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CHAPTER X.

FRANCE.

State of parties.-Meeting of the Legislative Body.-M. Barthélemy's Resolution relative to the law of elections carried in the Chamber of Peers, but thrown out in the Chamber of Deputies.-Laws relative to the Press.Debates thereon.-The Budget.-State of the French Finances.-Ways and Means.-Discussions on the Budget.-State of parties at the close of the Session.-Position of the new Ministry.-Disturbances at Nismes.

TOWARDS the close of the year 1818, the aspect of French affairs was by no means such as circumstances would have led us to anticipate. The convention of the 9th of October, which finally decreed the evacuation of France by the Army of Observation, appears neither to have allayed the heats of faction, nor to have added to the popularity of the Ministry. This was sufficiently demonstrated by the result of the elections which immediately followed, and which, the Ministry no doubt calculated, that that generous act on the part of the Allied Sovereigns would powerfully influence in their favour. In defiance of all their exertions, however, many of the popular candidates were elected by immense majorities; and even the more temperate of the Liberals, to whom they looked for support, openly withdrew and joined the popular party. La Fayette, whom, after a severe struggle, they had succeeded in defeating at the election for the department of the Seine and

Marne, was, in the course of six days afterwards, returned by a great majority for the department of the Sarthe; Manuel, who had started as a candidate for Paris, was chosen deputy for La Vendée without solicitation; and Benjamin Constant, though he had failed in carrying his election for the capital, nevertheless proved, by the numbers he had polled, that the influence of the Ministry was on the wane. Numerous other instances might, if necessary, be brought forward in corroboration of a fact, which, all circumstances considered, seems not a little difficult to account for.

By guaranteeing the substantial advantages, or at least changes, which had been effected by the Revolution, by confirming the sales of the national property, by establishing religious toleration, by declaring the equality of every French subject in the eye of the law, and, above all, by laying the basis of a representative system, the Constitutional Char

ter appeared to have secured to the nation all the blessings for which they had suffered and struggled so severely; but it seems that in France, where, for the last thirty years, constitutions have sprung up and passed away with such unprecedented rapidity, the rage for alteration, or improvement, as it is called, has become epidemical, and that no system, however large and comprehensive in its outline, can reconcile the discordant and jarring views of men who have been alternately the victims of anarchy and the slaves of despotism. This was strikingly manifested during the discussions of last session on the laws for regulating elections and for recruiting the army; the former of which was calculated to extend the elective franchise, by giving to those concerned in commerce, as well as to the holders of real property, a more direct influence in the representation; while the latter in some sort new-modelled the organization of the army, and provided suitable rewards for length of service, as well as distinguished courage and merit: both laws were certainly conceived with a proper regard to the rights recognised and declared by the Charter, and intended to confirm and assure that barmony so necessary to the best interests both of the Government and people. Unfortunately, however, the effect was in a great measure the reverse of what had been anticipated; for although these laws were decidedly popular with the majority of the nation, they seemed to be found ed on too direct a recognition of the principles of the Revolution, not to be extremely obnoxious to those who, by interest, prejudice, and misfortune, were attached to the ancient regime. The fiercest spirit of opposition was according ly kindled up, chiefly among this

VOL, XII. PART I.

class, who regarded these laws, not merely as incompatible with their principles, but as likely to prove eventually fatal to the monarchy itself; and their declamations, and prognostications of the mischiefs they would produce, were carried to a pitch of vehemence and fury to which we in this country are happily strangers. But while their enemies were united, the Ministers were wavering and divided. Too aristocratical, perhaps, in their composition, and too anxious to trim between the contending factions, their want of energy disgusted the Liberals, to whom they chiefly looked for support, without conciliating the Ultras, or even the Royalists, who would. endure no compromise either with the men or the principles of the Revolution; and thus Europe beheld the singular spectacle of a Ministry, to whom France was indebted for two wise and popular laws, and for the liberation of her territory from foreign occupation, driven from the helm at the very time, and apparently in consequence of the very events, which ought to have increased their popularity and consolidated their power.

The fall of this Ministry was, on many accounts, unfortunate for France, and for the great cause of constitutional liberty. It generated distrust on the part of the King, and tended to perpetuate those violences of faction from which France has yet, we fear, much to suffer it reflected on the national character in the eyes of foreigners, and impaired the zeal with which public men, however upright their intentions, might otherwise have been disposed to serve their country; and it cer tainly tended, in no small degree, to influence the elections, and to infuse even into the Chamber of Deputies much of that turbulent bitter

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ness, of which in the course of the present session we have so many examples.

Matters were in this state when the session of the Legislative Body was opened in the usual manner, on the 10th of December; this event having, it is said, been delayed beyond the regular period, by the unexpected prolongation of the conferences at Aix-la-Chapelle, although the more probable cause was, the unsettled state of the interior, occasioned by the exertions and practices of the party in hostility to the Court. The first question which gave rise to discussion was a proposition made in the Chamber of Peers, on the 20th of February, by the Marquis de Barthélemy, for presenting an address to the King, humbly supplicating him to present the project of a law for altering and modifying the constitution of the electoral colleges; in other words, for virtually abrogating the law of elections, which, it was alleged, had been attended with effects not foreseen or provided for by those with whom it had originated. The first to oppose this proposition, was M. Lally-Tollendal, who, without denying that some special, precise, and definite modifications were necessary, resisted the proposition, on the ground of its vagueness, obscurity, and the dangers of more than one kind with which it would be attended. The Minister of the Interior, Count Decazes, remarked, that the very entertaining of such a proposition for a moment indicated that the Chamber viewed it with some degree of favour, and he invited them to dismiss it at once, without allowing any farther discussion. "There has been much talk, said he, of the promises made by Ministers when they presented the law of elections. A Minister, when he presents a law, can promise nothing but

to cause it to be faithfully and literally executed; and, doubtless, nothing more was promised on the occasion alluded to. Ministers have been invited to justify the confidence they have already inspired; but I am convinced that that confidence cannot be better justified than by resisting, both as a Peer and as a Minister, a proposition which I cannot but regard as likely to be attended with the most fatal consequences." Among those who defended the proposition, it was alleged that the law of elections had only been brought forward as an experiment, the advantages or disadvantages of which were to be determined by subsequent experience; that though a measure of vital importance, the errors or perfections of which were to exert a powerful influence on the destinies of France, it had, after a long and animated discussion, been carried by a very trifling majority; and that the entertaining this proposition would be the means of leading to a discussion, which would throw fresh light on a subject which, by reason of its importance, could not be too minutely sifted and examined. To these arguments it was answered, that the proposition in question was calculated to disturb the public tranquillity, and to create alarms and agitations, always dangerous and sometimes fatal. Such were the views urged by the respective friends and opponents of the measure with great heat and mutual exasperation; the latter having in vain attempted to get rid of it by moving the order of the day.

At the sitting of the 26th, this proposition gave rise to a still longer though calmer discussion. On this occasion M. de Barthélemy dwelt at great length on the inconveniences and evils of the existing law. He maintained, that no less than one

third of the great body of electors had taken no part in the late elections, and that there must be something vicious in the manner of taking the votes, when such an anomaly could occur; as it was impossible to conceive that men vested with such an important trust, would, unless obstructed by the law, neglect to exercise it. The principal evil, how ever, arose from the interpretation which had been put upon an article in the Charter, which conferred the rights of an elector on every citizen paying 300 francs (L. 12, 10s.) of direct taxes. With the intention of encouraging commerce and industry, the taxes paid on manufactured commodities had been assimilated to the land-tax; but the manner in which the former of these taxes is collected, namely, in twelfths, had become a source of the grossest abuse; so that an individual having once paid 25 francs might legally vote in a French electoral assembly. This he held to be a manifest violation, not merely of the spirit, but of the very letter of the Charter; while by the facility which it afforded to men without fortune, and exposed to the artifices of intrigue and corruption, of finding their way into the electoral body, it inflicted an act of real injustice on those whose rights were thus invaded, and who, as the proprietors of houses and lands, constituted the great strength of the nation, and were the natural guardians of its manners and institutions.

The arguments of M. Barthélemy were answered by the Marquis Dessoles, President of the Council of Ministers. He candidly admitted, that, though he had voted for the passing of this law, it had been with considerable doubts as to its results. These doubts, however, experience had completely removed; and he at

present saw no reason for the alarm which some persons had expressed on account of the particular choice which several of the colleges had made. Many of the abuses which had been complained of, he treated as in a great degree imaginary; and dwelt on the absurdity of opposing a law, because in its operation it had fallen short of absolute or imaginary perfection. He maintained, that the law had been too short time in operation to enable any one to form a sound and enlightened opinion as to its results, whether beneficial or otherwise; and that, as it was confessedly popular with a great majority of the nation, it could not fail to endanger the public tranquillity to bring its provisions into question. He particularly dwelt on the time which had been chosen to bring forward this obnoxious proposition, and asked, " Is it wise, is it prudent, when the nation has but just escaped from the agitations which had been excited with a malignant activity during the total change lately effected in the law of election, to come forward, at such a moment as this, with a vague and indefinite proposition, merely to modify it? Can there be any doubt that the fatal latitude of such a proposal is naturally calculated to excite distrust and irritation, only the more dangerous that, without proposing to alter or abrogate the whole law, it leaves the elective franchise in the hands of those who already possess it, and who therefore will watch every innovation with the most suspicious jealousy?" In fine, he declared it as the unanimous determination of the Government, to oppose every change in the existing law, the bare proposition of which had sufficiently demonstrated the dangers with which such an attempt could not fail to be attended.

The Count de Castellane defended the proposition from the charge of vagueness, on the ground that M. Barthélemy had latterly defined, with sufficient precision, the object which he had in view; and that it would be time enough to enter into more minute details, when a distinct project for the modification of the law had been submitted to the Chamber. M. Boissy d'Anglas opposed both the form and object of the proposition, and held, that the removing a few partial abuses was not of sufficient importance to justify them in attempting to attain that object at the expense of the public tranquillity. In the existing state of the public mind, this was certainly an irresistible argument; for the proposition of M. Barthélemy had excited the most lively sensation both in Paris and the departments; and from the violent opposition which it ħad almost universally encountered, certainly threatened, if persevered in, to be productive of the most unpleasant, not to say, dangerous, consequences. The discussion, however, being pursued with extraordinary vehemence and acharnement, the Marquis de Lally-Tollendal, who had been among the first to oppose the proposition as too vague, rose and stated, that holding the fundamental principles of the law to be inviolable, he saw no great difficulty in taking into consideration the points indicated by M. de Barthélemy, and therefore proposed an amendment or substitution to the following effect: "That his Majesty should be humbly requested to propose to the Chambers (the King has the initiative of all laws in France,) a law for the more effectually insuring the execution of the law of the 5th of February 1817, relative to the right of electing deputies for departments; for facilita

ting the exercise of this right in the case of those in whom the law has already invested it, and for preventing those who have not the qualifi cations required by that law from exercising the right of voting at elections." This amendment, or rather redaction of the original proposition, was, however, rejected by a majority of 94 to 60; and on the 2d of March the discussion was resumed, and characterized by the same heat and violence as heretofore.

On this occasion, the oration of Count Lanjuinais was remarkable for its vehemence, even amidst the furious tirades pronounced from the tribune by the adherents of both parties. The law of elections he described as a second charter, and denounced the hostility which had been shown to it, as emanating from a powerful faction behind the throne,

the faction of privileges, abuses, sinecures, prodigality, and oligar chy," which had incessantly attempted to undermine and destroy the Charter, or at least to render it totally illusory, and to reduce its operation to a number of hypocritical ceremonies. "In two words, said he, this proposition is the first act of a revolution against the Charter."

The Count Decazes took a temperate review of the arguments which had been advanced on both sides; and while he endeavoured to show the absurdity of what he justly described as "monstrous and ridiculous presages" on the one hand, he pointed out the dangers that might be legitimately expected to result from any alteration in a law so extensively popular, and in the main so salutary in its operation. length, however, the original proposition was put to the vote, and, not

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