The Sun.
London, England, 1822-01-29 00:00:00

FOREIGN INTELLIG ENCE.

CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, FRIDAY, JAN. 25.

After a few Petitions, of no particular interest,
had been reported, the debate on the Law Pro
ject relative to the Prees was resumed.
Chililet, the Reporter of the Committee,
rose first. lie proceeded to examine the objec-
tions which had been made to the project. He
began by noticing the progression of the penalties
gstablished by the Committee, in the amendment
ors the subject of offences against the religion of
the State and other religious. The amendment
-relative to the religion of the State was thus con-
ceived :—Whoever, by the meat's, pointed out in
.Astic'le I. of the law of May 19, 1819, shall have
inaulted or turned into ridicule the religion of
the State,. shall be punished with an ithprison-
aaent'Of from three months to five years, and a
sine of from 300 to 10,000 francs. The object of
this amendment was to make the law harmontie
-with the Charter, which declares that the Catho-
ii: religion ,is the religion of the State. How-
ever, as the distinction made by it has been made
the ground of violent declamations, which it is
necessary to terminate, the Committee has di-
?pieced me to withdraw it in order to remove all
Fetiond for unjust accusations and unfounded
cotnplaints.—(Movement on the left.)—He then
defended the omission of the word " cotistitu-
s'.onal" after the word 46 Royal Authority"—
asserted that the suppression of journals was
saothing like confiscation—and justified the appli-
cation of the law to libels on classes of persons,
anti the referring of offences of the press to the
Royal Courts ; reproducing on those points the
arguments of the Report, or repeating those used
the other day by M. Peyrounet. He then con-
osaded by declaring, in the name of the Commit-'
tee, that he,persisted in supporting' the Report,
ate; in the other amendments presented with it. '
The President did not think it necessary to
!tate to the Chamber the substance of the amend-
rents which had been proposed on the 3d, 9th,
12th, 13th, and 14th articles, by MM. Cordoue,
Robin-Sevole, Angles, and Floirac, as these
amendments would be printed and circulated.
He would read the Articles of the Law. hav-
ing read Article 1, which inflicts penalties for
attacks on religion--
.M. B. Constant rose and said, I leave to others
the task of pointing out all the inconveniences
of a law which seems calculated to induce judges'
to consider as attacks upon religion polemical writ-
iu defence of other modes of faith. He
must observe, however, that it was impossible to
oppose any dogma, without running the risk of,'
turning it into ridicule. Under this law, would it
not be punishable to turn into ridicule that corpo-
ration on which Pascal had cast so much derision ?•
Pascal would now be justly condemned by
your unjust law.—(Violent murmurs on the
right.)—The intention of the article was to main-
tain the honour of religion. The way to obtain
that end was to remove the causes which oppose;
themselves to the extension of religious semi- I
ments—to respect for a consolatory creed. These ,
causes are not to be found in the temerity of some
_frivolous writers. They existed in the conduct
of the Government, which endeavoured to also
date religion with acts and doctrines hostile to
liberty. A belief. essentially the friend of equa-
lity and justice is appealed to in favour of privi-
leges and iniquities. So etsger is the desire to
transform a present from Henson into an instru-
ment of tyranny, that the right divine of the
Turks is proclaimed against assassinated Chris-
tiaos. What gave birth to the impious writings
complained of ? The old Government. They
attended it at its fall, and they return at its
resurrection. Deliver religion from the alliance
which degrades it ; let not counter-revolutionists
pretend to be its auxiliaries ; and it will be re-
spected without the assistance of fine and im-
prisonment. Will it be called an insult on re-
ligion if a polemical writer argues against those
Catholic dogmas which Protestants reject, not-
withstanding that Catholic writers daily paint
the Protestant faith as a criminal and wilful
error ? Will it be allowable to write against
tboaa corporations which are reviving, in contempt
of the Charter and to the great danger of the.
Pionarchy,---corporations which must make the
manes of Henry 111. and Henry IV. look down,
With indignation on the proCeeding§ of the Cham-
ber, and which it is astonishing the Ministers of
the King should . re=establish in the midst of a
isingdorn which their regicide poniards have
stained with blood ?=—(Murmurs on the right.)—
These regicide corporations have already been
justly banished from Prauce.—(lncreased mur-
murs on the right.) -
A voice on the right.—The regicides were the
Jacobins.

• M. B. Constant.—Yes, indeed, they were Ja -
col)ins !—for instance, Jacques Clement * *
k.
(Violent agitation.)--He ,concluded by moving
11,1 rejection of the present article, to be re-
pi teed by article 8 of the law of the 17th of
Irl.sy, 1819, which he regarded as perfectly suf-
ficient.

M. de Marcellus rojoiced that a great omission
which France had lamented was rectified by this
project. The law of a Christian and Catholic
nation would no longer be Atheistical. lie
argued that the restraint of the press was bene-
ficial to_literature. The ages in which the press
had been placed under the severest restrictions
Were those in which learning had most flourished.
—Since the press had been let loose by the re-
volution, literature was ruined. He regretted
the' the project did not go further : it only pro-
vided against future attacks on religion, but he
wished it had adverted to those which are passed
—to attacks which are constantly renewed by
re-printing. lie hoped this neglect would be
repabed.
General Foy observed, that a sincere religious
belief was entitled to the respect of all good
men ; but that respect would necessarily be the
greater in proportion as religion was detached
from worldly interests. The separation of
spiritual and temporal things rendered a political
law on religion an inconsistency in a country in
which the equality of religions was recognised.—
though,t it necessary to state, what the pro-
ject was on the subject of religion, and also the