The Express.
London, England, 1861-02-04 00:00:00

OPENING

OF THE

FRENCH LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY.

SPEECH OF THE EMPEROR
NAPOLEON.-(THIS DAY.)

Mr. Reuter has received the following telegram :
PARIS, MONDAY Armiroox.

The Emperor to-day opened the legislative
session in person, and delivered the following
speech :
" MM. SENATORS AND DEPOTIRS,

"The opening speech of every session sums up in '
a few words past acts and future projects. Up to
the present day this communication, restrained by
its nature, has not put my government in very
intimate relations with the great bodies of the
state, and the latter were deprived of the
power of fortifying the government by their
public adhesion, or enlightening it by their coun-
sels. I have decided that every year a
general exposition of the situation of the
empire shall be placed before your eyes, and
that the most important diplomatic despatches shall
be deposited upon your bureaux.
" You will also be able, in an address, to mani-
fest your opinion upon what has been done, not, as
hitherto, by a simple paraphrase of a speech from
the throne, but by the free and loyal expres-
sion of your opinion."
The speech having glanced at the former
practice of the Chamber in this matter, proceeds to
allude to the care with which legislation is now
conducted, and to institute a partial comparison be-
tween the present constitution and that which
existed before the revolution of February. It
then dwells upon what ought to be the
internal policy of the country, and points out the
importance of making the necessaries of life
as cheap as possible. It continues :—" It
was with this object that we reduced the
duties upon raw materials, signed a treaty of
commerce with England, arranged to contract
others with neighbouring countries, and facilitated
everywhere the means of communication and
transport. To realise these economical reforms,
we have renounced 90,000,000 of annual receipts,
and yet the budget will present to you a
balance without there having been any necessity of
having recourse either to new imposts or to loans,
as I announced to you last year."
After a paragraph relating to Algeria, his
Majesty continues :
" Abroad I exert myself to prove in my relations
with foreign powers that France sincerely desires
peace ; that without renouncing a legitimate
influence she does not pretend to inter-
meddle in any way where her interests are
not in play ; in short, that if she has sympathies
for all that is noble and great, yet she does not
hesitate to condemn everything which violates the
law of nations and justice.

" Events difficult to foresee have occurred to
complicate in Italy a situation already so embar-
rassed. My government, in agreement with its
allies, has believed that the best means of averting
the greatest dangers was to have recourse to the
principle of non-intervention which leaves every
country master of ita destinies, localises questions,
and prevents them from degenerating into
European conflicts.
" Certainly I am not ignorant that this system
has the inconvenience of appearing to authorise
grievous excesses ; and extreme opinions would
prefer—some that France should make common
cause with all revolutions, others that it should
put itself at the head of a general reac-
tion. I shall not allow myself to be
turned from my path by either of these
opposing promptings. It suffices for the great-
ness of the country to maintain its right wherever
it is incontestable ; to defend its honour
wherever it is attacked ; and to lend its
support wherever it is implored in favour of a just
Call Bo.

" It is thus that we have maintained our right in
bringing about the acceptance of the cession of Savoy
and Nice. These provinces are now irrevocably
reunited to France. It is thus that, to avenge our
honour in the extreme east, our flag, united to that
of Great Britain, has floated victoriously upon the
walls of Pekin, and that the cross, the emblem of
Christian civilisation, again rises above the temples
of our religion, closed for more than a century.
It was thus that, in the name of humanity, our
troops went to Syria in virtue of a European
convention, to protect Christians against a furious
fanaticism.

"At Rome I thought it my duty to increase
the garrison when the safety of the Holy
Father seemed to be threatened. I sent
my fleet to Gaeta at the moment when it seemed
that it would be the last refuge of the King of
Naples. After leaving it there for four months I
have withdrawn it, however worthy of sympathy
may have been a royal unfortunate so nobly
supported. The presence of our vessels
compelled us to lay aside the system of
neutrality which I had proclaimed, and it gave
rise to erroneous interpretations. But you know
that in politics men are reluctant to believe in a
purely disinterested proceeding.
" Such is a rapid sketch of the general situation.
Let, then, apprehensions be scattered and confidence
be re-established, and why should not commercial
and industrial interests take a new flight 1

"My firm resolution is not to enter into any
conflict in which the cause of France would not be
based on right and justice. What have we, then,
to fear? Is it that a united and compact nation,
numbering 40,000,000 souls, can dread being
dragged into contests the object of which it does not
approve, or of being provoked by any threat I The
first virtue of a people is to have confidence
in itself, and not to allow itself to be
excited by imaginary alarms. Let us, then,
look calmly into the future with full confidence in
our strength as in our loyal intentions. Let us,
without indulging in exaggerated prejudice, devote
ourselves to the developmant of the germs of pro-
sperity which Providence has put into our hands."

1861.