The Express.
London, England, 1851-07-19 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, FRIDAY EYRNINO.
The event of the day has been a scene of great
disturbance in the Chamber, owing to some expres-
sions in the speech of M. Barochc, which indicated
an intention of calling in question the legality of the
constitution, on account of the pressure which had
been exerted by the provisional government upon
the elections of the first constituent. M. Dufauce
replied to M. Baroche, and made a long speech
against revision, of which he contended the inoppor-
tuneness. _ _ _

The calm attitude which the Assembly had pre-
served during the previous sittings was broken yes-
terday by the impassioned eloquence of Victor
Hugo. Seldom has a more stormy series of
explosions been witnessed than were called forth
by the uncompromising positions of the great
poet-orator. Nothwithstanding the jeremiads of
the moderate papers about the scandalous provo-
cation of the spqker, 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. Berryer and de Falloux by the
minority. The latter, whose languid and feeble
flattery of kings was heard with patient disdain by
the Mountain, signalised himself yesterday by taunt-
ing Victor Hugo, in the midst of his impetuous
harangue, with a miserable personality. While the
orator was dealing with matter purely political, M. do
Falloux threw in his face the pension which he had
received from the monarchy, and flourished in his
fingers the letter of thanks which M. Hugo had
written to Charles X. Nothing could be more cre-
ditable to the poet than the triumphant manner in
which he answered this mean charge. While a mere
lad he received from Louis XVIII. a pension of 801.
Later the government of Charles X. prevented the
drama of Marion Delorme" from being represented
on the stage; but the king, in order to compensate
the author for this prohibition, offered him 120'. in
addition to the former pension. This offer Victor
Hugo declined. Nothing could he more pitiable
than the figure cut by M. de Falloux in the face of
this explanation. Accordingly, after the descent of
the speaker from the tribune, he revenged himself
upon M. Hugo by a wre'ched series of personalities,
in the worst possible taste. M. Dupin, instead of
protecting M. Hugo against the shower of gibes and
scoffs which were directed against his magnificent
speech, drily observed that it was the orator who
made his audience. At moments the tumult became
indescribable ; the whole Right rose en masse, and the
bench of ministers bawled and gesticulated like men
possessed. But M. Hugo baffled these ungenerous
attempts to drown his powerful speech by admira-
ble presence of mind, and in proportion to the
rage of his persecutors lashed them with greater
severity. At the noisy close of Isis harangue, ho an-
swered the brutal personalities of M. de Falloux and
his brother legitimists by sparkling and refined wit.
" Your ideas, said he, " are not yet returned from
emigration." In sum, whatever the merit of Victor
Hugo's principles of government, he drew yesterday
a most powerful picture of the errors of the monarchy,
and exposed with consummate success the littleness
of aim of the royal parties in proportion to the
vast requirements of the age and country. The
frankness with which M. de Larochejacquelin deve-
loped his ideas forms a favourable contrast to the
mock deference of M. de Falloux for the principles
of 1789.
At the sitting of the Assembly yesterday,
M. Vicroa H eoo said he would only accept the debate
under • protest against the law of the 31st of May, which
had destroyed 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 uncon-
ditionally abrogated, what could the majority hope or
expect from revisiou ? Ile wondered that the majority, who
laid claim exclusively to the designation of practical men,
should bring forward the proposition with the certainty of
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, sod 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 the protestations and distinctions of M. de Falloux,
of M. Berrycr, and M. de Broglie, he would declare that
their attack upon the republic was nothing but an attack
upon the whole revolution from 171,9 downwards. The
revolution was 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. Hail the consti-
tution been fairly and honestly tried during the last 3 years
he could have understood a demand for revision for the pur-
pose of developing democratic ideas, for realising those prin-
ciples, some of which the constitution had only declared--•
the essential rights of the people, the right to labour, to
organized assistance, the abolition of the 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 had been said, the constitution of the French Republic
should he the charter of human progress in the 19th century,
the immortal testament of civilisation, the political bible of
the nations, it should approach as nearly us possible to abso-
lute social truth, therefore let us revise the constitution,
that he could have understood, but that in the middle of the
19th century they should be told, duce 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, the ideal of great philosophers realised
by a great people—that they should be told all this, and
then that it should be added, we arc 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 179''2, 1830, and 1818 ; we will bar
the way against that rash giant who does all things without
cousultiog us, and whose name is l'rovidence ; that
this @hula be said, that this should be dreamed et,
overwhelmed him with astonishment. Proceeding to
argue the question which was before them, of re-
public 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 legiti-
macy, and the monarchy of glory, as certain privileged
jouruals called it, which was the empire. Ile would in the
first place deny that monarchy was a principle. Monarchy
had never been anything else but a fact. (Great interrup-
tion.) He repeated that the poseession of a whole people by
one man or one family could have been Lut a fact, and when
the fact ceased to exist there was an end of it. Not CI 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 wurd. But will Tilt 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 bee. What
are your griefs against the republic of 1818? Insurrections?
But monarchy had plenty. The state of finauce ? Consti-
tutional monarchy was dear enough, and was the inventor
of large budgets, but your real monarchy, your monarchy
of principle, your monarchy of 14 centuries sometimes made
itself wilfully bankrupt. (Laughter and cheers.) Your great
Louis XIV. now and then scared proprietors, to cite Boileau,
A ramect d'un arret qui retrace/4e on pannier. A royal ste-
t crce w..ich takes a quarter of the subjects' income, is a
royal bankruptcy. (Great interruption.) Under the re-
gency the monarchy pocketed—that is not an elegant word,
but it is the true ore-350 millions by altering the currency.
Lou, XV. was bankrupt nine times in sixty years. (Lang
interruption, caused by a voice calling out, " What of
poets' pensions." here M. Victor Hugo triumphantly
disposed of the mean charge brought against him by
M. de Fallon:, of having accepted a pension from
Louis XVIII.) Cardinal Dubois described monarchy
as • strong government, because it could become
bankrupt as often as it liked. (Much laughter.) The re-
public of 1848 was not bankrupt, nor, if let alone, would
ever become so. 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 suf-
ficed to send many formidable sabres rattling back into their
scabbard. There are miserable accusations spriest the re-
public that go the round of your newspapers. There are the
commissioners of Ledru-Itollin, the 45 centimes, and the so-
cialist conferences at the Luxembourg. Ah ! beware of the
!, Luxembourg for there you may chance to meet the shade of
Marshal Fey. (Great uproar.) Men of worn out parties,
you misunderstand contemporary phenomena. Because
monarchy has vanished, yen say France is vanishing. It w
an optical delusion. France is one thing, and
monarchy another. France remains and grows great
understand that. France was never greater—fo-
reigners know it, but, it is sad to say, you do not. The
orator here drew a striking picture of the varied miseries
which had been endured by the royal family of France, and
I salted if their friends would replace that family in the
muclvenvied Tuileries, to invite • repetition of the same
history. He said that within a very short time property
and commerce would come to understand that the republic
was terra firma, and that monarchy was the TO
ground, and that then the royalist party would bd.:tM
ally
extinguished. In answer to M. Bcrryer's assertion that
France could never accommodate itacii to a republic, ha as-
I sorted that similar prophecies had been made in opposition
to representative government ; that the republic was a na-
tural stcp onwards ; that the masses would soon find their
equihbrium,"and that what was called the political fever,
and was so injudiciously sought to be repressed, was but •
wholesome fermentation. He cortrasted the royalists of
the present day with then chivalrous ancestors who fought
in La Vendee, and did not reserve the confession of their
.sy to
stansr political faith till all danger was gone by—men who !pea,
made war upon the revolution, and did not insidiouinsidiouslyauously
seek to
eu teal
" Vire le Rai " in the As-
' milltbly, after having twenty-seven tames in one day
it—men
outwho did nut come peaceably
and sui

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