The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-01-21 00:00:00

sneCeopies of the above paper,' as are intended fur our
Vastets are exempted from this prohibition.
;signed) " FREDERICK WILLIAM.
" Berlin, December 30, 1819.
‘' si To the Chancellor of State, Prince Hardenberg."
\ The rivers of Ilolland are all full of ice.
. The cold has been at 1,21 Iteaumur, or 28!
' Fahreuheit, below the freezing point.
PARIS PAPERS.

• PARIS, JA?ItIART 16.
Yesterday evening Baron Piuquier had an au.
da-nce of hit, Royal Highness Monsieur. He re-
mained with the Prince above an hour.

The harbour Of Cslais is almost entirely blocked
up by the ice.
CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, JANUARY 15.
Tie Ministerial Bench is occupied by the Mi-
nisters fur Foreign Affairs, the Marine, and the
Finances. M. Decozes was not present.
After the re:0;0g of the primes verbal of the
previous sitting, the Chamber resumed the discus-
sion on the Petitions relative to the law of elections.
M. Mechin rose, and said-44 Can any tiling be

conceived stranger than what is now passing before
our eves? To what sorrowful reflections has not
this discussion given birth ? Principles hitherto
avowed now treated with haughty disdain ! the
first elements of the representative system repro-
ti,to; ! the most incontestable right of every free
itssiiiled witiacut delicacy ! wishes, the most
Legitimate for the maintainance of established or-
der, designated as revolutionary ! the depositaries
of power this day abandoning the language they
field yesterday ! petitions, which last year were
cuscred with your applause, now oared to your
animadversion ! and finally your Committee, with-
out any regard to precedents, to your dignity, or
their own consistency, propasing to you to annul, by
a reprobative formula of the order of the day, the
petitions of 90.000 citizens, who warn you to be
carersl that the country shall receive no injury !
Such are the prospects we new .see, and such I
Oostil net have believed I should have ever seen !"
He then entered largely into the question of the
right of petitioning; censured those political Mi-
oistrrial writers, who said that the right of peti-
tioning ought to be organised; and applauded the
3!tilli•iits of the Law School, for what he called the
~thasiiitar of their young patriot hearts.—(lklur-
,.lrs and laughter on the right.)—" I defy any
vile," he resumed, " to find a better or nobler
epithet."

M. Josue Brauvoir—The right of
petitioning
is
sacred ; it is the noblest sod most valuable of those
guaranteed by the Charter.
If we are. to judge of the importance of things
by the time we devote to them, the petitions are of
a serious iisture. In the last year, if I mistake not,
they commenced, and they prolonged the Session
two months.
The right of petitioning is inseparable from • re.
presentative Government, but it is easy to abuse it.
It will not be questioned that when a petition
complains of a denial of justice, the infraction
yr a law, or of an iudividaal wrong, it is
sacred in our eyes ; but shall we say the same of
these petitions which have matters of legislation
auJ of policy fur their objects ? Is it proper that
the Chamber *Weld violate the charter and degrade
its power, lose its consideration without, and sur-
render its legislative powers to the good pleasure of
factious men and coliectors of petitions ?
He then remarked upon the evils that may result
Irons collective petitioning. Collective petitions
commenced in 1791, the destrUction of social or-
der; in 179.2 they demanded the dethronement of
the Monarch, and afterwards his death ; and on the
t of January 179 J opened the abyss in which
were iogulfrd the petitioners and their protectors.

1::;(1.1 Bonaparte they disappeared. His Govern-
uttnit, all action, did nut approve of them. The
ishricators of petitions kept silence until 1818.
The re-appearance of collective petitions will be
the renewal of the revolution. After some obser-
vations uptut the manner in which the present peti-
tions wcte prepared, lie concluded by agreeing with
the motion for the Order of the Day.
M. Dutne,let 'poke urn the right of peti-

toning.
M. de Villele said, that in his opinion it was im-
possible f. r the present Session to close without
V-.eir making some alterations in the law of elec-
tions or in the clisrlei.—(Violent murmurs on the
left.)—lie should consider it very dangerous if
some changes were not made, for not seeing any
legal means for the Government to maintain itself
.iinJ save the country, he very much feared that

the Government would be duvet' to the neces-
• stty of effecting its object by illegal means.

It was fur the wisdom of the Chamber to me-
ditate upon these consequences, and not to au-
thorise them by an ill-judged refusal to support
the Government—a refusal of which the comic-

queticev would recoil upon themtelve9—and Rot
caupel the Government to hive recourse to violent
measures, which would annihilate every thing they
would with to preserve.—( Violent expression of
disapprobation on the left side. Benjamin Constant,
de Correlks. and others speak altogether in the midst
of the tainalt.—Cries of " Hear, hear.")
M. de V.lttle attempted to enter into some de-
tails in support of his opinions, but he was inter.
rapted by the clamours of the left side. After
some difficulty he we. permitted to speak, and
concluded by saying. that the mode of election

then pursued seemed to him to compromise the
safety of their institutions. He did not lenient to
the opinions of the petitioners whit would sup•
port the existinK system. He should therefore vote
for the Order of the Day.

M. Courvoisier ascended the Tribune. He re-
marked that in a representative government there
were three elements.; the democracy, the aristo-
cracy, and the monarchy. In England the aris-
tocracy is imposing ; it neutralizes the democracy.
In France it is not the tame; the aristocratic ele-
ment can never preponderate. The monarchy must
always be predominant. He remarked, that on
many former occasions no objections were made to
collective petitions, and concluded by moving that
these petitions be deposited in the burrito, with
the exception of such as might he pointed out by
the Reporter of the Committee, as offensive either
to the King or to the Chamber.
Voices on the left side—Supported !

M. Leine, in remarking upon the petitions, ob-
served, that the Chamber appeared to him impa-
tient to he engaged in modifying the present elec-
toral system.

Voices from the left—Yo. ao ! that's false !
niers from the right--.Y em ! yes !
M. de Corcelles—lts false ! we have no such im-
patience, nor hrs the nation.

M. Leine—When I spoke of impatience, I al-
luded not to one side only, but to both. Both
parties denounce the abuses of the present systetn,
and I am thereby justified in saying that both F,eetn
anxious to introduce alterations.—(Shouts of
" Bravo !")—Yon have been told of the aristocracy
of England. The aristocracy of France is not suf-
ficiently strong.—(Violent murmurs on the left.)—
I speak of that aristocracy which in all well-
constituted States ought wisely to befriend the
throne and to protect the people. In saying,
that in France it is not sufficiently strong. I
am supported by the opinion of a wise politi-
cal writer.—(Approbation on the right.).—He
then argued upon the abaunlity of supposing, that
any law, once established, ought never to be alter-
ed, if the course of events rendered alteration meet.
sary ; and concluded, by expressing his concur._
rence with those Members who required the order
of the day.
The closing of the discussion was then loudly
demanded. The question for closing it was put to
the voice. The first proof was doubtful. The
President declared that a second was necessary.—
(Agitation and clamours on the kJ'? side.)
The discussion was again resumed, and M. Ma-
nuel ascended the tribune. lu the course of his
observations upon the principle of altering the law
of elections, lie asked, whether on the occasion of
the threatened changes all France should be af-
fected by stupor ?

M. de Marcellus—i, Your 39,000 petitioners do
not compose all France."--(Lirely interruption,
and agitation in the Tribunes.)
The P►taldent—You should not interrupt him.
M. de Marcellns—lt is a false assertion.
M. Mechin—lt is the truth.

M. Manuel—l de not complain of interruptions.
They 'hew that a speaker must give proofs for his
assertions.

A violent agitation then arose at the bottom of
the ►lall. Several Deputie4 of the Centre called
the Tribunes to silence. Smile hisses were heard,
and some bravos.

M. Bourdeau—l demand to speak upon a point
of order.

The President—You are not in costume.
M. Demircity and others—Speak. however.
Let him speak.

M. Bourdesu required that strangers should
excluded.

The President said it would be sufficient if the
Ushers were to turn out every pervon who was seen
to make a noise.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs rose, for the
purpose of making a remark upon an expression
which had been used by the former speaker (M.
Manuel). The Member had said, that a profound
stupor reigned in all France, and that it extended
itself throughout Europe.—( Muratori on the left,
and cries of " He did not say so.")—The King
declared to you with truth, that there exists
a great inquietude, which is founded upon the
necessity that is felt by the majority of Fiend'.
men of giving to our institutions such a sta.
bility as it is not supposed they have as yet
acquired.—(Cries of " Bravo ! " and murmurs.)
—As fur foreign countries, the reputation of the
King's *onion, is great among them. his words
hate" never excited inquietude or aiLiron, on the
coutrary, they have the best assurance to Europe,
that France will never again become what for her
misfortune she has been. Yesterday one of my
honourable colleagues. M. Benjamin Constant,
apprised you, that the department of the Sarthe
furnished more subscriber. than any other, because
it was more oppressed. Will you know the cause of
their alarms ? A writing was profusely circulated
in the department ou the 17th of November, sign-
ed Goyet, threatening a return of the ancien
regime, and all the ancient abuses. It announced
the most terrific things. Was not such a work cal.
culated to excite lively alarms ? I persist in desir-
ing the Order of the Day.

M. Benjamin Constant observed. that the writing
alluded to was circulated previous to the °prolog
of the Chambers, in that it was not the speech