The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-08-22
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.


To the Editor Of the National Era
The morning papers of to-day all bear the req
stamp of the tax gatherer. deeper tint OF the
color would be more appropriate, for every stroke
of the stamp draws blood from thepress Several
journals cease to appear. And which one, mink
you, heads the list Of the dead2 It's In f0Ho0"'
SO late the favored organ Of the hot imperiaiis'S
Of the Eiys6e Verify, the friendship OF these
gentlemen is dangerous Their kisses seem 70 DC
the signals for leading the carecsed object 70 exc
cution. Or do they, like some birds OF Ill omen,
hover around the dying only lie Napoleon died
some two months since. Its numerous suoscri-
bers among the functiOnaries OF every grade were
informed last week, that the balance Of their sub
scriptions would be transferred to lie P0TpOr,
-hs-A -~-ns r.. 500. inaiead of lie NoDOlsOa Now
that both are dead their lists nsy Be tssusYfed TO
lie Moniar du So1, which is now the special
representative of the ultra imperiasts who govern
at the Elysee, and which may be expected to die
before long of surfeit Of their fsvors.
This last-named paper has entered with great
eclat on its new functions Of fsvcrite. Ii brought
us last week to the brink of repolHiioa. This is
serious word, and not to be lightly pronounced.
But the truth lie, that France was on the brink Of
the precipice for fifteen minutes, last Friday after
noon about four O'Clock. The two great powers
of the State, the Executive and the Legislative,
were for that length Of time about to come to
violent collision. This grave situation was the re-
suit of the violent jealousy which has so long
reigned between the President and the Assembly,
and which has been 30 ill-concealed during the
war they have made in common on the rights of
the nation. When the Assembly condemned
IL PoupOir to pay fine Of five thousand francs
for attacking its prerogstives, the President was
placed in q delicate position Everybody knew
that he was the one the Assembly intended to
punish, and yet he could not acknowledge the
dow. The 1sfncie III Ii poupou Was tfaoed al
rectly to its author, M. Romieu, the private Sec
rotary of the President and was supposed by the
public to have been written under his own inspi-
ration After the condemnation, the organs of
the Elysee kept up hot fire against the Assem-
bly,, which answered them by the election of a
committee of vigilance for the period of adjourn
ment, composed Of members hostile to the ambi-
tious projects attributed to the President, and
some of them hostile to him personally. There
upon, the Monteu du Sor, in an article ascrbed
also to the pen of M. Romieu, opened broadside
on the Assembly The article is too long to be
good but one or two passages will show sufficient
ly its tenor.
"The effect of that list members Of vigilance
committed has been that of the head of Medusa.
In seeing figure on 1t names of such o notorious
hostility to the President that their choice should
be considered as a challsnge thrown to him by the
Assembly, everybody has been petrifed 1t is not
a list of fusion, but one of provocation"
" What Interpretation is it intended the public
should place on the choice of General de Lamori-
ciere the personal insulter of the President ?"
"Who could blame him Louis Bona
parte the nephew Of the Emperor, the choice of
six million citizens for feeling so keenly this in
suit as to rise in his force and in his popularity
against the parliamentary parties who seem to
amuse themselves by Drawing public opinion, and
insulting the one who is snvronndod by tho sJnP"-
thies OF the people7n = y ~ "France waits for
nothing but q word from the President, Are you
not afraid lest he may say it'll" awe
do not at all fear that the Elysee will disavow
usn
This article, with another not less direct, WAS
used at the tribune last Friday by M. Dupont de
Bussac, member of the Left. Although the ar
ticle had produced great sensation, none Of the
members of the Right would take the initiative,
fearing to get into pass from which there would
be no retreat and no alternative, except to pre-.
cpitate struggle between the Assembly and the
President. The Left was also in q dilemma it
could not, consistently with its professions Of de-
voton to the liberty of the press, claim the pun
ishment of the publisher of the Monlem. After
a consultation between the leaders, it was agreed
that NJ Dupont de Bussac should demand, not
prosecution of the publisher, but an inquiry into
the source whence this and similar articles ema-
mated. When the orator descended from the
tribune, there was general cry for Minister to
disown the article, but not one Of them moved
from his seat. The excitement was on the in
crease, for the silence Of the Ministry seemed
the sanction of the injurious articles and of the
threats of usurpation. M. Jules Favre, the
Brougham of the Assembly, mounted the tribune
and attacked directly the Ministry in one of his
most parliamentary but most incisive and sarcas
tic speeches. The acclamations of the whole
house compelled M. Baroche to answer. The
purport of his speech was, that it was unfair to
hold the Ministry responsible for newspaper arti-
cles. "But you are responsible for those of your
favored journals, whose sale you permit in the
Streets was cried to him from several parts Of
the house GAS to that" answered M. Baroche,
"the Government has no intention to forbid the
sale Of lie Monneu du Soir" These words came
like clap of thunder on the Assembly. IL is
said by persons who should know, that greater
agitation has never been known on the floor Of the
house. The members all started from their seats
Many of those Of the Right surrounded the
Ministerial benches, and begged and threatened
by turns M. Bare, member Of the Changer
nier party, and questor Of the Assembly, sprang
to the tribune. "The question no longer regards
a journal" said he, ait regards the Ministry,
the Elysee, the President We are, perhaps, on
the eve Of usurpationn He concluded by de-
handing that the Assembly should retire into
the buresux and deliberate on the steps necessary
in the conjuncture. This was about to be done,
when the courage Of M. Baroche gave way. He
apologred to the Assembly for his first speech,
which was made in answer to the Mountain, spar-
ty that had outlawed the majority, and would do
II again that his feelings had been wounded by
the suspicious entertained Of him that 30 long
as the present Ministry remained in power, no
attempt would be made against the Assembly and
that the Ministry disavowed entirely the articles
Of IL Moniiem dn Son and other journals, which
had so Justly aroused the suscsptibilitiss Of the
Assembly. This second speech satisfied the