The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-25 00:00:00

THE INSURRECTION OF JUNE.
continue the publication of these in:eresting docu-
ments : ; o
DE POSITION OF M. JULES FAVIZE (Jinx 11).
I lin nothing of the events of the 15th of May, beyond
havin g frequently spoken to M. de Lamartine of the police,
which 1 foimd very badly managed. I had wished that a
daily ret:,ort should have been made, but M. Lamartine had
coati de; ice in M. Caussidiere, and said that he would answer
for
On. The 26th of February I was called on to fill a secondary
post in the Ministry of the Interior. The Prefet de Police
was or have been under my orders ; but in reality that
was an authority completely independent. I should never
have accepted that post except upon the condition that M.
Caussidiere, should not :remain at the prefecture of police.
That et igag,tnent not kept. I conGss that I did wrot!!
to reot,,in then in the ;ovrtiiturot. I hall no lower over
Al. re, but lie hail on, t.,r hevond [nine. His systein
on Opeisting on the in the public ,treat:,
when lie should meet with any oposition to his views. I never
had any doubt of that.
On the 17th March, I believed that the movement was a
spontaneous one. I admired the imposing spectacle which
we then had under our eyes. On this occasion the dis-
courses of M. Ledru Rollin all leant towards conciliation.
and lie himself spoke of causing the army to return to
Paris. On the following day, I knew, beyond the power of
doubt, that the whole had been prepared beforehand by the
Pretet de Police, and that, in the night, the whale of the
ateliers had been visited to forewarn and excite the work-
men. The intention might have been a good one, inasmuch
as it was suspected that the National Guard was not suffi-
ciently republican. He did the_ same thing in April. On
that clay I thought that they really would have turned out.
On the 16th of April, the movement, though less nume-
rous than in March, was very threatening; on account of the
men who directed it, and the intentions which appeared to
actuate them. This movement WAS known to me eight
and antipathies existed,
of which
t h
days before that time, and I learned that it was ori-
ginated to cause the disappearance of a portion of the
members of the Government, in the bosom of which body
difference
explain. But it has not been made clear to me that on the
o l
1 April
twoor
three
members
Govern-
ment
were desirous of creating a pressure upon their col-
leagues by means of a manifestation. As I was advertised of
the Provisional have
n need' to
the movement, I was bound to take measures. I caused M.
Carteret to come to me,. and I interrogated him upon the
subject. Both to M. Carteret and to myself it was elearly
demonstrated that the Prefecture of Police did not wish to
do anything. It was then that Messrs. Landrin, Pariahs,
and myself entered into pour parler on the subject, and that
we warned the Government. I have given in my resignation
ten times.
I have never assisted at the nocturnal councils at the Mi-
nistry of the Interior. What may have probably given rise
to this rumour is the fact, that I sometimes saw N. Ledru
Rollin in the evening after the immense labours of the day
were over. M. Carteret and myself both saw him on the
night of the 16th of April. M. Ledru Rollin gave us his
word of honour that he had nothing to do with the move-
ment. He was afraid of being carried too far by it.
In my opinion, I consider that the Government was in
fault. So far as regards M. Ledru Rollin I have never seen
anything in him beyond a lively pre-occupation upon the
position of the Republic, as the elections had not been con-
formable to the spirit exhibited at Paris.
As to Louis Blanc and Albert that is another matter al-
together. I have always believed that there was a system
of conspiracy on their part. Carteret and 1 demanded the
arrest of Blanqui. With them I found Louis Blanc and Al-
bert at the ministry ; the former appeared much alarmed.
Ledru-Rollin said that it was him who had given the order
to beat the rappel. At the ministry I received a note from
Ledru• Rollin, dated from the Hotel de Ville, which said—
" All is calm; the people are defiling without disorder."
After having heard that proclamation of such a nature as
to have made them seizable had been placarded, I ad-
dressed reproaches to Caussidiere, and declared to him that
I had demanded his recal. Caussidiere turned the thing
into a joke.
Generous and weak, Ledru-Rollin has been imprudent,but
never culpable; he has received men who might have corn-
promised him, and who asked nothing better than to take
up arms and overturn the Government. His own ideas have
never been that way, he had given his word of honour. In
askirig the authority to prosecute everybody, something very
suspicious was done, and Ledru-Rollin did not hesitate to
add his authority to it.
As regards the attitude to be taken on the question of the
National Assembly, I thought, for my part, that it was ne-
cessary to approach the subject with well-considered projets
de lois. Messrs. Ledru Rollin and Lamartine were of a dif-
ferent opinion. The question of the composition of an exe-
cutive commission was also agitated. This formed the sub-
ject of a lively controversy, in which I maintained that this
commission ought to be a sort of compromise.
Ledru Rollin looked upon Caussidiere, being a prefet de
police in regular times as an impossibility, but that it was a
necessity in a period of revolution. He flattered himself that
he could govern him, whilst Caussidiere on his part said,
" Oh, as to Ledru Rollin, I will start him when I wish it," a
saying as absurd as it was ungrateful, after the pecuniary ser-
vices rendered to Caussidiere by Ledru Rollin, and the nomi-
nation of the former to the prefecture of police.
Caussidiere is a very artful and very dangerous man. It
was wished to dismiss him on the evening of the 15th of May,
and to cause him to be arrested; but the difficulty in doing
so was very great, by reason of the warlike preparations made
at the Prefecture of Police. He came on the night between
the 15th and 16th. I was, for my part, perfectly resolved
to overthrow him. Caussidiere spoke for twenty minutes.
and left us all in a state of uncertainty. Messrs. Arago and
Marie were the only ones who voted for his arrest. He had
always the same finesse.
I have no difficulty in acknowledging that I have drawn
up several of the circulars which have made so much neise.
I drew up the first of them, which was somewhat modified
and strengthened by M. Ledru-Rollin. It should have been
secret. The words so much criticised, "unlimited powers,"
pouroirs illimite, were nothing more than an exact transla-
tion of the verbal instructions given from the commencement
to the commissaries. For instance, Manuel Arago conceived
that he had power, and that even extended to rasing Lyons to
the ground. The commissaries were chosen without dis-
cernment, no proper choice being made. The first corners
were taken. The circular had for its object to define
their powers at the same time that it proclaimed the
necessity of giving them a very wide range. At
first, the first circular created little sensation. It
was only after the steps taken by the National
Guard, that the circulars were made a crime on the part of
M. Ledru-Rollin. As regards the second, it made even less
impression. It turned upon the elections. The commis-
saries were to interfere in the elections so far as laying down
doctrines went; and I still consider that to have been neces-
sary, since it is evident that to found a Republic you must
have Republicans. As regards the bulletins, they were only
an imitation of what was done at the Convention. They
were the elementary instructions for the country places. The
Bulletin No. 16 appeared appeared on a Saturday; it rained
but nevertheless crowds assembled to read it. It was every-
where considered to be infamous. I was confounded, and
sent immediately to the Post-office to atop the departure of
it, if there was yet time to do so. Evidently 11i. Ledru-
Rollin had been taken by surprise. I wished once more to
give in my resignation. It was Elias Regnault who usually
drew up the bulletins. He, being absent that day by reason
of a family misfortune, had nothing to do with this one. It
was George Sand who drew up the famous No. 16 Bulletin.
Etienne Arago had advised Ledru-Rollin to confide to
Madame Sand the drawing up of bulletins. She had that
same morning brought to the Ministry three projects, writ-
ten in different degrees of violence. h was a sort of chance
which led to the choice of that one which would occasion the
greatest scandal in the political world.
DEPOSITION OF M. CAUSSIDIEREs
The deposition of al. Caussidiere, made on the sth of July,
is as follows :
What were the relations of Sobrier with the Prefecture of
Police?—During the first days, Sobrier came and installed
himself at the Prefecture of Police, acting in concert withme. He left it to place himself at the head of the journalto
La Commune. From that day our intimacy was limitedriod I
few visits and some information he brought ma. AI;
was
cannot precisely state, and in the first days Sobrier, wn
in communication with M. Lamartine, obtained an order
from him for arms and ammunition. This order was brought
Interior
to me, and I transmitted it to the Ministers of the efN.
ceiv
and of War. I know not what became of theorder.
res of
Lamartine. It may be found, perhaps, in the A
plied for
the Prefeeture of Police. At the same time,
I 'Which was
arms and ammunition for the Prefecture of Police, w
then in want of them. On the application of .Sobrierave
I g
him twenty men en permanence; but at a later day I r
him these men, arms, and ammunition.
.
What use was Sobrier to make of these arms and ammo-
nition, and how came he to have a guard when
youSori
bde-
prived him of his permanence ?—I know not how to
was to organize his service. I only obeyed orders. As
the guard he had in the latter time, I believe it was com-
posed of men employed to carry out his joureals and his
placards. It is possible that Sobrier received notice to
double his posts when there was to be an alert. I knew he '
was very enthusiastic, and believe him to be devoted to the
Republic. I had nothing to do with the hiring of the
house in the rue de Rivoli, in which Sobrier established
himself.
Have you any knowledge of a letter addressed to you by
Sobrier when he was detained in the barracks on the 15th of
May, entreating you to procure his release?-1 never re-
ceived any such letter. lam not surprised that he should
make such an application to me, considering our ancient
connexion. Commissary Bertoglio came to me in the
evening to inform me that Sobrier was arrested. I replied,
"It is unfortunate ; let him remain." I was angry at what
had passed.
Did you not at times entertain serious apprehensions as to
Blanqui ?—I mistrusted Blanqui because, from reports made
to me, I found that he wished to mislead the Montagnards,
and make a party for himself among them. This is what
made me insist upon forming the Garde Republicaine with a
military organization. If this had been done the affair of
May 15 would not have taken place. I had some hints
of a
plot to assassinate me, but' nothing certain.
Was not Flotte arrested as implicated in the events of
Rouen? What were your motives for setting him at li-
berty ?—I had no warrant against Flotte, and did not cause
his arrest. He passed one night at the prefecture of police.
He was arrested in consequence of a dispute near a placard.
Can you give any details about the manifestation of April
16 ?—My opinion is that Blanqui on that day commenced
his hostility to the Government. The reports made to me at
that period do not recur to my memory. on
that day we
had no fears, for all our precautions were taken.
Were you informed of the manifestation of May 15, and
its character?—On the 14th May I was informed
that a
but there
manifestation was to take place,Gvernmente was no disorder.
I apprised the Executive the President of
General Co t • •
the Assembly, and ur ais , the Minister of the
Interior was alsoOnthe apprised. morning of the 15th I
was informed that men with concealed arms were to join in
the manifestation, and that an attempt was to be made to
nicated all •
enter the Assembly. I coral tthia, and took all
hadu no force
the precautions 1 could, butlknew to have at
thy
disposal. I
charged some men whomcertain influence
to use all their efforts to stop the procession
at the Madeleine,
as I had been able to do the preceoing Saturday. But their
efforts were rendered useless by the Blanqui club, which was
at their head. From this instant I could only refer to re-
ports, as I had a luxation of the knee, which confined me to
my bed, and prevented me from taking an active part in the
repression of the manifestation.
111. Caussidiere was then asked to give so me explanation
as to the report of the prisoners who had been sent to the
Prefecture -being not only released but armed. He replied,
"The 78 persons arrested at Sobrier's, and who called them--
selves Montagnards, because they wore red sashes, but who
were not on my lists, were taken to the Luxembourg, with
the exception of those who were claimed by the chiefs of
A •
armed bodies, for instance, Clement Thomasuvigne, and
others. Some may have been released. I was not there.
The arrests were not all regular, and this may have been the
case with the enlargements, as I was not there to control
them. There was a distribution of arms at the Prefecture to
some Lyonnais who had not yet been armed, and some am-
munition was distributed, as it was said that the Prefecture
was to be attacked. I did all I could to restrain the Mon-
tagnards, but I was not completely master. As I knew
that there were men among them belonging to Blanqui, I
had placed them under arms in the morning, to prevent
and the
their joining in any manifestrtion, y behaved pretty