The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-11-30
TAo Proes prosec atoms In Paris.

/
family of mankind two distinctly separate ma
tures-human nature and French nature and
| announced the latter as the topic OF his lee
turc. We're he now to repeat it he might find
fresh Illustrations in the account which we
Published yesterday of the recent extraor-
binary press prosecutions in Paris. In the
trial OF the Baudin case, which came to q close
on the 18th inst, the charge against the deien-
dants, their adroit replies to the inquisitorial
interrogatory of the President Of the court, the
caustic eloQuence of their counsel and the
strange verdicts rendered compose u legal and
historical curiosity of the greatest interest.
The defendants were charged with having
''practiced man9uvres within the realm with
the object of holding up the government to
hatred and contempt" The kind Of interro-
gatory to which, according to the peculiar
custom OF French courts, they were sub
jected may be Inferred from one or two exam
pies. Thus Mr.. Quentin, editor Of the Rscea,
was closely questioned as to his motives and
those of his son in wearing red cacteaes, or
comforter, at the commemoration of the funeral
Of Baudin, who was killed at the barricades
when Louis Napoleon made his coup G6tat.
The same editor W as also asked why he made
q speech at Baudin's grave, and what were the
words ne uttered9 His reply was 1.-The
prosecution has no substance it is founded
on nothing. You prosecute me for making
speech. and you want me to tell what the
speech was" The cross examination Of the
defendants was followed by speech by the
Agocot Imperial, who developed at enormous
length his theme that they were guilty Of "a
regularly organized plan to attack the very
principle Of the government under the pre-
tence OF doing honor to Baudin's memory"
Mr.. Crtmieux, in defending Mr.. Quentin,
demonstrated the absurdiiy of the prosecution
of his client for speech of which the
Procureur ImQ6rial could not produce either
the text or the substance. He said ''tha gov
eminent had brought the I'd of December into
court and he would exercise counsels privi-
lege to speak about it." Among the strongest
points Of the philippe into which he then
launched was his declaration that 'st was
nothing to the purpose to say that December
2 had been sabsolved. So had the 18th
Brumaire. How many millions Of suffrages
had proclaimed first the consulate for life and
afterwards the empire? But crime could not
be absolved by catch vote, and certainly not
the greatest of oil crimes, that of laying
soldiers violent hand upon the national repre-
sentation. Sixteen years later (here Mr..
Cremieux said with marked emphasis, i beg
you to observe the dateD, the representatives
Of the people drove out the author Of the 18th
Brumaire." In conclusion Mr.. Cremieux
said :--s'Let the Second Empire erect as many
statues as it likes to its favorites and let pos
terity respect them as it might see fit, but let
the vanguished OF 1851 be at liberty to pay
simple funeral honor to the dead France was
great and glorious nation which must be
taken as it was, with all its good qualities and
defects. France like Neptune, would some
times stride across the world in three days,
and them frightened at her own progress, she
would come back again and suffer herself to
be guided instead of guiding. But it should
be remembered that three days might repair
all losses; the future was with progress" Mr..
Emanuel Arago and Mr.. Gambetta were no
less severe than MIR. Cremieux In their invcc-
tives against the government. All the counsel
awaited themselves to the utmost Of the CAPT
tai opportunity the government had foolishly
enough afforded them of arraigning December
9 before the bar of public opinion, and of
hurting at it terrific indictments, which will be
copied by the press throughout the world and
stereotyped for the perusal of posterity
II is difficult to resist the conviction that in
these press prosecutions in Paris Napoleon
Ill has committed mistakes similar to those OF
Charles Y. and of Louis Philippe. 1t remains
to be seen whether such mistakes will prove
as fatal to the Bonapartes as they proved to
the Bourbons and TO the Orleans. We know,
however, that history repeats itself in all
nations and oftenest in France.
Cr.r