The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-04 00:00:00

THE SUN,

ing all of a sudden in the midst of the fleet at Tou-
lon, escorted by some battalions brought back from
Algeria, the young conqueror of I'logador and St. Jean
d'Ulloa would not have found there numerous parti-
sans ? Wasit courage which was wanting to him ?
Was it popularity ? Was it good right ? Why then
did he proceed with stoical resignation to a land of
exile ? Because his patriotism silenced the dictates
of his youth and of his courage ; because in the
frightful disorder into which the insurrection of Pa-
ris had thrown France, when the minister of the Go-
vernment then existing, such as it was, wrote to him
praying for his abstention, in the name of public
safety, he would not consent to be a cause of disorder,
added to so many others. They who in other times
attacked twice in full peace, in the name of I
know not what imperial legitimacy, the existing
Government (we admit that they honourably re-
pented of such conduct afterwards), were they more
patriotic than the Prince de Joinville ? That is a
question which we take the liberty of addressing to
the Constilutionnel. But let us suppose, a fact
which is far from being proved to us, let us suppose
that the candidateship of the Prince de Joinville was
openly avowed by him, and frankly supported by a
considerable faction of the party of order. In what,
we ask, is that candidateship more calculated ‘to
trouble the State' than that of any other which
may be avowed, that of General Changarnier, or of
Gen. Cavaignac, or that of M. Carnot ? Either there
must be only one candidateship permitted (that which
the Constitution interdicts, or it must be admitted that
a person may be a candidate to the place of President,
in competition with that privileged candidateship,
without being an anarchist, a factious man, and a cri-
minal citizen. And what if we were to say that the
candidateship which troubles the State, which divides
the party of order, which holds suspended over
the country the formidable problem of the un-
known, was precisely that which the journal
to which we reply, supports,, in contempt
of the constitutional law ? edo not say so,
through respect for universal suffrage, which on some
given day, we admit, may have the advantage over
the Constitution itself ; but whilst waiting for that
day, is it not true that the Constitution ought to be
observed? It was framed against us, but is it•we
who give the example of disobeying it ? And they
who cry up a candidateship which the law of the
country declares to be unconstitutional, who have flung
into the midst of our embarrassments and our perils
that terri▪ ble difficulty, who every day call the national
sovereignty to this double trial, once more we ask, are
they acti▪
ng well thus to come and lavish abuse on the
august exiles who wait, without asking anything,
and without violating any law, until the will of the
country shall have been pronounced ? Our repug-
nance to treat such questions before the hour of ne-
cessity is well known, and consequently it is with
great regret that we have entered on this matter; but
we will not recoil from the task which lies before us.
We wish for the Prince de Joinville a totally different
destiny than that which the zeal of his friends, or the
previsions, more or less enlightened, of his partizans,
prepare for him. We wish it to him, not for his
honour of prince, since we believe that a great
public necessity may, on any given day, counsel for
him a sacrifice which would not cost his dignity
anything, but we wish it to him for his happiness.
But should the Prince de Joinville be induced by
the sentiment of a great duty to descend seriously
into the lists in which, before long, will be con-
tested the destinies of France, there is one thing of
which we are sure—that the Prince de Joinville
would not accept a political candidateship in order to
divide the party of order, but to unite and rally it;
not to trouble the State, but to restore to it security
and repose; not to blow up the vessel, but to extin-
Quish the fire. It is only in this way that a son of
King Louis Philippe could remain faithful to the
patriotic reminiscences and liberal traditions of his
family."