The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-17 00:00:00

Scenes in the French Legislative Corps,

PARIS, Sunday Evening.
In the Corps Legislatif yesterday, M. Stievenart
Bethune (a new opposition member, who was elected
for a northern department against M. Boitelle,
brother of the Prefect of Police) moved to suppress
the funds applicable to the pay of the rural police,
on the ground that that institution was worse than
useless. He desired to do cheerful homage to the
utility of the police in Paris and other large cities,
but he had the best reasons for knowing that the
rural police, a very modern creation, and one which
happily did not exist in all the departments, served
no good purpose, and was mainly nothing else than
a scandalous instrument of electoral tyranny. The
members of this body were illiterate, ill-mannered,
and having no legitimate employment naturally
sought occasions to meddlo with citizens, and curry
favour with power. This was their normal condi-

tion in what he would call times of peace. But in
time of war, that was to say, during elections, these
men transgressed all bounds of decency. Then the
rural commissary of police became an undisguised
electioneering agent, be spoke everywhere in the
voice of authority, and treated his district like a
conquered country. His mouth continually vomited
threats, and no idle threats either, for they were
constantly followed by the penal visitations of the
local magistrates.

M. Pelletan followed with a demand for the
repeal of the law of public safety, and he based his
arguments mainly upon this consideration, that the
present government had, in its own point of view
at least, less need than any other of laws of public
safety, because it kept liberty in a state of suspense.
Liberty of the press, liberty of association, liberty
of public meeting, commercial liberty, parliamen-
tary initiative, ministerial responsibility, all the in•
stitutions, all the guarantees of 'B9 were promised
only in perspective, but immolated for the present
by reason of the necessities of public order. Well,

it was not unreasonable to argue that all that the
Government had deducted from liberty it must be
taken to have gained in security. Whence, there-
fore, the necessity for exceptional laws of public
safety. (Applause on several benches.) M. Pelletan
then went through the list of various repressive laws
passed by the Government in the course of the last
12 years, and showed that in practice they had all
been found unnecessary. The Government every
now and then got frightened, and asked for harsh
laws, which after all it did not want. The law
against keeping up " intelligence abroad," which
had been called for on the pretext that it was a
necessary protection against the scum of society, had
been put in operation against jast three persons,
viz., a judge, the Marquis de piers, M. Sheurer, and
M. Taule, a medical student. M. Shearer, a most
respectable inhabitant of Alsace, had been pulled
out of his bed, and taken to a cell in Mazas. He
was prosecuted, and sentenced to three months' im-
prisonment. He had paid the penalty which the
law awarded, but he was liable to-morrow, upon,
perhaps, an angry man's denunciation, to be trans..
ported. When he thought of such things he could
scarcely believe the statue of Mirabean wee yet
standing in the building within which he
skeHere a long altercation ensued between the Duke
de Morny and M. Pelletan, the president laying
unanswerable force
adnodwnmt.hpactiaiedtaenpurteyplhyaing dnowriitghht to disputepthoelit.w,
that it was the especial province of the Legislative
Body to criticise bad laws. After this a battle
royal ensued between the puke de Morny and M.
Picard. They wrangled in almost Billinsgate style.
The Duke do Mnoront aytfrealdidMo.fil!card that the God
vernnment were him or of anybody
else. Picard inquired "Is that a threat ?" to which
de
u Moray
ivr ne hear r ej
oig
wouldined not be '"lt is no threat to say that the
Government jo
not afraid of you, if the Govern-
ment were inclined to threaten, perhaps the lan-
gaddressed to (Ta-
multuoas applause on the benches of the majority.)
Picard attempted to explain, but could not get a
nearing, and M. Jules Pavre exclaimed "This is vioa
lento." At this juncture M. Thiers said—" When
the interests of the country are in question no one
will frighten us, not even the
Government." Al.
Itonher said M. Thiers had only just come into the
house, and did not know what had passed, but the
latter said he had heard it all, and persisted in his
observation. M. Gamier Pages brought forward
the subject of the violation of his domicile, and the
interference with his electoral meetings. MM.
ltouland and Rouher replied on behalf of the Go-
vernment that the law justified what had bean done
—or, at any rate they thought so—and it was for
a court of law to pronounce. The Government had
tolerated electoral meetings, but they had reason to
think that M. Garnier Pages wax at the head of an
unlawful society, which sought to carry the elec-
tions throughout France.

So, EDWARD BULWER LYTTON'S "Last Days of
Pompeii" is now tn opera by Pabol.
M. Trims is said to be writing the history of
French finance.

A beautiful specimen of the finest Irish lace,
value one hundred guineas, has bee n prepared for presen-
tation to the Princess of Wales, by tl le ladies of Ireland, in
remembrance of the Royal marriage.