The National Register.
London, England, 1817-01-06 00:00:00

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No. 465.—V0L. IX.

MONDAY, •JANU.

.RY 8,

FOREIGN INTRLLI GENCE.

tarred the revolutionary system: tact -*hat time he
has persevered. Ile speaks with facility: his faults
are, to be easily made angry ; and even without being
angry, he is not always sufficiently temverate in his
language.
M. Cardonnel spoke against the law, sad with the
most happy irony contrasted the speecheaof the Minis-
terial members with those they pronounced last year.
I cannot speak of what M. Sartelon said: he is One
of those gentlemen whose speeches I neater read nor
listen to: he is very fund of speaking; big neither the
matter nor the manner are such as engage the attention
of any one.
M. Becquey defended himself from the ifeaassation of
M. Cardonnel, of having changed his opiiiion since last
sessions ; he spoke well, but always on the dilse ground
that the 40th article of the Charter trate a narrow
path, oat of which it is impossible to go.
N. Ds La Bourdennaye, afters few wordt,Apasidt-
ed, that the change of one Minister in ourrosiviv
directory seemed to have entirely changed * saunas.
This word directory gave rise to a • warm familial,
whether M. De La Bourdonnaye should be called to
order or not. Blanquart Bailleul Bras.
woe .that ire
should be. Leine, after trying to prove IF Muss
sgeo
that he ought to be, proposed that he . not, 4
have no doubt but that, in England, asit'very
few men who ever heard of any other ' that
of the government of France known bysthat name.
But in this country, quite at the beginnin,g'of the re-
volution, there was a directory in each department;
which then did what the prefect and the council of the
department do now ' • so that I cannot comidet that
there was any thing offensive in the expression of M.
De La Sausdonnaye.
M. Ctetisr made a long, historical, philneogibleal,
speech in favour of the law : pear the sad
feet= that the opposition to Ministry proceeded,
in a representative government, from the desire of lay-
in places. There was a cry of indignation at these
words from the Royalists, Gerdes tor places! It is
Certain, that in peaceable times the assertion of M.
Cutler would be true ; but at the present moment, all
the Royalist party wish or hope, is to have such a sys-
tem of government as may ensure them indemeity for
the past, and security for the future ; when I pay in-
demnity, I do not mean pecuniary indemnity, may that
they should not be considered as a proscribed otass in
society, at such a moment their cry of intligmition is
easy to be conceived.
M. Cornet D'lneourt spoke against the imesitiith a
considerable degree of talent, and produced saineeffee:t.
M. Courvoisier, who is in his heart a Reysilim, but
%Ow supports the present Ministry on account of the
hatred be bears to the class of nobility, not fia4inr, how
necessary they are to the crown.—M. Courvoisiet made
a long speech, paying the greatest compliments to the
tiers-etat, at the expense of the clergy and nobility ;
and afterwards he had the courage to defend the.
,in-
fluence the Prefects had exercised in the late elections.
He ended by voting for the law. . .
Here the diseumerm closed Saturday. All pafties
agree out of the house that the law is bad, thou* muse
ado not see in it that excess of danger which alarms ate
•fand many others.
There is a degree of courage which has always ex-
cited my admiration ; but nothing is equal to that of
M. Bertitunio Constant ; he, as you remember,-wrote a
pamphlet against Buonaparte after the landing at
Cannes : in this pamphlet, he, thinking that Buono-
parte would not succeed, said, " Je n'irai pas miserable
transfuge," &c. which must be translated-1 will not
g.: an infamous turn-coat, &c.: however, filer days atter
the arrival. of 11mmaparte at Paris, M; Benjaniin Con-
stant accepted the place of Counsellor of State, fitrget-
in.: that his own judgment of hi:nself was already print-
ed, and in the hands of every one. This man has dared
itgaini to meet the public: he has written a pamphlet,
entitled " Ds la Doctrine Politique qui pout retinir
tour les Parties." In this work he attacks M, de
Chateaubriand, makes one or tava jokes on the Ctermf,
attacks the Nubility (1), and praises the Minister of
the Police. ...... •
P.S. I forgot to mention that Ministry are dissatis-
fied with the report of M. Lilly Totlentfal on the re-
sponsibility of lllinisters : they are trying to.get I,'
to make some alterations in it before. it is prime('
cannot think he will condescend to print any thin,
ferent front \ •'.aithe pronounced. , 1
(I) A MRI), then in riwer. s-ti I uweir'ef NC 13 rtijana n
'taut; " II est easetai tie de tout, mower., Inoue
Pante."

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EXTRACT OF A LETTER PROM OUR PRIVATE COR•
RESPONDERT. _

Paris, Dec. So.
The Law of Election is at present the only theme of
conversation in political circles: there has already been
a long discussion, nor do I suppose it will soon finish.
It is more extraordinary to think that it is not yet cer-
tain whether it will pass or not : the Ministry hope that
those ofaheir adherents who would prefer some other
law, will, nevertheless, when it comes to the question,
vote with them rather than with the Royalists. Mr.
••Royer Collard and M. de Villek reasoned upon the luw
in the abstract: it was not difficult for the latter to
have the advantage over his adversary, who, among
other wild ideas, had established, that to choose 600 out
of 1,199 would be an odious measure • as it would, in
fact, be excluding 599: he allowed, however, dm till
objection would not hold, if the choice were to be Node
out of ,twelve hundred and one. One must really be
accustomed to the theoretical discussions which have
masted in France for five and twenty years, to believe It
possible that such a position could be submitted to the
House of Deputies, or listened to by them with patience.
After M. de Villele rose, the new Counsellor of State,
M. Camille Jordan, whose want of talent is notorious,
and who, in 1797, did so much harm to the Royalist
esuse by his folly, though his intentions were good : he
kept the house in a roar of laughter (not with, but at
him); till the length of his speech tired them, and they
-gave aueh evident signs of etenti, that he was faired so
stop. His proposition of building houses in the great
towns, to lodge the electors; to make a law to compel
the electors to come to the elections; and above all, his
assertion that the electoral matter was wanting is cer-
tain places (Is &dim electorate ausinque), amused the
holm wonderfully. I have not fund this last phrase
in the Moniker; and I take this opportunity of men-
tioniag .t.a you, .that the Morsiterr is no longer, as thr-
rnerly, the taithfid mirror of all that passes in the house;
either 'by order, or from fear of offending, the laughter, ,
.the mural" are seldom mentioned, except in favour of ,
the,Ministry, and event* speeches are not reported with,
'a proper degree of exactness. •
M. de Cuistelbqjac after speaking a few minutes on
the law, went into ;.he real question : what has lately
.happened, made him feel that it was not a theoretical
question to be discussed by philosophers, but a practical
one, .to be debuted by statesmen ; accordingly, he men-
tioned all the abuses which had taken place during the
late elections, and gave the example of a vigorous at-
tack upon Ministry, an example which has since been
fidlowed by others : he said be considered the title of
ultra-Royalist as honourable, bemuse as yet he had seen
the opposite party apply it exclusively to men of ho-
nour; "yet he said this appellation had been in the pre-
sent state of the press made an engine in the hands of
Ministry to indispose the people against them.
M. Favard de laievisde spoke in femur of the law,
and was listened to with attention.
M. Jane de Beauvoir inn& a striking speech against
it ; aind nut being of the proseri‘hed and suspected cast
of nobility, his opinion is less liable to he calumniated.
He pmpably never read Hamlet ; but his speech began
—To be of not to be, that is the question : " Etre ou
.ne pas etie; voila la question." Following the examFde
al, de Custelbajae had given the day betbre, he made
different observations on the conduct of Ministry, and
the language of the newspapers; and then painted in
the strongest colours the difference between a loyal
house of I)eputies, and such a one as would probably be
elected in virtue of the law proposed by Ministry: he
finished by saying, that a loyal house separated at the
order of the Kine, crying Five k Rai; but a house
composed of revolutionary member, would not separate:
they would remain together, crying • • • " The shade
of Louis XV 1. will tell you what would be their cry."
This conclusion produced the greatest effect, not only
upon the tribunes, bat upon the house ; and if a divi-.
Pion had at that moment taken place, I am convinced
'hat the law woull have hem rejected by an enormous
mujorit y
M. De Serve made in 'favour of tlle law the beet
speech that has been made : hn proposes an amend:.
went, which would melt the law a little better, but
he does nut consider that arnendawitt .^.s acre quo non.
M. Dc Sarre is by far too clever a loan not to see all
the inconveniences of the law but not having a shil-
ling of fortune, and great ambition, he abandoned the
Royalist party at the beginning af the list sessions,
when he saw that the majority of the Ministry pre-

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