Democratic banner., 1849-01-15
Of subversive theories. Educated in freeI

VI ooONCAoItO lI6OIASSe bu ssSs
countries, in the school of misfortune, ]
shall ever remain faithful to the duties i'm.
posed On me by your suffrages, and by the
Twill of the Assembly. IF I were elected
president, / would not shrink from any dan
ger, from any sacrifice to defend society,
so audaciously attacked. would devote
myself entirely and without any reserve, to
the consolidation Of a Republic, wise BY
its laws, honorable by its intentions, great
and strong by its-actions. wonld make il
a point of honor to leave to my successor,
at the end of four years, power consolidat-
ed, liberty untouched, and real progress
accomplished. Whatever be the result of
the election, / shall bow before the will OF
the people; and my concurrence is obtained
i'm advance, for whatever just and firm gov
ernment shall re-establish order in the pub
lie mind, as well ." in public affairs; shall
effectively protect religion, private life.
lproperty-ti,e eternal bases of every social
state; shall bring about reforms where they
are possible, shall calm aniinosities, recon-
icile parties, and thus permit our troubled
lcountry to calculate on a morrow. To
re-estabIish order, is to bring back conf
idence, to prov4dA by credit for the tempo
rary insuficiency OF resources, to restore
the finances. Toprotect religion and pri-
vate life is TO insure liberty of worship and
liberty Of education. To protect proper
jty is to maintain the inviolability of the
produce of all kinds of labor it is to guar
anty the independence and the security Of
possession-the indispensable foundation Of
civil liberty. As to practicable reforms,
the following are those which appear to me
the most urgent: To allow every econo-
my, which without disorganizing the pub
lie service, may permit a diminution Of the
Iimposts that are most burdensome to the
people; to encourage enterprise, which, by
developing the resources Of agriculture,
may, both in France and in Algeria, afford
labor to uneccupied hands; to provide for
the old age Of laborers by provident insti-
lotions; to introduce into our industrial
laws ameliorations which may tend not to
ruin the rich for the benefit Of the poor,
but to found the well-being of each on the
prosperity Of all; to restrain within just
limits the number of e~mploymeats that de-
pend on the Government, ard which often
make q free nation a nation of applicants ;
to avoid that disastrous tendency which
leads the State to execute Of itself what in
|dividuals can do as we'll, and better than it;
( the centralization Of interests and Of en-
terprise belongs to the nature Of despotism
the nature Of a Republic repels monopo-
ly;) in . word, to preserve the liberty of the
press from the two extremes which always
compromise 1.-THE arbitrary and the IL
'csnIious. With Sat, there 10 No relief for
our evils. Peace, shall therefore, be the
dearest Of my wishes. France, at her first
revolution, was wsrlike, because she was
compelled to be 30. Invasion she met by
conquest. Now that she is not assailed,
yhe may CONF crst her resources to pacif-
10 amefiorations, without, at the same time,
abandoning q policy true aud re~solute. A
great nation should either be silent or never
speak in vain. To have regard to the ma.
tional dignity, We must not neglect the ar,
my, the noble and disinterested patriotism
Of which has often been misunderstood. A. the
same time that we maintain the fundamen-
tai laws which constitute the strength Of
our military organization, we must tighten,
and not aggravste the burden Of conscrip-
tion. We must watch over the present and
the future, not only of the officers but Of
the sub.oficers and soldiers, and provide a
sure subsistence for the men who have long
served under our colors. The Republic
ought to be generous, and have faith in the
future; hence, I, who have myself been ia
miliar with exile and captivity, anxiously
desire to see the day when a magnenimous
may, without danger, put an end to
sll prescriptions and obliterate the last ira
ces of our civil discords. Such, my dear
fellow citizens, are the ideas that l would
carry with me to the Presidency of the Re-
public. The task is difficult, the mission is
.immence-I know it, but l should not des-
pair to accomplish it, by taking to the work
without distinction of party, men whom
public opinion end their W elevated intel
iigence and probity would recommend
Besides, for whoever has the honor to be at
the head of the French people, there is an
infallible method of doing good, viz: to win
il
LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
PARIS, Nov. p, ls4S.
go