The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-02-17

PANS, January 20, 1882

You heard by the last steamer OF the DEGREES pf
the President ordering the sale Of the real estate
and personal property of the existing members OF
the Orleans family and the confscation OF the pro-
perty Of the late king Three members OF the cab
met retired rather than be accessory to this act
Mcssrs. Fould, Rouher, aud Mngne; and one, nj.
de Morny, Minister Of the Interior, retired rather
than countersign the instrument. He had main
tanned his position of hostility TO the for
over fortnight, in the hope of dissuading the Pre-
sdcnt from the step; but Louis Napoleon, who is as
obstinate mule persevcrcd and finally replaced
M. de Morny by more plant minister, who signed
the decree of confscation without more ado. Fould
and Rouher, Secretaries Of Finance and Justice,
resigned, not because their of propriety and
right was too delicate to allow them 10 consent to
the measure, but from purely personal consdera
tons They were willing enough that 1t should be
executed, but preferred to stand from under dur
ing the operations; when the excitement has dimin
ished little, and the wonder and indig nation have
subsidized, they will return to their places in the
Cabinet, having been replaced in the mean time by
men OF straw, or doing in reality themselves the
work of their ministries, though generally cup
posed to have retired to private life Read the fol-
lowing curious passage from the Constitutional,
the confidential journal and try to construe it in
any other manner:
'The resignation of NM. Foud and Rouher
has surprised and afflicted US less than that Of Nj
de Morny These two men of mind and talent
have created and put in practice an entirely new
policy-onc Of circumspccton and reserve. When
one OF those grand measures, which at first blush
strike the world with astonishment, has been de-
cidcd upon by the chief of the State. they give up
their place to ohers, and resume Il again when the
measure is accomplished, and its success is rem
dered certain. They are shy, and keep at dis
lance when the sky is covered with clouds, and
this is not calculation Of timid and egotstical
men. If they take good care of themselves, it is
that they may last longer and be Of more service;
II they arc 30 prudent when CRIES comes on, II IS
that they may have more energy and more author
ity in the current affairs of their mnistries."
In the came article the writer speaks with real
regret of the retirement of M de Morny. II is gen.
orally understood in Paris that the rgor Of the sys
tenn under which we live has been greatly tempered
by the resistance Of this minister. and that many
DEGREES OF exile and transportation have died
a natural death upon his desk. II were not be-
lievcd that he would speedily return to his hotel,
the advent Of M. dc Persigny would excite more
apprehension than il does. Who would have
thought that NJ de Morny, twenty years ago a
bect-sugar manufacturer, would ever have reached
the lofty position of Prime Minister?
BY decree in the Monifeu of yesterday, the
President annus the decree of the provisional gov
y
ished all titles of nobility. This is little more than
restoring by right what had never ceased to exist
in fact. II has been often said that titles Of dis
tinction, and the aristocrac particles, e, de- &C.,
were never SO much in use on and after the day
when they exinguished. In common con-
versaton, in unofficial writings upon the addresses
OF letters, titles have never been dropped. ought
to except, perhaps, the month preceding the gene
raj elections after the republic, when candidates
for the Constituent and Legislative Assemblies were
tho very plainest Of Msters. The decree OF yester
day renders legal titles used rs signatures upon
deeds, and other documents Of the sort, which Of
course they had not been since their abolition by
the provisional government The President him
self sets the example Of liberal use Of noble and
aristocra,ic prclixes and addenda; the following is
the formula used when speaking of him, by his Ia
miliar spirits Of the editorial corps: "Monsegneur
Louis Napoleon, Prince President dc la Repub
lique." One of the journals in full communion
thus speaks Of this decree: "The time exists no
longer when titles of nobility signify the privilege
or the domination Of a caste. They become to-day
what they at their origin-the symbol of n
rocompense paid to merit fidelity, devotion, hero
ISM they signify homage rendered to services
performed; they represent the eternal traditions Of
French grandeur, and its impcrishable inherit
merit honor, and glory, the provisional govern
mcnt abolished France herself In the name Of
reason, justice, and history, Louis Napoleon ayon
ges the country, and restores our beloved France
to its position Of antique splendor."
The creation of Ministry Of Police, which APP
penrcd the other day in the Moriteir, is not origi
nal with Louis Napoleon. 1t lie still another idea
borrowed from the first republic and the empire
The first Minister Of Police was appointed in the
YkAR ~, U797.) THE ministry was suppressed
under the Consulate, but was re established by
imperial decree in 1904. The first Minister Of Po-
lice under Napoleon Was Fouche, and the second
the Due dc Rodgo Al the first Restoration, in
1914, the office again suppressed; il was re-
vivcd during the Hundred Days, and again given
to Foucb6. In 1916, at the second Restoration, it
was entrusted TO the Duke Dccazes, and was final
ly abolished in 1915. Day before yesterday il was
once moro re-established.
The Presidents decree restoring the eagle TO the
standards OF the army in place Of the Gallo cock,
has given full employment 10 the bronze-foundcrs
OF the city. Many thousands are in course of man
ufacturc The eagle, as an emblem, is not, as is
generally supposed, OF Roman origin. Xcnophon
doscribcs the sceptrc Of the Persian kings as "a
long staff surmounted by an eagle with spread
wings" According to Aristophancs, the sccp-
tres of Mcnolaus and Agbmcmnon were also
surmountcd with eagles. The wolf of Romulus
and Remus was the emblem Of the Romans be-
fore the adoption Of the eagle. The Etruscnns
brought tho first eagle mounted sceptrc to Rome
in the time Of Tarqun the Elder. The kings
who succeeded him adopted the symbol, a
prnctice which was finally consecrated by the en-.
perors. In 1920 bronze eagle, weighing eight
pounds, was discovered in a little village Of Ger
many, among the ruins Of an old Roman forih-
cation. The Cabinet Of Vienna possesses n cameo,
representing on side the head Of Augustus,
and the other an eagle holding in his claws a
crown Of oak leaves. Tho eagle, with ono or more
heads is the national emblem Of Prussia, Aus
tra, Russia, France, and the United States. a
white eagle vas the emblem OF Poland during its
days OF prosperity and glory.
The following paragraph, in the official paper,
is | hope, meant TO be serious assertion on the
part Of tho government that we have seen tho last
of these harsh ineasurcsof exile aud transportation
which Il has thought proper TO put in execution
lately. It certainly means this, If 1t means any
thing.
"Tho system Of riror which necessity has i'm.
posed upon the government has naturally made a
strong impression upon public opinion, which