The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-11 00:00:00

FRANCE.

During the sitting of the French Legislative As-
sembly yesterday the order of the day for discussion
was the application of the Attorney-General of the
Court of Appeal of Besancon, for leave to prosecute
two representatives, Messrs. Sommier and Richardet,
for the publication of seditious articles in the Demo-
cratie Jurassienne, of which the latter is editor.
M. Sommier said that the prosecution was neither
sincere nor serious ; it was dictated by blitid passion.
Toe brticlt-s hld appeared on the 25th March and
29th April, ar:d since then he and his colleague had
been absolved by the suffrages of 40,000 citizens.
Why did justice wait four and five months to summon
them to irs bar ? The Assembly would act wisely
by r-jetting a demand which was inspired by poli-
tic 1 passion, and not by justice.
M. Odilon Berrot, President of the Council, said

that whatever was his respect for the right of defence,
he could not allow magistrates invested with uni-
versal esteem to be insulted. The legislative power,
he added, had no right to arrest the course of justice
by refusing to grant the demand of the Attorney-
General.

M. Richardet, who followed, reminded the Assem-
bly that on the 22d of June last M. Odilon Barrot
had addressed a circular to his Attorneys• General, in
which he told them that the opportunity was favour-
able and decisive, and from that moment a universal
chorus of hatred and proscription arose all over the
Republic.—(Laughter.) The first Christians had been
persecuted.—(Laughter.) They might laugh, but he
spoke for the country, which listened to him. The per-
secutors ultimately succumbed, and the persecuted
triumphed. The persecuted had in turn become
persecutors, and experienced the same fate. He was
a Revolutionist, and had a right to stigmatize
the conduct of the Reactionists. They had, during
the last thirty-three years, expended thirty-three
budgets, amounted to 20,000,000,000, not a single
million of which was applied to relieve the people.—
(Murmurs.) They had employed their innumerable
armies during that interval to degrade national
honour.—(Loud murmurs.) He knew the fate
reserved to the real Republicans, to escape which
they had no other alternative left than, like Socrates,
to drink the hemlock.

M. Detours observed, that his political friends had
no intention to insult the magistrates, by inviting the
Assembly scrupulously to examine an application to
prosecute two representatives of the people.
M.: Odilon Barrot declared that the magistrate in
question had accomplished an imperious duty, com-
manded by the laws of the country.
" Why," exclaimed a Member of the Left, "Did
he wait so long ?"
" There had been no 13th of June at the time."—

(Loud cries on tha Left.)
M. Dariste, reporter of the committee, begged leave
to read passages from the incriminated articles.
Theta' Left clamorously demanded that they be
read by M. Somrnier ; but the Assembly, on being
consulted, decided in the negative.
M. Dariste then read the article of the 25th of
March, headed " Restoration of the Political Scaffold."
" They have," it says, "raised the guillotine as a
prelude to the restoration of monarchy, for one is the
consequence of the other. The hangman is the twin
brother of the King, his constant companion,
and when the King makes his appearance one
Inay Le certain that the hangman is not far off. The
people, by suppressing the guillotine, knocked off the
second head of the monarchical hydra; and when the
two heads fell (the assassin of General Brea), where
was the President ? He was resting from the fatigues
of the ball of the night before, and recruiting strength
for the ball of the next night. What was it to him?
Had he not his 600,000 f. a year to spend ? (" That
is true," exclaimed M. Gastier.) Unfortunately for
the interrupter, M. Pierre Bonaparte was seated on
the bench immediately under him. On hearing the
interruption the latter rose, and, turning towards M.
Gastier, struck him in the lace. _ _ _

This incident occasioned the greatest confusion in
the hall. M. Pierre Bonaparte was surrounded and
actually carried off by his friends. M. Gastier, on
the other hand, was with difficulty prevented from
following him by his colleagues of the Left, one of
whom charitably offered him a cane. The tumult
continuing, M. Dupla put on his hat, and the sitting
was suspended.

When silence was restored M. Dupin said that a
circumstance had occurred within the interior of the
hall, which came under the provisions Gf the 120th,
121st, and 122 d articles of the regulations of the
Assembly. One of the Members had provoked a
colleague, who unfortunately had so far forgotten
himself as to strike him. The Assembly might wish
to appoint a committee to inquire into the facts, or
apply to their two colleagues the penal enactments of
the 120th article which pronounced censure with
temporary exclusion.—(Cries from the Left, "There
was no provocation.")
At this moment M. Pierre Bonaparte re entered
the hall, and, having ascended the tribune, said :
I beg pardon from the Assembly and deeply regret
a moment of vivacity, which was excited by the most
violent and personal provocation.—(Bravos on the
Right.) I hope the Assembly will not follow the
affair t.ny further. It will be settled elsewhere.
M. Odilon Barrot observed that the police of the
hall exclusively belonged to the President and the
bureau, but he assured the Assembly that no later
than to-morrow judicial proceedings would be taken.
The President then announced that he had written
to the Attorney General to commence proceedings.
M. Gastier then ascended the tribune with a paper
in his hand, and, after gesticulating awhile, said, " I
have been in the face of the entire Assembly the ob-
ject of an insult, which no man
Here M Odilon Barrot interrupted him, saying,
that the debate could not continue, after the measures
_ _ _ _

adopted by the President, but, on being told that M.
Gastier had also the right of justifying himself, he
did not insist,

M. Gastier said, that he had been the object of an
insult which every man would have resented if his
aggressor had not disappeared. He was consequently
obliged to pocket the insult, justified on his part by
no provocation, nor motive, or pretext. He did not
even know M. Pierre Bonaparte. To judge from the
sort of approbation given by the majority to M. Bo-
naparte's explanation, he (M. Gastier) was afraid that
they considered him the aggressor.
M. Dui i t obzerved that the moment he had heard
of the incident he had ordered both parties to quit the
hall.
This statement elicited another explosion on the
Left, and M. Dupin, being unable to re establish si-
lence, again covered himself and invited the Assembly
to adjourn to the bureaux. In a few minutes the
hall was completely cleared.
It would appear from the above statement that M.
Pierre Bonaparte consid, rs it an insult to state that
the President receives 600,000 f. a-year. The Presi-
dent is certainly the wiser man of the two. He
pockets the insult, while his cousin resents.
The conduct of M. Dupin is so glaringly partial,
that all tlie world must be convinced that anything
like free discussion under such a President, or in such
an Assembly, must be impossible. M. Pierre Bona-
parte has recourse to a piece of blackguard pot-house
violence, which is receivediwith shouts of approbation
by the gentlemen par excellence, and M. Dupin apo-
logies for the wsaulter, as having, unfortunately,
forgotten himself, and asks the Assembly to punish
the victim of the assault.