The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-16 00:00:00

DEFENCE OF LANIARTINE.
(Continued from The Sun of yesterday.)
FOURTH ACCUSATION.
I was an accomplice in the manifestation of the hun•
dred thousand men on the 17th of March ; I was feeble
and undecided on the 16th of April.
I will now give you a slight narrative of the 17th
of March. Its prircipal characteristic was, that it
was directed against myself. Open the Moniteur and
read the menacing addresses of the leaders of the
insurrectionary clubs; it was against my name that
their harangues were chiefly opposed. Read my reply ;
read the desultory dialogue which ensued, after the
conclusion of this event, between myself and several
of the more moderate men of the manifestation. I
again transcribe (from the published reports) :—" One
of the citizens advanced and said to M. de Lamartine,
' Be assured that the people who are assembled yonder
are only assembled to support the members of the
Provisional Government.' M. de Lamartine re-
sponded, I am convinced of that; but the nation
may be deceived as to the fact. Beware of such as-
semblages as these, however beautiful they may ap-
pear. The 18th Brumaire of the people may per-
chance he only productive of the 18th Brumaire of
despotism ; and that result is desired neither by your-
selves nor by the Government.' " Is that, I ask, the
language or the bearing of an accomplice ?
FIFTH ACCUSATION.
I have given evidences of inquietude and indecision ;
I neglected to take precautionary measures on the
famous day of the 16th of April.
Upon this subject the public had of itself no
suspicion whatever; but such was the construction
put upon the deposition of an honourable General, a
brilliant but subordinate actor upon that occasion.
Now, examine the whole of this day of the 16:h
of April, scrutinize it carefully hour by hour. Each
hour has its elucidation; each circumstance its wit-

executed two hours before by the Minister of the
Interior, had been obeyed. My four battalions
arrived. 'The General disposed them in proper order,
he harangued them, he filled them with that
military enthusiasm with which he was already
inspired. The injustice which he has dis •
played towards me will not render me unjust
towards himself. He was burning with ardour.
M. Marrast, on his part, had, with the utmost deci-
cision, taken in the surrounding quarters every possible
measure of a defensive nature, and had done every-
thing in his power to concentrate the forces which
remained at his disposal. The Hotel de Ville became
every successive minute more strong and almost im-
pregnable. I wrote to the legions of the suburbs to
hasten inwards with the utmost rapidity. Some of
the scholars of the Polytechnic were the bearers of
my commands. The workmen of the faubourg of
St. Antoine, the workmen of Belleville, the
Lyonnais who had been already assembled to-
gether by M. Marrast, the vat ious depu-
tations of the pupils of the Polytechnic School, of St.
Cyr, of a;-ts and of manufr.ctures, the students of
law and of medicine, were already hurrying forwards,
I addressed them as they arrived successively. All
that youth proved themselves three months afterwards
to be at once the strength and the wisdom of the
Republic. Crowd succeeding crowd, poured along the
staircases and into the halls. All the administration
of Paris, every one officially connected with the
]lfoniteur, were there. I ask any one of them to de-
clare whether I betrayed, even for one single instant,
either hesitation, or lassitude, or feebleness ? if a single
measure that was at all available was omitted ?
if a single word of mine was faltering? if a single
question indicated trepidation ? Up to the very mo•
ment in which the National Guard, debauching at
the same moment from the various quays and bridges,
came to assure us of the most beautiful of all victories
—the victory gained without combat ! I love and I
resyect the military uniform ; General Changarnier
were it on that day nobly ; but the uniform not the
only garb privileged to cover the bosoms of men of
courage. •

My colleagues, collected together in another part
of Paris, aF4isted, on their side, in arousing this grand
resurrection of the civic power. From that day forth
Public Order was clad iu armour. Behold here the
narrative of the lGth day of April. Where, I ask
you, is the defect revealed in regard to the necessary
measures of defence and precaution ?
There was indeed one measure which I was
counselled to take by those who evinced the most
impatience, and that measure I resolutely refused to
employ. Mad I done so I should have involved triy
country and the National Assembly in the horrors of
civil war, and I wished only to preserve to them both
the possession of Peace.

LAW OF LUNACY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

FRANCE.

[The following appeared in our Third Edition of
last night]:—

The Chief of the Executive Government has just
instituted in the Alinisty of Public Works a central
commission of railways, to replace the old general
commission instituted by ordinance of 6th April,
1847. The central commission is to be con-
sulted on the line to be taken by railways, the
establishment of he iron railroad and accessories,
the materiel, the technical and business work-
ii.g, the establishment of stations, the regulations of
the police, and generally on all questions concerning
the relations of companies with the Government. The
Conseil Gemiral des Pouts et-Chaussees is to remain
exclusively charged with questions relative to the
taking of lands, the execution of earth works, and
works of art, and the regulations of the accounts of
contractors.

On Tuesday a proposition was laid on the bureau
of the President of the National Assembly by M.
Lempereur, representative, to the effect that in order
to secure the suppression of the taxes on patents,
salt, and liquors, a tax of one, tenth shall, from Ist
January next, be established on the nett revenue of
each Frenchman and Frenchwoman enjoying his or
her fortune, atter deduction made of charges proved
by authentic deeds, but only if such revenue exceeds
at least by a tenth the minimum which shall he lixed
according to the population of the communes.
On Tuesday evening General Cavaignac held a re-
ception, which was most numerously attended. The
Marquis and Marchioness of Normanby, the Charges
d'Affaires of Sardinia and Spain, M. and Madame de
Lamartine, the President of the Assembly, and Ma-
dame Marrast, and all the Ministers, Deputies of all
shades of opinion, many Generals, and a great
number of National Guards of all ranks were
present. General Cavaignac conversed a long time
with Lord Normanby, General Lamoriciere,
and several Members of the National Assembly. A
grand military orchestra in the garden executed several
pieces of music. This was the first time music
was introduced at the General's soirees. About ten
o'clock, the report of a firearm was heard in the
garden, and it caused certain agitation among the
guests, some of them rushing to the spot from whence
the report proceeded, others gathering round the
General. It was soon ascertained that the report was
occasioned by a sentinel having let his musket fall.
No injury, however, was done.
Tne National announces that the Central Demo-
cratic Committee fOr the elections of the Seine have
adopted as candidates M. Edmond Adam, M. Horace
Say, and M. Gervais (de Caen). This, we believe,
may be regarded as the list adopted by the National.

AUSTRIA.

The Vienna Gazette of the Bth announces that the
Minister of War had received a letter from General
Wendel, 'dated the Ist instant, stating that friendly
negotiations with the Pope were still in progress;
that the Pontifical Government had acknowledged its
being satisfied that the movement of General Wendel
against Bologna had no other object than to drive
away the volunteers, and that the said Government
was itself proceeding to disarm these volunteers, as
was proved by a decree issued on the 22d ult. by the
Minister of the Interior.

FRANKFORT.