The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-04-07

became eViutnt, tnrcdS were useu, anu thc
Assembly, confident in the army and in its
chief, (Changsrnier,) talked openly in the "sa-
lone" Of putting the President aside.
Changarnier was removed. 1t was a daring
step, but there was no alternative. The ex-
pertinent must be made, and it was, with sue
cess. Little by little the partisans of the Pre-
tender were brought into command-old Off
GERS removed, to make way for ambitious and
INSCRIPTIONS ones. The Assembly got alarm
ed. II had still men on whom it could rely,
but the I'd Of December arrived before they
wore quite ready
Now, what part had the people in all this
Apparently none. By this time they had moth
ing but wishes to give, and those for the sue
cess Of the President for the Assembly had
completely destroyed one by one, the liberties
acquired BY the revolution of iS4s.
No measures had ever been more despotic,
or more despoticslly carried out by poor Louis
Philippe, than by that Republican body now
proclaimipg itself royalist snd talking of the
revolution as catastrophe Step by step
it had disarmed the people, gagged the press
placed it, own men at the head of the army
end. psiics, greatly increased both in Paris,
purified the National Guards of the working
class and republicans, and entrapped and in
weighed away any influential democrats, whom
they had been unable to seize during the insur-
rection of June 1S4S, or in the laundering
movement of Ledru Rollin in lS49.
The Assembly was triumphant in Paris, as
well as in Rome; and the Church, through its
aid, was in possession of the colleges and uni
versities, with the object of jesuitizing them.
What more could be wanting to make the AS
sembly hated!
Louis Napoleon all this time was counting
the people-doiDg the romantic by the bedside
of some discovered son of soldier Of the EN-
pire running over some one who had learned
to get in his way in a fit of enthusiasm, to give
the Prince" the opportunity of a touching
display of kindness, liberality, and sympathy
for the working class or the army and
dozens of the like little dramatic episodes,
which are useful to Pretenders, and which are
never allowed to remain unknown.
Moreover, the Prince had written q Socialist
book, or signed one-no matter-and other
books of genius, no matter by whom. Then
the Princes name was at the head of subscrip-
tons for erecting cheap lodging houses for the
working class who Of late years, owing to
moral and material improvements, had been
emigrating, whenever possible, from the dear,
hsbited by them from of old.
The Prince, in fact, was to do everything
and it was thought did do all he could, in spite
of the Assembly; and hence, if he was not
popular, he at least was more useful, and there
fore preferable to the Royalists.
Can you wonder, then, if Louis Napoleon,
though coldly received everywhere, in defiance
Of his organized "elaqueurs" was nevertheless
preferred by the peoples The Frenchman's
significant shrug of the shoulder would be 40.
companied by the remark, that I" the President
was more likely to serve them than the old
parties" And the Frenchman knows his own
business best.
it is impossible here to give a tithe of the
history of the duplicties and intrigues for
power included in the three years of lS49,
1850, and 1851. The few words we have given
may indicate enough for some idea to be FORM
ed of it, We all know now that the Assembly
was too late That the President warned in
time, and having younger, more rapid, vigor-
Gus, and more compromised set of men with
him, saved himself by q coup ds.o., and that
he avenged hisaseif upo~ the bi1iaeut and utl.
fortunate Boulevards Of Paris, and their fash.
ionable crowds, drawn by curiosity to witness
the spectacle of a military display by shooting
down hundreds whose tongues might have pro
claimed or repeated the stories told, contempt
uous of his origin. The power was alread,
his, undeniably the slaughter was deliber
ate piece of vengeance, unworthy the "nephev
of the Uncle" People will doubt whether
the uncle could have been guilty of such a cru
city.
A prince has always at his disposal thou
sand ways of rendering himself popular. Louis
Napoleon was not exempted from that duty
He had the empire yet to gain, and the vote
of the people would be necessary--their tacit
vote at least. He therefore set to work to in
troduce such changes and measures as would
be popular, give employment to hepeople, en-
enlargement 10 improvements and manufac-
lures, and increase to trade
Bat the climax of his policy was the law of
the 2Sth of February, 1852, establishing Banks
Of Land Credit. The Importance and popu-
larity Of such measure may be judged of
from the fact that the greatest portion of the
lands of France has been for many years deep
ly mortgaged, and the pressure upon the in
dustry independence, and prosperity of the
twenty -four millions having their subsistence
therefrom has been such as to call the atten-
ton of every successive Government to it, But
neither the urgent demands Of the oppressed
themselves for an amelioration of their cond-
tion nor the efforts of the true friends of France,
anxious about the consequences of this sys-
TEN, could obtain relief from the Chambers.
There was financial party, interested in the
abuse, stronger in the Chambers and in the
Government than the millions compromised.
In Germany the system Of Banks of Land
Credit had been introduced for some years, and
had worked with great and good effect. 1t
was therefore no new or visionary scheme that
the Government was asked to adopt; but one,
the practical results Of which had already
been ascertained.
The millions Of French landholders were
paying eight per cent for money borrowed for
the purposes of improvement &c. This law
relieves them Of 50 high per centage, enables
them to borrow at lower rate enough to pay
off the old burden, with the certainty of entire
relief at the end of forty years
Thus there is q gain at once by diminution
of interest, and a removal of the fear Of being
ultimately seized and sold out, with the horrors
of paupcrism before them.
Can any one be surprised, then, if the suffer-
ing millions of France after thirty or forty
years wasted in appeals TO the Government
for relief, should now turn to Louis Napoleon
and, whoms0evcr he may be, and to whatsoever
he may claim and aspire, give him their sup
port Surely the French people know what
sort of Government suits them best-a cold
hearted Republic, or liberal Empire.
They have tried variety of systems, and
they have found them wanting in the true
principles-in the very essence OF Government
namely, the amelioration of oppression Of every
kind, and the correction Of abuses. Instead Of
a Government conssientously doing the bust
ness of the nation, they have found men only
aspiring to power for the most selfish purposes.
What the people have to consider under such
circumstances il, how TO turn the selhshness
and ambition Of these men, whom intrigue and
baseness, and not genius, raise to power, to
their advantage. :.
Parties they care not jot about The d.
vine or other rights of the Count de Chambord,
and such pretenders, may amuse the educated,
who for want Of excitement require to be oc-