The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-01 00:00:00

FRANCE.

THE FRENCH CHAMBERS.
The following is the opening speech delivered by
M. Billault :
" ssicurs end dear Colleagues,---Our presence in
this p!ace marks a new era for us and for the country.
Saved from most terrible eventualities by a hand whose
calm energy is slow in thought (mediter lentement) and
rapid in action, France looks upon her, chief with a con-
fidence which is unprecedented in history.
" By a vote whose astonishing (ecistant) numbers
stand unparalleled, she has asked at his hands strong and
protective institutions, which will restore her security
and her greatness.
" Placed under the invocation of the great principles
of 1789, fortified by that Governmental spirit which
marked the Consulate, these institutions have received
an evident consecration by the scrutin by which we aro
elected—ours is the duty to infuse into them practical
life. That is the commencement of our mission; and
that mission, whatever may be said of it, is certainly
not altogether without grandeur and authority.
" We shall not, indeed, see the Legislature surrounded
by parties, which incessantly hold the Ministry in check,
compelling it to concentrate all its forces upon its own
preservation and defence, and by so doing not un-
frequently enervating the power of the State. When-
ever, as Ministers or Deputies, we may employ-these
Parliamentary tactics, it is to business now that
we shall be obliged to consecrate them—serious and
practical business. This is our part in the Constitution.
It consists in voting the taxes, the discussion of the
budget and of the laws. It implies not merely the right
of deliberating freely and publicly, of adopting or re-
jecting, but also that of amendment, no longer, un-
doubtedly, with the same facility of improvisation,
against which previous Assemblies vainly endeavoured
to defend themselves, but with a degree of maturity
which can only prove fatal to utopian projects.
" In such functions there is, believe me, a great and
real power, if we use it, as I am certain we shall, seri-
ously,
without reservation, with loyal fidelity to the
electoral sentimentswill which have sent us here. This
power
will constitute in our new Government one
of those
active forces which are the moat usefully effi-
cacious. "
It is in order to proceed with you on this patriotic
Path that the Chief of the State has called me to the
honour of presiding over you. Grant me, my dear col-
leagues, as much good-will as I offer you devotion, and,
being all united in the holy love of our country, let us
give to the world no longer the spectacle of an assembly
of impassioned men, continually agitated, but of a Yen-
table Assembly of Legislation, calmly and gravely as the
law itself enacting statutes upon the great interests which
are submitted to us."
At the conclusion of the sitting the President an-
nounced that there would be held a private sitting, to
decide whether the Members should be required to
wear the uniform on the occasion of public sittings.
The following is
the collective letter addressed by
General Cavai
guae,lll. Carnot, and M. Henon, to the
President of the Legislative Corps :
" M. le President,—The electors of Paris and Lyons
sought us in our retreat, or in our exile. Wo thank
them for having thought that our names would serve as
a protest against the destruction of public liberties and
the rigours of despotism.
" But we do not admit that they meant to send us to
sit in a legislative body whose
powers do not extend
to the point of repairing the violation of rights. We
repudiate the immoral doctrine of silence, or of mental
reservation ; and we refuse to take the oath required
on admission to the Legislative Corps. We pray You,