The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-05 00:00:00

A,'' b-tnina 71:z. nit

LONDON, MONDAY, JUNE 5, 1848.

mittee of Inquiry, by a majority of 15 to 3, had ap-
proved of the proposed prosecution by the Pro •
cureur-General, the National Assembly, after a
most animated and violent altercation, have re-
fused to authorise such a prosecution by a majority
of 369 to 337. M. Louis BLANC is thus ac-
quitted without a trial ! The whole proceedings
of the Assembly in regard to this matter have been
of a very extraordinary and somewhat undignified
character, perhaps the natural consequence of the
peculiar circumstances of the case, and of the inte-
rested feelings of many of the speakers. The discus-
sion of Saturday was strong and violent in the
extreme, and the speaking was evidently not confined
to the tribune. Violent altercations agitated the body
of the Chamber, and in the midst of the con-
fusion the voice of the President was heard in
vain. It is said that in his desperate efforts
to restore order, the august head of the Assembly
addressed himself particularly to various indi-
viduals with the Parliamentary adjuration of
" Taisez-vows done r —the equivalent English of which
expression, " Hold your tongue 1" would produce an
extraordinary effect if uttered in our House of Corn-
.mons by the Right Hon. Snaw LEFEVRE. Silence
being restored, the Assembly shortly afterwards, not-
withstanding the contrary desire of M. LOUIS BLANC
himself, proceeded to divide upon the question, as to
whether or not the Assembly should authorise the
Procureur-General to proceed with his prosecution.
The result of this division was a majority of " noes,"
and the prosecution is accordingly interdicted. An-
other of the extraordinary features of this extraordi-
nary affair was the fact of all the Ministers except
position to the law
one (M. BastiDE) voting in op
officers of the Government. Doubtless the late col-
leagues of M. Louis BLANC were animated with a
certain esprit de corps which incline them in his
avour, or perhaps a feeling of magnanimity prompted
their forbearance towards a fallen foe. The law
did not view the Ministerial con-
officers, however,
duct in a favourable light, and the Procureur- General,
and the Procureur of the Republic, have tendered
their resignations. Such is,. for the present at least,
the conclusion of the accusation against Loris BLANC.
The historian of " Ten years" is, happily for
himself exonerated from the threatened pro-
secution. He has been neither acquitted nor
condemned. A majority of the Committee
considered his conduct worthy of reprehension, a ma-
jority of the Assembly over-ruled the desire of the
Committee. So the matter stands. The result is to a
certain extent satisfactory. As his brother historian,
M. LAURENT DE L'ARDECRE observed, Louis BLANC,
notwithstanding his economical errors, is as an his-
torian and political writer entitled to the solicitude of
the Assembly. Regarding him only as an historian,
and as a member of the Provisional Government in
its first most arduous and most glorious labours, we
should have felt little satisfaction in the condemna-
tion of Louis BLANC, and yet had he been proved
guilty of treason to the cause of Pacific Liberty,
his condemnation would have been justly
merited and inevitable. The Assembly have
chosen the middle course; Louis BLANC is not con-
demned, but neither (let him not flatter himself) is
he totally acquitted. We trust, however, the lesson
will not be lost. We trust most heartily and sin-
cerely, that henceforth whatever allurements to the
contrary may assail his personal ambition, Louis
BLANC will consecrate his entire abilities and exer-
tions to the cause which alone is worthy of them—
the cause of liberty and moderation and peace.
We shall look with interest to the conclusion of the
other discussion to which we have referred, namely,
that concerning the cross of the Legion of Honour.
This discussion was provoked by M. Rsz's pro-
position that the effigy of NAPOLEON should be
restored to the decoration which he had
instituted. Instead, however, of agreeing to such an
apparently unobjectionable proposition, a very earnest
and vehement debate ensued, in which it was affirmed
that the Republic of France intended to abolish as
too monarchical a decoration which a former
Republic of France had instituted ! M. CLE-
MENT THOMAS, evidently labouring under strong
excitement, asked, " What were these gewgaws of
vanity ?" He was interrupted by loud murmurs,
and cries of "Assez, asset !" He had, indeed, said
enough to demonstrate the nature of his feelings.
M. CLEMENT Thomas is evidently one who has
never been able to append to his button-hole
the coveted " rouge," and consequently he is
utterly unable to appreciate its value. We
beg, however, to refer M. CLEMENT THOMAS,
for a full reply to his hitherto unanswered demand
as to the use of decorations to my uncle ROLAND'S
discourse upon " honour," in the recent number of
Blackwood. Seriously speaking, however, we can-
not believe it possible that the Republican Government
of France can, even for a moment, contemplate the
abolition of an institution which, however much it
may have been degraded by the use made of it by
Louis Pumirre, is republican in its origin, and in
its tendencies favourable to the most impartial
equality.

himself, read by the Premier in the House of Com-
mons, in whica he clearly explained that there
was no direction given for the exclusion of any per-
sons whatever from the jury-lists on account of their
religion, his only instruction being to strike off all
persons professing political opinions in accordance
with those for which the prisoner was impeached, and
who could not, therefore, be considered fair or im-
partial arbitrators upon the question at issue.
By far the most important part of the state-
ment, however, is that which declares that the coun-
try was on the verge of insurrection last week, and
that the calamity was only averted by the strenuous
exertions of the Council. They might appear to
merit some praise for thus preserving peace and tran-
quillity, but they take care to remove every such im-
pression, and to explain their motive for this apparent
support of the law. It was not that they desired the
maintenance of order—far from it ;it was only be-
cause they " apprehended that, under present circum-
' stances, an armed attempt to rescue him and to free
Ireland, might have proved abortive ;" they " there-
fore interposed and with difficulty succeeded in prevent-
ing the fruitless effusion of blood." As if ashamed, how-
ever, of having, on any account, averted the outbreak,
they take care to add " that the recent indignities
offered to the Irish nation have greatly tended to re-
move from our minds the hope which we have
hitherto desired to cherish, that the questions at issue
between England and Ireland may be settled by
amicable adjustment. We feel bound to tell you
without disguise that these indignities and
wrongs are rapidly bringing us to that
period when armed resistance to the oppressors of our
country will become a sacred obligation, enforced by
the highest sanctions of public duty." This is plain
and unequivocal enough; the invocation of the
" God of battles " was not more distinct,
but should there be a lingering doubt it
must be removed by the final appeal "to unite
in a holy league against usurpation and injus-
tice ;" and " to contemplate calmly and firmly
the chances of a final struggle, and to prepare
for that struggle by furnishing themselves with all
such resources as may enable them to command suc-

cess."

It is not alone the document to which we have above
referred that indicates the determination of the Irish
Confederation to hasten the decisive contest—the
recent change in the Council who form the Execu-
tive Directory is extremely significant. Mr. DEYIN
REILLY, who withdrew from the Confederation with
Mr. MITCHEL, is not only restored to the body, but
placed in the Directory. Mr. Joari MARTIN, an-
other of the more immediate friends and advo-
cates of the war policy, and Mr. DORENEY, who so
ardently pines for the honour of martyrdom,
and is prepared to be one of the earliest
felons, are in the same position ; in fact every man who
had the slightest pretensions to moderation has been
removed. What will the Government do becomes
the question. We doubt not that it will act with vi-
gour and decision, but it should also act with promp-
titude. It is due to the well-disposed and loyal citizens
that the incipient rebellion should be nipped in the bud.
Nothing can be so injurious to the cause of rational
liberty as its abuse, or so greatly retard the amelio •
rations in the state of the law which are so urgently
required. The very man whose exile has occasioned
so much di.turbance has done more damage to Irish
freedom than the greatest tyrant and oppressor that
ever earned for himself the hatred of the nation ;
and those who are seeking to follow in his footsteps
should be encountered by the most stringent en-
forcement of the existing law ; and if that is not
sufficient to meet the evil new powers will, we
doubt not, be granted by the Legislature for that
purpose.
•••=l.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

murmurs.

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.
ACQUITTAL OF LOUIS BLANC.
On Friday a pamphlet was distributed to the
Members of the National Assembly by its author, M.
Louis 131.5.mc ; it was entitled "A l'Opinion Pub-
lique, le Citoyen Blanc—Journal de 15 Mai." As
fragments of a political and literary curiosity we
extract a few of the paragraphs from this singular
pamphlet :
" I commence by declaring, and that only to expose
the audacity of certain falsehoods, that I have never had
any relation direct or indirect with the citizens Blanqui,
Itaspail, and Huber. I have only seen the two former
once in my life, some years ago, and I have never seen
the latter at all. Personally I know neither of them.
Like several of my colleagues of the old Provisional
Government, I wss sometimes with citizen Sobrier before
the meeting of the National Assembly, but since then
we have remained complete strangers to each other. As
regards Albert and Barbee, I should be ashamed of my
self if, knowing them prisoners and unhappy, I should
hesitate to say boldly that I am their friend.

The Council of the Irish Confederation have just
published a manifesto referring to the late trial of Mr.
MITCIIIII, signed by Mr. Slur"' O'BRIEN as chairman
of the body. In that extraordinary document the
Government are openly set at defiance, and a call
upon the people to prepare themselves for armed re-
sistance to the authorities is put forward with scarcely
a particle of disguise or concealment. We know not
whether the Honourable Member for Limerick is the
fortunate person on whom the lot has fallen " to stand
in the dock as the next felon," as alluded to by Mr.
DOHENET last week. He, however, has given the
law officers of the Crown full opportunity for trying
the chances of another prosecution if they
should desire to avail themselves thereof. The
first part of the proclamation is merely a re-
petition of the oft-refuted calumnies and falla-
cies which the Young Irelanders have so indus-
triously and unceasingly put forward in reference to
the constitution of the jury in question. They speak
of the unfortunate and misguided man who is now so
bitterly expiating his own insane and headstrong
conduct as "a victim to the machinations of legal
artifice, and to the lawlessness of reckless power."
He is, indeed, " a victim," but it is to his own acts,
and to the encouragement he received from those who
professed similar views, and declared their readiness
to see their country involved in all the horrors of in-
ternecine war, that he is indebted for his melancholy
doom— for being borne as an exile from the country
which he would have seen polluted by the blood of
its children, shed by each other's hands, for being de-
prived of the liberty which he would have degene-
rated into licentiousness. They assert " that Mr.
M mum. was found guilty by a jury, selected not
to try, but to convict him ;" and add, that " by
their nefarious acta a momentary triumph has been
consummated—a triumph not over an obnoxious
foe, but over the sacred obligations of justice, over
the violated liberties of a nation." The explana-
tions that have already been afforded as to the
alleged packing of the jury, and the removal of
Catholic jurors therefrom, have been so clear and
satisfactory, that it is almost an act of supereroga-
tion again to refer thereto ; but when we find parties
deliberately putting forward assertions which they
must be perfectly well aware are altogether unwar-
ranted, and at variance with the truth, for the
wicked purpose of stimulating the ignorant and un-
reasoning portion of their countrymen who may be led
astray by their reckless calumnies to an armed resis-
tance to the constituted authorities, it becomes a duty
again to expose their falsehoods, and to show how
little dependence can be placed upon their allegations.
In opposition to the unsupported assertions of the
Council of the Irish Confederation we have the solemn
decision of the sworn triers to whom the challenge of
the jury was referred with the assent of the unfor-
tunate prisoner himself. There was not only a total
failure of any evidence to sustain the charge of par-
tiality or favouritism, but it was rebutted by the
positive and distinct testimony of the High-Sheriff
himself, who proved that when he selected the jurors
from the general book he was wholly ignorant of
their religion or politics, and that he
only inquired as to the respectability of
the parties. It was indeed fortunate that
the challenge was preferred, because it brought
the calumnious charges against the law officers of
the Crown to the most conclusive test, and furnished
those gentlemen with a perfect answer to every in-
sinuation of a similar character. In addition we
have had the statement of the Attorney• General

. . . .
. .
" On the 14th vague rumours made known tome, a
to everybody, the tact that a great number of citizens
proposed to go and present a petition in favour or Poland
to the National Assembly. There ended the on dit. I
at least did not bear speak of anything else. Of the
monstrous project to invade the Assembly and declare it
dissolved—not a word."

When the rioters had burst into the Assembly, M.
Louis BLANC thus pursues his narrative :
" Standing on the bureau of the secretaries, I de-
manded a moment's silence, which was accorded to me,
and I profited by it, as the Moniteur proves, to invite the
people to display calm and moderation, to respect their
ow❑ sovereignty personified, in an Assembly elected by
universal suffrage

" I was again pressed by earnest solicitations. Feel-
ing warranted by the assent of the President of the
Assembly, I went to one of the windows of the Court
which leads to the Place de Bourgogne. I mounted on
the window• sill, where Albert and Bartels appeared, and
I addressed the multitude crammed in the court in lan-
guage which appeared to me most likely to appease
them. In substance I told them that the legitimacy of
their wishes for a more equitable division of the fruits of
labour, and for the gradual extinction of misery could
not be denied, but that they might be certain that the
sacred interests of the working classes would not be aban-
doned by the Assembly; that the eternal honour of the
Republic would be precisely to have laboured without
ceasing to realise the right of all to happiness; that if
there were fully in raising too high hopes on that point,
it was at least one of those sublime follies to which it
was pardonable to devote one's life; that it was a very
touching and very noble spectacle to see a people for-
getting the anxiety caused by their own sorrows to oc-
cupy themselves with the sufferings of a friendly nation;
that therein was recognised the essentially generous and
cosmopolitan genius of France; but that the more the
sentiments of the people were worthy of respect, the
more it was becoming to present the expression of them
in a legal and regular manner; and I terminated by con-
juring the crowd to leave the National Assembly all the
liberty of its deliberations.

" It was then that, speaking of the invincible force of
the revolution of February, but of the absolute necessity
of imposing it on the admiration of the whole world by
moderation and wisdom, the only means of soon render-
ing it victorious over all kings, I pronounced these
words, which have since been so crueliy misrepresented,
' This revolution is not one of those which shake, but of
those which overthrow thrones.' And the conclusion,
the resume of my speech, was this cry, which all the
hearers repeated with enthusiasm, Vive la Republique
Univers*lle "

•
" If," he observes in this place, " it be wrong to excite
such sympathies, when one combats the expression of
them with all one's strength, and when one has always
served the cause of what we believe to be truth without
condescension, without flattery, without a vain seeking
after popularity, this wrong is mine ; but let another be
found in my conduct i"
In the Assembly, says M. Louis BLAINIc—

. -
" Overwhelmed with fatigue, the voice gone, I was
carried towards the extreme branches of the amphi-
theatre. There a workman came t• me, and said, You
cannot speak, but if you will write on a piece of paper
that for the last time you intreat the crowd to with-
draw, perhaps I can succeed in reading it sufficiently
loud to be heard.' I immediately touk a pen, and hastily
traced these lines, •In the name of the Republican
country, in the name of the sovereignty of the people,
for the sake of all, I adjure you—' when these fatal
words fell from the tribune, the National Assembly is
dissolved "

A great movement then took place, and carried him
to the Salle des Conferences—

" I was called for from all parts. A compact and
violent crowd surrounded me, and cried to nae to go to
the Hotel de Ville. I replied with profound consterna-
tion, which every one could have read on my face, that
to go to the Hotel de Ville was to run the risk of
causing blood to flow. I asked where several of my
colleagues were. I could learn nothing about Albert,
but some one told me that the people had insisted on
conducting Barbes to the Hotel deVille, and that he had
protested against it with great animation, which was con-
firmedpersons present whose names are unknown
t o me." by
some

Two important subjects last week occupied the
attention of the National Assembly of Prance—the
proposed abolition of the Legion of Honour, and the
,prosecution of M. LOUIS BLANC. The discussion
—with regard to the Cross of the Legion has been
postponed, but that respecting the prosecution of
Louls'BLelec has been brought to a summary and
somewhat unexpected conclusion. After the Com-

M. Louis BLANC then proceeds to relate that he
got lost in the crowd, and was carried by it, he knows
not bow, to the Esplanade des Invalides. There,
with great difficulty, his brother and an artist rescued
him and placed him in a cabriolet. The person to
whom the cabriolet belonged conducted him to the

TFIE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 5, 1841.

house of a friend in the quarter of the Ecole de ME-

decine, from whence he went to the house of M.
MAssos, a bookseller, to change his linen, and after-
wards went home. "To pretend," he says, "as a
journal has dared to do, that I was seen at the Hotel

de Ville, is a talsehood the impudence of which ex-
ceeds all that can be imagined." Having learned at
his own house that the Assembly had resumed its

sittings, he hastened there :
"On arriving at the vestibule I was recognised by
some National Guards. They precipitated themselves
on me, a prey to an incredible rage. Let him he placed
under accusation I cried some. We must kill him—
that will bu the soonest done r cried others."

_ .
But some National Guards and some Representa-
tives hastened to his assistance, and succeeded in
rescuing him.
" It is certain, at least probable," adds M. Blanc,
" that without their intervention it would have been all
over with me. Handfuls of hair were dragged from me
—my coat was torn to pieces ; some wretches tried to
strike me from behind with bayonets ; one, not being
able to reach me otherwise, seized my right hand and
rags. In this state, perhaps, I might
have expected on the part of all my colleagues some
covered twisted
my
fingers. I entered the Assembly literally
withof that consideration which the simple sentiment
of humanity commanded. But such is the cruel effect
of certain misunderstandings, unavoidable in times
of revolution, that I only found hostile dispositions in a
part of the Assembly. My presence in the tribune, to
which I was called by the most imperative of duties,
that of bearing testimony in favour of my unhappy
friends Albert and Barbs, caused the must violent

rumonrEd about that he had been on May 15 at the Hotel
de Ville. He could declare in the most solemn manner
that such was not the case, and he called on the Hon.

Representatives around hits, in the name of their own
dignity, and in the name of justice, to believe his asser-
tion.—(" Hear, hear," from the lett.)
A Member declar( d that he thought it right to again
repeat what he had already declared, that ou May 15, he
had heard M. Louis Blanc say to the people who wanted
him to speak, that " his place was where he was, and
that he should not leave it."

•'I he President read a letter from some person named
Bertrand, which declared that the writer had seen M.
Louis Blanc on the day of May 15, when carried about

Among the different addresses to the electors of the
department of the Seine which have appeared from
one candidate or another we may mention, as about
the most interesting, that penned by LEOPOLD Duaza,
the principal editor of the National:—
" Citizens," says this address in one portion—" a
democratic journalist on the eve of the Revolution—a
combatant on the 24th of February—l am to-day still
at my post, continuing after the triumph to defend
with my pen the cause to which I have devoted my
life 1"

by the mob, endeavour as much as possible to escape
from their hands.

M. Jules Fevre, the reporter, summed up at great
length the arguments brought forward during the dis-
cussion, declaring at the close the motives which had
actuated the committee in recommending the Assembly
to grant the authorization applied for. The only ques-
tion for the Chamber to decide was this, was the princi-
ple of inviolability which protected all the Members not
to be set aside, where sufficient indications were brought
forward to show that the law officers of the Republic
were justified in making the demand which was now
ander consideration ? The Assembly had not to decide
the question of guilt or innocence, but merely to say
whether the ends of justice were not to be forwarded,
even when the person applied against was one of their
own Members. It was necessary that justice should not
be arrested in its course by any obstacle, even when the
inviolability of the Assembly was to a certain extent in
question. The Assembly had not to decide to have the
inculpated Member arrested, but merely to say whether
the law officers were to go on with their proceed-
ings in the ease of May 15 or not. The committee
had scarcely examined the facts ; it had merely done so
sufficiently to Le convinced that the demand had been
made without any rancour or political bias. He con-
cluded by calling on the Assembly to grant the authori-
zation. _ _

-Ist. Louis Blanc, from his place, exclaimed that all be
wanted was an enlightened judgment.
M. Dupont thought that the declaration of the ho-
nourable reporter relative to an arrestation not being
decided by the Assembly, could not stand the test of ex-
amination, since it was evident that the HoLourable Re-
presentative, now accused, would, if the authorisation
were granted, be arrested on ,the instant. The As-
sembly ought not to forget that what it decided now was
in reality an article of the future constitution. The lion.
Deputy here declared that M. Marrast could prove that
M. Louis Blanc had not been at the Hotel de Ville. The
Hon. Member also alluded to an opinion given by M.

.......
The Gazette des Tribunaux describes a riotous
demonstration in favour of BARGES and COUUTAIS—
the mob on Thursday evening raising certain sedi-
tious cries on the Place du Pantheon.
The Lyons journals state that the disturbance
which arose on the 31st ult., in the Ateliers Na-

tionaux of that city, was not followed by any serious
consequences, but was suppressed on the arrest of
about thirty of the most mutinous, and their confine-
ment in the prison of Roanne.
The Constitutionnel is indignant at the efforts which
are being made to prevent the election of M. TEREUS,
either for Paris or elsewhere. And the Presse is
striving to cast odium upon the Government, by ac-
cusing M. RECURT of following the extravagant
course of M. LEDIM ROLLIN in the Ministry of the
Interior.
The President of the National Assembly, accom-
panied by one of the Vice-Presidents and a Secre-
tary of the Chamber, visited the Ateliers Nationaux
on Thursday. It is said that they found the work-
men, generally speaking, animated with good in-
tions.

Duvergier de Hauranne, in a somewhat similar case
under the monarchy, which, he said, was different from
that of the Hon. Member at present.—(oh, oh.) The
Hon. Member maintained that the Assembly could not
decide in so grave a case without more sufficient eri-
_

dence. [The Hon. Member went on for some time, but
was listened to with impatience].
A strange scene took place at this moment. A crowd
of members assembled at the toot of the tribune, some
of whom were speaking together, when suddenly a voice
arose from the crowd, and said, " M. le President, a
member insults me;" great confusion followed, and the
sitting was forcedly suspended, half a hundred members
speaking together.
The President said something that it was impossible
for us to catch, further than the word, " Order."
The disturbance increased, and for some time it was
impossible to hear a word, at last—
M. E. Langley ascended the tribune, and in great agi-
tation said that he had certainly used a harsh expres-
sion to a colleague, but it was because he had been first
treated improperly himself. M. Dupont had descended
from the tribune, and had gone away to his place, when
M. Laurent exclaimed, that " what he had said relative
to M. Duvergier de Hauranne was improper!" "I,"
said the Honourable Deputy, then replied—" the truth
was never improper!" He retorted by a most gross
expression, and desired me to begone. I, in my turn,
gave him a sharp answer, and that was all.—(Great cons
fusion.)
Mr. Laurent, in his turn, gave explanations ; declared
that the last speaker had thrust himself in amongst a
group of gentlemen speaking, and gave his opinion un-
usked.—(Great noise and agitation for some time, after
which the incident terminated.)
M. Marrast said that he had at first entertained the
opinion that M. Louis Blanc had been at the Hotel de
Ville on the 15th of May, baying heard some persons
say so, but afterwards, when he had made inquiries, he
found from the evidence of the persons placed at the dif-
ferent doors, &c., that had he been there he could not
possibly have departed without being seen. In conse-
quenceiet declare l a
nt he a th
had
de
not
td
beenthe firmest
Hotel
oii v
Hotel de Ville. ni.ow
Louis
B The discussion was then declared to be closed.
ihone could
tha tM.
President said that he had received a proposition
declaring that there was no occasion ter going further
e
with the matter.—Rejected unanimously:
The President then put the question to know whether
the Assembly would authorise that M. Louis Blanc be
ixoceeded against by the law officers of the Republic.
The first trial was declared to be doubtful, amidst cries
of " Oh, oh."
M. Flocon and M. Cremieux rose against the autho-
rization.
The second trial then took place, and all the Minis-
ters rose against the authorization.
The President said that amongst the secretaries four
were of opinion that the authorization had been voted;
two looked on the matter in an opposite point of view.
In a matter of such gravity he should prop,se the vote
by division.—(Marks of astonishment; cries of " Well,
four to two ! Is not that matter decided?" Great
tumult.)
To our eye the authorisation bad been each time de-
cided in the affirmative.
A Member here said that he thought a vote by
division was clearly called for.—(Cries of " No, no;"
great confusion.)
M. Louis Blanc said that whoever thought a vote by
division would please him or serve his cause were quite
mistaken. He protested, as a representative of the
people, against the whole proceeding, though as a man
it was a matter of indifference. He looked on the course
pursued as disastrous.—(Hear, hear, from the left.)
A scene of indiscribable confusion followed, which
lasted fully ten minutes, the President ringing his bell,
and crying out to procure silence. At last it was de-
termined to proceed to the division, by going out of
different doors, which was commenced in extraordinary
agitation. The President was exceedingly moved before
this, and more than once cried out to Honourable Mem-
bers, " Mais taisez vous done." The whole scene was a
disgrace to a deliberate assembly.
P.S. The result of this ballotting was that the de-
mand for the authorization to prosecute M. Louis Blanc
was rejected by a majority of 32 votes.
BOURSE—PARIS, SATURDAY, JUNE 3.
THREE o'CLocx.—Tlae Funds are firmer to-day, but
the Bank of France has suffered a further decline of tO
francs. The Railways remain almost the same as yes-
terday.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK-EXCHANGE. JUNR 3.
Boulogne and Amiens, 6%—Northern of France, 3%.

Yesterday the election of eleven representatives for
the department of the Seine commenced. Every-
where the name of M. Tuimas was being torn down
from the walls; but it is almost certain, that, if re-
jected by the capital, the illustrious orator, historian,
and statesman will be returned for the Seine Inferieur,
or for the Gironde, or possibly for both.
According to the Debats, the list of candidates for
the representation of the metropolis is 167; but the
Preue states that the actual number is upwards
of 200.
The Paris papers of yesterday contain the
reports of the important sitting of the National
Assembly on Saturday, upon which occasion
the discussion took place upon the accusation
against M. Louis BLANC, in regard to
his conduct on the memorable 15th of May: It will
be seen from the report which is given afterwards,
that the authorisation to prosecute the accused was
rejected by a majority of thirty-two. The acclama-
tions, however, with which this decision was received
indicating the little sympathy
wereof
etrhhofeseeepbwrlee enough,
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Blanc. There was nothing, however, to intimate the
building were just as numerous as ever. Inside the
tion of an animated sitting.
The order of the day was the discussion on the demand
to authorise criminal proceedings be • •
institute- against
M. Louis Blanc.
The President said that he had received an application
from several representatives to have
the
o vote given
without any discussion—(Oh, oh) •
eventual decision of the Court before—w
inhiohrder that the
to be tried might not be in any way prejudged.the case was
the Assembly of opinion that such should be coursetheWas
pursued?—(An almost universal burst of " No, nol" he..
was heard from every side.)
M. Mathieu (de la Drome) had read most carefully
the report of the Committee, and he could not see that
sufficient grounds had been shown to cause the Assembly
about Me
ec
the Louista -
to accede to what it recommended. As the evidence,'
which had induced the Committee to arrive
at an affirm-
ative decision, could not be laid before the House, it was
evidently. a vote of confidence that was demanded.—
(Cries of " Ne, no.") He believed the law officers of
the Crown to be actuated by motives altogether pure,
and the Committee to be perfectly convinced that the
course which it advised was strongly called tor. Still,
for the Assembly to give a vote without knowing the
grounds on which it gave it, would establish a very ob-
jectionable precedent. The Honourable Deputy then
proceeded consider the circumstances of the case as
far as the toey had been made known, and maintained that
though there were good grounds to grant the authorisa-
tion demanded, still he hesitated for the reason which
he had just given.
M. Larabit read a paper in which he dwelt on the
enormity of the attack made on the Assembly on May
15. Referring to the declaration in the report of the
Committee that M. Louis Blanc had committed most
serious cr.-ors in his views of political economy, he de-
clared that this was already a most severe Judgment
passed against him, and one which M. Louis Blanc would
feel more than any decision that could be given against
him. He examined the other statements in the report,
and camQ to the conclusion that there was not sufficient
reason for the Assembly to grant the authorisation.
M. Laurent (de l'Ardi4e) passed a warm eulogium on
M. Louis Blanc for his historical works; he allowed that
he had been mistaken in politico-economical views, but
why
Host hat to be now brought forward against him?
The n. Member then alluded to Louis Blanc's ep-
ee in the House the day before, and excited much
pearan
laughter by representing him as covered with bands and
ornaments like a victim. Entering at great length into
the events of May 15, he maintained that the confusion
was too great to permit any one to assert that M. Louis
Blanc had uttered the words attributed to him: besides,
the expresion had been already claimed by Barbee.—
(" Oh, oh," and loud laughter.) There evidently was
doubt—why not give the benefit of the doubt to the
Member who now stood before the Assembly in so grave
a position? He should vote against the authorisation.
M. Bac was one of those in the Committee who had
voted against the authorisation. He had done so be-
cause he could not see that if the sovereignty of the
Assembly was once admitted, any Member could be
delivered up to justice by the decision of the House, un-
less the formalities prescribed by the penal code had
been first most fully. complied with. The Assembly
ought first to inquir found, all the acts which had taken
place, and then if it by the testimony of credible
witnesses, that the views of the law-officers of the
Republic were correct,
it would be justified in acceding
to the recommendation of the Committee, but not other-
wise. The Honourable Member proceeded at great
length to assign his reasons for this view of the question.
He then argued that it the Assembly should not feel
any inclination to adopt that course, it ought at least to
wait until the prisoners now in custody were tried, so
that from the evidence then brought forward it might
be seen whether there were really good grounds for the
application now made toprosecute. He then proceeded
to examine the facts alleed, and maintained that an
ese amount of caglumny had already been
immn
brought forward against M. Louis Blaent on nc. Fothe r instasth nce,
it was asserted that he had been pres lat
the Hotel de Ville, but it would be shown that this was
not the truth.—(Marks of denial of this assertion here
arose from many of the benches.) It had been said that
he had been borne in triumph by the people.—(cries
of No, no, not the people, by factious men, by insur-
gentel") Yes, by the insurgents, who had invaded the
Chamber. But was it by his will? Certainly not. He
endeavoured as much as he could to prevent so undig-
nified an ovation.—(Marks of dissent.) The Hon.
Member then referred to the language of N. Louis Blanc
on the day in question, and maintained that the ten-
dency of his words was throughout conciliatory. lie
had spoken also, he said, only when implored to do so
by several of his colleagues, and on the express authori-
zation of the President. The Hon. Member concluded
by warning the Assembly against entering on a system
which might lead to proscription hereafter. To allow a
member to be snatched ;, way from his duties as represen-
tative of the people could not be looked on as a light
matter, and fur his part he considered it a matter tend-
ing to afford a precedent of violence which he should
always oppose.
/ M. Louis Blanc here ran up the steps, and in a hoarse
voice said he did not stand there to defend himself, but
simply to make a declaration on a poiet just alluded to.
lie had not been interrogated when he appeared before
the Committee, as to what occurred after he had left the
Chamber, and it was only the evening before, when
leaving the Assembly, that he had heard that it was