Star. — London, England, 1816-01-02 00:00:00

. moomm•••••••* -- - . . FRENCH PAPERS• • CHAMBER OF DEPIITIES, DEC. sT. THZ LAW OP AMNISTY. • • 'The eagerness-to hear the report upon a subject of the higheitlntereit, had attracted a great concourse of spectators. In the Tribune destined to the Ambas sadors we remarked the Turkish Ambassador. • Four of the King's Ministers were present—M. de Richelieu, Count Debouchage, _Barba Marbois, and M. de Cases. A multitude of Deputies already besieged the table, in order to have their names inscribed as speakers for or against the Report of the Law of Amnesty. The President invited them to return to their seats, declaring tbat..the inscription could not be received tai after the Report was made. • M. Commas, Deputy from the department of the the and Vilaine; then rose in the name of the Central Commission : GENTLENIEI4—The grand measure which we are about to present to your deliberation, has occupied too long, perhaps, all minds. It has become equally the object of the hopes and fears of all the French, both of those who have remained firm, and.of those who balk been found Wanting, in the horrible con vulsion of these months, which has left us 'for so many years miseries of all kinds to repair. -" The first idea of the King, when he was re stored to the wishes of his people, was tore-assure some against the terror which. their recent conduct too well justified, without discouraging the zeal of others by the danger of an alarming impunity, and to announce anew his inexhaustible clemency, re. serving to himself to fix the limits of it in his justice. " Such, Gentlemen, was the object of the declara tions of Chateau CAmln•esis and Cambray, a memorial of goodness fur which we ought to be the first to set an example of respect. The King promised to par don misguided Frenchmen. All that has passed since the day in which he quitted Lisle, amidst so many tears, down to the day in which he returned to Cam bray in the midst of so many acclamations.' " But he excepted from pardon the instigators and authors of that terrible plot, who were to be deliver ed over to the vengeance of the laws by the two Chambers. " The Ordinance of the 24th of July has the same object ; it makes a small number of individual excep tions, and yet contains salutary reservations. It draws out a first list of 19 individuals who are to be brought to trial. and a second list of 38 others who are to retire to the places pointed out to them, whilst the Chambers decide who among them shall either quit the kingdom, or be given up to the Tribunals. " The 4th Article states that the lists shall remain closed, and shall never he extended to others, other than according to the laws of the Constitution. It is oily with respect to the individuals comprised in the second class, that the Ordonnance authorises the de. parture from the regular forms of justice; hut the other guilty persons may be prosecuted by the usual laws. " You have, in common with all France, been struck with the importance of this part of your la bours—of the influence it must have had upon the destinies of the country, upon the durable triumph of the great cause of legitimacy, the eternal guarantee of the safety of the nation. u Several projects have been conevive3 upon this subjrcr, and great fermentation has existed. At the opening the Session four Members successively sub. matted their proposals : you confided them to the ex amination of the ,same Coßmitaion. To their own reflections, this Commission wished .to unite the ta lents of those who could best enlighten it, his Ma. jesty's Ministers. It was ready to submit its labours to you, when the Government all at once abandoned the resolution it bad adopted till then, to suffer you to take the initiative. On the Bth of this month, the Minister of the King presented to you, in his name, the plan of law upon which you , have now to deli. berate. " An amnesty is necess ar y : ever y body, I think, acknowledges it. The first question which seems to present itself would be, to ascertain what is the power to which it belongs to pronounce the amnesty. " The preamble of the motises of the plan of law states, that the right of amnesty is inherent in the Sovereignty, particularly after great political revolts and curamotions, but that his Majesty, on an occasion so solemn, desired to have the concurrence of the great bodies of the State. The King calls upon you to take a part.in the measure of amnesty; it is your intention no: to refuse it. 66 Examples have , as usual, been recurred to since these recent events, but not with much success. The Clemency of Augustus and of Henry VII. in the conspiracy of Perkin Warbeck, has been referred to; but examples of a contrary nature might be equally quoted from the history of those Princes. Above all, Henry LV. has been appealed to. But in recollecting the amnesty he granted to his misguided subjects, we must recollect also both the Billets d'Exil and the De crees of Condemnation which preceded the promulga tion of that beneficent law. It should be remembered also, that that great Prince united to that goodness which wins all hearts, the skill which directs all minds, the activity that watches over them, and the firmness that knows how to punish, at The law that has been submitted gives rise to two print pal difficulties, to which all the objections of detail seem to attach themselves. Some have been checked by these diffiteltiee, others have thought it, possible to resolve them, " In the first place, it is proposed to you to pro. nounce banishment, exile, or it you will, the simple departure from France, of all men inscribed upon the second list. Are you Judges ? Are you the Judges of these men? Undoubtedly not. It has been replied, that there was no question of a judg ment. But by what name would you call a penalty pronounced against then individually pointed out, and. on account of the reprehensible conduct they may have adopted anterior to the application of the law'? " These dispositions, say they; are less a judgment than a State measure—a measure of public safety. Pot do not all those denominations ennounco she ne nline4f of dissembling the difficulty Num an the possibility of resolving it. 6 The list includes names which have been re marked in our long disorders, but some also are very obscure And with respeo to time w hist' Nava lost risilege attached to obscutikh it it not sufficient able to impute to them improper withal they hays taken au active part in the th:ee maths . . rebellion. The Government has entered into no de tail—has given no disclosures. You bring bete only your oivir individual knowledge, sued the frequently uncertain aid of what is called public clasuciur. Have not all these men the right to say, and some have said so in printed articles that have been transmitteB to you •••• 6 Whatever be the 'power you are about to ex ercise in deciding upon our fate, do you know, at least, what are our crimes, and what are the proofs of them P " If the King refers to you the exercise of an exa otdinary power, it ought to be determined by motiv es which you can appreciate yourselves. Without that tour concurrence would have nothin g real in it. One would not know what name to give it. If you ab dicate the right to examin e, refuse also the right to decide. • " The drawing up of the three Articles announces that a part only of the thirty-eight individuals an shall either quit the kingdom of . be tried —.that supposes ulterior examination, a resource which it would be un. just to deprive them of, since the Ordinance grants it. " We hive thought that it might be proper not to treat all those individuals in the same manner; that some ought to be tried; that for others, exile would not perhaps be necessary ; that the King could !done definitively weigh the facts imputed to them ; and that it would be a great benefit to remit their fate to the most clement of Princes. " If it be said that we have only eluded the diffi: catty, and that by rejecting the measures proposed, we fall into the same inconveniences, we reply, that to send the examination to the only power that could institute it, is very different from demanding, that the Chambers s h ou ld determine directly, and in a mass, upon such a list as is presented to you. " A second difficulty remains to be examingd, and it is not less serious. " We have just said, that it was not proved to us that all theindividuals placed on the second list ought necessarily to be included in the number of grand criminals who have coatpronsised the safety of the State, and who can no longer remain on the French soil without disturbing public order by their presence. But on the other hand, ere all the men of this description inscribed " If we ask ourselves why certain namei appear on the lists, we are at the same time surprised to•see that others are not to be found there. " But the farther the measure departs from the re gular forms of ordinary law, the more necessary it is that k should present in itself a grand character of justice, of vigour, and of foresight. The replacing of Article 3, by other additional Articles, has appeared to us to remedy all inch inconveniencies. " In the first place, it is not a certain description of persons, but of crimes, that we wish to designate. These crimes ought to be the must enormous. They should be' such as have been clearly manifested, in order that there may he no uncertainty in the appli• cation of the law. They ought to be such as have been provided against by anterior laws, in order that the error of retroactive legislation may be avoided. In a word, it has been our wish to make the excep tion apply to crimes and not to persons. " In the second place. we have respected the Wang's promises. We have therefore proposed to bring to trial only the same -individuals, and have stopped at the epoch of the 2311 of March. " Do nut suppose, Gentlemen, that we mean to excuse what passed after that fatal epoth. " Those woo precipitated themselves at the feet of the Usurper, who recognised his power, wno con curred in defending him, who did not fear to sub scribe the odious acts by which he wished to bind them fur ever to his cause. All these men are guilty, and did not cease to be guilty, by the sole circum stance ot treason having reduced the Sovereign to the unfortunate necessity ot leaving the French territo ries. The more the good cause was in danger, the greater was the duty of defending ii. Pernicious would be that doctrine which should attribute to what is called a Government de facto, the rights which belong only to legitimacy. ' " Treason and baseness would then no longer be crimes, and fidelity would cease to be a duty even at the moment when the occasion for exercising it pre. sensed itself. That duty would in future be only a chimera, and the stability of Empires would have no support. " We propose to you to comprehend under the Law of Amnesty what followed the 23d of March, not to justify it. Thirdly, we ought in fine to perceive that dif ferent motives which it may sometimes be imprudent to investigate, may prevent the prosecution of some of those included in the classes of exceptions which we have proposed. 66 In our plan, therefore, the prosecutions to be in stituted will always be sublortlinate to the sovereign wisdom of his Majesty. Thus the King will not be placed under the necessity of punishing more than he thinks fit; and, in tact, the lists appeared susceptible of being revised in two respects. " There are names which perhaps it was not neces sary to place in them, and others have been emitted whom justice demands. It is perhaps necessary to leave tnese points to the King alone, because he alone can know all that belongs .to this great measure of public safety. . We have determined attain clearly characterised crimes, and we have limited the prescription . to a very short period, in order that the apprehension of new investigations may not too much, and during too long a time, keep a great number of persons in a state of disquiet. 66 A demand-that has reached you from all parts is to submit to a pecuniaryindemnity those who shall be recognised as the principal authors of the rebellion , that has inflicted so many evils upon France. •It is to satisfy the general wish that we propose to you. the sth Article of the new Project. " The Article wt. ich concerns the family of Bona paste proposes one of dice: measures whose necessity . will be recognised by every body. We merely pro. pose * wording of the article which has appeared more precise, and the uabsposition of the article. , si Your Commission has thmight it indispensable to extend this measure to another class of men, wlioas 4 l conduct ought to separate the, eternally from the French people. “ you foresee ihat we are speaking pr those qua who, after having rendered themselves guilty of the greatest of crimes, themselves proclaimed their [patios perseverance k who have dared to-pro:m.ov the personage who bad pardoned them, and whose' Ingratitude fs p r oportionate to the Immense benefit of the oblivion ex tended to them. ' Here you are p la ce d between the nation. which d e mands justice, an d 4te Prises, w ho would with 'tot re. collect that his first pardon has been treated so moat %distal / . . 44 .The Committee is far from wishing to deviate from the profound respect which is tine to the King, in proposing to you to retract the oblivion of the past, which he had once pronounced. If the first Crime , could be polished, we should n ot s p eak toy ou of a ' simple removal from the French territory. However nd crime,'we do not prop ose to in enormous the second flict the punishmen4whi.ch is its due; but th e men who are stained witheither, are henceforth placed in a state of constant hostility with the legitimate G3vernment. They have themselves pronounced that their existence in Franke is incompatible with the King's authority. It is as dangerous persons, sod none can he more dangerous than they, that Way ought to be obliged to leave France, where they cannot remain withoot perpetually connecting themselves with all sinister projects. Ina word, we propose fami , that ther should be treated lik e the Usurpet's y. “ Let those who do not approve this measure say whether they can find more powerful grounds for the proceedings against the one set of persons than the other. • We have acquitted ourselves of the task con fided to us, and you are able to determine t'.e difficul ties that have occurred. We had to discharge at once and to conciliate all the oblations which our functions impose upon us, and never were there ear more dif ficult. The sense of our duty has alone sustained the us. We propose to you t o ado p t the plan of law with -*odorants agreed to by the majority of the Com . mission." [Here Wow the Ankles of the Pftjet, which appeared in the oTas of yesterday.] The Journal des Deists of the 29th contains the fol lowing paragraph, which seems to allude to a pro tected mintage of Louis XVIII : 44 According tck, recent letters frau Madrid, the marriage of Ferdinand VII. is no longer a political conjecture ; the Princess is expected at Cadiz, and already the bodyguards who are to escort her have departed for that city. The King of Spiv' is 32 years of age. and the Princess his destined spouse, is in her 23.1 year. She is the eldest of the fi ve dau g h. tens of the Prince Regent, and is named Maria The resa. There is also a report current at Madrid, that the second sister of this Princess will espouse another European Prince of the same blood. This (latter is I ir. her 19th year, and of the name of Maria Isabella ; and as it is known that the French Ambassador at Rome has frequent conferences with the Ambassador of Portugal. and that the latter has ordered for his Sovereign the full length portrait of Louis XVIIL this rumour daily acquires consistence. All our letters from Rome, in fact, announce that some great interest is under discussion between. the Ambassadors of the two nations. The choice which the King has made of one of the first Noble men in the kingdom, the Duke De Luxemburg, captain of his guards, for his ambassador to the Court of the Brazils, appears to give additional con firmation to the reports at Madrid. We are assured that this ambassador, whose mission must be impor tant, and who is himself allied to the House of Bra. ganzt, will depart early in January. " MADRID, DECEMBER is. The intended marriage of Ferdinand VII. is So longer a mystery. The body guards who are to acc ompany the Princess, "have set out for Cadiz, where she is expected. Thus Brazil gives a Queen to Spain. It is said that the Infant Don Carlos is intended to be the husband of the second Princess of Brazil. gruAsstmo, DECEMBER 29. The Prefect arrested yesterday and sent to prison an Ex• Colonel of the line on half-pay, for having held conversation at as tuft directed against the acts t IreS. fol bony bea vAktte A• t 1111 w to be • mist ,rstenit ti l:,r'mti°oagin°t.iulyH.ig,reradhtonßnAuawduythsettautl_.oeyhreala'smsttg rday, c uised ; the fol mte in dte .'„ 'he King of I bee n ,_ Pe. nothing out the ,swvich hot in 'virtue of At vatierity opted,. The I me, was et. result was the kmatter vas has all the lioni ,_."ut that as change the hea Tasted i f , old one was a he hawks. di.: not underst Pass to th e 13y thew sy, 1 Mater.' fira'intentivd it " right make hi ,:h . vseepcomemach. ee : setai e t d ttiesAl t et o vo.B , iirsea t a h tp}t_ e e: s.s jut b Clumsy one it' In Paris e b e , feet eight ; his 'Lice of an , than five feet 1 succeeds i o Irish Giant, ar kir some a , the escape ws I the A rie T i. 90 minutes aft rans.adantio t r :, and, of coil the Writhed avalette was 'ad b eraa h oo, peeper took a ry desperado litOpefilttiDn, I thrones took further ti Imumheosretenionis2B4ll:,.theonege, senietehlaetfel of th e ,ndioi. .aoler made s soseerses„, (ter 14 minui of die mink. he shut., ant F.,olkabfileoennornype:idsaatheuetsti,bhieastutienbeeticem.haedt odatpa*piceigta.oo,. ezepoy:nroxdtlt.aiy:Lilrctineoicatik,i the C ha m ber ' h arayet traft.ben . ar i a who int 4tiate upon the .arted in all c ilk. Re ii a ► l : e i b ld fra a rc u s ;se ge r h : : l i . ee eN t: T u s ;ee 26. . .h .o a ,a m soib b nie e e r at o so f s e l l, tel at leas; i n agton afraid' r 'rh wo he. would —l6:g opeuss c". l ie ' ictr i ti k: Yn : i th e b b eo y uj ri t b .. j h ec .g t li n il I.ll of e use t t ds :" uniesi c : be es d e o n s:s lu t r a i h n l , v , u p ind aC t l h : e : B icch lit hambes : . ..II was over sior d s e th Fe a i t tm esisteg ara . k ..o hi ns le iebe , ea rose wi :teeetoderdiseiti by rstla . Ile t h e bi n , however, boil/ n_ceste - Pr ed:ria ci a : ::46.4l4,l : :for' I the .tleCondatoeir4:llTEdfiriPerSanciridettilh:6(si r ed 1 tha t i II At:: s a t n .le d w i i t is led B,l).:P6jeledolvttht:it:euebsei'l event, Messina c i l a th ":: e i t D che e h ia mberr lba sto r yi. e; , epared f l a the ail l e o r sti f ti l i i te n a o n t p o au rdos . rteis has become, aim the ii me, which issue Oar dep,s which only at ~! no one u prohibition ait ' erprie4ins feigh 4 nf usion it c ace in the Ju . the s ea l s . i , r him, /,, Mite piece (la I - !Uncut, be Theatre Frew shed "e 4 Ihe e . still re lish.is &c. 'rhea I lease, ii to repeat the yhtsl :e foartnle:anntill sibi .u.,se.ieisetoossi,:ihttnthiiilireietiii naost de iss 1 and DI RIS, DECEMBIIS N. n b e ; • the Governmest, "...son. rd on the Ist d ,licimadam idea n AVOW . the Constitutors not re norency, M. „, e Ikea p NI M. de It.- -* etch Ai n AnitY an s I de Vanblents ' in. n c „ lnni i.ytwAmhi ililli;:o I:liwddaeeoninr, gated here ; the his Chia, de '- . v n B a , d o r a ional whip in his - l u.' vs the rest of the K sgdoi in all directions. attaslette in the T ,. as chairman, sad 1 is guiding there rendered M. de V :lumber of Depa: . al of the Boreal Tt a u ih e Minister will EOF 8. awing it, and tho : . c e e 59 By this law,the - sr; seen formed in ... ty to every use Of ' e h ave this influence. it ' s r ill e s posal of the P ' 1 .,,_ c by, and of ‘.— arsese), who tt.freby nil e .tu ar ra the Co . ' dri 'PA R e :CO% 1 " 0 ' ',..' . tere hap l eii a of ye asked the air tir ,i 1 in tie( o uts wows& rstricate ' id no idea, m ean!, 0 *ss c 0; unmet% hat it WA :.....Gs 1 O avail themselves 1 sa ki ,:red escape. WO • PRIPATR LETTERS. of Government. He has also suspended from his functions a person employed in , the Revenue, for criticising the acts of Government. AUGSBURG, DECEMBER to. The Negociations between the Holy See and the Austrian Cabinet are very active. The Court o Vienna insists not only on maintaining the suppres sions which have taken place with respect to certain Bishoprics within the last ten years, but it claims also of the Pope new suppressions of 'bishoprics. The Court of Rome, however, has hitherto refused to give its consent to these demands. The project of re-establishing t h e religious orders meets with much opposition. The Kings of Sardinia and Spain are the only Sovereigns who have hitherto acceded to this demand. The Governments of Ter may and Modena have sent back several Jesuits who attempted to establish themselves in their States. . 'NAPLES, DECEMBER s The Emperor of Russia, on receiving intelligence of the attempt and the punishment of Ultras, gave 100 seclhins to the Cabinet Courier, Betso, who was the bearer of it. VENICE, DECEMBER 14. The four Corinthian horses have been replaced with great solemnity. The lion of St. Marc, which was considerably inlured on its descent from the fountain of-the invalids, suffered much damage on its return to this country, and could not be replaced on its ancient column. It is not even known when it can be restored. -DIJON, DECEMBER 14. The Court of Assizes of Dijon, which opened its extraordinary session on the llth inst. finished on the 2Sd. Among the causes which came under its cog nisance, there was Me which excited a considerable share of the public attention. ,It related to the sol -1 driers, who, on th.: 12th July last, entered that city erased oil pat de charge, with shouts of 46 Vive l'Em pereur I—A bas les Royalistesl" and fired upon the posts of the national guard. Of these men, who -amounted to 15 or 18, only two. could be secured.— They were sentenced to death ; but the Jury consi dering that they were bat young men, who were certainly not at the head of any plot, but merely led away by others, recommended them to mercy. This circtonstance produced a very strong effect, and was followed by shouts of 66 Vtve le Eoi I"—g , Vivent les Bourbons!' The two convicts themselves burst intii tears, snd joined in the cries , upon which the Jurors, affected by their repentance, gave them all the mo ney rhiy lied 'beta than, which amouoted to a con siderable mot 64 PARIS, MIMI= eg You will have seen, by the Mositeur of yesterd; what has passed upon the subject of Lavalette Chamber of Deputies, but unless you had been sent, you can have no idea of the scene which , place. The edergy and even violence of the maj ee i tr for an enquiry into the causes of his escape, treme and the Royalists still think the matter not confined to the keeper or turnkeys, but intentional negligence and delay have originated higher departments. The Minister of the " was literally hissed, for attempting to pass , Order of the Day. I believe, neither the Minister Police, nor Barbe Marbois, were present. 46 I have just heard a rumour, but I very , doubt the truth of it. that Lavalette has jest discovered in Paris, and re.conducted to the gerie. I have no doubt that he is still in r cause it is so much as easier and safer place cealment than the country. If he succeeds escaping.detection, be will,l presume, take pcnunity of passing over to our friends the cans. Jonathan (as our sailors call our transatlantiei neighbours) will have a pretty set if all the ' and secreted traitors go over to him. and we may see Sonic or some other military founding a dynasty upon an American throne. 66 PARIS. DEMISE 64 The great subject of conversation here the escape of Lavalette ; not on account of -* dual himself, but in regard to _ arising from it ; so far as it affects some of t tars, and others supposed to be well inclined him. Nothing yet has been done in the since Saturday, nor is the day yet fixed for mitwes to make their reports upon the motion Sesmaisons. You will have seen the debate - opening, and the speech of M. Bouville. young man from La Vendee. Nothing hl spired in regard to the examinations taken son. Lavalette must have been seen by persons in office, and had to pass through doors, that were watched and guarded. FROM OTHER CORRESPONDENTS. " PARIS DECEMBER " The last division of the British troops on the 27th, and the Duke of Wellington follows on the 3d or 4th of next month. wished him to stay, but the Duke refused, kept at least 12,000 men with him. nistry considering that such a number - unfavourably on the minds of the people, the residence of more than two regiment , . " PARIS, MICE:Ma " The escape of M. de Lavalette, an, sion en the amnesty in the bureaux of of Deputies, have renewed the division amongst the Ministry. The faction in t which will not hear of moderation, and ported by Messieurs de Vaublanc, de Duhnuchage, has made every effort to ..isguu Duke de Richelieu, who at length tendered signatTon to the King. His Majesty, hot refused to accept it, the Duke appears solved to maintain his system. 44 It is said, he hes brought over to Duke of Wellington, who, in order to bas determined not to go either to London, as before announced. M. has been employed in this negoriation, who has determined the Noble Duke the Constitutionalists. Since this even de Richelieu, Bathe Marbois and Decase, sumed much firmness —they are prepared ficulties which the Committee cf the Ch, issues are throwing in the way of the they are determined, ifthe Chamber as proposed, to withdraw it, and opal name of the King. " It is said iliac the Count d'Artols Member of the Club Is la rag Therese, every day mote consistence, but whit sent acts behind the curtain. " The very name 9f the Duke d'Orkuns the Court, which has renewed the prt mentioning the name of this Prince or in any way *lording to him. " The day before yesterday a petite vas= 11'm maw) was played at the a character in it says, " He was Marshal Saxe, he beat .the English, dience interrupted the actor by five applause ; they even wished him to but the actor passed on." it PARIS, 46 The important change in the long expected, will be announced nuary. The struggle between the and the Ultra-Royalists is decided latter. M. Mathieu de Montmorency and. Hyde de Neuville succeed - Barbe tolarbois, and de Cazes ; Feltre, and Robouchage. remain. " Two caricatures are circulated dies the Ring sound asleep in his Nen is driving with the constitutional while the horses, representing the ten, ate kicking and pulling in all _ other caricature exhibits M. Lavalette chair, Barbe Marbois acting as Cuzes, the Minister of Police, is a torch. " The Election Law has rendered blanc very unpopular in the Chamber it has been rejected by several ready. and it is supposed that the under the necessity of withdrawit ticipate its ultimate njectiun. By total Colleges would have been manner as to ensure a majority to the Minister ; and besides this the armed force at the sole disposal of the Colleges (nominated b! creatures of the Government), 'have it always in their porter tu, their will, The Budget also meets ble objections." as OA u When in my last I unmasked lette, and vrondired how Loots belt from the dilemma, I lied the world thinks of hi% (iK' wernment, Bible to descend so low to feigned, bßitt weeny concerted