The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-03 00:00:00

THE LATE GENERAL BEDEAU.

Scarcely has the grave closed over M. Billault
when another man, who, in different circumstances,
also held for some time a prominent place among
his countrymen, has quitted the scene. Gen. Bedeau
died on Friday, at Nantes, and, like his former col-
league in the Republican Assembly, of disease of the
heart. It was, however, no sudden stroke that car-
ried him off. He had long been suffering, and for
some weeks past all hope of his recovery was given
up.

Bedeau was one, and not the least, of that group
of distinguished officers who learnt the practice of
warfare in Africa. It was in those frequent encoun-
ters with the Arab tribes which so long held their
ground against the French that the military quali-
ties which characterised him were developed. Gen.
Bedeau was born at Verton, near Nantes, in 1804.
His father had served in the navy, but the son's pre-
ferences were for the land service. At the age of 13
he entered the military school of La Fli.che, where
he remained three years, and was thence transferred
to St. Cyr. After the usual course of studies he ob-
tained his commission as sub-lieutenant on the staff.
He got his captain's rank in 1830 ; in 1831 and 1832
he served as aide-de-camp to Generals Girard and
Schramm, and was remarked at the siege of Ant-
werp. In 1836 he went to Algeria, whete he re-
mained 10 years. He distinguished himself greatly
at the second siege of Constantine, and when that
place fell was appointed its Governor. Ho was
soon after promoted to the rank of colonel, and got
the command of the 17th Light Infantry, in which
he was succeeded by the Duke d'Aumale. His gal-
lantry and ability were equally conspicuous in the
Cherchell, Medeah, and Miliana expeditions, in
which he was twice severely wounded. As General
of Brigade he conducted the operations on the fron-
tier of Morocco, where Abd-el-Kader had taken re-
fuge. After several combats the Arabs were driven
from all their positions, and Bedeau occupied the
province of Tlemcen. His conduct at the battle of
Isly, under Marshal Bugeaud, procured for him the
rank of General of Division, to which was at-
tached the command in chief of the province
of Constantine. He took an active part in the
expedition against the Kabyles of Bougie in 1817,
and was soon after raised to the important post of
Governor-General of Algeria. This, however, he
held but a short time, and was superseded by the
Duke d'Aumale. At the close of 1847 he returned
to France, when the banquet agitation, which was
to end in the catastrophe of February and the
overthrow of the Orleans Government, was at its
height. When the movement in February assumed
its most serious aspect Bedeau was intrusted by
Marshal Bugeaud, who had just been appointed to
the command of the army of Paris, with the com-
mand of one of the five columns destined to sup-
press the insurrection by occupying the great tho-
roughfares of the capital. Bedeau fixed his head-
quarters is the Place de la Concorde, and it was
there that the grave incidents passed which subse-
quently gave rise to a long and angry controversy.
Bedeau was charged with want of firmness towards
the insurgents, against whom he had, so his critics
alleged, ample means at his disposal. One General,
also an African, was reported to have said, rather
unjustly, in alluding to Cavaignac, Lamoriciere,
and Bedeau, that Cavaignac moved too late, Lamo-
riciere too soon, aed Bedeau not at all. The truth
is he was aware of the uncertainty and scruples
that prevailed in the Royal Councils, and was un-
willing to assume the responsibility of commencing
hostilities against the people, and thus closing the
door against all compromise. Be this as
it may,
a great deal of precious time was lost, and the
Chamber of Deputies was invaded by a mob
almost before the eyes of the General. Marshal
Bugeaud subsequently published a letter in which
Bedeau's conduct was blamed. Unwilling to submit
to the slur thrown upon him, he called a meeting of
some of the first general officers of the army, and
gave them full explanations of his conduct on that
occasion. These explanations were, no doubt, found
satisfactory, for the verdict in his favour was, I be-
lieve, unanimous. Bedeau followed up this step by
the publication of a pamphlet in defence of his con-
duct throughout. The Provisional Government
named him Minister of War; but he held the post
a very short time and accepted the governorship of
Paris. lie was soon after appointed to the com-
mand of the first division of the " Army of the Alps."
In the same year he was elected one of the repre-
sentatives for the Loire Inferieure to the Constituent
Assembly by not less than 97,420 votes, and was
chosen one of the vice-presidents of that body.
During the terrible insurrection of June he was e.;
severely wounded that his life was for sometime in
danger. In the Legislative Assemblyelecrehdicohnesuoci.
ceeded the Constituent he was again
the representatives for the departmentps.dn of the Seine,
t e
r t s
of He d
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a
and again chosen one of its vice-
re
eviously refused the post of Mini
e
Affairs offered him by General c
member of the Assembly he invaavraiiagbillyaca.cteAdsaas
moderaton between the extreme revolutionary party
and the majority ith whom he almost always
voted, and he clearly foresaw, like many others,
what would come of the violence of the Mountain.
On the night of the 2d. of December, 1851, Gene-
ral Bedean was arrested at the same time as
f3avaignac, Lanaoriciere, Changarnier, and others of
his old comrades; was thrown into the prison of
Mazes, thence transferred to Ham, and finally ex-
pelled from France. The years of exile count for
more than double in the life of man, and Bedeau
grew prematurely old. During his long
banishment
in Belgium he followed with intense interest the
events of the war in the Crimea. There is no doubt
that his heart was with his army during that terrible
struggle, and he read with a feeling it is easy to
imagine the deeds of some of his old comrades,
in
which he was not permitted to slier!). The amnesty
enabled him once more to revisit his country. He
fixed his residence at Nantes, where he lived in
great seclusion and in the practice of his religious
duties. The fervour of his devotional feeling gave
rise to a report a year or two ago that he was about
to enter a religious establishment with a view of
taking holy orders. This rumour he contradicted
in a letter published in the papers.