? nl . \ Bisb ° P * Term , by b WIU g Rior S inL nJ- habite . ? * a Mwia Mac n £ * 'J ^ f ™/ ™ sile , consisting of the S 11 Wheel loaded w 5 th P ° < ier and mpeho which was to set fire to i . quantify of combubble matter in the cel ! ar , eroded " beoe it St delH . t T ™ > and 0 n ] y caus ^ "me slight damage to the outer wall of tU building . JAMAICA .
From this island we learn that a number of colonred emigrants bad mivt ' d from the United states , which it is believed has something to do with cotton cultivation in the island , as some gentlemen have recentl y arrived therefrom Georgia to investigate the capabilities of the soil / or that pn ,-ductten . Tho cholera has hioktn out at . Kinp 8 town . At Savannah-lo-Mar it has taken fast hold
France. The Discussion On The Revision O...
of the parish and town , and death is rampant at every door . In country districts the malady is still raging to a frightful extent . The Baptist rioters at Spanish Town had been found guilty . After the trial another riot look place in Spanish Town , and the military had to be called out to suppress it .
AMERICA . Bv the Royal mail steam-ship Europa , Captain Lott , we'havo advices from New York to the 8 th instant . Our accounts by tho Europa do not comprise any news of particular interest , their only feature being the delivery of another great oration by the lion . Daniel Webster , at Washington , on the occasion of laying the corner stone of the proposed enlarge , nienfc of tho capitol of the United States . Some rumours prevailed that another expedition against Cuba was being organised at the south , but as yet they are vague and unsatisfactory .
Our miscellaneous accounts report that Jenny Lind had met , at Hartford , with some sli g ht mani . festal-ions of brutality . Her auditory assembled in the Fourth Church , and a crowd of 2 , 000 having assembled outside the edifice , the blinds were drawn and the windows closed to " prevent outsiders from hearing . " Great tumult ensued , some oftho windows were smashed , and for a long time tho singers were inaudible . Jenny , however , suf « fered no personal insult , and escaped through a back door to Springfield . Penimore Cooper , the novelist , was on his death-bed . Some now revelations to the Mormon Church are announced ; the portion of the golden plates withheld from Jee Smith having been exhibited mysteriously to Elder Orson Hyde .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), July 26, 1851, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_26071851/page/2/
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