The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-12 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, TUESDAY Evesiso.
To-day, M. Ditru read, towards the close of the
Assembly's sitting, his report on the electoral law,
which concludes (as already stated) in favour of the
pure and simple rejection of the government's bill.
Great alterations, or rather extensive amputations,
were made in M. Dunes report before it was approved
by the committee. This document began with a long
dissertation on the beauty and advantage of restricted
suffrage. Jules de Lasteyrie admitted the perfect
justice of M. Baru s views, but the public statement
of them had this little defect, that it recommended
to the legislature un overt violation of the constitu-
tion, which proclaimed universal suffrage. Time phi-
losophic preamble of the reporter was therefore set
aside.
In the sitting of the Assembly, to-day, M. Turgot
presented a bill for a credit to the company of the
Levant packets, which hill was referred to the consi-
deration of the budget committee. Ile next pre-
sented a bill for the ratification of the treaty with
Great Britain for the protection of literary property,
and a similar bill with respect to the treaty with
Hanover. niese were both referred to the bureaux.
The house next proceeded with the intcrpellations on
the subject of M. Sartin's assault by gendarmes. M.
de Thorigny declared that he had found nothing in
the Home-office relative to this affair, and requested
delay. M. Leon Faucher said that he was ready to
reply. M. Sartin then said that he came forward to
denounce violence exercised against a representative
of the people. Ile moved fora commission of inquiry.
In the beginning of the month of October, he
was dining with some friends, in a private
house, at Commentrv, when a party of
gendarmes walked into the room. M. Sartin, having
interposed in a scuffle between a gendarme and one
of the guests, was hustled and assaulted by the
agents of the public force. Ile was then taken pri-
soner by the gendarmes (to whom he showed his
medal as representative and protested against breach
of privilege), but was rescued by his friends. One
of the gendarmes, who had seized his collar, said,
" Ah, brigand de representatif, je to retrouvemi."
When giving his deposition before the Judge d'ln-
'traction, M. Sartin complained of the presence of
several military officers, magistrates, and employes,
awl porticularlv of the prefect. The judge said that
dal 'bad done their duty. Ile entreated
dm sea to abandon the protection of the pri-
vileges et Its numbers. M. Leon Faucher said that
the of Cammently having been informed that
a Mist meeting was to take place at the house in
gamin bad surrounded it with gendarmes, while he
to tak e down the names of the persons present.
(r. Faucher) on learning the affair, had written
to express his satisfaction that no blood had been shed.
Here a representative said that blood had been shed.
M. Faucher, having completed the official version of
the facts, said that M. Sartin had violated the de-
cree of the prefect in giving a dinner the object of
which was political. lie was surprised in flaw-anti
tielicto, and he would have been prosecuted but for
the scruples raised by certain parties against de-
mending authorization to proceed against him. The
whole of M. Faucher's defence of the assault on M.
Sartin was interrupted with frequent exclamations
of indignation from the benches of the Left. M. Bac
said that the fact described was a feature in a see-
tem belonging to the old administration, which
he should be very glad to see repudiated
by the new one. What had occurred at
Commentre had been occurring all over France.
He then proceeded to give a striking picture et
the police system adopted throughout the country,
' and the preposterous insolence of the gendarmerie.
IX de Thongny observed that the official documents
read by M. Leon Faucher had not proceeded frees
his (M. de Thorigny's) hands.
M. Leon Faucher, in answer, produced a report of
the gendarmerie of Commentry, grievously incri-
minating the representative of the people, to whom
there were no excuses due. M. Sartin had no right
to complain. The centre had to complain of him for
having helped to disturb the public peace.
M. Bac was happy to observe that the late minister
alone assumed the responsibility of the outrage to
M. Berlin. He hoped the new government would
not tread in the steps of the old one. Ile appealed to
the Assembly at large to maintain its parliamentary
prerogatives.
M. de Thorigny again rose and said that in the
affair of M. Sartin there had been faults on both
sides. (This admission was followed by tremendous
uproar and confusion.) M. Dupla begged the Right
to hear the ministers explanations, whether good
or bad.

A scene here took pkoe impossible to describe.