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

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

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 BLANC ; 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 cApoze
the audacity of certain falsehoods, that I have never had
any relation direct or indirect with the citizens Blanqui,
Raspail, 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 was 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 Barbes, I should be ashamed of my-
self if, knowing them prisoners and unhappy, I should
hesitate to say boldly that I am their friend.

. . . .
. .
" On the 14th vague rumours made known tome, a
to everybody, the fact that a great number of citizens
proposed to go and present a petition in favour of Poland
to the National Assembly. There ended the on flit. I
at least did not hear 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 Illoniteur proves; to invite the
people to display calm and moderation, to re6pect their
own 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 ISarfli appeared, and
I addressed the multitude crammed in the court in lan-
guago 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 gtadual extinction of misery nJuid
not be dented, but that they might be certain that the
sacred interests of the working chases 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 folly in raising too high hopes on that point,
it was at least one of those subliine 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 or 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 rworld 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 cruelly misrepresented,
6 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
Universelle t"

. •
"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 BLANC—

" Overwhelmed with fatigue, the voice gone, I was
carried towards the extreme branches of the amphi-
theatre. There a workman came to 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 took a pen, and hastily
traced these lines, 'ln 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 I.'"

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 MP, 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 do Villa was to run the risk of
causing blood 0 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-
firmed by some persons present whose names are unknown
to me."

M. LOUIS BLANC then proceeds to relate that he
got lost in the crowd, and was carried by it, he knows
not how, 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