Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-02-14


Emperor. Ii it were SO intended, the plot failed.
A cold collation., cigars, and champagne were serv-
ed out to the men; but Gen. Changarnier was
again there, and though some of the Presidents
aids-de-camp were to ride from his side and
provoke the troops to cries of I" KiUe Napoleon,"
and even Vioe z Enperew," and though two or
three colonies gave this example Of breach of disci
pline it failed of any serious effect. These at
tempts on the discipline of the army aroused the
notice of the Assembly, and explanations were had
with the Government and the Minister at War,
when the latter declared that the circumstances
complained Of were merely accidental, and should
not happen again.
But affairs between the President and the Cham
Der soon took money aspect. The Constitution,
formed on the general principle of the American
Republic, contemplated the establishment of Pre-
sident aoithout Court. 1t provided (article 62)
that g he should be lodged at the public expense,
and receive salary of 900 francs (f24 000) a
year" This salary the Assembly literally, though
unconstitutionay, agreed to double by an addition
al vote of 900 francs, adding 100, 900 francs
for charities, &C., making, with some other small
additions, his salary 100000 francs, (f65,000;)
very liberal allowance for the President of Re-
public, be he or it who or where it may. In June,
1850, the President had persuaded his Ministers to
ask of the Assembly large supplementary addition
to these official allowances, less than 400 900
francs The Assembly now saw clearly the folly Of
their former concessions yet they voted the allow
ance, chiefly on the persuasion of Gen. Changer
nier When, however, byand-by, after the attacks
upon the press the seizure of the journals, and the
tamperings with the army, to which we have allud-
ed, the President in the spring of 1851, made ano
Their demand for 100000 francs, and avowed that
he expected his annual income to be permanently
fixed at 3,425, 900 francs, (f137 900 y and when
it was openly stated in debate by the Presidents adj
vocates that these sums were to forward uuerior
pieacs the Assembly negatived the vote; the sin
gle check, we believe, which that body ever inter-
posed to the greedy encroachments of the President
Before the reassemblage Of the Chamber matters had
become much worse; Changarnier and other Con-
stitutional Generals had been dismissed The Pre-
sident had adopted the novel principle, in France
at least, Of selecting Ministers who were not mem
bers of the National Assembly-men of straw !;
practical complications of the doctrine II eta
c'est MOI" which now began to be avowed by Louis
Napoleon
The Constitution makers had evidently antici-
pated the possibility of an attempt being made to
dissolve the Assembly by force of arms, and had
deavored to guard against that contingency by the
sd article, which states The National Assembly
fixes the amount of military force necessary for its
own security, and directs it." The power to direct
this force was placed by decree of the Assembly,
in the hands of the President of the Assembly, and,
to obviae all possible misconcepton, copy of this
decree was posted up in all the quarters and barracks
of the troops. 1t began, however, to be whispered
about that the power possessed by the Assembly in
this matter might not be considered as full legal
authority the Questors, committee of four mem
bers charged with the police of the Assembly,
therefore proposed to convert the existing decree
into formal act The President complained that
this was an aggression the part of the Assembly
upon his authority, and libel on has intentions;
and caused the decree which was posted up in the
barracks to be torn down, under the authority of
the Minister of War. The Assembly, unwilling to
proceed to an open rupture, now exhibited the weak
of rejecting the proposition of their Cues
tors, by vote of 408 to 300. We are willing to
believe that the motive for doing 50 was desire to
conciliate 1t was interpreted, however, coward
ce and no doubt FASTENED the coup detat of the I'd
December.
In May, $780, Louis Napoleon, protesting to feel
the alarm into which some Socialist elections had
thrown all the respectable part of the community
proposed a modification of the suffrage, of which
the main point was the requiring from the voter a
three years residence in his district An act to
this Enthusiastically measure of the President
and his Cabinet-passed the Assembly, by the union
of all parties, except the Mountain" Three mil
lions of votes were thus annihilated. Eighteen
months after this, the President considered these
annihiaed votes necessary to his future success
and he proposed their restoration. His Ministers
declined to promote this act Of inconsistency
more obedent Cabinet was formed. The Assembly,
however, rejected the measure, by the doubtful
joty Of too only, in the fullest house that had
voted. The Assembly made great step to conces- |
sion, by reducing the term of electoral domcile to
single year. While this bill was under discussion,
with apparent daily increasing tendency towards
the Presidents views, came the coup II etat which |
dissolved the Assembly, and placed France under |
the power of Dictator and military despotism
No doubt the facts Of this narrative are clearly in
the minds Of many of your readers we have thought
however, that this brief summary and arrangement |
may be useful at the present moment We are not |
the advocates of either the President or the defunct
Assembly We hold the former to have violated
the most solemn engagements, and to have acted |
traitorously to his country, upon the impulse Of
what he calls necessity, but what we term selfish
and inordinate ambition. We regard the Assembly
as unfaithful to its trust guardians of the Const
tuition, and Of the peoples rights under that Consti
tuon by its Difference to the President wishes upon
almost every occasion on which he expressed them
by Its vacillating and uncertain course upon many
subjects of vital importance, and by its divisions,
and Its continually acting under the influence OF
strong sectional and party feelings instead of consi
dering the French people as one people, and the
French nation an undivided object. We knop
nothing of any plans projects which any parties in
the Assembly might have against the President;
such may and possibly did exist, but as yet there