The Press.
London, England, 1857-06-13 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

cause, more than any of his family, he too
was Imperialist. In other passages this view
is developed at some length, and not without
eloquence. In it we have the secret of all the
subsequent policy of Louis Napoleon, and of
his eventual success. And it was this sym-
pathy, felt but not expressed, between the
nation and the Prince, which caused the latter
to attempt the famous insurrections at Stras-
burg and Boulogne. "It was," says M. do
Cassagnac, " necessary to make known to the
" French nation by some striking act that
" there existed an heir of the name, the doe-
" trines, the courage, and the rights of the
" Emperor lt was principally
" with the view of making such a solemn
" manifestation, that in 1836 the enterprise of
" Strasburg, and in 1840 that of Boulogne,
" were resolved on."

After being elected representative of the
people, the Prince was, by a large majority,
chosen President of the Republic :

The sentiments imprisoned thirty years in the hearts
of the people made an explosion ; and the eagles, after a
long slumber, resumed their flight from steeple to steeple
—indicating the approaching return of the Empire. For
what was the signification of the vote of the 10th Decem-
ber, and what did the people mean by it ? Clearminded
men then saw and said what experience has since proved
—namely, that the five and a half millions of suffrages of
the 10th December were given to the heir of Napoleon.
The people, master of their destinies, showed to the
minorities of 1815 and 1830 what, regime and what dynasty
best represented in their eyes the France which 178'J had
made.

His election " stupefied Paris and plunged
" the Assembly iato consternation." M.
Marrast, president of the latter body, said to
some friends who turned it into ridicule
Laugh not, gentlemen ! I have talked with him an hour
to day. We are lost! He knows all the power of his
name ; he knows what he eau do, and all that he can do
he will do !

As President, the Prince called to him the
chiefs of the old parliamentary parties, and
formed his first Cabinet from their ranks.
But—

Nothing could be more vacillating than these politicians.
Most of them were plunged in profound doubt, not know •
ing exactly what to think of the present, or what to hope
of the future. None of them carried his view beyond the
horizon of Paris, which is that of drawing rooms, of news•
papers, and of coteries, and had not thought of reeking in
the study of France, and of popular opinions, the veritable
signification of the situation and the meaning of ill., social

enigma.
The men who, np to 1818, were considered to possess
the firmest monarchical faith, had offered themselves in all
places, as ready to labour for the establishment of republi-
can institutions. M. Mole and M. Thiers bad not com-
pletely freed themselves from the idea of becoming the
Washingtons of their country. M. Odilon Barrot, who,
on account of his past opinions, migbt be supposed to be
more inclined to republican chimeras, was, on the con•
trary, more disposed to return to monarchy, and said so
to his friends. Not a soul amongst them, in short, which was
not drifting helplessly, or which could tell on what shore

it hoped to be cast' All these men,
without exception, subsequently showed by their words and
acts that they did not really understand the principle and
the power of which the Elect of the 10th December was
the holder and the personification. They were, neverthe-
less, agreed on this point, that society, under shelter of
his authority, might make a halt in disorder, and give
to baffled statesmen the time to recover their ideas, and to
find their lest route.

M. de Cassagnac laments what be calls the
blindness of the eminent statesmen of the
day in not seeing that Louis Napoleon was
chosen by nearly six millions of suffrages
because, "being the heir of the principles and
" rights of the Emperor, he could revive his
" traditions and recommence his policy"; in
other words, that they did not think the re-
establishment of the Empire, or of something
approaching to it, possible or desirable. The
author gives a curious specimen of the advice
which they offered the Prince :

Two eminent statesmen, M. Moles and M. Thiers,
invited the Prince, a few days before his election, to visit
them at the house of M. Thiers, in order that they might
make known to him the elements and tendencies of
modern society in France. " The fundamental principle
of modern society," said M. Thiers, "is the civil power.
The military spirit is dead, and cannot be revived. You
appear to have a chance of being nominated President of
the Republic, and it seems desirable to us that you should
prepare yourself for that eminent post, by--cutting off your
',mustachios! If M. Mole or myself were to be nominated
President, neither of us would wear moustachios. It.
therefore, seems to us necessary that you should shave off
yours! "

. -
A rapid but full account follows of all the
principal incidents that occurred in the early
part of Ihe Prince's presidency, and shows that
at first he and the majority of the Assembly

583

acted perfectly in accord, but that afterwards
distrust, and with distrust illwill, sprang up
between them. It was impossible, indeed, for
them, after a while, to avoid dissension, for
their objects were totally different, the Prince
being bent on the re-establishment of the
Empire, the majority of the Assembly on the
restoration of constitutional monarchy, either
in the Orleans or the elder Bourbon family,
and, en attendant that restoration, in main-
taining the republican, or, at least, the parlia-
mentary, form of Government. But the
Socialist ejections which took place at Paris
iu March, it<)o, created such terror in the
country, by showing the extent to which
doctrines subversive of society had spread,
that the necessity of a rapprochement between
the President and the majority of the
Assembly was strongly felt. Accordingly, the
President and the chiefs of the majority had a
conference to deliberate on what was to be
done :

The meeting which took place on the 14th March,
1830, was a solemn one. The chiefs of the majority,
amongst whom were three Prime Ministers of the
monarchy and two illustrious orators, were to be called on
to indicate the best means of saving society, which was on
the brink of an abyss. The President of the Republic
opened the business by saying, " I have assembled Jon.
gentlemen, in order that you may aid me by the councils
of your patriotism and your enlightenment ; what do you
think should be done to set aside the dangers revealed by
the progress of Socialism ?"
This question, which went straight to the point, was
followed by a lung silence. That silence began to be em-
barrassing to everybody, when M. de Montalembert said :
" In the ancient assemblies of the clergy, the youngest
member gave his opinion first. I will give mine. I will
be as frank in my reply as the Prince was in his question.
In my opinion, to escape from the perilous position in
which we are, the President should take the chiefs of the
majority for his Ministers. That would he the most
energetic and the most significant reply to the provocations
of the enemies of society."
The Prince replied with perfect calmness, that he was
ready for his part to follow the advice of M. de Montalem-
bert, and turning towards the other members of the meeting
he said, " What do you think gendemen ?"
Count Mole spoke first, but he said precisely neither
yes nor no. . . . . After M. Mole, M. Thiers in a
sprightly and picturesque manner gave his opinion : To
become the Minister of a government," said he, " is in my
eyes to contract marriage with it. The Republic is a young
woman, and it costa me a good deal to marry her. How-
ever, as that is perhaps the sole means of saving the
country, lam ready to give my consent." The Duke de
Broglie next spoke: he declined very positively to accept
the proposition of M. de Montalembert, because the union
in the same Cabinet of the chiefs of the Legitimist party,
and of the ex• Ministers of the King Louis Philippe, ap-
peared to him to offer no guarantee of concord, force, or
duration.
The result, of course, was, that nothing was
resolved on :
The turn which the conference took fully confirmed the
previsions of the President of the Republic. The con•
ference Flaced clearly in evidence the irremediable division
of the chiefs of the majority, a division founded on op-
posing principles and on past conflicts. They might
approach accidentally to resist the common enemy, but
they could not come to an understanding to govern France.
Each of them had his doctrines, his hopes, and his object.
The future dreamed of by M. Thiers was not that which
was dreamed of by M. Berryer ; and whatever was the oath
which either entered, it was certain that M. de Montalem-
ben would not follow him in it.

Before long, however, the necessity of
"doing something" having Femme evident to
all, it was determined to bring in a bill to
restrict universal suffrage, though the Presi-
dent personally was opposed to the idea of
tampering with the suffrage. The presenta-
tion of this bill exasperated the republicans
and the secret societies, and they determined
to rise in insurrection. At this moment a
curious incident occurred which showed that
the chiefs of the majority in their bearts enter-
tained profound contempt for the President, and
that they had already contemplated making
a coup-d'etat against him, or at least without
him. General Changarnier, commander-in•
chief of the army and the National Guards of
Paris, and who possessed all the confidence of
the majority, was summoned to a Cabinet
Council held by the President, and called on
to state the measures he had taken to combat
the anticipated insurrection :
He, however, avoided giving clear and precise explana-
tions, on the ground that a general in-chief should never
make known his plans in advance. This precaution,
which is very prudent when taken in presence of the
enemy, appeared exaggerated in present circumstances.
Pressed to tell what his plans were, and placed in presence
of the hypothesis that he might be killed during the
action, General Changarnier replied that if he were killed,
a sealed document setting forth his plans, and naming his
ter
successor, would be found. General d'llautpool, Minister