The Sun.
London, England, 1848-11-27 00:00:00

THP SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 27, 1848.

cidents connected with the struggle—thus: about one
o'clock, M. Bixio had come to him to ask him to send
200 men to clear the Rue St. Jacques. General Ca-
vaignac, wi;h his usual vivacity—(oh ! oh !)—repl, d
by a decided negative, declaring that he cowl I not con-
sent to disseminate his troops, and weaken his force.
M. Bixio implored him to send the men, declaring that
in half an hour it would be too late; the General abso-
lutely refused. Similar scenes occurred several times
during the day until about three o'clock, when the
General went out on horseback, and proceeded to the
Faubourg du Temple. He remained out until half-past
seven ; that absence produced considerable inconveni-
ence, as a vast number of messengers arrived, and could
not deliver the dispatches which they had for him.
The Executive Committee were obliged to act, and
about five o'clock MM. Gamier Pages and Marie sent
off by the railways for all the troops that were dispos-
able in the towns surrounding the capital. Meanwhile
suspicions had arisen amongst the National Guards, in
consequence of the absence of the troops of the runny.
It was well known that amongst the Executive Commit-
tee there was one member whose opinions went far be-
yond his fellows, and the National Guard began to fear
that they were betra3 ed. It was only when the troops
arrived that these apprehensions subsided. The docu-
ment then speaks of the plan of General Cavaignac to put
down the insurrection—it was to mass the troops in large
bodies, and then pour them on the barricades; and the
General, it is said, promised to carry on the war in the
streets of Paris as he e ould have done in the plains
of Africa. He was not acquainted with the war of
the barricades—he had not been in Paris during
the outbreaks of 18t?0, 1832, and 1834, and his ex-
perience in such warfare was absolutely nega-
tive. It was well known to every one ac-
quainted with the subject, that the real plan was to pre-
vent the erection of the barricades, in place of att icking
them when formed. Every one who knew anything of
street fighting, and particularly of the insurrection of
June, knew that if bodies of 150 men had been made
to circulate on the Friday evening, the erection of the
whole of the barricades could have been prevented. The
only measure of energy which General Cavaignac then
determined on was to send to Vincennes for a certain
force of artillery; but it was only the next day at twelve
that this reinfercement arrived. The suspense of that
period was dreadful; and it is now well known that the
National Guards threatened to proceed to the most ex-
treme measures against the Executive Committee. The
document then proceeded to narrate the meetings which
had taken place amongst the members of the National
Assembly. At that of the Rue de Poitiers, on the
evening of the 22d, M. Adtlsward arrived with an inti-
mation that if the meeting desired to support him,
General Cavaignac was ready to assume the burden of
the Executive Power.—(Sensation.) The Executive
Committee proceeded to the Natioiral Assembly, where
M. Gamier Pages addressed the House, and where the
House gave him and his colleagues the assurance of their
full confidence. The night wore on, and General Ca-
vaignac still persisted in his plan of not sending out
troops. Several times he was asked, by various persons,
as well as by the.rnembers of the Executive Committee,
how many troop§ were in Paris, and he constantly re-
plied that he really could not tell in the absence of Col.
Charras, the Secretary of the War Department. Gene-
ral Cavaignac, about half past two o'clock in the morn•
ing, flung himself on the sofa and fell asleep. During
she time that he was thus placed, several demands to see
him were made by bodies of the National Guard,
who wanted to know where were the troops. The
next morning (Saturday), about eight o'clock, the
Executive Committee were applied to to give in their
resignation. This was done by certain delegates of the
Palais National, but they decided that at the moment
of danger that would be impossible. The Ex-
ecutive Committee then pressed General Cavaignac
to commence the attack; but he refused, declaring that
" he could not scatter the troops—that the National
Guard were there to defend Paris—that if a single one
of his troops were disarmed, he should consider himself
dishonoured, and would blow out his brains."—(Great
uproar, some praising, and others giving signs of dis-
approbation.)
The Executive Committee were again
applied to to resign, but refused. During the time that
they were deliberating, the General bad exclaimed,
i
" What ! do you still hesitate, when n half an hour you
may have Paris in the hands of the insurgents," The
Hon. Representative then gave an account of the election
of General Cavaignac to the place of Chief of the Exe-
cutive Power, and after again criticising his general
mode of acting against the insurgents, concluded by de•
daring that a slight cloud still hung over the proceed-
ings of the Executive Committee, which the present dis-
cussion would most probably clear up.
General Cavaignac, President of the Council, said—
Before I reply to the charges now brought on, I have to
say there is nothing new in all that has been just stated.
Every part of it has been brought forward before. I have,
therefore, to ask the gentlemen who wish to speak, to
present at once all their ascasations, that I may reply to
them all together.—(Hear, hear.)
M. Gamier Pages—ln reply to
.what the Gallant
General has-just said, I have to inform him that these are
the principal facts which we have to bring forward. I
cannot take upon myself to bring forward others, except
as suggested by the discussion.—(oh, oh.)
The President of the Council—l accept the discussion,
even as just pat forth by the Hon. Representative. I
here repeat that I have no intention whatever of attack-
ing the Executive Committee. There is no battle
between them and me. The only difference in the
case is between MM. Gamier Peshs Duclere, Bar-
thelemy St. Ililare, and Pagnerre.— (Hear, hear.)
That being said, I enter on the matter before
the House. I am accused, first, of not having had a
sufficient number of troops in Paris at the time of the
insurrection; secondly, of not having got artillery in a
proper manner, and in fitting time, from Vincennes;
thirdly, of the inefficiency of the general measures which
I took for putting down the insurrection; and, fourthly,
of the mariner in which I arrived at the head of the
Executive Power. The Gallant General then entered
on the first point:—He arrived on May 17 from Algeria,
and at once proceeded to the Executive Committee.
Having been appointed to the department of War, he of
course took from them orders relative to the number of
troops in Paris. He declared that all the orders which
he had received had been obeyed, until the number of
men in and immediately round Paris amounted to near],
50,000 men, including the Garde Mobile. He then al-
luded to the motives attributed to him by. M. Barthe-
lemy St. Hilaire, of keeping back the troops for purposes
of personal ambition: he absolutely repelled such an in-
sinuation, and declared that when the reply to the legal
advocate had been given, he would reply like a soldier.
The Honourable'Gentleman then alluded to the precau-
tions which he had taken, immediately on entering on
office as Minister of War, to make as much barrack room
as possible to allow the troops of the line to enter in
Paris. He could appeal to his friend General Bedeau,
who was in command of the Garde Mobile, if he (Ged.
Cavaignac) had not called on him to press his men to-
gether as much as possible, in order to afford more room
for the troops of the line.
General Bedeau (from his place)—l can declare that
that statement is perfectly true.
The President of the Council then proceeded to read
documents to show what movements of troops had been
effected by him, day by day, in consequence of orders
received from the Executive Committee. He brought
down the account to June 23, showing that there were
then 25,000 men in Paris, and 29,000 in the imme-
diate neighbourhood. He asked whether it was
possible that the committee of enpaite could have
left this important point of the number of troops
in Paris at the time of the insurrection without
being carefully inquired into ? Most certainly tho
strictest investigation had been instituted, and every-
thing had appeared perfectly satisfactory. He then re-
ferred to the proceedings connected with the defence'of
Paris. Ile commenced by declaring that no representa-
tions or complaints had been made to him up to Jane 22
of a want of troops in Paris. The defence of the eapital
had been considered insured, it was only after the insur-
rection that the complaints had originated. M. Barthe-
lemy St. Hilaire had spoken of two battalions sent for to
defend the Place du Pantheon, but he had mistaken the
word battalions for that of r'e'eiments.—(Movement.)
That fact could be proved by the original order given. It
was natural for a. person not much conversant with mili-
tary affairs to make such a mistake. He• (the Gallant
General) here read the original order, from which it ap-
peared that it was not two battalions, but a regiment of
infantry and a troop of cavalry that had been sent for.
But there was still, he observed, a greater mistake msde
by the honourable gentleman, as it was not for the Place
du Pantheon that these troops were demanded, but for
the Luxembourg—(Hear, hear)—and what was more,
they had been sent, as be could prove also by documents
He then read a paper from M. Marie, speaking of
their arrival. The Honourable General then referred
to some other eases where troops were demanded, and
said that he could explain them in referring to his
method of defence, which he should then proceed to
touch on. He could have either stated his plan to the
Executive Committee or not. If he had declared it he
was not certain that they, in their
ignorance of military
matters, would have approved of it; or if they had, they
might have taken on themselves to carry it out, find
perhaps failed. He, therefore, had taken on himself
to keep it to himself. His plan was to act with la'rge
bodies of troops, so that wherever an attack was made,
it must have a decided advantage. He had called( to
his councils bef ore the battle—forjbattle it certainly was—
Generals Bedeau, Fouchot, and others, and had expt;ed
to them both his plan and the mode of carryin it
into execution. Nut any remark whatever had been
made against it. In considering his plan it must
be borne in mind that this was no longer a mere p4ice
matter—it was a veritable battle. If he had consentted
to disseminate his troops, the consequence would have
been—what it must always be in combats in a town—
that their force would be much impaired and the success
of the attack endangered. Ile therefore resisted all
the demands made to him for troops, unless is cases
where he conceived that they were absolutely requisite.
The Gallant General then referred to several episodes of
the struggle in June, to show that his plan had been
successful. As to the reproach of not having prevented
the barricades from being raised, he declared that in
order to do so ho should have been obliged to scatter his
troops, which would have been the very thing be had
determined to avoid. Once his plan decided on, to act
by masses, he could not depart from it withoutendan-
gering the safety of the city. It had been said that
the attack had been negligently effected, and with
great loss of life to the troops. He might declare
that it was only on the 24th that the attack. bad-been
decided on, and that previously to that point-the loss was
not of any great amount. Thus, from the returns son-
in, it appeared that there were only 35 killed and 160
wounded; whereas, on the subsequent days, the loss was
much greater. In fact, on the 23d, he was obliged to
see what forces were opposed to him at so important a
moment. Let it be borne in mind that the very exist-
ence of Paris was at stake ; and it was that feeling,
and the idea that such an immense responsibility
weighed on him, that had drawn from him the declare-
ti°l-/ that if the army was worsted in Paris ho should

proceed to the plain of St. Denis, and there await the
i insurgents. If they did not choose to attack, his plan
would have been then to re-enter Paris with the army
and the National Guard united.—(Hear, hear.) The
Honourable. Gentleman then referred to his personal
conduct tiering the combat. He alluded to going out on
the 23d, at three o'clock in the day, and rernainit g out
until eight in the evening, and explained that he was
obliged to do so in order to inspect personally the va-
rious parts of the city, and see that everything was pre-
pared for the combat. The insurgents were to be at-
tacked in three places; the neighbourhood of the Hotel
de Ville, the Pantheon, and the Faubourg St. Antoine;
and in order to effect that purpose it was necessary to
see how the several commanders were disposed with the
troops under their command. He remained until between
two and three in the morning, busied with the affairs of
his department. The Gallant General then arrived at
the part of the accusation against him which related to
the want of foresight in not getting in artillery from
Vincennes. He could very well imagine, he said, that
persons who had only gone from Paris to Vincennes
in a cabriolet might feel surprise at the time which
it took to get in ammur ition and artillery
from Vincennes. But military men would be
of a different opinion, and would come to the con-
clusion that the time taken up had hi en only natural
under the circumstances. The Honourable Gentleman
then read the itinerary of the force sent to Vincennes
from Paris for the artillery and ammunition required,
required certainly, for a combat where not less than
2,500,000 cartrid,ies had been burnt. He there showed
that, looking at the obstacles which had been thrown in
the way of a regiment of infantry, and two troops of
cavalry sent to Vincennes, the time occupied was not by
any means extraordinary. The Gallant General next
referred to the charge brought against him of having
held back his means of defence for the purpose of for-
warding his own ambitious projects—to arrive, in fact,
at the post of chief of the executive power.—(Hear, hear.)
He might commence by saying that on the 22d an
application was already made to him to assume the
whole power, and that application was of such a nature
as that it might be considered almost official. The gen-
tlemen who came to him were MM. Latarde,,Ducoux.,
and Landrin, and they formally proposed to him to as-
sume the sole direction of the authority, civil and mili-
tary. "I declared to them," said the Honourable Gen-
tleman, " that I must refuse at that moment, since their
proceeding was not :absolutely official; that I had no de-
sire whatever to take on myself so immense a responsi-
bility; that I had no engagement whatever with the
Executive Committee; and that if the National Assembly
thought my aid necessary in that high post, I would
accept it without difficulty." Such was the purport of
my conversation with these gentlemen.—(" Yes, yes," for
some minutes.) Hence, if I wanted to arrive at the
chief power, I was not under any necessity whatever to
wait longer than the date I have just mentioned. As to
my military conduct, is it probable that I, or any man in
his senses, would for his own ambition risk the lives
of so many of his countrymen, the ruin of a great
city, and the destruction of the National Assembly?—
(Cheers.) No, it is impossible.—(Rene" ed cheers.)
All these calumnies must have an end. lam ready to
discuss them when you please—now, to-morrow, at any
time ; "and when at last an end has been come to, it is no
longer the pleadings of the advocate that will be wit-
nessed, but the acts of a soldier.—(Tremendous cheer-
ing, which was repeated several times.)
The President—The sitting is suspended until half-
past seven this evening.
The representatives then left their places, and ap-
peared to be on the point of separating, when a pause
was suddenly made.
The President then declared that several of his col-
leagues had suggested the propriety of going on with
the sitting at once.—(Cries of " Yes, yes.")
This was supported by General Cavaignac, and car-
ried.

The Assembly then again took their seats, and
M. Bixio ascended the tribune, and after entering
into certain explanations of his own conduct during the
days of June, declared that in his opinion General Ca-
vaignac had on that occasion saved the Republic.
The sitting was then suspended for an hour, and re-
sumed at eight o'clock.
M. Barthelemy St. Hilaire ascended the tribune, and
said that it had always been his object merely to defend
the Executive Committee, not to attack General Ca-
vaignac. "Since," added he, " the Hon. General asks if we
believe that he would have been capable of committing
an act of tr seism for the furtherance of an object of mere
personal ambition, I do not hesitate to declare that such
an idea never entered our minds."
Taschereau—This then is a retractation.
M. Barthelemy St. Hilaire—No, it is a confirmation,
for I have lone- since made several of my colleagues
acquainted with my sentiments on that head.
General Cavaignac then explained that several per-
sons, representatives and others, had complained that he
had not on the 23d June ordered troops to march to
various places which had been pointed out to him. That
was perfectly true; and if, foreseeing this debate, Le had
taken a note of all the persons who demanded troops,
the Assembly would see that he would have needed at
least 300 battalions to have complied with all these re-
quisitions. Thb General then went on to explain that
while at eleven at night M. Marie had communicated to
him the order, in the name of the Executive Commission,
to send troops to the:Luxembourg, M. Barthelemy St.
Hilaire warned him that there might possibly be a
gathering of the insurgents on the place of the Pan-
theon, and advised him to act according to the orders he
might have received from the Executive Commission.
The letter of M. Barthelemy St. Hilaire could not, there-
fore, be considered as an order, because in it he spoke of
orders which he (General Cavaignac) had doubtless re-
ceived from another quarter.—(Cries of " That is the
r truth.") It was his duty to execute the order which M.
Marie had given him in the name of the Executive
Commission ; he had done si, and in doing so he k new
he was accomp iliing the object which M. Barthlemy
St. Hilaire had at that time in view.—(Cheers.) "1
now," concluded the General, "come to consider the
position in which M. Barthlemy St. Hilaire would
fain place me. He admits that I could never have
been capable of committing all these faults to serve
my own personal ambition, and with a deliberate purpose
of securing to myself power. But in saying what he
has said he says" more than he wished to say, and he
endeavours to make others believe that in which ho
professes not to believe himself.—(Vehement cheering.)
What is the meaning of this series of observations with
which you have interlarded your narrative? You never
quit me. You follow me from quarter of an hour to
quarter of an hour, and you show me incessantly re-
fusing the most pressing, urgent requests of all those
who desired troops of see, and then you bring me the
next day acting in parallel lines with what you call the
'Parliamentary plot'—(A. laugh)—until I have at-
tained my end, and the Assembly has by a decree
withdrawn from- the Executive Commission the powers
which had been confided tocit. Do you desire that I
should speak sincerely to you ? Ido not know you. I
have never spoken to you, except twice in my life. I
say that it is impossible to suppose all that you suppose.
You have been soured in your feelings, disappointed in
yoer hopes.—(Loud cheers.) You have gone too far
with this history, which was not written to be buried in the
drawers of a secretary ; but I declare that no one will
believe, after having] read your fragment—no one
will believe that you are not desirous of incriminating
my acts and my intentions to a greater extent than you
avow. In conclu,ion, I declare that the declaration
which you have just made is not sufficient for me, and
that I wait for fresh explanations to know what position
I am to choose."—(Loud and long-continued cheering.)
M. Gautier Paoli ruse to address the Assembly amidst
considerable interruption, which lasted some time.
These interruptions were principally occasioned by an
assertion made by M. Garnier Pagel at the outset of his
speech, that General Cavaignac had offered the Minis-
try of Public Instruction to M. Barthelemy St. Hilaire,
and that M. Marie had offered to propose him (M. Gar-
nier Pages) for the Presidency of the Assembly. Order
having been restored, the speaker proceeded to state
that he would not accept the discussion on the grounds
on which General Cavaignac wished to place it, "We
do not say," added he, " that you wished to shed blood
to attain the object of your ambition, but we say that
you have committed enormous faults.—(lnterruption.)
It is the opinion of the people—it has been the opinion
of the National Assembly.—(Loud cries of ' No, no.')
You have committed faults, and you have permitted the
Executive Commission to be blamed for those faults."
A Voice—Speak of the Republic.
M. Gamier Pages—Well, I will speak of it. You
know not what may happen; but if, through an ambi-
tion disastrous for France, any individual should attempt
to go to the Tuilerii s, I should go to the Hotel de Ville.
—(Bravo, bravo.) The speaker then proceeded to re-
proach General Cavaignac with ingratitude towards the
Executive Committee, which had made him General of
Division, Governor of Algiers, and Minister of War.
General Cavaignac denied that ho had ever autho-
rised the offer of the Ministry of Public Instruction to

M. Barthelemy St. Hilaire except on the 28th June,
when he was not so well aware of his opinions. As to
the candidateship of M. Garnier PagiV4 for the Presi-
dency, I may have asked,:added the General, if he was
a candidate, but most assuredly he was no candidate of
ours.—(A laugh.) The General then proceeded to defend
himself against.tho accusation of ingratitude.
M. Landrin explained that when the Club of the
Palais National made a proposition to General Cavaig-
nae, at a time when it was evident that the Executive
Committee bad forfeited the confidence of the country,
the General declared that he would be no party to any
secret proceeding, and that his dignity required that the
Executive Commission should be informed both by him-
self and by the delegates from the Club of the Palais
National of the overtures which had been made to him.
M. Ledru Rollin, in defending the Executive Cam.
mission, took occasion to state that it was hunger which
bad caused the outbreak in June.

cneral Bedeau related the dispositions taken by
General Cavaignac on the 23d June, in concert with
himself and the other generals, and declared that he
himself approved of all the dispositions made.
General Cavaignac replied, and in allusion to a de-
claration by M. Ledru Rollin, that he had separated
from General Cavaignac, the General said, I will not
say which was the first to separate from the other, but
this separation most certainly exists; and for my part I
do not see any probability of its soon ceasing.—(Loud
cheers.) _

M. Legrange declared that it was odious to bring to
the tribune the filth of M. Emile de Girardin, filth raked
1 from the kennel, to throw in the face of a General who
had valiantly fought for his country in Africa.—(Loud
-Cheers.)

M. Liupont(de l'Eure)then moved the resolution which
we have given above.

The resolution was received with loud applause, and
twenty members having called for a division a ballot
commenced, which gave the following result:—
Voters ... 537
Absolute majority... ••• 269
For the resolution .................. 503
Against it ........................... 34