The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-06 00:00:00

Lownom SATURDAY

respect so objectionable, tin which his private
interests are opposed to the interests of the soldiers
under his command, and which by a possibility may
expose him to degrading suspicions. Better that the
unclean thing should not be approached, than that
men even of the most unquestionable honour should
be exposed to the temptation, and expected to " touch
pitch without being defiled."

As matters now stand, it is regarded in the several
regiments as a legitimate source of emolument, for
which in some instances compensation has been ac-
corded. The claim has thus been recognised in the
highest quarter. It is returned to Parlia-
ment as a portion of the receipts—the " emo-
luments," in the majority of instances, ex-
ceeding the pay very considerably. While
the system is thus tolerated and recognised, when it
is held out to candidates for the situation, as fairly
belonging thereto, we cannot censure those who
avail themselves thereof, and look upon the " emolu-
ments" in the same light as the " pay," and consider
that they may receive the one with as little com-
punction as the other. In attacking the system,
therefore, in stating that officers of high standing
receive those sums, there was no desire to " insult or
vilify" those gentlemen, or to insinuate that
they were guilty of dishonest or improper
conduct. Sir WILLIAM NAPIER, however, mani-
festly regarded the matter in a different point
of view, and supposed that he was vindicating cha-
racters that should be and were perfectly unimpeach-
able. This mistake accounts for the heated tone of
his letter. The real object of the association will now,
however, be apparent, and most heartily do we hope
that they will succeed in removing the abuse to which
we have alluded, and the many others which they are
exposing with such determined energy and persever-
ance, and laying them bare in all their naked enormity.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

We have received the Pari• papers of yesterday
-- - - -

The attempt of M. DB FALLOUX, the Minister of
Public Instruction, and one of the most influential
members of the Parti Pretre, to withdraw the organic
law on public instruction which had been proposed
by the bureau of the National Assembly, in order to
substitute for it another which should give larger
powers of interference with schools and universities to
the priests, gave rise to a very animated discussion in
the Assembly on Thursday.
At the sitting of the Assembly the Minister of
Public Instruction said he had to propose the with-
drawal of the Bill on Primary Instruction presented
by M. Carnot, as it contained principles in which the
Government did not coincide. He had in lieu thereof
instituted a commission to prepare a new Bill. He
eulogised the labours of the late Committee, and said
it did not depend on him that the withdrawal of the
Bill should involve the dissolution of the Committee
appointed by the Assembly ; but what did depend on
him was to appeal to the ability and information to
be found in the Assembly, and that he had done.
M. Barthelemy St. Hilaire said that, as President
of the Committee named by the Assembly, he wished
to state that it had laboured very assiduously in its
task, and had almost produced a complete code of pri-
mary instruction ; and that he was much surprised
at seeing the report of the Hon. Minister in the
lifoniteur. The Minister should have inquired in
what position the labours of the Committee were.
However, the Assembly was the party concerned,
who had to decide if it will not take up the Bill pre-
pared by its Committee. The Bill on Public In-
struction was marked down as one of the organic laws.
What would the Assembly do ? According to cus-
tom and precedent it ought to nominate a Committee
in the bureaux to prepare that Bill.
The Minister of Public Instruction denied having
any idea of raising up a conflict bAween the As
sembly and the Government. The Assembly in.
eluded public instruction among the organic laws;
it was its right to do so, but surely it had no in-
tention of depriving the Ministry of personal opinion.
That opinion they were entitled to have, and he had
therefore appointed a commission. He was sur-
prised to find that prerogative contested. He had no
idea of leading to any conflict; he had remained
within the limits of constitutional right, and had not
gone beyond his duty.
M. Iteppelin said he thought, when he saw the re-
port in the Moniteur, that the design of the Govern-
ment was to deprive the Assembly of its faculty of
voting the organic law on public instruction. The
Minister had said he did not wish to raise a conflict ;
but that conflict did exist, de facto, as the Assembly
had decided it would vote the law; and as the Assem-
bly ought to maintain its dignity, he moved that the
question be referred to the bureaux.
The President of the Council remarked that it was a
serious thing to have a conflict of privileges between
two sovereign powers. (This remark was met
by cries of " There is but one sovereign
power.") He had weighed his words and
spoke constitutionally when he spoke of two
constitutional powers. There ought to be no uncer-
tainty. Constitutional powers should be respected,
but not exaggerated. If it was wished to take from
the Executive some of its constitutional attributions,
and to reduce it to the part of a subordinate and
revocable Ministry, let it be at once frankly confessed,
and let those who would do so confess their convic-
tion, and take the responsibility of being the first to
lay their hands on the new Constitution. The Hon.
Gentleman then, amid much interruption, maintained
the right of the Ministry to act in the manner they
had done, and concluded by calling on the Assembly
to respect the right which the Ministry had exercised,
and not to indirectly stigmatise the use of that right.
There were only two modes by which Bills could
reach the Assembly, either by the initiative of the
Executive power, or by that of Members of the As-
sembly, in the forms established by law. He would
call on them not to order a direct reference to the
bureaux, which would be tantamount to a reprimand
of the linistry for the exercise of a constitutional
right.

ICI. Dupont (de Bussac) said that the view taken
of the question by the President of the Council did
not apply to the present case. The Hon. Gentleman
had forgotten that there was a third initiative result.
ing from the decree relative to the organic laws. He
hoped the Assembly would manifest its feelings in the
act which had that morning been revealed in the
Moniteur.

A lengthened discussion followed amid much
interruption. At the conclusion—

The President said—M. Dupont has presented the
following order of the day motive, " The Assembly
alone has the right to name commissions charged
with the task of examining bills."
Loud calls were raised for the order of the day
pure and simple.
The President then put the order of the day pure
and simple, and the following was the result of the
division :
Yes
No

442
302
Majority • • • • -140
The order of the day was consequently carried.
M. Duprat then demanded that there be placed on
the order of the day for to-morrow the nomination
of a Committee to prepare the organic law on public
instruction.

The President stated that he had already fixed to-
morrow for that purpose.
The Minister of Public Instruction said he had no
objection to make. As the order of the day which
the Assembly had just voted established fully the
right of the Government, he could not object to the
proposition of the Hon. Gentleman being carried into
effect to guarantee that of the Assembly.
Differences of a serious character exist between
the Ministers and the PRESIDENT of the Republic, the
latter is surrounded by irresponsible councillors, a
Camarilla in fact, by whose advice he acts without
consulting his Ministers, more especially in the
disposal of patronage. He gives to the Camarilla the
power of appointing to all places, and when an ap-
pointment is recommended by the Ministry, if the
name proposed is not to be found in the list of
" eligibles" furnished to the Prince by the Camarillo,
the PRESIDENT refuses to make the appointment. This
system extends even to diplomatic appointments and
to high offices of state and justice. If this system is
permitted to continue we may ere long expect ano-
ther Teste or Petit affair, for of course an irrespon-
sible Camarilla does not recommend to appointments
except " for a consideration." The PRESIDENT too,
has assumed the royal prerogative of pardon, and has,
without the knowledge of his responsible Minis-
ters, ordered the liberation of some of the most
dangerous of the insurgents of June, among
whom are many escaped galley slaves. These men,
on their liberation, became so riotous and so threaten-
ing, that the National Guard was called out in one of
the towns through which they passed en route for
Paris, to prevent them from sacking and burning the
place.
The Patric has the following on the subject of the
Austro-Italian conferences

" The Monileur announces that M. de Lagrenee is
appointed Minister Plenipotentiary charged to represent
France at Brussels in the conferences for the settlement
of the Italian question. M. de Lagrenee is to leave
very soon, and he has orders to commence negotiations.
We know, on the other hand, that Tuscany has named
its representative; it is M. Radice. Notwithstanding
these two appointments, and the assuraucagiven by the
Constitutionnel that the Marquis do Ricci will have a
successor in the congress of Brucsels, we persist in
thinking that the congress will be without result, and
for these reasons:—Austria is less desirous than ever of
the congress. She has just suspended the departure of