Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1851-12-20

meant an increase OF the DUTY upon imports Mr. WALK
ERs speech ought entirely to dispel the illusion"
FROM OUR PARIS CORRESPONDENT
PARIS, NOVEMBER "a, 1851. \
Judging from present appearances, we are upor
the eve of terrible explosion in France It wa.
imminent on the night of the 18th instant, after thu
rejection Of the Presidents bill for the restoration
universal suffrage. The hesitation Of two or three
Generals to whom NJ Bonaparte proposed the rash
adventure of coup de main, at the suggestion d
his impatient private counselors at the Eysee alone
prevented it then 1t was still more imminent this
day week. Cast Monday,) upon the discussion of the
famous Questors' bill, asserting for the Assembly
the right Of direct application to all military officers
for troops intended for the defence of the Assem-
bly,. A different result to that discussion had been
anticipated by all parties, especially after the I'M
qualified and peremptory denial Of this right from
the tribune Of the Assembly by the Minister Of
War, Gen. st. Arnaud. The General himself ex-
pecting hostile vote, and immediate demand Of
troops, repaired during the discussion to the head
quarters Of Gen. Magnan, and gave him express in
structons to obey orders but such should reach
him through the Minister Of War Gen. Magnan
instantly dispatched similar orders to all the bar
racks, and to all the officers of Paris The Coasti-
Uniformed Of this morning, in allusion to that de-
bate, to the vote which was anticipated and to the
plot of Parliamentary coup d<tat against the Ex-
ecutive, of which that vote was to have been the
initiatory measure says that the President, NJ Bo-
naparte, was determined not to obey, and was pre-
pared to resist. But as may well be supposed,
the President of the Republic and his friends were
but little inclined to let this game be played off upon
them. The assailants would have been saluted with
musket Shots or something better still The battle
would have been promptly engaged in the streets.
This result was possible up to halfpast o'clock.
The vote of the Assembly dissipated all danger"
| have no doubt that there was plot among. the
leaders of the Orleanists and Legitimiss in the As
sembly to thus provoke the President to some act
by which his impeachment and arrest would have
been decreed. This would have been promptly fol-
lowed by other DEGREES declaring the country in a
state of revolution, erecting the Assembly into a
Convention, and creating provisional dictatorship
in favor of Gen. Changarner, who would be charged
with bringing about restoration, Orleanist Lee
gitimist according to circumstances. 1t was the
apprehension of this most imminent danger for the
Republic that induced the Republican and Demo
cratic party in the Assembly to vote, on the 18th
instant against the taking into consideration Of the
Questors' bill. Only about forty of the two hun
dred and fifty members Of the Left voted with the
minority The rest, protesting at the same time
that they really held to the Assembly's constitu-
tional right of direct requisition Of troops voted
against taking the bill into consideration as inexpe-
dent at the moment.
The majority of 408 against the taking into con-
sideration was made up last Monday of these 210
Republicans and Democrats, some 40 pure Bona
partsts Gall the Assembly contains and about l58
timid Orleanists, who, knowing what were the ends
aimed at by the leaders of their party and beiev-
ing that immediate civil war would be the conse-
quence of passing the bill, could not screw their
courage up to the point Of provoking crisis Of which
the result appeared to them very doubtful and only
to be reached after certain and terrible trials There
is probably not one hundred of the seven hundred
and fifty members of the Assembly who deny the
right of the Assembly to make immediate applica-
ton to all military officers for the force under their
command in defence of the Assembly; but last Mon
day there were found more than three hundred who,
holding this right to be clearly given in the Consti-
tuition voted, for one reason and some for an
other, against taking into consideration bill which
asserted and organized that right In the other inn
portant vote, the 18th instant, viz the bill of the
President re-establishng universal suffrage, there
were really about fifty Of the minority that voted in
favor of second reading of the bill who are OPP
posed to the re-establishment of universal suffrage
and who, upon the second reading, would have voted
against the BILL. but, fearful Of provoking open
conflict between the Executive and Legislative
powers were unwilling to treat the President of the
Republic with such summary insult as to throw out
his bill, refusing it the honor of discussion.
1t was against the rejection Of M Bonapartc's biN
at the first reading, and not in favor of the principle
of the bill restoring universal suffrage, that fifty of
the minority of the 18th instant cast their vote Had
the bill passed to second reading the vote for re-
jectng it would have been Gas the vote for rejecting
any future Presidential bill restoring universal suf
frage will beg upon its merits purely-403 to 297,
instead of 353 to 347 in house of 700. There are
in the Assembly some four hundred and fifty mem
bers (seventy-fye than half of the whole num-
ber) who will consent to any ultra-constitutonal or
measures, who will risk general
seizing of arms and instruction Of the democrats,
rather than establish universal suffrage The last,
they hold, would certainly be the destruction not
only of all their reactionst hopes but of all govern
ment, and of all the great interests of society In
fragrant civil war they would at least have the
chances of BATTLE and these chances would be decid
eddy in their favor if the question were clearly made
up between the republicans on one side and all the
reactionist forces welding the united Executive and
Legislative authorities, the other 1t is, think,
to this point that affairs arerapidly tending 1t is
between these parties, thus arayed, that the great
battle is soon to be fought in bloody fields upon the
question, reduced to ts simplest terms, monarchy or
republic. Am asked, how is this alliance of the
reactionist forces this union of the Executive and
Legislative powers, which in the approaching con-
fict can alone turn the chances of victory, not in
favor of hberty-alasi there must be no question
of wise regulated liberty in France for many n long